Everything is Under Control
"...Huh?"
Liu Qingyan looked up in puzzlement towards the leaden gray sky.
Who knows if it was an illusion, but she seemed to hear a voice mixed in the sighing gale, floating out from the Gray Realm Convergence Point...
The moment this voice sounded, the Shadow Centipedes around her seemed to bristle with anger, instantly letting out an explosive sound. Their massive bodies rapidly whirled on the ground, and then they plunged headlong underground, disappearing from sight, as if they had encountered something extremely terrifying.
"That is..."
Now that Chen Ling had been taken away by the Floating Life Painting members, and the other Dusk Society members had also disappeared, in this messy blood sea, only Liu Qingyan stood alone... And only she heard this voice.
Liu Qingyan frowned and stared at the sky for a long time, then stepped towards the distance.
In her mind, the dialogue between Chen Ling and Yang Muquan from a few minutes ago surfaced:
After saying that, Chen Ling also looked back at Liu Qingyan, his gaze as deep as an abyss.
At that time, Liu Qingyan was even already prepared to stand behind Chen Ling and carve out a bloody path, but upon hearing this sentence, she suddenly froze...
If it were heard by others, this sentence might contain many subtle meanings, and they could also conjure up many melodramatic and exaggerated emotional dramas. For example, a Dusk Society member forcefully seizing a female artist for her beauty, but secretly developing feelings during their interactions, followed by domineering love, unbridled love, and so on, plots like "The Gang Boss Fell in Love with Me".
But how clever was Liu Qingyan? She clearly knew that Chen Ling had no such thoughts about her. That gaze from Chen Ling obviously had another deep meaning.
"Lord Chen Ling... what exactly do you need me to do?"
Liu Qingyan muttered to herself.
...
Several figures advanced along the ruined streets.
Many Floating Life Painting members surrounded that figure in red, their expressions serious, their bodies tense, looking like they were ready in full battle array.
They had long heard of the great name of Six of Hearts Chen Ling like thunder piercing the ear. Moreover, after witnessing the scene of Chen Ling frantically massacring and gnawing on a heart just now, this figure in red had already left a deep psychological shadow on them... With such a monster being escorted by their side, no one dared to slack off the slightest bit.
"Wang Jincheng, your injuries are too severe, go back and rest first." Yang Muquan glanced at Wang Jincheng trailing at the very back of the team.
"...Alright."
Wang Jincheng hesitated for a moment, but still nodded.
A top-tier wanted criminal like Six of Hearts naturally couldn't be imprisoned in the ordinary cells of the Police Department. It was highly likely he would be taken to the headquarters of the Floating Life Painting... And as a non-member of the Floating Life Painting, Wang Jincheng didn't have the authority to enter.
The Floating Life Painting was different from the Enforcers of the Aurora Domain. Any Divine Path Possessor could become an Enforcer, but the Floating Life Painting only recruited from the "Path of the Arts". This was also why Wang Jincheng was already a Sixth Stage powerhouse, but could still only stay in the Police Department.
Wang Jincheng turned around and was just about to leave when Chen Ling, who was surrounded in the crowd, suddenly spoke:
"Director Wang."
Wang Jincheng paused his steps and looked back, his expression full of wariness when looking at Chen Ling.
"...Thank you for your protection. Just as I said, you are a good person." Chen Ling smiled slightly, "I will come looking for you again."
"???"
Hearing the second half of the sentence, Wang Jincheng's face instantly became as ugly as if he had eaten a fly. He glared fiercely at Chen Ling, "What kind of person I am doesn't need you to define... Also, I don't want to see you again."
Wang Jincheng left without looking back.
Chen Ling watched this scene with a smile, and a cold snort came from beside him,
"Give up, you won't have the chance to return here again... Your ending only leaves two options: death, or eternal imprisonment."
The one speaking was exactly Yang Muquan. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and casually drew in the nothingness. A square black frame was outlined around Chen Ling, framing his entire person within it.
Immediately after, Chen Ling's figure visibly flattened, as if compressed into this black frame, like a life-size color comic panel.
A hint of astonishment flashed across Chen Ling's eyes. He grabbed both sides of the black frame with both hands, trying hard to pull it open, but couldn't shake it the slightest bit... Chen Ling also tried to step out of the black frame, but no matter whether he walked forward, backward, left, or right, it felt like he was walking in place inside the black frame, like a comic space completely isolated from the outside world.
Yang Muquan gently waved his hand, and Chen Ling inside the Comic Frame floated up like a balloon, following behind him.
Inside the picture frame, Chen Ling opened and closed his mouth in surprise, but no sound came out. Only a line of text bubble popped out from the side:
——[What an amazing skill.]
Yang Muquan didn't look at Chen Ling again. Instead, he thrust his hands into the pockets of his black and white spotted top and stomped hard on the ground. Black comic lines full of power and speed surfaced from his side.
His figure instantly leaped up, crossing hundreds of meters with a single jump!
And the red-clad Chen Ling in the Comic Frame automatically followed closely behind him, with absolutely no room to escape.
Chen Ling tried several methods, but couldn't step out of this picture frame. Yang Muquan was a 7th-rank powerhouse after all, so trapping him, a Third Tier, was still a piece of cake... Fortunately, he didn't intend to escape anyway. Clad in red, he just leaned against the edge of the picture frame like this, yawning lazily.
The next moment, a cluster of white shadow suddenly swept out from behind, silently crashing into the picture frame where Chen Ling was located.
"Eh?"
Chen Ling raised his brows and saw clearly that it was a fluttering white dove, crashing headlong from outside the picture frame to his side. Its figure also immediately turned into a flat white letter paper, drifting silently in front of him.
On the top left corner of this letter paper, a miniature version of the "Jack of Clubs" Markings was printed, as well as an elegant magic Top Hat.
It's him?
In Chen Ling's mind, the tall and mysterious appearance of Jack of Clubs surfaced, and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised... You must know, Yang Muquan was a 7th-rank, yet Jack of Clubs's white dove could actually silently pass through the picture frame and reach his side. That meant Jack of Clubs himself was also at least a 7th-rank.
Moreover, this method of using a white dove to deliver a letter, as well as the magic Top Hat in the corner, made Chen Ling guessed his Path... Before, Jack of Clubs had told him that although his Path was also the Path of the Actor, it didn't focus on his own changes and disguise. It seemed his skill tree was entirely invested in transforming objects.
Magic, how could it not be considered a kind of "Performance"?
At this moment, there was only a simple sentence on the letter paper:
"Need backup?"
Seeing these words, Chen Ling chuckled lightly. He casually bit his finger and used fresh blood to write another phrase on it:
——[Everything is Under Control].