Clown Game
Chapter 170 - 170 159 Mind Games_2

Chapter 170: Chapter 159 Mind Games_2 Chapter 170: Chapter 159 Mind Games_2 Imagine, beneath the surface, in those dark tunnels, there lurks a terrifying mode of transportation that hurtles through the rock layers at supersonic speeds, capable of traversing the entire Asian continental plate in just a few hours. Moreover, the people sitting inside can’t even feel that it’s moving, a feat so astoundingly complex that even science fiction authors would have to tread carefully to concoct such a narrative.

…

In any case, Chen Xiao was just sitting on the subway, watching the “new combat prosthesis material development progress” news flashing on the screen above, just like any commuter on their way to work. Over two hours later, the subway arrived at its station. During this time, Chen Xiao also received a message on his phone, announcing that the chair capable of “intervening in others’ consciousness worlds” had been safely delivered to the Foundation’s premises in City X. Next, Chen Xiao’s task was to consult Mrs. Liu to finalize the “anomalous item” archives, and with that, this mission would be complete.

So, when Chen Xiao arrived once again at the Order Foundation’s “Asian branch,” naturally, he was no longer the country bumpkin cluelessly asking for directions as he had done the first time. Thanks to his quick wits, he remembered the route he had taken before extremely well; when not busy, he could even figure out the structure and ventilation systems of the place, which might come in handy later on.

Without further ado, Chen Xiao quickly made his way to Mrs. Liu’s new office with ease.

And at this very moment… well, Mrs. Liu was working, as usual, seeming nothing less than a workaholic for the time being. According to Chen Xiao’s usual behavior, he would certainly have to be cheeky in front of Mrs. Liu to feel happy, but this time, he simply went through the procedures, succinctly reported the characteristics of the anomalous item, and left… Even foregoing his habitual “single dog’s greeting,” the unusually restrained Chen Xiao was quite a rare sight, so much so that even Mrs. Liu herself found it peculiar.

In fact, the reason he didn’t joke around was that he was too eager to receive the reward for this containment mission—an invitation to the “Elite Competition.” He really wasn’t in the mood to provoke that fierce woman…

Right after stepping out of Mrs. Liu’s office, Chen Xiao quietly took out his phone, leaned against the wall, and stared at the screen with stars in his eyes.

…

…

To be fair, the Foundation’s efficiency in handling matters wasn’t bad at all, and soon, Chen Xiao received the mission completion reward notification.

A message popped up on the screen.

——————————————

Mission Completed

Grade: C

Mission Reward: “Elite Competition Invitation” C Level

Containment Completed: Yes

Containment Reward: 35

——————————————

Because this mission was somewhat unusual, all the phases were executed within the consciousness world, so reality-wise, it looked as though Chen Xiao, taking advantage of his privileges, merely dragged a psychiatric patient along to sit in a chair and have a good sleep, thus the containment reward was not very substantial this time.

Typically in such situations, field agents would explain the circumstances to the archive editors to adjust the mission rewards accordingly, but at this moment, Chen Xiao’s thoughts couldn’t be further away. In his view, a C-level reward was already very generous—the 35 points were nearly half of what a common D-level mission would garner, and besides, he hadn’t really done much this time besides sleeping. So he was quite satisfied with the outcome.

Just a few seconds after he had received the mission settlement notification, another vibration from a call rang out.

Immediately after, an icon of a folder appeared on his phone screen.

Chen Xiao, thrilled, knew exactly what it was. When executing his very first D-level human task, he had received a file with the same appearance. That file was a gift that Captain Li had presented to Chen Xiao.

Inside… was the “Elite Competition” invitation!

Chen Xiao, clearly ecstatic, opened the file.

And then, a black envelope slowly opened up on the phone screen.

————————————

“Elite Competition Permit Scroll”

Description: Upon use, grants one entry to the C-level “Elite Competition,”

Received!

————————————

Chen Xiao saw the words “Received” and nodded with satisfaction.

Then, he couldn’t wait to open the competition scroll.

…

…

Description: Congratulations, you have been granted the opportunity to participate in an elite strategic competition. Since you have already reached C-level, you must have heard of this project… If you still don’t know about it, don’t worry. This is a competition prepared for the elite, and you have proven your worth in many tasks. So, are you ready to let more people understand your strength?

——

Participate in the “Elite Struggle” to showcase your talents. The employees of the Foundation who win can obtain an item of a higher grade corresponding to a special skill (strength, reaction, thinking); these items include but are not limited to higher-grade weapons, armor, medicine, serum, etc.

Note: Each employee can only have one chance to participate at each level zone.

————Gold shines under the sun, what’s buried in the ground is shit—To all field agents of the Foundation.

…

…

Chen Xiao read through this repackaged description in an instant. Then, he paused, and scrolled through the description again, looking somewhat bewildered. In his memory, one needed 100 mission funds to participate in this elite competition, so why was there no mention of it in this invitation?

At this moment, Chen Xiao naturally couldn’t know that at the very top of the Foundation’s hierarchy, there were a few individuals with terrifying power. Unfortunately, among these few, there was a sugar-loving chubby kid who, for some reason we don’t yet know, had been suppressing Chen Xiao in all the D-level fieldwork tasks. This suppression resulted in our adorable Xiaoxiao being cheated out of all his rewards after completing his assignments, and this chubby kid had also been scheming to make him kill himself: the “Suicide Pistol” was the perfect example.

But, unaware of this, Chen Xiao, as an “ordinary person,” excitingly took on one task after another and completed them beautifully, almost always succeeding in containment, and even yet not dying!

Such occurrences, even in the history of the Foundation, are quite rare.

Uh, of course, there has never been such an idiot who’d reached C-level and still couldn’t afford even a hemorrhage spray in the history of the Foundation.

Chen Xiao frowned, mulling over something. After a while, he smiled happily, stretching his signature grin, and clicked the “use” button below the “Elite Struggle Invitation”.

Following that,

The electronic subtitle on his mobile phone appeared—

Welcome to the C-level “Elite Struggle Competition”.

Please select the competition mode you desire:

1. “Strength”

2. “Reaction”

3. “Thinking”

…

…

Chen Xiao looked at the three options and snorted.

It seems that no matter the level, there are only these three types of competition.

Of course, while there seem to be only three options, the contents are quite diverse. For instance, the strength option isn’t just about who can inject more serum. It involves a very strict battle to select the strongest from the contestants. Reaction focuses on the contestant’s behind-enemy-lines work, individual capability, reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, and even the exceedingly demanding art of assassination, etc. As for thinking, well, the ways to compete are even more numerous, with a bunch of people coming and going, not knowing who the winner is until the end.

So… Given Chen Xiao’s physical condition and the consistent tone of this book, I reckon there aren’t many among us who would want to see him being rubbed out by a bunch of big, burly guys.

So, as usual, Chen Xiao certainly chose the third option.

Thinking