Genius Club

This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation

The mystery of everything began with the very first Millennial Stake.

Lin Xian had prepared himself for this long before crossing over.

But the problem was…

He never expected this!

[His own dream was also part of the Millennial Stake!]

It was completely beyond his expectations.

“Wait, maybe it’s not just because of the Millennial Stake,” Lin Xian muttered to himself.

“If I were just a normal person who gained the ability to dream about the future six hundred years from now because of the Millennial Stake, then I should dream like anyone else.” He paused, thinking. “It wouldn’t matter if it was a good dream, a nightmare, or some strange montage—I should still be dreaming, right?”

“But right now, even CC, who isn’t part of the Millennial Stake, dreams like a normal person, while I can’t dream at all. I can’t see the future, nor do I have regular dreams. It’s just… a blank. A complete dreamless state—a ‘black dream.’ How do I even explain this?”

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes. It seemed that the truth behind his dreams wasn’t just connected to the Millennial Stake. There had to be something else at play.

The clues he had were too limited, too scattered. He just couldn’t figure it out.

“Lin Xian… Lin Xian?”

Next to him, CC hugged her blanket, her face filled with worry. “Are you… okay? You look like you’ve just seen a ghost. Did you have a nightmare?”

Lin Xian blinked, snapping back to the present. He shook his head. “No, I’m fine. Just thinking about something.”

“By the way, CC… how did you sleep? Did you dream at all?”

CC nodded, her lips curling into a small smile. “I slept really well. I felt safe. As soon as you came into the room, I dozed off. I don’t think I’ve ever slept that peacefully before.”

“Although, I’m a light sleeper usually. In the middle of the night, the wind blew against the window and woke me up. I saw you sleeping on the floor and thought you’d be cold, so I tried to cover you with a blanket… but you woke up right away. You must be a light sleeper too.” Ɍ

“What did you dream about?” Lin Xian asked.

“Oh, my dream?” CC’s face turned slightly pink, and she looked a little embarrassed. “It was kind of all over the place. I think it was because of what we talked about yesterday. I dreamt we were on a boat heading to Manhattan, but halfway there, we ended up turning towards Coney Island.”

“And then… we went to eat hot dogs at Coney Island.”

Pfft—

Lin Xian couldn’t help but chuckle at the mention of “hot dogs” again.

The original CC really was a bit of a glutton, especially obsessed with hot dogs. She talked about them during the day and even dreamed about them at night.

“Did you at least figure out what they taste like this time?” Lin Xian grinned. “If I’d known, I would’ve just bought you one today. We already paid for the 30-cent room; what’s another 3 cents for a hot dog?”

“Oh, stop talking about food in the middle of the night,” CC huffed, scrunching up her nose. “Come on, let’s get some sleep. We finally have a nice room; let’s make the most of it.”

“Who knows where we’ll be sleeping tomorrow? We should enjoy this while we can.”

“Alright.” Lin Xian gestured towards the bed. “You take the bed. I’m not cold at all. This church coat is super warm—I think I’ll be praying extra hard at church tomorrow, just to say thanks. Thirty percent more devotion, at least.”

CC giggled, shaking her head. “You’re ridiculous. Who measures faith in percentages?”

“Since you’re not cold, I won’t argue. Goodnight.” She wrapped herself up in the blanket, turned over, and soon drifted off to sleep.

Lin Xian looked at her, feeling a twinge of envy. “She’s probably in a hurry to get back to her hot dogs.”

…

Lin Xian woke up naturally from his dreamless sleep. The first thing he did was check the clock at the reception. It read 8:23 AM.

No pattern to his wake-up time. It seemed that in this strange year of 1952, he’d become a regular human being.

After freshening up in the communal bathroom with CC, they checked out and left the small motel.

They hurried to the church by the pier—to grab a meal—or rather, to join the service.

Lin Xian still had some money, but until they found a stable source of income, it was best to save wherever they could. And a free breakfast was still a free breakfast.

Lin Xian sang hymns loudly at the church, feeling his faith boosted by 30%.

When the service ended, Lin Xian and CC sat on crates with bowls of corn soup and hard bread.

“This bread is so dry,” Lin Xian muttered, tapping it against a metal post. It made a loud thunking noise.

“That’s why you’re supposed to dip it,” CC said, demonstrating by dipping her bread into the corn soup. “It’s better when it’s soaked and soft.”

Lin Xian shook his head, tearing off a piece with his teeth. It felt like chewing on a shoe sole. “Dipping bread in soup feels weird. Besides, we can’t keep eating like this forever, can we? Corn porridge and bread fill you up, but it’s not exactly nutritious. We’ll end up looking like skeletons if we keep this up.”

He glanced at CC, who was already quite slim. “See, like you. No meat on your bones.”

“Well, duh,” CC rolled her eyes. “Who wouldn’t want to eat well? Who wouldn’t want good food? My grandmother used to tell us a story at the orphanage—about Louis XVI’s queen who said, ‘Why don’t they eat cake then?’ when she heard people couldn’t afford bread. You’re starting to sound just like her!”

Lin Xian fumbled through his pockets, counting out one dollar and twenty-three cents—a mix of coins he’d become quite familiar with.

After a moment’s thought, he remembered CC’s dream from the previous night and her obsession with hot dogs.

“Let’s go to Coney Island!” he said suddenly. “You’ve been dreaming about their hot dogs for ages. We have enough for a trip.”

Coney Island was a famous amusement park in Brooklyn, New York. It was the birthplace of the first hot dog stand in the U.S.—practically a pilgrimage site for hot dog lovers.

“Have you ever been to an amusement park?” Lin Xian asked.

CC shook her head. “I’ve heard of carousels and Ferris wheels, but I’ve never seen one.”

“Well, then let’s go!” Lin Xian pulled all the coins from his pocket. “This should cover our bus fare, entrance fee, and a hot dog.”

“That’s such a waste,” CC protested. “That’s all the money you have! Why spend it all on something pointless?”

“How is it pointless?” Lin Xian grinned at her. “Didn’t you want a hot dog?”

“I did, but—”

“And haven’t you always wanted to see an amusement park?”

“So what?”

CC tilted her head, her expression softening. “It’s my own wish, whether I’ve had a hot dog or gone to an amusement park. Why do you—”

[Why are you being so nice to me?]

…

Lin Xian found himself at a loss for words. He didn’t know how to answer CC’s question. It was strange, really. They had only known each other for twenty-four hours, and yet here he was, taking her to Brooklyn Heights, renting her a room, and now planning to take her to Coney Island with the last of their money. Even he couldn’t quite explain why.

Maybe, deep down, he was trying to make up for what he owed Chu An Qing. Maybe he was trying to give this first version of CC something she’d never get otherwise. Perhaps it was because he already saw her as An Qing, or even as the CC from six hundred years in the future. He just couldn’t bear to see her suffer—especially knowing what lay ahead of her, how history said she would eventually turn into blue stardust, fading away to begin a millennium of endless cycles.

Lin Xian knew too much to treat her any differently.

CC blinked at his silence. “You… you said yesterday that you knew another girl named CC. Someone who looked a lot like me.”

“Is it possible that you…”

She bit her lip, hesitating. “That you like her, and you’re treating me as a stand-in?”

Lin Xian choked on his soup, coughing violently before wiping his mouth. “Where do you come up with this stuff? Substitute romance? Really?” He shook his head, laughing a little. “No, it’s not like that. I just think that if we have a bit of money, we might as well use it to make life a little easier. Besides, we’ve got nothing better to do right now, so why not go to the amusement park? Who knows, we might even make some money while we’re there. You saw my shooting skills, right? I’m pretty good at parkour too. If there are competitions, we could win a prize.”

He smiled at her, trying to make light of it. “And with that prize money, we’ll live better, go bigger, and find even bigger opportunities. It’s called sustainable development—a positive cycle.”

CC looked at him, still unsure. “But… Coney Island’s not exactly safe. I heard there are gangs fighting over turf. It’s dangerous.”

Lin Xian shrugged casually. “Dangerous for people with money, maybe. We’ve got a dollar between us—not even worth a gangster’s bullet. I think we’ll be just fine.”

He finished his bread and dusted off his hands. “Alright, let’s go see if we can find an opportunity there. And I’m curious about those hot dogs too.”

Coney Island was at the southern tip of Brooklyn, and it was the first major amusement park in the United States. Originally, it had been an island, separated from the mainland by a bay and only accessible by boat. During World War II, they had filled in the bay, turning Coney Island into a man-made peninsula.

But CC was right. It was notorious for gang activity, with turf wars and crime rampant until much later in the century.

As the bus arrived, Lin Xian turned to CC, grinning. “Come on, CC. Let’s get on.” They paid their fare and took seats at the back of the bus. On the way, Lin Xian chatted with a passenger, learning about ticket prices for the amusement park. He returned to CC, nodding reassuringly. “It’s fine, it’s still within our budget—including hot dogs.”

After a long two-hour ride, the bus finally pulled up in front of the park entrance. Lin Xian and CC stepped off, gazing at the sight before them in awe. It was almost unbelievable that this was a 1952 amusement park. There were roller coasters, Ferris wheels, aerial rides—everything.

“The U.S. in this era really was something,” Lin Xian said, admiration clear in his voice.

“Lin Xian, look over there!” CC tugged at his sleeve, pointing toward a bustling hot dog stand with a large sign that read “Nathan’s Hot Dogs.” People crowded around, eagerly lining up for their turn.

“Come on, let’s go get one,” Lin Xian said, smiling brightly.

If you came to Coney Island and didn’t eat a hot dog, what was the point? He wanted to make CC’s experience complete, and he was curious himself.

They joined the queue, and as they waited, two men in front of them began arguing heatedly. They were both dressed in black suits and dark sunglasses, and their voices were harsh, the words almost unintelligible. Lin Xian couldn’t make out if it was Italian or just bad English. Maybe they were arguing about someone cutting in line.

Lin Xian and CC tried to ignore them, staying patiently in line, but the argument escalated quickly. The men were now shouting, their faces red and veins bulging.

“Are they going to fight?” Lin Xian muttered, frowning. He pulled CC back, sensing trouble.

And then—

One of the men, a guy with a hooked nose, suddenly pulled out a revolver from his coat.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“What the—!” Lin Xian gasped, his eyes widening.

The other man turned and bolted, but as he did, he bumped hard into CC, almost knocking her over. At the same time, the man with the revolver took aim—right in their direction.

“CC!” Lin Xian shouted, pulling her into his arms.

But it was too late. The man squeezed the trigger, aiming straight at them.

Nothing happened. No gunshot, no sound.

The man with the gun simply dropped—like a puppet with its strings cut—falling face-first onto the pavement. His nose smashed with a sickening crunch, and the revolver slipped from his hand, skidding across the ground.

The crowd erupted in screams, people running in every direction, trying to get away from the scene.

But the man lay there, frozen in that awkward shooting pose, his limbs trembling slightly as he tried and failed to stand.

“Lin Xian! We have to go!” CC pulled at him, her voice urgent.

But Lin Xian didn’t move. He stood there, smiling.

“Hey! What are you doing? Are you in shock? We need to run!”

“Run?” Lin Xian’s smile widened, his voice calm and confident. “CC, I’ve got some good news.”

“Huh?”

Lin Xian turned to her, his eyes glinting. “I’m officially telling you—our hard days are over.”

“What are you even talking about?” CC stared at him, bewildered.

She glanced back at the fallen gunman, who still lay there, his limbs twitching slightly. It looked almost like magic—like a spell had been cast on him.

“It’s back,” Lin Xian whispered, his eyes bright.

“The feeling is back.”

He felt lighter than he had in a long time. For so long, he’d feared that the rules of spacetime wouldn’t apply until the Millennial Stake was set. He’d feared that he had lost his safety net forever.

But it seemed like… Entangled spacetime particles really were an absolute cheat code—coveted by all.

Lin Xian clenched his fist, looking up at the warm midday sun, a determined smile on his face.

“Reverse forced avoidance—after being pushed around for so long, it’s finally my turn to enjoy the ride!”