Genius Club-Chapter 274 - 1 Resignation Letter

"Copernicus," "Yellow Sparrow."

...

Lin Xian sat in his own office at MX Company, his elbow resting on the desk, twirling a pen as he looked at the two names written on the white paper before him.

These two names were those of known members of the Genius Club.

One was the name of a great 16th century astronomer from history.

The other was a name casually chosen in jest, mocking the idea of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

"Hmm..."

Lin Xian closed his eyes, thinking.

"There’s no commonality at all."

He tossed the pen onto the white paper and leaned back into the chair.

Although he now knew the names of two members of the Genius Club and his intelligence had increased substantially, he still couldn’t weave these fragmented clues into a net.

Could it be...

that both Copernicus and Yellow Sparrow had chosen their names arbitrarily without any shared characteristic?

Especially this "Copernicus."

Lin Xian stared at the three characters written on the paper.

According to the now-deceased Ji Xinshui, it seemed as if his actions had been directed by Copernicus, or at least incited by him. Copernicus had offered him the grand illusion of joining the Genius Club, which is why Ji Xinshui went on to kill those scientists with outstanding contributions.

But he himself wasn’t a scientist, so why had the later murder targets of the Seven Sins come to focus on him?

In the interrogation room, the delirious Ji Xinshui had described it as a "test," a "question," and somehow he had unwittingly become the "examiner" for the Genius Club.

Furthermore...

Yellow Sparrow had once emphasized to him in Zhao Yingjun’s office how much more important and stringent the Space-time Law was than he imagined. She had also reminded him of the significance of the Space-Time Elasticity principle.

So...

Putting it all together...

"Could it be that the essence of the Genius Club shares certain commonalities with what I’m currently doing?"

Lin Xian opened his eyes.

It seemed like he was indeed on to something.

History, space-time, the future, the butterfly effect.

These were the matters he was currently experiencing and intervening in.

Considering that the Genius Club was an organization that has not deviated from its original intent across 600 years of history... it’s not out of the question that they might possess some extraordinary power beyond ordinary people’s comprehension.

To this day, Lin Xian still harbored doubts—

were all the members of the Genius Club truly geniuses?

He used to think not.

But now, after the events involving Ji Lin and Ji Xinshui, he began to believe this more and more.

Perhaps this truly was a collective of intellects at the pinnacle of humanity, and behind their bizarre actions and mysterious veils, there must be deeper secrets and more elusive objectives.

"Regardless, as Yellow Sparrow said, I must truly enter the Genius Club to find out."

This was also why Lin Xian had suddenly chosen to act so ostentatiously.

He couldn’t continue to hide.

For how long should he remain hidden?

Since Ji Xinshui had turned killing him into a test, a proof for the Genius Club,

then he might as well do the exact opposite and plainly tell the Genius Club—

Ji Xinshui was killed by me!

If this is indeed a test, then I am more suitable than he was.

This was a necessity.

Yellow Sparrow had always said, the simplest way to clear up all the mysteries was to obtain an invitation to the Genius Club.

That’s easier said than done.

Of course, he wanted one.

But this riddler wouldn’t give any hints, wouldn’t say anything, leaving him completely in the dark about how to get an invitation.

Under these circumstances, all he could do was to think more and try more.

Lin Xian turned his head and glanced at the newspaper placed on the table beside him.

The front page headline of today’s issue had already been replaced with his exclusive interview.

A few days ago, TV and newspaper reporters had come to interview him, and Lin Xian had frankly described how he brilliantly solved the serial murder case.

The article published on the front page was this report.

And in a prominent position, it was boldly written that Donghai officials had declared that a commendation ceremony for him would be held at the Donghai Grand Auditorium in a week.

After this, he could no longer remain low-profile.

He must develop his own forces, enhance his own strength.

Only then would he have the bargaining chips to battle the even more unknown and more formidable enemies in the future.

"So, it’s necessary to leave MX Company."

...

Just thinking about it made Lin Xian truly a bit reluctant.

He did not understand why.

It was a decision long made, it was confirmed that the invitation was fake, and there was no longer any reason to stay at MX Company.

But...

he found it extremely difficult to put this decision into action.

He couldn’t figure it out.

Why, whenever he truly intended to leave MX Company, would the image of Zhao Yingjun come to mind, making it so hard for him to voice this decision?

Ah.

What was all this fuss about?

It was just quitting a job; why did it feel like breaking up?

But...

the situation was different now.

He could not afford to wait any longer.

This "gentle" game of Catch Me If You Can might have been a wake-up call to him, a reminder that falling behind means taking a beating, being weak means getting bullied.

This time, the enemy was one who believed in honor in combat, who said if the killing was to be done at 00:42, it would be at exactly 00:42 — not a minute earlier or later; said it would be a car accident, then it would have to be a car accident, and no taxi could be missing…

Really, where could you find such a rule-abiding enemy?

It was practically like they were delivering experience points.

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But the next enemies… might not be so kind and rule-abiding.

Therefore.

Just as Lin Xian had firmly resolved these past few days.

He must become stronger!

Whoosh…

Lin Xian flipped over the piece of white paper in front of him and wrote out his main goals for this period:

1. Leave MX Company, establish his own company, and prepare the funds and forces for his future actions.

2. Settle Liu Feng as soon as possible, so that he can concentrate on researching the cosmological constant and uncover the secret of 42 at the earliest.

3. Find a way to obtain an invitation to the Genius Club, join it, and see what it’s really about.

"That’s it, then," he said.

Lin Xian looked at the three plans he had listed.

Actually, the ultimate direction of all these plans was still pointing towards the Genius Club.

That day, in front of Tang Xin’s grave.

Lin Xian had already realized that if he couldn’t eliminate the ultimate perpetrator, then this bloodshed triggered by Copernicus would never end.

If unchecked,

then one day...

These bloodstains would reach his loved ones, friends, and even family members, just like Xu Yun, like Tang Xin.

"Let’s go," he said.

Lin Xian clicked on a folder on the desktop and opened a Word document named "Resignation Letter."

This resignation report had been written by him long ago, but he had yet to submit it to Zhao Yingjun.

He pressed the print button.

Whirr, whirr, whirr—

The printer quickly spat out the page of the resignation letter, seemingly insouciant, light and fluttering.

Picking up the printed paper and folding it, Lin Xian stood up, walked out of the office, and pressed the elevator for the 22nd floor.

When the elevator doors opened again.

He arrived at the familiar double security door, entered the password that only he and Zhao Yingjun knew in the entire world...

32375246

It was a string of digits with no inherent meaning, but Lin Xian had long committed it to memory.

Click.

A muffled sound.

The heavy security door opened, and sunlight from the huge office windows fell on Lin Xian. Zhao Yingjun stopped writing, lifted his head from the desk, and looked at Lin Xian in the light, smiling slightly:

"Lin Xian, you’ve arrived."

Lin Xian nodded, closed the door, and took steps towards Zhao Yingjun’s desk.

This short distance was only twenty meters.

And it was covered with a carpet.

Yet today, it seemed so unbearably long and difficult.

"I was just saying I should call you in to have a look," Zhao Yingjun lifted his hand, pointing at the nooks and crannies of the office:

"You’ve been so busy recently, I knew you didn’t have the time to clean the office, so I just did it myself."

"Actually, I never cared how dirty or messy the office was before, since it’s just an office and not a home. But after you cleaned it the last time, I started to like the feeling of it being tidy and clean. Now, even a little bit of dirt makes me uncomfortable."

"What do you think? Not bad, right? I realized it didn’t take much effort when I actually started cleaning because most things were well organized by you, and the tools were logically placed. I just followed the process you had done before."

Thud, thud, thud...

Lin Xian stepped on the clean floor, walked past the spotless coffee table and sofa, continuing towards Zhao Yingjun.

"During this time, I went to Tianma Racetrack a few more times on my own."

Zhao Yingjun lowered his head, continued to review the documents, and casually said:

"I feel like I’m getting the hang of it; I’m definitely more proficient than before. As you taught me, my speed going into the turns has increased a lot, and I don’t slow down coming out of them anymore...the instructors there even said, ’Where did you find such an amazing expert to coach you?’ And then...do you know what happened? Something quite interesting."

Zhao Yingjun lifted his finger holding the signing pen, tucked his cheek fringe behind his ear, lowered his head with a smile, and went on reviewing the documents:

"I told those instructors, ’Did you see that viral video at the start of the year, the one with the blue Bentley leaping over the Donghai overpass, dubbed East Sea 007?’"

"They were all shocked, and I just laughed and told them that it was my car, my subordinate, the best driver in the whole of Donghai. After all... there’s no one else in Donghai that could leap over an overpass. I wasn’t wrong."

Thud, thud, thud...

Lin Xian’s footsteps grew heavier, and he was only a few steps away from Zhao Yingjun’s desk.

"I never talked to you about this, but during the New Year when I went back home, my parents also saw that Donghai bounding video. Although it was blurry and most people couldn’t make out the details, that was my car, and my dad recognized it at a glance."

"You know...I never realized before that he cared so much about me. He always used to dismiss me, looked down on my career, and wanted me to go back to the Imperial Capital. My mother told me that after my dad watched that Donghai bounding video, he couldn’t sleep all night."

"That’s probably how Chinese parents are, always so awkward. So over the New Year, for the first time ever, he started to take an interest in how I was doing, asking all sorts of questions. He even asked about you, about the thugs we ran into that day, and about the overpass leap. This was the first time he had shown such concern for me since I arrived in Donghai. Really... why maintain such a stern facade all this time?"

"After that incident, my dad actually did change. When I was leaving home to go back to Donghai, he spent quite a while holding back, his face nearly turning green, and then squeezed out a sentence: ’Rhein Cat’s design is quite good; your cousin’s daughter really likes it.’ Then he went back to his room. That may sound rather odd and sarcastic, but you know what, Lin Xian..."

Zhao Yingjun stopped working with his pen, looked up, and gazed at Lin Xian, who had arrived in front of the desk:

"Although it was strange, that was the first time he acknowledged my career. Of course, this can’t really be considered my career since you are the one who designed Rhein Cat; I didn’t participate at all."

"I must say, Lin Xian... you not only saved my life but also changed it. As I said before, meeting you was truly my good fortune."

Thud.

Lin Xian had reached the desk and stopped, standing close to the edge of the desk.

Zhao Yingjun blinked, smiled awkwardly:

"Sorry, I’ve been talking all this time, mainly because I haven’t seen you for so long. Speaking of...you came to see me so early today, is there something you need?"

Lin Xian nodded and placed the folded resignation letter onto Zhao Yingjun’s desk.

"This is my letter of resignation."

Zhao Yingjun’s smile and ease froze on her face.

Her lips tightly closed, she sat up straight.

"President Zhao."

Lin Xian looked at Zhao Yingjun and said in a low voice:

"I want to leave MX Company."