The Evolution of Genius: Every Night, I Get Smarter!-Chapter 48: Friend or Foe

He chuckled and replied, "Well, there was one thing I particularly liked about the book. Contrary to the expectations, the Governor was a good guy, at least as far as I understood."

I couldn’t help but be intrigued by his comment. "If the Governor is truly a good guy," I questioned, "then why do people need to hide from him in the first place?"

He nodded in understanding and replied, "Well, he might be good, but if someone trespassed on your property, what would you do?"

Curiosity getting the best of me, I looked at him, "So, who exactly trespassed on his property?"

His gaze shifted to me, and I detected a peculiar expression in his eyes, as if I was supposed to be aware of this already. He responded, "My friend, anyone who knows about him is from the outside"

At that moment, a realization dawned on me; this bald guy was from the outside, indicating that he didn’t belong to my cluster.

But was he an Ulthar, a Zytherian, or something entirely different?

I decided to ask him an important question, "So, how exactly do people hide from the Governor?"

He answered with a casual tone, "It’s all about probabilities. You would know if you read the book. The Governor sees everything, but he can’t keep his focus on everything."

I got it now. The trick is to ask these questions in a way that makes them sound like regular everyday stuff, something folks chat about on the streets.

Something with high probability to happen...

With my new approach in mind, I slid into the conversation smoothly. "You know," I began, "I was wondering, in the book you mentioned that the Governor is a good guy. Was it a straightforward thing to understand, or did it come with some twists and turns? I’m debating whether I should give it a read."

The man leaned in, his eyes glinting, "Well, you see, there’s this political battle going on between the different domains. And there was this breach where someone made people have trouble sleeping. The Governor, he helped his people out and is essentially just defending himself. So, my conclusion was that he’s a good guy."

Did anyone have trouble sleeping? I don’t remember.

"Anyway, Maximillian, I’ve read your blog and even made some posts on there"

His mention of my blog took me by surprise. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was the one who had previously warned me to remove it.

"I just don’t know why you closed it up. What happened?", he looked at me, puzzled.

... maybe he wasn’t the one?

"What comment did you make on my blog?", I asked.

"Well, it’s the one that inspired your proof of the Goldbach Conjecture..."

This hit me like a thunderbolt. He was the one who commented about the Ivic’s and Frohlich’s Goldbachian Kernel.

Did he know it would lead me to the proof?

The man put his hand into his bag, and said with a sense of urgency, "You know, I won’t beat around the bush anymore. I’m an artist, and I’ve prepared something just for you."

He pulled out two pieces of A4 paper, handed them to me, and said, "Treat it as a fan art."

However, I knew it was bullshit, just a coverup, a facade.

I looked at the first A4 paper on top, and I was greeted with a portrait of the man himself

Younger... but still bald.

It was a remarkable piece of art.

Incredibly lifelike, capturing every facial feature with stunning accuracy.

But he was quite an unfortunate one.

His baldness wasn’t due to age.

The drawing portrayed his balding head with remarkable precision.

I couldn’t help but express my amazement. "That’s you, right?" I asked.

He simply nodded and replied, "Indeed, that’s me."

"You were bald, even at this age?"

He shot me a mildly disgusted expression and remarked, "That’s not the point. Look at the second one..."

I peeled away the paper from the top of the second drawing, and as I laid my eyes upon it, my expression transformed from a smirk to a grave seriousness in an instant.

It was the same man once again, but there was a striking difference. In this portrait, his skin was unnaturally pale, almost as if it was white.

His face was startlingly skinny, with the bones beneath the skin protruding, giving it an eerie, almost skeletal quality.

The portrayal sent a shiver down my spine.

I saw this once before...

I saw someone eerily similar. Not same, but similar.

It was hard to see if it was the same man, but as I gazed at the top of his head, there was no mistaking it...

It was definitely him.

I turned to the man and couldn’t help but acknowledge, "You have a remarkable imagination..." My voice carried a hint of a questioning tone.

I pondered about, what he tried to say with this drawing.

Was he an Ulthar?

He was an Ulthar, even though he looked like a regular human?

The man suddenly stood up and fixed his gaze first on the book he held in his hand and then directly on my face.

"Remember... no character can just leave their book on a whim...", his gaze returned to the book he held, and with a significant force, he closed it.

Then he continued, "However... on the rare occasion that they do, they must be rewritten in another,"

"Goodbye, Max", the man bid his farewell.

I couldn’t resist but suggest, "Perhaps we should meet again?"

He responded with a noncommittal "Maybe" and walked away.

As I stashed my book and continued on to my next stop, his puzzling words lingered in my mind.

Finally, I arrived at the car dealership and a friendly salesperson approached me.

She asked, "Hi there, what type of car are you interested in? You got a price range in mind?"

I didn’t know if she speaks so casualy to everyone or just me for some reason.

I replied, "Nah, just show me around, I’ll see if anything tickles my fancy. Thanks." My eyes were instantly drawn to the slick cars on the showroom floor.

"Sure thing, this way please," the saleswoman said, her high heels clicking on the polished floor. "How about this Audi A4? It’s a fantastic sedan with some serious performance"

Audi A4? I thought to myself. Well. It’s ok, but I was looking for something fancier.

She smiled and continued, "How about the Lexus LS? It’s a fantastic option, offering a perfect blend of comfort and luxury, making it ideal for both family road trips and professional use."

Lexus?, "That one is quite nice."

As we strolled through the showroom, I couldn’t help but spot the BMW logo. "And what about BMW?" I asked.

The saleswoman responded, "BMW you say? We have some excellent options. This is the BMW 3 Series, and here’s the BMW i5 Series." She proceeded to give me the details of eachmodel.

I thought back to when I was browsing throgh some options on the internet, "Do you have the M60 xDrive option for the i5?," I asked

The saleswoman seemed a bit surprised. "Well. We do. But, are you sure? It’s on the high end."

"I’m sure, How much is it?" I reassured her.

She checked the price and replied, "The quoted price is $120,000. Do you want to reserve one?"

"Yeah, I’d like to reserve it. How soon can I get my hands on it?" I inquired, showing my determination.

With enthusiasm, she responded, "We’ll need to bring it in from another spot, so give us a couple of days. Thanks for choosing a car at out dealership!"

I followed her to the payment counter, ready to lay down my deposit for the BMW i5 M60 xDrive.