Chapter 26: Are You Ready to Answer My Question?

After saying this, Qian Fan walked away.

Chen Ling stood where he was, his mind involuntarily recalling Wu Youdong’s lowered head from just moments ago, his fists slightly clenched...

Wu Youdong had bowed his head.

What about him?

If this were his past life, Chen Ling might have been no different from Wu Youdong; only by bowing one's head could one carve out a living in society. But this time...

Chen Ling slowly turned his head to look at the surviving half of Ice Spring Street, his gaze icy and bone-chilling.

Want me to bow my head?

Heh...

……

District 3.

The basement.

A freezing, violent gust of wind surged from the void, whistling as it slammed into Chu Muyun!

The kerosene lamp on the ground flickered violently and extinguished in an instant. As the entire basement plunged into deathly darkness, Chu Muyun let out a muffled groan and crashed heavily to the floor!

He lifted his head in astonishment, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief!

Just now, the moment he activated the [Eye of Origin], he felt as if he had seen pairs of bright red pupils glancing toward this place from the infinite void...

Just that one glance had caused his path of divinity to tremble!

"Th-this is..."

Chu Muyun stood stunned for a long time before he suddenly snapped back to reality.

He scrambled up from the floor, rushed frantically up the stairs, and returned to the convenience store!

"What's wrong with you, [Spade 7]?" Seeing Chu Muyun appear so rushed and flustered, the woman frowned slightly.

"...I saw it."

"What?"

"'World-Ender'."

The woman was stunned, not understanding what this meant for a moment.

"That guy is a 'World-Ender' level disaster!" Chu Muyun stated with certainty.

"That's impossible." The woman shook her head immediately. "No one can merge with a 'World-Ender,' not even the current leader of the Fusion Faction... You must have seen it wrong."

"I definitely didn't see it wrong! Its gaze even made my divine path feel fear!"

"This..."

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

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

"If this is true... then we're in big trouble." The woman immediately realized the gravity of the situation. "Even if the Red King and the Gray King both come, we might not be able to deal with him, unless the Aurora Lord joins us..."

Hearing this, Chu Muyun’s fingertips paused.

"What is it?" the woman asked.

"A 'World-Ender' level disaster has the power to annihilate an entire human domain." Chu Muyun slowly turned to look at her, his eyes flashing with madness. "Then, if we kill him and release the 'World-Ender'... wouldn't we no longer need to execute that plan?"

The woman was stunned.

"That's a 'World-Ender'! Are you crazy?!" The woman stopped halfway through her sentence and shook her head. "Almost forgot, you official members are all lunatics to begin with..."

"I was just speaking off the cuff." Chu Muyun adjusted his glasses, calmed down, and said calmly, "Let's just ask the Gray King and the Red King for instructions first..."

Chu Muyun finished the letter and handed it to the woman. The woman glanced at him.

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

"...Yes."

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

"S+," Chu Muyun said with unprecedented seriousness.

"Extremely dangerous."

……

Knock—knock—knock—

Crisp knocking sounds came from the door. The many District 2 enforcers who were leisurely drinking tea were startled and turned their heads in confusion.

"Who would come at a time like this?"

"No idea..."

Qian Fan opened the teahouse door while speaking.

Chen Ling was standing quietly outside. Seeing the door open, he smiled and waved at the enforcers inside.

These were the enforcers originally responsible for Ice Spring Street, yet they were all huddled here drinking tea, leaving everything to Chen Ling and Wu Youdong. This in itself said something... Now it seemed Wu Youdong was telling the truth.

This group of enforcers was in collusion with the people on Ice Spring Street. They weren't conducting searches, and sending two newcomers was purely for show.

This way, if the Aurora City headquarters questioned them, they could claim they were understaffed and that Chen Ling and his partner were handling the Ice Spring Street matters, effectively shifting the blame while maintaining their relationship with the street. It was killing two birds with one stone.

Seeing that it was Chen Ling, the enforcers listlessly lowered their heads to drink tea, with no intention of chatting with him.

"It's you? Why are you here?" Qian Fan asked in surprise upon seeing Chen Ling.

"Regarding my work, there are still some things I need the esteemed adults to clarify."

"What things?"

"My task is to question the survivors of Ice Spring Street about intelligence regarding the disaster, right?"

"Correct."

"Then what if they don't cooperate?"

Hearing this question, Qian Fan sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he answered patiently:

"If they don't cooperate, find a way to make them cooperate... We are enforcers; we have law enforcement authority."

"So, can I use force?"

"Of course."

Chen Ling heard the other enforcers in the room burst into laughter.

"Then I understand." Chen Ling nodded. "If they don't cooperate, I'll drag them over here for you all to deal with."

"Good, now go. Your assessment ends tomorrow, so you must complete the task today."

As Chen Ling left, Qian Fan closed the door behind him, and several unmasked laughs rang out one after another.

"This kid is really stubborn..."

"Even more of a greenhorn than that Wu Youdong."

"Did you hear that? He even wants to use force... Has he really never asked what kind of place Ice Spring Street is?"

"Sigh, he's from a poor background; where would he get so much information? Don't make fun of him... drink your tea, drink your tea."

The faint laughter drifted through the door crack and reached Chen Ling's ears, but he didn't care at all.

At this moment, his attention was entirely on the prompt flashing before his eyes:

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

"The Chen Family Directing Manual, Article 13:"

"When the existing conflict is clear, you can appropriately increase emotional tension through character relationships, pull at the audience's emotions, enhance the satisfaction when the original conflict erupts, and even set up secondary conflicts."

Chen Ling could certainly have gone straight to Ice Spring Street to cause a scene, but that would have made the conflict too simple, and the [Audience Expectation] wouldn't have increased much...

Therefore, he chose to pull the enforcers into the game.

Chen Ling walked through the ruined front half of Ice Spring Street and arrived at the place where most survivors were currently gathered... the Black Axe Tavern.

This was usually the most frequented activity spot for the residents of Ice Spring Street. Now that half the street was in ruins, it had become a temporary shelter for some. This was where Wu Youdong had been humiliated yesterday.

But Chen Ling was not him...

With an investigation form in one hand, he pushed open the tavern door. As the harsh creaking sound rang out, the entire tavern fell into a deathly silence.

Countless fierce, cold gazes swept toward the entrance, converging on Chen Ling.

"Hello, I am Enforcer Chen Ling..."

"Are you ready to answer my questions?"