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Chapter 43: The Illusory Clown

"Come with me for a second."

Kim Hee-cho\'s expression immediately changed upon hearing Adam\'s quote, and he dragged Adam out onto the balcony.

"She was just about to agree! Why would you give up money that\'s already in the bag?"

"With the 80,000 that she paid earlier, this mission is already earning us 200,000. I think that\'s enough. There are already too many financial slaves in this world, there\'s no need to add another one to the list."

The latter sentiment was the most important reason why Adam had agreed to take on the job for 120,000.

Ever since he awakened, everyone that he saw was constantly running on the same hamster wheel, working desperately to support themselves, and that included Adam as well.

Everyone seemed to be in debt due to one reason or another, forced to trudge through a never-ending grind day after day with no light at the end of the tunnel. Even after they passed away, they were reduced to cyberlich slaves and motivation for the next generation to work hard, thereby becoming a part of this strange regime.

Very few people could escape this cycle. Even someone like Cowboy was only a part of the system, except he presided over the cycle, while everyone else was forced to toil away and work for him.

"We should be satisfied with this. There\'s no need to take everything she has from her." Adam was still abiding by the most grounded business principles. "We should all take a step back, and we can profit from this deal anyway. For us, it\'s just a job, but for her, it\'ll be decades of loan repayments."

"I disagree," Kim Hee-cho countered with a shake of his head. "In the east, we have a saying: only an idiot would turn down money that\'s there for the taking."

At this point in the conversation, Adam had to be more assertive, and he said, "You have no right to make the final decision. You are only the landlord. If we don\'t earn enough money to cover the rent, then you have the right to kick us out, but the decision in this matter lies with us."

"Fine, I may not have the right to make this decision, but you have to ask your companions if they agree or not."

Kim Hee-cho was still unwilling to give up, and he opened the door of the balcony before making his way back into the room.

Inside the room, Hook and Karen were engaged in a lively conversation.

"This is our platinum VIP card, and it\'s not sold to anyone aside from our employees. With this card, you can watch three big shows a month, receive a half-price discount on all alcoholic beverages, and you can get up close and personal with any of the strippers from our club."

"Is that true? This card\'s amazing!"

Hook looked as if he had just been given a priceless treasure, and he had only just placed the card into his pocket as Kim Hee-cho entered the room.

After witnessing that interaction, Kim Hee-cho already had a rough idea of what Hook\'s stance on this matter was going to be.

"Do you agree to take on the job for 120,000 as well?"

"I was against it at first, but I can\'t resist this VIP card," Hook replied as he ran a hand across his face, which was secreting excessive oil from excitement. "It\'s just a mission. My job is already done, so I won\'t be taking any further part in the mission anyway. Adam will be the one doing the rest of the work, so he can decide on the compensation."

"Alright, fine." Seeing as both Adam and Hook had agreed, Kim Hee-cho had nothing more to say.

After signing a simple contract with Karen, the treatment officially began.

Adam made his way over to Chloe, and at this point, her rebellious fa?ade had already been completely lifted. Having had her scars revealed, she appeared utterly vulnerable and helpless.

"Some painful experiences can be forgotten, but the wound is still there. It would be like if we received a cut to the arm from someone, and we cover up the wound and choose to forget it. The wound will be out of sight, but it\'ll slowly fester and rot. Your mind is just like your body. Even if you bottle up that memory and seal it away, the pain still remains."

Adam was thinking back to what he had been taught at Layton Academy, and he realized that there was a lot of useful and applicable content.

"Psychological pain can alter the structure of the brain. Don\'t be afraid. I\'m going to open up your wound, sever the rotten parts, then stitch up the wound so you can make a full recovery. Your cooperation will make my job significantly easier."

Adam was trying to use his words to console Chloe in order to weaken her emotional anomaly.

"Thank you."

"There\'s no need to thank me, I\'m being paid to do this. You should be thanking your mother. She was willing to give up everything for you."

Chloe didn\'t know what to say to this. At this point, things had already developed to a point that was beyond what a child like her could control.

All she could do was give a stiff nod, then turned her gaze toward her mother.

"Don\'t worry, everything will be fine. I\'ll always be by your side," Karen said in a reassuring manner, appearing still as unfazed and steadfast as ever.

In that instant, Adam could sense that Chloe\'s anxiety was slightly assuaged, and he immediately turned to Hook.

"Prepare to begin."

"Didn\'t we agree that I wouldn\'t get involved in the battle?"

"Yes, you can just keep watch from the side. If the anomaly tries to run away, report its location to me."

"Alright, I can do that."

"Good."

With that, Adam pressed a fingertip against Chloe\'s forehead and entered her psychic world once again.

On this occasion, he arrived directly in that dark alley, right as the clown anomaly was about to strike.

A pair of black hands with filthy nails was currently clutching onto Chloe\'s body.

"Let go of that girl!" Adam immediately yelled.

After arriving in this scene again, he no longer had any inhibitions, and the clown anomaly faltered momentarily, clearly surprised by Erwin\'s intervention. Adam didn\'t dare to take any risks, and he immediately invoked Hellhound before fusing with it.

"Who\'s trying to play the hero here?"

The clown released Chloe, then turned around and emerged from the darkness. At this point, Chloe\'s friends had already fled into the distance. As for Chloe herself, her waist had been injured by the clown anomaly\'s long nails, and she had collapsed to the ground.

Emotional anomalies can speak?

Adam was rather perplexed. He hadn\'t been taught this at the academy yet, and the scarecrow anomaly that he had encountered last time had been incapable of speech, so he was quite puzzled to see the clown anomaly speaking to him.

"Don\'t look at me, I don\'t know what\'s going on, either." At this point, Hook had just entered the psychic world, and he was clearly feeling rather fearful of the clown anomaly. "Stop looking at me! It\'s about to attack!"

"I know."

Adam was constantly on high alert.

While Adam and Hook were speaking with one another, the clown anomaly had pulled out a dagger from its waist, and it charged directly toward Adam with its dagger raised.

It\'s not very fast.

Adam\'s werewolf muscles bulged as he cast his gaze toward his assailant and retaliated with his sharp claws.

Adam\'s speed was superior to the clown anomaly\'s, and even though the clown had struck first, his claws reached the anomaly before its attack reached him. However, the sensation transmitted through his palm told him that something wasn\'t right. He had clearly struck his opponent, but he felt as if he had struck nothing but empty air.

"Behind you..."

A voice rang out behind Adam, and at the same time, he was struck by a burst of sharp pain in the back. He hurriedly dove forward to take evasive measures, and he only dared to examine his own back after rising to his feet again. In doing so, he discovered that a dagger had been plunged squarely into the back of his chest.

Thankfully, he also possessed the body of an anomaly in his current form, so he was able to withstand injuries of this level of severity. He pulled out the dagger, then turned to his opponent with a perplexed expression.

He had clearly struck the clown just now, so how had it appeared behind him all of a sudden?

"Did you see what happened just now, Hook?"

"I did. The clown in front of you was still there when it appeared behind you, so there were two clowns at the same time!"

Is one of them an illusion?

Adam was feeling a little concerned as he looked at the clown anomaly before him. Sadou had once told him that illusion conjurers were a very difficult class of adapters to deal with in battle, and they were also the most capable of scoring upsets over more powerful opponents.

If an adapter didn\'t have a way to counteract an illusion conjurer, even a B-grade illusion conjurer could potentially kill an A-grade adapter.