Gunfire?

Accidental death?

Lin Xian stared at these ominous words…

Zhao Yingjun died so early?

He stared at the words "her jade faded and fragrance vanished"… feeling that the "at the age of 23" at the end was a truly cruel number.

Lin Xian scratched his head, finding it hard to describe his current mood.

Although unpredictable things happen, and accidents occur every day, death is normal.

But after all, this was someone he knew, a familiar face he saw every day.

He'd even chatted with her in her office that very afternoon.

If he'd seen in the book that Zhao Yingjun died at 30 or 40, he wouldn't have found it strange.

But at the age of 23… wasn't that too young?

Most importantly...

Zhao Yingjun was currently 23 years old…

Was she about to die?

Lin Xian stared at Zhao Yingjun's name in the water-soaked book…

He never thought he could see the death date of someone he knew in the future world, 600 years from now.

Whoosh—whoosh—

Outside the wall, a whistle like a bird call sounded.

Lin Xian looked at his watch.

00:18:24

Da Lian Mao (Big Cat) was probably reminding him to leave quickly; it was time to retreat.

"Lin Xian, let's go! It's time to retreat. The blind spot in the surveillance is only 30 seconds starting at 00:19!"

Li Ningning ran toward the wall, carrying a stack of books.

Lin Xian quickly flipped through *My Biography with X* again, but couldn't find any useful information.

Only two sentences mentioned the establishment time of Company X, and that its founder, Zhao Yingjun, had died in an accident, before returning to the traditional self-sublimation and self-indulgent atmosphere.

"Lin Xian!! What are you doing!! Hurry up!!"

He looked up.

Li Ningning shouted anxiously, and actually turned back to drag Lin Xian away:

"Don't read it! Read it outside!"

Lin Xian really didn't expect Li Ningning to specifically come back for him. He thought she would just climb over the wall directly.

Actually, he hadn't planned on leaving. He planned to find a place to hide here and read the book carefully.

"Hurry! There's no time!"

Li Ningning grabbed Lin Xian's arm and ran wildly through the garbage heap.

Lin Xian stuffed the book into his waistband and ran after Li Ningning at full speed.

However…

Buzz!!!

Buzz!!!

The noise of propellers. A surveillance drone was rapidly approaching!

Li Ningning's turning back to find Lin Xian… had really wasted too much time. It was obvious that they were too late and were about to enter the surveillance range of the drone!

"You go first."

"Huh?"

Li Ningning was stunned.

But the next second, Lin Xian had already picked up the light and agile her, lifting her up! He acted as a human ladder, directly sending Li Ningning to a height where she could jump over.

"Hurry and climb over!"

As Lin Xian's palms supported the soles of Li Ningning's shoes, he pushed upwards with force! Li Ningning was directly "thrown" over the high wall, tumbling and scrambling.

Plop.

There was no sound of a hard landing.

Because Da Lian Mao had already told them that they would be waiting outside to catch them, so that Lin Xian and Li Ningning wouldn't fall.

"Lin Xian—"

Li Ningning's shout came from outside!

Beep beep beep beep beep!!!

The rapid alarm sound quickly approached!

Lin Xian raised his head. Several drones with scarlet lights were approaching!

Bang bang bang bang!

Bang bang bang bang!

Bang bang bang bang!

…

…

Thump!

Lin Xian suddenly sat up in bed, taking several deep breaths and rubbing his head.

He didn't know if it was an illusion.

It seemed like he saw the scene of his brains exploding…

Very stimulating, and also familiar.

It was just that he hadn't experienced it in a dream for many years.

He turned his head and looked at the bedside clock.

00:22

Because he'd died in the dream, the time naturally wouldn't be the usual 00:42; he came out at the time of his death.

Moreover, once he died, he wouldn't be able to re-enter this round of dreams. Even if he fell asleep again, he would only be in a dreamless state. He would have to wait until 12:42 noon the next day to re-enter the dream cycle and start all over again.

Lin Xian got up and sat down at his desk.

He turned on the desk lamp and, relying on his memory, wrote down the cause of death of Zhao Yingjun that he had seen—

——Just as the company was taking off, Ms. Zhao Yingjun died unexpectedly in a shooting. At midnight, her jade faded and fragrance vanished at the age of 23.

Subsequently, Company X was officially taken over by the Zhao Group of the Imperial Capital, and underwent large-scale personnel adjustments and business integration. Since then, Company X has embarked on a new journey!

Lin Xian closed the pen cap and began to ponder this matter.

According to his initial guess,

Zhao Yingjun received an invitation from the Genius Club,

Joined the Genius Club,

Then used a hibernation pod to cross 600 years of time,

And during this period, relied on Company X to establish New East Sea City,

So the CEO of Company X 600 years later was still her.

But looking at it now…

This line of reasoning was wrong from the root.

Although it cannot be denied that the establishment of New East Sea City was related to the Genius Club, at least it had nothing to do with Zhao Yingjun.

Zhao Yingjun had already died at the young age of 23.

Company X after that was taken over by the Zhao Group, and it was very likely that it changed hands many times in the 600 years of space-time, and had long been unrelated to Zhao Yingjun.

Her departure was too early.

"Zhao Group…"

Lin Xian felt instinctively that this should be Zhao Yingjun's father's company, or Zhao Yingjun's family's company, right?

After all, Company X itself was a sole proprietorship of Zhao Yingjun. If she really died, only her parents would be qualified to legally receive her property.

So…

Thinking back to Zhao Yingjun's death itself.

Lin Xian looked at the heavy words on the white paper…

Even putting aside personal feelings.

Zhao Yingjun's death would bring many inconveniences to his subsequent investigation.

The Genius Club invitation in her office drawer was the only clue he could continue to investigate.

If this clue was cut off, he really wouldn't have any safe way to contact the Genius Club's intelligence again.

The book clearly stated,

After Zhao Yingjun's death, the Zhao Group took over Company X, the company's strategic direction changed drastically, and the staff was also adjusted on a large scale…

A new emperor has new subjects. It was obvious that senior cadres like the three vice presidents and Lin Xian would all be replaced by the new leader's cronies.

Being fired wasn't a big deal, he wasn't short of money.

But after leaving Company X, how could he see that Genius Club invitation?

He was really going further and further away.

The content of that invitation… was very important to Lin Xian now!

The nature, purpose, good and evil of the Genius Club were already confusing.

Including the future world in the dream, there were no clues, extremely mysterious, and no one knew anything.

But the Genius Club undoubtedly existed.

The black hand shadow on the moon, Da Lian Mao's father being taken away… these things must all be related to the Genius Club.

And the invitation in Zhao Yingjun's office drawer was also currently the only link connecting reality and the dream.

Lin Xian had a hunch…

Perhaps the root of all the mysteries now was related to the Genius Club.

Therefore, the key clue chain of the invitation must not be broken here!

"Zhao Yingjun can't die."

Lin Xian raised his head:

"Her death… will bring a lot of trouble to my follow-up investigation."

He picked up a pen, held it between his fingers, and made it spin in an arc.

Undoubtedly.

Zhao Yingjun's death would cause him to lose this only clue, only link, and only possibility of contacting the Genius Club.

Moreover…

He was also very curious.

If Zhao Yingjun hadn't died, and Company X hadn't been acquired by the Zhao Group…

Would the future world still be like it is now?

Would New East Sea City still be surrounded by high walls?

Would the Company X building still stand like a sea-calming needle in the center of New East Sea City?

Lin Xian didn't like the future world in the second dream.

Li Ningning didn't like it either.

Many people didn't like it.

Lin Xian even felt that such a deformed future world was really not as comfortable as the first dream where technology hadn't developed for 600 years.

Therefore…

"If Zhao Yingjun isn't allowed to die so early, will the future world, New and Old East Sea City, change because of this?"

Considering the laws of space-time.

Considering the concept of the space-time butterfly effect and space-time changes.

Lin Xian felt that this possibility was still very high.

If he could successfully prevent Zhao Yingjun's premature death, then from that moment on, the space-time butterfly would flap its wings, creating an anchor point for space-time changes.

As long as the magnitude of this space-time change could break through the 600 years of space-time elasticity, it would inevitably trigger the space-time butterfly effect, rewrite the future, and change the dream world.

"Worth a try."

At least…

He shouldn't stand idly by.

Xu Yun's tragic death on the street, the cracked corpse was still vivid in his mind.

Lin Xian didn't want to see his acquaintances die in the streets again.

If she was really a bad person, then so be it.

But now, Zhao Yingjun hadn't shown any signs of doing evil.

He couldn't just condemn Zhao Yingjun's position of good or evil simply because she received an invitation from the Genius Club, plus Da Lian Mao's family's words in the first dream.

Although Lin Xian currently regarded the Genius Club as a "hypothetical enemy."

But in fact, he still retained a trace of the possibility of "wronging it."

Therefore.

There was naturally also the possibility of "wronging" Zhao Yingjun.

Now, neither the nature of the Genius Club nor Zhao Yingjun's position had been finalized.

Weighing the pros and cons…

Changing the course of history to save Zhao Yingjun was, on the whole, more beneficial than harmful.

"However, saving people is okay, but the first priority is to ensure my own safety."

Lin Xian stopped spinning the pen and looked at the dark night outside the window:

"Zhao Yingjun received an invitation from the Genius Club, and the nature of the Genius Club is currently unclear, so… I must not reveal my purpose, and I must not reveal the fact that I foresee her death."

"The dream is my biggest secret and my only weapon. I must not reveal that I know the future."

"Therefore, when considering how to save Zhao Yingjun, I must pay attention to safety and concealment."

Specifically, there were probably three principles:

1. I must not directly tell Zhao Yingjun that she will die, and I must not reveal my ability to foresee the future.
2. I must not use very sudden or deliberate actions to get Zhao Yingjun out of danger, so as to avoid causing unnecessary suspicion and bringing trouble to myself.
3. I should naturally and imperceptibly allow Zhao Yingjun to escape from this accidental shooting.

Looking at the words "accidental death" on the white paper…

Recalling the events of Da Lian Mao's father and Xu Yun;

Recalling the moon in the future world that was divided into two by a black hand;

Recalling the X Twin Towers building that suppressed New East Sea City;

Lin Xian felt a chill down his spine.

Zhao Yingjun's death…

Was it really just an accident?