Slaughter Waltz

When Chen Ling opened his eyes again, a familiar light flooded his vision.

"Back here again..." Chen Ling adjusted to the brightness of the spotlight and slowly swept his gaze around.

The old stage, the black curtain, the packed audience seats—he had returned to this nightmare once more.

"Looks like whenever I fall asleep or die, I return here." Based on his previous experiences, Chen Ling had reached this conclusion.

Ever since he had regained control of his body, the Audience members who had left had returned to the Theater. Though they looked somewhat displeased, at least they showed no intention of attacking again.

Chen Ling's gaze naturally shifted to the screen at the center of the stage:

"[Audience Expectation: 24%]"

According to the history records, the instant he had reclaimed his body, the Expectation Value had automatically risen back to 20%. After his battle of wits against the Enforcers, it had increased again and eventually stabilized at 24%.

"Last time, dying directly deducted 50% of the Expectation Value. If it's below 50% the next time I die... what will happen?"

Chen Ling did not know the answer, but he guessed that if the Expectation Value became negative, he would most likely die completely, while the "Audience" would take over his body, leaving him unable to turn things around for all eternity.

Just as Chen Ling was about to look away, he suddenly noticed a small trembling treasure chest that had appeared in the lower-right corner of the screen at some point.

He clearly remembered that this thing had not been there when he first entered the Theater.

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Ling cautiously reached out and tapped the treasure chest...

Ding ding ding ding—!

The instant Chen Ling's fingertip touched the chest, an impassioned piece of music erupted from the speakers on both sides of the stage.

The sudden music startled Chen Ling. The next moment, several spotlights moved behind him. He turned around and saw a table appear out of thin air in the middle of the stage.

It was an utterly ordinary wooden table, seemingly rather old. It blended perfectly with the stage's wooden floorboards. Under the spotlight, a slip of paper reflected a pale glow.

Chen Ling walked straight toward the wooden table. Two spotlights drew closer together before finally merging into one.

Several lines of small text were written at the top of the paper.

"Detected that Audience Expectation has exceeded 60% for the first time. Achievement unlocked—'Mostly Positive'!"

"You have obtained one additional draw."

"Upon use, one character skill will be randomly selected from all characters appearing in this production for you to learn."

Chen Ling's gaze swept across the words. Before he could react, the sheet of white paper suddenly vanished, replaced by cards spread across the tabletop.

The cards were all different colors. The overwhelming majority were white or gray, with an occasional blue card among them. Their patterns ranged from simple to intricate. The brighter the color, the more refined the pattern, and the more valuable they appeared.

The next instant, all the cards flipped facedown, revealing identical backs. Then, at an astonishing speed, they piled together before spreading out neatly across the tabletop.

Chen Ling had tried to track the blue cards, but with such a bizarre shuffling method, there was simply no way to follow the cards with the naked eye.

"So there's even a lottery... Looks like not everything in this Theater is bad."

Chen Ling took a deep breath, randomly selected a card in front of him, and gently flipped it over on the table...

It was a blue card.

Once Chen Ling had made his selection, all the other cards vanished simultaneously. At the same time, several lines of text surfaced on the blue card.

"Skill: [Slaughter Waltz]"

"Affiliation: War God Path, [Judgment] Path, Third Tier."

"Character: Han Meng."

The moment Chen Ling saw Han Meng's name, the image of that trench-coated figure trading blows with the Red-Paper Monster last night surfaced in his mind... At that moment, only one thought remained in his heart.

I hit the jackpot!

Of everyone Chen Ling had met since crossing over, Han Meng was undoubtedly the strongest fighter. Chen Ling did not understand what "War God Path," "[Judgment] Path," or "Third Tier" truly meant, but without question, he had drawn the best possible option available to him so far.

The blue card dissolved into nothingness, and Chen Ling felt as though something incomparably mysterious had appeared within his body.

"Thank you for the gift." Chen Ling felt rather embarrassed now.

He had stolen... no, learned this skill from Han Meng. In a sense, Han Meng was his benefactor... Yet just a few hours ago, he had beaten up this "benefactor" and even dealt him a vicious blow to the back of the head.

That blow... couldn't have killed his benefactor, right?

He felt somewhat guilty.

The crimson Calamity danced wildly overhead,

Its terrifying pressure made one's soul tremble;

A slender hand reached out from within the Calamity and pressed down on his head... like the hand of a god descending from the heavens, ruling over the world.

Han Meng abruptly opened his eyes in the hospital bed, nearly springing straight up.

"Ugh—"

The intense pain at the back of his head made him grimace. His vision swayed, and he collapsed back onto the bed.

"Brother Meng!" An Enforcer who had been dozing beside him was badly startled and immediately steadied him. "Brother Meng! What are you doing? Stop moving around, or you'll tear the stitches..."

Han Meng lay in bed. After finally recovering his senses, he asked blankly:

"Where am I?"

"The hospital!"

"What about that long hand... No, where's that red Calamity?"

"It..." The Enforcer paused. "It probably escaped. When we arrived at the scene, we only saw you lying there, Brother Meng..."

Fragmented memories flooded Han Meng's mind. He could not help touching the back of his head, grimacing in pain.

This Calamity... liked sneak-attacking the back of people's heads too?

"How's the situation? Were there any other casualties?"

"Not for now. After fighting you, that Calamity never showed up again. It probably got badly injured by you, Brother Meng."

"I..."

Han Meng had wanted to say that he had not actually hurt it at all, but after hesitating for a while, he swallowed those words.

He still needed to maintain his image in front of his subordinates.

"What time is it?"

"Six fifty."

"...Help me up."

"Brother Meng, the doctor said you need to rest..."

"Rest my ass!" Han Meng gritted his teeth and stood. "That Calamity is very treacherous. If we let it run loose any longer, it'll cause a major disaster sooner or later!"

"Treacherous? Brother Meng, did you mean dangerous..." This Enforcer was fairly well-informed, but it was his first time hearing someone describe a Calamity as "treacherous."

"Dangerous, but even more treacherous!"

Han Meng instinctively touched the back of his head. "And I suspect it may really have fused with a human..."

"A Fusionist?" The Enforcer's expression changed drastically upon hearing those words. "Should we immediately notify Aurora City?"

Hearing the latter half of that sentence, Han Meng gradually calmed down. "No, not yet. I need to investigate further... This is only my speculation for now. There's no theoretical basis for it."

"Then what do we do now..."

"Head to headquarters first. Those newly arrived Reserve Seats should be getting into position soon. We'll discuss the specifics on the way."

"Okay."