That afternoon, the screams on Frost Street seemed endless.
Meanwhile, Chen Ling, the mastermind behind it all, sat quietly under a tree, resting his head on his hand and watching the spectacle unfold alongside the onlookers... while keeping an eye on the changes in the [Audience Expectation].
At first, every time Uncle Zhao spanked Zhao Yi, the audience expectation value would increase slightly. But after a few rounds, the growth stalled, eventually settling at 48.
After watching for a while longer, the expectation value dropped by 1, settling at 47...
It seemed even the audience was getting bored.
"Are all the 'audience' in my head just here for the drama?"
Chen Ling couldn't help but wonder.
Through this experiment, Chen Ling had confirmed that the audience's expectation value fluctuated based on his actions. If the events he was involved in were exciting enough, the expectation value would rise. But if things stayed dull for too long, the value would gradually drop over time...
Did that mean he had to continuously create "exciting plotlines" to keep the expectation value above 20?
If this trend continued, wouldn't he inevitably become a villain wreaking havoc on the world?
The thought made Chen Ling feel exhausted...
Right now, Chen Ling's only lifeline was the [Doctor] from Aurora City that Dr. Lin had mentioned. Maybe he could cleanse Chen Ling of whatever Calamity contamination was inside him and save him from this "forced entertainer" life trajectory.
As Chen Ling was deep in thought, a low, resonant bell toll echoed from the distance!
Dong—Dong—Dong!!
The three bell chimes seemed to penetrate space itself, reverberating in every corner of the world.
The moment the bell sounded, the expressions of everyone around changed. Even Uncle Zhao, who had been chasing Zhao Yi, stopped in his tracks and looked toward the distance in shock.
"Three Disaster Bells?!" An elderly man's face turned pale. "How is this possible?"
"The Disaster Bell is a warning signal from the enforcers. It means they've detected traces of a Gray Realm convergence within the district... A Calamity has invaded."
"Wasn't it said that the Aurora Domain is protected by the aurora, making Gray Realm convergences almost impossible? In the past ten years, Calamities have appeared less than three times..."
"Where is that Calamity now?"
"No idea... But everyone, go home! Don't go out unless you have to!"
Hearing the three Disaster Bells, everyone's faces turned ashen. Even Zhao Yi, who had been howling in pain moments ago, collapsed to his knees, his legs giving out beneath him.
The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly. Chen Ling turned to look and saw more than a dozen fast horses galloping toward them from the distance.
Each horse carried a figure clad in black-and-red uniforms, with gun holsters strapped to their waists. Their expressions were equally grave.
"A suspected high-risk Calamity has appeared! District Three is now under full lockdown! No one is allowed to enter or leave!"
"Be vigilant for any suspicious signs around you, such as roads or buildings appearing out of nowhere, strange creatures, or humans behaving abnormally!"
"If you notice anything unusual, report it to the enforcers immediately!"
"Everyone, please cooperate with the investigation!"
The enforcers' voices echoed through Frost Street and every corner of District Three. Along with the lingering toll of the Disaster Bell, an inexplicable tension filled the air.
No one had the mood to watch the drama anymore. Everyone hurried home, and even Zhao Yi, after receiving a hard slap, was dragged inside by his cursing father.
Chen Ling stood alone under the tree, preparing to head home as well. Just then, two lines of text flashed among the fallen leaves—
[Audience Expectation +18]
[Current Expectation: 65%]
Seeing the sudden spike in the audience expectation value, Chen Ling was stunned.
A chilling thought immediately crossed his mind...
"Are they... here for me?!"
District Three.
Enforcer Headquarters.
Dim sunlight filtered through the hemispherical glass dome, casting a kaleidoscope of light into the room.
A flag more than ten meters long hung high in the center, its black background adorned with two overlapping blue hexagram stars, resembling the shining stars of the Arctic night sky.
Beneath the flag, more than a dozen enforcers in black-and-red uniforms stood in a straight line, their expressions serious as they faced the headquarters' main entrance, as if waiting for something.
As the doors opened, five judges in black trench coats walked in side by side.
Among them, Han Meng stood in the center, his coat hem adorned with four silver stripes. The other four judges each had three stripes. As they entered, all the enforcers snapped to attention.
"What's the situation?" Han Meng asked gravely.
"The Disaster Bell has been rung. District Three is now under full lockdown, but there's still no trace of the Calamity..." An enforcer hesitated for a moment before asking, "Brother Meng, what does it mean when the Calamity Compass self-destructs?"
"There are only two possibilities when the Calamity Compass self-destructs," Han Meng replied calmly.
"The first is that a special Calamity has appeared nearby, one whose abilities happen to render the Calamity Compass ineffective... However, this explanation is purely theoretical. So far, no such Calamity has ever been discovered."
"The second possibility is that a Level Nine Calamity—also known as an 'Apocalypse'-level Calamity—has invaded. Its residual energy fluctuations exceed the compass's limits, causing it to explode."
"Apocalypse... Apocalypse-level?!" Everyone's faces turned pale.
"Don't be so nervous... You don't actually think an 'Apocalypse' has appeared, do you?" One of the judges beside Han Meng chuckled.
"An 'Apocalypse'-level Calamity is capable of wiping out an entire human domain. There are only a handful of them in the entire Gray Realm... If one really did appear, not just District Three, but even Aurora City would be annihilated in an instant."
Hearing this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief...
"So, it's probably just a special Calamity?"
"That's the most likely explanation."
"But with the Calamity Compass broken, how do we assess its threat level?"
"We can't," Han Meng shook his head. "Unless it shows itself again and we engage it directly... For now, the most important thing is to mobilize all personnel for a thorough search. We need to find it before it starts harming people."
"A thorough search... But we might not have enough manpower."
"Then temporarily recruit the reserve enforcers. Didn't the written exam just end a few days ago? Gather the qualified candidates and tell them this is the physical test."
"Yes, sir!"