Genius Playground

3. The day before he committed suicide, Pompey made a special visit to the East Sea City Human Civilization Memorial Hall. What did he leave there?

4. What is the deal with “Hang City Paradise” on level B42 of the Memorial Hall, and the living, breathing Rhine Cat that was jumping around?

5. What was hidden in the legendary room that not even Pompey could enter? Did its Permission Wall also fail at the same time?

…

These were the five questions he hadn’t yet figured out.

But Jiang Ran’s intuition told him that the answers to these questions were likely hidden within the bizarre scene on level B42 of the Memorial Hall.

42.

Thinking of that number, he recalled the shout of the Magician, Qin Feng, on the execution platform:

“42 is correct! Follow 42! 42 is you!”

Although he still couldn’t decipher these three riddles, so far, the number 42 did indeed always appear in very [critical] places… it’s just that he was always slow to realize it.

On World Line 0, Qin Feng’s student ID number, 42, seemed to be a reminder to be wary of his betrayal.

The number 42 on the transformer distribution box seemed to have long since indicated that there was a major problem with that location.

On World Line 1, Cheng Mengxue’s student ID number became 42, which seemed to be a dead giveaway that the Li Yini who appeared later was an imposter.

Tian Xiaoli’s hospital room number, 42, now seemed like it wasn’t for nothing either; there was something very wrong with that father and daughter.

Cabin 42 on the Hang City Paradise Ferris wheel was an even greater warning of Li Yini’s dangerous nature, as well as… her internal conflict and fractured sense of self.

“Wait, there’s another 42.”

Jiang Ran frowned, recalling the night of the Worldline Jump. Nan Xiuxiu had approached, her delicate bare feet treading on the carpet. The night breeze lifted the sheer white curtains, obscuring his view, and just as the pink-clad girl reached him, moonlight reflecting in her eyes as she lifted his chin—

the clock on the TV stand had just ticked over, displaying the time: 00:42.

So.

Based on the principle that “42” is never a coincidence…

Could it be that there was also something about the girl Nan Xiuxiu that he needed to pay attention to?

Jiang Ran stroked his chin, lost in thought.

‘If I had to point something out…’

‘No matter how you look at it, Nan Xiuxiu’s impossibly perfect, godlike archery skills are clearly not normal, right?’

Jiang Ran had actually gone back and watched recordings of Olympic archery competitions. Those archers certainly had the skill to hit the ten-ring.

But!

To do what Nan Xiuxiu did—hitting the ten-ring with her first three arrows, and not just hitting it, but hitting the absolute dead center without the slightest deviation… was something unprecedented in history.

‘I feel like Nan Xiuxiu’s skill isn’t a matter of luck anymore. It’s more like a matter of mechanics.’

‘Could it be… that the laws of probability just don’t apply to Nan Xiuxiu? Or maybe, probability is locked for her? Is it possible she has a 100% absolute chance to hit?’

Jiang Ran’s brows furrowed.

Ever since Tian Xiaoli, who had been diagnosed as being in a permanent coma, opened her eyes, Jiang Ran had developed a whole new understanding of “probability.”

He couldn’t tell if this kind of metaphysics hiding under the guise of probability still belonged in the realm of science. It was like flipping a coin a hundred times and having it land on heads every single time… what would that even mean?

‘Forget it. I should deal with the matter at hand first.’

Jiang Ran shook his head, pushing thoughts of the pink-clad girl aside.

The urgent task now was to figure out what secret was hidden in that bizarre B42 level of the Virtual World in 2045.

…

The next afternoon, after his classes ended, Jiang Ran went straight to the Film Club’s activity room.

He was all alone now, with no friends. Outside of class, he truly had nowhere else to go.

The image of their old trio kept unconsciously surfacing in every corner of the campus.

This was the path they always took to the cafeteria. For two years, he had walked it countless times with Qin Feng and Cheng Mengxue. They were always laughing and talking, enjoying themselves, and time seemed to fly by.

But now, walking it alone felt longer than it ever had before. Seeing the other young people on campus in groups of two and three, he truly missed his life on World Line 0.

‘It’s true.’

‘You only realize how precious the past was the moment it becomes a memory.’

Humans are powerless against time.

After he had been spacing out on the activity room sofa for a while, Chi Xiaoguo pushed the door open and came in, eating a bun.

“Mmph!”

She looked like she’d choked on a bite, her eyes wide.

“Senior! You’re here!”

Ever since Cheng Mengxue and Fang Ze had returned to the United States, the Film Club had been inactive.

Although Chi Xiaoguo often came here to pass the time, Jiang Ran only ever came around 10 p.m. to be on standby for the Positron Cannon’s activation.

Seeing her senior here in the evening like this was a rare sight.

Chi Xiaoguo hesitated, looking at the large meat bun in her hand…

‘Damn it.’

‘I should have brought him some food, too. Now all I have left is this big meat bun.’

“You…”

Chi Xiaoguo hesitated, extending the bun.

“Are you hungry?”

Heh.

Jiang Ran was once again amused by this little ray of sunshine. He shook his head.

“I’m not hungry. You eat.”

“Senior, how come you have time to come to the Film Club today?”

“Oh, I didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I came here to space out for a bit.”

He turned his head and looked at the setting sun outside the window.

The sky today was beautiful, but also bloody. Unprecedented fiery clouds made the entire sky look like it was burning, thick and viscous like congealed plasma.

“Tonight’s sunset is pretty nice.”

Jiang Ran glanced at the calendar. The date showed October 17, 2025.

‘Speaking of which.’

‘In Li Yini’s diary, the number 16 was mentioned several times. She had also wondered in her diary why the Priest always postponed difficult problems until the 16th.’

‘This included the Priest’s promise to her that after she completed her mission, he would bring her brother to her by the 16th of the month at the latest.’