Chapter 99: Chapter 99 Auxiliary Clue Collector (8th update, asking for monthly tickets and whip)
Translator: 549690339
“The gift box belongs to the ‘small clue,’ and the side branch rewards in school are of the ‘medium clue’ category.
To a certain extent, this implies that in ‘The Return of the Clown (Surface Chapter)’ world, there exists a great deal of various clues, which correspondingly hint at numerous side branch events.
There’s a possibility that to thoroughly investigate and find out [The Clown Pennywise], we may need a vast amount of clues as support.
Otherwise… if we attempt to trace the Clown without sufficient clues, we may encounter serious issues at some point and fall into a deadlock.”
Han Dong stared at the clown’s gift box on the table, initially planning to take it to school and open it with Cass and the others.
However, given the situation, Han Dong could only examine the gift box alone.
(A certain special eye that exists on Han Dong gleamed momentarily, undetectable even at close observation)
He instantly determined that there were no dangers associated with the ‘clown’s gift box’ on the desk.
The gift box opened, revealing a delicate smile brooch along with an explanatory note.
(Small clue – [The Clown loves to laugh, and also loves those who laugh])
Han Dong stared at the information given on the note, unable to hold back his exasperation.
“WDNMD! What kind of a clue is this… I pawned half of myself, gaining five bullets, just to get this kind of a clue?”
Just then, something strange happened.
The gear device on his left wrist made multiple overlapping sounds of gears meshing and turning.
“Auxiliary Clue Collector activation in progress, establishing connection with Fate Space… please place your obtained clues on top of the scanning device.” The scan of the brooch and the note was completed.
The gear device, together with its internal mysterious magic circle, appeared to be building some complex system.
About ten minutes or so passed.
“Auxiliary Clue Collector activation complete, long press the button on the right side of the device to project the auxiliary interface onto the designated area (blank area is preferred).”
Han Dong promptly closed the window and dimmed the room’s lights to the lowest level.
Projection.
This technology! (internal thoughts)
In the center of the projected image, there was a small clown face icon, currently displayed in grey.
Around the clown’s head, numerous branch lines diverged out, connecting to various unactivated clues.
There were also lines connecting between various clue icons.
The importance of the clues was determined based on the size of the clue icons and their distance from the clown icon.
They were divided into ‘large clues’, ‘medium clues’ and ‘small clues’.
On the current projected image, only a ‘small clue’ in the corner was illuminated. This corresponded to the small clue [Hilarious Gift Box] that Han Dong had just obtained, with a smiley face as the clue icon.
He continued to operate the gear device, locking the projection in place.
Then, using his left hand that was fitted with the gear device, he could manipulate the ‘Clue Gathering Map’.
When Han Dong placed his fingers on the illuminated smiley face clue, a stream of information popped up.
“The Clown loves to laugh, and also loves those who laugh (Seems like you need to laugh out loud or wear a smile brooch to enter certain areas?”) Remaining clues are not activated yet, auxiliary deduction cannot be carried out.”
“Auxiliary deduction… this thing!”
Han Dong was astounded[KS1] by both the clue relationship map that was projected on the wall and this intelligent auxiliary function.
It[‘s truly an “Auxiliary Clue Collector”.
Once enough clues are gathered, you can directly manipulate them manually, ‘docking’, ‘assembling’, and ‘auxiliary deduction’ of various clues.
There may even be some convenient features that Han Dong can’t think of at the moment.
Although Han Dong himself could deduce, he would need pen and paper to record… with this device, things are much clearer and less prone to errors. Han Dong tried touching some unactivated branch icons, as well as the clown icon at the center.
“Branch not activated, cannot obtain related information.’
“Ultimate goal unlock progress: 0%, do not come into direct contact with the ultimate goal (High probability of death)” “What’s the deal with this device!?”
In the beginning.
When Han Dong first linked his brain to Nicholas’s body, he thought it was just a common gear bracelet displaying a countdown.
Later, he found out it was also a communication device after meeting Cass, with functionalities like making calls, sending text messages, and faxes all inclusive.
When he entered the Knight Academy, the device was activated, revealing additional basic functions such as [Treasury], [Pass], etc.
Now, it has even better!
It can project an auxiliary panel that interacts with Fate Space, assisting in collecting, organizing, and deducing various clues.
“I initially thought it was a mass-produced device from some mechanical factory.
However, since the gear device can interact with Fate Space, it’s not just a simple mechanised product; the magic array inside should be related to a group of people who are specifically researching Fate Space.
Could it be related to [The Bell Tower]?”
Looking at such an amazing gear device, Han Dong was flabbergasted. In some ways, it had surpassed the craftsmanship of his former world. “I need to ask Cass next time… this device has a pretty complex history.” For the time being, Han Dong’s anger was completely dispelled.
This seemingly useless small clue has now triggered an auxiliary system.
Moreover, the value of this smile brooch appears to be not low.
With all these considerations, half an hour had passed.
Han Dong took the parasite from his wardrobe and promptly rushed to school.
“Hm… what’s going on!?”
While Han Dong was cycling to school, he noticed that besides the common notices like missing person reports and curfew announcements etc, there were some new abnormal details layered upon yesterday’s anomalies.
About one in twenty people on the streets were seen with or holding red balloons on their wrists.
Of course, there’s nothing strange about children holding balloons…but what’s unusual is that some grown-ups were also walking leisurely on the streets with red balloons.
Apart from this.
Regardless of gender or age, a small portion of people had their lips extravagantly coated with conspicuous red lipstick. Some even had them overlaid to the point that upon a closer look, it felt rather startling.
Despite this only applying to a small portion, seeing these people greet their friends and go about their usual routines only made the overall situation seem even more abnormal.
A strange atmosphere was gradually spreading in Derry Town.
“As time passes, the Clown is gradually influencing all the residents in [Derry
Town]… this situation is even more serious than what I anticipated yesterday.
Now, it’s not just about the Clown getting stronger because of the time issue.
Even the entire town could deteriorate.
Once Cass and the others come out of the hidden event, we must seize the moment.
If necessary, we should split the four of us up, in pairs or even individually, to collect clues at the highest efficiency… If we continue to linger, it will result in a certain-death situation..”