Genius Club

Gao Yang lit a cigarette and began explaining to Lin Xian.

“If Argentina and France end up in a penalty shootout, we shouldn’t bet on Argentina to win. Instead, we should bet on the game ending in a draw!”

“Why?” Lin Xian asked, clearly puzzled.

Gao Yang used his hands to emphasize his point. “A soccer game has three stages: regular time, extra time, and penalty shootouts. A win during regular time ends the game. If it’s a draw, they go into extra time. If it’s still unresolved, it goes to penalties, and they keep shooting until there’s a winner. But bets on soccer are typically settled based on the score at the end of regular time!”

Realization hit Lin Xian. “So, if it goes to a penalty shootout, it means regular time ended in a draw. That’s why we should bet on a draw?”

“Exactly!” Gao Yang nodded, giving a thumbs up. “You catch on quick! This bet has excellent odds. Look, I’ll cover the losses. You’ve already helped me win a lot. If we win, the money’s yours; if we lose, I’ll handle it.”

Despite his initial hesitation, Lin Xian was swept into the betting shop by Gao Yang’s excitement. Under his friend’s persuasive insistence, Lin Xian reluctantly placed a bet of 30,000 yuan on the match ending as a draw. Gao Yang, ever enthusiastic, took Lin Xian’s phone and confirmed the hefty bet using facial recognition. Gao Yang himself gambled 60,000 yuan, doubling down on their joint venture.

The odds were set at 3.7, meaning if the match ended in a draw during regular time, Gao Yang would net 220,000 yuan and Lin Xian, 110,000 yuan.

The match began at 3 a.m., and Lin Xian struggled to stay awake through the initial minutes. Argentina quickly gained the upper hand with an early penalty, followed by another goal. By the 80th minute, they were comfortably ahead at 2-0.

A sheen of sweat coated Gao Yang as anxiety took over. “What’s happening, Lin Xian? This isn’t what we predicted! Unless France pulls off a miracle, there’s no way they’ll equalize in just ten minutes!”

Suddenly, France’s star player Mbappe found the net. Before Gao Yang could even react, Mbappe struck again, scoring a rapid second goal!

In moments, Mbappe had leveled the scores, overturning the anticipated outcome of the match.

Gao Yang was ecstatic, his excitement manifesting in loud, joyous shouts as he jumped around the room.

When the final whistle blew, Argentina triumphed in the penalty shootout, with Messi lifting the World Cup trophy. Gao Yang gleefully brandished his 220,000-yuan ticket at Lin Xian, exclaiming, “Godfather!”

“Get out of here!” Lin Xian laughed, playfully pushing him away.

Once the excitement settled, Gao Yang turned reflective. “Now, it seems… your dream might actually be something special. Predicting Argentina’s play is one thing, but calling a draw at regular time, then extra time, and a win in the shootout? That’s amazing.”

Lin Xian pondered. “Broadly speaking, it seems my dream might really be a glimpse into the actual future, 600 years ahead.”

Yet, doubts persisted. Successfully predicting soccer outcomes was hardly conclusive proof of foreseeing the future.

“Soccer betting only has three possible outcomes: win, lose, or draw. Someone could guess right several times by chance; it doesn’t prove any predictive power,” Lin Xian reasoned.

“Honestly, Lin Xian, I still can’t fully accept that your dream is real,” Gao Yang admitted, looking serious. “Even with three accurate predictions, the logic behind your dream is too fragile. It’s hard to believe it mirrors the actual future.”

“You said time in your dream never advances? It’s stuck on the same day?” Gao Yang probed.

Lin Xian nodded. “Each time I dream, it resets. People who died yesterday are alive today; friends from yesterday don’t remember anything today; leaves fall in the exact same patterns, repeatedly. It’s like replaying a movie.”

“And the technology levels, they’re similar to now, in 2022… How do you make sense of that? Do you really think the world 600 years from now won’t have evolved?”

Confused, Gao Yang shook his head, then made a sudden decision. “Stop! Let’s sort this out!” He grabbed paper and a pen from Lin Xian’s bedroom, determined. “This is too chaotic… Let’s organize our thoughts to figure out your dream!”

“How?” Lin Xian asked, reaching for the paper.

“Just like we discussed—dreams don’t have to be logical, but reality does. The real world is logical, orderly, and verifiable.”

“Let’s list the illogical aspects of your dream. Write them down one by one.”

“If these points don’t hold up under scrutiny, contradict themselves, or fail to cohere logically… then we can definitively say it’s just a dream. All coincidences.”

Nodding, Lin Xian took the pen, a sound method to apply reverse reasoning at hand.

He titled his paper—Illogical Aspects of the Dream

As he began writing, he felt a surge of inspiration. He’d always dismissed the inconsistencies in his dream because, after all, it was just a dream.

Now, trying to align the dream world with the real world, the irrational elements stood out more starkly than ever!