Positron Cannon

Creak...

The wooden bearings let out an old, hoarse grinding sound, and a stale scent wafted through the air.

Moonlight streamed in through the glass window.

This was once the activity room of the Film Club, like a secret base, but now there was no familiar trace of anyone.

No Rhine Cat legion that once occupied the entire room, No long and short screwdrivers on the workbench, No neatly organized and fragrant bookshelf, No small blackboard covered in plans and questions, erased and rewritten, Here, there was nothing left of the trio's presence.

Disorderly old cardboard boxes, a dusty coffee table and sofa, a few old photos clipped to a clothesline, tattered and incomplete papers scattered on the floor...

This was the Film Club's original state, just as it was when the trio first walked in on the original worldline, nothing had changed.

"This is normal."

Jiang Ran reminded himself.

On this brand-new worldline, Qin Feng and Cheng Mengxue had not come to Donghai University, the trio no longer existed, and naturally, they wouldn't have joined the Film Club, so their traces shouldn't be here at all.

"Senior Yan Rui must have already graduated and left school?"

He slowly walked into the room, his footsteps crunching on the dust on the floor.

"The Film Club must also have been disbanded."

Without the trio to keep the Film Club alive, this once glorious club had ultimately become a relic of the past.

Lost in thought, in the hazy moonlight...

He seemed to see Cheng Mengxue embroidering clothes while hugging a Rhine Cat on the sofa;

He seemed to see Qin Feng hunched over the workbench, tinkering with something;

He seemed to see himself perched on the windowsill, counting down 54321;

It was as if the laughter and arguments from that time were still vivid in his memory.

"I should find the positron cannon first."

The positron cannon was the core of everything, and the hope for saving it all.

Jiang Ran collected his thoughts and began to search.

Fearing he might attract the attention of the campus security guards and cause unnecessary trouble, Jiang Ran didn't turn on the lights. Instead, he explored using the faint light from his phone screen.

He had already checked these old items in the room once before, and he was familiar with most of them.

After searching around, he didn't find the positron cannon, but he did find two notices on the bookshelf.

One was a Club Dissolution Notice, and the other was Senior Yan Rui's Personal Disciplinary Notice.

The disciplinary notice was very clear, just like what happened on the previous worldline. Senior Yan Rui had been given a warning by the school for using a high-power electrical appliance on the evening of March 17th, which had burned out the activity building's circuits.

It seemed this history was consistent with the original history, with no changes.

"Meaning, the positron cannon isn't here."

Jiang Ran put down the notices and looked out the window.

"On this worldline, Senior Yan Rui was still disciplined for activating the positron cannon."

"So now... the positron cannon should have been confiscated by the Student Union and stored in the school's warehouse."

Alright.

Although he hadn't found the positron cannon directly, he at least had a lead and could find a way to retrieve it from the warehouse later.

It wasn't a wasted trip.

Jiang Ran felt a moment of relief, and his tense nerves finally relaxed.

Ignoring the dust around him, he plopped down on a thick cardboard box, covered his face with his hands, and let out a long sigh.

The sigh lingered, swirling around and echoing in the room...

Just like his chaotic thoughts.

How he wished he could take out his phone and call Cheng Mengxue; or, if that wasn't possible, at least call Qin Feng.

Sitting alone in this desolate activity room now.

He realized that he didn't actually hate Qin Feng that much.

He knew that Qin Feng hadn't intentionally tried to kill Cheng Mengxue. It was the chaotic workings of the spacetime butterfly effect, an accident that no one could have predicted.

The butterfly effect was a chaotic system; everything was unknown and unpredictable.

So...

Qin Feng, where are you now?

Did you manage to save your father?

Do you know Cheng Mengxue is dead?

A text message of 70 characters, besides detailing your father's cause of death, could have contained much more.

You're so brilliant, you definitely wouldn't waste a single character, and would have certainly hidden plenty of information within the spacetime message.

Then why, on the day of the Worldline Jump... didn't you come to see me?

Jiang Ran looked up.

He opened his eyes.

If Qin Feng were here now, everything would be easy to sort out.

All he needed to do was find the positron cannon and have Qin Feng fix it; then, send a spacetime message to the day two years ago when Cheng Mengxue died, and he could easily avoid the car accident and save Cheng Mengxue.

This way.

In the new worldline, Qin Feng's father would be alive, Cheng Mengxue would be alive, and everything would be happily resolved.

Could it be that the time isn't ripe yet?

Jiang Ran shook his head.

Regardless of the reason on Qin Feng's end, and regardless of what schemes the Qin Feng of this worldline was hatching, he didn't have time to wait for Qin Feng anymore.

The longer it took, the more trouble would arise.

Saving Cheng Mengxue with a spacetime message had to be done decisively, without any delay.

He began to make plans in his mind.

Now that it was clear the positron cannon was in the school warehouse, and the Film Club was once again facing dissolution, the course of history was exactly the same as the previous worldline.

So, the solution could be a carbon copy:

1. Tomorrow during the day, first find Xu Yan and use her connections to keep the Film Club alive, making himself the new president.

2. As president, he could submit an application and a letter of guarantee to retrieve the prohibited electrical appliance from the school warehouse and bring the positron cannon back.

3. The most difficult part would be repairing the positron cannon and installing the control board, which wasn't his forte. However, having observed Qin Feng's modifications for so long, he had the principles firmly in mind. With a little study of mechanical knowledge, it shouldn't be difficult to complete the repairs.

4. Once all preparations were complete, he could reactivate the positron cannon, send a spacetime message to the past, trigger a worldline change... and rewrite history!

That was the plan.

It wouldn't be difficult to execute.

Even if Cheng Mengxue died two years ago, his "childhood friend" bond with Xu Yan would still remain; that wouldn't change.

Therefore, Xu Yan would definitely help him with this.

Huh?

Jiang Ran's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

On this worldline... Xu Yan should still be alive, right?

He wasn't entirely sure about this, and could only hope Xu Yan was lucky enough to survive.

Having finalized the plan, Jiang Ran pushed himself up, bracing his knees.

Suddenly--

Plop.

He stumbled, falling backward and hitting the edge of the desk.

Someone was there!

He held his breath, staring at the half-open door of the activity room...

A dark silhouette leaned silently against the doorframe, arms crossed, staring at him motionlessly!

Who was it?

When did they arrive?

"Jiang Ran, what are you looking for?"

A familiar, yet pleasant voice rang out.

The rustling leaves outside the window sounded like a fuse about to ignite, leaving Jiang Ran with nowhere to escape.

Her curly, fluffy hair bounced with every step she took.

The girl strode gracefully from the darkness into the moonlight, her pink hair shimmering with starlight.

She put her hands behind her back, narrowing her bright, sparkling eyes:

"Are you... hiding something from me?"