Chapter 973: Who Are You

"Are you okay? Yao."

"Hmm." Yao's voice sounded in his mind. "The mask couldn't bear the aura of the Land of Divine Sacrifice. After it shattered, I had no choice but to return..."

Chen Ling nodded slightly. He looked up at the gloomy sky, his gaze somewhat lost.

"What are you thinking about?" Yao asked.

"Master said that after the Gray World descends, the first world-ending disaster to appear on Earth is the Calamity of Taboo." Chen Ling paused for a moment. "It slaughtered a country, crossed the ocean, and finally arrived at the Ancient Witchcraft Treasury, swallowing the Land of Divine Sacrifice... I was a bit strange at the time. There is more than one world-ender in the Gray World, so why was it specifically the Calamity of Taboo... and why did it head straight for the Ancient Witchcraft Treasury as soon as it arrived on Earth?"

"So, you suspect..."

The scene from just now appeared in Chen Ling's mind: the Calamity of Taboo roaring angrily on the churning tsunami at the aura of the Land of Divine Sacrifice radiating from him... He was silent for a long time before slowly speaking:

"Perhaps from the very beginning... it was me who led it here."

Yao fell silent.

"It was the aura of the Land of Divine Sacrifice on me that provoked the Calamity of Taboo through the God-Sacrifice Dance, causing it to descend... No, thinking deeper, perhaps the Gray World's descent onto Earth was also caused by me?" Chen Ling muttered to himself.

"I have 'Chao' on me, and you are connected to the Land of Divine Sacrifice. The [Nuo] we both performed might not only communicate with 'God' but also communicate with another world...

If that's the case, then I am the culprit behind all the disasters."

[Audience Expectation +3]

[Current Expectation: 36%]

Seeing the expectation value flash before his eyes, at this moment, the 749 Bureau's prophecy about him suddenly flooded Chen Ling's mind!

[Ghost-Chao World-Ender, Descending to the Human World]

[Era in Chaos, Heaven and Earth Punish Together]

Chen Ling stopped on the country road in the rain, his whole body icy cold.

He looked down at his pale palms, his voice extremely hoarse.

"Ghost-Chao World-Ender... Descending to the human world... Era in chaos, heaven and earth punish together... Maybe they were right. If they had killed me last time, the Gray World wouldn't have descended, and humanity would never have entered the next desperate era."

Chen Ling's fingernails dug deep into his palms, and strands of blood seeped out, mixing with the rain and flowing onto the ground.

Chen Ling couldn't accept such an answer.

He had risked his life, wanting to reverse the era, wanting to return everything to the very beginning... But now he discovered that perhaps his existence was the source of all disasters.

"I don't think so." Yao's voice pulled Chen Ling's consciousness out of the abyss.

"Perhaps we did provoke the Calamity of Taboo, but if just dancing a dance could cause a world to descend, that would be too exaggerated... Besides, it was the Red Star that created the disaster, and the Gray World also descended with the Red Star. It has nothing to do with you.

Furthermore, whether the era archive is real or not is still an unknown. It's too early to draw conclusions now."

Chen Ling was silent for a long time, squeezing out a bitter smile:

"I hope so..."

——00:01:48。

Chen Ling temporarily suppressed his chaotic thoughts, looked at the dark clouds overhead, and let out a long sigh... Regardless, this era archive was almost over. The next time he entered here, it would probably be a month later.

He was currently in the Wuji Domain. Where he would be in a month, whether he would be dead or alive, was still an unknown...

Just as Chen Ling was preparing to wait for his return,

A figure holding an umbrella walked over from the country road behind him.

Chen Ling looked back and saw Shen Nan holding several fragments of the Nuo mask, his expression heavy, slowly stopping in the rain.

"Sorry." Chen Ling took the initiative to speak. "I failed... In the end, I still couldn't become a [Nuo]."

"Failure is not terrible. Even if we failed this time, we still have time... Tomorrow, the day after, the day after that, we still have chances."

For Shen Nan, time measured in "days" was easily accessible. But for Chen Ling, every time he came here, it took a month. The time units for the two were completely different...

Chen Ling didn't explain, just smiled helplessly:

"Maybe."

"However, some things are different." Shen Nan changed the subject, his gaze toward Chen Ling extremely serious. "Trust between people, if it's not solid from the beginning, everything else is a castle in the air."

Chen Ling was stunned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we should be more honest."

“……”

Chen Ling looked at him for a long time and let out a long sigh. "So, you still don't believe I'm a transmigrator..."

"When you mentioned the gray world earlier, I actually believed you a little... But now it seems you haven't told the truth."

"I told the truth."

"Is that so?" Shen Nan shook his phone. "Before I got on the train to find you, I took the time to make two calls. One call was to Old Xiao to confirm your identity; the second call, I made to a friend in Shang-Jing, asking him to help me conduct some investigations."

Chen Ling was startled. He didn't expect Shen Nan to be so cautious. Although he had also called Xiao Chunping to confirm Shen Nan's situation, he didn't expect Shen Nan to specifically send someone to Shang-Jing to investigate him...

But it was reasonable to think about it. He was a target wanted by the entire 749 Bureau. If Shen Nan wanted him to become a [Nuo], he had to confirm his background.

"And then?"

Chen Ling asked while checking the countdown on the screen again.

——00:00:27。

"Old Xiao's evaluation of you is very high." Shen Nan paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"But my friend searched through the list of victims of the Shang-Jing City Theater and couldn't find the name 'Chen Ling'... So I want to ask...

Who exactly are you?"

Boom—

Dull thunder sounded from the dark clouds.

Chen Ling's mind shook suddenly with the thunder. He stood frozen on the spot, his gaze toward Shen Nan full of confusion...

"What are you talking about?" Chen Ling frowned tightly.

"I didn't lie to you. I was indeed an intern director at the Shang-Jing City Theater before... I was crushed to death by the chandelier on the stage when the earthquake happened, and my parents even claimed the body... How could I not be on the victim list?"

"Chen Ling..."

"Your friend must have missed a list, or his information source is simply inaccurate. If you need, I can describe the appearance of that theater in detail, and I can even report the names of other actors and staff..."

"Enough!" Shen Nan interrupted Chen Ling.

He walked straight to Chen Ling, his eyes staring at Chen Ling's pupils like swords, as if he wanted to see through him completely.

"First, this friend of mine is the Human Resources Manager of the Shang-Jing City Theater..."

"Second..."

"The Shang-Jing City Theater hasn't hired an intern director in three years."

"I didn't expect that even now, you're still pretending..."

A flash of anger crossed Shen Nan's eyes.

"Chen Ling... no, perhaps this isn't even your real name... I don't know why you're hiding it, but if possible, I still hope we can be more honest...

Who... exactly are you?"