Genius Club-Chapter 1201 - 47 The Ninth Dreamland_3

Other than the fact that he never got the chance to explore the Fourth Dreamland...

Big Face Cat has never missed out on a single dreamland!

In The First Dreamland, he was on the square planning a bank robbery;

In The Second Dreamland, he was in Old East Sea collecting property fees;

In The Third Dreamland, he parachuted from a high altitude into Sky City;

In The Fifth Dreamland, he ruled Lian Village as its chief;

In The Sixth Dreamland, he and Gao Wen were digging soil at the excavation site;

In The Seventh Dreamland, as the prince of the village, he assisted the blue-eyed village chief;

In The Eighth Dreamland, he was the gang leader of Lian Gang in the City of Sin.

No matter the dreamland.

Big Face Cat would always wander around his birth point, making it easy to find him.

But now.

Looking across the entirety of the ten-kilometer radius, it was flat and barren, without any signs of towns or villages. Big Face Cat couldn’t possibly be living underground, could he?

"I have to find a way to explore further beyond."

So.

A transportation tool was necessary.

Lin Xian began wandering through the city ruins.

The place seemed to have endured earthquakes, tsunamis, or some massive natural catastrophes—or perhaps some annihilating wars.

Otherwise, it would be almost impossible to truly level a city made of reinforced concrete.

As the scope of exploration expanded.

Lin Xian started discovering more.

Among the ruins of various buildings, he encountered plenty of wild animals—rabbits, wild cats, stray dogs, and rats appeared frequently...

The abundance of wildlife indirectly confirmed the lack of human activity in this vast area.

Aside from that, he also found traces of past human existence.

Rusty soda bottle caps;

Decayed plastic toys;

Brittle, cracked rubber tires;

And...

Half of a stainless steel plate.

It turned out that, in the face of time and the years, stainless steel was the true champion.

When Lin Xian dug it out from the soil.

The upper half was already covered in rust, but the lower half was relatively intact—hence, "half."

"These things don’t hold any significance."

That day’s dreamland exploration ended with almost no gains.

The next day at noon, Lin Xian fell asleep on time to continue searching for clues.

The third day,

The fourth day,

...

Gradually, Lin Xian really started to uncover some treasures.

He took back what he’d said days earlier:

"Stainless steel isn’t the champion; Hafnium Alloy is!"

In a specific area, through digging, he unearthed several silver-glinting Miniature Nuclear Batteries in a shallow soil layer!

These batteries had hafnium alloy shells—stable and durable, hailed as "doomsday artifacts."

Using the production dates engraved on these battery shells, Lin Xian pieced together a rough timeline for the apocalypse.

The manufacturing dates of the batteries were 2401, 2533, 2574, and 2598.

These timestamps revealed many things.

First and foremost, the fact that Miniature Nuclear Batteries were still being stably produced in 2401 indicated—

[The Super Disaster of 2400 likely didn’t happen.]

"Good news."

Lin Xian nodded:

"This can be considered the sole piece of good news amidst countless bad ones."

"But the bad news is... Disasters seem only to be delayed, never absent. Sometime after 2598, a catastrophe—possibly more devastating—still occurred."

Since Miniature Nuclear Batteries were found in this shallow soil layer.

Then theoretically, more valuable items could also be uncovered.

Over the next half month, whenever Lin Xian entered a dream, he would rush to this area to dig using makeshift tools.

It truly felt like a post-apocalyptic archaeological endeavor.

Most of the items he unearthed were worthless, either decayed or rusted. Moreover, his limited tools didn’t allow for deeper excavation.

Thanks to unearthing more Miniature Nuclear Batteries, Lin Xian collected additional production dates—he even dug up batteries manufactured in 2599.

But.

The most recent production date he found, 2599, did not lead to discoveries of any items made after 2600.

"So..."

Lin Xian squinted:

"Is it safe to conclude—"

"The apocalypse occurred in 2600?"

Logically speaking.

2600 is only 24 years before 2624.

In the case of standard natural disasters or wars, it shouldn’t have turned the city remains into such utter desolation.

Which meant.

[The Super Disaster of 2600 must have been human-caused, and its level of destruction to civilization and urban landscapes far surpassed the Super Disaster of 2400 from earlier dreamlands!]

"Was it Galileo again?"

Lin Xian furrowed his brow:

"Or... someone else?"

No clues.

No intel.

Lin Xian could only keep searching the ruined city.

Effort bore fruit for the patient.

He finally unearthed a Miniature Nuclear Battery-powered motorcycle in a lucky, hidden corner.

What incredible fortune.

This motorcycle was manufactured in 2597, only 17 years ago, and astonishingly, it was still operational!

No doubt about it.

Future technology had undoubtedly improved product quality.

Yet Lin Xian was puzzled...

"Back in The Second Dreamland, people had already developed Flying Motorcycles—why, here in The Ninth Dreamland, were humans still using ground motorcycles as late as 2597?"

"Does this mean that by the time of the Super Disaster in 2600, humanity’s technological advancements had stagnated?"

At this realization.

Lin Xian couldn’t help but wonder.

[Why is human technology seemingly incapable of achieving its expected leaps forward?]

And as for The Future World.

Who was truly guiding its course?

After starting the motorcycle, Lin Xian was desperate to find a local to interrogate, even more eager to locate the stable Big Face Cat crew stronger than the Millennium Stakes.

However.

Throughout October, spanning an entire month of exploration.

Riding the motorcycle across a radius of several hundred kilometers, he still hadn’t encountered a single living soul, nor found any traces of human habitation.

That day, he rode full throttle for ten consecutive hours, covering at least 1000 kilometers of extreme distance...

Still.

No results.

Clatter.

Lin Xian released the motorcycle, letting it fall to the ground.

Standing amidst the vast, desolate land, at the brink of nightfall at 00:42 AM, an eerie chill crept up his spine.

Unrealistic.

And unreal.

If humans genuinely still existed in this world, it was impossible for him not to find even a hint of them over such a massive area.

"Could it be this time..."

Lin Xian tilted his head back.

Gazing at the unchanging starlit sky:

"Has human civilization fallen completely to ruin?"