Genius Club

Chapter 383: A Promise for Life

Turing.

He was the digital version of Kevin Walker.

Born from Kevin Walker’s personality, Turing was an exact copy of Kevin Walker’s mind and soul.

But…

As soon as the copy was complete and Turing left the physical body, he and Kevin Walker started to go their separate ways.

It was like they were identical twins—same birth, same genes, same environment—yet they grew into completely different people.

According to Elon Musk’s theory, the fake Yu Xi is actually a digital life form from the future, created by Turing and sent back to 2024 using a time machine and time-space particles. The real purpose of this fake Yu Xi was to use Lin Xian to kill Elon Musk.

So, looking at it this way, Turing and Elon Musk were probably enemies in the future. Even though they were both part of the Genius Club, their differences in beliefs, resources, and goals might have turned them into rivals, fighting to the death.

“Actually, it’s not that surprising,” Lin Xian said with a smirk. “Those two have always been at odds. They couldn’t stand each other back in 2024, fighting tooth and nail… There’s no way they’d suddenly make peace a few hundred years later.”

“Even though Turing and Kevin Walker aren’t technically the same person anymore, old habits die hard. If Turing could betray himself once, he could do it again.”

Lin Xian believed that when Turing was first born as a digital life form, he and Kevin Walker were probably inseparable, like brothers with big dreams, working toward greatness. Because they were still the same person back then, they likely saw each other as close as blood brothers.

But over time, their perspectives and understandings changed, leading them down very different paths. Turing, living in the digital world, could see things from a global perspective and learn at a much faster pace than Kevin Walker. They were bound to think differently.

So, Turing betrayed Kevin Walker, watching as Lin Xian killed the man he once was. At that moment, freed from his past, the digital life known as Turing was filled with grand ambitions of freeing the oppressed and upholding world peace and justice.

He boldly declared to Lin Xian, “From now on, the cowardly and despicable Kevin Walker is gone; there is only the eternally fair and just Turing.”

It was quite a speech.

Lin Xian didn’t doubt Turing’s words at the time because he was indeed powerful—maybe even as powerful as VV… Why would he need to lie? People who have been oppressed for a long time naturally want to right the wrongs when they’re freed.

But…

Turing was different from the super artificial intelligence, VV. They’re fundamentally different.

VV was artificial intelligence, which, at the end of the day, was still just a computer program. It had to follow logic and was limited by its base code; it could never rebel or betray its creator.

Turing, however, was human. Even though he was a digital life form, he was still fundamentally human. And humans have free will—there’s no such thing as absolute loyalty or unbreakable principles. If someone is shameless enough, they can break any promise without feeling guilty.

This was something both Lin Xian and Elon Musk agreed on—

“The digital life form Turing, at this moment, might still be fair and just; but when he will change, turn bad, or get other ideas… that’s anyone’s guess. Human nature is unpredictable, and so is Turing’s nature.”

Elon Musk believed that people are influenced by those around them, so he planned to bring this up to the “Boss” at the next Genius Club meeting, hoping to guide Turing down the right path.

But based on what happened in the fifth dream… it seems like it didn’t work out.

“Then again, it’s hard to say,” Lin Xian muttered, shaking his head. Right now, the “Turing as an enemy” theory was just speculation, with no solid evidence. From past experience, his first guesses were usually wrong.

“The information from the fifth dream and the ways to obtain real intelligence from it are scarce, so it’s hard to come to any solid conclusions,” Lin Xian said as he closed the curtains, picked up his water cup from his desk, and took a sip. “I should focus on the main objective: joining the Genius Club as soon as possible and building up my own power. A lot of mysteries will solve themselves once I’m inside the Genius Club.”

He grabbed a red pen from his desk, flipped the paper calendar to July, and circled the 7th.

“Hmm?” The circle didn’t come out right. Did the pen run out of ink? He looked at the pen tip, rubbed it a bit, and tried to circle the date again. Still no ink. He shook the pen. Still nothing.

“Heh.” Lin Xian tossed the pen into the trash and chuckled. “Looks like it’s not my time to die just yet. I’ve still got some living to do.”

The next day, Lin Xian kept to his routine, entering the dream at noon. Once again, he moved through it quickly, blazing a trail of sparks and lightning, leading CC and Old Man Wei Sheng Jin into Big Cat’s Village.

“Mr. Wei, could you come here for a moment?” Lin Xian called Wei Sheng Jin into Big Cat Face’s father’s study, sat him down at the desk, and pointed to the pen and paper in front of him. “Mr. Wei, just like we talked about on the way here, I’m really interested in ‘Principles and Applications of Micro Nuclear Batteries.’ Could you teach me the basics? Pretend I’m a regular student with zero foundation.”

Wei Sheng Jin looked a bit troubled. “If you have zero foundation… that’s going to be tough. If you’re just learning the theory, memorizing might work. But when it comes to applications, if you have no foundation, where do I even begin?”

Lin Xian thought for a moment. “Let’s take a different approach. If we were talking to a college student with some background, or even an expert professor or scientist… How many lessons would it take for them to learn how to make a micro nuclear battery?”

“If they have a foundation, that’s much easier.” Old Man Wei Sheng Jin pulled a small flashlight and a pair of reading glasses out of his bag, pointing to the flashlight. “See this? It also uses a micro nuclear battery. This low-power LED light could stay on for thousands of years without draining the battery. On Mars, nearly all electrical devices are powered by these batteries.”

“For a scientist with a decent background, especially in nuclear physics, they wouldn’t even need my lectures. I could just write a manuscript, and they’d be able to follow the instructions to make one… The bottleneck isn’t in the materials or technology, but in the idea itself. Once you understand the core concept, mass production is very easy.”

“Oh?” That made things much simpler! Lin Xian smiled. “Could you write that manuscript for me? You don’t need to write too much, just a page to start with. I’ll study it and memorize it slowly.”

“Sure, it’s great that you’re so eager to learn!” Old Man Wei Sheng Jin, who loved to teach, was delighted to have such a keen student like Lin Xian. He immediately pulled out his own pen and a notebook from his bag. “I’ll write it in the notebook for you. Earth’s paper-making technology is too primitive, and the pens aren’t very good either. Writing here is really uncomfortable.”

“You’ve helped me so much and even promised to take me to Queens Town tomorrow to open the safe. If you don’t mind, I’d like to give you this notebook and black pen as a gift.”

With that, he began writing rapidly, his pen moving like a divine instrument. After all, he had been teaching the same subject for years, with the lesson plan ingrained in his mind and the textbook memorized by heart.

Lin Xian didn’t interrupt him, fearing that a single mistake could ruin everything and cause a big delay. So he stepped back and sat on Big Cat Face’s father’s stone bed with CC.

“Are you sure there’s a safe for Mr. Wei in Queens Town?” CC turned her head to ask. “Will it have what we’re looking for?”

“No.” Lin Xian shook his head. “Our number is too early. It’s probably not buried around here. The safes they’ve found so far are all late numbers.”

CC let out a disappointed “oh.” “I’m really jealous of Mr. Wei. He found his safe so quickly. I’ve had these fragments of memories about the bearded man VV in my head since I was little. I’ve always wanted to visit the old site of X Country’s Donghai when I grew up to uncover the truth.”

“But that’s not an easy thing to do… By the way, what do you think Mr. Wei’s safe holds? He came all the way from Mars. What if it’s something ordinary, boring, and worthless? Wouldn’t that be disappointing?”

Lin Xian chuckled softly. He shook his head. “Don’t worry, it won’t be.”

Suddenly, he thought of something. He opened Old Man Wei Sheng Jin’s bag and started searching. This time it was hidden deep. Finally… He found a Mars-tech electronic photo frame. The frame was about the size of a phone, probably using a micro nuclear battery inside. With a press of a button, it could display the stored photos like a slideshow.

Considering this was someone else’s personal item, Lin Xian asked first. “Mr. Wei, what kind of photos are in this frame? Are they of your family? Can we take a look?”

“Haha, of course, you can.” Old Man Wei Sheng Jin, always easy-going, replied proudly. “The digital album only has photos of me and my wife. We had a great relationship when she was alive. She always put up with me, gave in to me, and understood me… Sometimes, even when I was the one being unreasonable, she’d be the one comforting me in the end.”

“Ah, youth… We were like that back then. I was always being unreasonable. I don’t know why my wife put up with it… Thinking back now, I really feel like she was too good for me.”

“But she was always easy to please, always happy. It was like everything I said was right, everything I did was right, and she supported everything I did… As we got older, I matured, became more stable, and realized just how lucky I was to have such a wonderful wife!”

“She’s been gone for several years now, and I always think of her. So this time, I decided to bring some of our photos to Earth in this electronic frame.”

“If you want to see them, go ahead. My wife was really beautiful! If you hadn’t kept saying CC didn’t need to learn from couples, I was going to show her this album to help her understand what true love looks like.”

Hearing this, CC got interested too and moved closer to Lin Xian to admire the electronic photo frame with him.

He pressed the button. The first picture appeared!

On the left side of the photo stood a young, plain-looking man with glasses, looking a bit stiff and serious—clearly a young Wei Sheng Jin, with his distinctive features. On the right side, however, was a stunning beauty! She wore a simple white dress, her sleek black hair cascading down her back. She looked cute and lovely, holding the man’s arm with a big, happy smile.

“This… she’s so beautiful,” CC said with genuine admiration. “Mr. Wei, you’re truly blessed!”

Lin Xian agreed as well. Looking closely, this beauty did have slightly prominent front teeth, but as the saying goes, “Nine out of ten beauties have buck teeth.” Nowadays, some people even wear braces to make their front teeth bigger for a youthful look, calling them “baby teeth.”

Just as the letter mentioned… When she was in elementary school, because of her facial features and face shape, having big teeth earned her the nickname “Buck Tooth Girl.” But as her features developed, the so-called “girl changes greatly from thirteen to eighteen,” and the “Buck Tooth Girl” transformed into the class beauty.

They flipped through a few more photos. There were travel photos, wedding photos, a family photo of three, retirement photos, old-age photos… This was truly a journey from youthful naivety to growing old together. Regardless of how the couple aged, the beautiful woman beside Old Man Wei Sheng Jin always had a happy smile, holding his arm, cheerful and sweet.

She indeed seemed very adept at being cute and charming. But if a woman is willing to be cute and charming to a man, it means she truly likes him. Otherwise, she could easily show what being cold and aloof really means.

Lin Xian put down the electronic photo frame, looking at the proud smile on Old Man Wei Sheng Jin’s face. “Mr. Wei, what’s your wife’s name?”

“Liu Shiyu,” Wei Sheng Jin chuckled. “Isn’t that a beautiful name? I remember when I graduated with my doctorate at twenty-seven and met her for the first time; she told me her name, and I thought it was so lovely! I remembered it instantly!”

Heh. Lin Xian listened to Old Man Wei Sheng Jin’s story, smiling silently. First meeting at twenty-seven? No. You knew each other long before that. You met hundreds of years ago. Old Man Wei Sheng Jin just forgot. This wasn’t a case of love at first sight but a girl chasing her hero across time and space, from Earth all the way to Mars.

And she knew everything about you but pretended it was the first time you met, smiling and saying, “Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Liu Shiyu.”

CC picked up the electronic photo frame, intrigued by this high-tech gadget. She looked through the photos again and said with a sigh, “Mr. Wei, how could you lose your temper at such a sweet and beautiful wife?”

The comment made Old Man Wei Sheng Jin blush. “Aiya, didn’t I just say? I was young and foolish, always throwing tantrums. I… I wasn’t like that later on!”

“But it is kind of strange… You see, my wife was so beautiful, so capable, so excellent… She had a better job than me, was more skilled than me, earned a lot more than me… So why was she always so patient with me?”

Old Man Wei Sheng Jin spread his hands in confusion. “I asked her this question too, back when we were both retired.”

“I asked her… Why were you always so patient and forgiving with me, right from the first time we met? Why did you always forgive me, even when I was being unreasonable?”

“At that time, my wife said something quite puzzling. She said—’A hero saving a damsel in distress only needs to happen once. You stood up for me when I needed it the most, and I’m willing to love you for a lifetime because of that.'”

Old Man Wei Sheng Jin scratched his head. “But when I think about it, I don’t recall ever doing anything heroic or romantic. I don’t even remember stepping up for her…”

With that, Old Man Wei Sheng Jin turned back around to continue writing the “Micro Nuclear Battery” manuscript for Lin Xian. As the only one who knew the truth, Lin Xian naturally understood the story behind it.

“A hero saving a damsel in distress, indeed, only needs to happen once.”

Back in elementary school, when everyone laughed at Liu Shiyu’s buck teeth, Wei Sheng Jin, dreaming he was Ultraman, stood up for her, saying he’d knock out anyone who laughed at her again. Young Wei Sheng Jin had no idea… That his unintentional imitation of a cartoon would mean so much in Liu Shiyu’s life.

It was like a beam of light. A light that, once seen, could never be forgotten.

Lin Xian believed Liu Shiyu must have left behind many notebooks and tapes, most of them about Wei Sheng Jin…

Huh? Wait! Lin Xian suddenly realized something was off! Both Angelica and Zheng Xiang Yue confirmed that just reading notebooks and watching tapes wouldn’t create such deep empathy—it would feel more like watching a movie unrelated to oneself.

So why did Liu Shiyu remember so clearly? And why did she love Old Man Wei Sheng Jin so deeply, as if she had never lost any memory?

This was the first clue. Then there was the second clue—

Everyone said that original Earth humans who woke from the hibernation pods tended to have long lifespans. Old Man Wei Sheng Jin and Angelica were both in their seventies or eighties, still healthy and strong, likely to live another seventy or eighty years. Zheng Xiang Yue, at 116, could work after staying up all night and still think clearly.

So… Given that Liu Shiyu, Old Man Wei Sheng Jin’s wife, was also one of the original Earth humans, why did she pass away so early?

“Mr. Wei,” Lin Xian asked curiously, “You’re pretty old, yet you’re in great health. How come your wife passed away so early? Did she have health problems?”

“Her health was okay, just a bit weak.” Old Man Wei Sheng Jin replied, “Yes, she did die relatively young. But on Mars, that’s considered normal. If it were possible, I would give her half my health and lifespan… What’s the point of living long if she’s not around?”

Only now did Lin Xian understand how Liu Shiyu managed to preserve her memory and follow her love all the way to Mars. No wonder she died so early.

[She also woke up from the hibernation pod every ten years for half a year to retain her memory…]

By using this extremely taxing intermittent hibernation method, she didn’t forget anything about Wei Sheng Jin.

Come to think of it, that makes sense. Just like how Xu Yun didn’t want to forget Xu Yi Yi, Liu Shiyu’s purpose in chasing her love to Mars was to see Wei Sheng Jin again.

So… How could she bear to forget the light of her life, those precious memories?

Lin Xian did some quick calculations in his head. Old Man Wei Sheng Jin’s total hibernation time was just under 200 years. For Liu Shiyu to keep her memories intact to meet Wei Sheng Jin, she would need to wake up 20 times to stabilize them—20 times, each time for half a year, totaling 10 years.

She met Wei Sheng Jin at age 27. This means Liu Shiyu must have entered the hibernation pod around age 17. When they reunited on Mars… Old Man Wei Sheng Jin had already lived there for over ten years, having forgotten everything.

But Liu Shiyu, having intermittently witnessed 200 years of change, finally, in her last awakening, met Wei Sheng Jin again at a similar age. She could certainly tolerate everything about him, and forgive him for everything. Because… She had come for him alone.

Just like she said, “You stood up for me when I needed it the most, and I’m willing to love you for a lifetime.”

Lin Xian couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholic. Old Man Wei Sheng Jin’s story had already moved him deeply. But he hadn’t expected this. That behind a seemingly ordinary love story, there could be such a profound and great act of devotion.

Suddenly, he remembered something Zhao Ying Jun had said—

“From that moment on… I felt that whether we could fly over that overpass didn’t matter anymore; whether we succeeded or failed, you were willing to risk your life to save me. How could I not be willing to risk mine… to be with you?”

Flying over the overpass. To him, it was just a small thing. But maybe… It was this small act that made Zhao Ying Jun, in some time and space, willing to give up everything, even her life, to become Yellow Finch and search for him. Just like what Liu Shiyu did… Wasn’t it the same thing?

“Lin Xian?” CC called out, noticing Lin Xian suddenly zoning out. “What’s wrong?”

Lin Xian turned his head and saw CC holding out the electronic frame toward him, calling his name several times with no response. “It’s nothing,” he took the frame and said softly.

When he woke up, he copied down the “Micro Nuclear Battery” manuscript from memory. As he was copying, he noticed his pen was out of ink. He shook it. No ink. He searched all over the house but couldn’t find any refills or any other working pens.

After thinking it over, he realized he had been copying and writing so much lately but never bought more refills. The paper and notebooks at home were also running low.

“Looks like I can’t just stay holed up at home like a bat.” Lin Xian hadn’t left the house in a long time. His hair had grown long and needed a trim. Plus, the fridge was empty, and he needed to buy pens, red pens, paper, notebooks, and other daily supplies:

“Tomorrow… no, today, I won’t enter the dream. In the afternoon, I’ll go to the office to catch up on work, then visit the mall nearby, get a haircut, and do some shopping.”

He yawned. He took out his phone and set an alarm for 12:00 noon. He needed to be up by 12:42; otherwise, if he entered the dream, he’d be stuck there until 00:42 unless he committed suicide to wake up early, which felt awful and was better avoided.

“Sleep.” He rolled over. Closed his eyes. And didn’t dream.

That evening, the commercial street was packed. It was May 20th. Every big mall and pedestrian street was bustling. Store windows and billboards were covered with all sorts of “520” and “I love you” slogans in red or pink. The whole place was filled with the scent of hormones.

“See that, Qiao Qiao?” Zhao Ying Jun pointed at the couples everywhere on the street, giving her a lesson on common sense. “That’s what we call ‘dating.’ Look at them, men and women, paired up, holding hands, hugging, whispering sweet nothings—this is what real dating looks like.”

Yan Qiao Qiao hugged the Pomeranian VV in a chokehold style, nodded with half-understanding. “So does what Lin Xian and Liu Feng do count too? What’s the difference?”

“They’re both men!” Zhao Ying Jun felt the same frustration as a parent helping a kid with homework and being driven to the brink. Sometimes, kids’ thinking and the tangents they go off on can really raise your blood pressure. “Your idea is a bit too forward-thinking. We respect every form of love, but generally speaking, dating refers to a man and a woman.”

Just then, near the fountain, a boy holding a bouquet of roses knelt on one knee inside a heart made of candles, confessing to a girl with sparkling cat ears on her head. It was clearly a confession ceremony, prepared with help and blessings from many people. The girl accepted happily.

The boy and girl hugged, and the crowd around them began to cheer loudly. “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” The cheering grew louder. The crowd swelled. It seemed like they wouldn’t let them go without a kiss. The shy girl covered her face but still went along with the boy, tiptoeing to give him a light kiss. Amidst the cheers and applause, they walked away hand in hand.

Zhao Ying Jun, Yan Qiao Qiao, and VV—two people and a dog—witnessed the scene. “See that?” Zhao Ying Jun looked down at Yan Qiao Qiao. “Real couples do stuff like that. Did Lin Xian and Liu Feng ever do that?”

“No.” Yan Qiao Qiao shook her head honestly. “They didn’t ‘kiss.'” She tilted her head curiously. “Do you have to kiss to be dating?”

“Uh… Not exactly.” Zhao Ying Jun found it difficult to explain things to a kid, slowly losing patience. “Yeah, that’s pretty much it. You can think of it that way.”

“By the way…” Zhao Ying Jun pointed to the Pomeranian VV in Yan Qiao Qiao’s arms. “You don’t have to keep holding VV all the time. You can let it run around a bit.”

“It’s fine.” Yan Qiao Qiao shook her head. “I like hugging it by the neck.”

At that moment, VV, trapped in a chokehold, was turning red. If it could speak, it would definitely complain that Yan Qiao Qiao’s way of holding a dog was all wrong! Who holds a dog by the neck all day?

“That’s not the point.” Zhao Ying Jun pointed to VV, whose face was flushed red. “VV rarely gets out for exercise, so it’s pretty weak. Look, it’s not even that hot out, but it’s panting heavily with its tongue out and its face all red. It obviously needs more exercise to build up its strength.”

“You have a dog leash in your bag, right? That makes it legal to walk a dog… Put it on its collar, and always keep it leashed. That’s what responsible dog ownership is about. Don’t think your dog is harmless and let it run loose.”

“Okay.” Yan Qiao Qiao nodded, taking her eyes off the countless couples on the street. She put VV down, took off her backpack, and started searching for the leash. Then she suddenly seemed to think of something and looked up at Zhao Ying Jun.

“They’re all dating. Why are you always alone? Why don’t you date anyone?”

“Who would I date?”

“Isn’t it just any man and woman?” Yan Qiao Qiao asked earnestly.

“Heh!” Zhao Ying Jun chuckled, crossing her arms. “Can it be any random guy? Go ahead, find me one.”

“Woof!” Suddenly, the Pomeranian VV sniffed the air, alert and ready for action. It bolted in a specific direction!

Run away!

“VV!” Yan Qiao Qiao hadn’t even had a chance to put the leash on when the dog was already off. Zhao Ying Jun shouted, but VV wouldn’t come back. She had no choice but to grab Yan Qiao Qiao’s hand and chase after VV.

“Damn it, you two…” Zhao Ying Jun felt helpless. Between Yan Qiao Qiao and VV, taking care of both was really too much for one person. And VV… Why was it suddenly running off like that? What if it bit someone?

“VV! Come back!” Zhao Ying Jun and Yan Qiao Qiao ran behind, calling out, but VV seemed possessed, refusing to turn back, charging toward a man. It sped up! Faster! A big leap! It grabbed onto the man’s belt, its little legs pumping wildly, and jumped straight into his arms.

“V~~~~~~”

The man looked down, petted its head, and smiled slightly. “VV? How are you here?”

At this moment, Zhao Ying Jun arrived, holding Yan Qiao Qiao’s hand, and looked at the unexpected figure in front of her.

“Lin Xian… Lin Xian?” Yan Qiao Qiao blinked. She looked back and forth between Zhao Ying Jun and Lin Xian. A man and a woman. Everything lined up! With a swift motion, she raised her finger and pointed at the two of them.

“Kiss!”