Drip, drip, drip...

Lin Xian's nose bled non-stop, and the whites of his eyes were gradually dyed red by bursting capillaries.

But it didn't matter.

His brain, operating at supersonic speed like a fully revved engine, couldn't spare a thought for these minor ruptures and breakages.

Through the images received by the retina, the hexadecimal characters on the electronic blackboard, resembling jumbled code, were deeply imprinted in Lin Xian's brain like ancient rubbings.

"Next page."

Lin Xian could feel that his brain, stimulated by a lethal dose of drugs, was burning out, but his thoughts remained clear.

The time allotted for voice recognition was only 0.2 seconds, so the number of characters wasn't too large—only six pages on the electronic blackboard.

He was currently memorizing the third page… nearly reaching the limit of his memory.

This method of forcing a breakthrough by overdosing on drugs to temporarily boost instantaneous memory certainly wasn't as effective as small, continuous injections during the golden age of brain development, infancy. That would undoubtedly result in better absorption, more thorough development of the brain's potential, and be safer.

As VV had said earlier, three-year-olds in Sky City could easily recite 1,000 lines of code, but for Lin Xian, who was forcibly boosting his potential… three pages of illogical characters on the electronic blackboard were already his limit. Any more, and he wouldn't be able to remember, and things would get jumbled.

However, this was enough.

"VV, flip back to the first page. I need to double-check."

Today was only the first day of reciting the code, and Lin Xian didn't plan to be greedy.

These 130,000 lines of code were the quintessence of human wisdom, compressed and refined to the extreme.

Beautiful as poetry.

If he mistook even a single number or letter, it would inevitably lead to a non-functioning bug, so accuracy was more important than speed.

VV flipped the jumbled code on the electronic blackboard back to the first page, and Lin Xian recited it from beginning to end again, comparing it to his memory…

No mistakes.

This lethal dose of medication, burning life to unleash the potential of memory, was truly powerful.

Lin Xian had never felt his mind so clear and lucid, as if a windshield wiper had suddenly cleaned the car window, or a glasses cloth had wiped away the fog on his glasses—clear! Lucid! His brain's memory was as easy to access as a computer hard drive!

"Lin Xian! Are… are you alright?"

Suddenly.

Everything went black before his eyes, as if the power had been pulled. Lin Xian felt himself losing his balance, his entire body uncontrollably toppling to the side.

The last sound he heard…

Was the cry of the trash can robot.

Thud.

…

…

…

Whoosh!

In the corner of his bedroom, Lin Xian suddenly sprang up from the bed, opening his eyes.

"I'm fine. Nothing wrong with my head. The alcohol's mostly metabolized."

He smiled slightly.

The plan, a success.

Everything had gone as he'd predicted.

The damage to his brain from the drug overdose hadn't been brought back to reality at all. All the side effects were gone.

But!

The memories already recorded in his mind had been brought back completely, without a single error!

He immediately threw back the thin blanket and rushed to the desk in his bedroom.

A newly purchased laptop was already set up there, screen lit and in standby mode.

The computer wasn't connected to the internet. For safety, Lin Xian had previously used a screwdriver to open the back cover and remove the wireless network card and Bluetooth module.

After settling in,

Lin Xian's hands rapidly tapped on the keyboard, inputting all three pages of hexadecimal characters he had just memorized into a document.

Tap-tap-tap-tap…

He focused single-mindedly, typing quickly.

It took about 20 minutes to type it all out completely and accurately.

"Perfect."

Lin Xian pressed the last enter key and couldn't help but laugh.

What an exhilarating battle.

Because of his sudden inspiration, he had directly increased the efficiency of copying code many times over.

He stretched and finally allowed himself to waste time taking a sip of water.

Then, he randomly picked up a book from the desk and tried to memorize a passage.

After closing his eyes…

"No, I can't remember. It seems the drug's effects, like the side effects, can't be brought back to the real world."

After this verification,

Lin Xian was even more certain that the only things that could be brought from the real world to the dream world, and from the dream world back to reality, were memories.

No side effects were to be feared, even if they were lethal. If he died, he died. He would still be safe and sound after waking up in reality.

He made a simple estimate.

The 130,000 lines of code that VV had given him would originally have taken one or two years to fully memorize and copy into reality.

But thanks to the drug-induced breakthrough method he had discovered,

It might now only take half a year, or even a few months, to transport VV, this super artificial intelligence, to the real world and activate it.

"How exciting…"

Although a few months was still a long time, it wasn't an unbearable wait.

Lin Xian picked up the laptop, admiring the three pages of hexadecimal code he had just typed, feeling truly accomplished.

He never imagined that he would one day be able to experience the exhilaration of photographic memory.

In fact, even in the real world,

The skill of "photographic memory" truly existed.

Back when he was watching the variety show *The Brain*, Lin Xian had witnessed the power of human potential and the developability of the human brain.

The contestants in *The Brain* were all more abnormal than the last. Skills like photographic memory were merely a stepping stone to participate in the show, and didn't even count as a skill worth mentioning.

Out of curiosity, Lin Xian had also looked up some related information back then.

He learned that

"Photographic memory," from the perspective of brain medicine, was actually a brain disorder called Hyperthymesia (Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory). In simple terms, it was also called HSAM.

HSAM clinically manifests as the brain's ability to automatically remember everything it hears, sees, and feels. People with HSAM have no ability to forget. They can remember everything they have personally experienced clearly, down to every detail.

Good memories and learned knowledge were certainly clearer the better, but the downside of not being able to forget was… painful and sad memories also wouldn't be forgotten.

These painful memories would also constantly repeat in the brain, tormenting their minds over and over again.

So,

For ordinary people, the brain's forgetting mechanism was precisely a protective mechanism. It allowed you to forget those pains, allowing you to move on and face a brand-new life.

People often say, "A light boat has passed ten thousand mountains," and that's the principle.

If a person couldn't forget any of their memories, how would they overcome those ten thousand mountains?

Lin Xian believed

That he was likely in a state of hyperthymesia in the dream due to the stimulation of an overdose of drugs, and thus temporarily possessed the ability to have photographic memory.

But the price was also high. This state couldn't last for more than twenty or thirty minutes before brain death occurred.

But Lin Xian was also very satisfied.

"Time for bed. Let's fight again tomorrow."

He got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face.

Dried it.

Looking up and seeing himself also wiping his face in the mirror,

He couldn't help but think of what Huang Que had said…

"Look in the mirror more often, Lin Xian."

"In the mirror… there's something you want."

He frowned slightly.

The Lin Xian in the mirror also frowned.

Currently,

The riddle Zhao Yingjun had left him had been solved. Not only did he learn about her life history and obtain some useful information, but he also found a way to bring the super artificial intelligence VV back to 2023.

But the mirror riddle left by Huang Que was still confusing, with not a single clue to be found.

Sigh…

Honestly,

He could understand why Zhao Yingjun left him a riddle.

After all, she was alone in her world, with no companions, and with the Genius Club secretly controlling and monitoring her. For her safety, to avoid being discovered by the enemy, she only had one path to take: becoming a riddler and letting him guess her riddles.

Only by deceiving him could she deceive the Genius Club.

But at least Zhao Yingjun had left many hints in many places, so the riddle wasn't that difficult to guess.

But looking back at Huang Que,

The clues he had given him were really too few.

Lin Xian carried a chair from the living room, placed it in front of the bathroom sink, sat down, and stared at himself staring back at him in the mirror.

He stared at himself without blinking.

Was it possible…

That the mirror Huang Que was talking about didn't refer to a literal glass mirror?

But was a metaphor?

Or was it simply a hint itself?

If considered from this angle, a mirror could represent many things.

Symmetry, self, left and right reversed, light reflection, equal distance, infinite space with two mirrors facing each other…

And so on and so on. There were too many things to think of.

Moreover, besides the hint of the mirror, Lin Xian didn't understand what Huang Que meant by something he wanted.

There were too many things he wanted.

But to say what he currently wanted most…

It was definitely an invitation to the Genius Club.

Now that the Seven Deadly Sins were taken care of, he was temporarily out of danger, but he had also temporarily lost the clues to continue delving into this mysterious organization.

If he could get an invitation to the Genius Club, that would be great.

Infiltrating the enemy would be better than anything.

Lin Xian changed his posture, crossed his legs, and looked at himself in the mirror, who also crossed his legs.

He had made a lot of progress now compared to half a year ago. Not only was his thinking clearer, but he also had his own plans, and his strength was gradually growing.

On Liu Feng's side, the cosmic constant 42 was being diligently researched;

On the Rhein Corporation's side, various businesses and revenues were booming;

On Huang Que's side, he was also doing his best to provide him with help, saying they would be waiting for him at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center when they were needed;

On his own side, he was also trying to bring the super artificial intelligence VV from the dream world back to reality as soon as possible;

Once these multiple parallel paths could achieve results…

Then he, in 2023, would gain unimaginable power, and perhaps would wage war against the Genius Club in this old space-time 600 years ago!

"Intuitively, I still feel that Huang Que's mirror riddle is related to the cosmic constant 42 that Liu Feng is researching. Otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared in Liu Feng's laboratory for no reason… just like he had appeared in the hospital where Zheng Chengha and Zheng Xiangyue were before."

"That's right!"

Lin Xian suddenly clapped his thigh, and the Lin Xian in the mirror also realized the truth with him:

"Wouldn't it be better to ask VV for its opinion in the dream tomorrow?"

The Lin Xian in the mirror smiled like him.

Although he often complained that VV was an artificial idiot, it was undeniable that it was indeed a super artificial intelligence created by a group of humanity's greatest scientists over a century. It was the smartest being in this world.

Asking it might yield a different answer.

…

The next day.

Dream world.

Rhein Memorial Square, in front of Zhao Yingjun's statue.

"VV, before memorizing the code, I'll ask you a question first."

Lin Xian looked at the trash can robot in front of him:

"If we assume a woman who is a time traveler from the future, she knows a lot of history and things that haven't happened yet, and also knows a lot of truths, but due to certain space-time laws, she can't say these things directly and can only use the form of guessing, hints, and being a riddler to imply these things to me."

"And let's add a few more conditions. Assume that she has a good relationship with me and there's no possibility of her deceiving or misleading me. She's also a member of a very mysterious and powerful organization in this world that has been hidden in the long river of history for more than 600 years, and has also proposed a theory that other space-time coordinate points can be found in this space-time, which is likely related to aerospace, rockets, and satellites."

"In short, under this premise, she gave me a hint, saying that I should look in the mirror more often, saying that there's something I want in the mirror… That's the question. Please use your wisdom to help me analyze what she's trying to express. What's the answer to this riddle?"

The trash can robot VV nodded, lowered its head, and began to think.

At that moment…

It seemed that all the lights and neon lights in Rhein Sky City had dimmed a few degrees. This greatest super artificial intelligence in human history seemed to be taking it seriously.

On the high platform, under the statue, everything was silent in an instant.

Lin Xian was a little surprised.

In the past, no matter what questions he asked VV, VV answered them quickly, with no thinking time at all.

But this time, VV had been silent for so long!

And hadn't said a word yet!

Could it have crashed?

This…

This inexplicable atmosphere made Lin Xian a little apprehensive, and he gradually held his breath.

This scene

Was just like in the science fiction movie *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*, where countless advanced civilizations gathered in front of a supercomputer as huge as a mountain, waiting for the ultimate answer to the universe, life, and all things…

Finally,

The trash can robot VV was silent for a full four or five minutes.

The light supply in Rhein Sky City returned to its normal brightness, and the trash can robot slowly raised its head.

Its eyes flickered with green light, looking at Lin Xian:

"I believe… it's just a literal meaning. She wants you to look in the mirror more often."

"…"

At that moment, Lin Xian really wanted to kick the old trash can off the platform in front of him.

He began to suspect

That he had misunderstood Zhao Yingjun's meaning and mistaken the gift she had left him?

What was the point of bringing back this idiotic robot from 600 years ago?

It was inferior to a Tmall Genie.

"You're kidding me."

Lin Xian chuckled and waved his hand dismissively:

"Do you think I haven't looked in the mirror? What day don't I look in the mirror?"

"But, Lin Xian,"

The trash can robot VV stared at Lin Xian without blinking, the green light in its eyes as bright as ever:

"Is the time you spend looking in the mirror…"

"Long enough?"