Chapter 839: People Praise You When Happy, Curse You When Afraid

People praise you when they are happy; they curse you when they are afraid.

This perfect "performance" ended with Clown collapsing in the center of the stage.

When the clown fell, the cheers from below the stage did not stop; they even began to praise Clown's fainting posture, saying, "Daring to fall so hard in the ice and snow, Clown is a good actor with a sense of conviction."

But when the wind and snow in the sky grew heavier and Clown showed no intention of "returning for an encore," the audience below gradually changed expression; they reined in their smiles, savored the fun they had just experienced, then slowly dispersed, going about their business.

The administrators who had just wanted to stop this farce also halted their advancing steps, thinking that if Clown died suddenly here from his strenuous performance, could that theater with its good location then be confiscated?

So the administrators left too; they glanced at the gloomy sky and prayed that this snowstorm would get even bigger.

The market returned to calm; to avoid the wind and snow, people gradually went home. Before long, figures outside became sparse and the place was no longer lively, leaving only Clown, his face deathly pale, lying on the simple stage built from wooden frames, using a thin layer of snow as a blanket, sleeping soundly.

But if he kept sleeping like this, today would truly become the last day of his life; it seemed time for the players to act.

However, the three players standing at a certain stall in the market remained motionless; they were all waiting. It was hard to say whether what they awaited was a miracle or a turning point, but at this moment, the thoughts in the three hearts were indeed resonating in a rare synchrony.

They felt the clown's fate should not be like this.

Pity, reality is far more cruel than the script; in the blizzard sweeping Sandless, no "miracle" occurred.

The clown was not favored by any existence, but fortunately, there was a turning point.

That big-bearded man who had once wanted Clown to help in the shop appeared; he signaled his family to wait for him, then walked quickly onto the stage, picked Clown up, and carried him toward the theater belonging to the clown, as if lifting a thin piece of paper.

The three followed with varying expressions, pretending to be passersby as they brushed past the big-bearded man; they heard the big-bearded man look at the clown in his arms and mutter to himself with a sighing tone:

"So you really have talent, Clown. It's good you didn't agree to help me; otherwise your talent would have been buried.

But your talent will only make you suffer more...

Because Sandless does not need joy; what people need is warmth, an unextinguishable fire that lets them survive this harsh weather, not some leaping and dazzling... spark."

The big-bearded man carried Clown into the theater; soon he came out, picked up his daughter, took his Lady's hand, and went home.

The three players did not rush into the door this time; instead, they followed the big-bearded man's steps with interest, wanting to know if this NPC was also some important character in this past.

But unfortunately, they were disappointed; this big-bearded man was merely an ordinary person trapped in a cognitive cage.

Because they heard the little girl in the big-bearded man's arms tug at her father's beard and ask in a sweet voice:

"Father, is what Clown said true? Are we experimental subjects?"

The big-bearded man smiled gently, wiping the snow foam from his daughter's forehead: "Yes, we are all experimental subjects; I am the big experimental subject, and you are the little experimental subject."

The little girl giggled: "Then I want to be a big experimental subject too."

"Soon; as long as we endure a few more winters, the little experimental subject can become a big experimental subject."

Hearing this, the little girl's mother's expression changed; she tugged the big-bearded man's sleeve, her expression clearly asking: Did you believe Clown's nonsense?

The big-bearded man rubbed his daughter's head, turned back to look at his wife, and quietly winked.

It was this wink that instantly put his wife's heart back in her belly and also made the three players' steps come to a complete halt in the wind and snow.

Watching the family of three's receding figures in the wind and snow, Cheng Shi smiled self-mockingly:

"I should have thought of it early; a good person isn't necessarily a smart person, and a smart person isn't necessarily a good person.

Let's go, two of you; addicted to the drama, fast-forward to the next episode."

The other two both snorted; the three players each pulled up their collars and walked quickly toward that silent theater.

And when the three passed through that door again and arrived at the next Sandless, the next scene slightly exceeded their expectations.

On the second day after Clown was carried back to the theater, Sandless's sky... collapsed.

The already bone-chilling weather suddenly began to drop sharply in temperature; that gloomy sky seemed to be pierced by an invisible immense force, creating a huge hole, from which cold wind and blizzard poured down... no, were poured in; this terrifying change, within a few days, might freeze the entire Sandless into a block of ice.

The fierce snowstorm the administrators had expected arrived, but this snowstorm seemed not only to freeze a single clown to death, but to freeze the lives of everyone here.

So the people of Sandless began to panic; they snatched firewood and shut their doors, thinking they couldn't survive, then braved the gale and blizzard to gather together with difficulty and discuss countermeasures, but after much discussion, they reached one conclusion: human power cannot resist natural disasters.

They had no choice but to sit and wait for death.

All attendees were desperate; the administrators no longer had the momentum of directing affairs as before, each one looking haggard and slumping into their chairs.

And just then, a "smart person" had a flash of inspiration in his mind and suddenly spoke:

"Human power might truly be unable to resist natural disasters, but what if this severe cold... is not a natural disaster?

Do you remember what Clown said? He said a group of observers are hidden beneath our feet, a group of mysterious people who use us as experiments.

If this is true, does it not mean that it was precisely because Clown's exposure angered these observers that they punished Sandless?

Otherwise..."

The atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly froze; facing everyone's strangely colored gazes, his voice grew quieter and quieter.

"Otherwise, why did this ghostly weather arrive the day after he spoke?"

Indeed, this timing was too coincidental; if not for this timing, no one would have believed Clown's nonsense.

But now...

Desperate people seeking any cure had no other methods; when people's own abilities are insufficient to resist risks, they often begin to believe in various conspiracy theories, metaphysics, or even theology.

Even on the land of Sandless, where faith has never truly been born.

"This is indeed a direction; let's go ask Clown, ask him how he discovered all this."

Discovered?

The three players mixed in the crowd all sneered at once.

The word "discovered" is too wonderful; yet this word was clearly "created" a few days ago, oh no, "fabricated."

How did the clown's fabricated story become the so-called truth at this very moment?

Fools' skill at confusing concepts is truly unique; they not only changed "fabricated" to "discovered," but also used actual action to explain what "asking" means.

Because right in front of the theater's great door, when Clown, his spirit listless and appearance withered, poked his head out from the door crack, what greeted him was not only the biting wind and snow, but also the... malice from the entire Sandless.

"Clown, it's all your fault; you angered the observers outside the world; you brought the cold wave to Sandless!

Do you want to destroy your own home, clown!"

"..."

Clown only lost his spirit, not his mind; seeing the gathered residents venting their fear recklessly before him, he suddenly slammed the great door shut and retreated into the theater.

The three players trailing at the very back watched this scene, unsure whether to praise the clown's wit or pity his plight.

"Can you endure this?" Watching Ai Si's eyes burned with indignation.

Cheng Shi and Zhang Zhang Jizu didn't even look at her as they spoke in unison: "We can't endure it. Go ahead; we're rooting for you."

Watching Ai Si's aura shifted; she decisively drew her great blade. Seeing that these two truly made no move to stop her, she raised the great blade in anger, and then...

... she blocked it overhead to shield against the wind and snow, while casually remarking as if nothing had happened: "This snow... is a bit heavy, huh?"

"Tsk—" Cheng Shi sneered, "The experiment failed."

Zhang Zhang Jizu nodded: "The Tower of Reason likely discovered that God Without Faith some time ago and completely abandoned this place. This wind and snow is not a natural disaster..."

He looked up at the gloomy sky and narrowed his eyes.

"... but a man-made calamity.

The collapse has begun. From this moment on, the status of Sandrelis has changed utterly: the testing ground painstakingly crafted by the Tower of Reason has become a dumping ground fit only for experimental waste."

"That's reasonable," Cheng Shi sneered again, looking at the crowd outside the theater and clicking his tongue, "After all, every single living soul down there..."

"... is trash."