Genius Playground

Therefore, it wasn’t hard to come to a conclusion—

’The reason Wu Yuanzheng was targeting me, and later tried to kill me, couldn’t be that shallow or simple. There had to be a deeper factor at play.’

This was also what Jiang Ran was desperate to understand.

”Sigh... It’s not just you. Xiaoxue’s family was wronged, too. Not only did Xiaoxue die in that car crash, but her parents have also vanished.”

Wang Hao sighed again:

”At this rate, the odds are against Xiaoxue’s parents.”

Jiang Ran pressed his lips together and said nothing.

That was indeed the case.

Officer Liu had also worked with the police in the United States to investigate the situation with Cheng Mengxue’s parents, but they hadn’t found any clues.

The United States is a place where too many people go missing every year. Many just vanish without a trace, making it impossible to investigate. But just as Wang Hao said, the odds were against them.

This was another reason why Jiang Ran’s resolve to rewrite history and return to World Line 0 had hardened.

On this World Line 1, too many people had suffered cruel fates because of the uncontrollable Butterfly Effect of space-time.

Although it wasn’t Jiang Ran’s fault, he felt he bore a certain degree of responsibility.

So.

He had to shoulder that responsibility.

And make things right!

Wang Hao took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag.

”Forget it. No point in overthinking it. There’s nothing we can do about things like this anyway.”

”After all, no matter how you look at it, this whole business with the real and fake Cheng Mengxue proves one truth—”

”The dead can’t be brought back to life. We just have to mourn and move on, accept it all.”

Hmph.

Jiang Ran snorted softly:

”Not necessarily.”

”Hey! You’re impossible!”

Wang Hao was clearly displeased:

”Jiang Ran, do you have a contrarian personality or something? No matter what anyone says, positive or negative, you have to disagree.”

”You were the one who said that in the first place! When Cheng Mengxue suddenly appeared, you kept insisting she was a fake, saying the dead could never be resurrected. Now you’re contradicting yourself?”

”Science, bro, you have to believe in science! Unless you can invent some kind of Time Machine and go back to the past to stop that car crash like Doraemon and Nobita, how the hell are you going to resurrect Xiaoxue! Are you a Magician or a Witch?!”

”Just shut your damn jinxing mouth.”

Jiang Ran glared at him, annoyed.

’This damn fatty’s slick mouth was on a roll.’

”I’m leaving.”

Jiang Ran glanced back one last time, his eyes lingering on the heartwarming smile on the tombstone.

’This life... I owe it to you.’

He thought to himself.

’So...’

’Xiaoxue.’

’No matter what.’

’I will bring you back.’

...

「Philadelphia, United States. Outside the Ghana Life Science Research Institute.」

Qin Feng stood on a man-made rockery, gazing at the brightly lit research institute several hundred meters away.

All kinds of staff were moving in and out, carrying equipment and instruments from inside to the trucks waiting outside, hauling them away trip after trip.

Police detectives had set up a cordon and were coordinating with judicial personnel.

After Wu Yuanzheng’s death, Dr. Gana was being held accountable for his numerous crimes. Prison time was inevitable, and his remaining assets would be seized and auctioned off according to legal procedures.

They say when a whale falls, all life flourishes.

Without the Regrets Mutual Aid Association murdering scientists and scholars, perhaps the world would head toward a brilliant and bright future. Or perhaps, it would descend into even more chaotic madness.

But Qin Feng didn’t care.

Humanity’s future would find its own path, its own direction.

He had no grand ambitions.

He just wanted to atone for his mistakes and save his friend.

’Looks like Dr. Gana doesn’t have a backup of Cheng Mengxue’s memories here. And there’s nothing at Dartmouth College either. But I refuse to believe that someone like the Puppet would be generous enough to hand over the data from his only Consciousness Upload experiment volunteer to the Priest.’

The screen of the phone in his right hand lit up:

”So, Mr. Magician, who is your next target? The Puppet?”

”That’s right.”

Qin Feng said softly:

”After destroying the Priest’s coin, as well as the King’s coin he controlled, the Genius Playground will fall back into chaos. This not only gives me more room to operate, but it also presents me with quite a few opportunities.”

”My main target is still the Clown, of course. He remains my greatest threat at the moment. If I don’t eliminate him... I’ll be forced to keep skulking around in the shadows like this.”

”But what the Puppet has done has crossed my line. After settling the score with the Priest, it’s his turn.”

”Two years ago, I had no choice but to ask him for help. I had Cheng Mengxue’s consciousness uploaded just to leave open the slimmest possibility of saving my friend.”

”I thought he would keep his promise to me and preserve that data. But it turns out I was too naive. Not only did he share it with the Priest to create a fake Cheng Mengxue that was nearly indistinguishable from the real one... I suspect he’s still using her memories for some other scheme.”

”I don’t regret one bit that my mistake two years ago left me cornered and on the defensive. I only regret that I couldn’t protect my friend... Not only did I fail to save her, but I also allowed her memories and consciousness to be exploited even after her death.”

At this, Qin Feng sighed and closed his eyes:

”I screwed everything up.”

He clenched his fist:

”I tried everything I could think of, every possible method, but I still couldn’t save Cheng Mengxue. The only way left to save her... is to win this game and become the final victor of the Genius Playground.”

”Keep it up, Mr. Magician.”

Lilith’s clear, pleasant voice came from the phone:

”Although Lilith would prefer if your motivation for winning the game were a bit more noble and grand, the rules of the game have no such restrictions. The victor wins everything. Regardless of the methods used to achieve victory, we respect the choice of the era and of fate.”

”But I must give you a friendly reminder, Mr. Magician. Your phone is about to die. If you need, I can arrange for a small drone to deliver a power bank to you. It will only cost 420 points.”

”Heh.”

Qin Feng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry:

”Lilith, if you weren’t so chatty all day and could talk a little less, my phone’s battery wouldn’t be draining so quickly.”

”Heehee, that’s because you haven’t hung up the phone~”

Lilith’s voice was mischievous and full of glee:

”If you don’t want me to bother you, you just have to say ’Goodbye, Lilith,’ or ’That’s all, Lilith,’ or some other farewell phrase, and I’ll disappear immediately.”

”But to be honest, Mr. Magician, Lilith really enjoys talking with you. Because... you speak to me as you would a friend, and that makes me feel very close to you.”

Qin Feng nodded, not denying it:

”That’s true.”

He said honestly:

”I’ve been a bit of a loner since I was a kid, never had many friends. I loved playing with my father and listening to his stories, but he was never home.”

”Later, my father was killed by the Clown. I inherited the title of Magician, and I’ve been hiding and running ever since.”

”So, it’s a little embarrassing to admit, but I don’t have any friends. You’re the only one I can talk to.”

Lilith was silent for a few seconds:

”But... Mr. Magician, didn’t you say you once had two best friends?”

”Even if, in reality, you’ve never met or spoken a single word to each other. But you’ve done so much for them. If you went to find them, you would surely become good friends again.”

Qin Feng looked at the brightly lit research institute in the distance and let out a long breath:

”I’d need... to have the nerve to face them.”

He looked down and gave a helpless smile:

”Don’t you think I want to see them? It’s just that of those two friends, one died because of a Butterfly Effect I caused, and the other was dragged into danger because of my mistake... We were a perfect trio, and because of me, it’s become like this. How could I possibly have the face to see him?”

”Besides, and most importantly, I’ve been hunted by the Clown for ten years. If I rashly contact Jiang Ran now, I’ll only bring him harm and make the Clown target him.”

”Cheng Mengxue died because of me. I can’t... make the same mistake all over again and get Jiang Ran killed, can I?”

”What a strange friendship,” Lilith commented dryly:

”So when do you plan to see them?”

”At least, not until after I’ve dealt with the trouble from the Clown. When that time comes, I can go to Jiang Ran and confess everything. And we can fight side-by-side to win this game and save Cheng Mengxue.”

Qin Feng’s eyes were resolute:

”A power trio must have three people... Not one less!”