Chapter 4: They Exist

"Achoo!!"

In the cold wind, Chen Ling sneezed violently.

As a northerner in his previous life, Chen Ling found it hard to handle the weather here—cold and damp. Even with a big sun in the sky, he couldn't feel a shred of warmth.

"Make way, make way!"

A lazy voice came from ahead. Chen Ling snapped out of it and instinctively moved to the side of the road.

At the end of the road, a tricycle was slowly approaching. One teenager was pedaling, while another sat in the chair behind, next to two large buckets of salt.

He scooped up salt with a ladle and scattered it on the frosted road. As the salt grains fell, the frost on the ground gradually melted.

"Yo, Chen Ling?" The one scattering salt saw Chen Ling standing by the road and raised an eyebrow.

"Didn't expect to see the big scholar here. Didn't you go to take the Enforcer exam? Did you get rejected?"

Seeing that face, a wave of memories flooded Chen Ling's mind.

His name was Zhao Yi, a kid who had grown up on the same street as Chen Ling. But he was born jealous; Chen Ling had good grades in high school, and Zhao Yi's mother often compared him to Chen Ling, making him dislike Chen Ling no matter what.

"I passed the written test, there's still the martial test." Chen Ling stood by the road and replied casually.

"Hehe, well, good luck with your exam!"

Saying that, Zhao Yi scooped up a large ladle of salt and threw it forcefully toward the side of the road, accidentally splashing Chen Ling.

The flying salt grains covered Chen Ling's hair and cotton robe. He hadn't expected Zhao Yi to pull such a stunt, so he quickly brushed the salt off and glared back at Zhao Yi.

By now, Zhao Yi was already riding away on the tricycle, swaying back and forth... He rested one foot on the salt bucket and stuck his tongue out at Chen Ling, making a face.

As a twenty-eight-year-old adult who had been hardened by society, Chen Ling felt a mix of anger and amusement at such a clumsy prank...

However, Chen Ling had no intention of chasing after the kid to give him a beating; he just noted the incident in his mind. He had more important things to do right now.

Just as Chen Ling was about to step forward, he caught a glimpse of the ground at his feet and paused slightly.

The frost that had come into contact with the salt was melting, leaving a slight white residue on the ground. In that instant, Chen Ling saw a line of text weave itself into shape—

[Audience Expectation: 27%]

Before Chen Ling could react, the salt grains melted completely, and the scene from a moment ago seemed like nothing more than a fleeting hallucination.

Chen Ling rubbed his eyes hard and muttered to himself:

"No way..."

A sense of urgency rose again, and Chen Ling quickened his pace, heading straight for the clinic.

A few minutes later, Chen Ling pushed open the clinic door.

It was called a clinic, but it was actually just a residential house on Frost Street, two stories high, with a square, earthy-gray exterior that immediately reminded Chen Ling of the houses in his rural hometown.

But even such a rough building was considered quite decent on Frost Street; at least it had two floors and could block the wind.

"It's you." Behind a wooden desk, a man in a white coat turned slightly, "Here to get medicine for your brother again? Didn't he transfer to the hospital in District 2?"

"It's not for A-Yan this time, it's for me."

Chen Ling's younger brother had been hospitalized here before, and he was quite familiar with this Dr. Lin. He walked to the desk and sat down, looking somewhat nervous.

"Oh? What's bothering you?"

"I... my brain isn't feeling right."

"Is it a physical headache, or..."

"I seem to have been having hallucinations lately."

"Psychiatry?" Dr. Lin raised an eyebrow and pushed up his black-rimmed glasses seriously, "That's my specialty... tell me about your symptoms."

"I had a dream last night. I dreamt I was standing on a stage, and there were many audience members below... I couldn't see their faces, but they didn't look human. I was running desperately on stage, but I could never find an exit..."

"Dream interpretation isn't in my line of work."

"I know." Chen Ling took a deep breath, "But after I woke up, I kept feeling... like they were still watching me."

Hearing this, Dr. Lin finally became interested, "Fantasizing that you're being watched?"

"It doesn't feel like a fantasy... It's like they're in my head, sitting in the auditorium, observing my every move, and I'm just a performer forced to act, a tool to amuse them."

"Are you saying your life is a stage, and you're the only protagonist on it?"

"That's the gist... but not as positive as you make it sound."

"And the audience? Besides watching you, do they do anything else?"

Chen Ling was silent for a moment, "I don't know if it's my imagination... but they seem to be able to affect the things around me."

"Affect reality? That sounds a bit fantastical." As Dr. Lin said this, he picked up his tea mug for a sip, but just as he was about to say something else, his expression changed!

Pfft!!

Dr. Lin spat out a mouthful of scarlet blood, which splattered onto the floor.

"Dr. Lin??" Chen Ling was startled, "What kind of illness is this?"

"...No." Dr. Lin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth—it wasn't his blood. He frowned and thought for a moment, his gaze falling on the tea mug at the corner of the desk...

At some point, the mug had become filled with viscous blood.

Dr. Lin's face turned ugly. He clearly remembered steeping a bag of Pu-erh tea in it a minute ago.

During this time, only he and Chen Ling were in the clinic. Chen Ling had been under his constant gaze and had no way or motive to swap the tea. The mug full of fresh blood had appeared as if by magic, eerily...

Chen Ling also seemed to realize something, his face turning even paler.

"Just as I said." He spoke hoarsely,

"They... might really exist."

Dr. Lin stared at the cup of blood for a long time before slowly looking at him,

"How long has this been going on?"

"One day." Chen Ling paused, "Since I regained consciousness, only one day."

"And before you regained consciousness? What were you doing?"

"I..."

In Chen Ling's mind, the image of him stumbling through the heavy rain last night suddenly surfaced, "I don't know, I can't remember."

"So, you're not sure if these symptoms started last night, and you have no memory from before last night?"

"...Right."

"Have you ever been possessed by a 'Calamity'?" Dr. Lin pushed up his glasses,

"Or let me ask it this way: last night... did you encounter a Gray Realm intersection?"