Genius Club

This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation

Two days later was Zhao Ying Jun’s routine checkup day.

Little Yu Xi in her belly was already 28 weeks along, and it was time for a 4D ultrasound.

The principle of a 4D ultrasound is to use sound waves and the Doppler effect to create an image, allowing parents to see the baby’s features, limbs, and other details.

Zhao Ying Jun lay on the examination bed, while Lin Xian stood beside her. Together, they both turned to look at the imaging screen with the doctor.

“Wow, this baby looks so beautiful! Look at those features,” the doctor said, pointing to the oddly abstract image on the screen.

“Look at that nose, so high, and such a cute little nose and mouth.”

Lin Xian squinted, trying hard to understand the Picasso-meets-Van-Gogh-style artwork on the screen. “Where is it? Is that a face? I just can’t see it.”

“You need to look more closely,” the doctor smiled a little and pointed out the details to Lin Xian. “Here, this is the outline of the face. Here are the eyes—they’re closed. Can you see it now?”

Lin Xian nodded, finally able to make out a vague semblance of a face. Though, he had to admit, being a soundwave image, it was still quite abstract.

“I think I can see it,” he said.

Zhao Ying Jun chuckled, glancing up at Lin Xian. “Do you think she looks like Yu Xi?”

“I really can’t tell,” Lin Xian replied with a helpless smile. “What can you even make out from this?”

“I think she looks a lot like her.” Zhao Ying Jun’s eyes softened as she stared at the quiet little face on the ultrasound image. “This is… our first time meeting her, isn’t it? Even though she can’t see us, we get to see her through the power of technology.”

The doctor gave Lin Xian a look, then glanced at Zhao Ying Jun, nodding. “Yes, she really looks a lot like her mom.”

Then, the doctor turned to Lin Xian, adding comfortingly, “But during the baby’s growth, their features often change. What you see in this image might not be exactly accurate. Who knows? In two months, when she’s born, she might end up looking more like her dad.”

Lin Xian felt… time really flew by.

In just these few months, while he had been struggling with everything, little Yu Xi had slowly grown—and soon, she would be born!

“So… when is the expected due date?” Lin Xian asked.

“It’s still a bit early to give an exact date,” the doctor said, flipping through Zhao Ying Jun’s checkup records. “But it should be around mid-April. If you plan on booking a postpartum care center, you might want to prepare in advance.”

“Alright, everything looks great. The baby is perfectly healthy, and there’s nothing to worry about. Just be careful about diet in the last two months—many mothers tend to eat too much at the end, which can cause the baby to grow too fast and make labor harder.”

The couple nodded, making a mental note of everything, and left the hospital holding the examination booklet.

“Time really goes by so fast.” Lin Xian looked up at the sun, now climbing toward midday, as they walked out of the hospital.

“It feels like just yesterday I was holding Yu Xi’s hand, wandering through Disneyland. And now, our little Yu Xi will be here in just two months.”

“Isn’t it because you were so eager?” Zhao Ying Jun teased. “But at least, you kept your promise.”

“Since it’s still early and we have nothing else to do, why don’t we go to Jing’an Temple?”

Hmm?

Lin Xian turned his head, surprised. “Why Jing’an Temple?”

“To pray, for peace, and to make a wish,” Zhao Ying Jun said, linking her arm through his. “You know, being married to you feels like a long-distance relationship—every day, we only get to exchange a few words in the morning.” 𝖗

“The moment it turns to twelve-thirty, you’re off to dreamland. I think, if you were to find a little wife in the dream, she could have you at night while I get you during the day.”

“I’d love that,” Lin Xian laughed, “but in the Ninth Dream, there’s not even half a living person. Where am I supposed to find a little wife?”

“Forget a little wife, I’ve been wandering the dream for months—if I could even find Big Cat Face, I’d be ecstatic enough to give him a hug.”

“Oh, you would, huh?” Zhao Ying Jun pinched his arm playfully. “So, you had thoughts like that in the earlier dreamscapes, did you?”

“No, no,” Lin Xian quickly shook his head, clearly understanding it was a trap. “In those earlier dreamscapes… I was either with Big Cat Face and his friend, or on my way to find them.”

“Really, no matter which dream it was, seeing Big Cat Face always made me feel safe. As long as he’s around, it feels like there’s hope—even if the sky falls, Big Cat Face will hold it up.”

“So now, without Big Cat Face in the Ninth Dream, this future world really feels like it’s falling apart.”

The mere mention of Big Cat Face made Zhao Ying Jun smile. “Sounds like he’s become your pillar of strength. Alright then, I’ll wish for you to meet Big Cat Face soon when we get to Jing’an Temple.”

“No, that’s really not necessary.” Lin Xian looked at Zhao Ying Jun’s round belly and smiled gently. “Just make a wish for little Yu Xi—wish for her to live a happy and peaceful life.”

…

It was a weekday, so there weren’t many visitors at Jing’an Temple.

Zhao Ying Jun prayed for peace in every hall, and Lin Xian couldn’t help but marvel at her transformation. The once proud, atheistic businesswoman was now so devotedly praying for the health of their soon-to-be-born child, truly showing the power of a mother’s love.

In the past, Zhao Ying Jun had been a firm believer in science.

She had laughed when Lin Xian talked about grave-digging with Gao Yang. “Gao Yang actually prepared all that superstitious stuff—candles at the corners of the coffin, and black donkey hooves—it really cracked me up.”

“From a scientific perspective, if you’re truly worried about ghosts, bringing a small ball is much more practical.”

“Why?” That piece of knowledge had caught Lin Xian off guard at the time.

This was what it meant to be well-educated, wasn’t it?

“What does a ball do?”

“It helps determine if something’s real,” Zhao Ying Jun said without hesitation. “No matter what ghost you encounter, just throw the ball at it. If it bounces back, it means it’s real—and if two grown men can’t handle it, there’s nothing else to say.”

“If the ball passes right through it, it means it has no physical form—so no matter what weapons you have, they’re useless. Just turn and run.”

Her logical explanation had amused Lin Xian at the time. “I swear, you really are reliable. Next time something like that comes up, I’ll bring you along for sure.”

“Oh, stop it,” she had rolled her eyes. “Be a bit more responsible for the kid in my belly, will you? Honestly, how could Gao Yang pull you into grave-digging? Doesn’t he know right from wrong?”

“Exactly,” Lin Xian had nodded, eager to shift the blame.

Now, that same woman who had once treated ghosts as nothing but scientific experiments was kneeling in front of the altar, eyes closed, quietly murmuring prayers—serious, devout, and hoping for their child’s wellbeing.

After a long while, Zhao Ying Jun rose from the cushion, dropped several hundred-dollar bills into the donation box, bought incense from the monk, and watched it burn, satisfied.

The two of them continued strolling toward the back of the temple, eventually coming across a quiet rock garden with no one around. They paused, taking in the view.

“If praying could really help, that would be nice,” Lin Xian said softly, leaning against the railing of a gazebo.

“If it really worked, I’d do it too—I’d pray to find a way to break this deadlock.” He sighed, looking at the distance. “Right now, it feels like I’m completely stuck. Everything is at a standstill, and there’s no way to move anything forward.”

“The dire future where humanity is on the brink, and even my promise to Chu Shan He to save Chu An Qing… With the Genius Club split, and the rest of the members working in secret, I’m just too passive.” He paused, shaking his head. “No—to be precise, I’m not even in a position to be passive. Before, I could gather clues from the dreamscapes, get information, and even bring back some advanced tech. But now, in the Ninth Dream, I can’t do anything.”

“No wonder Einstein said the world line had stabilized, and there’d be no more jumps… If things keep on like this, I won’t be able to change the future—I’ll just have to watch as humanity moves step by step toward extinction.”

Zhao Ying Jun patted the wooden bench next to her, indicating for Lin Xian to sit down.

“You know, you could talk to me about whatever’s bothering you. We could think it through together,” she said. “I’m your wife. I might not be able to help in battles or in the dream, but having another person to think things over could make a difference.”

Lin Xian nodded. “The biggest issue right now is that I can’t find the Aluminum Alloy Safe in the dream. Donghai City was flattened—there’s no reference point at all, and I can’t tell where anything is. Even if I wanted to dig up the safe, I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Without the safe, I can’t read the note Chu An Qing left for me, and I can’t verify if the dream is real or not.”

Zhao Ying Jun shook her head. “I think there’s no way your dream is fake.”

She blinked at Lin Xian. “It’s really an old topic, but…”

“If your dream was fake, why would Yellow Finch go through so much trouble—sacrificing everything and risking her life to come back and find you?”

“Because I am Yellow Finch, I know myself well,” Zhao Ying Jun said softly but with conviction. “You’ve told me that Yellow Finch knew a lot about the Genius Club—it’s likely that she learned all of it from you, just like I have now.”

“From this, it’s clear that Yellow Finch and her Lin Xian believed in your dream’s reality, or they wouldn’t have sacrificed everything to travel back in time to give you crucial information—just so you could enter the Genius Club earlier and notice Einstein’s strangeness.”

“If Einstein had really seen a bright future and had the ability to lead humanity there, Yellow Finch should’ve gone back for him, not you.”

“Clearly, there’s something off about Einstein. Whether his vision of the future is false, or he’s deliberately lying… The point is, you have to trust Yellow Finch, and you have to trust ‘Yellow Finch’s Choice.’ She chose you because you were right—she and her Lin Xian must’ve verified it.”

Zhao Ying Jun touched her growing belly as she continued, “I admit my view might be biased. But if I put myself in Yellow Finch’s position… I wouldn’t abandon Yu Xi unless I was absolutely sure—whatever reason compelled her to do that, it must’ve been something truly important.”

Lin Xian nodded, his eyes softening as he thought. “I’ve also considered that. I trust Yellow Finch deeply.”

“She gave me so many crucial hints, but never once did she imply I should question the reality of the dream.” He remembered a conversation from their trip to Copenhagen. “Once, when we were in Copenhagen, she asked me what code name I’d pick for the Genius Club. I casually said ‘Beethoven or Da Vinci.’ She agreed to Beethoven, but when I asked why not Da Vinci, she just smiled and didn’t answer.”

“It makes sense now—I couldn’t pick Da Vinci because the Genius Club already had one. This means Yellow Finch knew the club very well—she knew Einstein… And even more important—” Lin Xian narrowed his eyes, “Yellow Finch had to have come from a time beyond 2234. She and her Lin Xian would’ve had the chance to use the time travel machine to verify things. For example—”

“1952, what really happened; what the Millennial Stake is; who the old man wearing Einstein’s face, the head of the Genius Club, really is… Yellow Finch must’ve known all of it.”

“Otherwise, why was she so insistent on steering me toward the Genius Club? I thought it was so I could gather intelligence… But really, I haven’t gained much from being part of the club.”

“If using just the dream was enough to save humanity, there was no need for me to join the Genius Club at all. The members all have hidden agendas, and Einstein’s questioning makes it hard to get any valuable information… I’ve found more in the dream than I ever have from the club.”

“Yellow Finch made it a point to guide me toward joining the Genius Club. The very first time she entered my life, she left a fake invitation to the club at the reception desk.”

Suddenly, a thought crossed Lin Xian’s mind.

A fake invitation.

Fake.

Could it be… that even then, Yellow Finch was hinting that the future Einstein saw was false?

“I don’t know if I’m overanalyzing,” Lin Xian murmured, “but the more I think about it, the stranger Einstein’s actions seem. That’s why, the other night, I suspected that the future he saw had been hijacked—a supposedly beautiful future when really it was humanity’s end.”

Zhao Ying Jun nodded. “I haven’t thought as deeply about it, but one thing I know for sure—Yellow Finch is someone you can trust with your life. Her goal was to help you save the world, save humanity’s future. She didn’t put her faith in Einstein—she put it in you. She encouraged you to keep moving forward, to keep trying, even if it meant getting it wrong.”

“Just like us—everyone around you, both in reality and in the dreamscapes—Liu Feng, Gao Yang, Chu An Qing, Chu Shan He, Du Yao, Nangong Meng Jie, Angelica, Elon Musk, Big Cat Face, CC, Gao Wen… They all believed in you.”

“So, Lin Xian, believe in yourself—believe in your dreams.”

She held his hand in hers. “Don’t be afraid of failing—I’m always here for you.”

“If you do end up failing in your mission to save the future…” Zhao Ying Jun lifted her gaze to meet his eyes.

“I’m willing to be Yellow Finch once again for you.”

…

Lin Xian felt the warmth of her hand. He looked at Zhao Ying Jun’s resolute expression and held her hand tighter.

“I won’t let it come to that.”

“Yellow Finch came back not to create another Yellow Finch, but to nurture a successful Lin Xian.”

Zhao Ying Jun smiled slightly, reaching up to caress his smooth cheek, then his slightly rough chin. She then took a piece of folded white paper from her handbag.

She unfolded it.

It contained the four predicaments Lin Xian had listed the other night in his study when he had dozed off in exhaustion:

[The secret of 1952—can’t go there without a time machine.]

[Comet arrives in 2234—too far in the future.]

[Cheng Qian revives VV in 2482—even further in the future.]

[Human extinction in 2624—can’t change it, can’t find the safe, can’t get any useful information.]

“Lin Xian, there is a way to solve these four dilemmas.” Zhao Ying Jun pointed at the second one. “First, when Du Yao successfully develops the Brain Neural Electric Helmet, we use a hibernation pod to travel to 2234.”

She then pointed at the first one. “In 2234, use the time travel machine, utilizing the entangled spacetime particles, and travel back to 1952 to see what really happened—find out the truth about Einstein, the Genius Club, and the Millennial Stake.”

Her finger slid down to the third one. “Then, we hibernate again and go to 2482 to revive the super AI, VV. With VV’s help, we’ll be able to defeat any enemy—including Einstein, and maybe even the mastermind behind him.”

Her finger moved down to the fourth. “Finally, after defeating all the enemies and discovering all the truths—not only can we save Chu An Qing and resolve the Extinction Light—we can hibernate until August 29th, 2624, and watch the sunrise of a new day together.”

Lin Xian opened his mouth to say something, but Zhao Ying Jun shook her finger, signaling him to stay quiet.

“I know what you want to say, but I’ve thought it all through.” She took a book from her handbag and handed it to him—a Winter Sleep Manual.

“I researched it yesterday—hibernation is perfectly fine for adults, but for children, the minimum age is three years old. In extreme cases, it can’t be lower than one year. For infants under one year, hibernation is strictly prohibited worldwide.”

“An infant’s brain isn’t fully developed, and hibernation fluids might infiltrate the brain, causing irreversible damage. But I’ve thought about it—we can’t decide Yu Xi’s life for her. We have the duty to watch her grow up, and I want to see her grow into a young woman—to eighteen.”

“After that, Yu Xi will be an adult, capable of making her own choices. If she wants to join us in the future, we go together as a family. If she wants to stay, we’ll have fulfilled our duty as parents and can go to the future without regrets.”

“When she’s eighteen, we’ll be in our forties—still strong, and it’ll be no hindrance to the plan.” She smiled, looking at Lin Xian. “Who says a savior has to be like the kids in cartoons? Middle-aged people can be heroes too.”

Lin Xian stared at the manual in his hands, not opening it. He looked at Zhao Ying Jun in surprise. “Your determination—you managed to think of a plan for the next twenty years in just a day.”

“You said it yourself—hibernation into an unknown future is terrifying and lonely. You resisted the idea, and honestly, I do too. Even waiting until Yu Xi is eighteen… I still don’t want to leave.”

“I don’t want to either.” Zhao Ying Jun said sincerely. “But if you don’t do this… who else could?”

She looked at Lin Xian, smiling faintly. “They say married couples have a special connection, and you can’t hide from me. I know exactly what has been troubling you lately. It’s not these dilemmas.”

“You’re clever enough to realize hibernation could solve everything. But the cost… leaving this era, leaving Yu Xi, leaving me.”

“Yellow Finch’s final words to you by the Copenhagen sea left you filled with guilt and hesitation. The responsibility of saving humanity’s future versus the duty to be with and protect your family… The conflict between these responsibilities is what truly has you at a standstill.”

…

For a moment, Lin Xian was silent.

Zhao Ying Jun had seen right through him.

Hibernation.

He had been avoiding that option for as long as possible.

Yellow Finch, when she became those blue, shimmering stars, had told him… not to leave Yu Xi.

He had also seen Zhao Ying Jun waiting for him in the third dream—six hundred years alone.

How could he even think of leaving them?

“I’m your wife, and I’m Yu Xi’s mother.” Zhao Ying Jun stood up and walked to stand in front of him.

Looking down at him, she continued. “If saving the world and humanity’s future is your duty, then raising Yu Xi and growing old with you is mine.”

She looked at him, her eyes filled with determination. “Yellow Finch’s true meaning might not have been to hold back the mantis, but rather… to always have your back.”

“So, Lin Xian, don’t worry about anything else. Like I said when we first met—do what you really want to do, what you will never regret putting your whole life into.”

“And, honestly… isn’t the plan I just suggested the best possible one? Just eighteen more years before we sleep. Let’s raise Yu Xi together, and then…” She reached out her hand, pulling him up from the bench, smiling. “Then, I’ll go with you…”

“To the end of the world.”

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