Chapter 477: The Real An Qing

Name:Genius Club Author:


This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation

At last, it was finished.

The masterpiece by Emperor Gao Wen. Lin Xian had been waiting for this moment for what felt like forever.

But then... after the initial excitement, he was left feeling empty. Since Liu Feng hadn’t called, it probably meant that the numbers on the Time Clock hadn’t changed, and the timeline remained unaltered.

It was just too hard.

This time, the Ninth Dream, the 0.0001764 world line, was simply too stubborn. Despite using all his wit and strength, Lin Xian had failed to overcome the temporal elasticity.

Now, they were truly out of options.

“Wait for me at the lab. I’ll be right there,” Lin Xian instructed, then hung up and immediately called Liu Feng.

“Hello?”

Liu Feng’s voice on the other end was calm, without any hint of emotion.

“Are you at the lab?” Lin Xian asked.

“Of course I am!” Liu Feng replied casually. “Where else would I be? Usually, when you call, it’s always about something urgent. I’ll go check now.”

Shortly after, the phone was filled with the sound of footsteps. Liu Feng reached the Time Clock and took a look.

“No change, still the same numbers.”

Lin Xian let out a small sigh. “Du Yao said she’s finished building the Brain Neural Electric Helmet. She’s always so careful and precise—it’s hard to believe she made a mistake. And yet... even such an incredible invention didn’t manage to shift the timeline.”

“Alright, I’m hanging up now. I’ll go over to see Du Yao myself.”

The line disconnected, and Lin Xian looked at Zhao Ying Jun.

“That’s it, then. We’ve played every card we had. There’s nothing left to change the future. In the Ninth Dream, all I could find was a down-and-out author. I don’t even know if using the Brain Neural Electric Helmet will help her recover any valuable memories.”

“Since it’s now 2025, and Du Yao has already completed the Brain Neural Electric Helmet, we should be able to find one in the underground hibernation base by 2624. After all, with something this convenient, humanity won’t need memory notebooks or videos anymore.”

Zhao Ying Jun nodded. “Go see Du Yao and check it out. Tomorrow morning, we can go see Chu Shan He together. That shouldn’t affect you being back by noon for dream therapy with that girl.”

“But didn’t we schedule an appointment with the OB-GYN for tomorrow afternoon?” Lin Xian reminded.

“She’s an expert we brought over from the Capital City for the final check-up. I wanted her to give you a thorough examination. The appointment’s in the afternoon, and I’ll come with you.”

Zhao Ying Jun shook her head and smiled softly. “I know how to weigh priorities, Lin Xian. At such a critical moment, if we could really get something crucial from that girl named Mai Mai, we might still have time to change the future.”

“So, don’t worry about me. It’s just a check-up; I’ll go by myself. The driver will take me anyway.”

“Alright then,” Lin Xian agreed, feeling the urgency to experiment within the dream. “You rest early. I’ll go to Du Yao’s lab.”

...

It was now 10 p.m., and the stars filled the sky. Lin Xian left Zhao Ying Jun’s house and got into the car driven by Xiao Li, heading to the research institute.

As soon as he entered, he saw Du Yao. They walked along the corridor, talking as they went.

“It’s all thanks to our conversation the other day,” Du Yao said, turning her head with a smile. “You gave me an amazing idea. I started from that inspiration, stimulating the brain’s memory and emotional regions, and sure enough, I found a similar feedback signal. Then, following the rough draft you gave me, I managed to develop the Brain Neural Electric Helmet.”

She pushed open a door to one of the labs, leading Lin Xian inside. The lab was empty. Du Yao explained that she only had four PhD assistants, but none of them worked on the core part, so the helmet remained a secret known to no one else.

Lin Xian looked at the desk. On it lay a mechanical device that resembled an octopus. It was quite different from the helmet design he had imagined, but it was still clear enough—the idea was to put this “octopus” on someone’s head.

He picked it up and weighed it in his hands. It was pretty heavy.

“What powers this thing?” Lin Xian asked.

Du Yao pointed to the nearby power cord. “It runs on standard 220V household electricity. If you prefer, it can be battery-powered too, though that would require a different engineering solution, which isn’t my expertise.”

Lin Xian nodded. It could run on batteries, which was good enough. Later on, he could use a micro nuclear battery or something larger to power it, giving it portability and long-term storage—perfect for an underground hibernation base.

“How do you use this thing? Is it complicated?”

“Not at all,” Du Yao said, pointing at the single button in the middle of the helmet. “It’s very simple. Just fasten the part underneath, and you’re set. The design you gave me has a brilliant mechanism for automatic position correction during the electric shock—it’s pretty impressive.”

“Can I... try it out?” Lin Xian asked.

“Best not to,” Du Yao said with a smile. “First of all, I mentioned that you need to fasten it properly because the sensation during the electric shock is very unpleasant. People naturally resist or convulse. I’d imagine when we use it on long-term hibernators, they’d need to be strapped into a restraint chair too.

“Secondly, you haven’t suffered from hibernation-induced memory loss. Even if you use it, it won’t do anything for you. If you’re hoping to use this helmet to retrieve some forgotten memories... well, it’s not going to work.

“The mechanism of natural human forgetting is much more complex and amazing than hibernation memory loss. So, this Brain Neural Electric Helmet can only be used to treat memory loss caused by long-term hibernation... it has no effect on other types of memory loss.”

“The pity is that the longest any volunteer has been in hibernation at the National Research Institute is just under two years—not long enough to reach the memory loss point. So, we haven’t had anyone for clinical trials.”

It was true. From now until eight years later, this Brain Neural Electric Helmet wouldn’t be of much use. It wouldn’t be until 2033, when the first batch of volunteers hit ten years in the hibernation chamber, that they’d begin to lose their memories.

But for now...

Lin Xian thought of Mai Mai, the author who wrote the extraordinary “Devouring Heaven Demon Emperor.”

Tomorrow, he’d test it on her.

...

But today...

After what Chu Shan He said...

More clues about the Millennial Stake were coming together.

Chu An Qing dreamed of fireworks. CC was obsessed with fireworks. And Zhang Yu Qian’s nightmare had those bizarre montages.

It was becoming increasingly certain:

These Millennial Stake dreams might all be fragments of the same dream, the same scene, the same story.

“Mr. Chu, Aunt Su,” Lin Xian snapped back to reality, looking at them solemnly.

“You both saw Zhang Yu Qian’s reaction on the videotape. And you heard what I said to Ying Jun earlier. It’s becoming clearer and clearer that something crucial happened in 1952 that caused the Millennial Stake to appear, leading to all these strange occurrences.”

“That’s why Ying Jun and I came to see you today. Ying Jun may have already mentioned it—after our child is old enough, we plan to enter the hibernation chamber and head to 2234. From there, we will use the Time Travel Machine to go back to 1952 to search for answers.”

“At the same time, I’ll do everything in my power in 1952 to find clues to bring An Qing back home to you.”

“The promise I made here, I have never once forgotten. So... I hope you can give me a bit more time. I’ll keep my word and bring An Qing back.”

Chu Shan He walked over and patted Lin Xian on the shoulder.

“Lin Xian, your Aunt Su and I have always believed in you, and we’ve never doubted you for a moment.

“We know exactly what kind of person you are, which is why I never called or pushed you this past year. I know how hard you’ve been working.”

“Ying Jun has visited a few times, and we understand some of the situation. To be honest, seeing this videotape and album today makes me feel a bit more at ease.”

“But... Zhang Yu Qian is Zhang Yu Qian. An Qing is An Qing. I will never rush you, Lin Xian. I just hope that one day, when we wake up from the hibernation chamber...”

“It’s our real An Qing you’ve brought back to us.”

Lin Xian nodded. “I understand.”

He knew what Chu Shan He meant.

Chu Shan He didn’t want just any Millennial Stake—he wanted Chu An Qing, with her memories, her past.

Even though Chu Shan He knew that, in three years, somewhere in the world, a little girl who looked exactly like Chu An Qing would be born—he still refused to stay in this era any longer.

It made no difference. Even if she looked identical, she wouldn’t be An Qing.

Besides, even if they found her, what was the point?

The Millennial Stake girl born in 2028 would still vanish in 2048, becoming stardust. Would they really want Chu Shan He’s heart to break again?

“Don’t worry, Mr. Chu.” Lin Xian looked into Chu Shan He’s eyes, resolute. “Ying Jun and I decided on hibernation and on going back to 1952 because we’re fully committed.”

“It’s not just about bringing An Qing back. There are many important things I need to do. I won’t let everyone down.”

The apocalypse. Human extinction. The World-Ending White Light.

These were all things Lin Xian had to solve, step by step. He had to get to the root of it all.

If they didn’t stop the mastermind behind everything, nothing would change.

Another Millennial Stake would die.

Another World-Ending White Light would arrive.

Another human extinction event would come.

They had to find the source. Only by finding it and eliminating it could they save everything.

Chu Shan He walked back to Su Xiu Ying. He sat down on the sofa, taking her hand and looking at Lin Xian.

“When the Hibernation Law was passed in X Country, your Aunt Su and I discussed it, and we decided to settle things here and go into hibernation.

“In a world without our daughter, every breath is heavy, and it’s hard for us to breathe... We just want to sleep until you bring our daughter back; life without An Qing is just too hard.”

“We were planning to let you know when everything was ready, but since you’re here today, we’ll tell you now.”

He paused, looking at Su Xiu Ying, then continued.

“We’ve saved plenty of money in our hibernation account, enough for a lifetime. I plan to hand over Shan He Group to you. Consider it our way of supporting your plans, providing what help we can.

“You’re doing something amazing. I don’t know all the details, but I know it’s something truly admirable.

“I don’t understand the research behind the Time Travel Machine, but I imagine it’s costly. I know you probably don’t need the money, but this is something we want to do for you. Please don’t turn us down. Our only way to help is financially.

“Do whatever you want with Shan He Group. Merge it with your company if you wish. Once I entrust it to you, I fully trust you, and I won’t concern myself with it anymore.

“Lin Xian, don’t let this weigh on you. We’ll be waiting in the hibernation chamber. When you’ve found An Qing, bring her to wake us up.”

Chu Shan He smiled, the thought of such a happy moment bringing a rare lightness to his face.

“My greatest wish now is that when I open my eyes... I’ll see my daughter’s smiling face.”