Genius Playground

CLACK, CLACK, CLACK, CLACK...

The three of them didn’t snap out of their shock until the playful sound of high heels had vanished around the corner.

”Xu Yan...”

Cheng Mengxue’s eyes were filled with admiration.

”She’s so cool.”

”She’s been like that since we were kids.” In Jiang Ran’s memory, the girl, who was only a year older than them, had always been this mature and reliable.

He looked down at the Petition Letter.

The club president signatures on it were almost all from the school’s most influential major clubs, a testament to its value.

”Anyway, now that one big problem is solved, let’s head to the Film Club.”

The three of them went straight to the Film Club, where they happened to find Senior Yan Rui.

Yan Rui was very happy for them and ran them all over the place to get the paperwork done.

And with that, the Film Club, which had been on its last legs for years, was able to survive for one more. Jiang Ran became the new president, with Cheng Mengxue and Qin Feng as the only two members.

”This way, I can graduate and leave with peace of mind.”

After explaining some club matters, Senior Yan Rui said his goodbyes to the three of them and left with his last few personal belongings.

”Yay! From now on, this is our secret base!”

Cheng Mengxue started to flop onto the sofa but froze mid-air at the sight of a thick layer of dust. She tiptoed back.

”Maybe we should clean up a bit first?”

After a tiring afternoon, the long-neglected clubroom was finally clean.

The historic Film Club was full of old items, most of their purpose or condition unknown. Not daring to mess with them, Jiang Ran and Qin Feng piled everything into a corner.

”Can I bring my Rhine Cat plushie from the dorm?” Cheng Mengxue asked.

”Is that really necessary?”

Jiang Ran glanced at the cramped clubroom.

”There’s already very little room to move around as it is.”

”Aww, but there’s no room for it on my bed in the dorm anymore~”

”Fine, do what you want.”

Having no experience as a club president, Jiang Ran wasn’t sure what they were supposed to do in the clubroom anyway. Since they didn’t actually plan on holding any real club activities, he figured he might as well let Cheng Mengxue decorate.

Qin Feng, on the other hand, was in a good mood, diligently organizing the bookshelf.

”You know, it’s been my dream since I was a kid to have a secret base like this, a place to do crazy things with my friends.”

”Every guy has that dream.”

Jiang Ran smiled faintly.

”As for crazy things... isn’t what we’re about to do crazy enough?”

’If they could truly master the ability to send messages to the past, it would be tantamount to altering the past, to manipulating history. It would be... almost like becoming a God on high.’

”Next up, it’s time to bring our good buddy, the Positron Cannon, home.”

...

After another pile of complicated paperwork, including a letter of guarantee, they finally saw the legendary Positron Cannon in the school warehouse.

It was a square device about the size of a microwave, with a cylindrical ”barrel” the size of a volleyball on its front.

The ”barrel” was solid, its internal structure a mystery.

According to Senior Yan Rui, it was a modified CRT picture tube that could fire a positron beam.

However, he had only read that on a label, so its authenticity was unknown.

Now, the label on the machine had been burned away, making it impossible to verify.

”Why does it smell burnt?”

Jiang Ran leaned in and sniffed.

”It’s definitely coming from this machine.”

Qin Feng also took a whiff.

”A capacitor blew.”

”You’re a real pro. Can you fix it?”

”I’ll have to take it back and check. I hope the core components aren’t fried. I really don’t know how to fix those.”

After a pause, Qin Feng shook his head.

”Forget about fixing it, I don’t even believe this thing can shoot a positron beam. That’s absolutely impossible in physics.”

”Sounds like a skill issue.”

”That’s a laugh. Do you even understand the basic principles of an electron gun?”

”Every electron gun is built different.”

”...”

With his hands full holding the Positron Cannon, Qin Feng was unable to engage in fisticuffs.

”Fine, you win.”

...

Back in the Film Club’s clubroom, Cheng Mengxue saw the legendary Positron Cannon for the first time.

”It looks like a giant camera!”

Jiang Ran blinked.

’Now that she mentioned it, it really did. It had the same boxy shape, and the ”barrel” on the front looked a lot like a camera lens. This was probably the old Film Club seniors’ idea of romance back in the day.’

Qin Feng picked up his tools and carefully inspected it.

”It’s not a big deal, just the power supply module is fried. The core components seem fine. Of course... I can’t be sure if they’re fine or not, because I have no idea what the hell these core components even are.”

Jiang Ran waved his hand dismissively.

”We’re all friends here, no need to be so precise. How long will it take to fix?”

”About four or five days.”

”Alright.”

Jiang Ran walked over to the small blackboard.

”For the next four or five days, you’ll be in charge of repairing the Positron Cannon. I’ll try to solve the other problems.”

He picked up a piece of chalk and quickly jotted down two questions:

1. What is the principle behind text messages traveling through time and being sent to the past?

2. Why am I (Jiang Ran) the only one who retains memories from before the timeline changes?

’It would be best to figure out these two questions before the official experiment. That would make me feel more secure.’

Qin Feng looked up and glanced at the blackboard.

”The first question. I’ve been thinking about it for the past few days. If the Positron Cannon really does fire a positron beam and hits the distribution box... what exactly would happen? I suddenly had a new idea today.”

”Let’s hear it.”

”I think the key component that reacts with the [positron beam] is the [high-voltage transformer] inside the distribution box.”

Qin Feng stood up and pointed at the distribution box outside the window.

”My guess is that when the two collide, they create a kind of time-traversing field, or rather... how should I put it... right, a [spacetime black hole].”

He proposed a new term.

”This spacetime black hole is unique. It should be incredibly, incredibly small, perhaps not even existing as traditional matter. But it connects to a past point in spacetime and... can absorb radio waves within a few meters of it.”

Jiang Ran stroked his chin, thinking.

’A spacetime black hole that absorbs radio waves... it does sound plausible. After all, a conventional cosmic black hole uses its immense gravity to absorb surrounding matter, not even allowing light to escape.’

”Keep going.”

”The rest is simple.”

Qin Feng spread his hands.

”The radio waves from that text message were absorbed by the spacetime black hole, traveled back to the spacetime of three days ago, and were then captured by the cell tower from three days ago, which in turn delivered it to Cheng Mengxue’s phone from three days ago.”

Jiang Ran nodded.

’The latter part of the logic was pretty much what I had imagined before. Of course, whether this theory was correct or not would have to wait for experimental verification in a few days. If the experiment succeeded, then all their ideas and theories would be proven right. If the experiment failed... then they would have to scrap every theory and practical attempt and start over from scratch.’

”As for the second question, I have no clue.”

Qin Feng lowered his head and went back to tinkering with the Positron Cannon.

”That’s a problem with you, so you’ll have to find the reason yourself.”

”Sigh, where am I even supposed to start looking?”

Jiang Ran sighed. He was just as clueless. God only knew why he was so special.

’He had previously wondered if perhaps whoever sent the message was the one who retained memories from before the timeline change... but he quickly dismissed that idea. It had no scientific basis whatsoever. Of course, he couldn’t be so absolute. He could just have Cheng Mengxue and Qin Feng try sending a message in the future to find out.’

...

「Three days later.」

Qin Feng announced that the Positron Cannon was fixed.

”It’s completely repaired. No problems at all.”

Jiang Ran’s eyes snapped open as he sat up from the sofa.

’Finally.’

’Finally...’

’Finally, it was time to conduct the experiment that had the highest chance of success yet!’

”Whoa! I’m so excited!”

Cheng Mengxue hugged her Rhine Cat plushie.

”This is such a momentous occasion. Aren’t you going to say a few words, Mr. President?”

”What’s there to say?”

Jiang Ran refused.

”It’s not even guaranteed to succeed. Who knows if this will all just end in disappointment.”

”Just say a few words.”

Qin Feng chimed in with a grin, egging him on.

”After all, you’re the one who led us this far. Say something to boost morale.”

Jiang Ran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but he didn’t want to be a killjoy.

”Alright, fine.”

He theatrically clapped his hands, stood up straight, and looked at the calendar.

”March 25th, 2025. This is a crucial day in human history, a day to be remembered, a day to be commemorated.”

Jiang Ran’s dramatic act made Cheng Mengxue cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.

”On this day, inside the East Sea University Film Club, the world’s tightest-knit trio is about to conduct the first controlled time-travel experiment in human history.”

”We will use a Positron Cannon, a transformer distribution box, and an ordinary cell phone...”

He tilted his head back, his pupils reflecting the flickering fluorescent light.

”...to send a letter... to the world of the past!”