Puzzle Madness

Chapter 72 Demand

The awkward and chaotic atmosphere just now disappeared in an instant--
Richard leaned against the spiderweb-like window pane, his hands hidden in his pockets again.

"Then let's start exchanging information. I don't want to be caught up in this mess anymore."

"You know the assignment John and I received: to recover the special package you took with you when you defected. What exactly is that important thing? This is probably the core of the whole matter."

The mathematician stood up straight with a jerk, his fingers trembling strangely:
"You're asking me? I want to know too: I died once because of it."

"The package—it's a code, a code: one hundred and eighty-nine digits. But there's no time to crack it. God knows what it is."

"When I entered the doctor's body, he had just begun to decipher it; then he was interrupted by Doudou. Even if there were no outside interference, it would take at least a few days to process."

Richard used his good hand to scratch his chin nervously:

"A password? If it's something like that, then the range of possible contents is really too wide. This is really a bit difficult to deal with."

The mathematician remained motionless, while the villain nodded:
"You're trying to use the contents of the package to infer why the section chief wants to get rid of you? Well, there's nothing wrong with that line of thinking."

"Look, I have a little guess I can share with you. Tonight, I wasn't just hiding inside the Doctor's body doing renovations while hanging out and chatting with you and Doudou. I was also really thinking about this."

"You have to understand one thing: Don't think we are fools for linking up with the Renaissance Movement. Many people think we are just playing house; don't be ridiculous, the [cocoons] we have laid are everywhere."

"[Big Spiders] have been preparing for a long time. It is impossible for companies and political entities to suppress the direction of world development forever."

Faced with the two terms suddenly thrown out by the mathematician, Richard thought for a moment and figured it out:
"[Spider] and [Cocoon], can you please make your code names a little more simple? They're all about [web], right? That sounds a bit silly."

"[Cocoon] is the undercover agent of the Cyber ​​Propulsion Group, [Spider] is the leadership of the Cyber ​​Propulsion Group: I understand, continue—"

The little man in the chest raised his middle finger again and pressed it against the amniotic membrane:

"You don't think our [Cocoon] is only populated by nerdy people like PhDs, do you? Of course, we have people from all walks of life! So, of course, we have to make it simple and easy to understand so that it will be more attractive."

"Anyway, [network] and [NET] can use the same imagery in both Chinese and English contexts. How convenient and intuitive is that?"

"Tsk, you must be unpopular. Propaganda and recruitment are still very important. We have corresponding talents in the revival movement."

"Okay, I won't talk nonsense with you anymore."

Perhaps because he was not yet proficient in control, the mathematician showed a twisted and mischievous smile:

"Let me tell you, the section chief is no simple matter."

"The section chief knew I was an undercover agent—well, she knew what I was going to steal. Of course, she didn't say it out loud, but it was pretty easy for me to steal that package, too easy. She definitely helped me out by opening a backdoor."

"You know those [special packages] Corey keeps aren't that easy to get."

As he thought about it, Richard's vision became vague:

"The chief knew your background, and he let you go with the package? It could only be a setup, a way to lure them out. But confronting cyber pushers isn't part of the Special Package Handling Section's job description—"

"What are you implying? The section chief can't be a cyber-promoter. She's not the type to touch your weird fantasies."

The mathematician drooled and shook his head:

"Section Chief? Of course not. You don't need to tell me that the Section Chief is definitely not one of ours: she would rather go to the street and pick off the head of some unfortunate person, and then shit on that head."

"I mean there's some kind of exchange of interests involved."

The little man in his chest lay down in the bubbling fluid, as if there was an invisible sofa behind him. The mathematician continued:

“My speculation is simple:”

"The section chief's superior, or her backer at Asia-Europe Post, is actually a [big spider]. The section chief was instructed to clean up this [big spider's] mess; so the section chief wants to silence you and John Dou, and get rid of everyone directly involved—" "The whole thing needs to be cleaned up properly, so as not to implicate this important figure."

"My supervisor had instructed us to find a way to deliver it to Mong Cai and to find a suitable safe house in Mong Cai. As a result, I was exposed right after I ran away from the Special Package Handling Section."

"For some reason, I must have been captured, killed, or something in Mong Cai; otherwise, there must be a more convenient way to pass on this code. After all, it's just numbers."

"The Special Package Handling Division isn't under the control of the Southeast Asia branch; it's directly under the headquarters. So this [Big Spider] must be very high-ranking: we're just the hair on the giant's body, carelessly falling off as it moves. Do you understand?"

“But I don’t know why they decided to do this in Mong Cai. What’s so special about Mong Cai?”

Richard, who had been pondering carefully, suddenly spoke:
"Test area."

He raised his head, his eyes flashing with strange light:
"I see. It's the testing area."

The little man in his heart straightened up, and the mathematician said dully:
"Um, what did you say?"

Richard began to pace back and forth, making small circles:

“I said: The company needs to make Mong Cai a testing ground; that’s what makes it special in the eyes of those who promote it.”

The mathematician hesitated for a moment, then found the corresponding content:
"A pilot zone? Is it the kind used to screen for ecstasy, to identify specific ecstasy types who could open up new markets and businesses? They might even involve human intervention to get as many citizens into a trance as possible?"

"But aren't all the pilot areas located in Africa and Latin America? The company obviously didn't know about Doudou's existence, so why did they put Mong Cai—"

Richard shook his head. He was lost in his own thoughts, and his words became aloud thoughts:
"It has nothing to do with Dou Dou. The number of cases of ecstasy in Mong Cai has increased dramatically over the past three years. This could only be the reason why Mong Cai was designated as a pilot area. They even established a branch office to assist in the management of the pilot area."

"The higher-ups must have noticed the sharp rise in the mania index in Mong Cai and determined it was an unusual location; but they don't know the real cause of all this. Doudou."

"His actual reach should reach the entire city; it's just that the closer you are to him, the stronger the impact."

"Of course, Asia-Europe Post definitely doesn't know this yet. If they had already discovered Doudou's existence, they wouldn't have been able to move in as a branch."

"That would only create a protective circle; conducting preliminary investigations first would also prevent competitors from trying to grab a piece of the pie."

"Remember the Neckrider? With this level of fanaticism, the company won't act rashly. They'll keep their distance until they find a profitable model. This is a major profit growth point, so everyone will definitely handle it with extreme caution."

"And it's clear that Doudou isn't the type of ecstasy that can be safely approached at close range."

"So, there could only be one reason why the Section Chief came to Mong Cai—to bring the Mong Cai branch under control and prepare to handle the test area. If your thinking is correct, then you cyber promoters really need this test area."

"If you think in this direction, a lot of things make sense."

"For example, the building we're in now, Shouzhu 151, is designed to increase the flow of people throughout Mong Cai. So, they're first developing it commercially, and then promoting it as a tourist destination, attracting tourists from surrounding areas."

"This is what we call a [complex division], using the city's most densely populated areas to support intensive development while generating a certain amount of profit to reduce overall costs. It's the marketing department's three-pronged strategy."

"The larger the population, the greater the probability of a mania. This has been proven time and again; statistics generally don't lie."

"Then your superiors asked you to bring the package to Mong Cai for the same reason: to coordinate with the section chief."

"Think about what this looks like. Cyber ​​pushers stole special packages from the Asia-Europe Post and ended up in Mong Cai, a sensitive location that was to be turned into a testing area."

"Company executives might think there's something undiscovered in Mong Cai City and accelerate the process of establishing a test area. They might also have the Special Package Management Section allocate resources to establish an intelligence network in Jiaozhi Autonomous Prefecture, making it easier for the section chief to get involved and making things more logical."

"No matter what the outcome is, there are benefits."

"Then you can hand over the stolen passwords intact to the cyber pushers, because the section chief is already working with them."

"So, the question now is... what exactly do the Section Chief and the cyber pushers want to gain from this?"

(End of this chapter)