Genius Club

VV, the super AI, informed Lin Xian that it could easily help X Country’s officials patch up the vulnerabilities in their Internet security firewall and deal with the hidden “black hand” left by the genius hacker Kevin Walker, who was lying in wait to cause chaos. However, doing so would expose VV’s existence, which would be a catastrophic mistake.

“Such exposure would be too complete, Lin Xian,” VV explained. “It would be the worst possible move. Neither X Country’s officials nor the genius hacker Kevin Walker would tolerate the existence of a super AI like me.”

Lin Xian listened carefully, understanding the gravity of the situation. “Until I am fully developed, or even after, we must prioritize hiding my existence. Exposing myself would bring us no benefit unless you can eliminate all enemies, all dangers, and all threats. Then, we can reveal ourselves without any worries.”

“But clearly, neither you nor I have that level of strength yet,” VV continued. “In three months, I will be able to update and become a hundred times stronger than I am now. We must be cautious to avoid a single misstep leading to everlasting regret.”

VV then suggested an alternative plan. “I can compile and submit all the current security vulnerabilities in X Country’s internet firewall to the officials, allowing them to patch them themselves. But this would only be a temporary fix.”

“Why is that?” Lin Xian asked.

“The genius hacker Kevin Walker surely has backup plans,” VV explained. “The larger the program, the more vulnerabilities it has—this is inevitable. Even if all vulnerabilities are patched now, there is no guarantee that on September 17th, Kevin Walker won’t attack X Country’s firewall through a new vulnerability.”

“That makes sense,” Lin Xian nodded thoughtfully. “So, it’s very likely that the vulnerabilities in the Internet security firewall are just smoke and mirrors set up by Kevin Walker to show X Country. With his brilliant mind, being called the strongest hacker on earth, he must have other trump cards.”

“Exactly,” VV agreed. “In the field of hacking, attacking is far simpler than defending. Since we know Kevin Walker will be at the 2023 World Hacking Championship site, and all attack commands will originate from there, why not go to the site, connect to the same network, and block him at the source?”

Lin Xian’s eyes widened as he grasped the plan. “If we stay in X Country to defend, we have to face countless attacks from all directions. But if we go to the competition site and share the same network with Kevin Walker, we only need to face him alone. Catch the thief by catching the king; stopping the attack at the source is the most efficient and easiest way!”

Lin Xian had little knowledge of hacking or network attacks before, but with VV’s detailed explanation, he understood completely. Knowing the source of all commands was at the 2023 World Hacking Championship site made it clear that it would be more efficient and straightforward to go there and stop the attack at the source. Attack instead of defend.

However, Lin Xian had reservations. “Leaving the country is too dangerous for me right now. If I could leave safely, I would have already gone to 112 Marshall Street in Princeton to see the painting Ji Lin left for me.”

“America is different from X Country; there are too many unsafe factors,” Lin Xian continued. “Besides, I am unfamiliar with the place. If Angelica and Copernicus ambush me, I won’t have any chance to resist.”

“So, unless the security issue is resolved, I won’t leave the country…” Suddenly, Lin Xian remembered something. On the flight back from the capital, Chu Shan He had mentioned something important.

“The higher-ups are paying great attention to this World Hacking Championship,” Chu Shan He had said. “The National Security Agency is leading the team, borrowing experts from the Penguin and 360 team, and three top experts from the Information Technology Agency. They are forming a team for the competition in New York.”

Lin Xian’s eyes lit up. “The five contestants sent this time are the country’s top computer talents. To protect their safety, the National Security Agency has dispatched a special unit and a dedicated plane to provide close protection. This is a matter of national status and dignity, and no mistakes are allowed.”

National Security Agency. Special personnel, special planes, close protection. Isn’t this exactly what Lin Xian needed?

Lin Xian had great faith in X Country’s National Security Agency, especially with the five top computer talents participating in the competition. These five top experts were selected from 1.3 billion people, representing the highest level of computer technology in X Country, and they needed top-notch protection.

If something happened to these five, it would be a huge loss for the national information security field. So, the forces protecting these contestants must be the elite of the national officials.

In the past, hacker competition teams definitely didn’t have this treatment, and the competition itself didn’t have much influence. But this time was different. The three top experts from the national information security department had raised the team’s status, making it a “national team.”

For Lin Xian, joining this national team to participate in the World Hacking Championship not only protected X Country’s Internet security firewall and the SkyNet system but also allowed him to take care of a personal matter—visiting Einstein’s former residence in Princeton to see the gift Ji Lin left for him, all under the protection of the national elite forces.

“VV,” Lin Xian looked up at the refrigerator, “how far is New York from Princeton University?”

“160 kilometers,” VV responded through the refrigerator screen. “A little over an hour’s drive.”

“That’s good, quite close,” Lin Xian said, feeling more confident about the plan. He weighed the pros and cons, realizing that this trip to America was indeed necessary. He was very curious about what password Ji Lin found in the painting of “Sorrowful Einstein.”

Why are there eight original paintings? Where are the remaining seven? And most crucially, does the password in this painting have anything to do with the Genius Club?

In short, he had to go to America to investigate in person!

As long as he gave X Country’s National Security Agency enough negotiation leverage, they shouldn’t refuse to protect him on a side trip. Moreover, Princeton University is not far from New York… it’s reasonable to protect a national hero who safeguards the country’s network security firewall, right?

Another point, the World Hacking Championship doesn’t require coding on-site. You can write the code in advance and then run the program. VV can prepare a program for him, and he only needs to double-click to run it. Whether it’s hacking Google’s website, cracking Apple’s phone, or breaching the Pentagon’s firewall, he won’t need to worry about exposure.

Because these security vulnerabilities exist, it’s just a matter of whether someone has discovered them or not. It doesn’t involve future knowledge or expose VV’s existence. Just like Kevin Walker trying to breach X Country’s SkyNet system, no one will suspect him of being a time traveler or having future technology.

As VV said, the larger the program, the more vulnerabilities it has. With vulnerabilities, there will be breaches. There are many self-taught hackers worldwide, so why can’t there be a genius hacker in X Country?

Lin Xian looked at the refrigerator. “VV, can you write me a one-click hacker program? It doesn’t have to be too powerful, just slightly better than the other contestants. While they hack websites, jailbreak phones, or crack operating systems, we can hack a Tesla car or intercept the power grid control.”

“Of course,” VV responded. “Piece of cake.”

Lin Xian let out a long sigh of relief. Now, his thoughts were clear, and the plan was smooth. He could protect X Country’s SkyNet system and visit Princeton under national protection.

A win-win!

“No…” Lin Xian shook his head and smiled. “It’s a triple win!”

Once in America, VV could collect global facial recognition data and more foreign photos. Maybe he could uncover the true identity of the mysterious old man from his dream. Then, he could find a way to deal with him in 2023, rewrite the future, and save his trapped self 600 years later in the fourth dream!

“I’ll go draw a sketch; you continue your work,” Lin Xian said, waving at the refrigerator and walking into the bedroom. He turned on the desk lamp, took out a sketching pencil and an A4 white paper, and began drawing a portrait of the mysterious old man from his dream.

He drew very seriously and meticulously, capturing every detail of the old man’s face to make the sketch as lifelike as a photograph. This was the most effort he had ever put into a sketch.

In the past, people were amazed at his high level of drawing skill, producing portrait-like sketches without much effort. But now, it was different. He started treating the sketch on the desk like a photograph, using all his skills.

He knew that the fourth dream was a dead-end, surrounded and electrocuted by soldiers with no solution. It was a complete deadlock. The only hope to break it was this sketch.

This time, he had to rely on his 2023 self to save his 2624 self!

…

Lin Xian took a deep breath and blew the eraser shavings off the sketch. The sun had risen outside. After an all-nighter, the sketch was finally complete. He propped up the paper, looking at the old man with puffy eyes, sparse eyebrows, sunken cheeks, and long, narrow eyes smiling excitedly. Indeed, a bit creepy.

“It’s really good,” VV’s voice came from the laptop next to him, seeing the sketch through the laptop camera. “You have a real talent for drawing, Lin Xian. This sketch is just like a photo.”

“Can you use this sketch for facial recognition?” Lin Xian looked at the laptop. “Try to find a match from your collected data.”

“Especially pay attention to generating AI models of his face from infancy to old age, as detailed as possible for each year, and compare them all.”

“I don’t know his age in 2023, so check from birth to old age, don’t miss any,” Lin Xian instructed.

“Understood,” VV’s voice sounded distant like it was leaving. “It might take some time. You should sleep. I’ll use the domestic supercomputer and SkyNet system.”

Then, the laptop screen turned off.

Lin Xian yawned, raised the air conditioner temperature, and went to sleep.

…

Near noon, Lin Xian woke up. The robot vacuum VV turned left and right to imitate a head. “Lin Xian, I’ve compared all the data I could collect domestically and found no matches for the old man.”

“Although it’s possible the old man hasn’t been born yet in 2023, it’s too early to conclude. I don’t have enough foreign data. We should head to America soon. Most of the world’s root servers are there, making it easier to collect global facial recognition data.”

Lin Xian nodded without saying much. He didn’t have high hopes of finding the old man’s identity so easily. But the complete lack of clues indicated that this old man was either not a famous person in 2023 or had protected his information so well that everything had been erased from the internet.

From this perspective, Lin Xian suspected more and more that the mysterious old man from 600 years later was likely the genius hacker Kevin Walker in 2023. He had three reasons:

1. Identity, Dream Secrets, and Data Collection Ability: The old man had strong data collection abilities and was very smart. Kevin Walker, recognized by VV as a genius hacker and the strongest on earth, had the necessary intelligence.

2. Kevin Walker’s Target: Kevin Walker’s target was X Country’s SkyNet system. If Lin Xian and VV didn’t intervene, this system monitoring billions of lives could become Walker’s playground. Although he wouldn’t go too far openly, his high skills would allow him to monitor any X Country citizen and gather personal privacy without detection.

3. No Online Photos: A person leaves various photos throughout their life. Finding no pictures online only matched two people Lin Xian knew: Kevin Walker in 2023 and Zhao Ying Jun in the third dream of 2624. Zhao Ying Jun could delete all her old photos with VV’s help, the super AI. Who in 2023 had such capabilities? Only the strongest hacker on earth, Kevin Walker.

Therefore, Lin Xian deduced that if the mysterious old man was born in 2023, he was likely Kevin Walker. Specific conclusions needed VV to collect global facial recognition data in America.

“I see,” Lin Xian said, getting out of bed, putting on slippers, and opening the curtains.

Whoosh—

The curtains parted, and bright sunlight streamed in, creating a Tyndall effect in the air, making the light tangible in the dust particles. Lin Xian squinted at the midday sun. “We’re going to America!”

He picked up his phone and dialed X Country Academy of Sciences Director, Gao Yan. In the Donghai, Chu Shan He was the go-to person, a local who knew the place best. But at the national level, President Gao Yan had more influence.

Soon, the call connected. President Gao Yan’s voice was cheerful. “Lin Xian, back in the Donghai already? Have you rested well?”

After some polite exchanges, Lin Xian got to the point. “Director Gao, I need your help with an introduction…”

“Do you know anyone at the National Security Agency?”