Chapter 558: An Unexpected Reunion

The moment the walkie-talkie was activated, Chen Ling let out a soft "huh" and subconsciously turned to look at that position.

In the misty rain, he locked onto the inconspicuous Chief in the venue at a glance. He could feel a fluctuation of electronic communication signals emanating from there, extending to a location outside the venue.

Seemingly sensing Chen Ling’s gaze, the Chief also turned to look here. He saw a red-clad actor holding an oil-paper umbrella standing in the rain, looking at him from afar.

A look of confusion flashed in his eyes.

Chen Ling smiled slightly, then shifted his gaze and continued walking into the venue with Kong Baosheng.

Although he didn't feel any Divine Path fluctuations from the other party, the fact that he had instantly noticed his gaze made Chen Ling certain that the man was no ordinary person. He was likely the possessor of some Divine Path... Coupled with the fact that he seemed to be deliberately paying attention to Li Ruohong, and the hidden communication equipment on his person, Chen Ling had basically guessed the man’s identity.

It seems that with one cast of my rod this time, I’ve hooked two big fish...

As Chen Ling went deeper into the venue, passing one figure after another, everyone was soon attracted by that flash of bright red. Especially the famous actresses who frequented the entertainment industry—upon seeing that face under the edge of the umbrella, they were secretly shocked!

"Who is he?"

"I haven't seen him before... But judging by his attire, he’s an actor?"

"Do people who sing opera look this good these days? I feel like with his looks, he could become a top-tier male star just by relying on his face..."

"I think so too! He looks much better than those top male idols!!"

"I always thought opera singers were middle-aged or old men... It’s been a long time since we’ve seen such a young actor in the Red Dust Realm, right?"

"There really aren't any young people singing opera now. Only a few highly respected seniors are still persisting in singing..."

"Help, will he sing today?? I’m a bit expectant."

"Don't be too expectant. Do you think singing opera is simple? That takes years of hard practice. How could young people today have the patience to suffer that? He’s young, so he probably won't sound that great... It’s fine to just look at him as a vase."

“……”

At this moment, Chen Ling finally realized what a perfect face meant. In any era, this was the most natural competitive advantage.

Of course, on ordinary days, the beauty or ugliness of a face was meaningless to Chen Ling—in fact, the more ordinary, the better. But today, in Chen Ling’s plan, he needed to be eye-catching enough, otherwise he wouldn't have worn such a bright red opera robe.

"Master, they’re all looking at you!" Kong Baosheng said excitedly. "Are we going to be famous?"

"What are you thinking?" Chen Ling laughed.

"I need to find someone for something. You just eat and drink in the venue, and don't run around, you hear?"

"Yes, Master."

Chen Ling walked alone with his umbrella toward a certain part of the venue.

Now that Li Ruohong had brought the two Wuji Realm spies into the estate, they should be heading straight for Mu Chunsheng’s office. Chen Ling naturally had to find a way to sneak over there—first, to prepare for his later actions, and second, to see what exactly they were up to.

The Beidou Consortium’s estate wasn't a place just anyone could enter. If it were an outsider, they would definitely get lost here, but Chen Ling was different. He had been to the Beidou estate once before, and Mu Chunsheng had even personally explained every layout to him. He even knew exactly where the security was set up. Relying on [Faceless], it wouldn't be difficult for Chen Ling to sneak into the office.

As Chen Ling moved away, the gazes focused on him gradually thinned. Just then, a different kind of gaze pierced through the crowd and locked onto him.

Although many people had looked at Chen Ling earlier, they basically just glanced twice and shifted their gaze. But this time, Chen Ling could feel a gaze locked firmly onto him, and it hadn't shifted for a long time, as if it were monitoring him.

Chen Ling didn't immediately look at the source of that gaze, otherwise he would be like that Chief and have his extraordinary nature detected. He first walked to a dead end, pretending to be lost, and then looked around blankly.

Soon, he found the source of that gaze.

It was an ordinary-looking man. Judging by his uniform, he was a Beidou Consortium security guard. At this moment, he was standing in the corner of the venue, staring at him in astonishment... No, it should be said he was staring at the small blue flower on the hem of his opera robe?

This small blue flower had been sewn on by Chen Yan in the past. It was very small, and if you didn't look closely, it was hard to see. But he was staring at it, as if thinking seriously about something. Seeing him turn to look at him, he silently shifted his gaze away.

Was he a Divine Path possessor kept by the Beidou Consortium? Could he have discovered his anomaly?

No, that’s not right...

Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Chen Ling made no unnecessary movements. Instead, he pretended to have realized he had gone the wrong way, scratched his head, and walked straight toward the security guard.

"Hello, may I ask where the restroom is?"

"Restroom?"

The security guard was stunned for a moment, thought about it, and pointed in a certain direction. "That way."

"Thank you."

Chen Ling smiled politely and walked straight toward the direction the security guard pointed. After turning a corner, he disappeared from the security guard’s field of vision.

The security guard stood there for a long time, as if struggling with something. Finally, he gritted his teeth and followed Chen Ling from a distance.

However, the moment he turned the corner, he lost sight of Chen Ling. Just as he was looking around in confusion, a hand like an iron pincer suddenly covered his mouth from behind, and a gun barrel pressed against his temple at the same time.

"Don't move if you don't want to die!" Chen Ling’s deep voice rang out. He exerted sudden force with his arm, pulling the security guard into an empty room, and locked the door behind him.

This seemed to be a storage room. The floor was covered in dust, and it hadn't been cleaned in a long time... There was only one palm-wide window at the top of the wall. Gray-white daylight shone into the dim room, and the air fell into a dead silence.

Restrained by Chen Ling, the security guard’s eyes were full of astonishment. He hadn't expected the other party to act so decisively, and he made muffled sounds.

Chen Ling held a gun to his brow with one hand and spoke unhurriedly, "The security guards now are basically concentrated near the banquet venue and wouldn't appear in such a remote place. And you didn't even know where the restroom was... You aren't a security guard here at all, are you?

You aren't from the Wuji Realm, and you certainly aren't from the Police Bureau. If you came from those two camps, there would be no need to go through the trouble of disguising yourself..."

The security guard was stunned, but Chen Ling still held his mouth firmly, his eyes meeting his. A pair of apricot-red eyes slowly emerged at the corners of his eyes,

"So... who are you? And what is your purpose?"

Chen Ling thought he had mastered the overall situation of the banquet, but now that a mysterious existence suspected of being a fourth party had suddenly popped up, he had to be on high alert. He had played the "oriole" behind the scenes so many times; he didn't want to be plotted against in return.

The good news was that this person’s strength didn't seem to be anything special, otherwise Chen Ling wouldn't have been able to control him so easily... Even if he wasn't willing to talk, Chen Ling could try to peek at part of the truth using [Painting Vermilion Face].

The security guard looked at Chen Ling, the look in his eyes going from shock to complexity, and finally to helplessness... He gave a bitter smile, and after breaking free from Chen Ling’s hand, he slowly reached his hand to his chin...

And then tore it off with force!

As a layer of skin dissipated into the air, a familiar face was exposed before Chen Ling’s eyes...

Opera God Path, First-Order Skill, [Thousand Faces].

Li Qingshan let out a long sigh,

"Brother Lin, long time no see."