Puzzle Madness

Chapter 57: Horror

Doudou frowned and narrowed his eyes. He wanted to yawn, but he cut it off. He seemed even more confused by Richard's words and kept scratching his head.

And this confusion is rapidly evolving into anxiety and impatience--
But mathematicians are clearly paying attention to another direction:
"Chuck Lee, you really can't stop talking about shit and piss?"

Richard squeezed out a grunt from his throat, and it was unclear whether it was a sneer or a perfunctory response.

Seeing that Richard didn't reply, the mathematician felt a sense of triumph and satisfaction:
"Hmph. Let's not talk about the third category for now. It's so complicated. Chances are your company hasn't figured it out yet, and this kind of teaching medium is so fragmented."

"The second category above seems more like the popular perception of special abilities—things like developing the brain and utilizing one hundred percent of one's potential. From the outside, there's nothing unusual about them; they still look like ordinary people."

"It may be vulgar, it may be unscientific, but after looking at it today, I understand this kind of statement."

".Maybe there's some basis in fact. Or maybe there's a real-world source; at least there's a connection, and it all starts with the brain. It sounds ridiculous, but it has something to do with brain activity."

"From what I've seen and heard so far, it's obvious: they're uncontrollable! If these so-called superpowers can't be controlled, then what kind of superpowers are they?"

Doudou flung his hands outward, as if swatting an invisible fly:
"Impossible! How can something as cliché as [brain development] be true? I remember hearing in the show 'Science Friends' that humans use more than 40 or 50 percent of their brains; they use almost all of it, so developing your brain won't turn you into a superhuman."

The mathematician, who had originally curled up into a ball and gradually turned into a sprawled position on the sofa, suddenly stiffened when he heard Doudou's denial. In an instant, he retracted all his limbs and whispered in agreement:

"Right. It's probably not the stuff about potential development; that was disproven long ago."

Doudou curled his lips, his face full of disappointment and disdain:
"It's terrible, so rudimentary. I thought it would be more—more universal; with some cartoons or something to make it easier to understand and brighten the mood. Have you ever played Fallout? It had the Pip-Boy or something in it, and that would be easier to understand."

"It's a strange classification, and not very clear; it's not what I expected. It feels like: very sticky."

Richard hugged his arms tightly, as if he wanted to break his chest:
"After all, it's not a promotional campaign for the general public, so there's no need to put too much effort into aesthetics or memorable features. The main application scenarios are temporary training and reviewing some information."

Doudou propped his chin up with his fist, and pointed with his other hand:

"It could also be that your company's team isn't professional enough, and their skills aren't high enough. It doesn't have to be a commercial video, but it could be made to look good."

Richard lowered his head, his chin almost touching his collarbone:

"I can't really comment on that. Based on my experience, the marketing department probably outsourced the marketing plan. After all, everything has to be cost-effective."
-
[The fourth type of miracle:]——
drop!
Just as the words slid onto the screen along with the large colon, the entire image suddenly stopped:

"what?"

Doudou also opened his mouth wide as his colon stagnated.

drop!
A crisp sound—the content that filled the entire TV screen suddenly turned into a warning about traffic safety:

[A flashing red light costs a life; a moment of luck leads to lifelong regret. Obeying the rules and laws is the fastest way home.]
Doudou stared at the screen, his eyes looking as if they were going to burn holes in the picture tube:
"That's it? There's nothing after this? Huh? We haven't even talked about the fourth type of miracle yet, why is there no beginning or end?"

Richard clicked the buttons on the console slowly and methodically:
"Oh, sorry—this kind of external emergency training material should end with these few sections."

From this angle, only Doudou's profile can be seen. He has no expression on his face and doesn't blink:
"So what's the fourth type of miracle? You should know. Leaving a tail is annoying."

Richard's fingers seemed busy, but the content of the video did not change:
"The fourth category—I'm not sure about the rest either. I didn't remember it."

"To be honest, when I was training, there weren't such detailed classifications—but I know there are actually more than four. It seems that now that it's changed to ecstasy, the classification is even more detailed."

"There are probably at least seven or eight categories in total. One of my classmates later won a mentor position and stayed in the training department. He mentioned it in the local specialties he sent me before."

Doudou held up his hand beside him, with three fingers raised:

"So you don't know what's behind it?"

Richard shook his head, his face full of sincerity and innocence:

"I don't know. Like I said, I didn't memorize it." "The concepts in this area change very quickly; new terms appear every few years. A general understanding is enough; only clerical staff need to master everything."
-
Click!

Richard pressed the control panel, picked up the "1993 Traffic Safety Warning" that popped out from the wall, and put it into the shopping cart; but he did not replace the remaining videotapes.

He walked from the side of the screen to the sofa next to the coffee table and sat down heavily. Richard casually picked up his chopsticks and untied the rubber band of the plastic lunch box.

"All right; that's all."

“The videotapes here aren’t complete – maybe they weren’t properly implemented during the last iteration; Mong Cai City is indeed a bit too remote.”

As the pause button was pressed, the box became darker; the image on the screen distorted and trembled, remaining at the moment before the videotape was ejected.

Even Doudou, who was sitting in the front row, had his entire face hidden in the shadows and could not be distinguished:
".Is that really all? Are they all finished? Don't you have a few tapes in the basket over there? Didn't you add more?"

Richard picked up a piece of Buquan sour fish carelessly, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it, his cheeks puffing up continuously:
"No, originally, this disc, '1993 Traffic Safety Warning,' might be the only one that has the content you want to see. I brought them all here just for convenience; I'm not sure which batch the company produced, so I don't have to go back and forth to get them."

He spoke in a long string; I don't know why he could speak so fluently and quickly with something stuffed in his mouth:
"So the remaining tapes, if they have any content at all, are mostly repetitive: if you want to learn more about ecstasy, I can't help you."

Richard's posture was relaxed, his eyes were determined - the sense of relaxation brought by his body movements did not make him look like he was lying:
"But according to my speculation, Asia-Europe Post may have a new branch in Mong Cai. It's probably a temporary office or base. They should have what you're looking for there; at least they've sent a lot of materials for storage."

"Like, for example, more detailed classifications, more specific cases? And that [Iron Ruler Murderer] I mentioned at the food stall. My section chief said, 'Do you remember? She should have been there too.'"

The mathematician picked up the cardboard box at his feet and walked over to the two of them. There was no extra seat at the coffee table, so he could only stand aside.
"So where is this temporary branch? Is it heavily guarded? Is it a dangerous place?"

Richard shook his head and spat the food in his mouth towards his feet. They still had a lot of food left from the food stall.
"I don't know—after all, I've lost contact with the company."

The mathematician looked at the filth with disgust and swept it under the coffee table with the edge of his shoe.

"Well, that's all we can do. We've been talking for so long. What are we going to do now?"

Richard chewed something in his mouth, and spat out a mouthful with a "Puh" sound:
"Perhaps we can consider this matter in the long term. Let's wait a few days. I'll gather some intelligence and then notify you and Doudou."

Doudou picked up a pair of disposable chopsticks, tore off the plastic wrapping, and held them in his hand. As the video paused and the lights dimmed, his entire face was hidden in gray-black shadows:
"Wait a few days? Okay, Lao Li, just tell me what you want."

Richard picked up another piece of Buquan sour fish, put it into his mouth and chewed it carefully, then spat out the bone spurs on the ground:

"I'm sorry, Doudou, I misunderstood you. I didn't mean anything else; I just didn't want to reveal uncertain information and affect your actions."

Ga--ga-ga
The sound of metal stool legs rubbing against the ground:
Doudou moved the heavy sofa chair under him, walked around the coffee table, and moved to the side of Richard; the bottle caps, coins and cans originally hidden under the sofa clattered, leaving a long dirty mark.

Richard was about to say something, but Doudou first raised his left index finger and placed it on the center of his lips:

"Shh! Lao Li, don't speak. If you speak now, you will die."

Click.

Doudou's right hand, still holding the chopsticks, grabbed Richard's left hand on his waist at some point.

Click--
Doudou began to clench his fingers: slowly.

The slight crackling sound could be heard clearly in the quiet box filled with only white noise - the disposable wooden chopsticks first broke, then shattered; then they pierced into Richard's skin and muscles, and rolled into a ball with the broken and deformed finger bones.

Doudou still put his index finger in the middle of his mouth:

"Shhh."

(End of this chapter)