Clown Game
Chapter 200 - 188 New... New Teammate?

Chapter 200: Chapter 188 New... New Teammate?

A woman walked in from outside the door.

Of course, this woman had absolutely nothing to do with an "old woman".

...

Short hair, a face that would have been very attractive had it not been for its emaciated appearance, giving it an extremely sickly feel. Her arms were long, hanging lifeless at her sides, her entire body clad in black leather clothing. In fact, the word "clad" isn’t quite accurate, because even the tightest corset would seem loose on her. From the surface, one could even make out the outline of her limbs protruding out, like dried branches, creating a deeply unsettling feeling at a mere glance.

How could a person be so thin?

...

...

Of course, Chen Xiao didn’t feel much about this woman’s unusual figure; he had seen too many people with strange appearances.

What he was concerned about... was the aura she exuded, one that seemed as dismissive of life as of excrement.

Chen Xiao was almost certain that if he were to suddenly turn into a living person and be chopped up in front of her, this woman wouldn’t even blink an eye, at most she would comment on some imperfections in his butchery technique...

This kind of aura couldn’t be attained by merely killing a few people. Think about it, Jingjing was also a Demon King-level figure who had been steeped in the Blood Pool, yet compared to the woman before him, there was a kind of difference like that between a little loli and a big sister.

So, Bai Xiong had been playing disappearing act since the C—207 mission, and now suddenly appeared in his apartment with this woman.

So the question arose, what were they doing here?

It surely couldn’t be that they were out of money for a hotel and were thinking of borrowing his room.

...

Don’t worry, the kind of plot that forces people to spit out snarky remarks isn’t going to happen; and right after that, Bai Xiong seemed to hear the thoughts inside Chen Xiao’s head and answered his doubt.

"Her name is Song Xuan... she’s from the ’Oversight Group’."

Chen Xiao paused, then greeted her politely, "Hi—"

He then covered his mouth with the back of his hand, sneaking up to Bai Xiong with a conspiratorial look, and muttered softly, "What’s the Oversight Group for...?"

His action looked cautious, but in fact, he didn’t try to hide it from Song Xuan at all.

The latter, clearly not someone who hid things, answered the question herself.

Her answer was... "Killing people."

"Uh..." Chen Xiao could only draw out a long tone in response to her answer.

Then, Bai Xiong continued the explanation, "... It’s the department responsible for ’executions’ within the Foundation!"

"Uh..." Chen Xiao drew out the long tone again but this time, the tone carried a different meaning entirely.

The meaning of "execution" was self-explanatory. So although Bai Xiong’s explanation was casual, it was also sufficient.

Actually, if one thinks about it carefully, it’s easy to guess that an organization like the "Order Foundation" would definitely have a department akin to an "Oversight Group"...

After all, anything could happen here, especially during field missions. No one can guarantee what those "field agents," who are normally diligent and responsible, might turn into. Just like in the last "Dark Realm" mission, if Song Xuan hadn’t executed that slovenly uncle in time, the outcome would surely have taken a different turn.

...

As Chen Xiao hummed and hawed, Bai Xiong continued, "She... volunteered to join the Ridiculers."

"Hmm..." Chen Xiao hummed as before, then suddenly:

"What the fuck? What did you say?"

He reacted with a yell, even hopping in place to match his astonishment.

"She wants to join?" Chen Xiao seemed very surprised.

No wonder, considering he did have some self-awareness. Judging by his own charm, the entire squad reeked of a "dissuading" element from top to bottom. The fact that he managed to convince Bai Xiong to join, through both coercion and deceit, was already a monumental breakthrough for the century. He never imagined someone would join them, and voluntarily at that.

Even Chen Xiao couldn’t help but cast a doubtful glance at the withered woman. His look undeniably asking again, "Are you really sure you want to join? You’re not insane, are you...?"

Soon, Song Xuan dissipated his concerns with a self-spoken answer: "Yes, I want to join."

After receiving this response, Chen Xiao’s eyebrows remained furrowed. He hesitated for a moment and then asked tentatively in a low voice, "Can I ask why?"

"Of course, I have my reasons... you’ll find out, but not now," she said, her phrasing a bit awkward, as if she was unaccustomed to saying so much at once.

"Uh... Yeah, you don’t have to say," Chen Xiao said, spreading his hands in resignation. "But the way you’re jumping into this pit without explanation is a bit suspicious."

No sooner had he spoken than Song Xuan smiled unexpectedly, "Heh... Did you call your squad a pit?" Although it sounded like a taunt, one could clearly see that the muscles controlling her smile on her cheekbones were quite stiff, making her expression seem somewhat horrific: "Perhaps your actions don’t showcase your abilities prominently, but due to my department’s uniqueness, I can access the files of all field agents at our level... Your mission records and what you claim verbally are quite different, you know."

She paused as if the next words required great effort to say.

"Chen Xiao, never having undergone Serum Strengthening, without any enhanced implants, physically weaker than the average person, and with an intelligence evaluation index of only 2 points."

Her face twisted into a mocking smile, then shifted gears,

"Winner of the Elite Confrontation, intellectual competition D-level area, winner of C-level area, and upon joining the field team, in just three months, 5 times D-level missions, 3 times C-level missions; your acceptance of missions is extremely frequent, including one cross-level mission and one marked as ’Delayed Containment.’ But even so, all the missions you handled were completed with a near hundred percent containment rate. The mission briefings show that you hardly ever use any weapons and rarely get injured on duty. The only repair deck record seems to be due to an accident. Seems like you hardly use even basic medical supplies, oh right, in fact you’ve only redeemed two bottles of hemostatic spray."

As Chen Xiao listened, he quickly wanted to explain that it wasn’t because he didn’t want to redeem more supplies; he just couldn’t afford it.

But his interlocutor seemed to understand what he wanted to say and cut him off immediately, "You were going to say it was a financial issue, that you couldn’t afford it? I checked your financial records, indeed, they’re a bit odd, but it seems to be due to sheer bad luck. However, it’s exactly this that highlights your abilities even more. Speaking of which, it appears your financial situation began to gradually recover after entering the C-level area."

Chen Xiao, hearing her go on and on, put on an embarrassed expression and twisted shyly.

"Ah ah... saying all that, you’re making me bashful. Are you saying you want to join the Ridiculers because you value my strength? Heh heh heh, even though your analysis makes sense, I still find it hard to believe..."

No sooner had he finished speaking,

Suddenly, Chen Xiao felt an inexplicable gust of wind, and the gaunt woman before him vanished. Almost simultaneously, he felt a hand devoid of any warmth rest on his shoulder. His whole body seemed to be bound by a chilling presence, rendering him unable to move.

"Do you have paranoid delusions?" The woman’s voice came from behind him, sounding a bit impatient: "Trust me, if I wanted to harm you, I wouldn’t need to make such an effort. So, please hurry up and register my name..."