Genius Club

Lin Xian rose from his bed and flicked on the light switch. He made his way to the bathroom, splashed water on his face, and looked at himself in the mirror.

“How unexpected,” Lin Xian murmured, glancing at the clock. “It’s already 12:42 AM.”

This revelation was both surprising and somewhat expected. He dried his face and returned to his bedroom, settling at his desk. Twirling a pen between his fingers, he became lost in thought.

This dream had been particularly enlightening, sharpening all the clues and ideas he had.

“First, I need to confirm the authenticity of the information.”

One fact was undeniable: Big Cat Face’s story about his mathematician father and daughter being killed by a truck at 12:42 AM was true. However, the claim that “only the wealthiest, most brilliant, and most powerful individuals receive invitations to the Genius Club” was false.

Lin Xian’s mind raced with thoughts, “With this verified information… I can uncover many truths.”

He switched on his desk lamp, pulled out an A4 sheet of paper, and began writing:

Deduced Truths

Lin Xian was convinced that both Xu Yun’s death and the tragedy of Big Cat Face’s father were connected to the Genius Club. The fact that Big Cat Face mentioned the “Genius Club” was no mere coincidence.

Earlier, Lin Xian had scoured the internet and found nothing substantial about the Genius Club. The search results were cluttered with game references and similarly named TV shows… but nothing related to the Genius Club as mentioned by Big Cat Face.

“I’m really curious how Big Cat Face stumbled upon this name,” Lin Xian pondered. He planned to probe Big Cat Face more thoroughly in the next dream.

In a previous dream, Big Cat Face was in a hurry to flee. Lin Xian had asked multiple questions, but Big Cat Face insisted they would talk later as escaping was more urgent. Clearly, he was desperate to secure his safety.

Nevertheless, the death of Big Cat Face’s father was definitively connected to the Genius Club; there was no doubt about it.

So… a mathematician dies in a truck accident at 12:42 AM, and a scientist dies in a car accident at 12:42 AM. Despite these two incidents occurring 600 years apart, the identical timing and the victims’ profiles suggest a high likelihood of the same perpetrator.

Thus, Xu Yun’s death is likely connected to the Genius Club as well.

Now, the question was, what was this “connection”?

Did the Genius Club orchestrate these murders, or was there another reason that led Big Cat Face to discover the Genius Club’s name from the murderer?

Although Big Cat Face was convinced the Genius Club was responsible for his father’s death, Lin Xian felt it was essential to remain skeptical. Without concrete evidence, a person bent on revenge might grasp at any clue, convincing themselves of its truth. Big Cat Face’s reasoning might be clouded.

Another aspect didn’t add up.

“The killers attempted to mask the murder of scientists as accidental car crashes, yet they insisted on the accidents happening at 12:42 AM…”

Lin Xian was baffled. What was the significance? If the intention was to disguise the deaths as accidents, why choose such a specific time? It seemed contradictory.

“It feels like… an arrogant gesture, as if it’s deliberately done to taunt someone.”

The timing was peculiar indeed, coinciding precisely with the end of his dream: 12:42 AM. What was it? What did it signify? What was its special meaning?

“Actually, this isn’t even the hardest part to understand.”

Lin Xian spun the pen in his hand. How could they ensure the death occurred exactly at 12:42 AM? This seemed implausible. Were they staking out every day, aiming to kill at 12:42 AM, or was there an insider coordinating, strictly controlling the timing?

Lin Xian’s thoughts wandered further. The 12:42 AM timing was unusual, but there were no leads to explore it further now.

He continued writing in his notebook:

Membership in the Genius Club isn’t solely based on wealth and power; there must be other essential criteria.

“This actually makes sense,” Lin Xian mused.

He had doubted the “rumor” many times before. Claiming that only the richest, most brilliant, and most powerful could join the Genius Club didn’t seem realistic or genius-like. Although the rumored entry threshold appeared high, from a historical perspective, it was absurdly low. There’s a new richest person, a new powerful figure, a new Nobel Prize winner every year. If invitations were issued based on this criterion, dozens to hundreds would be sent out annually, and the Genius Club would have thousands of members. Such an organization couldn’t possibly remain concealed throughout history without leaving any trace. This was absolutely impossible.

Perhaps it was better to consider that wealth, status, and intelligence are merely the basic conditions for joining the Genius Club, not the deciding factors.

“Those who receive invitations to the Genius Club must possess a crucial ability, some more mysterious reason.”

“Over 600 years of history… perhaps only a few, a dozen people have met the membership standards. That’s why this organization has remained so secretive, leaving no traces.”

Genius Club members must be very few; otherwise, it would have been exposed long ago.

Thinking this way, everything made more sense. Zhao Ying Jun receiving an invitation could also be explained. If we adhered to the previous rumor’s logic, since Zhao Ying Jun received an invitation, then successful individuals like Chu Shan He or wealthy ones like Li Cheng would definitely qualify for an invitation.

But it turned out, Li Cheng knew nothing about the Genius Club. As for Chu Shan He… Lin Xian wasn’t sure, but he suspected Chu Shan He was probably not a member of the Genius Club either. If the goal was to suppress Hibernation Technology, why would he fund Xu Yun for ten years?

But, on the other hand…

“Then Zhao Ying Jun…”

Thinking of his boss, who was heroic and naturally beautiful, Lin Xian was puzzled: “What special quality does she have… to receive an invitation from the Genius Club?”

With this in mind, Lin Xian picked up his pen again and wrote the third deduction in his notebook:

Zhao Ying Jun did receive an invitation from the Genius Club, but whether she joined or participated in this murder remains unclear.

Actually, this conclusion had occurred to him earlier. Lin Xian just hadn’t thought deeply about it before. The previous information about the Genius Club was unclear, difficult to differentiate between truth and falsehood, and filled with contradictions, making it hard to judge accurately.

But now things were different. Although 99% of the Genius Club’s mysteries remained hidden, at least 1% of the information was clear. And it was this precious 1% that allowed Lin Xian to deduce these three crucial clues in his notebook.

“Zhao Ying Jun…”

He stared at the familiar name in the third conclusion.

“Why did she receive an invitation?”

Lin Xian rested his chin in his hand, pondering… There must be some special reason why this mysterious and small-membered Genius Club acknowledged Zhao Ying Jun.

Thinking about it, Zhao Ying Jun was indeed mysterious. Lin Xian had interacted with her frequently, but when it came to knowing her… He knew nothing besides her age and name. Lin Xian was surprised to realize how little he actually knew about Zhao Ying Jun.

“To uncover the reason behind Xu Yun’s death, to further clarify the Genius Club’s purpose and nature, there’s only one way…”

He opened the drawer. From the deepest part, he pulled out a wax seal with the Genius Club emblem. The round wax seal glowed a strange crimson under the desk lamp, reminiscent of blood, like the setting sun.

“What was written on that Genius Club invitation?” Lin Xian wondered.

What’s the content? Where’s the meeting place? When’s the meeting time? What’s the club’s purpose?

Gazing at the hand pointing straight to the sky on the wax seal, Lin Xian squinted his eyes: “I must find a way… to see that invitation!”