Genius Club

Chapter 523: The Unstable Millennial Stake

This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation

Liu Feng was taken aback by Gao Wen’s peculiar hypothesis.

After pondering for a moment, he countered, “Does the Millennial Stake piling process even need protection? Is it possible for the piling to fail?”

“From what I understand, this enigmatic and immensely powerful ‘mysterious force’ can manipulate spacetime particles and even mislead Einstein into seeing a fabricated future. This suggests its abilities far surpass our comprehension.”

“Furthermore, what could humanity possibly do to prevent the Millennial Stake from piling? All we can do is watch helplessly as these girls fade away, unable to intervene. The only variable might be if these girls die prematurely due to unforeseen circumstances.”

“However,” he speculated, “as long as the material composition of these girls doesn’t dissipate, even their deaths wouldn’t halt the piling of the Millennial Stake or disrupt the process of locking history.”

“From a human perspective, life and vitality seem essential for value, but in the grand scheme of the universe and physics, life or death makes no fundamental difference as long as the constituent matter remains unchanged.”

Lin Xian nodded in agreement. “Liu Feng makes a valid point. The Millennial Stake wouldn’t cease piling just because the girls die. That would make it too easy to sabotage or prone to accidents.”

“I think what Gao Wen is trying to convey is that Einstein’s role is to ensure the procedural success of the Millennial Stake piling, not to safeguard the girls’ physical well-being.”

“Think about it—Einstein couldn’t even perceive the Millennial Stake fading away, nor does he know who the Millennial Stake is. How could he possibly protect these girls?”

“Considering the timing of CC, the last Millennial Stake’s, disappearance aligning precisely with the appearance of the world-ending white light... Gao Wen’s hypothesis might just hold water—”

“Every purpose and method is geared towards ensuring the successful piling of the Millennial Stake and fulfilling its mission of locking history. The ultimate threat to the mysterious force’s plans... is the universal constant 42!”

In that instant, all the clues seemed to connect.

It appeared the “mysterious force” had orchestrated Einstein’s role as the “Stake Keeper,” ensuring the Millennial Stake project was executed flawlessly while simultaneously preventing humanity from unraveling the truth of the universal constant 42. This would avert any uncontrollable developments.

“But there’s still one question!” Liu Feng raised his hand.

“If everything you two suggest is true, and the world-ending white light on August 29, 2624, at 00:42 is tied to the Millennial Stake, why is CC, the Stake 600 years into the future, special?”

“Why did none of the previous Millennial Stakes have any issues or experience abnormal fade-outs, while CC, in particular, had to face the world-ending white light?”

...

Liu Feng’s question left Gao Wen silent and unable to answer.

This truly felt inexplicable, lacking any logical foundation.

Lin Xian closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Then, in a soft voice, he said:

“I feel like it might be because...”

“CC, 600 years later, is the most unique Millennial Stake, entirely different from the others.”

Lin Xian raised his head and looked at the two:

“CC possesses all the characteristics of other Millennial Stakes—appearance, dreams, and so on. But uniquely, she holds the most extraordinary memory fragments.”

“This is what makes CC most unusual. Those memory fragments come from other timelines, other worldlines. This isn’t a normal phenomenon at all. In fact, it seems like the previously stable Millennial Stake mechanism has suddenly become unstable with CC.”

“The most critical point is, I’ve never seen CC turn into blue star fragments and dissipate—not even the slightest sign of it. Even when the world-ending white light arrived, there wasn’t a hint of her turning transparent or blue. This, too, is highly abnormal.”

Suddenly, Lin Xian froze.

He felt as though a bucket of cold water was poured over his head, giving him a moment of epiphany:

“Wait, wait.”

He pressed his temples and closed his eyes, recalling all the peculiar phenomena surrounding CC 600 years later, as well as the punctual arrival of the white light.

Could it be...

That the world-ending white light wasn’t targeting humanity or Earth’s destruction... but was aimed at CC herself?

“I have a bold idea.”

Lin Xian opened his eyes, looking at Liu Feng and Gao Wen:

“If a car develops faults, our first thought is to repair it. But if the car becomes extremely unstable—steering malfunctioning, the engine breaking down intermittently, various failures making it unsafe to drive—what do we do?”

“Scrap it.”

Gao Wen, quick in thought, followed Lin Xian’s reasoning:

“If it can’t be repaired completely, or if the repair costs are too high and not worth it, we might as well scrap it and buy a new car.”

“I see it now!” Gao Wen clapped his hands.

“Coincidentally, I’ll be heading to the United States in the next few days. When I’m there, I’ll have an in-depth discussion with him. Jiasike specializes in astronomy and cosmology—he should have some ideas.”

“Even if he doesn’t, that’s okay. This is a long battle spanning the river of time. We still have plenty of time... 400 years remain until 2624. We’re bound to come up with something eventually.”

“The first step is to figure out whether the white light even exists. It’s frustrating, but even though Einstein’s visions of the future were fabricated, there’s no guarantee that what I saw—this world-ending white light—is real.”

“To remain rigorous, we must find a way to verify the existence of the white light. I’ll take on this task. The two of you should focus your energy on the second objective.”

With that, Lin Xian lowered the electronic chalk to point at the second line:

“Although it’s disheartening to say, the truth is... unfortunately, our progress in researching the Universal Constant 42 remains at 0%.”

“Liu Feng’s Introduction to the Universal Constant is undoubtedly correct, but the problem lies in proving why it’s correct, how it’s correct, and how to utilize it.”

“Einstein, as the first person to calculate the Universal Constant 42, should theoretically know more than anyone else. However, I suspect his knowledge was still limited and didn’t touch upon the true secret of 42.”

“By comparison, Copernicus and Newton, as founding members of the Genius Club, must have known more about the Universal Constant than we do. Now, Einstein has already dissipated into blue star fragments, and Copernicus, I personally killed 200 years ago. The only person left in the world who seems to hold this secret... is Newton.”

Lin Xian spread his hands:

“I’ll do my utmost to find Newton. Once I do, not only will we settle new and old grievances, but I’ll also figure out a way to make him spill the secret of the Universal Constant 42.”

“But we can’t place all our hopes on Newton. There’s no guarantee I’ll find him, nor that the information he knows is accurate. So... let’s proceed on two fronts. I’ll track down Newton; you two continue researching the Universal Constant.”

Liu Feng and Gao Wen exchanged a look, their eyes filled with admiration and trust as they accepted this monumental task:

“Please guide us, Mr. Liu,” Gao Wen said, his eyes shining.

“No, no, no,” Liu Feng replied, flustered. “Great Emperor Gao Wen, you are the true hope!”

Lin Xian, stepping in to stop their mutual flattery, pointed the electronic chalk at the third line:

“Gauss’s interference with worldlines is already in the past, but Newton is still obstructing technological development, and Galileo is concealing a super catastrophe slated for the 2600s.”

“If we can stop either of them, we have a high chance of breaking through spacetime elasticity and leaping to the next worldline.”

“Each new worldline brings a new dream, and with it, a new hope. Perhaps the key to breaking this deadlock is hidden in the next dream.”

“Whether it’s discovering the aluminum alloy safe, finding surviving humans, or gleaning clues from documentary records, we must push forward—striving to save everything and live up to everyone’s expectations.”

Lin Xian touched the 20-dollar watch on his left wrist, a relic from 300 years ago.

He opened the soundproof door to the conference room and stepped into the bright hallway. Looking down through the glass, he took in the view of Rhine University.

Under the golden glow of sunset, the statues of Zhao Yingjun and Yu Xi at the campus gates stood tall, bathed in orange light. Their gazes fixed on the burning sky, they looked majestic and courageous.

“There’s still a girl trapped in time, waiting for you at the world’s end.”

The faint voice of Zhao Yingjun echoed in his mind.

The world’s end...

Lin Xian squinted, recalling the promise he made while sitting on the sofa with Zhao Yingjun.

Back then, they had agreed to journey to the world’s end together.

But now, they were separated by life and death, worlds apart.

Would he ever...

See the mother and daughter’s smiles again?

“Trash! Trash! Trash detected!”

The gleaming aluminum-alloy VV rolled over on its tracks, pressing close to Lin Xian’s ankle.

Lin Xian crouched, poking at the sealed box on VV’s chest.

“When do you plan to show me Yu Xi’s letter?” he asked.

VV’s green eyes blinked twice at the question.

Then it turned around, staring at the horizon where the last sliver of crimson sun sank beneath the earth:

“Trash... trash...”

“Trash detected...”