Clown Game
Chapter 226 - 213: The Gap in Consciousness

Chapter 226: Chapter 213: The Gap in Consciousness

Because of that one second, Chen Xiao had exhausted all his energy.

He lost consciousness.

But at the same time

he also opened his eyes...

and found himself standing in a vast expanse of white void.

He looked around~

"Hmm...

This place, I seem to have been here before."

He muttered to himself in his heart.

It was a strange feeling because in Chen Xiao’s memory, he had never seen such an unusual scene, yet he instinctively could not feel estranged from it.

"Of course, you’ve been here before..." Just then, the voice of a middle-aged man came from behind Chen Xiao, sounding slightly deep but with absolute confidence.

Chen Xiao sharply turned his head, warily staring at the other person.

"Relax... I’m not like her; I won’t engage in the draining activity of the Mind Reading Technique," the middle-aged man across from him answered Chen Xiao’s thoughts once again, taking the pipe out of his mouth and flicking it downward...

The ashes fluttered down, disappearing into the milky void.

"Oh?" Chen Xiao squinted his eyes, habitually slipping a hand into his pocket, peering through the slits of his eyelids, stealthily sizing up the other person.

It was a man with a Western face, wearing a dark chestnut coat, his chin somewhat broad, and a hooked nose that was quite prominent, while in his eyes... there was a haze of gray, revealing no clarity.

"I presume you know me very well," Chen Xiao said indifferently.

The middle-aged man standing across carefully tucked the pipe into the lining of his coat: "Somewhat, so please stop picturing in your mind those scenes of me discussing philosophical matters with other men!" he said expressionlessly.

"Oh, so it really is like that," Chen Xiao, still with a lethargic expression, drawled: "Then, as someone who’s unilaterally familiar with me, perhaps you should introduce yourself first..."

"Of course... And during our conversation in a little while, there’s no need to employ those conversational tactics or verbal traps to test me. It’s exhausting and utterly pointless every time. I will tell you everything you want to know... In fact, I hope you remember it all."

Chen Xiao furrowed his brow. That statement contained a lot of information, he thought quickly for a moment and decided to start casually with one question~~: "Every time?" he asked quizzically.

"Every time!!" the person affirmed: "Of course, this is not your first time here nor your first conversation with me, in fact, I’ve answered this question countless times for you, it’s just that you don’t remember anything when you wake up..."

"You mean..." Chen Xiao was about to ask something when the other person, as if already knowing it, pre-emptively responded.

"Yes, just like you are thinking, whenever you sleep, faint, lose consciousness, or whenever you can’t control your consciousness voluntarily, your thoughts will drift into this space because this is the gap in the world of your consciousness, and you are instinctively seeking answers... Oh, right, you are unconscious right now, you could know if you think about it carefully."

Chen Xiao raised an eyebrow, the scene of him walking into the monster’s mouth with two mines flashing through his mind like a slideshow... After a few seconds: "Ah, it seems I really am unconscious, huh~~~ And here my consciousness is conversing with you, heh heh heh, this feeling is really... so amusing!!"

Chen Xiao felt no negative feelings about this marvelous experience; instead, he laughed excitedly.

He didn’t notice that, when the other person heard his shrill laughter, there seemed to be a flicker of emotion behind those eyes, but it was quickly concealed again.

"Alright! Since I am seeking answers... then, can you tell me what those answers are?" Chen Xiao grinned, slightly spread his arms in a gesture encompassing the surroundings, meaning "There is nothing here... except you!"

However, the person opposite him shook his head, "No, telling you is utterly useless, you won’t remember anything! You can only look for yourself, put the pieces together... I know, I know, you want to say there’s nothing here~ but the truth is... this place has everything, it’s just that you can’t see it!

This place has been sealed off, nothing that happens here can be taken out... If you want to find answers, you can only start from the ’outside.’" He said and then paused for a moment.

"Outside?" Chen Xiao drew a blank and asked briefly.

"Yes, from the outside." The person continued, "Luckily... on the ’outside,’ there is someone who happens to have some of your memories."

Chen Xiao frowned, wondering why the other used the word ’has.’

But suddenly, the entire scene changed, the vast expanse of white space disappeared in an instant, and in its place appeared a hallway with a ghastly white light. At intervals along both sides were heavy iron doors, and beside them, display signs with combinations of letters and numbers.

In less than a second, Chen Xiao was certain, this place... was the D-class containment area of the K City Abnormal Creatures Research Center.

Only now, on the left side of the corridor he was standing in, a wall had been inexplicably blackened, and a janitor was vigorously spraying and wiping the wall, trying hard to remove the stains.

Moreover, this janitor had a blackened area around his eye, obviously from being punched by someone.

"Do you still remember this place?"

Just then, the voice of the man in the trench coat came from beside him.

Chen Xiao did not glance at him, but continued to survey his surroundings, "I know where this is... but this scene..."

"It’s very blurry, right?" The other man voiced what Chen Xiao was feeling.

No sooner had he spoken than a series of footsteps came from behind them.

Chen Xiao turned his head to look...

Then he saw at the other end of the corridor, three people walking side by side towards this end, on both sides were two guards wearing Foundation uniforms, each holding a gun, and between them... was another Chen Xiao.

At this moment, that other self was wearing a white prison uniform, head down, face indiscernible.

"This..." Chen Xiao furrowed his brow, as if he remembered something.

"Yes, this is from the time when you were still a ’volunteer’... Of course, you only have some fragmented recollections of this memory," the man spoke indifferently.

Inside Chen Xiao’s mind, it seemed as if some lost fragments were stirring, like a plate of leftover food where someone’s meal had been interrupted for some reason, and now, those remnants were returning to the plate again, trying to reconstruct the original appearance of the feast.

What made Chen Xiao feel even more puzzled was that he had never paid attention to this broken memory before.

"Don’t try to remember anymore!" the man said, "I told you, it’s useless, what you need to do now... is to remember."

Meanwhile, the two guards chatted with the janitor for a moment and then, with the other Chen Xiao, passed through Chen Xiao and the man in the trench coat in a way that resembled walking through a hologram, and continued forward.

Chen Xiao watched that Chen Xiao, who had just walked past him... and blinked bafflingly.

"That person... is me?"