Chen Ling's gaze swept over his surroundings. Avoiding those few streets that Xi Renjie had already cleared, he headed straight towards the most chaotic direction.
Up until now, Frost Street and Snow Street had been completely cleared by Chen Ling. Before leaving, Chen Ling had also told those residents to lock their doors and windows well, not to make any sound no matter what happened, and even more so, not to open their doors casually. After all, according to the killing logic of those Calamities, doing this was the safest.
At this time, Chen Ling's deterrent force took effect. Not a single person on the two streets dared to question his orders. They all nodded like chicks pecking at rice, then backhanded locked themselves in their homes.
Chen Ling even felt that even if a massive earthquake were to happen right now and collapse the houses, not a single one of this bunch would run outside.
Along the way, from time to time, there would be a batch of panicked residents running wildly on the street without a target. If he encountered someone controlled by a shadow, Chen Ling would kill them on the spot. If they weren't controlled, Chen Ling would stuff them into an empty house nearby and tell them not to run around wildly.
Chen Ling walked past street after street. The ground was covered with shattered corpses. The further he walked towards the edges, the more corpses there were. Most of them were killed after their doors were forcibly broken open, or completely slaughtered in one breath by Calamities hiding in the shadows while a group of people were escaping together.
Compared to these streets, the little loss on Frost Street could already be considered a "no damage" clear.
"Phew..."
In a ruined street, Chen Ling pulled his Dagger out of a broiler chicken's body and let out a long sigh.
Even the 【Blood Robe】 couldn't quite withstand this level of intense combat. A deep sense of exhaustion welled up in his heart.
Just as Chen Ling was numbly holding his knife and walking towards the next street, his nose twitched slightly, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks.
"So fragrant..." Chen Ling muttered to himself.
A long-lost gleam of vitality surfaced in his dim eyes. He turned his head and looked around, found the direction where that captivating fragrance was coming from, and subconsciously walked over.
In this street block reeking of blood everywhere, this fragrance was like a bonfire in a world of extreme cold, so conspicuous and warm, making one subconsciously want to approach it... Chen Ling quickened his pace, walked past half a street in succession, and finally stopped in front of a shattered house.
This was a wine-making shop. The main door had already been smashed. At the door were blood and incomplete limbs. Raging firelight burned from the depths of the house, as if something had been ignited.
Chen Ling frowned slightly. Gripping the Dagger in his hand tightly, he stepped inside.
The shop's storefront was completely in disarray. The sturdily built Shopkeeper held a black rod in his hand, flames burning at the tip of the rod. While yelling loudly, he crazily smashed it at a broiler chicken pressed down by wall debris opposite him.
With the smashing of the fire stick, half of the broiler chicken's body was ignited. That rich fragrance was coming precisely from its body.
"Die! Die! Die!!"
"Damn it! I am not to be trifled with!"
"Didn't you want to eat me?! I'll scald your mouth!"
The Shopkeeper picked up a wine jar from the side, took a fierce gulp, and then sprayed it onto the tip of the black rod. The burning flames abruptly expanded several times. With a courageous roar from the Shopkeeper, he stuffed it headfirst into the broiler chicken's mouth!
Swallowing the flames in one mouthful, the broiler chicken's body struggled violently. Sharp hissing resounded through the shop, making the Shopkeeper's eardrums ache.
Boom——!!
Under the severe pain, the broiler chicken forcefully broke free from the wall pressing down on it. Its half-burning body stumbled and knocked over a large swath of furniture, rushing rapidly towards the Shopkeeper!
The Shopkeeper also hadn't expected this thing to still be able to move. His expression immediately changed drastically. He wanted to pull out that burning stick, but there was simply no chance. His body felt like it was hit by a scalding train, smashing heavily against the wall behind him.
Just at this moment, a black figure rushed to his front with a whistling sound!
A heavy whip kick was thrown at the lower side of the heavy broiler chicken, directly dragging it flying. The Shopkeeper only felt a gust of strong wind brush past his face, and that centipede was kicked into the corner of the wall.
Enduring the severe pain in his chest, he looked up in front of him. He saw a young man wearing a black windbreaker standing there calmly, looking thoughtfully at that burning Shadow Centipede.
Chen Ling glanced at him. "Can you still move?"
"...Still, still fine."
"Go find a place to hide."
After saying this sentence, Chen Ling stopped looking at him, heading straight for that broiler chicken.
In the corner of the room, that mostly scorched black broiler chicken was squirming madly, completely losing its original ferocity and eeriness. Chen Ling casually pulled out the stick in its mouth, and the broiler chicken's miserable hissing rang out again.
Chen Ling stared fixedly at it, motionless as a statue.
The Shopkeeper was annoyed by the centipede's noise and subconsciously covered his ears. He was just about to say something, when he saw the Adam's apple of that figure wearing the black windbreaker bob...
"You..."
"Don't you think it's very fragrant?" Chen Ling spoke suddenly.
The Shopkeeper was stunned.
He looked blankly at that squirming scorched black centipede. Perhaps due to the fire's burning, the air was filled with a sour and foul smell of burning plastic.
"What did you say?" He thought he heard wrong.
"Nothing."
Chen Ling waved his hand. "You can leave."
"Do you not need my help? Although I am not a Law Enforcer, I am actually very good at Fighting." The Shopkeeper finally spoke his true thoughts.
He was indeed very good at Fighting and also had brains. Becoming a Law Enforcer was his wish when he was young... Regrettably, his family's financial resources were insufficient to support him becoming a Law Enforcer. And this Enforcer in front of him was perhaps his only shortcut to becoming a Law Enforcer.
Chen Ling didn't have time to say more to him now, speaking again in a low voice: "Leave."
Seeing Chen Ling's attitude was so cold, a hint of dejection flashed through the Shopkeeper's eyes. Lowering his head, he finally walked out of the shop.
When only Chen Ling was left in the room, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the fragrant roast chicken in front of him, he couldn't help but gulp again.
Being far away before, Chen Ling didn't feel much. Standing in front of this fire-scorched broiler chicken now, some physiological reactions could no longer be stopped... The aroma of wine and chicken blended perfectly under the roasting of the flames, emitting a captivating intoxicating fragrance, sweet but not greasy, very much like the Huadiao chicken Chen Ling used to eat often.
At this moment, Chen Ling was already exhausted and starving. As soon as he smelled this wine-scented roast chicken, his saliva couldn't stop secreting.
His rationality told him this was a Calamity and absolutely couldn't be eaten. Who knew what things were inside its body? Bacteria? Parasites? Or something else? But even so, he couldn't control himself from taking a step, slowly approaching that roast chicken...