Offer the Salute!!!
At the same time, Bai Ye and Jack of Clubs, who were working hard to stop Brand in midair, felt their bodies tremble when they heard this sentence.
The two of them looked at each other and both saw the subtle expressions on the other's face. Then, they simultaneously retreated towards the rear, completely without the intention of continuing to entangle with Brand.
"... Hm?"
Seeing this, Brand, who had just torn open the magic scene, was also somewhat surprised.
Bai Ye and Jack of Clubs turned into two streaks of light passing through the street. The latter directly conjured a Magic Hat out of thin air, and with a gentle wave, took Jian Changsheng and the others into the hat.
"This..." Seeing this scene full of magical feeling, Kong Baosheng was stunned in place for a moment.
Before he and Li Qingshan could speak, Jack of Clubs' hat swept again, directly pulling the two of them in as well.
At the same time, Bai Ye looked solemnly at Chen Ling:
"Yeah." Chen Ling nodded slightly. His gaze swept towards the nothingness behind him, and he answered with certainty, "Don't worry... I'll be fine."
"Alright, then we'll go ahead!"
Before his voice had even fallen, the two of them erupted with astonishing speed as if life and death were at hand. With just a few flashes, they disappeared from Chen Ling's line of sight...
Chen Ling: ...
Bai Ye and Jack of Clubs' decisiveness made Chen Ling somewhat stunned for a moment, while Kong Baosheng and the other inside the Magic Hat were even more confused.
"Mister... Mister is still over there!" the youth spoke anxiously. "You guys left him behind!"
"We can't take him away."
"... Why??"
"This matter is a bit complicated... In short, it's better not to get close to him right now."
"But if we leave Mister alone, he'll be in danger!"
"Danger?"
Nine of Hearts' sneer rang out from within the Magic Hat. Numerous gazes pierced through the hat itself, looking at the rapidly receding street ruins in the rear,
"Watch closely... just what kind of existence is this Mister Lin in your mouths."
Kong Baosheng and Li Qingshan were simultaneously stunned in place.
...
[Audience Expectation Value +3]
[Current Expectation Value: 55%]
As the two lines of small text slid past Chen Ling's eyes, he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled...
The scorching breath drifted from the corners of his mouth, condensing into wisps of white mist in the inexplicably gloomy and cold atmosphere, disappearing into the air above the ruins;
At the same time,
Brand's figure floated down from the sky, landing on the dust-swept earth.
"It seems your companions have abandoned you too." Brand sneered. "The outside rumors say how formidable the Dusk Society is, but now it seems they are just a bunch of Worthless Dregs..."
Thud—!
Brand slowly stepped forward. The Rank 8 Oppressive Aura suppressed the entire street like a mountain. Even the swirling dust was like being pressed down by invisible giant hands in midair, all firmly clinging to the ground!
Oppressed together with them was Chen Ling, wearing the Great Crimson Theatrical Robe.
Brand used his own Aura to firmly lock onto Chen Ling, making it impossible for him to even take a step to flee... He didn't directly attack. After all, Chen Ling was only Third Tier. Without the obstruction of those few from the Dusk Society, killing Chen Ling was as easy as flipping his hand.
This guy ruined their plan at the most critical moment. Simply killing him would be letting him off too easily.
"... Is that so?"
Although Chen Ling was suppressed by the Rank 8 Aura, his expression was incomparably calm.
At the same time, outside the dimension of the Red Dust Domain, the Dust Dragon still fighting the Lord of the Red Dust Su Zhiwei suddenly turned its head towards this direction, as if smelling a trace of familiar Aura...
Compared to the Red Dust Domain that had already been concealed within the red flower, the Dust Dragon's massive body was like an extraterrestrial deity. The naked eye simply couldn't glimpse its full picture... That empty Wind Tunnel eye pupil slowly approached the red flower, like the moon about to collide with the earth. A sense of grandeur and oppression swept over!
In the next moment, pairs of scarlet eyes opened once more in the nothingness behind Chen Ling!
[Kill it]
[Kill it kill it kill it...]
Deafening stomping sounds rang out once more in the Theater of Chen Ling's mind. Countless small blood-red texts frantically outlined on the floor, venting The Audience's anger and longing!
Brand's advancing figure suddenly froze in place:
"Eh...?"
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Brand vaguely felt that Chen Ling's temperament in front of him seemed a bit different... An inexplicable chill rose from nowhere, spreading throughout his body, and even the fine hairs on his arms unconsciously stood on end.
He looked around somewhat suspiciously, not knowing where this chill came from.
Thud—!
Thud— Thud—!!
The rising and falling stomping sounds made Chen Ling's brows subconsciously furrow. The familiar tearing severe pain surged into his heart once more... But this time he didn't panic, but calmly and slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, two smears of apricot-colored eye makeup surfaced from the corners of his eyes, soul-stirringly captivating!
——[Painting the Vermillion Face]!!
The "Vermilion Countenance" that was originally constantly suppressed by the Fourth Wall finally returned to Chen Ling's body. He had recovered his own face, this "anchor" that Master had prepared for him!
The moment this face appeared, The Audience's influence on him drastically decreased. Even those deafening stomping sounds no longer made him feel uncomfortable... His tightly furrowed brows relaxed, and his entire person's temperament seemed different.
Of course, Chen Ling using [Painting the Vermillion Face] at this moment wasn't just to isolate The Audience's harassment...
This was the final layer of insurance he prepared for himself.
"To be precise, you need an Opera Mask of your own, an Opera Mask belonging to 'Chen Ling'... Only in this way, when you feel Bewilderment about your own existence, or even when your mind is swallowed by Bewilderment, can you have a glimmer of hope to find yourself."
Master's words echoed in his ears. Although Chen Ling couldn't fully grasp the meaning within them, he felt that leaving a layer of insurance at this moment would definitely not be wrong.
Seeing this scene, Brand's expression gradually darkened.
When Chen Ling lowered and raised his head, two bizarre smears of apricot red appeared at the corners of his eyes... Although Brand didn't know what that was, combined with the chill that surged up just now, he felt things seemed somewhat amiss.
No matter what, it's best to kill this kid first!
Just as Brand prepared to make a move, Chen Ling moved a step ahead;
The sleeves of that Great Crimson Theatrical Robe reached into his chest and took out a Handgun engraved with rose patterns. Then, under Brand's astonished gaze, he gently pressed it against his own temple...
Brand froze in place.
"You..." Brand found it unimaginable.
Could it be that this kid knew he couldn't escape this calamity and simply decided to commit suicide?
The brass casing of the Handgun reflected a faint light under the dim illumination. A Red-Clad Performer with captivating apricot red at the corners of his eyes was pressing the muzzle of the gun against his own temple. The hem of his clothes fluttered silently like residual fire in the wind!
Countless scarlet pupils surrounded Chen Ling's back. They seemed to have guessed what Chen Ling was going to do, their eyes narrowing into long, slender crescent moons, as if in expectation, as if in revelry!
[Audience Expectation Value: 55%]
If Chen Ling died this time, the Audience Expectation Value would be deducted by 50, dropping directly to an unprecedented 5%... Chen Ling didn't know what would happen then, but according to past experience, this stage corresponded to a "World-Ending" level of destructive power. He also didn't know whether he would be able to return to the Stage after this adventure... This was originally a massive gamble.
But at this historic moment, Chen Ling felt he should say something;
If he ultimately couldn't return to the Stage, this sentence would become the last line of dialogue he left behind in this grand Performance...
What kind of line of dialogue would this be?
In Chen Ling's mind, everything about this war churned: the continuous sacrifices of the Hall Masters, Huang Suyue's resolute turning back, Li Qingshan's Burning One's Boats, and the history of the Red Dust from three hundred years ago that created everything, as told by Eight of Clubs... Emotions rolled, and a sentence capable of summarizing the Red Dust Domain surfaced in Chen Ling's mind.
He looked at Brand, looked at the Wind Tunnel dragon eye gradually approaching in the sky. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, as if smiling;
Seeing this bizarre smile, Brand's heart trembled for no reason!
He didn't hesitate to raise his hand, grabbing towards Chen Ling's head across the void, as if wanting to actively kill Chen Ling in this instant!
But in the next moment,
Chen Ling smiled and pulled the trigger in his hand.
A voice echoed like rolling thunder in every corner of the Red Dust Domain!
"To the Pioneers of human civilization..."
"Offer the Salute!!!"
Bang—!!!
A bullet pierced through Chen Ling's head. Scarlet blood blossomed with a bang like a grand firework above the ruins!!