Puzzle Madness

Chapter 22 Strange news
In the books Doudou read or the movies he watched, he heard or saw others describe anger like this:
[It was as if something was rising from within and devouring my heart; or as if it was being burned by the fire in my heart until it was empty].

Although the details are different, there is not much difference in general -
The heart is being devoured, the sanity is lost, it seems to be true but it is not.

In short, Doudou felt that the anger they described was...
"It's probably out of control or something like that."

He lay on the bed and stretched out: Doudou couldn't understand this.

Whenever he was angry—actually Doudou wasn't sure, but after years of thinking and categorizing it, he felt that this emotion was more similar to anger—he never felt out of control or dissipated inside.

On the contrary, Doudou felt a kind of fullness rising from the bottom of his heart, pouring into his limbs, torso, and head: it was a warmth like molten iron (Doudou visited a steel mill during summer camp last year and secretly touched a handful of red-hot flowing molten iron, which was much warmer than sunlight), surrounding and enveloping himself.

Doudou didn't usually experience this kind of feeling. Most of his emotions were like tapping one fingernail against another, or scratching an itchy foot through a sneaker:
A subtle, almost imperceptible tactile sensation, each time leaving little detail in memory; yet it can be roughly categorized, like types of tissue paper. One brand is softer, another is rougher and crumbles to pieces when rubbed; but if you really want to say which is better, Doudou can certainly be used to blow your nose.

But when his nose wasn't itchy, he wouldn't think about it specifically: anyway, all the emotions Doudou had experienced were mostly like this.

Oh, reason! Anger also includes the absence of reason, but what is reason?
"Out of control, control. Am I in control of myself? I'm not a remote-controlled racing car, and I don't have a controller attached to me, so how would I know?"

Doudou doesn't feel like he's "out of control" --
Perhaps he has never been controlled, or the warmth brought by anger will not affect his heart at all.

"Well, it seems there's no difference."

Doudou shrugged at the ceiling, climbed out of bed and yawned:

The random thoughts that come with waking up are over, and today is another new day - there is one less day left in the summer vacation, which makes me sad just thinking about it.

"Hey, I haven't finished my summer homework yet. What should I do?"

He ruffled his hair and got out of bed.
-
In the past two days, a lot of strange things happened near Dou Dou's home.

The most influential and widely spread incident was the "tear gland infection" that occurred in most of Mong Cai: it was said that due to a certain type of pollen, a large number of Mong Cai residents were allergic and had symptoms such as howling, respiratory spasms and even dehydration.

This incident was somewhat strange and sudden. Even the 3rd TV station in Mong Cai reported it on the 8 o'clock news. For the next two or three days, it was also a hot topic on the streets.

Some people watched a popular science video, which said that the electromagnetic storm caused by sunspots interfered with the human body's magnetic field; some people said that a certain hidden master had practiced qigong incorrectly and became possessed, so he could only use qigong randomly everywhere and cause trouble to the martial arts world; the more accepted theory was that several nightclubs that opened recently in Mong Cai city were too ostentatious and collided with the Ten Sages of the Martial Temple who were recently transported from the mainland for a tour - of course, they were replicas of statues; but the craftsmanship was so lifelike that they had some immortal aura.

There are many different opinions, but no conclusion that can be accepted by everyone.

As for the exact reason, Doudou only thought about it when he heard it - at least, he didn't connect the matter with the smoking guy he slapped in the elevator that day:
In fact, he had almost completely forgotten the bloody tragedy that occurred in the elevator; only when he passed the seal on the elevator entrance would his memory be slightly refreshed. Law enforcement officers knocked on two doors at random and then took the body away.

[Come to think of it, I got it too! Luckily, it wasn't serious. I wonder if it's healed yet? Should I see a doctor?]

He recalled his sudden burst of tears a few days ago, and only then did he feel a lingering fear. However, Doudou never went to the hospital for treatment, so this incident certainly did not break his habit.

The news came and went quickly: although the incident was bizarre, the biggest damage was caused by a car accident at the entrance of DouDou's residential area. The matter was also quickly resolved: both vehicles involved in the rear-end collision were sedans, one a Santana 2000 and the other a green Mazda from a taxi company; apart from a herniated lumbar disc and a dislocated shoulder, the drivers could be considered to be unharmed.

As for the Tianhu community where Doudou lives, it is even closer to being called a haunted house.
-
But for Doudou, after the panic of whether he was infected, all of the above were just boring anecdotes.
Just going to the next street to buy some groceries would result in a bunch of uncles and aunties nagging about these things in Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin with an accent, or Thai. Even the butcher was confused when cutting the meat and weighed Dou Dou eight ounces of extra pork bones; in the end, Dou Dou had to return it to him again:
Passing by the newsstand, Doudou couldn't help but pick up the magazines and newspapers neatly arranged on the stand.
"Handsome boy, why haven't you come to buy Parapsychology lately? Is it because the people in the house don't give you pocket money?"

The newsstand owner was holding a porcelain cup and guzzling summer cypress tea; the eyes on his sturdy face subtly looked towards both ends, one looking at Doudou, and the other still had time to glance at the TV on top of the newspaper rack.

"Oh, oh—yes, yes, I'm short of money lately."

Doudou was embarrassed to say that he had been buying magazines from the self-service newsstand recently: the magazines from the self-service newsstand arrived one day earlier every month than those from the newsstand in the vegetable market; they were even ten cents cheaper.

"You are a bit stingy, pretty boy. Okay, keep watching, but don't watch too long!"

Doudou felt a little guilty even to say anything, so he just continued to stare at the piles of magazines, searching for any new issues he hadn't discovered yet.

It wasn't that he had any particular magazine he wanted to buy, but it was like buying food at the supermarket: after weighing out the groceries, rice, oil, and salt, he had to look for other snacks. Since he was passing by, he had to read for a while.

The newsstand owner didn't stare at Doudou the entire time. He simply raised his hand and switched the channel on the CRT TV atop the newsstand, adjusting the blurry image.

".Next is international news."

The local TV station in Mong Cai City – before the afternoon rotation of commercials and old TV dramas, there are also some news. Today, they are broadcasting the big murder case from earlier:
"Our reporter has learned that as of today, August 19, the murder of several teachers and students at Nanyang Technological University is still under investigation."

"Nanyang Technological University is renowned for its rigorous academic record. This case has undoubtedly had a huge impact on the campus and society. The Singapore police have launched a comprehensive manhunt and appeal to the public for clues."

"Police currently suspect the suspect has managed to leave Singapore; several corporate groups will collaborate with international law enforcement agencies to advance the case investigation."

"This case is a symbol of non-governmental organizations' participation in international criminal investigations, and our station will continue to follow up on it."

Doudou had heard about this case several times on the radio - it was said that a PhD in mathematics went crazy and killed several people in the office with an iron ruler used in class; the radio host called him "Iron Ruler Butcher", "Dr. Iron Ruler" or "Iron Ruler Devil". The tool used in the crime was indeed legendary, which made his nickname have a bit of martial arts flavor.

But this is the first time I’ve seen a wanted photo:
He was a round-faced man with chubby cheeks. His glasses were as thick as beer bottles, and the stiff, upturned corner of his mouth made him look a little embarrassed and shy. The photos he took of him even had a glare that made his eyes glare like searchlights.

The already blurry photos were even more horrible when viewed on a CRT TV with a poor signal.
【It would be strange if you could catch someone with this kind of photo. 】

The news was over, but the face with a strange panic still stayed on the screen for a moment, swaying with the wave-like horizontal interference; there was also a flashing hotline number below the photo.

Doudou stared at the photo and number until they faded into the cheerful music of the advertisement, and finally looked away:

"Is this a highly intelligent criminal? But he doesn't look very smart, he looks a bit dull."

The boss's eyes were still fixed on the screen, as if he was enjoying the yogurt commercial.
"Don't judge a book by its cover, pretty boy. And look, he's wearing those fancy glasses—black-framed ones, at that! Usually, people wear glasses if they're well-read."
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(End of this chapter)