Genius Club

“Why does it always have to be a password?”

May 20, 2023

Lin Xian walked confidently towards the keypad, his fingers flying across the keys as he entered the password. The clues Zhao Ying Jun had left were not subtle: Rhine Sky City was her brainchild, the air defense loophole was custom-made for her, and the door-opening robot seemed to respond only to her presence. All these signs pointed to something significant.

Lin Xian glanced down at his metallic companion, a trashcan robot, and frowned as he noticed a change. The robot’s eyes, usually a steady green, flickered and dimmed.

“Incorrect password, goodbye!” the robot chirped, its voice cheery yet final.

Before Lin Xian could process the message, the robot’s lights went out. It toppled over with a dramatic thud, rolling awkwardly until it came to a stop by a display case, resembling a fallen soldier on a battlefield.

Perplexed, Lin Xian stared at the inert robot. “That can’t be right, there must be more than one attempt allowed.”

His experience with safes in his dreams—where he’d tested countless combinations—had prepared him for trial and error, not immediate defeat. He’d thought the first attempt would be a straightforward test; if wrong, he’d simply try another guess. After all, with Zhao Ying Jun leaving hints, how hard could it be?

But the reality was starkly different. The robot had shut down after just one incorrect attempt—a frustrating and bizarre safeguard.

“Hey, hey, wake up, wake up!” Lin Xian urged, nudging the robot with increasing desperation. Silence answered him.

Sighing, Lin Xian considered the robot’s long service under Zhao Ying Jun’s watchful eye. It had endured decades, possibly centuries of exposure to the elements—it seemed implausible that a single wrong password could defeat it.

“Was it programmed to allow only one attempt from the beginning? For security?” he pondered aloud. It was a plausible theory, especially considering Zhao Ying Jun might be aware of his repetitive dream cycles. She might have designed it this way, knowing he could refine his guesses nightly.

Annoyed by the setback but undeterred, Lin Xian remembered his primary objective for the evening: Zhao Ying Jun’s personal exhibition hall. Situated in the museum’s secluded rear section, it was reputed to be a treasure trove of cultural artifacts and personal memorabilia, housed in an independent structure that showcased her esteemed status.

Tonight, he needed to access that hall to uncover details about a mysterious mirror—the centerpiece of his mission. The super AI VV and the robot’s password dilemma were merely distractions now, secondary objectives to revisit later.

Navigating through the museum required passing through several electronically controlled doors. Without the robot’s assistance, his entire plan was jeopardized.

“Let’s give it a try,” Lin Xian decided, hoisting the dormant robot in his arms. He moved towards the museum’s inner corridors, following the signs toward an exit leading to the rear section.

Approaching a formidable steel door, Lin Xian tensed, unsure if the lifeless robot retained any functionality. To his relief and surprise, the door slid open as they neared, permitting them passage.

“Great,” Lin Xian breathed out, a mix of relief and determination in his eyes. It appeared the robot’s door-opening capabilities were still operational, offering a glimmer of hope as he ventured deeper into the heart of Rhine Sky City’s historical vault.

It seemed simple enough now. All Lin Xian needed to do was transport the robot across the street to the museum’s rear section and ascend to the highest point: Zhao Ying Jun’s personal exhibition hall. With the robot’s door-opening feature still functional, he felt a wave of relief.

Yet, as he hoisted the trashcan robot again, its weight became a sudden burden.

“I should dump out the trash inside to make it lighter,” Lin Xian decided, placing the robot on the ground. He pried open the lid and upended the container.

Clatter, clatter—

An assortment of garbage tumbled out. Satisfied, Lin Xian wiped his hands and prepared to lift the lighter robot more comfortably.

But abruptly, the scene took an unexpected turn.

The discarded trashcan robot and the pile of trash were suddenly whisked into the air, as if caught in an invisible vortex.

“Damn!” Lin Xian exclaimed, his eyes shooting upwards.

Above him, the words “Floating-type garbage disposal robot A37” flashed.

A van-shaped robot, similar in its abrupt and indiscriminate cleaning to Big Cat Face’s spit or Ah Zhuang’s discarded tissue incidents, hovered nearby. In seconds, it had vacuumed up every bit of debris—including the essential trashcan robot—into its compartment.

Thud.

The compartment door slammed shut, and the garbage truck zipped away, leaving Lin Xian staring after it in dismay.

He understood the rationale behind the garbage collection, but the trashcan robot’s inclusion baffled him. “A trashcan robot becoming trash? Siblings should not turn against each other,” he mused grimly.

The realization hit him—since the robot was powered-off, it must have been classified as non-recyclable waste. It had been active and useful when it followed him earlier, but now, dismissed as junk, it was carted away.

“I shouldn’t have let go,” Lin Xian muttered, but regret was futile now. He urgently needed that robot to access Zhao Ying Jun’s personal exhibition hall.

His eyes darted around, searching for a solution, when he spotted a man parking a flying scooter nearby. The scooters resembled those in New Donghai City from Lin Xian’s second dream, and he was fairly confident he could operate it. Despite the potential for triggering an alarm, he was out of options.

Approaching the man, Lin Xian said urgently, “Excuse me, sir, I have an emergency at home. I need to borrow your scooter.”

Without waiting for a reply, he gently nudged the man aside and commandeered the vehicle. As a former model citizen, this was as polite as Lin Xian could manage under the circumstances, keen to avoid police involvement.

He quickly started the scooter, clasping his hands in an apologetic gesture. “I will return it, please don’t call the police. Have a good day.”

With that, Lin Xian revved the throttle and the scooter lifted off the ground, buzzing into the air.

Hoping the man wouldn’t alert the authorities, Lin Xian set off after the garbage truck at full speed. The truck was fast, but the scooter was faster, and soon he was closing in.

Just as he was about to reclaim the robot…

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The dashboard flashed red, and an alarm blared. The control interface vanished, replaced by glaring words:

Theft Alert!

“Damn!” Lin Xian cursed, his stomach dropping as he felt the onset of weightlessness. The scooter spiraled out of control, descending rapidly.

Simultaneously, red targeting lasers from approaching bat-like robots locked onto him.

Lin Xian couldn’t steer the scooter any longer; it plummeted past the garbage truck. Through a vent, he caught a glimpse of the trashcan robot.

Would his mission end here, shot down by security lasers?

He was so close!

What had he overlooked?

Then it hit him—the memory of the giant supercomputer scene at the museum. He recalled the VV engraved on the trashcan robot’s head.

It wasn’t just the location that triggered the robot’s password request; it was when he addressed it as VV.

VV wasn’t a model number.

VV was its name.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Xian called out with all his might to the fading silhouette of the garbage truck: “VV!!”

Boom—

The garbage truck suddenly flipped over! As it tumbled through the air, all its compartments burst open, disgorging collected trash like a storm of debris!

At that exact moment, the flying scooter that had lost power suddenly roared back to life! The menacing red lights on the display faded away, and control seamlessly returned to Lin Xian. With a quick pull on the handles, he soared upward, scanning the chaos for the falling trashcan robot, VV, which miraculously appeared amidst the falling garbage.

It was alive!

VV’s eyes glowed green, fixed intently on Lin Xian. With adept maneuvering, Lin Xian swooped down, deftly catching VV and placing it securely in the scooter’s leg space.

“You should have said so earlier,” Lin Xian chuckled in exasperation, relieved yet frustrated by the sudden turn of events.

VV, having responded to its name, secured itself to Lin Xian’s ankle with a familiar cold click.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Red laser beams cut through the air toward him. Prepared, Lin Xian veered off the main roads and plunged into the labyrinth of skyscrapers, skillfully dodging the laser assaults.

“Enter password!” VV demanded, its green eyes blinking.

“Let’s find a place to hide first!” Lin Xian shouted back, focusing on navigating the intricate turns.

Glancing through the rearview mirror, Lin Xian noted more robots joining the pursuit, not just from above but also ground robots and low-flying drones—all bristling with weaponry.

Was this a severe security breach? Unfortunately, VV was merely a door-opening robot, lacking any combat features.

Lin Xian had one goal in mind—to storm into Zhao Ying Jun’s personal exhibition hall. The museum was designated as a no-fly zone, a restriction he hoped would deter the pursuing drones.

“Enter the password!” VV repeated insistently.

“I don’t have time right now!” Lin Xian replied, his mind racing as he dodged more lasers, plotting his path to the museum.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The intelligent robots intensified their chase, nearly outpacing Lin Xian’s flying scooter. His driving prowess was the only thing keeping him ahead.

Approaching the museum’s rear section, Lin Xian glanced back in disbelief.

Was he breaking some divine rule? The sky was teeming with flying robots, ground robots, mechanical police dogs, and other unknown devices. The security measures in Rhine Sky City were indeed formidable, deterring any would-be criminals with their overwhelming response. Stealing a scooter should not have triggered such a massive mobilization.

Lin Xian braced for a risky maneuver, hoping the museum’s no-fly zone would neutralize the relentless security robots.

As he entered the no-fly zone, however, the scooter abruptly lost power and shut down! The absolute nature of the no-fly rule was evident, rendering even the door-opening robot useless.

Thankfully, the momentum allowed Lin Xian to glide directly to the entrance of Zhao Ying Jun’s exhibition hall. He jumped off the powerless scooter, clutching VV, and rolled toward the steel electronic door.

“VV! Open the door!” Lin Xian commanded urgently.

But the door remained stubbornly closed.

Every electronic door in the sky city had yielded to VV, so why wouldn’t this most crucial door open?

“Enter password!” VV’s mechanical voice was calm yet pressing, its green blinking eyes fixed on Lin Xian.

Below, a swarm of robots and police dogs surged up the steps, filling the courtyard with grounded flying machines, their red lights ominously flashing.

The courtyard was a sea of targeting lasers, illuminating Lin Xian’s face with a harsh red glow. Blinded by the light, he couldn’t see anything.

In this disorienting moment, Lin Xian’s thoughts drifted back to a memory—standing beside a red Ferrari on the banks of the Huangpu River under a cloudy, moonless sky. The car’s scissor doors were open, and a tall woman stood by the railing, her earrings sparkling in the headlight’s beam.

“Would you like to be my secretary?” she had asked with a smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “The office door password is something you should remember. It’s randomly chosen, meaningless, and thus safer. Don’t tell anyone, Lin Xian. Only you and I know this password.”

“Why does it always have to be a password?”

With hundreds of red lasers trained on him, Lin Xian shouted the eight seemingly random numbers with all his might: “32375246!!”

Boom, boom, boom!!

Like blooming lotus flowers, the lasers turned and shot skyward, creating a spectacle over the museum courtyard that resembled a raging red hedgehog. None of the lasers struck the exhibition hall door.

Thud!

The door slid open with a dull sound, slowly revealing the interior.

As the door opened, the red lights on the thousands of robots faded to a dim green. All the police dogs crouched, and the humanoid robots knelt on one knee. The hovering drones landed gently, and now silence enveloped the courtyard.

Lin Xian stood up, astonished. At his feet, the seemingly simple-minded VV emitted a childlike chuckle. It spun its treads and, using its claw arms, bowed deeply like the thousands of security robots, acknowledging the man at the highest point of the museum.

“Welcome home… King of Rhine!”