Chapter 1 Brooklyn

Brooklyn, at the front desk of a high-end hotel, Xiao Xiaoji Xinshui stood on tiptoe, clutching the counter with a worried expression, looking at the receptionist inside:

"Excuse me, has Mr. Douglas still not returned since yesterday?"

The receptionist nodded:

"We are also very worried about Mr. Douglas. We don't know what happened to him… It has been half a month since he left in a taxi that day, and he has not returned."

Mr. Douglas is very generous. He prepaid for many days of accommodation, so even though the cash payment has long expired, we are still keeping the room for him, waiting for his return. We are also very distressed about the current situation and don't know if we should report it to the police.

But then again, what if Mr. Douglas really has some urgent business to deal with? Let's just keep things as they are and not add to his troubles.

Ji Xinshui sighed, stepped down from the counter, walked out of the hotel lobby, and returned to the street.

That day, after Mr. Douglas taught him to study hard and serve the motherland, he went to the church every day to pray sincerely, hoping that God would give him this opportunity.

Whether it was truly God's blessing or Mr. Douglas's guidance, the priest of the church, after learning about Ji Xinshui's situation, gladly offered to help him: "We have many believers here who are willing to sponsor you. Many kind and loving friends have told me that they want to donate to help poor children who want to go to school."

"It just so happens that I have a friend in New Jersey who is the principal of a charity school. If you are willing, I can introduce you there."

"You don't have to worry about tuition and living expenses. Those kind and loving believers are very willing to provide you with financial assistance."

"Moreover, there are many work opportunities specifically for students in the charity school, such as cleaning or working in the cafeteria, which is enough for you to support yourself."

"So, child, if you sincerely want to study hard and return to build your backward motherland, I suggest you go to this charity school." Ji Xinshui was of course very grateful to hear this and immediately agreed. A few days later, the priest brought him good news: "Everything is going smoothly. I have arranged everything for you, including the ride to New Jersey."

"You will depart from here on Thursday morning. A kind believer will take you to that charity school, where you can study in peace." "Great!"

In little Ji Xinshui's eyes, a great light burned, as if he saw the scene of his successful return, serving the motherland, and being appreciated by Mr. Douglas with a smile.

"Thank you, Father. Thank you so much."

The priest waved his hand solemnly, leading Ji Xinshui to turn around and face the statue of Jesus on the church wall. "We should thank the merciful Lord." He and Ji Xinshui recited the Bible together, his fingers touching his chest.

"Amen. Amen." Ji Xinshui also closed his eyes, "Amen." At this moment, he was more devout than anyone else.

But to be honest, he wasn't that devout, because at this moment, in his heart, more than thanking Jesus and the priest, he was more grateful to Mr. Douglas, who had saved him, given him direction in life, and rekindled his hope for life.

"Mr. Douglas." Ji Xinshui opened his eyes. He had to tell him the good news as soon as possible. "He will be happy for me when I get the opportunity to go to school."

Immediately, little Ji Xinshui ran off, heading to the hotel where he had waited for Mr. Douglas for several days and nights. He couldn't wait to share the good news with his benefactor.

However, he curled up at the entrance of the hotel, waiting for a long, long time, but did not see Mr. Douglas's figure.

"Perhaps Mr. Douglas is very busy." Ji Xinshui wrapped his clothes tightly in the cold wind. "I'll wait a few more days. Anyway, the believer's ride to New Jersey won't leave until Thursday." But every day of hopeful waiting ultimately ended in disappointment.

Ji Xinshui couldn't bear it any longer and mustered up the courage to inquire at the front desk, but received unsettling news.

Mr. Douglas had been missing for half a month. After their last conversation in front of the hotel that day, Mr. Douglas had never returned.

"No way?" Little Ji Xinshui's heart raced. He clutched his head, his face pale. "Could something really have happened to Mr. Douglas?"

He quickly shook his head, shaking off the ominous thought. "Nothing will happen."

"Such a good person like Mr. Douglas will definitely be fine."

"But I still really want to tell Mr. Douglas the good news."

After walking out of the hotel, Ji Xinshui sighed helplessly. Suddenly, he saw a familiar face in a taxi waiting by the side of the road: the bearded driver. He had a very deep impression of this driver.

The last time Mr. Douglas left from here, he took this bearded driver's taxi. "Perhaps this driver knows some clues." Ji Xinshui quickly ran over and leaned on the car window.

"Hello, sir. Do you remember a tall mixed-race man with blue eyes who got in your car about half a month ago? He was wearing a black coat, a black top hat, and looked like a mix of European and Asian."

"He got in your taxi around noon that day." Unexpectedly, the bearded driver nodded without hesitation.

"Of course I remember him!" He grabbed his unshaven beard. "That gentleman was so generous, he gave me $100 as a tip."

"I usually wouldn't even dream of such an absurd thing. Otherwise, why do you think I'm waiting for customers in front of this hotel every day? I also hope to meet him again, or other generous gentlemen. Surely everyone who stays in this hotel is a wealthy person."

"Great, there's hope." Since this driver had a deep impression of what happened that day, it would be much easier. Ji Xinshui truthfully expressed his intention.

One was to thank Mr. Douglas, and the other was to worry about Mr. Douglas's safety. When the bearded driver heard this, he was also concerned about this great person, so he told him that he dropped him off that day…

"It was in the western suburbs of Brooklyn, a very remote farm. You can see it if you follow the road out of the city. It's quite far, and there are no other buildings around, so you can't miss it."

"Thank you." Little Ji Xinshui thanked him politely, then tightened his shoelaces and ran towards the west. He did have more than $1,000 on him, enough to take a taxi, but it was given to him by Mr. Douglas. How could he be willing to spend it? It must be used for something more meaningful and valuable.

"So, I'll run to that farm." The farm was really far away. Ji Xinshui was panting, and finally ran to the place late at night, his throat burning with fire. But he didn't care about resting, and looked up at the farm.

"Mr. Douglas!" He shouted excitedly, because he saw a figure wearing a black coat, a black top hat, and sunglasses sitting by the fence, looking at the moon. "That's Mr. Douglas's clothes, including the sunglasses. I won't be wrong."

"Mr. Douglas!" Little Ji Xinshui smiled happily, the big stone in his heart finally falling to the ground, and excitedly rushed over. But after running in, he realized that this figure in the same outfit was not Douglas, but an elderly man with white hair showing under his hat.

He tilted his head and carefully looked at the lower half of his face under the sunglasses. "Einstein! This is actually the famous great scientist Mr. Einstein that I've seen on TV, in newspapers, and in the news."

Ji Xinshui was stunned. "Mr. Einstein, why are you wearing Mr. Douglas's clothes?" Einstein slowly turned around, looking at the little child through his sunglasses. "You know Douglas?"

He was very curious. Through the temporal timeline in his mind, he couldn't see any interaction between this child named Ji Xinshui and Douglas. After all, he could only see the future after November 5th. That is to say…

The interaction between this child and Douglas happened before November 5th, which was the past he never knew and couldn't know.

Einstein wanted to know everything about Douglas and continued to ask, "Child, can you tell me about you and Douglas?"

To this great man, Ji Xinshui lowered his guard and told everything. "That night, the kind Mr. Douglas saved me. He advised me to study hard, and then return to Dragon Country to bring the knowledge back to build the backward motherland."

Einstein nodded, listening silently. "I see," he muttered softly. "Motherland… that's how Douglas refers to the motherland."

"Ah, that means although biologically he is mixed-race, in reality he is a true Dragon Countryman. It can be seen that he loves Dragon Country very much, and even hopes that you can study hard and return to your country in the future." Seeing Einstein's reluctant and regretful expression, Ji Xinshui's forehead was covered with cold sweat, and he felt a very bad premonition.

"Mr. Einstein, can you tell me where Mr. Douglas is now?"

"He won't… won't…" Little Ji Xinshui pursed his lips, not daring to say it. "He left."

Einstein lowered his head. "He left this world." *Boom!* It was like a thunderbolt to Ji Xinshui, who took a step back and fell to the ground with a thud. "Left this world?"

"Died… Mr. Douglas passed away?" His eyes were wet, and his voice trembled. "Will we… will we never see Mr. Douglas again?"

He desperately hoped that the great Einstein could deny this answer, but the other party nodded heavily and said nothing. Little Ji Xinshui covered his face, unable to accept the result.

He gritted his teeth and ran out of the farm, crying out Douglas's name as he ran. "He was fine half a month ago. How could he just pass away?"

"Did he die from an unexpected illness, or was there another reason?" He didn't want to hear any more bad news. This was the heaviest blow to him since the death of his parents.

Douglas was his savior, his mentor, his guiding big brother who gave him hope and dreams. "I haven't made you proud yet."

Little Ji Xinshui was too tired to run, so he wiped his eyes with his sleeve, feeling grief rising from his heart. He looked around. It was a small forest with a nice scenery, away from the city. He walked in, panting, used a branch to dig a pit, and then buried all the dozen or so hundred-dollar bills that Douglas had given him, a huge sum of money that he hadn't been willing to spend, and filled it with soil. This was the only item Douglas had left him.

"Now I'll bury it as a tomb for Mr. Douglas." Then he picked up two hard, straight branches, tied them into a cross, and inserted them into the grave. He took two steps back, knelt on the ground, and bowed deeply to Douglas's grave. "I won't let you down."

He said firmly, "I will definitely follow your teachings, become successful in my studies, return to the motherland, and build my hometown." He kowtowed a few more times, then little Ji Xinshui stood up, looking at the cross standing in the night sky.

"Mr. Douglas, I'm going to the charity school in New Jersey this Thursday to start my academic career."

"But I will come to see you often. No matter how busy I am in the future, no matter how important things are, I will come to Brooklyn every winter to visit you and sweep your grave."

In the dilapidated farm not far away, Einstein, who had been sitting for more than ten days without eating, drinking, or sleeping, finally stood up from his chair, still not sleepy or hungry. He had completely verified that while gaining the ability to see the future, he had also gained immortality. He didn't know how to specifically describe this, but it was as if time had stopped on him, fixed on a certain day, a certain moment, no longer changing. "Am I alive or dead?"

Einstein couldn't figure it out, but it wasn't a very important matter.

After listening to the little child named Ji Xinshui tell about Douglas's past, Einstein felt much better. It seemed that Douglas was also full of hope and confidence in the future of mankind, otherwise he wouldn't have said those words to this child.

This showed that Douglas believed that human civilization had a future, and that it depended on human effort. "Perhaps Douglas is also using his own way to save the world and save the future, so I can't stop either."

"First, the first step is that I must find a way to prevent the 1991 apocalypse." No matter how great the calamity mankind will encounter in the future, they must safely overcome the 1991 hurdle first, so that history can continue to move forward.

He walked into the farm warehouse, entered the simple elevator, pressed the switch to descend, but "Saving the future of mankind is a major event, and I can't do it alone."

In the sound of the steel cables rubbing, Einstein muttered to himself, "The power of one person is ultimately weak. I need more people to join us, more geniuses who, like Douglas and like us, have lofty aspirations and a sense of mission."

Einstein narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp. "Saving and protecting the future of mankind requires gathering more geniuses."

Arriving at the brightly lit underground shelter, Einstein picked up the phone and dialed his friend Henry Dawson's number. "Dawson."

"Haven't you always wanted to paint an oil portrait of me? I agree."

"Oh my God!" A burst of laughter came from the other end of the phone. "That's great, brother!"

"I've finally figured it out, but there are some additional requirements." Einstein interrupted him, and told him the plan he had just thought of, "The same portrait must be painted eight times, and each one must use oil paint levels to hide different codes and puzzles, etc., etc."

Henry Dawson on the other end of the phone was furious. "You're going too far! Even if you're Einstein, your request is too much!"

"This is my artwork, not your laboratory, not your scratch paper. Why do you have to hide math problems in my paintings? That's the subject I hate the most. I don't agree, I absolutely don't agree!"

"Okay, then?" Einstein prepared to hang up the phone. "Perhaps there are other oil painters in the US." "Don't, don't, don't!" Henry Dawson panicked. He couldn't let someone else get this opportunity to make history. "Oh, well, this can all be discussed."

"Where are you now?" "A farm in Brooklyn," Einstein said. "Okay."

"Just wait there. I'll bring my tools and rush over now, so you don't go back on your word in a few days."

After hanging up the phone, Einstein sat at the desk in the shelter and began to think about forming an organization. "The charter, form, assessment, meeting time, and meeting place can all be improved later. First, it is inevitable that we need to clarify the organization's name and logo."

In an instant, Einstein recalled the moment Douglas left, that right hand raised high, pointing straight to the sky. The shadow of this gesture reflected on the full moon in the night sky had a great impact on Einstein, and he couldn't forget it for a long time. "Perhaps this logo is the best."

Einstein nodded. "Very likely, this is the signal code that Douglas left him." He picked up a pencil and drew a draft on the paper. "First, a circle, and then a right hand inside the circle with the index finger pointing to the sky." Einstein frowned, feeling like something was missing. "From a design point of view, it's a bit too monotonous."

Suddenly, he had an inspiration, picked up the pencil, and *swish swish swish*, wrote two words inside the circle: nicb.