Prodigy’s Playground

Chapter 143

Hmph!

Hmph!

Hmph!

Dizzy. The world spinning.

In the darkness where all five senses vanished, Jiang Ran was already impatient to the extreme.

That’s right.

Break to rebuild.

If he wanted to shatter the deadlock inside the prison at the end of 2045, he had to start from the beginning—change the strategy entirely.

This time—

Not a single second could be wasted.He had to make use of everything he had accumulated from so many attempts… and execute a true super speedrun!

Two seconds later—

All discomfort vanished. Jiang Ran opened his eyes.

Hmph!

In one swift step, he rushed to the iron-bar door.

“Maobin!”

“Wo—”

“Open the door, now!”

Jiang Ran barked sharply:

“If you want to escape successfully, don’t say a single word—follow me!”

“Y-you—” Maobin froze, his face turning red.

“Move!” Jiang Ran cut him off again.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Though Maobin’s head was full of questions, faced with such overwhelming momentum, he forcefully swallowed them all and used a wire to unlock the doors of Jiang Ran, Hothead, and Killer.

“Maobin had barely made a twisting sound when Jiang Ran interrupted him again.

“Go! Don’t worry about the Little Prodigy—leave him here!”

Jiang Ran smacked Maobin on the backside.

“Run faster, run faster!”

Killer obeyed without hesitation, sprinting to the front. Hothead, bursting with excess energy, charged ahead without a word. Only Maobin lagged behind, his bulky body dragging the pace.

“Wait—are you rushing to reincarnate or something?!”

He finally couldn’t hold it in, panting as he shouted.

“Ahhh—this is bad luck, really bad luck!”

“Too much talking!”

Jiang Ran shoved him forward, then ran ahead to lead.

“We go to the equipment room first.”

Weapons were still necessary. Fortunately, Jiang Ran knew exactly where everything was—searching would be efficient.

“You guys wait at the door. No need to come in.”

Then—

Jiang Ran dashed into the equipment room like a runaway horse, activating auto-loot, grabbing here and there, and emerged carrying three electric batons, two tear gas grenades, and an electronic clock.

“Holy—!”

Maobin had never seen such a professional escape artist before. He was stunned.

“Big brother! Is this your house?!”

Jiang Ran distributed the gear one by one.

“This is yours, yours—these two are yours.”

Then he glanced at the electronic clock.

September 17, 2045, 10:16 AM.

Perfect.

Not a second wasted—only sixteen minutes to complete the first phase.

Next—

The fork in the road.

They sprinted again without reason or restraint. Maobin couldn’t keep up, wheezing like a broken bellows.

“Run already!”

Jiang Ran didn’t even turn on the baton—he just jabbed Maobin with it repeatedly.

“You were the one shouting about escaping! Don’t drag us down!”

“B-bro, I was wrong, I was wrong!”

Maobin clasped his hands together, full of regret.

“C-can we slow down? You’re rushing so much… I… I don’t feel safe!”

They reached the fork again.

Jiang Ran looked down the right corridor.

Previously, their tactic had been to ambush and wait for the guards and dogs.

But countless failures had proven—

That didn’t work.

Now, only two choices remained:

1. Take the initiative—strike the guards and dogs by surprise.

2. Gamble on luck—sprint straight to the execution ground and hope not to encounter them.

He checked the clock again.

10:21 AM.

Fifty minutes earlier than before.

The second plan… was worth trying.

Maybe those fifty minutes meant the guard hadn’t started patrol yet.

If so—

This road to the execution ground would be completely unobstructed.

But—

Killer, Maobin, and Hothead were all in prison uniforms. Walking into the execution ground like that would be suicide.

Think—

Right!

Jiang Ran suddenly remembered—

During their very first escape attempt, Maobin had mentioned that the guards’ dormitory was also along the right corridor.

If it was a dormitory, then there had to be spare civilian clothes.

No risk, no reward.

They had to take it.

“Maobin—lead the way!”

Jiang Ran switched on the electric baton. Blue arcs crackled.

Ready for combat.

They sprinted again.

“This way!”

Maobin led them to the guards’ dormitory and kicked the door—

Bang!

The wooden door shattered. His foot and lower leg punched straight through, the hole catching at his thigh.

Using the momentum, his body stuck to the door panel in a bizarre high-leg ballet pose as he forced the door open.

“…Huh?”

Maobin froze.

Not because of his embarrassing position—

But because—

There was someone inside.

A guard, shirtless, bending over as he pulled up his pants.

Now he too stood frozen, staring at Maobin—whose thigh was stuck through the door.

“Get him!”

Jiang Ran waved his hand.

Killer shot forward like an arrow.

Against an unarmed guard, pants half on, faced with multiple electric batons and two combat experts—

The guard was instantly shocked into foaming at the mouth and collapsing unconscious.

“I see…”

Jiang Ran looked at the two sets of guard uniforms hanging on the wall and immediately pieced it together.

This guard—

Started patrol at around 10:30.

First, he would change into uniform, put on a vest, wear a tactical helmet—

Then go retrieve three police dogs—

And only then begin patrol in the right corridor.

And that—

Was exactly when Jiang Ran and the others used to arrive in previous attempts.

No wonder they always clashed head-on.

But this time—

Thanks to the speedrun—

They arrived fifty minutes earlier.

The guard hadn’t even dressed yet.

No uniform. No weapons.

Perfect timing.

“Tie him up. That should do it.”

Killer efficiently bound the unconscious guard to the bed frame with professional precision.

The three spread out, searching the room—

And found two pistols in a drawer.

“Ammo! Ammo! Ammo!”

Maobin shouted, still stuck to the door.

“Oh, right.”

Jiang Ran went back to search for bullets.

“Not that!”

Maobin roared.

“My crotch is stuck! Get me out of here!”

Jiang Ran sighed deeply.

“…Can you be a reliable teammate even once?”

“If I hadn’t made such a sacrifice to intimidate him, would you have taken him down so easily?”

“Just pull me out already!”

After some adjustments—

The four regrouped.

Two guard uniforms fit Killer and Hothead perfectly.

Maobin found loose civilian clothes.

Jiang Ran was already in civilian wear.

The clothing problem—

Solved.

“Next… only the final step remains.”

Jiang Ran looked out the window.

Beyond the bars and glass—

The execution ground was packed with a roaring crowd.

They shouted, waiting for the beheading of humanity’s enemy—the Magician.

He checked the clock.

Not yet 11.

Half an hour until Qin Feng would be brought out.

One hour until execution.

And—

Jiang Ran only had one hour left in this future.

This time—

He couldn’t worry about Qin Feng.

He had to get Killer out.

Only then would he get the answers he needed.

“Let’s discuss the final step.”

Jiang Ran sat on the bed, looking at the others.

“We have weapons. We have disguises. Maobin and I can blend into the crowd.”

“We’re one step away from escaping.”

“That step is—”

“How to pass through the layers of security around the execution ground without being detected.”

Killer’s gaze sharpened.

“There’s a car key.”

He took it from a wall hook.

A prison vehicle.

Type unknown—but any vehicle would help.

“I get it!”

Maobin slapped his thigh.

“We just get in the car—Killer and Hothead in full uniform up front—and drive out like nothing’s wrong!”

“Brilliant! The guards won’t suspect a thing! Jiang Ran and I hide in the trunk!”

“Correct.”

Jiang Ran nodded.

“The plan works. The problem is—”

He looked outside.

“Where is the car?”

Silence.

Without the car—

The key meant nothing.

And the execution ground was huge, crowded, full of patrols.

Impossible to search blindly.

“Only Hothead and I can go.”

Killer tapped his helmet.

“We’ll blend in as guards and search.”

“When we find it, we’ll drive it to this window and signal with the horn.”

“You come to the exit and meet us.”

Jiang Ran nodded.

It was the only way.

“You—!”

Maobin grabbed Killer, worried.

“You have to come back!”

“I will.”

Killer clasped his hand.

Then looked at Jiang Ran.

[I am a man who follows principles. I keep my word.]

Jiang Ran met his gaze.

No words needed.

Killer knew Jiang Ran was a time traveler.

And Jiang Ran knew—

Once they escaped—

Killer would tell him everything.

Jiang Ran had already prepared his questions:

1. The truth about the time machine at Donghai University.

2. What crime led Killer to prison.

3. What kind of person Fang Ze really was.

Everything else—

Could wait.

Killer and Hothead departed.

Jiang Ran sat in thought.

Maobin paced restlessly, fidgeting, wincing.

“…Do you have children?” Jiang Ran asked.

“No.”

“A wife?”

Maobin laughed bitterly.

“With me? Who would want that?”

Jiang Ran sat upright.

No family. No attachments.

Then why—

Was he so desperate to escape?

“…We’ve never really talked like this.”

“Talk? We’ve known each other less than two hours.”

“Still. Let’s talk.”

Jiang Ran looked at him.

Then asked—

The question he had been holding back:

“Maobin… why are you risking your life to escape?”

“What exactly are you doing this for?”