Chapter 255 49: A Horrifying Reply

"If only I knew a few more code names."

Jiang Ran let out a long sigh.

That whole round table meeting, the identities, the gold coins... it was all just in his head.

As of now, only four identities were confirmed to exist: the King, the Princess, the Magician, and the Priest.

'Did Qin Feng steal my cringey old Setting Collection because... a real Genius Playground, a similar game, actually exists? And what if it's identical to the one I described in the collection?'

At this point, Jiang Ran couldn't easily dismiss this slightly absurd guess.

After all, Lilith and a phone that could grant any wish had appeared in the real world, genuine as could be.

If that was the case, who was to say that the other plot points from that randomly fabricated Setting Collection wouldn't also appear in reality?

"Book of Prophecy."

The thought brought to Jiang Ran's mind a common trope in fatalistic anime and movies.

He couldn't understand why a setting collection scribbled together from a middle schooler's delusions would come true in the real world.

But if his guess was true...

Then that Setting Collection could really be used as a Book of Prophecy—

All the settings within it could be assumed to be real;

All the plot points would happen sooner or later;

And the ending... would naturally be the end of this game.

...

Jiang Ran fell silent at this thought.

The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. Yet, contrasted with the increasingly absurd events he was experiencing, it also felt more and more real.

As it stood, there were only two ways to verify if his theory was correct:

1. Find that old Setting Collection.

2. Find Qin Feng.

"I have to make a move."

Jiang Ran had already formulated a plan. Once things in East Sea were settled... he intended to take a trip to the Imperial Capital and ask Dean Gao Yan for help.

When it came to finding someone in a sea of people, the power of the state was the most efficient and reliable.

...

The next day, Jiang Ran arranged to meet with Chi Xiaoguo.

He didn't choose the Film Club room. Jiang Ran had a feeling it wasn't safe anymore—that the walls had ears.

"Let's not do any more Positron Cannon experiments for a while."

Jiang Ran said, looking at Chi Xiaoguo, "Club activities can continue as usual, but put the Positron Cannon away for now. Let's not talk about it, and we'll pause the nightly experiments too."

"After all... how should I put it? I get the feeling Xiaoxue is already suspicious of the Positron Cannon, and I'd rather not let this secret get out."

Chi Xiaoguo nodded.

"Don't worry! You saw yesterday, my lips are sealed!"

Today, Chi Xiaoguo was as energetic as ever.

It seemed she had completely recovered from yesterday's awkwardness, leaving that awful incident and its embarrassing memories behind.

Jiang Ran truly admired and envied this mindset.

To be able to pick things up and let them go, to not dwell on an unchangeable past. With a personality like that, Chi Xiaoguo was the type of person who would live a long life.

In contrast...

Jiang Ran felt a little helpless and scratched his hair.

'While washing my hair this morning, I found dozens of strands that had fallen out. Oh god, am I overthinking things so much that I'm going bald?'

There was nothing he could do about it.

Completely different from Chi Xiaoguo's top-tier "let the past be the past, who gives a damn" attitude, Jiang Ran was the type to always have a million things on his mind, to keep thinking about something until he figured it out—meticulous, careful, and overly cautious.

It was exhausting, mentally draining, and bad for his hair.

But he really couldn't be as carefree as Chi Xiaoguo... especially not when things were going wrong and dangers lurked around every corner.

"Oh, right."

Jiang Ran suddenly remembered something.

"Xiaoguo, are you free on Wednesday night? I hope you can keep that evening open."

"Why?" Chi Xiaoguo tilted her head.

"It's Xiaoxue's birthday."

Jiang Ran said bluntly, "She's planning to invite you all to dinner that night. She might be planning a surprise... but I figured I should tell you in advance, just so the surprise doesn't turn into a scare."

"Yay! A big feast!"

Chi Xiaoguo's eyes lit up, and she was thrilled.

"I'm going, I'm going! I love going to people's birthday parties! There'll definitely be birthday cake and lots of good food!"

Uh...

Jiang Ran was a little surprised.

'A big feast?'

He hadn't heard anyone use that phrase in a long, long time.

Perhaps because he was born in the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai region, where the economy was more developed and living standards were higher, he never really had the concept of a "big feast."

'What even qualifies as a big feast?'

He felt like his daily meals could be considered feasts. If booking a private room at a restaurant counted, then he'd been eating them since he was a kid, stuffing himself sick every New Year.

But...

He recalled Chi Xiaoguo's previous comments.

She had said her family lived in a remote village in Guangxi, and that she'd gotten tanned from helping with farm work over the summer.

He also remembered that many of Chi Xiaoguo's friends were on work-study programs or receiving financial aid. If that was her social circle, it suggested her family's financial situation was rather average.

Following this line of thought, Jiang Ran did notice many details.

The meals Chi Xiaoguo ate in the cafeteria were all relatively cheap. At first, Jiang Ran had thought she was trying to lose weight, but on second thought, with her petite and slender frame, what was there to lose? If she lost any more, she'd be nothing but bones!

Sigh...

Jiang Ran felt a pang of regret.

He suddenly felt how slow on the uptake he'd been, only now realizing these obvious things about Chi Xiaoguo.

No wonder she had yelled "Sponsor daddy!" when he'd offered to fund the Film Club.

No wonder she had been so heartbroken over the club souvenirs they couldn't give away.

And no wonder she would say outright that she loved going to other people's birthdays so she could have a big feast.

"Well... okay."

Jiang Ran was at a loss for words for a moment and changed the subject.

"By the way, when's your birthday?"

"Mine's not until next year. My birthday is in April, April 11th."

"Oh, okay."

Jiang Ran silently made a mental note of the date.

"Then next year, we'll have a proper celebration for your birthday. I'll get you a really great gift!"

Having never had a good opportunity to repay Chi Xiaoguo for her help, Jiang Ran seized the chance to make this promise, resolving to throw a grand birthday party for her next year.

"Haha, okay, okay! I'm looking forward to it!"

Chi Xiaoguo didn't refuse or make polite objections; she happily accepted his promise.

BEEP.

BEEP.

Just then, Jiang Ran's phone sounded with a WeChat notification.

He opened it and saw a message from Xu Yan.

"Jiang Ran, are you free this afternoon?"

"I have something to tell you!"

Jiang Ran narrowed his eyes...

Xu Yan.

Clearly, what Xu Yan wanted to talk about had to be related to the investigation into Cheng Mengxue.

He had been waiting for this response for many days and was getting impatient.

So he quickly replied that he was free.

The two arranged a time, meeting at the same off-campus milk tea shop where they had met in secret before.

Afterward, Jiang Ran put down his phone and said goodbye to Chi Xiaoguo.

"So, just like we discussed, focus on your studies and club activities for now."

"As for the Positron Cannon... I'll contact you when it's safe and the time is right."

"Day-to-day, just remember to keep the Positron Cannon a secret from everyone. If Cheng Mengxue asks, just say it's a prop for the welcome ceremony."

"Basically, just fudge your way through it. We haven't set a specific date for the ceremony anyway, so we can figure something out when the time comes."

...

After saying goodbye to Chi Xiaoguo, Jiang Ran went back to his dorm to quickly tidy up, then walked out of the East Sea University gates and headed for the designated milk tea shop.

Judging by Xu Yan's eagerness to meet, she must have finished her investigation.

'Is Xiaoxue's house in the United States... really overgrown with weeds?'

'Are her records at the University of Pennsylvania... real or fake?'

Everything.

It was all about to be revealed!

He arrived at the milk tea shop, went straight to the second floor, and sat down at the same corner table as last time.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Xu Yan appeared at the turn of the staircase, the CLICK-CLACK-CLICK-CLACK of her small high heels echoing on the floor.

She was walking fast, her footsteps loud.

Clearly, she was just as eager to get here.

SCREECH—

Without any preamble, Xu Yan pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Jiang Ran, her brow furrowed with worry.

Jiang Ran's heart skipped a beat. His pulse quickened, and he immediately sat up straight.

He felt like he already knew the answer.

And it was bound to be... a terrible one.

"Jiang Ran, my boyfriend had someone in the United States look into the things you asked me to investigate. It's done."

Xu Yan's voice trembled, fraught with anxiety.

"I... I haven't told anyone about this, not even my parents. I contacted you the second I got the results."

With that, she took out a few photos from her handbag and laid them on the table.

"You were right."

She said in a low voice, her elegant brows knitted together.

"Xiaoxue's home in the United States... 329 Arch Street in Philadelphia... is completely overgrown with weeds. No one lives there!"

...

Although neither of them had ordered any milk tea, Jiang Ran could feel the temperature in the room plummet in that instant, a chill spreading through his entire body.

But this chill didn't come from the air conditioning; it came from within, born from his heart.

He leaned forward, looking at the photos spread across the table.

The photos were recent; the watermark in the bottom-right corner was dated two days ago.

They had been taken from multiple angles—some from a distance, some up close, and some even showed details of the house's interior, taken after someone had climbed into the yard.

Without a doubt...

it was impossible that anyone lived in this house!

The large yard was filled with weeds and dead branches, clearly having been neglected for a long time. Tools, metal frames, tables, and chairs were scattered across the ground... as if a strong wind had swept through at some point, leaving everything in disarray.

There were no flowers, no trellis, no ripe grapes, and certainly no Cheng Mengxue's parents.

"It's fake."

Jiang Ran said softly.

"It seems those video calls Cheng Mengxue had with her parents... were all fake."

He had expected as much. He'd even consulted with Professor Yan Chonghan about the technical details, who had stated plainly that it was not difficult at all from a technical standpoint—an easy deception to create.

Jiang Ran picked up another set of photos and examined them closely.

They showed the interior of the house from different angles. Several windowpanes were broken, and the furniture inside was covered in a thick layer of dust. It had clearly been uninhabited for at least a year or two.

A dilapidated house like this...

how could it possibly be the home where Xiaoxue had lived for two years in the United States, or even just a short while ago?

Just as he'd suspected, Qin Feng hadn't been lying. Not only were the photos he sent real, but... he hadn't been acting without reason. He was clearly warning him—

that there was definitely something wrong with the Cheng Mengxue he knew!

"What about the University of Pennsylvania?"

Jiang Ran looked up.

"Were you able to find her academic records, registration, exam results, and all that?"

"We could."

Xu Yan replied.

"But... that's where things get weird."

She pulled a bound set of documents from her bag—various English files and transcripts.

"You can look at these later. I'll just tell you directly."

"Whether it's Xiaoxue's enrollment information, her class schedule, or her transcripts, it can all be found in the University of Pennsylvania's academic system. Same for the letter of introduction sent to East Sea University. All of it is completely real."

"But here's the bizarre part. Even though all these records are real and can prove that Xiaoxue was indeed a student at the University of Pennsylvania..."

"when we had someone investigate and ask the students in the classes on her schedule... do you know what all of them said? Her classmates, her roommate listed on her housing form, all of them?"

Xu Yan pressed her lips together, her eyes trembling as she spoke the chilling words.

"Without exception, they all asked back, 'Who's Mengxue Cheng?'"

"And after being shown her photo and academic file, every single one of them looked completely bewildered and shook their heads—"

"They had never, ever seen this girl at school before!"