Madness ecstasy

He turned his head around, but no matter which direction he looked, he couldn't find the arcade:

“There’s no dance machine here.”

Ai Xi pressed his head against the curled edges that resembled dead leaves and smoothed them out. Ashes fell to the ground at his touch.

"Usually, my dreams are very vague; they are not as clear and lucid as in the Taro World."

"Actually, I also think the dream she was talking about is the Taro World. But I didn't dare to say it outside, fearing surveillance. After I came in, I never had the chance to say it."

"Yesterday, I was just asking around to see who had a strange dream, and that's how I contacted those idiots over there. They're being too brazen—it's only a matter of time before they're exposed to Asia-Europe Post; they might have already been."

Doudou looked at the lively crowd in the Taro Society, but his mind was recalling Ruan Jingbo's locust-like crawling posture:

"Anyway, let's talk to Ruan first. She might know some secrets: Look at the people in the Taro Society. They all look pretty normal. None of them look like statues."

"Then let's go home this afternoon; I'm quite curious about how she became like that--"

Ding. Ding. Ding.

Suddenly: a noise emerged from the conversation - and then it grew louder and louder. It was the sound of a bell, long and indistinct:

The bells rang rhythmically; then, floating string music and piano music rose and mixed in, sometimes far away, sometimes near.

Doudou tilted his head and listened carefully for a while. The tune was so melodious and relaxing that it made him want to doze off.

"Why does this music sound so familiar?"

The ringing grew louder, until it was shrill and piercing. The clouds beneath their feet trembled with the sound of the ringing, bouncing like bubbles on a speaker.

Ai Xi's reaction was faster than his. She patted her pocket and pointed at the Taro Society students who had all stopped moving.

"This is the lunch break bell."

Hearing this, Doudou couldn't help but be shocked:

"The lunch bell! That's the sound from the school. How come I can hear it outside all of a sudden? That means—"

-

"--Going back to reality?"

The second half of the words suddenly became clear in my ears - there was no more noise from before.

Doudou blinked, raised his hand, and touched his soft cheek:

They were finally back in the small, stuffy utility room again, everyone huddled together; the walls were covered with water stains and mildew.

The light from the utility room reappeared, sticky as hot asphalt. Everyone broke free from some kind of sticky mess and fell back into this narrow, disgusting reality.

The smell of sweat, body odor, bad breath; the smell of mold, rat droppings and paint, all mixed together and rushed into the nasal cavity.

Perhaps because he was feeling suffocated, he breathed through his mouth unconsciously, and even his mouth felt dry, making Doudou eager to drink water.

Unlike the slow and lengthy process of entering the taro world, leaving it was so quick.

Wow!

Perhaps stimulated by the pungent smell, someone suddenly opened his mouth and started vomiting; the vomit fell on the concrete floor and sprayed onto other students' shoes - this added a sense of horror to the utility room.

Just before the vomiting causes more vomiting and the chain reaction begins—

Click.

The iron door was flung open—it was Ai Xi. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, carefully pressing on her scar, and breathing in the still-fresh air.

"Okay, it's lunch break time. Let's all get ready to go back to class. You won't be able to explain yourself if the teacher catches you."

Ai Xi raised his hand and pointed at the students who filed out of the utility room. They didn't leave immediately, but stood under the mezzanine, breathing fiercely.

"You. Wipe yourself off and go back. Don't draw attention to yourself. Go help that guy over there and clean his clothes."

"And you, you're from Class 5, right? Walk faster when you pass by the teacher's office, and don't be sneaky."

"Then wait a moment, come here. I have something to say."

Her voice was not loud, but it was clear under the overhead layer.

Ai Xi walked across from the group, his eyes darting like icy spears—the scar on his face was a frightening red, looking like it was about to turn into a beating heart at any moment:

"Stop recruiting people for now. Stop the party after school and tonight."

"Tomorrow I'll publish information about the Taro Society in the school newspaper and broadcast it on the radio station, directly recruiting new members from across the school—"

"The Taro Society is so interesting, more people should know about it; there will definitely be many people interested in joining."

"Does anyone object?"

The crowd remained silent, even experiencing a brief moment of stagnation and bewilderment:

But immediately, a short girl stood on tiptoe and raised her hands vigorously - Doudou recognized her. This was the girl who roared the loudest before entering the Taro World.

Even if she wasn't screaming at the top of her lungs, her eyes were still bulging like goldfish; she looked a little creepy:

"But, is it necessary for the Taro Society to let so many people know about it? Why are they recruiting new members?"

Ai Xi nodded slightly at her, but his words were directed to everyone:

"It's simple. There's only one new person today compared to yesterday—and the world has changed. The Taro King doesn't know why he exploded, but we're all fine."

"This means that the more people there are, the more changes there are in the world, and the more fun it is. At the same time, it doesn't affect safety."

"Anyway, you all want to bring new people and play with people you know: your deskmate, your good friends, your best buddies, your childhood friends. Secrets are meant to be shared."

"However, the practice of recruiting people through referrals or through acquaintances can be phased out – directly recruiting people is better and more efficient."

"Even if it's not in the school newspaper, the whole school will know about it tomorrow. Can any of you keep it to yourself? One person will tell ten people, ten people will tell a hundred people. This kind of thing will spread everywhere in no time, and others will be able to form their own groups."

"Who will remember this Taro Society? You discovered this wonderful thing, and now it's being forgotten. There's no credit left at all."

"Okay, why not just openly recruit new members? We can also get sponsorship from others. If there are more people, we won't have to squat in this utility room. What are you throwing up like? If it gets any hotter, you'll definitely get heatstroke."

"I'll talk to the [Yam King] store next door and ask them to give us some free drinks and snacks."

"At least do something good. If everyone knows about this in a couple of days, it won't be fashionable anymore."

Chapter 107 Association

The girl with the goldfish eyes closed her mouth and shrank into the crowd - it was unclear whether she was truly convinced or unwilling to continue the argument; she just frowned tightly, and no one knew what she was thinking.

Immediately, another boy raised his hand and started a new topic:

"Wait a minute, I object."

Doudou had seen this face several times before—in the men's restroom, the cafeteria, or the corridor; but the voice was even more familiar; he had heard it before in Taro World:

Looks like the guy who wrote a diary on his face

In reality, he is a big, strong man, with his school uniform bulging out. His face is like a square, almost connected to his neck. From this rough appearance, it is impossible to see his delicate and sensitive heart:

"Why do you have the final say? You just joined for the first time last night! You have to give in no matter what."

As he was talking, the square-faced boy got stuck - he looked around, as if trying to find some support or a suitable candidate.

But he received no response: everyone's ambiguous gazes were fixed on Ai Xi's face.

Ai Xi folded his hands over his chest and raised his brows. His muscles pulled at the scar, making his cheek look like a beating heart, which was creepy.

"We are all in the same grade, there is no need to rank according to seniority."

"Would you be willing to negotiate with the Taro King and ask that store to sponsor us? Can you get free drinks and free cakes?"

"Or if the teacher catches you, will you go and hold the jar?"

"Of course, you can push someone else out; or do you have a better plan?"

"That's fine too; as long as someone does what needs to be done, that's all that matters."

"If you just want to be the boss but are too lazy to do anything, then don't waste other people's time."

The square-faced boy's face flushed red, and the bright white pimple on the tip of his nose was about to burst.

He stood there, suddenly shook his head and shook his hands, then rushed back into the crowd without saying a word.

Ai Xi waited for a moment, staring intently at the students whose gazes were wandering:

"Anyone else object? If not, fine; that's all. If you have any other questions, we'll discuss them when we recruit new members."

"I'll announce the new location tomorrow on the radio—and I'll also bring food and drinks from Taro King."

"You all know how long it takes to queue up for Taro King. It's free and time-consuming to eat."

"Everyone likes Taro King. Consider this a benefit of the association. Of course, if you're not interested in joining, then you don't have to come."

"Do you understand what I said earlier? If you understand, then hurry back to the classroom and take a nap."

Following her "order", the students of the Taro Society slowly disbanded:

Some had not yet recovered from the lack of oxygen and were staggering as if they were drunk; some were jogging towards the teaching building, shaking the collars of their school uniforms; and some were rushing to the toilet to wash their faces.

But perhaps it was some kind of tacit understanding, or perhaps it was unnatural fear; when they turned their heads, they all avoided Ai Xi's sight.

-

After everyone had left, Ai Xi and Dou Dou returned to the utility room and closed the door. The heavy stench still lingered, but Ai Xi paid no attention, not even blinking.

Doudou pulled up the collar of his raincoat and hid his nose inside——

He had been to Ai Xi's house two or three times before, and the smell there was similar to the current storage room.

But her house also had a lot of empty wine bottles and picked-up cardboard and scrap metal, and the garbage piled up into a small mountain; the wall in front of her house was also sprayed with layers of red and white paint, but there were so many layers that it was impossible to make out what was written.

Ai Xi doesn't have this unpleasant smell.

Doudou found a flat car tire to sit on, trying to stay away from the vomit - he didn't know why there was such a thing in the school utility room:

"So you're going to take over the Taro Society? I thought you had no interest in this kind of thing."

Ai Xi walked straight to the depths and started rummaging through the moldy corners:

"I figured it out. Even a small mosquito is still meat. Let's just organize it."

"Anyway, with over a dozen people, word will definitely leak out and be exposed. Just two or three people gossiping a little, and the whole class will know in an afternoon. This matter will only spread more and more."

"Since I can't hide it, I might as well try to control it. This is also a good opportunity."

She moved the hammer, screwdriver, and empty bucket away and threw them behind her head. Doudou casually caught the miscellaneous items thrown by Ai Xi and put them aside.

"Oh, so you want to seize the right to interpret this matter, and you can also find ways to spread false information and create smokescreens."

"Even if this gets out, it will at least be a cover-up."

Ai Xi's hands kept moving, constantly throwing debris backwards:

"Yes, the idea is similar."

"It also makes it easier to screen and investigate. If there truly is a Taro World fanatic among these fifteen people, then this would be much more efficient—at least we'd find them sooner than the Asia-Europe Post Office."

"what!"

Doudou suddenly sat up straight, remembering another thing:

"Hey! That's right: if you really want to do that new job tomorrow, you can try it on the playground."

"Remember the method I told you yesterday about identifying ecstasy? It's about looking for strange objects in the sky."

"Let's test everyone tomorrow—maybe we can find a few more people with super powers."

Ai Xi suddenly stopped what she was doing and turned away. Her eyes were filled with nervousness and anxiety, and she kept blinking.

"Ah, yes! This is great and convenient. I forgot just now: wouldn't it be possible to directly verify if there are any psychics in the Taro Society?"

"Why didn't I think of this? Ah."

Doudou quickly waved his hands—he knew his deskmate well.

"Oh, don't worry! It wasn't really suitable to do that just now—the lunch bell rang, and this is on the mezzanine floor: it's not good to drag them all out to the playground and have everyone staring up at the sky."

"Once the teacher or security arrive, it'll be a hassle again. Because we're all going crazy, it'll only make things worse."

"That's right. Let's not make things complicated. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

After the clutter was moved away, Doudou discovered that there was a dim green dot flashing regularly in the corner.

Ai Xi calmed down his breathing and finally picked up a cardboard box with a small cut out from the pile of miscellaneous items. He took out a handheld video recorder with a flashing indicator light from it.

The green dot I just saw is this thing: