[Judgment]

The instant those words fell, Han Meng pulled the trigger.

Click—

The mechanism struck, but no bullet fired.

Yet at the same time, the ground before Han Meng instantly disintegrated, soil and gravel annihilated into nothingness, as though an invisible bullet had shattered matter down to the molecular level!

And within a thousandth of a second, that "Deconstruction" bullet flashed before the Red-Paper Monster!

Under that invisible force of Deconstruction, the red paper tentacles drifting through the air were forcibly blasted open, followed by a circular wound with a radius of one meter that punched clean through the monster's body!

Through that enormous circular wound, Han Meng could even see the streets of District Three in the distance. That shot had directly annihilated two-thirds of its body.

Just as Han Meng was about to lower his gun, a sudden change occurred!

The Red-Paper Monster, with a huge hole blasted through its center, did not die. Instead, as though nothing had happened, it continued extending red paper without end.

It spread wildly in all directions. In just two seconds, it had not only repaired the hole in its center, but its size had also swelled to more than three times what it had been before!

Now, it resembled a gigantic paper effigy of a crimson sun, countless paper fragments twisting around it as it hung above the wilderness.

[Audience Anticipation -1]

[Current Anticipation: 14%]

Han Meng's pupils contracted slightly!

He immediately raised his gun toward the sky and pulled the trigger three times in succession. The power of Deconstruction tore three enormous holes into that crimson sun.

Fine rain drifted down through the three openings, pattering against Han Meng's grave face, chilling him to the bone.

Whoosh—

Dense sheets of paper swarmed down like a crimson rain pouring from the heavens, turning the entire wilderness into a beehive in an instant. Han Meng fired madly, but could only barely tear open a gap in the red rain and preserve his life.

"Damn..." Han Meng's back was already soaked with sweat.

He could feel it—he was no match for this Calamity!

For some reason, the other party's aura seemed to have surged again, leaping from barely entering Level Five to the peak of Level Five. It was only a hair away from stepping into the terrifying realm of Level Six!

At that moment, a hand clad in an opera robe reached out from the paper monster and lightly, precisely pressed down on Han Meng's head!

"Hehe."

A soft laugh echoed beside Han Meng's ear. The next moment, his entire body was pressed to the ground with one palm, his head smashing heavily into the earth!

Boom—!!

The ground cracked apart. At the center of the impact, Han Meng suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, then lay motionless like a lump of mud.

The fighting had ended. The red paper filling the sky returned to the monster's main body, while a misty rain fell across the battered land.

Just as the Red-Paper Monster was about to leave, the arm in the opera robe that had emerged from within suddenly hooked backward around the red-paper body and began tearing at it with force, as if something inside was about to crawl out...

Five minutes earlier.

"The Audience has begun interfering with the performance?"

Seeing the final line of text, Chen Ling's heart went cold. He abruptly looked up toward the front of the stage.

Countless scarlet pupils were still watching him from the darkness, but in the corner of the Audience, a cluster of wooden chairs now stood empty...

Some of the Audience had disappeared.

Thud—thud—thud!!

The shadows in the Audience kept stomping on the Theater floor, producing synchronized, muffled impacts.

In the cramped space, the sound rolled on like unending thunder. Their scarlet pupils were fixed on Chen Ling, filled with anger and accusation!

Thud—thud—thud!!!

Beneath their synchronized stomping, Chen Ling could even feel the stage shaking. The spotlight above his head trembled slightly, as though it would not hold much longer.

Chen Ling basically understood.

Because he had been chopped to death by an axe in reality, the "performance" onstage had come to an abrupt halt.

The performance had been interrupted, and the Audience was furious. Yet they could not communicate directly with Chen Ling, so they could only express their dissatisfaction and threats this way!

"So... I didn't actually die?" Chen Ling stared blankly at his hands.

"But if my consciousness is here... then who is controlling my body right now?"

As if thinking of something, Chen Ling turned around. A vast black curtain covered the latter half of the stage. He yanked open a corner of it, and a series of images flooded into his mind!

He saw himself turn a dining knife into paper fragments, frighten Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan unconscious, and fight two Enforcers...

The feeling was strange, as if he were sitting before a giant screen and watching his own actions from a third-person perspective... Of course, the "protagonist" was no longer him, but the "Audience" that had usurped his body!

The Audience was interfering with the performance.

[Audience Anticipation -1]

Chen Ling caught sight of the characters flickering on the screen from the corner of his eye. The next moment, another group of figures in the Audience vanished without a trace.

"The lower the Expectation Value falls, the more Audience members will interfere with the performance..." Chen Ling said as he raised his hands. He saw his body gradually becoming transparent.

"At the same time... my existence will gradually be erased?"

That made sense. If the Audience completely became the "protagonist," what use would there be for him?

Chen Ling's heart immediately sank to the bottom. He knew he had to do something.

Standing before the curtain, Chen Ling drew a deep breath and tentatively extended his hand toward the flickering "images" behind it...

Either reclaim his body and become the "protagonist" again;

Or die.

Chen Ling's fingertips passed through the curtain, as if touching a barrier, and were forced to slow down.

This barrier was not incomparably hard. Instead, it was more like some kind of "membrane"—soft, yet immensely resilient. After several attempts, Chen Ling finally managed to force one finger through.

"There's a chance!" Chen Ling's eyes brightened slightly.

He used all his strength to push his palm through the barrier, then his forearm, then his elbow...

At that moment, the characters on the screen flickered again:

[Audience Anticipation -1]

As the Expectation Value fell to 14%, another group of Audience members disappeared. Chen Ling felt the barrier growing increasingly firm. Looking at his body, which had become even more transparent, a thought flashed through his mind.

It wasn't that the barrier had become stronger... it was that his body had grown weaker.

Chen Ling gritted his teeth, but could only inch his arm through the curtain bit by bit, moving several times slower than before. Anxiety filled his heart.

At this rate of resistance, he estimated that if the Expectation Value fell to around 10%, he would no longer be able to pass through this curtain.

Finally, through his relentless efforts, one arm passed completely through the curtain.

He saw Han Meng desperately holding on beneath the red rain. After hesitating for a moment, he casually pressed a palm against Han Meng's forehead, borrowing the Red-Paper Monster's power to knock him unconscious onto the ground.

That way, no one would witness him passing through the curtain and returning to reality.

From the reality side, he hooked his arm around the curtain, then pulled hard and tore open a narrow gap.

His second hand reached through the gap and forcibly pried it wider until it could fit his body through. Chen Ling took a deep breath and plunged himself inside!