american horror story

So, Roy followed suit, lifting his shirt and using a marker to write "Succubus" on his abs – that's the English spelling for succubus. 

After taking a picture, he uploaded it to his laptop and sent it to Succubus. 

Succubus: Oh my god, you have an amazing body! 

Diablo: You too. 

Succubus: I really want to meet you! 

Diablo: I think there will be a chance. 

Roy was just chatting with online friends when he was bored and didn't really intend to meet any of his female online friends in person. 

However, this online friend called Succubus seemed to be serious. 

Succubus: I'm really looking forward to that day! 

It's a shame that video chat technology wasn't very mature in this era, otherwise Roy would have liked to video chat with this online friend. 

Roy didn't continue chatting with Succubus because he saw that Needy was online on MSN. 

This person was a serious internet addict, especially fond of surfing the web late at night, which resulted in her often yawning and being listless in the morning. 

Needy shared some recent interesting happenings at Oak High School with Roy, such as Wade starting to fawn over Carly Jones again, which led to quite a few jokes. 

Also, the school's auditorium had already started reconstruction, and if everything went smoothly, Roy and his classmates' graduation ceremony could be held in the new auditorium. 

After chatting affectionately with Needy for a while, Roy turned off his laptop and picked up his phone to send text messages. 

It was time to test his time management skills again. Roy sent text messages to Saltana and Elena respectively, and then sent messages to Jennifer and Elizabeth, aiming for equal attention for everyone. 

After finishing his time management, Roy remembered that he seemed to have two unopened fate chests, so he decided to open them now. 

Whether it was Willie the Weasel or the Pig Head Mask Killer, their strength was pretty average. The Pig Head Mask Killer's special evil spirit space ability was somewhat interesting, but that seemed to be an ability only evil spirits could use. 

So, Roy didn't really care what he would get from these two fate chests. He didn't even do the necessary cat-stroking ritual before opening them directly. 

[Opening Willie's Fate Chest...] 

[Gained 1 point of Strength!] 

[Gained 1 point of Agility!] 

[Opening the Pig Man's Fate Chest...] 

[Gained 1 point of Strength!] 

[Gained 1 point of Constitution!] 

Well, as expected, he got some physical attribute points. Better than nothing, I guess. 

Now, the rewards from the fate chests of typical horror movie villains were getting fewer and fewer, but thankfully there was still a guaranteed minimum. 

Fate chests could at least open two items, and most of the time they were attribute points, which could add up over time. 

After opening the chests, Roy turned his attention back to the TV. 

The host, Jack, was chatting with Max, the guest dressed as a priest from last time, about recent popular urban legends in Los Angeles. 

"Pastor Max, I wonder if you've ever heard of a legend called Slender Man?" 

Max laughed heartily. 

"I know that one, you can't fool me! It's a fictional legend that originated online. In reality, there's no such monster as Slender Man!" 

Jack slapped his leg. 

"I didn't expect you to be such an internet surfer, Pastor Max!" 

Max shrugged. 

"Although I have a big beard and look old, I'm actually a young man under thirty." 

The audience in the studio burst into laughter. 

"Okay, you still saw through me! But just a heads-up, I'm not old either, I'm the same age as you." 

The audience in the studio booed. 

"Hey, you guys are really not giving me any face!" 

The audience in the studio laughed again. 

"Alright, young Pastor Max, so do you have any urban legends to tell us?" 

"Oh yes, I do know some terrifying horror legends, like, for example, when taking the last subway train, you must never fall asleep, otherwise the subway will take you to a non-existent station." 

Max's words caused a slight murmur in the studio audience. 

"I think I've heard this urban legend before, but I can't remember where I heard it. It's really interesting! I think the audience here today must have heard of it too, right?" 

Let alone the audience, even Roy knew this urban legend. It seemed like there were similar urban legends all over the world, and America was no exception. 

A relatively famous one is Japan's Kisaragi Station, and there are quite a few movies and games based on the story of Kisaragi Station. 

"Okay, since Pastor Max has thrown out a teaser, I'll also tell a real urban legend. If you wander the streets late at night on Halloween, you might see a clown in a yellow suit and a top hat..." 

The host, Jack, was undoubtedly a master storyteller. As soon as he started telling the urban legend, everyone's attention was hooked. 

"...This clown will pull people aside to perform magic tricks. Pay attention! When the clown finishes the magic trick and bows in thanks, you must praise him!" 

"What happens if you don't praise him?" 

Pastor Max temporarily played the role of the straight man, asking the question everyone was interested in. 

"Hehe, if you don't praise him, he will continue to perform magic tricks until you do! However, the magic tricks he performs will become increasingly dangerous, even turning into true 'devil's art'!" 

Jack's urban legend successfully stirred up the emotions of all the viewers, and the studio was silent for a moment. 

However, Jack's ability to control the atmosphere was quite good, and he brought the mood back with a single sentence. 

"But as long as you don't wander around late at night on Halloween, you won't encounter him. Besides, it's always a good habit to encourage other people's performances." 

Max clapped his hands. 

"Yes, Jack is absolutely right." 

Next, Max told another urban legend about the world in the mirror, but Roy was a little hungry at this point, so he didn't continue watching TV. 

He glanced at the bedroom. Heather and Penny were cuddling together and fast asleep, showing no signs of waking up. Roy decided to go out for a late-night snack by himself. 

The Dolphin Hotel didn't have a 24-hour restaurant, but luckily it was near Santa Monica Beach, so KFC and McDonald's were readily available. 

These kinds of American fast-food restaurants are usually open 24 hours. 

Roy asked the hotel staff for directions to the nearest American fast-food restaurant and left the Dolphin Hotel. 

Santa Monica Beach in March was still a bit chilly at midnight, so there were hardly any night swimmers. He only saw a few people camping and barbecuing on the beach. 

It would be different in the summer. Santa Monica Beach in July and August is as lively at night as it is during the day. 

After having a late-night snack at McDonald's, Roy also brought some food back, just in case Heather and Penny got hungry in the middle of the night. 

The way back seemed particularly quiet. Suddenly, Roy saw a strange figure blocking the road ahead. 

Black top hat, white clown mask, yellow suit, and a hooked cane in hand, leaning against a streetlight in a completely detached manner. 

What a coincidence? 

Roy had just heard the host Jack from "Night Owl" talk about such an urban legend, and now he encountered it? 

And it wasn't even Halloween today! 

Just as Roy was feeling surprised, a woman walked past him. 

This woman seemed to have just finished her night shift. Her tired posture as she walked away was evident. She didn't pay attention to the somewhat strange clown ahead and continued forward. 

The yellow-suited clown gestured to stop the woman, indicating that he wanted to perform a magic trick for her. 

The woman was a bit helpless. This kind of street performance was actually quite common in America. Many artists relied on these performances to make a living. 

Although it was rare to see street performers doing their thing in the middle of the night. 

Unfortunately, the woman had just finished her night shift and was very tired. She had no interest in watching a street performance. 

"Excuse me, sir! I'm in a hurry to get home. My daughter is waiting for me!" 

However, the woman's words didn't make the yellow-suited clown move out of the way. He took out a deck of cards, insisting on performing a magic trick. 

The woman was very helpless and had no choice but to cooperate with the yellow-suited clown's performance, picking a card from the top of the deck. 

It turned out to be a Joker, and the pattern on the card was exactly the same as the yellow-suited clown in front of her. 

If the yellow-suited clown hadn't deliberately let the woman draw this card, then she was indeed lucky, as the yellow-suited clown had just shuffled the deck. 

Of course, whether encountering the yellow-suited clown was good luck was debatable. 

The yellow-suited clown took back the Joker, then inserted it back into the middle of the deck, handing the entire deck to the woman, indicating for her to shuffle. 

At this point, the woman had roughly guessed what magic trick the yellow-suited clown wanted to perform. This kind of card-changing trick was quite common both on the street and on television. 

Rolling her eyes, the woman still reluctantly cut the cards a few times and handed them back to the yellow-suited clown. 

The yellow-suited clown held the deck in his palm, snapped his fingers, and then blew on the deck, gesturing for the woman to turn over the top card. 

The woman did as he asked. 

Unsurprisingly, this card was the Joker she had drawn earlier. 

The performance ended here. The yellow-suited clown made a stage bow, but the woman wasn't impressed. 

"Can I go now?" 

With that, the woman walked past the yellow-suited clown, but after only a few steps, she found the yellow-suited clown had once again appeared in front of her, blocking her path. 

This situation startled the woman. She looked back in disbelief, repeatedly trying to figure out how this yellow-suited clown had suddenly appeared in front of her. 

At this moment, the woman noticed Roy in the distance, leisurely eating fries. 

The woman began to suspect this was some kind of prank, and her mood couldn't help but worsen. 

"Have you had enough? If you block me again, I'm calling the police!" 

She issued a final warning, but the yellow-suited clown remained deaf to her words and suddenly pulled out a folding knife. 

This action frightened the woman. After all, this was the land of the free, and encountering a robbery on the street was something every American might experience. 

The woman reached into her shoulder bag, taking several steps back. 

"W-what do you want?" 

However, the yellow-suited clown gestured for the woman not to be nervous, then rolled up his sleeve and used the folding knife to cut a gash on his arm. 

This was too scary. The yellow-suited clown was so ruthless to himself, the woman didn't dare to imagine what he would do to others. 

But the yellow-suited clown's wound was very strange. The blood flowed very slowly, and its color was particularly dark. 

The yellow-suited clown picked up the Joker that the woman had just drawn, wiped the blood from his wound onto it, and showed it to her – a bloodstained Joker. 

Immediately after, the yellow-suited clown put the Joker back into the deck and started shuffling. After a few shuffles, he suddenly threw the deck of cards into the air. 

As the cards scattered, the yellow-suited clown snapped his fingers towards the woman's shoulder bag, finally gesturing for the woman to take something out of her bag. 

The woman's expression changed. The pepper spray she had been holding in her hand suddenly disappeared, replaced by a playing card. 

Taking out the card to look, it was indeed the Joker stained with the yellow-suited clown's blood. 

This couldn't even be considered magic anymore; this was simply magic! 

The woman was terrified and retreated repeatedly. 

"This... this isn't funny at all!" 

The woman turned to run towards Roy, but she stumbled and fell to the ground as soon as she took a step. Looking back, she realized her shoelaces had somehow been tied together. 

This was truly terrifying! 

The woman cried out for help to Roy in the distance in horror. 

"Sir, please help me!" 

It was at this moment that Roy clearly saw the woman's face. Wasn't that Jennifer Connelly? 

Because of Jennifer Connelly's performance in Once Upon a Time in America, Roy had a deep impression of her and had watched several of her movies afterwards. 

However, this female star's looks deteriorated somewhat later in her career. Fortunately, this Jennifer Connelly in front of him, although not from her peak beauty period in Once Upon a Time in America, still had the appearance of her early mature years. 

It should be Jennifer Connelly from the American remake of Dark Water, the only horror movie she had ever filmed. 

Roy hadn't planned to stand idly by in the first place. He just wanted to observe what kind of character this yellow-suited clown was. After seeing Jennifer Connelly fall, he definitely couldn't continue to stand by and watch. 

"Hey, buddy! Treating a beautiful lady like that isn't very gentlemanly!" 

Roy's sudden words surprised the yellow-suited clown. The guy tilted his head slightly to look at Roy. 

The yellow-suited clown hadn't said a word from beginning to end, only performing actions. 

It was unclear whether this was to fit the clown persona or if the guy simply couldn't speak. 

"Coincidentally, I'm also a magician. How about we have a little competition?" 

Roy walked forward and helped the fallen woman up. 

[Discovered special character Dahlia O'Connor. You can absorb the Power of Fate to gain rewards!] 

"Madam, what's your name?" 

"D-Dahlia O'Connor." 

"Alright, Ms. O'Connor, could you please hold my bag for a moment? I'm going to have a little magic showdown with this gentleman here." 

Dahlia grabbed Roy in fear. 

"Sir, there's something wrong with this guy!" 

Roy certainly knew there was something wrong with this yellow-suited clown. Although he was far away just now, with his current eyesight, he could clearly see the entire process of the yellow-suited clown's magic trick. 

"Don't worry, Ms. O'Connor. I'll definitely make sure you get home safely to see your daughter tonight." 

Roy reassured Dahlia, then faced the yellow-suited clown directly. 

"So, buddy? Want to have a little contest?" 

The yellow-suited clown made a thinking gesture, then nodded and tipped his hat to Roy, indicating that he should start performing first. 

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" 

[Picture of a scene]