Chapter 549: rebirth of JOKER

Qiu Ce Yuan's infirmary.

The curtains were drawn halfway.

The alarm lights outside had already stopped; occasionally someone hurried past in the corridor, shoes scraping the floor, making a brief sound.

Chu Che sat in the leather chair.

The table had no medical records.

Only a tablet playing a news livestream, a red wine glass, and a file with a worn cover.

In the livestream, the Pure Abyss Operation was still ongoing.

The operation number jumped from thirty-seven to forty-nine.

The once-glamorous consultant, senior spiritual investigator, and local department head were escorted one after another to prison vans.

Some were still cursing.

Some began to admit their mistakes.

Some buried their faces in their hands, not daring to look at the camera.

The barrage scrolled by quickly.

"The Federation really dares to scrape the bone to cure the poison."

"Lord Wei this round is putting his own people on the chopping block."

"Don't stop, keep investigating."

"Zhou Ping isn't a god, and the Federation shouldn't pretend to be one; everyone owes an explanation."

Chu Che swirled the red wine in his cup.

The liquid surface swirled once along the inner wall of the cup.

He watched intently.

He wasn't watching the people who had been arrested.

He was watching the barrage.

He was watching the public opinion trend.

He was watching the public's trust tick upward bit by bit.

He was watching the dark‑red faith curve held high, not climbing any further.

Lord Wei's cut was precise.

It was ruthless enough.

It was painful enough.

What's more rare is that he didn't hide it.

He laid his wound open for everyone to see, pus, blood, and rotting flesh all displayed together.

This wasn't an apology.

This was surgery.

Chu Che lifted his hand to push up his gold‑thread glasses, the red numbers from the livestream flickering across the lenses.

"Not bad."

He said softly.

"Humans can occasionally bloom into splendid flowers."

In the frame, Qin Zhixia stood beside the prison van, her mechanical prosthetic arm still steaming.

Liang Wen, beside her, was having his dressing changed by a nurse, the pain making him lose composure, yet he still threw a gesture at the camera.

The barrage swept past a comment: "The Dark‑Blooded King has fallen, but his mouth still lives."

Chu Che glanced at it for two seconds, then gave a faint smile.

People like Liang Wen are troublesome.

The trouble is, he can stir a bit of liveliness into desperate situations.

Humanity needs people like him.

Otherwise we'd collapse too quickly.

Jiang Yuan was also in the frame.

He stood on the vehicle's roof, still in his black combat suit, his card bag hanging at his waist.

That youthful face was no longer the cautious newcomer he once was.

Chu Che lifted his wine cup and took a sip.

The wine slid down his throat.

The temperature was just right.

"Lord Wei."

He spoke to the screen, his tone like chatting with an old friend.

"You really know how to use people."

"Jiang Yuan, Su Ming, Liang Wen, Qin Zhixia."

"Even someone like Lin Fan, an uncontrollable blade, you can make him cut in the same direction at the crucial moment."

"Very impressive."

He finished speaking, then paused.

His gaze fell to the other side of the table.

On the file's cover were two words pasted.

Zhou Ning.

Chu Che set down his wine cup.

He didn't rush to open it.

His long, pale fingers rested on the edge of the file, slowly rubbing the paper surface.

There was a photo in the corner of the file.

The girl in the photo lay in a treatment cabin, her face thin, her brows and eyes still bearing a student-like air.

Zhou Ping's sister.

It was also Zhou Ping's only remaining anchor.

Chu Che stared at that photo.

After a few seconds, he sighed.

"Too bad."

"How can a crown bestowed by the gods allow its bearer to have a ridiculous soft spot of tenderness?"

His tone remained gentle.

It even carried a hint of a doctor's patience when examining a case.

But the lamp on the table dimmed at that moment.

The temperature in the infirmary didn't change.

Only the shadow in the corner began to crawl outward.

It wasn't the shadow moving.

It was reality itself being turned over by some unseen hand.

Chu Che raised his right hand.

His fingertip tapped lightly in midair.

An interface visible only to him unfolded.

Weird Editor.

In the interface, the karma value fluctuated.

The livestream of the Abyssal Purge operation was still ongoing.

The populace was cursing, weeping, and cheering.

Every emotion was being recorded by the world.

And those who had been caught, the sins piled up over years on them, were also being settled.

Chu Che watched the change in his karma reserves and lightly tapped the tabletop.

"Enough, even more than enough."

He didn't hesitate.

The editing column opened.

In the materials column, Sai Men's residual data was called up.

Gray Mask fragment.

Eyeball Staff trace.

Chaos personality backup.

Divine avatar permission shard.

These things did not disappear with Sai Men's death.

To Chu Che, Sai Men was never an irreplaceable individual.

Sai Men was a part he had split off.

It was his playfulness.

It was his bad taste.

It was also a tool he used to test the world's resilience.

The first pawn broke.

Then remake one.

Chu Che input the rules.

Confirm.

The karma value dropped.

The infirmary's light tube brightened then dimmed.

Fine gray lines appeared on the wall.

In the red wine cup on the table, the wine swirled without wind, and the cup wall emitted a faint scraping sound.

Chu Che didn't look at the cup.

He stared at the center of the editor.

There, a clump of gray substance first appeared.

No bones.

No skin.

Only rules were stacking.

Reassembling.

Half a mask grew out of the gray substance.

The mask split open.

A scarlet eye opened, then was swallowed by darkness.

He lowered his head and glanced at Zhou Ning's photo.

"Your target is her."

The gray substance in the editor suddenly contracted.

A body fell from within.

Black short hair.

Pale complexion.

The Gray Stone Mask was fastened onto the face.

Dark red shirt.

Retro black suit.

At the tip of the staff, the Living Eyeball turned and turned, finally coming to rest on Chu Che.

The newly reborn Sai Men knelt on one knee.

He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly.

It was not pain.

He was laughing.

"Oh dear."

Sai Men lifted his face, looking at Chu Che through the mask.

"My dear Original Body Mister."

"Your after‑service is really too thoughtful."

Chu Che put away the editor.

"How does it feel?"

Sai Men stood up and moved his fingers a bit.

His joints made a faint sound.

He lowered his head to look at his own body, then at the staff.

"Something is missing."

Chu Che asked, "What?"

Sai Men turned the staff once around.

"The previous version of me died with great dramatic tension."

"This version just booted up, and there wasn't even any applause from the audience."

"The experience got poor reviews."

Chu Che didn't pick up on his joke.

"What do you think of them?"

Sai Men tilted his head.

"Lin Fan's sword strike."

"Jiang Yuan's card."

"Liang Wen's line that makes you want to register him."

"Su Ming steals time as frantically as rushing to hit month‑end performance targets."

"Chen Shao is still quite tolerant."

"And there are those few faces I saw before I died."

He paused there for a moment.

A low laugh came from beneath the mask.

"How nostalgic."

"They thought they had won."

"Actually, you were still playing them in the palm of your hand."

Chu Che lifted his wine cup.

"They indeed won that match."

Sai Men clicked his tongue.

"You're still so particular."

Chu Che said, "Facts need to be respected. Human victory is also my data."

Sai Men walked to the table, bent down and glanced at Zhou Ning's file.

"This young lady is the new program?"

Chu Che opened the file.

Inside were Zhou Ning's medical records, brain scans, treatment records, and surveillance screenshots from before and after the Black Pond Detention Center incident.

Zhou Ning has been comatose in the hospital for a long time.

This file is thin.

An ordinary girl's life naturally doesn't have that much to record.

School.

Part‑time work.

Older brother.

Hospital bed.

Sai Men finished looking and smiled even more happily.

Oh.

I understand.

This script is quite wicked.

Chu Che lifted his eyes and looked at him.

Sai Men spread his hands.

I'm praising you.

Chu Che closed the file, giving a slight smile.

I want her awake.

Not a natural awakening.

It is you who awakens her—then, for us to use.

Sai Men tapped the ground with his cane.

Do you need me to tell her a bedtime story?

Chu Che smiled even more happily: "You can improvise freely."

Sai Men bowed, his posture elegant as if about to step onto the stage for a curtain call.

Then I need a measure.

Chu Che looked toward the livestream.

On the screen, Lord Wei's public statement is being replayed.

The old man's words were brief.

Merits and faults are distinct.

Responsibility must be pursued.

The Federation first cuts its own flesh, then talks about judging others.

Sai Men also looked over.

This old man is truly interesting; he always acts according to what you, the original self, think.

Chu Che said: "My script, in a sense, is also written for him."

Sai Men lowered his head and laughed.

Mister Original Self, you're a bit ruthless.

Chu Che set down his wine glass.

I've always been like this.

Sai Men thought for a moment, then nodded seriously.

That's right.

You just usually wear a doctor's lab coat, so people easily misunderstand.

Chu Che pushed the file toward him.

Don't leave traces in the hospital.

Don't let the Federation's people find you early.

Also, don't touch Zhou Ping first.

Sai Men took the file, tapping his fingertip on Zhou Ning's photo.

Only touch the sister.

Understood.

Awaken Zhou Ning.

Stir Zhou Ping.

In passing, give Lord Wei a little surprise.

Chu Che raised his hand and pushed his glasses up.

Good. As for me... I haven't reached the time for my final appearance.

In their eyes, I am merely a school doctor now.

I will handle Qin Zhixia's prosthetic phantom pain, remind Liang Wen to drink less iced beverages, and prescribe Su Ming a sleep aid.

A clean record, gentle temperament, and medical skills that are passable—an ordinary person.

Sai Men lowered his head and looked at him.

An ordinary person?

Your expectations for ordinary people are truly high.

Chu Che pushed his glasses up.

Ordinariness is the best disguise.

Sai Men stepped back half a step, gray mist lines spreading from under his feet.

Then I'm leaving.

Before the new show airs, do you need me to send you a trailer?

Chu Che looked back at the livestream.

No.

Only surprises have value.

Sai Men bowed slightly.

As you command.

A gray mist line swallowed the tip of his shoe.

His body dissipated from bottom to top.

Finally only that deep-gray mask without facial features remained, hovering in midair.

The Mask nodded slightly toward Chu Che.

"Right."

"What if Lin Fan comes to chop me again?"

Chu Che laughed happily, "This time, you're stronger than him."

"Hahaha... thanks for the gift from the main body."

The Mask shattered into Gray Mist.

The infirmary returned to its original state.

The lighting stabilized.

The wine glass was quiet.

The livestream continued.

Chu Che placed the copy of Zhou Ning's file into the shredder.

The paper was swallowed bit by bit.

Strip-shaped fragments fell into the bucket.

After finishing all that, he picked up the disinfecting wipe on the desk and slowly wiped his fingers.

Each joint was wiped clean.

Just then.

The desk phone rang.

Chu Che looked up.

Caller ID showed.

Qiu Ce Yuan infirmary front desk.

He threw the wipe into the Trash Can and answered the phone.

When he spoke, his tone had changed.

Warm and moist.

Patient.

Also carried a just-right concern.

"Hello, infirmary, Chu Che."