Clown Game
Chapter 257 - 244 The Storm Is Coming

Chapter 257: Chapter 244 The Storm Is Coming

Birth... work... marriage... children... severe illness... windfall...

Life always has countless twists and turns, one event changing the original trajectory, leading everything onto another path, branching out amidst the complex foliage, eventually reaching a silent endpoint.

No one can avoid it.

And stories, too, always have such a dividing line that drives everything toward an ending not even the author knows.

Just like this moment.

Chen Xiao was waiting for his cake, his stomach impatiently urging him on, the kitchen wafting out bursts of sweetness, occasionally, light laughter could be heard, everyone around him was doing their own thing, everything seemed normal, no one could spot anything unusual.

Suddenly,

the sound of wind chimes resonated, the café door was pushed open, a strange face walked in.

A woman

She seemed to be about 40 years old but was well-maintained, her face showed no signs of makeup or many traces of aging... dressed in a red trench coat, wearing a slightly lighter red dome hat, on the brim of which, a black flower made of ribbon gave off a vintage, lazy elegance. Her appearance in this café was quite striking, several clearly mother-fixated, slightly chubby guys stared dumbly at this woman, faces flushing slightly.

A few keen-eyed folks noticed her hands.

Very beautiful, graceful hands, fingers long, gleaming like ivory, the joints so clear that no wrinkles could be seen, for a moment, those who noticed this thought of some indescribable things and unconsciously swallowed their saliva.

Compared to those hands, the book she held seemed much less notable.

"Hello, ma’am!" The younger cousin clasped her hands in front of her and bowed slightly in greeting while also sizing up the woman, her eyes revealing a slight, inexplicable surprise as if she had discovered something unusual that only a woman could detect.

"Thank you, just a coffee please, um... make it strong." The woman replied with a soft smile, her voice so light it almost seemed to float.

Afterward, she directly approached the counter and sat next to Chen Xiao.

At that moment, Chen Xiao was still grumbling about why the owner, Mr. Yu, hadn’t made his cake first, paying little attention to the elegantly dressed woman beside him, just glancing at her out of the corner of his eye before continuing to rhythmically tap his spoon against the table.

"Hurry up, fatty, hurry up..."

Though not loud, it was still quite annoying to anyone sitting nearby...

But the woman who had just entered seemed not to mind and instead opened her book and began to read quietly.

seconds later... Chen Xiao felt something was off. He turned his head in confusion and looked at the woman.

"Don’t you find it noisy, old lady?" Chen Xiao asked rudely and even smirked, displaying an uncomfortable expression. If Mr. Yu, the owner, had seen this, he probably would have smacked a cream pie in Chen Xiao’s face.

However, the woman called an old lady didn’t seem to mind; she shifted her gaze from the book and looked at Chen Xiao.

"Now that you mention it, it is a bit noisy, but it’s not a big deal." She pondered for a moment and replied, seemingly unfazed by Chen Xiao’s expression.

Chen Xiao was slightly startled, "Then don’t you want to say something about it?"

She smiled and shook her head.

...

Silence

...

"Hey, did you know, I’ve been having a really rough few days..." Chen Xiao blurted out, "And I also know, my life always seems to be surrounded by all sorts of events and people. Some are quite interesting, while others are a hassle. I guess it’s just my luck..."

He muttered irritably, speaking so softly that likely only the woman beside him could hear.

"Life is probably just like that, if everything were plain and simple, even if written into a book, no one would read it." The woman again lowered her head, casually flipped a page and spoke.

"So... did you come for me?" Chen Xiao said with a lifeless expression.

"Of course, were you thinking I came for these two young girls?" The woman said without raising her head, glancing sideways at Jingjing who was carrying a tray.

"Uh, from the Foundation? So, were you coming to check on these two anomalous items... or to check on me?" Chen Xiao asked, his expression finally becoming a bit more serious.

" Of course, I am not checking anything; otherwise, I wouldn’t have come here so casually. And to be honest, maintaining these kinds of high-class anomalous items in such a stable state is quite constructive. I even think I should propose to the Non-Euclidean Union to set up some non-fixed containment sites, it would save a lot of resources," she continued indifferently, still engrossed in her book, which apparently didn’t hinder her ongoing conversation with Chen Xiao.

"Oh? It seems you must be part of the management, from the Asian branch, right? Anyway, so the Foundation has already acknowledged that I didn’t report the anomalous items, right?"

The woman smiled slightly, "Not exactly, it’s just that I am too lazy to bother with such things. If someone else were to discover this kind of behavior, it would still be troublesome, and I wouldn’t help you then either. Alright, let’s get to the main point, I have a task for you."

Chen Xiao hesitated, "A task?"

"Yes, a task related to the ’Dark Realm’!"

"Ah? What’s that?"

The woman was slightly taken aback, "Oh, I didn’t expect your clearance to be so low. I thought after the last emergency backup, you had already received the information regarding the Dark Realm. Well, let me explain briefly, that’s a series of otherworldly invasion incidents occurring all over the world... the Foundation collectively refers to these invasion sites as ’Dark Realm’... your task record states that you performed exceptionally well during an emergency mission involving a Dark Realm invasion three months ago, so I also propose that you participate in this invasion."

"Ah... Dark Realm... three months ago!" Chen Xiao paused to think, naturally remembering that bloody, unstable space, "Ah! So, that hastily gathered mission was really significant. Hehehe... then, let me ask. Is this mission in squad mode?"

The woman gracefully nodded, "Of course, if I remember correctly... um... Giggling Bird Squad, right?"

Chen Xiao licked his lips,

"Good, I accept!"