Genius Playground

”I understand.”

Jiang Ran summarized.

”Your brother sent you a large sum of money at the end. He probably knew that after this job, things wouldn’t end well for him.”

”Either he’d die... No offense, this is just a theoretical analysis, but I have a feeling your brother definitely isn’t dead. The other possibility is that after this job, his situation would become extremely dangerous and he’d have to go on the run, which is why he cut off contact with you.”

”Of course, there’s also the possibility that your brother was caught by the police.”

However, Fang Ze shook his head.

”He probably hasn’t been caught yet. I check the relevant news and police bulletins every day, and I’ve never seen my brother’s name.”

”So, I speculate that ’my brother’s plan hasn’t started yet. Whether it’s a murder or some other dangerous incident, there should still be time to stop it.’”

Jiang Ran licked his lips.

It seemed Fang Ze did know a few things. He probably knew his brother was an ”Assassin.” Even if he didn’t, he could likely guess. They were brothers, after all; in their daily chats and meetings, he was bound to have picked up on some clues.

Jiang Ran sat up straight.

”So, your reason for coming to East Sea University as an exchange student was to investigate who your brother is supposed to kill and what he’s supposed to do, and then stop him before it happens, right?”

Fang Ze nodded.

”That’s right. My brother raised me, so I think I know him pretty well. With his personality, he must have thought everything through and made all the preparations before saying goodbye to me and disappearing.”

”Actually... alright, Jiang Ran, since we’ve come this far, I won’t hide it from you. I have a vague feeling my brother is involved in the business of killing people, like one of those so-called ’Assassins’ from the movies.”

”But he’s definitely not as glamorous or righteous as the ones in the movies. What he does is evil and wrong. Even though I’m his brother, raised by his hand and supported by that dirty money, I can’t condone his actions in any way.”

”I’ve never touched that money. We can return it to the employers, or we can use it to compensate the families of those my brother has harmed.”

”All I want is to stop my brother from killing someone in time, to make him see the error of his ways and leave this line of work for good. I’ll help him shoulder whatever responsibilities he must bear; we’ll face whatever price has to be paid. No matter what, I don’t want to watch my brother walk down a path of no return.”

”I have one more question.”

Jiang Ran continued his questioning.

”I understand you coming to East Sea University as an exchange student, but why did you choose to study under Teacher Zhang Yang?”

”Teacher Zhang Yang was just promoted to a graduate advisor this year. His research and academic levels aren’t exactly top-tier. You chose him as your advisor before the semester even started—is that also connected to your brother’s business?”

After hearing Jiang Ran’s question, Fang Ze was silent for a few seconds, looking at Jiang Ran with a meaningful expression. Finally, as if a weight had been lifted, he smiled faintly.

”Jiang Ran, telling you about my brother was the right choice after all. You’re just as Teacher Zhang Yang described—extremely smart.”

”That’s right, I didn’t choose Teacher Zhang Yang for no reason. Over the years, although my brother would disappear from time to time, he spent most of his time with me in my city. We talked a lot.”

”That’s just how it is when you’re always together. Even if my brother intentionally hid a lot of things, it’s not so easy to keep secrets when you live under the same roof. I would always accidentally hear, see, or discover things.”

”I took those bits and pieces I overheard and investigated the research projects of all the teachers and researchers at East Sea University... In the end, I locked onto Teacher Zhang Yang.”

Fang Ze took a deep breath, his expression turning serious.

”In other words... I believe the person most likely to be my brother’s assassination target is Teacher Zhang Yang!”

He turned to look at Jiang Ran.

Surprisingly.

Fang Ze had thought that Jiang Ran would be shocked by this news.

But to his surprise, Jiang Ran was completely calm at this moment, even wearing an expression that said it wasn’t the least bit strange that the target was Zhang Yang.

This...

Fang Ze was shocked.

’Who in the world is this Jiang Ran?’

’Could it be that he’d already anticipated even this possibility?’

As for Jiang Ran...

His thoughts were nowhere near that complex.

He was simply lamenting that with this Quantum Tunneling stuff, whoever researched it was doomed to die!

He had previously wondered if Teacher Zhang Yang’s disappearance from cell number 4, replaced by Lu Yu, might have meant he had successfully escaped his prison sentence.

But now it seemed...

He most likely croaked a long time ago, didn’t he?

But then again, it was hard to say for sure.

He had found a blind spot.

Back in the Future Prison, before the inmate roster changed, Zhang Yang and the Assassin had been neighbors in cells diagonally across from each other, and they were on pretty good terms.

At least back then, Zhang Yang was definitely not the Assassin’s target. Otherwise, there’s no way they both would have ended up in prison at the same time.

In other words, the ”victim” whose death landed the Assassin in prison might not have been Zhang Yang after all. Fang Ze’s deduction could be wrong on this point.

”I’m not sure if the person your brother is going to kill is Teacher Zhang Yang.”

Jiang Ran thought, rubbing his chin.

”But, without a doubt, if we can figure out your brother’s target in advance, set up an ambush or protect them, or even seek help from the police, we can stop your brother from committing the crime.”