Puzzle Madness

Chapter 197 The First Dream War (Part 3)
The Yacht Boy 400 is a multi-band radio with good sensitivity and supports a wide range of frequencies, except for aviation bands; perhaps it picked up radio stations from other parts of the Cochin Autonomous Region?

However, it's a portable pocket radio and doesn't have an external antenna; although theoretically the Yacht-Boy 400 can hear broadcasts from all over the world through medium and short waves reflected from the ionosphere.
[Wow, it works without batteries! This is pure supernatural stuff! We can't treat it with scientific common sense anymore.]

[It might be a broadcast from the Thirty-Three Heavens, or even the Eighteen Levels of Hell. Who knows if the dead have radio stations?]

He fiddled with it a couple of times, then put it back on the bedside table and ignored it. Too lazy to get up, he simply put his hands behind his head.
[Speaking of which, if an atomic bomb really existed, would it be useful to me? It's much more powerful than a regular bomb, right? And a regular bomb is more powerful than a gas explosion, isn't it?]

Was that just a discussion about how to use an atomic bomb against me? Ha, no way!

As he was thinking, DouDou yawned:

Actually, he really wanted to try it out and see if this weapon could completely destroy him.

Everyone says there is great terror between life and death—but just how terrifying is it? It really makes one curious.

However you look at it, the possibility of an atomic bomb suddenly falling from the sky is very small. None of the parties who have had conflicts with DouDou or are entangled with him seem to be organizations capable of getting their hands on weapons of this caliber; even the Asia-Europe Post is no exception.

Moreover, what's even more terrifying than the weapon itself is the consequences of its use. Such self-destructive behavior is unlike anything a company like Asia-Europe Post would do.

"Impossible, impossible. They won't bomb me with an atomic bomb. Unless it's like in Resident Evil 2, where all the citizens of Mong Cai turn into zombies, and they drop a few thermobaric or thermobaric bombs; at least that would make sense on the surface."

But those kinds of storylines in video games certainly won't happen in real life; DouDou thinks that would be boring: the real world should be more bizarre and fantastical.

On another note, the radio pulled from the skull—
"It's kind of like... kind of like that weird head I picked up in sixth grade? It could talk for no reason, but you had to connect it to a radio to make it work. But this one didn't fall from the sky. Haha! I miss it so much."

He raised his hand, tapped the Yacht Boy 400 a few times, and knocked off two pieces of rust:
"It's good that you're not talkative. It's better to be quiet in other people's homes."

After DouDou finished speaking, she sat up straight on the edge of the bed and stared blankly for a while; then she realized how bored she had been lately.

"Tsk, let's think of something else, let's think of something else."
-
Ai Xi's idea is too conventional: at least that's what Dou Dou thinks.

Whatever conspiracy is currently unfolding behind the scenes, it will certainly take longer than expected. Even if both she and the other side are accumulating resources, their speeds are definitely not on the same level.

Just like the so-called Matthew effect, advantages will generate more advantages; relying solely on her and her Taro Society friends to deal with the so-called "conspiracy crisis" is definitely not enough.

Not to mention that there's only a little over a month left until New Year's Day—at the very least, something is bound to happen on New Year's Day.

Compared to Ai Xi's nervousness, he actually thought this feeling was quite good, giving Dou Dou a strange sense of anticipation; he had a similar feeling when he ordered cassette tapes from magazines and waited for them to arrive.

Accumulating strength is certainly not wrong—Aishi originally intended it for the long term. But it's clearly insufficient just to deal with the imminent strange events:
"She's doing this again; she always seems so guilty."

When I first became classmates with Ai Xi, she didn't have this kind of personality; however, that was a few years ago, when Ai Xi's parents were still alive.

DouDou lay back down, rolled over, and tucked his elbows under the pillow. He sniffed the sheets a few times.

"Perhaps we should think about it differently this time; it's time to wash the pillow and get a new one."

In fact, everything that has happened recently should revolve around one core issue—it's just that we don't know exactly what it is yet.

Just as flies and birds swoop down to catch prey before a storm, their wings heavy with moisture, so too do flies fly low; behind this chaotic appearance lies something unknown. We can only attempt to analyze it through fragmentary clues revealed by other signs.

For example, why was the date set for New Year's Day? Is there anything shady about the celebration?
Either it's a conspiracy that needs more time to prepare, or some condition was met on New Year's Day; announcing that date might be one of those conditions; they might have already started handing out flyers everywhere these past few days.

[A conspiracy is definitely underway—I haven't dreamt in over a decade! This time, I even had the same dream as a classmate, that someone had sabotaged things; we also need to consider the actions of that fat man and the gunman in conjunction with this.]

[Could it be that more than one party is involved? Perhaps the hired gunman sent Fatty here to sabotage, disrupt, and stop the New Year's Day activities? One side is initiating, while the other is trying to stop it, or something like that.]

If only someone knowledgeable could give me a heads-up, that would be great.
"Hey, where did that kid Li go?"

The gunman knew himself very well—although it could be the result of long-term observation, the source of the information was more likely to be Richard; after all, considering the consequences of failure, the more certain the source of the intelligence, the better.

Thinking about it this way, it's possible that Asia-Europe Post is up to its old tricks again; Richard probably handed over his personality analysis of DouDou, or something similar.

DouDou didn't care about this at all:

"As friends, we should always be considerate of each other's difficulties. It would be such a hassle if he lost his job—but he should also get rid of his habit of lying and playing tricks."

Actually, it's not difficult to verify. If Asia-Europe Post is hiding behind the scenes, DouDou can easily go and find them.

The other party can either forcefully begin a plan that is not yet ready—which would be easier to deal with—or simply delay and give perfunctory responses.

Actions will change as long as there is a response.

Even if it wasn't Asia-Europe Post that did this, they probably know more than DouDou.

"Right, just go to Asia-Europe Post and ask someone there."

"Oh dear, I don't have time to wait around every day, thinking about this and that!"

This seems like a reasonable decision—although in essence, it's just staying at home means preparing for midterms and model airplane competitions; video games aren't a legitimate excuse to be lazy, and playing them always feels like a thorn in one's side.

He realized that the solution to all the problems was actually quite simple:
All he had to do was break down all these intricate, cyclical plans into direct, violent conflict—at least, DouDou felt this was the most suitable and effective approach for him. He didn't enjoy fighting, but simplicity, directness, and getting his energy back into life were what mattered.

[Isn't violence a form of communication? After all, everyone uses violence; is it a universal language? Sigh, I'm just rambling on and on again.]

If they're hiding something fun, that would be an even bigger surprise.

After all, I'm still a student; my energy should be focused on experiencing youth... oh, and on my homework.

"There's no need to analyze things all the time! We're all being corrupted by Ai Xi."

He waved his hand impatiently and sprang out of bed.

Cockroaches and mice can play hide-and-seek in the room, but DouDou doesn't have that kind of leisure.

(End of this chapter)