Puzzle Madness

Chapter 95 A Perfect Meeting
The meeting continued, but the content was unremarkable; coupled with the stuffy heat in the cave, it even made people drowsy.

The speeches ended one after another, and soon it was the turn of the High Tower Wizards' Meeting; Xushu made an impatient smacking sound and picked at the pimples on his face unconsciously with his hands.

Alice No. 5 watched as Professor Shiba Inu stuffed his prosthetic hand into his trouser pocket and stood up. But when he opened his mouth, what he said was beyond Alice No. 5's expectations.
"I speak on behalf of the Tower Wizards."

"I don't think there's any need to continue with this nonsense. Why don't you just get down to business?"

Professor Shiba Inu's voice was cold and swift, without a trace of timidity or hesitation:

"Where exactly are we going to store the [Matrix]s?"

As soon as the question was asked, the crowd fell silent; only the sound of sweat being wiped away and uneasy shifting remained.

Alice No. 5's eyes widened. She didn't expect Professor Shiba Inu to jump directly into this topic.

Imaginary Number's excited voice rang in her ears.
"Very good, very good. I don't want to stay in this oven any longer. The sooner the meeting starts, the sooner it ends."

"I didn't expect that the professor is actually quite courageous. Not only is he willing to sacrifice his own hand, but he also..."

Buzz.
Before Imaginary Number had finished speaking, the argument began - there was no order for individual speeches, and the noise instantly drowned out the entire cave.

Perhaps this is the moment when the meeting really begins: this is indeed the topic that every participant wants to talk about.

The echoes and voices were too loud and no one could control the situation.

Each participant first communicates with the partner closest to him or her; when this one-on-one or one-on-two small conversation is over, the conclusion begins to spread around, which starts a new round of arguments.

"Which location should we choose? What do the big spiders think? Can the mother body be used at all?"

Someone stood up and shouted loudly, but was immediately grabbed by the clothes and head by his companions to start a debate.

But when Professor Shiba Inu's surprise wore off, Alice No. 5 began to wonder. She adjusted her glasses and whispered to the two wizards beside her:

"Why didn't any spiders come this time? We finally got the mother spider."

Xushu scratched his fingers and picked at his nails. Ever since he heard Professor Shiba Inu's shocking statement, he had been looking thoughtful.

"[The motherboard] isn't that important. It's just a possibility. If we want to implement it and put it into use, we don't know how long the development cycle will take. The real network still needs to be completed through social engineering."

"So promoting network building is the key, the main battlefield. It's just that the Link Revival Movement is stuck too tightly right now, so we need to try more and think of more ways—"

As he was talking, he finally couldn't bear it anymore and turned around excitedly:
"Professor! You were so cool just now. This is what our wizarding society does."

Professor Shiba Inu grabbed his artificial hand and nodded slightly, as if he was not the one who had just decisively advanced the progress of the meeting.

After a brief thought, Alice No. 5 decided not to ask the professor why he did this.

Several wizards did not participate in the quarrel or debate. Alice No. 5 had received an email from the elders before leaving, warning her not to express her views clearly in this meeting. I think the other two companions were the same:
[Shouldn't it be considered a statement to speed up this kind of meeting?]

Alice No. 5 hugged her knees, feeling a little uneasy.

Unconsciously, the clamor faded, and the debate reached a complete stalemate before a few possible options emerged.

Someone brought some chalk and scribbled on a fairly smooth rock face, listing the options everyone had come up with:

[ETH Zurich Outpost Lab].

[French National Center for Scientific Research].

[Helsinki Institute for Future Communication Structures].

The recorder brandished chalk, writing each lengthy name on the rock face. Alice 5 noticed that every participant seemed to want to send the [Matrix] closer to them for safekeeping.

But when the last option appeared, even the recorder holding the chalk began to hesitate - when it was completely written, it attracted the attention of Alice No. 5
A name she had never expected:

[Mangjie City, Jiaozhi Autonomous Prefecture].

Compared to the other options, this one was too broad. It wasn't a laboratory, nor a scientific center; it was just a city at the junction of Southeast Asia and East Asia.

Some of the attendees had even heard of this place for the first time, including Alice No. 5.

Then once again, the noisy voices sounded again:

There are speculations and related information about the choice of this city, which are passed back and forth between everyone's mouths and ears; but more are surprises and exclamations, as well as popular scientific introductions to the city.

Inside the cave, a cacophony of saliva erupted, spraying everywhere. *Bang!*
A gunshot suddenly interrupted the noisy debate in the cave; white ash from the top of the cave fell down.

Alice No. 5 shuddered with fear and clutched Professor Shiba Inu's sleeve - the bearded professor did not move, as if he was accustomed to the gunshots.

Across from them, the [tourist] fanned the smoke from the muzzle of his gun and patted the person next to him:

"Friends, hold on for a minute! Let's listen to the reasons of the proposer!"

Apart from the initial sudden shock, no one present showed any fear of firearms - everyone knew that truth was more important than life.

Even Alice No. 5 understood: the [tourist] pulled out the gun just to attract attention.

But the phrase "the proposer's reasons" still successfully attracted a lot of curiosity.
-
In the silence, the person who proposed the idea stood up next to the [tourist], like a thin and long bamboo pole.

He was a skeleton-like man, with shrunken muscles and bulging eyes; his eyes were wide and scary, and his yellowed shirt was soaked with sweat:
"Hello everyone, just call me [Mathematician], that's my code name."

"I was responsible for deciphering all seven sets of matrix coordinate keys. I even personally obtained one set by sneaking into the Asia-Europe Postal Service—"

The participants were silent, without whispering or exclaiming: leaving space for others to express themselves and reducing the interference caused by excessive information density was their way of expressing their appreciation.

Alice No. 5 quietly turned her head and looked around: every participant had a gleam in their eyes and was fully focused - except for herself, and also Professor Shiba Inu beside her.

He still had a blank expression on his face, as if it had nothing to do with him.

"Jiaozhi Autonomous Prefecture is not the safest place; on the contrary, it has attracted the attention of many large companies, such as Asia-Europe Post."

The skinny man who claimed to be a mathematician unbuttoned his shirt one by one:

"But the reason why I insisted on choosing that city is very simple--"

He tugged hard, flinging the shirt open and exposing his shining torso.

hiss.
The attendees let out a surprised sound--
The mathematician's chest and abdomen resembled crystal clear glass, devoid of skin and encased in a pale yellow shell. Behind the sternum and ribs roiled bodily fluids, densely packed with swirling bubbles—a scene both terrifying and magnificent.

Alice Five leaned back and nearly fell; her glasses slipped off.

[This body. Is this still human?!]

There were no organs to sustain life in those body fluids; this guy was like a monster transformed from Fanta drink.

The mathematician raised his hands, proudly displaying his bizarre figure. It looked more like the result of some kind of biochemical surgery:

"I have a superpower called ecstasy, which can change humans themselves and also affect the outside world!"

"I didn't originally have ecstasy, but it was induced in Mong Cai City - there is a special phenomenon there that can induce ecstasy and amplify the effect of ecstasy."

"And the special thing about the matrices is that they come from ecstasy!"

"If we store the Matrix bodies in Mong Cai City, perhaps we can truly unleash their power! That way, we can find a new path for the Link Revival Movement!"

Amidst the heated speeches, Alice No. 5 felt someone pat her knee.
Professor Shiba Inu was signaling to her, his voice low:
"This mathematician is right. Listen to me."

Before receiving any response, Professor Shiba Inu stood up straight with a thud and raised his hand high - but his prosthetic limb still hung at his side:

"We represent the Tower Wizards' Association and vote for Mong Cai City!"

Xushu waved his fist and stood up. His face was filled with excitement and a sense of power:

"I agree! The Tower Wizards will agree!"

Only Alice No. 5 remained silent. She glanced at the skinny man who called himself a "mathematician," then at Professor Shiba Inu beside her. The two men's eyes seemed to meet, then separated in tacit understanding.

【Where are you now?】

She suddenly realized--
Whether it was a concealed prosthetic limb or a beard that hid his features; he even deliberately caused motion sickness on the way here to control the topic. And now.
From the moment they met in person at N'Djili International Airport, it became clear that this man was no longer the "Shiba Inu Professor" she had known through previous correspondence.
[This Shiba Inu professor is fake! He's an imposter—]

The cave seemed to be on fire and became noisy again.

Starting with Professor Shiba, the shouts of votes began to rise one after another, drowning out the sudden thought that sprouted in Alice No. 5's mind:

What on earth does he want to do?

(End of this chapter)