Lost and Found

"Oh, this thing."

The administrator scratched his nose:

"It must have been accidentally smashed by the workers a few days ago when they were moving things."

How could they be so careless...

Jiang Ran's brow furrowed, and he couldn't help but want to complain.

But upon reflection, the deed was done. What was the use of complaining?

To him, the positron cannon was a divine weapon capable of altering history and changing worldlines;

But to others, it was just a burnt-out, high-power, non-compliant appliance, no different from trash... How could they have guarded it carefully?

Speaking of which.

This accident was also caused by the spacetime butterfly effect.

In the original worldline, Jiang Ran had retrieved the positron cannon just a few days after it was confiscated.

But after the worldline change, the positron cannon lay in the cluttered warehouse for a full month. During this time, various items were moved back and forth, and bumps were unavoidable.

"Hiss, it looks pretty serious..."

Chi Xiaoguo tiptoed closer:

"Senpai, this, it won't affect its use, right?"

I don't know.

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

He bent down and checked it again. Fortunately, there were no other external injuries, and it still smelled of that familiar burnt odor.

Qin Feng had explained early on that this was the smell of a capacitor bursting, not a major problem.

"So this is the positron cannon you were talking about..."

Chi Xiaoguo craned her neck to look:

"I thought it was really a 'cannon,' but I didn't expect it to be so square. It looks... like one of those old-fashioned big-back-comb hairdo monitors from last century, just with a small cylinder sticking out."

"You're quite knowledgeable."

Jiang Ran sighed:

"This thing was modified from one of those big-back-comb hairdo monitors, using the CRT picture tube inside."

"Then why is it called a positron cannon?"

Chi Xiaoguo asked:

"Could the creator be a huge fan of Neon Genesis Evangelion? I remember in that anime, during the Operation Yashima, EVA Unit-01 used a positron cannon to attack that cubic Angel."

Jiang Ran looked at her with some surprise.

She guessed right again.

This little girl, despite looking so cute, had a surprisingly broad range of knowledge.

"In any case, let's take it back to the club room first."

Jiang Ran bent down, picked up the positron cannon, and left the warehouse with Chi Xiaoguo.

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

Pushing open the door to the Film Club room, they were met with a mess of discarded items.

Today had been spent entirely dealing with these old things.

"Senpai, should we clean the room first?"

Chi Xiaoguo suggested:

"Look, it's so messy in here, covered in dust everywhere. There's not even space for you to place the positron cannon."

"Indeed."

Jiang Ran nodded.

Clearing out space would also make it convenient for him to perform subsequent operations.

He carefully placed the positron cannon back into its cardboard box, then put on a mask and gloves. Together with Chi Xiaoguo, they began cleaning the room and organizing the clutter.

Chi Xiaoguo was indeed full of enthusiasm for everything related to film photography.

She hopped around, wiping things here and moving them there, like a busy little bee. She even hummed a tune from time to time, clearly enjoying the process.

It wasn't until the evening sun began to appear that they finally finished cleaning.

Clapping his hands, Jiang Ran looked at the spacious and tidy club room, filled with a sense of accomplishment.

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

Chi Xiaoguo rubbed her hands together, envisioning a youthful and passionate future within this club room:

"Senpai, even though I've said it many times, I still want to thank you... If it weren't for you, the Film Club would have definitely been disbanded."

"No need to thank me so much, after all, I have my own motives."

Jiang Ran pointed to the cardboard box on the floor 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 allow me to stay here for a while longer."

"Of course, I don't mind!"

Chi Xiaoguo quickly waved her hands:

"You're a great benefactor to the Film Club! Even though you're not a student at Donghai University, this club room is yours from now on! You can stay as long as you want!"

Jiang Ran smiled slightly.

This kid is quite loyal.

It was now close to May Day, and summer vacation would begin in two months. If the Film Club were to start recruiting members and organizing activities, it would be next semester.

Therefore, for these two months, no one would come to the club room to disturb him.

Jiang Ran planned to use this time to research and repair the positron cannon, thereby completing his plan to save Cheng Mengxue.

Chi Xiaoguo took out her phone to check the time:

"Senpai, it's already this late. Do you want to go to the cafeteria for dinner? My treat!"

"No, thank you."

Jiang Ran shook his head:

"I want to stay here a little longer, mainly to study the positron cannon."

Seeing that Jiang Ran's every word revolved around the positron cannon, Chi Xiaoguo couldn't help but feel curious.

She crouched down, opened the cardboard box, and looked at the square, unremarkable old equipment:

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

"Very important."

"Oh, oh, so what exactly does this thing do? What's its purpose?"

"It's hard to explain clearly in a short time."

Jiang Ran spread his hands:

"I'll see if I can fix it, and then I'll call you to test it together."

For now, Jiang Ran didn't want to reveal the secret of the positron cannon.

"Okay, okay, I'm really looking forward to it!"

Chi Xiaoguo stood up and waved goodbye to Jiang Ran:

"Then I'll be going now, senpai~ I have classes tonight, so I won't be staying here with you."

"It's fine."

Jiang Ran also waved:

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

"You can just keep it!"

"Rules still need to be followed, after all, I'm not an official member."

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

History turned, worldlines shifted, and he finally stood once again in the Film Club's activity room.

But the place was no longer the same; times had changed, and it no longer looked like it used to.

Before, he had never realized how spacious the club room was.

There was no Rhine Cat army invading and breeding;

Nor was there the trio who had to turn sideways to walk past each other;

This place, it turned out, wasn't crowded at all.

"Can it ever go back to the way it was?"

He lowered his head.

Looking at the blank blackboard with no writing on it.

He remembered that in the past, this small blackboard was the main battlefield where the three of them discussed problems, constantly writing and erasing all sorts of issues.

These past two days, he had also thought countless times, Should I go find Qin Feng?

Although Qin Feng's life trajectory had changed after the worldline change, and he had disappeared from their sight, Jiang Ran knew where he grew up. It shouldn't be difficult to contact Qin Feng through some means.

But...

What happens after I find him?

What should I do after I find him? What should I say?

Unlike me, Qin Feng doesn't have a special constitution like "Omni-Spacetime Memory." The Qin Feng on this worldline has absolutely no connection to me; he's a complete stranger.

Would this Qin Feng believe what I say?

And... can I trust this Qin Feng?

With Qin Feng around, both repairing the positron cannon and sending spacetime messages would become very easy.

But this Qin Feng, who is missing on this worldline...

Jiang Ran truly didn't dare to trust him.

"To be absolutely sure, before I revive Cheng Mengxue, I shouldn't trust anyone. The secrets of the positron cannon and spacetime messages can only be known by me."

He shook his head.

He stopped thinking about the past.

He moved the positron cannon, which had been smashed into a pit, onto the lab bench.

"What happens next..."

"Depends on me alone."