Chapter 269 - 34: The Magician’s Business

After praising the Strongman’s performance, the Magician turned back to the clown and said, "Now that I’ve commended the Strongman, it’s time to criticize you, clown."

Looking at the destroyed ship in the distance, the clown lowered his head and said, "You’re right. I’m reflecting on my mistakes. I underestimated their decisiveness and didn’t expect them to bring out heavy weaponry. That’s why my plan had issues. I promise next time..."

"What are you talking about?" the Magician said with a frown. "What I mean is, where’s the aesthetic in your plan? Was there anything to showcase your madness? You were just trying to win."

"Is there something wrong with wanting to win?!" the clown cried out.

"Winning is temporary, but madness is for a lifetime. Do you want to be a normal person your whole life, or do you want to be a madman, even for just one minute?!"

The clown desperately wanted to say he’d rather be a normal person for a lifetime, but at this moment, all he could do was clench his fists in humiliation, not saying a word.

’This is so infuriating.’

Then, the Magician’s tone did a complete 180 as he said cordially, "Although you’re not as mad as the rest of us, some of your particular talents do interest me. Therefore, even though your performance wasn’t great, I’ll still recommend you to the Madhouse."

"Oh, thank you so much," the clown said listlessly. "Let me ask you a question, then. If it were you, how would you both win and showcase your madness?"

"Excellent question!" the Magician said immediately. "I’ll give you a demonstration right now. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten my hands dirty. It’s about time I showed you the power of a formal member of the Madhouse. First, let’s have a chat with the government."

"About what?"

"A truce. And then, poisoning."

A sense of foreboding washed over the clown, making his eyes go wide as he stared at the Magician beside him.

"What do you mean by ’poisoning’?"

"Let me keep you in suspense. A Magician can’t reveal all his tricks, you know."

Blowing a flirtatious kiss toward Duan Someone in the distance, the Magician said, "Besides, I want to make a good impression on my idol. Let’s go."

Grabbing the clown and the Acrobat, the three of them descended the other side of the hill and headed off.

Just as they were leaving, the Magician took out a detonator and pressed the button hard.

At the docks, bombs hidden in various locations detonated instantly. They weren’t very powerful, but they still caused widespread panic, sending the crowd of onlookers scattering in terror.

Listening to the screams, the Magician said with rapture, "How beautiful. How melodious."

"Madman..." the clown muttered to himself.

"Thank you for the compliment. I hope you’ll keep up the effort."

As they rushed toward the city center, a security guard at the entrance tried to stop the Magician’s trio, but he saw the Acrobat brandish his Flying Knives and immediately backed down.

’A job that pays a few dozen US dollars a month isn’t worth dying for.’

’Besides, they’re from the Clown Gang. Those guys have been causing a ruckus lately, so it’s best not to mess with them.’

Seeing the guard was so cooperative, the Magician nodded in satisfaction, tossed him a coin, and then hummed a nonsensical little tune as he barged into the conference room.

At that moment, the city’s mayor was in a meeting.

This mayor was a typical politician. The city’s welfare wasn’t his concern; keeping his superiors happy was.

Beyond that, how to trick voters out of their ballots was also on his mind, but that issue had become quite troublesome.

In this era, the country was leaning toward traditional conservatism, but his coastal city had absorbed a multitude of new ideas, making its citizens difficult to govern.

The enforcement of the "Fasting Order," in particular, could only be described as a tragedy here.

Previously, when the Foreigners offered to take over, it was obviously shady. But since they could provide substantial funds as political contributions, he could only turn a blind eye.

Now, a group of citizen representatives was protesting the Clown Gang’s recent atrocities. However, they were also opposed to the city government imposing a curfew and martial law, while simultaneously expressing dissatisfaction with the government’s funding for police and security, demanding that this money be converted into cash and distributed to the public.

In short, they wanted the horse to run but refused to let it eat.

With an election looming, the mayor had to consider the opinions of these troublesome constituents.

’Though he had cursed these rabble-rousers a hundred times in his mind, he still had to wear a smile to prevent the reporters present from writing something nasty.’

Just as he was overwhelmed, a gunshot rang out. The Magician appeared at the door with the clown and the Acrobat, flanked by a dozen Clown Gang members holding submachine guns.

Dressed in a purple performance costume and wearing a mask, the Magician looked as if he had just come from a circus act. He spoke in a flamboyant and theatrical tone, "Good evening, everyone."

Seeing the Magician’s sudden appearance, the mayor tensed as if facing a formidable enemy.

According to the intelligence he’d received, this was the person who had just replaced the Clown Gang’s boss and taken control of the organization.

No one knew how he’d done it. They only knew that after a single meeting, the former boss had automatically stepped down, mumbled something about swimming across the Pacific, and was never heard from again.

And he himself was even more insane than the previous boss. Sporadic attacks against other gangs had already begun, making it impossible to guard against him.

The others didn’t know who the Magician was. One particularly loud middle-aged woman assumed he was part of the security detail and said, pinching her nose, "Is this your security? How ridiculous. And what’s he planning to do, holding that gun? Scare me?"

A gunshot cracked. The bullet grazed her pearl earring and sheared off half of the woman’s ear.

Walking over to the woman, who had burst into tears, the Magician took out a grenade and said to her, "Hold out your hand."

The intimidating pressure made the woman raise her hand involuntarily. Then, the Magician placed the grenade in her palm.

"Be a dear and roll on out of here. And be careful not to drop the grenade. It’s not too powerful, but it’s more than enough to kill the likes of you."

After speaking, the Magician planted a kiss on the woman’s cheek, then spat to the side twice. "Ptooey. Nothing but lead powder."

Having dealt with the woman, the Magician looked at the others and asked in a friendly tone, "Now then, everyone, I’m the boss of the Clown Gang. While it wouldn’t be out of the question to eliminate you all, I’m a believer in not killing unless absolutely necessary. So, would you please be so kind as to roll yourselves out of here?"

The conference hall, which had been noisy just moments ago, fell instantly silent. The citizen representatives, who had been so arrogant in front of the mayor, left with their tails between their legs, even politely closing the door on their way out.

’After all, the man really does shoot.’

The vast conference hall was now empty except for the Clown Gang members and the mayor. The quietened space made the Magician let out a sigh of relief, but it made the mayor tense up.

Loosening his collar, the mayor took a breath and then looked at the Magician. "What do you want?"

"To talk business. Business that could elevate your status even higher."