Chapter 836: The Adventures of Crown |
Why had someone crawled out of the alley's manhole?
Who was he?
What was he doing down there?
What was down below? Treasure, or... secrets?
Crown froze. He tugged up his trousers, face drawn with indecision. He obviously wanted to go down and look — he just lacked the final ounce of courage.
So he stood rooted in the wall's shadow, staring at the improperly sealed manhole, his mind at war.
The three Players watched. All of them wanted to give him a push — yet with uncanny consensus, they held back. When a mundane life reaches its turning point, nobody wanted to force the narrative. They wanted to see what Crown would choose.
Crown didn't choose... The coward seemed to give up.
He stood motionless for so long that the scholar finished his task and returned to the alley — and Crown was still huddled in his corner, frowning.
The returning scholar would certainly notice the poorly sealed cover. The instant he realized the experiment's greatest secret might have been discovered by a variable, he'd comb the area. Crown was too close. A hurried glance might miss him — but a careful look would not.
So the Players intervened — but left no trace.
Cheng Shi pointed at a thin patch of ice beneath his feet, then glanced at Ai Si. She understood immediately. Picking up the ice sliver, she leapt soundlessly to the alley's heights, hung upside-down from a window ledge in an impressively acrobatic pose, and planted the slightly palm-melted ice shard precisely under the scholar's foot.
The scholar rounded the corner, stepped on the ice, and slipped. As he fell, Ai Si dropped from above and slid a thick chunk of ice beneath his skull. The back of his head slammed into it.
Knocked out cold. The scholar never knew what hit him. Ai Si smirked and flowed back to her "prime viewing seat."
Watching her stunning performance, Cheng Shi and Zhang Jizu's expressions were something to behold. They applauded silently — for her. Or rather, for him.
Cheng Shi's teasing eyes found Ai Si. The look said it all: 'Not even pretending anymore?'
Ai Si accepted the ribbing without explanation. Just rolled her eyes and went back to watching.
The scholar's crash echoed through the alley, startling Crown. When he saw the stranger unconscious at his feet, the scales of hesitation finally tipped.
Curiosity blazed in his eyes. He dragged the stranger into the shadow behind the staircase stones, swapped clothes with practiced speed, and — once he confirmed everything checked out — transformed himself into a "scholar." He slid the cover aside and carefully climbed down.
Three exchanged glances. They followed like invisible bodyguards flanking Crown.
True invisibility required proper tools, of course. Just as Ai Si prepared to drop down first, Zhang Jizu caught her arm and pressed a small inscribed page onto her.
"Memory's power? Heh, interesting." Ai Si turned and descended. Cheng Shi gave Mi Laozhang a loaded look, applied his own tool, and followed.
The underground was unmistakably the Tower of Logic's observation post. At first, Crown was staggered by the labyrinthine sewer system. Even seeing people moving through the tunnels — wearing clothes utterly different from San Dales' style — he didn't grow suspicious. He simply assumed it was some secret organization run from the town center.
It wasn't until two young scholars approached and asked whether today's operation had gone smoothly that Crown realized things might be nothing like what he'd imagined.
But Crown was sharp — and clever. He kept them from touching him, used the hat to obscure his face as much as possible, and offered vague half-answers. His instincts were keen enough that he even managed to deliver the operation report orally.
The two scholars bought it. They left with the report and dropped off a scholar's robe for him.
Crown was already sensing something was very wrong. He hurriedly changed into the robe and began... openly investigating the place.
Yes — openly. Because he understood that skulking around would draw far more suspicion. The robe on his back was his passport; the scholars didn't question him — didn't even deign to question him.
In their eyes, a San Dales variable could never be this smart.
And so the Adventures of Crown began. After traversing several corridors and meeting a few people, the "scholarly aura" he projected grew denser. Eventually he started spiritedly critiquing other scholars' operations and correcting their positions on the San Dales experiment.
Yes — by now he knew his entire world was an experiment. But down here in the tunnels he couldn't afford to show fear. Swallowing his terror, he threw himself into his performance talent with abandon.
Crown was genuinely gifted. In the art of impersonation, he was virtually flawless.
Following behind, Zhang Jizu chuckled. "He's a lot like you."
"?" Cheng Shi squinted, expression strange. "I hope you're not being sarcastic, Mi Laozhang."
"I'm complimenting you. Clowns really do share common traits."
"..."
No arguing that. Through those earlier "days," they'd all seen it — Crown's "actor" was really just a clown.
And when clown and underground sewer connected in his mind, Cheng Shi startled. He turned to Mi Laozhang.
"The nose — the clown nose!"
A spark flashed in Zhang Jizu's eyes. He immediately produced the nose Cheng Shi had once handed him. But instead of passing it over, he stared at it — struck by a dawning realization.
And right then — because Crown's heated argument with the other scholars had escalated into a mildly physical scuffle — a small red ball tumbled from beneath his scholar's robe.
The surrounding scholars noticed. "What's that?"
Crown froze mid-motion. Quickly he kicked it aside, spread his palms, and squeezed out a smile.
"Passed by that boring little theater — picked it up off the ground near the clown. Found it funny, so I kept it.
Looking at it now, that clown really is a clown. He doesn't even know what makes him one."
The inexplicable punchline cracked up every scholar. They doubled over, clutching shoulders — and the confrontation dissolved into laughter.
Perhaps even Crown hadn't anticipated that his greatest performance as a clown would come at the moment he truly became one.
His jokes were no longer cold. But his heart would never be warm again.
...
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