Genius Playground

This was a blind spot he hadn’t noticed before.

The sample size had been too small before, and he hadn’t really considered this angle.

But analyzing it now...

The elderly Zhang Yang, formerly in cell #4, was imprisoned for researching Quantum Tunneling. Professor Gao Yan had said that Quantum Tunneling was very likely the theoretical precursor to the Time Travel Machine.

Now, the drooling Lu Yu in cell #4 was also imprisoned for researching Quantum Tunneling, and he’d even been physically tortured and interrogated. This made Jiang Ran even more certain that the super genius might just be the inventor of the Time Travel Machine.

The Assassin in cell #5 was mysterious and unfathomable. The moment he saw Jiang Ran, he was certain Jiang Ran had to be a Time Traveler. He could also accurately mention the rumors of a Time Travel Machine at East Sea University, which was enough to prove he was no mere outsider.

As for himself in cell #3, although the method of travel provided by the Positron Cannon 2.0 (Battle-Damaged Version) was far inferior to the Time Travel Machine, it was, when all was said and done, a genuine form of Time Travel.

Sang Biao in cell #1 and the stupid young man in cell #2... Jiang Ran knew nothing about their past lives or why they were imprisoned. But now, it seemed like birds of a feather flock together. There was a high probability that they, too, were connected to Time Travel and the Time Travel Machine!

Right!

He’d forgotten someone else.

The Magician!

He recalled that among the Magician’s list of crimes was "disturbing the historical order." The Assassin had also said the Magician was like a conjurer, sometimes disappearing and reappearing out of thin air. Wasn’t that also a form of Time Travel?

Although the Magician wasn’t imprisoned in the same place as Sang Biao and the others, the prison itself was built for him. It only existed because of him.

So, when he put it all together, the conclusion was truly frightening.

’Could it be...’

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

’The prisoners in this facility weren’t just chosen to fill the cells... They were all selected and imprisoned here because they had some contact with Time Travel or the Time Travel Machine during their lives.’

Yes.

It was very likely.

After all, there were countless criminals in the world.

If the goal was simply to fill the cells, to just stuff a few random criminals into this prison, why choose these specific people?

Zhang Yang disappeared, and then Lu Yu appeared. Both were affiliated with East Sea University, and their research project was the same. Jiang Ran absolutely refused to believe this was a coincidence.

’To find out the truth, I’ll have to wait until the next time I go to the future in 2045 and have a good talk with Sang Biao and the stupid young man.’

’If their life stories also involve the Time Travel Machine, then my theory is correct. It would also mean... there’s something seriously wrong with a prison that only holds inmates connected to Time Travel!’

Having settled on a plan, Jiang Ran turned and looked back at the Film Club window.

Too bad...

Next time.

But when would "next time" be?

He gave Chi Xiaoguo an "OK" sign through the Film Club window.

"Wait for me a minute, I’m going to check the bulletin board."

Then he walked around to the front of the club activities building to check the "Notice on Summer Safety Management for the Club Activities Building" posted on the bulletin board.

It was just as Xu Yan had said.

It was written clearly in black and white: during the summer break, all clubrooms would be sealed, and entry was forbidden.

Furthermore, the power would be cut at midnight tomorrow and would not be restored until school started again on September 1st.

"Sigh..."

Jiang Ran sighed.

’The power’s getting cut at midnight. The Positron Cannon needs to sit for 20 hours before it can be activated. There’s definitely not enough time.’

’Besides, knowing the school’s electricians, who would actually wait until midnight to throw the main switch? They’d probably just cut the power at 10 or 11 PM tonight and go home to bed.’

’Looks like there’s no chance to activate the Positron Cannon.’

Jiang Ran had been thinking that if he had the chance, he could try again tomorrow morning.

’At this rate, the next time I can go to the prison in 2045 to see Sang Biao, Lu Yu, and the Assassin... will have to be after school starts on September 1st.’

Afterward, Jiang Ran circled back to the transformer box, propped himself on the Film Club windowsill, and vaulted over in one smooth motion.

"Wow."

Chi Xiaoguo watched Jiang Ran’s fluid movements, full of admiration.

"It’s so great being tall. You’re like a ninja, scaling walls."

Jiang Ran couldn’t help but laugh.

"This isn’t scaling walls, it’s just climbing through a window. It’s a basic skill for any college student—"

He suddenly shut his mouth.

’Did that sound a bit offensive to Chi Xiaoguo?’

’After all, given her height, she probably didn’t possess this "basic skill."’

"Oh, it’s okay, Senior~"

Chi Xiaoguo naturally saw Jiang Ran’s predicament and smiled slightly.

"Girls from my hometown are just like this. The local environment shapes its people, you know? There’s nothing to be done about regional differences. I should just be thankful East Sea University accepted me."

"If I’d gone to Nankai, or somewhere in the Northeast, I’d have to walk down the street looking at people like this—"

Chi Xiaoguo demonstrated, craning her neck back 90 degrees toward the sky until it was parallel with the ceiling.

"Agh... see..."

She tilted her head back so far that her throat constricted, and her voice came out raspy.

"The universities in the Northeast must be full of giants. A short person like me would have to spend all day looking up at them. My neck would be ruined after a year."

Jiang Ran found her cheerfulness was truly infectious.

Being with her, listening to her talk, watching her little performances—he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

"It’s not as exaggerated as you say... By the way, what time is your flight tomorrow?"

"10 in the morning."

Chi Xiaoguo replied.

"From Pudong International Airport."

"Oh, okay."

Jiang Ran reminded her, "You should get there early, then. Pudong International Airport punishes everyone who tries to arrive just in time."

"Thanks for the reminder."

Chi Xiaoguo looked like she wanted to cry but had no tears left.

"I learned that the hard way last year. Who knew you’d have to take a subway inside the airport! My legs were dead! Why don’t they just build the departure gates out in the sea while they’re at it?"

Jiang Ran had to agree.

Although he always took the high-speed rail home, he had been to Pudong International Airport once on a trip, and it had instantly cured his procrastination.

There was a joke about a Korean tourist who landed at Pudong International Airport and took a car to the city. After driving for a long time through desolate scenery, he sneered.

"So this is East Sea City. The suburbs are so deserted, there’s nothing here."

At that moment, the driver turned around.

"We’re still in Pudong International Airport."

That’s basically how it was. Pudong International Airport was twice the size of Macao; you definitely didn’t want to cut it close.

"By the way, Senior, this is for you."

Chi Xiaoguo rummaged through her backpack, pulled out a notebook, and handed it to Jiang Ran.

"This is some information I compiled a while ago. It’s all about the history of the Film Club, especially information from around 2005. I went through a lot of old archives. I couldn’t find much, but I wrote down everything I did find."

"I couldn’t find any more information... But I’ve already figured out the timeline of the Film Club’s relocations. Maybe some materials were left behind in the old clubrooms. We can look for them together next semester!"

Jiang Ran took the notebook and flipped through it casually.

It was densely packed with writing.

For a moment...

He felt a little overwhelmed.

Chi Xiaoguo... although she had gotten into East Sea University on her own merits and was considered outstanding in high school...

...at East Sea University, who hadn’t been one of the top students in their class?

On top of that, the courses at East Sea University were extremely difficult, and the professors taught at an advanced level. So, for Chi Xiaoguo, who had been admitted with the lowest passing score, the pressure at this elite institution was immense.

Jiang Ran was afraid of affecting her exam results, which was why he had never bothered her during finals week.

But he never imagined that in the midst of her busy review schedule, she had still found time to help him organize materials on the Film Club and sift through those old archives...

This feeling...

It reminded Jiang Ran of Cheng Mengxue.

He closed the notebook, lost in thought.

Cheng Mengxue had also loved organizing materials, making summaries, and laying out her thoughts in a notebook.

On World Line 0, after they sent the first Time SMS, Cheng Mengxue had meticulously organized all the details with a pen to show Jiang Ran. It was the same later when they used the Positron Cannon; she would write out "Positron Cannon Usage Notes V1.0," V2.0, and so on, on a small blackboard...

Unfortunately, the updates for those usage notes had permanently stopped at V4.0.

"Thank you."

Jiang Ran said softly.

"I’ll study it carefully when I get back."

Chi Xiaoguo giggled, facing the sunlight with her hands behind her back.

"Well then, Senior Jiang Ran, I’ll see you next semester."

"I’m so excited! Next semester, once you’ve joined..."

"We’ll be real club members!"

...

After that, the two of them tidied up and cleaned the inside of the Film Club room.

They put the Positron Cannon in a cardboard box and pushed it behind a shelf to hide it.

The device looked like an oversized camera, so leaving it in the Film Club was like hiding a tree in a forest—a perfect, natural camouflage. No one would find it strange.

Jiang Ran had also considered it.

Should he take the Positron Cannon home, find a transformer box with the same specifications, and try to conduct the experiment in his hometown of Hang City?

But on second thought, he decided against it, just to be safe.

First, if he brought it home, how would he solve the problem of powering the Positron Cannon next to a transformer box? The device required a significant amount of power.

Second, parading around with such a strange object and tinkering with a State Grid transformer box all day would likely get him questioned by the police. It was just asking for trouble.

Finally, and most importantly, the Positron Cannon required precise timing and a coordinated phone call, which wasn’t a one-person job. And for now, Jiang Ran couldn’t think of a second person he could trust as much as Chi Xiaoguo.

So, all things considered, he decided to let the long-suffering Positron Cannon also have a nice summer vacation.

A two-month vacation wasn’t short, but it wasn’t long either. It would pass quickly.

This was also a good opportunity for him to use the time to study relevant subjects and prepare for the start of the next semester, for Lu Yu’s arrival, and for researching the Time Travel Machine project.

"That should be everything. Let’s go."

He repeated his earlier trick.

Jiang Ran first lifted Chi Xiaoguo onto the windowsill and helped her climb out.

Then he turned around.

He took one last look back at the Film Club room—the starting point of his dramatic new life, a place where world lines intersected...

He saw the old photograph held to the small blackboard by magnets.

It was the group photo of the Film Club’s trio, taken in 2005.

Two guys and a girl. Time flies.

Although the overexposed white light obscured their faces, it unexpectedly added a touch of hazy nostalgia to the already youthful photo.

Jiang Ran walked over.

He removed the small magnets from the corners of the photo and took it down.

Looking at the trio from 20 years ago, the image overlapped with another in his mind, blurring with the once inseparable iron triangle from his own past...

"You three... what are you doing now? Are you still together?"

Jiang Ran stared at the overexposed photo, murmuring to himself.

"Are you still... the best of friends?"