Genius Playground

A chill spread from their clasped hands.

Jiang Ran instantly realized.

This plain-looking man before him was, at his core, a murderer—not a good person.

’But considering this is a prison, it’s not strange for there to be a murderer. Besides, I don’t even know what crime I committed to get locked up in here... I’m in no position to judge others.’

"Huh?"

Under the dim light, Sang Biao blinked. His eyes fell on Jiang Ran’s clothes, and he spotted something out of place:

"Hey kid, how come you’re not in a prison uniform?"

A moment ago, Jiang Ran had been in the dark cell where there was no light, so no one had gotten a clear look at him.

Now they were all standing in the corridor, and it was clear at a glance. Jiang Ran was indeed not wearing a prison uniform, but clean casual clothes—slacks and a white t-shirt.

In contrast, Sang Biao and the others were all wearing blue-and-white striped prison uniforms, their hair all cut into buzz cuts.

"Your hairstyle isn’t regulation either!"

Sang Biao reached out to grab Jiang Ran’s hair, but Jiang Ran dodged away.

"What’s your deal? Did they lock you up in such a hurry that they didn’t have time to give you clothes or shave your head?"

"I don’t know."

Jiang Ran shook his head. He really didn’t know.

"I’d like to know that too. How did I end up locked in here?"

"What an idiot!"

Sang Biao scoffed, then waved his hand dismissively.

"Enough of this. We’ve wasted enough time. Let’s start the prison break! Follow me!"

And so.

The 5-man prison break team was successfully formed and moved forward under Sang Biao’s lead.

They formed a single file line from front to back: Sang Biao, stupid young man, Bookworm, Jiang Ran, Assassin.

Along the way, Jiang Ran’s heart pounded, and his palms were covered in sweat.

’This is all happening so fast. I can’t believe I’m actually on this path of no return... a prison break...’

’To be honest, I’m starting to regret this.’

’I was raised to be a law-abiding citizen. If, in this world line, I really did something wrong, I would of course be willing to accept my legal punishment, no matter how many years I had to serve.’

’Serve my time honestly, reform myself properly, and try to get my sentence reduced so I can go home early.’

’But the situation back then didn’t give me time to think.’

’Sang Biao is a vicious lunatic. If I had dared to say the word "no," he absolutely would have stabbed me to death with that silver wire.’

’Never overestimate the morals of a fugitive desperate enough to plan a prison break.’

And more importantly...

Qin Feng.

At the thought of that familiar name, Jiang Ran bit his lower lip.

The Magician.

’That’s what the world calls Qin Feng on this world line, like Voldemort for Tom Riddle in *Harry Potter*.’

’It doesn’t matter if the Qin Feng of this world line knows me or not. In this completely alien environment, Qin Feng is the only person I know.’

’He also seems to be the only key to understanding the history of this world line.’

’So, in the heat of the moment, all my instincts were telling me... I have to go to the execution ground and see Qin Feng.’

’Perhaps all the answers are there.’

...

Soon, the group stealthily made their way to the equipment room.

It was clear that Sang Biao had done his homework for this escape. There really wasn’t a single guard in the prison corridors, and he had a clear grasp of the layout.

CLICK.

Still a master of lockpicking, Sang Biao used a wire to pick the lock on the equipment room door and waved for everyone to hurry inside.

’Why does a prison with such outdated facilities still exist in the modern year of 2025? Shouldn’t there at least be electronic locks or identity verification?’

But in such a tense moment, he wasn’t in the mood to ask.

Unfortunately, there were no handguns in the equipment room. In fact, there was very little equipment at all, only a few Electric Sticks and capture poles.

"Fuck, I screwed up!"

Sang Biao was so angry he slapped himself.

"All the prison guards went to the execution ground for duty today, they must have taken all the weapons! What is this junk that’s left?!"

"It’ll have to do."

Stupid young man weighed an Electric Stick, tossed two to Jiang Ran and Assassin, and then went with Sang Biao into the back room to search.

As everyone got busy with their own tasks, the room instantly fell quiet.

This silence allowed Jiang Ran to faintly hear what seemed to be waves of cheers and shouts from outside the prison.

He closed his eyes and listened carefully. It wasn’t his imagination.

It must be coming from somewhere not too far away. A huge uproar of voices, like some large-scale event was being held. The fierce howling made the ceiling here vibrate slightly.

Recalling what Sang Biao and the others had said earlier...

’There’s no need to guess. That commotion from a sea of people must be coming from the execution ground. There must be thousands, or even tens of thousands, of people there watching the Magician be beheaded.’

’The moment Qin Feng is beheaded.’

Assassin’s senses were sharp. He had, of course, noticed the commotion long ago, as well as the change in Jiang Ran.

"You’re not wrong. That noise is coming from the execution ground."

Assassin looked at Jiang Ran.

"The people of the world have been waiting for the day the Magician is beheaded for who knows how long. The execution ground must be a sea of people right now. My hearing is pretty sharp, I can even hear them chanting ’Kill, kill, kill.’"

"I see."

Jiang Ran’s heart felt heavy. He didn’t want to talk.

"Why are you so set on going to the execution ground? So determined to see the Magician there?"

Assassin was very curious.

"Sang Biao was right. For this prison break, going to the execution ground is like walking right into a trap. It’s suicide."

"Qin Feng is my friend."

Jiang Ran said softly.

"It’s hard for me to explain our relationship. I don’t understand how he became the Magician everyone talks about, how he became a public enemy."

"You all say he’s done many terrible things and committed many crimes. For me, it’s no different—he’s deceived me and hurt my friends, too."