Puzzle Madness

Chapter 142 The Noisy Pager (Part 1)

First, there must be at least two people; second, there must be physical contact; third, they must be thinking about something similar.
Oh! I should say we all need to think about shared [imagery] or [symbols]; to be more precise. Like Taro King, Dance Dance Revolution, and arcades; I just wonder if there's a standard for these images?

The requirement for physical contact is too much of a restriction; it makes globalization impossible.

Aside from the incredibly realistic sensory experience, its convenience is even less than that of a long-distance IC phone card; after all, face-to-face interaction is far more efficient than simply speaking directly.
To be honest, it's similar to other board games like "The Blood Feast of the Immortal Palace," with a bit of a social gathering game feel to it; people can dream together, chat, and connect.

Not to mention, we also have to consider the capabilities of the person wielding the obsession: if everyone in the world could have "real dreams" through this mechanism, it's clearly not something a superpowered individual could accomplish—
However, this current enthusiast is like a radio station—its influence is vast; it seems to have covered most of Mong Cai City? That's quite impressive.

Furthermore, even after talking to Richard for so long, he still doesn't understand why the network propulsionists insist on advancing this network.
-
The two fell silent, while outside the planetarium, the mournful howl of the wind and rain continued. The casual conversation about the situation in Mong Cai finally came to an end—for a moment, Dou Dou didn't know what to say next:
Surprisingly, Richard seemed to be enjoying the peace and quiet.

Aside from the dampness of a torrential rainy night, the air was filled with a dull silence. Outside, the raindrops pattered and pounded like countless tiny BB guns.

[Should we ask about the strange things we heard on the bus? -- Oh! I almost forgot!]

DouDou was also a little tired and too lazy to continue writing; anyway, it probably wouldn't matter if she brought up the issue:
"Agent Li, is there such a person in the files you've looked at?"

He gestured with his hand next to his cheek, indicating a height of about 1.7 meters:
"Her roots were red, but her hair was dyed white; she was wearing a headband made of bottle caps? It was stuck on her forehead. She was a woman, a foreigner; her name was Sidney: I think that's how it's spelled."

Once it was out of her mouth, DouDou realized that Sidney did indeed have a very describable look—how so? It was quite memorable.

Richard paused for a moment, seemingly recalling:

"Sounds very strange? Be careful. If someone other than an Asia-Europe Post employee contacts you, it's most likely a scam."

“There are a lot of criminals active in Mong Cai lately. Be especially careful of those with such attention-grabbing outfits; it’s best to stay away from them if you see them on the street.”

Before long, a written response arrived; however, the meaning was not much different:

[I haven't seen any similar descriptions or photos in the files I've reviewed. Did you have contact with this person? Did they mention any organization they belonged to?]
DouDou frowned, waved her hand, and didn't answer further.
You don't even know Richard? That's strange. In DouDou's mind, Richard is a pretty good intelligence expert, but that's only because DouDou doesn't know anyone in other "industries".

DouDou thinks that Sidney is most likely connected to the [fourth force] that Richard mentioned earlier:

For example, how did she know Richard would be at the observatory tonight? Was it because she knew there was a temporary outpost of Asia-Europe Post there?

But if Richard is telling the truth, then all the agents in Mong Cai City are blind to the truth, regardless of which side they belong to.

And when she suddenly slipped away, she used that sticky bit of asphalt—that superpower is so convenient, it seems incredibly useful.

Surely you wouldn't just use it for commuting when you're out grocery shopping, would you?
However, since Richard didn't seem to understand, DouDou didn't press the matter further—the various strange and unusual things she had heard and seen that night had already filled her head to the brim, making it feel like it was about to explode.

And like the rain clouds hanging over Mong Jie, Dou Dou's thoughts also drifted aimlessly:
This morning, only three bodies were found in the classrooms and dormitories, so classes were suspended for half a day; although now it seems that the arrival of the typhoon also played a part in this.

While at the provincial library, I encountered many students from other schools who were on holiday.

However: if they keep fighting, people will keep dying.
If this continues, won't the school be forced to shut down completely?
"No, that won't do. If I play for three months, I'll end up not being able to study for the entire semester!"

Is there any good way to stop them from fighting? At least make them behave more discreetly and not affect DouDou's studies and life.

[How about organizing the Mong Cai Martial Arts Tournament? Each side can send someone to fight. The winner can continue advancing their plans: Haha!]

I have to say, it seems quite feasible?

It just takes some effort, and DouDou doesn't have much organizational experience—the most important thing is being able to bring everyone together: but apart from Richard, DouDou doesn't know anyone from any other faction.
To be honest, it might be easier to kill them all; how could we let it affect other people's studies?
-
After thinking for a moment, DouDou took the notebook and tried to hold the pen as gently as possible. He only had so many pens in his pencil case; he couldn't afford to crush it, or he'd have to buy new ones tomorrow.

[Okay, okay, do you need my help with something?]
[You didn't run away when you saw me, so it can't be just to give me a gift or chat with me? You seem quite afraid of me; your face turned pale with fright.]
He writes this stuff like it's a passing note, even more verbose than speaking face-to-face; but his pen moves so fast, like a printing press; his fingers dance in afterimages.

[Don't be so polite with me, I've gained some new insights into life today! Maybe it'll be better to interact more with friends; anyway, I don't think I'll have class tomorrow because of the typhoon.]
Richard stared wide-eyed at the workbook for a long time; as if it contained some kind of horror story.
He simply shook his head, pointed to the chain of corpses next to the binoculars, and then walked over to begin his examination.

He crouched down, turned their heads over one by one, examined their faces, and then gently put them down.

The thunderous roars were gone—without the flashes of lightning, the faces of the dead appeared more serene.

Richard magically pulled a pair of rubber gloves from his trench coat pocket and put them on with a snapping sound.

Then, he extended two fingers and dug into the cavities on the back of the head; then he raised his hand and carefully examined the frozen substance he had pried off.

How disgusting! Why are you rummaging around with your hands like that?

Dou Dou scratched the back of his head, completely forgetting that he had just grabbed a handful and stuffed them into his mouth near the back of his head.

Richard pulled a square, transparent resealable bag from the inside pocket of his trench coat, placed the brain tissue inside, shook it, and then stuffed it back into the pocket.
Suddenly, Doudou realized:
I haven't even seen this telescope yet!

When we visited two years ago, students from the entire grade had to line up, and the long queue of people almost squeezed through that big iron gate.

Back then, the derivative card game of "Tenmajin" [Tenmajin: Armored Showdown] was very popular; Ai Xi collected a lot of second-hand cards from his classmates and then sold them one by one according to their rarity and strength, making a lot of money.

In the end, DouDou was too lazy to queue, so she and AiXi hid in a corner and played with game cards for an afternoon: the deck was made up of unwanted and useless cards, and the quality was very low, but it was actually quite fun to play.

but--
Can you see the moon and other planets? Surely you can't only see the pores on my parents' faces.

Will those overlapping faces also block the view of the telescope's lens?
We'll only know after we see it. However, although there's no need to queue tonight, the weather is terrible—
Beep, beep, beep!
A rhythmic sound suddenly broke the silence, interrupting DouDou's train of thought.

It was a sharp, piercing electronic sound; extremely harsh, as if it were trying to drill into one's brain—
It was coming from the strap of DouDou's backpack: it was that pager that AiXi had modified, its screen glowing softly in the night.

刷：
After circling around for a short while, we passed through half of the exhibition hall. The airflow caused the rain to pour outwards, and the hem of our raincoats fluttered wildly.

He grabbed his schoolbag and pulled the pager into his hand: a number was lit up on the fluorescent green screen—
It was Ai Xi's distress signal.

"Ah, I have to go now, something urgent has come up. Old Li, you—never mind, we'll talk later."

DouDou zipped up his raincoat and placed the box of Magic Swan II on the corner by the door to keep it dry.
"Thank you for the handheld console! I'll leave it here for now and pick it up later."

He tightened the straps of his backpack and straightened the hem of his raincoat. Then he bent his legs deeply and straightened them with all his might—
boom!
The paving stones in front of the iron gate burst into smoke mixed with rainwater, and cracks revealed scattered cement fragments that banged against the iron gate.

A thick white line suddenly rose from in front of the planetarium, slanting upwards; it was a rain curtain blasted open by the impact. It pierced the city night sky like fireworks: the scattered raindrops formed contrails behind DouDou.

Even the direction of the gale shifted for a moment. The rain in front of the iron gate paused briefly before starting to fall again.

The pale arc representing DouDou streaked across the sky, disappearing without a trace.

(End of this chapter)