Genius Club-Chapter 281 - 6 Fireworks

"Where is your father?"

Lin Xian looked at Lee Ningning and asked.

In the previous dream, Lee Cheng was revered by all on this land, akin to a figure like Du Yuesheng.

Yet, as Lin Xian looked around, he saw no trace of him.

"My father died when I was little."

Lee Ningning turned her head to gaze at the sky, at those thousands of false blue moons:

"He was the first to propose high-altitude skydiving to breach Sky City, and of course, he was also the first one up. Unfortunately, at that time nobody knew about the layer of laser air defense, so... his parachuting altitude was too low, and he was directly hit and evaporated by the laser."

Lin Xian fell silent, once again looking around.

He didn’t see that flirtatious beauty he was hoping to find, that is, Lee Ningning’s mother, Lee Cheng’s mistress from The First Dreamland:

"What about your mother?"

"My mother was the second."

Lee Ningning spoke softly, but her eyes were just as stubborn and defiant as they were in the Second Dreamland, like a butterfly fluttering against the wind.

Considering this was already the second world where he had seen Lee Ningning, who had gone from a princess basking in adoration to an orphan with both parents deceased,

he couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity and sympathy.

"Why must you go to Rhine Sky City at all costs?"

Lin Xian voiced his biggest question:

"Why are so many people desperate to fly up there? What is your goal? Is it to steal books? To know history? Or is it to gain knowledge?"

Lee Ningning shook her head:

"It’s not those things... While those things are certainly important, who would care about them when life and the future are at stake?"

"You must be Big Face Cat’s friend, right? Did you come from a very distant place? Otherwise, you shouldn’t be ignorant of these matters..."

Lee Ningning took out a handkerchief from her pocket, picked up the little girl who had been tugging at her clothes, and began to wipe the festering sores on her neck.

The pus oozed continuously from within, and the wounds showed no sign of healing.

Lin Xian’s brows furrowed slightly…

What kind of disease is this?

And it wasn’t just this little girl.

He had already seen, in the crowd gathered here, many people with similar black sores oozing pus on their skin.

"It’s ’radiation sickness’."

Lee Ningning put the little girl down, tucked away the handkerchief, and explained to Lin Xian:

"No one knows exactly when it started... but more and more people began contracting radiation sickness. It’s all the trouble caused by Rhine Sky City."

She frowned, staring at the colossal object suspended in the sky:

"The radiation might be coming from the nuclear fusion engines underneath Sky City, or maybe from the wastewater and garbage they dump, but in any case, its presence is causing more and more people to fall ill and eventually die."

"This disease isn’t contagious, but once contracted, it’s incurable. Non-healing sores multiply on the body, constantly getting infected, leading ultimately to a painful death."

"Some infants are stillborn because of radiation sickness, and even if they’re born, they’re deformed. This disease is truly terrifying. The most terrifying thing is... we are doomed to not escape it."

Lee Ningning turned her head, looking at the helium balloons inflating behind Lin Xian, gradually floating into the air:

"At first, everyone wanted to hide far away, but in the end, they realized it was no use. The radioactive materials would spread to every corner of the world with the wind, birds, beasts, and insects, and there was no escape anywhere."

"So... that’s why we need to find a way to fly to the City in the Sky. My father said that there must be medicines up there that can immunize against this radiation sickness, and if we could just get a sample... even just one pill or one box, we could replicate the medicine that immunizes against the radiation sickness by studying its composition."

"Only in this way can we continue to survive and have a future."

...

Hearing this,

Lin Xian finally had a basic understanding of what had happened in this world.

To put it simply.

In the Third Dreamland, the living environment of people like Lee Cheng and Big Face Cat was even worse than that in the Second Dreamland.

Not just them, it was the same all over the world.

The success of controlled nuclear fusion technology didn’t provide average citizens with free electricity or give them access to inexhaustible energy sources. Instead, it further widened the gap between the rich and the poor... no, rather, the gap between life spans.

Lin Xian surmised that the cause of the radiation sickness was likely related to the thousands of blue engines operating non-stop, day and night.

The people in the Sky City must have a way to be immune to this disease, living carefree.

While those on the ground did not have such wonder drugs, so they had to endure the torment of radiation sickness generation after generation.

According to Lee Ningning, the incidence of the disease wasn’t very high, but the fatality rate was 100%, and it also inflicted patients with wounds that could never heal, causing immense physical and mental agony.

It was considered this era’s disease, even more terrifying than cancer.

And for that very reason,

heroes like Lee Cheng and Big Face Cat were born, risking their lives to fly into the Sky City to get the cure.

It was also a matter of necessity.

Without the medicine, everyone would eventually die.

Someday, radiation sickness would fall upon loved ones, friends, family members.

This was a true case of every man being responsible for the fate of all.

But...

The Rhine Sky City’s air defense coverage was just too insane, directly locking down the airspace within ten thousand meters.

Wanting to fly through the only opening in the city center, you had to ride a helium balloon up to twenty thousand meters in the sky, and then fully utilize gliding to aim for the opening before you could avoid the air defense lasers and enter the interior of the Sky City.

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The location of this opening, needless to say, wasn’t marked like in a game with various boundary indicators. It must have been precious intelligence obtained through countless failures and the sacrifice of countless lives.

And this is why there are no adult males left in the surrounding villages...

"They all died in the sky above Rhine Sky City, vaporized by lasers, turning to smoke and clouds."

"It’s too cruel."

Lin Xian sighed.

He was somewhat perplexed.

Why...

With each dream sequence, although the level of science and technology obviously kept getting higher, everyone’s life seemed to get worse, more fragmented, more distant.

Previously, at least there was only a wall separating New Donghai City from Old Donghai City.

Now it had become a heaven-and-earth divide between the ground and the City in the Sky.

If technology continues to advance… won’t these two groups of people be left with nothing but to gaze at each other across star systems?

"This is not normal."

Lin Xian still believed this.

He didn’t think that a normal world would develop into this kind of distorted state.

So.

It goes without saying…

The future world of the Third Dreamland, including the existence of Rhine Sky City, is very likely still the conspiracy of the Genius Club manipulating human history and muddying the river of time!

They just can’t stand to see humanity thrive.

It really is baffling…

Are you aliens or traitors to your own planet?

Does it make you that uncomfortable to see humanity living a bit better?

And furthermore.

What chilled Lin Xian’s heart even more was…

Rhein.

This was the company he had named, the thing he had created.

Why had it now become like those people, a den of the same ilk?

Where did it all go wrong?

Did the future him choose to let Rhein Company collude with the Genius Club?

Or did he fight, battle, and ultimately fail?

If it really came down to one of these two options, Lin Xian believed it would definitely be the latter.

Consorting with these people?

He would rather die.

From the moment he decided to avenge Tang Xin and Xu Yun, steeled his heart to kill Ji Xinshui, Ji Lin, and Zhou Duanyun… he had firmly stood against these evils.

Although Lin Xian didn’t consider himself to be the embodiment of absolute justice either.

But at least.

He disliked this artificially manipulated world, this hopeless future.

"So… did I indeed fail?"

Lin Xian looked up.

Gazing at the distant blue glow, like the azure pupils of Huang Que, the City in the Sky.

Was it because he had failed that the Rhein Company had also fallen into others’ hands? Was that why such a calamity existed in the sky?

"Haha, that would really be infuriating."

But no matter.

Even if his past self had lost in this process, the one who had lost was not the current self of the year 2023.

For the present self in 2023, Rhein Company had just been established, and even the ribbon-cutting ceremony had yet to take place.

The future of these 600 years remained undecided.

To him, this history was nothing but a worthless piece of paper that could be torn up at any moment.

I am history!

However, I lost, that’s how I’ll win it back!

Lin Xian looked down at Lee Ningning:

"I’m ashamed to say that I failed to keep a promise I made to you before, but it seems it’s not too late to make up for it now."

Lee Ningning blinked and tilted her head:

"Before? We haven’t met before, have we?"

Lin Xian nodded.

Yes.

To Lee Ningning, they naturally had not met.

But in the previous Second Dreamland, he had indeed promised Lee Ningning to help her blow up New Donghai City.

In the end, the plan hadn’t even been implemented; they hadn’t even entered the inner walls of Donghai City when they abruptly entered the Third Dreamland.

Well then.

Lin Xian looked up at the massive object in the sky, blotting out the sun, the blue gloom of thousands of eyes belonging to controlled fusion engines:

"Blowing up this Sky City… would definitely be more beautiful, right?"

A faint smile on his face, Lin Xian looked at Lee Ningning:

"When the time comes, I’ll treat you to fireworks!"

"What are you rambling about?" Lee Ningning was genuinely amused:

"We just want to go to Sky City to get the cure, why would you blow it up. But…"

Lee Ningning looked up at Lin Xian:

"It would be great if it could really be blown up; I’ve wanted to blow it up since I was a child."

"Don’t worry."

Lin Xian turned around, gestured with his hand, and walked towards the helium-filled hot air balloon:

"This time, I must keep my word."

"…"

Lee Ningning watched Lin Xian’s departing back, feeling like she was being teased:

"Weird person."

Lin Xian approached Ah Zhuang, who was already suited up in a spacesuit and about to fasten his helmet, and patted him on the shoulder:

"Ah Zhuang."

"Huh?" Ah Zhuang turned his head.

"Get me a set of gear too, a spacesuit and a parachute, that sort of stuff."

Lin Xian pointed to himself:

"I’m going with you!"