Slaughter Waltz

When he opened his eyes again, a familiar light filled his vision.

"Back here again..." Chen Ling adjusted to the brightness of the spotlight, his gaze slowly sweeping over his surroundings.

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

"It seems that as long as I fall asleep or die, I'll return here." Based on his previous experiences, Chen Ling came to this conclusion.

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

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

[Audience Expectation Value: 24%]

According to the history log, the instant he reclaimed his body, the Expectation Value had automatically risen back to 20%. After his battle of wits with the enforcers, it increased again and ultimately stabilized at 24%.

"Last time, dying directly deducted 50% of my Expectation Value. If my Expectation Value is 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 fell into the negatives, he would most likely die completely, his body occupied by the "audience" forever, with no chance of ever turning things around.

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...

Dun dun dun dun—!

The instant Chen Ling's fingertip touched the chest, stirring music blared from the speakers on both sides of the stage.

The sudden music gave Chen Ling a fright. The next moment, several spotlights shifted behind him. When he turned around, he found that a table had appeared out of thin air at the center of the stage.

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

Chen Ling walked straight toward the wooden table. The two spotlights moved closer together until they finally merged into one.

Several lines of tiny writing were printed at the top of the paper.

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

You have obtained one additional draw.

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

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

The cards came in different colors. Most were white or gray, with the occasional blue card among them. The patterns on their surfaces ranged from simple to intricate. The brighter the color, the more advanced the pattern, and the more valuable the card appeared.

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

Chen Ling tried to follow the blue cards, but with this bizarre method of shuffling, there was simply no way to track their faces with the naked eye.

"So there's even a lottery... Looks like this theater isn't entirely bad."

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

It was a blue card.

After Chen Ling made his selection, every other card vanished at once. At the same time, several lines of text emerged on the blue card.

Skill: [Slaughter Waltz]

Affiliation: War God Path, [Judgment] Path, Third Stage.

Character: Han Meng.

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

I hit the jackpot!

Of everyone Chen Ling had seen since crossing over, Han Meng was undoubtedly the strongest. Chen Ling had no idea what "War God Path," "[Judgment] Path," or "Third Stage" meant, but without question, he had drawn the best option currently available.

The blue card dissolved into nothingness, and Chen Ling felt as though something profoundly mysterious had been added to 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 given his "benefactor" a severe beating and even clubbed him hard in the back of the head.

That blow... probably hadn't killed his benefactor, right?

He felt a little guilty.

The crimson calamity danced wildly overhead,

Its terrifying pressure made the soul tremble;

A slender hand extended from within the calamity and pressed down upon 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 upright on the spot.

"Ghh—"

The intense pain in the back of his head made him bare his teeth. The world swayed before his eyes, and he collapsed back onto the bed.

"Brother Meng!" An enforcer who had been dozing beside him jumped in fright and immediately supported him. "Brother Meng! What are you doing? Don't move around—don't tear your stitches open..."

Han Meng lay in bed and only spoke blankly after finally recovering his senses.

"Where am I?"

"The hospital!"

"What about that long hand... No, that red calamity?"

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

Fragments of shattered memories surged into Han Meng's mind. He could not help touching the back of his head, baring his teeth in pain.

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

"How's the situation? Any other casualties?"

"Not for now. After fighting you, that calamity never showed up again. You must have injured it too badly, Brother Meng."

"I..."

Han Meng was about to say that he had not 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 up. "That calamity is very cunning. If we keep letting it run free, it'll cause a major disaster sooner or later!"

"Cunning? Brother Meng, did you mean dangerous..." This enforcer had seen plenty in his day, but this was the first time he had heard someone describe a calamity as "cunning."

"Dangerous, but even more cunning!"

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

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

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 members should be about in place by now. We'll discuss the specifics on the way."

"Alright."