Preparing for War with the Path of the Sovereign
"【Little Junior Brother】! You succeeded?!"
As soon as Chen Ling returned to his residence on the grassland, he heard the pleasantly surprised voices of Ning Ruyu and the others ring out.
Chen Ling turned his head to look and discovered that his four senior brothers and 【Senior Sister】 hadn't left. Instead, they were gathered at his doorway chatting, seemingly waiting specifically for him.
"It can be considered an initial success." Chen Ling smiled.
Under everyone's curious gazes, Chen Ling still summoned his "【Vermilion Countenance】". When they saw the apricot-colored eye makeup, their eyes all lit up:
"This stroke is truly drawn quite well... It's a bit like the eyes of a 【Female Lead】 role, yet somewhat different..."
"【Little Junior Brother】 was originally good-looking to begin with. Now with this eye makeup, he is even more perfect... If he were to show his face a bit in the 【Red Dust】 【Main City】, I estimate he could casually suppress all those stars."
"How could that vulgar rouge and powder compare with 【Little Junior Brother】? 【Little Junior Brother】 has what it takes to be the world's number one 【Famous Actor】!"
"【Little Junior Brother】... your eyes seem different from before?"
"It seems so." Chen Ling's gaze looked around.
Previously, when his 【Secret Eye】 was activated, it could only enhance his grasp of details, such as observing micro-expressions or the trajectory of an enemy's movements. But now, whether it was the breadth or precision of his vision, both had taken a qualitative leap... An 【Ordinary Person】 could at most see things clearly within 50-100 meters. But for the current Chen Ling, even at a distance of five hundred meters, he could clearly see the body of an ant on the ground.
But Chen Ling could feel that this still wasn't the limit of these eyes... These eyes could see even more.
However, there were no enemies around right now, only his few senior brothers, so he temporarily couldn't test it. Chen Ling could only temporarily put away the "【Vermilion Countenance】". The apricot red at the corners of his eyes gradually faded away as he waited for a suitable opportunity.
Wait...
Right at this moment, Chen Ling suddenly realized something.
An opportunity?
【【Audience Expectation Value】: 69%】
Chen Ling saw this line of prompt float up. He rubbed his chin with one hand and fell into deep thought.
Now he possessed his own "【Vermilion Countenance】" and the capital to gamble with 【The Audience】. As long as the 【Expectation Value】 wasn't too low, he could try to snatch his body back from 【The Audience】's hands... Didn't this mean that as long as he deliberately stalled the 【Expectation Value】 at a suitable number beforehand, then entered the 【Timeline Save File】, and actively released the "【Mockery】" 【Calamity】, he would possess the power to fight a battle against the 【Path of the Sovereign】?
Once this thought emerged, Chen Ling's mind immediately became active. He seemed to have found a way to break free from the 【Path of the Sovereign】 and continue his activities within the 【Timeline Save File】!
But the crucial point of this plan lay in finding the most suitable 【Expectation Value】 number. He had to guarantee both that he could snatch back his body and that the strength of the released "【Mockery】" wouldn't be instantly killed by the 【Path of the Sovereign】.
Chen Ling thought about it on the spot for a long time before finally making up his mind:
"Senior brothers, 【Senior Sister】, for the next period of time, I am going to enter into seclusion."
"Seclusion?" The few of them all froze.
"Yes. I will lock myself in my room the entire time, not participate in any activities, and not see anyone... I'm just telling you all in advance."
The current 【Audience Expectation Value】 was still at 69%. Even if Chen Ling died, there would still be 19% 【Expectation Value】 left. Although 【The Audience】 would intervene in the 【Performance】, the strength released wouldn't be very strong, roughly equivalent to the standard of the 【Third Tier】... Therefore, Chen Ling had to actively lower the 【Audience Expectation Value】.
And the best way to lower the 【Expectation Value】 was, naturally, to make 【The Audience】 feel bored.
The senior brothers and 【Senior Sister】 exchanged glances. None of them understood Chen Ling's intention in doing this, but they didn't ask further. After all, they respected 【Little Junior Brother】's own ideas.
"Then what about your meals?" 【Wenren You】 suddenly asked. "Do you need me to deliver your meals to your door?"
Chen Ling froze for a moment, a wave of warmth rising in his heart:
"Then I'll have to thank 【Third Senior Brother】."
...
Chen Ling bid farewell to Ning Ruyu and the others one by one, then returned to his room and locked himself in.
It was already afternoon. The sun was gradually sinking into the end of the grassland. The dim yellow sunlight sprinkled into Chen Ling's bedroom, coating the floorboards in a layer of pale gold.
Chen Ling, draped in the 【Great Crimson Theatrical Robe】, sat alone on the floor. Propping his head up with one hand, he stared blankly at the scenery outside the window.
A cramped room, no interpersonal relationships, no plot progression, and absolutely no fun to be had... Chen Ling's "【Performance】" was suddenly left with only dullness and tedium. Even 【The Audience】 in the 【The Theater】 could only stare blankly at the window along with him.
Time passed, minute by minute, second by second. About two hours later, the sun completely set behind the mountains, and night fell upon the human world. Specks of starlight gathered in Chen Ling's eyes, interweaving into two lines of text:
【【Audience Expectation Value】 -1】
【Current 【Expectation Value】: 68%】
Very good, they finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
Chen Ling recalled the situations of the several times 【The Audience】 had "intervened" in his 【Performance】s up to now, roughly dividing them into a few tiers in his mind:
18%—19%: An extremely small portion of 【The Audience】 left their seats and began to occupy his body to intervene in the 【Performance】. The strength displayed was roughly at the 【Third Tier】 standard. However, after the 【Expectation Value】 dropped by 1, the combat power would experience a substantial increase.
16%—17%: Roughly equivalent to the 【Fourth Order】. In the very beginning, it was at this stage that he swept through the 【Law Enforcers】 of 【Aurora City】 and fought an inseparable battle with 【Han Meng】.
14%—15%: This had already reached the level of the 【Fifth-Tier】. Within this range, he could press 【Han Meng】 against the ground and hammer him explosively, instantly killing the 【Paper Puppet Master】, 【Pu Wen】, and a crowd of other 【Fifth-Tier】 【Divine Path Possessor】s. At this stage, it was very difficult for him to snatch back his body himself. At the time, it was with 【Chen Yan】's mutual assistance that he managed to escape a disaster.
13%: Corresponding to the 【Sixth Stage】. This was also the lowest 【Expectation Value】 Chen Ling had currently experienced. He could easily exterminate the 【Stars Chamber of Commerce】. However, the curtains of the 【The Theater】 at that time had completely hardened. Relying solely on Chen Ling himself, there was absolutely zero possibility of snatching back his body. If 【Mo Jue】 hadn't intervened at that time, he estimated he would have completely become "【The Audience】".
Chen Ling predicted his own limit in his heart. It should also be right at 14%—15%. Even if he now possessed the 【Vermilion Countenance】, once it dropped below 14%, it was almost impossible to snatch his body back relying on himself... Therefore, the power of the "【Mockery】" 【Calamity】 he could mobilize was at most only 【Fifth-Tier】.
"That 【Path of the Sovereign】 is also 【Fifth-Tier】, so it's just right." Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.
Chen Ling's gaze returned to the 68% 【Expectation Value】. He gripped the 【Timeline Save File】 【USB Drive】 in his hand, planning to immediately enter the 【Save Point】 as soon as the 【Expectation Value】 dropped to 65%. Otherwise, he didn't know when the next time he'd be able to accumulate this much 【Expectation Value】 would be.
Chen Ling slowly closed his eyes, intending to rest and recuperate, so he could meet the bitter battle within the 【Timeline Save File】 in his best condition.
...
【【Audience Expectation Value】 -1】
...
【【Audience Expectation Value】 -1】
...
【【Audience Expectation Value】 -1】
【Current 【Expectation Value】: 65%】
After an unknown amount of time passed, the instant this line of characters floated up, Chen Ling's eyes violently snapped open!!