Chapter 974: Double Vortex

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[Time limit for No. 129439 has expired]

[Reading interrupted]

Shen Nan's figure shattered in front of Chen Ling. Chen Ling, feeling suppressed to the point of suffocation, only felt a blur before his eyes, and his figure fell rapidly into an endless abyss!

……

Thud—!!

Chen Ling sat up abruptly from the bed, like a drowning person near death, surfacing at the last moment.

His chest heaved violently, and dense sweat beads rolled down from his forehead... It was as if he had just finished a nightmare, his face as pale as paper.

Rumble.

Faint thunder sounded from outside the window, like the nightmare he couldn't escape even by traveling through eras; the rain tapped on the window, like a demon knocking on Chen Ling's heartstrings.

[Audience Expectation +3]

[Current Expectation: 39%]

Chen Ling sat blankly on the spot for a long time before looking down at his body, his eyes full of confusion.

"This is impossible..." Chen Ling's chapped lips parted slightly. "There must be a mistake in some link... How could I possibly..."

Shen Nan's last few words lingered in his ears like a nightmare. Chen Ling gritted his teeth and got out of bed, not even putting on his shoes, and stumbled toward the floor-to-ceiling mirror.

Perhaps because his body was too tense, Chen Ling knocked over a wooden cabinet nearby, and art ornaments fell to the ground with a clatter.

But Chen Ling couldn't care about that. He placed his hands on the edge of the mirror to steady himself, staring fixedly at himself in the mirror!

Sweat slid down his hair, and a deathly pale face came into view.

No...

Looking at the face is meaningless.

This body originally belonged to Chen Yan; his transmigration was only a transmigration of the soul.

He was Chen Ling, an intern director at the Shang-Jing City Theater. When the Red Star crossed the sky, he was crushed to death by the chandelier on the stage, and then he transmigrated here... Chen Ling had never doubted this point, and the beginning of the script was written that way too.

His era belonged to three hundred years ago. His family, friends, and his past were all buried there. That was the reason supporting Chen Ling to walk to this day. If even these were fake, what was left for him?

Chen Ling thought he had figured everything out—who he was, who this body was, the existence of Chen Yan, the existence of Yao... He had been tortured by that fear and pain from the bottom of his heart several times. He thought everything was over, but he never expected that the pain would be like a nightmare he couldn't escape, returning once again.

Chen Ling didn't continue to think. From the depths of his heart, he instinctively rejected Shen Nan's statement...

"Shen Nan must have gotten the theater wrong... Or, the things in the era archive aren't real at all... That's not the history I was in, just a parallel space-time..."

Chen Ling tried his best to convince himself. Just as his head was a mess, a knock on the door suddenly sounded!

Knock, knock, knock—

"Mr. Chen, are you okay?" The maid's voice sounded from outside the door.

"I heard movement in your room just now... Are you alright?"

This sentence directly pulled Chen Ling back to reality. He suddenly realized that he was still in the lair of the Wuji Domain, in the midst of another dangerous vortex. One wrong step, and it would be an abyss.

There was no time for pain, no way to rest.

Chen Ling looked at his deathly pale self in the mirror, his index fingers stiffly raised, forcibly pulling a smile on both sides of his mouth...

Click—

The door in front of the maid was gently opened.

"Oh~ I'm so sorry!" Chen Ling said with messy hair, smiling awkwardly.

"I was organizing medical-related materials all night and fell asleep on the table without realizing it... When I woke up, both my legs were numb and had no feeling... When I got up just now, I almost fell to the ground."

While speaking, Chen Ling dragged his legs and leaned against the wall, his face showing the sour expression of leg numbness. Behind him, survey questionnaires were scattered all over the floor.

The maid was a bit speechless. She glanced into the room and took the initiative to open the door and walk in.

"You rest first, I'll help you clean up."

"Okay, okay..."

While saying okay, Chen Ling moved his feet slightly, then stiffened at the door again, his expression extremely wonderful.

The maid felt a bit funny, and her doubts were completely dispelled. She quickly helped Chen Ling tidy up the desk and then asked:

"You got up a bit late today. Would you like breakfast?"

"Yes, I'll go after I recover for a while."

"Okay."

After the maid walked away, Chen Ling slowly moved his body and closed the door again...

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, his eyes full of bloodshot veins.

Regardless, Chen Ling couldn't accept Shen Nan's statement. Now that he had returned to this era, trying to prove Shen Nan wrong was undoubtedly very difficult. After all, whether it was the Shang-Jing City Theater or the Red Star victim list, they were all materials from three hundred years ago.

But the fear of the unknown was the most tormenting. Chen Ling couldn't bear to wait a month to investigate the truth; that would drive him crazy.

"There must be a way to investigate..." Chen Ling muttered to himself.

He looked at the Wuji Domain shrouded in dark clouds outside the window, as if he had made up his mind. He grabbed those survey questionnaires and walked out the door.

……

"What did you say?"

Chi Tong had just finished brewing a cup of coffee for himself. Hearing his subordinate's report, he looked up abruptly.

"We found traces of the Rat Party." That Fire-Tamperer said seriously. "After those witches took Fang Liangye away last time, we have been investigating and searching around the area where they disappeared. We compared their escape routes from last time and still found some clues...

They seem to be using the underground drainage system of the Wuji Domain to hide."

Chi Tong frowned tightly.

"You mean... they are hiding in the sewers?"

"Very likely."

"Hmph, as expected of a bunch of rats."

"Lord Chi Tong, what should we do next? Should we conduct a thorough search of the underground drainage system?"

"..." After Chi Tong pondered for a moment, his expression was somewhat solemn. "The Wuji Domain is rainy all year round, and the underground drainage system is designed to be intricate. Moreover, because the construction is too old, the blueprints for some areas are not complete...

We haven't been in the Wuji Domain for long, but most of those Rat Party members are witches born and raised in the Wuji Domain. They are too familiar with the terrain. A rash search will probably only alert the enemy.

Damn it, if only there were a local who was familiar with the Rat Party..."

Just as Chi Tong was worried, a maid walked to the table.

"Lord Chi Tong, that person said he wants to see you again..."

"Who?" Chi Tong's train of thought was interrupted, his tone somewhat impatient.

"Chen Ling. He said he wants to come and report to you about the medical situation. Didn't you sneak out last night... oh no, rest early?" The maid asked tentatively. "Do you need me to decline for you again?"

Chen Ling...

A glimmer of light flashed in Chi Tong's eyes.

"No... let him in."