Genius Club

Chapter 522: Gao Wen’s Ultimate Deduction

This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation

“So that’s how it is.”

At Rhine University, in a small conference room, Liu Feng rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded.

The room had only three occupants: Lin Xian, Gao Wen, and Liu Feng.

Not long ago, Lin Xian had rushed to the United States and hurried back to Donghai City, immediately convening Liu Feng and Gao Wen. He shared the astonishing events of 1952, details about the Genius Club, and the mysterious dissipation of Albert Einstein, seeking their analytical assistance.

As the saying goes, three ordinary folks can outsmart a genius.

And with a talent like Emperor Gao Wen participating, they might uncover overlooked blind spots.

...

After listening intently, Liu Feng stood up and looked at Gao Wen, who was also immersed in thought.

“Professor Gao, this is quite a lot to unpack. I suggest we organize it chronologically. What do you think?”

Gao Wen, somewhat flattered, responded, “Professor Liu, please proceed. I’ll follow your lead!”

Seizing the momentum of his brainstorming, Liu Feng walked to the electronic blackboard, picked up an electronic chalk, and wrote down a key year:

1952.

“According to Lin Xian’s account of his temporal journey, 1952 was the origin of all these bizarre events.”

“This year, which should have been ordinary in human history, was transformed when Einstein calculated the universal constant and found the answer, 42. Two spacetime particles spontaneously tore through the fabric of time and entered our world, altering the course of centuries.”

“These two particles brought about two major events: one created the Millennial Stake, and the other granted Einstein immortality, eventually leading to the formation of the Genius Club.”

“Interestingly, the Genius Club was originally meant for good—Einstein founded it to save humanity’s future. But this noble intent was exploited by a ‘mysterious force,’ turning salvation into destruction, pushing human civilization toward an irreversible abyss.”

Gao Wen nodded, adding, “We can analyze the Millennial Stake later. For now, let’s focus on what happened to Einstein.”

“Why would calculating the universal constant, 42, attract the attention of this ‘mysterious force’ and provoke immediate intervention?”

“This suggests that, much like nuclear deterrence or retaliation, the mysterious force seems equally apprehensive about the constant 42. It likely established a countermeasure: the moment someone calculates this constant, two spacetime particles are dispatched—one to anchor the timeline through the Millennial Stake and the other to manipulate the individual who discovered 42, showing them an illusion of the future to mislead further discoveries.”

However, Lin Xian shook his head.

“Gao Wen, your reasoning has three critical flaws—”

“1. If this mysterious force truly fears 42, wouldn’t it be simpler and more efficient to directly kill Einstein or even destroy Earth? Given its ability to manipulate spacetime particles, annihilation would be an easy task.”

“2. Here’s something you don’t know: Einstein wasn’t the only one to calculate 42, but only he and the first Millennial Stake Keeper, CC, were affected by spacetime particles. Afterward, no one else achieved immortality or witnessed an illusory future.”

“3. According to your explanation, the mechanisms of the Millennial Stake and Einstein’s manipulation seem unrelated. But that’s illogical—these two spacetime particles appeared simultaneously, each serving a distinct purpose. They must be interconnected, working in tandem toward a shared goal.”

Tap, tap, tap.

Liu Feng knocked on the blackboard, revealing lines of text he had just written:

“My thoughts align with Lin Xian’s. There must be a critical logical link we’re overlooking. I’ve listed the key facts and mysteries from 1952. Let’s connect them and think it through.”

Lin Xian and Gao Wen turned to look at the board, which displayed the following points:

The second spacetime particle was originally meant for Lin Xian but accidentally hit the first Stake Keeper, CC.

Yellow Finch stated that the Millennial Stake’s purpose is to lock history. The dissipation of the Stake coincides with history becoming locked.

Locking history and showing Einstein an illusory future are part of a coordinated strategy by the mysterious force, likely deeply interconnected.

Newton and Copernicus have been hunting scientists and mathematicians researching the universal constant 42. They must know more about it, but their knowledge still stems from Einstein’s illusory visions.

For the mysterious force, is locking history a higher priority, or is preventing humanity from understanding 42 more critical?

Before Lin Xian revealed his identity as Douglas, Einstein could share much information. Afterward, he abruptly invoked forced evasion, as though deliberately programmed. What triggered this reaction?

Despite possessing the power to annihilate humanity or Earth outright, why does the mysterious force resort to convoluted schemes? What is its true goal? What does it hope to gain?

...

The seven questions indeed cut to the heart of the matter.

It feels like an invisible thread is hidden within the tangled clues, tying all these mysteries together... but what could it be?

Gao Wen stared at the first question and raised his hand:

“As for the first question, I do have some insights. That the spacetime particle was targeting Lin Xian seems to be the most logical explanation.”

“Back in 1952, the first Stake Keeper, CC, was just like everyone else—nothing about her stood out. There was no reason for the spacetime particle to target her specifically.”

Liu Feng shook his head:

“Even if you wiped out all the ants in X Country, I doubt it would break spacetime elasticity.”

Suddenly, Liu Feng’s eyes widened as he came to a realization:

“You mean...”

“To the ‘mysterious force,’ humanity might be like ants! Our influence on spacetime curvature and worldlines might be so insignificant that it doesn’t matter to them!”

Lin Xian nodded:

“Look at the largest change we’ve ever made to worldlines—moving from 0.0000000 to 0.0001764. That number is minuscule. Even with all our efforts, we can’t influence the number to the left of the decimal point.”

“Could it be that our struggles, no matter how desperate, are as meaningless to the ‘mysterious force’ as ants’ struggles are to us? To them, only the World-Ending White Light and the universal constant 42 represent spacetime elasticity worth noticing.”

“From the natural development of human civilization to its complete extinction, it’s merely a shift from 0.0000000 to 0.0001764. Liu Feng, have you ever wondered what the numbers to the left of the decimal might represent?”

“What kind of worldlines might exist at 42.0000000 or 4200000.0000000?”

As Lin Xian and Liu Feng debated, Gao Wen closed his eyes.

In his mind, he pictured an ant colony annihilated by boiling water.

To ants, isn’t the boiling water their version of the World-Ending White Light?

And on the scale of the universe, humanity’s insignificance far surpasses that of ants. Compared to the countless stars in the cosmos, humanity is less than a speck of dust—Earth itself is but one of many planets orbiting an unremarkable star.

“History...” he murmured.

What is history?

Does an ant’s history count as history?

Then does humanity’s history count?

Is an ant’s history worth locking?

Then is humanity’s history worth locking?

Suddenly, Gao Wen’s eyes shot open. He scanned the seven questions Liu Feng had listed, from top to bottom, as if tracing a thread through a labyrinth of mysteries.

It was as though he’d found the proverbial needle in a haystack—one capable of threading all the questions together, revealing a singular answer.

“I... I’ve got it.”

His voice trembled.

Snatching the electronic chalk from Liu Feng’s hand, he scribbled a time on the board:

2624, August 29th, 00:42.

“This is the arrival time of the World-Ending White Light!”

His voice grew excited:

“And this is also the 20th birthday of the last Millennial Stake Keeper, the exact moment when they were supposed to dissipate!”

“The dissipation of the Stake and the arrival of the White Light—these are futures Einstein couldn’t see. Yet they happen at the same time. This isn’t a coincidence; they are undoubtedly connected!”

“It seems everything... everything revolves around the Millennial Stake! Even the arrival of the White Light might be tied to the Stake!”

He frantically tapped on the third question on the board with the electronic chalk:

“Now, let’s revisit the foundational question... Why did the two spacetime particles create both the Stake and Einstein? What’s the link between them—what secret do they share?”

Taking a deep breath, Gao Wen turned to face the others:

“I think I’ve figured out why the ‘mysterious force’ showed Einstein a false future. In simple terms, they are so powerful that they don’t see humanity’s actions as a threat.”

“To them, all our combined value is less than that of a single Millennial Stake; all our combined threats pale in comparison to the secret of the universal constant 42. The ‘mysterious force’ isn’t afraid of our technological advancement or rapid progress... They only fear 42—the one thing capable of threatening them!”

Swallowing hard, he spoke solemnly:

“My guess is this—”

“The Millennial Stake isn’t locking our history. It’s locking their history.”

“And the true purpose of deceiving and exploiting Einstein isn’t something as trivial as destroying humanity... It’s to obscure a deeper truth—to prevent humanity from uncovering the secret of the universal constant 42, ensuring that the Millennial Stake can anchor history and lock it in place!”