Chapter 263: The True Genius

This novel is translated and hosted only on Bca Translation

Lin Xian gazed up at the night sky, marveling at the sight of 4,000 Starlink satellites forming a giant pentagram. He then turned his attention back to the large screen displaying a video of a waving red flag. With a satisfied nod, he spoke.

“Good job, VV,” he said. “Very creative. In a few hundred years, people might see this as a classic trope.”

When VV first suggested using Starlink satellites to create shapes in the sky, Lin Xian immediately understood the concept. News stories often reported lines of small lights streaking across the night sky, mistaken for UFOs. However, in the age of the internet, these sightings were quickly debunked as the newly launched Starlink satellites by Elon Musk.

The Starlink low-Earth orbit satellite constellation, a project by SpaceX, was part of Musk’s commercial empire. With over 20,000 Starlink satellites already in orbit and plans to launch another 22,000, the goal was to cover the entire low Earth orbit.

Typically, satellites at this altitude were invisible to the naked eye. However, freshly launched satellites initially orbited much lower and were visible as they gradually ascended to their final altitude of 550 kilometers. These satellites, reflecting sunlight, were often mistaken for mysterious flying objects.

VV had cleverly exploited this “benign bug.” By decelerating the satellites, he reduced their centrifugal force, allowing Earth’s gravity to pull them back to a lower orbit. This minor adjustment did not violate any rules. After forming the pentagram, the satellites would re-engage their thrusters to return to their designated orbit.

“But... does a pentagram even count as a star?” Lin Xian mused.

“A pentagram is more impressive!” VV chuckled through the Bluetooth earpiece. “It’s already quite a feat. Be grateful! If you want to give her a real star... well, you’ll have to work on that for a long time.”

As the freestyle segment concluded, on the American stage opposite Lin Xian, a young genius hacker, Kevin Walker, stormed onto the stage. He pointed at Lin Xian’s setup and yelled, “He’s cheating! He used my exploit! He broke the rules!”

The host tried to calm him down, but Kevin insisted that Lin Xian had hacked the Starlink satellite system using his exploit, which was serious cheating.

While Kevin argued with the host, Lin Xian observed him closely. Wrapped in a hoodie and black mask, Kevin had been hard to identify. Lin Xian had asked VV to capture his image and compare it with the sketch of the mysterious old man from his dreams. Unfortunately, Kevin’s large hoodie and mask made identification impossible. This was a problem Lin Xian only noticed after the competition began.

Lin Xian had been pondering how to approach Kevin and unmask him, but now Kevin had come to him, providing the perfect opportunity.

Recollecting when Yellow Finch supported Chu An Qing and made a familiar hand gesture towards the sky – the same pose Kevin had struck when he entered – Lin Xian realized it was the Genius Club’s emblem, a hand pointed straight up. Initially, he hadn’t thought much of it, as it was a common gesture. But Yellow Finch’s deliberate action seemed to signal something.

“But why? Joson doesn’t have the skills to hack the SkyNet or the Beidou satellites. Even the top ten hackers in the world couldn’t do that. Only a true genius like Kevin Walker could,” the audience murmured.

This novel is translated and hosted only on Bca Translation

Lin Xian slowly stood up, looking down at the anxious boy. Something was off. Not just in reality but also in his dreams. The mysterious old man always appeared at the last few seconds of 00:42, leaving him no time to act. The fourth dream confined him to a small area, either surrounded or tied to a chair, with a view of a space elevator and a star city. Were they real or just a backdrop, like in The Truman Show?

In the fourth dream, no matter how early he entered, he had less than a minute to move freely. This short time prevented him from exploring or verifying the dream’s authenticity. It felt fake, or worse...

Lin Xian shivered at the thought. If the fourth dream was real, what had the mysterious old man done to him during his coma? They charged him with crimes against humanity, endangering Earth, and disturbing time-space, yet kept him tied to a chair, waiting for him to wake up?

For the first time since confirming the dream’s reality, Lin Xian doubted its authenticity. Something was definitely wrong with the fourth dream.

Back to reality, the elusive genius hacker Kevin Walker, the old man appearing at 00:42 in his dreams, the soldiers at his spawn point, Kevin’s challenge to hack SkyNet, and his reluctance to show his face all pointed to something bigger.

“VV, be on alert for facial recognition.” With a deep breath, Lin Xian stood up.

“No!”

Suddenly, the entire New Jersey stadium filled with a chilling, manic laughter from every sound device – speakers, phones, computers, the host’s earpiece, even toys and prize cars. The laughter was maddening and eerie, echoing through the venue.

The audience panicked. Children cried, women clung to each other, men covered their ears, and glass shattered from the high-frequency sound.

“No...” Lin Xian heard a soft laugh right by his ear. He whipped around, realizing the sound came from his Bluetooth earpiece.

“I... see... you!”

This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation