Gulp.
Chen Tan couldn't help but swallow hard.
"How... how is this possible?" he croaked. "No heart, his head nearly cut off... and he's still moving?"
"Where did that opera robe come from? We didn't put it on him!"
"I don't know!!!" Li Xiuchun was completely consumed by fear, her words incoherent. "He... he was wearing it when he crawled out of the ground... It's the robe we draped over him when we buried him last night!
He's a ghost... he really is a ghost!!
A ghost come to claim our lives!"
"Nonsense! There are no ghosts in this world!"
The scene before them was too bizarre, and Chen Tan's legs were trembling with fear. But he mustered his courage, picked up a dinner knife from the floor, and lunged at Chen Ling's face!
Whatever was inside Chen Ling's body, it didn't seem as terrifying as the Calamities people talked about. That gave Chen Tan a sliver of courage.
The sharp knife sliced through the air, but just as it was about to touch Chen Ling, it froze mid-air.
Chen Tan was stunned. He tried with all his might to push the knife forward, but it wouldn't budge, as if an invisible hand had gripped the blade, holding it firmly in place.
"Hehe."
A strange, light laugh came from behind Chen Ling.
In the next moment, the knife in Chen Tan's hand vanished, replaced by a long, thin red paper strip.
Chen Ling, his eyes unfocused, chewed and swallowed the axe and kitchen knife he had been holding. He stared straight at Chen Tan, taking slow, mechanical steps forward, repeating the same phrase in a hoarse voice:
"Dad, I'm hungry."
Those three simple words sent shivers down Chen Tan's spine!
He had no doubt that Chen Ling would grab his head next and shove it into his mouth, chewing and crushing it... His bones wouldn't be any harder than the axe or the knife.
"Run!! Go find the enforcers!!"
Chen Tan turned and bolted toward the door!
He knew the situation was beyond their control... Their only hope was to seek help from the enforcers. Those powerful judges would surely have a way to deal with the Calamity!
As for how the enforcers would judge them for intentional murder and organ theft, that was a problem for later.
After all, prison was better than losing their lives.
Li Xiuchun, who had been crouching in a corner, trembling, snapped out of her daze at Chen Tan's shout. She scrambled toward the closed door.
While Chen Ling's attention was on Chen Tan, she managed to reach the door and grabbed the handle...
But her hand passed through empty air.
Li Xiuchun looked down in confusion and realized the door handle was gone... No, not just the handle. The entire door had turned into a flat, two-dimensional image on red paper.
She couldn't open a door that was now just a drawing.
"Hehehehe..."
Countless voices overlapped from all directions, as if the room was now filled with invisible figures... They watched the two with crimson eyes full of mockery.
Red paper strips fluttered around Li Xiuchun, and in her daze, she saw grotesque faces.
She screamed and stumbled backward, her eyes filled with pure terror.
Finally, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious...
[Audience Expectation -1]
[Current Expectation: 16%]
At the same time, Chen Tan felt the ground beneath him give way, and he fell heavily. He turned around in shock, only to find the entire floor had turned red, undulating like waves.
He stared dumbfounded as the crimson-clad Chen Ling approached, and a thought struck him. He screamed in terror:
"It's true... What the enforcers said is true!"
"You're a Calamity!"
"You're a Calamity that stole A-Ling's body!"
Hearing this, the crimson-clad Chen Ling stopped in his tracks.
His blood-red lips curled into a faint smile, and a pale finger pressed against them in a "shush" gesture.
"Shh—"
Just as the endless red paper was about to engulf Chen Tan, two loud shattering sounds came from the side!
"Calamity sighted at 128 Frost Street!! Destructive power estimated at Level 4! Requesting immediate judge support!!"
Two figures in black-and-red uniforms burst through the window. One of them quickly scanned the room and spoke.
"Received. Support is on the way. Try to hold it off!" A stern voice came from the walkie-talkie on one enforcer's belt.
One of the enforcers gave a bitter smile. "A Level 4 Calamity? How are we supposed to hold it off?"
Seeing the two enforcers suddenly burst in, the invisible "audience" let out a collective murmur of interest, as if they had found a more entertaining toy.
The crimson-clad Chen Ling flicked his finger, and Chen Tan, who had collapsed, fell unconscious. Blood trickled from his seven orifices, slowly staining the ground beneath him...
"Keep your distance! Survival is the priority!"
One enforcer quickly retreated, drawing a gun from his belt and firing several shots!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The brass bullets tore through the air, but before they could reach the crimson-clad Chen Ling, they turned into tiny red paper strips and disintegrated mid-air.
The crimson-clad Chen Ling raised his hand slightly, and countless paper strips flew out from the wide sleeves of his opera robe, coiling around the two enforcers like snakes.
The paper strips twisted violently, as if wringing into a spiral, before slamming the two enforcers to the ground.
[Audience Expectation -1]
[Current Expectation: 15%]
The crimson-clad Chen Ling's body began to expand, the opera robe straining against his form. Faces seemed to press against his skin, threatening to burst through. Chaotic whispers filled the space.
In just a few seconds, he had transformed into a monster covered in writhing red paper tentacles, countless crimson eyes opening on the paper strips. There was no trace of Chen Ling left in its appearance.
It smashed through the paper door and charged into the deserted street. The light rain fell on its body without making a sound.
It chose a direction at random and shot forward like a crimson blur!
Almost simultaneously, a figure in black cut through the dark clouds, closely pursuing it.
"Target Calamity spotted," Han Meng said calmly.
"...Is it an 'Apocalypse'-level?" a worried voice came from the walkie-talkie.
"From its aura, it's at most Level 5. It seems a Calamity did descend last night, but the compass misjudged its energy level."
"Level 5 is still extremely dangerous! Be careful, Brother Meng!"
Han Meng didn't respond. He followed the crimson blur to the edge of District Three's wilderness, then suddenly plummeted like a cannonball!
Boom—!!
The black meteor crashed into the wilderness, sending out an invisible shockwave!
Shattered sand and debris flew in all directions, forcing the crimson figure to halt. Its countless red paper tentacles swayed in the wind, all its eyes turning toward the dust-filled area.
A figure stepped out, lighting a thick cigarette. The hem of his black trench coat, adorned with four silver stripes, glowed faintly.
A breeze-like domain silently spread, enveloping the red paper monster.
"I am Han Meng, Chief Judge of District Three, Aurora Domain."
He held the cigarette in one hand and drew a black handgun from his belt with the other, thumbing off the safety. The sand and stones within the domain trembled slightly, and an invisible killing intent locked onto the red paper monster.
His lips parted, his words carrying the weight of some unspoken law:
"In the name of human civilization's justice..."
"I sentence you to death."