Genius Club

“Whoa!”

Even with all his experience, Lin Xian couldn’t contain his shock. He darted towards the bathroom’s door and jumped out. This was horrifying! What was going on?

The reflection in the mirror wasn’t synchronized with reality; it was already bizarre enough to make his skin crawl. If he wasn’t mistaken, the hand holding the Genius Club invitation had just reached out from the mirror! What kind of late-night horror story was this? Even Sadako from “The Ring” crawled out of a TV, which could be somewhat explained by physics. But mirrors? They only reflect light! The objects in a mirror are virtual images. How could something real come out of it?

Moreover, the person in the mirror who was out of sync and smiling at him was himself! If the Lin Xian in the mirror had free will, then who was he? Was this some kind of alternate reality?

….

Standing at the bathroom door, Lin Xian looked back. The anomaly in the mirror had completely disappeared. No one was there. The mirror simply reflected the clutter in the bathroom—the bottles on the sink, the washing machine in the corner, the stool on the floor, the towels on the rack, and…

At this moment, lying quietly on the porcelain sink, fiery red with golden characters, was the Genius Club invitation!

Lin Xian blinked. He stared incredulously at the invitation he had pulled from the mirror. This defied all logic; it was incomprehensible. Was he dreaming? Could it be that he had dozed off while leaning on the sink? So, he was dreaming now?

“I don’t dream at this time,” Lin Xian said softly. In his 25 years, his dreams always ended at 00:42 precisely. No matter when he fell asleep after that, he wouldn’t dream until the next cycle at 12:42 the following day.

“What the hell… is happening?” Lin Xian took a deep breath. Carefully, he stepped back into the bathroom, making himself visible in the corner of the mirror. The reflection of Lin Xian also cautiously peeked out. Lin Xian took two more steps forward. The reflection did the same. He waved his right hand. The reflection waved back.

“Seems normal.”

Even though the mirror appeared normal now, Lin Xian’s heart remained tight, still on edge. He glanced at the porcelain sink and the Genius Club invitation. Its existence was undeniable proof of the earlier eerie event. Even if the mirror seemed normal now, it couldn’t erase the abnormality of the previous moment and the impact it had on Lin Xian’s worldview. He looked back at the digital clock. Another slight jump. The time had moved from 00:43 to 00:44.

“So, the unscientific event happened between 00:42 and 00:43, within that minute.”

He suddenly remembered Ji Xin Shui and Ji Lin from the Seven Deadly Sins organization. Despite the potential for misdirection, they were very strict about executing their scientist murders—the time of death was strictly controlled to be between 00:42 and 00:43.

Who set this time? Based on current guesses, there are two possibilities. It was requested by a supposed Genius Club member, Copernicus; hence, Ji Xin Shui, eager to join the club, followed blindly and rigidly without understanding the significance of the time. It wasn’t Copernicus’s request, but as Lin Xian and Ji Lin deduced, Ji Xin Shui blindly imitated the Genius Club’s killing behavior; meaning he witnessed or knew about a Genius Club murder at 00:42 and copied it strictly without understanding why.

….

Ji Xin Shui didn’t explain the significance and origin of the 00:42 murder time in his confession. He only said he ordered his subordinates to ensure the target’s death within 00:42 to 00:43. When asked why it had to be that time, Ji Xin Shui, showing no remorse, eerily smiled and said:

“To let them die at 00:42 is the highest respect.”

The female officer in charge of the interrogation couldn’t help but call him crazy. Despite further questioning on this point, Ji Xin Shui remained silent, only confessing his crimes.

Lin Xian picked up the digital clock. He weighed it. So… The 00:42 time must hold some special significance. Not only was it the end time for his dreams and the birth and disappearance time of Millennium Stakes, but it was also related to the Genius Club’s actions and principles.

Therefore, it’s no wonder he received the Genius Club invitation at 00:42. If Ji Xin Shui was right, 00:42 was a very respectful and significant time. It made sense to receive the invitation at this time. If it were a real Genius Club invitation, it had to be received at this time for the proper ceremony.

He thought again about what Yellow Finch said when she first mentioned the mirror puzzle. It seemed this Genius Club invitation was the thing she said he wanted most, which is why she repeatedly hinted at the mirror.

This was true. Both his past and present selves desired the Genius Club invitation. His past self had just solved the Seven Deadly Sins and was eager to know what the Genius Club was about and its purpose. His present self wanted to join the Genius Club, meet the so-called geniuses face-to-face, see what they were up to, and… find the truth about Millennium Stakes to save Chu An Qing!

Yellow Finch always talked about mirrors, and he indeed looked into many for a long time. But who could have thought? Her hint about mirrors was to let him catch the right time, exactly at 00:42. This time was too targeted for him. When he first received the mirror puzzle, he was in the third dream, skydiving and coding nonstop, waking up at 00:42 every day. So, he didn’t have the time or thought to look in the mirror at that time.

Later, the third dream turned into the fourth dream. He got busier at night, testing the encirclement’s tightness, the mysterious old man’s reaction to different names; he also checked daily if the Time Bank’s airship appeared. His dream schedule was packed, missing 00:42. But that wasn’t the point…

Even though it was late, he eventually solved the mirror puzzle. But the question remained…

“Why a mirror? Why did such a supernatural event happen in a mirror?”

Lin Xian scratched his head, walked to the sink, and looked closely at the mirror. The reflection did the same, eyes wide, meeting his gaze. It was just an ordinary mirror. He had used it for years, completely normal. He moved to the side, confirming the gap between the mirror and the wall, even seeing the tiles on the other side. This showed the mirror was normal, with no tricks or tampering.

“This means the key is not the mirror but the strange time of 00:42. In this supernatural event, the mirror was just a medium, not the main factor. So, staring at it for a long time outside 00:42 is pointless. It must be at 00:42 that the reflection becomes unsynchronized and can cross the mirror, handing out the Genius Club invitation…”

He couldn’t understand why reflections, shadows, and light could become real entities. Lin Xian had to come up with a scientific explanation. He was a materialist, reluctant to accept supernatural events. Moreover, the Genius Club wasn’t a supernatural organization; they followed the laws of the universe and physics. So far, no supernatural powers or extraordinary abilities existed. Even time-travelers like Yellow Finch and Millennium Stakes like Chu An Qing were subject to time-space laws. Elon Musk and Kevin Walker never exceeded human limits.

“This indicated if it exists, it is reasonable. If the mirror at 00:42 behaves strangely, connecting with another space, it means it’s allowed by the universe’s laws. If it’s within the laws, it can be explained by rules and principles.”

Lin Xian rubbed his chin, thinking deeply about this matter. Mirror, space, crossing, penetration… Suddenly, he remembered a concept proposed by Liu Feng—

“Time-space cracks!”

During a discussion at Donghai University’s lab about how time-space particles traveled from another space to this one, Liu Feng mentioned that time-spaces might not be completely separate and could have some unknown cracks. These cracks allowed time-travel. Not only could humans with certain technology cross spaces, but time-space particles could drift through cracks, becoming foreign entities in this space.

So, in broader reasoning, if humans and time-space particles could pass through cracks, why couldn’t his arm or the Genius Club invitation? In an instant, Lin Xian felt enlightened. The concept of time-space cracks was abstract. Neither he nor Liu Feng could clearly define what a time-space crack looked like, where it was, or under what circumstances it could be found. Because of its straightforward and common description, they called the pathway for crossing time-space “time-space cracks.”

But obviously, time-space cracks weren’t literal cracks or openings. They existed in ways beyond description and understanding. Like… The mirror at 00:42 that scared him just now.

“Time-space cracks.” Lin Xian muttered the concept. “Maybe the existence and appearance of time-space cracks are related to the special time of 00:42. Thinking this way, the earlier event at 00:42 in the mirror, if linked to time-space cracks, becomes easier to explain.”

Thinking this, Lin Xian let out a breath. Fortunately, the earlier supernatural event could be explained, albeit roughly, by the time-space crack theory. Regardless of the theory’s accuracy, it proved the situation wasn’t some scary ghost story.

Human cognition is strange in this way. Space travel, extreme sports, life-or-death battles, and fighting enemies… many people aren’t afraid of these. But supernatural things, no matter the era or place, seem to scare everyone with their tales.

“Forget it, don’t think about it for now.” As long as he confirmed being in a materialist world, Lin Xian wasn’t as frightened and accepted the time-space crack theory.

“Let’s check the invitation. This one was handpicked by Yellow Finch… nearly 100% real.” He looked down. At the red invitation lying face-up on the sink, he reached out to pick it up.

It felt different from the fake one. The touch was exquisite and luxurious, the edges plush, very comfortable. It was also slightly heavier than the fake one.

Lin Xian flipped the invitation, looking at the front. First to catch his eye was the familiar, many-times-seen fire wax seal with the Genius Club’s emblem and name. This wax seal seemed thicker and darker than the fake one and the one Elon Musk gave him, perhaps due to lighting?

Probably not, as the bathroom light was bright. Maybe because this was genuine, Yellow Finch and Elon Musk’s wax seals seemed like handmade crafts, not as refined, classical, and aged as this one.

Lin Xian pinched the wax seal, lifted it, and opened the eagerly awaited invitation. “Ah…” He sighed, feeling a sense of ceremony and weight.

He flipped the pages fully open, looking at the contents. “Huh?” He blinked, disbelieving. “Blank?”

He checked the side, confirming only this bare page. But why was there not a single word, symbol, or design? He adjusted angles, looking closely. Still nothing.

The invitation card was high-end and delicate, with shallow decorative patterns, beautiful and grand. However, a normal invitation should at least include the invitee’s name, greetings, event details, and the time and place, right?

Giving him a blank invitation, what did it mean? Even if it was anonymous, whoever got it should at least have the event time and place.

“Did they miss printing? Are these geniuses reliable?” Lin Xian was speechless. What was this? After sending an invitation, was there a need to be cryptic?

“They shouldn’t be this endless.” Lin Xian shook his head. Suddenly, he thought…

His invitation came from the mirror version of himself. How did other Genius Club members get theirs? Also through mirrors? Delivered by future selves through mirrors?

Considering the Genius Club’s mystery and time-space connection, this wasn’t impossible. Lin Xian firmly believed Genius Club invitations weren’t easy to get and wouldn’t be sent like regular invitations via mail or special delivery. That would be too low and not fit the Genius Club’s name.

But now, Lin Xian felt that using mirrors and future selves to deliver invitations was too advanced!

“Very genius.” Lin Xian acknowledged. “But also very abstract. Every Genius Club member must have a strong heart; otherwise, they’d be scared to death by the mirror event.”

However, this was his baseless guess. Perhaps each member’s way of getting the invitation varied; maybe only he was special; or maybe Yellow Finch cheated to get it for him, hence the strange delivery.

Lin Xian knew. Compared to Yellow Finch, Copernicus, Elon Musk, Kevin Walker, he wasn’t qualified to join the Genius Club or get the invitation. He wasn’t a genius. He hadn’t done anything extraordinary. At 25, he didn’t have Yellow Finch’s leadership, Elon Musk’s wealth and intellect, Kevin Walker’s ahead-of-time vision, or Copernicus’s mysterious mastery.

Compared to true geniuses, Lin Xian felt inadequate. “It’s possible this invitation was a cheat by Yellow Finch, hence the stealthy delivery…”

This question needed Yellow Finch’s answer. Now, he needed to find the hidden information on the invitation. Without the event time and place, this invitation was just paper.

He closed the invitation. Only then did he notice the oddity of the wax seal. “Something’s hidden inside!”

When flipping the page, the wax seal, attached to the fold, stood up, catching the overhead light. Lin Xian noticed a black object inside the reddish wax. No wonder the seal was so thick and slightly larger.

Lin Xian carefully twisted the wax seal off. Holding it up. Against the light. “Indeed.”

He squinted. Inside the red wax, a black object, round and thin, but unclear due to the opaque wax mixture. “Better break it open.”

Lin Xian already had three wax seals with the Genius Club’s emblem, not rare anymore. He even replicated one, so no need to hesitate. He took a small screwdriver, carefully prying the wax seal. Slowly, cautiously, not to damage the inside.

After a few minutes, Lin Xian finally removed the outer wax, revealing the hidden item. A bright gold badge, round, slightly larger than a coin, like those worn on suit lapels, with a small pin on the back.

“This is the true invitation, the token, the symbol of identity?” Lin Xian examined the golden badge. Heavier than expected, likely gold but not pure. Pure gold was too soft and easily deformed, rarely used for such delicate items.

So, this was likely an alloy with a high gold ratio, giving it weight. Both sides were evenly bright gold. On the front, unsurprisingly, was the Genius Club emblem. A hand pointing straight to the sky with the index finger. Below the wrist, “Genius Club” was engraved in English.

“I see…” Lin Xian held the golden badge. His guess was right; this was the real invitation. That’s why Elon Musk gave him a fake wax seal. If he gave this badge, Elon Musk couldn’t attend the Genius Club meeting.

But now, a new problem arose. A simple gold badge, what did it prove? This delicate craftsmanship wasn’t hard to replicate, and it raised another issue—Where’s the meeting time? The location? How did they meet and hold meetings?

Lin Xian clenched the golden badge, sat on the raised stool, and began to think about the overlooked details. Firstly, as he thought, this golden badge wasn’t just a decoration. It was too easily forged. Using it as a Genius Club member’s symbol was too crude, not genius.

Secondly, he considered if the badge contained electronic components? But the badge’s thickness couldn’t hold a button battery, even the smallest.

Lastly, he checked many times, finding no hidden compartments or information on the badge. So, was there a way. No power supply, no alteration, yet storing information and allowing the invitee to read it?

Suddenly, Lin Xian’s eyes widened. “NFC.” He thought of community access cards, ID cards, university meal cards, and Donghai City’s transport cards!

These cards had no batteries. Yet they were NFC devices, reading signals through magnetic fields, inducing voltage and current for data transfer. This was electromagnetic induction coupling, widely used.

Access cards, IDs, meal cards, bank cards, transport cards, membership cards, even Nintendo’s Amiibo used NFC to store data and transfer information.

“So, this golden badge might be a small NFC device! Just near an NFC reader, it can transmit internal information!” Lin Xian took out his phone. Most phones now supported NFC for cards, even simulating NFC signals, not advanced tech.

Of course, phone NFC simulators could only mimic simple, unencrypted signals like access cards. Encrypted meal cards, bank cards, IDs such signals couldn’t be easily simulated, the higher the encryption, the harder to crack and copy.

He brought the golden badge near his phone. Beep beep. The phone beeped, recognizing the NFC signal, the browser app opened, and the webpage began loading.

“Guessed right.” Lin Xian smiled. Though not a hard puzzle, nothing to boast about, he took a step closer to attending the Genius Club meeting. The phone screen showed the webpage still loading, its final destination unknown.

Lin Xian wondered. If VV were around, could it track these webpage signals to find the Genius Club’s base? Theoretically, yes. But…

Considering Kevin Walker, the world’s best hacker, even an evolved VV couldn’t trace Kevin Walker’s address and identity.

So, if this NFC system and network logic were designed by Kevin Walker, it would be tough for a damaged VV to find the server source quickly.

Ultimately, Kevin Walker’s genius was overwhelming. A super AI from 600 years later, and he could still fend it off, an unimaginable feat.

But Lin Xian now wasn’t concerned with the Genius Club’s base. These thoughts were for after VV’s revival. His primary goal was to attend the Genius Club meeting, face the geniuses.

Gather intel, find clues, and ultimately… defeat Kevin Walker, Elon Musk, and the mysterious old man from the fourth dream. All enemies would enter his sight.

Once he resolved the immediate crisis, ensuring no threat to VV, he would revive VV. His old friend’s return would multiply his strength. Then, whatever the Genius Club’s nature and stance, he had to be strong enough to confront them. Because his ultimate goal was to save Chu An Qing!

A promise made was a promise kept. Having promised Chu Shan He to bring Chu An Qing home. He would face whoever stood in his way. Be it the Genius Club, time-space laws, or greater foes beyond. He would fight to bring Chu An Qing back!

Finally, after several minutes of loading, the webpage content appeared. It was a simple, minimalist site, reminiscent of 1980s BBS forums. A pure black interface with a single line of white text in the center: “Please enter any time-space coordinates.”

This was a question. Below the question was a white rectangular text box for the answer, with a grey confirmation button on the right. This was… An exam?

Lin Xian looked up, seeing a 1/3 mark on the webpage. This likely meant there were three questions, and this was the first. Correctly answering it would lead to the second. Below the answer box, a line of small white text read: “Geniuses never make mistakes, so you only have one chance.”

….

Lin Xian stared at the page. He roughly understood the process of joining the Genius Club. The invitation was just an entry pass. To truly join this mysterious organization, he had to pass three exam questions. Perhaps, after answering all three correctly, he would be formally invited to join the Genius Club, learn the meeting time and place, the club rules, and meet the geniuses.

“The threshold is so high.” Lin Xian was now 80% sure his invitation was a cheat by Yellow Finch. The first question: “Please enter any time-space coordinates.”

What kind of question was this? What were time-space coordinates? Why ask this question? And only one chance. It seemed a wrong answer would forever bar him from the Genius Club.

“Time-space coordinates.” Lin Xian muttered the new term. He didn’t understand. But it confirmed his earlier guess. The Genius Club was indeed related to time-space. Perhaps they had mastered time-space manipulation, hence the arrogant question to a potential member.

Linking his invitation’s eerie delivery, time-space cracks, and 00:42 events, Lin Xian felt the Genius Club’s power far exceeded his imagination. They understood time-space coordinates. Sending an invitation through the mirror and time-space cracks might be routine.

Lin Xian closed the webpage. He wouldn’t waste this only chance, his only hope of joining the Genius Club. With one try, he wouldn’t risk it without fully understanding time-space coordinates.

“I need a professional’s help.” Lin Xian held the golden badge, murmuring.

….

The next day, Donghai University, Rhine Joint Laboratory. “Liu Feng, what do you think time-space coordinates are?”

Lin Xian didn’t mention the Genius Club invitation or the mirror event, directly asking about time-space coordinates. “Do different time-spaces have unique numbers?”

Liu Feng thought for a moment, shaking his head. “Probably not. People in different time-spaces have no interaction, no way to communicate. Each time-space sees itself as the primary, the original timeline, so how would they number them? There’s no baseline.”

He grabbed chalk, drawing rays from a small point on the board. “In worldline theory, each different choice at a node creates different worldlines, leading to different futures, forming different possibilities. In this theory, the original worldline is called the alpha worldline.”

“If the alpha worldline shifts due to some action, creating a second possible future, it’s called the beta worldline.”

“Similarly, the third possible future is the gamma worldline; if more possible futures arise, they’re delta worldlines.”

“These four Greek letters, alpha, beta, gamma, delta, just distinguish worldlines. If you prefer simplicity, you could call them first, second, third, zero worldlines, etc.”

Lin Xian nodded. He understood without Liu Feng’s explanation. He named his different dream worlds similarly. First dream, second dream, third dream, fourth dream, consistent with worldline theory.

“So, you think these alphas, betas, or first, second are time-space coordinates?”

“No, no.” Liu Feng shook his head. “That’s too simple, these are subjective names, not universal. Think, what are coordinates? Like latitude and longitude, each coordinate point is unique. For example, Donghai City’s coordinates are 31 degrees north latitude and 121 degrees east longitude.”

“These are Donghai City’s coordinates, unique on Earth. Mentioning these coordinates, only Donghai City fits. Such uniqueness defines coordinates.”

“So, if we describe time-space coordinates, their form should be like latitude and longitude. Unique, precise, mentioning them locates a specific time-space without dispute or deviation.”

“I thought so too,” Lin Xian said. “But how do we find a time-space coordinate? Any one will do. Like latitude and longitude, any within range exists on Earth.”

“Indeed.” Liu Feng agreed. “If you want any time-space coordinate, you need the rules and ranges. Knowing the rules, any coordinate is valid, like latitude and longitude.”

“For instance, if I randomly say 22 degrees south latitude, 43 degrees west longitude, which country or city is it? Do you know, Lin Xian?”

Lin Xian shook his head. “I don’t know, but it exists on Earth.”

Liu Feng grabbed a globe, spinning it half a turn, pointing to South America. “Found it, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro.”

“So now you understand? If your goal is to describe any time-space coordinate, you need the definition, rules, and range.”

“I get that, no need to lecture.” Lin Xian spread his hands. “So, what do we do? How do we find the definition rules for time-space coordinates?”

Hmm~ Liu Feng gave a sly smile, returning to the bench, patting the time-space clock still showing 0.0000000. “I think this time-space clock might help!”

“Its function is to measure time-space curvature, like each latitude and longitude corresponding to a unique Earth location. Each time-space curvature might correspond to a specific time-space!”

….

Lin Xian turned, looking at the time-space clock he hadn’t favored. “Your explanation isn’t rigorous. If any seven-digit number after the decimal represents a time-space coordinate, we could randomly pick one like 0.1234567? Is that a time-space coordinate?”

“I’m not sure.” Liu Feng shook his head. “Maybe, maybe not. We don’t know the rules or ranges for time-space curvature.”

“But I think using time-space curvature to calculate and analyze coordinates is a good approach. So, are you in a hurry? If not, wait for the time-space clock to change.”

Lin Xian stared at Liu Feng.

How to put it? Urgency was there, he eagerly wanted to answer the Genius Club’s questions and attend the meeting. But this couldn’t be rushed. One chance, it had to be flawless.

“Any other methods?” Lin Xian pondered. “Can’t bother Yellow Finch again?”

Solving the puzzle needed Yellow Finch’s hint; maybe she could hint about time-space coordinates. However, remembering Yellow Finch being choked by invisible force, hurt by time-space laws, her body turning transparent in pain.

“Forget it, Liu Feng, we’ll solve this ourselves.” Lin Xian looked up. “We can’t bother Yellow Finch.”

“Ah, Yellow Finch—” Liu Feng’s words were cut off by approaching high heels. “Looking for me?”

Lin Xian turned. Seeing Yellow Finch, her blue earrings gleaming in the sun. She leaned naturally on the door frame, smiling. “Lin Xian, long time no see.”

Lin Xian’s gaze was complex, looking at the time-traveler with dimmed eyes in the sunlight. “Funny, every time I want to see you, you appear immediately.”

Yellow Finch lowered her head, smiling. “The reason is obvious, Lin Xian.” She raised her head, tucking hair behind her ear with her right index finger. “Because I’ve… been waiting for you.”