Clown Game
Chapter 350 - 337 High Mountain

Chapter 350: Chapter 337 High Mountain

"Yo-ho, the two of you seem to be getting along really well. Am I interrupting by showing up now?" Chen Xiao, with his hands in his pockets and slouching, walked over while speaking, showing not the slightest sign of actually being a disturbance.

At the sound, Song Xuan turned her head, staring emotionlessly at Chen Xiao: "Oh, it’s nothing, I just wanted to ask how you managed to heal an injury even the Foundation couldn’t handle... Should I say your medical skills are exquisite... or should I suspect you two are hiding something from me?"

Chen Xiao waved his hand dismissively: "Ah, what’s the use of fussing over this? After all, our relationship is just for convenience, as long as we’re in the same team we have what we need from each other. Do you actually want to establish some kind of genuine friendship with us? Besides, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you now. Then you’d be up all night pondering over it, eventually wearing yourself out investigating. If you couldn’t find any leads and spiraled into some sort of cognitive loop until you went mentally unstable, how embarrassed would that make me feel?"

"Yeah... what you’re saying does seem to make sense." Song Xiao smiled charmingly: "Alright then, I’ll let it go for now. Whenever I find out you’re up to something strange... well, it’s no big deal... it’s nothing more than killing you, right?"

"Mmm, I’m really glad you think so," Chen Xiao nodded, quite satisfied: "Oh, looks like the train is here."

Before the words even finished echoing, the subway arrived almost silently, and the three joking passengers then boarded the train bound for the intercontinental hub.

...

Transportation between the Foundation’s various continental branches was frequent, mostly for the transfer of objects (confinement items), while personnel movement wasn’t as common. After all, each branch had its own combat teams, and there generally wasn’t a need for personnel from other regions to assist. Like with the Black Mirror mission, a global S-level anomaly would be handled by field agents within the management scope of wherever it occurred. Oh, and Omega Squad was responsible for the entire continental region, ready to head to wherever they were needed.

All the way without a word, the subway moved forward as quietly as usual, and its passengers inside couldn’t feel it moving. Just step in, the doors close, and by the time they open again, you’re already in a completely different place.

So, after about an hour or so of this "idle sitting," the subway doors opened upon cue. A burst of cold air rushed in, making Chen Xiao shiver. At the same time, he also felt a change in air pressure so acute it almost made breathing difficult.

"Holy crap~ You’ve got to be kidding me."

Amidst the stark environmental differences, Chen Xiao immediately thought of the altitude of his current location. The trio then stepped out of the subway car, and after a few short corridors and steps, a burst of intense natural light streamed in from a massive open steel door ahead. Along with the light came howling winds and snow, the flakes large and smacking against Chen Xiao’s face, sharply painful.

As expected, they had arrived atop a mountain peak. Judging by the perennial snow traces and the strength of the wind, this place definitely wasn’t low.

"Hm... From this, the subway doesn’t only isolate the sensation of speed but also maintains constant air pressure. No matter how high the altitude is, it’s at least high enough for snow to not melt. And I didn’t feel anything unusual at all before the doors opened. Could these trains be made from some kind of aerospace materials? Also, subway stations are even built on snowy mountains now, can you still call them subways?"

Chen Xiao was lost in these reflexive musings when Bai Xiong patted his shoulder from behind, "Let’s go..." and stepped past Chen Xiao, moving forward while Song Xuan followed without casting a glance back at him.

The trio quickened their pace toward the door, the white light becoming more intense, forcing Chen Xiao to squint his eyes. Suddenly, the whistling wind that seemed confined by the narrow passage dispersed in an instant, replaced by a 360-degree bone-chilling cold. It was a while before Chen Xiao dared to slightly open his eyes. Not far away was an extremely steep incline with cliffs on either side just a short distance away, where you could see no shelter at all because this was the highest point. Most people would feel weak at the knees and fall to the ground just from one look because the feeling of insignificance and inferiority would be magnified to the extreme in such an environment. Any lapse of attention might cause you to lose awareness of your own existence.

Below, the mountain peaks were visible, creating a stark and solemn feeling amidst the patchwork of black and white. Looking further away became impossible as the light, reflected off the snow, turned into a blinding weapon; just two or three seconds of gazing could cause pain around the eye sockets. Directly ahead stood a straight steel bridge spanning a rift between mountains, where the snow that fell upon it instantly melted and dried, making it look out of place in the natural world. At the far end of the bridge, a distinctly shaped aircraft waited quietly.

Sure enough, even the most magnificent of nature is but a toy to be defiled at will in human hands, despite its mighty display of inviolability. We drill holes over your head, build bridges, land planes, and do all our business right there. What can you do about it?

At this moment, an unsurprised expression on Bai Xiong’s face was normal, and Song Xuan also looked as if this was nothing new, probably having been here before. Only Chen Xiao, like a country bumpkin just in town, looked around with fresh curiosity, hugging his arms and hunching his neck, wanting to say something but his teeth just chattered uncontrollably from the cold.

Soon, two protective-suited guards hurried over. They pressed a few buttons on the portable computers attached to their arms, looking up at the trio, likely checking something. When they saw Chen Xiao shivering all over, with snot running down to his chin and freezing into an icicle, they were taken aback. It was probably their first time in many years of duty seeing someone so affected by the cold since most of the people who came here were battle-hardened field agents, and even ordinary members could easily withstand a bit of cold wind. So they were a bit unsure of what to do for a moment, but thankfully, someone with a bit of sense quickly ran back into duty office and fetched a coat that hadn’t been used in ages and put it over Chen Xiao, warding off the awkward situation of a B-level field agent nearly freezing to death on the way to the plane.

Soon, the trio, led by the guards, boarded the aircraft one by one. With a loud engine roar, the aircraft soared at a 45-degree angle towards the heavens and instantly vanished from sight.

...

...

In Midair

"Achoo~ Sniffle~ Uh... is there an attendant? I’d like a cup of hot water..."