As Yang Xu donned the clown costume, gazing at his reflection, a thought surfaced: "People who follow the rules are like animals on a leash."
His enhanced mind quickly grasped the meaning. The negative emotions he'd felt during the character's initial descent were the Joker's true power source.
"The system allows it because it's the key," he reasoned. "I need to avoid idealistic people to prevent being unconsciously influenced."
With this realization, his panic subsided. He examined the clown persona, noting the phantom shadow served only as a disguise.
"The Joker's power is already within me," he concluded.
Yang Xu, now more composed, considered his next move. "How can I make the biggest impact, alone and vulnerable?"
A manic grin spread across his painted face. "What's more attention-grabbing than robbing an American bank?"
...
Even in 2008 New York, rush hour was a mess. Yang Xu, clad in his clown attire, sat in a taxi, listening to the cacophony of horns. The driver glanced at him curiously in the rearview mirror.
Yang Xu patted the pistol tucked in his waistband, his smile widening. "Robbing a bank with a handgun? Is this the Joker's chaos, or mine?"
The city's noisy, chaotic energy fueled his excitement. This city, seemingly pristine but riddled with hidden sin, was his perfect playground.
Violence, coercion, murder, robbery – all the crimes born from a twisted sense of order – filled him with exhilaration.
The taxi stopped at his destination, the largest bank in the block. Yang Xu, carrying an empty suitcase, exited with a flamboyant flourish.
The bank, despite its large exterior, was surprisingly small inside, about 200 square meters. Five teller windows, eight staff members, and roughly thirty customers were present. Three armed guards patrolled, one at the door and two inside.
"Good morning, sir!" Yang Xu greeted a patrolling guard with an exaggerated grin.
The guard stopped, eyeing the clown suspiciously. "Good morning. I can't help you."
In a swift motion, Yang Xu's pistol appeared, pressed against the guard's forehead. "Don't move! Or I'll blow your brains out!"
"Robbing a bank?" The guard stammered, then raised his hands in surrender.
"Good boy!" Yang Xu praised, then fired a shot into the air.
"Bang!"
The sound echoed, instantly grabbing everyone's attention. The seasoned New Yorkers knew what was happening.
People screamed and ducked for cover, creating chaos.
[Caused unrest, gained New York citizen reputation +0.1]
[Caused unrest, gained bank guard reputation +0.3]
...
"Notoriety is fame, too!" Yang Xu grinned.
He knocked out the surrendered guard and drew his second pistol. The remaining two guards, recovering from their shock, drew their weapons.
"Don't move! Drop your guns!" they shouted, but the panicked crowd impeded their aim.
"Order is harder to maintain than destroy," Yang Xu mused, his smile widening.
He opened fire, aiming at the guards' legs.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
The guards screamed and fell, clutching their wounded legs. The continuous gunshots amplified the chaos.
"Bang, bang, bang!" Yang Xu fired into the air, further inciting panic. People scrambled for cover.
Amid the gunfire and wailing, everyone huddled in what they believed were safe spots, awaiting police intervention.
After emptying his magazines, Yang Xu confirmed his theory about reputation:
[The same group of people cannot provide reputation points twice for the same event on the same day!]
"Too bad! My plan to milk them dry is ruined!"