Genius Playground

Chapter 310: Chapter 3: The Ins and Outs of the Positron Cannon

So, with that in mind, letting Chi Xiaoguo get a “taste” of the Positron Cannon wasn’t entirely out of the question.

It was just…

Considering how dangerous things were over in 2045—what with Sang Biao and the prison—Jiang Ran didn’t feel comfortable teleporting Chi Xiaoguo there.

‘Better not. I’ll let Chi Xiaoguo test it when another opportunity comes up.’

The thought of Chi Xiaoguo being scared out of her wits by the utterly shameless and foul-mouthed Sang Biao… Jiang Ran just couldn’t bear it.

…

「Ten-thirty at night.」

Most of the lights in the Club Activities Building were out; only the Film Club remained brightly lit.

Chi Xiaoguo was draped over the coffee table like an invertebrate, bored out of her mind.

“Sigh… Senior, I mean, I get that Sister Mengxue went back to the United States, but now Fang Ze isn’t back either. Our Film Club isn’t on the verge of disbanding again, is it?!”

“It’s not.”

Jiang Ran comforted her.

“Fang Ze made it clear he’s coming back. He just has to take care of some things over there. It probably won’t be more than a few days.”

“Oh, right, speaking of which—my mentor, Teacher Zhang Yang. You’ve met him before. He’s the one I injured with a pencil.”

“He’s out of the hospital now, and in a few days, he’s planning to invite us over to his house. You should come too.”

“Wha—No way!”

Chi Xiaoguo’s spine instantly straightened, and she made an ‘X’ with her arms in front of her chest.

“I’m terrible at dealing with teachers! Let’s just forget it!”

“I’m sure you two would get along great.”

Jiang Ran reminded her.

“Teacher Zhang Yang loves making references just like you, and he’s an old-school otaku too.”

“Baka! I’m not an ‘otaku’!” Chi Xiaoguo declared, hands on her hips.

“Alright, alright, stop pretending. You’ve already blown your cover.”

Jiang Ran waved his hand dismissively.

“Besides, here’s something that’ll surprise you. Remember that group photo of the 2005 Film Club members? Teacher Zhang Yang is the long-haired rocker on the far left.”

“Huh?!”

Chi Xiaoguo’s jaw dropped.

“Th-That’s… The difference is too huge! Did he renounce his wild ways and turn over a new leaf or something?”

“Hey, hey, hey! He just had long hair and played rock music! It’s not like he was some kind of gangster!”

Jiang Ran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Regardless, he’s a veteran member of the Film Club. Since we have that connection, shouldn’t we go say hello and get to know him?”

“That’s true!”

Chi Xiaoguo was immediately interested.

“Then we definitely have to pay him a visit! A veteran from 2005… His filmmaking skills must be incredible!”

Heh.

Jiang Ran let out a soft chuckle.

“You’d better not get your hopes up. According to Teacher Zhang Yang, he was just dragged along back then to make up the numbers.”

“By the way, when we were on the phone this afternoon, didn’t you say you’d found some leads on things the old Film Club left behind?”

“I did, I did.”

Chi Xiaoguo nodded.

“I found out that the Guitar Club’s current storage room was the Film Club’s old clubroom. There’s some ‘junk’ from the old Film Club stored in there from way back when.”

“Junk?”

“Ah, yes. That’s how the Guitar Club’s president described it. He said that stuff has been sitting in the very back of the storage room for years, buried under a lot of other things. He’s willing to give us the key if we help them tidy up and get rid of it.”

“That’s perfect. Couldn’t ask for a better deal.”

Jiang Ran stood up.

“Anyway, since Fang Ze is gone for now, we can’t do any real club activities. We might as well go rummage through the old Film Club room. We might find some information on the Positron Cannon.”

At this point, they couldn’t afford to miss a single clue.

“Speaking of which, where is the Guitar Club’s storage room? Is it on the third floor of this building?”

“Huh?”

Chi Xiaoguo blinked.

“Senior, how do you know that? Do you know someone from the Guitar Club?”

“No, no, no.”

Jiang Ran waved his hands.

“It’s just that Teacher Zhang Yang told me their clubroom was on the third floor back in 2005. I didn’t expect such a coincidence.”

“Looking at it this way, we’re making pretty good progress. We’ve found a club alumnus from back then, and we’ve found things left over from the old clubroom. The future’s looking bright.”

“That’s right!”

Chi Xiaoguo clenched her fist and raised it high.

“The outlook is totally awesome!”

Jiang Ran raised his wrist and glanced at his watch.

The time read 10:45 PM.

‘It’s about time. There’s basically no one in the Club Activities Building at this hour, and the power load has dropped.’

Jiang Ran pulled a shelving unit aside, lifted the Positron Cannon out of a cardboard box, and placed it on a workbench.

He patted the clearly dented lid and looked at Chi Xiaoguo.

“It’s about time. We haven’t done this in a while…”

“Let’s fire up the Positron Cannon!”