Line 0 (Thanks to the White Silver Alliance Leader 37 Tianxia Wushuang for the reward!)

Jiang Ran picked up a screwdriver, ready to dismantle the positron cannon.

Before the worldline change, Qin Feng tinkered with this thing all day, constantly taking it apart and modifying it.

Bored, Jiang Ran often stood by and watched, asking any questions he had directly, and Qin Feng patiently explained them to him.

He was now incredibly grateful for his past curiosity... otherwise, facing this situation alone now, he really wouldn't know how to start.

The structure of the positron cannon was roughly divided into two parts, internal and external.

The internal part was mainly the core component, the CRT picture tube. This was theoretically a vacuum unit, which couldn't and shouldn't be opened, and it was best not to touch it.

The external part was simple, consisting of some power supply modules and control circuits. Qin Feng had been tinkering with this part of the equipment, purchasing related accessories from Old Qi's Home Appliance Repair Shop.

Of course.

While the circuit control aspect sounded and looked simple, actual operation was still quite difficult.

The cautious Jiang Ran didn't plan to jump right in.

He intended to systematically study the basic knowledge of picture tubes, circuit boards, and capacitors during this period. Once he had a thorough understanding, he would then proceed to repair the positron cannon.

This thing was so precious, he didn't want to accidentally blow up the positron cannon due to a moment of carelessness... that would be truly regrettable, with no way to turn back time.

Following his memory.

He carefully removed the outer casing of the positron cannon.

As expected of an old product from 20 years ago, the various components were large, and the space utilization was extremely low.

"Here is the burnt-out power supply module."

Jiang Ran took out the circuit board with a burnt smell. There was a black, hardened patch on it; there was no doubt that this was a burnt-out capacitor.

Solving this part of the problem wasn't difficult.

He just needed to remove the circuit board and take it to Old Qi's Home Appliance Repair Shop, asking the owner to provide a replacement of the same specifications.

According to Qin Feng, the owner, "Old Qi," was extremely skilled, having focused on repairing old home appliances for over thirty years. He was a living fossil expert in this field that was gradually being phased out by society.

"The most difficult part lies in the calibration of the focusing device."

By default, the positron cannon could only send a text message to three days in the past. Only by increasing the strength of the focusing device could it send spacetime messages to further back in time.

Cheng Mengxue died two years ago.

To save her, he had to send the spacetime message to two years ago.

Therefore, knowledge about the focusing device was the main focus of Jiang Ran's studies for the upcoming period.

As for the LCD knob control panel, that could also be purchased from Old Qi's Home Appliance Repair Shop.

Thanks to Old Qi, his dedication to the old home appliance business allowed Jiang Ran to purchase everything in one stop.

Finally.

He removed the top cover of the positron cannon.

This was also the part Jiang Ran was most worried about.

The obvious dent on it, he really hoped he hadn't damaged the core components inside...

Please, please.

Carefully, with trembling hands, he unscrewed the bolts and removed the top cover, looking at the CRT picture tube inside.

He checked it carefully twice.

"It seems... there's no external damage."

Jiang Ran wasn't sure, but at least from the outside, the core component, the picture tube, showed no signs of damage.

"Whew..."

He breathed a sigh of relief.

A heavy weight lifted from his heart, the fatigue and exhaustion of the past few days washed over him, and Jiang Ran lay back on the sofa.

Silence.

Even though there were faint sounds of laughter and chatter from a few people in the corridor outside.

He still felt that this activity room was too quiet.

How he missed the boisterous arguments of the past trio here...

He suddenly empathized with a quote he had once read:

[We cannot predict the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.]

"It will come back."

Jiang Ran opened his eyes:

"I will get back everything that was lost."

Including Cheng Mengxue, including Qin Feng, and everything beautiful that once existed here.

He sat up, walked back to the small blackboard, and used chalk to outline his future plans—

1. Repair the positron cannon as soon as possible, send another spacetime message, and save Cheng Mengxue.

2. After saving Cheng Mengxue, search for Qin Feng's whereabouts, understand what happened to him, and uncover his hidden secrets.

3. Make amends for everything lost as much as possible, and make the worldline jump back to its original state.

"Original state."

He looked at the last few words and muttered to himself.

Since the worldline could jump from A to B, it should be able to jump back from B to A.

There would always be a way.

All he needed to do was correct the historical trajectory.

The original worldline...

Jiang Ran blinked.

That was the worldline where the three of them were inseparable and happy; even though they argued and clashed, it was indeed the worldline Jiang Ran wanted to return to the most.

"[Line 0]."

He said as he wrote these words on the small blackboard.

That's right.

The three-step strategy he had just outlined, and all his efforts so far, had the same outcome and purpose—

[Return to Line 0!]

Since the original worldline was called Line 0.

Then this current unsatisfactory worldline was naturally... Line 1.

This description was clear and concise.

Jiang Ran drew an arrow on the blackboard, pointing from Line 1 to Line 0.

This kind of purposeful, precisely directed artificial worldline jump would undoubtedly be difficult; but it didn't matter, he would definitely fulfill his promise to the two of them and find them all, without leaving anyone behind.

"Alright, that's it."

He stood up, put the positron cannon into a cardboard box, and pushed it to the corner.

Then he used the eraser to wipe off the contents on the blackboard, so that Chi Xiaoguo wouldn't see it; it would be hard to explain.

He brushed the chalk dust off his hands.

He took one last look at the activity room.

He locked the door and left.

"Treat me to a meal!"

As soon as he returned to Donghai Vocational College of Foreign Economy and Trade, Wang Hao tackled him with a flying tackle:

"Hurry up!"

"Why?" Jiang Ran asked.

"You have the nerve to ask!"

Wang Hao scoffed:

"Do you know how difficult it was for me to cover for you with Xiuxiu these past two days?"

"You, on the other hand, didn't answer your phone or reply to your messages. Xiuxiu called me every day, asking what you were doing."

"I racked my brain trying to come up with all sorts of excuses to cover for you! Don't you owe me a barbecue meal!"

That was true.

Jiang Ran knew very well that his phone had dozens of missed calls and unread messages, all from Nan Xiuxiu, which he hadn't replied to.

He simply didn't know how to reply.

Perhaps Nan Xiuxiu was very familiar with him and, as Wang Hao said, spent two years of his despondency with him; but from Jiang Ran's perspective, he wasn't familiar with Nan Xiuxiu at all, no different from a stranger.

Even...

For the plan Jiang Ran was undertaking, a girlfriend like Nan Xiuxiu was a complete burden.

"Fine, where should we eat?"

He understood Wang Hao's difficulties; he had to treat him to this meal.

"Let's go to the usual spot."

Jiang Ran said helplessly:

"Where's this 'old place'?"

It wasn't his fault; he genuinely had no idea where Wang Hao's "old place" was.

"Ugh, stop dawdling! I'll call a car."

As he spoke, Wang Hao pulled out his phone and started calling for a ride-share.

"Oh, right."

He looked up:

"The May Day holiday is the day after tomorrow. Do you want to come back to my hometown with me?"

"Back to Hang City? I'll pass."

Jiang Ran shook his head.

He wanted to fix the positron cannon as soon as possible. Over the next few days, he planned to borrow some old books from the library to thoroughly study cathode ray tubes and focusing devices.

"Summer vacation is only two months away. Why are you going back for May Day?"

Wang Hao remained silent.

He took out a cigarette.

Lit it.

And exhaled a cloud of smoke:

"We didn't go back for Qingming Festival in April; in June, there are exams and a lot of things going on, so we won't have time to go back then. We can only make time during the May Day holiday."

"Going back at this time... what else can I do there?"

Wang Hao glanced sideways, his eyes looking meaningfully at Jiang Ran:

"...Go pay respects at Cheng Mengxue's grave."