Chapter 119: Are You Going to Arrest Me?

As soon as those two words were spoken, Han Meng froze in place.

After all, Han Meng had initially assumed the other party was a "Calamity," but as soon as the other party spoke, he hesitated... No, it was said that there were some rare, highly intelligent creatures among Calamities, but such Calamities were of a very high order, at least seventh-order or above.

However, since the other party could communicate, it meant there was no great hostility toward him. And in the Ash World, there were almost no Calamities that held goodwill toward humans.

So Han Meng was still more inclined to believe the other party was a human.

Han Meng hesitated for a moment, intending to clear a path for the other party. After all, the place was too narrow for two people to walk side by side.

Just then, a rustling sound came from behind.

Han Meng looked back and saw those shadow centipedes clinging to the rock wall retreating simultaneously... as if they were deliberately avoiding that splash of crimson. In the blink of an eye, those black tides retreated back onto the rock wall.

In the dead-silent canyon, only he and the figure draped in the bright red theatrical robe stood facing each other.

That "move aside"—it wasn't meant for him?

Han Meng looked at the figure again, deep doubt and wariness appearing in his eyes... His thoughts from just a moment ago were shaken again. How could a human force so many Calamities to retreat with a single sentence?

Human or Calamity, Han Meng could no longer tell. The red-clad figure was undoubtedly the most mysterious and bizarre existence he had ever seen in his life. Just by standing there, he represented endless mysteries.

At this moment, Chen Ling was also stunned.

His intention was to have Han Meng move aside so he could kill those broilers that were chasing him, but he hadn't expected that as soon as he spoke, those broilers would retreat directly... Back in District 3, why hadn't he seen them be so "polite"?

Both of them fell into deep thought.

In this dead-silent atmosphere, Han Meng felt that the pitch-black mask staring at him was becoming increasingly bizarre. He opened his mouth to say something, but the scene before him gradually blurred, his figure swayed, and he collapsed to the ground.

Chen Ling was startled. Only then did he notice that trickling blood was seeping from Han Meng’s wounds, and at some point, it had gathered into a gray pool of blood at his feet.

He had lost too much blood.

"...Lucky you ran into me." Beneath the pitch-black mask, Chen Ling muttered to himself, "You saved me once, and I’ll save you once... Now, we’re even."

……

*Swish*—

*Swish*—

The sound of gravel rubbing came from beneath him, as if something was being dragged on the ground.

Han Meng’s consciousness gradually regained clarity. After a few short seconds, he saw himself being dragged on the black earth like a corpse.

His palms subconsciously gripped the ground, trying to use the leverage to turn around and draw his gun, but intense pain shot through his entire body. He groaned and was forced to stop his movement... At the same time, the figure dragging his body also stopped.

Lead-gray clouds flowed in the sky. The figure wearing the bright red theatrical robe turned his head calmly to look at him.

"You’re awake."

The low voice carried no emotion, which, compared to the pitch-black smiling mask, felt indescribably bizarre.

He released the collar at the back of Han Meng’s neck, and the latter lay on the ground. He frowned, struggling to stand up with his hands supporting the ground, when the low voice came again:

"I wouldn't advise you to stand up now. If the wounds tear open again, you’ll die."

Han Meng’s face was pale as paper. Only then did he notice that the dozen or so bone spikes that had been embedded in his body had been removed at some point, and his trench coat had been torn into ribbons and used to simply bandage the wounds, stopping the bleeding.

With his original injuries, if left unattended, he would likely have ended up dying from blood loss.

Han Meng looked up at him, his voice extremely hoarse:

"Who are you?"

The pitch-black mask stared at him without answering.

After a long silence, Han Meng asked a second question: "Why did you save me?"

After a while, the red-clad figure chuckled and said in a casual tone: "It’s rare to encounter a good seedling for the [Judgment] path... It would be a pity to just die here."

[Audience Expectation +3]

Chen Ling naturally couldn't tell the truth. When Han Meng asked that question, he admitted that some dark humor had arisen in his heart... No, it should be said that he was trying hard to make the "plot" more exciting.

Chen’s Directing Rule No. 8—

Information asymmetry is one of the sources of plot satisfaction. When the audience watches a conflict plot from an omniscient perspective while the characters are not, they will naturally immerse themselves in it and look forward to subsequent developments. If the two characters in the plot who are in a state of information asymmetry already have dramatic conflict, the sense of anticipation will be even stronger.

Han Meng’s pupils narrowed slightly. The light of doubt and speculation flickered in his gaze as he looked at the red-clad figure...

"You are a Fusionist," he said.

Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly beneath the mask. "Oh?"

"You possess a human form and communication ability, and you have no hostility toward me; you shouldn't be a Calamity living in the Ash World. But you can scare away those Calamities with a single sentence, which means there must be something on you that makes them wary... The only explanation is that you are a Fusionist, and the Calamity you fused with is of a very high order."

Han Meng was, after all, the Chief Enforcer of District 3. At this moment, he didn't look like someone who had just escaped death, nor was he scared by Chen Ling’s words. Instead, he analyzed everything that had just happened, giving his judgment rationally.

Han Meng’s deduction exceeded Chen Ling’s expectations, but thinking about it carefully, it wasn't surprising... After all, he was Han Meng.

When Chen Ling first arrived in this era and tried his best to hide the existence of the "audience," Han Meng was the only person in the entire enforcer system who had almost caught him... Chen Ling still clearly remembered the pressure brought upon him by Han Meng’s terrifying ability for detail observation and deduction.

"So what?" Chen Ling couldn't be bothered to refute. He conjured a handgun out of thin air like a magic trick and pressed the muzzle against Han Meng’s forehead.

Beneath the pitch-black smiling mask, his voice was so cold that there wasn't a trace of emotional fluctuation.

"Are you going to arrest me... Enforcer?"

Han Meng looked at him calmly.

A moment later, he spoke again: "I don't like my fate being in the hands of others."

"So what?"

"Although you saved me, for now, I hope you can put the gun down first."

Before the words had faded, the few wisps of mental energy Han Meng had recovered during his sleep were consumed rapidly. A flash of brilliance crossed his eyes, and at such a close distance, he struck suddenly!