The Evolution of Genius: Every Night, I Get Smarter!

After our hormones had settled somewhat, we decided that I would sleep downstairs, and the girls would stay together in Veronica’s room.

Of course, I didn’t really have to sleep, so I spent some time pondering whether Oliv truly had no objections to what had just happened. Then my thoughts drifted to another topic.

I contemplated how an object situated between two black holes could travel back in time. From the mathematics derived from the distortion of spacetime by gravity, it was clear that this was possible.

Had no one in the vast universe or cluster explored the possibility of time travel to the past?

Certainly, the forces acting on atoms in such a place are millions of times greater than the force required to split an atom, but I was still intrigued by the possibility.

When I fell asleep, I found myself again in the world of dreams. The number of comets streaking across the sky had already surpassed 20, and the pace of their appearance seemed to be increasing.

The previously red sky and earth had lost some of their color, transitioning into a faded red, as if attempting to heal.

I slept for about an hour and woke up refreshed.

In the morning, almost everyone had a hangover, but I was completely fine.

Around 9 a.m., I was sitting with Oliv and the others at breakfast when suddenly my cellphone rang. I quickly fished it out of my pocket and answered. It was Rick.

"Rick, how’s it going?"

"Max, where are you now?"

"Germany. Did something happen?"

"Have you talked with Cassandra lately?"

"Must have been more than a month. Why?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"For some reason, she hasn’t been coming to classes. I called her, but she’s not picking up. I went to her room, but she wasn’t there. Her roommate said she hasn’t been at the dorms for 5 days now. People are starting to get worried."

"Have you asked others from the university? Informed someone?"

"I told the dean, but that’s it. I don’t have her parents’ number or anything. I’m not sure if I should go to the police."

"Okay, I’ll come back soon. I’ll try calling her as well. We’ll figure this out."

I ended the call, and Oliv looked at me questioningly, "Did something happen, Max? Who called?"

I replied, "It was Rick. He said that Casi hasn’t been coming to the university, and she’s been missing from the dorm for a few days."

Oliv slightly opened her mouth, "So what do we do? Do we call the police?"

"Wait. I’ll try calling her. We’re heading back to the USA today. I’ll call the police on the way, and ask for their help. Absolutely."

About twenty minutes later, all the guests began to gather and put on their clothes.

When it was time for farewells, Oliv turned to Veronica, who dressed a bit less provocatively than yesterday. Tight long jeans and a blue sweater.

Olivia approached Veronica at a distance no greater than a finger and embraced her with her hands at shoulder height, squeezing her tightly. "I’ll miss you, Veronica."

Veronica, held tightly by Oliv so she couldn’t move, said, "I’ll miss you too, Oliv."

After a while, Oliv let go of Veronica, and then it was my turn. I gently hugged Veronica in a very brief embrace.

"Come again," Veronica said.

I replied, "Of course. We’ll be back when the Fusion is ready. We’ll definitely drop by."

Later, we said goodbye to all the guests, and that’s how our visit to Mrs. Hayes’s house ended.

We walked out to the yard and headed to the car, which pulled up for Oliv and me. Our driver was already waiting inside.

I couldn’t help but notice something very strange. Or at least, it seemed strange to me. Dr. Reynolds, standing by the door of his car, suddenly stopped unexpectedly and looked around. Then he gazed for a while at the door. Only then did he get into the car.

Not long after, we were already on board the plane. On the way, I called the police and informed them that we couldn’t reach Cassandra.

Due to my constant focus on acquiring more knowledge and days spent in continuous learning, money had partially lost its value for me. But I couldn’t resist checking my company account, so I pulled out my phone and quickly logged into the bank.

Dreamland Net

Balance: $192,286,192

I smiled; it was just a drop in the ocean, as most of the money was tied up in investments from large corporations that provided funds from their own accounts, which we managed.

After a few hours, our plane landed in Boston, and we quickly loaded into my parked car. From there, Oliv and I headed straight to MIT.

Without looking back, I left the suitcases in the car and approached Rick’s room. At this point, he no longer lived alone but with a guy who studied physics.

Rick opened the door and looked at Oliv and me. "Oh, you’re back. That’s great. I was just about to head out."

I looked at him and said, "Where are you going? To search for Casi?"

"Yeah. I managed to convince a few people to go to some places we used to visit and ask if they’ve seen Cassandra in the last few days."

I nodded, "Okay. So where are we going?"

"We’ll visit some restaurants or shops, show her picture. Maybe someone remembers her."

Without even going inside, we went downstairs and started going around local shops and restaurants. Slowly, we moved farther away from MIT and eventually headed towards the city center.

Throughout this time, I tried calling Casi numerous times, with no response.

Until a certain moment.

Around five in the evening, I called, probably for the thirtieth time, and heard Casi’s voice on the other end.

"Max?" Casi said. Her voice sounded tired.

"Casi?! Where are you? Everyone is looking for you. Why haven’t you been answering anyone’s calls?" As soon as I said this, Rick and Oliv turned toward me with surprised faces.

"Um... well, I just got off work."

"Work? Are you working during classes? Did you drop out of school?" I asked.

"It’s more complicated, Max. I didn’t want to drop out, but I was forced to."

"Where are you? We’re looking for you with Oliv and Rick. Can we meet?"

"Um... okay. Just... maybe in an hour?"

"An hour is fine, but where are you?"

"I could meet near Boston Common?" Casi seemed to avoid my question.

"Uh-- Okay, we’ll wait in the park then."

We headed to the beautiful park in downtown Boston, sat on one of the benches, and waited for Casi. I didn’t know why she didn’t want to tell us where she worked, but it didn’t sound good.

As she had said, an hour later, Casi appeared in the park and approached us.

I stood up from the bench and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Casi. Why haven’t you been at university for the last few days? People are worried about you..."

Casi, with bags under her eyes, slowly nodded her head down, almost starting to cry. "I can’t afford to study. I don’t have the money. I can’t pay for the dorm."

My eyebrows raised slightly.

Behind me, Oliv quickly stood up from the bench and stood up to Casi. "Casi... you said your father sends you money from Canada. What happened?"

Now I noticed a tear streaming down Casi’s face. She began to speak stuttering, "Almost right after I started studying... my... my father stopped sending me money... We had a fight. And since then, I had to earn money for my studies on my own."

Rick, sitting on the bench, asked, "But... you didn’t work during your studies. Did you have any remote job? I didn’t see you going to work..." he seemed very surprised.

Casi lifted her head, looked at Rick with reddened eyes, and then glanced at me, "I couldn’t find a job. The student visa doesn’t allow for that. I... I’m sorry, Max. I’m really sorry."

"Hmm? What’s going on? Why are you apologizing to me?" I was very confused. What was she talking about?

Casi looked down on the ground again, "I needed money, and no legal source was possible. That’s why... that’s why last year, when I ran out of money, there was this one student who said I could earn... since... since my room was close to yours, and we knew each other..."

My mouth opened wide; I think I understood what all of this was about. "You stole my work? My theory on monopolies?"

As I said this, Rick grabbed his forehead and bent over on the bench, and Oliv covered her face and widened her eyes.

Casi started crying, "I’m sorry, Max. I’m really sorry... I... I had no other choice. I needed... money for living."

My expression was very serious. "No, Casi. That wasn’t your only choice. I don’t know what came into your mind to do something like this. You could have just asked me or anyone for a loan or something. Because of you, I had to go through a lot of trouble. Fortunately, all the costs were reimbursed to me."