Genius Club

(This novel is translated and hosted on Bcattranslation)

To step into Einstein’s perspective, one must use the tools and recordings of his era.

However, time has passed too long for such artifacts to remain intact. The cathode ray tube black-and-white television and the footage of the world’s first hydrogen bomb explosion are now impossible to retrieve.

Still, the distinctive snowflake noise can be easily replicated.

“I see,” Lin Xian nodded in understanding.

“The cathode ray tube TV was naturally prone to signal interference, producing snowflake noise on the screen. And when filming the hydrogen bomb explosion, the radiation and rays struck the tape, leaving behind dense, crackling white snowflake dots.”

“But… what does this demonstrate? What did you deduce from this phenomenon?”

Chen Heping waved his hand dismissively.

“This can’t be explained with mere words. Follow me quickly!”

Lin Xian ensured Liu Feng was settled on his hospital bed, as the latter’s condition did not allow outdoor activity. Without pause, Lin Xian followed Chen Heping to the laboratory.

Inside the lab stood a large television, but it wasn’t showing any footage of a hydrogen bomb explosion. Instead, it looped endlessly with a video of snowflake noise.

This signal interference felt all too familiar to Lin Xian. He recalled the television at his grandfather’s home during his childhood—it often displayed such static when there was no signal or even when there was. The excessive snowflake patterns were notorious for straining his eyes.

And now, it was the same.

Under Chen Heping’s instructions, Lin Xian stared unblinkingly at the snow-filled screen. His eyes grew increasingly tired, and tears welled up repeatedly.

“Don’t close your eyes,” Chen Heping reminded him several times. “Keep staring straight ahead.”

Lin Xian complied, though reluctantly.

The screen was filled with rustling white noise—tiny white dots covering nearly the entire display. Only faint patches of black dots peeked through occasionally, as the white noise easily occupied over 95% of the screen.

For half an hour, Lin Xian kept staring. His eyes felt on the brink of blindness.

It was no different from staring directly at the sun—his retinas were badly strained. Even when he closed his eyes, the lingering image of snowflakes haunted him. When he opened them, his normal vision was completely obstructed, with the remnants of the snowflake pattern blanketing everything.

“Ready?” Chen Heping asked, and after confirming, he drew back the curtains, pointing to the starry sky outside.

“Come, Lin Xian! Look at the stars!”

Blinking his nearly-blinded eyes, Lin Xian moved to the window. He glanced at the dark night sky dotted with stars.

“What’s so special about these stars? They’re just the same as before—”

Suddenly.

Lin Xian froze, his eyes widening in shock.

Normally, the starry sky appeared as a black background dotted with white stars—the blackness being the vast expanse of space and the white points, the light from distant stars.

But now!

Due to his retina being scorched by the television’s bright screen, he saw something entirely different:

A white cosmic background with black stars!

It was an extraordinary phenomenon, a visual illusion…

“The cosmic negative film,” Lin Xian murmured softly.

The black had become white, the white had turned black—just like the inverted images on old photographic film. Every color was reversed, inverted.

Reversed…

Inverted…

In an instant, Lin Xian’s thoughts expanded.

What if… everything became a negative?

The black night sky turns white,

The white stars become black,

The universe’s expansion becomes a collapse,

Time flows backward,

Galaxies reverse their spin,

Stars cool down…

This was the end of the universe! The entire cosmos would collapse into the original singularity!

And if everything was reversed, wouldn’t that also mean…

The largest becomes the smallest, and the smallest becomes the largest?!

“Yes! That’s it—the cosmic negative film!” Chen Heping exclaimed, visibly excited.

“Lin Xian, you see it too, don’t you? If everything is reversed, then the smallest becomes the largest, and the largest becomes the smallest!”

“So… this is the meaning of 42,” Chen Heping continued, trembling with excitement. “If we can find the smallest unit of the universe, it also means we’ve discovered the largest universe!”

Lin Xian rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“However, this clue doesn’t directly solve the issue of the World-Ending White Light. If the universe were to become a negative, it would mean the reversal of everything, the termination of all existence. The universe would collapse backward into the singularity.”

“We might be able to use the cosmic negative film to destroy the entire universe, but it won’t specifically address the World-Ending White Light.”

Wait…

Lin Xian suddenly realized something.

To reverse everything… destroy the universe?

No, that wasn’t it!

There was a way!

A way!!

Narrowing his eyes, he looked back at the sky.

By now, his retinal damage had healed. As he gazed at the endless starry expanse, its black background and white stars appeared once again, now seeming extraordinarily beautiful.

“Tell me, Chen Heping, how many advanced civilizations do you think are observing us right now in this universe?”

“Not many,” Chen Heping replied, shaking his head. “Earth is in a very remote location in the universe. The Milky Way itself is isolated, and we’re positioned at its fringe. Apart from the Piling Civilization, I doubt many advanced civilizations would bother monitoring us.”

However.

Lin Xian shook his head too.

“Not necessarily.”

“If even the Piling Civilization can detect the danger Einstein calculated with 42, then I believe there must be civilizations even more advanced—more powerful—than the Piling Civilization. These civilizations wield weapons and technologies beyond our imagination.”

“And I’m certain… those higher civilizations must have means of monitoring 42 and other potential universe-level threats.”

“Think about it, Mr. Chen Heping. If a lower civilization—like us humans—recklessly triggered something as catastrophic as the cosmic negative film, wouldn’t it drag the entire universe to its doom?”

Chen Heping spread his hands helplessly.

“The issue is, how would you even trigger the cosmic negative film?”

“To be honest, the cosmic negative film is still a theoretical concept. Would time really flow backward? Would the universe really collapse? Would everything truly invert?”

Lin Xian closed his eyes, recalling the montage of images he had seen when traveling through time in the time travel machine.

That sequence depicted the singularity’s explosion, its expansion, and its ultimate collapse.

Though much of it had been incomprehensible at the time, each frame now seemed deeply meaningful.

“I believe it would happen,” Lin Xian said, opening his eyes.

“But we need more clues. You and Liu Feng must continue digging. We need to uncover the method to trigger the cosmic negative film—and soon!”

…

At the same time, in Brooklyn, the crisp autumn air filled the forest.

CC rode atop her steed, Bruce, swiftly weaving through the trees. Her right hand moved like lightning, drawing her pistol from her waist at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. She aimed at three wild fruits dangling from the branches ahead—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The three red fruits burst midair, juice splattering across the ground. Her movements were so quick that the act of aiming seemed invisible.

“Impressive.”

Behind her, her dignified father clapped his hands lightly, nodding with approval.

“To hit three small targets with such precision, while moving at this speed and on uneven terrain—remarkable. As expected of my daughter.”

CC nudged Bruce’s flank with her heel.

The horse, understanding her silent command, turned gracefully and trotted toward the man. She dismounted, gently stroking Bruce’s mane as she spoke.

“Compared to VV, I’m still far behind.”

Her gaze fixed on her father as she continued, “Seven years ago, right here, VV, even with no memory of who he was, shot and killed three bad guys with perfect headshots.”

“Later, VV taught me countless techniques and tricks. I used to think that with enough training, I could become a sharpshooter like him. But now I realize… I’m still far from his level.”

“His speed and accuracy outshine mine by a wide margin. This is my limit, yet it still doesn’t match VV’s skills from seven years ago, let alone his peak abilities when his memory was intact.”

Her father smiled faintly and shook his head.

“This is enough,” he said calmly. “After all, your enemy isn’t VV, and you’ll never need to fight him. Your current marksmanship is more than adequate—for most challenges. In my opinion, it’s enough to see you through your long journey to Donghai City, to find that Aluminum Alloy Safe.”

“!? You’re allowing it?”

CC’s eyes widened in shock as she grabbed her father’s arm. “You mean it? You won’t stop me anymore?”

“Relax,” he replied, chuckling as he patted her head. “You need to understand, your mother and I only stopped you from going to X Country before because we were worried about your safety.”

“Actually, seven years ago, I already knew VV wanted to take you away. But at the time, you were just a child, barely 11 or 12. How could your mother and I let you go with him?”

“It’s not that I doubted VV’s character. But at that age, you were too young to truly understand the world or decide the life you wanted to lead. So, I pretended not to understand VV’s intentions and kept you by our side.”

“Now you’re 19. You’ve honed your skills and marksmanship to such a high level. Both your mother and I believe that you now have the right—and the ability—to choose your own path.”

“So, this time, we won’t stop you. If you still want to go to Donghai City, to search for the safe VV left behind and uncover whether his words were true… then go.”

At this point, CC’s father sighed softly.

“Actually, your mother doesn’t agree with you going to X Country. She’s very worried about you making such a long journey across such a great distance.”

“Of course, so am I. No father would want to send his teenage daughter on such a far-flung journey. But… I know. You’ve been secretly practicing lock-picking and studying code-breaking techniques, haven’t you?”

“You’ve always wanted to see what’s inside that Aluminum Alloy Safe and uncover the meaning behind VV’s cryptic words. Since VV didn’t give you the password, you’ve been determined to figure it out yourself.”

Such is the heart of a parent.

Over the years, CC’s insistence on going to Donghai City caused many arguments at home. Yet CC understood her parents’ concerns.

This is why she spent years honing her marksmanship, learning code-breaking skills from artisans in secret, and meticulously mapping routes on an ancient world atlas. She never gave up.

One day, she would reach Donghai City and open that safe to discover the “Past and Truth” VV had spoken about.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” CC said firmly, looking into her father’s eyes.

“VV wasn’t just our savior; he’s someone who means a great deal to me. Even though we only spent a few days together, he had a huge impact on me, and I’ve been chasing after his shadow ever since.”

“Whether he’s a liar or there’s truly some secret hidden in that safe, I need to see for myself. This is important to me—I want to uncover the truth and the connection between VV and me.”

With that, she gently lifted Bruce’s head, addressing her loyal steed.

“Bruce, will you come with me to find VV?”

“Neigh!” Bruce neighed enthusiastically.

Years ago, when VV soothed him with an automatic rifle, Bruce had been just a young colt. Over the past seven years, he had stood by CC’s side—through battles, rigorous training, and quiet nights where he listened to her innermost thoughts.

Now, in the prime of his life, of course he would accompany CC to find VV. To pursue that shadow, to uncover that truth, and to seek that answer.

However…

“Hahaha, Bruce should sit this one out,” CC’s father said with a hearty laugh, patting the horse’s head.

“From the United States to X Country is a long, arduous journey. Without access to planes or long-distance ships, you’ll have to head north, cross the Bering Strait during the frozen winter, and then travel south across the Eurasian continent to Donghai City. Bruce won’t make it and would only slow you down.”

CC frowned.

“Then what, am I supposed to walk the entire way?”

Her father pulled a small key from his pocket and pressed it into CC’s palm.

CC looked down at it.

“This is…?”

“It’s the key to a nuclear-powered motorbike,” her father said softly.

“I went through a lot of trouble and pulled quite a few strings to get it for you.”

“Let it take Bruce’s place… and accompany you to X Country.”

He smiled warmly and embraced his daughter—grown now, strong, brave, and unyielding.

“If you see VV again, make sure to give him my regards.”

…

As winter gave way to spring and the temperatures rose, construction sites around Donghai City grew increasingly active.

Crash!

At one excavation site, a sudden burst of sparks flew as a drill bit shattered, breaking off and flying several meters away.

“Holy crap!”

The site safety officer broke into a cold sweat.

“What’s under there? Why is it so tough?”

“I have no idea,” said the worker operating the drill, looking equally baffled.

“This drill can cut through granite without breaking a sweat. But today, it feels like it hit something unbreakable and just gave out.”

The foreman walked over and waved them aside.

“Bring in a couple of excavators. Dig around it. Let’s see what’s down there!”

After a flurry of activity, they finally unearthed the object causing all the trouble.

It was a perfectly rectangular, gleaming silver Aluminum Alloy Safe. The front featured a polished plaque and a combination lock.

“Aluminum Alloy,” said the safety officer, who clearly had some expertise. He immediately recognized the material.

“This stuff doesn’t corrode no matter how many years it’s buried. But… what could possibly be so valuable that they used a solid Aluminum Alloy to make a safe? That’s insane.”

As they dug further, they found more safes—many more.

One after another, the excavators revealed an entire cache of Aluminum Alloy Safes. Each was in pristine condition, shining silver as though untouched by time. The more they dug, the more they found—dozens, and eventually over a hundred safes emerged from the earth.

The safety officer wiped the sweat from his brow.

“This many safes in one place… Who knows what this site used to be? We should report this to Boss Li right away.”

Shortly afterward, Li Cheng arrived at the excavation site.

Using a combination of excavators and cranes, the workers had carefully lined up dozens of safes along the roadside. Li Cheng walked down the row, inspecting each one.

The plaques bore a variety of names—some in X Country’s script, others in foreign languages. Judging by the style, the safes seemed to be relics from before the 2504 Super Catastrophe.

“Hmm?”

Li Cheng squinted as he wiped the dirt off one of the plaques, revealing the engraved name beneath.

“Lin Xian?”

…

Rhine University, Laboratory.

Time was of the essence as the research on the Cosmic Negative approached its final stages.

“In history, many scientists have used large particle colliders to smash microscopic particles to see what kind of matter they produce,” said Liu Feng, wheeling himself to the blackboard at the front of the lab.

“This is essentially a process of continually searching for the smallest unit. Molecules break down into atoms, atoms split into electrons, neutrons, protons, and nuclei, and so on. It’s like breaking a bar of chocolate in half over and over again. Does something smallest exist in this world? Is there something indivisible?”

“If such a unit exists, it would be the smallest. And if we bombard it with enough energy, it’s highly likely to trigger a chain reaction from the microscopic level to the macroscopic—essentially a reverse explosion of the universe, creating the Cosmic Negative.”

“The key points are twofold—”

“1. Identify the smallest unit.

2. Generate enough energy for impact.”

He paused, then added, “It’s important to note that while 42 is considered the smallest unit of the universe, it doesn’t exist in a physical sense; it’s an extra-dimensional concept. In our observable universe, the smallest measurable distance remains the Planck length.”

“That’s why I insist—we must find a way to isolate this 42 unit and bring it into our realm.”

Click, click, click. Liu Feng wrote these points on the board, then turned to face Lin Xian and Chen Heping.

“Now, of these two requirements, which one can we currently solve?” he asked.

Lin Xian scratched his head. “Seems like… neither.”

“Although,” he added, “I just thought of something. Back in the day, Galileo caused the Super Catastrophe using spacetime particle collisions. Do you think there’s some parallel with what we’re discussing?”

“But Galileo’s collisions likely didn’t involve 42. Otherwise, the scale of destruction would have been far greater—enough to overturn the entire universe.”

Chen Heping stood up, pacing the lab thoughtfully.

“It’s an interesting parallel. High-speed particle collisions do indeed generate immense energy. However, building a large particle collider is not feasible for us right now. Besides, neither conventional particle colliders nor spacetime particle collisions can achieve the energy levels necessary to trigger a Cosmic Negative.”

He stopped, turning to the others. “So I’ll add one more condition: to generate the Cosmic Negative, the impact must occur at light-speed.”

Liu Feng nodded, picking up an electronic chalk to jot this new criterion on the board:

“Not only must we isolate the extra-dimensional smallest unit 42, but we also need an impact at light-speed.”

“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Liu Feng continued. “In our macroscopic world, how can we possibly locate this 42 unit? It’s orders of magnitude smaller than the Planck length. So far, the only substance we know of smaller than the Planck scale in our universe is spacetime particles.”

Chen Heping raised his hand. “I’ve reviewed some of the material left behind by Elon Musk. His work with artificial entangled spacetime particles is quite intriguing.”

“I’m thinking, if we can overlap, entangle, and interlace two spacetime particles, perhaps we could leverage their differing Planck lengths to approximate the 42 unit.”

“This might be our only chance. All matter in our current universe shares the same Planck length, except for two spacetime particles originating from different timelines. Their Planck lengths could intersect.”

He sighed, then added, “But sadly, most of Elon Musk’s spacetime particles have been launched into space, leaving only one on Earth as a receiver. And Lin Xian’s spacetime particle, which was originally stored in the Time Bank, went missing during the 2504 Super Catastrophe.”

“It seems like the breakthrough we just found has turned into a dead end.”

Lin Xian leaned back with a sigh. “If only my safe could be found.”

Knock, knock, knock.

The quiet lab was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Principal Liu, are you in there?” a voice called from outside.

“I’m here,” Liu Feng replied. “Come in.”

The door opened, and Li Cheng stepped in.

“I heard you were here, and since it’s urgent, I came straight to the lab,” Li Cheng said.

Liu Feng straightened in his wheelchair. “What’s the matter?”

To his surprise, Li Cheng didn’t address him. Instead, he turned to Lin Xian and gestured toward the campus grounds.

“At a construction site to the south, we unearthed several Aluminum Alloy Safes…”

“Would you like to come take a look?”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation