Genius Playground

Jiang Ran had a gut feeling. He hadn’t committed any crime, nor had he provoked anyone...

The matter of Old Tian shooting Yan Chonghan was, in essence, unrelated to him.

Therefore.

If this Cheng Mengxue had really been sent by the Regrets Mutual Aid Association to get close to him, there could only be one reason—

”*Genius Playground*.”

Jiang Ran frowned, uttering the name of the culprit behind all this.

’That has to be it.’

He was just a small, ordinary university student. Even if he was the first-ever case of a student transferring from a vocational program to a graduate program, that kind of trivial accomplishment wasn’t enough to make an all-powerful criminal organization target him.

Dragon Country was full of geniuses. Who the hell was he in comparison?

And if they were targeting him because of the Positron Cannon, that was clearly impossible too.

Because the device wasn’t his to begin with; it was a long-dormant legacy of the Film Club.

If the Regrets Mutual Aid Association was really after the Positron Cannon, they could have just taken it away long ago... It couldn’t be that they’d only targeted him after he’d used it for less than a month, right? Besides, going to all the trouble of creating a fake Cheng Mengxue was completely unnecessary.

’Even now, the Positron Cannon is still in the Film Club’s room. If they want it, they can just take it. Is there any need to keep such a close watch on me?’

’And even if I’m completely wrong and they *are* pestering me for the Positron Cannon now, their initial reason for approaching me was definitely the microfilm, *Genius Playground*!’

Jiang Ran nodded.

’This line of reasoning must be correct.’

All the strange occurrences began after his microfilm, *Genius Playground*, won that award:

1. The film festival shelved the work and refused to release it to the public.

2. His script was bought out for an exorbitant price, and every member of the Film Club had to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

3. All related materials were destroyed; not a single scrap was allowed to remain.

4. And yet, the original manuscript of the nonsensical setting collection was stolen by Qin Feng, which proved that its contents were indeed valuable.

Combining these four points with his current situation, it wasn’t hard to reach a conclusion—

’It’s very likely I got into all this trouble because of the *Genius Playground* microfilm, and that’s why the Regrets Mutual Aid Association targeted me.’

’As for Cheng Mengxue, whether or not she’s connected to the Regrets Mutual Aid Association depends on whether I can find any links.’

Jiang Ran’s train of thought was becoming clearer.

If Cheng Mengxue hadn’t been ”trying too hard” and ”acting too eager for results” recently, Jiang Ran honestly wouldn’t have noticed anything strange.

For some reason, her methods had suddenly become much more rushed.

’Is there something that can’t wait?’

’No matter what, I need to speed things up too.’

The next day, Jiang Ran went to the Film Club’s activity room.

As soon as he entered, he saw dozens of Rhine Cats from the legion glaring at him menacingly. ’Uh... you cats are the newcomers here, so why are you acting like you own the place?’

Jiang Ran’s personal laptop had always been kept at the Film Club, but looking at these malevolent-looking Rhine Cats, he decided to just leave it there for now and not make any unnecessary moves.

If this was all part of a conspiracy, just as he had theorized last night, then there was a high chance these Rhine Cat dolls were fitted with listening devices or cameras.

Therefore, it was best not to do anything under their watch.

Leaving the club activity building and exiting the school gates, Jiang Ran went straight to an internet cafe on the pedestrian street and found a private booth.

He turned on the computer and began searching for the film production company that had bought his script for an exorbitant price.

Xu Yan had told him the company’s name long ago, and it was also written on the non-disclosure agreement. Jiang Ran had committed it to memory.

He found that this film production company had been established for some years and had many hit productions under its belt. The legal representative was a famous, big-name screenwriter in the industry.

’Hmm... a screenwriter’s influence probably isn’t that great.’

Jiang Ran thought, resting his chin in his hand.

Although he didn’t doubt the screenwriter could afford the 12 million for hush money, what they had paid out for the microfilm *Genius Playground* was far more than just 12 million.

They had promised to give every member of the Film Club offers from major companies and angel investments for startups...

That level of financial backing and connections far exceeded the capabilities of this film production company. Besides, as the owner of a production company, there was honestly no need to go to such lengths just to ”keep someone quiet.”

’I should dig a little deeper, higher up the chain.’

Jiang Ran continued to use various websites to look up the film production company’s shareholding structure.

His search did indeed turn up something.

The screenwriter, who was the legal representative, actually didn’t hold many shares—less than 9%. The remaining 91% of the shares belonged to a parent company, the [Expedition Group].

Jiang Ran felt like he had seen that name in a report somewhere but couldn’t recall where, so he kept searching.

It had to be said, the Expedition Group was indeed a multinational corporation with a wide range of interests and immense financial power.

It was registered in the Cayman Islands—standard procedure for a world-class corporation. A tax haven, no doubt.

The Expedition Group’s business spanned the globe, with interests ranging from energy to public livelihood, making it a colossal commercial empire.

For a long time, the Expedition Group’s primary manager was its founder, [Wu Yuanzheng]. But in recent years, he had withdrawn from the public eye and retired behind the scenes due to his advanced age.

”Wu Yuanzheng...”

Jiang Ran enlarged a photo of the business magnate from a news report. Surprisingly, he didn’t look like a businessman.

Perhaps because of his age and the Tang suit he was wearing, Mr. Wu Yuanzheng gave off more of the air of a scholar or an artist.

’Could it be him?’

Thinking about the Regrets Mutual Aid Association’s doctrine of being able to fix any regret, and combining that with Wu Yuanzheng’s immense wealth and lofty status...

’Is Wu Yuanzheng the Priest?’

Jiang Ran clicked his tongue. He wasn’t sure, as there was no direct evidence yet.

He even felt that having a big shot like him step in for a measly 12 million in hush money and the Film Club affair seemed like making a mountain out of a molehill.

With no more information, the investigation couldn’t proceed. Jiang Ran decided to try a different approach.

’Time to look into Cheng Mengxue.’

In the backstory Cheng Mengxue had fabricated, both the University of Pennsylvania and the courtyard covered in grapevines had already been proven to be false.

Then what about the doctor who had saved the dying Cheng Mengxue?

In Cheng Mengxue’s fabricated story, the car accident had left her so severely injured that there was no hope of recovery in Dragon Country, which was why she had been rushed to the United States to be saved with the latest technology.

At the time, Cheng Mengxue had shown him the doctor’s resume, and Jiang Ran had noted down his name: [Dr. Gana].

So, he once again searched for information on this Dr. Gana online.

The information showed that Dr. Gana was young and promising, with significant achievements in the medical field. He was widely expected to become the youngest Nobel laureate in medicine in history... and so on and so forth. The titles and honors were too numerous to count.

Jiang Ran skipped past all that and looked for more practical information.

Dr. Gana had a Life Science Research Institute in Philadelphia, in the United States. It was a medical research institution that combined treatment and scientific research, and was a leader in the field of medical research in terms of both technology and innovation.

However... there was something rather interesting.

The news all said that Dr. Gana was the type who achieved success after a long period of accumulation. He had spent the first half of his life primarily accumulating knowledge and studying. Nearly all of his world-shocking achievements had been made in the last two years—a true case of a meteoric rise after long preparation.

”Achieved in the last two years.”

Jiang Ran’s gaze fixed on those words, catching the key phrase.

The last two years.

Two years ago.

Wasn’t that precisely when Cheng Mengxue had her car accident?

’There’s definitely something fishy here.’

Where there are more coincidences, there’s usually something suspicious going on. That was the biggest lesson Jiang Ran had learned recently.

So, he started browsing foreign websites, meticulously poring over any information related to Dr. Gana and his Life Science Research Institute.

And what do you know, he actually found something!

He clicked on a news link and read the description:

”In June 2023, multi-billionaire Mr. Wu Yuanzheng reached a strategic cooperation with Dr. Gana, providing him with substantial financial support to aid in medical research, life sciences...”

”A connection!” Jiang Ran exclaimed.

This was a truly unexpected discovery.

He never thought that one inconspicuous news article would link Wu Yuanzheng, Dr. Gana, and Cheng Mengxue together!

”Wait, hold on.”

Jiang Ran suppressed his excitement.

’I need to sort this out.’

In his mind, he arranged these events in chronological order:

1. June 8, 2023: Cheng Mengxue has a car accident and is severely injured.

2. June 2023: Wu Yuanzheng invests a large sum of money in Dr. Gana.

3. Over the next two years: Dr. Gana treats Cheng Mengxue and helps her recover.

4. Early July 2025: The microfilm *Genius Playground* is shelved, and a huge sum of 12 million is paid as hush money.

5. July 21, 2025: Zhou Xiong is killed by the assassin Fang Yang, and Cheng Mengxue appears at the class reunion.

6. September 1, 2025: Cheng Mengxue comes to East Sea University and chooses the same advisor as him.

7. September 16, 2025: Old Tian shoots Yan Chonghan and then commits suicide. Tian Xiaoli opens her eyes and wakes up.

8. September 20, 2025: Cheng Mengxue raids the Film Club and frequently probes him with questions about the Time Machine afterward.

’All of the above are facts that have actually happened.’

Jiang Ran opened his eyes.

If Wu Yuanzheng, the old man who liked to wear Tang suits, was really the Priest of the Regrets Mutual Aid Association...

then he was the mastermind behind the murders of Zhou Xiong and Yan Chonghan;

the one responsible for leading Old Tian and Fang Yang down a dark path;

and who knows how much blood was on his hands, how many innocent lives he had taken in secret.

”Most importantly...”

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

’What role does Cheng Mengxue play in the Regrets Mutual Aid Association, in front of the Priest?’

Without a doubt, anyone who joined the Regrets Mutual Aid Association to work for the Priest did so for one fundamental reason: they had a regret to fix or a dream to fulfill.

This Cheng Mengxue, regardless of how she managed to pass off a fake as the real thing and give a perfect performance...

Since she was following the Priest’s orders, it naturally meant she had a strong regret she needed to resolve.

But what was her regret?

He recalled her silence last night while playing hopscotch;

he recalled her bizarre words at the birthday party;

Jiang Ran realized... he truly couldn’t understand this Cheng Mengxue. To him, she was terrifyingly unfamiliar.

”Younger brother.”

He silently repeated the one word that had made Cheng Mengxue slip up.

She had given a perfect performance in every other detail, yet she faltered on this particular word. That had to mean there was something wrong with it.

’Could it be that the regret this Cheng Mengxue wants to fix... has something to do with a younger brother?’

’But no matter what regret she wants to fix, the rules of the Regrets Mutual Aid Association state that she must complete the task assigned by the Priest.’

’So, what exactly is the mission the Priest has assigned to this Cheng Mengxue?’

The images of Zhou Xiong’s mangled remains and Yan Chonghan falling from the rooftop after being shot twice flashed through his mind...

Jiang Ran’s heart skipped a beat, and he swallowed hard.

’Cheng Mengxue’s mission... it couldn’t be... to kill me, could it?’