[Before Dawn]

The main members of the Fear Circus had all gathered in the undecorated stage area, lined up as if they were about to receive some kind of award.

The boss, confined to his wheelchair, distributed a lock of hair tied with a red string to each chief. This lock of hair corresponded to the ’now divided Circus Tent’, including the buildings of various departments, team members, all sorts of props, and at least a thousand cup noodles—all encompassed within, showcasing the boss’s abilities.

Mr. Rabbit received the most hair, even twice as much as the average, given the considerable size of the Circus.

William, on the other hand, received the least, probably only one-tenth of what the Circus got.

After the division,

the only parts of the circus that remained were the stage area where everyone was currently located, the kitchen, and the public square. Yet, it still managed to maintain its stability deep within the Subspace.

As everyone dispersed to various corners of the world to perform and collect Fear individually, the boss would still be silently overseeing everything from here, trying to slow down the speed of his body’s decay as much as possible.

"Then, I wish you all a smooth journey, and thank you for your contributions to the circus."

The Poker Face Team was in charge of controlling the exit of the Circus Tent, which would send each department in turn to the Old World location of their choice.

The first to leave was the Circus, with Mr. Rabbit even making a special trip to Williams, conveying his message by chest bumping, always welcoming William to join the Circus or even merge the entire theater into it.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Rabbit. I’ll try to make a name for myself first... If I feel I can’t make it on my own, I’ll definitely come to you," William assured.

Mr. Rabbit was quite reluctant to part with such a talent of the flesh,

after all, William had only trained at his Bunny Castle Club once before parting ways, and Mr. Rabbit had many more physical exchanges he wished to engage in, which would now have to wait until later.

Mr. Rabbit, sisters Natalie, and Mozander, the three troupe leaders, exited the tent door together, traveling along a stable Subspace transport channel that led directly to the central part of the Old World.

The Magician, Jian, and his Ventriloquist, Harida, were the next to leave,

opting for a location near a corner of the Old World, apparently the same "Corner" where Jian lived before joining the circus, and also the location of the Third Abyss.

Following them were the two from the Clown House,

After the magical feast and this period of rest, Art had returned to his former appearance. He walked to the entrance with a clownish gait, took off his clown hat, and voluntarily bid farewell to everyone,

From his constantly rubbing hands and the high frequency of his feet shaking, it was evident that Art was eager to leave and to perform his clown act alone, even starting his own circus free from rules, filled with malice.

Catherine, on the other hand, had her hair tied in a single ponytail, her petal pupils quite striking, her arms carrying her Hundred Treasure Box in front of her.

Although she had considered going solo, she ultimately followed Art out of departmental loyalty. However, Catherine had two other thoughts about this,

Art’s ’malware’ was worth learning from, especially since his seclusion in recent months had elevated him to new heights.

Furthermore, encountering unforeseen risks was inevitable when venturing outside. If Art were to accidentally die, the boss wouldn’t pursue it too much.

As Catherine walked toward the tent door, her mindset gradually shifted. Although she had decided ten minutes earlier not to look back, her body instinctively twisted around just before stepping out the door.

In the crowd, William was waving his arm to bid her farewell, and in that moment of eye contact, he also received a transmission of consciousness from Madness Brain.

"Catherine, don’t turn bad~ Next time we go to another world together, I’ll treat you to a soda."

Catherine didn’t respond but merely swept her black hair behind her ear and smiled, turning around to leave with Art.

Next were the Beast Tamers of the Zoo.

Beast Madman, Zock, also came to William before leaving, and the two instinctively removed their skulls, bowed at a 90-degree angle, and bumped their soft brains against each other.

This was a ritual unique to Madmen,

and Moon Mouse. Price, who followed Zock, also nodded to William,

During his time with the circus, he had continuously received the supreme delicacies he longed for and had learned a special beast taming skill, carrying a flute made of Moonstone on his waist.

With the departure of the two Beast Tamers,

only the "Theater" department remained, and Nash immediately burst into tears.

"Waah~ Boss! Take care of yourself. William and I will quickly gather enough Fear and return as soon as possible. Waah~ I really don’t want to leave, this is my only home."

Unexpectedly, William slapped Nash on the butt, forcefully interrupting his feigned emotion.

"Such an exaggerated performance, stop wasting time, let’s go! Take care, boss!"

Nash, who had been slapped on the butt, looked toward the boss with a spirited smile and kept bowing as he backed away.

Because he was walking too slowly, he was eventually dragged out of the Circus Tent by William, who grabbed him by the collar like a pig.

Buzz!

The coordinates were set thousands of kilometers above the ground,

Without using any deceleration techniques or star perception, William’s abdomen’s Abyss twisted slightly as he landed.

Boom!

The gray sand of the Surface of the Old World burst into a crater nearly a hundred meters wide, and the entire sand pit even had a spiral shape.

The next second, Nash fell headlong, half of his body buried inside,

It took forceful use of his arms to pull his completely deformed head out, and although his brain was visibly spilling out, he just shook his head and returned to normal, his Regenerative ability was astonishing.

They hadn’t walked far in the grey-white desert before they saw the transit station with the Black Ascaris Company’s sign hanging on it.

To their surprise, as soon as they approached,

The Patients sitting outside the station waiting for notification and even some of the station personnel acted as if they had seen a ghost, either running into the station for protection or burrowing into the sand, as deep as they could get.

"Hm? Am I that scary?"

William was somewhat astonished, recalling his previous visits to the station he seemed not to have done anything foul, mostly just catching a ride and leaving.

By the time they got close to the station, it was already in a state of high-security alert, and even the Ascaris Car operating nearby was summoned to protect the station with armed Black Ascaris employees.

It was clear that these related personnel of Black Ascaris trembled uncontrollably as they watched the two, as if they were afraid of someone.

"What’s the problem?"

William presented his SVIP card to verify his identity, when the leading Black Ascaris Parasite responded with a sweaty forehead:

"Mo... Most respected Supreme Member~ I’m terribly sorry, but the person behind you is emitting an aura that could completely suppress our parasites.

Based on our just now data comparison, he is an important fugitive wanted by the Old World Commerce Alliance! He is the Executioner of the Circus, quite dangerous.

Would you please assist us in capturing him? Otherwise, everyone present is going to die."

Only then did William understand and turned to pat Nash lightly on the shoulder, "Have you ever provoked the Black Ascaris Company before?"

The latter responded innocently: "Let me think... I don’t think so. I was only commanded to deal with some organizations that hindered the Circus’s development, including some companies reluctant to provide supplies, but I don’t think it includes the Black Ascaris Company.

However, I was later wanted by the Commerce Alliance, so probably this Black Ascaris Company joined them, too."

"Then it’s fine."

William stepped forward using his SVIP status to explain, while informing them that Nash was also a Parasite and had received an invitation from the company president, the former Holy Nest Protozoa - Burn Douglas.

The personnel immediately verified with headquarters, and upon confirmation, finally lowered their defenses.

But these people still watched Nash with caution and inner fear, staying as far away as possible from such a dangerous person.

Just as the two entered the station, the Black Ascaris official who had been in charge earlier came back,

"Excuse me, we’ve just received a message from headquarters. May I ask when will you be available to visit our headquarters? Our boss seems very eager to meet you."

"Tell Mr. Burn that we have urgent matters to attend to in the human World and will certainly pay a visit after we return."

"Understood."

The station boss also came out early, hoping to make the two leave sooner to avoid affecting his business, "Please wait a moment, dear guests, I will open the ’Passage’ for you right away."

"No rush~ Just get us a room by the hour;

we need to tidy up a little before we go."

Nash, following alongside William, seemed to catch the real meaning behind ’tidy up’ as a wave of sauciness wafted from his underpants again,

Heading to the guest room, he became as rigid as a mechanical puppet, his whole face reddened as if it might explode at any moment.

The station boss also sensed this unusual atmosphere, cheerfully checked the two in, and then quietly told all the other guests to evacuate temporarily to avoid falling victim to the Circus’s number one Executioner.