Volume 1 Chaos Comes Chapter 10 Azathoth
In the restroom, I met the owner of the coffee shop. His name was Xia Gai and he was only a few years older than me.
But this man in his thirties, with his side-parted hair, wearing delicate gold-rimmed glasses and a neat cafe work suit, looks much more mature than me.
This house is actually an old house left by his ancestors. After graduating from high school, he went to culinary school for two years and then came back to transform it into a coffee shop. The business is now neither good nor bad.
Our meeting was very coincidental. One time, when I was reading a book about Cthulhu that I bought from a used bookstore, he suddenly came up to me and said that he was also a fan of this subject and gave me a chocolate mousse.
In fact, I read that book purely because I was attracted by the detailed descriptions of monsters and galaxies on the cover.
We became quite familiar with each other, and I would occasionally introduce my classmates to him. Whenever I went home during the holidays, I would come over to sit alone, and he would always enthusiastically pester me to discuss the legends of the ancient gods.
After all, there are not many people in this small city who can talk about these messy things.
"Brother Xia, you're opening so early."
"I've been sitting around playing with my phone during the New Year, and my parents are getting annoyed. I'd rather come out and talk to people. How are you doing in school lately?"
"It's OK. I'm studying chaos theory recently..."
"Ah? Chaos?! Azathoth?"
Azathoth, also known as the Core of Chaos, resides on a strange dark throne at the center of chaos in the Cthulhu Mythos, ruling all time is the most powerful being in the entire universe and the leader of thousands of demons.
"Are you guys researching how to summon the ancient gods?"
Once he starts this topic, there will be no end to it. I have to find a way to end it.
"No, no, chaos is a purely scientific concept that describes some natural phenomena."
"Nothing to do with the Ancient God?"
He didn't really want anyone to summon the ancient gods.
"Really not at all. Let's talk about it in detail when we have time. I really have to go out. There are people waiting outside."
After returning to the table, Xia Gai came over to say hello to us and placed a plate of heart-shaped cookies on the table.
"It's a gift. Bring more friends here next time."
"Do you think Brother Xia is handsome?" I saw the coffee shop owner in the distance chatting with two girls at another table. He put one arm on the bar and seemed very happy.
"I don't know. I didn't pay much attention."
The tone of her voice told me that I had said the wrong thing, and I realized once again that I lacked training in this area.
"Hmm... I saw Tangyuan by the lake before. It seemed that there were a few kittens following them."
There are many wild cats in the family compound. The one we are most familiar with is called Tangyuan. She is snow-white all over, with only a little black on the tip of her nose, just like a black sesame dumpling with a small hole in it.
In ancient times, cats with pure white bodies but a few black spots on their heads were called "General's Seal". I wonder if a cat like her with only spots on its nose can be called "General's Sniffing Seal"...
When she was in high school and middle school, Ning Yu'an fed Tangyuan milk using a syringe without a needle.
"Really? She's already a mother."
"When she was little, my parents built a paper nest for her in the storage room of our house. I remember you would go to see it as soon as you got out of school."
"Yes, I used to bring a bottle, but her mouth was too small. After I switched to a syringe, she sucked very quickly and vigorously."
"Later, as she grew older, she was able to eat fish. My dad even gave her leftover braised fish. From then on, she would bark whenever she saw anyone from our family and always wanted to follow them upstairs."
Wild cats can climb stairs much faster than domestic cats and they can walk very fast.
"But you already have Buster at home, so you can't keep her."
"Yeah, Buster is the same. He has loved things from the sea since he was a kid, and he would rush to eat all kinds of seafood."
But she doesn't like sea water. No cat likes water.
“When I was a kid, fishermen would sell freshly caught fish right on the curb, some of which were still alive.”
As I said this, I looked out the window at the old tractors and wooden boats on the beach. Fishing is now prohibited along the city's coastline, but fishing is still allowed, and fishing will attract a flock of seagulls after making a nest.
On the way to school in middle school, I would pass by the beach in the morning light, where I would often encounter large groups of seagulls. Their noisy calls mixed with the cold sea breeze could make people sober instantly, which was more effective than coffee.
"I've been studying a theory recently... It says that all kinds of bird flocks follow a self-organizing structure. I wonder if it's the same as what you just mentioned..."
After I said that, I was embarrassed by my own forced transition without any beginning or end.
"Ah, you're still thinking about that."
I smiled shyly, my face feeling a little hot.
She picked up a heart-shaped cookie, stuck a few toothpicks into it, and placed it in the oversized coffee cup in front of her.
It hurts.
"We assume that this cookie is a piece of neural tissue cultured in a nutrient solution, and when we do the experiment we will insert an array of electrodes into it."
Then she fished out the biscuits a little awkwardly, after all, she still had to drink the coffee.
"These electrodes detect electrical signals from time to time. Our experiment is to record the number of electrical signals generated at each moment."
"So...what do these signals mean ?"
"They represent information being transmitted in neural tissue. Nerve cells are interconnected, and the more electrodes that fire at the same time, the farther a message can be transmitted."
It is the same as the previous chopstick array, except that each chopstick here becomes a nerve cell.
"I see... In the language of physics... this is actually the coordinated behavior of neurons."
"That's right. I heard from my teacher that some physicists believe that human intelligence comes from the regular synchronous discharge of neurons, and this law is the 'self-organization' you mentioned before..."
I nodded, not quite understanding, as if she had told me this before.
"Ah... I can't explain it clearly just by talking. I'll send you a few articles when I get back."
We talked about a lot of things under the sun, and before we knew it, it was evening.
"Uh, I have to go to the market now. Grandma asked me to buy some fish."
"Grandma, are you in good health now?" My grandma likes Ning Yu'an very much, which makes Fang Xue very jealous.
But Fang Xue still listened to Ning Yu'an and often sought her help when she encountered problems. Perhaps this kind of jealousy was similar to the feelings between real sisters.
"I'm fine. I played cards for three days during the Chinese New Year and I'm still in good spirits. Do you want to go to the market with me?"
"Pfft, you better never invite girls to the market again."
She and I both laughed. A faint bitter smell filled the coffee shop at dusk, which mixed with the scent of milk and petals emanating from Ning Yu'an, inexplicably matching my current mood.
When we walked out of the cafe, we ran into Fang Xue and her companions walking towards us.
The moment I saw them, I immediately decided to pretend not to know them, but I was recognized by the noisy high school girls, some of whom had seen me before.
"Fang Xue! That's your brother!"
"He looks pretty good in real life, much more handsome than the ugly photos you took."
"Brother, you are very smart!"
"Brother! Fang Xue said you were a pervert!"
"Brother, do you have a girlfriend?"
I lost myself in the voices of "brother", and when I wanted to say something pretentious, a hand grabbed my arm fiercely. I turned to look at Ning Yu'an, and just happened to witness the moment when her expression changed from unhappy to smiling.
Everyone shut up.
"...Sister, Happy New Year..."
Fang Xue has never spoken to me in this tone before.
"It's Xiaoxue. You've become so beautiful that I didn't recognize you. Are you hanging out with your friends?"
"Sister Yu'an is always beautiful... My friend and I are out for a walk... We'll go in first."
I caught a glimpse from the corner of my eye and saw that Fang Xue's face was full of black lines.
The female high school students hesitated for a moment, then quickly moved into the coffee shop like a ripple. In the distance, they could faintly hear the sound of whispering.
"Your brother likes big ones. He's really a pervert..."
The tingling in my arm made it impossible for me to concentrate on eavesdropping. It was getting close to evening, the moon and Jupiter had risen, and the black and white cumulus clouds on the northern sea were rolling, showing their sharpness under the setting sun.
That was the cold air mass rushing in from Siberia. It had just crossed the sea, absorbed enough water vapor, and was brewing the next snowstorm in its body.
"Look at the sky, look at the stars, look at the universe..."
"The red sun is approaching from afar?" Ning Yu'an turned her head and looked at me. I didn't expect her to be able to pick up this joke.
When you look at the universe, the universe is also looking at you.
