Chapter 1 The Club's Logo

When he saw the Genius Club's logo covering the entire moon... the large black hand seemed to be pointing at him mockingly rather than upwards.

Just a moment ago, Lin Xian still believed that the Genius Club had ceased to exist in this future world, or might even have been wiped out by rapidly developing technology.

But as it turned out...

Not only had they not disappeared or disbanded, but they were even more rampant, directly stamping their logo on the moon.

"What is that thing?" Lin Xian asked, pointing at the moon.

"The moon, of course!"

"I mean that black shadow on the moon. Is it a projection? Or is there really such a large building on the moon, spanning directly across the North and South Poles?"

"That, I don't know."

Big Face Cat shook his head:

"The moon has been like that for hundreds of years. The moon I've seen since I was a kid has been like that, and I don't find it strange at all."

"Actually, you're lucky today. The full moon is brightest on the sixteenth day of the lunar month, so you can see the pattern very clearly. Usually, when the moon isn't full... it's not so clear. And sometimes, from certain angles, it looks like it's giving the middle finger."

"That's not the point, Brother Face."

Lin Xian looked up again, at the eerie and terrifying moon:

"The point is, even if the moon has been like this since you were born, for hundreds of years, it's obviously man-made. Thousands or tens of thousands of years ago, the moon was definitely not like this."

"Well, isn't that obvious! Do you think I don't know that!"

Big Face Cat rubbed his arms, took the cigarette clipped to his ear, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a match:

"The black pattern on the moon is definitely man-made, but who did it, which country did it, no one can say for sure."

"Anyway, there are many versions of the rumors. Some say that a certain country, in order to show off its power, built such a large black structure on the moon, so it looks like a right hand with its index finger extended."

"But there are also rumors that this was done by a wealthy artist, who used a light-absorbing material, or some other kind of non-reflective material, to specifically lay out such a pattern on the surface of the moon... the purpose is to show it to the people on Earth."

"There's also a theory that aliens did it... but hahahaha, only kids believe that! Does an alien's right hand also look like that? Do aliens also have five fingers? I don't believe it."

...

Lin Xian paid no attention to Big Face Cat's rambling.

Because he knew very well.

And the fact was also very obvious.

That eerie black shadow on the moon was most likely the work of the Genius Club.

Eerie, and arrogant.

It matched Lin Xian's impression of this mysterious organization.

But such a large-scale lunar landing and construction project couldn't possibly have no historical records:

"Brother Face, are there no relevant records in history books?"

"History books?"

Big Face Cat smiled disdainfully:

"People like us don't even have the right to know history..."

He pointed to the brightly lit New Donghai City a few kilometers away—

"History and knowledge are in their hands. If you want to see real history books, you have to enter New Donghai City. There are plenty of bookstores and all kinds of high-tech gadgets there."

"So, brother..."

Big Face Cat exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at Lin Xian with a complicated expression:

"It's not that I don't support my daughter continuing her studies. If she could study in New Donghai City, I would naturally sell everything I have, even sell myself, to support her!"

"But studying in our village... what's the point? We don't have real knowledge here, and we don't have real history... Even if you go to school, you'll only learn meaningless things."

Okay.

As expected, it was hard for an honest official to settle family disputes. Don't advise others to be kind unless you know their suffering.

Lin Xian patted Big Face Cat on the shoulder:

"I understand, Brother Face. I was wrong."

He smiled:

"If one day I can go to New Donghai City, I promise to blow a big hole in that steel wall. Then... you can lead the villagers in a charge and snatch all the good stuff inside!"

"Hahahaha, get out of here!"

Big Face Cat slapped Lin Xian on the back:

"Always bragging! Let's go, let's go back and drink!"

...

The two went downstairs. Lin Xian took one last look at the cyberpunk-esque New Donghai City, looked up at the moon emblazoned with the Genius Club's logo... and then went inside.

In the living room, Big Face Cat's wife and their daughter and younger son had already finished eating and left their seats.

Lin Xian and Big Face Cat drank a little more. He asked Big Face Cat many historical questions, but didn't get any useful answers.

No matter what he asked, Big Face Cat just said one thing: the world had always been like this.

He didn't know any history, as if there was no history at all.

He vaguely understood and heard about things from the past few decades or hundreds of years, but he knew nothing about anything before that.

Even the bookstores didn't have any historical records about the past hundred years.

This surprised Lin Xian somewhat...

Logically speaking, every place and every world should have historians, right? There should be some relevant records, right?

But on second thought, it was the same in the First Dream, where he couldn't find any historical records either.

Was there a common reason for this?

...

Soon.

Big Face Cat raised his hand to look at his watch, smiled slightly, and put his arm around Lin Xian:

"Let's go to bed early tonight, brother. There are many rooms upstairs. I've asked your sister-in-law to clean one up for you. Don't stand on ceremony."

"Who goes to sleep so early?" Lin Xian shook his head:

"I'm not a kid. It's not even ten o'clock yet."

"Brother Face, you're definitely hiding something from me, right? Ah Zhuang said today that you guys have an activity tonight. Now that I'm your little brother too, you can't forget about me, whether it's good or bad, right?"

Lin Xian held Big Face Cat's hand:

"I'm already one of you. We live and die together! Tell me, Brother Face... what big deal are you doing in secret?"

Big Face Cat finished the wine in his glass in one gulp, smacked his lips:

"Brother, I admit, I do have something to hide from you."

Big Face Cat was indeed honest and righteous, which was why Lin Xian didn't dislike him.

"I do have something to hide from you."

Big Face Cat repeated, pouring the last bit of wine from the bottle into Lin Xian's glass, and pouring the remaining dregs into his own glass:

"But I didn't plan to keep it from you forever."

He looked up at Lin Xian:

"I could tell at a glance that you're not a bad person. I trust my judgment."

"Then today..."

"But not today." Big Face Cat's eyes were firm, raising his glass to clink with Lin Xian's:

"I wanted to take you with me, but I don't have the final say in this matter. It's not up to me."

"So... just listen to me today and go to bed early. Tomorrow I'll take you to see the boss and introduce you to him."

"Don't worry, your Brother Face has a lot of influence. With me as your guarantor, the boss will definitely let you join."

"But before that, don't ask so many questions. Every line has its rules. I can tell you're a talent, but even talent can't break the rules."

...

Since Big Face Cat had made it so clear, Lin Xian didn't press him any further.

He never expected that in the previous dream, he had always used "tomorrow" to brush off Big Face Cat... karma really came around, and today Big Face Cat had returned "tomorrow" to him.

But Lin Xian wasn't in a hurry.

As long as he didn't trigger any major temporal changes, this dream could last as long as he wanted. These things could be explored slowly. All he needed to do now was gather information.

Lin Xian picked up his wine glass:

"You have a boss above you?"

"Not a big brother, a boss. We work for him."

Clink.

The two clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

Big Face Cat familiarized Lin Xian with the layout of the house, and the location of the bathroom. After watching him wash up, he pushed him into the cleaned and tidy bedroom.

"Get a good night's sleep, and don't run around outside, the security isn't good."

Big Face Cat instructed.

"Got it, Brother Face," Lin Xian replied:

"Don't worry."

I'm definitely going out!

You've given me this much of a hint... if I don't go out and take a look, I'll really be letting my curiosity down.

What's more, I'm already dreaming, so there's no reason to keep sleeping.

He had tried it before, and he simply couldn't fall asleep in a dream.

"Good night, Brother Face."

"Good night, brother."

...

Lying on the stone bed, Lin Xian kept his eyes open, listening to every sound in the house.

Big Face Cat's wife seemed to be chopping radishes in the kitchen, to pickle for tomorrow morning's meal.

The eldest daughter and younger son also fell asleep amidst their playful noises.

There was no movement from Big Face Cat at all. He must have gone out a long time ago.

Finally...

After there was no sound in the house at all, and his sister-in-law had also fallen asleep...

Lin Xian got up.

And pushed open the door—