Puzzle Madness

Chapter 62 Building
"Wait, wait a minute."

The voice came from the mathematician walking behind:
"Um, actually, we don't have to rush here, right? I'm really grateful to Doudou for wanting to help me clear my name, but—"

He walked forward quickly and squeezed between Doudou and Richard:

"Haven't you heard the widespread rumor? Those who dare to mess with the Asia-Europe Post will mysteriously disappear. It's unlikely we'll be able to wipe out such a large criminal group right now. Richard also said that this base is likely understaffed."

This round of truth, lies and nonsense almost exhausted all the courage the mathematician had accumulated - he certainly knew that the guy he was messing around with would disappear at this time; and this "someone" was standing next to him.

However, mathematicians also understand simple risk aversion: judging by the known information, the more complex and dangerous the environment, the greater the fluctuations in Doudou's "emotions" and the more aggressive his behavior. This aggressiveness has not really harmed mathematicians so far, but...
Perhaps they had the same idea - Richard rarely agreed with the mathematician:

"Doc, that's not a legend. I've only handled a few such cases. We field agents often have to take time off to deal with [customers]."

Doudou turned his head left and right, warily looking at the empty streets on both sides, and walked quickly across the zebra crossing:
"Ah, ah, Doctor: Don't let a good deed go unnoticed. You can't just leave the bad guys alone, right?"

Although the mathematician had not held out much hope, he could not help but rack his brains for excuses:

"But--but besides, wouldn't I just be a drag on you guys? I don't know how to fight or anything like that. And I'll need you to distract me and take care of me later."

And—can walking into this Shouzhu 151 Building really clear one's name? The mathematician himself doesn't know: even...
After meeting Richard, the mathematician began to doubt the small team of special forces that had come to the apartment earlier - were those people really here to arrest him?

His chest was getting more itchy, and it seemed like it wasn't just eczema, but some other strange skin condition. The mathematician wanted to shove his hands under his shirt and scratch until they bled.

Cross the intersection and the road, and the skyscrapers are right in front of you.

Doudou finally turned around and smiled, but it was hard to tell whether that smile was meant to convey madness, friendliness, bloodlust, or comfort—or perhaps, there was no emotion to express at all, and everything came simply from the imagination of the bystander:

"It's okay, it's okay! Doctor, you don't understand. Look, most action movies or side-scrolling games require a powerless character like you, right? You can just stand by and explain the battle, analyze the situation, or something. Otherwise, I'll be bored."

The mathematician felt that he could see his impatience, but he didn't understand why Doudou suppressed this impatience - and the chilling coldness became even deeper.

Richard's face was filled with calmness - no one could tell that he was the one who was hurt:
"Doctor, don't be afraid. If it were your turn to fight, we would all be dead. It wouldn't make any difference whether we fought or not."

"You can stay close to me then. I can help you if there is any emergency."

Doudou gave a thumbs-up and swung his arms left and right, fearing that his encouragement wasn't conveyed properly:
"Hey! You see, Old Li is very sensible. Of course, Doctor, don't worry that he'll use you as a hostage to get back to the Eurasian Postal Service, or even just kill you. You're my neighbor, and if anything happens to you, I'll give him a couple of slaps."

Both people present knew that Doudou would not lie about such matters.

Richard blinked his eyes, but the rest of his facial features remained motionless.
"Sorry, I didn't think the problem through. Actually, on second thought, it would be inconvenient for me to infiltrate and operate with the doctor. Doudou, my combat ability is not comparable to yours. If we encounter the security forces, he and I might both lose our lives."

"It would be safest for the doctor to act on his own. The company will definitely not attack him immediately because he is not dangerous at all."

The mathematician's head whipped around—his mouth dropped open in surprise.

Richard changed his opinion so quickly, as if he had never intended to bring the mathematician along from the beginning: Or did he really have the idea that Doudou mentioned?

Doudou raised his hand and patted Richard's shoulder. Richard twisted his body slightly, as if trying to avoid this gesture of goodwill.
"Ah, no. The doctor might not be able to see it, but I know what you're capable of. Even though you only have one hand left, you're still much stronger than most people."
-
Richard still hid his hands in his sleeves—but even in his dark brown casual suit, the cuffs, darkened to black, were visible. Even though they had been disinfected with strong alcohol and a crude tourniquet had been applied,
His left hand had become a mass of mud, constantly oozing out body fluids; it was like a broken faucet, but shaped into a sticky, twisted shape like malt sugar.

Doudou leaned forward, stretching his neck forward, trying to go around Richard's torso to see his hand—as if afraid he wouldn't notice.
"Ha, Lao Li, you're such a tough guy. I remember that the human hand has a lot of nerves, so it must be painful. You're really patient."

The mathematician disliked Richard, even felt a bit disgusted. But on this night, at this moment, he really wanted to know what was hidden under Doudou's yellow raincoat, which still shone after being washed with blood. Was it something agitated, expanding, and malicious?
Or is it a cold, camouflaged alien object that reflects the appearance of the real world?

But he simply tucked both hands into his opposite armpit, hugging his chest: somehow, it was really cold tonight; and he had nowhere else to go. Richard held up the plastic bag, half-filled with dark red liquid—it was impossible to see the limbs inside through the semi-transparent bag:

"The few emergency drugs the company distributed are effective, but they won't last long. I'll give you a general overview of the situation, and then we can take action."

His eye sockets were sunken, and his face was paler than the moonlight. Stubble had already pricked his mouth, and dead skin was flaking at the corners of his mouth - it was as if Richard had aged more than ten years in an hour.
"The exterior of [Shouzhu 151] isn't finished yet, but the interior of the building—"

Ping. Bang! Clang. Clang. Clang.

Richard and the mathematician were interrupted by the sudden noise. When they looked up, Doudou was already standing next to a glass wall of Shouzhu 151, with broken glass scattered all over the ground under their feet.

He held up a finger, grinning. Doudou must have shattered the glass wall with his finger. The glass reflected the light from the sky, and from this angle, Doudou seemed to be stepping on countless tiny, identical pocket moons.

"Come on, let's go straight in!"

Richard's voice was sometimes high and sometimes low, but in the end he finally finished what he had just said:

".The internal surveillance should still be on."

Doudou turned his head to the side, half of his face covered in the shadow of the skyscraper:
"Huh? What are you talking about? What if you die later if you don't come in?"

Richard took big strides with an expressionless face; the mathematician moved little by little, trembling.

None of them knew whether Dou Dou was joking or not.
-
Doudou always stayed far away from this unfinished building, and this was his first time entering inside.

It seems like a distant setting that is completely separated from Doudou's life - he will never pass by it on his way to or from school, it is far away from the video hall and game hall he often goes to, and it is in the opposite direction of the Children's Palace; Doudou's interests and hobbies do not include exploring abandoned areas or construction sites.

Shouzhu 151 has not yet been integrated into the city of Mong Cai: naturally, it is also distant from Doudou's life.

It stands alone, its top covered with dark green cloth, like a mineral water bottle temporarily added to the model set; the stories related to it have not yet happened.

The three of them walked silently into Shouzhu 151 Building. The floor was uneven, covered in dust from renovations; the sofas in the corner, the information desk at the front desk, and the screens embedded in the walls were all wrapped in plastic; it was clear that the building wasn't ready for opening yet.

"Oh--"

Doudou raised his hand and rubbed his nose:

Shouzhu 151 Building was unlike any other place he had ever been—more like entering a magnified and distorted world through a wide-angle lens with distorted edges. It wasn't realistic: even the colors seemed closer to those on a cathode ray tube television; vivid and blurry.

He couldn't say whether he liked or disliked the scenery. But Doudou felt that the scene before him was more like the movies he had seen than the Mong Cai where he had lived for so many years.

If I had to describe it, it might be the Disneyland version of Mong Cai Electronics City: even the sliding doors of the shops use gentle warm colors, and the bright red investment banners are sprinkled with gold powder, shining brightly in the night.

Doudou sniffed; his nostrils were filled with the lingering smell of paint. He didn't dislike the smell; paint represented something new:

A new scene, a new place; humans like him have created another place worth experiencing.
This is naturally a good thing. Humans like new things; change is beautiful and worth looking forward to.

So, Doudou certainly thought so too.

(End of this chapter)