Clown Game
Chapter 395 - 373 Boss Zhou

Chapter 395: Chapter 373 Boss Zhou

"Long time no see," the old man said slowly.

Mr. Zhou turned around.

"It’s been a while," he said, placing his hand on his chest and performing a widely-used Buddhist gesture of greeting.

The old man shook his head, "I’ve told you, there’s no need to make that gesture to me anymore."

Mr. Zhou must have known the other would say this, but still pretended to be surprised for a moment, "Oh? Heh, the world’s most devout ascetic doesn’t even need the most basic of courtesies anymore? How ironic."

"There’s nothing ironic about it, this is the result of my practice," the old man replied indifferently.

"Hmm... that I’ll have to think about," Mr. Zhou said, seemingly falling into contrived contemplation, "Those decade-plus years along the Ganges, crossing the Pamir Plateau barefoot, enduring an entire winter’s abstention from grains, the pilgrimages that spanned two continents—if any layperson were to learn of your deeds, do you know what you would resemble? You’d stand at the pinnacle of faith; you would be sanctified. And now, you tell me this is the result of your practice?"

The old man didn’t respond, simply blinking very slowly.

"Ha, discarded the robe you wore for nearly a hundred years? Drinking? Eating meat? You must have forgotten all those scriptures by now, everything you believed in must have been consumed away after joining the Foundation," Mr. Zhou commented nonchalantly.

"No, my faith has never changed; it has never been as firm and pure as it is now," continued the old man in an undisturbed tone, "So pure that I no longer need those precepts to uphold me... and I don’t drink alcohol."

Mr. Zhou was silent for a while, then shrugged his shoulders.

"All right, maybe when it comes to righteousness, you’re the most authoritative person in the past hundred years. I don’t want to argue with you... But why don’t you drink?"

"It tastes bad! And it doesn’t get me drunk!" the old man said sincerely.

"No wonder," Mr. Zhou realized, "Actually, I could grant you the ability to get drunk from drinking. What do you think?"

"Your abilities only cause people to sink deeper."

"That’s because of their desires. Humans always want too much, so much that they can’t handle it," Mr. Zhou explained, "You, being free from desire, would never fall prey to my abilities."

"No, I too am human. I naturally have things I want to pursue."

"Oh?" Mr. Zhou asked offhandedly.

...

"Enough. This is not for you to concern yourself with," the old man didn’t continue, "Now, your containment chamber is ready. Please, follow me."

Mr. Zhou seemed suddenly surprised, "Wait! I just came to catch up with you, I didn’t say I was here for confinement."

"What? Do you intend to break our deal?" For the first time, some expression appeared on the old man’s face, "In these two years, the Foundation has placed no constraints on you!"

Mr. Zhou immediately shook his head, "No no no, please don’t worry. My deals are unbreakable, even by myself... It’s just not time yet. There are still two you haven’t tamed: the smoker and the madman... So, I am still free!"

"That’s only a matter of time!"

"Yet it’s still an issue!" Mr. Zhou corrected, "Well, the reason I came is to say that there’s no possibility of my deal being breached. So don’t do anything wrong in your haste—that’s all."

With that, he stood up, "Perhaps this time, humanity has succeeded again. Heh, indeed they are a terrifying species. Well then... I shall take my leave."

Mr. Zhou bowed elegantly and left the room. The old man could clearly see him enter the elevator directly opposite the corridor; the doors opened to the sides, a wave of hot air and a pungent smell rushed out, Mr. Zhou’s cane stood straight in the center, the doors closed slowly, and at the moment they shut, he seemed to smile, revealing a few sharp, pointed fangs...

The old man watched the scene before him silently, as if it were none of his business, until the elevator doors closed completely, as if none of it ever happened. Only then did he come back to his senses from the other’s words... "Why would he say that?"

...

...

Everything seemed to erupt all at once: the plans, conspiracies, stories, schemes, threads laid, and traps dug—all interlinked and bursting violently during this period.

Only Mr. Xu’s coffee shop displayed no signs of the coming storm. People there continued their usual affairs, troubled by the same insoluble problems. This place was like a sanctuary amid the apocalypse, untouched by external chaos. That’s the preciousness of the ordinary: they don’t face real fear. Even if the sky falls, it is not their burden to hold; in fact, they are oblivious to the sky having already fallen. They are busy dealing with adversaries at work, struggling with next month’s mortgage, desperately trying to explain the lipstick stain on their collar, regretting the lottery ticket in their hands, all while bemoaning the unfairness of the world and their own miserable fate.

Little do they know, they are the happiest of people.

...

Chen Xiao, Bai Xiong, and Song Xuan were seated in their usual spots, savoring the rare peace after a great drama’s end, taking the opportunity to replenish some energy and soothe their spirits.

For Song Xuan, the psychological pressure was immense when it came to personally containing the ’Angel’ and delivering it to the Foundation. As always, Bai Xiong remained silent... and Chen Xiao... well, he was smacking his lips, eating quite delightfully.

Just at that moment, a vibrating phone broke the silence.

Bai Xiong and Chen Xiao both took out their phones. It was a message in the familiar format the Foundation used for missions.

"Hmm?" Both were taken aback. They had been busy hither and thither almost incessantly and hadn’t taken any missions, so what was this about?

Confused, they quickly opened the message, and then...

"Hmm?"

"What the fuck?"

Bai Xiong uttered in confusion, while Chen Xiao exclaimed out loud.

Song Xuan frowned, "What’s wrong?" she asked, somewhat puzzled.

Chen Xiao and Bai Xiong silently agreed to show their phones to Song Xuan.

The screen displayed a message formatted as a mission:

——————————————

Notification:

B-level field operatives: Chen Xiao (Bai Xiong), temporary mission assignment, please proceed to the marked location on the map for debriefing immediately.

——————————————

It was just that simple a message, no different from the usual mission briefings.

So what surprised Chen Xiao and Bai Xiong wasn’t the mission call itself.

It was the location it was calling them to.

At the bottom of the message, it clearly stated:

....

Order Foundation - Abnormal Biological Research Area, K City.