"Mhm."
He let out a light 'mhm'.
After a moment of silence, that unknown figure draped in the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe spoke again:
"Since your mind is made up, as your master, I will no longer persuade you... However, the effective range of this Domain is only the Seven Great Districts. Outside the Seven Great Districts, things that have already happened cannot be tampered with. Do you understand?"
"Understood." That voice was still quiet and submissive.
After a long sigh, that figure draped in the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe slowly walked forward, and his fingertips gently swiped across his face...
A piece of facial skin that seemed to have no thickness at all lightly adhered to his face. The moment the skin attached, his body visibly grew taller, as if he had completely transformed into another person.
After hesitating for a moment, that figure also took off the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe he was wearing and gently draped it over him.
"If one day you start to feel lost about yourself, come find your master..."
He nodded: "Okay."
That figure turned around and was about to leave, as if he had thought of something, suddenly stopped his footsteps again... He slowly turned his head back, his voice low and icy cold:
"However, if the one who comes in the end is 'Mockery'... I will personally kill you."
...
The next moment, the surrounding scene abruptly twisted, as if forcibly torn to pieces by something. The memory images collapsed and vanished without a trace in an instant!
An unprecedented pain surged into his heart. The Red-Clad Figure was like someone awakening from a deep dream, violently opening his eyes!
In the nothingness before his eyes, those countless black palms swallowed up all the other memory fragments. Wisps of white smoke were kneaded and crushed in their hands, completely annihilated without a trace... Tens of thousands of souls just vanished under their gaze like this.
After finishing all this, those palms disappeared as well, as if they had never appeared.
The Red-Clad Figure at this moment was still standing On Stage in that familiar Theater. He slowly looked down at his hands, his expression extremely complicated.
"I... am Chen Yan?"
He continuously recalled the conversation just now in his mind. Although he didn't see any images, nor was there much other information, the characters present at the scene were only those few. Thinking back and forth, it seemed he could only be "Chen Yan" who had substituted into the "Role" of "Chen Ling"?
But who was that person draped in the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe? Why would he appear there? And even call himself his master?
Also, what was the "Mockery" he spoke of?
Was it the Audience?
One mystery after another lingered in his mind. He stood blankly on the stage like a sculpture for a long time. Right at this moment, a soft sound came from the side.
Clatter—
That was the sound of a book falling to the ground.
He recovered his wits and turned his head to look in the direction the sound came from. That was the bookshelf he used to place The Scripts... For some unknown reason, a Script had slid down from the bookshelf.
He subconsciously walked forward and picked up that Script. On the cover of The Script, several huge characters were incredibly conspicuous:
[First Script]
[Chapter of the Beginning — "Heartless"]
[Lead Actor: Chen Ling]
When he saw the last line, his body jolted, his pupils slightly shrinking... At this moment, it was as if a thought was about to surge out of his mind, but then vanished instantly. No matter what, he couldn't recall it... It was as if deep in his heart, something was stopping him from thinking deeper.
"No..."
After an unknown period of silence, he shook his head, "I am Chen Ling."
He looked down at his reflection on the screen and spoke again, his tone gradually becoming firm.
"Regardless of who I once was, the me right now is Chen Ling... No one can deceive me, no one can influence me, I am me."
Chen Ling put the First Script back on the bookshelf. There was no longer any gloom or bewilderment in his eyes. Whether it was Chen Yan or Chen Ling, both were just people in a play... Now that he was standing on this Stage, if he felt he was Chen Ling, then he was Chen Ling.
As he turned around, his fingertips tore at his chin. Chen Ling's face once again appeared beneath the skin mask. The Great Crimson Theatrical Robe fluttered slightly with his footsteps;
He returned to the center of the Stage.
"It's time to end this farce."
Chen Ling looked down at the screen. The Audience Expectation Value at this moment had already dropped to 14%, returning to its lowest point in history... But the severity of the situation was far more than just this.
[Audience Expectation Value -1]
[Current Expectation Value: 13%]
Chen Ling's expression instantly darkened!
...
Stars Chamber of Commerce.
Scarlet clouds churned in the sky. A paper sun was held suspended above the red cloud. As the paper surface split open, it was like a hollow eye staring at the mortal world, slowly opening...
The moment this pupil opened, all living beings within the estate, no matter where they were or whether they saw that eye, suddenly felt an unprecedented palpitation welling up. Like an instinctual terror from the deepest depths of life, it began to erode their sanity bit by bit.
"What... what is that thing??"
Inside the most heavily guarded building of the Stars Chamber of Commerce, Yan Xishou hid by the window, looking at that pupil hanging high above the red clouds, his body uncontrollably beginning to tremble.
"It's a Calamity... It's a Sixth Stage Calamity!" Cold sweat seeped out of the Old Butler's forehead. "How could a Calamity possibly appear inside Aurora City..."
"It's that Chen Ling! He is a Calamity!" Yan Xishou looked at the chamber of commerce that was gradually being razed to the ground, his hands frantically grabbing his hair, his expression incredibly distressed. "Damn it, why did we have to provoke him... Just what kind of monster is he?!"
Before, there was indeed some turmoil in the Stars Chamber of Commerce, but it was just a person breaking out of prison, or a reporter tracking down the organ trade. The matter could be said to be big or small... But unexpectedly, it developed to the end where the entire Stars Chamber of Commerce was about to be razed to the ground. This was no longer as simple as a small mistake!
When the time came and his father returned to find that the Stars Chamber of Commerce was gone, it would no longer be a question of whether he could inherit it... He would absolutely be beaten to death by his father's own hands!
"Don't panic, Eldest Young Master," the Old Butler comforted. "Our location is very far from the battlefield, and this building has Shelter-level protection. If we stay here, we will definitely be fine..."
Just as the Old Butler's voice fell, a gaze from above the red clouds swept over indifferently. The next moment, everything around them glowed with an eerie red light.
The thick, heavy walls became visibly thin to the naked eye, flapping in the wind like pieces of paper. The solid, cold marble floor inexplicably began to lose its texture, and the gaps between the bricks seemed to turn into crooked hand-drawn straight lines... Even that window in front of the two of them gradually grew fangs, like the open maw of a ferocious giant beast.
And the two of them at this moment were very much like food trapped in the mouth of the giant beast, seemingly about to be chewed to nothingness the next moment.
The changes before their eyes completely exceeded the cognition of the two. This building that the Stars Chamber of Commerce was so proud of had suddenly turned into an unknown monster. Yan Xishou collapsed onto the ground, his gaze as he looked around full of terror!
The gorgeous chandelier turned into an organ similar to tonsils, beginning to rapidly vibrate with the hurricane rolling in from outside the window. Low, furious roars sounded like rolling thunder!
Yan Xishou and the Old Butler's eardrums were instantly torn. They crawled on the ground in pain, blood streaming out from their ears...