Puzzle Madness

Chapter 128 Rain

There is always a sense of distance between the provincial library and the word "gang".

But Doudou knew that many of the gameplay in "Xian Gong Blood Feast" could only be unlocked after joining a gang.

For special activities such as [Cave Exploration] and [Demon Slaying], you need to register as a gang first before the operator will release the module information.

Player organizations such as "gangs" and "sects" basically have to apply through local video game stores or board game stores; but in Mong Cai, it seems that only the provincial library is acting as an agent.

The administrator continued as he sorted through the brochures at the front desk:

"But don't worry—even if we do form a gang, the [Master of Wonderland] won't be able to come to Mong Cai anytime soon to help us run the game."

"We'll have to wait at least a few days. It's been a bit inconvenient getting in and out of Mong Cai lately. We were supposed to get new books into the library today, but they were stuck outside the city and had to be sent back."

He scratched his head and said with a tired tone:
"Classmate, you'd better go home early; the provincial library will close early recently, so don't run around outside at night."

Doudou glanced at the empty hall:
"Oh, a lot of schools suddenly closed this afternoon. Did something big happen?"

At lunchtime, students still crowded the first-floor lobby - now the crowd has dispersed, leaving only groups of people wandering around in groups of three or four, as if just trying to delay going home.

The administrator took off his glasses and slowly wiped the lenses:

"I can't say for sure about that. I'd have to ask your classmates. There aren't any special announcements today, but there are definitely a lot of middle school students here."

Doudou stuffed the "Immortal Palace Blood Feast" cards and stamp booklet into his schoolbag and arranged them:

"Okay! I'll be leaving now, teacher. I'll ask you to join my gang next time."

The library administrator is not actually a teacher, but Doudou calls him that for the sake of convenience and intimacy.
-
When I walked out of the provincial library: there was no bright red sunlight as before, only lead gray covering everything.

The air was moist and humid; dragonflies flew low by, followed closely by swallows, their wings almost broken by the moisture; even the old men and women in the pavilion had left without anyone noticing.

Doudou raised his head:
The clouds were piling up in front of Mom and Dad's faces, almost covering them all; from time to time, a flash of white light or a forked white branch would appear, followed by thunder, sometimes far away, sometimes near.

Rumble, rumble: thunder rolls by.

The motorcycles and cars parked in the Provincial Library were like small animals startled by thunder, making "beep, beep" alarm sounds.

It looks like the coming rain will be quite heavy: a typhoon is coming.

It’s strange that there haven’t been any typhoons this year. Normally, typhoon season in Mong Cai begins in June; strong winds and heavy rain are a regular feature of this city’s summer:
But throughout the summer vacation and the start of school - except for a few showers, only one person fell from the sky over Mong Cai; including Doudou.

[Otherwise, let's go to the observatory and take a look--]

This thought suddenly popped up in my mind, as abrupt as the appearance of a heavy rain cloud.

However, Doudou thought that this idea was very reasonable: since it looked like a typhoon was coming, the school would most likely be closed tomorrow and we could sleep in; if we didn’t go today, we would be at a loss when our curiosity would be rekindled on the weekend.

Just do it:

He pulled his raincoat tighter, wrapping his backpack inside, and pulled up his hood. Although he never took off his raincoat, he wasn't wearing rubber boots today; if he wanted to go to the observatory, he would have to catch the bus.
-
It's raining.

The ceiling opened its mouth wide and spit out saliva as hard as it could - this is still an understatement to describe the rain.

Doudou felt that in the sky, the countless faces of fathers and mothers were all secretly drinking Coke, and then accidentally choked; so that the carbonated drink sprayed out from their nostrils and mouths.

For the rain looked almost black, blending with the dusk; as if the whole night had melted into water and was falling drop by drop.

There were not many pedestrians on the street, most of them were hiding under the eaves on both sides of the sidewalk; occasionally, a figure holding an umbrella or covering his head with plastic sheeting would run by.

Before the rain got heavier, Doudou got on the bus at the provincial library station; the ticket printed by the machine was blurred by the rain.

The No. 600 bus moved slowly along the road. Often, before it had even moved a few steps on a green light, it would turn red; this cycle repeated itself.

The ceiling was ping-pong-pinging, and the car radio was reporting news about the typhoon:

Latest weather report: A severe tropical storm, [Willie], has formed in the Beibu Gulf, with maximum winds reaching force 12 at its center. It is moving northwestward at 20 kilometers per hour. Citizens are advised to minimize outdoor activities and coastal vessels are advised to return to port immediately to avoid the storm.

The last time a typhoon made landfall, the entire coastal area was without water and electricity for half a week; all the news showed were overturned billboards and flooded electricity meter boxes.

Doudou grabbed the ring on the armrest - he gave his seat to an old lady, and the old lady gave it to a pregnant woman who was holding her belly.

He also borrowed books from the provincial library, but he didn't read them; because the No. 600 bus was like a talking can of instant food, filled with nagging people.

People were talking to each other in groups, but no one was discussing the coming typhoon.
It was like a submission to a late-night horror show on the radio; each person's words were terrifying yet completely different.

Doudou squeezed in among them, listening to it with fascination:

"He just disappeared. He didn't finish the project, didn't ask for leave, and just didn't come to work for several days. No one answered the phone at home. Xiao Wang said he went to Xiachangshan Beach in the middle of the night. Before he went, he said he saw a crying dragon in the sea. Yes, the dragon from the West Sea Dragon King."

"--It's fake. Serial killers are out there. Who would come to Mong Cai to kill people? They'd probably be embarrassed. There are only a few people in this damn place, how could they kill people? Stop watching that 'Cat-Faced Old Grandma' every day."

"Yes, that's right! I drove out of the city and along the national highway to Mount Panay, but was stopped. They said I had to take a train or bus to get out of Mong Cai. They were even holding guns, like they were from some military unit."

"My dad saw it during his morning exercise. The man had no head before he jumped from the roof. My dad and the ambulance searched for the man's head for a long time, but they couldn't find it. It was so scary. I don't even want to live there anymore. The neighborhood must be so dark right now—"

"This old uncle has gone completely insane. He used to love ballroom dancing, but now he doesn't do it anymore. He just drags his whole family into a room to meditate every day. It's not qigong, it's alien technology. Some say it's the latest virtual reality technology in the galaxy. That's ridiculous."

They are just fragments of words that cannot capture the complete content of each conversation.

But in just a few sentences, no one was telling the same weird rumors; Doudou pricked up his ears and moved his head around, unable to hear anything at all -
Sometimes he couldn't help but want to strike up a conversation, but his attention was drawn to the strange news from the other side: in this city with a population of nearly one million, there were indeed many strange things happening.

Even the passengers who were not participating in the conversation had frowns on their faces; it was unclear whether they were worried about the typhoon that was about to land - or if they were like Doudou, carefully eavesdropping on the stories being told by everyone.

No one said it out loud, but I think this thought is lingering in everyone's mind: just like this sudden rainstorm, the atmosphere in Mong Cai City has been a little unusual recently.

The bus jolted forward, and the rain got heavier.

　My buddy is about to be sunburned
　　
　
(End of this chapter)