Genius Playground

Chapter 7 Black Hole
Da, da, da, da…

It wasn't until the playful sound of the high heels disappeared around the corner that the three of them recovered from their shock.

"Sister Xu Yan..."

Cheng Mengxue's eyes were full of envy:
"So cool!"

“She’s always been like this since she was little.” In Jiang Ran’s memory, this girl, who was only a year older than them, had always been mature and reliable.

He looked down at the petition.

The signatures of the club presidents above are almost all from major clubs that play a pivotal role in the school, which shows their prestige.

"Anyway, we need to solve a major problem, so let's go to the film store first."

The three of them rushed to the film club, where they found senior Yan Rui there.

Yan Rui was very happy for them and took them around to handle the formalities.

This is the end.

The film club, which had been struggling for many years, was able to survive for another year; Jiang Ran became the new president, and Cheng Mengxue and Qin Feng were the only two members.

"That way, I can graduate and leave school with peace of mind."

After explaining some club matters, Senior Yan Rui said goodbye to the three of them and left with his last personal belongings.

"Yay! This will be our secret base from now on!"

Cheng Mengxue tried to pounce on the sofa, but was frozen in mid-air by the thick layer of dust, and tiptoed away.

"Shall we clean up first?"

I'm exhausted after a long afternoon.

The activity room, which had been neglected for a long time, has finally been cleaned up.

The long-established film store had many old items, most of which were of unknown use or condition. Jiang Ran and Qin Feng didn't dare to touch them and piled them all up in a corner.

"Can I bring my Rhine Cat plush toy from the dorm?" Cheng Mengxue asked.

"Isn't that unnecessary?"

Jiang Ran looked at the cramped activity room:

"The space available for movement is already very small."

"Oh dear, there's no room left for my bed in the dorm!"

"Okay, whatever you want."

Jiang Ran, who had no experience as a club president, didn't know what to do in the activity room. Since they didn't plan to actually start any club activities, they just let Cheng Mengxue make the arrangements.

Qin Feng was diligently tidying up the bookshelf, in a good mood:

"Actually, my childhood dream was to have a secret base like this, where I could do crazy things with my friends."

“Every boy has this dream.”

Jiang Ran smiled slightly:
"As for crazy things...aren't the things we're doing crazy enough?"

If one could truly master the ability to send text messages to the past, it would be almost equivalent to being able to modify the past and manipulate history; it would be almost equivalent to... a supreme deity.

"Next, it's time to pick up our good buddy, Positron Cannon, and take him home."

……

After another round of complicated procedures and a guarantee, I finally saw the legendary "positron cannon" in the school warehouse.

It was a device about the size of a microwave oven, square in shape, with a cylindrical "cannon" about the size of a volleyball on the front.

The "cannon barrel" is solid, and its internal structure is unknown.

According to senior student Yan Rui, this is a modified CRT picture tube that can emit a positron beam.

However, he only saw the description on the label, so its authenticity is unknown.

Now, the label that was once on the machine has been burned and cannot be verified.

Why does it smell burnt?

Jiang Ran leaned closer and smelled it:
"It definitely smells like this machine."

Qin Feng also sniffed:
"The capacitor burst."

"That's really professional. Can you fix it?"

"We need to take it back for a check-up. Hopefully, the core components aren't burnt out; those are really hard to fix."

After a pause, Qin Feng shook his head:
"Don't even mention that I can't fix it. I don't believe for a second that this thing can shoot out a beam of positrons. That's absolutely impossible in physics."

"You just need to practice more."

"What a joke! Do you even understand the basic principles of electron guns?"

“Each electron gun is different.”

"..."

Qin Feng was holding the positron cannon with both hands, making it impossible for him to fight with his bare hands.
"Okay, you win."

……

Back in the film studio's activity room, Cheng Mengxue saw the legendary positron cannon for the first time:

"It looks like an enlarged version of a camera!"

Jiang Ran blinked.

You know what, it really does look like it.

They all have a square shape, and the "cannon" at the front looks like a camera lens.

This was probably the romance of the film club seniors back then.

Qin Feng picked up the tools and carefully inspected them:
"It's not a big problem, only the power supply module is burned out, the core components are fine. Of course... I'm not sure if it's faulty, because I have no idea what these core components are."

Jiang Ran waved his hand:
"We're all on the same page, no need to be so formal. How long will it take to fix?" "About four or five days."

"alright."

Jiang Ran went to the blackboard:

"You will be in charge of repairing the positron cannon for the next four or five days, while I try to solve other problems."

Picking up the chalk, I scribbled down two questions:

[1. What is the principle behind text messages traveling through time and space and being sent to the past?]

2. Why am I the only one who possesses memories from before the time-space shift?

It would be best to understand these two questions before the actual experiment, as this would give you more peace of mind.

Qin Feng looked up and glanced at the blackboard:

"The first question I've been thinking about these past few days is, what would happen if the positron cannon actually fired a positron beam and hit the distribution box? Today I suddenly had a new idea."

"Tell me."

"I believe that the main component that reacts with the positron beam is the high-voltage transformer in the distribution box."

Qin Feng stood up and pointed to the electrical distribution box outside the window:
"I suspect that when the two collide, they will create a field that transcends time and space, or rather... how should I put it, yes, a [spacetime black hole]."

He proposed a new term:
"This spacetime black hole is very special. It should be extremely small, not even a matter in the traditional sense; but it links to past spacetime and... can absorb radio waves within a few meters."

Jiang Ran rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment.

It makes sense that a spacetime black hole absorbs radio waves.

After all, in the traditional sense, a black hole in the universe would absorb surrounding matter due to its enormous gravity, and even light would be unable to escape.

"go on."

"The rest is simple."

Qin Feng spread his hands:
"The radio waves of that text message were absorbed by the spacetime black hole, traveled to the spacetime three days ago; then they were captured by the signal tower three days ago and then forwarded to Cheng Mengxue's mobile phone three days ago."

Jiang Ran nodded.

The logic that followed was similar to what I had previously envisioned.

Of course, whether this guess is correct or not still needs to be verified by experiments in a few days.

If the experiment is successful, then all the assumptions and guesses will be correct.

If the experiment fails...

Then all theories and practices would have to be overturned and started from scratch.

"As for the second question, I have no clue."

Qin Feng lowered his head again and fiddled with the positron cannon:

"You can only find the reasons for your own problems."

"Oh, where am I supposed to find it?"

Jiang Ran sighed. He was just as clueless as anyone else; who knew why he was so special?

He had previously wondered if it was possible that whoever sent the text message could retain memories from before the time-space shift... but he quickly dismissed the idea.

This has absolutely no scientific basis.

Of course, we can't be so absolute. We can make a judgment by having Cheng Mengxue and Qin Feng try sending text messages later.

……

Three days later, Qin Feng announced that the positron cannon had been repaired:

"It's completely fixed, there's absolutely no problem."

Jiang Ran opened her eyes and sat up from the sofa.

at last.

at last……

We're finally about to conduct the experiment that brings us closest to success!

Wow! I'm so excited!

Cheng Mengxue is holding a Rhine Cat plush toy:
"At such a crucial moment, shouldn't the president say a few words?"

"What's there to talk about?"

Jiang Ran refused:

"It's not guaranteed to succeed; who knows if it will all turn out to be a false alarm in the end?"

"Say a few words."

Qin Feng also smiled and added fuel to the fire:

"After all, it was you who led us to get to where we are today. Just say something to boost morale."

Jiang Ran was both amused and exasperated, but she didn't want to spoil the mood.

"alright."

He clapped his hands, stood up straight, and looked at the calendar, just like the other person did.

"March 25, 2025, is a pivotal day in human history, a day to remember and a day to commemorate."

Jiang Ran's pretentious act made Cheng Mengxue cover her mouth and laugh.

"On this day, in the film club of Tunghai University, the world's best trio will conduct the first controlled time travel experiment in human history."

"We'll be using a positron cannon, a transformer distribution box, and an ordinary mobile phone..."

He tilted his head back, his pupils reflecting the flickering incandescent light:
"Send a letter to the world of the past!"

(End of this chapter)