"The aura of [Judgment] has disappeared."
"The aura of the Calamity has also disappeared."
"Unless something unexpected happened, Brother Meng must have succeeded."
"Han Meng is too fast. Even if we wanted to take credit, we wouldn't have a chance..."
Under the rainy night, four figures in black trench coats rushed toward the wilderness battlefield. They were the other judges of District Three.
Their eyes swept over the scarred wilderness, and they were secretly shocked.
Just how intense had the battle been to leave the area in such a state?
"This Calamity seems to be something else..."
As they spoke, they looked toward the other side of the battlefield. A blood-soaked figure lay on his back, motionless like a corpse.
One of the judges immediately rushed forward, picked up Han Meng from the ground, and nervously checked his breathing.
The other three judges stood where they were, exchanging glances, their eyes flickering with strange light...
"Is he dead?" one of the three asked.
He was Ma Zhong, the second-ranked judge of District Three.
"No! He's still alive!"
A barely noticeable flicker of disappointment crossed the faces of the three. Two of them looked at Ma Zhong, who hesitated for a moment before shaking his head at them.
"What about the Calamity? Why don't I see a body?"
"It escaped?!"
"Without a body, it must have escaped..."
They immediately began searching the area, but under the pouring rain, there were no clues left. The Calamity that had been fighting Han Meng here just moments ago seemed to have vanished into thin air.
"Brother Ma! Brother Ma!!"
At the same time, an enforcer in black-and-red uniform hurried over from the distance.
"What is it? Why the rush?" Ma Zhong raised an eyebrow.
"Just now, we received intel from District Two... Last night, a Calamity attack occurred there as well. Half a street was massacred, with a total of thirty-six deaths."
"What?" Ma Zhong asked in surprise. "Was it the same one?"
"According to reports, the Calamity that attacked District Two was a Level 3. It shouldn't be the same one."
"Two Calamities emerging from the same Gray Realm convergence point? That's unusual..." Ma Zhong pondered. "Was it killed?"
"No. They said the Calamity fled into the mountains after the massacre... There's a possibility it crossed into District Three through the mountains.
Then, District Two requested that we send some manpower... Their casualties are too high, and their enforcers are overwhelmed."
"Understood. I'll handle this."
The judges quickly carried the unconscious Han Meng to the hospital. Ma Zhong's gaze lingered on the battlefield ruins and the outline of the mountains hidden in the night, deep in thought.
"Two Calamities from the same Gray Realm convergence point... Interesting."
"Brother, aren't we running?"
As the night deepened, two boys walked along a deserted path, heading straight for Frost Street.
"Why should we run?" Chen Ling countered.
Chen Yan was stunned. He scratched his head, thinking for a long time, but couldn't find the words.
"Besides, even if we run, where can we go?" Chen Ling said helplessly. "The Aurora Domain is only so big—one city and seven districts. Ordinary people can't enter Aurora City, and Districts Two and Three are already locked down..."
"Then should we hide in a mountain valley?"
"Hiding won't help. They'll find us eventually. We can't just keep retreating." Chen Ling vaguely refuted the idea.
In truth, Chen Ling also wanted to find a place to hide, but he couldn't!
Although he had regained control of the "stage," the audience expectation value was still stuck at 20%. If he didn't do something to raise the audience's expectations, he would lose control of his body again and turn into a monster.
Chen Yan vaguely felt that something was off with the logic... but he didn't dwell on it. If his brother said they couldn't hide, there must be a reason.
"A-Yan."
"Yeah?"
"Aren't you afraid of me?" In the darkness, Chen Ling turned to look at him. "You saw it... I turned into a monster earlier."
Chen Yan lowered his head, silent for a long time.
"Brother, it's okay if you turn into a monster... as long as you're still you."
"How do you know I'm still me?"
"It's just a feeling..."
Chen Ling looked at him deeply. In the darkness, the boy's expression was indistinct.
"By the way, how's your body?" he asked. "Don't you need a long recovery period after a heart transplant? Is it okay for you to be running around like this?"
"That doctor seemed really skilled. I recovered quickly."
"Oh..."
Chen Ling suddenly remembered that this world seemed to have supernatural powers. Otherwise, in a world without electricity, how could they perform surgeries like heart transplants? Maybe there were also methods for rapid recovery?
Chen Ling's gaze fell on Chen Yan's smooth neck, as if remembering something. "By the way, where's the protective charm I gave you? The one you usually wear around your neck."
Chen Yan was stunned. He reached for his chest and found it empty.
"I don't know... Maybe I lost it while running back."
"...It's fine. I'll make you another one when we get back."
"Okay." Chen Yan spoke again. "Brother... aren't you going to wash up? If you walk down the street like this, you'll scare people."
Chen Ling was stunned. He subconsciously touched his neck, feeling the sticky blood.
Strangely enough, after emerging from the red paper monster, the wound on his neck had healed unusually quickly. In just half an hour, the flesh had mostly reconnected, though it still looked gruesome, as if he had just crawled out of hell.
Helpless, Chen Ling found a nearby stream, took off the crimson opera robe, and began washing off the bloodstains.
"Brother, there's something I wanted to ask earlier..." Chen Yan said hesitantly.
"Why are you wearing my opera robe?"
"I... don't know."
Chen Ling stared blankly at the robe... He remembered that when he was killed by the axe, he hadn't been wearing it.
Thinking back, when he returned home that night, he had been wearing this crimson opera robe. From what Chen Tan and Li Xiuchun had said, it seemed to be the cloth they had used to wrap his corpse after murdering him.
But why had the robe returned to him this time, even though they hadn't dressed him in it?
Chen Ling couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it. Ever since he had transmigrated to this world, strange things had been happening more and more often...
He had considered burning this unlucky robe, but seeing Chen Yan's pitiful gaze, he sighed and silently washed the robe along with himself.