Turmoil in the Red Dust
The sudden chime of the Calamity Bell interrupted all the opera accompaniment and Singing. The Audience members who were originally immersed in it Off Stage froze in place simultaneously.
"This is..."
"Calamity Bell?! This is the Calamity Bell!!"
"Three rings of the Calamity Bell means a Gray Realm Convergence has occurred? In the Red Dust Main City?"
"How is this possible... In my memory, a Gray Realm Convergence has never happened in the Main City."
"Not just the Main City, it has hardly happened in the entire Red Dust Domain. Since I can remember, the existence of the Calamity Bell seemed to be just a legend... It actually rang??"
"..."
The ringing of the Calamity Bell made almost all The Audience freeze for a few seconds. In their cognition, this bell chime was something that only existed in the safety manuals distributed by the police station, and they couldn't react for a moment.
The crowd originally watching outside the Theater House looked up at the sky. They only saw a bizarre patch of gray beginning to spread in the distant sky. At first, it only spread slowly, but as wisps of "smoke" drifted up from all directions, that patch of gray began to surge out frantically like a tide!
The mad tide swept in. Within a short ten seconds or so, the surrounding sky was completely covered by deep gray. There were no stars, no bright moon, only white ashes resembling willow catkins falling silently...
Only the small area where the Theater House was located still had a normal pitch-black night sky.
The crowd in front of the Theater House stared blankly at the anomaly in the sky. The next moment, the hems of their clothes were blown flying!
The wilderness cold wind from another world poured into the Main City blocks, ramping uncontrollably between the many standing buildings, letting out beast-like roars, so sharp it seemed it could scatter a person's soul.
"What do we do?! Are those Calamities going to kill their way over?!"
"Why are you still standing there?! Run!!!"
"I don't want to die... I don't want to die yet!!"
"Everyone move out of the way! I want to go home!!"
"..."
The sudden change in celestial phenomena completely destroyed everyone's rationality. They no longer had the slightest leisurely elegance to listen to the opera, and started running away in all directions, deeply afraid of being snatched away by Calamities if they were slow.
The Audience members still inside the Theater House scrambled to get up and run outside even more so. The swarming crowd squeezed through the old and narrow threshold of the Theater House. The scene instantly fell into chaos, with exclamations, crying, and cursing rising one after another.
On Stage, Li Qingshan's eyes were full of confusion. He turned to look at Chen Ling beside him, and found that the latter was staring at the sky above, lost in thought.
"Brother Lin... What is the situation?" Li Qingshan asked in a low voice.
"I don't know." Chen Ling shook his head. "However... this doesn't look like a Gray Realm Convergence caused by Domain failure... Could it be man-made?"
"Then can we still continue singing our opera?"
Chen Ling didn't answer. He looked down at the Theater House. At this time, The Audience Off Stage had all rushed out the door, leaving only a messy pile of stools and scattered melon and fruit shells on the ground. The scene was a complete mess.
At the entrance of the Theater House, Jian Changsheng and 10 of Diamonds walked quickly towards the Stage. Chen Ling went up to meet them at the same time, and the three gathered together.
"It's the Scarlet Heaven Cult."
10 of Diamonds spoke in a deep voice. "It seems that the worst-case scenario has still happened..."
"Scarlet Heaven Cult?" A hint of surprise flashed in Chen Ling's eyes.
10 of Diamonds repeated the content he had just introduced to Jian Changsheng to Chen Ling again. Chen Ling frowned deeply, falling into deep thought.
"Out of the blue... why would the Scarlet Heaven Cult get involved? And why choose exactly this time to launch a Gray Realm Convergence?" Chen Ling muttered to himself. "What exactly do they want to do..."
"Making such a big commotion, the Floating Life Painting definitely won't sit idly by, right?" Jian Changsheng asked.
"Naturally not. They definitely have already taken measures."
10 of Diamonds paused for a moment. "But I just took a look. The area of this Gray Realm Convergence covers about a third of the Red Dust Main City. This range is simply too large... Even if the Floating Life Painting dispatches everyone, it's impossible to reverse the situation in a short time.
Moreover, if the Scarlet Heaven Cult really premeditated this, they will definitely use some method to guide a large number of Calamities in the Gray World into the Main City, letting the Floating Life Painting and the Calamities kill each other, slowing down their progress."
"Tsk, are this group of people from the Scarlet Heaven Cult always this insidious?" Jian Changsheng couldn't help but complain. As if he remembered something, he looked up out the window. "Speaking of which, why aren't we swept into the Gray Realm Convergence here?"
"...I don't know. Maybe the Scarlet Heaven Cultist responsible for our patch failed the suicide ritual?"
"So you're saying our Theater House is safe?"
"No Egg Remains Unbroken When the Nest is Overturned... If the blocks around us are all conquered by Calamities, it will only be a matter of time for us here, at most just suffering later than others."
"Fuck, you're saying this group of people from the Scarlet Heaven Cult schemed against the Floating Life Painting, and ended up scheming against us too?"
"...Although I don't really want to admit it, we were indeed innocently implicated."
"Then what do we do next?"
Chen Ling and Jian Changsheng looked at 10 of Diamonds simultaneously. Now that 9 of Hearts and Jack of Clubs were out, 10 of Diamonds was the most senior member present. They still had to ask for his opinion for the next action.
10 of Diamonds pondered for a moment and quickly made a decision:
"Like this, Little Jian and I will go out first to see the situation. It's best if we can quickly rendezvous with Jack of Clubs and the others. Hearts, you stay in the Theater House first and act according to circumstances."
"No problem for me." Chen Ling responded.
"Wait... We are both 6s, why do I have to risk my life in the area where the Gray Realm Convergence is happening, while this guy gets to rest in the Theater House?" Jian Changsheng's eyes widened in defiance.
"Hearts is currently the key figure in the infiltration, the pillar. This whole Theater House belongs to him. It's perfectly reasonable for him to be in the Theater House... You're just a ticket checker, what's the point of you staying?"
Jian Changsheng: ...
"Furthermore, I said 'act according to circumstances', not defend this place to the death... Can your adaptability be as fast as his?"
10 of Diamonds's double heart-piercing strike instantly left Jian Changsheng Emotionally Broken. Like a deflated ball, he dropped his head and silently followed behind 10 of Diamonds, walking out.
Wearing that Theatrical Robe, Chen Ling watched the two leave the Theater House. It wasn't until their figures completely disappeared at the end of the street that he turned his head back.
At this time in the Theater House, only Li Qingshan, who was at a loss on the Stage, Kong Baosheng, who was bending over to upright the chairs, and Huang Suyue and Uncle Quan in the front row of the audience seats were left.