Chapter 16: Killing Waltz

Opening his eyes again, a familiar brightness filled his vision.

"Back again..." Chen Ling adjusted to the brightness of the spotlight and scanned his surroundings.

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

"It seems that as long as I fall asleep or die, I return here." Chen Ling summarized this conclusion from his few experiences.

Since he had regained control of his body, the departed audience had returned to the theater. Although they looked displeased, at least they didn't seem to have any intention of attacking again.

Chen Ling's gaze naturally slid to the screen in the center of the stage:

"[Audience Anticipation: 24%]"

Judging from the history, the moment he regained his body, the anticipation value automatically rose back to 20%. After his battle of wits with the enforcers, the anticipation value increased again, finally stabilizing at 24%.

"The last death directly deducted 50% of the anticipation value. If the next time I die, the anticipation value is below 50%... what will happen?"

Chen Ling didn't know the answer, but he guessed that if the anticipation value became negative, he would likely die completely and be occupied by the "audience," never to rise again.

Chen Ling was about to look away when he suddenly noticed a small, shaking treasure chest in the bottom right corner of the screen.

He clearly remembered that when he first entered the theater, this thing hadn't been there.

Chen Ling hesitated for a moment, then tentatively reached out and clicked on the chest...

Ding-ding-ding-ding—!

The moment his fingertip touched the chest, a passionate piece of music erupted from the speakers on both sides of the stage.

The sudden music startled Chen Ling. The next moment, several spotlights moved behind him. He turned to look and found a table appearing out of thin air in the center of the stage.

It was an ordinary wooden table, looking a bit old, not at all out of place with the wooden floor of the stage. The spotlight shone on the table, and a piece of paper reflected a pale halo.

Chen Ling walked straight toward the wooden table, and the two spotlights converged into one.

At the top of the paper, a few lines of small text were written.

"Audience anticipation value has broken through 60% for the first time. Achievement unlocked—'Mostly Positive'!"

"You have gained one extra draw."

"After use, you will randomly draw one character skill from all the characters who appeared in this performance to learn."

Chen Ling scanned the text, and before he could react, the white paper suddenly disappeared, replaced by playing cards laid out on the table.

These cards were of different colors, mostly white and gray, with a few blue ones appearing occasionally. The patterns on the surface ranged from simple to complex; the more vivid the color, the more advanced the pattern, and the more precious it looked.

The next moment, these cards flipped over simultaneously, revealing identical backs, then overlapped at an astonishing speed, finally stopping neatly on the table.

Chen Ling tried to track the blue cards, but this bizarre shuffling method made it impossible to track the faces with the naked eye.

"I can even draw prizes... It seems this theater isn't all 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 choice, all the other cards disappeared. At the same time, a few lines of text appeared on the blue card.

"Skill: [Killing Waltz]"

"Affiliation: Soldier God Path, [Judgment] Path, Third Tier."

"Character: Han Meng."

Seeing the name Han Meng, the image of the figure in the trench coat fighting back and forth with the red-paper monster last night automatically surfaced in Chen Ling's mind... At this moment, only one thought remained in his heart.

This was a huge win!

Of all the people Chen Ling had seen since transmigrating, Han Meng was undoubtedly the strongest. Although Chen Ling didn't understand what "Soldier God Path," "[Judgment] Path," or "Third Tier" meant, there was no doubt he had drawn the best option currently available.

The blue card turned into nothingness, and Chen Ling felt something mysterious and profound enter his body.

"Thanks for the gift." Chen Ling felt a bit embarrassed now.

He had stolen—no, learned—this skill from Han Meng. In a sense, Han Meng was his benefactor... But just a few hours ago, he had beaten his "benefactor" up and hit him hard with a club.

That blow... shouldn't have killed his benefactor, right?

He felt a bit guilty.

……

The vermilion Calamity danced wildly overhead,

Its terrifying pressure making hearts tremble;

A slender palm reaching out from the Calamity's body pressed onto his head... like the hand of a god falling from the sky, ruling the world.

On the hospital bed, Han Meng suddenly opened his eyes, almost jumping up.

"Hiss—"

The sharp pain in the back of his head made him grimace. The world blurred before his eyes, and he collapsed back onto the bed.

"Brother Meng!" An enforcer who was dozing beside him was startled and immediately steadied him. "Brother Meng! What are you doing? Don't move around, don't tear the stitches..."

Han Meng lay on the bed, finally recovering, and asked blankly:

"Where is this?"

"The hospital!"

"That long-handed... no, that red Calamity, where is it?"

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

Fragmented memories flooded Han Meng's mind. He couldn't help but touch the back of his head, grimacing in pain.

This Calamity... also liked to ambush the back of the head?

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

"None for now. After fighting you, that Calamity never appeared again. I guess you must have hurt it pretty badly, Brother Meng."

"I..."

Han Meng wanted to say that he hadn't actually hurt it at all, but after a moment of hesitation, he swallowed the words.

In front of his subordinates, he still needed to maintain his image.

"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 insidious. If we let it go like this, it will cause a major disaster sooner or later!"

"Insidious? Brother Meng, did you mean dangerous..." This enforcer was quite experienced, but it was the first time he had heard someone use the word "insidious" to describe a Calamity.

"Dangerous, but even more insidious!"

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

"A Fuser?" Hearing these three words, the enforcer's face changed drastically. "Should we notify Aurora City immediately?"

Hearing the second half of the sentence, Han Meng gradually calmed down. "No, not yet. I need to investigate further... For now, this is just my guess, without any theoretical basis."

"Then what do we do now..."

"Go to headquarters first. Those new reserves should be arriving soon. We'll discuss the details on the way."

"Okay."