Genius Club

Chapter 545: Memories

The bearded man lowered his gaze to the tightly interlocked little hands and smiled faintly:

“If you really want me to live at your house, befriend your father, then you’ll have to call me uncle.”

“Uncle? Sure, why not!”

CC withdrew her pinky and laughed cheerfully:

“You’ve helped me so much, even saving my whole family. I could even call you Dad!”

“No, no, no.”

The man immediately waved his hands in a panic, as if startled by the suggestion:

“That’s completely inappropriate...”

“It’s Godfather, silly. There’s nothing inappropriate about that!” CC switched smoothly to English.

In Brooklyn, it was entirely common for children to have a Godfather—a respected and capable figure. Almost every child had one. She couldn’t understand why VV was so startled by her suggestion.

Truthfully, VV himself didn’t fully understand his reaction either. It just felt... inappropriate.

“Alright, alright, let’s head back to the research institute and get some sleep,” the bearded man said, rising to his feet and putting an end to the abrupt conversation. “We’ve got to fight the Bad Guy Tribe tomorrow, so we need to rest well tonight.”

“Mhm, mhm.”

Finally, the day had come. CC clenched her fists, her confidence unwavering. She also stood up from the rooftop, dusting off her clothes before climbing down the pipes toward the first floor.

The man followed CC to the edge of the building. Before descending, he raised his head one last time to look at the stars.

Brilliant, luminous, expansive, eternal.

The sky resembled a fine veil draped across the heavens, or snowflakes frozen in time.

“Huh?”

The man blinked, noticing something unusual.

Amidst the vast expanse of the galaxy, there was a flickering red and blue light, darting rapidly through the sky.

The red and blue lights blinked rhythmically, most likely the warning signals of some sort of flying object.

“An airplane?” he mused, recalling something CC had mentioned about how planes occasionally flew over Brooklyn. This had to be one of them.

The aircraft wasn’t flying very high and seemed to be descending further, perhaps searching for something.

Shaking his head, the man decided not to dwell on it and followed the passageway down to the first floor of the research institute.

...

That night, there was no roughing it in the wild. The man slept soundly through the night without waking once.

He remembered clearly, though—he still hadn’t dreamed. It wasn’t a big deal; he was used to it. No dreams meant better sleep quality, which was something he appreciated. ꭆaƝoꞖĘș

The next morning, after waking up, the man and CC enjoyed another meal of canned food. They packed their supplies, carrying water and food, grabbed their weapons and ammunition, and retraced their steps through the concealed passage. They returned to the spot where the “sensible steed” was tied up.

True to its reputation, the steed stayed obediently within the radius of its tether, grazing on the grass without showing any sign of attempting to escape.

As soon as the bearded man and the little girl emerged, the horse immediately straightened up, lifting its head and standing to attention.

“You’re such a good boy, Bruce,” CC said, approaching to pat the horse on its head.

The man froze.

“What did you call it? How do you know its name is Bruce?” he asked.

“It’s written here,” CC replied, leaping up to grab the saddle on the horse’s back. She pointed to the front section for the man to see.

Sure enough, on the metal at the very front, the word “Bruce” was crudely carved with a knife. That seemed to be the horse’s name.

Since the man didn’t know how to ride, he’d always sat in the rear seat behind CC, never noticing this small detail.

“Well, Bruce it is,” the man said, smoothing the horse’s coat with his automatic rifle. “Take us to where you came from—straight to the Bad Guy Tribe.”

“Neigh!” The sensible steed responded energetically.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—the sound of hooves echoed through the jungle.

As usual, CC sat in front, holding the reins. The bearded man sat behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

It wasn’t a comfortable position—his arms quickly grew sore. But there was no other option; CC was too small, and he was too tall to hold onto her waist. This awkward setup was the only way he could keep steady.

“Ask Bruce how much farther we’ve got to go,” the man said impatiently.

CC, tense and sweating, burst into laughter. Her ponytail bobbed wildly with the rhythm of the horse’s movements as she turned to look back at him.

“What are you thinking, VV? It’s just a horse! How could it possibly know? You’re giving it way too much credit!” she said, her tone teasing.

“And I think it’s already pretty clever,” the man shot back. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it were practically a genius.”

“Neigh...” Bruce let out a low growl, then gradually slowed down, raising its head to gaze at the sky.

Both the man and CC followed the horse’s gaze upward.

Sure enough...

About a kilometer away, faint wisps of smoke drifted skyward.

There was no doubt—a settlement was ahead, with someone lighting fires.

The horse, with its keener sense of smell, had likely detected the scent in the air and stopped early to avoid alerting the enemy.

What a thoughtful move.

Both the man and CC were impressed by Bruce’s sharp instincts. It was indeed a remarkable horse, worthy of the chaotic times.

“We’ll walk the rest of the way from here,” the man said as he dismounted. He turned to help CC down, then began distributing weapons and ammunition.

“These magazines are fully loaded. Strap them to your waist. Take this handgun too,” he said, placing four magazines and a box of bullets into a cloth pouch before handing it to CC. He then passed her a black handgun.

“If something unexpected happens, and you run out of bullets, retreat. Fall back to a safe spot—behind me, if possible. Or just run. Once we’ve reloaded, we’ll come back and finish the job.”

He adjusted the rifles and spare magazines strapped to himself. At this point, he was practically a walking armory.

He couldn’t help but marvel at his own capabilities. Not only was he adept with handguns, but his rifle marksmanship—tested the previous day—was exceptional too.

Who had he been before he lost his memory?

Regardless, in this assault, he was the main combatant, while CC was his assistant. Her task was to watch for enemies in his blind spots.

Once everything was ready, the man walked over to the horse and removed all its restraints.

“You’re free now, Bruce,” he said.

“Neigh?” The horse let out a surprised whinny, its large eyes staring at him in disbelief.@@@@

The man patted Bruce’s head gently.

“We’re going to liberate slaves. You don’t have to be one anymore either. The world is vast, Bruce. Go wherever you want. You don’t have to serve those scoundrels anymore.”

“Go on,” he added, his voice soft. “Without these chains, you’re a free horse.”

Bruce closed its mouth, making a soft whimpering sound as if it had something to say.

Thankfully, both of CC’s parents were alive and well. Most of the villagers had survived too. After releasing her pent-up emotions, the resilient CC wiped her tears away and recounted everything that had happened during her time away.

The villagers listened in increasing astonishment, their shock growing with every detail.

Afterward, led by CC’s parents, the villagers approached the bearded man. One by one, they knelt before him.

“No, no, no, please don’t!”

The man hurriedly crouched down and pulled CC’s father to his feet.

“Mr. VV.”

CC’s father, his eyes red, clasped the man’s hands tightly.

“Thank you for saving all of us. We villagers are willing to serve you for the rest of our lives, following your every command.”

“No, no...”

The man took some time to explain that he had no interest in ruling over others. He didn’t even know who he was or where he was going.

CC’s father nodded; CC had already mentioned these things. She had also shared the agreement she and VV had made.

“Mr. VV, please join us. Live with us,” CC’s father said earnestly on behalf of the villagers. “Even if you don’t want to lead us, at least give us the chance to repay you. And since you don’t have any memories or a place to go, why not stay here with us?”

“Exactly!”

CC ran over and tugged at the man’s arm.

“We already agreed! You’re part of our family now!”

The man smiled and nodded.

It wasn’t difficult to accept their kindness. In fact, it aligned with his own intentions.

He wanted to recover his memories, but until then, he needed a place to stay.

“No problem. Thank you for accepting me,” the man said, ruffling CC’s soft hair. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay. After all, this is what we agreed—”

Whomp whomp whomp whomp!

A sudden roar of helicopter blades drowned out his words.

Everyone looked up to see a twin-rotor transport helicopter rapidly descending overhead, scattering the crowd in fright.

Whomp whomp whomp whomp!

The helicopter descended lower and lower, the deafening noise and fierce wind blowing away everything nearby.

“Watch out!”

The bearded man shouted, raising his automatic rifle to aim at the incoming aircraft—

Whoosh!

A faint sound.

The man felt a sting on his neck, like a mosquito bite. Looking down, he saw a small syringe-like object embedded in his neck, injecting yellow liquid into his bloodstream.

“What is this?”

He hastily yanked the syringe out, but within moments—

Thud.

His body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

“VV!!”

CC screamed in panic, running toward him.

The helicopter’s side doors opened, and several heavily armed soldiers jumped out. One of them quickly restrained CC, snatching the pistol from her waist.

“Don’t move.”

The soldiers pointed their guns at the crowd, speaking in calm tones.

“Don’t panic. We’re not your enemies.”

No one dared move, but the cold, threatening barrels of their guns kept everyone frozen with fear.

“Let go of me!”

Only CC struggled fiercely, screaming at the top of her lungs.

“What are you doing?! Let go of VV! Let go of him!”

Her desperate cries filled the air.

She could only watch helplessly as VV, once invincible, now lay weak and powerless on the ground.

An elderly man with white hair descended from the helicopter, trembling as he approached VV. A soldier followed closely behind, carrying a terrifying octopus-shaped device.

CC had no idea what the contraption was, but the sight of it being strapped onto VV’s head sent chills down her spine.

Completely paralyzed, VV looked up at the elderly man.

“Who... are you... What are you... going to do to me?”

“VV!!”

CC couldn’t let anything happen to him.

In desperation, she opened her mouth wide and bit down hard on the arm of the soldier restraining her.

“Argh!”

The soldier screamed in pain as blood streamed from his arm, and his grip weakened. The little girl, her mouth stained with blood, darted free like a rabbit.

She threw herself onto VV’s prone body.

“VV! Are you okay?”

Frantically, she fumbled with the straps of the octopus-shaped helmet.

“I’ll... I’ll get you out of this!”

But it was too late.

The soldier who had secured the helmet pressed a red button without hesitation.

“AAAAAHHHH!!!”

VV’s body arched backward, his muscles tensing as he let out a cry of agony.

“VV?”

CC froze, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

“VV!!!!”