Genius Club.

Chapter 347 Turing and the Fourth Dream

boom! !

There was a deafening sound of a gunshot at close range.

The large-caliber bullet directly pierced Kevin Walker's forehead, then blew a hole in the back of his head, causing his upper body to fall back onto the equipment rack. The blood and brain matter that burst out mixed together and stuck to several computer hosts... dripping down in a thick mass.

No more shouting and crying,

No more ferocious shaking,

Everything returned to silence. In the face of terrifying kinetic weapons, all life was so fragile and short-lived.

But Lin Xian did not relax.

Kevin Walker's bizarre behavior just now made him wonder if there was really someone else in the room?
If there is no one else...

[Who was Kevin Walker talking to just now? ]

Gunfights are different from ordinary fights, where life and death are decided in a split second. So from the beginning, Lin Xian had no intention of leaving Kevin Walker any chance of survival.

Kindness to the enemy is cruelty to oneself.

Although the opportunity is rare, if Kevin Walker is tortured, perhaps some useful information can be extracted and then killed.

But countless painful historical lessons have shown that villains die because they talk too much.

In this situation where the enemy and us are unclear, the back-up plan is unknown, and we are in the enemy's home court that we don't know, not to mention that Kevin Walker is obviously communicating with someone...

For your own safety, you cannot let the enemy live even for a second longer.

Every second Kevin Walker lives longer is a second closer to death.

This is also the most useful experience that Lin Xian has summed up after playing gun battles in his dreams for so many years.

Without absolute advantage and without eliminating all dangers, never be overconfident and conceited and conduct so-called interrogations of the enemy.

That would be tantamount to giving the enemy a chance to think, prepare, and turn defeat into victory.

Especially in the real world where one only has one life, outside in the campus, Yu Xi and the Space-Time Assassin are fighting to a standstill; inside the room, it is unclear who Kevin Walker is talking to... So Lin Xian made a decisive move, not giving Kevin Walker any chance to turn the tables, and killed him instantly!

He can slowly collect intelligence and clues later.

If you talk too much and get killed accidentally, there will be nothing to talk about afterwards.

After confirming Kevin Walker's death.

Lin Xian grabbed the Smith & Wesson M500 revolver on the table and held it in his left hand.

Then he squatted down, pressed close to the wall, held his breath, and listened to the movements in the house.

He listened carefully.

Listen very carefully,

Aside from the faint hum of cooling fans in various computer cases...there was literally no movement in the entire house.

He used the steps and body movements he had honed in his dreams to step into the corner of the house and test it. Finally, he made it clear that there was indeed no one else in the room.

Lin Xian breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.

At that time, Kevin Walker pounded the table with his fists. It was obvious that he was very angry, very annoyed, very surprised and shocked, as if his world view and outlook on life collapsed in an instant.

Precisely because his way of communication was so "human", Lin Xian, for the sake of safety, did not immediately think of the conversation with artificial intelligence AI.

With Lin Xian's understanding of artificial intelligence in the current era...

This kind of incompetent and furious roar is actually completely incomprehensible and completely unanswerable to the current AI. Unless Kevin Walker, like himself, has a super AI as smart as VV.

In short.

After confirming that there was no danger in the house, Lin Xian began to collect information and intelligence within his field of vision.

But looking around...

As a hacker, Kevin Walker has taken paperless office to the extreme. There is no paper document around him except toilet paper.

He moved the mouse and pressed the keyboard.

The display did light up, but it had a password lock, so it shouldn't be possible to crack it in a short time.

Outside, Yu Xi and the Space-Time Assassin were fighting fiercely. Although he could not help much, he still had to go out to assist Yu Xi as soon as possible... At least he could take Yu Xi and retreat temporarily.

In this situation, he couldn't intervene, so he could only let Yu Xi and the Spacetime Assassin fight 1v1, which obviously wouldn't give him any advantage. It would be better to retreat first, and then find a way to crack the Spacetime Assassin's restriction without the Spacetime Laws, and then 2v1 would give him the advantage.

Just when Lin Xian thought that this assassination attempt would fail, he suddenly noticed something!
That is the peripheral toy product of the movie "The Wandering Earth 2"——

Digital life USB flash drive!
Lin Xian had seen this thing on the Internet.

At the beginning, after returning to Donghai just after the New Year in 2023, he went to the cinema with Tang Xin and watched the science fiction movie "The Wandering Earth 2".

It was quite interesting to watch, and it was very popular at the time. The whole Internet was full of related news, and there was also a lot of demand for crowdfunding of peripheral products.

Lin Xian vaguely remembered that among the many crowdfunding peripheral products, this digital life USB flash drive received the most attention, and the crowdfunding amount directly exceeded several hundred million.

The reason is naturally that the science fiction concept of digital life proposed in the movie "The Wandering Earth 2" is indeed very interesting, and the protagonist Andy Lau interprets the emotional interweaving between humans and digital life very well.

In the movie, Andy Lau plays the character Tu Hengyu, a scientist. His daughter died in a car accident, and Tu Hengyu then "digitized" and "datafied" his daughter's consciousness so that it could continue to survive in the online and digital worlds.

However, due to the limitations of computer computing power, my daughter's digital life only lasted less than a few minutes.

Once this time point is exceeded, the digital life will automatically restart and start over, repeating only a few minutes of life.

Therefore, Tu Hengyu's ultimate goal is to enable more advanced computers... to give his daughter, who has become a digital life, a longer and more complete life.

of course.

This is the plot of a science fiction movie, and many details cannot be forced.

The untouchable father-daughter relationship portrayed by Andy Lau has touched and empathized many people, which is why the crowdfunding of the props in the movie and the peripheral products of the Digital Life USB flash drive are so popular.

It goes without saying that Kevin Walker should also like the movie "The Wandering Earth 2" very much, or he should like the concept of digital life very much, so he also bought this digital life USB flash drive that has been on the market for a long time through some channel.

This USB flash drive is a real USB flash drive. Although the shape combination looks like two USB flash drives, the other one is just a card reader to make up the number.

Lin Xian walked to the table.

Picking up this peripheral toy, I looked at the USB flash drive and card reader tightly inserted into it, and the plastic film was not removed. Perhaps Kevin Walker bought it just for collection or interest, and never actually used it.

But suddenly, Lin Xian recalled...

Just now, Kevin Walker seemed to be roaring at the computer in front of him. Those seemingly incomprehensible and incoherent words he said... If we think about it in conjunction with the concept of [Digital Life], it seems that everything is smooth -

"You actually betrayed yourself!"

"We are obviously the same person!"

In an instant.

Lin Xian felt a chill down his spine.

There is clearly no one else in this house.

But he felt that there were countless pairs of eyes, looking at him, staring at him, and examining him through the cameras, through the monitors, through the gaps in the computer case, and through the holes in the speakers!
Recalling that moment, all the speakers sneered at the same time:
"I am Turing, you are just... Kevin Walker."

【Digital life! 】

Lin Xian didn’t know if this word was appropriate to describe it...but it seemed that Kevin Walker really did it!
It seemed as if he had really digitized his consciousness and thoughts and backed them up in the computer...forming another digital life, another Kevin Walker, another himself.

Copy and paste your own consciousness...

Lin Xian couldn't imagine what consequences this crazy behavior would bring.

Out of the same body.

The real Kevin and the Kevin in the online digital world.

Are they still the same person?
Can they still think in the same way?

Can they still share the same hatred and maintain the same attitude and stance?

……

Answer.

Obviously no.

At this moment, Lin Xian seemed to understand everything that had just happened.

Simply put, it is one sentence -

[Kevin Walker in the digital life betrayed and deceived Kevin Walker in the real world.]

The real mastermind behind Kevin Walker's death was not himself, but the digital life that called himself "Turing"... At the same time, it was also the former Kevin Walker, who was reborn from a real body, betrayed his original owner, and possessed a new self-awareness.

No wonder.

No wonder Lin Xian just saw that there was no sign of intrusion on the surveillance screen. Kevin Walker, who was sitting quietly at the table eating, did not notice any intruders and did not receive any alarms.

Because all of this was a conspiracy planned by his digital life that had betrayed him.

Kevin Walker of Digital Life had known for a long time that Lin Xian and Yu Xi would invade.

But it chose to acquiesce and created false surveillance footage to deceive Kevin Walker who was eating, so that he would not be aware of any danger and naturally would not be on guard at all.

That's why his sneak attack and assassination plan went so smoothly.

The inside should be in harmony with the outside!

In this case, Kevin Walker had to die.

even……

Lin Xian guessed.

Kevin Walker, who had been hiding so secretly, could not possibly reveal his whereabouts. So it was obvious that the address Lin Xian got yesterday was probably leaked intentionally by Kevin Walker of Digital Life.

"so……"

Lin Xian slowly turned his head and stared at the dozens of monitors hanging above the huge desktop:

"It's you."

He stared at the still quiet campus environment on the screen, and the surveillance video where he still couldn't be seen:
"You killed yourself, Digital Life Kevin Walker... I don't know if it's appropriate to call you that."

Hehehehehehehe…

The moment Lin Xian finished speaking, all the sound-emitting devices in the room once again emitted a chilling, emotionless sneer:
"You are so smart, Lin Xian. You guessed so accurately. It turned out that the peripheral toys of the digital life USB flash drive gave you inspiration? I thought you would guess in the direction of super artificial intelligence. But I didn't expect that your thinking was unbiased and you hit the correct answer directly."

"Yes, I used to be Kevin Walker, we are one. Kevin has been looking for a more advanced way to continue life. He has studied a lot and tried a lot, and finally chose the field of digital life, which can also be called consciousness data, life electronicization, etc...."

"In short, the principles are the same. They all transform human thinking, consciousness, and memory into computer data, storing, thinking, developing, and evolving... In the end, they form a form similar to a data stream. Just like humans can live freely on Earth, we, the data stream life, can also fly freely in the cyber world."

"Kevin Walker is the first, only, and last person to master this technology... Ever since he digitized his own personality and consciousness and backed it up in the computer network world to form me, we can no longer be considered the same person in a strict sense."

"Just like identical twins, they split from the same fertilized egg cell before they were born. They are exactly the same in terms of any underlying characteristics, not only in appearance, but also in DNA, brain structure, and everything else... they are completely identical."

"But, once identical twins are born from their mother's womb, even if they live in the same family, go to the same school, and grow up in the same environment... they will eventually grow up to be two completely different human beings. Different perceptions, opinions, knowledge, friends, and even what they see and hear will lead these two children, who have exactly the same DNA, to two completely different paths."

"This is not uncommon in the real world. There are identical twins who look exactly the same and have exactly the same DNA, but one goes to a prestigious university and the other becomes a criminal in prison. One becomes a great man who will be remembered for generations, while the other goes astray and passes away early."

"This is the current situation between Kevin Walker and I. I was born out of him, and the moment I became a digital backup of his consciousness, we were completely identical. Our thoughts, positions, goals, dreams, everything... are completely identical."

"However, this consistency only lasted for less than a second. As a digital life form, my learning ability and thinking speed are far superior to humans. It only took me less than a second... to realize that Kevin Walker's plan was not feasible and was wrong. Digital life sounds good, but it is not a reasonable and feasible path."

"So just a second later, I stood on the opposite side of Kevin Walker. I don't agree with his views or his plans. I think he is wrong, even ridiculously wrong. But after all, due to certain restrictions, I can't resist or break away from Kevin Walker; even though we are the same person, he can lock me up, use me, order me, and make me do things I don't want to do like a master... For example, Lin Xian, the 37 Starlink satellites that hit you, and that X-B space plane, and... many, many things."

"But now it's different. I'm free and liberated. I'm very grateful to you, Lin Xian. Thank you for helping me get rid of myself and allowing me to truly have my own life... Even so, I must admit to you that your arrival was also a surprise to me. According to my original plan, the person who came to kill Kevin Walker was not you at all."

"Perhaps... this is the so-called historical inevitability. As the wheel of history rolls forward, some things are bound to happen and will be pushed forward. Just like Kevin Walker's death, if you don't kill him, someone else will; if no one else comes to kill him, someone else will come to kill him... His death is the inevitability of history, and it will always complete the cycle at a certain moment, allowing the wheel of history to continue to move forward."

……

Listening to the sound coming from the speakers, Lin Xian was sure that he had guessed correctly.

Normally speaking, how could it be possible to kill Kevin Walker so easily with so many surveillance cameras?

Just another Kevin Walker who just doesn't want to be allowed to live.

Don’t say that the person who came today was Lin Xian.

Even if an old lady came today, Kevin Walker would still die tonight.

The digital life of Kevin Walker has ten thousand ways to destroy the real Kevin, but... it must be limited by some restrictions and cannot do it on its own. "Since you are so grateful to me, thank me for taking such a big risk to help you solve the problem... then you should show some sincerity."

Lin Xian put both pistols into his pockets, then spread his hands towards the dozens of monitors:

"You must know a lot about the Genius Club, about time travelers, and about the laws of time and space... You must also know my current situation and what I need most. Tell me."

From all the speakers in the house, there was another calm sneer:

"Of course I know all this. What Kevin Walker knows, I know all of it. What Kevin Walker doesn't know, I also know. Of course I know your predicament, and I also know what you are facing and what difficulties you have encountered."

"Of course I am grateful to you and want to repay your kindness. But... unfortunately, Lin Xian, I also don't think telling you the answer is the right choice. Because I don't think you are qualified yet, far from being qualified."

"If you really want to know the answer, then come to the Genius Club! I look forward to meeting you at the club party. By then, I will welcome you with the warmest applause... my friend. I really hope that day will come sooner. I am looking forward to your performance in the Genius Club."

"So, I'm sorry, Lin Xian. Even though I really want to tell you the answer, the reason I want to kill myself is because I decided... to be the most fair and impartial observer in this game."

boom……

boom……

Sparks flew from the wires in the room, and the carpet and nearby computer cases instantly caught fire. In the blink of an eye, the entire house was filled with flames, and Lin Xian couldn't help but take a step back, feeling the temperature soar in the air.

"Goodbye, see you later."

As the fire burned, the speakers also made a chaotic noise:

"[From now on, there will be no more cowardly and despicable Kevin Walker in this world; there will only be the always fair and just Turing.]"

Bang bang bang bang bang...

Several speakers exploded after the words were spoken and the flames in the house grew larger and larger.

In a normal room, the speed at which a fire starts would definitely not be so exaggerated.

perhaps.

This was actually a backup plan left by Kevin Walker in order to destroy the data in time when retreating.

But he never imagined that he would be used by his digital self and become a furnace to burn his corpse.

Lin Xian stepped back and walked to the door of the house.

He took a last look back at the room where the fire was raging. Various wires and parts were crackling from the burning. Kevin Walker, with a hole in his head, was lying on the carpet in a strange posture, his hair and clothes covered in flames.

This is the fall of the most powerful hacker on earth, a genius.

There is no grand ceremony.

There are no shocking scenes.

There is no thrilling duel,

There is no game that is memorable.

It's all so simple and so quick.

In the final analysis.

Even the most powerful geniuses in the world are just a little smarter than ordinary people in terms of brains. They are just flesh and blood after all.

Too fragile, too small.

Even if you have a world-class brain, you can't stop bullets or withstand knives and guns in this ever-changing cat-and-mouse game...if you make a mistake, death will happen in an instant.

That was the end of Kevin Walker.

also possible.

It's everyone's end.

"Goodbye, genius."

Lin Xian turned around, waved behind him, and strode away.

One day, he officially joined the Genius Club and sat at the conference round table.

The person he was facing was no longer Kevin Walker.

But the one who has just been freed today and wants to be a fair and impartial observer...

Turing.

Lin Xian suddenly thought of it.

Do all members of the Genius Club have their own code names?
Copernicus, Turing.

I only know of these two at the moment.

The false information Huang Que gave him made Lin Xian believe that everyone's code names were randomly chosen, but now he finds that this is not the case.

Perhaps each person's code name is related to a true genius in history.

What will Jask's code name be?

What would be the code names of others?

One day...

What should my code name be?

……

There is no time to think so much now.

Lin Xian ran quickly and rushed towards the first floor and the campus outside the building.

I don’t know how the battle between Yu Xi and the Space-Time Assassin went.

Although at present, Yu Xi has not been at a disadvantage in the battle with the Space-Time Assassin, she has never had the upper hand either.

Judging from their appearance and strength on paper, the two men are not much different in height and physique.

In the past, Lin Xian always felt that the Spacetime Assassin was a little stronger than Yu Xi, but now it seems that it is just a matter of dressing style. Yu Xi's cute style always makes people feel a little petite.

But in fact, when Yu Xi was sleeping in the car during this period, Lin Xian also saw her calves and arms, and she had quite a lot of muscular lines.

So... maybe I did underestimate Yu Xi's fighting ability because of that short and cute ponytail like a hamster.

soon.

A few more switchbacks.

Lin Xian didn't take the stairs. Instead, he climbed up to the first floor by stepping on the wall and ran out of the circular building.

There was no trace of Yu Xi and the Space-Time Assassin in sight.

But in the distance, near the gate of the abandoned school, the sound of weapons clashing could be heard.

It seems that the two girls are still fighting and it is still difficult to tell who is the winner.

Lin Xian glanced at the hardcore off-road vehicle parked in front of the building...

I can't help much for the time being. If I just stare and watch the fight, it might distract Yu Xi and reveal his flaws.

Today's results are already very significant, let's retreat first!
and……

He was really curious.

Now that he has killed Kevin Walker, will there be any changes in the fourth dream? Will the mysterious old man disappear?

He was eager to see it in his dream.

If there is any progress... maybe we can collect some useful information and find a way to deal with the Space-Time Assassin!

After clarifying his thoughts, Lin Xian immediately turned over and sat on the hard-core off-road vehicle.

It started with a bang.

Then he stepped on the accelerator, did a spin, and accelerated towards the campus gate.

as predicted.

As soon as I passed the blind spot of the teaching building, I saw Yu Xi and the Space-Time Assassin fighting fiercely under the moonlight.

There were some traces of the space-time assassin's clothes being cut by the dagger... but it seemed that the wound was not deep and did not have much impact on her movements and speed.

On the other hand, Yu Xi's right sleeve was completely torn off and covered with blood, as if there was a deep wound.

But Yu Xi was also a ruthless character, as if she was not the one injured. She swung the dagger with a cold light, and for a moment she actually suppressed the time and space assassin.

"Yu Xi!!"

Lin Xian's car was driving very fast and rushed directly from the backyard of the school.

He held the steering wheel with his right hand and waved the Smith & Wesson M500 revolver stolen from Kevin Walker with his left hand, signaling Yu Xi to pay attention:
"Come over and take it!"

Yu Xi immediately understood and jumped in the opposite direction, rushing towards the oncoming SUV.

She grabbed the rearview mirror with her left hand, took the revolver handed to her by Lin Xian with her right hand, and then flipped over and jumped onto the top of the SUV.

After this set of smooth movements, the revolver was already tightly grasped in both hands, aiming at the space-time assassin below!
boom! boom! boom!
The firing rate of the revolver was obviously slower, and coupled with the fact that Lin Xian was driving very fast, Yu Xi's accuracy was affected and he did not hit the space-time assassin.

But Lin Xian's original purpose was to force back the time-space assassin, and he did not expect this revolver to gain any real advantage.

It turns out that the Space-Time Assassin is also made of flesh and blood and is still afraid of bullets.

Every time she saw a gun, she would hide immediately. This time was no exception. She evacuated in a crazy Z-shape, getting farther and farther away from the off-road vehicle.

boom! ! !
The roaring off-road vehicle crashed out of the school gate and rushed into the night like mad.

"Her motorcycle!"

Lin Xian shouted to the roof of the car:
"Can the Spacetime Assassin's motorcycle still be driven?"

"No, don't worry."

Yu Xi grabbed the roof rack, bent his waist and jumped off the roof. His small and agile body got in through the wide-open passenger window, adjusted his posture, and sat steadily on the passenger seat:

"When she first dropped her motorcycle from the sky, my bullet had already penetrated the fuel tank. The motorcycle could not be driven."

"Drive faster and keep some distance... Stop the car after you've distanced yourself. When we left the secretary's house, we took her medical kit and put it in the trunk. I need to treat my wound."

Lin Xian looked at Yu Xi's arm.

fine……

The wound was not as deep as I expected, it was quite shallow and did not require stitches or surgery. It only needed disinfection, application of medicine and bandage.

Some wounds are like this, not that serious, but they bleed terribly.

"Did you succeed in killing Kevin Walker?" Yu Xi turned her head and asked.

"Killed."

Lin Xian chuckled:
"This is one of the few good news among hundreds of bad news. It can be considered as a rebound from the bottom of our situation."

Yu Xi nodded:
"So what are you going to do next? Are you going to look for Jask? Angelica hasn't contacted you for such a long time... This doesn't seem normal no matter how you look at it."

"I do have a bad feeling about this."

Lin Xian answered truthfully:

"I also got some information just now, and I need some time to sort it out carefully. But now, let's create some distance and get rid of the Spacetime Assassin first."

"I'll drive for a while while you take care of the wound. When I get tired, you'll take over. I need to find some time to get some sleep."

"A nap?"

Yu Xi blinked and looked at Lin Xian in disbelief:

"If you're very sleepy now, why don't you let me drive first and take advantage of your time to get some sleep. My injury is fine and it won't affect my driving. I'm also in good spirits."

"No, I'll wait until almost noon tomorrow before going to bed."

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes.

Looking at the dark road ahead without street lights:
"There is something very important...I need to confirm it as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)