novelraw Chapter 162 The Key
Chapter 162 The Key
[September 24, 2025. Weather: light rain.]
On the way to … the full content of this book
[Dr. Garner told me several times that I had to keep writing a diary. Only then could I preserve my sense of self and avoid losing myself.
Before this, I never really took it seriously.
But now, I deeply understand Dr. Garner’s warning.
Lately, this condition has only been getting worse.
I think it’s because I’ve truly entered their lives.
There’s a saying that many dedicated actors, because they immerse themselves too deeply into a role while filming, ultimately still can’t come out of it even after shooting wraps, unable to tell who they really are.
Cheng Dieyi in Farewell My Concubine.
The Joker in The Dark Knight.It’s roughly the same principle.
It seems acting is also a high-risk profession. The deeper the performance, the deeper the investment; the deeper the investment, the harder the fall.
But for the mission I must carry out now, perhaps this is not a bad thing.
Who I am, or who I am meant to become, is not important.
What matters is how I complete the task Father assigned to me, so that he can make up for my regret.
Father said that I am a key he prepared long ago, only he never knew what lock it was meant to open.
I don’t understand those words. I simply obey all of his orders.
I don’t know when that lock will appear. All I can do is keep waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the day I can finally serve my purpose.
No matter what exactly the lock Father spoke of refers to, I will absolutely do my best to open it.
Fortunately, that day has finally arrived.
I truly waited far too long for this moment.
From the day you vanished after that backward glance, until now, there has never been a single day I lived for myself—
I have wronged everyone.
I have no right to grow up. My life should have remained forever frozen on that day, until I found you.
Little brother, your sister will definitely find you.
Even if I am no longer your sister, even if you can no longer recognize what I look like.
It’s okay.
Dad and Mom are still waiting for you, and so many others are hoping for you too.
As for me, your sister… I only need to see you one more time, only need to hold you one more time—
That will be enough.]
Outside the private internet café room, it gradually became noisy.
Customers were moving back and forth in the hallway.
Jiang Ran wasn’t wearing headphones, so he could hear everything clearly. It seemed a light rain had suddenly started outside, and many people were going to their electric scooters to grab things or cover them with raincoats.
He turned back around and forced his thoughts back onto the deduction from just now.
“Probably impossible.”
He shook his head.
If Father’s mission for this Cheng Mengxue had simply been to kill him, then they could easily have sent someone stronger.
Whether it was Old Tian or Fang Yang, both were clearly far more capable than Cheng Mengxue when it came to solo-killing him.
So—
“The task Father gave this Cheng Mengxue is most likely to extract some kind of information from me.”
Jiang Ran nodded. This line of reasoning was much more reliable.
“If that really is the purpose, then sending Cheng Mengxue is indeed the most suitable choice. A slight bit of investigation would reveal our childhood-sweetheart relationship over all these years. Naturally, that makes her the easiest identity to approach me with, and the easiest one to gain my trust.”
“But after going in a huge circle, there’s still one most contradictory question that can’t be explained […].”
He covered his forehead and sighed.
[If they wanted to disguise someone as such a flawless Cheng Mengxue, how exactly did they accomplish it?]
[Not just her appearance, habits, and expressions—most importantly, how did they deal with the memories?]
This was also the point that repeatedly tormented Jiang Ran.
Every time he began doubting whether this Cheng Mengxue was real or fake, memory always became the unavoidable link that prevented him from passing final judgment.
He had always believed that memory and emotion were what truly proved a person’s existence.
This Cheng Mengxue remembered every tiny trivial detail from the past. She had lived exactly the same life as Cheng Mengxue, to the point that real or fake became impossible to distinguish.
“No.”
Suddenly—
Jiang Ran’s eyes snapped open.
He had thought of the one and only place where this Cheng Mengxue’s memory was misaligned—
[The letter inside the glass bottle.]
Even if that letter had been written ten years ago, as a time capsule she had buried with her own hands, there was no way she wouldn’t remember even a single sentence from it, right?
Although Jiang Ran wasn’t exactly in a position to criticize others—he himself had basically forgotten the cringey setting collection he wrote back then.
But!
Basically forgotten, and completely forgotten, were still very different things.
At the very least, he still remembered the game settings from that collection, some details of the supernatural abilities, and plot points involving Lilith.
By comparison—
Cheng Mengxue had absolutely no memory whatsoever of the time capsule they buried back then, nor of the letter she had written with her own hands.
“Does she truly not remember it? Or is she too embarrassed to say it out loud?”
Jiang Ran had a strong feeling—
This truth was important.
At the same time, he also realized that his enemies were far too powerful, far beyond anything he could face alone.
So he had to bring in reinforcements.
The only force he could truly trust right now was the official system. And the highest-status person he could reach was Academician Gao Yan, director of the Dragon Country Academy of Sciences.
He could only ask him for help.
Hopefully this face—the one that had proved Goldbach’s Conjecture—still carried a bit of weight in front of the old director.
No time to lose. Once he decided, he acted immediately.
After leaving the internet café, he directly booked the earliest flight to the capital and took a taxi to Hongqiao Airport.
The moment he landed, he headed straight for the Dragon Country Academy of Sciences, where Director Gao Yan personally received him with extraordinary warmth.
Jiang Ran could tell that the other man genuinely treated him as a treasured disciple, someone in whom he had placed immense hopes.
That attitude moved Jiang Ran deeply, and at the same time filled him with guilt.
Because only he knew the truth: he was merely an academic thief with no true knowledge in his stomach—not only had he stolen Lu Yu’s destined opportunity, he had also interfered in Lu Yu’s life, causing him to be tortured into a mentally ruined state and ultimately thrown into prison.
Sigh. His sins were truly growing heavier and heavier.
Once the matter before him was resolved, he absolutely had to find a way to make amends as soon as possible.
In the office, while drinking tea, Jiang Ran told Director Gao everything in detail: the death of his classmate Zhou Xiong, and the death of substitute teacher Xiao Chonghan.
He also told Gao Yan that he had grasped some clues pointing toward the mastermind behind the scenes, but that most of them were still deductions rather than hard evidence.
So, if he alone tried to request police assistance based on his own status, it would definitely fail. He hoped Director Gao would be willing to step in and help.
“I know bypassing the normal process like this doesn’t exactly conform to principle,” Jiang Ran said frankly.
“But right now, Zhou Xiong and Teacher Xiao Chonghan have only just died, and the murderer behind it still hasn’t been found, still roaming free. It’s truly infuriating.”
“One was my classmate, and one was my teacher. I want to do something for them. At the same time, I want to use my mind to capture the mastermind as early as possible, so more people won’t be harmed.”
After hearing him out, Gao Yan nodded.
“I understand both of these matters. In fact, over these years, scientists and scholars all over the world have been murdered again and again—most of them researchers in cutting-edge fields.”
“Many of those cases remain unsolved to this day. I too have always wondered where exactly the difficulty lies. Could it be that this evil organization is truly so all-powerful, able to cover the sky with one hand?”
“Jiang Ran, I trust your mind, and I trust your judgment. Since you sincerely want to use your intelligence to contribute to society, the country, and the safety of scientific scholars, then of course I should help you.”
“It’s just that the Academy is, after all, a place for research. Matters like this should still be entrusted to professionals—”
He took a sip of tea and thought for a moment.
“Perfect timing. Since you’re also in Donghai City, have you heard of Officer Liu from the Donghai Municipal Public Security Bureau? He should now be overseeing the city’s entire police system.”
“I know him.”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“Officer Liu just so happens to be the lead of the special task force on this case. If you can help introduce me, that would naturally be ideal.”
“Heh.”
Director Gao set down his teacup and smiled.
“This Officer Liu is the son of a comrade-in-arms from my years at the Northwest Research Institute. Back then, his father and I were the closest of friends. Since childhood, this Officer Liu has called me godfather, and I was even the one who introduced him to his wife. Our families can be considered old family friends.”
“So don’t worry about this matter. I’ll call Little Liu in a bit. When you return to Donghai, go directly to him and communicate everything you’ve investigated and deduced. I think—he will definitely take it especially seriously.”
Jiang Ran quickly thanked Director Gao.
He hadn’t expected the man to help him so readily.
Jiang Ran was deeply grateful, yet even more guilty that he had nothing to offer in return.
He could only silently make up his mind that in the future, he would definitely dig Lu Yu out properly, cultivate him properly, and then send that talent under Professor Zhang Yang or Director Gao’s wing. That would at least count as making up for part of his crime.
“Oh, Director Gao, there’s one more thing I need to trouble you with.”
Jiang Ran then brought up Qin Feng’s matter. He hoped some official resources could be mobilized to help find Qin Feng.
Director Gao waved his hand again.
“For this matter, you should also go to Little Liu—the Officer Liu from Donghai City you mentioned.”
“The Donghai Municipal Public Security Bureau has very high authority. As long as you can provide corresponding information and have a legitimate legal reason—they’ll help you search.”
“Though this is admittedly a bit like using connections, if it truly benefits solving the case, benefits social stability, and benefits the safety of scientific scholars, then naturally it’s necessary.”
With Director Gao’s assurance, Jiang Ran was finally relieved.
He immediately left the Academy, boarded a flight back to Donghai City, and headed straight to the Donghai Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Officer’s office.
The moment the plane landed, Jiang Ran directly arranged to meet Officer Liu.
No time to lose. Everything had to begin as early as possible.
Director Gao’s introduction was extremely effective, and when Officer Liu heard that a super genius with a peerless brain had come seeking help on a case, he greeted him warmly.
“Oh my, so it’s you! Why didn’t you say so sooner!”
—
Officer Liu was visibly startled when he saw Jiang Ran. He hadn’t expected it to be the young man from the previous case’s statement-taking.
After listening to Jiang Ran’s report and reading through the compiled materials, Officer Liu looked troubled.
“Wu Yuanzheng… this one won’t be easy.”
He frowned.
“I assume you’ve heard of this man too. He’s not merely a business tycoon. He also holds a whole series of official identities. He’s a highly respected figure.”
“If there’s no concrete evidence, we cannot investigate him, let alone carry out an arrest.”
“And—Jiang Ran, forgive my bluntness, but most of what you’ve provided are deductions. They don’t even form a complete chain of evidence. There’s no way to proceed with that.”
“Unless we can find a way to capture an involved party. For example, the killer Fang Yang you mentioned, or another member of the criminal organization led by Wu Yuanzheng. If we start from them and obtain concrete ties to Wu Yuanzheng, then we can launch action with full legitimacy.”
“Of course, what you’ve provided has indeed given us several entirely new leads—the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets, right? No matter how you look at it, that’s a cult organization. I’ll have people begin investigating it.”
Officer Liu’s response was also within Jiang Ran’s expectations.
Still, the other side had said they would begin investigating the origins of the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.
“In any case, Jiang Ran, let’s stay in contact. If anything new happens on your side, we’ll communicate immediately.”
Officer Liu was still very grateful to Jiang Ran.
After all, whether it was Zhou Xiong’s Hangzhou case or Old Tian’s Donghai case, both had completely stalled due to a total lack of clues, and he himself had been under enormous pressure.
And now Jiang Ran, through his genius-level mind personally endorsed by Director Gao, had to a large extent helped give shape to these baffling and chaotic cases.
“We still need to find someone, right? Fine, come with me.”
Officer Liu directly brought Jiang Ran to an information room packed with advanced technology.
“This place doesn’t just have household registration, travel, hotel stays, flights, and high-speed rail big data—it’s also connected to bank transaction systems and the Sky-Eye surveillance network. As long as this person has appeared anywhere in Dragon Country, we will definitely find them!”
Officer Liu was brimming with confidence.
This was the age of informatized big data, now combined with AI technology. It had truly reached the point where the net of heaven missed nothing.
Jiang Ran provided everything he knew about Qin Feng.
He even clearly remembered Qin Feng’s ID number.
The staff entered the data and clicked the search button.
The result—
[a complete blank.]
“What!?”
Officer Liu froze on the spot.
“Impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
He said decisively, “Even if it were a dead person, this big data system would still be able to pull up plenty of information—what kind of nonsense is this blank screen? Search it again!”
The result, after repeated attempts and every possible method—
was still a complete blank.
“Th-this… what exactly is going on?”
Even Officer Liu was completely baffled.
He turned to Jiang Ran.
“Are you sure this person named Qin Feng has been active in Dragon Country in recent years?”
“I’m sure.”
Jiang Ran nodded.
“He came to Donghai some time ago, and also two years ago. There’s no way he flew here through the sky or tunneled through the earth. He had to have left some kind of trace in the big data systems, right?”
“Exactly, that’s what makes sense…”
Officer Liu scratched his head. This was truly the first time he had encountered such a thing.
Pulling the records further back, the last traceable information related to Qin Feng was from ten years ago, in 2015.
After that, the system showed Qin Feng’s father’s death and account deregistration.
Then from that point onward, both Qin Feng’s and his mother’s data completely disappeared, as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth.
“It was probably deleted, or hidden.”
Officer Liu analyzed.
“There are indeed cases where important individuals’ information is hidden. But clearly, a little boy named Qin Feng is nowhere near that level of clearance.”
“Then who exactly is protecting him? Or rather, where did he get the kind of terrifying power needed to live across Dragon Country without leaving behind a single recorded trace?”
The next day, somewhere in Donghai.
A luxurious conference room.
A middle-aged man pushed open the door.
“Another piece of bad news.”
He gave a cold snort.
“I don’t know how the Donghai police managed to trace things back to us, but while they haven’t openly searched yet, it’s very clear they’re investigating the Mutual Aid Society of Regrets.”
The old man in Tang robes sighed as well.
“This is getting more and more troublesome. The vortex is being stirred bigger and bigger—at this rate, even without that troublemaker Witch, the situation is becoming increasingly chaotic.”
The middle-aged man pulled out a chair and sat down, giving a dry laugh.
“Old Wu, don’t tell me this time our miscalculation means we’ve become turtles in a jar instead?”
The Tang-robed old man, called Old Wu, remained expressionless as he sat steadily in the executive chair.
“There’s nothing to say about that. This matter was always one where risk and reward ran in parallel. Since when has anything in this world been a guaranteed profit? Taking risks was always for the sake of greater and better returns.”
“By the way, how’s the Key doing? I haven’t heard any updates about that girl in several days. Wasn’t the progress going quite smoothly?”
The middle-aged man shook his head.
“Actually, it’s been going very poorly. Little Jiang Ran has clearly realized something. He’s become extremely cautious these days, leaving the girl with no opening to break through.”
“I even strongly suspect that this time we’ve been counterplayed and gradually drawn into a trap entirely because Jiang Ran and the mastermind behind him made their move. Perhaps from the very beginning, their purpose was to lure us into taking the bait.”
“Didn’t you previously speculate that the player behind Jiang Ran was N.5, the Magician? He’s clearly been barely able to save himself all this time, yet now he’s popped out to oppose us. Looks like he must have discovered the matter of the Key and gotten furious.”
The Tang-robed old man nodded and looked out the floor-to-ceiling window.
“That can only be the reason—”
He closed his eyes.
“The Magician is a very intelligent person. But two years ago, he did something foolish. It was precisely that foolish act that caused him to fall into an extremely passive, extremely dangerous, extremely desperate predicament—while also allowing us to begin preparing the [Key].”
“All along, we never knew what this Key had been prepared for. But since it was enough to make the Magician value it so highly, it meant it would definitely have great use in the future. That’s why we went to so much trouble to cultivate the Key.”
“Actually, if you think about it from another angle, since this matter can make the Magician so angry—forcing him to act even under circumstances where [the Clown] almost completely knows his identity—that precisely proves we were right. It precisely proves that this time, the Key and the lock have truly matched.”
The middle-aged man leaned forward, curiosity written across his face.
“That foolish thing the Magician did two years ago—you only vaguely mentioned it before, and I didn’t pay much attention. What exactly happened during that [Forced Summons]?”
The Tang-robed old man rotated his chair to face him, his gaze full of reproach.
“How can you forget something this important? I clearly told you before.”
“I didn’t forget,” the middle-aged man argued. “I just don’t remember it clearly.”
95
“Sigh.”
The Tang-robed old man let out a long breath.
“Fine. Then I’ll tell you again.”
He propped up his head and stared at the luxurious crystal chandelier on the ceiling.
“I still remember it clearly. It was June 8, 2023. The Magician used nearly all of his [points]—an absurd amount—to request that Lilith open a [Forced Summons].”
“As you know, only the 16th of each month is the day when Genius Playground holds its meetings. A behavior like the Magician’s—ignoring all consequences, consuming a massive quantity of hard-earned points to forcibly summon a gathering—had never happened before. Across all these years, this has been the only time. It was an extraordinarily irrational and extraordinarily unprofitable act.”
“And it was precisely this extremely irrational act, this enormous price he paid, that led to the next two years of his future becoming like sinking into a swamp, unable to move a single step, enemies on every side.”
“You already told me this part before.”
The middle-aged man waved his hand impatiently.
“You can skip this section.”
“.”
“…”
The Tang-robed old man was speechless, his eyes filled with helplessness as he looked at him.
“You… when are you ever going to fix this bad habit and become a little more patient and steady?”
Picking up the teacup from the table and taking a sip, the old man continued.
“Because it was the first time a Forced Summons had ever happened, every member was curious. So on June 8, all Genius Playground members entered the meeting hall through their phones. Not a single one was absent.”
“At that time, the Magician’s state was one of unprecedented panic. He begged everyone to help him think of a solution, saying he was willing to pay any price.”
“What the Magician asked all Playground members for was simple: he wanted everyone to help him save a girl who had been gravely injured in a car accident.”
“It’s just that—inside the Playground, everyone schemes against everyone else. No one knew whether this was an act, a trap, or some emotionally manipulative play with ulterior motives, so very few people were willing to help.”
“Of course, there was still someone willing to help. Only [the Puppet] helped the Magician.”
“But unfortunately, the result was tragic—they still failed to save the girl’s life. She died in the end.”
The old man paused, then continued:
“The name of that girl who died was—Cheng Mengxue.”