Chapter 206 - 23: Between Brothers

Jiang Ran noticed.

The moment he heard the name "Fang Ze," even the usually calm and collected Assassin’s expression flashed with a hint of panic.

Though the panic was fleeting, Jiang Ran had been staring at him the whole time and managed to catch it.

’It seems...’

’Just as I guessed, a pair of star-crossed brothers.’

The Assassin slowly stood up and walked to the iron-barred cell door, meeting Jiang Ran’s gaze from just a dozen or so centimeters away.

"You know my brother?"

"I do."

"Is my brother... is he okay? Did he send you?"

Jiang Ran just smiled noncommittally.

He understood that the more you say, the more you risk slipping up.

While he did indeed know the Fang Ze of 2025, it was now 2045, and no one knew what state the current era’s Fang Ze was in.

In short, it was better to say too little than too much.

"Your brother asked me to tell you—"

Jiang Ran delivered the line he had prepared earlier:

"After you escape, don’t go back to what you were doing before. Turn over a new leaf and start fresh."

...

He wasn’t lying.

Because when he had a heart-to-heart with Fang Ze last night, this was exactly the message Fang Ze had been trying to convey.

Fang Ze desperately wanted to stop his brother from committing more crimes, hoping his brother would stop for good... He was even willing to report his brother to the police to have him arrested, without a second thought.

Jiang Ran had thought this sentence would surely move the Assassin.

However...

Unexpectedly.

After hearing this, the Assassin’s face unexpectedly broke into a calm smile, and his whole demeanor relaxed considerably.

"[That’s not something my brother would say.]"

"What?" Jiang Ran’s expression remained neutral.

The Assassin looked up, his eyes sharp as he stared at Jiang Ran.

"[My brother would never say something like that to me. He’s not that much of a coward, and besides, in his eyes... our relationship is nowhere near that good.]"

...

Jiang Ran and the Assassin stared at each other in silence, their faces expressionless.

That same strange feeling surfaced again.

Last night, he’d sensed that the Fang Yang described by Fang Ze was vastly different from the Assassin he’d seen with his own eyes in Future Prison.

And now.

The Fang Ze described by Fang Yang was also a far cry from the roommate he’d seen with his own eyes and had a heart-to-heart with just last night.

’What on earth is going on?’

’[Which one of them is lying?]’

’Let me lay it out carefully...’

’In his roommate Fang Ze’s eyes, his brother, Fang Yang, is a "fool" who’s hopelessly lost, brainwashed by the Regrets Mutual Aid Association, and completely obsessed.’

’But based on my interactions with him, the Assassin Fang Yang in Future Prison is calm, cool-headed, knowledgeable, and strong-willed... Even an obvious Time Traveler like me couldn’t fool him, let alone the crude doctrines of the Regrets Mutual Aid Association.’

’On the other hand.’

’In the Assassin Fang Yang’s description, his brother is not some weak and helpless person who would never say something like "persuading someone to be good," and in his brother’s eyes, their relationship isn’t good.’

’But in my eyes, Fang Ze is a pretty boy with a baby face, whose speech is soft and whose actions and mannerisms are meek. Not to mention, when he brought up his brother last night, his eyes were filled with helplessness, and he even seemed deeply grieved.’

’Contradictions.’

’Contradictions.’

’Contradictions.’

’There are all sorts of jarring contradictions in Fang Yang’s and Fang Ze’s perceptions of each other.’

’But...’

’I can’t jump to such a simple conclusion.’

’Because the Assassin has always been a very cautious person.’

’From his perspective, I’m a stranger who just showed up less than two minutes ago. Although he believes I’m a Time Traveler, when it comes to his own brother... he doesn’t trust me enough.’

’Therefore, this is very likely a kind of reverse probing.’

’The Assassin might be trying to confirm whether I really know his brother, so he’s deliberately saying the opposite, trying to bluff me and see if I’ll take the bait.’

In any case.

What’s said is said, like spilt water that can’t be gathered up.

Right or wrong, Jiang Ran decided to keep up the act, not back down, and see how the Assassin would react.

’Worst case scenario...’

’...I’ll just start over tomorrow morning, in the next loop.’

"Whether you believe me or not is your business."

Jiang Ran’s expression didn’t change as he turned away.

"I’ve delivered your brother’s message."

Then, to put on an air of confidence, he unhurriedly walked into Lu Yu’s Ward 4, patted Lu Yu’s gaunt, withered cheek, and tried to wake him.

Currently, Lu Yu’s background was still shrouded in mystery.

Everyone knew he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics and graduated from East Sea University, but the problem was, his name was nowhere to be found among this year’s newly enrolled students.

’Could it be...’

’...that Lu Yu transferred into East Sea University midway through?’

’Hmm.’

’That’s actually a real possibility.’

East Sea City had a unique transfer student system that gave undergraduates within the city a chance at a "second Gaokao."

Since its implementation in 2000, the transfer student system had helped countless first-year university students who had underperformed on the Gaokao to transfer into top-tier institutions like East Sea University and Jiaoda through another exam, receiving graduation certificates identical to those of regular students.

Many families from other provinces were unaware of this information gap, so they often missed out on this "second Gaokao" opportunity.

But in the end, this was just Jiang Ran’s own baseless speculation.

To really find out where Lu Yu was holed up in September of 2025... he would probably have to ask the man himself.

"Lu Yu? Lu Yu?"

Jiang Ran tried everything he could think of to wake Lu Yu, but the man remained completely unresponsive. His dark, lifeless eyes stared blankly, seeing nothing, thinking nothing.

"Sigh..."

Jiang Ran couldn’t help but sigh.

’What am I going to do?’

After that.

Following the established procedure.

The five-man team assembled once again and began the prison break.

Jiang Ran still carried Lu Yu on his back. To get past the guard and police dog in the right-hand corridor, Lu Yu was an essential prop.

Although he was an immobile obstacle himself, just placing this living, breathing obstacle behind the stupid young man was enough to make him anxious, restless, and irritable.

This, in turn, would make him unbearably anxious during the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 countdown, ultimately leading to him jumping the gun, Sang Biao getting fed to the dogs, the guard’s attention being diverted... and a whole series of chain reactions.

When they reached the equipment room, something unexpected happened.

The Assassin.

The very same Assassin who had just feigned composure and claimed his brother would never say such things, actually... approached Jiang Ran on his own initiative to talk.

"What era are you from?"

"No comment," Jiang Ran replied.

The Assassin was always holding back key information from him, and it’s not like he was Tmall Genie, obligated to answer every question.

"My brother... is he doing okay?"

The Assassin leaned against the wall and asked again.

"He must be married by now, right? Does he have kids?"

"Heh."

Jiang Ran still just chuckled without saying a word.

"Assassin, if you want to know how your brother is doing, you can wait until we successfully break out and go see for yourself."

"It’s just that breaking out successfully won’t be easy. You’ve surely noticed that this isn’t my first time here, nor is it the first time I’ve led you on a prison break... Yet to this day, there’s still no sign of success."

"We’re missing too much information. Our time is limited, our abilities are limited, and it’s hard to break through all the obstacles and escape. So, I was hoping we could be a bit more honest with each other. The more information we share, the more hope we’ll have."

The Assassin narrowed his eyes.

"What do you want to know?"

Jiang Ran turned around.

"I want to know about the Time Travel Machine at East Sea University, about the Regrets Mutual Aid Association, and... [Who exactly did you kill back then?]"

Silence.

After thinking for a few seconds, the Assassin let out a soft chuckle.

"I see. You’re from 2025."

"I never would have thought... Jiang Ran, you’re actually from the past, from 20 years ago. Rumor has it that the Time Travel Machine can only send people to the past, not the future."

"So how did you manage it? Heh, never mind. I’m sure you won’t tell me that either."

Jiang Ran didn’t speak, just watched the Assassin quietly.

It wasn’t surprising that the other man had guessed he was from 2025 right after hearing that question.

Obviously, the murder the Assassin committed took place in 2025. That meant he could only be from that year, from before the murder.

Otherwise...

...after he’d killed someone or was imprisoned, who would ask such a stupid question? Anyone would know who he had killed.

"It’s just... Jiang Ran, I can’t give you the answer right now either."

The Assassin stuck to his principles.

"If it’s for the sake of escaping, I’ll support you unconditionally, even if it costs me my life."

"But if you want the answers to those questions... I’m sorry, but I absolutely will not say a word until the moment I see sunlight outside this prison."

Hmph.

’Just as I thought.’

Jiang Ran was truly helpless.

The Assassin was just that cautious, leaving no room for error.

He was stubbornly refusing to give up the answer because he was afraid Jiang Ran was just feeding him empty promises.

The Assassin knew full well that Jiang Ran was willing to help him escape only because he was after the answers he held.

This was his only bargaining chip, and his only hope of a successful escape.

In the Assassin’s eyes, he was indeed a Time Traveler who had been here many times; so he must be worried that once he handed over his only bargaining chip, Jiang Ran would never show up again.

It was an unbreakable chain of suspicion, a crisis of trust that couldn’t be proven.

"This also involves your brother’s safety."

Since things had already gone south, Jiang Ran decided to press his luck with some shameless pestering.

"If you tell me these things, it could also help your brother solve his current problems. You don’t want your brother getting involved with an organization like the Regrets Mutual Aid Association, do you?"

The Assassin let out a dry laugh.

"Then I’d rather not get out."

He spread his hands.

"Frankly, I won’t gamble with my brother’s safety. I’d rather stay in this prison for the rest of my life than cause trouble for him."

"I can’t judge whether revealing the answers to those questions here would help my brother or harm him. So... if you really have the ability to break me out, let’s talk once we’re on the outside."

Just then, Sang Biao and the stupid young man came out from inside, holding two canisters of Tear Gas and complaining about who would even use this stuff.

The Assassin reached out, took them, and put them in his pants pocket.

Jiang Ran also picked up an Electric Stick and followed the group toward the three-way fork.

On the way, he watched the Assassin’s back, realizing that amidst all the contradictions, there was one thing that was certain.

Between the two brothers, both the younger brother Fang Ze’s description and the older brother Fang Yang’s behavior proved one common point—

[The older brother’s feelings for his younger brother were incredibly sincere, incredibly affectionate, and incredibly protective.]

The Assassin only ever thought about his brother.

He went to prison for his brother, his escape was perhaps also for his brother; his brother was the sole motivation and pillar of support in his life.

As for the younger brother...

...whether Fang Ze’s display of emotion last night was genuine, or if he was as cold and heartless as the Assassin described, was something Jiang Ran would have to continue observing to find out.

Jiang Ran only trusted his own eyes and his own judgment.

Even if his roommate Fang Ze was deliberately acting the part of a meek little brother, it didn’t matter. They could just play their parts. He didn’t mind continuing to play the enthusiastic big brother.

After all...

...his main goal at the moment was still all kinds of [information].

Information on the Time Travel Machine,

information on the Regrets Mutual Aid Association,

information on Lilith, Zhou Xiong’s phone, and the Setting Collection script...

Jiang Ran looked up at the Assassin’s thin back.

"Assassin."

he said softly.

"Have you ever heard of... Lilith?"