Genius Club

Chapter 426: Blue Snow

“Qiao Qiao! Let’s get out of here, now!” Lin Xian shouted.

After two confrontations, Lin Xian already understood that Lin Yu Xi was no match for the blue-eyed girl. Their strength was worlds apart—an unfair battle. Even if Lin Yu Xi fought with all her might, her opponent barely had to move a muscle to send her flying.

This girl, whom Lin Yu Xi called “Number 17,” was like a fully realized “Terminator.” She was as powerful as the Yu Xi who had once killed the imposter Yu Xi—far stronger than this current Yu Xi, who had lost all her future abilities.

Clang!

Another clash sent sparks flying. The blue-eyed Number 17, who stood a head taller than Lin Yu Xi, forced her down with the blade. The petite Yu Xi, crushed under the pressure, looked like a small, defenseless creature. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

“Run! We need to get out of here!” Lin Xian urged again. Fighting was impossible, but escape was still an option.

Especially now, with Zhao Ying Jun bringing the Ferrari closer. If they found the right moment, the three of them could use the car to flee. This trick had worked many times in the States. The time travelers were strong and fast, but no human could outrun a supercar.

By now, Lin Xian had pieced some things together. Yu Xi had indeed regained all her memories, which was why she recognized Number 17. At the same time, she hadn’t lost her memories as Yan Qiao Qiao, which made her choose not to harm Lin Xian but instead protect him.

It meant Lin Xian’s assumptions had been wrong all along. He had thought his head had been cut off by Yu Xi after her memories returned. But the truth was the opposite. She’d protect him. The one who would behead him was… someone else.

And that someone else was this blue-eyed girl—Number 17—the sleeping girl from the Sixth Dream, and the village head from the Seventh Dream.

All the clues matched.

If Yu Xi knew Number 17, then they must have come from the same organization. And if they were from the same group, their purpose was also aligned—to capture him or, in extreme cases, execute him.

Number 17 held a strong jealousy toward Yu Xi. She didn’t have a name, just a number, and seemed to resent Yu Xi for it, wanting to take everything from her. Lin Xian could see this as well.

Number 17 wanted to kill Yu Xi, take her name Yan Qiao Qiao, and even take the Disney family portrait. That’s why, in the Sixth and Seventh Dreams, Number 17 called herself Yan Qiao Qiao. She wasn’t Qiao Qiao, but she longed for a name—something of her own.

She stole Qiao Qiao’s name, claiming it as hers.

All of this, Lin Xian finally understood. Unbelievable… the four options he had once listed, the one he thought was most ridiculous, the one he eliminated first—Option A—had turned out to be correct.

Yu Xi and Yan Qiao Qiao were the same person. The one who beheaded him, the sleeping girl in the pod, the village head—that was someone else entirely.

Once the logic was clear, another question followed—one he couldn’t explain. How did Number 17 travel here using the “entangled time-space particles”?

Elon Musk’s entangled particle had been destroyed. Its lifeless remains were still in Liu Feng’s lab. Liu Feng had just confirmed it—no energy, no changes. It was unusable.

So how did Number 17 cross over?

The logic didn’t make sense… unless…

Lin Xian thought of two possibilities:

At some point in the future, Copernicus, who led the Time-Space Bureau, captured another entangled particle and used it for Number 17.

The particle Number 17 used was Liu Feng’s—now powerless, but in the future, it regained its energy and was stolen by Copernicus for Number 17.

Considering how rare and precious these particles were… It seemed likely that there could be only one in human history.

Thus, the most plausible scenario was the second: that Lin Xian and Liu Feng eventually failed to guard the particle, and after recharging, it was stolen by Copernicus.

Ughh…

Thinking of this, Lin Xian clenched his teeth, letting out a long sigh.

These entangled particles were nothing but trouble. No wonder Elon Musk had destroyed it outright, knowing he couldn’t protect it.

In hindsight, that had been a smart move. If it couldn’t be kept, if it would eventually be stolen, better to destroy it so no one could use it.

But… Lin Xian and Elon Musk overlooked one crucial thing: the particle could recharge. And that meant even in a powerless state, it was still valuable.

Elon Musk likely didn’t know this. If he had, he wouldn’t have given the particle’s remains to Lin Xian, or he’d have made sure to destroy it more thoroughly—or thrown it into space, making it impossible for Copernicus to steal.

But it was too late now.

Another time-traveling killer was here, and they needed to survive.

Vroom—

On the other side of the road, Zhao Ying Jun spun the Ferrari, drifting it to face Number 17 and speeding toward her.

Of course, it wouldn’t hit Number 17—she could easily dodge. But she didn’t trigger the forced avoidance either.

Number 17 could have stood her ground. But that was her blind spot—proof that this was the only entangled particle. Neither Yu Xi before nor Number 17 now knew about forced avoidance. There had never been any prior experiments.

Lin Xian had learned about it the hard way—the only test subject. It was an information gap they could use. While Number 17 dodged, he planned to grab Yu Xi and escape in the Ferrari.

“The Ferrari’s coming! Move!” Lin Xian shouted to Yu Xi. “We need to get in the car and go!”

Yu Xi understood. She gave her all in one final clash with Number 17 before swiftly retreating to Lin Xian’s side.

Number 17 turned just in time to see the roaring Ferrari closing in. She narrowed her crystal blue eyes like a hawk eyeing prey.

Then—

She leaped.

Instead of dodging, she jumped right onto the Ferrari!

Thud.

Landing on the roof, she ran to the back, over the engine compartment, and with her gloved right hand, smashed down on it.

Riiip—

The wrenching sound of tearing metal filled the air.

To Lin Xian’s shock, the V12 engine was torn right out, the red-hot cylinders steaming. Wires and fuel lines ripped apart.

The raging beast was silenced. The car lost power and rolled to a stop by the roadside.

Number 17 casually tossed the engine aside and sneered. “Run? Where to?”

She stepped forward, slowly closing the distance.

“That car… it’s your coffin.”

Yu Xi, brandishing her knife, charged forward, but—

Thud!

She was kicked back with immense force, rolling to the ground.

Lin Xian rushed to help her up. “Qiao Qiao!”

Yu Xi coughed, blood splattering out, staining Lin Xian’s clothes. Both realized it—that kick had been Number 17 getting serious. Before, she’d toyed with Yu Xi like she was venting years of pent-up anger. Now she was done playing.

Yu Xi stood no chance against the full might of the perfect time-space assassin.

Number 17 twirled her blade, her eyes glinting with excitement. “Who should I kill first?”

…

At the same time, in Texas, Boca Chica, a luxurious villa—

A female secretary turned the key, opening the door. She adjusted her red-rimmed glasses, pushing the door open.

In the brightly lit living room, a man sat on the sofa, looking almost identical to Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. He quickly hid a VR headset behind a cushion.

“Oh, shit!” he cursed, complaining, “Miss Secretary! Could you at least knock before coming into someone’s house? It’s giving me no sense of privacy!”

The secretary scoffed. “Fakester, do you really think this place is yours? This is company property. Just because you live here doesn’t mean it’s yours. Also…”

She pointed at the hidden VR headset. “What’re you doing with that?”

“Watching something spicy,” the man laughed. “Tech is amazing, isn’t it? Long live VR… but hey, what brings you here on a Sunday? It’s my day off. We agreed I get weekends off. Elon Musk promised me I wouldn’t have to be his stand-in on Sundays—I even get a substitute day off if I do.”

“Well,” the secretary leaned against the wall, “Elon Musk’s dead.”

The man froze, mouth agape. He turned mechanically.

“I… I’m unemployed?” He grabbed his head in disbelief. “What do I do now? No education, no skills, nothing special about me except looking like Elon Musk. He’s the only one who’d hire me… What do I do now? I’ve got loans to pay, for my house and car… I’ll go bankrupt!”

The secretary gave a soft laugh, pushing her glasses up. She took a small silver handgun from her pocket, twirling it.

“Fakester, I’ll give you two choices. First, I’ll triple your salary. You work for me. You keep doing what you’ve always done—pretending to be Elon Musk. But this time, you do it on my terms. We’ll bring in makeup artists and disguise experts, just like when Angelina did your makeup before—you need to look exactly like him. And your job’ll actually be easier. You’ll make fewer public appearances, as Elon Musk will retreat into the shadows while I take charge of the SpaceX Mars colonization project. All you’ll need to do is make occasional appearances, tweet a photo… just be a puppet.

“Your second option—”

She smirked.

“If you refuse, the bullet from this gun goes into your head. I’ll find a new stand-in—another Fakester, or another after that. The world’s big enough. Finding someone who looks like Elon Musk isn’t impossible. And as for you… I know you—useless, shallow. How could you refuse three times the pay and an easier job?”

The secretary expected Fakester to nod eagerly in agreement.

Instead, the man sitting on the sofa smiled.

“Any other options?” he asked.

The secretary stopped spinning the gun, narrowing her eyes.

“Are you bargaining with me, Fakester? Do you understand your position?”

The man sighed, his gaze softening.

“I thought of many people… but I never expected it to be you.” He looked almost wistful.

“No wonder… No wonder my time particle was stolen. No wonder my plans failed.”

The secretary’s eyes widened. Her glasses slid down her nose.

“You—!”

Before she could lift her gun—

Click.

The cold muzzle of a black pistol pressed against the back of her head.

The secretary blinked, glancing back out of the corner of her eye.

There, standing behind her, was someone who looked exactly like her—same face, same body, same clothes—even her expression was mirrored.

“Baby~” the doppelgänger said, pushing up her red-rimmed glasses with her left hand, her voice identical to the secretary’s. “This time, I won’t forget to adjust my glasses~”

Bang!

Blood splattered like a blossoming flower. The secretary fell against the sofa, her body hitting the floor with a heavy thud, blood spreading beneath her.

…

“It’s changed! It’s changed again!”

At the Donghai University lab, Liu Feng clutched the time clock, his hands trembling as the readings shifted once more.

This time, the worldline curvature didn’t drop. Instead, it shot up.

The reading settled at—

[0.0000000]

And it kept rising!

…

In Lin Xian’s arms, Lin Yu Xi suddenly felt as though her heart had been struck.

A flash of blue light flickered in her eyes, gone in an instant. But with it came a surge of memories—new ones that contradicted those she had before.

A military base, a training field. The instructor blew the whistle, announcing,

“The final elimination match! Number 17 versus Lin Yu Xi! Whoever wins gets promoted to Level Three Agent and earns the right to use the only entangled time-space particle in human history—the honor of executing this crucial mission!”

“Now—begin!”

The instructor barely finished before Number 17 charged, her iron fists raining blows on Yu Xi. Knowing she lacked the strength to match her, Yu Xi focused on using agility and tactics. Finding an opening, she lunged—

“Behind!”

She slid, ducking behind Number 17, springing up like a carp. As she stood, she grabbed a handful of sand from the ground, throwing it at Number 17’s face without even aiming.

Yu Xi predicted her. Number 17 tried to counter, her iron fist swinging at Yu Xi’s face—

“Agh!”

The sand hit its mark. Number 17 closed her eyes, and Yu Xi took the opportunity. Grabbing her arm, she executed a perfect over-the-shoulder throw.

Thud!

Number 17 hit the ground hard. Without hesitating, Yu Xi grabbed her arm, locking her in a hold, legs around her neck.

The instructor blew the whistle, pulling them apart, raising Yu Xi’s hand.

“Winner—Lin Yu Xi! Congratulations, Agent Lin Yu Xi. You will represent humanity’s future!”

Panting, Yu Xi remained silent.

Nearby, the lead scientist—a stern woman—approached, flanked by two assistants.

“Lin Yu Xi, come with me.”

The scientist led her through a long corridor into the secure lab where a time-travel machine stood.

“There is something of utmost importance that you must know—something we kept secret. Only those who prove worthy of the entangled particle can learn this,” she said, dismissing her assistants before continuing.

“This is a top-secret matter,” she emphasized. “No one can know but you.”

Yu Xi nodded, aware of the gravity of the mission.

The scientist continued, “Unlike regular particles, the entangled particle lets you exist in both past and future timelines. It’s a round-trip ticket—consume it entirely, and the journey ends.

“But if you can’t make it back—if the mission fails—don’t use it needlessly. Leave this resource for those in the future.” She paused, her tone grave. “That means, if you’re ever facing capture—you need to destroy it.”

Yu Xi’s gaze was unwavering. “You want me to self-destruct.”

The scientist shook her head. “Not quite. Should the worst happen, you must become a temporal bomb—transform into energy, obliterate all outside the timeline.” She explained: “No harm will come to this timeline—only non-native beings will be eliminated, erased.”

“Do you understand?”

Yu Xi nodded, the weight of the words settling.

…

Reality returned.

Yu Xi wiped the blood from her lips, standing up from Lin Xian’s arms. These new memories—they differed from her old ones. In the old memories, Number 17 had won; but in the new ones, Yu Xi had triumphed.

These were two different versions of the same event, two timelines.

But none of that mattered now.

Yu Xi watched as Number 17 approached, her blade spinning.

She turned and hugged Lin Xian, wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her face to his chest.

“Daddy,” she whispered.

Lin Xian froze, eyes widening. This was the first time Yu Xi had ever called him that. He knew she’d regained her memories, but… how did she know?

There was no time to think. Yu Xi stood, a sad smile on her face, tears in her eyes.

“This time… don’t leave me again,” she said, before turning to charge at Number 17.

“Yu Xi!” Lin Xian shouted, but it was too late.

In that moment, her eyes blazed blue, and her entire body turned into sparkling blue particles—a brilliant, crystalline glow.

Number 17’s eyes widened. “No! You can’t—”

Boom.

The blue explosion was silent, covering all of Donghai City in glimmering blue dust.

Huangfu, Xuhui, Changning, Jing’an, Putuo, Baoshan—every part of the city was covered.

The Oriental Pearl, the banks of the Huangpu River, Disneyland, the Peace Hotel, MMX Company, parks—each landmark blanketed in shimmering blue.

These falling blue specks didn’t belong to this world. They sank into buildings, the earth, the flowing traffic.

People looked up, puzzled by the spectacle.

“Is it… snowing?”

They reached out, trying to catch the flakes, only for them to vanish.

On July 1st, 2024, at the height of summer, Donghai City saw snowfall. A miraculous, four-second snowfall—brief, beautiful.

In the Donghai University lab—

Liu Feng stood, stunned, watching as blue specks filled the room.

He looked out the window. It was like the world’s fireflies had gathered in one place.

And then, just as suddenly, the blue was gone.

Liu Feng turned to the time clock—

[0.0000168]

Beep, beep—

A hopeful sound. He turned to see the white mini-fridge in the lab, its screen lighting up for the first time in months.

Something had changed. Something inside.

He hurried over, opened the door—

Inside, bright blue light burst forth, taking his breath away. Two swirling blue energy balls—as if awakening from a long sleep—glowed brightly, full of energy.

…

Back at Lin Xian’s neighborhood entrance—

The blue explosion faded, leaving both Yu Xi and Number 17 gone.

Lin Xian looked around, breathing heavily, watching the blue specks fall. He tried to grab them—nothing. He reached to embrace—only emptiness.

“Qiao Qiao?”

Zhao Ying Jun pushed open the Ferrari door, rushing over. Her eyes widened, her voice trembling.

“Qiao Qiao? Where is she?”

She ran to Lin Xian, her voice rising in panic.

“Where’s my child?!”

Lin Xian stepped forward, embracing Zhao Ying Jun tightly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Zhao Ying Jun held her breath. She’d never seen Lin Xian like this, never heard him sound like this…

She was his child too. His heart hurt just as much as hers—maybe even more.

No matter how strong or confident a man was, he had moments of vulnerability.

“I’m sorry,” Zhao Ying Jun held Lin Xian, patting his back. “I was too anxious… But what happened? Where did Qiao Qiao go?”

Lin Xian sighed deeply, pulling away slightly, holding her shoulders.

“She went home.”

“Home?” Zhao Ying Jun shook her head. “This is her home! Donghai is her home. Don’t lie to me, Lin Xian. I can take anything, but not lies.”

“I’m not lying,” Lin Xian said. “She belongs here and doesn’t belong here. She’s from the future, but not our future. Her name isn’t Yan Qiao Qiao—it’s Lin Yu Xi.”

“Lin Xian… Yu Xi…” Zhao Ying Jun repeated, remembering the name from their past conversations, remembering the DNA mix-up with the girl in sunglasses.

It made sense now. That’s why she loved that name—she had chosen it for herself.

“Can we…” Zhao Ying Jun’s voice shook, her eyes searching Lin Xian’s face. “Can we bring Yu Xi back?”

Ring, ring—

Lin Xian’s phone rang. It was Liu Feng. At this moment… there had to be changes to the time clock, the worldline—

Lin Xian answered, “Hello?”

“Lin Xian! Something big has happened!” Liu Feng yelled. “The time clock readings changed again, but that’s not the big news. The entangled particle… it’s fully recharged!”

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes. So… it was connected, after all, to Yu Xi’s transformation into blue particles. That particle was her core, her energy source for the journey here. Or maybe it had something to do with Number 17’s disappearance.

The particle had recharged.

Was it a curse, destined to be stolen by Copernicus, or was it… an opportunity?

“Wait for me at the lab,” Lin Xian said, hanging up.

He looked at Zhao Ying Jun, speaking with resolve.

“Listen to me, Ying Jun. First, I swear I’ll get justice for Yu Xi. As her father, I can’t let those who hurt her get away with it. I’ll show it through my actions.

“Second, my promise to you—I failed to protect our daughter, but I’ll make it right.”

He bent down, picking up the family photo, placing it in Zhao Ying Jun’s hand, holding her hand firmly.

“Don’t leave Yu Xi,” he whispered. “This time, I finally understand.”