Prodigy’s Playground

Chapter 131 Two Lines

“Lilith?”

The Killer turned back, puzzled:

“What is that?”

That kind of direct, unmasked confusion caught Jiang Ran off guard.

“You mean in the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets you joined, there isn’t some ‘omnipotent’ existence like Lilith—something that can grant any wish?” he probed again.

The Killer turned away and continued walking.

“You’re trying to fish for information again.”

“But this one, I don’t mind telling you.”

“There is no such existence as the Lilith you’re describing in the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.”

“This is just a mutual aid organization meant to make up for life’s regrets. We only pray to the [Priest]… no one there is called Lilith. The Lilith you’re referring to—could it be the one from the Bible? The first wife of Adam in Eden? Some kind of symbolic reference?”Jiang Ran didn’t respond.

Because he himself didn’t know what Lilith really was.

In that delusional setting collection he wrote in middle school, Lilith had only been used as a substitute name for a god—just a random foreign name he picked to sound cool and sophisticated.

The same went for the “phone that could grant any wish” in that setting collection. Its essence was simply a tool to contact Lilith, thereby fulfilling the user’s desires.

Of course, all of that had been pure fabrication. Nothing worth referencing.

As for the first time he heard the name Lilith in real life—

That would be at the class reunion, when Zhou Xiong shouted it at his phone.

Ever since learning the name Mutual Aid Society of Regrets from Fang Ze yesterday, Jiang Ran had assumed that Zhou Xiong might also be part of this organization. That would explain how he could seemingly grant everyone’s wishes like magic.

Continuing the reasoning—

If Zhou Xiong was connected to that organization, then Lilith was most likely connected as well. Perhaps a totem, or a spiritual leader figure within the group.

But judging from the Killer’s reaction—

Could it be…

That Lilith truly had nothing to do with the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets?

Two completely separate lines?

Beyond that—

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

[Priest].

Another critical keyword.

It sounded like the Priest was the real leader of the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets—the one at the top.

Both Jiang Ran and Fang Ze believed the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets to be a scam organization. A cult.

Because its doctrine was simply too absurd—

“To make up for all regrets in life, to fulfill any wish.”

If it were really that easy, the entire world would have collapsed into chaos long ago.

At the very least—

Even Jiang Ran and the others, with the spacetime electronic clock and time-traveling text messages, couldn’t achieve that.

Because—

The temporal butterfly effect was uncontrollable.

This law alone crushed all delusions.

The butterfly effect seeped into everything, causing every development to deviate from its intended path, tearing expectations apart, leaving them riddled with holes.

Qin Feng had sent a time-traveling text message ten years into the past, intending to save his biological father.

The result?

Not only did his father not survive—the house burned down, he and his mother were forced to leave their hometown, Chu Xueruo died unexpectedly, and Qin Feng himself fell into depression for two years. His entire life changed.

It was hard to imagine—

How the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets could use such a wildly unrealistic doctrine to draw in someone as rational and intelligent as the Killer.

“Can the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets really… make up for all regrets in life?” Jiang Ran asked.

“Heh. Who knows?”

The Killer clearly didn’t want to reveal anything further and brushed it off.

Soon, the group reached the fork again and chose the right corridor, entering the familiar ambush phase.

Everything was arranged according to the optimal plan. Jiang Ran told the Killer:

“The guard has an automatic alarm device on his chest, linked to his heartbeat monitor. If his heart stops, it triggers an alarm. So… you can’t kill him.”

The Killer frowned slightly, thinking for a moment.

“Then… we can only knock him out?”

Jiang Ran nodded.

“Seems like it… that’s the only option. Sorry to trouble you.”

The task distribution was perfect.

And yet—

Bang bang bang bang bang!

Total wipeout.

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

The familiar dizziness, the spinning world.

Jiang Ran’s final awareness was of himself struggling in a pool of blood, his vision fading into darkness… watching the Killer also get shot multiple times and collapse helplessly.

This time, the problem had been the Killer.

He failed to subdue the guard in time, allowing the guard to draw a backup handgun and gun them all down.

Not the opponent’s fault.

No matter how agile he was, he was still flesh and blood—not some movie character mowing down enemies like an unstoppable machine.

Dressed in prison clothes, unarmed, facing fully equipped patrol guards in bulletproof vests and tactical helmets…

The disparity in strength was overwhelming.

And under such hell-level difficulty, Jiang Ran had made it even harder—

Adding one more restriction:

The guard couldn’t be killed. Only knocked unconscious.

That was simply too much to ask.

Even for someone as capable as the Killer—it was impossible.

“Looks like I, the client, made an unreasonable demand.”

In the sensory void of the spacetime vortex, Jiang Ran realized his mistake.

Which meant—

They had reached a deadlock.

If they seized the gun and killed the guard—the alarm would trigger.

If they didn’t kill him—the guard would draw his backup weapon and wipe them out.

The Killer wasn’t Spider-Man. He had only two hands. He couldn’t disarm, restrain, prevent the alarm, and knock the guard unconscious all at once.

Frankly, even Spider-Man couldn’t do that.

Maybe if it were some centipede-man with a hundred arms.

So—

You couldn’t have both fish and bear’s paw.

“I’ll have to put escaping with the Killer on hold… and shift focus back to spacetime—and talking to Qin Feng.”

Two seconds later, the discomfort vanished.

Jiang Ran returned to 2025.

Standing beside the transformer distribution box.

He opened his eyes.

Chi Xiaoguo had a first-period class. After exchanging a few words with Jiang Ran, she headed to the cafeteria.

Jiang Ran had his class in the second period, so he stayed in the Film Camera Club activity room, organizing his thoughts.

This trip to the future—

Could be said to have achieved neither goal.

He hadn’t managed to speak with Qin Feng.

Nor had he extracted any key information from the Killer.

“A complete failure.”

Jiang Ran concluded.

But—

It wasn’t entirely without gain.

Fragments of keywords gathered in his mind, slowly sorting themselves into two increasingly clear clusters.

“Judging from the Killer’s reaction, Lilith really seems unrelated to the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.”

“Because the Killer only operates in two modes—either he speaks, or he doesn’t. He almost never lies. And there’s no need for him to—we’re on the same rope.”

Jiang Ran analyzed:

“As for his feelings toward Fang Ze, there’s nothing to question. They’re genuine and deeply protective. His only goal is to escape. Nothing else matters.”

“So regarding Lilith, he likely wasn’t lying. Lilith really has nothing to do with the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.”

“In that case… all these scattered clues can probably be divided into two separate lines.”

He stood up, walked to the workbench, and pulled over a small blackboard.

Picking up a piece of chalk, he wrote at the top:

Prodigy’s Playground

And in the upper right corner:

Mutual Aid Society of Regrets

Then, he began listing keywords under each.

First—

Prodigy’s Playground line:

The middle-school setting collection (stolen by Qin Feng)

The script written for Xu Xin (bought out by a film company)

The award-winning microfilm (shelved and suppressed by the film festival)

Zhou Xiong’s phone that can contact Lilith (stolen, whereabouts unknown)

Lilith (identity unknown, but unrelated to the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets)

That was everything Jiang Ran could currently link to this line.

Next—

Mutual Aid Society of Regrets line:

Cult organization (Fang Ze’s description)

The Killer (member, does dirty work)

The Priest (leader of the organization)

“Make up for all regrets in life” (core doctrine)

“That’s about it.”

Jiang Ran set the chalk down.

The information he had was limited, but organizing it like this made his thoughts much clearer.

Comparing both sides—

He realized something.

Whether it was Lilith, or the Priest—

Both seemed to be symbolic codenames.

The Killer wasn’t a codename—that was just Fang Ze’s nickname for him, used only within the future prison.

“Codenames…”

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes.

Suddenly, he thought of someone else with a codename.

A codename known worldwide.

“[The Magician]—Qin Feng.”

He picked up the chalk again and wrote in the center of the board:

The Magician

Then stepped back and examined the board.

On the left—Prodigy’s Playground.

On the right—the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.

In the center—Qin Feng, the Magician.

“Clearly, since Qin Feng has the codename ‘The Magician,’ he can’t be isolated. He must be connected to some organization.”

Jiang Ran’s thoughts sharpened.

His gaze moved back and forth between the two sides, trying to link Qin Feng to one of them.

Prodigy’s Playground…

Mutual Aid Society of Regrets…

Qin Feng—

Which side do you belong to?

Having sorted his thoughts, Jiang Ran wiped the board clean, tidied up the activity room, and turned to leave.

“Hey! Xiao Jiang!”

Suddenly, a shout came from outside the window.

Jiang Ran turned his head.

It was the cleaner from the morning—Old Tian—waving from outside.

“Old Tian?”

Jiang Ran walked over.

“Why are you back again?”

“Heh, catch!”

Old Tian grinned and tossed something over the flowerbed.

By the time Jiang Ran realized, the drink was already in front of him. He quickly reached out and caught it.

Thud.

The bottle landed firmly in his hand.

He looked down.

A bottle of iced black tea.

“Haha, I know you young people like this!”

Jiang Ran was momentarily confused and looked at him.

“This is…”

“Aiya, you help me clean every day—I feel bad about it. Don’t be polite, Xiao Jiang, this one’s on me!”

Only then did Jiang Ran realize.

Old Tian had bought this specifically from the campus store.

He must have finished taking out the trash, wanted to thank him, gone to buy the drink, and then deliberately returned to see if he was still here.

“Old Tian, this is too much, you—”

Jiang Ran stopped himself mid-sentence.

He had almost said that Old Tian’s salary wasn’t high and that he shouldn’t be spending money on him.

But that would sound condescending.

And besides—

This was Old Tian’s sincerity. Better not refuse.

“Thank you, Old Tian.”

Jiang Ran smiled.

“But don’t spend money like this next time. I already like morning exercise, and this area is right outside our club window. Keeping it clean makes us feel better too.”

Old Tian didn’t say much.

He waved, then rode off on his tricycle.

“…He’s a good, honest man.”

Jiang Ran unscrewed the cap and took a sip of the iced tea.

“Alright. I should head back to the dorm, get ready, and go to class.”

He closed the Film Camera Club activity room door and headed toward the graduate dormitory.

Next class—

Was the graduate group session arranged by Teacher Xiao Chongshan.

Only Jiang Ran, Fang Ze, and Cheng Mengxue would attend.

The location—

Professor Zhang Yang’s independent laboratory.

Just thinking about that sarcastic, perpetually displeased Teacher Xiao made Jiang Ran’s head ache.

It always felt like the man had something against him.

“Professor Zhang Yang… please recover soon. Come back already…”