Genius Playground

This was a role Jiang Ran had once played.

CLICK.

The barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his head.

Once the closest of friends, they now schemed and plotted against each other, their masks torn away by differing ideals and beliefs.

”Lilith is the god of this world—omnipotent.”

”Omnipotent isn’t the same as being a god.”

”Just consider this the fireworks to celebrate the end of the game. Let me show you.”

On the computer screen.

The underclassman playing Qin Feng raised a phone to his ear.

”Lilith.”

...

”Let the sky... turn dark.”

The lights were off in the lavish conference room, the projector screen at the front its only source of light.

As the line was spoken, the screen turned to black, plunging the unlit room into darkness.

At the same time, this very micro-film was playing in this conference room.

An old man in a Tang suit sat behind a long mahogany table, watching the screen while fiddling with a gold coin.

The gold coin was much larger than a normal one, about four to five centimeters in diameter, feeling more like a medallion in his hand.

The old man pressed down on the coin with his middle finger, standing it on its edge. Then, with a flick of his thumb from behind his index finger, the coin began to spin rapidly, whirring as it skittered from side to side...

”So... that’s your ’secret.’ But I have to say, you set off your fireworks too soon.”

”Your ’ace’ is on the table, so stop bluffing. Are you going to do this with some dignity, or should I see you off myself?”

The micro-film continued on the screen. The two protagonists had a dramatic showdown on the rooftop, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

On the table, the spinning coin gradually lost momentum, slowing down.

Finally... the coin clattered flat onto the table and stopped, landing heads up. Engraved on it was a large portrait of a king.

The long-bearded king wore a crown and held a scepter, his expression one of supreme arrogance. Below the portrait were four English letters—

KING.

”Keeping a diary is a great habit, Qin Feng. Not many people are as dedicated to writing in one every day as you are.”

The film continued to play on the screen.

The arrogant protagonist slowly turned around with a cold smirk.

”Have you ever considered... that we might be in your diary right now?”

The middle-aged man sitting next to the old man in the Tang suit was watching intently, his eyes glued to the screen.

The old man pulled the same trick again, flicking the coin into another spin.

WHIRR... WHIRR... WHIRR...

After losing momentum and falling, it once again landed heads up.

The light from the screen reflected in the deep-set eyes of the King’s portrait.

”You can never defeat me in history! Because in this game played across the river of time...”

On the projection screen, the protagonist leaped from the edge of the rooftop.

”I *am* history!”

...

The screen went black.

The entire conference room was plunged into total darkness.

Only the breathing of the old man and the middle-aged man could be heard. There was no other sound.

Then, the screen lit up.

To the sound of epic background music, the production credits scrolled up from the bottom. In the very center of the screen, in the most conspicuous spot, large text displayed the most important creator—

Original Story · Screenplay · Writer

— Jiang Ran —

BEEP.

The old man in the Tang suit picked up the remote and pressed the pause button.

The micro-film froze on that frame.

Then he picked up the gold coin again, rubbing it between his fingertips as he looked at the middle-aged man across from him.

”What are your thoughts?”

The middle-aged man was silent for a moment.

”Where did this film come from?”

”East Sea City. It was the grand prize winner at a university film festival...”

The old man’s breathing was slow.

”A friend of ours in the Mutual Aid Association was invited to be a judge. Luckily, he found this work in the final stages, right before the awards were announced, and immediately intercepted it.”

”So, for now, the micro-film hasn’t been widely circulated. You can rest assured on that point.”

”But... wherever there are people, there are no absolute secrets. It’s probably only a matter of time before the script or its content gets out.”

He flicked the coin again, sending it spinning across the table.

WHIRR... WHIRR... WHIRR...

The coin gradually stopped spinning. It was still heads up, the King staring at the ceiling with his scepter.

The middle-aged man looked at the coin on the table.

”But I can’t help but feel that such a blatant reveal seems more like a trap.”

”If we act rashly, won’t we be doing exactly what they want? Like a fish taking the bait... and being reeled out of the water?”

The old man shook his head.

”For us, this is an opportunity. Whether it’s a trap... that depends on whether the hunter becomes the prey in the end.”

He picked up the coin again and placed it in his palm.

”You will be in charge of this matter.”

The middle-aged man looked up at the name frozen in the center of the screen.

”Jiang Ran.”

He paused, then continued.

”The way the credits deliberately guide you—original story, screenplay, and writer all being the same person—it gives me the feeling... that they intentionally want everyone to focus on him.”

”Because I find it hard to believe that a university student, eighteen or nineteen years old, could really be involved in this.”

”This kid definitely has a problem.”

The old man pushed a file folder across the table.

”If it’s not him, it’s someone close to him. In any case... there’s definitely a problem.”

The old man pressed a button on the remote, and the conference room lights came on.

The middle-aged man picked up the investigation file and began to flip through it.

From junior college to East Sea University, recommended by the Longke Institute, with a guaranteed graduate placement.

”Interesting.”

He chuckled.

But he didn’t pay it too much mind.

He continued flipping through the pages. When he saw the words the old man had specially marked in red on the last page, his smile instantly vanished.

Then, he burst out laughing.

”How fascinating! This time, it’s truly fascinating!”

”You knew from the beginning, didn’t you? Who you wanted to handle this.”

The old man in the Tang suit rubbed the gold coin in his palm and smiled faintly.

”Correct. It feels... as if we’ve had the key for a long time but could never find the lock. And now, the lock has finally appeared before us.”

He pressed the coin down with his middle finger, then flicked it with his thumb, sending it whirring into another spin.

”Just as we’ve always done. Approach him discreetly, investigate him, become his closest ’friend,’ gain his trust... and in the end, find out everything about him.”

The middle-aged man nodded and stood up.

”Find out everything, and then what?”

He drew his index finger across his throat.

”Do we eliminate him?”

The old man closed his eyes and shook his head.

”No, that would be too much of a waste.”

WHIRR... WHIRR...

The spinning coin gradually lost its momentum and fell flat.

This time, the coin finally landed tails up, its equally intricate design reflecting the incandescent light—

It was a simple line drawing of a Ferris wheel,

surrounded by eight small, round passenger cabins.

In the very center of the Ferris wheel was a large eye, spanning its width and gazing out at the world!

The old man looked at the emblem on the back of the coin and smiled faintly.

”In this game of hide-and-seek, I will bestow upon him...”

”...the most valuable death!”