Genius Playground

"Old Tian..."

Jiang Ran felt as if the rainwater pooling on the rooftop was a thick sludge, gluing his feet to the ground and making every step a struggle.

All the way up, as he'd sprinted up the stairs, he had clung to a desperate hope. He hoped that the so-called "second Assassin," the one who had taken Fang Yang's place at East Sea University... wasn't Old Tian.

The Assassin had said back in 2045 that on July 21st, his mission was changed to killing Zhou Xiong. And Old Tian had started working as a cleaner at East Sea University right after the new semester began.

The creed of the Regrets Mutual Aid Association was to remedy the life regrets of every believer who completed a mission. Old Tian's life could be described as nothing but regrets: he lost his parents as a child, lost his wife after they married, and his only daughter had fallen into a vegetative state after an accident.

It was 11:00 PM. No normal person would be meeting Teacher Yan to discuss something at this hour. But Old Tian had a reason that Teacher Yan couldn't refuse; only Old Tian could be 100% certain of luring Teacher Yan out at this time.

Just now, when he was on the phone with Teacher Yan, Teacher Yan had clearly stated he was with Old Tian. But right as Jiang Ran had screamed for him to get away from Old Tian, the call had abruptly ended and couldn't be reconnected.

Countless clues, both direct and indirect... all of them now twisted together like a rope, pointing straight at Old Tian!

'I never would have thought...'

'The second Assassin sent by the Regrets Mutual Aid Association was actually the simple, honest Old Tian who swept the floors with me every day...'

At this very moment, in the torrential downpour, Jiang Ran looked at Old Tian, who stood just a few feet away, yet it felt like they were worlds apart.

Old Tian was soaked to the bone, his hair plastered to his scalp by the downpour. He was gritting his teeth, panting, and holding a gun aimed at Yan Chonghan, who had backed up to the edge of the rooftop.

In this moment, Old Tian's usual simple, cheerful demeanor was gone. His eyes were a mixture of wild and resolute, his expression a mask of terror and madness!

His face was a mess, and it was impossible to tell if it was covered in rain or tears.

"Old Tian!"

RUMBLING thunder crashed down from the heavens, and the SPLASHING of the heavy rain drowned out all other sounds.

Visibility was low. Rain soaked his bangs, sticking them to his eyelids and making it hard for Jiang Ran to keep his eyes open.

"Old Tian!!!"

Bracing himself against the thunderstorm, Jiang Ran yelled at the gun-wielding Old Tian.

"What are you doing, Old Tian?! Put the gun down!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Old Tian snarled through gritted teeth.

"One more step and I'll shoot!"

Hearing this, Jiang Ran froze, not daring to move forward.

"Teacher Yan!"

Jiang Ran looked toward Yan Chonghan at the edge of the rooftop.

He saw the man with his hands raised high, his face pale as a sheet. His signature gold-rimmed glasses had been knocked off by the torrential rain, and his normally neat, smooth, center-parted hair was now a matted mess plastered to the sides of his head.

BOOM—

Another flash of lightning lit up the sky, and the distant, muffled thunder rumbled like a massive drum next to his ear.

"Old Tian! Calm down!"

Jiang Ran raised his hands just like Yan Chonghan, afraid of startling or provoking Old Tian. He could only inch forward, bit by bit.

"That's Teacher Yan! Teacher Yan Chonghan! He's our friend! He's going to use the latest technology to save Lili! Just put the gun down first... Teacher Yan isn't a bad person!"

Yan Chonghan, for his part, was also trying to stay calm and persuade Old Tian.

"Old Tian, don't do anything foolish. We can talk about whatever it is."

"As for the Consciousness Upload experiment, whether you want to do it or not is completely your choice. We fully respect your decision. Please, don't act rashly!"

"I don't know why you want to kill me, but everything I've told you was with the best of intentions. I have no ill will, I swear. Please, you have to believe me!"

However, despite their desperate attempts to talk him down, Old Tian's entire body was trembling. He gritted his teeth, his expression contorted.

"It's no use... I'm sorry... It's not that I want to kill you."

"But, for Lili... for Lili, I have to..."

Lili.

Right, Lili.

She was Old Tian's only tie to this world, the only thing he cared about. Jiang Ran wiped the rain from his face and shouted at Old Tian.

"Old Tian! Think about Lili! She's waiting for you at the hospital! She's waiting for you to be there as she grows up! Don't do something stupid here!"

"I know you joined the Regrets Mutual Aid Association! I know you're taking someone else's place on this assassination mission! But... you can't get away with this! If you get caught, if you go to prison, what will happen to Lili?!"

Teacher Yan Chonghan looked from Jiang Ran to Old Tian, completely unable to understand what they were talking about.

But he knew it was best to stay silent. He couldn't risk provoking the crazed Old Tian, who had clearly lost all reason.

"Old Tian, listen to me!"

In the vast downpour, Jiang Ran used his left hand to slick all his hair back, squinting as he took small, slow steps forward.

"I don't know what regret the Regrets Mutual Aid Association promised to fix for you, but if it's about money, I can help you! If it's a matter of medical resources, Teacher Yan can provide them for you too!"

"We're all trying to help you and Lili! Don't let a moment of impulse push you down the path of crime... there's no coming back from that!"

"Most importantly, if you commit a crime, what happens to Lili? Think about it! If you go to prison, who will take care of her? You have to calm down, Old Tian!"

"No..."

Old Tian couldn't hear a word of it anymore. He shook his head frantically in the rain.

"I'M DOING THIS FOR LILI!!"

His hysterical scream was filled with helplessness and struggle.

"THE PRIEST PROMISED ME! HE SAID IF I COMPLETE THE MISSION, HE'LL IMMEDIATELY FIX MY REGRET! HE'LL MAKE LILI WAKE UP RIGHT AWAY! SHE'LL LIVE LIKE A NORMAL GIRL! A NEW LIFE!"

CRACK-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

The thunderstorm reached its peak.

Countless claps of thunder and flashes of lightning boomed overhead. A web of blue electric threads spread across the black canopy of the night sky like shattered glass.

A tendril from one of the lightning bolts struck the rooftop itself, exploding right next to their ears!

Jiang Ran stood on the flooded rooftop, his eyes wide.

'What?'

'Make... Tian Xiaoli, a person in a vegetative state, wake up?'

He had assumed that Old Tian was helping the Regrets Mutual Aid Association for the same reason as the Assassin, Fang Yang: simply for money, to get more money to treat his daughter's illness.

The Assassin Fang Yang had been willing to sacrifice his own life, to stain his hands with blood in exchange for a huge sum of money, all so his younger brother could have a happy life.

That, at least, was logical.

But!

The regret Old Tian wanted to fix... was so direct: to make his daughter in a vegetative state wake up!

Experts from all over the country and the world had said there was no chance of Tian Xiaoli waking up. Not only that, her brain had severely atrophied, and even her brainstem function was precarious. She was at risk of respiratory arrest at any moment.

'With such severe brain damage, how could she just wake up on command?!'

"Old Tian! That's impossible!"

Jiang Ran tried desperately to persuade him.

"You've been tricked by the Priest! So many experts across the country have said Lili has no chance of waking up anytime soon! I understand how you feel as a father, but you can't let yourself be taken in by such nonsense!"

"Can you please put down the gun first? I'm begging you, Old Tian. This is for your own good, and for Lili's good too!"

"Medicine is advancing quickly these days. If you just wait a few more years... hold on for a few more years... I'm sure there will be a way to cure Lili! Please don't believe those charlatans!"

Yan Chonghan, with the wavering gun barrel pointed at him, finally began to understand.

He got it now.

The reason Old Tian was doing this tonight was because someone had hired him for a hit.

The payment for the hit was absurd... not money, not a trade of benefits, but this nonsensical promise to make his vegetative daughter wake up immediately!

'Only a parent at the end of his rope like Old Tian, with no hope left, would be foolish enough to believe such a ridiculous promise...'

"Old Tian, listen to me. Put the gun down first."

Yan Chonghan held his hands up in a placating gesture, patiently trying to talk him down.

"I believe Lili will wake up. One day, she will definitely wake up... But you have to believe that the people who can make that happen are doctors and scientists! Not some charlatans making empty promises!"

"I've seen so many family members at the hospital who are so desperate they'll try anything. I completely understand how you feel, but... please, just trust in science, trust in the doctors, okay?"

"Saving lives is a doctor's responsibility, a doctor's duty, and something only doctors can do. Believe me, even if you kill me here, it won't do any good! Lili won't wake up just because I'm dead!"

"Stop talking!!!"

The clap of thunder and Old Tian's roar arrived at the same time.

"The Priest is omnipotent! You haven't seen the Priest's power! He can do anything! Only he can save Lili and wake her up!"

"I'm sorry... Teacher Yan, you can hate me. I don't want to kill you, you're a good man, but for Lili... I have to kill you!"

With that said, he took another step forward, gripping the gun tightly with both hands. The barrel, aimed at Yan Chonghan's chest, trembled uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry..." Old Tian sucked in a cold breath.

"Don't!" Jiang Ran shouted.

"Old Tian, believe me! That Priest, or whatever he is! They're all lying to you!"

"I'm sorry!"

Old Tian had made up his mind. He looked up at Yan Chonghan's terrified face, and his tear ducts gave way. Tears streamed down his face!

"Old Tian!!!"

Seeing Old Tian's body tense up as he burst into tears, Jiang Ran knew something was wrong. He didn't have time to think. He lunged toward Old Tian, who was five steps away—

"I'm sorry, WAAAAAH!"

Old Tian could no longer contain his overwhelming emotions. Guilt, fear, terror, struggle, remorse, and shame all erupted with a heavenward sob—

BANG!!!

The gunshot was deafening.

Even in the pouring rain, it pierced the eardrums and shook the soul.

Jiang Ran stopped in his tracks.

His eyes went wide.

He looked at Yan Chonghan on the edge of the rooftop.

And saw.

Yan Chonghan was also dumbstruck, his hands hanging uselessly at his sides. He trembled all over, his face drained of color, as he stiffly lowered his head to look at his chest...

A blossom of blood.

Crimson.

A gush of blood.

A shocking wound burst open on his chest. A column of blood spurted out like water from a faucet, splashing onto the ground and mixing with the pooled rainwater.

"Teacher Yan—" BANG—

As Jiang Ran screamed, Old Tian fired again.

This shot hit him squarely in the head. A piece of Yan Chonghan's skull on the right side blew off, and his body could no longer maintain its balance. He toppled backward, falling out of sight in an instant.

Jiang Ran rushed to the edge of the rooftop, but before he could even get there, a sickening thud echoed from below...

The raging thunderstorm swallowed all light. Jiang Ran clung to the ledge and looked down.

He couldn't see anything.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

Behind him, he heard Old Tian's broken sobs.

This old father with a tragic life, this wretched man whose family had all died or become disabled, had now stained himself with the blood of sin, stripping away the world's last shred of pity for him.

He looked up at Jiang Ran, his face a mess of tears and grime.

"Xiaojiang, please... take care of Lili..."

CLICK. He pressed the pistol to his own temple.

"Old Tian!!!" "I'm sorry..."

Old Tian cried, his voice dry and hoarse, and his vision went black.

"I had no choice."

BANG—

...

...

...

「East Sea University First Affiliated Hospital, Inpatient Ward.」

BEEP.

BEEP.

BEEP.

BEEP-BEEP.

The heart rate monitor emitted a series of short beeps, its curve fluctuating rapidly, as if it were dancing.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

The heart rate spiked and then plummeted, and the monitor let out a loud alarm.

At the same time, the staff on duty at the nurses' station received the alert, and the place instantly descended into chaos.

"Rehabilitation Ward! Room 42!"

"It's Tian Xiaoli!"

"Is it respiratory arrest again?!"

"Quick, quick, quick! Everyone, get over there!"

All the medical staff on the floor rushed toward the rehabilitation ward from every direction. They threw the door open with a BANG and flooded inside like a tide.

And they saw...

The heart rate monitor was beeping erratically, but the rhythm gradually became steady and strong.

'Wha- what's going on?'

This little girl, who had been in a coma for ten long years, had never had such a vigorous heart rate curve!

Not only that, but on the other monitors, all of her vital signs were flaring up one after another as if in rebellion.

"Eeeek!!!!"

A young nurse standing by the bed suddenly let out a scream!

Everyone looked toward the hospital bed—

And they saw.

The gaunt, skeletal little girl who had lain flat on her back, bidding farewell to the world for ten years...

Slowly.

Opened her eyes.