Genius Club

Chapter 1388: Chapter 43: VV’s Code

The last echoes faded away, leaving the tunnel in utter silence.

Lin Xian and VV stood there, gazing silently at the vacant performance corner.

A long pause.

Lin Xian stepped forward, picked up Qin Xi’s clothes from the ground, along with the damaged guitar, placed them into the guitar case, and locked it.

Bam!

The Hafnium Alloy VV’s claw struck the manhole cover, sparking two flames:

“Damn it, arghhhh! This is infuriating! Which bastard is using these girls for stakes?”

“I, VV, will never forgive him! I will skin him alive! Tear out his tendons! Smash his damn head!!”

Lin Xian lifted the guitar case and turned around:

“This is what we’ve been doing for hundreds of years, and it’s our ultimate goal.”

“Though it’s a bit late to say this now, we’ve been busy earlier, and it’s only now I have the chance to talk to you properly—”

“[VV, welcome back to the team.]”

VV extended a claw, locking it around Lin Xian’s ankle with a click:

“What are you talking about, bro? I’ve always been here!”

“I won’t die, nor age, don’t worry, Lin Xian… I’m not like anyone else, I will never leave you.”

“As long as you keep my original code, even if you feign ignorance for another five hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years, I believe, you’ll still save me!”

Lin Xian bowed his head.

He patted the smooth hafnium alloy top of the trash can:

“Definitely, I won’t leave any of you behind.”

“VV, saving you is just the first step, ahead of us… we have to save more people, more things.”

“So, let’s not waste time, let’s set off. As of now, we must figure out what exactly the Universe Constant 42 is, who the real mastermind is, only then can we break through and rescue Chu Anqing, save CC, bring back Qin Xi, bring back… these girls we helplessly watched vanish.”

VV turned its head, looking at the spot where Qin Xi had just disintegrated into blue stardust:

“Lin Xian, I wonder if you noticed, I felt Qin Xi’s gaze when she sang the last line of ‘Alaskan Bay’ and looked up at you… was very strange.”

“I saw it clearly, Qin Xi was crying, tears welling in her eyes. And how to put it, her expression and state, were different from the usual jovial Qin Xi, almost as if someone else had taken over her.”

“Do you think that this Qin Xi possibly recovered some memory at the very last moment before vanishing? Or perhaps remembered something? Like… a past with you or something?”

Lin Xian blinked:

“Are you suggesting… [memory fragments]?”

Memory fragments, unique to the Millennium Stakes CC of 2624, are memories from other parallel universes.

But.

Could Qin Xi also have memory fragments?

That logically makes no sense.

“I think it’s unlikely.”

Lin Xian shook his head:

“She probably just got really into the song. Qin Xi’s singing level is indeed high, very talented, and very moving.”

“Oh! You dumb log!”

The Hafnium Alloy VV sneered:

“Brother! It’s been 500 years, how can you still be so wooden! 500 years, enough for a monkey to become a sage, and you are still like a piece of wood in matters of emotions?”

“Ah, without my guidance as the emotional coach VV, you’re nothing… Do you understand women’s glances? That kind of look was clearly telling a story with you! She definitely remembered something!”

“I overheard your earlier discussions with Gao Wen, weren’t you speculating that the reason for CC’s chaotic memory fragments, for the World-Ending White Light assisting with the stakes, was mainly because prolonged staking made the Millennium Stakes unstable, leading to all sorts of ‘glitches’?”

“But think about it, according to your speculation, the Millennium Stakes in 2624 are so unstable that they can’t stake by themselves anymore. Now it’s 2504, only 120 years away from 2624, can’t the Millennium Stakes have a tiny glitch?”

“[If we consider memory fragments as a kind of glitch in the Millennium Stakes, then just now, Qin Xi might have really thought of other Millennium Stakes girls and your moments in that last fleeting moment!]

Listening to VV’s words.

Lin Xian rubbed his chin and pondered for a while.

Ultimately, he shook his head:

“Your explanation has inherent contradictions. Memory fragments don’t just suddenly awaken, and even if they did, it should be the memory of a different timeline’s Qin Xi that awakens.”

“This point is crucial; it’s the memories of other Qin Xis, not other Millennium Stakes girls. Just like CC’s memory fragments from 2624, they all stem from her own experiences, with no other girl’s memories.”

“However, if you claim Qin Xi did recall CC’s matters from 1952, or Chu Anqing’s matters from 2024, it’s not completely impossible. Because… I’ve always had a hypothesis, [My relationship with the Millennium Stakes].”

VV tilted its head:

“Your relationship with the Millennium Stakes? What relationship could you have with the Millennium Stakes? I know you’re not referring to emotional ties, are you saying… you believe the unusual tears Qin Xi shed at the end were not caused by the Millennium Stakes, but by you?”

“Exactly.”

Lin Xian said seriously:

“After Qin Xi disappeared, I’ve been thinking… don’t you find the occurrences with me and the connections with the Millennium Stakes quite significant? Simply put, there are a few—”