Puzzle Madness

Chapter 105 Smoldering
Ai Xi nodded, and his profile picture was almost fixed on the one that said [frowning and thinking]:
"It feels like I can help those companies make a lot of money. The temptation is indeed great."

"But even if we don't think about things that far ahead, at least it gives us a place to communicate."

She lifted her forelimbs and moved the clouds around her feet. These clouds had the quality of cotton candy, a sticky mass of flocculent matter:

"In reality, there's no telling where the bugs would be installed. If we can rule out the possibility that Taro World is a product of the Asia-Europe Postal Service, then at least there's a place where we can freely communicate—"

"Confidentiality is still very important. Otherwise, I would have to think twice before speaking. I would be paranoid."

Doudou also bent down and scooped up large clumps of pale clouds. However, since he had no mouth, he couldn't taste the clouds to see if they had any flavor; instead, they smelled like plastic.

"That's fine. If they want to monitor, let them."

"I'm quite curious: what methods will be used against me? It should be quite imaginative."

He suddenly let go of the cloud, letting it fall back down to his feet.
"Ai Xi, what do you think of this taro world? Could this be the effect of ecstasy?"

He pointed at the students who had given up on building food towers and were trying to revive the Taro King.
Before, these guys were dancing and running around the taro food tower, chanting eye exercises (pressing temples, scraping eye sockets); they looked crazy:
"If this is a product of superpowers, does that mean one of the students is obsessed? One of the remaining fifteen people?"

Ai Xi's voice was soft and gentle. Her head mirror moved with the students:

"That's possible—but it's easy to confirm: once we get out, we'll perform the ritual ourselves and find out."

"If you can't replicate it, use the process of elimination to find the real host."

"Even if that person doesn't know they have superpowers, I can use different personnel to perform the ritual to determine who is insane."

The eyes in the photo were narrowed to slits—the scorch marks at the edges of the photo glowed a gloomy red, as if about to ignite flames again:

"If one of them is truly obsessed—if Asia-Europe Post discovers it first, they can control it first."

She hesitated slightly, but quickly wiped it away:

".Then it would be best to render this person harmless first. No, perhaps it would be better to just get rid of him directly."

Ai Xi said the word "deal with" with gritted teeth; it sounded like someone grabbed his heart and pulled it down hard.

Doudou moved closer to Ai Xi, the mirror reflecting the bright red dots on the photo sticker. He certainly understood what the other party meant:
"Eh? Deal with them? They're all classmates, this isn't a good idea."

Ai Xi turned back around, his gaze following the running students. Their laughter and chatter were cacophonous, without a trace of urgency.

"Doudou, don't you realize it? This taro world is no joke."

"It's quite dangerous even for you. It might really hurt you."

Doudou looked around - in this empty wilderness with soft clouds, he found it hard to imagine the existence of danger:

"Hurt me? No way."

"Huh? Is it the kind of thing where if you die in there, you'll die outside too, or become a vegetable? Do you think there's a Freddy hiding in here?"

"But even though I've become a weird creature in the Taro World, I don't feel any different. Even here, no one can kill me, right?"

Ai Xi supported his knees with his elbows, holding the mirror as his head with his forelimbs:
"Are you talking about a Nightmare on Elm Street? The mechanics might be similar: if someone gets hurt in a dream, they'll also get hurt in real life."

"But that's unlikely—because our bodies in the taro world are completely different from those outside."

She struck her polygonal body, making a ping-pong sound. But no matter how hard she struck, the crystal-like limbs did not crack at all:
"Whether it's a dream or a hallucination, if the difference in reality is too great, then the connection between them will be weakened. Judging from most literary and artistic works, this kind of harm comes from [believing it to be true]."

"But it's very simple to test it, so let's ignore that for now."

"You are also in a frenzy here, so it's hard for anything to cause you any direct trouble."

“But that doesn’t mean there’s no danger—didn’t you notice? After we performed this ritual, it also forced you to [stop the activity]; you have no idea what happened in the storeroom now.” Ai Xi raised her square hands, striking a stiff, wooden pose:

"While you're in the Taro World, you can't move in reality or sense the outside world. If someone figures out its triggering conditions, wouldn't they be able to use this thing to control you?"

"It's like forced hypnosis, making you incapable of movement. Time in reality continues to pass. Furthermore, the perceived speed of time is different, which can definitely cause a longer coma."

"It buys time for other projects – once you stop, there are so many ways to deal with you."

"If you leave something like this unattended, it could become a weapon the company can use against you. The risk is too high: it has nothing to do with the classmate himself."

Suddenly, Doudou stood up straight, gesturing with his hands in front of him. In his imagination, he was describing the exquisite packaging boxes and charming color brochures, just like those sold in the Xinhua Bookstore and Audiovisual Store:
"That's indeed the truth, and it's not wrong—but!"

"Classmates can be considered enhanced versions of friends. Fun classmates are even rarer, let alone crazy ones! Classmates with super powers are simply the ultimate deluxe collector's edition classmates! Very valuable."

"If we sell one, there will be one less. How can we replenish the stock?"

"And even if we get rid of it, it won't be a permanent solution. Ah, how does that saying go?"

"If you see a cockroach in your room, it means there is already a large nest of cockroaches in your home:"

"Of course, I'm not saying that the students are cockroaches! But if the Taro World is the product of madness, then there must be other madnesses with similar effects, right?"

"If you can easily run into them in school, there must be a lot of them in Mong Cai."

"Superpowers come in many forms, so it's impossible to defend against them! There's no way to eliminate them all; it's better to think about how to enhance resistance and adaptability."

"Plans can never keep up with change. Even if you eliminate all risks, new problems will still arise. Why not think about it in another direction?"

"Resistance and adaptability—hmm. I haven't really thought about this before. Even if I conquer this taro world, I'll probably still encounter many bad guys."

Ai Xi sat up straight. She looked ahead, unable to see the expression in her profile picture from the side:

"You're right. I should change my mindset. My previous thinking was too negative and passive. I also need a way to fight against people with superpowers."

"Fight—yes, I also want to find a way to fight. I can find a way to eliminate the danger myself."

Looking from the side, Ai Xi's mirror surface turned a dull red, and ash flew everywhere; the burning paper made a crackling sound, and the smell of paste was so pungent - but that only lasted for a moment.

When she turned her head again, the flames were gone; the portrait became narrower, and the burn marks on the edges became more abrupt. The edges of the photo that originally had a few rectangular shapes left had completely become curved and hilly.

The only thing that remains unchanged is the pair of long, thin eyes in the photo:

"Look, those idiots over there have given themselves a name: the Taro Society."

"Last night, they originally planned to call it the [Secret Club of the Taro God's Familiars, Children of the Purple Fruit, and Purple Mud Devourers]; it wasn't separate, it was a combination."

"It was so stupid, I couldn't help but scold them."

Doudou shrugged. The edges of Ai Xi's portrait on the mirror were now wrinkled like a dead leaf:

"It's a bit silly, and the taste is weird; the name should be shorter so it's easier to remember."

He thought of the strange mirrors of other students, and also of his own empty "face"--
"Hey, your photo booth looks a little burnt again? Maybe you're putting too much pressure on yourself."

"Well, I'm asking you to think differently. I'm not asking you to become Batman! You're not going to come up with a bunch of ABCDE plans and make a bunch of gadgets to fight superpowered beings, are you?"

"We're middle school students, so of course school life is most important. Don't push yourself too hard on other things. Didn't you give me the pager? You don't need to get up, thank you."

Ping!
Ai Xi raised his arm and hit Doudou with it, making a crisp sound:
"Of course I'll call you on your pager if there's any trouble. Do you take me for a fool?"

(End of this chapter)