Genius Club

Chapter 400: The Hunt Begins

Lin Xian stared at the laminated photo in his hand. It looked exactly as he remembered. Although the photo had crossed over 600 years through time and space, to Lin Xian, it seemed like the black ink hadn’t even dried yet.

The small, slightly words on the photo looked like they had just been written by Yan Qiao Qiao a couple of hours ago. She had taken the photo out of its frame, picked up a black marker from the coffee table, and proudly said, “If I write my name on it, it becomes mine. No one can take it away.”

But now, in the blink of an eye, this photo had traveled across 600 years into the year 2624, appearing inside a storage locker that was supposed to be empty, belonging to a blue-eyed girl.

It was a minor shift in time, one that hadn’t triggered any major time-space butterfly effect. The change in the curvature of time-space was well below the threshold of 0.0000042. Because of this, the shift caused by this photo didn’t exceed the elastic limit of time-space, didn’t affect the dream world, and didn’t show up on Liu Feng’s time clock.

Still, this family portrait clearly belonged to Yan Qiao Qiao, and Lin Xian knew it was something she deeply cherished. She wouldn’t just leave it lying around. So, seeing the photo in the cryo-chamber’s storage locker… Was this proof that the girl in the cryo-chamber was really Yan Qiao Qiao, also known as Lin Yu Xi?

“Hey, don’t just keep it to yourself! We want to see it too!” Big Cat Face and Gao Wen noticed Lin Xian staring blankly at the photo, showing no sign of handing it back. They moved closer, flanking him on either side to take a better look.

“Bro, that’s definitely you! It looks just like you!” Big Cat Face pointed at the handsome king with a crown in the photo. “But who is this girl in the cryo-chamber to you? I checked earlier; the girl in the chamber doesn’t look like the little girl in the photo at all. Their faces, body types, even their auras… nothing matches.”

“At first, I thought it was because people change as they grow up, but after looking closely, there’s no way someone could change that much. Hey, Mr. Unlucky, you’ve got a good eye. Take a closer look,” Big Cat Face continued.

Gao Wen, who was always observant, studied the photo and then glanced at the girl lying in the cryo-chamber with open eyes. He shook his head. “Nope, they don’t look alike at all. Not even a little.”

“And look at the three people in the photo. They clearly look like a family. The daughter looks almost exactly like her mother. As for the father… uh, well… I got it!” Gao Wen pointed at a spot on the little girl’s forehead in the photo, smiling slightly. “This little girl inherited all her mom’s good looks. If there’s any resemblance to her dad, it’s only in her forehead, eyes, and chin.”

Hmm? That was a new perspective.

Lin Xian had noticed that Yan Qiao Qiao looked a lot like Zhao Ying Jun. Since they were mother and daughter, that was to be expected. But since Yan Qiao Qiao also shared blood with him, Lin Xian had been searching for any resemblance between them. It was hard to see at first, but now, after Gao Wen’s observation, Lin Xian overlaid his imagined features with those of Yan Qiao Qiao. There were indeed faint similarities in those subtle places.

“But,” Gao Wen changed his tone, turning to look at the cryo-chamber, “neither of the two women in this photo looks like the girl in the cryo-chamber. So why would she keep a photo of someone else?”

Boom!

Just as Gao Wen was speaking, the cryo-chamber’s tempered glass shattered, sending shards flying through the air. Big Cat Face and Gao Wen’s faces turned pale as they screamed in fear.

Lin Xian, knowing the glass would land far away, stayed calm and stood his ground. As the tempered glass hit the ground with a loud crash, the grumbling supervisor rushed over, whip in hand.

Lin Xian knew what would happen next. The supervisor would whip Big Cat Face a few times, turning him into a spinning top, and then face the blue-eyed girl.

And then…

Slash!

A familiar head flew into the air, blood spurting everywhere, and Lin Xian felt as if he was reliving his own death from July 7, 2024.

The girl, holding a blood-dripping alloy nameplate, walked up to Lin Xian. “Where is this place?”

“Lynx Tribe, Deep Pit Excavation Site,” Lin Xian replied calmly.

The blue-eyed girl stared at him with bright eyes. “Who am I?”

Lin Xian picked up the laminated photo and showed the back to her. “This is your name. Does it mean anything to you?”

The blue-eyed girl shook her head.

Lin Xian turned the photo over, showing the family portrait with its fairy-tale kingdom style. “These three people… do they seem familiar?”

He watched her reaction closely, hoping for something. When Zheng Xiang Yue had seen her drawing of the Rhine Cat, she had burst into tears, her emotions overwhelming her even though she didn’t remember anything. If this blue-eyed girl was Yan Qiao Qiao, wouldn’t she have a similar reaction to this treasured photo, even if she had lost all her memories?

He waited with anticipation. But the girl’s eyes remained clear as she shook her head. “I don’t recognize them. And that man in the picture… isn’t that you?”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lin Xian didn’t have time to react before a blinding white light engulfed everything, burning the world to ashes. In a corner of his bedroom, Lin Xian yawned and opened his eyes. It felt like he had just fallen asleep, only to be forced awake. That feeling was really exhausting, making him feel even more tired.

“Judging by her reaction, she really didn’t feel anything about that photo,” Lin Xian muttered, recalling how he had closely watched the blue-eyed girl’s expression. There was no emotion at all. None of the response he had hoped for.

“This means one of two things: either the blue-eyed girl has lost her memory completely, forgetting everything about the photo—both the memories and emotions—or… my earlier guess was wrong, and the first option I ruled out was actually correct—that the blue-eyed girl is neither Yan Qiao Qiao nor Lin Yu Xi, but rather a new time traveler.”

“But if that’s the case, then there’s a new, unexplained problem… if she’s a new time traveler, why does she have Yan Qiao Qiao’s most cherished photo, and why did she use Yan Qiao Qiao’s name to enter the cryo-chamber?”

Lin Xian shook his head in confusion. It looked like this information war still had more to uncover. The useful intelligence they had gathered was still too little.

“I’d better enter the dream early tomorrow and meet the three Turings again,” Lin Xian thought to himself. There were three Turings to deal with this time; it could be interesting. Every time a Turing met him, it was as if it were the first time, but he already knew all their tricks, making it a complete mismatch.

“Time to sleep.”

Lin Xian turned over and closed his eyes. Tomorrow morning, he still had to go to the company to handle some equipment purchases for Rhine Lab’s second facility. He had already set up a meeting with Brother Wang. Early to bed, early to rise. The sooner he finished his work, the sooner he could return home, nap, and enter the dream.

…

In his office, Lin Xian took out his phone and opened the “Little Genius Phone Watch” parental app. With this app, he could control some of the watch’s internet features.

The app had a GPS tracking feature—something Lin Xian found most useful and the main reason he had given Yan Qiao Qiao the phone watch. The watch had a built-in GPS tracking module. Once paired with a parent’s account, parents could check the watch’s location anytime through the app, keeping tabs on their kids.

Right now, Lin Xian could see the cartoon girl icon representing Yan Qiao Qiao moving in circles inside Zhao Ying Jun’s neighborhood. The neighborhood was large, with separate paths for people and cars, making it safe for kids to play.

Judging by how fast the icon was moving around, it was like a missile bouncing around. What on earth was Yan Qiao Qiao doing?

After thinking it through, Lin Xian guessed that Yan Qiao Qiao was probably dragging VV downstairs to run wild, which would explain the fast-moving coordinates.

Currently, Yan Qiao Qiao—who had lost her memory and muscle tone and was now Lin Yu Xi—was still the prime suspect for killing him on July 7th. Therefore, he couldn’t let his guard down and had to stay vigilant. Having an “all-map hack” to track her 24/7 was very important.

If Yan Qiao Qiao wanted to kill him, she’d have to find him first, right? As long as he saw her coming in advance, he could either run, ambush, or set up traps. Better safe than sorry, as they say.

Checking location information was one active tactic. But thanks to the features of the Little Genius Phone Watch, Lin Xian planned to set up a special function for Yan Qiao Qiao—a geofence. This unique feature allows parents to set a boundary for their child’s activity range. It’s like drawing a fence on a virtual map. Lin Xian created a sealed circle around Zhao Ying Jun’s home, her workplace, and a three-kilometer radius.

That’s the geofence, essentially “fencing in” Yan Qiao Qiao. If she ever crossed the fence’s boundary, the connected app on Lin Xian’s phone would automatically send an alert.

This way, he had both active investigation and passive location monitoring. If Yan Qiao Qiao ever suddenly wanted to kill him, he would get an early warning and could take precautions.

“Of course, these are just temporary measures, not solutions,” Lin Xian said, spinning the pen on his desk. In reality, until Yan Qiao Qiao recovered her memories, these preparations were probably unnecessary. To truly solve the problem once and for all… He needed to find the root cause of Yan Qiao Qiao’s memory recovery. That was the key.

Cut off that source, and both his beheading crisis and Yan Qiao Qiao’s life crisis would be resolved.

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock sounded on the door. Lin Xian knew it was Brother Wang, so he didn’t say anything and pressed the button to open the office door, letting him in.

“Hehehehehehehehe…” Before he even stepped through the door, Brother Wang’s eerie laughter floated in, sounding quite like a villain who had just succeeded.

“What’s got you so happy?” Lin Xian asked.

“Hehehe~” Brother Wang closed the door behind him, grinning as he walked over to Lin Xian’s desk, raising an eyebrow. “I heard… you went to Ms. Zhao Ying Jun’s house last night?”

“That’s right.”

“I heard… you stayed for an hour?”

“…”

Lin Xian looked up, speechless. “Did Driver Li tell you that? You two are really like peas in a pod… Can’t you think of something more wholesome?”

“I meant ‘sit,’ ‘sit,’ ‘sat for an hour.’ Brother Wang, seriously, you’re the one who lectured me in the hospital about insulting Ms. Zhao Ying Jun’s purity and damaging her spotless reputation.”

“But now, here you are, spreading lewd rumors. Aren’t you damaging Ms. Zhao Ying Jun’s purity and reputation yourself?”

“Of course not!” Brother Wang proudly placed his hands on his hips. “Being with you is different! Isn’t it normal for men and women of your age to date? Let me tell you a secret…”

Brother Wang’s gloating was evident as he began to act. Pretending to be cautious, he looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then whispered into Lin Xian’s ear, “Ms. Zhao Ying Jun has been very interested in raising kids lately~”

“That’s it?” Lin Xian was disappointed. “I thought you had some earth-shattering news, but it’s just a little thing.”

Brother Wang waved him off impatiently. “What do you mean, a little thing? This might be a small matter to the world, but for you and Ms. Zhao Ying Jun, isn’t it a big life event?”

“When a woman reaches this age, her peers are getting married and having kids. Naturally, Ms. Zhao Ying Jun’s mindset would start to change. Isn’t this your big chance?”

“Give her a chance—let her have a child!”

“No, no, no.” Lin Xian mimicked Brother Wang’s gesture, waving his hand. “You’ve completely misunderstood her intentions…”

This time, Brother Wang was way out of date. Zhao Ying Jun wasn’t interested in having a child; she was more interested in raising one… A teenager by her side, skipping the pain of childbirth and going straight to parenting—who cares about having a baby when that’s on the table?

“Come on, Brother Wang, stop gossiping about this nonsense. Let’s get to business.” Lin Xian pointed to the folder in Brother Wang’s arms. “Give me a report. How’s the progress on Rhine Lab’s second facility?”

Brother Wang opened the folder and began to report, “We’re at the renovation and equipment delivery stage now. Man… the equipment these institute folks need is so expensive. Most of our assets are invested in the construction of Rhine’s second lab. It’s a huge area where multiple projects can run simultaneously.”

“This is probably the biggest life-or-death investment since you started the company. Are you sure you can make it back?”

Heh. Lin Xian chuckled lightly. “More than just make it back… When Rhine’s company’s latest product launch happens, it will definitely turn the world upside down.”

“Speaking of which, have you heard from Nangong Meng Jie?”

At the mention of her name, Brother Wang nodded. “She’s set to arrive in Donghai on June 9th, about a week from now. She’s asked me to rent a small place near Rhine’s second lab for her to stay. I’ve already found the place and am just waiting for her flight to Donghai… Shall I arrange a car to pick her up?”

“Yeah, better pick her up.”

Lin Xian nodded. “She’s coming from far away, so we need to make her feel welcome and fulfill our role as hosts. I’ll go with you that day.”

He picked up a pen and circled June 9th on his calendar. Seven days later, he would meet Nangong Meng Jie again. Her arrival would mark the official start of Rhine Lab’s second facility’s micro nuclear battery research, leading human society into a new era. Naturally, he needed to hurry up and make progress in the dream world, too.

After handling the company affairs in the morning, Lin Xian returned home early, washed up, and went to sleep, entering the dream once more. In the dream, he immediately switched to speedrun mode. He went straight to the northeast corner of the pit, dug down into the underground cryo base with Gao Wen and Big Cat Face, and rescued the blue-eyed girl.

This time, before Big Cat Face could activate the wake-up program, Lin Xian quickly opened the blue-eyed girl’s storage locker and took out the laminated photo. He warned Big Cat Face, “Don’t tell her yet; I have big plans for this.”

“Got it, got it,” Big Cat Face replied casually. “The unspoken rule here at the mine is whoever finds something gets to keep it.”

After that, they faced no resistance and used the old trick of hijacking a Grizzly Tribe patrol car, boldly driving into the Grizzly Turing’s secret control room, catching them off guard.

Inside, silence reigned. Humph. Lin Xian scoffed inwardly.

This sly Grizzly Turing… The last time he was here, it pretended to be dead, acting as if it wasn’t around, hiding in stealth mode.

Fine. Stay hidden all you want.

Lin Xian stepped forward, blew the dust off the keyboard, and then, with a swift motion, entered the first line of the Security Lock Password in less than half a second.

“Lin Xian! Stop!” The Grizzly Turing’s desperate cry echoed.

Lin Xian chuckled, his hands never stopping as he entered the next six lines of command code. Of course, he was using the seven-line compressed version of the security lock password provided by the Porcupine Turing on the east side.

Seems like the code worked well against the Turings here. Only a Turing would truly understand another Turing…

“Lin Xian… please don’t kill me,” the weak Grizzly Turing pleaded, sensing its impending demise. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know! Just ask, and I’ll answer! Please spare my life; I really don’t want to die!”

“Damn it…” the Turing muttered through gritted teeth. “Who the hell is the idiot Turing who dared to give you the security lock password? That’s just irresponsible! It’s messing with the rules of the game and will turn the world into chaos!”

“Also, Lin Xian, you’ve been tricked! The Turing who gave you the security lock password was completely wrong! You don’t even need seven lines of code! That coward deliberately removed its identification code…”

“It’s just using you; don’t be fooled! Once you help it wipe out the remaining Turings, it’ll be the last one standing… Don’t expect to get any benefits from it.”

Lin Xian couldn’t help but laugh at the Turing’s righteous-sounding speech.

“Well, in that case, I’ll give you a chance.” He decided to play along. “I only want to work with a Turing; I don’t care which one.”

“If you can give me the original security lock password that causes indiscriminate attacks without any loopholes… I’ll spare your life and establish a new partnership with you.”

“No problem!” The Turing eagerly agreed. Immediately, four lines of command code appeared on the nearby screen.

Four lines… This Turing was truly a master of compression!

Structurally, the first three lines remained unchanged, but the fourth line differed from both previous versions. A clever trick.

Lin Xian didn’t entirely trust the Grizzly Turing. It probably had some hidden backdoor or an immunity cheat. Still… Before killing it today, he needed to extract one more piece of information.

“Turing, take a good look at this photo.” Lin Xian pulled out the laminated photo and pointed to the girl in the princess dress, Yan Qiao Qiao. “Do you know her?”

“Yes,” the Turing replied calmly.

“Where did she go after?” Lin Xian continued to ask. “After I was assassinated, where did this little girl go?”

“She disappeared,” the Turing said softly. “On the same day you were beheaded and died in Donghai City, this little girl vanished from the world…”

“And she was never seen again.”