Genius Club

Lin Xian stood frozen in place, staring.

Inside the cryo-pod, a girl lay still. They were both unmoving—one standing, one lying down—locked in a silent gaze through the thick glass of the pod.

Lin Xian knew one thing for certain: he had never seen this girl before. This was their first meeting.

The name “Yan Qiao Qiao” wasn’t that uncommon. It could just be a coincidence that she shared the name with someone he once knew.

Or so he thought until he saw her strange, glowing crystal-blue eyes.

Those eyes were fixed on his, unblinking.

If it hadn’t been for those eyes, Lin Xian could have dismissed it. He could have treated it like it was nothing. He wouldn’t have cared whether this Yan Qiao Qiao was the same person from his past or not.

But now…

First of all, one thing was clear: the girl in the cryo-pod, who looked around seventeen or eighteen, had to be a time traveler. There was no doubt about it. Those unique, crystal-blue eyes were the biggest clue. And honestly, one of these “monsters” was scary enough; nobody needed more of them.

Secondly, he noticed something else: after comparing carefully, he realized the girl in the cryo-pod didn’t look like any of the three people he thought of—the fake Yu Xi, Lin Yu Xi, or Yan Qiao Qiao. She didn’t resemble any of them.

That was interesting.

Not looking like Yan Qiao Qiao made some sense. Maybe it was just a coincidence that they had the same name. After all, over 600 years, it would be odd if only one girl from Zhao Ying Jun’s family had that name.

Not resembling the fake Yu Xi also made sense. The fake Yu Xi had already died in the established timeline—beheaded by Lin Yu Xi. Lin Xian had seen it with his own eyes; he watched her turn into blue stardust and vanish.

So, the fake Yu Xi was dead and completely out of the picture. Unless there was some sort of black magic that could bring the dead back, there was no way the girl in the cryo-pod could be the fake Yu Xi.

Finally, when Lin Xian saw those blue eyes and instinctively stepped back, he felt that the girl in the cryo-pod had to be Lin Yu Xi. That seemed like the most logical explanation.

At this moment, in the year 2024, most likely, Lin Yu Xi hadn’t disappeared, and the history where he gets beheaded on July 7th still stands. So, it’s quite possible that Lin Yu Xi will stay hidden until July 7th, 2024. Then, when the time is right, she’ll strike from the shadows, slashing his throat in a swift move, completing her mission.

Thinking further, why would she use a cryo-pod to travel to the future? The reason is simple. Because the future she came from—the Fourth Dream, the one with Copernicus, the Time Court, and the Time Police—no longer exists.

That was World Line 0.0000000, but now it’s World Line 0.0000084. The paths of these two world lines are completely different, so Lin Yu Xi’s “home” and “homeland” have vanished; she can’t return to her original world.

Since she couldn’t “return to the future” the way she planned, Lin Yu Xi had to use a slower method—sleeping in a cryo-pod to get back to the future.

Why didn’t she leave any notes or recordings? That’s easy to explain too. As a time-space agent, Lin Yu Xi must follow rules. She can’t reveal secrets about the Time Police or Time Court, or leave behind any records. If someone discovered these records, it might change the future. Plus, it wouldn’t be safe for Lin Yu Xi herself.

The less trouble, the better. She might as well leave nothing behind, enter the cryo-pod as Yan Qiao Qiao, and sleep through the centuries without any issues.

As for the memory problem… maybe Lin Yu Xi had a hidden backup somewhere, or she believed that after killing Lin Xian, the future would return to its original world line. Restoring her memory could be left to her future colleagues.

This arrangement seemed proper and logical. So, the logic of this story could hold together and be closest to reality. This was the first possibility that came to Lin Xian’s mind when he saw those blue eyes.

But there was a problem…

“The girl in the cryo-pod, she’s not Lin Yu Xi!”

This was what frustrated Lin Xian the most.

Lin Xian had analyzed everything rationally in an instant, crafting a story that spanned 600 years. Yet, when he looked at the girl’s face in the cryo-pod, it didn’t match his theories at all. All his seemingly accurate deductions had turned out to be wrong.

Who wouldn’t get a headache from that?

“No, no, I must have missed something crucial,” Lin Xian muttered, still staring into the blue-eyed girl’s face. He rubbed his chin with his right hand, trying to figure out what he might have overlooked.

The appearance issue, of course, had to do with time-space rejection. Lin Yu Xi’s real face—what she truly looked like—was something Lin Xian had never seen. He couldn’t even guess. But one thing was certain: the appearance of Lin Yu Xi in her time-space assassin state was definitely not her original look.

First, there was her eye color. Lin Yu Xi’s real eye color would certainly have been black, not glowing blue. Then, there were her facial features. Since even Yellow Finch’s appearance had completely changed due to time-space rejection, it stood to reason that Lin Yu Xi’s appearance would also be drastically altered in her assassin state, looking nothing like her true self.

“Could it be…” Lin Xian considered a wild idea. “Could it be… that the appearance change caused by time-space rejection could happen a second time?”

He took an extreme example to explain. If Yellow Finch, who had already traveled through time once, went through another time-space traversal, would her appearance change again? Similarly, if Lin Yu Xi, due to the recharging of entangled time-space particles, triggered time-space rejection again, would her appearance change a second time as well?

“Possible. Very possible,” he murmured. Lin Xian started pacing around the underground cryo-base, talking to himself as he organized his thoughts.

“This hypothesis is wild and reckless, but it’s not entirely impossible,” he continued. “Otherwise… why hasn’t the Lin Yu Xi of 2024 shown up at all? I’ve had plenty of chances to hang out with Yan Qiao Qiao or have meals with Zhao Ying Jun, completely unguarded… So, what is Lin Yu Xi doing at this time? Why hasn’t she tried to assassinate me? Why wait until July 7th?”

He reasoned backward from the outcome. “The only possible reason seems to be that Lin Yu Xi, after recharging the entangled time-space particles, triggered time-space rejection again. Her appearance changed a second time, and she became the girl now inside the cryo-pod.”

Lin Xian’s mind was racing. His footsteps quickened as he paced, making circles around the room. His constant movement nearly made Big Cat dizzy.

Finally, Big Cat shouted out, “What are you doing, little brother? Trying to be a spinning top?”

“Calm down, calm down. I know you’re anxious, but don’t rush… Waking up from cryo-sleep is a slow process. Spinning around won’t make her wake up any faster,” Big Cat continued. “Look at that Smith guy over there. We woke him up before this girl, but he’s still twisting his head around like a confused chicken; his body functions haven’t fully recovered yet.”

“So, don’t be in a hurry. It’ll still take another ten or twenty minutes for her to wake up. And for her to fully recover to a state where she can speak and interact normally… that will take at least a few more hours.”

Beside them, Gao Wen nodded in agreement. “That’s right, Lin Xian. Being anxious won’t help. It’s a necessary process for the human body to slowly recover from deep cryo-sleep.”

“I was the same when I woke up,” Gao Wen added. “At first, I was barely aware, my mind was blank, and my vision, hearing, and other senses hadn’t fully recovered. After a while, my sight and hearing came back. The thing I remember most vividly is Big Cat grinning at me through the glass, shouting who knows what.”

“Then, much later, I could start moving my limbs. At that point, the screen inside the cryo-pod gives you a test, asking you to do some basic actions based on voice commands, like moving your eyes, legs, or hands.”

“It’s strange; cryo-sleep completely wipes out memories, but most basic reading, speaking, and writing abilities remain. It just takes time to recover. Anyway, the instructions inside the cryo-pod were clear, so I followed them, did some simple actions, and passed the test.”

“Once you pass the test, it means you’re ready to leave the pod. The cryo-pod’s sealed door opens, the liquid inside drains out, and the cover lifts, letting you step out.”

“After that, your reading, speaking, and writing abilities slowly come back, which takes a few hours. So, Big Cat wasn’t lying… Being in a hurry won’t change a thing.”

Lin Xian listened to their explanations and waved them off. “I’m not really in a rush; she can wake up slowly. I’m just… puzzled by a few things.”

He glanced at his wristwatch.

It read: 12:12 a.m.

It was an awkward time.

Lin Xian stared at the cryo-pod, thinking deeply about what Big Cat and Gao Wen had just said. According to them, the girl inside the cryo-pod would need at least another thirty minutes just to sit up, let alone recover her ability to speak.

It was clear that tonight’s dream exploration had hit its limit. They would need to try again tomorrow, maybe entering the dream earlier and waking the girl sooner to gather more clues.

But Lin Xian still couldn’t shake his confusion.

Who was this girl? What was her story?

His mind swirled with questions, but he couldn’t make any sense of the clues they had so far. It was like trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces.

Lin Xian stopped pacing and closed his eyes, trying to clear his thoughts. After a moment, he opened them and said quietly, “Process of elimination.”

Big Cat, puzzled by this sudden statement, blinked and asked, “Elimination? What are you talking about?”

“Elimination…” Gao Wen repeated, furrowing his brows. He had never heard the term before, but he tried to make sense of it. “Is it a way to solve problems? Like when you don’t know the answer, you list all the possible options and then eliminate the wrong ones until only the right one is left, no matter how unlikely it seems?”

Gao Wen looked at Lin Xian for confirmation. “Is that what you mean?”

Lin Xian nodded. “Exactly. The straightforward way to solve a problem is to piece together the clues and arrive at the only possible answer. But that doesn’t always work. Sometimes the clues are too mixed up, too unclear, or too intertwined to make sense of them directly. That’s when you use the process of elimination—a reverse approach. You list all the possible answers, and then eliminate them one by one. Whatever is left, no matter how strange, is most likely the correct answer.”

Lin Xian’s explanation made sense. He walked over to a nearby cryo-pod and opened a storage cabinet, quickly finding a notebook and a metal pencil. He tested them; both were still usable. He flipped to a blank page and placed the notebook on the glass of a cryo-pod that held only a skeleton.

He began to write:

Possible Identities of the Cryo-Pod Girl

A. The girl is another time traveler from the future with no connection to Yu Xi or Yan Qiao Qiao. The name similarity is purely coincidental.

B. The girl is actually Yan Qiao Qiao from 2024. She’s only thirteen or fourteen now, but at some point, she traveled through time when she was seventeen or eighteen. This time travel could have caused her black eyes to turn blue and changed her appearance due to time-space rejection.

There are two ways Yan Qiao Qiao’s time travel might have happened:

She traveled back in time from 2024 to 2022, which explains her blue eyes and altered appearance. Then, she continued to grow from thirteen or fourteen to seventeen or eighteen in 2026, when she entered the cryo-pod and slept until now.

She traveled forward in time from 2024 to a future year, maybe 2224 or 2324. In this case, Yan Qiao Qiao’s journey was different from both the real and fake Yu Xi. She moved forward in time, and the time travel triggered time-space rejection, changing her appearance and eyes. At some point, she entered the cryo-pod and slept until now.

Lin Xian felt that traveling from the past to the future didn’t make logical sense. The future wasn’t fixed, especially now, with the world line constantly shifting and the future world changing all the time.

If someone were to travel from the past to the future, how could they know where to land? It’s completely different from traveling from the future to the past.

Simply put, when you look back from any point in time, history is already established—fixed, unique, and unchangeable.

For example, as Lin Xian stood in 2024, looking back at the Qin, Han, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, he saw a single, certain timeline that couldn’t be altered. Similarly, standing in 2624 and looking back over the past 600 years, the timeline was also fixed and unchangeable.

This world line, it seemed, was already determined—it was 0.0000084.

If Lin Xian changed history in 2024, it would rewrite the future, causing the future world to change. However, this wouldn’t affect the original 0.0000084 world line; instead, it would jump to a different world line value. The 0.0000084 world line would remain unchanged—disappeared or perhaps moved away.

Because of this, Lin Xian believed that traveling from the past to the future wasn’t logically possible. However, since he was using the process of elimination, he needed to write down every possible option. If every other option was eliminated, leaving only this one, he might end up looking like a fool, but he had to cover all bases.

Lin Xian moved on to Option C.

C. The girl’s real identity is Lin Yu Xi. Whether it was due to the recharging of tangled time-space particles or some other reason, Lin Yu Xi experienced a second time-space rejection. Her appearance changed again, turning her into the girl in the cryo-pod.

Based on what Angelica had said, Lin Xian was supposed to be executed on July 7th. Considering that Lin Yu Xi was still alive now, it was likely that in World Line 0.0000084, he still couldn’t escape being executed. But that was a problem for later, something he could confirm with the Turing in the future.

Why would Lin Yu Xi use the name Yan Qiao Qiao? If Option C was the correct answer, that would be something to think about. For now, he left it at that.

Lin Xian began to spin his pen, deep in thought. Were there any other possibilities beyond these three options?

Since he was using the process of elimination, he could write down any option, no matter how absurd, without affecting the final outcome.

“Might as well come up with four options…” he muttered.

The rigid structure of the X Country education system had ingrained in most students the belief that a multiple-choice question needed four options. Three just felt incomplete.

Lin Xian’s pen twirled faster between his fingers as he thought up a D option, something to fill in the blank.

After all, it was just about filling in the blank. He needed to think outside the box, think boldly.

He looked up at the cryo-pod where the girl was lying. Her crystal-blue eyes were still fixed on him like a targeting system.

Then, from the storage cabinet below, the nameplate engraved with “Yan Qiao Qiao” reflected the cold light of the fluorescent lamp.

A sudden burst of inspiration hit Lin Xian. Without overthinking, he wrote down a wild D option:

D. Yan Qiao Qiao is actually Lin Yu Xi; they are the same person. Lin Yu Xi became Yan Qiao Qiao because of the breakdown of the entangled time-space particles. Then, somehow, the particles recharged, and Yan Qiao Qiao’s time-space traits were restored, making her Lin Yu Xi again. But because time-space rejection is random, her appearance would definitely be different the second time.

Suddenly, a loud screeching sound echoed from the right.

Lin Xian turned to look and saw the lid of Smith’s cryo-pod slowly rising. The heavy shell with its tempered glass and internal screen lifted completely, releasing Smith, who had been isolated from the world for so long.

At that moment, the foreign-looking man sat up, looking utterly confused. He scratched his head, glanced around, eyes wide, not understanding what was going on. It was clear he wanted to say something, but his brain hadn’t fully recovered yet, and he was at a loss for words.

“Come on! Get to work!” shouted a nearby worker, grabbing Smith’s arm and dragging him outside.

Smith stumbled, almost falling over, but humans are naturally quick to adapt. He soon got the hang of walking and running even under pressure. Barefoot, he was dragged away. It seemed it wouldn’t be long before his empty mind accepted his new role as a worker and he dedicated himself to the excavation project.

Lin Xian closed his notebook and walked over to Big Cat and Gao Wen. He pointed at the cryo-pod where the girl was lying. “Since Smith’s cryo-pod has opened, hers should be opening soon, right?”

“It might take a bit longer,” Big Cat said, thinking back. “I woke up her cryo-pod later than Smith’s, but it should be soon.”

“But as ‘Gao Wen the Unlucky’ mentioned earlier,” Big Cat continued, grinning slightly, “everyone’s body is different, and the pod only opens after it checks if you’re okay… What if someone takes longer to answer the questions?”

Next to him, Gao Wen frowned and shot Big Cat a glare. “I’m not some foreigner, so stop calling me by those weird names! I—”

Boom!

Suddenly, a loud noise cut Gao Wen off mid-sentence.

All three of them turned in shock toward the girl’s cryo-pod, and what they saw was unbelievable!

The cryo-pod, which had been perfectly intact just a moment ago, now had a huge hole in it where a slender leg, clad in cryo-suit leggings, had kicked right through!

No, it wasn’t just a hole.

The entire sheet of tempered glass that had covered the pod had been kicked off.

Lin Xian’s eyes darted upward.

Sure enough!

A piece of tempered glass, now cracked like a spider web, shot up to the ceiling. It flattened against the ceiling with a dull thud, then began to fall back down.

“Move!” Lin Xian yelled.

He grabbed Gao Wen and Big Cat, yanking them out of the way.

Crash, crash, crash…

The whole sheet of tempered glass slammed down right where they had been standing just moments before.

Fortunately, the glass was high quality—triple-layer laminated. Even after such a violent impact, it didn’t shatter into dangerous fragments but stayed mostly in one piece.

It was clear that the safety standards and build quality of the cryo-pods were exceptionally high, with each part made to withstand a lot of force.

But Lin Xian, Big Cat, and Gao Wen didn’t have time to think about that now. Their eyes were locked on the cryo-pod that had just been kicked open.

Because the pod was opened by force, the liquid inside hadn’t drained properly. Thick white mist was now spilling out rapidly, like the entrance of a final boss in a video game. The dense fog created an eerie, almost terrifying atmosphere.

Whoosh.

There was a soft sound.

Through the mist, a long-haired girl slowly sat up in the cryo-pod. Her slender yet toned silhouette was barely visible through the haze. She placed one hand on the glassless edge of the pod and, with a quick flip, jumped out.

She landed smoothly on the ground.

She stood up straight, her posture steady.

At that moment, Gao Wen and Big Cat turned pale, their faces drained of color.

Both had seen people waking up from cryo-pods before.

Like Smith, who had just woken up. His body had needed time to regain coordination, balance, and muscle strength. It was a slow and awkward process.

But this girl…

She had just woken up, yet she was already so strong and nimble!

She didn’t seem like an ordinary human at all!

“Help… help!” Seeing her glowing blue eyes piercing through the white mist, Big Cat panicked and shouted, “Whoa, a ghost! Run!”

He flailed his arms and bolted, yelling back at Lin Xian and Gao Wen, “Run! Why are you standing there like idiots? Do you want to die—Aaaah!”

Just as Big Cat started running, he screamed again, this time like he’d been hit.

Lin Xian turned to see what was happening.

A supervisor wearing a uniform had shown up. He had a gun on his waist and a steel whip in his hand. He stomped over, cursing loudly, “What the hell are you screaming about?! You’re always howling like a madman!”

“Aaah! Aaah! Aaah!” Big Cat’s screams only got louder as the supervisor whipped him three more times, making him wail like a siren.

After finishing with Big Cat, the supervisor gritted his teeth and dragged the steel whip across the ground with a harsh screech, heading toward Lin Xian and Gao Wen.

Anyone could see that something was wrong with the cryo-pod over there, still shrouded in mist.

“What the hell is going on?!” the supervisor spat, raising his steel whip high and swinging it down hard.

And then…

Thud.

A heavy sound filled the room.

The steel whip, as thick as a thumb, was caught mid-swing by a slender hand, holding it firmly in place.

She caught the whip bare-handed?

The supervisor was stunned!

He barely had time to process what was happening. The girl yanked the whip hard, pulling both it and his hand into the mist. The supervisor stumbled forward, struggling to keep his balance.

But he had been part of the Lynx Tribe for a long time, fighting against outsiders, and his combat instincts kicked in immediately.

He released the whip, steadied himself, and reached for the pistol on his waist with his right hand.

But just then, the blue-eyed girl burst out of the mist. She quickly scanned her surroundings and spotted the side panel of the cryo-pod, which was still intact and had an aluminum alloy nameplate attached to it.

Rectangular, flat, sharp, and sturdy.

She pressed her hands against the cryo-pod and pulled with all her strength—

Riiiiip!

A gut-wrenching sound of metal tearing filled the air!

The sharp aluminum alloy nameplate was ripped off with force and now rested in the blue-eyed girl’s hand!

That once cold, elegant nameplate had transformed into something menacing, like a sword or the scythe of the Grim Reaper.

The twisted, cold light from the overhead lamp reflected off the blade-like nameplate, and as it gleamed, it was as if the girl’s crystal-blue eyes were piercing through the darkness. She swung it, and a chilling crescent of light cut through the air!

The supervisor, who had just lifted his gun, didn’t even have time to react.

His eyes widened in shock, unable to understand what had happened because he couldn’t even see it clearly.

All he felt was a strange sensation, as if he was suddenly growing taller, his perspective shifting upward, the world tilting around him, and his senses slipping away.

Oh, it dawned on him…

His head had been severed, completely cut off from his body. The force of his heart still pumping sent blood spurting from his neck, propelling his head into the air.

Spinning.

Falling.

Thud.

With a muffled sound, the supervisor’s bloodied head hit the ground, rolling a few times before coming to a stop at Lin Xian and Gao Wen’s feet.

Gao Wen’s face went deathly pale due to not being accustomed to this, but Lin Xian stood firm, unflinching.

The blue-eyed girl, still holding the bloodstained nameplate, surveyed her surroundings. Her steps echoed lightly on the floor as she walked toward Lin Xian.

“Where is this place?” Her crystal-blue eyes bore into Lin Xian: “And who am I?”

Boom!!

Boom!!

Boom!!

At exactly 12:42 a.m., the white light arrived, just as expected, burning everything in its path.

…

…

In the corner of his bedroom, Lin Xian shot open his eyes.