Clown Game
Chapter 320 - 307: So That’s How It Is

Chapter 320: Chapter 307: So That’s How It Is

At this point

Chen Xiao had finally recalled some things.

The Foundation, the Laughingbird, teammates, and this... mission?

Yes, it seemed that he was already in the middle of a mission, but he couldn’t remember the specifics, such as what those so-called ants were, how he had come to be in this kind of cave, how his thinking had been controlled, and just how many times he had already woken up.

How long it would take for the rest of his memories to return was still unknown.

It seemed that apart from waiting, there was nothing he could do because the information he had left for himself repeatedly emphasized staying in the cave, otherwise, he would be caught again.

Chen Xiao shrugged his shoulders and turned off his phone...

Suddenly!!!

Something... landed on his shoulder.

Chen Xiao was startled.

In the next instant, a large hand reached over his head and firmly covered his mouth.

"Who are you?"

A man’s voice came through... it was Bai Xiong.

Chen Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, stopped struggling, and patted the other’s hand, signaling that he wouldn’t shout. Bai Xiong hesitated for a moment, then slowly removed his hand. However, he still stayed close, ready to stop Chen Xiao at the first sign of any abnormal movement, or to finish him off if necessary.

"Hmm... even with my mind in chaos, this style of anticipating everything hasn’t changed,"

Chen Xiao reflected, and turned around.

With the faint light, he could see Bai Xiong was still wearing a bulletproof suit, but there was a vertical wound over his forehead crossing an eye. Although it was partially scabbed over, he was unable to open it, and from the look in his other eye which was open, Chen Xiao couldn’t discern any clear emotions.

Of course, he could be sure that Bai Xiong wasn’t fully recovered in terms of memory. So, he put on an urgent and extremely serious demeanor, lowering his voice as he said:

"I know you’re confused right now, but I can only briefly tell you some important things. First off, your name is Bai Xiong, and I am your superior, that is, the commander. My name is Chen Xiao, and you and I are on a mission, but we’ve run into some trouble, which is why you have to follow my command now... Ouch!! Why did you hit me!!"

Um... yes, Bai Xiong had swung a fist and hit the back of Chen Xiao’s head. Then, under the bewildered expression of the other, he pulled out his phone and pointed the screen at Chen Xiao.

——————————————

"Don’t shout, lie quietly in the cave."

"Beware of the ants, don’t attack them, feign sleep."

"If there are no sounds in the tunnel, look for the man in the third cave on the left. If he’s asleep, find the woman in the twelfth cave on the left."

"The man’s name is Chen Xiao, if he looks very serious, hit him because he’s deceiving you. Show him your phone, tell him not to play tricks, and to wait quietly until his memory fully recovers."

"He’s already screwed up once, keep an eye on him."

"The woman’s name is Song Xuan, she is reliable."

"Wait until the memory fully recovers before taking action."

——————————————

...

After reading the text, Chen Xiao’s eyebrows shot up.

"Um... I’ve already been through all of this? It seems Bai Xiong has woken up many times too," he thought silently to himself.

"Stop messing around, just stay quiet..." Bai Xiong was saying when he suddenly furrowed his brows, after a little while, he shook his head as if some memories had returned to him.

He looked at Chen Xiao and then at his phone.

"Have you remembered everything?" he asked.

Chen Xiao spread his hands: "Not everything, but I’ve recalled a lot."

"Good, you stay here. I’ll go check on Song Xuan."

With that, Bai Xiong peeked out to confirm there were no sounds in the tunnel, then quickly and silently dashed out. In less than twenty seconds, he was back.

"She’s not awake..."

At that moment, both Chen Xiao and Bai Xiong almost simultaneously grimaced in pain.

This bout of headache lasted longer, but both of them kept quiet.

After a while...

"Um..." Bai Xiong was the first to come around: "I think I’ve remembered something from the collective consciousness. I was an office worker... and I jumped off a building."

Chen Xiao was still holding his head and didn’t make a sound for quite a while. "Phew... finally over." He sighed deeply, as though he had been carrying a burden.

"What did you remember?" Bai Xiong asked.

"Ah... quite a lot," Chen Xiao said as he picked up his phone and started typing something. "I’ve died 21 times, which means I’ve woken up 20 times excluding this one. I’ve been a thief, a murderer, an escapee, a bank robber, an arms dealer, a gambler, and six times a psychiatric patient and twice a psychiatrist. During all this, I’ve died 5 times with you, and Song Xuan 3 times... But there hasn’t been a single time when all three of us woke up together."

Bai Xiong fell silent for a moment. Faced with the fact that Chen Xiao had woken up so many times and his roles in the collective consciousness, Bai Xiong didn’t know what to say, so he pointed to the phone in the other’s hand: "What are you writing?"

"Oh, I’m adding some information from before. Since I’ve managed to break free so many times without successfully escaping, I probably won’t make it this time either. So I need to tell the next me some important information," Chen Xiao replied.

"Like what?" Bai Xiong asked curiously.

Chen Xiao twisted the phone towards Bai Xiong.

The last sentence on the screen read: "Don’t try to cheat the one called Bai Xiong, he’ll hit you."

"Hmm... okay," Bai Xiong said resignedly. "So, your consciousness should be clear enough by now, right? Share your thoughts..." he prompted.

Under such circumstances, Chen Xiao’s analysis was still highly competent. Of course, Bai Xiong was just listening to his ideas and not letting him make any plans... Hehe, letting Chen Xiao make plans? You must be wishing to die once in the real world too.

"Oh, I have thought of something," Chen Xiao put the phone back into his suit pocket. "First of all, we’ve been here a long time, my body seems to have adapted to this curled-up position. This must require at least half a month or more. While we are being controlled and entering the collective consciousness, our bodies are actually at work."

"At work?"

"Yes, work. These ants would likely be driving our bodies to carry food, excavate tunnels, and construct the Ant Nest, among other things. You might not feel it as strongly because you’re stronger, but I can definitely feel that I’ve been doing some intense physical activity over this half month," he said, pointing at his clothes. "Look, this is the Foundation’s special lining with self-cleaning properties that makes it hard for stains to stick, but even so, it’s still quite dirty. This dirt, the scent of pollen, and the filth on my hands all indicate certain things. This means that these ants can control our thoughts, turning us humans into one of them and making us part of the ant colony."

"Is this what you call a highly socialized collective consciousness?" Bai Xiong said flatly.

"Yeah, it’s tough to deal with, but luckily it seems they don’t kill us; they just make us work until we die of old age... which is quite merciful. But there are some strange things too, like the scar on your head, I have a bad feeling about it, and then there’s... why don’t I feel hungry... what have I been eating all these days?"