Chapter Summaries

Chen Ling, a theater trainee who died in an earthquake, awakened in the body of a young opera-robed man with the same name and returned home through a storm. His parents recoiled in terror at his strange behavior and wondered who they had killed the previous night.

• Chen Ling recalled his former life and began absorbing the memories of his new body.
• Chen Ling followed the body's memories home through the rain and entered using a spare key.
• Chen Ling's parents stared in fear as he came inside wearing a muddy red opera robe.
• Chen Ling gulped water, bit apart the jug, and spoke as if another version of him stood behind him.
• Chen Ling went to bed, and his parents wondered who they had killed the night before.

Chen Ling dreamed that he was trapped on a stage before a terrifying audience and woke with no memory of the previous night. In the kitchen, he saw water write a blood-red warning: “We are watching you.”

• A man and a woman left in a storm to check the place where they had buried A-Ling's body, afraid of what was in the bedroom.
• Chen Ling found himself on a stage in a dream, where a screen warned that Audience Expectation must stay above 20% for the actors' safety.
• Shadowy Audience filled the seats, and Chen Ling discovered that the stage had no exits as Audience Expectation rose to 30%.
• A bell rang, the stage began to shatter, and Chen Ling glimpsed a black curtain opening before he woke in bed.
• Chen Ling found a ruined bucket and spilled water in the kitchen, then watched the water form the message “We are watching you.”

After seeing a chilling message and daylight aurora, Chen Ling stepped outside as Enforcers investigated the Mass Grave where he had been buried. Their Calamity Pointer suddenly exploded, suggesting an extreme Calamity fluctuation nearby.

• Chen Ling saw the words “We are watching you” vanish, struggled to explain the vision, and went outside to find an aurora in the daytime sky.
• Chen Tan and Li Xiuchun arrived at the Mass Grave, saw the Enforcers, and suspected Chen Ling had survived and a Calamity had emerged.
• Little Qin questioned Chen Tan and Li Xiuchun, then gave their names and address to Han Meng.
• Han Meng noticed inconsistencies in the pair’s story and ordered people to follow them discreetly.
• Han Meng activated the Calamity Pointer, which shook violently and exploded, cutting his cheek.

After glimpsing an Audience Expectation message, Chen Ling told Doctor Lin that unseen beings seemed to watch and influence his life. A mug inexplicably filled with blood confirmed that something was affecting reality, and Doctor Lin asked whether Chen Ling had encountered a Gray Realm Convergence.

• Chen Ling encountered Zhao Yi, who mocked him and flung salt over him as he scattered it on the icy road.
• Chen Ling saw the words [Audience Expectation: 27%] appear briefly in the melting frost and hurried to the clinic.
• Chen Ling described his dreams and his feeling that an Audience watched and influenced him to Doctor Lin.
• Doctor Lin discovered that his mug had filled with blood, and Chen Ling said the Audience might really exist.
• Doctor Lin learned that Chen Ling remembered only one day and asked whether he had encountered a Gray Realm Convergence.

Doctor Lin explained the Ash Realm and sent Chen Ling a letter to seek help from a true [Doctor] in Aurora City. On his way home, Chen Ling considered how to raise the Audience Expectation and began a scheme involving Uncle Zhao and Zhao Yi.

• Doctor Lin told Chen Ling that Gray Realm Convergence brought the Ash Realm into reality and that Chen Ling's condition might stem from contamination.
• Doctor Lin gave Chen Ling a letter for the Enforcers in Aurora City, who would arrange for a true [Doctor] to visit within three days.
• After leaving the clinic, Chen Ling wondered how events affected the Audience Expectation and decided to try creating his own plot.
• Chen Ling stopped at Uncle Zhao's breakfast stall and hinted that he knew why Zhao Yi struggled with his studies.
• Chen Ling told Uncle Zhao that Zhao Yi was in a relationship with a man.

Chen Ling engineered a misunderstanding that made Uncle Zhao believe Zhao Yi was romantically involved with a boy, provoking him to chase Zhao Yi with a club. As Chen Ling drew Xiao Liu into the escalating spectacle, Xiao Liu rushed to protect Zhao Yi and declared his devotion, leaving Uncle Zhao and Zhao Yi stunned.

• Chen Ling told Uncle Zhao that Zhao Yi had been spending time with a boy, and Uncle Zhao armed himself with a club while Chen Ling watched from nearby.
• Zhao Yi returned with the copper coins he had earned and bragged to Xiao Liu about exploiting him for a day's work.
• Uncle Zhao accused Zhao Yi of being involved with a man and chased him around the street with the club as neighbors gathered.
• Chen Ling asked Xiao Liu whether he wanted revenge on Zhao Yi and began teaching him how to stop Zhao Yi from bullying him.
• When Zhao Yi denied being gay, Xiao Liu rushed in, shielded him from Uncle Zhao's club, and shouted that Uncle Zhao should hit him instead.

After the Calamity Bell warned of an invasion, Enforcers locked down the Third District, and Chen Ling suspected the Calamity might be connected to him. At headquarters, Han Meng explained the broken Calamity Pointer and ordered a search using Reserve Seat Enforcers.

• Chen Ling watched Audience Expectation stagnate and then fall as Uncle Zhao continued beating Zhao Yi.
• The Calamity Bell rang three times, and the crowd learned that a Gray Realm Convergence had been detected in the district.
• Enforcers declared a complete lockdown of the Third District and warned residents to report anything unusual.
• Chen Ling's Audience Expectation suddenly rose by 18%, prompting him to wonder whether the Enforcers were looking for him.
• Han Meng told the Enforcers that the Calamity Pointer could have self-destructed because of a special Calamity or a World-Ending Tier Calamity.
• Han Meng ordered a carpet search and instructed the Enforcers to recruit Reserve Seat candidates for the Martial Trial.

Chen Ling returned to the house during a lockdown for a suspected Calamity, while Chen Tan and Li Xiuchun feared he was the creature the Enforcers sought. As Chen Ling’s recovered memories revealed that his adoptive parents had killed him to obtain his heart for A-Yan, Chen Tan killed him again, leaving the parents unsure whether they had stopped a Calamity or destroyed a chance to atone.

• Chen Tan and Li Xiuchun returned to their former home to gather their belongings, but Chen Ling came back while the Enforcers announced a lockdown of Third District.
• Chen Ling tried to calm his frightened parents, then mentioned eating grilled sausage that Li Xiuchun had never prepared, revealing that the Bone-Slicing Knife had disappeared.
• Chen Tan asked whether Chen Ling would give his heart to save A-Yan, and Chen Ling recalled that his parents had killed him for that purpose.
• Chen Tan admitted that A-Yan did not know about the heart transplant and swung an axe into Chen Ling’s neck, killing him.
• Li Xiuchun wondered whether Chen Ling had been a Calamity or a chance from God to atone, and Chen Tan said they deserved to go to hell.

Chen Ling’s parents hid his mutilated body from the Enforcers, only for him to revive and return to their kitchen, where he said he was hungry. Chen Ling remembered that his parents had sacrificed him for his younger brother’s heart, then woke on the stage to find the Audience intervening in his interrupted performance.

• Chen Tan cut open Chen Ling’s chest, found it had no heart, and hid his body in the cellar while Li Xiuchun cleaned the blood.
• Two Enforcers delivered a notice ordering Chen Ling to report to Third District Enforcer Headquarters the next morning.
• Chen Tan returned inside and found Chen Ling alive in the kitchen, healing his neck and eating a knife and an axe.
• Chen Ling dreamed that his parents had drugged him and taken his heart for A-Yan’s surgery, then remembered being buried in the rain.
• Chen Ling woke on the stage and saw that the Audience had begun intervening in the performance.

Red-clad Chen Ling terrorized Chen Tan and Li Xiuchun before overpowering the Law Enforcers who arrived at their home. He transformed into a Red-Paper Monster and fled, but Han Meng intercepted him at the edge of the Third District and declared his judgment.

• Chen Tan attacked Chen Ling with a steak knife, but it stopped in midair and turned into red paper as Chen Ling advanced.
• Li Xiuchun found the door had become an image on red paper and fainted, while Chen Tan realized the being before him was a Calamity.
• Two Law Enforcers broke into the house, but Chen Ling turned their bullets into paper, bound them, and transformed into a monster before escaping into the street.
• Han Meng pursued the Red-Paper Monster to the wilderness, identified himself as Chief Law Enforcer of the Third District, and invoked his judgment against it.

Chen Ling discovered that the Audience had taken control of his body and that falling expectations were erasing him, so he struggled through the curtain separating him from reality. He used the Red-Paper Monster’s power to knock Han Meng unconscious and returned to his body as the monster began tearing at itself.

• Han Meng’s Deconstruction shots tore through the Red-Paper Monster, but it rapidly regenerated and overwhelmed him with a rain of red paper.
• The Red-Paper Monster struck Han Meng into the ground, then its robed arm hooked around its body and began tearing at it from within.
• Chen Ling realized that Audience members were disappearing and intervening in his performance as the Expectation Value fell, making his body increasingly transparent.
• Chen Ling pushed his arm through the curtain and used the Red-Paper Monster’s power to knock Han Meng unconscious so no one would see him return.
• Chen Ling forced open a gap in the curtain and plunged through it toward reality.

Chen Ling escaped the Red-Paper Monster with help from his younger brother, Chen Yan, and struggled to explain what had happened. After Chen Yan tried to carry the unconscious Han Meng away to protect Chen Ling, Chen Ling knocked Han Meng out again, and the brothers fled before more Enforcers arrived.

• Chen Yan pulled Chen Ling free from the Red-Paper Monster, which vanished as Chen Ling fell back into reality.
• Chen Ling reunited with Chen Yan and learned he had slipped past the district lockdown to find him.
• Chen Yan saw the bloodied Han Meng and offered to help bury him, believing Chen Ling had killed him.
• Chen Ling clarified that Han Meng was alive, then knocked him unconscious when he began to wake.
• Chen Ling led Chen Yan away through the rain before the other Enforcers could reach them.

After Han Meng survived his battle with the Calamity, Ma Zhong learned that another Calamity had attacked the Second District and may have crossed into the Third. Chen Ling and Chen Yan headed toward Frost Street, where Chen Ling tried to understand his transformation and the mysterious opera robe.

• The Third District Law Enforcers found Han Meng alive, but the Calamity had vanished from the battlefield.
• An Enforcer reported that a Level Three Calamity had killed thirty-six people in the Second District and might have crossed into the Third District.
• Chen Ling told Chen Yan they could not keep running or hide, since Chen Ling needed to raise the Audience Expectation before losing control again.
• Chen Yan said he was not afraid of Chen Ling becoming a monster as long as Chen Ling was still himself.
• Chen Ling discovered his protective talisman was missing and washed the blood from himself and his opera robe by a stream.
• Chen Ling wondered why the opera robe had returned to him, but stopped trying to make sense of the strange events.

Chen Ling and Chen Yan returned to find their parents alive but mentally broken after a Calamity attack, while two Enforcers had died. As the Enforcers took their parents away, Li Xiuchun recognized Chen Yan as a Calamity and screamed that he wanted to kill her.

• Chen Ling returned Chen Yan's washed opera robe and the brothers approached their destroyed home on Frost Street.
• Enforcers reported that two of their colleagues had died fighting the Calamity, while Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan had survived but suffered mental breakdowns.
• Chen Ling realized their parents' condition could keep them from exposing his identity as a Calamity, though he still feared the Enforcers' investigation.
• Chen Yan rushed toward his parents as Enforcers escorted them from the ruins, and Chen Ling followed him.
• Li Xiuchun spat out the cloth in her mouth, called Chen Yan a Calamity, and accused him of wanting to kill her.

Chen Ling faced the Enforcers after Li Xiuchun recognized him as the Calamity and gave them an explanation for his family’s past. After Jiang Qin summoned him to headquarters, Chen Ling and Chen Yan returned to their damaged home and fell asleep beside each other.

• Li Xiuchun recognized Chen Ling as the Calamity, and Enforcers took her and Chen Tan away for treatment.
• Chen Ling explained that he and Chen Yan had gone to practice traditional opera and claimed their parents had buried another child who died as a newborn.
• Jiang Qin accepted Chen Ling’s explanation and handed him a summons to report to Enforcers’ headquarters the next morning.
• Chen Yan told Chen Ling he was tired, and Chen Ling promised to keep watch beside him.
• Chen Ling and Chen Yan rested in their damaged home beneath the auroras.

Chen Ling returned to the Theater and unlocked a draw after Audience Expectation exceeded 60%, gaining Han Meng’s Slaughter Waltz skill. Meanwhile, Han Meng woke in the hospital and suspected the Calamity might have fused with a human as he prepared to investigate.

• Chen Ling saw that Audience Expectation had stabilized at 24% and tapped a newly appeared treasure chest in the Theater.
• The Theater announced Chen Ling had unlocked the “Mostly Positive” achievement and awarded him an additional draw.
• Chen Ling selected a blue card and gained Han Meng’s Slaughter Waltz skill, feeling guilty about having struck Han Meng earlier.
• Han Meng woke in the hospital, learned the Calamity had disappeared, and realized he could not remember injuring it.
• Han Meng suspected the Calamity had fused with a human, declined to notify Aurora City yet, and set off for headquarters with an Enforcer.

Chen Ling decided to join the Enforcers so he could interfere with their investigations into Calamity, and he went to headquarters for the Martial Trial. The chapter ended as Han Meng announced special qualifications for three Reserve Seats and began explaining the difference between Enforcers and Law Enforcers.

• Chen Ling woke up, told Chen Yan to wait for him, and left to join the Enforcers; a man arrived at their damaged house offering to be Chen Ling's Doctor.
• Chen Ling refused a rickshaw ride and headed to Enforcer Headquarters, planning to join the investigations and disrupt them.
• Chen Ling joined the Reserve Seats gathered beneath the headquarters' glass dome, where Han Meng arrived and drew their attention.
• Han Meng announced that only thirty of the seventy-two Reserve Seats would remain after the three-day Martial Trial, while three would gain advance qualification for the Martial Way Ancient Treasury.
• Han Meng began explaining the difference between Enforcers and Law Enforcers.

Han Meng explained the fourteen recognized Paths to Godhood and warned that people who fused with Calamity were hunted, making Chen Ling fear the Enforcers would discover the Audience inside him. Chen Ling was assigned to patrol the Second District, then Han Meng stopped him outside headquarters and asked if he was Chen Ling.

• Han Meng explained that Enforcers could enter the Martial Way Ancient Treasury to seek the War God Path, and that rare people could instead receive a God Path's blessing.
• Han Meng warned that the Human Domain hunted people who followed paths such as the Fusion Faction or the Crimson Heaven Cult, and Chen Ling worried that the Audience within him made him a Fusionist.
• Enforcers assigned Chen Ling and Wu Youdong to assist with patrols on Ice-Spring Street in the Second District, despite Chen Ling living on Frost Street in the Third District.
• Wu Youdong told Chen Ling that Ma Zhong controlled personnel transfers and that their assignments were likely poor because they had not bribed him.
• As Chen Ling left headquarters, Han Meng stopped him and asked whether he was Chen Ling.

Han Meng tested Chen Ling’s account but let him go, then sent him directly to Ice Spring Street while he and Jiang Qin went to question Chen Yan. At Chen Yan’s home, they encountered Chu Muyun, Aurora City’s miracle doctor, who recognized Han Meng.

• Han Meng questioned Chen Ling about the previous night and his brother’s opera practice, then said he might have been mistaken.
• Han Meng ordered Chen Ling to go straight to Ice Spring Street and arranged a rickshaw to take him there.
• Han Meng explained to Jiang Qin why he suspected the Chen family and took him to 128 Frost Street to question Chen Yan.
• Chen Yan repaired the wall and hid when the Enforcers arrived, asking Chu Muyun to tell them no one was home.
• Chu Muyun opened the door, and Han Meng recognized him as Jiang Qin identified him as Aurora City’s miracle doctor.

Chen Ling reached Ice Spring Street and learned that a second Calamity had escaped during the Gray Realm Convergence, complicating his understanding of his own connection to the Audience. The chapter ended with him wondering whether he could master a Path to Godhood of his own.

• Chen Ling had the rickshaw driver circle the Second District before heading to Ice Spring Street, hoping to delay his arrival and spend Han Meng’s money.
• Chen Ling arrived at the bloodied, evacuated Ice Spring Street and met Qian Fan, the Enforcer in charge there.
• Qian Fan told Chen Ling that a Level Three Calamity had killed people across half the street and escaped toward the back mountain.
• Qian Fan explained that becoming a Fusionist required surviving a Calamity, being compatible with it, and resisting its will.
• Chen Ling questioned whether his connection to the Audience counted as fusion and wondered if he could master a Path to Godhood of his own.