Chapter 167 Chapter 167 [VIP]

Once Megan's sunflowers were finished, she lost interest in making acid. It was as if she had learned from the Joker only to satisfy her father's hidden desire to teach, appease him, or perhaps to make them more similar? In short, it wasn't out of any real interest or hobby.

So had the Joker noticed? His own child's behavior was so obvious, was there any need for him to seriously investigate? But he didn't criticize or interfere. Megan simply had no interest in crime. She had no desire to harm others. Only when she occasionally lost her temper did she "hurt" it, simply because she was venting her anger. Even if she did get a little angry, she didn't have much negative emotion towards others. She was so stingy that she didn't want to over-express even that.

...She has always been a spoiled child. Even when interacting with the clown, she only wants positive feedback and refuses negative responses. Could it be that she has the ability to invest more emotional energy in other people?

Without motivation, how could she possibly think of harming others? Perhaps she hadn't even considered it. This was her underlying logic. The Joker wasn't surprised by the current situation, but instead felt even more enthusiastic and anticipatory about the future. However, that future was too far away, leaving little room for action in the present. But they still had a long way to go.

Seeing that Megan had returned to Arkham Asylum, learned how to prepare acid, and said hello to her close friends, it was time to pick up her special training.

Still in the original training room, although Megan's dodging movements still looked clumsy, her sensitivity and reaction had improved. The Joker then paid attention to her condition, squinting his eyes for a while and remembered that she said she had learned skiing and skating outside, and perhaps it was also due to the training Richard Long had given her.

Seeing Megan catch a doll in her arms and throw it back at the launcher, accidentally blocking another doll, he asked, "It seems that your favorite ice and snow sports have brought you some useful feedback?"

Megan was still jumping around in the training ground. When she heard his voice, she couldn't help but look over and follow his figure. She was a beat slow to understand his words. She stood still, but the launcher had not stopped yet. However, this seemingly stupid child caught a glimpse of a badminton flying towards her in her peripheral vision and reached out to stop it.

She felt that her father had something to say to her, so she walked through the obstacles flying around on the field and went straight to the clown. During this time, she dodged and blocked the dolls, ping-pong balls and badminton balls whenever she could, but she was no longer afraid of things that she could not block or avoid, and she was no longer as cautious as before. Even if she was hit, the force of those things was not strong at all, and it did not hurt at all.

The subconscious fear receded in just a moment, and her self-awareness grew a little bit. The pain and grievances that those things had brought her were no longer threatening, and no longer made her avoid them like the plague.

Megan was completely unaware of the changes in herself, and had no doubts or curiosity about her previous fear of them.

Sometimes, mentally ill patients are completely unaware of their own problems and regard their abnormal reactions, such as long-term low moods, self-harm tendencies and behaviors, hypochondria, fear, and various effects of schizophrenia, as normal. They believe that they have always been like this and, without any awareness, naturally do not think about changing or seeking help.

But this phenomenon in Megan protected her. Since she was not aware of it, she would not get stuck in a rut or think too much about why. This gave her a smooth and safe transition, and she gradually got better from the subconscious level.

The clown lowered his head and looked at Megan, grinning and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I'm healthier now, and games are fun. Richard said you should focus fully on one thing, but you also need to respond differently to different situations. I can relax in a safe environment, like at home. But when I'm skiing, skating, or shopping, I need to pay attention to my feet and surroundings. Sometimes I need to pay attention to other movements, so I need to open my senses and feel and capture as much information as possible to help me make decisions."

"Richard said that when you see the stairs, this information is transmitted to the brain through the eyes. The brain then commands the body, and when it is prepared, you can walk across smoothly. If you look around and don't see the stairs, you may fall. The same goes for sounds." They are all basically the same principles, and Megan didn't go into too much detail.

Because Richard only said one sentence at that time: "You used your hearing to listen to your father, and now you use your hearing to listen to me."

The composition of discourse, language logic, the relationship between language and society, etc., is a complex subject that does not mean much to most people. Anyway, someone will worry about it. As long as ordinary people can use language fluently in daily life, there is no need to delve into it. Richard will not explain it in depth to Megan.

Megan always looked very proud when facing the clown. Now, she looked up at the clown's green eyes shining brightly and said, "And most importantly -"

Well, she wanted someone to ask, and the clown chuckled softly, "What is it?"

Megan raised her hands and pounced on the clown, using both arms to exert force, trying to hang herself on him. She said happily, "I've grown taller! I've grown taller!" The happy little bear had a smile in the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, and she wanted to infect her father with this happiness.

The clown, of course, noticed her little thought and raised his eyebrows slightly. He then cooperated and picked her up, letting Megan cling to him enthusiastically. "Oh my God, my dear child, that was truly amazing."

What's so great about that? A mere growth spurt is a big deal? The clown still gave proper feedback, holding the child and patting her back. But then something suddenly occurred to him. He thought it was a bit of a fun little joke, so he asked it naturally: "But Megan, when you grow up, you shouldn't be clinging to me anymore."

This is terrible bad news.

Megan sat on the clown's arm. Even though she grew bigger over time, the clown still could hold her steadily with just one arm. He didn't even tilt his center of gravity much, and his body was still standing straight. The clown expected that she would cry or lose her temper when she heard this, but the look she cast was still gentle, warm and moist.

Megan knew her father was deliberately provoking her, but she said, "Then I will hug you?"

"If I shouldn't stay in your arms, I will let you hold me."

What was that? The meaning was shrouded in confusion, but the Joker got it. He sighed exaggeratedly, "It's a shame you didn't cry." Megan snorted at him, not quite in anger. As she'd predicted, she immediately grabbed the Joker's neck, squeezing him hard enough to put him in a chokehold. But her father showed no discomfort and never tried to correct her.

Megan said she had grown taller, but her height was still around 1.3 meters, less than 1.4 meters. The clown had long been accustomed to her presence and did not pay much attention to her height change. Now, after taking a closer look, Megan's face was fair and rosy, with a little inconspicuous baby fat. Even though she would be twelve years old this year, she still looked innocent and childish.

"But you've grown up now. It's time for me to stop worrying about you and walk down by myself." The clown put her down, and Megan didn't argue. Taking this opportunity, he patiently asked, "So what else did you learn?"

Then Megan had something to say, "Richard taught me a boxing style called Xinyiquan."

Whatever the child learned outside, she always wanted to demonstrate in front of adults. The clown knew this child too well, so he stopped the launcher in the training room and cleared the venue. With his encouragement, Megan practiced the boxing skills she had learned.

The Joker stood by and watched. His close combat skills were not bad, but only those who had fought with him in close combat knew this. So he also had some knowledge of the martial arts in the world today. Even though the boxing skills practiced by Megan were soft and powerless, and the only acceptable thing was that the movements were barely agile, he also found that this set of boxing skills was as its name suggests, emphasizing the heart and intention, which can also be called spirit and intention, and what can be seen at a glance is the form.

By incorporating animal characteristics into boxing techniques, this style should have focused on combat skills and was suitable for use in fights. However, Megan's movements lacked any strength and ferocity.

Forcing Megan to learn martial arts for fighting? This is simply impossible, and forcing it is fruitless. Richard Long obviously understands this. Moreover, the Joker has communicated with him and his request for Megan is only for her to become healthy and learn to protect herself from injuries.

So Richard only taught Megan the 'form' and asked her to strengthen her body through practice day after day, and Megan's breathing was also very methodical.

He hired a teacher for Megan, and it was quite effective. After Megan finished practicing her boxing skills, he couldn't help but smile and applaud: "Good performance, kid, what reward do you want?"

Megan had just finished the rehearsal and her body was still hot. She needed to close her mouth to adjust her breathing. After a long while, she opened her mouth and tilted her head in confusion, "I don't know?" She didn't want anything in particular, but her mind suddenly became clear.

"Then can I have a wish?" She remembered her father saying that she could save up wishes, because even if she didn't have what she wanted now, she might not have it in the future, and if she wanted something ordinary, she could just tell the clown directly.

But when she has collected enough wishes, can she ask for an unusual one?

Under her expectant gaze, the smile on the clown's pale face gradually deepened, revealing deep wrinkles, but he was still puzzled. "A blank wish with no content? What do you want it for?"

Megan didn't say anything, but her face showed that she would never give up if he didn't give it to her.

Joker: "Well, just think of it as a savings bank here for you. You have an account there, and when you want to exchange money, come to me." What else can he do?

“It will be in effect indefinitely.”

It sounds like a final verdict in a court of law.

The author has something to say:

Joker: She won't cry even if you tease her anymore (deeply regretful)