Lost and Found

"Oh, that."

The old administrator picked his nose.

"Some workers were moving things a few days ago. They must've accidentally dropped something on it."

How could they be so careless...

Jiang Ran furrowed his brow, unable to stop himself from wanting to complain.

But on second thought, it had already happened. What good would complaining do?

In his eyes, the Positron Cannon was a divine weapon capable of turning history around and changing the Worldline.

But to everyone else, it was just a burned-out, high-powered illegal appliance—basically garbage... So how could they possibly be expected to store it carefully?

Come to think of it,

this accident was also the result of the Spacetime Butterfly Effect.

In the original Worldline, Jiang Ran had taken the Positron Cannon back just a few days after it was confiscated.

But after the Worldline changed, the Positron Cannon had lain in that cluttered warehouse for a whole month. With all kinds of things being moved around during that time, it was bound to get knocked about.

"Yikes, that looks pretty serious..."

Chi Xiaoguo came closer on tiptoe.

"Senior, this... won't affect whether it works, will it?"

Who knew?

Jiang Ran didn't answer. He wasn't sure either.

He bent down to inspect it again. Thankfully, there was no other visible damage, and it still smelled like that familiar burning odor.

Qin Feng had explained from the start that it was the smell of a capacitor blowing out, so it wasn't a major problem.

"So this is the Positron Cannon you mentioned..."

Chi Xiaoguo craned her neck to look at it from every angle.

"I thought it'd really be a 'cannon.' I didn't expect it to be so boxy. It looks... kind of like one of those old, bulky monitors from the last century, except with a little cylinder sticking out."

"You know your stuff."

Jiang Ran sighed.

"This thing was made by modifying one of those bulky monitors, using the CRT inside."

"Then why call it a Positron Cannon?"

Chi Xiaoguo asked curiously.

"Was the creator a huge Neon Genesis Evangelion fan? I remember that in the anime, during Operation Yashima, EVA Unit-01 used a Positron Cannon to shoot that cube-shaped Angel."

Jiang Ran looked at her in surprise.

She'd guessed right again.

This little cutie seemed sweet and innocent, but she was surprisingly knowledgeable.

"Anyway, let's carry it back to the clubroom first."

Jiang Ran bent down and picked up the Positron Cannon, then left the warehouse with Chi Xiaoguo.

After walking for over ten minutes, they returned to the club building.

When he pushed open the Film Club's door, he was greeted by piles of old junk.

He'd spent the whole day dealing with old things.

"Senior, should we clean up the room first?"

Chi Xiaoguo suggested.

"Look, it's so cluttered in here, and there's dust everywhere. There isn't even enough space for you to put the Positron Cannon down."

"True."

Jiang Ran nodded.

Clearing some space would also make it easier for him to work on it later.

He carefully put the Positron Cannon back in its box, then put on a mask and gloves and cleaned the room with Chi Xiaoguo, sorting through the clutter as they went.

As expected, Chi Xiaoguo was passionate about everything related to film photography.

She bustled from one spot to another, wiping things down and carrying things around like a busy little bee. She even hummed to herself from time to time, clearly enjoying the process.

By the time the evening sun appeared, they had finally finished cleaning.

They dusted off their hands and looked at the now spacious, tidy clubroom, filled with a deep sense of accomplishment.

"Hehe, now we can start club activities next semester!"

Chi Xiaoguo rubbed her hands together, imagining the lively future that awaited them in the clubroom.

"Senior, I know I've said it a lot, but I still have to thank you... If it weren't for you, the Film Club would've been shut down for sure."

"You don't have to thank me so much. I had my own reasons for helping."

Jiang Ran pointed to the box containing the Positron Cannon.

"To be honest, I went to all this trouble just to get this back. If you don't mind... I hope you'll let me stay here a while longer."

"Of course I don't mind!"

Chi Xiaoguo quickly waved her hands.

"You're the Film Club's great benefactor. Even though you're not a student at Donghai University, this clubroom is your territory from now on! Stay here for as long as you like!"

Jiang Ran smiled.

This little girl was quite loyal.

It was almost May Day, and summer vacation would start in two months. If the Film Club really recruited members and held activities, that wouldn't happen until next semester.

So, no one would come to bother him in the clubroom over the next two months.

Jiang Ran planned to use that time to study and repair the Positron Cannon, then carry out his plan to save Cheng Mengxue.

Chi Xiaoguo took out her phone to check the time.

"Senior, it's getting late. Do you want to go to the cafeteria for dinner? It's my treat!"

"No need."

Jiang Ran shook his head.

"I'd like to stay here a while longer. I mainly want to study the Positron Cannon."

After hearing Jiang Ran talk about nothing but the Positron Cannon, Chi Xiaoguo couldn't help getting curious.

She crouched down, opened the box, and looked at the old, ordinary-looking piece of equipment.

"Is this thing... really important to you?"

"Very."

"Oh, then what exactly does it do? What's it for?"

"It's hard to explain in a few words."

Jiang Ran spread his hands.

"Let me see if I can fix it first. If I do, I'll call you over to help test it."

For now, Jiang Ran didn't want to reveal the Positron Cannon's secret.

"Okay, okay! I can't wait!"

Chi Xiaoguo stood up and waved to Jiang Ran.

"Then I'll head out, Senior. I have class tonight, so I can't stay here with you."

"That's fine."

Jiang Ran waved back.

"When I leave, I'll leave the club key under the flowerpot."

"You can just keep it!"

"We still have to follow the rules. I'm not an official member, after all."

After Chi Xiaoguo left and closed the door, Jiang Ran was alone in the room.

History had turned, the Worldline had shifted, and he had finally returned to the Film Club's clubroom.

But everything had changed. Time had moved on, and the place was no longer anything like it used to be.

He'd never realized how spacious the clubroom was.

There was no army of Rhine Cats breeding and taking over the place.

There was no trio shuffling around sideways just to get from one end to the other.

It turned out the room wasn't cramped at all.

"Can things ever go back to how they were?"

He lowered his head.

He looked at the little blackboard, blank and without a single mark on it.

He remembered how it used to be the main battleground for the three of them to discuss problems. It was always covered in questions they'd written down, erased, and revised.

Over the past two days, he'd also wondered countless times, Should I go find Qin Feng?

Although the Worldline had changed and Qin Feng's life had taken a different path, he had disappeared from their sight.

But Jiang Ran knew where he'd grown up. It shouldn't be hard to contact him through the right channels.

But...

What then?

What would he do once he found him? What would he say?

Unlike Jiang Ran, Qin Feng didn't have the special constitution known as "Omni-Spacetime Memory." The Qin Feng on this Worldline had no connection to Jiang Ran at all. He was a complete stranger.

Would someone like that believe anything Jiang Ran said?

And could someone like that... be trusted?

With Qin Feng around, repairing the Positron Cannon and sending Spacetime Bulletins would both be much easier.

But Qin Feng's whereabouts on this Worldline were unknown...

Jiang Ran truly didn't dare trust him.

"To make absolutely sure, I shouldn't trust anyone until I've saved Cheng Mengxue. The secrets of the Positron Cannon and the Spacetime Bulletin can only be known to me."

He shook his head.

He stopped thinking about the past.

He took the Positron Cannon, which had been dented by the impact, and put it on the workbench.

"From here on..."

"I'll have to rely on myself."