Black and White Clown (Part 2)

The words of the three men caught everyone on the scene by surprise.

Following closely, all the high-level Warriors among their team members successively pulled out Black and White Masks and put them on.

However, the Black and White Masks worn by these individuals were indeed half-black and half-white, with edges that were also black.

Aside from these people, the remaining low-level Warriors and mid-level Warriors all looked bewildered, having no idea what was happening.

Captain Lai—no, Black and White Clown No. 37—extended his right hand and snapped his fingers. Outside the woods, more than a dozen people appeared, all wearing Black and White Masks.

The person in the lead also struck a pose similar to Captain Lai and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. This Humble One is Black and White Clown No. 16, the liaison for the three over there."

"Black and White Clown No. 29, Protector."

"Black and White Clown No. 40, Protector."

After the three in the front finished their introductions, there were still eleven people behind them, though the masks of these eleven were the same as those of the high-level Warriors: half-black and half-white.

Among the three leaders, the masks of No. 29 and No. 40 were identical to those of the original three captains, with black occupying two-thirds of the surface, while only No. 16's mask had more black, covering a full three-quarters.

Combining their self-introductions with a comparison of their strength, it was clear that those with half-black and half-white masks were high-level Warriors, those with two-thirds black were low-level Battle Generals, and those with three-quarters black were highly likely to be mid-level Battle Generals.

This deduction made Gao Zheng and the others tighten their hearts; after all, even the strongest among them had only reached the peak of the low-level Battle General realm and were still a step away from breaking through to the mid-level.

However, they had prepared for more than just this, because it wasn't just the Black and White Clowns who could hide their strength—Gao Zheng and his group were the same.

Seeing such a chain of revealed trump cards, Gao Zheng couldn't help but clap his hands and say, "Could you introduce this Black and White Clown organization to This Humble One? To be able to pull off such a surprising feat, your Leader must possess extraordinary wisdom. I truly wish to meet him."

No. 16 shook his head and said disdainfully, "With your level of strength, our Leader does not deem you worthy of a meeting."

Upon hearing this, Gao Zheng frowned, a flicker of anger rising within him. He tilted his head slightly, closed his eyes to calm his emotions, and said, "In that case, there is no need for us to hide any longer. Everyone, come out and let them see what our true strength is."

As his voice fell, several people who had been mingling in the crowd slowly walked to the front of the formation, removed their disguises, and revealed their true faces.

Although there were only nine of them, three had reached the strength of low-level Battle Generals: Zhang Xiaoyang and Li Xu, who had come from the county, and Xi Qing. Among the remaining six high-level Warriors, three were companions of Zhang Xiaoyang's group, two had been kept hidden by Gao Zheng and the others all along, and the last one was Lin Chenxing.

Before this, Zhang Xiaoyang and Li Xu had only displayed the strength of peak high-level Warriors, and even their earlier breakthrough to high-level Warrior had been dragged out for quite some time, so naturally, they hadn't aroused much suspicion.

Seeing so many people emerge, the Black and White Clowns grew excited; after all, a seemingly evenly matched battle was only worth savoring if one emerged victorious—a one-sided slaughter lost its flavor after only a short while.

The atmosphere began to grow tense at this moment.

With a shout of "Charge," both sides lunged forward, initiating a chaotic melee.

The strength of the Black and White Clowns was indeed formidable; even when outnumbered two-to-one, they held their own at the same rank. Even the three original captains, who had just reached the low-level Battle General rank, were able to fight to a draw against Martial Artists who had been honing their skills at the low-level Battle General stage for a long time.

Clearly, they possessed a proprietary training method within their ranks that could significantly boost the combat power of the Clowns.

During the battle, Lin Chenxing quietly slid a Jade Bamboo Leaf from his sleeve. He had specifically gone to retrieve it from his other body a few days ago, intending to use it for a surprise attack. After he flicked the leaf out, the Clown he was fighting dodged it, but Lin Chenxing used his consciousness to slightly influence its trajectory, causing the leaf to loop back and successfully slice across the Clown's neck.

This maneuver actually relied on the connection between Lin Chenxing and the Jade Bamboo Leaf; aside from items obtained from his other body, he could not influence any other objects with his consciousness.

Just like that, the pressure on Lin Chenxing's side grew lighter, while the pressure on the Black and White Clowns' side grew heavier.

Realizing that something was wrong, No. 16 immediately withdrew from the fight, squinted at Lin Chenxing, and said, "Everyone, retreat."

However, retreating was not so easy. The vast majority of the Black and White Clowns were entangled and unable to break free, leaving only those who were already on the periphery—namely No. 29, No. 40, and two or three others.

No. 16 glared viciously at Lin Chenxing before sweeping his gaze over all the board members and saying, "You have caused us to lose so many men. I will remember you all. Just you wait."

After saying this, he darted into the woods and vanished from sight.

They could only let those who escaped go; the most important thing now was to clear out all the remaining Clowns within the base to prevent further impact.

After the battle, a total of seven people were captured alive, one of whom was the former Rescue Team member who had been punished earlier, now known as Black and White Clown No. 41.

This operation could be considered a complete victory, but for the base, it was a pyrrhic one, as the base had lost so much high-end combat power.

After subjecting No. 41 to harsh interrogation, he finally revealed a significant amount of information.

In fact, the Black and White Clowns had existed even before the catastrophe, though at that time, it was merely an online phenomenon—a joke among people about forming an organization after the end of the world. The members were all concentrated in the same city and would occasionally meet offline.

After the catastrophe began, when the internet was still active, one member proposed formally establishing the Black and White Clowns, which subsequently received a positive response from many.

According to the original plan, their organization used the half-black and half-white mask as a unified attire for everyone, but after the internet was cut off, the organization dissipated, and everyone treated it as just another joke.

However, two months ago, he received a secret contact from someone within the base. Upon meeting, he discovered it was none other than Captain Lai. This Captain Lai invited him and another person he wasn't very familiar with, claiming to be a formal member of the Black and White Clowns. After showing them the half-black and half-white mask, he believed it and joined the organization in name once again.

But after meeting Black and White Clown No. 16, the person responsible for contacting them, and seeing his powerful strength and the tangible benefits he had gained, he felt that rejoining was a good thing.

Thus, he became Black and White Clown No. 41, and the other person became No. 42.

The first mission they received was to incite internal chaos within the Xingyan Group base, which was the true reason he had gone to provoke others and start a fight.

The second mission was to push for controversy regarding the treatment of Martial Artists within the base, thereby undermining the prestige of the base's top leadership.

The third mission, which they were still in the process of carrying out, was to seize control of the base. Upon completion, they would receive even more support from the Black and White Clowns.

However, they would never have the chance to complete this mission.

During the interrogation, they did obtain one piece of good news: while practicing the Five-Heart-to-Heaven cultivation technique, they had also practiced something called a Guiding Technique. This Guiding Technique was also recorded and sent to the research institute and the desks of the board members.