Chapter 119: You Want to Arrest Me?

As soon as these two words were uttered, Han Meng froze on the spot.

After all, Han Meng had initially assumed the other party was a "Calamity." But the moment the other spoke, he hesitated... No, it was said that there were some rare, highly intelligent beings among the Calamities, but such Calamities were of extremely high rank, at least above Tier Seven.

However, the fact that the other could communicate indicated a lack of significant hostility. And in the Gray Realm, Calamities rarely harbored goodwill towards humans.

Therefore, Han Meng still leaned towards believing the other was human.

Han Meng hesitated for a moment, planning to make way for the other, as the space was simply too narrow for two people to walk side by side.

Just then, a rustling sound came from behind.

Han Meng looked back and saw the shadow centipedes clinging to the rock wall simultaneously retreating... as if deliberately avoiding the crimson glow. In the blink of an eye, the black tide receded back onto the rock wall.

In the dead silent canyon, only he and the figure in the large red opera robe remained, standing face to face.

That "move aside"—it wasn't meant for him after all?

Han Meng looked at the figure again, deep doubt and apprehension surfacing in his eyes... His previous thought wavered. How could a human repel so many Calamities with a single sentence?

Human or Calamity, Han Meng could no longer tell. The red-robed figure was undoubtedly the most mysterious and bizarre existence he had ever encountered; merely standing there, it embodied endless enigmas.

At this moment, Chen Ling was also bewildered.

He had originally intended for Han Meng to move aside so he could deal with the pursuing "meat chickens" himself. But he hadn't expected them to retreat the moment he spoke... Why hadn't they been so "polite" back in District Three?

Both fell into contemplation simultaneously.

In this dead silent atmosphere, Han Meng found the black mask silently staring at him increasingly eerie. Just as he was about to speak, the scene before his eyes gradually blurred, and with a sway of his body, he collapsed to the ground.

Chen Ling was startled. He then noticed that blood was oozing from Han Meng's wounds, and at some point, it had already pooled into a gray puddle beneath his feet.

He had lost too much blood.

“...Good thing you ran into me,” Chen Ling mumbled from beneath the black mask. “You saved me once, and now I’ve saved you once... We're even.”

Scrape—Scrape—

The sound of gravel scraping came from beneath him, as if something was being dragged across the ground.

Han Meng's consciousness gradually returned. After a few brief seconds, he saw himself being dragged like a corpse across the black ground.

His hand instinctively gripped the ground, intending to use the leverage to turn over and draw his gun. But a sharp pain shot through his entire body, and he grunted, forced to stop... At the same time, the figure dragging him also halted.

Lead-gray clouds drifted across the sky. The figure in the large red opera robe calmly turned its head to look at him.

“You're awake.”

The deep voice carried no emotion whatsoever, creating an indescribable sense of eeriness when contrasted with the black, smiling mask.

He released the collar at the nape of Han Meng's neck, letting the latter lie completely on the ground. Han Meng frowned, struggling to push himself up with his hands. The deep voice came again:

“I don't advise you to stand up now. If your wounds tear open again, you will die.”

Han Meng's face was ashen. He then noticed that the dozen or so bone spurs embedded in his body had been removed at some point. His trench coat had been torn into strips and simply bandaged over his wounds, staunching the bleeding.

Given his original injuries, if left untreated, he likely would have bled to death.

Han Meng looked up at him, his voice incredibly hoarse:

“Who are you?”

The black mask stared at him, offering no reply.

After a long silence, Han Meng posed a second question: “Why did you save me?”

After a moment, the red-robed figure chuckled softly and said casually, “It’s rare to find a promising talent on the Judgment path... It would be a pity for you to die here like this.”

Audience Anticipation: 3

Chen Ling naturally couldn't tell the truth. When Han Meng asked that question, Chen Ling admitted a touch of mischievousness stirred within him... No, it would be more accurate to say he was striving to make the "plot" more exciting.

Chen's Directing Principle Number Eight—

Information asymmetry is one source of plot gratification. When an audience, from an omniscient perspective, watches a conflict where characters lack full information, they naturally become engrossed and anticipate further developments. If the two characters with this information asymmetry already possess dramatic conflict, the anticipation intensifies.

Han Meng's eyes narrowed slightly. His gaze at the red-robed figure flickered with glints of doubt and speculation...

“You are a Fuser,” he said.

Chen Ling's eyes, beneath the mask, narrowed slightly. “Oh?”

“You possess a human form and the ability to communicate, and you show no hostility towards me, so you shouldn't be a Calamity living in the Gray Realm. Yet, you can scare away those Calamities with a single sentence, indicating there must be something about you that makes them wary... The only explanation is that you are a Fuser, and the Calamity you've fused with is of a very high rank.”

Han Meng was, after all, the Chief Enforcer of District Three. At this moment, he didn't seem like someone who had just narrowly escaped death, nor was he intimidated by Chen Ling's words. Instead, he meticulously analyzed everything that had just transpired, rationally forming his own judgment.

Han Meng's deduction exceeded Chen Ling's expectations, but upon reflection, it wasn't surprising... After all, this was Han Meng.

When Chen Ling first arrived in this era, striving to conceal the existence of 'The Audience,' Han Meng was the only one in the entire Enforcer system who nearly caught him... Chen Ling still vividly remembered the oppressive feeling brought by Han Meng's terrifying observational skills and deductive abilities at that time.

“So what?” Chen Ling didn't bother to refute. As if by magic, he conjured a handgun into his grasp, pressing its muzzle against Han Meng's forehead.

From beneath the black smiling mask, his voice was so cold it betrayed not a single ripple of emotion.

“Are you going to arrest me... Enforcer?”

Han Meng met his gaze calmly.

A moment later, he spoke again: “I don't like my fate being in someone else's hands.”

“So?”

“Although you saved me, right now, I hope you can put the gun down first.”

Before the words fully left his lips, the few wisps of mental energy Han Meng had recovered during his unconsciousness rapidly depleted. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and at such close range, he suddenly made his move!

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