Genius Playground

It was a familiar process, and everything went smoothly.

Jiang Ran, with his mysterious and domineering aura, earned Sang Biao’s trust and ordered him to open all the cell doors.

He immediately rushed into cell number 4 across the way.

”Lu Yu!”

Seeing the familiar figure squatting on the bed and drooling, Jiang Ran let out a sigh of relief for some reason.

Phew...

’Thank goodness.’

It seemed the Future Prison of 2045 hadn’t been altered by the Butterfly Effect. It was still exactly the same as the last time he was here.

This meant his actions during this period hadn’t interfered with the predetermined course of the future... or at least, the resulting Butterfly Effect hadn’t reached this prison.

”Lu Yu, Lu Yu, can you hear me?”

Jiang Ran crouched down, wiped the drool from the emaciated and scar-covered Lu Yu, and tried to communicate again.

He patted his cheeks and pinched his arm.

There was no reaction.

The mentally broken man known as ”Little Genius” simply stared blankly into the air, drool once again trickling from his mouth and dripping in a thick, straight line onto the bedsheet.

”That’s not gonna work.”

Sang Biao walked in and raised his hand to slap Lu Yu.

”This kid was tortured until he went crazy before he was sent here. His brain’s fried. It doesn’t matter how you hit him, he won’t react.”

SMACK!

Without even looking up, Jiang Ran shot out a hand and precisely caught Sang Biao’s palm, sending him stumbling back.

”Hadoken!”

Sang Biao’s jaw dropped, stunned by the depth of Jiang Ran’s internal energy.

”You have eyes in the back of your head!”

He had seen it clearly. Just now, this young man named Jiang Ran hadn’t lifted his head or glanced back at all.

But!

He had precisely raised his wrist and caught his hand!

A master!

He really was a master!

He was instantly filled with awe and respect.

’No wonder.’

’No wonder he was so calm and in command when he announced the prison break. He’s a master who’s been hiding his skills!’

’This is it.’

Sang Biao was suddenly brimming with confidence.

’Today’s prison break is a sure thing!’

Meanwhile, Jiang Ran stared intently into Lu Yu’s eyes, trying to catch the faintest signal within their lifeless void.

Unfortunately, he found nothing.

Right now, Lu Yu was like a dead bass—mouth agape, eyes wide, giving not a single shred of response.

”Give it up.”

The Assassin walked in from outside.

”Little Genius has been like this since the day he was brought in. We and the guards have tried everything, but nothing works.”

”He can’t... talk at all anymore. He can’t even feel pain. He’s completely broken, like someone in a vegetative state.”

Jiang Ran gritted his teeth.

He was filled with hatred and anger.

He didn’t know who had tortured Lu Yu into this state.

But...

This was his benefactor, a junior from his university whom he’d never met. The combination of these two feelings left a bitter taste in Jiang Ran’s mouth.

’Right, his junior.’

’I have to confirm whether this part of history has changed.’

”Assassin.”

He stood up and looked at the man who was always on his side, supporting him unconditionally.

”Do you remember which university Lu Yu... the famous Little Genius, graduated from?”

”Of course.”

The Assassin said nonchalantly,

”Little Genius graduated from East Sea University, and he continued to do research there afterward. That’s common knowledge.”

”Although East Sea University has always been famous, the emergence of Little Genius made it shine even brighter. For a time, its reputation even began to rival Qingbei’s... That’s the kind of impact Little Genius had after winning the Nobel Prize.”

Jiang Ran listened in silence, his brow furrowed.

’The established history hasn’t changed.’

’Lu Yu is still a student of East Sea University.’

’But...’

’Lu Yu didn’t even enroll this year.’

’Was the information Teacher Zhang Yang gave me wrong? Or did Lu Yu really enroll in September 2026?’

”Assassin, do you know what year Lu Yu started university?”

”I definitely don’t remember that.”

The Assassin shook his head with a small smile.

”To be honest, the only reason I remember the connection between Lu Yu and East Sea University is because I also pay close attention to it and have some ties to the university myself.”

”Otherwise, after all these years, I would’ve completely forgotten Little Genius’s background and definitely wouldn’t remember his school.”

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

’As expected.’

’The focus is on East Sea University again.’

’The Assassin’s secrets, the truths he’s hiding, they must be related to East Sea University too.’

’He just dangles a carrot, but he’s unwilling to tell me anything.’

’I’ll try one more time.’

”What are your ties to East Sea University?” Jiang Ran asked again.

”Heh.”

The Assassin gave his usual smile.

”If we really manage to break out this time and escape, I’ll tell you.”

”...”

The only lesson mankind learns from history is that mankind never learns any lessons.

The glimmer of hope Jiang Ran had just now was a complete waste of breath.

”Boss!!”

Sang Biao couldn’t hold back any longer, his huge face leaning in to urge him on.

”Stop chitchatting here! Can we get on with the prison break already?!”

The stupid young man’s face was red with impatience, his body twitching as he faced the wall.

The Assassin was the same. Though his eyes and expression were calm, it was easy to see... he too had bet his life and future on this prison break, burning his bridges behind him.

Helpless, Jiang Ran could only set foot on this path of no return once more.

Speaking of which, the last prison break—the one right before summer break—had been a complete and utter failure.

Everyone had performed their part flawlessly.

The stupid young man hadn’t jumped the gun.

Sang Biao hadn’t kneeled on the ground to feed the dogs.

The Assassin and he himself had both been in top form.

And yet... the final result was a world apart. The entire team was wiped out.

’It’s very strange.’

’Where did it go wrong?’

Jiang Ran stroked his chin, thinking back.

’It seems... during the only successful escape, the stupid young man jumping the gun and Sang Biao feeding the dogs managed to attract the guards’ attention, which gave the Assassin the chance to set up an ambush.’

’But without the ’jumping the gun’ and ’feeding the dogs’ parts, the guards would see all four of them leap out at once, turn tail and run without hesitation, and only turn back to open fire after creating some distance.’

’Perhaps, that’s where the problem lies!’

’Jumping the gun and feeding the dogs are essential!’

Then, he thought deeper.

Why did two prison breaks with the same team, the same tasks, and the same plan... result in one with the ’jumping the gun and feeding the dogs’ incident, and another without?

”No.”

A sudden realization struck Jiang Ran.

’The lineups for the two prison breaks weren’t completely identical!’

’The devil is in the details!’

’This was the one detail that made all the difference—’

’The presence of a fifth person!’

He recalled the successful escape. Teacher Zhang Yang, because of his bad leg and slow movements, wasn’t assigned any tasks. He just obediently squatted behind the stupid young man and only came out at the very end.

But during the last failed escape, Teacher Zhang Yang was gone, and cell number 4 was occupied by Lu Yu. Sang Biao, annoyed that the drooling idiot would slow them down, had left him in the cell.

And here, a crucial detail emerged—

’There was no one behind the stupid young man.’

The stupid young man had Super Male syndrome and ADHD. His body was in a constant superposition of twitching and hyperactivity. If someone was behind him, he would inevitably get even more agitated and excited, causing him to jump the gun.

But if there was no one behind him, he would probably be calmer and not so tense, so the false start wouldn’t happen.

”The Butterfly Effect truly is omnipresent. One tiny change can alter the entire outcome.”

”Huh?”

Sang Biao looked back at Jiang Ran, who was muttering to himself.

”What are you blabbering about?”

”Nothing.”

Jiang Ran shook his head and hoisted the drooling Lu Yu onto his back.

”We have to take Lu Yu with us.”

”Are you crazy?!”

Sang Biao couldn’t take it anymore and started spewing curses:

”It’ll be a miracle if we normal guys can escape successfully! And you want to bring a cripple along? Are you out of your goddamn mind?!”

”No, we have to take him.”

Jiang Ran, with Lu Yu on his back, stood up, his gaze firm.

”If you want this escape to succeed, you’ll listen to me. Lu Yu is the key to our success. Without him... we won’t even make it past the first stage.”

Sang Biao was completely baffled.

But he had no choice but to listen to Jiang Ran.

Then, following the plan, the group went to the equipment room to find weapons.

This step was also necessary.

They needed three Electric Sticks to deal with the three guard dogs.

Here, Jiang Ran took the opportunity to ask Sang Biao a question.

”Sang Biao, what did you do to get sent to prison?”

”Fuck! I was framed!”

Sang Biao yelled, proclaiming his innocence.

”I just took some money to do a job for someone, delivering a shipment. I’d already washed my hands of my old life for a long time by then, I was doing legit delivery business.”

”I even lifted the tarp to take a look. It was just a machine. I couldn’t tell what it was, so I just drove off with it.”

”And guess what! When I got to the destination, they detained me! Said I was transporting contraband!”

”My God, who was I supposed to complain to? Those unreasonable sons of bitches just threw me in here.”

Jiang Ran caught the keywords.

’A machine... couldn’t understand it... contraband.’

He almost immediately thought of one name—

’The Time Travel Machine.’

’Is it possible that’s what Sang Biao was transporting?’

’Then why was the stupid young man sent to prison?’

With Lu Yu on his back, Jiang Ran hurried over to ask.

”I was caught for breaking and entering.”

The stupid young man said nonchalantly,

”I’ve robbed and stolen so much, I don’t even know which specific crime got me caught.”

”I see.”

This stupid young man was practically a walking criminal law textbook.

According to Jiang Ran’s speculation...

’He probably also stole something he shouldn’t have, and that’s how he ended up in this special prison.’

’It went without saying, then, that the thing he stole was most likely also related to Time Travel!’

At this point, the puzzle was complete.

Perhaps it was just as he had suspected before—

’In this special prison, all the inmates, including the Magician... the reason they were all locked up was related to Time Travel.’

”It has to be intentional.”

Jiang Ran whispered.

”There’s definitely some special purpose behind it.”

From the execution ground, an explosive cheer erupted, followed by continuous, rhythmic shouting.

Jiang Ran glanced at the digital clock. The time was 11:00 AM.

There were thirty minutes until the Magician would be brought out wearing a burlap hood.

There was one hour until the Magician would be beheaded by a greatsword.

’This time...’

’Will I be able to see his face before his head hits the ground?’

He recalled Qin Feng’s backward glance in front of the transformer box...

He recalled the executioner’s blade falling and the head rolling on the ground...

He recalled the buzzing and dizziness that had appeared in that instant...

”Magician, who are you really?”

Jiang Ran’s lips tightened.

”Are you Qin Feng, as everyone says?”

”Or...”

”Are you me, twenty years from now?”