Chapter 1818: Chapter 1815: Final Act
The old elevator opened in a study alcove.
Mr. Voss and the startled Fima stepped out from inside. Due to their inability to communicate through language, they had to first find a way to rendezvous with Han Dong and the others.
Before the team split, Han Dong had informed them of the general search area.
Both were experienced assassins and, with Mr. Voss’s cushion senses, they managed to regroup with the main team within ten minutes.
At this moment, the team had one additional member.
The actress playing [Miss Mu Si, the Second Daughter], a gentle-looking girl wearing round glasses… She herself was a mage, but restrained by the Truth, she could only conjure minimal flames.
Roughly equivalent to the strength of five lighters.
Her actual power wasn’t impressive, but… an individual naturally possessing magic energy like hers absolutely couldn’t be allowed to fall into the actor’s hands. If absorbed, it would grant the actor the power to wield flames.
With the actor’s fusion body special traits, it’s very possible they could unleash real magical effects.
As for the item held by the second daughter, it’s called [Mary Les’s Pen], which in the script is an important keepsake gifted by her teacher at the academy she attended.
Effect: The pen can draw living small animals, which can be controlled by the user. The ink consumption varies with the size of the animal, and once the ink is depleted, the pen loses its function.
(The activity range and duration of the small animals are also directly proportional to the ink consumption.)
It’s considered a useful item in the early stages for conducting absolutely safe environment exploration.
If enough ink is available in later stages, it might even draw a hunting dog or a hungry wolf as a ‘guardian beast’.
Han Dong didn’t have any special requests for this second daughter actress; he only asked her to stay close to the team, primarily serving as a ‘torch’.
Mr. Voss had already quickly carved a top-down view of the [basement] on the ground with his claws. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs NovᴇlFɪre.nᴇt
At the same time, he relayed what he saw and heard in the basement to Han Dong through vision.
Compiling all the information, Han Dong murmured, “It seems the audience member resembling a maid or nanny has already been killed; now only one person hasn’t joined us.
The heart’s main structure and the basement layout are understood…”
Miss Fima asked, “Should we go look for the last one?”
If we go looking, the actor will likely find them before us and take them to the basement for ‘ability extraction’.
Since we already have the overall situation figured out, it’s time to bring this theatrical play to the ‘final act’.
Everyone proceed to the basement… Even if he catches the last person, he still needs to perform the sacrifice in the basement; we just need to wait there to stop and end this once and for all.
Everyone get ready for battle, using my ‘vision communication’ as the only mode of communication.”
These words ignited everyone’s fighting spirit, except for the actor playing the [Young Master] — Gracy. When he heard about having to fight against the actor with stitches all over his body, his legs began to tremble uncontrollably again.
Just as everyone was moving towards the basement,
An announcement that only the audience could hear sounded in the circus main venue,
“Dear audience, as you have witnessed, ‘Startling Night’ has entered its final act. Before this spectacular play concludes, we will host a ‘guessing game’.
Guess which side will win, who will survive.
The odds of each survivor will be displayed on the screen.
We do not impose any requirements here; everyone can participate unconditionally or stake ‘Black Tower points’ or even their ‘life’ to make a guess.
We encourage you to use your ‘life’ to bet. If you win, you’ll gain additional life… which can be used as collateral in subsequent shows.
Here, we kindly remind everyone that the thrill of future shows will not be any less than what you have witnessed so far. So, we hope you can be bold.”
Upon hearing this, the whole audience fell silent.
Indeed, at this rate, who knows how many will perish? They saw this play very clearly, with their own evaluations of each performer.
If they could win extra life, it would make things much easier later on.
In the end, about 60% of the audience wagered their ‘life’ on the gamble.
However, the betting results varied greatly… The highest numbers bet on the [chief cook] to survive.
The second highest bets were on the [actor], mainly because the actor’s performance during the play was somewhat lacking, having made more than one mistake.
The bet for Han Dong, playing the [Loyal Dog], only ranked third.
Simultaneously, within the circus troupe members, a ‘betting guess’ was in progress.
However, they excluded the actor, making separate guesses about audience participants led by the mysterious magician as the bookie.
Dance Teacher Alia made her decision first, “I bet on [ten chips] for the Loyal Dog player; this guy is more intriguing than I thought, managing to unite and push the actor into such a situation.”
The lighting technician, Anus, followed suit,
“I bet [five chips] on the chief cook, this person is not simple.
Must be the hidden powerhouse from the current world, found by the actor by sheer coincidence.”
Most bets were placed on the chief cook and the dog, with a few on the cat.
Finally, it was the clown’s turn.
“I bet… [thirty chips] on the Young Master. I guy very much. How far can his good luck take him?”
Thirty chips aren’t meager; these are circus coins, exchangable for special resources and opportunities.
Only the clown would make such a mad betting choice.
A light flickered in the pitch-black lounge,
The butler, holding a candelabra, slowly approached and took out some coins.
“I bet [twenty chips] on Mr. Han.”
The Black and White Clown’s laughing face remarked, “The butler is indeed interested, not busy cleaning the circus, yet comes here to play gambling with us?”
The butler didn’t reply, he merely observed the play’s final act in silence.
Everyone reached the basement room with the Demon Statue.
Throughout the circus performances, it has been rare, no more than ten times, for the audience participants to push the actor to this extent.
About twenty minutes passed,
Accompanied by the gradual nearing of footsteps, everyone prepared for battle (the little master hid behind the chief cook), focusing their attention on the corridor entrance.
What emerged from the corridor was not the actor,
But the last [nanny] performer, a middle-aged woman with a large belly.
Before Han Dong and the others could speak, the nanny started,
“You’ve already found the basement… that’s great. As long as we guard here, this play can end.”
As the nanny spoke, she approached the crowd.
At this moment, a message appeared in everyone’s retinas — “Stay away from this woman!”
The reason was simple.
From a side angle, Han Dong had already noticed a near-transparent thread connected to the back of the nanny’s head.
The other party seemed to notice something too, suddenly charging forward like a madman.
The dagger wielded by the eldest daughter was thrown, piercing directly into her knee.
The special effect completely destroyed the knee, forcing the nanny to kneel on the ground… Yet she showed a look of excitement, as if she had already reached close enough to the central area of the room.
Her belly suddenly swelled.
A certain self-destruction trait unique to her activated,
Moreover, within her body, the actor had pre-injected a specially concocted ‘venom’, which also exploded.
As the flesh splattered,
A green toxic mist pervaded the entire room.
Though everyone immediately covered their noses and mouths, they could clearly feel the corrosive burning sensation on their skin.
The explosion was primarily aimed at creating a ‘poison gas’ effect, delivering toxins and reducing the visibility in the current area.
A terrifying figure also crawled in through the poison fog.