Genius Playground

Suddenly, everything clicked into place.

When he considered all the factors—the precise timing and location, the fact that it happened when he was a freshman in high school—he realized there was only one person who could have come to the basement to steal his draft notebooks.

It had to be Qin Feng.

At that time, the script for *Genius Playground* hadn’t been written, the short film was a distant thought, and the director, Xu Yan, hadn’t even started college.

The only person who could have known that the original *Setting Collection* manuscript was in his basement at that exact moment... was Qin Feng!

’It’s Qin Feng again!’

Jiang Ran clenched his jaw.

’That guy... he’s like a ghost on Worldline 1.’

’He seemed to have left his hometown and vanished without a trace, but he was actually always lurking nearby.’

So.

Without a doubt.

Just as he’d suspected before—

’The Time SMS Qin Feng sent ten years into the past must have mentioned me, the Positron Cannon, the Setting Collection, and a whole lot more.’

With a 70-character limit, it wouldn’t have been hard for a mind as brilliant as Qin Feng’s to condense all those elements into the message.

’Qin Feng... he really is operating in secret.’

Jiang Ran gripped the ballpoint pen in his hand tightly.

’And... he’s always been close by. He must have been watching me in secret.’

Jiang Ran hadn’t thought so before.

But if Qin Feng could steal the *Setting Collection* from the basement, then it was a given. Qin Feng must have secretly come to Hang City, maybe even to Hang City High School. He must have stood quietly outside the school walls, or on the side of the road... watching him from afar!

The feeling was enough to make his blood run cold.

Based on the available intelligence, another entry could be added to the timeline of Qin Feng’s known activities over the years.

Arranged chronologically, it looked like this:

2015: Qin Feng’s father died, their family home was burned down, and he and his mother left town.

2021: He started at Hang City High School. His father stored his middle school textbooks and workbooks in the basement, and Qin Feng used this opportunity to steal the *Setting Collection*.

2023: Cheng Mengxue died in a car accident. Qin Feng went to the appliance district in East Sea City and bought the more aesthetically pleasing knob-based control panel from Old Qi’s repair shop.

...

And this was just the trail Jiang Ran had managed to uncover.

In the moments and places Jiang Ran wasn’t aware of, Qin Feng must have been nearby many more times, completely unnoticed.

’Qin Feng, what in the world are you doing?’

A chill ran through Jiang Ran. He stood up from the wooden crate and scanned his surroundings.

He was suddenly struck by a strange feeling.

Eyes, eyes, eyes...

Eyes were everywhere.

But the moment he turned, they would all shut, only to secretly open again behind his back.

For some reason...

He thought of the strange and mysterious Ferris wheel emblem on the burnt courtyard wall of Qin Feng’s home.

Eight cabins circled the wheel.

At its center, a large eye with a deep, black pupil stared out, scrutinizing the world.

’Looking at it now...’

’Was that eye scrutinizing the world, or was it scrutinizing me?’

Jiang Ran understood less and less.

’His own script for the *Setting Collection*, which seemed so amateurish now—film companies and a major director wanted it, and Qin Feng wanted it too. What enormous secret could it possibly hide?’

’It was ridiculous.’

’He had created all of it, yet now he was the only one in the dark.’

’None of this is as simple as it seems.’

Jiang Ran was certain.

’Everything from Xiaoxue, to Qin Feng, to the script, the film company, Zhou Xiong, and Lilith...’

’...it all has to be connected! It might even be part of the same event! The same conspiracy!’

But...

...what was he supposed to do now?

The Positron Cannon was broken, so he couldn’t change the past or rewrite history.

He’d failed to get Zhou Xiong’s phone, losing the only clue that could verify what, or who, Lilith was.

The original *Setting Collection* had been stolen by Qin Feng, preventing him from seeing the full picture.

He’d only just gotten a small lead on the matter of the real and fake Cheng Mengxue, but her true purpose had yet to be revealed.

Everything was a dead end. There was no way out.

’No, that’s not right.’

A thought suddenly struck Jiang Ran.

’There is a lead! If I can just find Qin Feng, everything will start to make sense! He’s full of secrets, but he’s also the key!’

Finding Qin Feng in the present was difficult, especially since the man clearly didn’t want to be found. He was actively avoiding him, which made a meeting all but impossible.

’But...’

He narrowed his eyes.

’My reach isn’t limited to the present. I can also see twenty years into the future.’

In the present, 2025, he couldn’t find Qin Feng, and Qin Feng didn’t want to be found.

But twenty years from now, in 2045, the tables would be completely turned.

Qin Feng, the Magician, the world’s number one criminal and public enemy number one, would be about to be publicly beheaded at an execution ground. And he, Jiang Ran, could loop infinitely in the Future Prison right next door.

’If I can’t find you now, I’ll find you in the future!’

At that moment.

He had already formulated a plan for the start of the next semester:

1. Continue searching for information on how to repair the Positron Cannon, and for the contact information of the three elders from the 2005 Film Club.

2. Welcome the super-genius Lu Yu to the school and recruit him to prepare for building the backup plan: the Time Travel Machine.

3. Use the Positron Cannon 2.0 (battle-damaged version) to travel to the Future Prison in 2045 again. There, he would find a way past all obstacles, find the Magician, Qin Feng, and get all the answers from him!

The third step was the most crucial.

The first two were long-term plans. Only the third would allow Jiang Ran to quickly understand the current situation, the present crisis, and the mystery surrounding him.

If he really was being targeted, if he was truly in danger...

...then he had to do whatever it took to protect himself and avoid being dragged into an even darker vortex.

’The new semester can’t start soon enough.’