Joker

Even before dinner, without looking up at the sky, Chen Miemie knew that tonight was a Rainbow Moon.

Red text filled his vision like a barrage of bullet screen comments.

[Chen Miemie, I was only gone for a day, and there's another Anomaly in the house!]

[Stop eating and hurry home!]

[Is there even a place for me in this house anymore? I need to go check it out!]

[If I'm not satisfied, you have to kick it out!]

[That guy Xiaoshuang really doesn't care about anything. Without me, this family will fall apart sooner or later!]

'Alright, alright, I'm heading back now. Don't repeat the same things over and over, my eyes are getting dizzy.'

Unable to stand the noise, Chen Miemie immediately retreated early once his message exchange with Yue Junyang was over.

He returned to his apartment building and climbed up to the 18th floor.

As soon as he stepped out of the stairwell, Chen Miemie stopped in his tracks.

In the corridor, a figure stood in the shadows.

Judging by the silhouette, it was a man in a suit.

He stood completely still in the pitch-black environment.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Anomaly?" Chen Miemie asked, completely unafraid as he walked straight over.

After learning at school during the day, he already knew what the concept of [Immortality] 9 meant. Among the known Anomalies, none could kill him.

"Hehe, hehehe, interesting, truly interesting. I smell a little cutie." The man also walked toward Chen Miemie.

As the distance between them closed, the light and shadows shifted.

The man's appearance emerged from the darkness.

He had orange-red curly hair like dried grass, a painted face, and an asymmetrical blue teardrop hanging on his plaster-like visage. His eyes were like two deep, dark slits.

His scarlet suit was crumpled and covered in unidentified stains, yet the white gloves on his hands were spotless.

With his "hehe" laughter, the split at the corners of his mouth nearly stretched to his ears.

"Joker!" Chen Miemie let out a cry of pleasant surprise.

"Hmm?" The Joker was surprised. Most people would step back in fear upon seeing him.

"Joker, did you come specifically looking for me?"

"Originally, no."

"Well, you can be now. Come on, let's play a game." Chen Miemie was thrilled.

A look of surprise flashed across the Joker's face, but he immediately returned to his manic state.

"Good, good, good. Let's begin."

The Joker pulled a deck of cards from his pocket and snapped his fingers.

A casino-style table and chairs instantly appeared in the corridor.

Without waiting for the Joker's invitation, Chen Miemie sat down himself: "How do we play?"

"Here are 14 cards." The Joker took out about a quarter of the full deck.

"These 14 cards range from smallest to largest: 1 through 10, J, Q, K, and a Joker card.

The Joker card is the highest, followed by K, and 1 is the lowest.

The Joker card beats all cards, except it loses to the lowest card, the 1.

We each draw one card and see whose is higher. Do you want to inspect the deck?"

"No need to inspect them. Hurry up and start, I, the God of Gamblers Miemie, can't wait," Chen Miemie urged.

"You are the guest, you draw first." The Joker yielded the first move.

There were 14 face-down cards on the table.

Without a second thought, Chen Miemie pressed his hand on the card closest to him.

He dragged it across the table toward himself, then pressed the card between both hands, beginning to show off by squeezing the card.

The Joker had never seen a player like Chen Miemie.

"I must remind you that the game has begun. There will be rewards and punishments at the end."

Chen Miemie nodded. "Of course. You reveal your card first. I know how to squeeze cards; I can change them."

The Joker knew exactly what card Chen Miemie had drawn, but couldn't quite see through his playstyle.

"I have a 10. Your turn." The Joker revealed his card.

"The one who reveals their card first always loses. You don't even understand this basic principle. You are the worst Joker I've ever seen."

As Chen Miemie spoke, he flipped over the card he had crumpled up.

It was a 7.

A cold wind blew past, and the corridor felt somewhat awkwardly silent.

"You lost."

"No, I haven't lost. As long as I haven't stopped, the outcome is undecided. Let's continue. This time, I'm doubling the bet." Chen Miemie looked completely unbothered.

"Fine, but you must accept the punishment for this round first."

"Bring it on." Chen Miemie didn't even ask what the punishment was.

Blood seeped into Chen Miemie's shoe; one of his left toes had been severed.

The second round began.

The cards on the table were shuffled again.

This time, it was the Joker's turn to draw first.

The Joker's hand speed was like lightning. His arm moved with a blur, taking away a card.

Chen Miemie slowly and leisurely picked his card for this round, a card that was clearly crumpled from being squeezed.

Joker: "You should be well aware that this is the same 7 you drew last round."

Chen Miemie shrugged. "That's great news. Doesn't it still beat the six cards from 1 to 6?"

The Joker revealed his card; it was a K.

The remaining four toes on Chen Miemie's left foot snapped off.

He didn't ask why doubling the bet resulted in four toes instead of two.

"That hurts a little. Let's continue, I'll double it again."

The Joker had seen many crazy people, he himself was an expert in the field of madness, but this was his first time seeing a lunatic like Chen Miemie.

Third round, the Joker won.

A piece of intestine appeared on the table.

Fourth round, the Joker won.

A kidney appeared on the table.

Fifth round, sixth round, the table was already bloody.

The seventh round began.

"You only have your heart left," the Joker reminded him.

Chen Miemie's hands and head remained completely intact, ensuring he could continue playing.

The two selected their cards and revealed them.

Joker got a K, Chen Miemie got a 5.

A fresh heart appeared on the table, steaming and still beating.

Seeing this heart, the Joker finally relaxed his tense nerves. "I must admit, this is one of the rare games that made me feel a thrill. Thank you for participating."

The Joker slowly stood up, preparing to end the game.

Chen Miemie looked up at him. "Continue. Double it again."

The Joker's pupils shrank violently.

His heart is gone, and he's still not dead?

The Joker's mind raced: Is this a special [Mystic] ability, or a unique [Immortality]?

Eighth round, ninth round... nineteenth round, twentieth round.

No matter how Chen Miemie doubled the bet, his punishment remained a constant, one heart.

The heart represents life, and double a life is still a life.

But for the Joker, the game had reached a point where he could no longer afford to lose.

"You are the player with the most capital I have ever met, but playing like this seems to have lost its meaning." The Joker intended to end the game.

At this point, a small mountain of internal organs had piled up on the table, all of them were Chen Miemie's punishments.

The table had turned the color of blood, and the 14 cards had long been completely soaked in blood. The crimson on the backs of the cards was glaring.

Even the fingers of both players used to pick the cards were covered in blood.

Chen Miemie shook his head.

"Mr. Joker, you should understand a principle: games need to be fair. You decided the gameplay and rules, provided the props and facilities, and set the punishments and rewards. Therefore, the rest should be decided by me."

"And the rest refers to?"

"It is very simple. You decide whether the game begins, and I decide whether the game ends."

Joker fell silent.

Chen Miemie's terms were fair. Moreover, it was obvious that the strength he had displayed was enough to guarantee the fairness he demanded.

The game continued.

Round 33.

Chen Miemie drew a King.

He immediately revealed his King.

"Mr. Joker, if you can get the Joker card, you win this round. Furthermore, I will agree to end the game right here."

Joker's hand, pressing down on his card, trembled slightly.

As long as he wanted to, no matter what his card was, he could change it into whatever he desired.

Indeed, the one who truly possessed the ability to change cards was not the God of Gamblers Miemie, but Joker.

Conjuring the Joker card, winning the game, and ending it—this was undoubtedly the most advantageous outcome for Joker.

But Joker hesitated.

"Victory is right before your eyes, Mr. Joker. What are you hesitating for?

From the first round until now, although you could win, you have never brought out the Joker card to do so. Why are you so resistant to the Joker card? What are you... afraid of?"

Joker lowered his hand from the card and slumped back in his chair.

A self-deprecating smile appeared on his paint-covered face.

"Your name?"

"Chen Miemie. I live in 1803."

"Hmm. I live in 1805."

Chen Miemie did not respond to his neighbor's remark.

Joker dug into his stain-covered suit, the blood on his hands adding fresh stains to the fabric.

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and glanced at Chen Miemie.

Chen Miemie shook his head. "I don't smoke."

Joker lit one for himself and began puffing clouds of smoke.

"Yeah, what am I afraid of? I am a joker in life, not the Joker card in this deck.

I walk down the street, arming myself with madness. I look like someone everyone fears, but in reality, I am just a loser excluded from mainstream society.

In this deck of cards, I am not the Joker card. I am the smallest, lowest 1 point.

I have played games with countless people—powerful elites, gaming experts, psychological masters. What I have always done is use this 1 point to deliver a fatal blow just when the opponent thinks they have the Joker card and victory is assured.

All I know how to do is use the body of a nobody to drag those in ultimate power off their high horses.

Conversely, if you asked me to take power, to stand or maintain my position at the very top... I know very well that I do not have what it takes.

After all, destroying is always easier than creating.

I do not want to get the Joker card, and I cannot get the Joker card.

Therefore, I lose..."

"Very well. I concede this round."

Chen Miemie's sudden interruption to concede left Joker stunned.

It was not until the cigarette burned down to Joker's fingers that he snapped back to reality. "Why?"

Chen Miemie snapped his fingers. "I declare this game over."

The table and chairs did not disappear.

"Why? Are you pitying me?" Joker asked again.

Instead of answering, Chen Miemie asked, "Joker, you owe me one or perhaps dozens of lives. Are you... willing to work for me?"

Joker stared intently into Chen Miemie's eyes. "What do you want to get from me?"

"You are already the lowest 1 point. No matter what schemes I might have, do you still fear having anything left to lose?"

Joker tossed away his cigarette butt. "Alright. You can knock on my door if you need anything."

The table and chairs disappeared.

The place where the two stood was very close to room 1803 in the middle. On the surface, Chen Miemie looked completely unbothered, but in reality, his internal organs had been hollowed out multiple times, and he was in terrible condition.

To avoid the motion of digging into his pocket for his keys, which would agitate his constantly regenerating internal organs, he simply reached out and knocked on the door.

"Come on, want to come in and sit for a bit?"

Joker thought Chen Miemie had some tasks to assign him and did not refuse. "Is it convenient at your place?"

"Very convenient. I live alone."

As soon as Chen Miemie finished speaking, the door to 1803 was opened from the inside.

Qinghua's breathtakingly beautiful white porcelain body appeared.

"An anomaly!"

Joker leaped back a large step and immediately pulled out his weapons—playing cards.

Ignoring Joker's overreaction, Chen Miemie walked past Qinghua and instructed, "This is our neighbor from 1805. He is here as a guest. Get him a pair of slippers."

Qinghua let out an "Oh," opened the shoe cabinet, and began looking for shoes.

Joker: ......

You really do live "alone," huh? And just what kind of entity was I playing a game with just now!