42

"I will."

Jiang Ran replied:

"I definitely will."

"[No matter how the worldline changes, I will not abandon any of you.]"

"[No matter how the spacetime butterfly effect affects our relationship, I will definitely find you two and make things right, just like we are now.]"

Jiang Ran answered this without hesitation, his words firm and heartfelt.

Qin Feng cherished their trio's relationship the most.

And wasn't he the same?

"It's just..."

Jiang Ran spread his hands:

"It's just like you said, I'm the only one with memories of the original worldline. If I grab you two from the new worldline and talk about our bond and friendship, you'll most likely think I'm crazy."

"So, the biggest problem isn't whether I'll find you, but after I find you... you might not believe what I say."

Qin Feng nodded:

"That's true."

Why would a normal person casually believe the ramblings of a stranger, let alone something as absurd as a worldline change.

"Sometimes, how people meet is truly a matter of fate, a chance encounter, a coincidence. Once missed, it might be a lifetime miss."

Qin Feng looked at the night sky:

"Speaking of which, the way the three of us met feels like it was arranged by heaven. Although we didn't know each other when we started high school, our student numbers were actually consecutive."

"Jiang Ran, do you remember our high school student numbers?"

Jiang Ran smiled knowingly:

"Of course I remember, I'm not senile."

The student numbers at Hangshi No. 1 High School had the first few digits indicating the year, and the last two indicating the class number.

Often, teachers would call out student numbers to select students to answer questions, like picking from a mystery box.

No one knew how the student numbers were arranged; it wasn't by Pinyin, nor by the stroke count of surnames... it felt chaotic and random.

It was quite a coincidence.

Jiang Ran, Cheng Mengxue, and Qin Feng's class numbers were indeed consecutive, and they happened to be the last three.

Their high school class had a total of 42 students.

So, their student numbers were 40, 41, and 42 respectively.

"I remember very clearly."

Jiang Ran recalled:

"My student number was 40, Little Xue's was 41, and yours was 42. As you said, isn't this also a kind of fate?"

"Hey!"

Little Xue urged from the activity room:

"How long are you guys going to chat? Aren't we starting?"

Jiang Ran glanced at the time on his phone.

Indeed.

They had been chatting since he interrupted the experiment, and it was already close to 12:30. They couldn't delay any longer.

"Then let's get started."

Jiang Ran picked up his phone and looked at Qin Feng, who was standing by the electrical distribution box with his hands in his pockets:

"I hope you don't mind what happens tonight. I'll apologize to you afterward."

"Forget it."

Qin Feng rolled his eyes at him:

"After the worldline changes, I won't even remember this. You're as cunning as ever."

Jiang Ran smiled and gave Cheng Mengxue an OK gesture.

"Then I'll start the countdown!"

Words that had been repeated countless times already, Cheng Mengxue's voice came through the window from the club room:

"5!"

Jiang Ran lowered his head and looked at his phone screen.

This was a text message Qin Feng had edited earlier. It was fine, simple, and straightforward.

Compared to that, he seemed a bit petty.

He hovered his thumb over the send button.

His gaze fell upon the transformer distribution box.

"Four!"

The moon was full and bright tonight, casting a pure white glow on the ground.

Qin Feng closed his eyes, hands in his pockets, leaning against the distribution box. His breathing was even and faint, mingling with the rustling of willow branches.

The transformer's hum from inside the distribution box was a steady drone, crackling with a sense of danger.

On its silver metal casing, a black nameplate was embedded, inscribed with a large yellow font indicating the distribution box number--

Donghai University No. 42 Transformer Distribution Box.

Huh?

"Three!"

Jiang Ran blinked.

42.

It was 42 again.

Did he just talk about this number a moment ago?

Yes.

Qin Feng's student ID number was also 42, what a coincidence.

Jiang Ran suddenly felt as if the number 42 had appeared with extreme frequency recently, as if deliberately or inadvertently surrounding him.

Where else?

Where else had he seen 42?

"Two!"

Hearing Cheng Mengxue's voice, Jiang Ran suddenly understood.

Right.

He had seen 42 back during the very first worldline change, the first time he sent a spacetime message.

It was the Rhine Cat pendant hanging from Cheng Mengxue's phone.

It was a limited edition collaboration with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, with only 4200 pieces released, making it very precious.

Jiang Ran vaguely remembered it was a Rhine Cat wearing an astronaut suit, with a large blue number 42 written on the chest of the white suit.

"One!"

How strange, why so many 42s?

Jiang Ran suddenly thought.

In that mysterious text message, within those mysterious numbers, there seemed to be a 42 as well.

289269426494642

There was a 42 in the middle, and a 42 at the end.

For a moment, the numbers in his mind separated and grouped, corresponding one by one to the Chinese characters translated from the nine-square grid keypad.

Don't (28) believe (926) ha (94264)

Don't (bu) believe (yao) ha (ha)

No!

Jiang Ran's eyes widened, and he took a deep breath.

Rhine Cat 42, distribution box number 42, Qin Feng's student ID 42.

In an instant, countless long-lingering puzzle pieces began to rapidly connect.

His long-held worries and concerns...

His long-standing hesitation and unease...

The answer was here all along!

It wasn't incomplete, it didn't have a continuation, it wasn't difficult to understand!

[That mysterious string of numbers had conveyed a complete warning to him, clearly and thoroughly!]

Don't believe ha, Don't believe ha, [Don't believe 42!!!]

"Zero!"

"Little Xue, wait----" Jiang Ran shouted.

However.

It was too late!

Just as Jiang Ran shouted, Cheng Mengxue had already pressed the positron cannon activation button! A roar erupted from the club activity room, blasting directly at the transformer distribution box!

"Sorry, Jiang Ran."

Beside the distribution box, Qin Feng took an old-fashioned button phone from his pocket.

He was still hiding a phone!

Qin Feng's thumb pressed down on the physical send button.

Finally.

He looked up.

He glanced hesitantly at Jiang Ran:

"[Forgive me.]"

Buzzz!

Buzzz!

Buzzz!

Jiang Ran felt dizzy and disoriented, his senses dulled, as if he'd been thrown into a washing machine and spun around.

Damn it.

Why did he only realize it now?

Why did he only notice it now!

His intuition was correct.

That string of mysterious numbers was a simple coded warning to pay attention to Qin Feng!

Qin Feng, being such a genius, must have seen through the truth long ago; that's why he'd been playing dumb all along, leading their thoughts in the wrong direction.

What malfunction, what incomplete information, what further messages...

It was all a cover and misdirection!

Don't trust 42.

The final number, 42, referred to Qin Feng!

It referred to everything related to the spacetime message, before and after!

The world spun faster and faster.

Everything before his eyes blurred into darkness, and he couldn't see anything.

Jiang Ran couldn't resist the rolling wheels of history and time, heading towards an unknown and brand new world line...

He fell.