Puzzle Madness

Chapter 185 Levitation Technique (Part 3)
"Ayo!"

The math teacher on the podium was even more exaggerated: he bumped his face into a teacup, spilling half-cold tea all over the podium; his drooping cheeks, like a pug, got stuck on the rim of the cup, and he struggled with his shoulders hunched high, looking like a mountain eagle.

DouDou, biting the cap of a ballpoint pen and swinging her legs, looked around at the strange scene and wondered if she should also pretend to be in pain.

A series of soft hissing sounds seemed to emanate from the entire teaching building, as if everyone was gasping for breath.

It wasn't just in DouDou's class; faint howls could be heard in the corridors and stairwells, and even spread to other grades; it seems quite a few people had stiff necks at the same time.
However, this pain comes and goes quickly.

Just as the waves of suffering were rising and almost turning into a symphony—as if the volume had been turned down sharply, the wailing on campus suddenly subsided.

One student suddenly paused, lowered his grip on her shoulder, looked around somewhat embarrassedly, and then carefully moved his arm.
"It seems better? It's not sour anymore."

Others followed his example, turning their necks and relaxing their tense faces; many more, however, were embarrassed and tried to cover it up with fake coughs.

Ai Xi raised her eyebrows in confusion and vigorously moved her cervical spine:
"It definitely doesn't hurt as much anymore. I was feeling really uncomfortable just now."

Suddenly, the loudspeaker in the corner of the ceiling blared, and the principal's voice came through. He was out of breath, seemingly still recovering from the neck pain he had just experienced:
"Um, everyone, please pay attention. There was a solar storm just now—oh, I mean a geomagnetic storm—causing some muscle spasms and nerve compression symptoms; students, please don't panic."

"It's the geomagnetic storm we talked about in science class before, it's just a short-lived phenomenon; it's a normal natural phenomenon."

A burst of noise flashed over the radio, along with low, indistinct whispers:
"Classes will proceed as normal from now on. Students who are feeling particularly unwell can go to the infirmary for a check-up, but you can't just ask for leave without permission. During breaks, please sit in the classroom and don't wander off."

"Teachers, please maintain order. That's all for now. Please continue with the lesson!"

The principal fell silent. When his voice rang out again, it was much softer:

"Hey, give me the bone pain relief patch, it's over there, open that drawer—"

The broadcast was abruptly cut off.

As soon as the broadcast ended, a buzzing murmur arose in the classroom.

While rubbing their necks, the students talked about the strange thing that had just happened, still shaken – explanations like "geomagnetic storm" weren't something everyone believed; but the math teacher, who was still coughing up water on the podium, naturally couldn't stop the noise.

The class monitor, who was sitting in the front seat, quickly ran up to the podium to pat the math teacher on the back; the old man coughed so hard that his face was all scrunched up, and his cough was mixed with phlegm, like a broken motorcycle engine, and he was completely unable to maintain classroom order.

Several students in the back row also pretended to raise their hands, but before the math teacher could respond, they bent over and ran out the back door, disappearing without a trace.
-
Looking at the math teacher on the podium, coughing so hard he was practically spitting out phlegm, DouDou knew that the class wouldn't be able to continue anytime soon.

He pretended to hold up his math textbook, hid his face behind it, and spoke furtively to Ai Xi:
"Hey! I know what's going on. It's not some geomagnetic storm; this neck pain is caused by a 'hyperstimulant'." "There was this guy, I think he was a massage device salesman for Asia-Europe Post—or a massage spokesperson or something? Anyway, he had this 'hyperstimulant' that could cause neck pain in a large number of people; my agent friend told me about it before. The one surnamed Li, remember?"

"They even said that Asia-Europe Post's Southeast Asia branch relies on this cervical spondylosis to generate revenue, calling it their cash cow. It seems like they suddenly came to Mong Cai; maybe they were sent out to develop the market in the Autonomous Prefecture of Cochinchina?"

Ai Xi carefully moved her neck. Her shoulders and neck still looked very tense.
"It didn't last long. Was it the kind that's triggered? Using ritualistic actions to activate it? According to what you told me before, this kind is called sinner, right?"

"I roughly counted, and it was less than thirty seconds in total, maybe even less; when my neck hurts, it feels like it takes forever."

In autumn, Mong Cai is less exposed to the scorching sun that can melt people like wax, and is only slightly dazzling; the clouds drift like ice floes on the sea, moving endlessly.

DouDou pointed to the sky outside the window:

"Hmm, not a criminal. I remember he was said to be automatically released 24 hours a day, and he was a patient; it seems he had anxiety or some other problem, and it was quite serious."

"As for the time, it should be by plane - I guess it's by plane passing through; there's no airport in Mong Cai, you have to land at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh and then take a long-distance bus to Mong Cai."

"Otherwise, how could it appear and disappear intermittently? Unless you deliberately travel back and forth on the edge of Mong Cai? This kind of madness cannot be controlled by oneself; it can only be effective for a long time, similar to the effects of [aura] or [passive] in games. It is mostly achieved by controlling the distance."

"So it just passed over Mong Street and over the school, right? But the effect still reached the school building, I guess that's how it is! But I didn't feel anything, maybe because my posture is usually pretty good; that's why I told you not to keep sleeping on your desk."

DouDou looked around—besides herself, the only one who hadn't cried out or complained was Ruan Jingbo; but she also felt no pain or touch now, just sitting blankly in her seat: spinning a pen like a top in her hand, practicing controlling her body.

After a long while, he pretended to pat his neck, as if there was a video delay.

Ai Xi picked at her lips with her fingernail, hesitated for a moment, and then replied:
"It hurt so much just now, even worse than a sprain. My trapezius muscle almost cramped up. It's not something that a massage device or any kind of massage therapy can relieve."

She gestured with her chin toward the still-breathing math teacher on the stage, lowering her voice considerably:
"If this continues any longer, it could be fatal. Elderly people would definitely need to be taken to the hospital. It feels like if this person's obsession continues like this, it's a bit too severe and will actually affect their commercial value. If it causes a chronic illness, the effect is better, at least there will be some feedback after treatment."

"Was the intoxication effect not so good originally, but became stronger because of your influence? Then it should be not far from our location."

"If we were flying, we didn't hear any roar or sonic boom; they were very far from the ground. Oh, if they were flying directly overhead: what's the altitude of commercial airliners again?"

DouDou took a pen and doodled in her textbook, recalling a documentary she had seen on TV before, and sketched out the outline of a semicircle:

"It's probably only a little over 10,000 meters, which is about ten kilometers. That's alright, it's a bit shorter than the radius of Mong Cai City; I must have amplified the ecstasy effect, that's for sure."

(End of this chapter)