Clown Game
Chapter 285 - 272: The Return of the Dark Realm (XXVII)

Chapter 285: Chapter 272: The Return of the Dark Realm (XXVII)

"Dead

How many people?"

...

Dos seemed frozen in place, his hand poised by his ear, but he just couldn’t bring himself to press the communicator. His gaze slowly turned to the hunched figure. Of course, everyone knew that this fellow was Chen Xiao... at least his body looked like Chen Xiao. Right now, his head hung slightly, catching a stray beam of light that reflected off the visor on his helmet, casting a crimson glow that was still enough to illuminate Dos’s shocked, angry, bewildered, and somewhat absurd expression.

"Do you... know... what you’re saying?"

He turned and said in a conversational tone, devoid of yelling, and very slow. The muscles at the tip of his tongue tensed, as if it was the only way to squeeze out each word through his teeth.

"Of course, I know... Your one mistaken order dispersed what should’ve been a concentrated fighting force, scattering them throughout a dangerous place like the Dark Realm, leading to... "

"Bullshit!!"

Dos roared furiously, cutting off Chen Xiao’s words: "There was no danger! I gave everyone detectors! They could lock onto and track fixed targets without fail, with a full 360-degree surveillance capability for detecting aberrations, much sharper than your so-called enhanced eyesight! I could sense any change in data instantly, no matter where or how far, and neutralize any danger in a flash. Do you get it? I could protect everyone! There’s no way anyone could get hurt... It was you bastards who suspected and mistrusted each other! Your unfounded fears and distrust dug your own graves and caused things to end up like this."

Dos waved his arms around as if trying to swat away something invisible. His speech was rapid and his expression twisted, even borderline hysterical... and he hadn’t even noticed.

"Oh... such a sound argument, Dobby... sorry, Dos. Whatever, a member of Omega, one of the best warriors in the world... equipped with an extensive range of zero-error strikes and support. Impressive indeed, you can protect a dozen, dozens, even hundreds of people on your own, right? But how can you explain so quickly!"

Dos’s face was still grotesque: "What did you say?"

"I said, the way you just explained your actions, how could you articulate it so quickly, like a rehearsed draft, practiced countless times before, and just now, on stage, you merely repeated it to an audience... which is me, right?"

"What the fuck are you babbling about?!" Dos burst out in rage, stepping forward, he grabbed Chen Xiao’s helmet and slammed it against the wall, while his other hand pressed against the protective suit, choking him tightly. Thankfully, due to the suit’s design, there was still a bit of space left around the neck, so he could still speak.

"Cough... cough... Ha-ha, right, that’s the look, the flustered reaction when a nerve is struck... Hahaha... so amusing. You’ve been doubting and blaming yourself this whole time, haven’t you? That’s why you came up with a righteous excuse, pinning the fault cleanly onto those who lost their lives because of your order! That’s the most shameless and hypocritical thing one could do!"

"Asshole! Asshole! It wasn’t my fault! They smashed their own detectors!! It was them!!" Dos shouted, his hand closing tighter, wanting to stifle the loudmouth before him, but he couldn’t do it. He had to convince the other, not kill him, or the raging fire within would never be quelled.

"Ha-ha... sure, it was them. But why would they do that?"

"Because they were stupid!!"

"No, no, no, because they were scared! Terrified! They were going against their own conscience to do something they neither wished to nor dared to do. Here, a minor scratch could spell doom; everyone felt on edge as safety could only be found within the group! Yet you shattered this last comfort because of your arrogance and unrealistic self-indulgence! Self-preservation is an inherent trait of human nature, but you expect a bunch of people who can barely pronounce your full name to entrust their lives to you! Are you a child? Do you think of others as soulless idiots? You think a gun can solve all problems? Ridiculous! You’re just wishful thinking and can’t admit fault when tragedy strikes, always complaining and shifting the blame! You have power but are too afraid to take on the corresponding responsibility! You’re hypocritical, cowardly, hiding and unable to face reality!"

"I... I could have fucking done it!"

"But you didn’t! You’ve pushed everyone onto a crumbling precipice, a minor incident away from collapse, like not even deigning to show us your monitor but expecting us to kill those among us who were infected! No wonder we doubted you! It’s like a drop of ink in water, which can never be clear again. You are the one who dropped that ink, drowning us in suspicion, fear, unease, and the threat of death! You pushed us to madness!

...

You must take responsibility for this!"

Chen Xiao said, each word like a bullet hammering into Dos’s heart, shaking him nearly to staggering, but he remained dazed, screaming without thought,

"It’s not my fault!"

Like a mechanical repetition, supporting the last struggle of his conscience.

And suddenly!

"Boom"

A loud explosion.

The entire building began shaking violently.

Dos stepped back, looking unconsciously at the wall he had struck, which was now collapsing. There, the piles of bloody flesh that had been there were starting to come together again, with some larger pieces already sprouting tentacles, madly scrambling out.

Dos’s eyes bulged with rage, he hammered his own head in frustration, no longer concerned with right or wrong—he knew that the Dark Realm had not been cleansed, meaning the new aberration outside was still consolidating.

In a panic, he let go of Chen Xiao, leaping backward through the hole in the wall.

Chen Xiao slumped against the wall and slid down to sit on the ground, watching the retreating figure vanish from sight like prey in frantic escape. His mouth split into an indulgent smirk.

He closed his eyes, stretched out comfortably, and gave his arms a good stretch...

"Hehehe, since the game has started, we’ll be seeing each other soon."