The pinnacle of magic

"Hello, Clifford."

When an indistinct sound that seemed to be blocked by something came out of the speaker, the host Stephen exaggeratedly covered the lower half of his face with his hands, and most people in the audience also gasped. Take a breath.In the first 10 minutes of the show, the magician and the host worked together to create a rather weird on-site atmosphere, and this tension rose to a new level the moment he dialed the "ghost call".

"Clifford, you don't mean to say..." The host took a deep breath and pointed at the magician's phone with trembling fingers.

"Yes, you heard me right."

The magician pressed the microphone of the phone, moved the phone some distance away, and winked at the audience.

"Just like the ghost who served Alice inhabiting his self-portrait, this is my most important ghost friend who is talking to me now. We must hurry, after all, long distance calls are not cheap."

The eyes of the audience were still blank, only a few people let out a low laugh.And on the sofa not far from the magician, a middle-aged woman who was not at all well-dressed was knitting with her head down.A dark golden picture frame rested quietly on the back of the sofa beside her.Although the content of the portrait was completely covered by a piece of white cloth, viewers who had watched the TV video just now knew that it was a young man with a strange and gloomy appearance and a mustache.Alice.Duis, the nationally renowned master psychic, seemed oblivious to her challenger.Tonight's performance was not even as important to her as the red sweater in her hand.

The magician smiled and put the phone back to his ear.

"Honey, can you do me a little favor?" His tone was very intimate.

"Speak." The "ghost" on the other end of the phone looked rather indifferent.

"There's a note, and I want to know what's on it. The note is in a sealed box that's moving. That box is probably in..." The magician glanced back at the image on the big screen behind him.

A staff member wearing a peaked cap is meticulously holding the tin box. Judging from the scenery outside the van window, they are not far from the TV station.

"The box has just passed the intersection of Brook and Will Streets and is headed for..."

"I don't need to know the exact location." The "ghost" interrupted the magician coldly, "tell me what the box looks like."

Perfect fit!

As expected of Rui, he entered the drama so quickly!

The magician let out a cheer in his heart, and then began to describe the appearance of the iron box with a serious face. "It's a black box that looks a little heavy. It's about 25 centimeters long, [-] centimeters wide, and about [-] centimeters high."

"..."

"There is a fingerprint lock on the front of the box. Below the lock is an electronic display, which is now displaying the word 'locked' in red." The magician licked his lips, and the lens of the outdoor camera was further zoomed in. The black The iron box occupies almost the entire big screen.

"..."

"Ah! There is a line of small characters in the lower right corner directly above the box! It seems to be... um... the property of the TV station, for the exclusive use of the "Peak Showdown" program group?"

"Stop! I found it!" Immediately after this sentence, there was a crackling sound, a bit like the sound of metal collisions, which made the audience tense up immediately. "Well... there is a note. You want to know the words?"

"Yes. Ah! They've arrived at the TV station."

The silver-gray van on the screen had already parked at the entrance of the TV station, and the staff members holding the tin boxes were getting out of the van.

"I'm running out of time, dear, can you tell me what's on the note?"

"..." There was a low, hoarse panting sound from the other end of the phone, as well as a sound similar to electromagnetic interference.

"Darling?" the magician couldn't help urging in a low voice.

The personnel of the exterior crew are passing through the spacious and bright ground floor lobby.Under the tracking shooting of the two cameras, the iron box is always kept within the sight of the audience.

"B..." The "ghost" finally spoke again, and the disturbing sound became more and more obvious.

"B? Is it a word that starts with B? Honey, what's next, what's the letter after b?" the magician asked anxiously.

The elevator is gradually ascending.People can see through close-up shots that the staff holding the tin box are tapping the surface of the box with their index fingers.

"Clifford, you have to hurry up. If you can't guess the answer before the box is opened, this will be your last challenge." The host reminded in a low voice while taking out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

There is still only electromagnetic interference on the other end of the phone.

Suddenly, the door of the studio was pushed open, and the staff holding the iron box strode towards the stage!

Host: "Clifford!"

"Ball..." A sound similar to the friction of particles almost completely covered up the words of the "ghost".

"Ball? Is it a ball? Is the word on the note a ball?" the magician asked repeatedly.

"I'm going to open the box, Clifford." The host took a deep breath, took the iron box from the staff, and raised his index finger to signal the magician, "Your time is up, I'm going to open the fingerprint lock. Now, tell me your answer!"

"Honey? Is it a ball? Is the word ball written on the note? Honey, are you still there?" The magician raised his voice anxiously, but there was only intermittent chirping on the other end of the phone sound.

"Balloon, beep beep..." After the "ghost" finally uttered a clear word, the phone disconnected as if overwhelmed.

"Clifford?" The host pressed his finger on the combination lock, ready to go, "What's your final answer?"

"Balloon. The word on the note is balloon." The magician put down the phone and answered without hesitation.There was no suspicion in his ice blue eyes.

"Okay. Audience friends, the miracle angel Clifford guessed the answer is 'balloon'." The host swallowed, "Is it really true? Can Clifford communicate with ghosts to achieve long-distance perspective? Let's find out now!"

With the host's index finger across the combination lock, the word 'locked' on the electronic display immediately changed to 'unlocked'.The host took a deep breath and slowly opened the lid of the box.

From the TV screen, one can clearly see the host's slightly trembling fingers because of nervousness, and the note that was folded in half and placed on the dark velvet cushion.

The note was slowly unfolded, revealing the handwriting left on it with a black ink pen.

balloon!

Shi Rui smiled, not at all surprised by the correctness of the answer revealed to the magician by himself.

Next comes the voting stage.

He leaned comfortably on the back of the sofa, admiring the expression on the magician's face. The cheers of the audience and the exclamation of the host did not make him take even a sliver of attention away from the magician.There was a unique cunning in the magician's icy blue eyes. Different from the nervousness that he deliberately showed just now, the expression now really showed his heart.Confidence, publicity, and even a domineering look over everything.

It seems that as long as he stands on the stage, he is the well-deserved king of magic!

Shi Rui couldn't help shaking his head.Magicians are always astonished by their audacity in their performances.Started an impromptu performance with just one phone call, and had no doubts that he would cooperate immediately after receiving a text message.Is he so sure that even if he doesn't attend the live performance, he will pay attention to this show in front of the TV?

It doesn't feel good to be guessed by others, but Shi Rui felt an unspeakable excitement after being estimated by a magician about his actions.He couldn't tell whether it was because he was happy that the commission had finally progressed, or because he felt sorry for the magician himself.They are both like friends and enemies, and the result of being able to take the position of each other and think further is to make the confrontation between each other more intense than before, and the mutual attraction becomes more and more difficult to break free.

Like two storms colliding.Either destroy together, or merge into one.

Even Shi Rui himself couldn't see what the result would be.He could only be sure of one thing, and it was too late to withdraw now.He could not deny that the temptation to influence the mind of a magician was too great.Even without Old Johnny's entrustment, he would never allow such a person to go to self-destruction!

It seems that it is time to solve the "little problem" of the magician.he said to himself.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a friend like Clifford after the mission is complete?

On the TV screen, the host is about to announce the start of voting.Shi Rui narrowed his eyes suddenly, he saw Alice who had been sitting silently on the sofa chair from the beginning to the end of the whole show.Duis stood up suddenly!

"Please wait a moment. Very good performance." The psychic master who was nearly forty years old smiled and clapped his hands a few times. "I'm glad that my career has successors."

The magician frowned, as if dissatisfied with Alice's method of attributing his performance to a psychic.But he soon realized that what the psychic master had to say next was the real topic.The housewife who once commanded the city's police is certainly not as inoffensive as she appears.

"Still, I'd love to have a 'real' match with you. Just repeating a performance I've done doesn't convince me. It's a challenge after all, isn't it?"

Alice's words made everyone obviously stunned.

Host: "Ah! You mean to start another challenge?"

Magician: "How are you going to compare?"

"It's very simple. It's still a word guessing game. I also write a word on paper and put it in the box. You let your ghost friend guess it. If you get the correct answer, you win." The psychic master said with a smile.She is confident that no matter what means the magician uses, there is no way to peek at the note written by her own hand.

"Wow! Wow! This is an unprecedented challenge! Clifford, are you going to accept it?" the host asked excitedly after glancing at the reminder board raised by the audience.

"Of course." The magician replied with a smile.