Chapter 378: Alone

The moment he heard those two words, Lin Xi felt his scalp explode. Old Lu's face immediately surfaced in his mind!

That's right... there were two Old Lus who came just now. Since the one in front of him was Chen Ling, then the one he personally blew up just now... who else could it be??

"You're dead... you're dead!!!" Lin Xi said grimly. "After an Architect dies, their name on the roster in the main city will also disappear. With two Architects dead in a row, the main city must have already sensed something is wrong!!

Soon, you will face an endless hunt!! Kill me! You won't be able to escape either!"

Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.

The Floating Life Painting actually had a way to remotely confirm the life or death of its members?

This meant that the Floating Life Painting already knew he had killed two people in a row. Once Lin Xi died, they would know the encirclement had failed and would send even more powerful members to deal with him... He would be like a trapped beast locked in this [Circle] until he was completely killed.

"Kill the small ones, the big ones come; kill the big ones, the old ones come... your organization is truly troublesome." Chen Ling sneered.

"You know it."

Seeing this, Lin Xi seemed to think Chen Ling was finally intimidated. He calmed down and said loudly, "The net of heaven has large meshes, but nothing escapes. In the Red Dust Realm, you cannot escape. Surrender now and come back to the main city with me; perhaps you can still save your life..."

"Surrender?" Chen Ling scoffed.

"Do you really think this can scare me?"

Lin Xi took a deep breath and continued calmly, "I don't think you understand what I mean. You can't escape, understand? As long as the mission fails, the Floating Life Painting side..."

THUD—!

Chen Ling kicked Lin Xi hard in the chest, sending him flying like a sandbag!

The force of this kick broke several of Lin Xi's ribs. He vomited blood as he fell heavily to the ground, seeing stars.

"Cough, cough, cough... you..." Lin Xi looked at Chen Ling in astonishment.

At the same time, Chen Ling bent down unhurriedly and picked up the walkie-talkie Lin Xi had dropped.

He gently blew the dust off it,

and then pressed the button.

"This is Number 031 Lin Xi. Target eliminated. Requesting to lift the [Circle]." Lin Xi's weak voice came from Chen Ling's throat.

Lin Xi froze in place.

"Zzzzt..."

After a brief static, a voice came from the other side of the walkie-talkie. "Number 031 Lin Xi, we have detected that 030 and 029 have lost their vital signs. Please report their status."

"No, no!!" Lin Xi struggled to get up from the ground, but a red shadow instantly flashed in front of him!

BANG!

Chen Ling kicked him again, sending him flying like a ball against a wall more than ten meters away, causing him to vomit another mouthful of blood.

Chen Ling continued to answer with Lin Xi's voice, his tone slightly trembling:

"...They died in battle."

The other side of the walkie-talkie fell into a brief silence.

"Received, Number 031. Return to your post to maintain the architecture as soon as possible. Someone will be sent to handle the bodies shortly."

Chen Ling looked at Lin Xi not far away, a bright smile slowly appearing on his face.

"Yes."

He put away the walkie-talkie.

The next moment, the [Circle] hovering over Willow Town faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, disappearing without a trace in just a few seconds.

"No... you can't let him go! That's not me!! That's not me!!!" Lin Xi scrambled up from the ground, roaring as he sprinted toward Chen Ling, trying to reclaim his walkie-talkie.

BANG BANG—!!

Two gunshots rang out in succession, and blood burst from Lin Xi's knees. Losing his support, he fell face-first to the ground.

Scarlet blood slowly spread on the ground. He braced himself with his hands, trying to crawl up again, but a powerful hand grabbed his neck and lifted him off the ground.

In the reflection of Lin Xi's terrified eyes, a red robe danced silently in the fog. Chen Ling's eyes were as deep as an abyss.

He said lightly:

"If the mission fails, I can't leave... Since that's the case, wouldn't it be enough to make them think you succeeded?"

For Chen Ling, the way to break the situation was quite simple: trick the Floating Life Painting into lifting the [Circle], then take Lin Xi out of Willow Town, and kill him once they were outside the [Circle]'s range. By the time the Floating Life Painting reacted, they wouldn't know where he had gone.

"You..." Lin Xi had been beaten twice by Chen Ling and had his legs crippled; he was now completely powerless.

"Don't you dare!!"

A flash of determination crossed Lin Xi's eyes. A wisp of ink suddenly appeared on his chest and spread rapidly!

Chen Ling keenly sensed something was wrong. He immediately gripped Lin Xi's throat with one hand and tore open his clothes with the other, only to find that a knife woven from ink had already been plunged deep into Lin Xi's heart.

Oh no...

Chen Ling's heart sank.

"I told you... you can't escape." Lin Xi's breathing was extremely weak. He muttered to himself, "Wait for death in Willow Town... with me."

Lin Xi's eyes gradually lost focus, and he eventually stopped breathing.

Lin Xi wasn't stupid, and neither were Old Lu and Maple Ghost. The reason they fell into Chen Ling's hands was that Chen Ling's methods were too bizarre and beyond their understanding... But in this situation, Lin Xi's mind was very clear.

He knew the only way to stop Chen Ling from leaving was to let the Floating Life Painting know of his death.

And he had indeed done just that.

When Lin Xi's heart stopped, Chen Ling seemed to sense something. He looked up at the sky abruptly. Above the misty clouds, a [Circle] larger and more solid than the previous one was forming rapidly!!

"Damn it..." Chen Ling muttered to himself.

Chen Ling certainly knew he had to keep Lin Xi alive. He had attacked repeatedly just to strip Lin Xi of his ability to resist, even crippling his legs. In this situation, Chen Ling would have instantly stopped any suicide attempt by Lin Xi...

But he hadn't expected Lin Xi to be able to end his own life silently using such a method.

Chen Ling had won a complete victory against Lin Xi and the others, but at the last moment, he had been outplayed by Lin Xi... He had used his own actions to tell Chen Ling that winning against the [Floating Life Painting] wasn't that simple.

"Zzzzt..."

"Lin Xi is dead... I know you're listening."

That voice came from the walkie-talkie again. Compared to before, his voice was bone-chillingly cold.

"I admit, you almost fooled me. The Theater God Path's disguise ability is indeed well-deserved... But now, the [Circle] has locked down the area around Willow Town, and several high-level Architects are arriving soon.

No matter how many tricks you have, you are only one person and cannot escape our grasp;

The [Floating Life Painting] will make you pay the price."

[Audience Expectation +3]

[Current Expectation: 46%]

This was the anger of the [Floating Life Painting], and their declaration of war against Chen Ling. The Red Dust Realm was their home turf, and Chen Ling was just an outsider who had arrived by accident... He killed a few judges, and Lin Xi avenged them; he beat down Lin Xi, and the [Circle] Old Lu and Maple Ghost came; now that he had killed them all, a group of even more powerful enemies was coming for his life.

In the Red Dust Realm, they had enough manpower to rely on, but Chen Ling was ultimately alone. He had been beaten, but who could stand up for him?

The cold wind blew over the ruins, causing the lonely bright red theater robe to flutter loudly.

After a long silence, Chen Ling suddenly smiled and answered with his own voice:

"Alright, I'll be waiting for you."