CHAPTER 1367: CHAPTER 35: WATCH AND SMALL NOTE

"Hehe, let’s see what you’re capable of."

Newton made a gesture as if removing his glasses, his body becoming transparent, transforming into an afterimage that gradually disappeared in the golden hall.

Lin Xian stared at the spot where Newton vanished.

Then he bent down and pressed the button on the side of Einstein’s chair.

Instantly.

The holographic laser images surged away like a tide, and the resplendent and luxurious curtains, decorations, and crystal lights disappeared one after another.

Including the virtual Rhine Cat Mask on Lin Xian’s face, which dimmed instantly.

In just over ten seconds.

The bright virtual gathering scene vanished, and the underground shelter returned to its original state.

"It seems this button is the switch that controls the Genius Club’s gathering system."

Lin Xian analyzed:

"Only when the gathering system is activated can members connect to the VR network via the [Golden Badge] to arrive at the venue with their virtual images and participate in the gathering."

"200 years ago, the regular gatherings were scheduled at agreed times, held punctually at 00:42 on the 1st of every month. Einstein only needed to activate this system in advance."

"The problem is... now it’s the year 2234, the gatherings have been suspended for over 200 years, how did Newton manage to arrive at the gathering immediately?"

Lin Xian squinted, concluding a not-so-complex deduction:

"[This indicates that Newton is constantly monitoring the Genius Club’s dynamics, presumably with automated equipment that helps him monitor 24/7 whether the gathering system is activated.]"

"[And the omniscient Einstein naturally knows this, so he is very certain that as long as the gathering system is started, Newton will definitely enter the venue to confirm the situation at the earliest moment.]"

Lin Xian analyzed as he descended the steps, walked over to Newton’s No. 3 seat, and sat down.

This high-back chair belonged to Newton.

Lin Xian intended to sit in this chair, imagine himself as Newton, incorporate himself into Newton, and thus infer a psychological profile of Newton’s thoughts.

Raising his head.

The first thing he saw was Copernicus’s No. 2 seat directly opposite.

"Newton and Copernicus, as the earliest members of the Genius Club, were not enemies as they appeared on the surface; rather, they shared a common ideal, a shared belief as friends, or perhaps as...[comrades], [partners]."

Lin Xian closed his eyes.

He began to imagine the scene of the earliest offline gatherings of the Genius Club.

Perhaps it was a small cottage with a burning fireplace,

Or maybe it was a cozy, warmly lit little club.

Back then, the Genius Club had only three members, with Einstein, wearing an Einstein mask, sitting in the host seat, while below him sat Copernicus and Newton, one on each side.

Copernicus should have been slightly older, while Newton was younger; but not that young, since when Da Vinci met Newton, he was already an old man.

"No."

Lin Xian shook his head, finding a blind spot:

"[If Copernicus and Newton had formed a strategic alliance from the start to deceive other geniuses... it’s difficult to determine whether Newton was truly an old man or deliberately disguised as one.]"

"[Even... could it be that Copernicus and Newton had a closer father-son relationship? Just to forcibly create an adversarial impression, they had the young Newton masquerade as an elderly man to deceive others?]"

...

This is a bold idea.

But not entirely impossible.

Because.

Copernicus was too old, already aged to the extent that even the Hibernation Pod couldn’t save him.

While Newton, 200 years later now, is still thriving with the aid of the Hibernation Pod.

This is definitive evidence, sufficient to prove... that Newton’s real age is certainly younger than Copernicus’s; similarly, also younger than the appearances seen by Da Vinci and Galileo.

"You two have hidden it really deep."

Lin Xian continued to speculate further.

As the initial two members of the Genius Club, their collusion and shared aspirations are not surprising.

The question is...

"What’s the significance?"

He furrowed his brow.

This was something Lin Xian couldn’t comprehend.

First of all.

For sure, they weren’t foolishly playing house to deceive Einstein.

Einstein, being omniscient, naturally knew their act, knew their scheme, their conspiracy.

But this didn’t violate the club’s constitution, and at the same time, it was part of their joint plan, something Einstein implicitly approved of.

"Copernicus and Newton’s cooperation essentially isn’t much different from my collaboration with Jask... Looking at it from another angle, wasn’t the trick of Jask and I pretending not to know each other a kind of double act deceiving others?"

"Hmm... Considering it this way, they certainly began acting as ’bitter rivals’ only after the subsequent member Galileo joined the club; prior to this, they were open with each other, asking Einstein direct questions, taking full advantage of the circumstances."

Recalling the scene where Copernicus and Newton "interrogated" Einstein is indeed somewhat amusing.

But it cannot be denied.

If these two founding father figures were in league, then the intelligence and secrets they could obtain were beyond imagination.

"This explains Einstein’s intent, at the end of his life, in bringing Newton before me."

Lin Xian opened his eyes, fully understanding Einstein’s painstaking efforts:

"[Copernicus and Newton knew many secrets unknown to me, and they were very important secrets... Einstein was guiding me, wanting to focus my attention and goals on Newton.]"