Chapter 1007: Not Existing He

Eighth-tier Asuras are nearly impossible to kill. Even the King of Silver couldn't completely eradicate her existence, as the Path of the Thieving God is not inherently skilled in killing. Therefore, the King of Silver could only use this method to suppress Hongxiu's life force, bringing her infinitely close to death. It was like an unconventional form of sealing.

“You lost,” the King of Silver stated calmly, gazing at the corpse. “From this day forward, there will be no more Enforcers in this world.”

The mournful cold wind swept over Hongxiu's corpse, nailed to the city gate. Her tattered Enforcer's trench coat flapped wildly in the dim light.

“Hongxiu… lost?” Jian Changsheng mumbled to himself, seemingly unable to accept the outcome. “She’s the Asura leader, she’s so powerful… and yet she still lost to the King of Silver??”

“I’ve said it before, eighth-tier and ninth-tier are different,” Sun Bumin shook his head. “The fact that she pushed the King of Silver to that extent, even almost killing him, is already astounding…”

“But…”

Jian Changsheng still couldn’t accept it. He and Hongxiu followed the same path; the current Hongxiu was arguably the strong individual Jian Changsheng had always dreamed of becoming. Yet, in the end, his dream was brutally crushed by the King of Silver.

“This is not the time for this!” A glint flickered in Chen Ling’s eyes. He immediately spoke, “Quick, let’s split up and run!!”

“Split up??”

“The King of Silver can steal space. Hongxiu is dead; he can catch up to us in an instant… His target is me. If you stay with me, you’ll only be dragged to your deaths!!”

“No!” Jian Changsheng retorted without a second thought. “Last time, you sacrificed yourself so we could live. This time, if we die, we die together. No matter what, I refuse to be a deserter again!”

“No! I have the Mocking Calamity within me; he wouldn’t dare kill me easily! But for him, killing you would be as simple as crushing an ant…”

“But…”

“Enough talk!”

Without another word, Chen Ling grabbed Jiang Xiaohua by the collar and forcefully ripped off most of the bandages on his body! Instantly, a nearly naked Jiang Xiaohua gasped, covering himself with his hands. He stared at Chen Ling in disbelief, an expression on his face that clearly said, “I never thought you were this kind of person.”

Then, Chen Ling pushed Jiang Xiaohua towards Jian Changsheng and spoke again: “Go!!”

Deprived of the bandages’ isolation, Jiang Xiaohua’s concealment ability immediately took effect. The trio’s presence in the world became almost imperceptible… Jian Changsheng and the other person were about to protest further, but Sun Bumin grabbed each of them with a hand and sprinted wildly into the distance!

“Red Heart is right; this is no time for impulsive actions… Only if we survive will we have a chance to save him!”

As the three moved away, Chen Ling could no longer sense their presence, and his heart finally settled somewhat.

He then turned his gaze to Fang Liangye: “You should leave quickly too. You’re an ordinary person; escape through the sewers. The King of Silver won’t notice you.”

Fang Liangye glanced at the nearby manhole cover and nodded heavily: “Alright…”

Fang Liangye didn’t believe that he, an ordinary person, could be of much help to Chen Ling. All he could do now was try to preserve his own life.

Just as Fang Liangye was about to leave, he suddenly paused, as if remembering something.

“What is it?”

“Chen Ling…” Fang Liangye hesitated for a moment, then turned back to him, his gaze complex. “Do you remember that matter you asked me to investigate? I’ll tell you the results now… Please stay calm and listen to me…”

The desperate escape had almost made Chen Ling forget about this. Hearing Fang Liangye’s tone, an ominous premonition inexplicably rose in his heart.

“First, I need to tell you that the Wuji Base database doesn’t contain information on the first group of casualties… Too many people died during the Great Calamity for anyone to compile these statistics, and even if they had, the data wouldn’t be within the Wuji Realm.”

Chen Ling was extremely tense at this moment. When he heard there was no information on the casualties, he inexplicably felt a sense of relief.

“But I found something else,” Fang Liangye said earnestly. “I checked all the lists of people who once resided at the Wuji Base and discovered that among the first group of refugees who arrived there was the former principal of the Shangjing Academy of Drama…”

At that time, Fang Liangye had inherited all of Chen Ling’s memories, so he naturally knew about his past, including his university days.

“The principal of Shangjing Academy? You mean Wang Li?” Chen Ling was momentarily stunned. “What happened to him at the Wuji Base?”

“During his escape from the Great Calamity, Wang Li must have encountered some difficulties. Not long after arriving at the Wuji Base, he fell gravely ill and passed away… According to records, among his belongings, they found several books and photo albums with group pictures he took with various academies and student cohorts during his tenure as principal…”

Group photo albums…

In Chen Ling’s memory, Principal Wang Li was a very kind and nostalgic man. When Chen Ling was studying at Shangjing Academy, the principal personally awarded certificates to every graduating class and then took group photos with them… When Chen Ling graduated, he also took a photo with him along with his classmates.

“And then??” Chen Ling pressed.

Fang Liangye gave Chen Ling a deep, complex look… “After the Wuji Base disappeared, that photo album, along with other items, was uploaded to ‘Alice’s Cellar Library’… I went through the entire album, but… you weren’t in it.”

Chen Ling stood still, stunned.

“Not me? How is that possible??” Chen Ling immediately shook his head. “I absolutely took a photo with him… I remember very clearly that our major had two classes at the time, and since neither had many students, we combined them for the photo… After graduating, I even printed that picture… Perhaps he just didn’t include that specific photo?”

“No…” Fang Liangye paused, then uttered a sentence that made Chen Ling’s scalp prickle with dread, “That year, for that major, there was only one class… The Class 2 we remember… simply didn’t exist.”

A deafening roar echoed in Chen Ling’s mind.

Chen Ling’s mind went blank. He had experienced this familiar sensation before, in the Era Archives… a non-existent Shangjing Theater internship, a non-existent Class 2. If it were just the internship lacking records, it might indeed be a data error… But if neither his school nor his workplace had any record of his existence, then…

Chen Ling’s mind was a chaotic mess. He forced himself not to dwell on it for now, enduring a throbbing headache, and waved dismissively at Fang Liangye: “I understand… Now go! Go!”

Fang Liangye said no more. After a deep glance at Chen Ling, he gritted his teeth and slipped down into the manhole, disappearing into the unknown.

Chen Ling’s chest heaved violently. As he turned and sprinted wildly towards the edge of the realm, a deep-seated fear began to consume him like a rising tide.