Genius Club

CC glanced at her watch, her patience wearing thin. “Can you stop daydreaming? It’s already 12:30! We’ve wasted enough time!”

Lin Xian snapped out of his reverie, shaking off his thoughts. “Relax, I’m a man of my word.”

He stepped forward, his fingers hovering over the safe’s dials. “I should have realized this sooner. You’re right; I shouldn’t have just thought about dates. Common eight-digit numbers aren’t that rare.”

CC looked at him, puzzled. “Who are you talking to?”

Click, click, Lin Xian expertly adjusted each dial. “In my life, I really only remember two long numbers: my phone and QQ numbers, and weirdly, MC Stone’s QQ number too.”

CC’s confusion deepened. “Who exactly are you talking to?”

Click.

Lin Xian turned the final digit and faced CC with a slight grin. “I think I’ve figured out what’s in the safe.”

“What is it?” she asked, her voice a mix of curiosity and skepticism.

“It’s probably some cringe-worthy memento from my teenage years.” Lin Xian chuckled, remembering his embarrassing QQ statuses. “If the password is indeed my QQ number… it would make sense that those things are in there.”

CC looked at him like he was insane. “Are you nuts? If my appearance scared you, I apologize. Do you need an ambulance? I can dial 120.”

Lin Xian laughed and shook his head. “Once the safe is open… you’ll see.”

With that, he clenched his fist and struck the lock—

BANG!!

CC held her breath, her anxiety palpable.

…

…

The safe remained shut.

“Huh?” Lin Xian was perplexed.

He rechecked the eight-digit combination. It was definitely his QQ number! He struck the lock again, twice, but the safe stayed closed.

After triple-checking the combination, he tried pressing the lock from a different angle. Still nothing.

Lin Xian was stumped. “This… shouldn’t be happening. An eight-digit password, not a date, not a QQ number, what else could it be?”

Meanwhile, CC was shaking with frustration, her grip on the gun turning her hand red. It was clear she was fighting the urge to shoot. “Why are you putting on a show?!”

“Just shut up!” Lin Xian held his forehead and motioned for CC to be quiet. “Something’s not right.”

“You’re the problem here! I can’t believe I trusted you!” CC pointed her gun, taking deep breaths to control her anger. “Move!”

She pushed Lin Xian aside and pressed her ear to the safe, meticulously turning the dials.

…

Lin Xian stepped back, leaning against the wall, deep in thought. He was sure the password was foolproof. He’d tried every conceivable date, even those from his dreams and the day Rhine Cat was renamed. The QQ number was his last resort! If it’s not this… then maybe this isn’t his safe! And this isn’t his dream!

“Then where is this place?”

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

BOOM!!

The blaring alarms were deafening, and a blinding white light engulfed everything, reducing everything to ashes.

…

…

Lin Xian awoke with a start, sitting up in bed, soaked in sweat. He threw open the window, letting the icy winter wind refresh his mind.

“Dr. Liu was wrong,” he muttered, staring into the dark, starless sky. “Gao Yang too.”

Lin Xian was convinced—his dreams were not mere figments of imagination but visions of a potential future 600 years ahead. Although predicting soccer outcomes was compelling, it wasn’t conclusive proof. If only he could check a few Double Color Ball periods. But sadly, his dream internet offered no current data or lottery numbers. It was perplexing.

Clearly, he needed a new strategy to verify the reality of his dreams.

Lin Xian closed his eyes, thinking. The chill sharpened his thoughts. He could set aside all mysteries for now—CC, Big Cat Face, the Genius Club, the safe.

His top priority was to find definitive proof that his dream world was the real future. He needed an indisputable answer!

Opening his eyes, his gaze fell on the papers scattered across his desk, designs for Rhine Cat fluttering in the night breeze. Rhine Cat, formerly Coco Cat. This was the only change in his two-decade unchanging dreams. Lin Xian believed this was a crucial clue. He needed to re-evaluate it.

He picked up a sketch, examining the lifelike Rhine Cat. The design might be copied, but the name change was his doing. If this was a successful temporal butterfly effect… it suggested he could use dream information to alter reality, thereby changing the future and affecting the dream world.

If he could test this theory again, it would prove beyond doubt that his dreams were indeed the real future world!

“Relying on heaven and earth is less reliable than relying on oneself.” Instead of waiting for known future facts, it was better to trigger a temporal butterfly effect himself, causing the dream to change because of his actions!

This would be the definitive proof!

Lin Xian gazed at the solitary full moon. “This time, I’m taking the initiative.” He resolved to trigger a temporal butterfly effect once more, to change the future!