Genius Playground

"You’re Jiang Ran, right?"

"Yes," Jiang Ran answered, confused.

"You."

He pointed a long, slender index finger, his voice deep and inscrutable:

"Are what I call my ’luck’."

????

Four faces of utter confusion.

It wasn’t just Jiang Ran who couldn’t understand the cryptic words from the man in Cell 5; the other three inmates were equally lost.

"What does that mean?"

Sang Biao’s already massive head seemed to swell with confusion:

"This kid is ’luck’? What the hell are you trying to say?"

"If he goes, I go."

The voice from Cell 5 stated emphatically:

"If he agrees to join your prison break, I’ll join too."

"What?"

Sang Biao was dumbfounded.

’Just like that?’

In disbelief, he looked Jiang Ran up and down, but he couldn’t see anything special about the kid at all.

The stupid young man and Bookworm sized up Jiang Ran as well.

And so, a bizarre situation had developed.

Sang Biao was the one who initiated the escape plan. He was desperate to break out and wanted the others to help him.

The stupid young man and Bookworm were on the fence. They were hesitant, wanting to escape but not daring to. On the other hand, they were afraid that if they didn’t, the guards would kill them to tie up loose ends after the Magician’s execution. So, they decided to follow the lead of the man in Cell 5.

If the man in Cell 5 agreed to the escape, the stupid young man and Bookworm would undoubtedly join the crew.

But the man in Cell 5 had laid out an incomprehensible condition: he would only participate if Jiang Ran agreed to the plan. If Jiang Ran refused, so would he.

That was the situation in a nutshell.

All the pressure, the entire decision, now rested on Jiang Ran’s shoulders.

If he just nodded, the five-man escape team would be instantly assembled, and their breakout would begin.

But if he refused, the man in Cell 5, Bookworm, and the stupid young man would all back out, leaving Sang Biao a general without an army.

Sang Biao narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Jiang Ran.

Of course, he had realized this as well.

The success or failure of the escape rested entirely on this kid.

"So, what’s it gonna be, kid?"

He dangled the iron wire in his hand, his gaze full of menace.

The threat was an unmistakable warning to Jiang Ran: if he ruined this, Sang Biao would immediately pick his lock and stab him.

"Tell me about Qin Feng."

Unafraid, Jiang Ran met Sang Biao’s vicious gaze head-on.

’We’re all in the same boat now. Who’s afraid of whom?’

’If what they said is true—that this prison exists only to hold the Magician, and that they’ll all be killed after he’s executed...’

’...then he was dead one way or another. Why should he be afraid of Sang Biao?’

"Tell me about the Magician."

Jiang Ran repeated himself.

"Then I’ll consider it."

"We don’t have time for you to ’consider’."

Sang Biao was no pushover. He shoved the wire into the lock on Cell 3’s door and began twisting it back and forth, forcing it open.

"I don’t have time to tell you about the Magician. I want an answer now. Are you breaking out with me or not?"

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK...

The Silver Iron Wire danced against the lock’s tumblers, letting out a series of crisp clicks.

Sang Biao and Jiang Ran were separated by a single set of bars, so close they could hear each other breathe.

He was truly a desperado.

A cornered, desperate man with nothing to lose.

"I don’t need all the details."

Jiang Ran continued to hold Sang Biao’s gaze.

"I just want to confirm whether that Magician, that Qin Feng, is the same one I know."

"Heh."

Sang Biao scoffed, continuing to work the lock.

"Fine, kid. You get one question. Go on, what do you want to know?"

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK...

"That Magician, Qin Feng, where is he from?"

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK... CLICK!

The cell door was unlocked!

CLANG—

Sang Biao yanked the iron gate open and stared at Jiang Ran, nothing between them now.

"Zhejiang, Quzhou."

He pulled the Silver Iron Wire free, holding it in a reverse grip in his palm as he advanced with a wicked smile.

"Kaihua County."

...

Jiang Ran clenched his fists, holding his breath.

Zhejiang, Quzhou, Kaihua County.

That was Qin Feng’s hometown. He had just been there a few days ago with Wang Hao.

There, he had seen Malan Middle School, where Qin Feng had studied; the small village where he was born and grew up; his old family home, burned to the ground; and the carving of a Ferris wheel on a crumbling courtyard wall...

’In a place as small as Kaihua County, it was highly unlikely for two different geniuses both named Qin Feng to exist.’

’The Qin Feng he knew was, without a doubt, a genius.’

’And the Magician, this Qin Feng Sang Biao spoke of... for him to become the world’s most hated criminal, his intelligence must have been even greater than that of a genius.’

’So...’

’These two Qin Fengs were almost certainly the same person.’

’What in the world was going on in this timeline?’

’I’m a prisoner, and Qin Feng has become a public enemy about to be executed.’

’What in the world... had happened?’

But now.

Watching Sang Biao approach with clear ill intent, Jiang Ran realized there was no time to dwell on it. He had to make a decision, right now.

"I’ll join your escape plan."

Jiang Ran said.

"But I have one condition."

"Oh?"

Sang Biao snorted.

"And what condition might that be?"

"I want to go to the execution ground. Or rather, our escape route must pass by the execution ground."

"Are you crazy!"

Sang Biao’s eyes bulged.

"Did you not fucking hear what I just said? All the prison guards and security are at the execution ground right now!"

"And you want to pass right by it? That’s just walking straight into a trap! Are you out of your mind? Why would you go to the execution ground for no reason?"

"I want to see the Magician," Jiang Ran said, not backing down.

"What, is he your father or something?!"