novelraw Chapter 290: One-Man Show
Chapter 290: One-Man Show
The stark white stage lights firmly pinned Lin Jie's solitary figure at the theater entrance.
The sweet scent in the air, emanating from the Laughing Madcap Mushroom, grew increasingly dense, relentlessly trying to invade his respiratory system and corrode his nerves.
Lin Jie stood calmly, facing the Smiling Clown who was performing an exaggerated bow to him from the distant stage.
From the moment he stepped into this theater, he had entered the other's world.
This was the absolute domain of the clown.
Every corner here could conceal a fatal trap.
Every inch of air here could be permeated with invisible poison.
"What's the matter, my dear new audience member?"
The Smiling Clown straightened up, tilting his head, asking in a tone that blended childlike innocence and curiosity with an eerie quality.
"Don't you like my welcome ceremony? Or perhaps... you're feeling sorry for those poor losers who couldn't get tickets?"As his words fell, several dim green lights suddenly flickered to life within the shadows of the audience seats.
Beneath the light were several long-stiffened corpses!
They were precisely the missing fringe-dwellers of the inner world from the files.
Now, they had been meticulously dressed up as classic characters from the "Punch and Judy" puppet show.
A burly man with dark skin wore an ill-fitting police uniform, representing the foolish "Constable" always tricked by Mr. Punch.
Another petite female apprentice of Voodoo was dressed as Punch's wife, "Judy".
Frozen smiles were plastered on their faces.
They sat in the front row of the audience seats, "watching" the new play about to unfold on stage.
"See, how happy they look." The clown spread his arms wide. "Only they truly know how to appreciate my comedy. Not like those people outside, they only look at me with those stupid, prejudiced eyes, laugh at me, abandon me..."
His voice suddenly turned sharp and venomous.
"So, I gave them a chance. A chance to stay in this theater forever, to enjoy happiness forever! This... is the reward they deserve!"
Lin Jie snorted with derision, shook his head, and gave the clown a thumbs-down gesture. "You have real talent, Mr. Clown. It's just a shame that these 'comedies' you've so meticulously choreographed aren't even as funny as the jokes my neighbor's kid tells."
"What do you mean?" The Smiling Clown was displeased with Lin Jie's harsh critique.
A disappointed expression appeared on his face, thick with greasepaint.
"What an arrogant audience member." He shook his head, then gently snapped his fingers.
"Snap."
The crisp sound of the snap echoed through the theater.
The next second, a faint mechanical whirring sound came from the floor beneath Lin Jie's feet!
He instinctively leaped backward!
Right where he had just been standing, a floorboard suddenly sprang upward, and a spring-loaded jack-in-the-box doll, life-sized and painted with a ridiculous clown face, shot out with a "whoosh"!
The doll spewed a large amount of colorful, glittering confetti from its mouth.
Simultaneously, a cylinder phonograph hidden beneath the audience seats automatically began playing a circus tune.
It was a childish trap with a malicious joke at its heart.
But if Lin Jie's reaction had shown even a trace of panic, what awaited him would have been throwing knives shot simultaneously from the shadows on both sides.
Lin Jie's body landed steadily three yards away.
He glanced at the spring doll still shaking its head wildly, his face still expressionless.
"What a... true pity."
The Smiling Clown's regretful voice sounded through a tin megaphone hidden in the ceiling, filling the entire theater.
"I thought you would like my surprise."
Immediately, that voice began to drift and become elusive.
It came from the left box at one moment, then from behind the right curtain the next, as if countless clowns in the darkness were subjecting him to a verbal harassment campaign.
"Don't you also find this world boring?"
"Look at those people, they run around every day for those stupid things. Money, power, fame... The smiles on their faces are fake! Their happiness is all an act!"
"Only me! Only here! Can you find the purest and most genuine happiness!"
"Join us, new audience member! Cast off that hypocritical, icy mask of yours! I'll show you a brand new world full of laughter and joy!"
"......"
Lin Jie paid no heed to the noise buzzing around him like flies, trying to disturb his mind.
He knew the Smiling Clown's true body was definitely still standing behind the stage.
These were just his usual little tricks for testing and provoking his prey.
So, Lin Jie began to slowly walk towards the direction of the stage.
He walked very slowly, each step landing with extreme steadiness.
His gaze rapidly swept over every corner around him, firmly etching the complete layout of this theater and all possible trap locations into his mind.
Pressure-sensitive tripwires were hidden beneath the audience seats.
Fishing nets, ready to drop at any moment, hung from the ceiling chandeliers.
Even the carpet underfoot could be littered with children's screaming toys that would make a huge noise.
The entire theater was a giant death playground constructed from this madman's twisted sense of childish fun.
"Oh? You dare... to walk over here?"
The Smiling Clown's tone revealed genuine surprise and excitement.
"Excellent! Excellent! I love audience members like you, brimming with courage the most! Your comedy is going to be extremely, extremely brilliant!"
Just as Lin Jie's foot was about to step into the even deeper darkness of the theater's backstage area—
A figure in a ridiculous clown costume suddenly flashed out from behind the heavy velvet curtain at the side of the stage! He made no sound, moving fast as lightning!
The [Punch's Comedy Baton] in his hand traced an arc through the air, pointing directly at Lin Jie's temple from a full ten yards away!
"Here it comes!"
Lin Jie's heart clenched.
Before he could even make a move to dodge, a tsunami-like [Mental Impact], a hundred times stronger than the false joy he'd experienced through his [Reverberation Touch] in Guillotine Alley, flooded his consciousness!
Lin Jie felt as if his brain had been injected with a whole canister of high-purity hallucinogens!
Countless colorful, candy and flower-scented balls and fireworks exploded madly before his eyes!
He heard thunderous applause and cheers, saw countless faces smiling at him with adoration and admiration.
His body began to feel uncontrollably light.
An intensely pure, soul-melting sense of happiness soaked into every one of his cells.
He felt the muscles in his face start to pull upward uncontrollably again, a stiff, eerie smile about to bloom.
Fortunately, he had come prepared, having placed [Serene Heart] in the inner breast pocket of his coat beforehand, right against his heart.
The protective field imbued with [Zen] transformed into an invisible ice blade, flowing from his heart throughout his body, instantly cleaving the illusory sea of false colors, constructed from candy and flowers, right down the middle!
Lin Jie's body shuddered, the corner of his mouth that was about to stretch to his ear forcibly stopping halfway.
The colorful hallucinations before his eyes rapidly faded and vanished.
He saw the theater's gloomy ceiling again, heard the sound of his own heartbeat again.
Then, he bit the tip of his tongue. The pain completely tore him free from that blissful hell that could make one sink into oblivion!
"Huff... Huff..."
Lin Jie knelt on one knee, panting, sweat beading on his forehead.
The Smiling Clown standing not far away, however, saw his expression shift from morbid excitement to extreme shock and bewilderment.
"You... how could you possibly...?"
He couldn't comprehend it.
His [Comedy Baton], which had never failed before, which could turn even the most strong-willed person into a happy fool... had actually been ineffective?!
Although this brief clash of less than two seconds had been extremely perilous, it also allowed Lin Jie to completely confirm the other's attack pattern—
Directional release through the [Punch's Comedy Baton], this "offspring entity" of the Laughing Madcap Mushroom, inducing powerful positive emotional mental contamination!
Within the range of the Laughing Madcap Mushroom, its effective distance was amplified to about fifteen yards.
Its power could instantly shatter an ordinary person's will.
Its weakness was equally obvious: it lacked potent physical attack capability. As long as it was countered by mental protection effects, this baton could at most cause a momentary pause in movement.
"Your comedy..."
Lin Jie slowly stood up from the ground.
He lifted his head, looking at the Smiling Clown on the stage with eyes that saw a dead thing.
"...isn't funny at all."