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Lin Xian stared at the final question flashing on the screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, frozen in place.

Just moments ago, when asked whether humanity had a future, he had answered without hesitation, full of conviction. Humanity, he was certain, had a future.

But now…

This second part hit him differently, as if it pierced right through his soul. He had no words.

What kind of future is the best future?

Lin Xian couldn’t seem to come up with an answer.

Up until today, he had experienced six different dreams—six possible futures, each from a different timeline.

In the first dream, while technological progress had stagnated, cities still thrived, and people lived in peace and comfort.

In the second dream, the gap between the rich and the poor was enormous, with Donghai City split in two by towering walls. The rich and the poor led completely separate lives, but they did not interfere with one another. It was, in a way, a peaceful coexistence.

Back then, Lin Xian thought neither future seemed ideal. It felt as if an invisible hand of history was controlling everything…

Yet, when compared to the third, fifth, and sixth dreams that followed, those first two worlds seemed like paradises. Without comparison, he would never have realized how bad things could truly get. The later futures made him appreciate how lucky humanity was in the earlier ones.

So now, here he was, facing the Genius Club’s final question:

What kind of future is the best future?

Lin Xian exhaled deeply through his nose.

He paced back to the sofa and sank into its cushions, closing his eyes and letting his thoughts drift.

He already knew what kind of future people like Elon Musk and Kevin Walker had in mind.

Elon Musk believed that the best future involved humanity settling on Mars. From there, humankind could advance space travel and eventually leave Earth behind, venturing out into the wider universe.

On the other hand, Kevin Walker envisioned a world where humans would become digital beings stored within a massive server that spanned an entire city. With minimal physical resources, human civilization could continue to exist indefinitely in this virtual reality.

Lin Xian didn’t know how the other members of the Genius Club had answered, but it was likely Elon and Kevin’s answers were along those lines.

As for himself…

He hadn’t really given it much thought.

His original plan had been simple: join the Genius Club first, figure out what their real goals were, and then decide his next steps in the game.

But this question had caught him off guard.

“This wasn’t part of the plan,” Lin Xian muttered under his breath.

He knew that this third question wasn’t about right or wrong. It was purely subjective. As long as you could defend your reasoning and make your point clear, you were good to go.

In fact…

The real tests of the Genius Club were probably the first two questions. This third one? It felt more like a bonus question.

Then again…

Maybe this was the most important question for the Genius Club members.

Because…

The first two questions were for the “examiners.” They were meant to prove a candidate’s strength, intelligence, and qualifications.

But this third question? It was for the candidates themselves, pushing them to confront their own thoughts and beliefs.

With that in mind…

Lin Xian had to admit, the three questions the Genius Club had devised were quite clever—each with a specific purpose, each revealing something about the person answering them.

Broadly speaking, Lin Xian felt that the future in his first dream was probably the best.

Sure, technological progress had stagnated for over six centuries, but people seemed content. In the city, their faces glowed with happiness and satisfaction. They didn’t care much about technological advancements; they were more concerned with daily needs—food, shelter, warmth. High-tech developments seemed distant and irrelevant to their simple lives.

But then, everything had changed.

When Lin Xian brought the hibernation pod liquid into reality, the balance of life and death was shattered. And each future after that grew progressively worse.

“It all started with the hibernation pods,” Lin Xian thought, opening his eyes.

Take Elon Musk and Kevin Walker, for instance.

Both were hailed as geniuses with dreams larger than life.

But there was one thing that even they couldn’t overcome: the limitation of a human lifespan.

Without the hibernation pods, Elon Musk wouldn’t live long enough to see Mars colonized. Kevin Walker? He certainly wouldn’t witness the creation of a super server capable of housing an entire digital civilization.

Death was the great equalizer. It was both the cruelest fairness and the fairest cruelty.

“But… is technological advancement really wrong?” Lin Xian asked himself.

Yes, the hibernation pods had brought about enormous social challenges, but they had also saved lives. People like Zheng Xiang Yue and Wei Sheng Jin—who would have otherwise died from terminal illnesses—were given a second chance at life. And for brilliant minds like Gao Wen, the pods allowed them to leap across time, continuing their research far into the future.

Everything has two sides—nothing is purely right or wrong.

And that only made Lin Xian’s decision more difficult.

If he had to choose a “closed loop” for himself, to define a “goal,” and establish the future he wanted to achieve… What would it be?

Finally, he yawned in exhaustion. After a long day, fatigue was settling in.

“I’ll sleep first… and maybe in the seventh dream, I’ll find some answers,” he decided, walking to the bathroom to freshen up.

“Perhaps I’ll discover a clue about July 7th. Maybe the timeline has already changed.”

“And if I can find the key to Yan Qiao Qiao’s memory recovery, I’ll be able to solve that issue too.”

“As for the answer to the third question…” Lin Xian sighed, drying his face. “I’ll think about it tomorrow. After all, it’s a subjective question—there’s no ‘right’ answer.”

He knew that even a half-baked answer likely wouldn’t affect his chances of joining the Genius Club. Still, he wanted to be thoughtful about it.

Besides…

The answer to this question was important to him, too.

So far, his reasons for joining the Genius Club had been simple:

Uncover the truth about the Thousand-Year Stake and bring Chu An Qing back.

Solve the many mysteries surrounding the Genius Club, his dreams, and the strange white light at 00:42.

And settle old scores—fulfill his promise to Angelica by finding the one responsible for Ji Lin’s parents’ deaths.

These were his immediate concerns.

He hadn’t yet thought about the long-term.

After consulting with Liu Feng, Lin Xian had eagerly set out to find the perfect future timeline, intending to shape the curvature of time-space to steer things in that direction.

But first, he needed to figure out one thing:

What did the best future look like?

“I just hope the seventh dream doesn’t turn out worse than the sixth,” Lin Xian thought as he brushed his teeth.

Gazing at his foamy reflection in the mirror, he couldn’t help but feel a little helpless.

Every time he tried to improve the future, it seemed to backfire, making things worse.

No one embodied this misfortune more than Big Cat Face.

At the beginning, Big Cat Face had a home. By the seventh dream, he had lost his house, his family, and even his clothes. All he had left was a single rag.

“Well, things can’t get worse, right?” Lin Xian muttered, rinsing his mouth and offering a silent prayer for Big Cat Face.

“Rock bottom is rock bottom. Maybe his luck will turn around,” he added with a wry smile as he climbed into bed.

With a mix of hope and exhaustion, Lin Xian closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

A soft summer breeze stirred the air, and the smell of earth and fresh, green leaves filled his lungs. The air was alive with the songs of cicadas and birds.

It was peaceful.

Lin Xian hadn’t even opened his eyes yet, but he could feel it—this was a calm and quiet time.

Taking in a deep breath of the serenity around him, he slowly opened his eyes.

“Huh?”

“What…?”

He found himself standing in the middle of a vast rice field. The crops were tall and healthy, clearly the result of large-scale farming.

But what made him exclaim wasn’t the field. It was the familiar face standing right in front of him, just as shocked to see him appear.

“What’s got you all worked up?” The voice belonged to a tall, bearded foreigner wearing a tank top and a straw hat—a strange combination, to say the least.

Lin Xian recognized him immediately, especially the innocent look in his eyes. “Big Fool Smith?!”

Smith spat on the ground. “Shit!” he grumbled.

“You’re the fool! Your whole family’s full of fools!”

He spoke fluently, which only made Lin Xian feel like he was watching a poorly dubbed movie.

“But… you’re still Smith, right?”

“Yep, that’s me,” Smith replied, scratching his nose. “And who are you?”

Lin Xian wasn’t sure whether to laugh or sigh. Smith’s accent was all over the place—sometimes it sounded like he was from the northeast, other times it was like he’d picked up a Henan accent. Then, out of nowhere, he’d switch to awkward English.

“Who taught this guy how to speak?” Lin Xian wondered.

Growing impatient, Smith stepped back and pointed a sickle at Lin Xian.

“Say something! Don’t think I’m a pushover! I can be fierce when I want to!”

“Alright, alright,” Lin Xian raised his hands in surrender, chuckling.

“Your dialect is top-notch, Smith, maybe even a little too good. But why don’t you take a break from talking for a bit, okay?”

Stepping out of the rice field and onto the dirt path, Lin Xian stamped his feet and glanced around.

Hmm…

About two kilometers away, he could make out a small village—a cluster of houses, likely a residential area.

Although Lin Xian didn’t know the full scope of the world in this seventh dream, it seemed like a decent place. After all, if someone like Smith could live here peacefully, farming the land, then it couldn’t be all that bad. The people here appeared self-sufficient, far from the horrors of a brutal slave society like in the sixth dream.

But two kilometers was a long walk, and instead of running off to the village to figure things out, it seemed more practical to talk to Smith. Despite his rough dialect, it was still something Lin Xian could understand. Plus, heading to the village might not even lead him to anyone familiar. At least with Smith, they had some history together.

In the sixth dream, Big Cat Face always woke Smith up first from his pod whenever they were down at the excavation site’s underground hibernation base. Smith would wake, confused, and be dragged into the dig. Shortly after, the blue-eyed girl would follow.

So, Lin Xian approached Smith, who was still staring at him, wide-eyed and stiff as a board, like a confused giant.

“Smith, you woke up from a hibernation pod, didn’t you?” Lin Xian asked.

Smith blinked, looking taken aback. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“When did you wake up?” Lin Xian pressed further. “And can you tell me what happened afterward? I’m in a similar situation now—kind of lost. If you’re willing to share, maybe it’ll help jog my memory.”

Smith adjusted the straw hat perched on his head and began to speak. “I woke up more than ten years ago. At first, I didn’t know anyone or anything, but the folks here were real nice to me. They fed me, helped me out, and even showed me my ‘Memory Notebook,’ the one I wrote before I went into hibernation. It helped me figure out some of the basics.”

“Unfortunately, the notebook didn’t have much. Most of my memories were stored on videotapes in a hard drive, but nobody here has the equipment to play them. So, I’m still in the dark about a lot of things.”

Smith waved the sickle in his hand as he continued. “After that, I just settled here in Donghai. The locals took good care of me. They even found me a wife, helped me build a house, and now I’ve got kids. It’s been a good life. I don’t worry much about the past anymore. I’m happy living like this.”

Smith’s gaze drifted to the horizon, where the sun was beginning to set.

“If it weren’t for you showing up in my field, I’d already be home having dinner with my family. My wife’s waiting.”

Lin Xian quietly listened as Smith recounted his life after waking from hibernation. Slowly, the puzzle pieces began to fit together in his mind, and he asked another question.

“Smith, do you know about the Super Disaster of 2400? Does that still exist here? Do you know what happened with it?”

Smith nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I’ve heard about it. Apparently, it was a combination of natural disasters that wiped out most of the world’s cities, nearly driving humanity to extinction. After that, there were wars and famines, but eventually, people pulled together, rebuilt, and developed new technologies. That’s how we got to where we are today.”

Smith glanced at the darkening sky. “Anything else? If not, I’m heading home for dinner. My wife’s waiting for me.”

As Smith prepared to put away his sickle and head home, Lin Xian stepped forward and lightly tugged on the handle.

“Wait, don’t rush off,” Lin Xian said with a smile. “Why don’t you let me tag along? I could use a meal too.”

Smith squinted at him, suspicion creeping into his eyes. “Where exactly did you come from?” he asked.

Lin Xian shrugged, throwing his hands up in a helpless gesture. “I have no idea. I’m just like you when you first woke up. From what you’ve said, there aren’t many people left in the world, right? We’re all in this together. And even though you might not be from here originally, you’ve practically become one of the locals. You’ve got a mix of all the accents of X Country going on.”

With a wider smile, Lin Xian added, “We’re like old friends, really. Help a fellow out—take me home for dinner, and maybe the village will give me a place to stay.”

Smith, after a decade of living in this world and experiencing the warmth and kindness of its people, only needed a moment to be convinced. He nodded.

“Alright, it’s time for dinner anyway. Come on, you can join us.”

And so, with Lin Xian carrying Smith’s hoe, the two walked along the path, bathed in the warm orange glow of the setting sun, heading back to Smith’s home.

As they walked, Smith shared more about the history of this world.

It all began, as usual, with the Super Disaster of 2400…

In this seventh dream, there was no Turing figure. Instead, Elon Musk had followed the original timeline, preparing for Mars colonization early. He and a group of people, along with their hibernation pods, left Earth for Mars just before the disaster struck.

Then, the Super Disaster hit, wiping out almost all human life on Earth. Over 95% of the population perished.

As expected, wars and famines followed, just like in the fifth and sixth dreams.

But this time, after the chaos subsided, the survivors began to rebuild civilization—and the process went remarkably smoothly.

There were two reasons for this: the buried mini nuclear batteries and the numerous hibernation bases scattered across the globe.

In these bases, many people from the old world were still in hibernation. When they woke up, they had access to their memory notebooks and quickly regained their knowledge. These individuals also possessed extraordinary learning capabilities.

With them at the helm, the remnants of humanity came together and, under the leadership of these hibernators, began rebuilding society and advancing technology once again.

By now, Lin Xian understood why the seventh dream’s civilization had recovered so quickly.

Even though humanity couldn’t dig up someone like Turing, they had leaders like Emperor Gao Wen!

Even if Gao Wen woke up without memories, he had his notebook—and with his brilliant mind, there was nothing he couldn’t master given time.

Leaders like him ensured the resurgence of civilization.

In the sixth dream, Turing had incredible knowledge and technology that far surpassed Gao Wen’s. But the Turings had wasted their potential on internal conflicts, treating humanity as mere tools without any interest in leading them toward a better future.

Gao Wen and the others were different. They were human, after all. Naturally, they would unite with the people of Earth and work toward a shared future.

Smith continued to tell Lin Xian how, since the rebuilding, humanity hadn’t fought a single war. Life had been peaceful, and people were content.

“We’ve got endless energy from mini nuclear batteries. The land’s fertile, and there’s farmland everywhere you look. We’ve got more food than we could ever eat. People are happy and relaxed. Life’s good.”

Lin Xian nodded, listening to Smith’s account of this era, thinking that it might be the best future he had experienced so far.

From the way Smith described the technology, Lin Xian guessed that the current level of human civilization was beyond that of the fifth and sixth dreams, possibly equivalent to the Second Industrial Revolution.

In truth, civilization could have advanced even faster, but the population was still too small to support large-scale industrial development.

Fortunately, steam engines and internal combustion engines had made a return, and large transportation networks, like ships and trains, connected major cities. Mini nuclear batteries powered small appliances, providing limitless energy to homes.

Before long, they arrived at the village gate.

Smith stopped and turned to Lin Xian. “You’re welcome to have dinner at my place, but whether or not the village lets you stay depends on the village chief’s decision.”

“I understand,” Lin Xian said with a nod. This wasn’t his first time going through this kind of process. It seemed like every dream had a similar setup. He chuckled to himself.

“Don’t worry, I probably know your village chief,” Lin Xian said with confidence. “Let me guess… is it Zheng Xiang Yue?”

“Nope,” Smith replied.

“Angelica?”

“No.”

“Big Cat Face?”

“Not him either.”

“Li Cheng?”

“No.”

Lin Xian scratched his head, his confidence wavering. This guessing game was getting him nowhere. Could the village chief be someone new?

“Who is your village chief, then?” Lin Xian finally asked.

Smith puffed out his chest with pride. “Our village chief is someone special. When you meet her, you’d better show respect. If you don’t, things won’t go well for you.”

“Oh really?” Lin Xian laughed. “Does your village chief go around beating people up? Is she that strong?”

Smith grinned and raised a thumb. “Our chief’s amazing! Last time a grizzly bear wandered into the village, she punched its head clean off!”

Lin Xian blinked. “What?”

Smith continued, clearly enjoying the story. “There was another time when wolves attacked the village at night. Everyone was scared, but our chief grabbed a machete and chased them down herself! Not one wolf escaped—all of them ended up in the cooking pot.”

Smith’s grin grew wider. “And when we were building houses, she was right there with us. She split logs thicker than your leg with one hit! She even tore steel plates apart with her bare hands!”

Steel plates? A certain image formed in Lin Xian’s mind.

“Wait… is your village chief a woman?”

“Yep,” Smith confirmed, beaming. “But she’s older than you by a few years. When you meet her, just call her ‘Chief’ or ‘Sister.’”

Lin Xian’s confidence faltered. This was unexpected.

“Older than me… does she have blue eyes?”

Smith’s eyes widened in shock. “You… you know her?”

Lin Xian’s heart raced as Smith swallowed hard, his voice dropping to a whisper.

“Our village chief’s name… is Yan Qiao Qiao!”