Genius Club

Lin Xian’s mind was in turmoil. He was absolutely certain he had never encountered the “Genius Club” before—not in real life, and certainly never received an invitation from such an organization. The name had first been whispered to him in last night’s dream by Big Cat Face. He had dismissed it as a figment of his overactive imagination—a bizarre concoction cooked up in his dream. But now, hearing about it in the waking world unsettled him deeply, making him feel like a character in a prewritten play, his strings pulled by unseen hands.

“No, I have to uncover the truth,” he resolved.

Back at his office, Lin Xian shut the door and began piecing together his thoughts. The journey into this mystery had started with last night’s dream where he first met Big Cat Face, who painted the Genius Club as a secretive society, buried in the annals of history without leaving a trace.

With a deep breath, Lin Xian recalled more details shared by Big Cat Face: The Genius Club was responsible for the death of Big Cat Face’s father and daughter. Their primary target had been his father, a distinguished mathematician and a recipient of the Fields Medal.

The club remained shrouded in secrecy. Despite years of dogged investigation, Big Cat Face had unearthed little about its hierarchy, members, goals, or whereabouts. Rumors suggested that only the wealthiest billionaires, the brightest geniuses, and the most powerful figures were granted invitations to this elusive club.

All the information Lin Xian had was secondhand from Big Cat Face, its reliability uncertain. From what he gathered, the Genius Club seemed to be an elite, mysterious, and powerful group. Whether they were outright criminals was up for debate, but given their involvement in premeditated murder, they were hardly angels.

Delving deeper, Lin Xian pondered if the Genius Club targeted intellectual giants, given Big Cat Face’s father was a Fields Medalist. The hypothesis was a stretch but not implausible. Everyone knew the Nobel Prize was the pinnacle of scientific accolade, except in mathematics, which celebrated the Fields Medal as its highest honor—often dubbed the Nobel of math.

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Math, the bedrock of modern science, awarded its best with the Fields Medal. Thus, a recipient was undeniably a genius. But this raised a glaring contradiction.

Lin Xian spun in his chair, lost in thought. “Big Cat Face mentioned the Genius Club sends invites to the foremost geniuses. So, what’s their true stance on these intellectuals? Why would they target them for elimination and simultaneously invite them to join?” He was baffled. “And there’s another inconsistency.”

Frowning, Lin Xian felt increasingly perplexed. If Big Cat Face was correct, only the crème de la crème—billionaires, geniuses, and power brokers—received invites to the Genius Club. How then did Zhao Ying Jun qualify? Though a promising young entrepreneur, she didn’t fit the bill of a top billionaire, an unparalleled genius, or a significant power wielder. Even in Donghai City, figures like Chu Shan He didn’t meet such lofty criteria, let alone Zhao Ying Jun. Yet, she had an invitation, which she flaunted right under Lin Xian’s nose. The contradiction was glaring!

Rubbing his temples, Lin Xian felt overwhelmed by these puzzling contradictions and logical dead ends.

Contradictions… Contradictions… Contradictions…

Whether fact or fiction, every piece of information about the Genius Club brimmed with contradictions.

“No, these contradictions aren’t the crux of the matter.” Lin Xian opened his eyes. “The tales from Big Cat Face might just be figments of my dream, their truthfulness debatable. Plus, Big Cat Face is known for his deceptive practices; he might be misleading me. The most pressing, fundamental question remains—why did something I fabricated in a dream materialize in reality?”

This enigma troubled Lin Xian immensely, almost seeming supernatural. He picked up his phone and dialed Gao Yang.

“Hello?” came Gao Yang’s voice.

“Gao Yang, we need to talk,” Lin Xian said with urgency.

“What’s up now, bro? Is it about that bizarre dream again?” Gao Yang’s voice was drowned in background noise akin to a bustling marketplace. “I’ve told you before—dreams are just dreams! They’re figments of your subconscious! Unless they start leaping into reality, they don’t matter!”

“That’s exactly what’s happening!” Lin Xian sighed, feeling the irony.

The commotion on Gao Yang’s end came from customers negotiating at a car dealership where he likely was making sales. “Look, I’m swamped right now; I’ll swing by tonight, and we’ll sort this out,” Gao Yang quickly wrapped up and hung up.

Throughout the day, Lin Xian sat at his desk, spinning a pen in his fingers. His curiosity about the Genius Club was piqued—not just as a figment from his dream, but now as a tangible mystery. Was there any link between Zhao Ying Jun’s real-life invitation and the Genius Club from his dreams? Were they one and the same? To verify this, he needed to inspect the invitation Zhao had received. The truth would then unveil itself.

Unfortunately, another chance to see that invitation seemed unlikely. That morning, Lin Xian had watched Zhao Ying Jun secure the invite in her office drawer, guarded by two password-protected locks. He wasn’t a real-life hacking expert; sneaking in was out of the question. In his dreams, he might have used C4 to breach the office, but real-world consequences were far more severe.

“What other way can I see that invitation?” Lin Xian pondered, still clueless.