Genius Playground

The next day, professional technicians from the East Sea City Public Security Bureau arrived. They brought various instruments and scanned the Film Club’s activity room, Jiang Ran’s dorm room, and other classrooms he frequented.

Jiang Ran had been worried about how he was going to explain this to Fang Ze.

But for some reason, even though the National Day holiday had been over for several days, Fang Ze still hadn’t returned from the United States.

Jiang Ran had sent him a message asking if he’d found his brother.

Fang Ze replied that he hadn’t, but since he was already back in the United States, he decided to take care of some things at his school and would return in a few days.

Jiang Ran didn’t think much of it.

’It’s actually better if he comes back later.’

If Fang Ze had been in the dorm, it would have been really hard to explain why the East Sea City Public Security Bureau needed to inspect their room.

As for his brother, Fang Yang...

If he could see the Assassin again the next time he activated the Positron Cannon, Jiang Ran planned to question him in detail.

Now that Wu Yuanzheng was dead and the Regrets Mutual Aid Association was disbanded, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the Assassin was truly willing to wash his hands of his past and live a quiet life with his brother.

That afternoon, once the sweep was complete, a police technician informed Jiang Ran that the area was secure:

”We’ve swept all these locations. There are no bugs or surveillance devices.”

”Looks like our targets are being very cautious... Compared to the bugs hidden inside the Rhine Cat dolls, external electronic devices are certainly easier to find.”

Jiang Ran agreed.

Those Rhine Cat dolls were Cheng Mengxue’s prized possessions. Unless he was ready for an open confrontation and to completely burn his bridges with her, there was no way he could just tear the dolls apart.

So, even though he had long suspected something was wrong with the dolls, he had just played dumb.

But external bugs or pinhole cameras were a different story. He could have found them with a simple excuse like doing a thorough cleaning... From that perspective, Wu Yuanzheng and his people had been very cautious indeed.

Jiang Ran suddenly realized something.

’Perhaps in their eyes, I’m some kind of formidable character with hidden skills?’

’That’s why they were being so careful, not wanting to spook me. They even resorted to using a sniper rifle to try and kill me.’

’Hmm... there must be some other reason they think I have hidden depths and powerful backing.’

Jiang Ran stroked his chin, thinking:

’Since they targeted me because of the short film *Genius Playground*, they probably think I’m connected to one of the Genius Playground members...’

He closed the door to the Film Club’s activity room and pulled over a small blackboard, intending to summarize the information he had gathered.

The activity room was secure now. There was no risk in organizing his thoughts here or even activating the Positron Cannon later that night.

Jiang Ran picked up a piece of chalk and wrote two large words on the small blackboard: GENIUS PLAYGROUND.

From reading Li Yini’s diary, Jiang Ran realized that Wu Yuanzheng wasn’t just the leader of the Regrets Mutual Aid Association; he was also a member of another, more mysterious and powerful organization.

Based on the available information, it wasn’t hard to deduce that this organization was most likely the Genius Playground.

Within this ”Playground,” it seemed every member had a codename, an Identity Coin, and a phone capable of contacting Lilith.

This seemed to be the standard kit for joining the Genius Playground.

Then.

Jiang Ran wrote down the codenames he knew of on the blackboard, one by one—

**Priest:** Real identity, Wu Yuanzheng. Leader of the Regrets Mutual Aid Association. Deceased.

**King:** Identity unknown. But the Assassin, Fang Yang, said the King’s Coin was in the hands of the Priest, Wu Yuanzheng. This means the other of the two coins burned at the airport was most likely the King’s.

**Princess:** Although the Princess Coin was in Zhou Xiong’s hands, he seemed to be nothing more than a pawn used as a distraction. According to the Assassin, the Priest destroyed this coin immediately after it was handed over to him.

**Puppet:** He had seen this codename for the first time in Li Yini’s diary. It was this person who, two years ago, uploaded Cheng Mengxue’s memories and downloaded them into Li Yini’s brain. Identity and motives are unknown, but has had contact with the Magician, Qin Feng.

**Magician:** Real identity is Qin Feng, which was confirmed in the 2045 dream. The Ferris wheel pattern on the back of the Identity Coins matches the carving on the wall of Qin Feng’s burned-down family home... It wasn’t hard to deduce that Qin Feng had become the Magician as early as 2015.

’No, in 2015, Qin Feng was only ten years old. It’s ridiculous to think he could have joined the Genius Playground at that age.’

Jiang Ran considered the origin of the Ferris wheel carving from another angle:

’Could it be... that the ten-year-old Qin Feng saw an Identity Coin somewhere else, and that’s why he carved the pattern onto the stone wall in his yard?’

’Yes, that line of reasoning was clear.’

’Time to dig deeper.’

’A ten-year-old’s world is small, so it’s highly likely he saw the Identity Coin at home. And when you factor in his father’s unavoidable death in both timelines...’

’The answer began to surface.’

’It’s very likely that Qin Feng’s father was the first Magician. As a child, Qin Feng must have seen his father’s Identity Coin, which is why he carved the pattern onto the wall.’

’In 2015, Qin Feng’s father died, likely killed by other members of the Playground. The Identity Coin then fell into Qin Feng’s hands, allowing him to become the second Magician.’

Jiang Ran’s eyes widened.

He hadn’t expected it, but as he followed this train of thought, the logic became increasingly coherent.