Genius Club

CC skillfully decoded the lock mechanism, flung open the door, and surged forward. Trailing behind her, Big Cat Face hefted an acetylene canister, while Lin Xian entered with caution. Stepping into the bank vault, Lin Xian froze in surprise.

“What?” he gasped, eyes sweeping across the rows of gleaming, new safes mounted along the walls. “What’s happened here? When did they change?” His memory painted a picture of old, chipped, and rusted safes, a stark contrast to their current pristine condition.

He hurried to a safe labeled with his name, tracing his fingers across its sleek, polished exterior.

Thump!

Frustration boiled over, and Lin Xian struck the safe, his thoughts echoing Professor Xu Yun’s discovery: “In my research, I stumbled upon a byproduct. I sent it to a colleague at the Aerospace Institute, who confirmed its properties. It’s an aluminum compound, forming an alloy that is extremely hard, corrosion-resistant, and heat-resistant, potentially useful in aerospace. I’d planned to publish this data on the aluminum alloy. While its exact applications are not yet clear, it could revolutionize various technologies.”

Clang!

His mask and torch clattered to the ground. “We’ve been duped.”

CC and Big Cat Face looked at him, confused. “Duped? By whom?”

Pointing at the nameplate on his safe, Lin Xian sighed. “We were tricked by Lin Xian himself.”

Big Cat Face and CC exchanged bewildered looks, but Lin Xian grasped the implications of this time-space anomaly and the resulting butterfly effect. “Time-space changes are unpredictable,” he realized. Although he intended to alter the future, the results were not always beneficial. In this case, his earlier interventions had unexpectedly led to the current predicament. The brand-new safes were a direct consequence of his actions 600 years prior, which had inadvertently triggered a time-space shift.

Originally, the safes in the bank vault were made of aged iron, their paint nearly chipped away, and their interiors rusty, easily qualifying as museum artifacts without proper care. However, his historical meddling led Professor Xu Yun to discover a new aluminum alloy during his research on hibernation fluids. Although Lin Xian was unfamiliar with the exact properties of this alloy, Professor Xu Yun had described it as highly durable, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant—qualities later affirmed by the Aerospace Institute.

If this patent went public, industries, including safe manufacturers, would swiftly adopt the new aluminum alloy. Observing the untouched, shiny safes, Lin Xian understood the alarming logic: his past actions had rebounded disastrously in the present.

But why did the new aluminum alloy prompt a time-space shift, whereas the hibernation fluid did not? What was the critical difference?

“Hey, snap out of it! Bring the torch over here!” Big Cat Face was setting up the oxygen tank, retrieving the torch and hose Lin Xian had dropped to begin connecting them. CC, still puzzled, approached Lin Xian. “Didn’t you say this high-temperature cutting torch could reach 3000 degrees, enough to melt any metal?”

Lin Xian, speechless, mused, “It can definitely melt steel, which has a melting point of 1500 degrees. But if this alloy’s melting point exceeds 3000 degrees…” He scratched his head, grappling with the irony of having outsmarted himself.

Whoosh—Big Cat Face ignited the torch, its flame turning a sharp blue with a white core, the kind needed to slice through steel. CC, setting aside further questions, removed her Ultraman mask, replaced it with a welding helmet, and joined Big Cat Face as he adjusted the acetylene and oxygen mix. The flame intensified, focusing into a thin, white core.

“Ready!” Big Cat Face declared, putting on his welding helmet and gearing up to cut. CC pointed to a nearby safe. “Let’s start with this one. I’m not sure what’s inside, but we’ll cut into it gradually from the side.”

“Okay, step back,” he directed.

Big Cat Face positioned the torch near the safe, its 3000-degree flame hissing intensely. The room’s temperature seemed to spike. Yet, contrary to expectations, no sparks flew; only the fierce roar of the flame against the metal filled the silence.

After several tense minutes, Big Cat Face withdrew, lifting his welding helmet to inspect the safe—unblemished and intact.

“What’s going on?” he spat on the safe’s surface, and the saliva sizzled away instantly, indicating the metal had reached 3000 degrees yet remained unchanged.

“What is this material!” Big Cat Face exclaimed, “Is it designed for spaceships!?”

Lin Xian nodded gravely, “That might be one of your rare accurate guesses… Are safes usually this tough?”

“Absolutely not!” Big Cat Face was bewildered. “I’ve cracked many safes, and none were this resilient!”

Lin Xian pondered… His assumption was flawed. Even with time-space anomalies, typical safes wouldn’t need “spaceship armor.” What made these safes so unique that they required such advanced materials?

He didn’t know the cost of the new aluminum alloy, but it seemed prohibitively expensive. Ordinary safes wouldn’t justify this expense, hence Big Cat Face and CC’s astonishment.

Ignoring their surprise, CC took the torch: “Let me try.” Again, the intense flame filled the room, but regardless of the angle or duration, the safes remained intact, unyielding like timeless relics.

“This is bizarre!” Frustrated, Big Cat Face loaded his gun and fired twice at another safe. Closer inspection revealed not a scratch; the surface was still pristine. “This stuff is too tough!”

Clang!

CC dropped the torch and helmet, wiping sweat from her brow. They all recognized the futility of their efforts.

“I’m sorry, this is my fault,” Lin Xian admitted.

However, CC shook her head, her gaze not blaming but understanding as she looked at Lin Xian: “It’s not your fault. I see how much you wanted to open this safe, but it just wasn’t possible.”

Lin Xian was taken aback; he had expected CC to glare at him and accuse him of lying, as she had in the past. This was the first time she had spoken to him so kindly, suggesting her feelings for him were quite positive this time.

Removing his mask, Lin Xian faced CC: “It seems impossible to break the safe by force. Guessing the password is our only option. I can’t explain everything now, but I understand more, have more chances, and am closer to the correct answer.”

“So, CC, can we share information?” Lin Xian stepped closer, his expression earnest. “Our goal is the same—to open this safe. I can answer your earlier questions and tell you about the Lin Xian I know. In return, can you share any clues, information, or hints about this safe? If you provide critical tips… perhaps I can guess the password!”

After a moment of contemplation, CC nodded slowly through her Ultraman mask: “Okay.”