novelraw Chapter 134 Line of Sight
Chapter 134 Line of Sight
Buzz!
Buzz!
Buzz!
Dizziness surged, the world spinning violently.
The pain from the multiple gunshots vanished in an instant. Jiang Ran could no longer feel anything from the outside world, as if he were falling into a boundless abyss.
Two seconds later, his five senses returned.
Amid drifting autumn leaves…
He opened his eyes.
“42 is… myself?”
Holding his phone, Jiang Ran stood beside the transformer distribution box, murmuring Qin Feng’s final words.So this was the answer to 42?
But after hearing it, Jiang Ran didn’t feel any sudden enlightenment. On the contrary, he felt even more confused—completely unable to understand what 42 meant.
“Why would I be 42?”
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure it out.
Back at the Film Camera Club activity room, Chi Xiaoguo was squatting by the wall, humming as she worked on a promotional poster for the club’s recruitment event.
The freshmen’s military training would end in a few days.
Right after that would come the university’s first major event of the semester—the recruitment period for all clubs.
Generally speaking, the main participants in club activities were first- and second-year students.
By the third year, those who remained were usually presidents or vice presidents.
And once fourth year arrived, under the triple pressure of thesis, graduation, and job hunting, most presidents and vice presidents would step aside for younger students and withdraw from club activities.
Xu Yan was like that.
A few days ago, Jiang Ran, Xu Yan, and Cheng Mengxue had gone out for a meal together. Xu Yan told them that she had already handed over the film club presidency to a junior. She would basically no longer go to the film club, nor would she participate in next year’s—2026—University Student Film Festival.
“My university youth is coming to an end!”
Xu Yan announced, both cheerful and wistful:
“Sigh… time to prepare to step into society. From now on… I’ll truly leave the ivory tower and become a real adult.”
Autumn always carried a sense of desolation.
It was both a season of harvest—and a season of parting.
Even though, in reality, the fourth year had only just begun, and graduation was still nearly a year away.
But—
Not a single fourth-year student thought that way.
The moment they entered their final year, they already understood that they had, in essence, graduated. That last year was merely a buffer to adapt to the transition.
As some leave, others arrive.
No one stays eighteen forever—but there are always new eighteen-year-olds.
The freshmen currently standing in formation on the field were the newest, most vibrant force of Donghai University.
During this period, whenever she had time, Chi Xiaoguo would come to the activity room to prepare for recruitment.
Posters, flyers, past project displays, small gifts…
Her enthusiasm was extremely high. She handled everything by herself, her eyes filled with hope for the Film Camera Club’s future.
Chi Xiaoguo was already in her third year as well.
This coming year would also be her final year of participating in club activities—and serving as president.
“One year is enough. Being able to save the Film Camera Club at Donghai University with your help, Senior Jiang, I’m already very satisfied!”
Chi Xiaoguo took it in stride and declared solemnly:
“It doesn’t matter if the achievement isn’t mine alone—but I must be part of it!”
Hehe.
Jiang Ran smiled faintly as he watched the energetic Chi Xiaoguo.
That sentence came from Hu Shi, written in a letter to graduates in 1932.
He wasn’t sure whether Chi Xiaoguo had actually read the letter, or simply came across it while browsing online.
But either way…
It fit perfectly here.
Whenever Jiang Ran didn’t have classes, he would come to the activity room to help Chi Xiaoguo prepare these materials.
Though “help” mostly meant assisting with whatever she assigned him.
But… not today.
Because Jiang Ran had a first-period class.
“I’ll head out first. After the first class ends, I’ll come back and help.”
“Until next time!”
…
Jiang Ran looked speechlessly at her small, busy figure.
Until next time?
She seemed so full of energy she was practically delirious—almost like the frenzied crowd at the 2045 execution ground.
Arriving at the classroom.
Jiang Ran found a seat, set down his books, and began spinning his pen as he thought.
After several days of continuous effort,
He had finally managed to extract the complete statement from Qin Feng.
In the end, it all boiled down to just three sentences:
[42 is correct.]
[Follow 42.]
[42 is… yourself.]
If he could have spoken with Qin Feng for longer, he might have clarified more details.
But the situation simply didn’t allow it.
This was a globally watched execution.
It was clear that the prison had made extremely thorough preparations.
Not only was security inside airtight, but the surrounding area was practically impenetrable.
Even though Jiang Ran could use a pistol to knock down the executioner, the numerous snipers hidden in nearby buildings would immediately carry out the execution themselves.
With such limited time, it was nearly impossible to extract more information from Qin Feng.
“At least… there’s no hope in the short term.”
Because—
Jiang Ran spun his pen faster and faster between his fingers.
Because progress on the Killer’s side also needed to be pushed forward as soon as possible.
Even now, they still didn’t know who the Killer intended to assassinate at Donghai University—or when.
Although they didn’t truly plan to help Qin Feng with his “brotherly bond,” at the very least… they needed to determine whether the target had anything to do with Jiang Ran—or with anyone around him.
Otherwise, he couldn’t rest easy.
So, over the next couple of days, he would make one final attempt at the execution ground to see if he could extract more information from Qin Feng.
After that, he would shift his focus to helping the Killer escape from prison.
The Killer held many secrets.
And he had made it very clear—those secrets would only be revealed after a successful escape.
So stubborn. So powerful.
Jiang Ran truly had no way to deal with this “big brother.”
If he wanted answers, the only option was to genuinely help him escape—exchange sincerity for sincerity.
“For now… better focus on 42.”
Jiang Ran lowered his head and wrote the three sentences on a sheet of white paper:
[42 is correct.]
[Follow 42.]
[42 is… yourself.]
The first sentence already felt contradictory.
Previously, the mysterious message had said not to believe 42.
Now Qin Feng was saying that 42 was correct.
A classic case of internal contradiction—left brain fighting right brain.
If one insisted that some 42s were correct while others couldn’t be trusted… then what was the point of saying anything at all? Even fortune tellers wouldn’t dare be this vague.
The second sentence:
Follow 42.
The literal meaning was easy enough to understand.
But the same concern remained.
If 42 was correct, then following it made sense.
But if 42 couldn’t be trusted, then following it would lead straight into a pit.
Moreover, he still had no idea what 42 even was—
A person?
An object?
Or just a number?
Finally, the third sentence:
“42 is… myself.”
That was even more intriguing.
How could he, a perfectly normal person, be 42?
In terms of student numbers—
Qin Feng had once been 42.
Now Cheng Mengxue was 42.
At no point had Jiang Ran’s own number ever been related to 42.
As for other possibilities—
Birthdays, lucky numbers, phone numbers, “number zero”…
None of them had anything to do with 42.
If there was any forced connection at all, it would be—
[He kept noticing the number 42 around him, again and again.]
For example:
The label on the transformer distribution box.
The clock when he first met Nan Xiuxiu.
The student numbers of Qin Feng and Cheng Mengxue.
The exact number of people at a class reunion.
The temperature setting on his water heater…
Cough.
Jiang Ran laughed at himself.
Could those even count?
He didn’t think so.
Because those instances of “42” had nothing to do with him.
Whether he noticed them or not, they were already there—existing independently.
Like the temperature on a household water heater.
Most units were factory-set to 42 degrees Celsius.
Every household was the same.
There was nothing strange about it—it was simply the most comfortable temperature for bathing.
There was no need to become paranoid over it.
“Besides, who doesn’t have plenty of 42s around them in daily life?”
He lowered his head and looked at his open textbook.
The page number… was exactly 42.
He turned to glance at the textbooks of the students beside and behind him.
Also 42.
Exactly.
That was completely normal.
They were all in the same class—of course they’d be on the same page.
“So what exactly is special about the number 42?”
Jiang Ran frowned, feeling trapped in a logical dead end.
Especially Qin Feng’s final words, spoken through gritted teeth at the brink of death:
“42 is… yourself!”
The more he thought about it, the bigger it became.
Jiang Ran was already fed up with this world full of riddles.
But there was nothing he could do.
At the 2045 execution ground, neither the executioner nor the snipers would grant Qin Feng even a single extra second of life.
Humans truly feared the Magician.
From prison guards to ordinary citizens, they both hated and feared him.
That was why he was locked away so tightly—why they wouldn’t allow him to speak even a single extra word.
Ding-dong!
Suddenly, his phone chimed with a WeChat notification.
Damn—it wasn’t on silent.
Jiang Ran quickly pulled down the control menu and muted it.
Only then did he look at the notification.
He tapped it open.
It was a message from Cheng Mengxue—
“Hehe~ I see you!”