Clown Game
Chapter 353 - 340 Crisis

Chapter 353: Chapter 340 Crisis

No, if that was the case, there’d be no need for an interrogation process; they’d simply lock me up or play dumb, using me to lure those "Splitters" into a trap to catch them all at once.

But no matter how you slice it, I’ve probably been betrayed, although I still don’t know in what form... However, this "Jimmy" must only have some vague information and doesn’t know the specifics. That’s why there’s this charade.

Chen Xiao was pondering...

"Myself?" Jimmy retorted: "You should know that I wouldn’t drag a B-level field operative to the interrogation room for no reason, so..."

"So spit it out already! Quit beating around the bush." Chen Xiao interrupted him impatiently: "If you had any evidence that I’d done something punishable, you would have arrested me long ago, wouldn’t you? And let me remind you, I’m a loyal Foundation employee, never having committed any act of betrayal against the organization, unless you produce some proof right now, I’ll definitely document this whole experience in a detailed report once I’m out. Oh, and I’m claustrophobic, oh dear! I feel so unwell... I can’t breathe."

Chen Xiao feigned a fainting spell, his body going limp and leaning against the wall by the door.

Jimmy’s expression turned sour... He had never cared for such unreasonable behavior.

"Very well! It seems that unless I actually produce something, you won’t cooperate," he said, followed by the wall screen changing to display a photo.

It was a photo taken from above, seemingly by a street camera. The angle allowed a slanted view through a café window, clearly capturing Chen Xiao’s unmistakable face. Opposite him was the back of someone in a black hoodie. Because of the angle, the other half of the table was obscured by the wall, so no one else was visible.

Chen Xiao raised an eyebrow: "Oh? So what? You’re interrogating me over a doctored photo? Did you get approval from the Asian division?"

"Of course not, because it’s urgent, I haven’t contacted your superior yet, but if my suspicions are confirmed, then this would be not a breach of protocol, but rather a great achievement!" As Jimmy spoke, the screen changed again, showing another photo. This time, it depicted Lin Fan with his backpack leaving school, wearing the same black hoodie.

Chen Xiao scoffed dismissively and sat down on the floor with a slouch: "What’s that supposed to mean? Who’s this kid?"

"Hmm... it seems you have a poor memory," Jimmy replied: "Let me jog it for you. Half a year ago, you were part of the containment team for C-207. The containment was successful, but before it could be transferred to the Asian division, the K-city research facility was breached by unknown assailants, causing the containment to fail. Subsequent analysis suggests these intruders are very likely a part of an organization called ’The Splitters’."

"Oh... it’s kind of coming back to me now." Chen Xiao feigned a sudden realization: "Are you suggesting that half a year later, I met C-207 again in a café? Just based on a hoodie?"

"Yes, in fact, I’m currently analyzing the fabric of the hoodie and meticulously comparing the people in both photos. The results will come out soon, and if the similarity exceeds eighty percent, I’ll have good grounds to suspect you’ve been in contact with the Splitters outside of the Foundation’s approved dealings. To put it more bluntly... you... are a traitor to the Foundation."

"A traitor? You must be out of your mind with ambition," Chen Xiao shouted, eyes wide: "But speaking of which, you haven’t sent these findings out yet, have you?"

"Of course not, the comparison isn’t finished yet. But give me a little more time, and bear witness." Jimmy said, smiling. Next to the screen in front of him was a progress bar steadily increasing. Judging by the pace, it would be completed in less than a minute.

"Really now..." Chen Xiao got to his feet, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a very ordinary-looking key...: "I know you must be eagerly anticipating the results right now, but I don’t seem to have the time to wait with you."

As he spoke, he inserted the key into the lock on the door behind him.

This high-security door, although lockable, was certainly not the standard model you’d find in civilian use. It was integrated with the room’s air pressure and steel support columns, set into the wall much like the massive revolving doors of a bank vault.

So when Jimmy observed this action, he did not panic. Instead, he was puzzled, because it was clear that the key didn’t match the lock.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Chen Xiao ignored him, resolutely sticking the key into the lock. It had the absurd feel of using a diary’s tiny key to start a 12-wheel truck.

However, the moment the key touched the lock, it transformed, like putty continuously changing shape—melting, solidifying, and slipping smoothly into the hollow mold, then... with a click, it turned.

"What the fuck?" Even though Chen Xiao expected this outcome, the bizarre sensation still startled him!

Of course, on the other side of the wall screen, Jimmy was also stunned because each interrogation room had only one key, and it was quietly hanging on the wall beside him. It led him to immediately think that this Chen Xiao must have felt his exposure was imminent and was now putting on a show as if he could open the door, to confuse him.

"Heh, trying to struggle one last time?" he mocked, but just then, with a "ding", the progress bar on the screen was full, and the result displayed was—similarity, 99%.

"Hahaha— just as I thought!" Jimmy burst into laughter and then turned to look at the surveillance feed: "I’m sorry to say, it seems I have uncovered something significant..."

His voice cut off abruptly, and with his mouth agape and eyes wide with shock, he saw on the screen that Chen Xiao was pulling open the door of the interrogation room...

...

"Fuck!! What’s going on!" he thought in shock. Of course, as a Foundation employee, his hand reflexively pressed a button on the table the moment he realized the door was being opened.

The things he had told Chen Xiao were not empty threats; once this button was pressed, the interrogation room Chen Xiao was in would be sealed off immediately. It would then detach from the main building and be cast into the deep sea, where the room and anyone inside would have no other fate but to be crushed into a pulp.

And Jimmy did press it.

Without a moment’s hesitation.

...

...