Genius Playground

Jiang Ran wanted to ask Old Qi to recall more details.

But...

Old Qi scratched his head and thought for a long time, but he couldn’t remember anything else.

It wasn’t his fault.

The repair shop saw people coming and going every day. It was already impressive that he remembered the person who bought the circuit board was a young man. If a middle-aged person had bought it, he definitely wouldn’t have such a vivid memory.

"Alright, thank you."

Jiang Ran picked up the reassembled Positron Cannon, thanked him, and left.

Although Old Qi’s prices were a bit steep, his after-sales service was excellent. He kept his word and didn’t charge anything for this service.

’He’s certainly a man of principle.’

Jiang Ran’s opinion of Old Qi had changed for the better.

After all, the man had gone to the trouble of disassembling the Positron Cannon and diagnosing the problem. It would have been perfectly reasonable for him to charge a fee.

But Old Qi just waved his hand and told Jiang Ran to go, no more words needed.

Holding the Positron Cannon, he got into a taxi and returned to East Sea University.

On the way, as he watched the streetscape flash by the window, Jiang Ran closed his eyes and began to sort through the clues about Qin Feng in chronological order.

First, there was 2015.

That was the year Qin Feng’s father died, his family home was burned down, and he and his mother left their hometown, disappearing without a trace.

But from his conversation with Old Qi just now, he learned that Qin Feng hadn’t truly vanished all these years.

It was as if...

’He’s been operating in the shadows, secretly working towards some purpose, some goal.’

Next, there was 2023.

This year was crucial. Cheng Mengxue died in a car accident, and shortly after, Qin Feng appeared at Old Qi’s Home Appliance Repair Shop and bought that well-formed circuit board.

On World Line 0, this well-formed circuit board was bought beforehand by a mysterious stranger, so Qin Feng only managed to buy the other "ugly" circuit board.

But on the current World Line 1, Qin Feng bought the well-formed circuit board back in 2023... The mysterious stranger might have visited Old Qi’s Home Appliance Repair Shop later, but he probably looked down on the ugly circuit board and didn’t buy it.

Finally, there was the present: 2025.

To repair the Positron Cannon, Jiang Ran came to Old Qi’s and bought the ugly circuit board.

What a winding and unpredictable path.

The Butterfly Effect of time and space was truly pervasive and subtle, changing the threads of history in countless small ways.

But...

’Why did the 2023 version of Qin Feng go out of his way to buy that well-formed circuit board?’

He thought of the Time SMS sent ten years into the past.

He thought of Cheng Mengxue’s accidental death.

He thought of the Positron Cannon that had been collecting dust in the Film Club’s activity room.

’Could it be...’

Jiang Ran opened his eyes.

"Could it be that Qin Feng’s reason for buying that well-formed circuit board... was also related to the Positron Cannon?"

...

After the taxi arrived at East Sea University, Jiang Ran carried the Positron Cannon to the Film Club activity room. Chi Xiaoguo had been waiting there for a while.

"Senior."

Seeing Jiang Ran walk in, Chi Xiaoguo stood up from the sofa.

"How did it go? Did the old man at the appliance repair shop fix the Positron Cannon?"

Jiang Ran shook his head.

"No. He said there was no way to fix it, short of destructive disassembly."

"Oh..."

Chi Xiaoguo blinked, a little disappointed.

Jiang Ran smiled.

"But don’t be too disappointed. What Old Qi said gave me an idea. As it stands... you can’t say the Positron Cannon is completely broken. At least it managed to work successfully once."

"Do you remember what happened during our first experiment on May 15th?"

Chi Xiaoguo nodded.

"Of course. There was an accident that day, right? A phone call came to your cell and interfered with the experiment."

"Right."

Jiang Ran held up his index finger.

"That’s the key. This idea might be a long shot, but I want to recreate the scene from that day and see how the Positron Cannon reacts."

"You’re right, that experiment did have an accident. But it’s worth noting... at least it had *some* reaction, unlike the ten experiments that followed, which had no reaction at all."

"Since we don’t have any better ideas right now and can’t fix the Positron Cannon anyway, we might as well try something bold."

Chi Xiaoguo stepped forward and took out her phone.

"So you’re saying the experiment on May 15th was closer to a success, right? I get it, Senior. Let’s replicate the conditions from back then—"

"When we run the experiment tomorrow morning, I’ll call you while I’m counting down. Then, the moment the Positron Cannon activates, you answer the call. How does that sound?"

Chi Xiaoguo caught on immediately, and Jiang Ran was pleased.

He still hadn’t told Chi Xiaoguo the truth about the Positron Cannon and the Time SMS, which was why there were many things he couldn’t explain clearly to her.

The truth was, he was running out of options.

His reason for using the Positron Cannon and the Time SMS was singular: to resurrect Cheng Mengxue.

And the only way to save the already-deceased Cheng Mengxue was to send a Time SMS two years into the past to prevent that tragic car accident.

This meant...

’To Jiang Ran, if the Positron Cannon couldn’t send an SMS to the past, it was as worthless as a piece of scrap metal.’

This was also why, all these days, Jiang Ran had never tried to replicate that "wondrous experience of traveling to the future."

He only wanted to save Cheng Mengxue.

Nothing else mattered.

But...

In this situation, surrounded by dead ends, he couldn’t afford to ignore any glimmer of hope or any possibility if he wanted to find a way to save Cheng Mengxue.

"Mm."

He nodded, looking at Chi Xiaoguo.

"Let’s do what you said, then. We’ll give it a try tomorrow morning."

...

「The next morning.」

Inside the Film Club activity room, everything was as it had been.

The Positron Cannon had been sitting idle for over 20 hours and was ready to go.

Jiang Ran and Chi Xiaoguo, each holding their phones, began to go over the steps.

"Normally, there’s a two or three-second delay before a call connects. We can’t bet on your call getting through at the very last second."

Jiang Ran started giving instructions.

"So, first, enter my phone number. As soon as you start the countdown, hit the dial button."

"After about two or three seconds, my phone will start ringing, but I won’t answer it right away. I’ll wait for you to finish the countdown and for the Positron Cannon to activate. Then, I’ll press the answer button within 0.7 seconds."

Mm-hm.

Chi Xiaoguo nodded, taking note of every detail.

Then, Jiang Ran walked out of the activity room, went around the building, and returned to the transformer distribution box.

Looking at the nameplate that read "Distribution Box NO. 42," Jiang Ran had lost count of how many times he had dealt with this behemoth.

’That day... that time... The prison, Sang Biao, the Assassin, the Magician, Qin Feng, the year 2045... What was that whole bizarre experience?’

’A delusion? A daydream? A forced memory? A real trip to the future?’

’Maybe today, I’ll finally get the answer.’

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Ran shouted towards the Film Club window:

"I’m ready!"

"Got it!"

Chi Xiaoguo’s youthful voice called back.

"I’m starting the countdown now, and I’m dialing your number—"

"5!"

It was the familiar countdown again.

But this time, what Jiang Ran faced was a journey into the unknown.

"4!"

’Where will I go?’

’Where will the Positron Cannon fling my thoughts, my consciousness?’

"3!"

’On second thought, there’s one variable we haven’t controlled... the source of the call.’

’That wondrous journey was triggered by a call from Nan Xiuxiu.’

’This time, the person calling is Chi Xiaoguo.’

’With such a variable, will the result of the experiment still be the same?’

"2!"

RING RING RING RING RING!

Suddenly, his phone blared with a deafening ring. The screen showed an incoming call from Chi Xiaoguo’s number, with the decline button on the bottom left and the answer button on the bottom right.

Jiang Ran’s right thumb hovered over the answer button, waiting for the countdown to end.

"1!"

RING RING RING RING RING!

The ringing continued to blare.

’It’s coming. It’s about to happen.’

Remembering the bizarre experience from ten days ago, the real escape and the real pain, Jiang Ran couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

’Will I go to the future again this time?’

’Is it possible... that I could go back to the past this way?’

’If I can... maybe I could find another way to save Cheng Mengxue!’

"0!"

As Chi Xiaoguo shouted, the Positron Cannon roared to life!

Jiang Ran gritted his teeth and immediately pressed the answer button on his phone!

[Call Duration]

[00:00]

VMMMM!

VMMMM!

VMMMM!

’As expected!’

The instant he pressed the answer button, dizziness washed over him. The world spun, and the shift in spacetime happened again!

His five senses vanished, and the world went black.

Spinning, tearing, drifting with the current.

Jiang Ran couldn’t predict where this world line would fling him, nor did he know how to return.

’If the mechanism is the same as last time... does that mean that if I die during this "spacetime journey," I’ll also return to the moment I answered Chi Xiaoguo’s call?’

The unknown.

Confusion.

Fear.

Anxiety.

Finally, two seconds passed.

All the discomfort vanished. Jiang Ran felt the pull of gravity again, his feet planted firmly on the ground.

He opened his eyes.

Dim light, iron bars, a small bed, a toilet, a corridor, lights...

’This is...!’

’It’s the prison again!’

’The exact same prison as when I opened my eyes last time!’

The next second...

...a familiar, hoarse voice came from the other side of the wall:

"Do you guys know what the most important thing is for a successful prison break?"