Genius Playground

Chapter 9 Future
"This, this is..."

Jiang Ran felt a chill spreading through her.

What's the matter?

He had absolutely no recollection of the string of numbers and no understanding of its meaning; it was like gibberish.

This is definitely not a text message he sent.

However, the sender's name and phone number were indeed his...

This is so scary.

Are there two of him in this world?

Even if there were two of him, it would be impossible for them to have two identical phone numbers!
"I didn't send this text message."

Jiang Ran frowned as she looked at Qin Feng:

"I did send the first test text message, but the second one, which looks like gibberish, wasn't sent by me."

The two looked at each other.

Qin Feng knew Jiang Ran well; the other party wouldn't joke around at a time like this.

then……

His expression gradually became serious:

"Are you serious?"

"I remember it very clearly."

Jiang Ran was certain:

“I don’t need to play games with you guys in this situation. This is terrifying, okay? Besides, since it’s a test text message, one is enough. Why send two?”

"A spacetime black hole can only last for 0.7 seconds, and the window for sending a spacetime text message is also only 0.7 seconds. I don't have the hand speed to send two text messages in such a short time!"

……

The three of them remained silent.

An eerie atmosphere gradually enveloped the room.

Unsolicited text messages

Numbers with unclear meaning

The chilling changes in time and space

All of this instantly vanished the joy and excitement that had just been felt, replaced by a thick layer of worry.

"How to do?"

Qin Feng spoke first, looking at Jiang Ran:

"Could it be a mistake during the experiment, or a malfunction in the positron gun I was repairing?"

"I think... we can conduct another experiment immediately after I fix the positron cannon to see if we will receive two more text messages."

Jiang Ran shook his head:
"I think things aren't that simple."

Unlike the other two, Jiang Ran was the only one who could personally experience the changes in time and space.

It was this uniqueness and peculiarity that made him feel an indescribable unease.

"Let's pause the space-time text messaging experiment for now."

He raised his head:

"To be on the safe side, let's not conduct any more spacetime experiments until we figure out why there was a second text message and what that mysterious string of numbers actually represents."

……

the next day.

Qin Feng finally fixed the positron cannon and quietly set it aside.

Jiang Ran paced back and forth in the room, staring at the numbers on the blackboard in thought.

289269426494642...

The numbers from this mysterious text message are now written on a small blackboard in chalk, and the three of them are trying to decipher its truth.

Now, the generation of spacetime black holes and the principle of spacetime text messaging have been solved, and the ability to send text messages to the past has been fully mastered.

This series of achievements should have been a smooth path for the trio to a brilliant future.

But now this "uninvited" text message has become a stumbling block, bringing his brilliant life plans to a standstill.

"It's not an English word."

Cheng Mengxue put down her pen: "If translated according to the English alphabet, it is not any known word."

Qin Feng shook his head:
"From a mathematical perspective, no pattern can be found either."

"Do you think it's possible that this string of numbers doesn't have any meaning at all, that it's just a simple string of numbers, a simple 'password'?"

password.

Jiang Ran stopped in her tracks.

What's the password to the bank vault?
What's the combination to the safe?

What is the password for a website account?
It's not impossible, but what's the use of having a key if you can't find where the lock is?

in fact.

If it really is some kind of password, Jiang Ran wouldn't be so worried.

He was very worried...

This string of numbers is a warning.

One type is a warning about time travel, the laws of time and space, and the falsification of history.

"I think we should conduct another experiment."

Qin Feng proposed again:

"Now that the positron cannon has been repaired, why not conduct another verification experiment to see if this mysterious text message was accidental or inevitable?"

"If we want to understand the truth behind these numbers, we should try more and accumulate more samples so that we can analyze them more comprehensively."

"Perhaps in the next experiment, we will receive some hints, and then we will be able to crack the code based on those hints."

……

Qin Feng's idea is very scientific.

but.

"What if it leads to some irreversible consequences?" Jiang Ran looked at him.

What consequences are you worried about?

Qin Feng asked:

Is it an uncontrollable "spacetime butterfly effect"?

"Do not."

Jiang Ran shook his head.

They had long known that the butterfly effect of spacetime was uncontrollable, especially since he, as the most direct observer of spacetime changes, could better understand the fear of "memory loss," "history alteration," and "opening a blind box."

but……

The butterfly effect on a scale that merely involves sending a text message three days ago and altering history within those three days is not that terrifying; because there isn't enough time for the "butterfly flapping its wings" to ferment into a "tornado."

Although this idea is somewhat arrogant and conceited.

However, judging from the impact of the two recent time-space text messages, the resulting butterfly effect is indeed negligible.

"I'm worried that this string of numbers is a warning to us," Jiang Ran said frankly.

Cheng Mengxue was puzzled:
"But who will warn us?"

She looked at the two of them from left to right:
"The secret of the time-space text messages, including the positron cannon and the world line shifts, is known only to us in the entire world. It is a secret between the three of us, and no one else could possibly know it."

"Yes, that's the problem."

This is what Jiang Ran has been worried about:

"We've only just mastered the ability to send text messages to the past, and we're not very familiar with many of the mechanisms and patterns, so we can only send text messages to the specific time point of three days ago."

"But if given time, as Qin Feng gradually researches and develops the positron cannon, could we break the limitation of 'three days ago' and extend the time frame for sending the text message... to 'three weeks ago,' 'three months ago,' or even 'three years ago'?"

Qin Feng was stunned, but he still understood immediately:
"what do you mean……"

"Yes."

Jiang Ran turned around and looked at Cheng Mengxue:
"If this hypothesis is true, then we are the ones who received the text message now. And the person who sent us this mysterious text message... is in the far future."

"That answers your question perfectly. The secret of the time machine is known only to the three of us, so who would warn us?"

"The answer is self-evident: it's us three weeks later, three months later, or even three or thirty years later."

He looked up at the full moon hanging high in the sky outside the window:
"It is very likely that this warning is sent by our future selves."

"A warning to us now...: Do not conduct any more spacetime experiments."

(End of this chapter)