Clown Game
Chapter 413 - 391 Preparation Made Two Years Ago

Chapter 413: Chapter 391 Preparation Made Two Years Ago

The room was bright and tidy, sunlight scattered across the floor, with a sofa and a coffee table neatly tracing the edges along the gaps in the flooring, creating a comfortable view. Of course, the postman wouldn’t notice such obsessive-compulsive details because the three people lying on the floor were struggling to get up, looking at him with the same astonishment.

"You... how are you here!?"

"You... how are you here!?"

Chen Xiao and the postman almost shouted in unison!

...

minutes later

...

The two groups of people were now sitting together in Chen Xiao’s apartment on Baker Street. During the past few minutes, they had shared their experiences with one another.

The prestigious Foundation Star award ceremony, the television deity stolen by Chen Xiao, Eniak’s system crash, the Splitters’ base being breached, all of Chen Xiao’s access rights being sealed, and being designated as an S-class anomaly, along with the restoration of the K city anomaly research center. All these events had happened almost simultaneously, and no one would believe it was mere coincidence.

Clearly, the Foundation had begun to close its net. No, it was more like everything was contracting—intrigue, manipulation, victors, and victims. When countless schemes intertwined like a tangled ball of yarn, no one could distinguish the beginning from the end. Everyone believed that they held the thread that led to victory, but until the end, no one dared to say for sure.

Moreover, starting from when Chen Xiao regained his memories from two years ago, the conceptual entities "Reason" and "Madness," which used to appear frequently, had not shown themselves since. It was as if they had deliberately hidden deep within Chen Xiao’s mind, not responding to any summons, which made him even more uneasy.

...

"So, you’re saying that you only used that key to open the door and then you ended up here?" Chen Xiao asked thoughtfully.

"Yes!" the postman replied, but his preoccupied manner showed that his thoughts were still on the other side of the door.

Chen Xiao nodded, "Hmm... it seems the lock to this apartment was fitted by the Locksmith from the very beginning. In other words, when she rented the apartment to me all those years ago, she had already planned everything for today. The door, the site for the symbolic ritual, and these!" Saying this, Chen Xiao gestured toward the opposite wall where the once neatly arranged wallpaper had been completely torn down. Below it wasn’t a wall, but a material that looked similar to that of the Splitters’ base, and it was densely covered with runes.

"It turns out I’ve been living in the safest air-raid shelter in the world," he remarked.

No one responded to him because they were all overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions: struggle, astonishment, confusion, regret, resignation, and more.

The postman had intended to rescue A-Ming and the nurse from the base and return to assist Qiu Mujin, but obviously the other side had anticipated today’s scenario. Thus, the door was locked from one side only, with a keyhole only on the outside, and inside it simply required a turn of the handle to open. Moreover, the Foundation had already shielded the entire island, preventing the postman from teleporting again. This meant... they had no way to return. As for why the "Guardian" had done this, anyone with a brain already knew, but none of them wanted to think of the worst-case scenario.

Meizi, having been confined in the containment room for so long—on top of her previous tragic experiences in the orphanage—felt a surreal sensation as though she was living in another world.

Bai Xiong, through the conversation just now, had learned that the person currently battling the Guardian at the Splitters’ base was a gigantic figure... In fact, he didn’t need to elaborate much; he could already grasp that feeling. It was as if a force from deep within his soul was calling him. He knew that on the other side of the door was his true self, an entity that encompassed a multitude of his own existence.

It should be mentioned here that at this moment, there were only six people in the living room. Mrs. Liu had not come along because the original runes were designed to sacrifice only objects with anomalous properties. Ordinary people couldn’t pass through, implying that Mrs. Liu was still locked up in the containment room, awaiting the arrival of the Omega Squad.

Seeing that nobody paid him any attention, Chen Xiao, with a helpless twitch of the mouth, suddenly pulled out the Shocking Dagger from his pocket.

Everyone was startled.

"You bastard, what the hell are you up to now?" the postman roared at Chen Xiao. With the drastic changes happening one after another, everyone’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point. In fact, for a moment, he had the urge to dash over, snatch the knife, and stab Chen Xiao to death.

But fortunately, Chen Xiao merely bizarrely stabbed the dagger into the ground, flipping up a piece of flooring... No one knew what the madman was up to.

"I know your minds are all in turmoil right now, but wallowing in those emotions is pointless," he spoke as if to himself, his hands not slowing down a bit: "I also know who that giant is—you’re talking about the heir to the bloodline of Prince Ne-new-til, a man outside common sense. All that talk about quantitative change not equalling qualitative change is nonsense; it’s just a matter of not having enough quantity. Anyway, that crazy woman stands no chance against him."

"That’s because you don’t know her," A-Ming finally spoke up for the first time since waking up: "She can do anything she wants to."

"And pay the same price, right? Otherwise, the Foundation would no longer exist," Chen Xiao said and then lifted another piece of flooring.

After hearing this, A-Ming fell silent again.

During this irritating silence and the creaking noise of Chen Xiao prying up floorboards, he lifted the entire living room floor to reveal a huge set of runes underneath, identical to the ones he had drawn.

"Hmm... just as I thought," Chen Xiao muttered quietly, then suddenly plunged the knife into his wrist’s artery. Blood spurted out, splattering the entire set of runes into a mess.

Just then...

"Thump, thump, thump..."

A series of knocks on the door.

Everyone was startled; Chen Xiao’s social circle was virtually non-existent, hardly anyone ever visited his apartment, and someone knocking at this critical juncture undoubtedly put everyone on high alert.

Chen Xiao pulled out his handgun, cautiously moved to the side of the door, and signaled for the others to prepare for any sudden incident.

Suddenly.

"Alright, alright, I know you’re in there. If I wanted to pull something, I wouldn’t need nuclear weapons; I could have simply pumped some sleeping gas through the ventilation or the sewage pipes by now. Who in their right mind would knock on the door like this?"

A woman’s voice came from the other side of the door.