Chapter 63 - 62: Magician
"Do you all know what the most important thing is for a successful prison break?"
A hoarse voice came from the next cell.
’What?’
Jiang Ran couldn’t help but sit up straight and prick up his ears.
’A prison break?’
’What is the man in the next cell talking about?’
As his senses recovered from a dizzy spell, he finally had a chance to survey his surroundings.
Dim lights,
a tiny room,
damp air,
a toilet and a small bed,
steel bars,
’This is...!’
Jiang Ran couldn’t believe it. He gasped—
’This place is—’
’A prison!?’
"It’s ’weapons’."
A voice came from the cell diagonally across the corridor.
Judging by the voice, it seemed to be a young man.
Jiang Ran peered out through the steel bars of his cell. The young voice had just come from Cell 2.
Across from Cell 2 was Cell 1—the one next to his own, where the initial hoarse question had come from.
"In a modern prison, there’s no possibility of digging a tunnel or climbing a wall to escape."
The young man in Cell 2 continued his explanation.
"If you want to break out successfully, you have to rely on weapons and charge straight out."
Jiang Ran’s breathing quickened.
’These people...’
’What on earth are these people talking about?’
’Why am I in a prison, locked in a cell?’
He couldn’t understand it at all!
"It’s ’timing’."
Immediately after, someone in Cell 4, across the way, spoke up.
Since the only faint light in the prison came from the corridor, it was impossible to see the faces of the criminals in their cells.
"There’s no such thing as an airtight wall. Every secure system has moments of negligence and oversight."
The voice was slow and methodical. The person in Cell 4 seemed to be an intellectual.
"Surveillance, security, lookouts, alarms... they all have them."
The man in Cell 4 coughed twice.
"As long as you can find the right time, find a gap in their vigilance, find a blind spot in the surveillance and security, you can escape successfully without any violent conflict."
"It’s ’luck’."
The voice from Cell 5 to the right was sharp.
Since it was on the same side as Jiang Ran’s Cell 3, he couldn’t see any details, only hear the voice.
"The only thing that matters for a successful prison break is luck."
The man in Cell 5 let out a dry laugh.
"Without enough luck, everything else is pointless."
"Wrong!!"
A furious roar came from Cell 1.
"Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!"
He stuck a fat hand out and pointed at each of the cells that had spoken.
"You guys and your fucking daily theoretical analysis, your armchair strategizing! It’s all fucking useless!"
"I’m telling you! The most important thing for a successful prison break is the fucking ’break’ itself! You have to have the guts to actually do it to fucking succeed!"
"Every single one of you is a coward! You don’t even have the balls to try, and you want to succeed? Succeed my ass!"
Then, the big shot in Cell 1 unleashed a torrent of curses, calling out his three fellow inmates one by one for being cowards, for being worthless, for not having the guts to even attempt an escape.
As the incessant cursing continued, Jiang Ran’s head began to pound.
’Why did the Worldline change even though the Time SMS failed to send? There was no trigger for a Butterfly Effect!’
’After the Worldline Jump, why did I end up in prison? As a criminal? What’s the historical logic behind this?’
Looking around at the tiny cell he was locked in, Jiang Ran truly felt like his world was collapsing.
’What did I do to deserve this?’
’What crime did I commit?’
’How long am I going to be locked up in here?’
"Hey!"
He grabbed the steel bars and shouted, interrupting the tirade from the big shot in Cell 1.
"Excuse me, where is this? What prison is it? Do you know what crime I committed?"
"Well, well."
The big shot in Cell 1 was clearly taken aback. He tried to squeeze his fat face through the bars to get a look, but to no avail.
"Cell 3? When did someone move in?"
He sounded quite surprised.
"Did they shove you in here in the middle of the night? Kid, what’s your name?"
"My name is Jiang Ran."
Jiang Ran was desperate to communicate.
Although he didn’t know why the worldline had changed so drastically, what was done was done. He had to figure out his current situation first.
And in his current predicament, the only source of information was the few fellow inmates before him.
"Alright, Jiang Ran."
The voice from Cell 1 turned serious.
"Are you willing to join my breakout team and escape with me?"
’Huh?’
The sudden invitation to team up caught Jiang Ran completely off guard.
’How could I possibly agree to that!’
He had only spoken to this guy to figure out what was going on.
"Sir, what crime did I even commit?"
Jiang Ran pressed.
"How many years was I sentenced to?"
"How the fuck should I know!"
The big shot in Cell 1 spat.
"Don’t you know what crime you committed?"
"Besides! How you got in here isn’t important! What’s important is how you’re going to get out!"
"Make up your mind, quick! Are you breaking out with me or not? We don’t have much time, we have to act now!"
’I...’
Jiang Ran was at a loss for words.
"I’m not going."
’What a joke. It’s 2025, and people still dare to break out of prison? They’ve definitely watched too many movies and anime.’
The education he’d received since childhood made it so he wouldn’t even dare to think about committing a crime, let alone breaking out of prison.
Besides, he knew nothing about his current situation.
’If my sentence is only a few months, or even a few years, I can just ride it out. Why take the risk of a prison break?’
"Can any of you please tell me what crime I committed? When did I get here?"
Jiang Ran looked around at the other cells, desperate for information.
But there was no response.
’Damn it.’
’Every time the worldline changes, I lose my memory of the new timeline. I hate this feeling. My mind is a complete blank, and I have no idea what’s going on.’
He recalled what had happened just a few minutes ago...
Outside the Film Club room at East Sea University.
Just as Chi Xiaoguo activated the Positron Cannon, he was about to press the send button for the message, but Nan Xiuxiu suddenly called, disrupting all his plans.