Puzzle Madness

Chapter 106 September is the time to recruit new members
The topic came to an end for the time being. They just sat there in the mist, lost in thought; the hallucinations seemed to show no sign of stopping.

The students who called themselves the "Taro Society" had already completely gotten over their fear and were climbing a high tower made of taro food, climbing up and down continuously; it hit the clouds with a clanging sound.

There was a lot of laughter and joy, and the panic and chaos of just a moment ago disappeared completely.

The explosion and death of the Taro King had been forgotten by them; only the tower of food, which had been transformed from a ritual item into a toy, remained.

Seeing this, Doudou suddenly had new concerns and even some worries:
"Speaking of which, I slapped the Taro King to death. Does that mean I won't be able to play Taro World tomorrow?"

"Of course, of course. If we're not trapped here, it shouldn't be an entrance or exit."

Ai Xi tapped him with his forelegs, as if trying to dispel his worries:
"Well, it's hard to say. If this is a very concrete collective hallucination, we should be able to imagine the Taro King again tomorrow—"

"If it's a mania, then judging by the comics, movies, novels, etc., it must be someone with superpowers. As long as this guy dies or has his powers removed, the Taro World will be fine."

"As for whether we'll be trapped here? No one tried to defeat the Taro King yesterday. I'm inclined to think we'll get out when the time comes. Let's rest for a while and wait and see."

Ping pong pong
Doudou kept hitting his front limbs on both sides - the sound rose and fell depending on the location of the impact.

He tapped his forearm all the way up to his shoulder, ding-dong-donging, as if he were familiarizing himself with an instrument:

"It's good that we can still have fun. This place is really exciting! It's much more interesting than my experience where I only have strength."

Doudou suddenly remembered something important and put down the music he was playing:

"Oh, right! If Miss Ruan can't speak or move, then if we let her into this illusion, can we communicate with her?"

"Or maybe she can't lift her hands, can't move—so she can't enter the world of taro."

Ai Xi's profile picture finally returned to the one of [Thoughtful]—but due to the expansion of the burn marks, her face looked a little gloomy:
"It seems feasible? Let's try it and see: it seems there is no better way."

"Looking at the way things are now, it's possible that she won't move in the classroom until the end of the century."

Doudou raised his upper limbs and scratched the smooth mirror surface. He suddenly realized what he had overlooked:
"Oh—Ruan Jingbo said she had a dream. Could this be it? Eh? Is this what you usually dream about?"

He turned his head around, but no matter which direction he looked, he couldn't find the arcade:
“There’s no dance machine here.”

Ai Xi pressed his head against the curled edges that resembled dead leaves and smoothed them out. Ashes fell to the ground at his touch.

"Usually, my dreams are very vague; they are not as clear and lucid as in the Taro World."

"Actually, I also think the dream she was talking about is the Taro World. But I didn't dare to say it outside, fearing surveillance. After I came in, I never had the chance to say it."

"Yesterday, I was just asking around to see who had a strange dream, and that's how I contacted those idiots over there. They're being too brazen—it's only a matter of time before they're exposed to Asia-Europe Post; they might have already been."

Doudou looked at the lively crowd in the Taro Society, but his mind was recalling Ruan Jingbo's locust-like crawling posture:

"Anyway, let's talk to Ruan first. She might know some secrets: Look at the people in the Taro Society. They all look pretty normal. None of them look like statues."

"Then let's go home this afternoon; I'm quite curious about how she became like that--"

Ding. Ding. Ding.
Suddenly: a noise emerged from the conversation - and then it grew louder and louder. It was the sound of a bell, long and indistinct:
The bells rang rhythmically; then, floating string music and piano music rose and mixed in, sometimes far away, sometimes near.
Doudou tilted his head and listened carefully for a while. The tune was so melodious and relaxing that it made him want to doze off.
"Why does this music sound so familiar?"

The ringing grew louder, until it was shrill and piercing. The clouds beneath their feet trembled with the sound of the ringing, bouncing like bubbles on a speaker.

Ai Xi's reaction was faster than his. She patted her pocket and pointed at the Taro Society students who had all stopped moving.

"This is the lunch break bell."

Hearing this, Doudou couldn't help but be shocked:
"The lunch bell! That's the sound from the school. How come I can hear it outside all of a sudden? That means—"
-
"--Going back to reality?"

The second half of the words suddenly became clear in my ears - there was no more noise from before.

Doudou blinked, raised his hand, and touched his soft cheek:
They were finally back in that cramped, stuffy storage room, all huddled together; the walls were covered in water stains and mold. The light in the storage room reappeared, sticky like hot asphalt. They struggled out of some kind of stickiness, only to fall back into this small, nauseating reality.

The smell of sweat, body odor, bad breath; the smell of mold, rat droppings and paint, all mixed together and rushed into the nasal cavity.

Perhaps because he was feeling suffocated, he breathed through his mouth unconsciously, and even his mouth felt dry, making Doudou eager to drink water.

Unlike the slow and lengthy process of entering the taro world, leaving it was so quick.

Wow!
Perhaps stimulated by the pungent smell, someone suddenly opened his mouth and started vomiting; the vomit fell on the concrete floor and sprayed onto other students' shoes - this added a sense of horror to the utility room.

Just before the vomiting causes more vomiting and the chain reaction begins—
Click.

The iron door was flung open—it was Ai Xi. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, carefully pressing on her scar, and breathing in the still-fresh air.
"Okay, it's lunch break time. Let's all get ready to go back to class. You won't be able to explain yourself if the teacher catches you."

Ai Xi raised his hand and pointed at the students who filed out of the utility room. They didn't leave immediately, but stood under the mezzanine, breathing fiercely.

"You. Wipe yourself off and go back. Don't draw attention to yourself. Go help that guy over there and clean his clothes."

"And you, you're from Class 5, right? Walk faster when you pass by the teacher's office, and don't be sneaky."

"Then wait a moment, come here. I have something to say."

Her voice was not loud, but it was clear under the overhead layer.

Ai Xi walked across from the group, his eyes darting like icy spears—the scar on his face was a frightening red, looking like it was about to turn into a beating heart at any moment:

"Stop recruiting people for now. Stop the party after school and tonight."

"Tomorrow I'll publish information about the Taro Society in the school newspaper and broadcast it on the radio station, directly recruiting new members from across the school—"

"The Taro Society is so interesting, more people should know about it; there will definitely be many people interested in joining."

"Does anyone object?"

The crowd remained silent, even experiencing a brief moment of stagnation and bewilderment:
But immediately, a short girl stood on tiptoe and raised her hands vigorously - Doudou recognized her. This was the girl who roared the loudest before entering the Taro World.

Even if she wasn't screaming at the top of her lungs, her eyes were still bulging like goldfish; she looked a little creepy:

"But, is it necessary for the Taro Society to let so many people know about it? Why are they recruiting new members?"

Ai Xi nodded slightly at her, but his words were directed to everyone:

"It's simple. There's only one new person today compared to yesterday—and the world has changed. The Taro King doesn't know why he exploded, but we're all fine."

"This means that the more people there are, the more changes there are in the world, and the more fun it is. At the same time, it doesn't affect safety."

"Anyway, you all want to bring new people and play with people you know: your deskmate, your good friends, your best buddies, your childhood friends. Secrets are meant to be shared."

"However, the practice of recruiting people through referrals or through acquaintances can be phased out – directly recruiting people is better and more efficient."

"Even if it's not in the school newspaper, the whole school will know about it tomorrow. Can any of you keep it to yourself? One person will tell ten people, ten people will tell a hundred people. This kind of thing will spread everywhere in no time, and others will be able to form their own groups."

"Who will remember this Taro Society? You discovered this wonderful thing, and now it's being forgotten. There's no credit left at all."

"Okay, why not just openly recruit new members? We can also get sponsorship from others. If there are more people, we won't have to squat in this utility room. What are you throwing up like? If it gets any hotter, you'll definitely get heatstroke."

"I'll talk to the [Yam King] store next door and ask them to give us some free drinks and snacks."

"At least do something good. If everyone knows about this in a couple of days, it won't be fashionable anymore."

(End of this chapter)