Genius Playground

”Riding a motorcycle? You mean one of those big ones?”

”Ahaha... My motorcycle is... decent... Yeah, it’s pretty big...”

Teacher Zhang Yang laughed sheepishly, his face flush with the embarrassment of being caught, and began to tell his story.

So that’s what happened.

Teacher Zhang Yang had a private hobby of riding motorcycles. Yesterday, he had arranged to go riding around Dianshan Lake with some fellow bikers.

”I wasn’t even going that fast... 70 or 80 kph at most, and it was on flat ground. I have no idea why I suddenly crashed.”

”Luckily, I was wearing a helmet and protective gear, so it’s nothing too serious. It’s just that the fractures in my right arm and right leg are a bit severe. See? My leg is still in traction.”

Sigh...

Jiang Ran lamented the misfortune that had befallen their little academic family. He looked at Zhang Yang and spoke earnestly.

”Teacher Zhang, can’t you be a little more mature? Act a little more like a teacher?”

No wonder Teacher Yan had been so hesitant during the first class. And no wonder Teacher Zhang Yang was unwilling to tell them the details of his ”car accident.”

As a teacher who constantly lectured his students about safety, crashing his motorcycle while speeding like this was just too embarrassing for anyone to face.

”Don’t tell those two exchange students!”

Zhang Yang pointed with his one good hand, his left.

”Losing face in front of our own people is one thing, but I can’t be embarrassed internationally! Just tell them I was an innocent victim, that someone hit me.”

”...” Jiang Ran nodded speechlessly.

”Oh, come on, my senior disciple, you have to understand your teacher. Who wasn’t young once? Who doesn’t have a few hobbies!”

Zhang Yang desperately tried to defend his image.

”I really was riding safely! And I’ve never crashed in all my years of riding. It’s all flat ground over by Dianshan Lake, and there were no obstacles on the road. I honestly don’t know how I fell.”

”All right, all right.”

Jiang Ran waved his hand dismissively.

”Don’t worry, I’ll help you save face. After all, the exchange students will be gone in a year, but you and I are in the same boat.”

”Thanks, Dingdang Cat.”

”Can you please be serious for a second! That’s not funny at all, you know?”

Jiang Ran was truly exasperated with Zhang Yang.

”If you have to make jokes about the Time Machine, can you at least call me Doraemon? ’Dingdang Cat’ sounds awful.”

”By the way... that Teacher Yan, Yan Chonghan, the one who’s temporarily subbing for you. What’s his deal?”

Zhang Yang took a peeled orange from his wife, broke off half for Jiang Ran, and explained:

”Teacher Yan? He’s a visiting professor who also just came to our university this semester. Don’t let his youth fool you, he’s extremely skilled!”

”For the past few years, Teacher Yan has been doing research at Dartmouth College. You’ve heard of Dartmouth, right?”

Jiang Ran nodded.

He had, of course, heard of the world-class Ivy League school.

The university has a very long history. Although its campus isn’t large, it has produced several Nobel laureates, as well as U.S. governors and secretaries of state. Its reputation is formidable.

But in this day and age, Dartmouth College’s most historically significant contribution is—

[Dartmouth College is the birthplace of artificial intelligence, AI.]

Nowadays, all sorts of AI technologies are emerging one after another, and the starting point for it all... was at Dartmouth College in the United States.

”The university also took into account that I have exchange students from the United States under my supervision, so they had Teacher Yan Chonghan, who is also from the U.S., temporarily take over my classes.”

Zhang Yang continued.

”Don’t you worry, Jiang Ran. Teacher Yan’s academic level is far beyond mine. He won’t hold you guys back.”

Of course, Jiang Ran wasn’t worried about that.

’After all... it’s not like I came to East Sea University to study anyway.’

He just felt that there were too many coincidences this semester!

Right now, in his small graduate class of four, three of them were returnees from the United States. He was completely surrounded by American returnees!

”I’ve really stumbled into a nest of American returnees.”

Jiang Ran complained.

”Thinking back, it was pretty good being your one and only student, a commander without an army.”

Humans are creatures who live in the past.

They can’t help but reminisce.

Because the present often just gets worse and worse.

Zhang Yang comforted Jiang Ran, saying he’d soon be well enough to walk with crutches and would be back to teaching at East Sea University in two months at the most.

”You’re my senior disciple. You have to make a good impression on Teacher Yan. Don’t let anyone look down on our school of thought!”

Zhang Yang made a fist with his one good hand, his left, to encourage Jiang Ran.

”Ahaha.”

This time, it was Jiang Ran’s turn to force a laugh.

’Teacher Zhang, please hurry back! Stuck between three American returnees this time, I’m really going to be exposed and my reputation will be ruined!’

...

After leaving the hospital, Jiang Ran picked up his phone to contact Chi Xiaoguo.

The little bundle of joy from Guangxi, who was also the president of the Film Club, had already returned to campus.

The two agreed to meet at the Film Club at 7 a.m. the next morning to prepare for another test of the Positron Cannon.

’Finally, I can go to 2045 again.’

Jiang Ran was truly getting impatient.

He had many questions to find answers for in that Future Prison:

1. Find a way to make contact with Qin Feng the Magician and learn his secrets.

2. Verify his previous theory and see if Sang Biao and the stupid young man were sent to prison for reasons related to time travel.

3. The Assassin was shrouded in mystery but also held a lot of key information that needed to be extracted as soon as possible.

4. The true super genius, Lu Yu, had been tortured into a mentally unstable state where he could only drool. Jiang Ran wondered if there was a way to restore him to normalcy and communicate with him.

’Come to think of it, my mission in 2045 is just as heavy.’

’Right! Lu Yu! I have to make contact with Lu Yu first!’

He had been so busy all day that he had only just now remembered about Lu Yu.

Jiang Ran got into a taxi and hurried back to the university.

He had previously learned from the elderly Teacher Zhang Yang in 2045 that Lu Yu would be enrolling at East Sea University as a freshman in the class of 2025.

Today happened to be registration day for new students, which meant Lu Yu should have already arrived at East Sea University’s School of Mathematical Sciences.

Finally...

Jiang Ran would finally have the chance to formally meet the man who was a modern-day Gauss for having cracked Goldbach’s Conjecture, the genius suspected of inventing the Time Travel Machine, and the catatonic patient who would do nothing but drool in 20 years.

This would be a truly historic meeting.

Just thinking about it made Jiang Ran’s heart beat faster.

Regardless, if he could recruit this super genius, it would be like giving a tiger wings for all his future plans.

Upon returning to East Sea University, he went straight to the student administration department of the School of Mathematical Sciences.

He thought he would have to do a lot of explaining, but to his surprise, the administrator there recognized him immediately.

It seemed that thanks to the personal recommendation letter from Dean Gao of the Dragon Country Academy of Sciences, and Teacher Zhang Yang’s incessant bragging about him, the name Jiang Ran was quite well-known among the faculty and staff at East Sea University.

”Hello, I’m looking for a new student in our School of Mathematical Sciences.”

Jiang Ran said sincerely.

”He’s brilliant, and I have a research project I’d like to invite him to help with. I was wondering if you could give me his contact information, or perhaps his class and dorm assignment.”

”Of course.”

The administrator readily agreed.

”No problem.”

That’s how things were at a university. As long as the request was framed as being for academic purposes, the staff would always offer their full support.

The administrator at the student affairs office opened her computer and searched... and searched... and searched...

Finally, her brow furrowed.

”Huh? I can’t find him. Are you sure his name is Lu Yu?”

”Yes.”

Jiang Ran leaned in as well and watched the administrator search through an Excel spreadsheet one more time. Sure enough, there were no results.

’What’s going on?’

Jiang Ran was momentarily stunned.

”Ma’am, is it possible Lu Yu just hasn’t registered yet?”

”Impossible.”

The administrator shook her head.

”I’m checking the enrollment list. This was finalized over the holiday when students submitted their applications. Whether or not Lu Yu has shown up to register today doesn’t affect his name being on this list.”

”So, since Lu Yu’s name isn’t on this list, it means—”

”[There is no one named Lu Yu among the new students admitted to the School of Mathematical Sciences this year.]”