novelraw Chapter 65 Time
Chapter 65 Time
A chill seeped from their clasped palms.
Jiang Ran realized in an instant—
the unassuming man before him was, at his core, still a killer. Not a good person.
But considering this was a prison, murderers weren’t exactly rare. And given that he still didn’t even know what crime he himself had committed to end up here… he wasn’t really in a position to judge anyone else.
“Oh?”
Under the dim lights, Qi Biao narrowed his eyes and stared at what Jiang Ran was wearing, spotting the oddity at once.
“Hey, kid—why the hell aren’t you wearing prison clothes?”
Back when Jiang Ran had been standing in the darkness of his cell, there hadn’t been enough light for anyone to see clearly.
Now that they were all in the corridor, it was obvious at a glance: Jiang Ran wasn’t wearing a prison uniform at all, but clean civilian clothes—casual pants and a white T-shirt. By contrast, Qi Biao and the others were all dressed in blue-and-white striped uniforms, their hair shaved into buzz cuts.
“And that haircut of yours doesn’t pass either!”Qi Biao reached out to grab Jiang Ran’s hair, but Jiang Ran dodged.
“What’s your deal? Did they throw you in too fast and not even issue you clothes or shave your head?”
“I don’t know.”
Jiang Ran shook his head. He genuinely didn’t know.
“I’d like to know myself—how exactly did I get locked up in here?”
“Dumb as hell.”
Qi Biao clicked his tongue in disdain, then waved a big hand.
“Enough of this crap. We’ve already wasted enough time. Let’s move—prison break, now! Follow me!”
From that moment on—
the five-man escape team was officially formed, moving out under Qi Biao’s lead.
They lined up front to back: Qi Biao, the Hothead, the Bookworm, Jiang Ran, and the Killer.
As they went, Jiang Ran’s heart pounded, his palms slick with sweat.
Everything was unfolding so fast that he could barely believe it—he had actually stepped onto this one-way road of breaking out of prison…
To be honest, he was already regretting it a little.
He had been raised to be a law-abiding citizen. If, on this worldline, he really had committed some crime, then he was willing to accept legal punishment—serve however many years he deserved.
Do his time honestly, reform honestly, strive for early parole and an early return home.
But the situation back there had given him no room to think.
Qi Biao was vicious and reckless. If Jiang Ran had dared to say a single “no,” the man would have stabbed him to death with that silver wire without hesitation.
A desperado who dared to plan a prison break—there was no point overestimating his moral standards.
And besides—
there was one more, far more important reason.
[Qin Feng].
At the thought of that familiar name, Jiang Ran bit down on his lower lip.
[The Magician].
That was what the world called Qin Feng on this worldline. Just like Voldemort was to Tom Riddle in Harry Potter. Whether or not this Qin Feng still knew him, in this utterly unfamiliar environment, Qin Feng was the only familiar person he had. He seemed to be the sole entry point to understanding the history of this worldline.
So, in that moment—
every instinct screamed at him that he had to go to the execution ground and see Qin Feng.
Maybe all the answers were there.
Soon enough.
They crept their way to the equipment room.
It was clear Qi Biao had done his homework for this escape. There truly wasn’t a single guard in the prison corridors, and he knew the layout inside out.
Clatter.
Still a master at picking locks, Qi Biao pried open the equipment room door with his wire and waved everyone inside.
Jiang Ran couldn’t help wondering why, in a modernized year like 2025, there was still such an outdated facility—no electronic locks, no identity verification, nothing.
But in a moment this tense, he didn’t have the mental space to ask.
Unfortunately.
There were no pistols in the equipment room. Hardly any gear at all—just a few electric batons and forked riot sticks.
“Fuck, miscalculation!”
Qi Biao slapped himself in frustration.
“All the guards went to the execution ground today—they must’ve taken all the weapons with them! What’s left is this useless junk!”
“Better than nothing.”
The Hothead weighed an electric baton in his hand, then tossed two of them to Jiang Ran and the Killer before heading inside with Qi Biao to search further.
Everyone busied themselves. The room fell quiet in an instant.
And in that quiet, Jiang Ran faintly heard waves of cheering and shouting from outside the prison.
He closed his eyes and listened carefully—it wasn’t his imagination.
The noise was coming from somewhere not too far away. A massive crowd, like some huge event. The wild howling made the ceiling vibrate faintly. Recalling what Qi Biao had said earlier…
There was no need to think further. That sea of noise had to be coming from the execution ground. Thousands upon thousands of people gathered to watch The Magician be beheaded—Qin Feng’s head severed, falling to the ground.
The Killer’s senses were sharp; he had noticed the commotion long ago, and he noticed Jiang Ran’s reaction as well.
“You’re right. That noise is coming from the execution ground.”
The Killer looked at Jiang Ran.
“Today, the beheading of The Magician is something people all over the world have been waiting for. The execution ground must be packed. My hearing’s pretty good—I can even make out them chanting things like ‘kill, kill, kill.’”
“Mm.”
Jiang Ran felt heavy-hearted and didn’t want to talk.
Even if everyone called Magician Qin Feng an unforgivable enemy of humanity;
even if Qin Feng had once deceived him and, through the butterfly effect, caused Xiaoxue’s death;
the moment he thought about a real beheading—head and body separated—years of genuine friendship made it impossible for him to feel any joy.
“Why do you insist on going to the execution ground? On seeing The Magician?”
The Killer was genuinely curious.
“Qi Biao isn’t wrong. For this escape, going to the execution ground is basically suicide.”
“Qin Feng is my friend.”
Jiang Ran said softly.
“It’s hard to explain our relationship. I don’t understand how he became what people call The Magician, how he became an enemy of humanity. You all say he committed many crimes, did many wrong things. To me, that’s also true—he deceived me, and he hurt my friend.”
“But…”
He sniffed, then continued.
“I guess I still hope that the Qin Feng on the execution ground won’t be the same Qin Feng I know.”
“….”
The Killer smiled faintly.
“Your emotions are already preventing you from making a rational judgment. People shouldn’t become slaves to their emotions. Whether you see The Magician at the execution ground or not… you can’t change anything.”
Jiang Ran looked at him.
“Then why are you still supporting me?”
That was what Jiang Ran couldn’t understand most.
“You know this is a death sentence. Why did you still make Qi Biao agree to it?”
The Killer took a deep breath, exhaling through his nose.
“Who can ever say for sure what [luck] really is?”
“From a rational standpoint, going to the execution ground is suicide, because all the guards and security forces are there.”
“But look at it the other way around. There will be tens of thousands of spectators at the execution ground. The scene will be chaotic. Maybe escaping from there—blending into the crowd—will actually be easier.”
Jiang Ran tightened his grip on the electric baton.
He flicked the switch.
“So you’re gambling?”
“No, no.”
The Killer shook his head.
“I already said it. Normal escape methods can’t get you out of this prison at all. Only extreme [luck] can.”
“Then why am I luck?” Jiang Ran asked.
The Killer just smiled, saying nothing.
“If we really manage to escape—if we get out alive—I’ll tell you.”
At that moment, Qi Biao came out of the room with the Hothead, showing what he’d found.
“There’s basically nothing useful. Just two tear gas grenades. Who even knows how to use these?”
The Killer held out his hand.
Qi Biao passed the two grenades over.
“Move out!”
Once again, they advanced in stealth, encountering no trouble. The five of them followed the corridor to a fork.
Ahead was a wall.
Left or right—one path had to be chosen.
Qi Biao pointed to the left.
“Left is the route I planned earlier. It leads to an abandoned building. From the roof we can figure something out—climb down or find cables to descend.”
“But I’ve got to say this upfront. There are a lot of spots where one or two people can’t get through alone—we’d need to stack up, form human ladders.”
Then he pointed to the right.
“Right leads to the execution ground. The place this kid is dead set on going to.”
“You choose. Want to die with this kid, go right. Want to escape with me, go left.”
The Killer stepped behind Jiang Ran first.
“I choose right.”
The Hothead and the Bookworm hesitated for a moment, then followed behind the Killer.
“Fuck.”
Qi Biao cursed.
“A bunch of idiots.”
He knew full well that alone, he’d never get past the obstacles of the abandoned building. Left with no choice, he could only follow them to the right.
At that point, Jiang Ran finally saw things clearly.
In this prison—this prison holding only five violent criminals—the Killer was the true spiritual leader.
He must have demonstrated overwhelming strength before, enough to earn the complete trust of the Hothead and the Bookworm.
They continued down the right-hand passage.
Gradually—
the crowd’s shouting grew louder. Jiang Ran could now clearly hear the chants the Killer had mentioned: “Kill! Kill! Kill!” “Behead! Behead!” “Enemy of humanity!” and so on.
“We need to change clothes.”
Qi Biao glanced around.
“These prison uniforms are way too obvious. Honestly, being naked would be better than wearing these.”
“Woof! Woof woof woof!!”
The sudden roar of a police dog cut him off, making Qi Biao jump in shock.
“Fuck! We’ve been spotted!”
“Woof! Woof woof woof!!”
The barking closed in fast, accompanied by heavy running footsteps.
Guards!
“Run!”
Qi Biao shouted, and everyone spun around and bolted.
But the police dogs were far too fast. In the blink of an eye, one caught up and leapt onto the Bookworm!
“Ah!!”
The Bookworm screamed.
“Don’t worry about him!”
The Hothead had just shouted when another black German Shepherd pounced, pinning him to the ground with its jaws.
The Killer reacted instantly, hurling both tear gas grenades behind them.
But it was useless. A fully armed guard charged straight through the smoke, pistol raised.
Bang bang bang bang!
Gunshots rang out.
Jiang Ran’s mind went completely blank. He could only run after the Killer on instinct.
“This is all your fault!”
Qi Biao ground his teeth and swung his electric baton at Jiang Ran’s head!
It was as if the Killer had eyes in the back of his head. He yanked Jiang Ran aside, dodging the blow, then countered by driving his own baton straight into Qi Biao.
“Ahhh!!!”
Qi Biao screamed, convulsing as he collapsed.
Bang bang bang bang!
More gunshots followed. The Killer stumbled and fell.
“Killer!”
Jiang Ran spun around in horror.
He saw it—
the Killer, who had been protecting him all this time, had been shot! His femoral artery was shattered, blood gushing out like a broken faucet!
“Go!”
The Killer clenched his teeth, waving Jiang Ran away.
“Go! Now!”
“But—”
“GO!!!”
The Killer’s final roar echoed.
For a split second, Jiang Ran saw the same kind of farewell he had once seen during filming in the library—so similar to Qin Feng.
He gritted his teeth and ran down a random passage.
However—
his luck was terrible.
After only a few steps, he realized it was a dead end.
In panic, he slammed open a room and rushed inside.
“Woof!!”
A terrifying bark.
He turned just in time to see a massive black shadow leap onto him, sharp fangs sinking deep into his shoulder!
The pain made Jiang Ran howl.
He hurriedly stabbed the electric baton into the dog’s abdomen.
But before the dog even twitched for two seconds, a guard stormed in with his gun raised.
Bang!
The bullet hit Jiang Ran’s arm with pinpoint accuracy. The baton fell from his grasp.
There was no time to scream.
The guard grabbed Jiang Ran by the hair, yanking his head up, then smashed his chin down onto the table with brutal force!
Thud!!
A sound of utter despair.
Jiang Ran felt his jaw vanish completely—teeth shattering, skull cracking and deforming, nose and chin bones colliding.
“A… ah…”
Pain so intense he couldn’t even scream. Terror worse than death.
But it wasn’t over.
The guard repeated the motion, lifting his head again and slamming it down once more!
Thud!!
This time, his entire head seemed flattened. Jiang Ran could no longer feel the lower half of his face.
A burning gun barrel pressed against the back of his head.
In his fading consciousness, he forced his eyes open one last time. The fluorescent glow of an electronic clock on the table came into view.
The time read:
[September 17, 2045, 11:45 AM]
…Huh?
Wait.
He strained to keep his eyes open.
2045?
Not 2025?
This was—
twenty years later?!
Bang.
His skull exploded. Brain matter and blood splattered across the tabletop.
The final image—
his blurred vision fixed on the electronic clock display—
[September 17, 2045, 11:46 AM]
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Unexpected vertigo. The world spun violently.
Huh?
Strange.
In the pitch-black vortex where all five senses vanished, Jiang Ran found that his consciousness remained. The pain was gone. His thoughts snapped into clarity.
What was happening?
He’d been shot in the back of the head. He should have been dead.
So why—
had a temporal shift occurred?
What was the mechanism?
What caused it?
Two seconds later, all discomfort vanished.
The five senses returned.
Jiang Ran opened his eyes—
“Hello?”
“Hello!”
“Jiang Ran! Say something! Is the signal bad?”
Nan Xiuxiu’s voice kept coming through.
He looked down.
He realized he was standing outside the Film Camera Club window, next to the transformer distribution box, holding his phone in his right hand. On the screen was the call interface with Nan Xiuxiu.
The call duration ticked upward:
00:06
“Can you hear me?”
00:07
“Hello?”
00:08
“Jiang Ran, what’s wrong with you?!”
00:09
Jiang Ran just stared blankly at the changing numbers on the screen…
And then it hit him—
[He was back!]
This was 2025.
This was the moment when he and Chi Xiaoguo were activating the Positron Cannon to send a time-traveling text message.
And just as he was about to press the send button, Nan Xiuxiu had suddenly called, and by sheer coincidence he had hit “answer” instead…
But—
looking at the call duration.
Only eleven seconds had passed.
That wasn’t possible.
He looked up in confusion.
Thinking back to the prison escape with “Qi Biao,” the “Hothead,” the “Bookworm,” and the “Killer.”
They had been together for at least an hour.
An hour-long experience, so vivid—yet when he came back to his senses, only eleven seconds had passed?
“No.”
He murmured.
“Not eleven seconds.”
The eleven seconds on the call timer were after he’d stood there dazed for a while.
Strictly speaking, when he first felt the vertigo and sensed the worldline shift, it was right as the call connected—when the timer read 00:00. And when he felt the vertigo a second time and realized what was happening, Nan Xiuxiu was still in the just-connected state. Even if he saw the timer then, it should have been 00:00 or 00:01 at most.
So—
[Between those two moments of vertigo, there was no time gap at all.]
From his first-person perspective, he had lived through an entire hour.
But from the second-person perspective, it had all happened in an instant.
“Ah! Ah! It’s so hot, so hot!”
A shout came from inside the Film Camera Club window.
Looking in—
that petite, adorable, Nezha-headed girl was hopping around, puffing her cheeks and blowing on her fingers. She’d clearly burned herself. A glance at the device on the table made it obvious—
the overheated, shut-down Positron Cannon had scalded her.
“Huff! Huff!”
Chi Xiaoguo blew on her fingers a few times, then looked out at Jiang Ran.
“Senior! Did your experiment succeed?”
“This… this Positron Cannon shut down instantly. I—I didn’t break it, did I?”
Jiang Ran didn’t answer.
His thoughts were still racing.
All the evidence showed that he was still on Worldline 1—unchanged, uninterrupted, with no time discontinuity at all. From Nan Xiuxiu’s perspective and from Chi Xiaoguo’s perspective, he had merely spaced out for a few seconds.
So what had those bizarre experiences just now been?
The prison. Qi Biao. The Killer. The Magician. Qin Feng. Enemy of humanity. Police dogs. The year 2045. Gunshots. His head exploding—
All of it.
Was it [delusion]?
Was it [daydreaming]?
Was it [a heat-induced hallucination]?
Or—
Jiang Ran raised his left hand and touched the back of his head, where he’d been shot. That scorching, explosive sensation still seemed to be tearing at his brain.
“Or…”
He whispered.
“[Was it a real journey—twenty years into the future… a time travel that truly happened?]”