Clown Game
Chapter 201 - 189: Chen Xiao?

Chapter 201: Chapter 189: Chen Xiao?

Things weren’t supposed to go this way.

If what Song Xuan had said was true, the Giggling Bird Squad was supposed to be quite an impressive team. So shouldn’t joining it require at least some manners? But the way this new member was handling things... seemed a bit too direct. She came in with such a killing intent, as if she was holding a knife to someone’s throat. After all, Xiaoxiao was both the founder and the captain of this team, didn’t she deserve some respect?

In fact, Song Xuan didn’t seem to have any intention of giving Chen Xiao face. She pulled out her phone from her pocket, tapped a few times on the screen with a "beep beep beep," and handed it over to Bai Xiong. He also pressed a few buttons before handing it to Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao realized what these two were up to and said with a pained expression, "Hey, hey, you’re not planning to settle this now, are you..."

The look in the eyes of the two in front of him clearly said: "Cut the crap!"

Chen Xiao reluctantly took the phone.

As expected...

The screen displayed a clear message.

——————————————

Please confirm registration for the field operation team member.

Team name: Giggling Bird

Location: Order Foundation Asia Branch

Team members: C-level member: Chen Xiao, C-level member: Bai Xiong

Applicant profile: Song Xuan, C-level field operations personnel, Mission summary: D-level missions 6 times, C-level missions 34 times. Fund exchange: Muscle Elasticity Serum x4, Neural Reflex Sensitivity Enhancing Serum x6, Alloy Substitute Daggers x2

——————————————

Beneath these lines of text, there was a rather broad statement: After confirmation, please scan your fingerprint. For personnel changes, a separate application is required.

...

At the bottom of the screen, there was an empty space with a blinking "fingerprint" icon.

After reading all this, Chen Xiao couldn’t help but swallow his saliva. Clearly, when these two got together, with Song Xuan’s high-level access and Bai Xiong’s status as a key trainee within the Foundation, they could directly handle the "new team member registration" through the phone, not even needing to go through Mrs. Liu.

Hmm... Compared to them, Chen Xiao’s status within the Foundation was like that of an orphan.

Of course, what concerned Chen Xiao even more was this woman named Song Xuan. The fact that she had completed the C-level missions as many as 34 times. Based on her record, she probably could have been promoted several times over; yet why was she still squatting in the C-level area? But when he thought about her "Supervisory Department" role, it seemed understandable. Perhaps she was in charge of the C-level section. With this in mind, Chen Xiao became even more puzzled. Could someone from the Supervisory Department really join a field operations squad? And what exactly was this woman joining his squad for?

This was a question he definitely couldn’t answer right now.

So, he turned his attention to the woman’s fund exchange situation,

Chen Xiao was familiar with the "Neural Reflex Sensitivity Enhancing Serum." It could greatly improve human response speed and the extreme movement frequency of muscle fibers — in layman’s terms, it made people act and react faster and more agilely. However, the side effects were also significant. In a state of high-frequency activity over a long time, it could lead to extreme energy consumption. Therefore, it made sense that this woman was so thin, and with such sensitive reactions, it would also be a torment to the user’s mind. The concept of a x6 following the serum probably wasn’t as simple as multiplying the effect by six. Chen Xiao could even imagine how terrifyingly fast she was and how immense the pain she must have endured. And "Muscle Elasticity Serum x4" probably meant that her body was beginning to crumble under the massive side effects of the drugs and needed another serum to maintain a balance.

Otherwise, her muscles might tear apart during a single acceleration.

"Ah... So she’s put all her funds into the ’speed’ line, huh? This kind of singular enhancement direction, is her mind really fine..." Chen Xiao wondered inwardly as he looked up at Song Xuan.

Song Xuan was also looking back at him coldly.

Chen Xiao glanced at Bai Xiong and seemed to be thinking something else in his mind before he shrugged his shoulders... Well, Chen Xiao resigned himself to the situation, and under quite unwilling circumstances, welcomed the third member of the Giggling Bird Squad—Song Xuan.

Then, under their watchful eyes, he pressed his fingerprint onto the screen.

——————————————

Drip, confirmation complete, new team member registration is complete.

From now on, the member will have shared access to the squad’s funds and missions and will be entitled to accept team tasks.

——————————————

Such a brief sentence also signified that Song Xuan... had become a new teammate.

Even though Chen Xiao had only met her for less than 10 minutes.

With things as they were, there was nothing much to say; Chen Xiao struggled to muster a very polite smile and lifted his head, intending to greet this new member...

But... just as Song Xuan and Bai Xiong saw her name appear in the team information, the two of them turned around and walked straight out of Chen Xiao’s apartment without looking back, not even saying goodbye, and moreover... they didn’t even close the door.

Chen Xiao sat on the sofa in the living room, dumbfounded, and it wasn’t until quite a while later that he sprang to his feet!

"Damn it, what’s that about? Not a single phone call in a month, and now that you finally show up, you bring back a woman, and she looks like that!! And after finishing your business, you just leave~ without so much as a greeting! What do you take me for? Huh?!"

With hands on his hips, Chen Xiao ranted at the empty apartment in front of him... but the place was utterly deserted.

Well, as absurd as it was... no matter how you looked at it, that’s what happened: Bai Xiong had returned and brought back a new team member.

...

Minutes later, inside the maid café owned by Boss Xiao Yu downstairs from the apartment.

Song Xuan and Bai Xiong chose the most inconspicuous seats to sit down at. Due to the stark contrast in their statures, people in the vicinity occasionally cast curious glances their way.

They didn’t care, simply ordering two cups of coffee quietly.

"During this period, he undertook a C-level mission on his own and competed in an elite contest. Naturally, as usual, the mission was contained successfully, and the elite contest was once again in the mental division, where he ultimately triumphed," Bai Xiong said emotionlessly.

Song Xuan nodded, her expression normal but her tone slightly exasperated, "As a member of the surveillance group, the fact that I’m less informed than a C-level field agent is simply ironic. Tell me, how did you manage to get such high-level access anyway?"

"It’s not important. We both know that access... is just a tool," Bai Xiong said calmly, but his words implied he didn’t want to discuss the matter any further.

"Fine, everyone has their secrets. If you asked me the same question, I wouldn’t tell you either," Song Xuan said as she lifted her coffee to her lips, then wrinkled her nose and put it down, apparently not too fond of the bitter beverage, "So, let’s talk about him instead."

"Right..." Bai Xiong nodded, "I did indeed uncover some things this month."

With that, he produced a paper file from seemingly nowhere and slid it across to Song Xuan.

Song Xuan hesitated for a moment before flipping open the first page of the file. In the upper left corner of the page was a front-view photograph of a man.

The man in the photo was wearing loose patient attire, pale-faced with a high forehead, his face long and pointed,

He looked somewhat like Chen Xiao.

However, unlike Chen Xiao, his hair was black, and he didn’t have those two disgusting scars at the corners of his mouth.

Most crucially were his eyes.

Dull, unfocused, lifeless...

They resembled those of long-time mental health patients who hadn’t seen sunlight for ages, or hadn’t communicated with anyone in a long while, just brought out from solitary confinement, still under the influence of a few doses of sedatives.