Genius Playground

’Who... could it be?’

’The Magician.’

The first codename that came to Jiang Ran’s mind was the Magician—the same Qin Feng who was beheaded on the execution platform in 2045.

It wasn’t that he was truly certain.

It was because, within the organization known as Genius Playground, which he suspected was real, he only knew four codenames: King, Priest, Princess, and Magician.

Of those four codenames, the first three were already dead. That meant the only one he could suspect... was the Magician, Qin Feng.

’In the present year of 2025, has the 20-year-old Qin Feng already become the Magician?’

’Doesn’t that mean Qin Feng also possesses Lilith?’

Thinking of his old friend’s name and silhouette, Jiang Ran didn’t feel any fear or horror. Instead, he felt a sense of security, a touch of warmth.

As far as he could tell, the Qin Feng of World Line 1 hadn’t done anything to harm him, aside from stealing his Setting Collection.

Not only that, but Qin Feng had also appeared at East Sea University just in time to give him crucial information, which allowed him to uncover the truth about Cheng Mengxue... It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he had indirectly saved his life.

’So, did the Magician, Qin Feng, really kill Priest Wu Yuanzheng?’

Jiang Ran couldn’t be sure.

Because in this game, there were definitely other players; there couldn’t be just a mere four.

But...

If it really was Qin Feng.

’Was he doing it to protect me? Or to save Cheng Mengxue?’

He didn’t know.

Jiang Ran truly knew nothing at all.

He felt like an ant caught in a whirlpool, pulled about by various forces, merely drifting with the current... He’d never once had a true seat at the table.

Jiang Ran knew very well.

Qin Feng didn’t have an ability like Full Space-Time Memory; he absolutely could not possess memories from World Line 0.

And yet, under these circumstances, he somehow still remembered the friendship between the three of them and was working so hard for it...

’And how did he manage to do that?’

He himself had said that bonds between people are forged from shared experiences. Could it be that Qin Feng had accepted the friendship of their ”iron triangle” from World Line 0, based solely on a 70-character text message?

Jiang Ran closed his eyes, trying to see things from Qin Feng’s perspective.

Ten years ago, a young Qin Feng received that text message. Then, his father couldn’t be saved, their house was burned down, and the mother and son were forced to leave their hometown.

But during those ten years, Qin Feng hadn’t been idle.

He traveled far and wide, working tirelessly for some kind of plan.

At the same time...

He would also often come to Hang City First Middle School and Hang City High School, hiding in corners no one would notice, watching Jiang Ran run and jump on the field, watching Cheng Mengxue drag Jiang Ran to the little store to buy a Coke.

’That’s right.’

’Qin Feng... he would definitely come see them often. Because Jiang Ran knew Qin Feng very well; he was certain a person like him would do exactly that.’

Naturally.

It was the same in high school.

In the new iron triangle, Wang Hao took Qin Feng’s place. But Qin Feng must have stood far away many times, watching the three of them walk to and from school, arms slung around each other’s shoulders.

’When Cheng Mengxue had her car accident, where was Qin Feng? Did he see it, too?’

If he was so lonely, fighting a one-man war, why didn’t he choose to come to me and lay his cards on the table so they could fight together?

Jiang Ran admitted it.

Right after the world line had shifted, he had indeed been furious with Qin Feng for his actions, even blaming him for Cheng Mengxue’s death.

But as various events had unfolded over the past few months...

Jiang Ran gradually came to realize that the full story and the truth behind it were not so simple.

Qin Feng must have had his own hidden troubles, his own predicaments, his own helplessness.

”Qin Feng, I’m still a man of my word.”

Jiang Ran murmured.

Just as he had promised his two dearest friends in World Line 0:

”No matter how the world lines change, I will never leave either of you behind.”

”No matter what the Butterfly Effect of space and time does to our relationship, I will definitely find you both and make things right again, just like we are now.”

This promise.

No matter what.

Would be forever valid.

...

Seeing Jiang Ran’s head bowed in silence, Officer Liu took a sip from his teacup and smacked his lips.

”In any case, it’s thanks to the investigative materials left by this killer that we were able to solve the case so smoothly and wipe out this transnational criminal organization.”

”But at the end of the day, fighting violence with violence is still wrong. As long as you’re in the Dragon Country, you must abide by the Dragon Country’s laws... Our police force’s powerlessness is no reason for these so-called capable individuals to carry out their own justice.”

”Real life isn’t some Hollywood movie with superheroes flying around. We’d much rather have capable people cooperate with us, instead of them using violent means to solve problems on their own...”

”In comparison, Jiang Ran, you made the right choice. You chose to trust and support us. But that day at the Jingshan Bamboo Public Cemetery, we failed to protect you... To be honest, I feel extremely guilty and very sorry about that.”

Jiang Ran shook his head.

”It’s alright. After all, who would’ve thought they’d use a sniper rifle to try and kill me?”

Back then, Fang Yang killed Zhou Xiong by running him over with a large truck;

Old Tian killed Yan Chonghan with a handgun;

’So how come when it got to me, they immediately upgraded to a sniper rifle from 1200 meters away? They’re really overestimating me!’

’A 1200-meter ultra-long-range shot... Even in a novel, that’s elite soldier level, isn’t it?’

’Talk about using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.’

”Sigh.”

Officer Liu sighed.

”It’s just a shame that we were ultimately unable to catch that sniper. He also managed to get away under baffling circumstances.”

”Although this case was successfully solved, I’m quite dissatisfied with both the process and the outcome. I believe we, the East Sea police, still need to improve, work harder, and refine our methods.”