Genius Playground

Chapter 10 Choice
"I don't agree."

Qin Feng immediately denied it:

There are two things that don't make sense.

"First, if it's a warning text message from our future selves, why use cryptic language? Why can't you be more specific? Sending a string of numbers is just making things difficult for us."

"Secondly, if they have more advanced technology and can send text messages to earlier times, why do they have to choose this specific time point and overlap with your test text message?"

"From any perspective, we clearly have more appropriate, efficient, and reliable ways to warn ourselves in the future, rather than in such ambiguity."

……

Jiang Ran remained silent.

Because he didn't know how to explain it either.

Ultimately, it was the second text message and the strange appearance of the mysterious number that made him cautious and hesitant.

Boom boom boom boom!

Suddenly, the sound of running could be heard from the corridor outside; there were many people, and it was noisy and chaotic.

"what's the situation?"

Jiang Ran looked at the wooden door of the activity room:
"Why are so many people running away? Was there an earthquake?"

Curious, the three opened the door and found members of the film club chasing each other, running frantically.

"what happened?"

Jiang Ran stopped a girl.

Why are the film club members so excited? Did they win an award at the film festival?
But the timing doesn't match... the preliminary rounds haven't even started yet.

"Senior Xu Yan is in trouble!"

Tears welled up in the girl's eyes:

"Senior... she jumped into the river to save two children who had fallen in, but... she couldn't be saved in the hospital..."

"What!?"

The three were shocked and shouted, then immediately followed the others out the door.

……

The lobby of Donghai City People's Hospital was packed with people.

Besides the patients who come for regular medical treatment, hundreds of students from Tunghai University gathered in front of the emergency room.

Xu Yan is usually warm-hearted, kind, and helpful, and has a good reputation. When they learned of her accident, many of her classmates came to visit, all looking worried and distressed.

Cheng Mengxue was so frightened that her face turned pale. She stood in front of Jiang Ran and Qin Feng, trembling uncontrollably, her fingernails digging into her hands until they turned blue.

A few minutes later, the emergency room door opened, and a doctor wearing a mask walked out with his head down.

Cheng Mengxue's uncle and aunt rushed over, but after a brief exchange... the woman let out a wail and fainted, while the man also knelt on the ground with a thud, his eyes glazed over.

A profound sadness spread through the crowd, with the girl's sobs heard intermittently.

A few minutes later, a handcart covered with a white sheet was pushed out... The crowd slowly and thickly parted to make way for the handcart.

"elder sister……"

Cheng Mengxue's legs went weak and she collapsed onto Jiang Ran.

The tear ducts collapsed, and she was unable to speak.

The handcart rattled past, and Jiang Ran stared at the outline under the white cloth, his lips pursed, unable to utter a word.

This is the girl he watched grow up year by year during his childhood.

that's it……

died.

It is said that Xu Yan died on the spot.

She could swim, but the river was swift-flowing. After rescuing two children who had fallen into the water, she was exhausted and her feet became entangled in river debris, ultimately leading to her drowning.

The ambulance arrived immediately to provide emergency care, and the patient was put on medical equipment and taken back to the hospital, but ultimately... they were unable to save this precious life.

……

On the banks of the Huangpu River.

Jiang Ran and the other two sat side by side on the steps, looking at the shimmering river.

"She's only 20 years old..."

Cheng Mengxue's eyes were brimming with tears:
"Sister Xu Yan was such a good person, she never did anything bad... and she died to save two children, this world is so unfair."

Jiang Ran lowered her head.

He was also very saddened by Xu Yan's unexpected death.

Especially since Xu Yan had just helped them solve such a big problem.

Without Xu Yan's help, not only would they have lost the film company, but they also wouldn't have been able to get the positron cannon back.

20 is old.

At their age, they are young and free, and the world is infinitely vast. They thought that death was something very, very far away from them.

But unexpectedly... it was the young girl beside him who ended her short life so abruptly.

death.

It always happens so suddenly, and so close at the same time. "Jiang Ran..."

With a sob in her voice, Cheng Mengxue tugged at Jiang Ran's sleeve and looked up into his eyes:

"you say……"

He knew what Cheng Mengxue was going to say.

"If we used that positron cannon to send text messages to our past selves..."

He was also struggling with this idea in his heart.

"If we had been told in advance that Senior Xu Yan would die today..."

But that mysterious text message with its unclear meaning always lingered in my mind.

"Can we change history and bring Senior Xu Yan back to life?"

……

……

Cheng Mengxue clenched her small hands, which were gripping the hem of her clothes.

Qin Feng turned his head, glanced at Jiang Ran, and then looked away.

A river breeze blows.

She tossed Cheng Mengxue's hair, brushed it across Jiang Ran's face, and blocked his view.

Strands of hair danced in front of my eyes, and the Huangpu River seemed to be flowing upstream, carrying ships of all sizes back to the starting point, for another journey.

"Maybe, I guess so."

he said softly.

Maybe... it will be worse.

He thought to himself.

……

evening.

The three returned to the club activity room.

They didn't eat, nor were they in the mood to eat, and sat scattered in three corners of the room.

Although no one spoke.

But they all knew what they were waiting for.

Jiang Ran looked up at the small blackboard.

289269426494642, a string of numbers he could recite by heart, flashed under the incandescent light.

password.

caveat.

signal.

Fault.

It is the biggest source of unease, the biggest conflict, and the biggest culprit in this activity room.

Let's vote.

Finally, Qin Feng spoke.

He stood up, leaned against the bookshelf, and crossed his arms:
"Haven't we, the trio, always solved problems this way since we met in high school?"

Look at the two people on the left and right:

"Whenever the three of us disagree, or have conflicting opinions and are unable to persuade each other, we raise our hands to vote, and the minority submits to the majority."

“Over the years, we’ve been inseparable for about five years now. There have been many disagreements like this, and there have even been times when we argued and almost broke up… but in the end, we always resolved things by voting, didn’t we?”

Jiang Ran looked up and glanced at Cheng Mengxue.

The other person was holding a blue Rhine cat in their arms and staring straight at him.

As Qin Feng said.

This trio of them had their share of conflicts and arguments, and even disbanded several times during high school.

So later a rule was set: if there were any disagreements or disputes, a vote would be taken, and the minority would obey the majority.

When in doubt, vote.

Especially in the face of the current complex and stagnant situation, voting seems to be the most effective way to solve the problem.

"Then, let's get started."

Qin Feng straightened up, walked to the experimental table, and patted the outer shell of the positron cannon:

"It turns out that we can indeed rewrite history by sending time-space text messages."

"So, it means that we can send text messages to our past selves to prevent and avoid this drowning accident in advance, thereby saving Xu Yan's life."

"That's the situation. Now let's vote by raising hands. Regarding the matter of using the time-space text message to save Xu Yan..."

"Who is in favor and who is against?"

(End of this chapter)