Puzzle Madness

Chapter 94 Tourist Prostheses and Travel Brochures

After a long and short observation, the three wizards walked out of the cave and re-entered the scorching sun.

Compared to the pungent smell in the cave, the scorching hot air outside was refreshing and pleasant.

Alice No. 5's mind was filled with vague thoughts and entanglements: confusion and puzzlement permeated her consciousness.

Now, she understood why those people outside the cave had such expressions on their faces. Because she felt the same way at that moment:
Seven matrices, seven different network possibilities. Is this true?

"Yo!"

The sudden greeting interrupted Alice No. 5's thoughts; the crowd surrounding the pickup trucks had disappeared, but a short and strong figure was waiting outside the cave.

This short, sturdy man was dressed like a tourist who had strayed into the wrong tourist spot. His muscles were bulging, his arms filling the cuffs of his floral shirt, and his beard was carefully shaved, his face shiny.

Tanned skin, thick, dark brown curly hair. A blunt, rounded nose with wide wings: Maori from New Zealand? Or Polynesian from Hawaii? He seemed to carry the island's humid monsoon.

He wore a beige fisherman's hat, the brim of which dangled from the rope around his neck. His square face was covered in wrinkles of laughter, his eyes narrowed into thin lines—no one could doubt his joy and happiness at that moment.

"Aren't these my nerds!"

The [tourist] strode closer, oblivious to the silence of the three people. He reached out his hand enthusiastically and grasped Professor Shiba's arm:

"Professor, nice to meet you! I was just kidding when I called you a nerd. I've read your recently published book, 'Secure Communication and Chaos Control Theory,' and I personally admire your talent very much."

Alice No. 5 saw the rough and hard calluses on the [Tourist's] palms, covering every fingertip and joint - those were the marks left by long-term military training.

Professor Shiba Inu has a blank expression on his face, perhaps because his beard covers up all his expressions:
"Thank you, this time it's all thanks to you."

The tourists laughed, exaggerated and clear, the kind you only see in movies:
"Hahahahaha! As I should, as I should."

"It was a close call—the Asia-Europe Post had already discovered the stolen coordinates and was almost about to relocate them."

"Luckily we moved faster; they didn't know which of the Matrix entities were on the list."

He stopped his gruff laughter, wiped the sweat off his face, pointed at Professor Shiba Inu's other hand, which was tucked into his trouser pocket, and then pointed at the shallow and deep footprints behind him.

"You got a prosthetic hand? Stanford University's technology is truly impressive, truly a prestigious institution! I didn't notice it when you were gesturing and greeting me earlier, but now I realize you have a weight disparity on each side."

Prosthetic hand?

Even though they were companions, Alice No. 5 was unaware of this: she felt the air around her become somewhat tense.

Even the imaginary eyes could not help but start chasing Professor Shiba Inu's hands——
Professor Shiba Inu's eyes, hidden in his beard and messy hair, didn't blink, and there was no sign of panic:

"Yes. My hand—"

Alice No. 5 suddenly took a step forward, half of her body blocking Professor Shiba Inu. She pushed her glasses up and said in a tone that was unyielding:
"The professor's hand was injured before and he has a chronic illness. We all know this within the wizarding society. Are you doubting the credibility of the High Tower Wizarding Society?"

The tourist continued to stare at Professor Shiba Inu, as if that furry face was hiding some great secret, while his mouth was answering Alice No. 5:
"You are overthinking it, mademoiselle; I have a friend who has vouched for the professor, and I have complete faith in him."

"It's just that there will be interference equipment later, which may affect the professor's prosthetic limb. Give him a heads-up."

The tourist ended the subject as abruptly as he had begun it:

"Let's go then? The meeting room is over there, it's a makeshift one. It's a bit shabby, so please forgive me - we're waiting for the wizards now. Please!"

The tourist, grinning, grabbed the Shiba Inu professor's arm and half-dragged, half-pulled him away; Alice No. 5 and Imaginary Number followed behind, exchanging bewildered glances: [We never expected the professor to be such a...decisive person.]

Professor Shiba Inu's hands had indeed been uncomfortable for many years, and he often complained about it in the correspondence of the Wizarding Society; it was completely understandable that he was involved in some experimental projects that were inconvenient to disclose for treatment.

He also said that he is taciturn and unsociable in real life, which is completely different from his talkative self in correspondence; it is normal not to share this private information.

But, just because of tenosynovitis, replacing the entire hand with a prosthesis - isn't that a bit too cruel?
The so-called "meeting room" was indeed temporary enough, still just a large hole in the rock wall; but it was filled with a large number of equipment used to counter eavesdropping, surveillance and electronic detection, arranged in a circle, like a field staff headquarters.

There were dozens of supporters who came to attend the meeting - basically representatives from various organizations. It was probably the largest real-time meeting in recent years.

The three wizards found an open space and sat down; it was as hot as an oven, making sweat run down their backs.

Especially the hairy Shiba Inu professor——
Alice No. 5 saw Dr. Shiba Inu holding his artificial hand, with his five fingers motionless; from the outside, it was impossible to tell that it was a prosthetic limb.

"Okay, let's have the meeting! / Get ready, get started. / It's almost time to start the meeting."

Shouts rose one after another from the crowd, with similar meanings.

There was no real host and everything was noisy; but it seemed that every participant had a tacit understanding.

Representatives of supporters of the Link Revival Movement from all walks of life around the world sat in a circle in the cave; there was not even a stone to sit on, and naturally there was no shorthand recorder.

Everything that happens and is communicated here will not be recorded; all content will only remain in everyone's brain.

This was no ordinary [Link Revival Movement] meeting: there were no monitors in front of everyone, no makeshift local area network, and no text communication displayed digitally on the screen.

Face-to-face, direct communication through conversation - this is the highest level of meeting form in the [Link Revival Movement].

Before the formal agenda begins, each participant takes a turn to speak as usual.

Most of them are descriptions of the vision of the global network, future prospects, and self-hypnotic encouragement; similar to the secret chat room in the tower wizard's meeting--
Alice No. 5 wasn't particularly interested; she was focused on the tourist-looking man in the bucket hat.

He really doesn't seem like a supporter of the link revival movement.

Soon, it was the [tourist]'s turn to speak:

"If a global, untraceable, instant messaging system can truly be established, it would have historic implications for the distribution and acquisition of tasks in my field."

The tourist pulled a book from his canvas bag, thick as a brick and the size of his palm. It was titled "A Guide to Global Travel in 1996," and the large, dazzling blue globe on the cover was on it. He held it above his head and shook it:
"Traditional print media has too limited reach and its timeliness can't keep up with our needs. Radio broadcasts, needless to say, lack confidentiality. Television advertising is too expensive, and it's not easy to evade censorship these days. So we will continue to contribute our part, because this cause benefits all of humanity."

He suddenly raised his voice and shouted:
"Oh, right! A lot of friends have been asking me recently, what should they do if they want to inquire about our services?! Is it troublesome? Or dangerous? Haha, no!"

"I'll give a general reply here: it's actually very simple, very convenient, and very safe! If anyone needs anything, just buy a copy of this annually updated travel brochure at the airport!"

"Friends who need it can come to me and I will teach you how to use it to contact local staff!"

Alice No. 5's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, her eyes filled with confusion. Finally, unable to contain her curiosity any longer, she nudged Professor Shiba Inu beside her:

"This tourist, what kind of job does he have? A travel agent? Or a salesman?"

Professor Shiba Inu used his thumb to stroke the pads of his other four fingers, making a gesture of counting money; then he moved his hands back and forth in front of his neck as if cutting his throat:
[Killer. Hired killer.]
Finally, he gave a thumbs-up and shook it vigorously twice:

[The best of the best.]
oh--
Alice 5 suddenly understood, shrugged, and said nothing more: "The supporters of the [Link Revival Movement] are indeed elites from all walks of life."
It is inevitable and necessary to participate in this ancient industry.

(End of this chapter)