The Gentleman at the End
Chapter 570 - 568: See You Again, Boss

Chapter 570: Chapter 568: See You Again, Boss

[Fear Circus]

During the non-operational period, the entire circus tent is hidden deep within the subspace, inaccessible even to Source Epidemic Areas or the Suffering Monastery, albeit its capture privileges.

Only individuals designated by the boss as core members, those who have fully developed a fear disorder, could enjoy a soul-level Sensing connection outside.

More precisely, it should be called a "Fear Connection."

The boss, as the origin of Fear and arguably the essence of Fear from the Old World,

bestowed any circus member who came into contact with him the "sowing of fear"; William, too, was the same when he first visited the circus, and a Fear Seed took root in his brain when he accepted the entrance ticket.

However, not everyone can harness such seeds,

They subjectively select genuine talents with adequate potential and performance talent; only then will the seed choose to germinate within them.

Moreover, germination is just the first step; subsequent daily accumulation, performances, and certain special opportunities are needed for the sapling to grow into a tree and develop its own unique "fear disorder."

William fully developed his fear disorder through trial runs and official performances (intermission) coupled with self-awareness and application in the Abyss People Settlement, forming his unique [Social Phobia].

This special disorder, existing due to Madness Brain, was also completed during his journey, figuratively like being nourished with an ancient nutriment, allowing the mature tree to bear fruit.

William just needed to activate the sensing of his disorder and go in search of the most primitive, ancient origin of fear to locate the boss, which was also the entrance to the circus.

He chose to take the Black Worm Train for the earlier part of the journey, and when the sensing grew intense, he proceeded with the final leg on foot.

[Butterfly Phosphorus Forest]

A tall man, a shorter one, and a Candle Puppet hurried through the forest,

The butterflies dwelling here all avoided them, the human faces on their abdomens expressing terror, completely unaware of why such powerful beings had come.

The human male leading them had his hair in a centered bun and wore a signature black suit.

Following him was a ’Beast’ of enormous Physique clad in streamlined silver armor; indiscernible in species, it was dragon-like, wolf-like, and also resembled a giant rat.

"William, the place we’re heading to that you claim has the highest delicacy of the Old World—just what is it? My Memory doesn’t recall a Source Plague Area here, is it a newly established organization?"

"It’s a place called [Fear Circus]."

"Circus... I’ve never heard of it."

"It’s a special organization founded after the war; it’s normal you haven’t heard of it since it’s hidden during non-performance periods."

During their conversation, William’s sensitivity to Fear suddenly increased exponentially.

The dense forest ahead of them suddenly opened up, revealing an unnaturally clear glade with no moss, no flowers, and not even the human-faced butterflies dared to fly into it.

In the center of the clearing sat a Magic Hat,

As the City Lord Price followed William out of the woods and saw that incongruous Magic Hat, the entire rat bristled, claws sprang out, and its tail tensed,

Trying to see through the Magic Hat with the Moon Eyes beneath the helmet only revealed an Endless Abyss.

Unlike the Tenth Abyss, just one glance at the Abyss within the Magic Hat made him feel dizzy, as if space itself had turned chaotic.

At that moment, an irritating pollen drifted through the woods, sticking to the surface of the eyeballs and forcing Price and William to blink simultaneously.

Buzz~ In the blink of an eye, the Magic Hat vanished.

In its place stood a magician dressed in a tailcoat and wearing a Guy Fawkes mask.

"Mr. Jian!" William immediately saluted, while introducing his companion, "This is Price Silver Tail, a new friend and the former City Lord of the Original Rat City.

Based on my observations and assessment, he is capable of holding an important position in the circus. His trait of Moonlight is also compatible with mine and he might even qualify to be the deputy performer in the Theater department."

Jian glanced at the rat, noting the dual Traits carried by the silver armor—’Cancer and Moon’, and the powerful Aura emanating from it.

"Indeed not bad, but whether he can join the circus still depends on subsequent assessments and cultivation of Fear Disorder... However, William, the boss only granted you a two-month leave, yet it took you three to return.

Due to your serious breach, I will personally take you to the boss’s residence to explain your tardiness.

As for your friend, I will have a staff member arrange his audition."

"Alright."

With a snap of Jian’s fingers, a member with a poker face of ’10 of Spades’ stepped out from behind him.

As William gently patted the back of Price’s armor, the large rat followed the poker-faced member into the woods and disappeared.

When only the two of them were left in the clearing in the woods, Jian directly removed his mask, gazing at William with his Abyss pupils.

But this time, as he gazed, William no longer fell into them; instead, there was a repelling force between the two, as if it was a rejection between different Abysses.

"You’ve been recognized by the Tenth Abyss, congratulations."

"All thanks to Mr. Jian’s Abyssal training, otherwise I could have easily gotten lost and become a slave to the Tenth Abyss."

"Well, the boss probably won’t say anything about it because after all, lingering a bit longer in the Abyss is understandable, and besides, you have brought back a very promising applicant.

But you’re quite clever, thinking of locking down the position of deputy manager of the Theater ahead of time. Are you hoping that once that old mouse gets a promotion, you’ll be able to run off outside again?"

"Haha, please take me to see the boss now, Mr. Jian..."

In the depths of the kitchen’s incinerator, at the bottom of the pit entwined with black hair, lay the Circus’s absolute restricted area.

Each strand of hair wriggling there, each piece of flesh, seemed as though it could exist independently.

When they arrived in front of the curtain of black hair, Jian placed his hat over his chest: "Boss, William has been brought here."

William also made the same bowing gesture,

But as time ticked by, no sound came from behind the curtain of black hair, unlike the long wait when meeting with the "Tenth Abyss."

Standing before the curtain of black hair, William felt a primitive fear assaulting him head-on at all times. Even after completing the Path, the growing fear felt like a whirlpool of black hair trying to swallow him whole.

It wasn’t just William; even Jian was sweating coldly.

Just as William’s spirit was about to give out, ready to don his Abyss Mask,

The boss’s voice finally came from within:

"Hmm... No wonder it took such a long time. You have an excellent physical condition and a unique phobia. The applicant you brought back also did well, scoring high on all tests.

I won’t pursue the matter of your late return. From now on, you will fully commit to the construction of the new department and the preparatory work for its early stages."

"Thank you, boss." William’s tense nerves relaxed instantly, and he too took a deep breath of relief.

"Additionally, until your department is fully established and passes the assessment, no separate department space will be allocated to you from the Circus Tent. Thus, for the time being, early preparations will be set up within the Circus troupe.

The Circus troupe has more manpower, and if you can maintain good relations, perhaps you could recruit some talents from them."

"The Circus troupe’s interior, got it."

William had also planned to communicate more with Mr. Rabbit, so this arrangement was quite suitable.

Thinking the conversation was over, William was about to leave with Jian when the boss’s voice suddenly changed.

"Jian, you may leave first. I have something else to discuss with William alone."

"Understood." Jian was somewhat surprised, not guessing what the boss wanted to do by keeping William alone.

After Jian had left, the voice came again: "Come in to talk, William... ahem!"

"Yes."

Following the boss’s request, William reached forward to lift the curtain of black hair, the touch making his skin crawl instantly.

As the scene behind the curtain came into view,

The most primal fear engulfed William like a tide, instinctively activating his Abyss Trait, forcing him to cover his eyes with his hands just to momentarily shield himself from the invasion of fear.

The essence of the boss was also revealed at the same time,

The boss that appeared during the banquet was only a part, a tiny part, or to say, the part that could take on human form.

The wheelchair was pushed aside, unused,

The boss’s actual body was embedded in the deepest part of the cave, connected to the ’root’ of the Circus Tent... it was a giant, hairy black flesh ball, with only a small part of the boss in human form stuck to the top of the flesh ball.

The hair continuously produced on the surface of the flesh ball was used to weave fabric for expanding the space of the Circus Tent, only if the hair met the standard of flexibility and color.

Inferior hair would drift around the cave and even occasionally cause trouble in the kitchen.

With the truth revealed,

The Circus tent was indeed a part of the boss,

Or rather, a special product woven from the boss’s original hair.