Genius Playground

”Fang Yang won’t be a problem.”

The middle-aged man had complete faith in the professional Assassin.

He walked over to the massive floor-to-ceiling window and stood beside the old man in the Tang suit.

”But I suggest we change the location for the divine punishment. It shouldn’t be at East Sea University.”

”Ever since Old Tian shot Yan Chonghan, there have been armed police stationed at East Sea University. That could complicate our operation.”

”More importantly, with so many other factions investigating us, we need to kill Jiang Ran as covertly as possible. It’s best if no one connects it back to us.”

”So... what if we have the girl lead Jiang Ran away from East Sea University—or better yet, out of East Sea City entirely—and then kill him quietly? What do you think?”

The old man in the Tang suit nodded.

”You can handle this. I’m just worried that Jiang Ran is already suspicious of the girl. If she suggests leaving East Sea City at this point... will he agree?”

”Don’t worry.”

The middle-aged man smiled.

”That girl is very clever, and she has absolute loyalty and trust for the Regrets Mutual Aid Association, and for you, Priest.”

”She believes every word you say and will follow every order you give, step by step.”

”A while ago, she contacted Dr. Gana, saying she frequently couldn’t control her thoughts and actions, and was becoming less and less like herself... I actually don’t think that’s a bad thing. The deeper she falls into her role, the better it fits our plan. It’ll make it even easier to bait Jiang Ran.”

The old man in the Tang suit closed his eyes, picturing the girl as she used to be.

”We told her that the target of this divine punishment is a sinner who disrupts history and spacetime... Thanks to the miracles I previously showed her, she believes it without a doubt.”

”She is a girl with a very strong sense of justice, and she loathes all criminals. I admit, exploiting that sense of justice sometimes makes me feel a little ashamed, but for the sake of a better future for humanity, these lies and sacrifices are necessary.”

”That’s right,” the middle-aged man agreed.

”This girl does have a strong sense of justice. She’s fundamentally different from our other believers.”

”It’s undeniable that we’re using our believers for some unsavory business. But we keep our promises and always keep our word. We immediately erase the regret of every believer who completes their mission. We’ve never failed to deliver.”

”But on the other hand, those believers are willing participants. Faced with the chance to erase their regrets, they are willing to pay any price and abandon all principles, so it’s a fair trade for everyone involved.”

”But this girl... if we hadn’t deceived her into thinking Jiang Ran is a criminal who disrupts spacetime, I’m afraid she wouldn’t cooperate with us just to erase her regret.”

”Even though she’s willing to give her life and sacrifice everything to resolve that one regret, she would only sacrifice *herself*, never harm another person... unless we do what we’re doing now: using her sense of justice to blind her.”

At this, he sighed.

”I’m getting too old for this, using sweet words to trick a young girl. It’s shameful, really.”

”But as you said, for the sake of our grand vision, to bring better order to this world, [We must win this game].”

The old man in the Tang suit turned around.

”Then it’s decided.”

He started for the door.

”Have the girl take Jiang Ran to a remote, secluded place, and then have Fang Yang... kill him. I’ll have Lilith clean up the rest. The mysterious machine in the Film Club’s activity room can also be retrieved after Jiang Ran is dead.”

”If we can squeeze every last drop of value out of Jiang Ran and get more intelligence and secrets, that would be ideal.”

”If that opportunity doesn’t arise, so be it. The priority is to eliminate this variable and maintain our current status and advantage.”

”Let this farce... end now.”

...

「The next day, inside the mini-darkroom of the East Sea University Film Club.」

The space was so small a single person could barely turn around, yet now two people were squeezed inside, pressed flush against each other.

It couldn’t be helped. The Film Club’s room was already the smallest one on the floor, so one couldn’t have high expectations for a darkroom partitioned off inside it.

The mini-darkroom was almost completely lightless, save for a single, eerie red safelight that filled the space with a dim, crimson glow.

’I’m going blind,’ Jiang Ran thought. He felt like a blindfolded rabbit tossed into a murky pond.

”Ouch.”

In front of him, Chi Xiaoguo let out a yelp.

”Senior, don’t push into me... My hands can’t shake right now.”

”Ah, sorry, sorry.”

Jiang Ran tried to back up, only to find his back was already against a set of shelves. There was nowhere to go.

”I had no idea developing photos was such a technical skill. This is way harder than I thought.”

”Actually, there is all-in-one equipment.”

Chi Xiaoguo explained as she worked with the developing chemicals.

”But that kind of equipment is mostly obsolete now... If you want to develop the perfect photo, you need absolute darkness. Any light at all will affect the development of the silver halide.”

”But that’s not possible under these conditions. I can’t work if I can’t see anything at all. So, we have to settle for the next best thing: red light. Silver halide isn’t very sensitive to red light, so it’s less likely to be exposed.”