Clown Game
Chapter 115 - 115 101 Doubts in the Hospital VII

Chapter 115: Chapter 101: Doubts in the Hospital VII Chapter 115: Chapter 101: Doubts in the Hospital VII Loneliness while waiting for an end that will never come. In a world where one is alone, without even a spectator, what significance does doing more hold?

Just 13 years old, she, of course, could not understand such despair, but after listening to Chen Xiao’s words, she instinctively felt an inexplicable fear and sourness at the bottom of her heart.

Thus, she fell silent.

After a while, she began to mutter, feeling that she should say something.

…

“Mom spent all her savings, the best medicine, the best hospital room… but Dad still didn’t get better… then Mom got sick too… One day, a doctor told me that they had gone to a very far place, where the best hospitals were, only that it would take a long time for them to return… I knew he was lying to me…”

The little girl spoke in a flat tone, but the emotion within her words was easily discernible.

“That night, I sat in the hallway, and an old man came by… He asked me if I liked those doctors?… I shook my head…”

…

Chen Xiao frowned, obviously, this young girl had touched on a critical point; anyone could tell, this “old man” was likely the origin of all these events.

So Chen Xiao continued to remain silent, thinking that an extremely interesting story was about to unfold.

But at this thrilling moment,

the following three things happened.

First: The little girl’s voice abruptly stopped, and her image soon vanished into a pool of blood.

Second: The team leader, Uncle, inexplicably walked into the room opposite and then carried out two chairs…

Third: The elevator on the 17th floor emitted a “ding” sound, the doors slowly opened, and afterward, a familiar face stepped out…

Saying he was a familiar face, in fact, they had only met once, but the scene at that moment was almost the same as the last time they met.

Last time too, just as things escalated to a climax, with a “ding”, he had appeared in the elevator, and then all the events were suddenly interrupted.

Indeed, this person was the one who had appeared at the “Golden Ding Tower” rooftop auction — Mr. Zhou.

Chen Xiao watched as this elderly man, leaning on a small cane, hiccupped step by step towards him, while at the same time, the team leader, Uncle, placed two chairs in front of him and then, without saying anything, turned and walked to the wall, quietly standing there like a bodyguard.

Just like when they met last time, an extremely stark dissonance was palpable, all of it signaling to Chen Xiao that the old man in front of him was highly dangerous. He felt he should probably quickly pull out his gun and fire a shot at this old man, but he didn’t really want to act on that thought. This idea couldn’t form a complete consciousness in his mind, let alone make his body react.

So all he could do was watch this scene unfold, twisting his body uncomfortably, even unable to muster a speck of a sense of crisis,

Mr. Zhou, wobbling, approached one of the chairs and unapologetically sat down on it. Just like someone tired from a morning walk sitting down on a park bench to rest, he appeared particularly out of place in this blood-scented hallway. Moreover, Chen Xiao noticed that his body seemed to be emitting a faint trace of bluish smoke with a slight smell of sulfur, as if he had hurriedly come from a place like a volcanic hell.

“These young people these days…” Mr. Zhou grumbled with a look of displeasure, as if he were thinking about something else. Then, he glanced at Chen Xiao and seemed somewhat impatient, pointing at the chair opposite him, meaning, “Why are you standing? Sit.”

Chen Xiao didn’t hesitate and just went over and sat down.

…

“You gave them those abilities?” he asked straightforwardly without any preamble.

Mr. Zhou sat with his legs apart, his cane upright between them, and his hands stacked on top of it, casually replied, “Yes.”

Chen Xiao was startled; he hadn’t expected the other party to answer his question so easily. Usually, in such situations, wouldn’t there be a lot of back-and-forth before one could extract any valuable answers?

However, Chen Xiao wasn’t one to beat around the bush, and seeing such a straightforward response, he immediately threw out his next question.

“Who are you?”

Mr. Zhou shrugged his shoulders and said, “You know, I’m a businessman.”

“What kind of business?” Chen Xiao asked further.

Mr. Zhou smiled faintly, “I give people power! And collect a little fee in return.” As he spoke, he indicated with his chin toward the bloodstain nearby. “Like her, for example.”

Chen Xiao nodded thoughtfully.

“What did they all give up?” he asked next, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he remembered the fierce, beast-like gaze of the young girl.

“Humanity, perhaps?” Chen Xiao seemed to already know the answer. “Give power to those with tragic fates, then lead them into an even deeper abyss?” He mused aloud, then suddenly seemed very happy, grinning widely. “Hmm… seems pretty intense.”

Watching Chen Xiao’s twisted expression, Mr. Zhou’s eyebrow twitched, “Alright, I don’t have that much time for idle chat,” he said impatiently. “I want to discuss business with you.”

The word “business” immediately sparked a dazzling light in Chen Xiao’s eyes, shining brightly like little stars.

“Hehehe… business, you say?” He straightened his back, also letting out a couple of neurotic chuckles.

“So what are you? A human? Or the so-called demon from fairy tales? How do you give people power? Does the power you grant always come with a taboo? Besides granting power, what other abilities do you have? To be honest, I always feel like something very wrong happens whenever you appear. Can you elaborate on what you can do? Why do you always target girls? Do you have some weird obsession? Hmm… Besides ‘humanity,’ what other prices are there? What’s your purpose in making these deals, don’t tell me you’re some kind of philanthropist. You also know about an organization called the ‘Order Foundation,’ right? What’s your relationship with it? And how do you always come out of the elevator… blabber blabber.”

Like this, Chen Xiao barraged questions like a machine gun for a whole five minutes.

Mr. Zhou couldn’t get a word in edgewise, his face turning green with frustration. Normally, his business partners would first be scared, then hesitant, and finally excited, slowly walking into the endings he had set up. This was the first time he had encountered someone who bombarded him with questions before even discussing the deal, making him feel like perhaps he had made a mistake.

“Stop!” he had to interrupt Chen Xiao.

Where do you get so many questions?

(I’ll stop here for now; the next chapter might be posted later as I’m a bit busy today. Let me tell you the exciting news: with Mr. Zhou’s appearance, nearly all the plot holes in the first half of the book are dug, and I’m someone who always fills in what I’ve dug. Exciting, right? Thus, votes. Whimper a bit. Also, is everyone who is 15 in freshman year, then make it 13… whimper again!)