Genius Club Chapter 559
Chapter 559: A Story Neither Too Long Nor Too Short
(This novel is translated and hosted on Bcattranslation)
In the vibrant May of Donghai, spring flourished in every corner.
By the banks of the Huangpu River, willow branches had just turned green, and tender buds sprouted with lively energy.
A small stroller rolled along the riverside path, its dangling toys jingling softly as a gentle breeze passed by.
The infant inside, however, seemed uninterested in the outside world.
She was fully absorbed in gnawing on a rubber teething toy, biting down with fierce determination, the sound of her chewing almost audible.
Her teeth were coming in, and the itch in her gums demanded something to bite. Though she preferred chewing on her own hands, her parents didn’t allow it. So, they had bought her a rubber teething toy that wrapped snugly around her little hand.
At that moment…
Her father was behind her, pushing the stroller, chattering away about something; her mother walked alongside him, listening patiently.
“So, without that last Spacetime Particle, it would’ve been over… That was humanity’s final stand on Earth. Thankfully, with the one Elon Musk left behind, there were still two spacetime particles on Earth.”
“At the time, even if Li Cheng’s construction site hadn’t unearthed my Aluminum Alloy Safe, we were prepared to mobilize all of Donghai to dig it up—it was only a matter of time.”
Listening to Lin Xian’s explanation, Zhao Ying Jun rested his chin on his hand and nodded thoughtfully.
“I never imagined that with just a few months left, we’d still be forced into such a dire corner. The journey to save the world was truly arduous.”
“It’s all thanks to Elon Musk. Without his detector discovering the White Light in advance, none of the plans could have been executed. You wouldn’t have been able to confirm the White Light’s nature or even its existence.”
“More importantly, he developed the method to forcibly entangle spacetime particles. That very method inspired Chen Heping to create the smallest universal unit in the macro world… 42.”
Lin Xian chuckled and kept pushing the stroller forward.
“When you think about it, it’s not just Elon Musk.”
“The 600-year-long journey to save the world relied on countless geniuses building upon each other’s breakthroughs, passing the torch, each contribution indispensable.”
“Without Liu Feng, there wouldn’t have been the Introduction to the Universal Constant, and the entire plan would’ve been a non-starter. Liu Feng might have cried before, saying he was the most useless and unaccomplished, but if we trace it back… he was the true savior.”
“Without Xu Yun, there’d be no Hibernation Chamber, and none of us would have survived 600 years into the future. The path to salvation would’ve been blocked from the start—we wouldn’t have even seen the White Light.”
“Without Du Yao, we wouldn’t have had the Brain Neural Electric Helmet. Memories couldn’t have been reactivated or continued. People would’ve awakened in complete confusion, losing all knowledge and creating utter chaos.”
“Without Gao Wen, there’d be no Time Travel Machine, and I’d never have returned to 1952 to uncover the truths and secrets. I would’ve remained in the dark my entire life.”
“And Chen Heping was absolutely vital. He was the true emperor, the one closest to divinity. He not only deciphered the truth behind 42 but also unraveled the inspiration Einstein originally had 600 years ago.”
“Now that I think about it, it’s extraordinary. To infer the concept of a Universal Negative Film from the static noise on an old television… Can you believe it? From that moment on, our research into 42 not only surpassed Einstein but even outclassed the Piling Civilization.”
“To create a Universal Negative Film capable of collapsing and inverting the universe, the light-speed weapon alone wasn’t enough. We also needed the smallest unit, 42, to transfer micro-level impact to the macro level, thereby annihilating the entire universe.”
“See? Musk’s research from centuries ago came in handy at this moment. We artificially created two entangled spacetime particles, finally achieving the condition of ‘deterring the entire universe.’”
Zhao Ying Jun tilted his head, thinking.
“Didn’t Musk give you an entangled spacetime particle before? Couldn’t you have used that?”
“That wouldn’t have worked,” Lin Xian explained.
“Entangled spacetime particles are naturally formed. From their creation, they’re already entangled, so their Planck constants are identical.”
“When the Planck constants are identical, the distance between the two particles is either perfectly overlapping at zero or equal to the smallest value, the Planck constant itself.”
“But when two spacetime particles are forcibly entangled, it’s man-made. They originate from two different spacetime universes, so their Planck constants are different. Like a caliper, they interlock and piece together the smallest unit, 42.”
After listening, Zhao Ying Jun sighed softly.
“It’s truly incredible… Not just that you succeeded in saving the world, but that you managed to recount this long story from start to finish.”
She walked ahead a step, gazing at Yu Xi, who was fiercely tugging at her teething toy in the stroller.
“You’ve been telling this story since Yu Xi was born, and now she’s six months old. Only now have you finally finished.”
“That’s because I told it in detail.”
Lin Xian spread his hands in mock helplessness.
“When I told you the summarized version, it only took two hours. But you said you wanted every detail of what happened, so I went through everything step by step for you.”
“Well, that’s way too detailed!”
Zhao Ying Jun chuckled, the blue earrings dangling from her ears catching the sunlight and casting faint prisms of light.
“I asked for details, but not for a second-by-second recount! Were you planning to keep telling me this for decades?”
Lin Xian scratched his head with an amused smile.
“I can’t help it. Ever since the Truth Club’s Guide embedded a spacetime particle into my brain, I’ve had a heightened memory and perspective, similar to Einstein back in his time. I can view historical events and even perceive higher dimensions.”
“Of course, I can only see them when I choose to. Normally, I don’t use this ability. When there’s no crisis on Earth, I prefer living a normal life. And I certainly don’t spy on anyone’s privacy.”
“Ah!”
Suddenly, little Yu Xi let out a sharp cry from the stroller, pointing her tiny hand toward the riverbank as if giving directions.
But directions weren’t really needed.
There was only one Huangpu River, and the riverside path had no forks—just like the converged worldline, singular and unchanging.
“Someday, Yu Xi will love hearing your stories,” Zhao Ying Jun said, gazing lovingly at their daughter in the stroller.
“When she can understand and talk, she’ll cling to you every day, asking for your tales of heroism. She’ll ask how Auntie CC cracked the codes, how Uncle Big Cat Face crossed the junkyard, how the Sky City rose to the heavens, why Grandpa Wei Sheng Jin came to Earth, why Uncle Elon Musk went to Mars, how thousands upon thousands of Turings came to be, where the city of blue-eyed robots is, and… how her dad soared through the skies, crossed spacetime, and saved a world on the brink of destruction.”
“These stories will keep her entertained throughout her entire childhood. Kids love hearing the same stories over and over, even if they know them by heart. So you’ll need to be patient and tell her every one of these long tales again and again, just as you told them to me.”
“Of course, I’ll do that.”
Lin Xian continued pushing the stroller forward.
“But stories, no matter how many, will eventually run out. Yu Xi will grow up—she’ll become a young woman. By then, she won’t care for my clichéd tales of heroism, the same ones she can find in any comic or novel.”
“That’s true,” Zhao Ying Jun agreed.
“But that’s not a bad thing. Remember what I once told you? Our generation fought this battle, resolved the crisis, so that Yu Xi and her generation won’t need to fight, won’t need to sacrifice, won’t need to endure such long and twisted journeys.”
“The fact that future generations can hear of these hardships as if they were fairy tales is, in itself, a blessing. That was our goal from the start.”
“But even if your stories come to an end, it’s okay. Our companions still have plenty of their own stories, don’t they?”
She paused, gently touching her blue earring.
“When Yu Xi tires of your tales, you can tell her about Yellow Finch’s story instead…”
“If I have any hopes for what Yu Xi grows into, it would be that she becomes a woman like Yellow Finch.”
Yellow Finch.
Hearing this name, Lin Xian’s expression turned wistful.
“Yellow Finch… She indeed carries many stories, far more than we can imagine. Not just with the me from this worldline, but with other versions of me in other worldlines and their attempts to save the world.”
“Although every single one of those stories ended in failure, if it weren’t for the accumulation of experiences and the repeated transmission of information, we wouldn’t have achieved ultimate victory this time.”
“Many versions of us?” Zhao Ying Jun blinked in curiosity.
“Are you saying that Yellow Finch has traversed through time more than once?”
“Yes.” Lin Xian nodded.
“Each time, she would meet a different version of me at a different point in time, and together we’d create a unique story.”
“The outcomes of those stories varied. Sometimes, failure came early, and many lives were lost. Other times, even if everyone survived until the end, misunderstandings or miscalculations about 42 left us powerless.”
“But now, with the convergence of the worldline, everything has ended. Everything is at peace. I believe this is the world Yellow Finch wished for—”
“‘A world without Yellow Finch and the Leader, only a world with Zhao Ying Jun and Lin Xian, is the best world.’”
“Ah!” Little Yu Xi let out another sharp cry from the stroller.
“Exactly.” Lin Xian chuckled lightly and continued pushing the stroller.
“And Yu Xi too. How could the best world be complete without her?”
“Speaking of which…” He turned to Zhao Ying Jun, who was walking alongside him.
“Yu Xi’s a girl. Compared to tales of battles and sacrifices, I think she’d prefer hearing her mother’s stories.”
“My stories?” Zhao Ying Jun laughed softly.
“Unfortunately, there’s nothing remarkable about me worth telling. Compared to the grandeur and excitement you all experienced, my twenty-some years of life can only be described as calm and uneventful.”
“That’s not entirely true,” Lin Xian said.
“The Rhine Sky City you built is now regarded as the most beautiful fairy tale in the world. Besides, isn’t Yellow Finch, in essence, just you? How can you say your life is uneventful?”
But… Zhao Ying Jun gently shook her head.
“Whether it’s the Zhao Ying Jun from Rhine Sky City or the one who became Yellow Finch, neither of them is me.”
“It’s quite obvious, Lin Xian. In this lifetime, I won’t become Yellow Finch, nor will I build Rhine Sky City. So, they are who they are, and I am who I am—it’s different.”
“But even without a grand or thrilling life, so what? I’m already deeply content with my life.”
By now, they had reached the end of the riverside path. Zhao Ying Jun leaned against the railing at the edge, gazing at the shimmering waves of the river in the distance.
“In this life, I met the person I love most, married them, gave birth to Yu Xi, and watched her as she came into this world again. At the most bittersweet moment of saying goodbye, I saw you walk into the delivery room with news of our resounding victory.”
“There can’t be a life more beautiful or complete than this. As of now, I have no regrets. My life has been a story neither too long nor too short—just perfect.”
As she spoke, Zhao Ying Jun used her right index finger to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
“Besides, I’m only in my twenties. My story still stretches far, far ahead.”
“I believe that no matter what the future holds, no matter what unknowns lie ahead, my life will only become more beautiful, and my story will always fill me with pride.”
“Because…”
A sudden gust of river wind sent her crystal-blue gemstone earrings swaying.
She turned back with a smile, her bright eyes reflecting Lin Xian’s figure.
“You are my story for a lifetime.”