Ace-Gray Joker

A few seconds after the gunshot, Chu Jiu snapped out of her daze, which felt like falling from the clouds.

She had never experienced anything so thrilling.

In her eyes, she saw a clown walking a tightrope. Not only was he not afraid, but he grinned at the god of death in the abyss, full of mockery.

This guy toyed with death!

He's crazy.

Even as calm as Chu Jiu was, she couldn't suppress her excitement and curiosity. She asked rapidly, "You, you, you knew this gun was problematic from the start?"

She had personally seen two people die from this gun, but only the one in their cage was problematic?

Ji Xun smiled and shook his head, denying it. "No. The gun wasn't the problem."

Chu Jiu also felt it wasn't the gun's issue. "Then why, why could you fire six shots?"

"The game rule was only one shot at others, but it didn't say only one shot at yourself."

Ji Xun's lips curved slightly, as if he were still immersed in the lingering thrill of the roulette game where they gambled with their lives.

"And I said before, the factors determining whether you pass the level aren't just the spatial rules themselves."

As he spoke, he glanced meaningfully at the iron spikes above their heads.

Time had passed, but the spikes didn't fall.

This meant they had passed.

Both of them had survived and passed.

He had passed using a method that the contestants in the other two cages hadn't chosen.

He glanced again at Chu Jiu's eyes, which were filled with curiosity, and Ji Xun turned to look at the Mechanical Clown, who stood there dumbfounded. He asked meaningfully, "Right, Mr. Clown?"

But the clown didn't respond. It just watched silently, though the smile on its face seemed to grow increasingly grotesque.

At this moment, Chu Jiu was filled with countless questions, desperately wanting to know what had happened.

He had a good impression of his teammate, so Ji Xun didn't hold back his words.

Now that they had passed, he understood everything.

He spoke eloquently, "If it were just a simple roulette game of killing, how boring would that be... It would make the Schemer seem quite unskilled. With such an intricate setup, how could they have set such an ordinary ending?"

"..."

Chu Jiu listened and agreed.

This Alternate Dimension was the most intricate one she had ever experienced.

If the final level was just about killing to get out, it felt like the standards had dropped significantly, not befitting the brilliant setup before.

These were words he had said before.

But how did he know about the gun's problem?

Ji Xun smiled mysteriously and slowly revealed the truth. "Remember that saying, 'When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you'? That was actually a sufficiently obvious hint. When you gaze at the evil of human nature, evil will gaze back into your heart, revealing your truest self."

Chu Jiu exclaimed in realization, "You mean that card?"

She finally understood. Earlier, they had killed the Shadow Demon, and it had dropped a card.

They had all guessed it was a clue for the final level.

And now it was being used!

Wait... it wasn't used!

What did these two nonsensical sentences have to do with passing the level?

This guy had fired six shots at his own head!

He must have discovered something else to dare gamble like that.

Ji Xun explained, "When we entered that Mirror House earlier, I already had a general idea. So when I entered the cage and saw the setup, I guessed some more. After hearing the rules of the roulette game, I completely understood the Schemer's intentions."

As he spoke, he grinned, his eyes gleaming with fervent passion. "So this final level was never really about testing roulette luck. Nothing is more profound to test than human nature."

Chu Jiu: "..."

She heard all the words, but her brain didn't feel like she understood.

She remained silent, not wanting to make herself seem stupid.

After a brief pause, Ji Xun continued, "The essence of an Alternate Dimension is to obtain rewards through trials. The purpose of the levels is to screen individuals with specific traits desired by the designer, allowing them to pass and obtain the final reward. From the previous 'Wall Breaker,' 'Witch,' 'Gambler,' 'Shadow Demon,' and now this clown game... you'll eventually find that those who pass will possess certain traits: self-control, courage, wisdom, firm belief, and perhaps... kindness. Of course, what makes this space special is that it also tests some unique qualities, such as: a gambler's mentality, cunning, madness, and obsession. Only Adventurers who meet all these traits can receive final recognition."

He paused again and continued, "And the other sentence: 'Before the dawn arrives, someone must illuminate the darkness.' The designer gave a final hint. The people the space screens are those who can bring light in the endless darkness. So from the very beginning, the moment someone aimed a gun at their companion, they were actually eliminated. Teammates cannot die, so the only choice left was..."

To shoot himself!

Chu Jiu finally realized the deeper meaning of the two sentences.

So that's why this guy shot himself six times!

There must have been some other factors involved, which she couldn't quite grasp at the moment. Instead, she thought of something else and wanted to ask, "Then before..."

Ji Xun didn't wait for her to finish before speaking, "Are you asking if the old servant could have also passed by shooting himself several times before?"

He answered his own question, "No, and it's impossible. He could have left alive, but he wouldn't have passed the level. The greatest respect for the Schemer is to beat its game according to the game rules. Although we skipped some minor stages along the way, it doesn't matter. And this master and servant appearing here directly clearly took a shortcut. They must have had some special intel. Something brought in from the outside, not discovered within the space on their own. Without those special traits, he wouldn't have been able to get the final reward no matter what."

It's fine to beat a game by exploiting bugs, but you'll lose some necessary clues and the game experience.

You can get some of the completion rewards, but not all of them.

This is inevitable.

"."

Chu Jiu pondered.

Ji Xun agreed, "That guy is actually very smart, he clearly realized this too, which is why he didn't take out the gun until the last moment. But even if he guessed it, he, a young master of his status, wouldn't dare to gamble. If he died, then everything would truly be gone. Anyone in his place might hesitate. After all, power and status are, in some ways, a constraint that makes people lose their adventurous spirit. This is fated, unrelated to intelligence or anything."

Listening to Ji Xun meticulously explain all the plot points of the stages, Chu Jiu finally felt her jumbled thoughts clear up.

But how could a normal person shoot themselves six times based on just these two lines of clues?

Chu Jiu couldn't help but ask, "This is all your speculation. What if you had guessed wrong just now?"

"If I had lost the bet, I would have died," Ji Xun replied nonchalantly.

His tone was so calm, it was as if he were discussing something other than his own life and death.

Then, beneath his gas mask, his face broke into a brilliant, wide grin.

He met the gaze of the Mechanical Clown, as if seeing himself in a mirror.

After a pause, Ji Xun spoke again in a low voice, "For me, the outcome of a gamble like this is more attractive than death."

These intricate stages allowed him to experience that long-lost, pathological, ultimate pleasure that reached an intracranial orgasm!

"."

Having seen it twice, Chu Jiu was already used to it. She knew this guy seemed to have fallen into that arrogant and crazy state again.

"For it, it's the same."

As if sensing a gaze from the darkness, Ji Xun added, "If I had guessed wrong, I would die! But it would lose! If I don't die, neither of us wins! It wouldn't let itself lose!"

Chu Jiu didn't understand, "It?"

Ji Xun grinned, "Yeah. To describe it another way, the designer of the space? Or perhaps the will of the space? The Final Boss? Whatever, that's the general idea."

Ji Xun then asked, "Do you know why I'm saying all this now?"

Chu Jiu initially wanted to say, "Isn't it obvious? To tell me?"

But she immediately understood that his words had a deeper meaning and asked, "Why?"

Ji Xun smiled slightly, "Because that guy has been watching from the shadows."

Chu Jiu was slightly startled and looked around, "But... if you say it like this, won't it...?"

Ji Xun shook his head, "I'm saying it for it to hear. Solving a perfect puzzle is a pleasurable experience. And as the designer of the stage, having someone praise its stage and understand the ingenuity of its design is a hundred times more fulfilling than killing and toying with players who can't appreciate the joy of the stage at all."

Chu Jiu's mind went blank, and she automatically categorized herself: I feel like the stupid player you're talking about is me.

After a pause.

Ji Xun looked at the bizarre Mechanical Clown again and asked for the second time, "Right, Mr. Clown?"

This time, the Clown responded, "Yes, Adventurer."

The exaggerated smile on its face widened, as if splitting its entire face, and it added, "Congratulations, you have completed the trial."

Ji Xun, as if facing a worthy opponent, replied, "Thank you. It was a very enjoyable experience."

The iron cage slowly opened.

The Clown smiled faintly.

As it smiled, the smile gradually froze.

The already colorful paint quickly dulled, as if life was draining away at the moment of death, suddenly losing its luster.

The Mechanical Clown's mission ended here.

At the last moment, it spoke the second sentence on the card: "Before the dawn arrives, someone must illuminate the darkness."

It was as if he heard an ancient whisper.

Ji Xun listened silently, and also thought about it seriously.

He looked at the dead Mechanical Clown, his gaze unwavering for a long time.

At this moment, Enlightenment reappeared.

"You heard descriptions of darkness in the whispers from the abyss, you touched 'Miracle'."

Ji Xun mused, looking at the unremarkable Black Card he had obtained earlier.

By now, it had changed.

So, the Cataclysmic Object recorded in the file had actually been in his hands all along.

This is a gray poker card.

[Ace-Gray Joker]

Quality: Epic

Type: Demon Mark

Extraordinary Traits:

1. Trickster: Wisdom +10, photographic memory, cognition cannot be erased or tampered with by any external force below the level of Card Rules, can probabilistically interpret Demon's Whisper;

2. Gambler of Misfortune: A clown's life is like being cursed by fate, always plagued by misfortune. It will grow in desperate situations and pain, like a knife-edge dancer, finding the meaning of existence in seeking thrills. The more insane the desperate situation, the better its luck.

3. Wild Card: Body has infinite containment, all elemental resistances are growable, the fusionist is not restricted by sequence and can use any Profession Card for advancement;

4. Demon Feast: You can draw Extraordinary Traits from corpses;

Evaluation: The Joker card is also the most special card in poker. It is an ace and a wild card. The clown mocks the hypocrisy of the gods, laughs at the incompetence of the god of death, and also satirizes the greed and cowardice of human nature. It walks alone in the shadows, observing the entire world. This is a card that will be recorded in history, yet remains hidden in the dust of history. It is one of the legendary Fifty-four Demon Source Cards, pointing to a certain indescribable High-ranking Demon. Fusion Compatibility: 97%. The probability of mutation when fusing this Demon Mark is no more than 5%;

Below the card, there was also a line of handwritten text. Although Ji Xun didn't recognize the script, he understood it: Is this a Demon's Enslavement Contract? No, quite the opposite, this is a Conquest Mark for a Spell Card Master to control demonic power—Signed, M

PS. Demon Mark Quality Tiers: Whiteboard, Black Iron, Silver, Gold, Legendary, Epic.

Requesting votes, brothers, requesting follow-up reads!

Thanks to '20211109091511327' and 'Guangguangtou' for their tip support.