novelraw Chapter 129 Borrowing Authority
Chapter 129 Borrowing Authority
Regret… Mutual Aid Society?
Jiang Ran stared at the strange name, falling into thought.
It sounded like a group of people burdened with regrets in life gathering together—comforting each other, encouraging each other, helping each other. It even felt somewhat… positive.
Come to think of it, who doesn’t have regrets in life?
Family, love, friendship, career, studies, opportunities… and so on. Regret runs through a person’s entire life—no one exists without it.
Everyone has had reckless youth. Everyone has had moments of impulsive regret.
But…
What can you do?
The past is the past. It cannot be changed, cannot be remedied, cannot be relived.
A truly strong person should be able to let go of the past, face regret head-on, and keep moving forward.Involuntarily, he recalled what Xu Yan had said at the airport when they were seeing Cheng Mengxue off during the summer:
“Regret… it’s always part of life. But it also reminds people to cherish the present, to cherish the people in front of them.”
The reasoning made sense.
But…
Then again—
[If there really were an opportunity to make up for life’s regrets, what choice would those who claim to be open-minded, those who say they can let go, actually make?]
Jiang Ran fell silent.
He suddenly felt that his earlier thoughts had been a bit hypocritical.
If Qin Feng hadn’t wanted to make up for the regret of his father’s early death, he wouldn’t have suddenly switched sides and triggered a massive shift in the worldline.
If Jiang Ran hadn’t wanted to make up for the regret of Cheng Mengxue’s death, he wouldn’t have been running around trying to rewrite history.
In truth, it was the same.
People always pretend to be magnanimous when advising others—but when it comes to themselves, they hide their double standards.
“Jiang Ran.”
Seeing him silent, Fang Ze scratched his head and looked at him.
“Do you believe… the nonsense of this Mutual Aid Society of Regrets?”
Nonsense.
Images flashed through Jiang Ran’s mind—Zhou Xiong showing off arrogantly at the class reunion, Cheng Mengxue suddenly appearing behind someone, Lilith’s eyes spinning like a Ferris wheel…
“I don’t.”
Jiang Ran answered directly.
“There are many kinds of regrets in life. If it’s about money, career, or even relationships, I can still believe those can be fixed.”
“After all, there’s a saying—things depend on human effort. Even someone you couldn’t win over in your youth might be brought back later with a Maybach.”
“As for money and career, that’s even simpler. Those are economic matters—they’re inherently reversible. With the right opportunity, anyone can become a millionaire.”
“But if you’re telling me this organization can fix [all] regrets and fulfill [any] wish… I definitely don’t believe that.”
He spread his hands.
“What, can they bring the dead back to life? I think for most people, their biggest regrets are tied to life and death.”
“Can this Mutual Aid Society make cancer cells vanish instantly, resurrect someone reduced to ashes, turn an elderly person young again, or change a newborn’s gender?”
“Honestly, I absolutely don’t believe in something that sounds this fantastical. And I don’t think they have that kind of power.”
Fang Ze exhaled.
“Exactly. I think the same. We’re on the same page.”
He sat back down, his face filled with worry.
“But my brother… he’s probably already fallen too deep. He believed that organization’s lies. He must think that as long as he obeys completely and follows orders without question, they’ll help him make up for all his regrets.”
“I’ve told him many times—our life is already good enough. We have enough money. After I graduate, I can find a great job on Wall Street. Income, finances, future—everything is bright. There’s nothing left to regret.”
“But my brother… doesn’t see it that way.”
At this point, Fang Ze frowned, pressing his lips together.
“I feel like the regret my brother truly wants to fix… is bringing our dead parents back, restoring a complete family for me.”
He clicked his tongue.
“It’s such an absurd, ridiculous wish—I don’t even know what to say.”
Jiang Ran patted his shoulder, trying to calm him.
It was obvious—tonight, Fang Ze had released all the emotions he had been suppressing. He was far from the composed, elegant boy he had appeared to be during the day.
“Your brother… might have just lost his way for a moment, gotten carried away, and ended up brainwashed by that organization.”
Jiang Ran spoke words of comfort, but a trace of doubt lingered in his mind.
Logically speaking, the Killer didn’t seem like someone who would be easily misled or impulsive.
On the contrary—he was steady, mature, calm, rational.
It was hard to imagine someone so calculating and meticulous being brainwashed by such low-level rhetoric.
That kind of rhetoric…
Was no different from those scam messages meant to trick idiots.
“I am Qin Shi Huang. I never died. I buried 10 billion in gold underground. Just transfer me 200 yuan to unlock it, and tomorrow I’ll lead my terracotta army to conquer the world for you!”
Honestly, even his old dormmate wouldn’t fall for something like that.
So why would someone clearly intelligent like the Killer—Fang Yang—believe it so completely?
Could it be…
That there was something else hidden beneath the surface?
Tap, tap.
Jiang Ran lightly tapped his lips.
This Killer brother really had too many secrets.
Who knew when he’d finally be able to peel them away, layer by layer, like an onion?
Fortunately—
With Fang Ze’s confession tonight, tomorrow morning’s trip to the 2045 prison might finally pry something out of Fang Yang.
“Fang Ze, thank you for trusting me and telling me all this.”
“I didn’t have any other choice.”
Fang Ze spoke honestly.
“If the police were willing to take the case, it might even be better to just arrest my brother. I don’t want him to sink deeper into this path.”
“But if we’re going to report it, we need evidence—some kind of clue.”
“Otherwise, if we just claim that my brother is going to kill someone at Donghai University, with no time, no location, no motive, no victim… the police won’t take it seriously.”
“Don’t worry.”
Jiang Ran stood facing the night sky, hands behind his back, gazing at the moon hidden behind clouds.
“I’ll figure something out.”
—
The next day, Jiang Ran arrived early at the Film Camera Club activity room.
It wasn’t time yet for his meeting with Chi Xiaoguo. Sitting on the sofa, he closed his eyes, resting lightly.
What Fang Ze had said last night made him uneasy.
[Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.]
This mysterious, cult-like organization kept reminding him of Zhou Xiong, Lilith, the script, the film company, the 12-million hush money…
At this point, he no longer believed Cheng Mengxue had been revived by Zhou Xiong or Lilith.
Nor did he believe this organization could truly fulfill all regrets.
Which meant…
Its purpose could only be deception, brainwashing, crime, and profit.
“But the Killer doesn’t seem like someone that stupid… someone who’d fall for that.”
Jiang Ran frowned.
Contradiction.
Fang Ze’s account and Fang Yang’s personality didn’t align.
Fortunately, he could go directly to 2045 and ask Fang Yang himself.
“At the very least, I need to find out who Fang Yang intends to kill.”
“With that clue, we can alert the police, protect the target, and wait for Fang Yang to appear in 2025.”
No matter what—
Even though Jiang Ran had a favorable impression of the Killer, murder was still murder. There was no justification.
And if the target was someone close to him, then it was even more critical to intervene.
So today’s trip to the future had two objectives:
1. Hear the second half of Qin Feng’s “42 is” statement.
2. Find out who Fang Yang killed, why he was imprisoned, and the secrets of the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.
Neither task would be easy. It was unlikely they could be completed in just one or two loops.
But that didn’t matter.
He had countless chances to try again.
“With infinite retries and reloads… success is only a matter of probability and time.”
—
Ten minutes later, Chi Xiaoguo arrived on time.
Jiang Ran braced himself on the windowsill and jumped out.
Thud.
His shoes hit the ground.
“Ah!”
A voice suddenly came from the flowerbed nearby.
Jiang Ran turned his head.
It was the same janitor from yesterday.
“Young man, why are you climbing out the window again?”
The man sounded slightly annoyed.
“Doesn’t your room have a door?”
“Haha…”
Jiang Ran scratched his head awkwardly.
“It’s just more convenient this way. If I go through the door, I have to circle around the building.”
…Sigh.
So annoying.
Every morning, just as he got excited to run the Positron Cannon experiment, this janitor would be here cleaning.
But there was nothing he could do.
For Jiang Ran and Chi Xiaoguo, the experiment had to be conducted during low electrical load periods, and discreetly—before too many students were around.
That only left the window of 6:00–7:00 a.m.
And coincidentally, the janitor’s work schedule was also 6:00–7:00 a.m., before students arrived.
Their schedules overlapped perfectly.
The janitor’s assigned area was exactly this section behind the activity building—a wide, open space with flowerbeds and grass.
Which meant—
If they didn’t find a way to distract him, their “strange ritual” would be fully visible.
“Sir, let me help you sweep.”
Jiang Ran stepped forward, grabbing a spare broom.
“No, no! How can I have a student help me every day?”
The janitor tried to stop him, but Jiang Ran had already started working seriously.
Unable to refuse, the man relented.
Twenty minutes later, the cleaning was done.
“Thank you so much, young man.”
The janitor clasped his hands sincerely.
“My name is Jiang Ran.”
Jiang Ran smiled.
“Just call me Xiao Jiang.”
“Alright, alright.”
“I’m Old Tian. That’s what everyone calls me.”
“If you ever need help moving things or disposing of large trash, just come find me!”
“No problem.”
Jiang Ran waved goodbye and watched him leave.
Returning to the window, Chi Xiaoguo leaned out.
“Senior… we can’t keep helping him clean every day, can we?”
“Yeah…”
Jiang Ran sighed.
“For now, there’s no better solution.”
—
Everything ready, Chi Xiaoguo shouted:
“5! 4! 3! 2! 1! 0!”
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
With the ringing phone and the roar of the Positron Cannon, Jiang Ran felt dizzy as the world spun—
Darkness swallowed him.
Two seconds later—
“Bang bang!”
Jiang Ran struck first:
“Open the door!”
After a brief exchange, the guard opened Cell No. 3.
Jiang Ran walked straight into the corridor, turned right, and looked through the bars into Cell No. 5.
There stood the refined, pale man with slender fingers—
The Killer.
Jiang Ran spoke in a low voice:
“Or perhaps… I should call you Fang Yang.”
Hearing his real name, the Killer abruptly looked up, staring in shock.
“Who are you…?”
Jiang Ran smiled faintly, meeting his gaze.
“Long time no see.”
“Your brother, Fang Ze, asked me to deliver you a message.”