Ready to Answer My Questions?

After saying that, Qian Fan left.

Chen Ling stood where he was, unconsciously recalling Wu Youdong's lowered head from earlier. His fists slowly clenched...

Wu Youdong had lowered his head.

What about him?

In his previous life, Chen Ling might not have been any different from Wu Youdong. Only by lowering his head could he carve out a way to survive in society. But this time...

Chen Ling slowly turned his head and looked toward the surviving half of Ice Spring Street, his gaze ice-cold to the bone.

You want me to lower my head?

Heh...

Third District.

Basement.

A bone-chilling gale rose from the void, howling as it slammed into Chu Muyun!

The kerosene lamp on the floor swayed violently and went out in an instant. As the entire basement fell into dead silence and darkness, Chu Muyun groaned and crashed heavily to the ground!

He looked up in shock, his eyes filled with disbelief!

Just now, at the instant he activated [Eye of Tracing], he seemed to see pairs of scarlet eyes glancing this way from the endless void in the distance...

That single glance had actually made even his Path to Godhood tremble!

"Th-this is..."

Chu Muyun stood frozen for a long while before suddenly snapping back to his senses.

He immediately scrambled to his feet and rushed wildly up the stairs, returning to the convenience store!

"What's wrong, Black Spade 7?" The woman frowned slightly when she saw Chu Muyun appear in such a hurried, panicked state.

"...I saw it."

"Saw what?"

"'World-Ending.'"

The woman froze, unable to understand what he meant for a moment.

"That thing is a 'World-Ending' Calamity!" Chu Muyun declared with certainty.

"That's impossible." The woman immediately shook her head. "No one can fuse with a 'World-Ending' Calamity. Not even the current leader of the Fusion Faction could do it... You saw wrong."

"I definitely didn't see wrong! Its gaze even made my God Path feel fear!"

"This..."

"We must notify the Red King and Gray King immediately."

Chu Muyun walked to the counter, pulled out paper and a pen, and began writing swiftly.

"If this is true... then we're afraid something huge is about to happen." The woman immediately realized the gravity of the situation. "Even if the Red King and Gray King both come, we may not be able to deal with him unless Aurora Lord joins forces with us as well..."

At that, Chu Muyun's fingers paused.

"What is it?" the woman asked.

"A 'World-Ending'-class Calamity possesses the power to wipe out an entire Human Domain." Chu Muyun slowly turned to look at her, madness flickering in his eyes. "Then if we kill him and release the 'World-Ending'... wouldn't we no longer need to carry out that plan?"

The woman froze.

"That's a 'World-Ending' Calamity! Are you insane?!" Halfway through, the woman shook her own head. "I nearly forgot. You official members were all crazy to begin with..."

"I was merely saying it casually." Chu Muyun adjusted his glasses, his mood settling as he spoke calmly. "Let's ask the Gray King and Red King for instructions first..."

After Chu Muyun finished the letter, he handed it to the woman. She looked at him.

"By the way, weren't you going to conduct an assessment to recruit him? Are you still doing it?"

"...Yes."

"Then as his recommender, your rating for him is...?"

"S+." Chu Muyun's expression was more serious than ever.

"Extremely dangerous."

Knock—knock—knock—

Crisp knocking sounded from the door. The many Second District Enforcers who had been leisurely drinking tea froze and turned toward it in confusion.

"Who would come at a time like this?"

"No idea..."

As Qian Fan spoke, he opened the teahouse door.

Chen Ling stood quietly outside. When the door opened, he smiled and waved at the several Enforcers inside.

These were the Enforcers who should originally have been responsible for Ice Spring Street. Yet now, they were all hiding here drinking tea, throwing everything to Chen Ling and Wu Youdong. That alone explained certain things... It now seemed that Wu Youdong had been telling the truth.

These Enforcers were all in cahoots with the people from Ice Spring Street. Rather than investigating the place themselves, they had only sent two newcomers there as a mere show.

That way, if Aurora City headquarters questioned them, they could claim they had been short-handed and that everything concerning Ice Spring Street had been handled by Chen Ling and Wu Youdong, shifting the blame away from themselves. At the same time, they could maintain their relationship with Ice Spring Street. It was killing two birds with one stone.

Seeing that it was Chen Ling, the Enforcers immediately lowered their heads and continued drinking tea with little interest, having no intention of speaking with him.

"It's you? Why are you here?" Qian Fan asked in surprise when he saw Chen Ling.

"There are still some matters regarding my work that I need the gentlemen to clarify."

"What matters?"

"My task is to ask the Ice Spring Street survivors for information about the Calamity, correct?"

"Correct."

"What if they refuse to cooperate?"

Hearing this question, Qian Fan sneered inwardly, though he answered patiently on the surface.

"If they refuse to cooperate, then find a way to make them cooperate... We're Enforcers. We have law enforcement authority."

"So I can use force?"

"Of course."

Chen Ling heard the other Enforcers in the room unable to suppress their laughter.

"Then I understand." Chen Ling nodded. "If they refuse to cooperate, I'll drag them here and let the gentlemen deal with them."

"It's good that you understand. Go on. Your assessment ends tomorrow, so you have to complete the task today."

After Chen Ling left, Qian Fan shut the door behind him, and several bursts of no-longer-concealed laughter rang out in succession.

"That kid is really stubborn..."

"He's even more of a blockhead than Wu Youdong."

"Did you hear him? He wants to use force... Did he really not ask around about what kind of place Ice Spring Street is?"

"Sigh, he came from some poor place. How could he have that many information channels? Don't laugh at him... Drink your tea, drink your tea."

Faint laughter slipped through the crack in the door and reached Chen Ling's ears, but he paid it no mind.

At that moment, all his attention was on the prompt flashing before him:

[Audience Expectation +1... +1... +1]

"Chen's Directing-and-Screenwriting Principles, Article Thirteen:"

"When an existing conflict is already clear, one may appropriately intensify emotional climaxes through character relationships, pulling at the Audience's emotions and enhancing the satisfaction when the original conflict erupts. One may even add a delayed conflict payoff afterward."

Chen Ling could certainly have gone straight to Ice Spring Street and caused a scene, but the conflict would have been too one-dimensional, and [Audience Expectation] would not have increased by much...

So, he chose to pull the Enforcers into the game.

Chen Ling crossed the half of Ice Spring Street that had been reduced to ruins and arrived at the place with the most survivors... Black Axe Tavern.

This had always been the most popular gathering place for Ice Spring Street residents. Now that half the street lay in ruins, it had become a temporary shelter for some of them. Wu Youdong had been humiliated here yesterday.

But Chen Ling was not him...

With an investigation form in one hand, he pushed open the tavern door with the other. As a piercing creak rang out, the entire tavern fell silent.

Countless vicious, icy gazes swept toward the entrance and gathered on Chen Ling.

"Hello, I'm Enforcer Chen Ling..."

"Are you ready to answer my questions?"