Genius Playground

HUM!

HUM!

HUM!

Dizzy and disoriented, the world spun around him.

In the darkness, deprived of his five senses, Jiang Ran could hardly wait.

That’s right. ’To build anew, you must first destroy the old.’

To break the stalemate in the Future Prison of 2045, he had to start from the beginning and change his strategy.

This time.

’Not a single second can be wasted.’

’I have to use the strategies I’ve built up over so many attempts... and pull off a true SUPER SPEEDRUN!’

「Two seconds later.」

All discomfort vanished, and Jiang Ran opened his eyes.

BANG!

He bounded to the iron-barred door in a single leap.

”Sang Biao!”

”Ho—”

”Hurry up and open the door!”

Jiang Ran barked.

”If you want to break out of here, shut your mouth and follow me! Not another useless word!”

”You—” Sang Biao’s face flushed, holding back his words.

”Faster!” Jiang Ran cut him off again.

CLICK. CLICK. CLICK.

Even though Sang Biao was bursting with questions, faced with such a powerful presence, he forcefully shoved them down into his duodenum and used a wire to open the cell doors for Jiang Ran, the stupid young man, and the Assassin.

”Jian—” Sang Biao had just managed to get out a single syllable before Jiang Ran cut him off again.

”Let’s go! Don’t worry about Little Genius, leave him here.”

Jiang Ran slapped Sang Biao on the ass repeatedly.

”Run faster, run faster.”

The Assassin followed Jiang Ran’s orders unconditionally, running at the very front. The stupid young man, full of boundless brute strength, charged forward without a second thought.

Only Sang Biao, with his lumbering, overweight body, was slowing them down from behind.

”Hey... What’s the big rush? You in a hurry to die or something?!”

He finally couldn’t take it anymore and roared, panting for breath.

”Ah, ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, that’s bad luck to say.”

”Stop your damn whining!”

Jiang Ran gave him a shove forward, then ran to the front to lead the way.

”We’re hitting the equipment room first.”

’It’s always a good idea to grab some weapons, more or less.’ Since Jiang Ran knew the exact location of every item, looting was highly efficient.

”You guys wait at the door. Don’t come in.”

Then, Jiang Ran shot into the equipment room like a phantom, grabbing things left and right as if on auto-loot. He emerged holding three Electric Sticks, two Tear Gas canisters, and a digital clock.

”Holy crap!”

Sang Biao had never seen such a professional prison breaker. He was so shocked he was gaping like a cartoon character.

”Boss! You own this place or something?!”

Jiang Ran emerged fully loaded and distributed the equipment one by one.

”Here’s yours, yours, and you can have these two.”

Then he glanced at the digital clock.

September 17, 2045, 10:16 AM.

’Excellent.’

’This time, no time was wasted at all. It only took sixteen minutes to complete the first phase of preparations.’

’Next up, the fork in the road.’

Another unreasonable, mad dash followed. Sang Biao really couldn’t keep up with such intense exercise, and he wheezed like an old bellows.

”Would you just run already!”

Jiang Ran, with his Electric Stick still off, jabbed it furiously into Sang Biao’s back.

”You were the one shouting about breaking out! Could you please not drag us down?!”

”Bro, bro, I was wrong, I was wrong.”

Sang Biao, filled with regret, pressed his hands together as if in prayer.

”Can... can we slow down a bit? You’re rushing so much... I... I don’t feel safe!”

Arriving at the fork again, Jiang Ran looked down the right-hand corridor.

Previously, their tactic was to find a corner and lie in wait, ambushing the patrolling guard and his dogs when they came by.

But countless failed attempts had proven that this tactic wouldn’t work.

Now, there were only two options:

1. Go on the offensive and catch the guard and his dogs by surprise.

2. Bet on luck, sprint all the way to the execution ground, and gamble that they wouldn’t run into the guard and his dogs.

He picked up the digital clock and checked the time again.

10:21 AM.

’Fifty minutes earlier than all the previous times I’ve reached this spot.’

’The second plan is worth a shot.’

’With this fifty-minute head start, maybe that guard hasn’t even started his patrol with the dogs yet. If that’s the case, the path ahead to the execution ground will be completely clear.’

But then again...

The Assassin, Sang Biao, and the stupid young man were all still in their prison uniforms. Going to the execution ground like that was tantamount to walking right into a trap.

’Think again...’

’Right!’

Jiang Ran suddenly remembered that during his very first escape attempt, Sang Biao had mentioned that the guards’ dorms were also down the right-hand corridor.

’If there are dorms, there must be civilian clothes to change into.’

’Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’

’This is a risk I have to take.’

”Sang Biao, lead the way!”

Jiang Ran flipped the switch on his Electric Stick. A blue arc of electricity crackled to life. He was ready for a fight.

It was another mad dash.

”This way!”

Sang Biao led the group to the door of the guards’ dorms and kicked it—

CRASH!

The wooden door splintered. Sang Biao’s foot and lower leg went straight through, the hole reaching all the way up to the top of his thigh.

His momentum slammed him against the door panel, where he was stuck in a high-leg ballet pose. Pushing with his groin, he forced the door open.

”Huh?”

Sang Biao was dumbfounded.

Not because he was stuck in the door in an exceptionally awkward pose, but because...

Someone was in the dorm room!

A guard, shirtless, was bent over and looking up, about to pull on his pants. At that moment, he was staring, equally dumbfounded, at the bizarrely posed Sang Biao, whose upper thigh was stuck in the door panel.

”Get him!”

With a wave of Jiang Ran’s hand, the Assassin shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Facing an unarmed guard who only had his pants pulled halfway up, the few Electric Sticks were like Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons, instantly zapping the guard until he foamed at the mouth and passed out.

”So that’s how it is...”

Looking at the two guard uniforms hanging on the wall, Jiang Ran instantly put the pieces together.

It turned out this was the guard who started his patrol around 10:30 AM.

He had to first change into his uniform, put on his bulletproof vest, and wear his tactical helmet, and then go somewhere to get his three police dogs before he could enter the right-hand corridor to officially begin his patrol.

And that time was precisely when Jiang Ran and his group had arrived at the right-hand corridor during their dozens of previous failed escape attempts.