Genius Playground

Chapter 23 Breakthrough

Chapter 23 Breakthrough
"..."

Faced with Zhang Yang's question, the three fell silent for a moment.

We looked at each other, unsure how to respond.

I can't exactly answer with positron cannons and time-space text messages, can I?
That's stupid.

The secret was revealed directly.

"Time travel".

Jiang Ran answered first:

"Don't many movies and science fiction novels these days invent time machines that allow people to go back to the past?"

“Once we go back to the past and change the original history, the subsequent historical trajectory will also change accordingly, leading to different world lines of development.”

"Just like your example, Mr. Zhang Yang, you are not satisfied with your current situation as a teacher, so you travel back in time to the moment when you failed your exam at the age of 18."

"Then you tell your 18-year-old self who failed the exam that repeating the year is pointless, that the internet wave is coming, and that you should go south to do business."

"At 18, you heeded advice, did not repeat a year of high school, and decisively went south to Guangzhou. At that moment, the timeline jumped from timeline A to timeline B... The entire historical trajectory of the decades since you were 18 has changed."

"You won't be teaching at Tunghai University, and we won't be your students. But perhaps you've already become a household name as the CEO of an internet company, or even the richest person in China."

……

Jiang Ran's reasonable assumption filled Zhang Yang with approval.

He patted Jiang Ran on the shoulder:

"Young man, which college are you from? What's your name?"

"Teacher Zhang, my name is Jiang Ran, and I am from the School of Computer Science."

"very good."

Zhang Yang's tone was full of approval:
"I must give you a high score for my general education course; you studied very hard."

"Thank you, teacher." Jiang Ran smiled.

Zhang Yang picked up the chalk again and looked at Cheng Mengxue and Qin Feng:
"Jiang Ran is right. As long as we change the choices we make at a certain point in the past, we can change the established history, change the timeline, and complete the timeline leap."

“Even the past is not necessary. Different choices at this point in time will lead to different timelines in the future.”

"For example, when you graduate with your bachelor's degree, do you choose to pursue a master's or doctoral degree? Or do you choose to work for a large company? Or do you choose to take the civil service exam?"

“Every different choice will lead your life to a different timeline.”

He used chalk to draw four or five parallel lines after the straight line representing World Line A, representing the infinite possibilities of the future.

"However... no matter what choices you make or what future you take, don't romanticize the paths you didn't choose."

Looking at the forked branches, Teacher Zhang Yang smiled and remarked:
"Every choice, every life, will have its successes and regrets. The most important thing is to cherish the present and walk the path you are on."

……

The time was almost right.

Cheng Mengxue winked at Jiang Ran, who nodded.

It's time to address today's biggest objective and most pressing question.

"Um, Mr. Zhang Yang."

Cheng Mengxue raised her hand again:
"There's something I'm curious about, which is..."

"[If the world line jumps, is it possible for us to retain memories of the original history and the original world line?]"

"Just like the example I just gave, if you changed your mind and went south to do business the year you failed your college entrance exam at 18, would you still have the memory of being a teacher at Tunghai University now, sitting in the president's office of a listed company in the future?"

Jiang Ran and Qin Feng exchanged a quick glance.

That's right.

That's the main point today.

This is what they really want to know.

They remained silent, waiting for Mr. Zhang Yang's reply.

"【impossible】."

Teacher Zhang Yang did not hesitate at all.

Cheng Mengxue was taken aback:
"impossible?"

Teacher Zhang Yang nodded:
"impossible."

Decisive and uncompromising, leaving no room for negotiation:
"[After a world line shift or jump, even if one's life is completely altered and the world undergoes tremendous changes, it is absolutely impossible for anyone to retain memories of the original world line.]"

"Why?" Jiang Ran asked.

"This is not difficult to understand."

Zhang Yang put down the chalk, picked up the eraser, and pointed to the forked line on the blackboard:
"As I just said, world line A and world line B cannot exist at the same time. Therefore, no matter what means are used to achieve the world line jump, our history and past can only operate on one of the world lines."

"So... suppose we jump from world line A to world line B, do you think world line A disappears?"

Zhang Yang looked at the three of them.

The three thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

"wrong!"

Emphasizing negation:

"Worldline A didn't disappear; it never even existed! It never existed in the first place!"

He erased World Line A with a blackboard eraser and explained:
"If I failed my exams at 18 and chose to go south to do business, thus entering the B timeline, then the things that should have happened on the A timeline would never have happened; they never existed in the first place."

"[Therefore, how can a history that never existed, a world line that never existed, or events that never happened... possibly exist in memory?]"

……

Jiang Ran and the other two remained silent.

Speechless.

What should we do?

Teacher Zhang Yang's explanation was well-reasoned, logically clear, and flawless.

but……

But Jiang Ran is an "exception" or "bug"—who can we complain to?
However, since Teacher Zhang Yang was so resolute, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief and felt more at ease.

If everyone in the world is normal, without Jiang Ran's special constitution, and without memories of the timeline shift... then it actually means that their current situation is safe.

Ding dong, ding dong.

Two WeChat notification sounds rang on the phone on the podium.

Zhang Yang looked at his phone screen and saw that it was a WeChat message from a teacher in the teaching and research office.

He put down the blackboard eraser and clapped his hands:

"Think about it first, I'll send you a message."

After saying that, he picked up his phone and, without any hesitation, replied directly in front of the three of them.

That was a WeChat message from Teacher Meng in the teaching and research office:
[Teacher Zhang, do you still need the new lesson plan notebooks? I'll have a student bring you a few.]

He opened the chat box and started replying.

Teacher Zhang Yang's typing keyboard is different from Jiang Ran's; it's a nine-key keyboard.

People born in the 00s, like Jiang Ran, Cheng Mengxue, and Qin Feng, all use a full keyboard when typing on their phones.

Because they grew up using large-screen smartphones and never used button phones, they naturally never came into contact with a 9-key keyboard.

Early feature phones, led by Nokia, used dial keys for typing due to technological limitations.

Each number key from 1 to 9 corresponds to 3-4 English letters. When typing, you need to press the number keys in sequence.

Because each number key corresponds to multiple English letters, the typing accuracy is not high, and you often have to select each character one by one, which is very inconvenient.

However, with the advancement of intelligent input methods, the accuracy of the nine-grid input method has gradually improved. Currently, it is rare to need to select characters, as the input method will automatically arrange candidates based on the context.

According to statistics, most of those who still insist on using the nine-key input method are from the post-80s and post-90s generations; while young people from the post-00s and post-10s generations almost exclusively use the full keyboard.

Teacher Zhang Yang, true to his background with keypad phones, moved his thumb swiftly across the nine-key layout, displaying muscle memory akin to touch typing, pressing the numbers with incredible speed and dexterity.

28...926...

The string of numbers etched in his mind activated, and Jiang Ran instantly held his breath.

28926...

What familiar numbers!
These are the first few digits of that mysterious text message!

Teacher Zhang Yang's thumb continued to move, and he pressed the 53 keys again. The three Chinese characters "不要了" immediately popped up in the input method's candidate bar.

Then, he quickly pressed 943943 again, and the word "Thank you" popped up in the candidate bar.

Press the send button.

The message "No thanks, thank you" was sent instantly.

Jiang Ran's heart raced.

He looked up at Qin Feng and Cheng Mengxue.

The other two also showed the same shock and surprise.

Nine-square grid...

totally unexpected!
The solution to that mysterious string of numbers was actually the nine-grid input method!
Since the first five digits 28926 represent the word "don't"... then what does the following 9426494642 represent?
Just try it and you'll know!

"Teacher Zhang, we're leaving now!"

Jiang Ran turned and ran.

"Eh, huh?"

Zhang Yang looked completely bewildered.

"You all understand? I can explain a little more to you."

"Thank you, Teacher Zhang!"

Jiang Ran nodded and thanked him.

"We have other classes later, so we'll ask you for advice then!"

Suppressing their excitement, the three rushed out of the classroom and onto the flower bed outside the building.

Why didn't I think of a nine-square grid?

"It's darkest under the lamp!"

"I've never used the nine-key input method before!"