Chen Ling's pupils contracted sharply!
But when he blinked, the blood-red characters on the ground vanished as if they had never existed.
An illusion?
Chen Ling stood frozen in place, the words seared into his mind, impossible to forget.
[We Are Watching You]
Chen Ling whipped his head around!
In the empty living room, it felt as though countless invisible crimson eyes were observing him, the sensation of being watched eerily similar to his nightmare.
He stood there, stiff as a statue, for what felt like an eternity, before forcing himself to take deep breaths.
"Maybe I've been too stressed lately, staying up late to prepare for the enforcer exams..."
"I've heard that severe schizophrenia can cause indistinguishable hallucinations..."
Chen Ling temporarily suppressed his fear, trying to rationalize everything with science. A wave of intense hunger washed over him.
He grabbed a sausage from the cutting board and devoured it in a few bites, finally feeling somewhat grounded.
"Maybe... I need a psychiatrist."
Still shaken, Chen Ling didn't even bother washing his face. He threw on a black cotton coat and hurried out the door.
Even so, the cold air that rushed in made him shiver.
This was Chen Ling's first real encounter with the world since regaining consciousness. He took a deep breath, steeling himself to face the unknown and whatever challenges lay ahead.
But when he accidentally glanced up at the sky, an involuntary "What the hell?!" escaped his lips.
The morning light spilled from the east, and above the small town floated dreamlike blue ribbons, seemingly within reach yet impossibly distant.
Auroras.
Auroras in broad daylight.
Chen Ling stood at his doorstep, staring at the sky full of auroras for a long time, muttering to himself:
"What kind of world... is this?"
"Damn it, why is this road so hard to walk on?"
"It's too cold, and the heavy rain last night froze the mountain path. Be careful."
"We've been trudging along for so long, and it's already daylight." The man wiped the sweat from his forehead. "How much farther do we have to go?"
"The mass grave is just ahead... We should be there soon."
The two figures stumbled over the mountain ridge and finally saw the scattered mounds of earth in the distance. Some were fresh, others old, most without tombstones—just wooden markers or personal belongings of the deceased placed haphazardly in front of the mounds.
But after last night's heavy rain, many of the mounds had been washed away, and the wooden sticks and other items were scattered everywhere, leaving the area in complete disarray.
What the two didn't expect was that the mass grave was now cordoned off with yellow caution tape. Dozens of figures moved within the restricted area, their expressions grim.
"Enforcers?"
Seeing the distinctive black-and-red uniforms, the man's eyes widened. "Why are they here?"
"Did they find out?" The woman's face turned pale. "Is it... is it A-Ling? Did he go to the enforcers? Is he really not dead?"
They thought they had killed Chen Ling, but then he returned the next day. Combined with the sudden appearance of enforcers at the burial site... There was almost no other explanation.
"No..." The man stared intently at the figures. "Even for criminal cases, the enforcers in District Three would send at most three people. For them to dispatch over a dozen at once... It can only mean one thing..."
"A Calamity... has appeared?"
The woman seemed to realize something, and cold sweat instantly drenched her back.
"Could the monster in the bedroom be..."
"Let's go!!" The man grabbed the woman's wrist and turned to leave.
Just then, a cold voice called out from nearby.
"Stop."
The two froze in their tracks.
An enforcer ducked under the caution tape and walked over to them, his eyes narrowing.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"I... I..." The woman stammered, unable to speak.
"We're here to visit our son," the man said, trying to sound calm. "He's buried here. Today is his death anniversary."
"Then why were you running?"
"...Because we're scared."
"Scared?"
"With so many enforcers here, has the Gray Realm converged with this place? And maybe... a Calamity has crawled out... We're afraid of getting caught in the crossfire."
"Oh? You seem to know a lot." The enforcer raised an eyebrow in surprise.
The man forced a pale smile.
"Sir," the woman asked cautiously, "has a Calamity really come out of the Gray Realm?"
"That's classified."
The enforcer replied indifferently, "You won't be able to visit your son today. Go home... And remember, what you've seen here is not to be shared. You understand the rules, right?"
"Yes, yes."
"Go on."
Hearing this, the man finally let out a sigh of relief and turned to leave.
"Wait."
Their hearts skipped a beat.
"Leave your names and addresses." The enforcer pulled out a pen and paper. "It's required by the confidentiality regulations. Please understand."
"Chen Tan, Li Xiuchun, 128 Frost Street, District Three."
After recording the information, the enforcer let them go and returned to a man in a black coat, handing him the document.
"Brother Meng, I've questioned them. They're here to visit their son."
Han Meng took a deep drag from his thick cigarette, the acrid smoke mingling with his breath in the cold air.
He glanced at the document and spoke calmly:
"Send a few people to follow them secretly. They're suspicious."
"...Huh?"
"Frost Street is at least ten kilometers from here. For them to arrive at this hour, they must have left around four in the morning... and the rain hadn't stopped by then.
Who would come to a mountain graveyard in the middle of the night during a storm?
Also, this is a mass grave, a place for those who died alone or far from home. As parents, why would they bury their child here?"
The enforcer was stunned, slapping his forehead. "Right, why didn't I think of that?"
"...Xiao Qin, how did you even pass the enforcer exam?"
The enforcer named Xiao Qin chuckled awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. "By the way, Brother Meng, did a Calamity really crawl out of the Gray Realm last night?"
Han Meng didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out a palm-sized device from his coat pocket. At its center was a compass-like needle, with different colors marking various regions on the dial.
"Is that the Calamity Compass?" Jiang Qin asked curiously, reaching out to touch it, only to have his hand smacked away.
"This thing is precious. You'll get to touch it when you're promoted to Judge."
Jiang Qin rubbed his hand, wincing. "How does it work?"
"It detects the danger level of Calamities. Once activated, the needle will point to the region corresponding to the level of Calamity activity nearby. If it's just a convergence of the Gray Realm without any Calamities crossing into our world, it won't react.
The higher the Calamity's level, the more violently the needle will shake."
Jiang Qin nodded, then asked with concern:
"Brother Meng... There's no way a Calamity actually crawled out, right?"
"Most likely not. If a Calamity had descended through here yesterday, Districts Two and Three would already be in chaos."
"That's a relief."
"Still, we need to complete the scan to be sure."
As Han Meng spoke, he activated the Calamity Compass. The other enforcers gathered around, curious.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
The Calamity Compass remained still.
Just as Han Meng was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the needle on the compass suddenly jerked violently!
The needle swept wildly across the colored regions, and a sharp screeching sound erupted from the device. Han Meng's pupils contracted, and he instinctively let go of the compass.
Bang—!!
The device exploded into countless pieces, and a shard of the needle grazed Han Meng's cheek, leaving a streak of blood.
The Calamity Compass...
Had shattered.