Clown Game
Chapter 186 - 186 174 Story Two

Chapter 186: Chapter 174 Story Two Chapter 186: Chapter 174 Story Two In this awkward, bizarre, and somewhat inexplicable atmosphere, the old-fashioned television finally spoke:

“The game begins.

Competitor, Chen Xiao holds chips: 350 points.

Competitor, Tsujido Yuto holds chips: 410 points.

”

As soon as the voice fell, the emoticon on the screen disappeared, and what followed was a view overlooking a city from the sky. From the dense buildings, it was clear that this was an early 20th-century, crowded, busy Western city. It was dawn, just after sunrise, with fog enveloping every corner of the streets.

Just like the beginning of every movie, after letting the audience know the era and approximate location of the story, the camera began to move, passing through several sparse green belts and dense towering buildings… finally entering the window of an old apartment, and the image froze at the next second of entering the window.

From this angle, only the small living room of the house could be seen. On the left side of the image was a single-person sofa chair, with a fairly up-to-date television set in front, and further away, a small dining table was visible with some leftovers from last night that hadn’t been cleaned up. These few pieces of furniture already occupied most of the living room area. On the other side of the image were two closed doors, one of which, if guessed correctly, was the bedroom, and the other likely the bathroom.

The camera froze for about a second, then moved again. It passed through the keyhole of a door on the wall edge into an incredibly messy bedroom—the kind one might associate with a lazy, middle-aged bachelor who disliked bathing.

In the bedroom’s bed lay a man, around 30, with a Western face, messy hair, and sideburns that merged into a beard, which clearly hadn’t been cared for in a long time.

At this moment, that distinctive neutral voice from the television sounded again.

“This man’s information… worth 10 points of chips. Once purchased, it will be sent to the buyer’s phone.

…

“Oh,” Chen Xiao nodded slightly, realizing that this was what ‘purchasing story elements’ meant.

Just as he thought this, his opponent, Tsujido-kun, asked, “Is this person related to the story of the current game?”

It had to be said, his question was on point. The screen had barely started less than a minute ago and this person appeared—who knew if he was the protagonist, a boss, or just the inconsequential guy next door. If unrelated to the story, the chips would be wasted.

However, Tsujido-kun’s response was, “This question will cost 3 chips, and I will only answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’

“Ah?” He questioned, squinting, “Does this also cost chips? Can the information about this person be purchased later?”

As expected… the response he received was:

“This question costs 2 points…”

“Damn it!” Tsujido muttered softly. (From this point forward, no more speaking in Chinese, don’t be naughty!)

At that moment…

“Can story elements be left unpurchased now and bought later?” Chen Xiao, almost before his opponent finished speaking, quickly repeated the same question, adding, “I am willing to pay two chips!”

“Okay,” the television answered, and the next second, Chen Xiao’s cell phone rang. Displayed was the question he had just asked, and beneath it

“No”

appeared in three characters.

Moreover, in the top-right corner of the phone, the chip count of 350 had changed to 348.

“Hehehe—” Chen Xiao lifted his head after reading the answer and flashed a disgustingly obnoxious smile at Tsujido-kun…

The other furrowed his brow, “I have a proposal…”

“Oh? Let’s hear it!” Chen Xiao responded.

Yuto posed as if deep in thought, “As it stands, there are many rules of the game that remain unclear, such as the question you just asked, what would happen if all chips were used up, and whether we can trade chips with each other… etc. In short, there are too many uncertainties in this competition due to unclear rules, a situation neither of us wants to see. Therefore, I propose that each of us takes turns asking a question about the rules, and after getting an answer, we inform each other. Only then will the competition be fair.”

“Oh? How do you know that the rules I tell you are correct?” Chen Xiao asked with interest.

The other had apparently anticipated this question and immediately asked the TV, “Can we see each other’s smartphone screens?”

“Question costs 2 points…”

“Pay up—” Yuto didn’t wait for the TV to finish and interrupted, his phone then rang…

He glanced down at it, then said, “As I suspected, we can see each other’s phones, so there is no chance of deceiving each other.” Saying this, he turned his phone toward Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao was no fool and quickly averted his gaze…

“Alright then~” Seeing the other so cautious, Yuto gave a resigned smile and spoke to the TV again, “You might as well announce the answer to just now’s question~ That shouldn’t count as a new question…”

“Of course not, and the rules wouldn’t forbid watching each other’s smartphone screens… if the other party agrees,” the TV quickly responded.

Tsujido Yuto still held his phone posed, slightly nodding his head, as if to say, “See… I wasn’t lying…”

From this perspective, his proposal indeed seemed a good method to understand the mechanics of the competition.

But Chen Xiao… just chuckled again.

“I refuse…!”

“Alright, let’s… Huh? What did you say?” The other startled, hastily asked, “Why refuse? It’s a win-win proposal; how can we compete without understanding the rules?”

He vigorously attempted to persuade, but Chen Xiao blatantly ignored him, “I want information on this person, take 10 chips!” he said to the TV, and theatrically flicked his hand as if tipping a waiter.

Soon, his phone chimed once.

——————————————

Name: Andrew

Age: 31

Profile: Unemployed vagabond, single, self-proclaimed private detective but has never solved even a single commission, alcoholic, diagnosed with minor psychological symptoms during high school. No income in the past two weeks, spent his last few coins on bottles of alcohol last night and passed out drunk.

——————————————

“Hmm… Looks like a man whose life is completely devoid of highlights, a real loser…” Chen Xiao mumbled under his breath after reading the profile, “Hehe… he reeks of a story-filled life… this guy might just be the ‘main character’…”

Meanwhile, Tsujido-kun, still holding his phone and waiting for Chen Xiao to change his mind, saw his sneering smile and felt a surge of irritation.

“Hey, I want to see this person’s file too…” he put down his phone and shouted at the TV.