Chapter 1 Abroad

The night in the suburbs of Wolfsburg, Germany.

Beep.

The parking lights of a white Volkswagen sedan flashed, and a faint sound of the doors unlocking emanated.

A man with a white coat and a full beard walked out of the laboratory, opened the Volkswagen's door, and drove towards the road in the darkness.

The entire road had no streetlights; all the light came from the car's headlights and the reflectors and signs erected along the roadside.

This was common in sparsely populated countries where infrastructure coverage wasn't so high, nor was it necessary, because there was little traffic.

The road was wide, long, and straight.

The vehicle drove for a long time without encountering a second vehicle going in the same or opposite direction, and the bearded man was already used to this.

Firstly, his work hours were too late, and secondly, the roads in the suburbs were like this. The population density of most European countries was very low, incomparable to those high-density cities in Asia.

Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep!

Suddenly, the red malfunction light on the dashboard lit up, and the tire pressure monitor indicated that the tire pressure in the rear right wheel was dropping rapidly.

Was it a leak? Did he run over a nail?

The bearded man turned on his hazard lights and stopped the vehicle by the side of the road, then got out of the car and turned on the flashlight on his phone to check the rear right tire.

Sure enough, there was a nail stuck in it.

But this wasn't difficult for him.

Changing a tire with a jack was just a basic operation for men here, like a baby being born knowing how to breastfeed. In Wolfsburg, the city where Volkswagen's headquarters was located, even women and children could change tires.

He went to the trunk to take out the small jack that came with the car, walked to the rear right wheel, and began to assemble it and get to work—

Boom!

In the darkness, a Hummer with no lights on came speeding towards him!

Like a sandwich, it mercilessly crushed the bearded man between the two cars! Blood splattered everywhere like a squeezed water balloon! The bearded man's large body was crushed into a shattered meat pie as if it had fallen apart!

Boom...

The Hummer reversed, then sped away, disappearing into the end of the road where there were no lights.

On the rooftop next to them, an old man and a young man silently watched all of this.

Ji Xinshui raised his wrist and looked at the time on his watch—

00:42:58

00:42:59

00:43:00

"Sure enough, it's easier to operate abroad." The old man's voice was dry. He didn't like the climate here; he should be in a more humid place at his age.

"Yes."

Ji Lin beside him replied indifferently:

"Most foreign countries are sparsely populated. Thanks to everyone always shouting about privacy, cameras can't achieve the same full coverage as in Long Country, which saves us a lot of trouble."

"Besides, the police here aren't so dedicated and can be easily dealt with... If I were to choose a place to retire when I'm old, I would definitely choose Long Country."

Ji Xinshui lowered his wrist, sniffed uncomfortably, and looked at the white Volkswagen that was left at the scene of the traffic accident, flashing its yellow warning lights lonely and rhythmically:

"That's right... If you hadn't wanted to fish out Lin Xian, I really wouldn't have wanted to lure Tang Xin to Donghai to kill. Two similar cases happening in the same city in such a short time will inevitably attract attention. But fortunately, you've entered the Donghai Public Security Bureau and have taken control of the overall situation."

"But Lin Xian is too cautious."

Ji Lin shook his head:

"He didn't take the bait with Tang Xin's matter, and he's obviously on guard. I estimate that finding evidence of him disrupting history in the existing matters... is unlikely to work."

"He didn't attack Zhou Duyun either?" Ji Xinshui asked.

"No."

Ji Lin said softly:

"Zhou Duyun was also bait we released, but unfortunately, Lin Xian didn't take any action. Zhou Duyun is doing well."

"I don't know what Lin Xian is thinking. Does he not have the supernatural abilities we imagined, or is he so cautious that he doesn't even dare to kill a small character like Zhou Duyun?"

"It doesn't matter, let's keep watching. Anyway, Zhou Duyun is a discarded pawn." Ji Xinshui snorted coldly:

"The reason we didn't kill him back then was to save him for this moment."

"You're cautious enough too." Ji Lin turned to look at Ji Xinshui:

"What could you have done by killing him even after we caught him on the high seas? Would the Genius Club even know about such a small matter?"

"We can't take risks." The wrinkles and dark spots on Ji Xinshui's face squeezed together, and his expression was very serious:

"The Genius Club does have abilities beyond our imagination... They are so powerful that they even make me doubt the reality of this world."

"Arrogance, Dr. Ponsmer, who was just killed in the crash, was ordered to be killed by someone from the Genius Club, your superior, right?" Ji Lin asked again.

Facing Ji Lin's question, Ji Xinshui didn't say anything...

He had nothing to say.

Ji Lin wasn't a fool. Now, the fact that he had a superior who was a member of the Genius Club was almost an open secret in front of Ji Lin.

Whether he admitted it or not, it was the same.

"Because this murder, like Tang Xin's, didn't require any evidence at all. It was a direct kill. It's obvious that someone was ordering you from behind."

Ji Lin lowered his head and smiled:

"But Lin Xian is different... This is more like no one ordered you to kill him, and you found him yourself to try to gain merit and reward, like a primary school student trying to show off in class. That's why you have to find evidence in every possible way to prove that Lin Xian is disrupting history."

"So I thought about it. Arrogance, since it's just the two of us here, tell me frankly, is the test to join the Genius Club... to actively find someone who is disrupting history?"

Ji Xinshui shook his head:

"You're still guessing wrong, Ji Lin. Stop trying to trick me. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do, and you should focus on finding evidence of Lin Xian disrupting history."

"If we really accomplish this, you and I will naturally get the answer."

"Speaking of... what exactly is your plan for coming to Germany at this time? We followed your instructions and handled all of Dr. Ponsmer's research materials at home. No one in the world knows about the research he was secretly doing."

Hearing this, Ji Lin picked up the rolled-up information in his hand and opened it.

It was information about Dr. Ponsmer.

47 years old, unmarried, living alone, no children.

He was just an ordinary research institute employee, but he was doing some "evil" research at home.

The reason he didn't do it in the laboratory was because the laboratory didn't allow him to do this kind of evil research, and he wasn't willing to share the research results with the laboratory. He wanted to gain fame and wealth with this patent, so he had been secretly researching it all these years.

His research was quite evil in the current field—

Room-temperature superconductor.

Generally speaking, only under extremely low-temperature conditions of more than 100 degrees below zero can a superconductor simultaneously achieve the two independent characteristics of zero resistance and perfect diamagnetism.

Room-temperature superconductors are simply a pipe dream.

But…

The new type of hafnium alloy developed by Xu Yun seemed to have made rapid progress in Dr. Ponsmer's research.

Ji Lin and Ji Xinshui couldn't understand the specifics.

Therefore, Ji Lin was even more certain that Ji Xinshui must have a superior and was indeed working for someone from the Genius Club.

"I'm very curious, Arrogance."

Ji Lin flipped through the complex information in his hand:

"Since Dr. Ponsmer has been secretly researching these things in his own home, and no one in the world knows about it except himself, how does the Genius Club know about it? How do they know about it so promptly?"

"Roughly speaking, Dr. Ponsmer's research, like Tang Xin's, is only in the starting semi-finished stage, and there is still a distance to go before it is completed. How does the Genius Club know these things and how do they determine that they are correct and will definitely succeed?"

"That's their strength! That's the mystery of the Genius Club!"

Ji Xinshui's words were very certain, and his eyes were also very firm, flashing with a different kind of reverence:

"They have never missed once, never failed once... There is no need to doubt this, Ji Lin. My achievements and status today are the best proof."

"You really are a qualified riddler." Ji Lin chuckled:

"You just repeat these few sentences over and over again... But never mind, I have achieved my purpose for coming here this time. Remember to handle things cleanly later and absolutely don't let anyone know about Dr. Ponsmer's research, and be sure to handle all the information and manuscripts related to room-temperature superconductors cleanly."

"That's no problem, we're professionals." Ji Xinshui gave a dry laugh.

"There's one more thing I need to confirm with you." Ji Lin looked at Ji Xinshui:

"You're sure that you can sacrifice our own people as long as you don't kill innocent people, right?"

"That's right."

Ji Xinshui nodded:

"Because they are already dead... Envy, Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Lust... They were already dead, but I saved their lives. Except for you, they are all pawns that can be abandoned at any time. "

"Death is their destiny, and their being alive is a disruption to history. In essence, they are the same as Xu Yun and Tang Xin, only with different degrees of impact on the historical trajectory."

"I gave them a second life, I gave them such a brand new life... I know this better than anyone else."

Ji Lin didn't speak, but nodded.

He had seen Ji Xinshui's ruthlessness more than once.

The only reason he didn't dare to kill people easily was because he was worried that it would affect his qualifications to join the Genius Club, so he was so honest.

But there was one thing he didn't say wrong...

The other members of the organization were indeed supposed to be dead, and all their glorious lives were given to them by Ji Xinshui.

He suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Ji Xinshui:

"Arrogance... have you forgotten about yourself?"

"Huh?" Ji Xinshui looked at Ji Lin in confusion.

"The former you was just a pitiful worm who was ostracized in the Donghai University Research Institute..." Ji Lin smiled meaningfully:

"Wasn't your life changed by the Genius Club too?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Ji Xinshui frowned.

"Isn't what I said obvious enough?"

Ji Lin looked at the Volkswagen sedan flashing its parking lights in the distance and continued:

"You changed the lives, the history, and the future that Envy and Greed should have had... so you treat them as dead soldiers or lackeys that can be killed at any time."

"Then what about you? What are you to the Genius Club? Could it be that you were also deceived by your superior, by someone from the Genius Club? Are you just a dog that can be discarded at any time?"

"I'm different from them!" Ji Xinshui's tone increased:

"Are you trying to trick me again, Ji Lin? Save your energy."

"So... why not verify it together with the matter of Lin Xian."

Ji Lin shook the roll of investigation materials in his hand:

"Although I don't understand what Dr. Ponsmer's research materials are trying to express, my knowledge is still very broad. Do you know what the biggest change, the most direct, and the most subversive practical result would be for this world if this room-temperature superconductor can be successfully developed?"

"What is it?" Ji Xinshui frowned and looked at Ji Lin.

Ji Lin chuckled, turning to look at the super factory in Wolfsburg that was running day and night in the distance:

"Controlled nuclear fusion!"