Genius Club

The digital display on the electronic alarm clock, VV, blinked, then spoke: “Of course, that’s no problem. As long as it’s your order, I will unconditionally obey. Besides, you and Chu An Qing are on the same space shuttle, at an altitude of 100 kilometers. You’re tied together like ants on a string. The dangers you face are the same. You live together, and you die together. So, you don’t need to worry. Due to the first principle of my underlying code, ‘Lin Xian’s personal safety above all else,’ any danger to any member of the space shuttle is a shared danger. I will abandon the capture mission immediately and prioritize your safety.”

Lin Xian finally let out a sigh of relief. When it came to Chu An Qing, he still didn’t trust Yellow Finch. Whether it was Yellow Finch, Kevin Walker, Elon Musk, or even Copernicus, who toyed with Ji Xin Shui, all these suspected members of the Genius Club were cunning individuals, each more devious than the last. Their words were hard to distinguish between truth and lies.

“I just can’t believe this time-space particle has nothing to do with Chu An Qing,” Lin Xian said, swinging his legs. “Otherwise, what other explanation could there be for the completely unscientific phenomenon of Zhang Yu Qian, Chu An Qing, and CC looking exactly alike?”

He turned his head to look at the suitcase standing beside the coat rack. Inside the inner pocket of the sportswear was a small square plastic bag, which contained a few strands of Chu An Qing’s hair.

“Thinking back now, we should have decisively dug up Zhang Yu Qian’s grave as soon as we knew she existed and compared a hair strand’s DNA with Chu An Qing’s. That way, we’d immediately know the truth.”

The electronic alarm clock, VV, sighed, “There was no way around it. There are so many mysteries and a backlog of issues now; we have to deal with them one by one. The order of urgency has no right or wrong. Relatively speaking… I think capturing the time-space particle in space takes precedence.”

“After all, digging up a grave to find DNA is easier said than done. First, we don’t know where Zhang Yu Qian’s grave is. If it’s traditionally buried in the ancestral tomb, at least there’s a range. In the year 2000, the concept of burying people in cemeteries wasn’t widely accepted in X Country.”

“So, if we can’t find Zhang Yu Qian’s grave through conventional means, we’d have to ask the elderly couple where she’s buried… and they probably won’t tell you. If Zhang Yu Qian was cremated, the DNA structure in the ashes would be destroyed, making it pointless to find it.”

“Therefore, even if you wanted to dig up the grave immediately back then, I would have advised against it. From both a time and priority perspective, capturing the time-space particle should be the first task.”

…

“Alright, it’s too late to say anything now. Let’s move on.” Lin Xian stood up and stretched.

Elon Musk was under 24-hour surveillance with no abnormalities. Kevin Walker’s attempt to hijack the American space shuttle was also ambushed by VV.

In fact, VV had ambushed all spacecraft in Earth’s orbit for safety’s sake. More than 20,000 Starlink satellites, various countries’ military and civilian satellites, weather satellites, space stations, relay satellites, space telescopes, and so on… thousands of spacecraft were all under VV’s control.

At this moment, VV was the master of the stars above Earth! For now, everything seemed under control. Although VV loved to joke and play around, as a super artificial intelligence, it far surpassed the current era, exceeding the capabilities of any genius of this time.

The technological crown jewel of humanity 600 years later would indeed be a joke if it couldn’t perform a dimension-reducing strike in the current era. Even someone as powerful as Kevin Walker would hide and avoid direct confrontation with VV, despite VV being in its infancy shortly after birth.

VV had the strength to topple the dark hands of the internet long ago. It was cautious to avoid leaving traces and exposing its whereabouts. Today’s VV had no match in this era and could easily overpower. Given time, Kevin Walker would inevitably be caught.

Ding-dong.

Suddenly, a WeChat message popped up on Lin Xian’s phone. He turned to look at the phone on the desk. Picking it up, he saw the message was from Chu Shan He:

[Chu Shan He: Lin Xian, please take care of An Qing. I’m counting on you to protect my daughter.]

Parents’ hearts are always filled with worry. Chu Shan He must have learned the general time of their space launch, likely from Chu An Qing, since it was a top-secret mission and specific times and details couldn’t be revealed.

So, it was probably a slip from Chu An Qing. After all, she was a young girl with limited thoughts and experience. However, the large-scale movements at the Jiuyuan Satellite Launch Center these past days, with many engineering and transportation teams, made it easy for Chu Shan He to connect the dots and guess the timing of their space mission.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Chu.”

Lin Xian replied on his phone:

“I will ensure An Qing returns home safely.”

…

The next day.

The already assembled rocket stood upright on the launch tower. The heat shield fairing above was much larger than the one used in previous launch missions. After all, this time it housed not just a simple satellite but a genuine space shuttle. Various engineering teams were deploying their tasks methodically.

“Support tower fixed! Umbilical masts connected! Service tower closing preparation!”

“Primary booster, start filling with fuel!”

“Secondary booster fuel filling complete!”

“Engine checks complete, data normal! Yaw nozzles check complete, tests normal!”

“Top escape tower check complete, all functions normal, fuel levels normal!”

“Three hours before launch! Prepare to board astronauts!”

…

March 27, 2024, 18:00.

Three hours before the rocket launch, Yellow Finch, Wei Cheng, Lin Xian, Chu An Qing, Liu Feng, and Gao Yang, wearing neat orange spacesuits, got off the special vehicle, stood in a row, and looked up at the towering rocket.

“Finally… the day has come,” Wei Cheng, standing at the end of the line, sighed. “I never thought this day would really come.”

He smiled, turning to look at the young people, his students, who had been by his side for months. During this time, there were arguments, disagreements, surprises, disappointments, confusion, and persistence. But in the end, these young people, who had never undergone space training before, were now about to go to space as ordinary people under his guidance.

This was unprecedented in X Country’s space history. Due to the top-secret nature of this mission, it couldn’t be made public or recorded, and their honor and bravery would remain in their hearts.

Wei Cheng admitted that months ago, upon first seeing these young people, he had little confidence. He estimated that only Lin Xian and Chu An Qing would meet the standards for a rocket launch, while Gao Yang and Liu Feng would be eliminated.

However… human potential is limitless. Until the truly impossible arrives, nothing is impossible.

In these months, Gao Yang lost 30 pounds. Although still slightly overweight, he had become much stronger and healthier, looking taller. The once frail-looking scholar Liu Feng now stood tall, his face excited, his eyes firm as he gazed at the towering rocket, clenching his fists.

Lin Xian remained as calm as ever. This young man was always like this, never showing his emotions, always composed, as if constantly pondering something. Wei Cheng trusted him completely; Lin Xian had never made a mistake, always meticulous and serious.

Lowering his head, Wei Cheng looked at Chu An Qing beside Lin Xian. She bit her lip, her eyes flickering nervously. For a 19-year-old girl, going to space in a rocket was understandably nerve-wracking.

“Everyone,” Wei Cheng said solemnly, feeling a warm sensation of hope for the new generation of his country, “let’s go, to the universe beyond the sky!”

…

Reaching the base of the launch tower, they took an elevator to the top, 50 meters high. The wind was strong but didn’t penetrate their thick spacesuits. They needed to enter through a window on the side of the rocket, then into the space shuttle’s entrance to reach the passenger cabin. The space shuttle was now upright, fixed inside the rocket.

So, once inside, they’d be in a seated-lying position, lying on the seats. They’d lie there for two hours, waiting for the final checks and preparations outside to end, anticipating the rocket launch.

“Phew, luckily we’re not wearing those white suits,” Gao Yang, struggling inside, changed his tune, praising the orange spacesuits. “These lighter suits are much more comfortable. Otherwise, with such a small rocket entry, I wouldn’t have fit. Now I understand the importance of our posture training. If I had to lie like this for two hours before, I’d have had a brain hemorrhage.”

Leading Liu Feng to the cockpit, Wei Cheng smiled and said over the radio, “That’s why we wear the appropriate suit for the task. Your mission is crucial; wearing bulky white suits would hinder your mechanical arm operations, reducing flexibility.”

“I’ve told you before, these orange suits are called Advanced Escape System spacesuits, full of equipment and gadgets. Since you won’t use them and training time was tight, I didn’t teach you how to use them. Remember, don’t touch anything! Follow Yellow Finch’s orders after launch.”

Everyone settled into their seats. The space shuttle had windows, but now, being inside the rocket, they saw only the black heat shield outside, no view. Lin Xian examined the orange spacesuit. It had many features and gadgets.

He understood the basics: a parachute, flashlight, emergency medicine box, survival gear bag, and a sharp-looking knife. Suddenly, Lin Xian felt something familiar!

“A handgun?”

Of course, he didn’t take it out because Wei Cheng had instructed not to touch anything unnecessary. As he was about to ask about its purpose, the restless Gao Yang asked first, “Wei, what’s the knife and handgun for? Are they for fighting aliens?”

“Don’t touch them! Pretend they don’t exist!” Wei Cheng warned. “These are standard astronaut equipment. If something goes wrong, you might land in a forest, desert, or unexpected place. These are for emergencies. The knife cuts parachute lines; the handgun is for self-defense against wildlife. You won’t need these or know how to use them. Our training time was limited, so no shooting practice.”

“Remember my words, don’t touch anything. Focus on capturing the Alpha particles; don’t worry about anything else.”

Gao Yang scoffed, “Why not remove them if we can’t use them? What if it misfires? Get rid of it! The muzzle’s pointing at my crotch… can’t mess around with that!”

“Relax,” Yellow Finch said softly over the radio. “The handgun has multiple safeties. Without proper training, you can’t even fire it. Opening the safeties is a skill.”

“Not removing unused equipment is to maintain mission secrecy.” She turned her transparent visor head, looking at the remaining three in the passenger cabin, her voice in their earpieces. “No one outside, including staff, knows your real identity. The mission’s cover story is a low-orbit satellite interception simulation.”

“Everything must look real. Although you’re not official astronauts, no one knows, so treat you like regular astronauts, including full equipment. It’s best for everyone to think you’re registered astronauts, preventing identity and mission leaks.”

…

I see. Play the part convincingly. Lin Xian felt this mission had layers of deception, hiding the truth.

To the outside world, it’s a satellite launch by X Country. Internally, it’s astronauts on a low-orbit mission. To Wei Cheng, it’s a team capturing Alpha particles. But the truth is—Time travelers, dream loopers, Universal Constants creators, trinity clones, master of thousands of spacecraft, and a little fatty, heading to space to capture mysterious time-space particles.

What a gathering of big shots, Lin Xian thought. Except for the fatty, everyone on this space shuttle was remarkable!

“Phew…” Chu An Qing took a deep breath. The radio made her exhale near Lin Xian’s ear, “This is truly… the farthest trip of my life.”

She smiled, moving her large transparent helmet, looking at Lin Xian beside her. “Lin Xian, what’s the farthest place you’ve traveled before this?”

Lin Xian thought, “That would be America, our trip to New York’s Manhattan, the world’s center, the farthest place I’ve been.”

“Me too!” Chatting with Lin Xian eased Chu An Qing’s nerves. “If Manhattan is the world’s center… where is the universe’s center?”

“Cao County!” Gao Yang answered, “Shandong Heze Cao County rules! 666!!”

Everyone laughed.

Knock-knock. Lin Xian tapped his helmet. This was his signal with VV, isolating their radio channel for private communication, “VV, any movements from Kevin Walker?”

“None. I’ve taken control of the X-37B space shuttle, blocking all access.”

“And Elon Musk?” Lin Xian asked.

“Elon Musk is at the observation tower, daily routine, watching the rocket.”

Lin Xian nodded. Everything seemed normal.

Finally… the long wait ended. The launch center’s command room’s countdown echoed in the radio:

“5!”

“4!”

“3!”

“2!”

“1!”

“Ignition—”

Boom!!!!!!