Genius Club
Chapter 1226 - 54: Silent Affection_3

In the underground hibernation bases of the previous dreamlands, they unearthed Gao Wen, Girl No. 17, Smith—the big sucker, and Angelica.

No guarantees.

The underground hibernation base within this canyon crevice in front of them... might really house a live person!

Time to act.

Lin Xian reignited his long-dormant energy and began scouting for positions to climb.

...

To parkour prince Lin Xian, free-climbing without safety measures was already standard procedure, as long as he didn’t fear death.

Everything went smoothly.

After spending some time, Lin Xian finally reached the cave entrance safely.

He stepped inside for a look.

Indeed.

It was the familiar underground hibernation base.

But...

The scene was tragic.

Collapsed rubble and broken walls littered everywhere; within sight, not a single intact hibernation pod remained.

On closer inspection, there were quite a few skeletons inside.

"The catastrophic disaster of the year 2600 was only 24 years ago—it’s not surprising to find skeletons in such conditions."

"Humans who died on the surface were either buried and decomposed underground or had their bones carried away by animals. At least in this broken underground hibernation base, one could leave behind a complete corpse."

Lin Xian squeezed deeper into the ruins.

Dead bodies, dead bodies, more dead bodies.

Ruins, ruins, everywhere ruins.

Ugh.

The bigger the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Could it really be that no lucky survivor had lived through this?

After rummaging through the entire area, he didn’t find a single intact, operational hibernation pod.

Without exception, every pod was damaged in the collapse, and naturally, there wasn’t a single living soul.

He had hoped to uncover valuable intel in the storage lockers.

But was disappointed yet again.

Perhaps the technology in this future world had progressed far enough that... people stopped using paper "memory notebooks," opting instead for palm-sized storage devices.

They resembled external hard drives.

But not quite the same.

The interface design was something Lin Xian had never seen before.

"This might be... one of the downsides of technological advancement."

Lin Xian shook his head.

He tossed the hard drive retrieved from the strange skeleton onto the ground.

If everyone had left behind a "memory notebook," he could have investigated some information. But now that all the devices were destroyed, he couldn’t hope for much.

"No hope left?"

Suddenly, he had another thought...

What about [the other side]?

Due to the canyon’s crevice, the original underground hibernation base had been split in two. With no success on this side, he could try exploring the other half.

He returned to the cave entrance and gazed toward the opposite side.

Over there, vines and plants grew densely, sealing the cave entrance, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t hard to tell that the other half of the underground hibernation base was indeed there.

"This distance... I should be able to jump across."

Lin Xian stretched his arms and legs.

The sturdy vines provided some advantage—even if he fell a bit short, as long as he could grab onto them, he could climb back up.

If he died, it wouldn’t matter; he could just start over.

With all his might—

"Jump!"

Gathering his strength, he leaped across the crevice and grabbed hold of the vines!

Though he slid down several meters before stabilizing, as long as he held firm, the rest was manageable.

He climbed upward step by step, relying on his arm strength, and finally succeeded in reaching the other half of the hibernation base.

It was the same scene of devastation and chaos, with many hibernation pods smashed by falling rocks.

But then.

He who persists, prevails.

"A living person!"

Lin Xian found a fully operational hibernation pod in the farthest corner against the wall!

He rushed over.

Under the faint glow of light, he examined the sleeping face submerged in the hibernation pod filling liquid:

"This is a boy who survived an apocalypse..."

"Ah, wait, no—it’s a girl."

The dim lighting made it difficult for Lin Xian to discern the features and the hair tucked into a cap at first glance. But it was indeed a girl, seemingly around seventeen or eighteen years old.

He bent down.

To check the nameplate.

Only to find that the nameplate, forged from indestructible hafnium alloy, had been smashed halfway into the hibernation pod by nearby fallen rocks, leaving only a portion visible outside.

This girl certainly had absurdly good luck.

A fraction of an inch more, and that fallen rock would have struck the pod’s glass, reducing her to a pile of bones.

"...[Mai Mai]"

Lin Xian read aloud her name.

The girl’s name should be X Mai Mai, but the front part of her surname was obscured due to the smashed nameplate.

"What a warm and familiar name."

Lin Xian expressed genuine emotion.

In this barren, months-long lonely exploration of a deserted dreamland, even finding someone named "Wooden Plank" would feel endearing to Lin Xian.

As long as it’s a living person—any living person feels familiar.

He instinctively opened the storage locker labeled [Mai Mai], only to discover...

Besides the memory hard drive that everyone had, she had an additional sealed manuscript!

"What an angel."

Lin Xian promptly took out the sealed manuscript, finally getting a chance to see paper-based records. What kind of information would she leave behind?

Full of anticipation, he glanced at the cover—

"The Emperor Who Devours the Heavens"

Author’s pen name: Mai Mai

"Holy crap."

Lin Xian instinctively leaned back as if struck by overwhelming absurdity.

What kind of ancient-era online fantasy novel title was this?

For a moment, Lin Xian felt like he was not in the year 2624 but transported back to 2004!

"Seriously though, what era is this Mai Mai girl from?"

Clinging to curiosity.

Lin Xian flipped open the first page of the manuscript, looking over the side flap at the author’s introduction:

[Mai Mai, born in 2222 in China’s East Sea region. Punchy prose, touching penmanship. Endowed with a sacred talent for writing, she swore to shake up the literary world with her debut novel "The Emperor Who Devours the Heavens," ascending to divine status.]

"What the hell?"

Lin Xian was bewildered.

At first glance, the opening implied an immensely acclaimed author.

But upon reading the rest...

"Not even signed yet?"

He looked in disbelief at this manuscript, crossing 400 years of time, and didn’t know how to process it.

This was an unpublished internet novel!

"What a letdown."

Even if it were a modern urban literary novel, it could provide some background information about this time. But this enigmatic lady, also using the pen name Mai Mai, had written a fantasy novel... What purpose could it serve?

"Might as well check it out—what if she’s truly a legendary talent, capable of writing a bestseller?"

Lin Xian reinvigorated his curiosity and turned to the next page.

Two bold words, sharp as thunderstrikes, danced before his eyes—

"Prologue"

"Incredible..."

Lin Xian inhaled sharply; this girl was truly terrifying.

No online novel he’d read in middle school even dared file chapters under "Prologue"... Why not directly dive into the story?

This kind of prologue—either reserved for major authors or doomed rookies—was clearly aiming to craft a historic masterpiece!

Unable to believe it, he flipped back and confirmed that this girl was indeed born in 2222.

The year 2222...

Maybe she was a traditionalist.

Lin Xian steadied himself and turned another page.

Next came the content of the "Prologue"—

[On April 17, 2025, the Mist of the Demon God descended quietly upon the land, sentencing the world to destruction... But one boy, scorned by his sect, wielded a nine-foot divine weapon and rebelled against fate!]

"Huh?"

Lin Xian was stunned.

Could this book...

Actually be popular?

No.

Could it even get signed?

He was already losing interest and skipped to the bottom right corner of the prologue, noticing a distinctive note:

[—This story is based on true events.]

Lin Xian froze again.

"True... True events?"

He reread it.

Demon God, sects, nine-foot divine weapon...

This was absurd!

This was true!? How?

This was... something from April 17, 2025?

Lin Xian closed this struggling novel.

And began reflecting.

Today’s dream was dated March 9, 2025.

Less than a month remained until the "Mist of the Demon God descends, sentencing the world to destruction" event described by author Mai Mai on April 17, 2025.

Knock, knock, knock.

Lin Xian tapped the glass of the hibernation pod:

"Time to wake up, Mai Mai, my little friend... I’d love to hear how your amnesia makes you evaluate ’The Emperor Who Devours the Heavens’; don’t blush later, alright?"

Saying this.

He began operating the controls on the hibernation pod.

In the Sixth Dreamland, he had seen Big Face Cat awaken hibernation pods before; the procedure wasn’t that complex. Watching twice was enough to memorize it.

Beep-beep-beep-beep.

A series of sounds heralded the activation of the hibernation pod. Warm yellow light began to emanate from inside, and even the temperature of the hibernation pod filling liquid started to rise.

The waking process was underway.

Without a doubt, miniature nuclear batteries were truly impressive...

If he hadn’t brought back this groundbreaking invention, he’d never have found a single living soul in the Ninth Dreamland.

White mist began forming on the glass of the pod.

Lin Xian could feel the rising temperature of the glass surface.

Momentarily.

Half an hour passed.

The seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl—named Mai Mai—inside the hibernation pod...

Opened her eyes!

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