Genius Playground

The warm sunlight washed over him.

Jiang Ran looked south.

On the road that had just been swept clean, two more dead leaves drifted down, landing on the ground.

He blinked, recalling the last words of the Magician, Qin Feng, in the Future World of 2045—

”42 is correct.”

The face of that public enemy, history’s greatest criminal, was indeed that of Qin Feng twenty years in the future. Of this, Jiang Ran was absolutely certain. He hadn’t been mistaken.

So...

What was he supposed to make of that bizarre statement?

42.

again.

What special meaning did this strange number even have?

Did it refer to a person, an event, or some kind of symbol?

Jiang Ran couldn’t figure it out.

What confused him even more was that previously, on World Line 0, during their first Time SMS experiment, they had received another mysterious, 42-related message—

”Do not trust 42.”

’That’s a contradiction!’

One minute, it was ”42 is correct,” and the next, ”do not trust 42”...

Which one was he supposed to believe?

And that wasn’t all. His trip to the year 2045 had raised a host of new questions.

Jiang Ran’s head was about to explode.

”I’ll think about it slowly during class.”

Jiang Ran hung up and put down his phone.

”University lectures are the best time for zoning out, anyway.”

...

Afterward, Jiang Ran returned to the Film Club’s activity room and chatted casually with Chi Xiaoguo for a few minutes.

Chi Xiaoguo’s mind was currently consumed with recruiting new members.

For the new semester, the Film Club needed at least five official members to continue its activities and avoid being disbanded.

”It’ll be no problem at all!”

Chi Xiaoguo puffed out her chest.

”Film-style photos have made a huge comeback online these past two years! Once this year’s freshmen are done with their military training, our recruitment booth will be absolutely swamped!”

”We’ll have to be picky then. We can only accept people who are genuinely passionate about film photography!”

”I mean... our clubroom is tiny. If we recruit too many people at once, there won’t be anywhere for them to sit.”

”But, if there really are that many people who love it, I guess we’ll just have to manage. We can ask the university for a bigger activity room! Oh my, I never thought having too many members could be a source of stress, too~”

Chi Xiaoguo was already lost in her daydream.

If she kept daydreaming like this, East Sea University might as well change its name to Film University.

Jiang Ran wanted to warn her not to get her hopes up. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. They had to face the reality that film cameras were a thing of the past.

But...

Seeing the little club president’s sincere passion, however, Jiang Ran hesitated, and in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything to burst her bubble.

”Yeah.”

He nodded.

”Let’s give recruitment our all after the military training ends.”

After that, the two of them went their separate ways to class.

Although Jiang Ran, Cheng Mengxue, and Fang Ze were all in the same small graduate program, they didn’t share most of their classes.

The reason was simple.

Jiang Ran was the only actual graduate student in their program; the other two were exchange students from the United States.

An exchange student’s curriculum was naturally different from a standard graduate student’s. Not to mention, Cheng Mengxue and Fang Ze had different fields of interest, so even their schedules barely overlapped.

As a result, on most days, the three of them went to their classes separately.

Jiang Ran checked his schedule and confirmed it: the three of them only had two required courses together each week.

In addition, Professor Yan Chonghan required them to attend two or three lab group meetings a week, which meant that, all told, the three of them would only see each other four or five times weekly.

’Why does it feel like I have more classes as a grad student than I did in undergrad?’

Jiang Ran scowled at his packed schedule.

’I have so many other things to do right now...’

The professor at the podium had already begun the lecture. Jiang Ran settled in, picked up his pen, and began to organize his thoughts on a piece of paper.

Objectively speaking, his trip to the year 2045 had been incredibly fruitful.

First and foremost, the biggest breakthrough was seeing the Magician, Qin Feng, verifying his identity, and even managing to speak with him.

He was sure that the Qin Feng from twenty years in the future had recognized him.

He was positive.

’Qin Feng is too smart. He could have compressed so much information into that 70-character Time SMS. Besides, he already came to my basement to steal my notes. There’s no way he wouldn’t remember what I look like, right?’

No, of course not.

In fact, who knew how many times that guy Qin Feng had spied on him from the shadows.

At that thought, Jiang Ran’s head snapped up, and he scanned the classroom windows.

He looked all around but saw no suspicious figures.

He snorted softly.

’I’m getting paranoid.’

Then again, if Qin Feng wanted to watch him from the shadows, he’d have a hard time noticing anyway.

’In any case, twenty years from now, on that execution platform, Qin Feng must have recognized me from twenty years in his past.’

Jiang Ran continued to reason:

’With a mind like Qin Feng’s, the instant he saw me, he must have known I’d traveled from twenty years in the past... I look young, definitely not like I’m in my thirties or forties.’

He rubbed his chin, feeling no noticeable stubble.

He thought of the thick, matted beard on Qin Feng’s face in 2045. Time really takes its toll; no one can resist its erosion.

’In the final moments of his life, right before his execution, Qin Feng was desperately trying to send me a message.’

’That information must be pure gold—critically important.’

SCRATCH, SCRATCH, SCRATCH.

Jiang Ran’s pen glided across the white paper as he wrote down the words Qin Feng had screamed hysterically:

42!

Follow 42!

is correct!

is—

He couldn’t finish the last sentence before the Ghost Head Saber came down, and blood splattered across the execution grounds.

’42 is... is... is what?’

Jiang Ran frowned.

No matter how he looked at it, that last, unfinished sentence was the most crucial part.

’Couldn’t he have said that part first?’

Still, he couldn’t blame Qin Feng.

Even for a genius, in that situation—on the brink of execution, faced with such a sudden development—he only had an instant to think.

In that single instant, he had to recognize Jiang Ran, determine why he was there, and then decide what information to convey... If their roles were reversed, Jiang Ran was certain he couldn’t have reacted as quickly as Qin Feng.

’A genius is a genius, after all. But...’

’Can this Qin Feng be trusted?’

Jiang Ran scratched his head.

On World Line 0, Qin Feng had already deceived him once. Later, on World Line 1, where their lives barely intersected, Qin Feng had still snuck into his basement to steal from him...

It certainly didn’t earn him any goodwill and had severely damaged Jiang Ran’s trust in him.

On top of that, this new information directly contradicted the mysterious Time SMS he’d received before.

Jiang Ran really didn’t know which to believe.

’Forget it. I’ll stop thinking about it for now.’

Jiang Ran decided not to dwell on it too deeply for the time being.

After all, he didn’t have enough information. Thinking about it now was pointless. He was better off trying to get more information on his next trip to 2045 and then analyzing it all.

’If I could get to the execution grounds a little earlier, would I be able to hear Qin Feng finish his sentence?’

’Or maybe I could shout what Qin Feng said myself to prompt him to shout more information?’

Yes.

Jiang Ran thought the idea had merit.

’This time, Qin Feng shouted Information A. Next time I go to the execution, I’ll shout Information A, and maybe that’ll get him to shout Information B. The time after that, I’ll shout Information B to get him to shout Information C...’

’Like that, I could basically use a cheat code to spiral my way to the top!’

The process probably wouldn’t be that smooth, but in theory, the more intelligence he could gather, the better equipped he’d be to figure things out. The logic was sound.

’Okay, I’ll put the 42 problem aside for now.’

Jiang Ran picked up the piece of paper, intending to place it at the bottom of the stack.

But the moment he saw the number 42... his mind couldn’t help but start racing again.

That strange number was like a ghost that refused to leave, always appearing around him, intentionally or not, and giving him a scare.

The very first time he saw 42 was on World Line 0, on the belly of the astronaut Rhine Cat phone charm hanging from Cheng Mengxue’s phone.

The second time was the No. 42 transformer box outside the Film Club window, though he hadn’t noticed it back then.

The third time was that mysterious, one-off Time SMS he had received by chance, which ended with the number 42.

The fourth time was on the night of the Worldline Jump, in the instant he realized Qin Feng’s student ID number was 42.

The fifth time was more interesting. It was also on the night of the Worldline Jump, at the villa where Nan Xiuxiu’s friend was hosting a party... As Nan Xiuxiu lifted his chin, her light scarf dancing in the night breeze, the digital clock happened to display 00:42.

Could it be that Nan Xiuxiu, who seemed like nothing more than a passerby, an insignificant side character, was also connected to the mysterious number 42?

Probably not. After all, their relationship only existed on World Line 1, and they had already drifted apart.

Besides, unlike Qin Feng and Cheng Mengxue, there were no mysteries or incomprehensible things about Nan Xiuxiu. She was just a normal girl. Her personality might be far from ordinary, but in the grand scheme of time, space, and worldlines, she was utterly unremarkable, with no special qualities whatsoever.

Jiang Ran continued his train of thought.

The sixth time was at the summer class reunion. People came and went, but the number of guests always seemed to hover at exactly 42. Then, at the last moment, Cheng Mengxue—student ID number 42—made her shocking appearance.

...

Those were all the moments Jiang Ran could recall where the number 42 had appeared around him.

Coincidentally, every time 42 appeared, it seemed to be accompanied by something unsettling.

’So, does 42 refer to a person, or people? Or does it refer to an event, or events?’

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

’Or maybe...’

’42 refers to 42 itself. It doesn’t represent any person or thing. The number itself holds some unfathomable, mysterious meaning—’

’42 is 42. And it’s everywhere.’