Genius Playground

“What are you even talking about!”

SWISH!

Cheng Mengxue pointed her index finger straight at Jiang Ran:

“Don’t you lie to me!”

“It was a white lie…”

“I don’t care if it’s a white lie!” Cheng Mengxue stuck to her principles.

“Alright, alright.”

Jiang Ran decided not to bicker with her, raising his hands in surrender.

“Sorry to keep you waiting!”

In the juice shop, a young waitress walked over carrying a large, full jug of juice, smiling at the two of them:

“You two! Fresh juice is here! Come and have a taste!”

As she spoke, she took out an extra-large paper cup, filled it to the brim, and handed it to Cheng Mengxue.

“Woooow…”

Cheng Mengxue took it with both hands, holding it to her chest.

‘This free sample is ridiculously huge! Can they really make money doing business like this?’

“Thank you so much!”

Cheng Mengxue had always been very polite, so she quickly thanked the waitress.

“Hehe, go on, try it!”

The waitress urged her on, clearly eager to hear her feedback.

“Okay, okay.”

Cheng Mengxue was flattered. She held the paper cup, tilted her head back, and took a sip.

“Mmm!”

Her eyes instantly widened, and she took a few more gulps.

“Delicious!”

Wiping the corner of her mouth:

“So delicious!”

Cheng Mengxue’s eyes were filled with disbelief:

“How can this juice be this good! This is hands down the best juice I’ve ever had in my life!”

“Ahahaha…”

The young waitress scratched her head, a little embarrassed:

“My, with all that praise, you’re making me blush. Here, let me top you off. If you like it, you can get more refills! You can have as much as you want!”

The girl almost forcefully refilled the cups for both Cheng Mengxue and Jiang Ran before skipping away, humming a tune, to continue her sales pitch on the other side of the sidewalk.

Cheng Mengxue took a few more gulps, then looked at Jiang Ran in shock:

“Jiang Ran, how can the juice here be so good!”

“This is some real hardcore food science for you.”

Jiang Ran smiled:

“Well, I don’t know about the ‘hardcore’ part, but the ‘science’ is definitely cranked to the max.”

Cheng Mengxue licked her lips and looked expectantly at the inside of the juice shop:

“Look, they have fruit in the shop, too… If the juice is this good, the fruit inside must be even better. I really want to try some.”

However.

Jiang Ran said helplessly:

“Too bad we don’t have any money. Check your pockets, do you have any?”

“I already checked. Nothing.”

Jiang Ran had a sudden idea:

“Maybe you could try using your Superpower. See if you can imagine some money into existence.”

“Oh, come on, I don’t even know what the money here looks like! How am I supposed to imagine it?”

Cheng Mengxue pouted:

“Besides, I already told you, I can’t trick my own subconscious. I know for a fact my pockets are empty. You can’t just force me to imagine there’s money in there. I can’t do it.”

“Forget it, forget it. Getting such a huge cup of orange juice for free is satisfying enough. Cheers!”

Cheng Mengxue raised her paper cup, and Jiang Ran raised his to clink with hers.

HUM!

HUM!

HUM!

Before the orange juice even reached his lips, he felt dizzy, the world spun around him, and Jiang Ran was once again sucked into a vortex of time and space…

‘Fuck.’

‘Why does the timing always have to be so perfect?’

‘Couldn’t even take one more sip of orange juice!’

Two seconds later, all discomfort vanished.

Jiang Ran opened his eyes and found he had returned to the year 2025, standing on the campus of East Sea University at night.

It wasn’t particularly surprising.

He had already confirmed that the time he could spend on September 17, 2045, was calculated based on real-world time.

So even if time in the Virtual World paused, restarted, or rewound, it had no effect on the flow of time in the real world. Once the two-hour limit was up, he would be immediately kicked back to 2025 by the world line.

“Xiaoxue…”

He lowered his phone and muttered softly.

A long-awaited reunion. Jiang Ran admitted that for a moment, strolling through the city where time stood still, he had truly lost himself. In that daze, it was as if he had returned to World Line 0, walking through the world with his inseparable childhood sweetheart.

It was a shame.

It was the real Cheng Mengxue, no doubt, but in a Virtual World twenty years in the future.

Not in the present.

And not the true World Line 0.

Fortunately, he now understood Cheng Mengxue’s “Superpower” and could make his Words Become Law and wishes come true in the Virtual World.

So tomorrow, not only would he raise hell and turn the Virtual World upside down, but he would also get to the bottom of Pompey’s secret… and learn the truth about that will and 3911.

‘And what Sang Biao said is also very important.’

Jiang Ran straightened up.

‘Sang Biao said Pompey came to the memorial hall the day before he killed himself.’

‘What was Pompey’s purpose in coming here that day? Did he really hide something here?’

‘All the answers will be revealed tomorrow night!’

“Senior!”

Chi Xiaoguo peeked her head out of a window, looking at him:

“Are we done for today?”

“Yeah, good work! I’m heading back to my dorm.”

Jiang Ran waved to Chi Xiaoguo and turned around.

DING DONG!

Suddenly, a WeChat notification sound chimed.

He picked up his phone to look. It was a message from Fang Ze.

‘How rare.’

He opened the message.

First was a picture: a plane ticket from Los Angeles to East Sea, for a twelve-hour flight.

Then came a text message—

[Fang Ze: Jiang Ran, I’m done with my business here. I’ll see you at the university tomorrow.]

…

「Russia. Mamaev Hill, at its highest peak.」

A beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed woman wrapped her clothes tighter, shrinking her neck against the biting wind as she walked toward the summit.

“I’m warning you, Paul!”

She hissed through gritted teeth, sucking in a sharp breath of cold air:

“This is the last time! I’m sick of running all over the place with you to see these historical relics!”

The Russian man called Paul walked ahead of her.