Chapter 20: The Fusionist

"He must have gone back to find A-Yan."

The rickshaw moved along the gravel road, and Chen Ling sat in the carriage with a grave expression.

He didn't know which part had gone wrong to make Han Meng suspect him so quickly, to the point of paying out of his own pocket to send him away just to interrogate Chen Yan alone.

But the problem was, all his paths were blocked now.

Even if he turned back to find Chen Yan, not to mention whether he could reach home faster than the law enforcers, once he left the rickshaw, Han Meng would know soon enough, and then it would be even harder to clear his name.

Next, he could only wait and see how Chen Yan handled it...

However, Chen Ling had already made up his mind: if his identity were exposed, he would flee directly from District 2. After all, it would still take time for Han Meng to get here from District 3.

As for Chen Yan, he was an ordinary person who didn't know about his identity as a Fusionist, and didn't even know what a Fusionist was... Even if something happened to him, Chen Yan wouldn't be implicated.

"Brother, and you said you didn't have money." The man pulling the rickshaw turned back and said, "Even Law Officer Han Meng is reimbursing your travel expenses; your status isn't simple."

"Heh, it's indeed not simple."

Han Meng's image appeared in Chen Ling's mind, and he felt a surge of resentment stuck in his chest. He then asked, "How much longer until we arrive?"

"Almost there, about ten more minutes."

"No need to be that fast. Run around this street a few more times."

"...Huh?"

"I told you to run, so run. You're getting paid by the kilometer anyway." Chen Ling sneered. "Doesn't he have plenty of money? I'll help him spend it properly..."

"Then, then I'm really going to run?"

"Run where there are lots of people. Let them see you, so he can't welch on the bill."

"You got it!"

The man pulled Chen Ling and ran more than ten laps on the busiest street in District 2. It was clear the man was also very excited; after all, just this extra distance was enough to cover two or three days of fares.

When Chen Ling got off, the man's mouth was stretched to his ears, and he felt like kowtowing to this god of wealth on the spot.

Since he was the only one "forced to depart" and Wu Youdong wouldn't arrive for another few hours, Chen Ling had to head to Ice Spring Street alone to meet up with the District 2 law enforcers patrolling there.

As soon as he reached Ice Spring Street, Chen Ling's brow furrowed.

Yellow caution tape almost completely sealed off the entire street, and the smell of blood still lingered in the air. The small, dilapidated buildings on both sides were empty, with no sign of life, save for a few shocking splashes of crimson blood on the white walls.

Chen Ling bent down to pass under the caution tape. Under his feet were shattered stones, as if a ferocious beast had appeared here and slaughtered the entire street.

"This is..." Confusion appeared in Chen Ling's eyes.

In the ruins in the distance, several figures in black and red uniforms were walking about. Seeing Chen Ling step into the restricted area, they walked straight up to him.

"Are you the reserve from District 3? Why are you here so early?"

Chen Ling handed over his transfer order and pushed all the blame onto Han Meng, saying he was the one who told him to leave as soon as possible.

The law enforcer nodded. "Coming early is fine too; we're short on hands anyway... My name is Qian Fan, the law enforcer currently in charge of Ice Spring Street. You'll be working with me for the next two days."

"Okay." Chen Ling paused. "Brother Fan, what exactly happened here?"

"Haven't you heard?"

Qian Fan asked in surprise. "The night before last... the day of the Gray Realm convergence, a Calamity ran into District 2 and killed people along an entire street."

Chen Ling was stunned. "The night before last?"

"Yes." Qian Fan nodded. "Didn't your District 3 Law Officer, Ma Zhong, tell you? This Gray Realm convergence likely saw two Calamities escape... one Level 5, one Level 3.

The one that appeared in your District 3 was a Level 5, but it didn't seem very destructive, and the casualties were small... This Level 3 one in our District 2, although the level isn't high, is truly vicious..."

Hearing this, Chen Ling's brain couldn't keep up.

He had always thought that the one in his mind was the only Calamity that had escaped from the Gray Realm... but now another one had appeared?

"What about that Level 3 one? Was it caught?"

"If it had been caught, why would we need so many people here?" Qian Fan sighed. "After killing people, that Calamity disappeared... But some law enforcers witnessed the direction it left in, and it should have headed toward the back mountain."

The back mountain...

Chen Ling remembered that the back mountain was located between District 2 and District 3.

"You know, these two Calamities are strange... Usually, after a Calamity descends and causes a big commotion, it's caught quickly. On one hand, they're large, and on the other, they can't help but keep killing... But this time, both Calamities disappeared at the same time, as if they'd evaporated into thin air!"

Chen Ling's heart skipped a beat, and he asked casually, "I've heard of a type of person called... a Fusionist?"

"Fusionist..." Qian Fan shook his head. "Do you think the fusion of a Calamity and a human is easy? To fuse with a Calamity and survive, you must meet three conditions... First, you have to ensure that the Calamity doesn't kill you. This alone is enough to filter out 99% of Calamities, as the vast majority of them have no self-control.

You could say that if a predecessor beats it to the brink of death, it might work, but the next problem is that you have to ensure your constitution is compatible with it... This is something that can't be determined at all.

A human and a Calamity are simply not the same species. For the two to be compatible is as unlikely as picking up a random stone and finding that the natural patterns on it happen to be your name.

Even if you're really lucky and meet the first two conditions, you still have to ensure that after fusing with the Calamity, you won't be driven insane by its will... As far as I know, most Fusionists are lunatics, and they don't live for more than a few years."

Chen Ling asked back, "According to you, the probability of a Fusionist appearing is close to zero?"

"Exactly." Qian Fan nodded. "However, I've heard that some people in the Fusionist faction are already researching ways to increase the success rate of fusion... I don't know how far they've gotten, though."

Chen Ling had always thought he was a Fusionist, but after hearing Qian Fan's description, he felt something wasn't quite right...

His connection with the "Audience" was entirely established through the theater, and it didn't seem to involve the fusion process he described... although these "Audience" members did occasionally drive him crazy.

At the same time, a thought flashed through Chen Ling's mind.

Since he doesn't count as a Fusionist...

Is it possible that he could also master a path to divinity of his own?