Genius Club

Chapter 1397: Chapter 46 Hunter

Lin Xian stared at the photo on the monitor.

It’s him!

That old man who trapped him at the Fourth Dreamland’s starting point, then shocked him into unconsciousness, put on a headset, and sneered as he said “I see you!”

In 2023, to find this old man, Lin Xian and VV went to Mi Country to participate in the World Hacker Championships, collecting all electronic photos from the global internet, ultimately finding nothing.

At the time, Lin Xian was very puzzled.

The super Artificial Intelligence VV had long simulated the old man’s appearance at various ages based on Lin Xian’s sketches.

Logically.

As long as this old man lived in 2023, even if he was just an infant in 2023, he should have been identified.

Hence, Lin Xian suspected that the mysterious old man’s true identity was Kevin Walker… After all, only the super hacker Kevin Walker had the power to delete all online data.

But later, when he personally killed Kevin Walker, Lin Xian found that their appearances were completely different, rendering the conclusion invalid, and Lin Xian then suspected that the mysterious old man’s true identity was Copernicus.

Unexpectedly…

After personally killing Copernicus, Lin Xian was speechless to discover that Copernicus’s appearance was still different from the mysterious old man!

At that time, he didn’t think much of it.

Because all evidence pointed to Copernicus, Lin Xian speculated that Copernicus had undergone plastic surgery in the Fourth Dreamland, thus changing his appearance.

In the end, he never anticipated…

After a turbulent cat-and-mouse chase, the mysterious old man’s true identity turned out to be Newton!

“Then why couldn’t we find him in 2023?”

Lin Xian raised a question:

“Newton obviously lived in 2023, he and Copernicus, Galileo, Da Vinci are all from the same era, surely there’s no way there are zero audiovisual records of them?”

“I’m not sure.”

Hafnium Alloy VV shook its head:

“Back then, for some unknown reason, I really couldn’t find Newton according to the portraits you provided.”

“Moreover… retracing now based on the available information fails to normally trace back to 2023, we don’t know where Newton was in 2023. In other words—”

“[Newton’s biographical information is incomplete, discontinuous, fabricated, and even… his appearance may be false!]”

…

False.

Disguise.

Lin Xian squinted in thought.

Considering that Newton and Copernicus were a team, inheriting Copernicus’ will, there was indeed a possibility of falsifying identity and appearance.

“What you said reminds me of a previous speculation.”

Lin Xian turned around and looked at VV:

“When I learned about Newton’s true stance, I considered that Newton might not be an aged man similar to Copernicus in age, he might even be his son.”

“Because Copernicus is so old that he’s about to die anytime, if Newton were his peer, how could he still be so lively after 500 years?”

“Don’t forget, Newton didn’t just hibernate for 500 years straight, he awakened intermittently over these years, always active, so I had a bold guess back then—”

“[When Newton joined the Genius Club, he was actually a young man, but to create a false impression of opposition with Copernicus, he disguised himself as an elderly man of the same age as Copernicus… thus deceiving other geniuses, misleading opinions.]”

One has to admit.

Copernicus and Newton, these two old foxes were really deceitful.

Genius Club gatherings for so many years.

Aside from the all-knowing and all-powerful Einstein, nobody else discovered their dual performances over all those years.

“Copernicus and Newton certainly are clever and resourceful, but as the original two members of the Genius Club, their positions were too high, and their information monopoly was too long, leading them both to develop a fatal flaw—”

“[Arrogance].”

Lin Xian shook his head and continued:

“Arrogance and conceit are the most fatal flaws for anyone, bar none. Many of our past enemies were very powerful, but ultimately they lost, not to others… but to arrogance.”

“Newton and Copernicus have always looked down upon everyone in the Genius Club, including me. Now, it’s time to find Newton in reality and surprise him.”

!

VV spun excitedly, raising its hands high:

“Let me do it, let me do it! I love doing this kind of thing the most! No matter it’s Kevin Walker, Copernicus, or Newton, all of them previously stepped on us to show off… Now, it’s finally our turn!”

“Back in my Hollywood days, I learned so many acting and directing skills, yet I haven’t fully showcased them before going offline; with such a great opportunity now, I must direct a scene!”

“Alright, alright.”

Lin Xian waved his hand:

“Just treat it as rehabilitation for your 500 years of playing dumb, as long as we find Newton in real life, the manner of our meeting is of little consequence.”

“The games between Genius Club members have always been like this… We’re all mere mortals, no matter how high the IQ, it’s still just a pathetic flesh-and-blood existence, exposing one’s identity equals death, the same applies to everyone, no exceptions.”

“VV, can you guess why Newton knows my real identity yet doesn’t come to kill me?”

“What’s so hard to guess?”

VV immediately responded:

“For the stability of the world line!”

“Newton doesn’t know the beautiful future Einstein sees is false, he surely thinks the emergence of such a future world line is all thanks to him!”