novelraw Chapter 123 Advancing Toward the Future
Chapter 123 Advancing Toward the Future
The freshman admission list… did not contain Lu Yu.
Jiang Ran frowned.
Something was wrong with the information.
What exactly was going on?
He remembered it clearly—earlier, in Cell No. 4, the aged Zhang Yang had explicitly said:
“In 2026, Lu Yu was already studying at Donghai University.”
“Lu Yu was my student. He even took my general-education class.”
These two statements were enough to prove that Lu Yu had been a student at Donghai University.
And yet…
why was his name not on this freshman admission list?The staff member was very helpful.
They pulled up the admission lists for all departments across the university and went through them one by one. Still, there was no student named Lu Yu.
“Did you remember the name wrong?”
The staff member turned to look at Jiang Ran.
“I’ve checked all the admitted students this year. There really isn’t anyone named Lu Yu. Why don’t you… go back and confirm again?”
With no other option, Jiang Ran could only nod and leave the School of Mathematical Sciences.
“That’s strange…”
he muttered to himself.
Even if the situation in the future prison had changed—Lu Yu replacing Zhang Yang in Cell No. 4—that historical fact that Lu Yu was a student at Donghai University shouldn’t have changed.
Unless…
something that happened during the two-month summer break had triggered another butterfly effect, altering the trajectory of the future and changing Lu Yu’s life path?
“That… shouldn’t be possible, right?”
He couldn’t make sense of it.
“Better to go to the future prison in 2045 and confirm it directly. See if Lu Yu is still there.”
Jiang Ran sighed and headed back toward the dormitory.
Things were becoming more and more complicated.
When would it ever end?
The next morning.
Before six o’clock, Jiang Ran woke up, troubled by his thoughts, and headed out.
Fang Ze was still lying in bed. Seeing Jiang Ran get up, he rubbed his eyes.
“So early?”
“Mm.”
Jiang Ran put on his shoes.
“I’m used to waking up early. I’ll go out for a walk—you keep sleeping.”
Then he left the dorm building and headed straight for the student activity building of Donghai University.
The seals on all the club rooms had been removed, and electricity had been restored.
As usual, Jiang Ran retrieved the spare key from under the flowerpot, unlocked the Film Camera Club activity room, and stepped inside—a room sealed in time for two months. Dust swirled in the streaks of sunlight, and the air carried a faint damp smell.
He pulled out a cardboard box from behind the shelf, took out the Positron Cannon, and placed it on the workbench, waiting for Chi Xiaoguo to arrive.
“Should’ve set the time earlier.”
Jiang Ran glanced at his watch. It was just past six—still an hour before their agreed time.
But thinking about it carefully, he couldn’t be too selfish.
Chi Xiaoguo was already helping him for free. He couldn’t push her too hard. Asking her to wake up before five every day to come here for experiments would be too much.
Today, he had simply woken up early because of his restless thoughts.
“I’ll wait a bit.”
Jiang Ran dragged over the small blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and decided to use the time to organize his thoughts.
Come to think of it, this Positron Cannon 2.0 (damaged version) had been used for quite a while now, yet he had never summarized its functions.
Previously, on Worldline 0, Cheng Mengxue had already updated the user manual to version 4…
Summarizing like this was actually a very good habit.
Jiang Ran decided to imitate her approach.
“Since Chi Xiaoguo hasn’t arrived yet, I’ll follow Xiaoxue’s method and summarize a usage manual for the damaged Positron Cannon.”
He got to work immediately, writing on the small blackboard:
[Positron Cannon 2.0 (Damaged Version) User Manual]
1. Within 0.7 seconds after activation, if a phone call is connected, it allows travel to a future prison in the year 2045.
2. Regardless of when the device is used, arrival time in the future prison is fixed at approximately 10:00 a.m. on September 17, 2045.
3. The mechanism of travel is unknown—whether it is consciousness or physical travel is unclear. However, based on direct observation, Jiang Ran appears suddenly in Cell No. 3, as if by magic.
4. Regardless of the manner of death, he will return to the departure point in 2025 amidst a buzzing dizziness caused by temporal fluctuation. From the perspective of observers in 2025, he disappears only for an instant.
5. Even without dying, he will be forcibly returned to the departure point in 2025 by approximately 12:00 p.m. on September 17, 2045.
6. The spacetime of 2045 is continuous with 2025, existing on the same worldline. Therefore, actions in the present can create butterfly effects that alter the future trajectory.
7. The Positron Cannon requires a cooldown period of 20 hours before it can be used again.
Click.
Jiang Ran tossed the chalk aside.
That was roughly the usage manual for the damaged Positron Cannon—just what he could think of for now.
“I’ll update it later if I think of anything else or encounter new situations.”
He memorized the summarized manual, picked up the blackboard eraser, and wiped it clean.
Recently, the series of strange events around him had given him a strong sense of unease.
The film company buying the script rights at an absurd price;
Cheng Mengxue’s sudden appearance with unclear motives;
Qin Feng secretly observing him and stealing the setting materials;
Zhou Xiong using a phone to contact the all-powerful Lilith;
All of these things mixed together, forcing Jiang Ran to remain extremely cautious.
“Especially the secrets of the Positron Cannon, time-traveling text messages, and the spacetime shuttle—I must keep them hidden.”
He erased the final traces from the board.
“On Worldline 0, I could trust Xiaoxue 100%. But the Xiaoxue in front of me now… I really can’t trust her.”
“So anything involving time travel… can only be known by me. No one else.”
A little over ten minutes later, Chi Xiaoguo pushed open the door.
“Oi, Senior! Long time no see!”
It really had been a while.
Jiang Ran smiled slightly.
“You look like you’ve gotten a bit tanned.”
“Hehehe! Senior, do you even know how to talk!”
Chi Xiaoguo puffed out her cheeks.
“It can’t be helped—we have to help with farm work back home during the holidays. The sun’s so strong, of course I got darker.”
“But my skin recovers quickly! I’ll be back to normal in a month. Same thing happened during freshman military training—I was the fastest to get my complexion back!”
Talking about it, she seemed a little proud.
“Oh right—speaking of military training, once this year’s freshmen finish, we can officially start recruiting for the club again!”
“Haha! By then, our Film Camera Club will definitely rise again! National competition—here we come! GO! GO! GO!”
It was obvious she had been looking forward to this for a long time.
Imagining a future where the club room was packed, bustling with people, her eyes sparkled with excitement—along with a hint of concern about how small their current activity room was.
“Anyway, Senior Jiang Ran, let’s work hard together!”
She raised her right fist high, imitating a certain red-hat-wearing president from across the ocean:
“Make! Film Camera Club! Great! Again!!”
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap.
Jiang Ran couldn’t help but applaud.
Nice.
Waking up early today hadn’t been a waste.
Not only could he finally activate the Positron Cannon again, but he also got to enjoy a free performance.
As expected of their internet-savvy little club president—she casually pulled out all kinds of memes.
“Time’s about right. Let’s begin the experiment.”
Jiang Ran pulled her back from her fantasy and into reality.
“The steps are the same as before—you remember, right? Just press the button during the countdown and call me in advance.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Chi Xiaoguo nodded seriously.
“Don’t worry, Senior. I won’t mess it up!”
Jiang Ran smiled.
“Then I’ll head out.”
With that, he placed one hand on the windowsill and leapt out—
Thud!
“Ah!” “Oof!”
Only then did Jiang Ran realize—someone had been crouching outside the window!
Because of the angle, by the time he noticed, it was already too late. His feet landed directly on the person’s back, and the two of them tumbled together into the flowerbed.
“Hiss…”
The man he had stepped on sucked in a breath, sat up, rubbed his head, and looked at Jiang Ran with mild complaint.
“Kid, what are you doing? Why jump out the window instead of using the door?”
This was the first time Jiang Ran had encountered such a situation despite jumping out this window so many times.
He quickly stood up and looked at the man.
This was…
a campus janitor?
It seemed so.
The uniform he wore was the standard issue from Donghai University’s logistics department—orange and black, worn by janitors, electricians, maintenance workers, and other service staff alike.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry—really sorry.”
Jiang Ran immediately apologized.
“Sir, I truly didn’t see you there.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
The man had a good temper. He stood up, didn’t say much, picked up the scattered paper scraps, grabbed his broom, and continued sweeping.
Jiang Ran watched silently as the janitor stood near the transformer distribution box, looking troubled.
This was a problem.
If Jiang Ran wanted to use the Positron Cannon to travel to 2045, he had to stand in front of that transformer distribution box and answer the call at the exact countdown moment.
With the janitor working here…
there was no way to carry out the experiment.
Jiang Ran was puzzled.
There hadn’t been anyone cleaning this area last semester. Why had someone suddenly appeared this semester?
He turned and signaled to Chi Xiaoguo to wait, then walked over to deal with the janitor.
“Sir.”
Jiang Ran stepped out of the flowerbed and approached.
“I didn’t see anyone cleaning here last semester. Is there something special today? Some kind of inspection?”
“No, no.”
The man explained while sweeping.
“This semester, the school changed its policy. Now cleaning is divided by zones. See—from over there… to here… to there—that whole area is my responsibility.”
He gestured with his hand.
“Every morning, I have to clean this area. If anything’s wrong during inspection, it’s on me.”
“So, kid, don’t throw trash out the window in the future! Especially into the flowerbeds—it’s hard to clean, I have to step in to pick it up.”
Jiang Ran waved his hands quickly.
“No, no—we never throw trash out the window.”
Then he frowned.
This was bad.
Very bad.
From what the janitor said, he would be cleaning here every morning from now on.
Which meant—
every time Jiang Ran activated the Positron Cannon, this man would be nearby.
That was extremely dangerous.
The Positron Cannon and time-traveling texts were secrets he couldn’t let anyone notice.
Originally, conducting experiments early in the morning allowed him to avoid most people—a perfect, undisturbed time.
But now, an NPC had suddenly spawned here permanently, patrolling…
If it were anything else, it wouldn’t matter.
But activating the Positron Cannon required synchronized countdowns, phone calls, coordination between two people across the window, and the device itself produced noise…
This strange ritual would definitely attract the janitor’s attention.
Once or twice might be fine.
But if it happened repeatedly, day after day—eventually, the secret would be exposed.
No.
He had to find a solution.
He couldn’t let the janitor see.
Suddenly, Jiang Ran had an idea.
“Sir, let me help you clean.”
He stepped forward and grabbed another broom from the tricycle.
“No, no!”
The man quickly refused.
“How can I let a student help me? I can handle it myself.”
“It’s fine.”
Jiang Ran started working briskly.
“I came out for morning exercise anyway. And… I stepped on you earlier, so I feel bad. Let me help—it’ll make up for it.”
Seeing Jiang Ran so sincere, the janitor relented.
“Alright then. Thank you, young man.”
The two worked together efficiently. In less than ten minutes, they had cleaned the entire area behind the building.
The janitor loaded the leaves and trash onto his tricycle, wiped his sweat, and said goodbye.
“Thank you, young man. You’re really kind-hearted. I’ll get going.”
“Goodbye, sir.”
After seeing him off, Jiang Ran stretched and returned to the window of the club room.
“Senior Jiang Ran, you’re so kind…”
Chi Xiaoguo, who had witnessed everything, sighed.
“Whether it’s helping that uncle clean, or saving the club before—you’re really willing to help others!”
Jiang Ran smiled helplessly.
“To be honest, I just didn’t want him interfering with our experiment. I told you before—we have to keep this strictly confidential.”
“So yeah, helping him clean… was really just to get him to leave sooner so we could proceed.”
But Chi Xiaoguo shook her head.
“Senior, a gentleman is judged by actions, not intentions. I don’t think the motive matters.”
“Everyone has their own motives. But even so, many people still wouldn’t bother helping others.”
“Alright, alright.”
Jiang Ran took out his phone and got into position.
“It’s getting late. Let’s start.”
“Okay!”
Chi Xiaoguo returned inside, pressing the activation button on the Positron Cannon.
“Senior, I’m starting the countdown!”
After entering Jiang Ran’s number and pressing dial, she took a deep breath:
“5! 4! 3! 2! 1! 0!”
Ring—ring—ring—ring—ring—ring!
Amid the loud ringing, the Positron Cannon glowed blue and emitted a humming sound.
Jiang Ran timed it precisely and pressed the answer button—
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
The familiar ringing in his ears, the familiar dizziness—Jiang Ran was once again pulled into the irresistible vortex of spacetime.
All five senses vanished. Darkness engulfed him as he fell into depth and uncertainty.
Two seconds later—
his senses returned, and his feet touched solid ground.
Jiang Ran took a deep breath and opened his eyes—
From the adjacent cell, a voice arrived on cue:
“Do you know what’s most important for a successful prison break?”