"So what?"
"So what? What do you mean 'so what'?" Xi Renjie furrowed his brows, his voice low. "With Brother Meng gone, if any calamity from District Two or Four comes our way, we're dead for sure. Not to mention those Gray Realm convergence points that haven't fully opened yet... District Three is finished. Those forty thousand people are finished... And so are we."
"Maintaining order? Patrolling the streets? Comforting the civilians? What's the point of any of it??"
Bang—
Xi Renjie slammed the glass onto the table, breathing heavily. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Chen Ling's like a drunken lion on the verge of collapse.
"Chen Ling... are you afraid of death?"
"..." Chen Ling paused briefly. "Honestly... not that much."
"Good."
Xi Renjie took out a second glass from the drawer, filled it to the brim with liquor, and pushed it toward Chen Ling.
Chen Ling lowered his gaze to the glass in front of him, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"You called me here... just to drink with you and then go die together?"
"That's right." Xi Renjie slowly lifted his own glass, holding it mid-air as he waited for Chen Ling's response. "Will you... come with me on this one last fight?"
Chen Ling glanced at him, then picked up the glass with one hand, lightly clinking it against Xi Renjie's.
"Fine. I'll go with you."
With that, he downed the liquor in one go.
Seeing this, a complicated emotion flickered through Xi Renjie's eyes before he likewise drained his glass.
The scalding liquor burned through his chest like fire. Gritting his teeth, Xi Renjie set the glass down—only to notice Chen Ling swaying unsteadily, his gaze growing unfocused.
"Little Brother Chen Ling... seems you can't hold your liquor?" Xi Renjie said slowly.
Thud—
Chen Ling's eyes shut completely as he slumped limply into the chair behind him, unconscious.
Watching this, Xi Renjie showed no surprise. He placed his glass back on the table, his expression deeply conflicted...
"Chen Ling... you know what? I really envy you and Brother Meng." Xi Renjie spoke as if to himself. "You were born with talent. To you, Aurora City doesn't seem so untouchable... You can trample it underfoot just to satisfy your pride."
"But me? No matter how hard I try, I'll never reach that city wall. I'm just... mediocre. I can accept that. Be a good enforcer. Handle relations with the people. Stay humble, stay honest... But no matter how much I pretend to be like Brother Meng, I can never become him."
"As an enforcer, I can't and shouldn't refuse Aurora City's orders. Standing at this crossroads, one path leads to death and mediocrity... the other to the future, to Aurora City, the place I've dreamed of all my life... There's no reason for me to die here meaninglessly."
Xi Renjie took a deep breath, drew a pistol from his coat, and pressed the cold barrel against Chen Ling's sleeping form—before pulling the trigger.
Click—
The hammer fell with a hollow snap. The chamber was empty.
Xi Renjie slowly lowered the gun, his gaze toward Chen Ling tinged with complexity.
"I don't know why Aurora City calls you a heretic. I don't know why they insist on killing you... But you fought beside me. You risked your life for District Three... After this shot, you're dead. Died in battle against the calamities."
"I'm leaving now. Good luck... if you can survive what's coming."
With those words, he stepped past Chen Ling, pushed open the headquarters' back door, and vanished into the fog.
In the silent hall, Chen Ling's icy eyes slowly opened.
He glanced at the spilled liquor on the floor, then turned his gaze toward where Xi Renjie had disappeared, lost in thought...
From the moment he entered headquarters, Chen Ling had been using [Secret Eyes] to observe Xi Renjie's micro-expressions and movements. He noticed Xi Renjie's hands trembling slightly. Combined with the sudden spike in [Audience Expectation], Chen Ling naturally grew suspicious. After covertly swapping his drink with a sleight of hand, he feigned passing out in the chair.
He didn't know what Xi Renjie had slipped into his glass, but playing dead was the right move. Even if he'd misread the situation, he could always claim he was a lightweight who blacked out after one drink.
Only this way could he uncover Xi Renjie's true intentions.
To his surprise, Xi Renjie hadn't killed him. His actions seemed less about targeting Chen Ling and more about giving himself... closure.
Of course, to Xi Renjie, whether he personally killed Chen Ling didn't matter. Even if he didn't pull the trigger, Chen Ling wouldn't survive the coming Calamity attack. The end result would be the same.
"Aurora City considers me a heretic... and wants me dead?" Deep confusion clouded Chen Ling's eyes. "How? Where did I slip up?"
No matter how hard he racked his brain, Chen Ling couldn't figure out how he'd been exposed. With a sigh, he stood and walked out.
From Xi Renjie's words earlier, Aurora City had contacted him and promised him entry...
"Things... are getting more interesting by the minute." Chen Ling murmured to himself.
---
"Brother Jie!"
Not long after Xi Renjie exited the back door, Tan Ming hurried over.
Catching a whiff of alcohol, Tan Ming paused before noticing Xi Renjie's drunken flush. "Brother Jie... did you really kill Chen Ling?"
"Mn." Xi Renjie nodded, unwilling to dwell on the topic. "What about the people on the list?"
"I've notified them. They're packing their belongings now and will regroup at the station."
Xi Renjie halted mid-step, drunken fury flashing in his eyes.
"Packing belongings?? At a time like this? Do they even understand the situation?!"
"I told them, but... they've worked hard for what they have. They think it's a shame to just leave everything behind when District Three gets swallowed by the Gray Realm. After all, they'll need to live once they reach Aurora City... But I gave them a hard deadline. Fifteen minutes. Everyone must be at the station. We've got about five or six minutes left—by the time we arrive, they should already be there. It won't actually delay us..." Tan Ming quickly explained.
"This isn't about time!" Xi Renjie glared at Tan Ming before finally growling through clenched teeth.
"A bunch of idiots!!"