Apart from the performance area and the hidden area where the boss resided, William had explored the main areas of the Circus and encountered most of the core members.
Among them, the most memorable was Mr. Rabbit from the Circus.
Although Zock and Catherine had warned about the dangers of the Circus and Mr. Rabbit,
William would definitely visit again afterwards; the cyberpunk-style physical club was too spectacular and even addictive. Having experienced the feeling of wearing a hood once, he longed to experience it a second time.
Next, he returned to the Magic Area, but Beast Tamer Zock accompanied him throughout, his arm resting tightly on William’s shoulder.
"Senior Zock, I have a question,"
"We haven’t been to the main hall yet, right? The area where the Audience gathers... It’s strange, if the main members are still in their areas for maintenance and rehearsal, what performances are the humans from the towns watching?"
"Well, the Circus is currently in a ’test run phase.’ The performers are all newcomers like you, accumulating performance experience and earning a bit of fear fees.
It also effectively recruits potential talents like you, William.
After all, this is just a low-tier human conservation area, nowhere near good enough for a formal Performance. These unopened-source humans would die just from hearing the enigmatic tunes played at a formal performance.
You really need to hurry; there are only two days left in the trial run. You can also use this opportunity to perform on stage and see the effect.
After all, performance and ability are not directly linked; perfecting a fear performance requires complete analysis of oneself and others."
"Great! I’ll start preparing as soon as I get back. When is the Circus officially launching, and who are the target Audiences?"
"The next official opening should be in a month, targeting multiple neutral cities linked to large organizations in the source epidemic areas. At that time, the means of delivering ’tickets’ will be completely different.
They won’t be casually sent to emails like during the trial operation; after all, many organizations in the Old World don’t look favorably on us.
The delivery method will be more secretive..."
As Zock explained this, Catherine raised her right hand with a giggle, "Hehe! I play a key role in selecting the Audience and delivering the tickets!
The current ’ticket system’ of the Circus is based around this clown, far more efficient than the previous systems."
This time, Zock did not retort but nodded in agreement, "Exactly, Catherine’s traits are very suitable for Audience selection and ticket delivery.
It is also because of her ’Nightmare Phobia,’ which is very distinctive and valuable, that she was appreciated by the boss and was able to become the Assistant Clown before open-sourcing.
This is the first time since the establishment of the Circus that an open-source patient has taken on a main role."
"Hey! I’d call it talent, okay? Uncle Jian has also said that even if I weren’t a clown, I could still qualify for a job as a Magician in his place."
William steered the conversation back, "Catherine, how do you select and deliver tickets?"
"Just like sneaking into your human cities, then through the most widely circulated and least detectable food or water sources in the city, I spread the substances of nightmares, letting the undetectable Thought illnesses take root in their brains.
When they start dreaming, I select them one by one, choosing those suitable for the Circus.
Then, through dream simulations, I present the scenario of receiving a ticket; if they are willing to come to the Circus voluntarily and keep our secrets, I will ensure ’Nightmare Realization’ gives them real tickets after they wake up."
"Hmm, quite good~ But there’s a problem.
What if someone recognizes the dream beforehand, pretends to comply to steal a spot in the Circus? Considering the number of skilled patients in the Old World, many could realize the intrusion of a nightmare immediately, right?"
"That’s not for me to handle! My responsibility ends with what I just described. If someone identifies this and attempts to target the Circus, the boss will issue early orders.
If the situation is severe, the performance will be immediately canceled, and the entire Circus will vanish into darkness within a minute.
Normally, we would invite those with ulterior motives into the Circus as outside guests for a special performance prepared just for them, such as the previously held ’Blood Maze,’ ’Fear Escape Kill,’ and ’Ancient Mansion Horror.’
The effects are excellent, and they are deeply loved by the audiences.
Those who survive the performances will even gain a qualification to participate in the magic feast, though... they won’t be the diners; they’ll be the dined."
"Does the boss also have foreknowledge abilities?"
"Eh! You focus on the strangest things... But well, the boss indeed has a similar ability.
It’s not foreknowledge but a complete affinity with fear. Any individual trying to get involved with the circus will feel more or less ’fear,’ and once the connection is made, the boss can know everything through that fear."
"Who exactly is the boss...?"
"I don’t know. Even as core members who often dine with the boss at the magic banquet and receive his fear gifts, we don’t know anything about his background."
"In the whole circus, perhaps only Timi the chief, who has been with the boss from the beginning, knows some secrets.
"It seems Timi really likes you; next time bring the gold card and make an amazing dish, and maybe you can ask then."
Zock immediately interrupted, "Don’t listen to Catherine’s evil whispers. Don’t inquire about such things. If the boss doesn’t want us to know, then we don’t need to know."
"Who are you calling an exhibitionist with evil whispers!"
Zock didn’t respond; anyway, his mood was excellent today, and he had come back to the crossroad again.
A rough and powerful palm slapped on William’s back, giving him a look, reminding him not to forget their agreement... Whoosh! With a step, he disappeared into the corridor.
"That annoying guy finally left! Once I take over as the head clown, I won’t let him have his way."
"Oh? Planning to oust Art so soon?"
Catherine realized she had misspoken and quickly covered her mouth, "Just kidding~ I’m not in a position to shake Art’s status right now.
"There are a lot of dark, unsavory tasks in the circus that need Art to handle."
"Many times, just Art showing up makes many complicated, troublesome issues disappear without a fuss."
William could vaguely sense that, although Catherine was somewhat afraid of Art, there was also a hint of admiration mixed into that fear.
"Catherine, don’t let yourself be assimilated by Art; keep your individuality."
"I know~ But I don’t have many companions in the circus, and I live right next to the boss every day. The boss’s trait just happens to be unlimited proliferation; it’d be strange if I weren’t assimilated!
"Unless you, William, stay and keep me company long-term, then I could slowly be influenced by you, maybe even become like you."
"Alright, isn’t there something we haven’t fulfilled yet? You promised a ’Fear Collection’ item if I went through the clown assessment. Bring it on."
Catherine pouted, clearly reluctant.
"Hey~ Back in the clown house, wasn’t I in your cover and safely escaped? Can’t that count as repayment?"
"Those are two unrelated things, alright? Plus, if I hadn’t participated in the clown assessment and had just left, I wouldn’t have encountered Art at all, so bring it here quickly!"
"Annoying, the collection items are so valuable that even I don’t have many.
"This is what we’ll do: I’ll take out three items and package them in clown boxes; if you pick the right one, it’s yours... The other two items are also valuable tools, so you won’t lose out."
"You’re not keeping your word, but okay! Let’s do as you said, quickly."
Catherine took out her cherished Hundred Treasure Box, rummaged through it, and then placed three clown boxes containing items in front of her,
Just as the boxes were aligned, William’s hand had already landed on the right one, the embers patterns in his pupils fading on their own.
"You packed the boxes yourself, I just made the choice. You agreed to the bet, Catherine~ See you next time."
William scooped up the box into his gentleman’s clothes, turned, and started walking towards the magic area, waving goodbye over his shoulder with one hand.
Little did he know, Catherine didn’t appear to want to go back to the Clown House and simply followed him.
"I don’t have much to do if I go back, and I know some magic skills, let me coach you~ With my help as a bona fide member, you can get on stage faster.
"We don’t have much time left in this trial run; let’s make the most of it."