Puzzle Madness

Chapter 127 Let’s Play “Asgard Blood Feast” Now

The [security guard] looked at the old man who was rolling around in the pile of cardboard and wailing. He then glanced at the young man with a crew cut who was standing unsteadily due to blood loss.

Then she sighed, put her arm on the fat man's shoulder, and pushed up her sunglasses with one hand, as if they were old friends.
"I think I should get a few more weapons. I'm going to be armed to the teeth. This is a serious job; I might get killed if I'm not careful."

"Hey - don't ask me about the specific content of my job. I can't disclose it."

The obese man tensed up and spoke at a rapid pace, like a tongue twister. The content of his speech was completely unrelated to what the [security guard] had just said:

"If I'm going to go into ecstasy, I have to be able to maintain a clear mind: neither sedatives nor hallucinogens will work! This has been tested, there's no need to lie to you!"

"And the mental state needs to be very stable, and it needs to be in a safe environment; it cannot be forced or threatened—"

[Security guard] scratched his broad nose, looking a little embarrassed:

"Alas, I wasn't going to pick on you; your fanaticism is too weak, man—just the facts, no personal attacks."

"The front is so fragile. If you can't even disguise someone else's face, then it really has no practical value."

He patted the fat man's bulging belly, which trembled:
"I'm not saying this, but you should consider getting some cardio and stop eating so much fried food. That Taro King isn't very good either; it's just a sugar and oil mixture."

"If you improve your physical fitness, you might still be able to fight. Lose some weight and live a few more years after retirement, huh?"

"Alright, alright, help me get the old man back to the car, and then you can take this crew cut and go home; I still have work to do."

He flipped his palm, and between his fingers appeared a business card with a gold-lined border and densely printed words. [Security] stuffed it into the fat man's breast pocket:

"What a coincidence! If you need anything, please support my business. Just write to the address on the card and follow the instructions. I'll get back to you."

"Oh! I'm not actually a security guard, I'm a killer. I forgot to mention that."

The [security guard] bared his teeth and used his dagger to dig in the gap:
"But if there's no news, it means I'm completely screwed. Then go to Xinhua Bookstore and buy this year's Global Travel Handbook."

"Hey, maybe not. After a while, there might be a more convenient way to make an appointment with my colleague."

[Security guard] had been rambling on and on until here, and suddenly he lost interest and became tired.

"Come on, help me get the people to the car."

He tapped the fat man's shoulder, pulled over the guy with a crew cut, gestured with a gun, and drove and instructed the two field workers from the Asia-Europe Post, indicating that they should wade into the pile of cardboard.

This time, he asked them to carry the [Plastic Immortal] with broken arms and walk in front, while he walked behind.
-
It was evening - around six o'clock, and the sky was already dark: at this time in the past, the sky was still very bright.

It seems that the weather is finally cooperating and sending a long-awaited heavy rain to drive away the summer heat.

There is a pavilion in the square of the Provincial Library. In the past, there were always groups of old men and women practicing Tai Chi or Ba Duan Jin in it.

And now—they were sitting cross-legged on the tiles, their hands clasped together, forming a circle. All of them had their eyes closed, as if they were asleep.

Doudou was lying on the windowsill of the Provincial Library, eating snow cakes and reading:
"By the time they stand up, their legs must be numb."

It looks like he might be practicing Qigong--
At least it won't be a place where the elderly develop a second spring in the evening, where they can hold social activities and rebuild new families.

Doudou guessed that they were dreaming: needless to say, it was an illusion as real as reality; Doudou himself had entered it several times in the past few days.

[It's developing so fast, how come everyone knows it now? ]

But that's not certain—I don't have the time or the interest to know for sure right now.

After he finished his snacks, he went back to the library; he had been reading novels and comics for the entire afternoon and almost forgot what he had come to the library to buy.

Doudou did not go to the Mong Cai Observatory.

According to the woman named Sidney, Richard and the mathematicians will be there tonight:

The first and most important reason is that it is too far away; it is literally on the other side of Mong Cai City, and it takes almost an hour to get there by bus, so if you want to go there, you have to leave now.

Secondly, maybe that crazy white-haired woman is just going crazy? A psychopath with superpowers is still a psychopath: maybe even more seriously ill.

But before he returned home from the provincial library, he spent some time at the information desk.
The cashier in the music and video section really didn't come back; maybe she really was a spy. Meanwhile, DouDou searched the music and video section but couldn't find what she wanted. "Teacher, teacher, do you sell photocards here?"

Doudou ran to the lobby on the first floor, lay down on the edge of the wooden information table, and shouted to the volunteer administrator who was standing behind the table flipping through the catalog.

The administrator was young, his glasses as thick as the bottom of a beer bottle. He paused turning the pages and casually tapped a few thick copies of the Intercity Postal Directory on the table with his knuckles. His voice was low but not cold:

"International or domestic? If you want to check long-distance routes, go to the window next door."

Doudou waved his hands and used his index fingers and thumbs to form a rectangle:

"It's not a phone card, it's a card for a logistics network game—like "Asgard Blood Feast" or "Galaxy Three Kingdoms." Do you sell any sub-cards for them?"

The administrator raised his eyebrows, with a look of surprise on his face:
"Oh, you mean that one? Wait, I think there's one from 'Blood Feast in Asgard'."

He turned around and squatted behind the counter to look through the drawers. His movements were a bit clumsy and he almost spilled the book labels next to it all over the floor.

"A lot of people have been asking about this lately." The administrator pulled out a plastic storage box and started picking through the items. "It seems it's because a transfer point has opened in Jiaozhi. Now it's much faster to do this."

Doudou nodded and gently tapped the mottled, old counter:
"Yes! Before, we had to send it back to the mainland, or use transit points in Laos and Thailand; it took three to five days to play a round."

"It was so slow, I stopped playing at that point."

The administrator pulled out some shiny printed booklets and some envelopes and spread them all out on the table.

"Small card—it's a one-time card, right? I only have one-time and quarterly cards here. Annual cards are ordered through agencies, and you have to fill out a form and wait for approval."

As he spoke, he flipped through an instruction manual printed and bound by volunteers:

"Did you bring this [player client] yourself? The mini-cards don't come with it."

DouDou pulled a stack of printer paper, still smelling of ink, from her schoolbag and shook it.

They were stapled together and looked freshly typed:
"Oh, it's printed at the self-service printing station on the third floor."

The administrator nodded and pointed at the cards and booklets on the table:

"Okay, the small card is five bucks, and it comes with thirty special stamps. The quarterly card is fifteen bucks, and in addition to the ninety stamps, it also comes with this [explanatory pack] and two pre-set letters."

"But if you're mailing it, you have to go through the post office's professional route; you can't use pipelines. I suggest you consult with the post office when the time comes."

After searching around for a while, he finally picked up a card with a brighter pattern. It had a picture of a man in red wearing a Taoist hat, with flying swords spitting out of his mouth.

"It's just a small card. I haven't even finished the solo level yet; I'm still on the spawn map."

The administrator hummed, then lowered his head and flipped through the manual:

"Also—about a dozen players have inquired about this. I might apply for one. What are you guys calling it? It's like an organization among players."

Doudou was still stuffing the "Immortal Palace Blood Feast" game card into his schoolbag while taking out change from his trouser pocket:

"Oh, is that called a guild or a gang?"

The administrator lightly hammered his palm:
"Ah, yes. Let me see. Maybe I can apply for a gang to be hosted by our provincial map? Then you can join."

"You can come to me again to buy cards in the future, and I'll try to introduce you to other players. Then you can form a team nearby, and you won't have to be limited to playing single-player campaigns."

"Also," he lowered his voice, as if to tell a secret, "if there are over thirty of you, the game operations will send someone like a 'Fairyland Master'—something like a host—to assist you in playing and run the game for you on the spot."

　My buddy has to go on a business trip until the day after tomorrow, so I guess I won’t be able to update tomorrow; I’ll see if I can catch up the day after tomorrow (my mind starts to get muddled when I’m away from home).
　　Horror movies I've watched recently: Resurrection (so-so), Death of a Unicorn (disliked). The quality of A24's films is becoming increasingly inconsistent. Season 1 of Resurrection (the comics are okay).

　　Recommend "Final Destination 6", don't hesitate

(End of this chapter)