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“He’s amazing… We’re just elementary students, but he’s already studying college-level math!”

“Ugh, the pressure of sitting next to Gao Wen is too much!”

…

In an elementary school classroom, a young Gao Wen looked down at the certificates in his hands, his expression blank. It all felt so dull, so predictable. He yearned for something challenging, something that could actually spark his interest.

His father was a scientist, and his mother a university professor. Gao Wen had once suggested to them that he should skip ahead to college. They had refused. His mother smiled kindly and said:

“Your dad and I know you’re smart, and we know you can learn anything quickly, but life isn’t just about learning facts. There’s so much more to experience.”

She paused, looking at her young son seriously.

“Like making friends, understanding people’s feelings, and learning to empathize. Those things aren’t in textbooks. They’re learned by living. Even if you’ve mastered the school curriculum and always come first in class… are you truly the best student in the entire school?”

Gao Wen looked up at her, puzzled.

“That’s what my teachers say, and the principal too. I’ve won every competition for the school.”

His mother patted his head gently. “But actually, you’re not.”

She smiled softly and continued, “You’re excellent in academics, but are you the fastest runner? Do you have the most friends? Are you the kindest, the one who takes care of others, the most eager to help?”

Gao Wen shook his head, frowning a little. He knew that he wasn’t. He never tried to be.

His mother’s smile grew a bit sad.

“Exactly. Learning is just a part of life, and life isn’t only about test scores. Kindness, enthusiasm, friendships, helping others, sports, health, empathy… all of these things make a well-rounded person.”

She paused, looking him directly in the eyes.

“There’s always someone better than you in some way, son. You need to remember this truth.”

Gao Wen nodded slowly. He always understood things easily, and he understood this too. Considering it all together, he definitely wasn’t the best in the school. In some ways… maybe he was one of the worst.

His parents, highly educated as they were, never pushed him too hard. They cared more about what lay beyond academic success. They weren’t proud of him for skipping grades or going to college early. They hoped he’d grow into a kind-hearted, helpful person who contributed to society. �

…

That day, during biology class, Gao Wen yawned as the teacher brought in a frog to explain amphibians and how certain animals, like frogs, hibernate during cold weather.

Hibernate?

Suddenly, Gao Wen’s interest piqued. He hated cold weather and loved warm days. If humans could hibernate… wouldn’t that mean he could skip winter entirely?

Now that sounded amazing!

He got so excited that the moment school ended, he ran all the way home.

“Dad! Dad!” Gao Wen shouted, bursting through the door.

He eagerly shared his new grand plan for life with his father. “What do you think? Isn’t it a great idea? I’ve decided—this is my life’s direction!”

His father listened quietly, then chuckled. “Hibernation, huh? It’s a good idea, but… the technology for that already exists. It’s quite advanced, actually.”

“What?” Gao Wen’s jaw dropped. “R-really?”

His father nodded. He pulled an old, dusty biography from the back of the bookshelf. “The Father of Hibernation: Xu Yun.”

“You’re still in elementary school, so you haven’t learned about this yet. Plus, the excitement around hibernation has died down. People don’t talk about it much anymore,” his father explained. “Usually, people only think about hibernation during tough times. Right now, things are good, so the hibernation industry is quiet. Here’s the book. You should read it.”

…

Gao Wen read Xu Yun’s biography, and it left him in awe. He thought Professor Xu Yun was the greatest genius in the world.

However, the book mentioned that even a genius like Xu Yun couldn’t solve the biggest side effect of hibernation—memory loss.

“The great Professor Xu Yun…”

Gao Wen clenched his fists, his eyes filled with determination. “I will help you solve this problem! This is my life’s purpose!”

From that day on, Professor Xu Yun became Gao Wen’s idol. He dreamed of achieving something to complete Xu Yun’s legacy.

In the classroom, Gao Wen spent his days lost in thought, trying to figure out ways to recover lost memories. Slowly, he realized that emotions seemed to exist independently of memories. Painful or deeply emotional moments were easier to remember.

Could he use that somehow?

He remembered his biology class, where the teacher had demonstrated conditioning with a frog—using electric shocks to train it. Yes! Conditioned reflexes! Training animals to perform tricks in circuses was the same—conditioned reflexes! Why couldn’t this apply to memory?

Circus animals were obedient because the pain from training was so deeply ingrained. Maybe this could work for memory too!

The moment he figured it out, Gao Wen felt fired up. He couldn’t even wait for school to end. He sprinted home.

“Dad! Dad!”

He excitedly explained his “Brain Electric Shock Memory Activation Plan.”

“Isn’t this amazing? I can help Professor Xu Yun solve his biggest regret!”

But… his father smiled, looking at Gao Wen with admiration. “You always have great ideas, but… the biography I gave you only talked about Professor Xu Yun’s work. It didn’t mention others’.”

“Actually, the Brain Neural Electric Helmet was already developed by the Research Institute.”

“What?!”

Gao Wen felt like the world was collapsing around him.

“Someone… already developed it again?!”

His mother’s words echoed in his head: There’s always someone better.

It was true.

Once again, Gao Wen felt lost. At the turning point from elementary to middle school, he found himself unsure of what to do with his future.

…

Middle school, second year. The playground.

Gao Wen sat on the flowerbed, using his certificate as a cushion, sighing heavily.

“I just don’t see the value in my life,” he muttered.

“Stop flexing, would you?!” his best friend, holding a test paper with a score of 23, shouted at him. “Do you know what my dad’s going to do to me when I get home?! He’ll tan my hide!”

Gao Wen shrugged, sighing again. “I can’t find… any value in my life.”

He looked up at the sky, his eyes distant. “It feels like there’s some invisible hand—a dark hand—playing with me, always taking away what I’m interested in.”

“You…!” His friend clenched his fists, barely holding himself back from punching Gao Wen.

“Why don’t you research something no one else has done before? You keep looking at what’s already been finished!”

His friend paused, his eyes brightening. “Recently, I was bored, browsing online, and I came across a video about Einstein. Apparently, he proposed the concept of a Universal Constant but later denied it. Einstein gave up on it, so no one’s worked on it since! Why don’t you give it a go?”

Gao Wen looked skeptical, but curious. “Are you sure… no one’s studied it?”

His friend snorted. “Why don’t you go home and check? This time, make sure no one’s worked on it before you dive in.”

Gao Wen nodded. “Fine… I’m not really interested in that field, but in life, you have to do something worthwhile, right?”

When he got home, Gao Wen opened his computer and began researching the Universal Constant. Nothing. There was nothing! No one had touched it since Einstein proposed it, then retracted it all those years ago!

Gao Wen’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Maybe… this is my purpose—my life’s value!”

Throughout middle school, Gao Wen focused on researching the Universal Constant. He didn’t particularly like math, but solving a mystery of history would be worth it.

Finally, just before his high school entrance exams, Gao Wen made a breakthrough! His palms were sweaty as he ran home, backpack bouncing on his shoulders.

“Dad! Dad!” he shouted as soon as he burst through the door.

He pulled out his notes and handed them to his father, who was now a National Academy Fellow.

“Look! I’ve finally found value in my life… The Universal Constant—I haven’t solved it completely yet, but I’ve made progress! I think I’m onto something!”

But… his father looked at the notes, then smiled, flicking Gao Wen’s forehead lightly. “Have you been secretly staying up at night, playing on your phone, reading the news?”

“Huh?” Gao Wen blinked, confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”

His father adjusted his glasses, a puzzled expression crossing his face. “You didn’t read the news?”

“No, I didn’t have the time,” Gao Wen said impatiently. “What news? Just tell me.”

His father smiled, speaking calmly. “Oh, it’s not a big deal. A few days ago, while digging in Shaxi Xi’an, they found an ancient burial coffin with a well-preserved book inside. The book was called—The Introduction to the Universal Constant. Its contents were similar to yours—maybe even a bit more refined… but it’s not of much use. The ideas were illogical and incorrect. It seems to be the work of some amateur scientist, probably self-published… Hm? Gao Wen, what’s wrong?”

Gao Wen stood there, wide-eyed, like a statue. His confidence shattered.

He had checked thoroughly at the beginning, making sure no one was researching this field. Yet now, just when he thought he had made progress, an ancient book on the Universal Constant had surfaced.

How devastating!

He could almost see, in his mind, an invisible black hand laughing at him, mocking his foolishness.

His father patted his shoulder. “Don’t be so sad. If you’re interested, you can continue the research. Math can be fascinating.”

“Forget it,” Gao Wen muttered, his voice hollow. “I was never that into math anyway.”

He sighed softly.

…

Gao Wen sat in the school observatory, gazing up at the stars.

The observatory wasn’t supposed to be open to students, but Gao Wen was an exception. He was the pride of the school, the student everyone talked about, and the reason the principal always had something impressive to say. He received honors and was treated with care.

But even with all that praise, Gao Wen felt empty as he looked up at the vast universe. No direction, no purpose, no real dream. He felt as if his life had no value.

“Why does it always feel like my fate is out of my hands?” he muttered.

He loved the field of hibernation. He had been willing to devote his entire life to it. But every problem in the field had already been solved—there wasn’t a single mystery left for him to work on. Feeling disheartened, he decided to try mathematics, even though it wasn’t his passion. But just as he made some progress, his work was rendered pointless by an ancient book someone found.

It was ridiculous.

“Is my life scripted or something?” he sighed, looking back at the stars. “Is there someone out there targeting me personally?”

He chuckled bitterly at the thought. No, of course not. He wasn’t that important. He was just… himself.

“There’s no invisible hand,” he murmured. “I’ve just been born too late. Everything worth researching has already been done.” He paused, then added, “But maybe that’s a good thing, for humanity at least. If I could go back in time, I’d thank Professor Xu Yun for all the work they did.”

He blinked, his eyes widening as a thought struck him. Go back in time… A time machine! A time travel device!

“No one’s ever done that before!” Gao Wen exclaimed, standing up, his heart pounding with excitement. He clenched his fist. This was it—this was what he was meant to do.

“If I’m going to do something, I’m going to aim high,” he declared, his eyes filled with determination. “Time travel—that’s going to be my dream!”

…

Time travel was the ultimate challenge, the most difficult invention anyone could ever attempt. The obstacles were immense. Gao Wen tried and failed over and over again.

“No… Something still feels missing,” he muttered, scratching his head in frustration. Some parts of his theory just didn’t make sense, and it wasn’t because he was wrong. He just lacked a key component—a crucial element that technology at the time simply didn’t have.

In his thirties, Gao Wen stood by a window, watching the sun set. He knew what he needed to do.

“Time to hibernate,” he said to himself. He decided to put himself into hibernation for two hundred years, hoping that in the future, the technology would have caught up, and he’d be able to continue his research.

…

But things didn’t go as planned. In the year 2400, a massive catastrophe struck the world, disrupting his intended wake-up time. When Gao Wen finally woke up, he found himself in a strange city.

The city was oppressive. Blue-eyed robotic beings patrolled the streets day and night, deducting points for any uncivilized behavior. Gao Wen didn’t care about that, though. All he wanted was to complete his time travel machine.

With his intelligence and perseverance, he managed to work his way up to join the city’s top research institution. When he finally got a chance to speak with the director, he made his intentions clear.

“I want to research time travel,” he said, his voice filled with conviction.

“No,” the director replied without hesitation. “We can’t afford to waste time on unrealistic projects. We need to focus on stable, proven research. Failures are too costly.”

Gao Wen felt a surge of frustration. “How can you do science without daring to fail? This city’s point-deduction system has made everyone afraid to take risks, to make mistakes. How can we advance like this?”

The director shook his head. “No means no. Leave.”

Gao Wen’s anger boiled over. He slammed the door as he stormed out of the office.

BANG!

A blue-eyed robot turned its gaze toward him, its eyes glowing yellow. “Identity verified: Gao Wen. Behavior violation detected: damaging public property, excessive door-slamming noise—total points deduction: 8. Senior talent reduction: 50%, final points deduction: 4. Current personal score: 91. Please maintain civilized conduct and set an example for others, as the robots do, to help build a better future for humanity.”

As the robot moved away, Gao Wen’s friend approached, looking worried. “What are you doing, Gao Wen? You’ve offended the director. How will we get funding now?”

Gao Wen snorted. “Easy,” he said, clenching his fists, his eyes blazing with determination. “I’ll become the director myself.”

…

Two years later, Gao Wen had risen to the position of director through his own talent and sheer willpower. Standing before his team of researchers, he made an announcement.

“I want to research time travel. Who’s with me?” he asked, his voice echoing through the room.

No one raised their hand. Everyone was afraid—afraid of failure, afraid of losing points, afraid of wasting time. Time travel was a black hole, and they knew it. If they joined the project, they could end up with nothing to show for it.

Gao Wen closed his eyes, disappointment washing over him. The spirit of research in this era was rotten. People were more interested in earning points than in making real progress.

BANG!

He slammed his fist against the door. “Utterly rotten!” he shouted.

A blue-eyed robot approached him, its eyes turning yellow. “Identity verified: Gao Wen. Behavior violation detected: damaging public property, slamming noise, shouting—total points deduction: 10. Top scientist reduction: 80%, final points deduction: 2. Current personal score: 4,223. Please maintain civilized conduct and set an example for others, as the robots do, to help build a better future for humanity.”

Gao Wen stared at the robot, his jaw clenched. This world had no hope. It was time to leave. Even if Sin City was filled with criminals and gangs, at least the people there had courage and spirit.

…

“You know about the Universal Constant too?” Gao Wen asked, spotting a young man scribbling formulas on a wall in Sin City.

The young man turned to him, eyes widening. “You know about it?”

Gao Wen walked up, taking the chalk from him. He made a few corrections, making the formulas clearer. The young man watched in awe.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m Gao Wen,” Gao Wen replied, extending his hand. “And you are?”

“Chen Heping,” the young man said, shaking his hand. “You’re a genius!”

Gao Wen laughed softly. “You’re not too bad yourself. How about joining me? I’m researching time travel. Together, we can change this awful future.”

…

“Heping, they want you to be the Godfather,” Gao Wen said, looking at his friend.

Chen Heping laughed. “Me? No way! Brother Gao Wen, that’s your job.”

“No,” Gao Wen shook his head. “Heping, you’d be perfect. You have the people skills, the diplomacy, the ability to manage everything. I don’t. Besides, you’re smarter than me. You’re the real genius.”

Chen Heping grinned, taking a swig of beer before handing the bottle to Gao Wen. “I should be thanking you. You brought hope to Sin City. You gave us a chance to change our future.”

Gao Wen smiled. “You helped me achieve my dream, Heping. For so long, I felt like I was being controlled by some invisible hand. But now, thanks to you, I finally feel like I’m in control.”

He took the beer, downed it in one go, and exhaled. “Thanks to you, our time machine is almost complete. My dream is about to be realized.”

…

But then, tragedy struck. Chen Heping, exhausted from overwork, fell ill and passed away. Gao Wen wept like he’d never wept before.

After the tears, he knew he had to keep going. He was the Godfather of Sin City now. He had to finish the time machine—for Heping, for humanity, for the future.

“Big Cat,” Gao Wen said, patting the head of Chen Heping’s teenage son. “Your father was a hero. Be like him—become a great man.”

Big Cat wiped his nose, nodding. “I’ll make sure our gang grows stronger!”

Behind them, San Pang nodded. “Sounds good to me.”

…

August 28, 2624. A historic day.

Sin City, under Gao Wen’s command, was about to launch an attack on Donghai City to seize spacetime particles. With those particles, they could activate the time machine and change the past, creating a better future.

Standing in front of the time machine, Gao Wen rested his hand on its cold surface, thinking of his friend. “Heping,” he whispered, “we’re finally going to succeed. Today, we’ll get the spacetime particles, and our dream will come true. This time, my life will never be played with again.”

Suddenly, the door to the underground lab burst open. “Godfather! I brought two new recruits! Come take a look!” a familiar voice called out.

Gao Wen turned, seeing a tall young man and an even younger girl. The young man stepped forward, extending his hand. “Hello, Gao Wen.”

Gao Wen blinked in surprise. He didn’t know this young man. “Who are you?”

The young man smiled. “My name is Lin Xian.”