Chapter 474: Preparing for War Against the Emperor God Path

"Junior brother! You succeeded?!"

As soon as Chen Ling returned to his grassland residence, he heard the surprised voices of Ning Ruyu and the others.

Chen Ling turned to look and found that the four senior brothers and sisters hadn't left, but were gathered at his door chatting, as if waiting specifically for him.

"It’s a preliminary success," Chen Ling smiled.

Under the curious gazes of the group, Chen Ling summoned his "Red Face." When they saw the apricot eye makeup, their eyes lit up:

"This stroke is really well done... it’s a bit like the eyes of a Dan role, yet different..."

"Junior brother was already good-looking, but with this eye makeup, he’s even more perfect... If he showed his face in the Red Dust Main City, he could easily suppress those celebrities."

"Those painted dolls can’t compare to our junior brother. Junior brother could be the number one actor in the world!"

Luan Mei, Wenren You, and Mo Jiao were all clicking their tongues in admiration at Chen Ling’s eye makeup. Only Ning Ruyu studied the eyes for a long time before asking suspiciously:

"Junior brother... your eyes seem different from before?"

"It seems so," Chen Ling looked around.

Previously, activating the 【Secret Pupils】 could only enhance his control over details, such as observing micro-expressions or enemy movements. But now, both the breadth and precision of his vision had undergone a qualitative leap... An ordinary person could see things clearly within 50-100 meters at most, but for Chen Ling now, even at five hundred meters, he could clearly see the body of an ant on the ground.

But Chen Ling could feel that this wasn't the limit of these eyes... These eyes could see more.

However, there were no enemies around now, only his senior brothers and sisters, so he couldn't test it for the time being. Chen Ling had to put away the "Red Face," the apricot red at the corners of his eyes gradually fading, waiting for a suitable opportunity.

Wait...

At this moment, Chen Ling suddenly realized something.

Opportunity?

【Audience Expectation: 69%】

Chen Ling saw this prompt float up, rubbed his chin with one hand, and fell into deep thought.

Now that he had his own "Red Face" and the capital to play against the audience, as long as the expectation value wasn't too low, he could try to snatch his body back from the audience... Did this mean that as long as he set the expectation value to the right amount in advance and then entered the era archive, actively releasing the "Mockery" disaster, he would have the power to fight the Emperor God Path?

Once this thought emerged, Chen Ling’s mind became active immediately. He seemed to have found a way to get rid of the Emperor God Path and continue operating within the era archive!

But the key to this plan was finding the most suitable expectation value—one that ensured he could reclaim his body while ensuring the power of the released "Mockery" wouldn't be instantly killed by the Emperor God Path.

Chen Ling thought for a long time before making up his mind:

"Senior brothers and sisters, I’m going into seclusion for a while."

"Seclusion?" The group was stunned.

"Yes, I will lock myself in my room, not engage in any activities, and not see anyone... Just letting you all know in advance."

The current audience expectation value was still 69%. Even if Chen Ling died, there would still be 19% expectation value left. Although the audience would intervene in the performance, the power released wouldn't be strong—roughly equivalent to the Third Stage... Therefore, Chen Ling had to actively lower the audience expectation value.

And the best way to lower expectation value was naturally to make the audience feel bored.

The senior brothers and sisters looked at each other, not understanding Chen Ling’s intention, but they didn't ask further, as they respected their junior brother’s ideas.

"What about meals?" Wenren You asked suddenly. "Do you need me to bring food to your door?"

Chen Ling paused, a warmth rising in his heart:

"Then thank you, Third Senior Brother."

……

Chen Ling said goodbye to Ning Ruyu and the others one by one, returned to his room, and locked himself in.

It was already afternoon, the sun gradually sinking to the edge of the grassland. The dim sunlight spilled into Chen Ling’s bedroom, covering the floor in a layer of pale gold.

Chen Ling, draped in his bright red stage robes, sat alone on the floor, supporting his head with one hand, staring blankly at the scenery outside the window.

A small room, no interpersonal relationships, no plot progression, and no fun to be had... Chen Ling’s "performance" immediately became dull and boring. Even the audience in the theater could only stare blankly out the window with him.

Time passed minute by minute. About two hours later, the sun set completely, night fell upon the world, and stars gathered in Chen Ling’s eyes, weaving into two lines of text:

【Audience Expectation -1】

【Current Expectation: 68%】

Good, they finally couldn't help it.

Chen Ling recalled the few times the audience had "intervened" in his performances so far and roughly categorized them into several levels in his mind:

18%—19%: A very small portion of the audience leaves their seats, begins to occupy the body, and intervenes in the performance. The power exerted is roughly at the Third Stage level, though after the expectation value drops by 1, combat power increases significantly;

16%—17%: Roughly equivalent to the Fourth Stage. This was the stage where he swept through the Aurora City law enforcers and fought Han Meng to a standstill;

14%—15%: Reaches the Fifth Stage level. In this range, he could pin Han Meng to the ground and beat him, instantly killing the Paper Puppet Master, Pu Wen, and other God Path possessors of the same Fifth Stage. It was difficult for him to reclaim his body at this stage, and he only escaped because of Chen Yan’s help;

13% corresponds to the Sixth Stage, which is the lowest expectation value Chen Ling has experienced so far. It could easily wipe out the Starry Sky Chamber of Commerce, but at that time, the theater curtain had completely hardened, and there was no possibility of Chen Ling reclaiming his body on his own. If Mo Jiao hadn't intervened, he would likely have become the "Audience" completely.

Chen Ling predicted his limit in his mind should be 14%—15%. Even with the Red Face, once it dropped below 14%, it was almost impossible for him to reclaim his body on his own... Therefore, the "Mockery" disaster power he could mobilize was at most Fifth Stage.

"That Emperor God Path is also Fifth Stage, so that’s just right," Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Chen Ling’s gaze returned to the 68% expectation value. He clutched the era archive USB drive in his hand, planning to enter the archive as soon as the expectation value dropped to 65%. Otherwise, he didn't know when he would be able to accumulate so much expectation value again.

Chen Ling closed his eyes slowly, intending to rest and prepare to meet the fierce battle in the era archive in his best state.

……

【Audience Expectation -1】

……

【Audience Expectation -1】

……

【Audience Expectation -1】

【Current Expectation: 65%】

I don't know how much time passed, but the moment this line of characters floated up, Chen Ling’s eyes snapped open!!