Puzzle Madness

Chapter 201 The First Dream War (Part 7)
network.

This word, which was unfamiliar to me before, has been heard again and again recently; but this time it has the prefix "[two-way mirror]", making its meaning even more ambiguous.

A two-way mirror is basically a mirror, but one side allows you to look out; that's what interrogation rooms use, right? Like a dream, could it also serve as a medium for some kind of remote, real-time communication?

He glanced at Marie Inoue—the other woman was bowing her head and waving her hands wildly, indicating that she knew nothing; she just kept her head down and backed away, finally kneeling down with her back to the television and her hands covering her ears.

This woman is quite the prankster.

DouDou frowned, shifted on the sofa chair, grabbed a piece of watermelon, and prepared to put it in her mouth.

"This collective counterattack by network propulsionists can be said to have been premeditated for a long time, and its scope covers the globe."

"However, based on the seized data, the [two-way mirror network] does not meet the conditions for a true network; it is highly likely a diversionary tactic by network advance agents. Everyone must exercise extreme caution when carrying out package recovery work."

"Furthermore, all branches are requested to streamline their current management practices as much as possible, prioritizing the normal operation of the business. The Board also advises against any resource exchange or transfer between branches at this stage, to avoid exposing any potential issues."

[Interesting. They don't recommend resource exchange, meaning no "headquarters experts" or anything like that will come to support me? Is the old man with dandruff trying to show weakness by giving me this? It doesn't really matter to me.]

The television was playing at a leisurely pace.

Since this so-called "briefing" only consisted of a bouncing logo and some audio, DouDou turned her head and looked around to pass the time during the long and tedious presentation.
Both sides are mirrors designed to make the room appear more spacious. In the mirror, DouDou is intently eating watermelon, with juice smeared on the corners of her mouth like blood.

Oh, my nose bridge is actually quite high! I never really noticed it before.

This was the first time DouDou had ever seen his own profile. He rarely appeared in photos except for group shots where he was facing the camera directly; naturally, he didn't have many pictures of himself.
Just then, he suddenly paused, dropping the watermelon in his hand.
[Side profile? Wait, why can I see my side profile in the mirror from this angle?]

He wasn't just glancing at the mirror out of the corner of his eye; he turned his entire head. Normally, DouDou should be facing his reflection directly; but instead, he's seeing his profile.

【Oh dear! It's haunted!】

DouDou turned her head again and again, looking herself up and down between the two mirrors.
Strangely, although both mirrors resemble reality, the contents of the two mirrors are different.

In the mirror on the left, DouDou is intently munching on a slice of watermelon, biting into it one after another (for easy identification, DouDou has decided to temporarily call this version "Greedy DouDou"); in the mirror on the right, DouDou is turning its head like a rattle drum, but it is holding a sliced ​​mango in its hand, its bright yellow color particularly eye-catching (this one is called "Mango DouDou").

"Please remember: We must always maintain moral leeway and be prepared to change course at any time. Non-company property can be disposed of at our discretion."

The television began its rambling, irrelevant chatter, making one drowsy; DouDou, however, paid no attention. His curiosity was completely piqued by the bizarre scene before him.

[It's just madness, isn't it?]

It was at this moment that DouDou saw the strange person in the mirror—
His or her hair was tied into two braids, with the gaps between the scalp clearly visible; however, the braids crossed diagonally across the cheeks, covering the eyes and forming an [X] shape.

The "person in the mirror" tiptoed, seemingly looking at DouDou as if she were in a mirror.

Compared to his hairstyle, his clothes were quite ordinary: a jet-black trench coat, which I've seen many times worn by people at the Asia-Europe Post Office; it's already very familiar.

There was only one strange person, his face practically pressed against the mirror of the "Greedy Pocket," leaving greasy marks. He turned around—in the sales department, only himself, Marie Inoue facing the small warehouse wall, and the television still playing.

DouDou couldn't help but glance again at Inoue Marie, who was kneeling on the ground with her ears covered—her back rose and fell with her breath, showing no signs of anything unusual.

This strangely dressed fellow seems to exist only in the mirror.

The person in the mirror is raising both hands and waving them forcefully at Doudou; then slapping them against the mirror. Judging from the grinning corners of his mouth, he must be laughing.

DouDou couldn't hear the sound of the mirror being hit, but "Greedy Dou," who was busy eating watermelon, must have heard it, because he finally turned his head and looked at the strange man sideways.

His eyes widened in surprise.

What DouDou noticed was the person's palm in the mirror, with a few words written on each side, forming a sentence—though crooked, it was still legible.

He squinted and silently recited in his mind:
【[Asia-Europe Post is going to turn you into an atomic bomb]? What the heck? Wait, who is this person?】

He was quite certain that he had never seen such a strangely dressed fellow before; the meaning of his words was even more incomprehensible.

Shouldn't things in a mirror be upside down? Why do these words look normal? Oh, this person must have written them backwards on purpose; no wonder the handwriting is so bad—

Just as she was about to finish her thought, Dou Dou suddenly saw a hand grabbing the head of the person in the mirror; the five fingers gripped the top of the head, pressing down on the taut scalp.

It's the "gluttonous one" in the mirror, still clutching a half-eaten slice of watermelon in his other hand; his fingers are pinkish.

"Greedy Pocket" looked in the direction the person in the mirror was patting—but from his puzzled and curious gaze and the way he looked back and forth, it was clear that this guy who looked like him couldn't see this place.

[Mirror. Is this the [two-way mirror network] I mentioned earlier? A two-way mirror is actually the same as a one-way mirror? That means he can't actually see me.]

Paji:

This is the sound DouDou imagined; the other side of the mirror is silent, like a pantomime being filmed.

But the person in the mirror with the strange hairstyle had their head crushed by "Greedy Pocket"; the braids and soft tissue were stuck to the mirror like a mouthful of phlegm.

"Greedy Pocket" then grabbed the person's torso in the mirror and began to rub it like wringing a towel: this action evoked in Pocket's memory the sharp sound of a wet towel being rolled and twisted like a dry twig.

Bodily fluids continuously gushed from the crevices and orifices of the monster's body, scattering in all directions. In an instant, the other side of the mirror was completely covered in crimson; nothing could be seen except for the blood flowing downwards.

Honestly, why are you in such a hurry?

"Greedy Dou" interrupted DouDou's observation, which annoyed him somewhat: but if the roles were reversed—if he suddenly saw such a strange guy, he would definitely not not give him a few slaps.

(End of this chapter)