Clown Game
Chapter 123 - 123 109 Unknown Task 3

Chapter 123: Chapter 109 Unknown Task 3 Chapter 123: Chapter 109 Unknown Task 3 “Future prediction!!!”

This wasn’t just Bai Xiong’s speculation; it was a conjecture mentioned in many mission records and reports. Because every time they acted, C-207 seemed to already know everything in advance, perfectly evading all operational plans. Once or twice might be understandable, but it inevitably led people to this idea when it happened consistently.

If someone really possessed this kind of ability, that would be something to talk about. After all, there are many types of precognition.

The most common is predicting the “major future,” also known as “historical foresight.” This ability often stretches ten, twenty, or more years into the future. General fortunetellers have this ability, such as predicting someone’s financial luck over the next ten years or their fortune for the second half of their life. What’s that? Predicting romance? Stop joking, that doesn’t exist! The form this type of prophecy takes usually outlines a broad direction, but the specific details are utterly unclear. Hence, according to C-207’s behavior, it’s definitely not this type.

Then there’s the “minor future,” which allows one to foresee a few minutes or days ahead. Although the timeframe is short, it compensates with “detail,” and it seems, the target this time likely has this kind of ability.

Of course, there’s also that “distant and detailed future.” That ability is a bit too badass. Imagine if C-207 had foreseen 20 years ago that today two guys would be plotting to catch them, knowing what they look like, what clothes they’re wearing, what their plan is—then what’s the point in playing at all? Moreover, such an ability wouldn’t be out of place even at the S-level.

So, for now, let’s just assume C-207’s ability falls into the “minor future” category.

And the minor future itself is divided into many types.

For instance, “self-centric future,” which means seeing changes in the immediate surroundings over a short period into the future.

There’s also the “non-self-centric future,” which is a bit hard to understand. Upon activation of the ability, one can see changes in things other than themselves, with the seer merely observing everything from the sidelines, having no connection with the events whatsoever. For example, “seeing a cow several hundred kilometers away farting in 20 minutes!” This ability… well… doesn’t seem like something C-207 would have either.

So, if we presume that C-207 truly has the gift of prophecy, then a predictive ability for a “short-term self-centric future” seems much more plausible.

…

…

On the main street right outside K City xxx High School, there’s a rather deserted fast-food restaurant. Although its location is decent, close to the main street, unfortunately, due to its inconspicuous facade and average taste, the restaurant doesn’t attract many customers. Nonetheless, since it’s a small establishment with low rent, it’s managed to stay afloat.

Today, two peculiar customers visited the restaurant.

One of them was quite tall, around 190cm… Well, actually, people of this height are quite common and not particularly noteworthy. However, this individual was also exceptionally burly. This burly nature wasn’t just about having a broad back and large muscles. It was more like he was wrapped in steel-reinforced concrete with dynamite inside. Combined with his calm and stern face, he stood out fiercely amongst other “strongmen,” making any 2-meter-tall muscle man seem weaker in his presence.

It was rare to come across someone with such a presence, but if the “turning heads rate” for the two men was a total of 10 points, this man could only score 3. The remaining 7 points were taken by the other guy.

This fellow only reached up to the shoulders of those next to him, hunched over, with both hands casually in his pockets. Although he wore a mask that obscured his face, his mere presence gave off an oddly… no, rather peculiar feeling. His purple suit added to the strangeness.

It was just after 10 am, and there were no other customers in the shop. Although the owner found the pair quite odd, he just gave them a couple of extra looks, but the tall and short duo didn’t do anything unusual. They just ordered some drinks and sat by a window seat.

…

…

“How sure are we about this place?” Chen Xiao took off his mask, sipping through a straw as he asked.

Bai Xiong looked out the window and replied indifferently, “Don’t know.”

“Oh.” Chen Xiao responded nonchalantly and then boredly gazed at the main entrance of XXX High School not far away.

…

So… what exactly were these two up to?

The answer is, they were searching for C-207!

At this point, someone might ask, “What? Has this anomaly appeared again?”

No, it has not. In fact, ever since a year ago when the Institute of Abnormal Research in K city submitted a proposal to the Asian division’s senior management titled “Proposal to Delay the Hunt for Anomaly No. C-207,” the frequency of this anomaly’s appearances has dwindled, and it’s been almost half a year since it last emerged. If Bai Xiong hadn’t applied for this mission, the Foundation probably wouldn’t have taken any significant action even if it reappeared.

So, how did these two end up including XX High School in their search range?

As mentioned in a previous chapter, Bai Xiong used the Foundation’s internal systems to compare the location of each emergence of Anomaly No. C-207 with the map of K city, which means it’s fairly easy to determine where the anomaly appears more frequently.

Therefore, after analysis, Bai Xiong made a surprising discovery… he hadn’t obtained any useful clues at all.

…

Well… although this might sound rather embarrassing, that’s just the way it is. Anomaly No. C-207 has been detected 75 times in total, more than half of which lasted only a very short duration, and the locations are scattered throughout all corners of the city. Although the “city center” and “commercial district” are slightly more frequent, there’s no recognizable pattern overall.

In other words, the method of using frequency of appearances to deduce the other party’s range of activity or lifestyle habits is unworkable.

If this is intentional on their part, it can be certain that this guy is extremely cautious and smart.

This indicates that he had anticipated that someone would try to find him using this method and even carried out this sort of preventative action just to guard against this possibility. And it’s not just a simple “smokescreen” or “evasion” tactic—it’s like dyeing an entire vat of water red to hide a drop of blood. To conceal oneself by exposing one’s tracks on such a large scale is highly risky, and even if one thinks of it, not everyone has the courage to do it.

So, since his whereabouts are utterly untraceable, why did Bai Xiong still choose “XX High School” as the first search point?

The reason is actually quite simple.

Even though the investigation path was blocked, the “starting point” was still there.

This high school was the first place where Anomaly No. C-207 was detected.

…

…

XX High School, a nondescript school in K city, has only one teaching building and occupies a small area. Basically, all the students attend because it is close to their homes.

At this moment, in a classroom of the senior third group, a male student was idly twirling a pen while thoughtfully staring out the window.

Just as his thoughts were drifting away to who knows where.

Suddenly, a piece of chalk flew and struck his head with uncanny accuracy.

Immediately after, the teacher’s yelling followed.

“Where was I?”

The boy who was hit seemed to hesitate for a moment before putting on a startled expression, then bowed his head and stood up.

“Day after day, all you know is skipping out. Go stand outside!” the teacher yelled towards the corridor outside the door, his few remaining strands of hair fluttering about.

The male student hung his head, looking aggrieved as he walked out of the classroom.

…

(Is a high school the same as a university… let it be for now; you all know it’s a high school. I’ll change it when I have time. One… um!)