Genius Club.

Chapter 461 Something is wrong (extra chapter for Silver Alliance 37 Tianxia Wushuang!)
The old man on the mechanical swivel chair looked at this scene in disbelief.

He looked left at Jask, then at Angelica, and took a deep breath:

"I didn't expect that..."

The surprise on his face disappeared in an instant, and he laughed:

“It’s wonderful, absolutely wonderful.”

"I admit, kids, this time... I was indeed fooled by you. It seems... sometimes people have to accept their age."

"I am no longer young and can see through and think of everything..."

He leaned forward, trying to prop himself up with his arms—

boom!boom!boom!boom!
Lin Xian used his instant shooting skills and fired four shots in seconds, accurately hitting the joints of the old man's arms and knees.

The pistol Jask gave him was of huge caliber and extremely lethal.

Four blood flowers exploded.

The old man staggered and fell back into the chair. His two thin arms were directly broken by the bullets, and the lower half of the broken arms fell to the ground spurting blood. The knee of his left leg exploded, and the lower half of his calf was twisted to the side.

“Ahem…Ah—”

The old man's face turned red in an instant, he gritted his teeth, and wailed in his throat but no sound came out.

Lin Xian noticed early on that there were buttons on both sides of this swivel chair.

Although he didn't know which button it was, based on his many years of experience in dream battles, he knew that he should not give the enemy any chance.

Just like when he killed Kevin Walker, being kind to the enemy is being cruel to yourself; giving the enemy one more time to speak is giving him one more chance to turn the tables.

"Copernicus."

Lin Xian strode forward and looked coldly at the old man who had lost his limbs:

"Although I really want to settle accounts with you, letting you breathe one more second of air would be a blasphemy to those who have passed away."

He raised the large-caliber pistol horizontally and pressed it against the old man's forehead.

boom!
boom!
boom!
One shot, one shot, and another shot.

He silently recited the names of the deceased one by one in his heart and pulled the trigger one by one.

Xu Yun, Tang Xin, Huang Que, Yu Xi...

boom!
boom!
boom!
A head that exploded like a watermelon was not enough to vent the inner anger and the heartache for the loss of relatives and friends.

Click, click.

It was not until the bullets in the magazine were all used up, the trigger became soft, and the muzzle became hot that Lin Xian finally put down the pistol...

On the swivel chair in front of him, the old man had turned into a headless corpse.

Blood and brain matter were scattered everywhere, even the back of the chair was shattered by bullets, and the shattered skull was embedded in the parts, completely unrecognizable from its original appearance.

In the huge underground base, the only sounds left were the sound of blood dripping onto the floor and... the breathing of three people.

"It's really a bargain for him to die so quickly."

Angelica came up from behind.

She threw away the red-framed glasses on her nose, took off the wig on her head, and looked at the corpse with the head exploded in front of them with Lin Xian:

"I've seen him."

She said softly:
"When I was a kid, I once saw him talking to Ji Xinshui. He wasn't that old then, but I have a very good memory for people's faces. I can almost remember everything I see. I can even remember facial details at a glance."

"So there's no mistake. He did meet Ji Xinshui about 20 years ago, but I don't know what they talked about."

Lin Xian took out his cell phone and looked at the upper right corner.

Sure enough, there is no cell phone signal deep underground.

He specifically told Liu Feng to tell him immediately if the value of the space-time clock changed or the world line jumped.

But now...

I guess Liu Feng is going to roar again. I didn’t get his call in time this time.

This time, together with Jask and Angelica, they surrounded and killed Copernicus. Lin Xian had already prepared for the world line jump.

Although the drawings of the time-space shuttle have not been copied yet.

But the purpose of building a time-space shuttle is to completely consume the entangled space-time particles, prevent Copernicus from stealing them, and continuously send back time-space assassins from the future.

If Copernicus can really be killed this time.

That is equivalent to solving the hidden danger from the root, and whether the time-space shuttle can be built becomes less important.

In fact, Lin Xian himself was not very interested in traveling through time and space. Fear and the unknown were secondary. His biggest concern was...

【I can’t come back.】

So far, he has not seen any case of using entangled space-time particles to return to the future. Both Lin Yuxi and No. 17 failed to successfully "return home" due to the changes in the world line.

This made Lin Xian feel that time travel was unreliable.

Especially since he and Yingjun now have a child who will be born next year. A complete family of three is waiting for him to become a husband and a father.

If you really travel back in time, and then for various reasons cannot come back and jump to another world line, it would be a lifelong regret.

therefore.

As long as Copernicus can be killed, Lin Xian will not feel any regrets even if the time machine cannot be built.

Putting away his phone, Lin Xian looked at Angelica:

"So, it is confirmed that he is Copernicus?"

"It should be right."

Jask also came over:
"Angelica and I have both spoken to Copernicus on the phone, and the voices are consistent. Besides, our plan this time is so rigorous and has not been exposed. You even used real entangled space-time particles as bait. I can't think of any mistakes."

"I can't think of that either."

Lin Xian shook his head:
"I also think our plan is perfect in every way, but..."

He pursed his lips and said nothing.

[I always feel like something is wrong.]

First of all.

Everything went as planned, a little too smoothly.

Although this is not a doubtful point, it is impossible to say that every battle in life must be tortuous, difficult, and have multiple reversals.

But I always feel...

It does seem unreal that Copernicus was killed so easily.

It's a very strange feeling.

Now that I have killed my enemy and avenged my dead friends, I should be happy and joyful.

But it was this strange feeling that still made Lin Xian worried, as if he had overlooked something very important.

Second.

In the fourth dream, the mysterious old man looked and sounded completely different from the Copernicus who had just been killed.

Before today, Lin Xian had never really heard the voice of Copernicus.

Jask and Angelica had both called Copernicus, but Lin Xian had not, so there was no way to compare.

As for the voices in the genius club…

That is completely based on the virtual image. The voice quality is determined by the age set by your virtual image. It has no reference value at all.

Take Newton for example. Newton's voice was young and loud, but in fact he was definitely an old man. The same goes for Leonardo da Vinci. She should be a grandmother, but her voice was the same as her virtual image, that of a clear young female voice.

Of course, Lin Xian never took what he saw at the club party seriously.

His voice was also not his own. After being changed by the system, it sounded like that of an honest middle-aged man.

But coming here today and hearing Copernicus' voice for the first time, it was clear that something was wrong.

Lin Xian believes that future cosmetic surgery technology may indeed be able to change one’s appearance, but can a person’s voice... also change?

The mysterious old man in the fourth dream, and the elderly man whom he had just shot in the head, it was true that they both liked to laugh dryly.

But the voices are very different, and you can tell they are not the same person.

If we rule out the possibility that the voice was changed during plastic surgery, then the mysterious old man in the fourth dream and the old man who died in front of us are definitely not the same person.

It can’t be possible... that there are two Copernicuses in this world?

So, this is the second doubt.

At last.

The third doubt.

The physical condition of the old man in front of him was much worse than Lin Xian had imagined. He looked shaky, weak, and dying.

Can such an old man really hold on until two hundred years later, wake up, live longer, and continue to be full of energy?

It’s not that Lin Xian doesn’t believe in medicine or science.

It is precisely because he believes in medicine and science that he finds it too unbelievable.

Perhaps in the future hundreds of years from now, through various technologies, a healthy young person will be able to live a few decades longer; but for an old man who is already frail and whose body functions have all degenerated...how can he be made alive and kicking again?

From this perspective, Lin Xian really doesn't believe that this dying old man will be able to have a second spring in his life in the future.

In addition, there is currently no way in the world to avoid hibernation amnesia.

If Copernicus wanted to hibernate for 200 years without losing his memory, he could only wake up for half a year every ten years to consolidate his memory.

This intermittent hibernation method is extremely harmful to the body.

Given the old man's physical condition, he might have died in the first ten years.

But if he forgets all his memories and wakes up 200 years later in one breath... with only a memory notebook and memory recordings, can he really inherit his memories perfectly and keep his original aspirations?

In the future world, countless people told Lin Xian that human memory is very huge and comes with emotions. Just a few memory notebooks and a few videos are not enough for people to find their former selves.

This is very contradictory.

Many things are contradictory.

……

Jask seemed to see Lin Xian's concerns and patted him on the shoulder:

"I know what you're thinking. This is indeed going too smoothly, but... why do you think going smoothly is a bad thing?"

"Is it natural for the enemy to kill us easily? And if our plan goes smoothly once, we will fall into a trap? This logic is too weird."

"Indeed, Copernicus is very difficult and smart, but we are not bad either. If you hadn't told me the undercover intelligence in advance...how would we have had the chance to kill Copernicus?"

"It's understandable that there is no security here, Lin Xian. How could Copernicus, who is so cautious, let others know his hibernation place? I even suspect that if it was really my secretary and stand-in who came today, Copernicus might not let them go back alive."

"Wait, look what I found."

Angelica rummaged through the old man's clothes and pulled out a gold badge.

On the front of the badge, there is a seal logo of the Genius Club, which is obviously the certificate of membership of the Genius Club and also the key index to attend club gatherings.

Lin Xian took it and looked through it carefully:

"It's real. At least I can't tell it's fake. It's the same as mine." Jask took it and looked at it again:

"You have to cut it open to see if it's real or fake. I had my stand-in wear VR glasses to play games in the office, and I actually made a fake badge for him. You can't tell the real thing without cutting it open."

"I thought my secretary would use the badge to verify my identity when she came to kill me, so I was well prepared. But maybe she was too confident, or maybe Copernicus didn't trust her enough at the time... so I didn't tell her about the golden badge."

……

Listening to Jask and Angelica's arguments, Lin Xian nodded slightly.

At present, although there are many doubts.

But there is also a lot of evidence to support that this old man is indeed Copernicus.

"Anyway, let's get back to the ground."

Lin Xian closed the small refrigerator containing entangled space-time particles and held it in his arms.

He still really wanted to know what the value of Liu Feng's space-time clock had become and how many world lines had been jumped.

Jask walked to the computer in the underground base and operated it:
"I will let my team take over this place. No matter if we can find some intelligence or absorb some of the technology here, it's a rare trip here, we can't return empty-handed."

Afterwards, the three of them left and returned to the castle on the ground through the winding passage.

Lin Xian took out his cell phone.

Looking at the signal bar in the upper right corner of the phone, it gradually changes from "no signal" to "full signal".

He was prepared for an explosion of missed calls, a flurry of WeChat messages, and Liu Feng's crazy roar.

however……

Unexpected.

The phone, whose signal had been restored, was as calm as water, without a ripple, not a single message or call.

"Ok?"

Lin Xian was very confused.

It shouldn't be.

Liu Feng should be watching the time and space clock at all times, and at this time, Liu Feng in Longguo will definitely not sleep.

Is there something wrong with the phone?
With doubts, Lin Xian called Liu Feng:

"Hello? Are you in the lab?"

"Yes."

Liu Feng is always online, as if he never sleeps.

"Has the reading of the space-time clock changed?"

There were footsteps on the other end of the phone, and Liu Feng said calmly:

"No change, still 0.0000168. Compared to the crazy jumps on July 7, the past two months have been too stable."

"Strange."

Lin Xian felt incredible.

Isn’t the importance of Copernicus enough to make the clock of time and space jump a little?

This is a great scourge to the world.

His death, not to mention how much it will change the future of mankind... but at least it should be no problem to change the curvature of space-time by 0.0000042, right?

Lin Xian frowned.

I feel that this matter is really not simple.

Since the curvature of space-time and the world line have not changed, there are only four possibilities:

1. Copernicus' death was insignificant and did not even break through the elasticity of space and time.

2. Copernicus' death at 0.0000168 is a predetermined world line, because this world line belongs to Leonardo da Vinci's future, so it makes no difference whether Copernicus dies early or late.

3. Copernicus was not dead at all, they killed the wrong person.

4. Copernicus is indeed dead, but Copernicus is not just one person. It may be two people, or it may be a group of people... So, even if one Copernicus died, it would not affect their overall future plans.

It’s the familiar four-choice stage again.

Which one is the answer?

Hang up the phone.

Lin Xian walked to the wall of the ancient castle and looked into the distance.

How disgusting.

It's Copernicus.

He is still alive but still sharp. Even though he has been killed, he still continues to disgust people and makes people feel uncomfortable.

Angelica and Jask came to see.

The existing evidence is sufficient to prove that the old man who just died was the evil Copernicus.

Lin Xian did not deny this.

It's just that there's no absolute evidence.

just now.

The most urgent thing is to find a way to prove exactly—

【Is Copernicus dead or alive? 】

But the problem is.

How to prove it?

With the death of the old man, everyone, everyone in the world, lost all clues about Copernicus.

Copernicus's existence completely disappeared, evaporating from history and the future.

"what?"

wrong.

Lin Xian blinked his eyes and looked at the water of Lake Brienz in the distance flowing towards the east, with a long and profound history.

Long river.

It's like a long river of history.

It’s really long. Really, really long.

Even if we start counting from 2024 now, it will be 2624 years until the end of time in 600.

600 Ah.

It sounds random, but it's really an absurdly long time span.

Facing the grassland breeze.

Lin Xian looked at the water of Lake Brienz flowing eastward.

The lake water here has been flowing for at least 600 years.

Does it care about a certain rain in a certain year? Does it care about a flock of sheep passing by to drink water on a certain day?
Obviously not.

Just like the 600-year history.

Lin Xian truly realized at this moment——

[The future plans among the members of the Genius Club, as well as their battles with each other, span hundreds of years.]

[In a game that lasted 600 years, why bother about the gains and losses of a few years or decades? ]

If we consider that the future these geniuses were looking into and the plans they were going to implement were all hundreds of years in the future.

So, now in 2024, it doesn’t matter who has a slight advantage or a slight lead.

Because the main battlefield of this game is not in 2024, but in the distant future!

Under this premise.

The premise of all this is that the geniuses must first find a way to live into the future before they can complete their plan.

Only when you are alive can you produce results, and long life is the bottom line.

Then.

How can one lurk quietly in the long river of history, accumulate strength, seize the critical moment, leap out, and lock in victory?
Suddenly.

Lin Xian recalled the words he had used to deceive Ji Xinshui in the interrogation room:
"Ji Xinshui, do you know why the Genius Club could be so mysteriously hidden in the long river of history without leaving a trace?"

"That's because... the members of the Genius Club are history themselves. They have already merged themselves into history and separated themselves from the real world. Naturally, they will not leave any trace behind."

"As long as they are alive, they will leave traces in history. But the dead are different... The dead will not attract attention, and will not leave any real traces in this world. In this way, we can hide ourselves and the organization in the long river of history and quietly pluck the strings of the future."

"Your final exam is to disappear from reality, to completely conceal your existence by deceiving the world with a [fake death], and to control time, space, and destiny without making any sound or trace."

……

Lin Xian took a deep breath.

These words were all fabricated by him in order to deceive Ji Xinshui into confessing his guilt and accepting the death penalty.

If it were any other member of the Seven Deadly Sins, no one would believe Lin Xian’s lies.

Only the crazy and arrogant Ji Xinshui believed it to be true and truly faced death with equanimity, welcoming his grand death and Copernicus' applause.

Hidden in the long river of history...

Stirring the strings of the future...

This was clearly a lie that I told casually.

But now.

But the more I listen, the more real it feels!
【suspended animation】.

Think of the keywords that are popular in this scam season.

The words that were once said linger in my ears like a boomerang.

"No way……"

Lin Xian held his breath.

Look back.

Look in the direction of the underground base.

On the mechanical rotating chair in the middle.

There lay a corpse with broken limbs, a shattered head, and all the blood drained out.

This……

Can it be considered a fake death if it is so thorough?
He always felt something was wrong and swallowed his saliva:

"It can't be true..."

"It's a prophecy, right?"

(End of this chapter)