The young man was momentarily surprised, then glanced warily at the clown. He had twenty cards in his hand, and for a moment he didn't know where to put the King. He threw down a 3, then shuffled the cards haphazardly at the bottom, still unsure where the King was, before lifting them up for the clown to draw.
—It didn't explode.
Of course, that's normal. The clown chuckled, slammed the card he'd drawn onto the table, and then laid out his own cards for the young man to draw.
Mu Anqi noticed that the Joker's three Kings were placed together in a row. However, the young man didn't draw one this time either.
After two rounds of smooth sailing, the young man nervously drew a card from the clown's hand, and his face turned pale.
"Hehehe~ Don't be so obvious~"
The young man bit his lip, threw out a queen, shuffled the cards behind his back, and handed them over.
The clown still hadn't drawn the King. This made the young man question his existence. He carefully examined the design on the back of the King card, but found nothing unusual. Besides... he had clearly drawn the King himself. The young man took a deep breath, randomly drew a card—a four of hearts. He played it, then turned the card face down and placed it on the table. "Tell me, which card is it from the top?"
"Haha, let's start with the first one then~" The clown chuckled, taking the top card and then turning his own cards face down like the young man. "So, which card is it?"
"..." The young man swallowed hard, his eyes flickering slightly. "The first one."
Another King!
Why!
The young man stared intently at the card, his expression a mixture of anger, fear, and disbelief.
No, no! Calm down, he still has a chance, he still has a chance! The young man forced himself to remain calm, his hands trembling uncontrollably. He carelessly threw out a 7, then shuffled the cards repeatedly before placing them on the table. "Which...which card?"
"The first one." The clown grinned broadly, seemingly unafraid. Of course, he was a ghost, and this game was designed by Ghost; why would he be afraid? Even if there was an explosion… how could it kill a ghost?
The young man's hand was dwindling. Ghost took the first card and slammed it on the table; it was a 9.
At this point, he had ten cards in his hand, while Ghost had a total of 14 cards.
The young man closed his eyes. A one in fourteen chance… his voice trembled. "The seventh one."
It's a ten.
"The first one," Red Nose said with a smile; he always seemed to only choose the first one.
It is j.
The young man gritted his teeth, "The third one." The further the game went, the more desperate he became. He started with only a King, but now…
It is a.
The young man let out a breath, glanced at the cards, hesitated for a moment, rearranged them, and placed them on the table.
"First..." The clown deliberately dragged out the word, then burst into laughter without warning, "Hahahaha, the last one!"
The young man's face quickly turned ashen. "This...this isn't fair..."
"You chose the order of play." The clown tilted his head, and the young man had no choice but to turn over the last card, which was a "2".
They're doomed.
"What should I do if... I run out of cards to play?" the young man asked, his face pale as he looked at the cards in his hand.
"How could that be? You can take one from my hand." The clown grinned and spread out the cards, letting him choose. "Which card, or... you choose yourself? After all, maybe you won't be able to play all your cards?"
"..." The young man covered his face in despair. His luck... Please, please let this clown draw a King! He took a deep breath, "The sixth card, my lucky number is six."
The clown grinned and pulled out the sixth card, placing it face down on the table and pushing it towards the young man. The moment the young man's trembling fingers touched the card, it lit up at a visible speed, along with the three cards in his hand!
4 Kings!
"No, no!—"
"Bang—"
"Bomb~" the clown chuckled. "Looks like your lucky number isn't so lucky after all."
He bent down and patted the red balloon at his feet. The balloon instantly deflated, and then a tremendous suction force was generated. The blood, flesh, bone fragments, and limbs that had been splattered from the explosion were all sucked into the balloon. The balloon gradually inflated, its color seemingly becoming even more vibrant red.
The audience erupted in excitement the moment the young man died. Mu Anqi saw wisps of pale blue "mist" emanating from the young man's body, and he could vaguely make out the young man's terrified expression. But the mist quickly dissipated, absorbed by the audience of Circus and the actors on stage.
What is that? A soul?
"Thank you for the wonderful performance! The next act is 'Beauty Turns into a Tiger!'" The clown laughed. "Oh dear, there don't seem to be many girls here. Let's choose from among the beauties then!"
Mu Anqi has already participated, so the female ghost obviously won't be selected. So…
The girl to Mu Anqi's right instantly reddened her eyes, biting her lip and looking at the stage with a pale face. As expected, the spotlight shone on her.
The girl was invited up.
"Beautiful Woman Turns into a Tiger" is a magic show. The performance lives up to its name: when a female audience member enters a cage, she transforms into a tiger.
The girl trembled, but the Red Nose raised his hand, lifted the iron cage door, and opened it, showing the audience that it was empty. Then, he gestured for the girl to enter. The performer stood behind her, and Mu Anqi did n't know what the ghost said or did, but... the terrified girl, sobbing, stepped into the cage. The red cloth was covered, and when it was lifted again, a tiger's roar shook the heavens!
The person in the cage looked terrifying, like a ferocious tiger.
These tricks, if they had happened on Earth before her death, might have been quite astonishing. But in Ghost's hands, they seem rather unremarkable.
"Next, please welcome the next lucky audience member to find the missing beauty!"
"?" Mu Anqi was stunned for a moment. The searchlight swept across again and stopped on a male player.
A male player walked onto the stage, and the performer handed him a curved sword. To the exciting announcement of "The show begins" from Red Nose, the cage doors slowly opened—
The tiger roared excitedly and pounced directly at the player!
"That girl, could she be inside the tiger's belly...?" What a beautiful woman turning into a tiger, and then having the player find the missing beauty. Giving the player a curved sword, then releasing a ferocious tiger— what kind of situation do these Ghosts want to see...? It's too obvious.
If the male player is strong enough and calm enough, he might be able to rescue the female player while protecting himself.
But— Mu Anqi wanted to close his eyes, but then he thought of the nitpicking female ghost on his left. He took a deep breath, his eyes vacant as he stared at the stage lights, trying his best to ignore the splattered blood and flesh on the stage, and the sound of sharp knives piercing tiger flesh.
Perhaps the male player's ability was to amplify himself? Mu Anqi noticed a faint blue aura around him, perhaps some kind of buff. But even using his ability, the male player was completely incapable of rationally and comprehensively killing the tiger and rescuing the female player.
However, Mu Anqi noticed that the tiger's movements would sometimes suddenly freeze, but the freeze was too short for the male player to seize the opportunity.
The tiger's roar and howl, the male player's desperate and painful screams, and... the female player who couldn't make a sound, and finally, her limbs, covered in blood, slid out of the tiger's abdomen.
To amuse players... to offer hope, then to bestow despair. To make players kill each other... is this what a performance is?
Next, they performed a "silk hanging dance," and the person chosen to come on stage was also a Ghost NC—a simple and normal performance. However, the next task was to draw players to complete an extreme escape room challenge. Upon hearing this task, Mu Anqi clearly noticed a change in expression on the faces of the two people in the seats who hadn't been drawn yet; they were obviously players.
The player is bound by chains, with two small keys hanging between the chains on their hands and feet. The player will be placed in a sealed glass cabinet where the oxygen will gradually decrease. The key to escape the cabinet is hanging at the top.
Three locks, three keys. This escape seemed incredibly simple. The bound player's muscles bulged instantly at the start, clearly demonstrating his ability. But…
No matter how hard the player strained, his bulging muscles straining, even as his face turned red, the chains wouldn't budge. Realizing his abilities weren't up to par, the player panicked. He'd just wasted time! And as he frantically tried to unlock the keys, his hands trembled uncontrollably. In his anxiety, his breathing became rapid… By the time he finally managed to unlock the keys and shakily reached for the key between his legs, the oxygen in the cabinet was running low.
Unlike the perspective of bystanders, the escaping player was constantly surrounded by piercing screams and the howling of cold wind. Even though he was inside a transparent cabinet, he could still catch glimpses of ghostly figures flashing by out of the corner of his eye. As he struggled to unlock the keys on his feet, he even saw a pair of red eyes beneath them! His eyes widened; the scenery before him darkened due to lack of oxygen, and the suffocating pain gradually enveloped him. He struggled to stand up, trying to retrieve the key from the top of the cabinet, only to see a pair of eyes slowly open on the top. Those eyes widened, and then a strange, smiling arc appeared—
Terrified, he slumped against the edge of the cabinet. Lack of oxygen, hallucinations, and ghostly disturbances—whatever it was—caused him to break down and cry. He stood up again and tried to unlock the key, but still couldn't.
In the very end, Mu Anqi watched as the player inside the cabinet repeatedly scratched at the cabinet walls with his bare hands, leaving bloody marks, then began to tear at his own neck, his eyes suddenly widening and his tongue lolling out, the bloodshot in his eyes clearly visible. Saliva and snot spilled from his mouth and nose as he died from extreme suffocation.
The invisible rays of light rose again from the bodies of the dead players, only to be completely severed by the Ghosts.
Circus, performances... one performance after another. Some players were devoured by Ghosts after dying, while others walked off the stage with lingering fear.
Mu Anqi sat there almost numbly until the last performance ended and the clown sang his final song. Only then did she slowly move her body and stand up, supporting herself on the armrests.
"Player," the female ghost on the left spoke, " Circus is meaningless. I look forward to your arrival in my world."
Mu Anqi was shocked for a moment. She turned to look at the female ghost, but the woman had already stood up gracefully and gone behind the curtain of Circus.
What's the meaning...?
In a daze, the tour guide returned, holding a small megaphone, "Please follow me closely and leave Circus in an orderly manner."
The author has something to say about the unsolvable problem in the first book, probably because it was written from an observer's perspective...
Even if a player's special abilities aren't strong, they can still escape if they remain calm enough. The card-drawing game is a psychological battle, and the two-player chain game is a "cooperative" dungeon where the player inside the tiger's belly can influence the tiger's actions. As for escaping the dungeon, players don't need to waste time using special abilities; controlling their breathing and staying calm will allow them to escape. "Until the last performance ends" omits other performances.