Chapter 716: Offering a Salute!!!

At the same time, Bai Ye and Club J, who were struggling to block Brand in mid-air, were both shaken upon hearing this.

The two looked at each other, saw the subtle expressions on each other's faces, and then retreated in unison, having no intention of entangling with Brand any further.

"...Hmm?"

Brand, who had just torn open the magic scene, was also a bit surprised to see this.

Bai Ye and Club J turned into two streams of light and passed through the street. The latter conjured a magic hat out of thin air and, with a gentle wave, tucked Jian Changsheng and the others inside.

"This..." Kong Baosheng was stunned on the spot seeing this magical scene.

Before he and Li Qingshan could speak, Club J's hat swept again, directly pulling them in as well.

At the same time, Bai Ye looked solemnly at Chen Ling:

"Chen Ling, are you serious?"

"Yeah," Chen Ling nodded slightly, his gaze looking at the void behind him, and answered firmly, "Don't worry... I'll be fine."

"Alright, then we'll go first!"

Before the words had faded, the two burst out with astonishing speed as if facing life and death, flashing a few times and disappearing from Chen Ling's field of vision...

Chen Ling: ...

The decisiveness of Bai Ye and Club J left Chen Ling momentarily stunned, and Kong Baosheng and his companion in the magic hat were even more bewildered.

"Sir... Sir is still there!" the young man said anxiously. "You left him behind!"

"We can't take him with us."

"...Why??"

"This matter is a bit complicated... In short, it's better not to get close to him right now."

"But if we leave Sir alone, he'll be in danger!"

"Danger?"

Heart 9's sneer rang out from the magic hat. Numerous gazes pierced through the hat itself, looking at the rapidly receding street ruins behind them.

"Just watch carefully... what kind of existence this Mr. Lin you speak of really is."

Kong Baosheng and Li Qingshan were both stunned on the spot.

……

[Audience Expectation +3]

[Current Expectation: 55%]

As the two lines of small text flashed past Chen Ling's eyes, he took a deep breath and exhaled slowly...

The scorching breath drifted from the corners of his mouth, condensing into wisps of white mist in the inexplicably chilly atmosphere, and vanished above the ruins;

At the same time,

Brand's figure drifted down from the sky, landing on the dust-swirling earth.

"It seems your companions have abandoned you too," Brand sneered. "The outside world rumors how powerful the Twilight Society is, but now it seems they're just a bunch of chickens and dogs..."

Thump—!

Brand walked forward slowly. The Eighth-Order pressure pressed down on the entire street like a mountain. Even the swirling dust seemed to be pressed down by an invisible giant hand, all sticking tightly to the ground!

Along with them, Chen Ling, wearing the bright red opera robe, was also suppressed.

Brand locked Chen Ling down with his aura, making him unable to even take a step to escape... He didn't make a move immediately. After all, Chen Ling was only Third-Order. Without the obstruction of those Twilight Society members, killing Chen Ling was as easy as turning over his hand.

This guy had ruined their plan at the most critical moment; killing him just like that would be letting him off too easily.

"...Is that so?"

Although Chen Ling was suppressed by the Eighth-Order aura, his expression was incredibly calm.

At the same time, outside the dimension of the Red Dust Domain, the Dust Dragon, still fighting Su Zhiwei, the Lord of Red Dust, seemed to smell a familiar scent and suddenly turned its head to look in this direction...

Compared to the Red Dust Domain, which had been hidden in the red flower, the Dust Dragon's body was as vast as an otherworldly god, and the naked eye couldn't even glimpse its full picture... That wind-tunnel pupil slowly approached the red flower, like the moon about to collide with the earth, and a sense of grandeur and oppression swept over!

The next moment, in the void behind Chen Ling, pairs of scarlet pupils opened once again!

[Kill it]

[Kill it kill it kill it...]

The deafening sound of stomping rang out again in the theater of Chen Ling's mind. Countless blood-colored small characters were crazily sketched on the floor, venting the audience's anger and desire!

Brand's forward movement suddenly froze on the spot:

"Huh...?"

I don't know if it was an illusion, but Brand vaguely felt that the temperament of the Chen Ling in front of him seemed different... An inexplicable chill arose from nowhere, spreading through his whole body, and even the hair on his arms stood up involuntarily.

He looked around suspiciously, not knowing where this chill came from.

Thump—!

Thump—thump—!!

The incessant stomping made Chen Ling subconsciously furrow his brows, and the familiar, splitting, excruciating pain surged into his heart again... But this time he didn't panic; instead, he calmly closed his eyes slowly.

When he opened them again, two apricot-colored eye makeup marks emerged from the corners of his eyes, captivating the soul!

—[Painting the Vermilion Face]!!

The "Vermilion Face," which had always been suppressed by the fourth wall, finally returned to Chen Ling's body. He had found this face that belonged to him, this "anchor" his master had prepared for him!

The moment this face appeared, the influence of the "audience" on him was greatly reduced. Even the deafening stomping no longer made him feel uncomfortable... His furrowed brows relaxed, and his entire temperament seemed different.

Of course, Chen Ling using [Painting the Vermilion Face] at this moment was not just to isolate the harassment of the "audience"...

This was the last layer of insurance he had prepared for himself.

"To be precise, you need a face mask that belongs to you, a face mask that belongs to 'Chen Ling'... Only in this way, when you feel confused about your own existence, or even when your mind is swallowed by bewilderment, can you have a glimmer of hope to find yourself again."

His master's words echoed in his ears. Although Chen Ling couldn't fully grasp the meaning of it yet, he felt that leaving a layer of insurance at this moment would definitely not be wrong.

Brand saw this scene, and his face gradually darkened.

Chen Ling lowered his head, then raised it, and two strange apricot-red marks appeared at the corners of his eyes... Although Brand didn't know what that was, combined with the chill that had just emerged, he felt that things seemed a bit wrong.

No matter what, let's kill this kid first!

Just as Brand was about to make a move, Chen Ling moved first;

The sleeve of that bright red opera robe took out a revolver engraved with rose patterns from his bosom, and then, in Brand's astonished gaze, gently pressed it against his own temple...

Brand froze on the spot.

"You..." Brand was incredulous.

Could it be that this kid knew he couldn't escape this disaster, so he decided to commit suicide?

The brass casing of the revolver reflected a faint light in the dim glow. A red-clad opera singer with captivating apricot-red eye makeup was pressing the muzzle against his own temple, his robe fluttering silently like embers in the wind!

Countless scarlet pupils circled behind Chen Ling. They seemed to have guessed what Chen Ling was about to do, their eyes narrowing into narrow crescents, as if in anticipation, as if in a carnival!

[Audience Expectation: 55%]

If Chen Ling died this time, the audience expectation would be deducted by 50, dropping directly to an unprecedented 5%... Chen Ling didn't know what would happen then, but according to past experience, this stage corresponded to "world-extinguishing" level destructive power. He also didn't know if he could return to the stage after this adventure... This was a gamble from the start.

But at this historic moment, Chen Ling felt he should say something;

If he ultimately failed to return to the stage, this sentence would become the last line he left in this grand performance...

What kind of line would this be?

In Chen Ling's mind, everything about this war surged: the Halls' successive efforts, Huo Shuyue's resolute turning back, Li Qingshan's burning of the boats, and the Red Dust history that created everything three hundred years ago as told by Club 8... Emotions were rolling, and a sentence that could summarize the Red Dust Domain emerged in Chen Ling's mind.

He looked at Brand, looked at the wind-tunnel dragon pupil approaching in the sky, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, as if he were smiling;

Brand felt a tremor in his heart for no reason when he saw this strange smile!

He raised his hand without hesitation and grabbed at Chen Ling's head from the air, as if wanting to actively kill Chen Ling in this instant!

But the next moment,

Chen Ling smiled and pulled the trigger in his hand.

A voice like rolling thunder echoed in every corner of the Red Dust Domain!

"For the pioneers of human civilization... offer a salute!!!"

Bang—!!!

A bullet pierced through Chen Ling's head, and scarlet blood bloomed on the ruins like a grand firework!!