Genius Playground

HUMMM!

HUMMM!

HUMMM!

A wave of dizziness washed over him, and the world spun.

The pain of multiple gunshot wounds vanished in an instant. Jiang Ran couldn’t feel the existence of anything in the outside world as he plummeted into a boundless vortex.

Two seconds later, his five senses returned.

Amidst the fluttering autumn leaves... he opened his eyes.

”42 is... me?”

Holding his phone, Jiang Ran stood beside a transformer box, muttering Qin Feng’s last words to himself.

’Is this the answer to 42?’

But hearing this answer didn’t give Jiang Ran any sense of sudden enlightenment. Instead, he only grew more confused, more unable to comprehend ”42.”

’Why would I be 42?’

He couldn’t figure it out, no matter how hard he thought.

...

Back in the club activities room, Chi Xiaoguo was squatting by the wall, humming a tune while drawing a promotional poster for the Film Club’s recruitment drive.

The military training for new students would be over in a few days.

The first major school event to follow would be the recruitment drive for all the major clubs.

Generally speaking, the main participants in university club activities were first and second-year students.

The ones who remained in their third year were usually presidents, vice presidents, and the like.

And once they reached their fourth year, under the triple pressure of their thesis, graduation, and job hunting, the presidents and vice presidents would almost always step down to make way for the younger students, no longer participating in club activities.

Xu Yan was a perfect example.

A few days ago, Jiang Ran, Xu Yan, and Cheng Mengxue had eaten together. Xu Yan told them she had already handed over the presidency of the film society to a younger male student. She said she would rarely go to the society anymore and wouldn’t be participating in next year’s—that is, the 2026—College Student Film Festival.

”My youthful university days are coming to an end!”

Xu Yan announced, both happily and regretfully:

”Sigh, it’s time to prepare to enter society. In the future... I’ll be leaving the ivory tower and becoming a real adult.”

Autumn often brings a sense of melancholy. It’s a season of harvest, but also a season of farewells.

In reality, her senior year had only just begun, and graduation was still nearly a year away.

But...

Not a single senior thought that way.

The moment they were promoted to seniors, they understood that they had, in a sense, already graduated. This final year was merely a grace period for them to adapt to the transition.

As some people leave, others arrive.

No one is 18 forever, but someone is always 18.

The freshmen currently standing at attention on the training grounds were the newest, most vibrant, and most energetic force at East Sea University.

Lately, Chi Xiaoguo had been coming to the activities room whenever she had free time to prepare for the recruitment drive.

Posters, promotional flyers, exhibitions of past works, small gifts...

Her enthusiasm was high, and she handled everything herself, her eyes full of hope for the Film Club’s bright future.

Chi Xiaoguo was a junior now, too. The coming year would also be her last year to be active in the Film Club and serve as its president.

”One year is just one year. I’m already more than content that I was able to save the East Sea University Film Club with your help, Senior~”

Chi Xiaoguo was very philosophical about it, declaring solemnly:

”Success doesn’t have to be achieved by me, but I will surely be a part of its success!”

Heh.

Jiang Ran smiled slightly as he looked at the energetic Chi Xiaoguo.

’Those words are strangely appropriate here.’

When Jiang Ran didn’t have class, he would also come to the Film Club’s activities room to help Chi Xiaoguo prepare the promotional materials.

To say they prepared them together was a stretch; he was really just her assistant, doing whatever she asked him to do.

But... not today.

Because Jiang Ran had a class first period.

”I’m heading out then. I’ll come back to help you after my first class is over.”

”Until we meet again!”

”...” Jiang Ran was left speechless as he watched her small, busy figure.

’Until we meet again?’

It seemed Chi Xiaoguo was so hyper she was getting a little delirious, not unlike the crazed crowds at the 2045 execution site.

He arrived at the classroom.

Jiang Ran found a seat, put down his books, and began to twirl his pen in thought.

After several days of continuous effort.

He had finally managed to coax the complete sentences out of Qin Feng.

It was really just three sentences, repeated over and over—

”[42 is correct.]”

”[Follow 42.]”

”[42 is... you.]”

If he could have talked to Qin Feng for a little longer, he might have been able to ask for more details.

But the situation didn’t allow for it.

It was an execution spectacle watched by the whole world, and it was clear the prison authorities were thoroughly prepared.

Aside from the surprisingly lax security inside the prison itself, the external area was a fortress of iron, completely impenetrable.

Although he could take down the executioner on the platform with his pistol, the massive number of snipers hidden in the surrounding high-rises would just execute Qin Feng directly with their rifles.

In such a limited amount of time, it was already incredibly difficult to get any more information out of Qin Feng.

’At least, there’s no hope of getting more in the short term.’

Because...

The pen in Jiang Ran’s fingers spun faster and faster.

Because the situation with the Assassin also needed to be pushed forward urgently.

To this day, he still didn’t know who the Assassin was supposed to kill at East Sea University, or when.

While he didn’t actually plan to help Fang Ze with his ”brotherly bond” problem, he at least... had to confirm whether the person the Assassin was targeting was related to him or the people around him.

Otherwise, he couldn’t rest easy.

So, he would try the execution site one last time over the next two days to see if he could get more information from Qin Feng. After that, he would have to shift his focus to breaking the Assassin out of prison.

The Assassin held many secrets, and he had made it very clear that he would only reveal them after a successful prison break.

So tight-lipped and so powerful.

Jiang Ran really had no way of dealing with this ”big brother.”

Helpless, if he wanted to learn those secrets and answers, his only choice was to actually figure out a way to break him out, trading sincerity for truth.

’For now, I should focus on this ”42” business.’

Jiang Ran lowered his head and wrote the three sentences on a blank sheet of paper with a pencil:

”[42 is correct.]”

”[Follow 42.]”

”[42 is... you.]”

The first sentence immediately felt contradictory to Jiang Ran. A mysterious text from before had said not to trust 42, but now Qin Feng was saying 42 is correct.

A classic case of the left hand fighting the right, the left brain battling the right brain.

If you had to argue that *some* 42s were correct and *some* couldn’t be trusted... what was the difference from saying nothing at all? Not even a fortune teller would dare to be so deceptive.

The second sentence.

Follow 42.

The literal meaning was easy to understand.

But the same worry remained. If 42 was correct, then there was nothing wrong with following it. But if 42 couldn’t be trusted, wouldn’t following it be like walking straight into a trap?

What’s more, he still had no idea if 42 was a person, a thing, or just a number.

Finally, the third sentence.

”42 is me.”

This was even more intriguing.

How could he, a perfectly normal person, be 42?

In terms of student ID numbers, Qin Feng was once 42, and now Cheng Mengxue was 42. His own student ID had never had anything to do with 42.

As for other things...

His birthday, lucky number, phone number, QQ number, and so on, were all completely unrelated to 42.

If he had to force a connection between himself and 42, the only thing would be—

”[I always inadvertently see or notice this number around me.]”

For example, the nameplate on the transformer box;

For example, the clock when he first met Nan Xiuxiu;

For example, Qin Feng’s and Cheng Mengxue’s student IDs;

For example, the consistent number of people at the class reunion;

For example, the temperature setting on his own water heater...

Ahem.

Jiang Ran made himself laugh.

’Can that kind of 42 even count?’

He didn’t think it should.

Because none of those ”42s” actually had anything to do with him.

Whether he looked or not, whether he noticed or not, those ”42s” were just there, existing as a matter of fact.

It was like the temperature on a home water heater; the default factory setting is usually 42 degrees Celsius. It’s the same in every household.

There was nothing strange about it. It’s the most suitable temperature for a shower, and Jiang Ran felt there was no need to be so neurotic about it.

’Besides, who doesn’t encounter lots of ”42s” in their daily life?’

He looked down at his open textbook.

The page number... was exactly 42.

He turned his head and looked at the textbooks of the students next to him and behind him. They were also on page 42.

’Of course.’

’This is perfectly normal.’

’We’re all in the same class, so shouldn’t our textbooks all be open to the same page?’

’So, what’s so special about the number 42, anyway?’

Jiang Ran frowned, feeling like he was stuck in a logical dead end.

Especially that sentence Qin Feng gritted out at the moment of his death:

”42 is... you!”

The more he thought about it, the bigger his headache grew.

Jiang Ran was sick and tired of this world full of riddle-speakers.

But there was nothing he could do.

On the execution ground in 2045, the executioner and snipers wouldn’t give Qin Feng a single extra second to live.

The people of this world were truly terrified of the Magician.

That’s right. From the prison guards to the general public, while they hated the Magician, they also feared this public enemy.

That’s why they had him locked up so tightly, bound so securely, not daring to let him speak another word.

DING DONG!

Suddenly, his phone made a WeChat notification sound.

’Crap, I forgot to silence my phone in class.’

He quickly pulled down the control menu on his screen and set the phone to silent.

Only then did he look at the message in the notification bar.

He tapped on it.

It was a message from Cheng Mengxue—

”Hee hee~ I see you!”