Genius Club-Chapter 195 - 36 The Dead

Nighttime, Germany, on the outskirts of Wolfsburg City.

Beep beep.

A white Volkswagen sedan flashed its width light and a faint sound of unlocking doors and windows echoed.

A man with a goatee, wearing a white lab coat, emerged from the laboratory, opened the door of the Volkswagen, and drove off into the darkness of the road.

The road was devoid of streetlights; all the illumination came from the vehicle’s headlights and the reflective signs and marker boards erected by the roadside.

This was common in sparsely populated countries—the infrastructure coverage wasn’t that extensive, and there was no need for it, given the low volume of both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

The road was wide, long, and straight.

The car had been driving for a long time without encountering another vehicle heading in the same or opposite direction, and the man with the goatee had long since grown accustomed to this.

Firstly, he finished work too late, and secondly, the roads in the suburbs were just like that. Most European countries had low population densities that could not compare to the high-density cities of other continents.

Drip drip drip drip drip drip drip!!

Suddenly, a red warning light on the dashboard lit up, indicating a rapid decrease in tire pressure in the right rear wheel.

Was it a leak? Had he driven over a nail?

The man with the goatee pulled over with his hazard lights on, got out of the car, turned on his mobile phone’s flashlight, and inspected the right rear tire.

Indeed, there was a nail.

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But this didn’t faze him.

Using a jack to change a spare tire was considered a basic skill for men in their area, as natural as a baby instinctively knowing how to nurse. In Wolfsburg, the city where the Volkswagen headquarters were located, even women and children knew how to change a tire.

He went to the trunk to retrieve the small jack that came with the car, walked over to the right rear wheel, and began to assemble and work busily—

Boom!!!!!!!!

A Humvee without its lights on suddenly barreled into him at high speed!

He was crushed between the two vehicles like a smashed biscuit, his blood spurting everywhere like liquid from a burst water balloon, his robust body contorted like a shattered meat patty under the pressure!

Boom...…

The Humvee reversed and then sped away, disappearing into the road’s dark, lightless end.

On the rooftop of a nearby building, an old man and a young one silently watched everything unfold.

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

00:42:58

00:42:59

00:43:00

"Indeed, operating abroad is a bit easier." The old man’s voice was dry and scratchy. He didn’t like the climate here; at his age, he should stay somewhere more humid.

"Yeah."

Ji Lin responded indifferently:

"Abroad, with vast lands and sparse populations, and thanks to everyone’s incessant chants about privacy, cameras can’t achieve the level of coverage they have in China, saving us lots of trouble."

"Moreover, the police here are not as dedicated, easy to deal with... If I were to choose a place to retire in my old age, I would definitely pick China."

Ji Xinshui put down his wrist, took a couple of uncomfortable breaths through his nose, and looked at the now solitary Volkswagen, its yellow warning lights blinking rhythmically:

"That’s right... if it weren’t for your intent to lure out Lin Xian, I really wouldn’t want to lead Tang Xin to Donghai City for the kill. Two similar cases happening in the same city within such a short time span couldn’t escape notice. But it’s fine now, since you have entered the Donghai City Police Force and have taken control of the whole situation."

"But Lin Xian is too cautious."

Ji Lin shook his head:

"He didn’t take the bait with Tang Xin’s case, and it’s obvious he’s on guard. I reckon it’s impossible now to find evidence of him disrupting history based on the current situation."

"He didn’t make a move on Zhou Duanyun either?" Ji Xinshui asked.

"No."

Ji Lin whispered:

"Zhou Duanyun was also a bait we set out, but unfortunately, Lin Xian made no move, and Zhou Duanyun remains unharmed."

"I don’t know what Lin Xian is thinking. Is it that he doesn’t have the supernatural abilities we imagined, or is he so cautious that he wouldn’t even dare to kill a minor character like Zhou Duanyun?"

"Never mind, just keep watching; Zhou Duanyun is expendable anyway." Ji Xinshui snorted coldly:

"The reason we didn’t kill him from the start was to use him at a time like this."

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

"We caught him out at sea, what could have happened if you killed him? Would the Genius Club care about such a trivial matter?"

"We can’t take risks." Ji Xinshui’s face, with its heavy wrinkles and dark spots, was dead serious:

"The Genius Club indeed has capabilities beyond our imagination... They’re so powerful that they even make me question the reality of this world."

"Arrogance, the one just killed, Dr. Pang Simai, was a member of the Genius Club, wasn’t he? Your superior from the Genius Club ordered you to kill him, right?" Ji Lin asked again.

Facing Ji Lin’s question, Ji Xinshui said nothing…

There was nothing to say.

Ji Lin was no fool; the fact that his superior was a member of the Genius Club had almost been laid bare in front of him.

Admitting or not admitting made no difference.

"Because this murder, just like with Tang Xin, didn’t require any proof; you just killed him straight away. It’s obvious someone is ordering you from behind."

Ji Lin chuckled and bowed his head:

"But Lin Xian is different... This seems more like no one ordered you to kill him; you found him yourself wanting to take credit and seek rewards, like a show-off pupil in the classroom. That’s why you’re so eager to find evidence to prove Lin Xian is disrupting history."

"So I thought about it. Arrogance, since it’s just the two of us, tell me straight, is the test to join the Genius Club actually about finding someone who is disrupting history on your own?"

Ji Xinshui shook his head:

"You’re still wrong about that, Ji Lin. Stop trying to trick me into talking. I’m just doing what I must, and you should focus your energy on finding evidence of Lin Xian disrupting history."

"If we really pull this off, both you and I will naturally find the answers."

"Speaking of which... what’s your plan for coming to Germany at this time? We did what you said, and we’ve taken care of all Dr. Pang Simai’s home research materials. No one in the world knows about his secret research."

Hearing this, Ji Lin picked up the rolled-up documents in his hand and unfolded them.

It was information related to Dr. Pang Simai.

47 years old, unmarried, living alone, without children.

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

The reason he didn’t do it in the lab was that the lab didn’t allow such heretical research, and also because he didn’t want to share the results with the lab. He wanted to rely on this patent to gain fame and wealth, so he had been conducting his research in secret for years.

His research in the current field was rather heretical—

[Room Temperature Superconductor]

Generally speaking, only under ultra-low temperatures of more than 100 degrees below zero can superconductors achieve both independent properties of zero resistance and perfect diamagnetism at the same time.

A Room Temperature Superconductor was simply a whimsical fantasy.

But...

The new hafnium alloy developed by Xu Yun seemed to have led to rapid progress in Dr. Pang Simai’s research.

Exactly what the progress was, Ji Lin could not understand, and Ji Xinshui could not understand either.

Therefore, Ji Lin was even more certain... that Ji Xinshui must have a higher-up; he was indeed working for someone in the Genius Club.

"I’m quite curious, Arrogance."

Ji Lin browsed through the complex documents in his hand:

"Since Dr. Pang Simai has been researching these things secretly at his own home, and no one in the world but himself knows about it, how did the Genius Club find out? And how did they find out so promptly?"

"At first glance, Dr. Pang Simai’s research seems, like Tang Xin’s, to be just at the early half-finished stage, with a distance yet to go before completion. How did the Genius Club know about this, and how could they be sure that it was correct, that it would definitely succeed?"

"That’s the power they hold! That’s the mysterious nature of the Genius Club!"

Ji Xinshui spoke with conviction, his eyes firm, shimmering with a different kind of reverence:

"[They have never missed a time, never failed once... You don’t need to doubt that, Ji Lin. My achievements and status today are the best proof.]"

"You really are a qualified enigma." Ji Lin chuckled lightly:

"It’s the same few sentences over and over... But forget it, I’ve reached my goal for this visit. Just remember to clean up neatly afterward, definitely don’t let anyone know about Dr. Pang Simai’s research and make sure all the materials and manuscripts related to the Room Temperature Superconductor are thoroughly dealt with."

"No problem, we’re professionals." Ji Xinshui gave a dry laugh.

"There’s something else I need to confirm with you." Ji Lin looked at Ji Xinshui:

"You’re sure that we can sacrifice our own people as long as it doesn’t involve killing innocent personnel, right?"

"That’s correct."

Ji Xinshui nodded:

"Because they are already dead men... Jealousy, Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Lust... they were already dead, I just saved their lives. Apart from you, they are all expendable pawns."

"Death is their destiny; their mere existence is already a disruption of history. Fundamentally, they are no different from Xu Yun, Tang Xin; it’s just a matter of the extent of their impact on the historical trajectory."

"I gave them a second chance at life, a brand new life... I’m clearer about this than anyone else."

Ji Lin said nothing, just nodded.

Ji Xinshui’s ruthlessness was not new to him.

His reluctance to kill was simply because he was worried it might affect his eligibility to join the Genius Club, so he behaved himself.

But there was one thing he wasn’t wrong about...

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

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he turned to look at Ji Xinshui:

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

"Hmm?" Ji Xinshui looked at Ji Lin, puzzled.

"The you of the past was just a pitiable outcast at the East Sea University research institute..." Ji Lin smiled meaningfully:

"[Wasn’t your life also changed by the Genius Club?]"

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

"Isn’t what I’m saying clear enough?"

Ji Lin looked towards a Volkswagen sedan in the distance, flashing its sideline lights as he continued:

"You changed the lives they should have led, their rightful history and future... hence, you view them as dead soldiers or dogs that can be killed at any time."

"What about you? To the Genius Club, what are you? Could it be that you’ve been deceived by your superior, by someone in the Genius Club? Are you just a dog that can be discarded at any time?"

"I’m different from them!" Ji Xinshui’s tone grew heavier:

"Trying to trick me into talking again, Ji Lin? Save your effort."

"So... it might be good to verify it together with the matter regarding Lin Xian."

Ji Lin waved the investigative report in his hand:

"Although I don’t understand what Dr. Pang Simai’s research documents are trying to convey, I do have a broad range of knowledge. Do you know what would be the biggest change, the most direct, and the most revolutionary practical outcome for this world if this [Room Temperature Superconductor] could be successfully developed?"

"What would it be?" Ji Xinshui furrowed his brow, looking at Ji Lin.

Ji Lin chuckled, turned, and gazed toward the never-ending super factory in the distance of Wolfsburg City:

"Controlled nuclear fusion!"