Puzzle Madness

Chapter 44 Lies
A grill rack was set up at the entrance of the food stall. The aproned grill master held a handful of skewers and spun the meat skewers over the charcoal blocks, grease dripping and sparks flying from time to time.

Doudou clapped his hands lightly, the sound like the most enthusiastic listener; but the smoke like a thick barbecue mist just happened to drift past, covering his eyes and the upper half of his face, making the grinning mouth look a little scary:
"Eh—waha! Is this true? What a coincidence."

The words are full of emotion, overflowing with encouragement and kindness; it makes people want to continue telling the story.

Richard raised his hands and gestured with the invisible iron ruler in front of his chest:
"Although it's made of iron, the edges aren't sharp; it's really just a classroom tool, not a weapon. But it can be used to stop bullets and break concrete. It's so scary! I barely managed to escape—"

Doudou seemed completely absorbed by Richard's description, and the movement of his facial muscles became more and more intense:

"Ha—it can even block bullets! Doesn't that mean it has superpowers?"

"So what does this Iron Butcher look like? How old is he? Does he look fierce or does he wear a mask or something? Did you see him with your own eyes?"

Richard frowned, his eyes gleaming behind his glasses. Although he avoided Doudou, his gaze was fixed firmly on the empty space; the slight panic he had felt a moment ago was completely gone:

"I still recognize her: the media gave her a nickname like 'Butcher,' but she's actually a woman. She's in her forties, has dark red hair, wears braces, and isn't from here—I know her identity. She's also from Asia-Europe Post, and she's my boss."

"For some reason, she wanted to kill me. That's one of the reasons why I became a [former] Asia-Europe postal agent. I'm afraid there's no room for me in the company now."

"Asia-Europe Post has a department called the Special Package Handling Department, and she is the head of this department."

The mathematician's fingers were intertwined, and his whole body was trembling. He didn't pay any attention to what Richard said about women and section chiefs, and was still immersed in what he wanted to hear:
"The details are indeed as fine as an unsharpened ruler, a large triangle. I'm saying it wasn't me—I didn't kill anyone."

Doudou tilted his head—his face was like a finished plaster statue, his smile unchanged:
"Ha! Doctor, you're so gullible—wasn't the story of your mentor, fellow students, and the cleaning lady being ripped off by a metal triangle ruler all on the news? And weren't all those details broadcast on TV and the radio, too?"

"Li, the spy, works in intelligence, so how could he not know? He just said he wanted to listen to every radio station. Hmm, so everyone only listens to what they want to hear?"

"And it sounds like Agent Li's boss really loves his job: he's so hands-on, doing all the dirty work; he's always the first to take the lead—"

It was as if he were talking to a mathematician, but Doudou's smile moved him closer to Richard. A fly flew past Doudou's brow, rested and moved on the white of his unblinking eye, and then was crushed to pieces by Doudou's fingers as it flew away:
"Agent Li, why do I feel like you're lying to me? Am I overthinking it?"

The mathematician, who was still trembling, stopped; he also felt the ominous meaning that permeated the air along with the oil smoke.

Richard looked at the fly that was crushed into a pulp: the fly's legs were as thin as hair, stuck in the cracks of Doudou's fingernails - no matter how he turned his gaze, it would not meet Doudou's eyes.

There was not much panic and fear on his face, as if he knew that what he said would be questioned before he opened his mouth.

He just stared intently and completely at the tiny insect corpses; it seemed as if the rest of the world had nothing to do with him:

"There's one more thing I know—it's definitely not in the news."

"Were you attacked? Earlier this evening. I'm not talking about thugs with bricks and knives; I'm talking about heavily armed commandos—with fully automatic rifles and body armor."

"I think not many people know about this yet. I think it can at least prove something."

Doudou finally pulled a piece of tissue paper from the table and wiped the fly's body on it. His face turned into a frozen photograph, without a single change of expression:
"Oh? You're right. Keep going? Could it be that—these people are actually...?"

Richard nodded seriously—but his direction was a little strange, as if there was another invisible person beside Doudou:
"You're very smart and quick-witted, Doudou. Yes, these people are the company's internal military force."

Even if this compliment was perfunctory or flattering, Richard never showed it:
"From what I know, the troops that attacked you were sent by the Asia-Europe Post."

“So DouDou, your worries are valid: Asia-Europe Post is right after the PhD. As for whether they'll kill him or bring him back, I don't know.” DouDou carefully folded the napkin and put it in the trash can beside him. He continued asking questions, the enthusiasm in his voice having vanished without a trace:

"why?"

Richard didn't answer immediately, but just expressed his confusion with his outstretched hands; the sweat from his chin began to slide down his neck, and some even hit the plastic tablecloth on the dining table, dripping.

"So how did you know someone attacked me and the doctor, huh? You should have a reasonable explanation? Come on, I'm waiting to hear it - is this why you became a [former] agent?"

Richard moved his head and stiff neck slightly - it was hard to tell whether it was a nod or a shake of the head:

"After I defected from Asia-Europe Post, I received information that Asia-Europe Post might be planning some action in Mong Cai. So I wanted to use my previous intelligence resources to monitor the company's communications in Mong Cai."

"You know? Like in the movies when the criminals listen in on the police radio, but in code. And then I hear they're about to make a surprise arrest."

Richard raised his hand and placed it on the mathematician's shoulder. The skinny man shuddered.
"There's news about the doctor's arrest. It should be because of his research or something, right? The intelligence didn't mention it, so I'm not sure."

"As for the reason why I defected from Asia-Europe Post - it was actually..."

"Hey, hey—wait a minute."

Doudou raised his hand to stop Richard from finishing his words:
"It seems to sound quite reasonable, but I also have some guesses."

"For example—are you actually still an active agent for the Asia-Europe Post? You just happened to be on some secret company mission or something, and you ran into me at the police station. Now, because you don't want to die, you're making up some lies? Do you think this possibility is more likely?"

"Could this Iron Ruler Demon you described actually be your enemy? You wanted to kill her, so you called her the Iron Ruler Butcher. It's because you've discovered that I hate evil and hate evil! I can't tolerate even the slightest bit of evil and injustice!"

"Hey! This aunt you're talking about might actually be your boss. Does your company have some sort of system where you fire the boss and the employees below take over—the ones who survive are the stronger employees? Or is she always giving you a hard time?"

"What do you think? What do you think of my hypothesis—that you are lying to me?"

The mathematician still kept his head down, but his eyes, hidden behind his lenses, moved cautiously left and right, moving between Doudou and Richard. He seemed to see the agent's head like a ball, slapped away from his body by Doudou, rolling around; streams of blood gushed out from his broken neck, spraying all over the table.

He began to look for a suitable angle to avoid the blood and brain matter that were about to splatter. He no longer cared about how much trouble and pursuit he would get into.

The mathematician could see that Richard's cheeks were puffed up from clenching his teeth, his face was as pale as a death, and his hair was soaked with sweat and stuck to his forehead in strands:

".Yes. There is such a possibility, but you see——"

Snapped.

"Hahaha, I told you not to be so nervous!"

Doudou gently patted Richard's shoulder, but still pressed him so hard that he almost fell.
"Hey! Relax, relax! There's no need to be so jumpy. It's all you, why are you suddenly calling yourself an agent? It makes me want to imitate the suspicion in spy movies. Hahahaha! I'm just trying to scare you."

"Actually, it doesn't matter whether you're telling the truth or not—it doesn't matter at all. The most important thing is! I'm still on summer vacation. You don't look dull like the doctor, you should know how important summer vacation is to young people, right? Old Li, you've made a good start and made tonight quite interesting."

"So - if you could make tonight a little more fun, a little more interesting; if you could make some summer memories for me, that's fine: I know there's a thing called a 'white lie'. Right? Right? I'm easy to talk to."

(End of this chapter)