Chapter 14: You Are Also a Disaster

This opera robe truly belonged to Chen Yan.

Eight years ago, a small, dilapidated opera troupe came to District Three. After they set up a makeshift stage in the wilderness and performed two plays, seven-year-old Chen Yan became completely captivated.

In this world, theatrical culture was not popular. The troupe had toiled for two days to build their stage, only for five people to show up: Chen Ling and Chen Yan, who were drawn in while playing in the wild; a passing porter pulled in to make up the audience; and a beggar who came to ask the troupe for food.

The fifth person was a teacher from District Two, who genuinely loved theatrical culture and had traveled there specifically for the performance.

Of the five, only Chen Yan and the teacher listened attentively to the entire play. Chen Ling fell asleep halfway through, the porter left in a hurry right after the opening, and as for the beggar, he rushed onto the stage during intermission to beg for food, only to be kicked off by an actor in a martial role and then stomped away, muttering curses.

But Chen Ling saw that his younger brother's eyes, as he looked at the stage, were filled with light.

After that day, Chen Yan began to teach himself opera. He somehow found two books, and every morning he would wake early, practicing singing techniques, copying scripts, and even learning needlework to sew opera costumes.

The one Chen Ling was wearing was sewn by Chen Yan himself; a tiny blue flower, left from his stitching, was visible on the corner of the robe.

"Here, I'm returning it to you."

After washing the opera robe, Chen Ling handed it to Chen Yan. He looked at his reflection in the flowing water; his wounds and bloodstains had almost completely disappeared.

The two carefully followed a small path to the edge of Frost Street and looked towards their home.

They saw that the house with the shattered door was completely cordoned off by police tape. Several law enforcement officers in black and red uniforms moved through the area.

On the two stretchers at the entrance lay two bodies, each covered with a white sheet.

"What's the situation?"

"No survivors," a law enforcement officer said, glancing regretfully at the white sheets. "These two were ordered by Brother Meng to track the couple living here. They must have noticed something wrong inside, forced their way in, and were killed while fighting the calamity."

"What about the couple? Are they dead too?"

"...No."

The officer looked towards the doorway, where a man and a woman were being supported out of the house by other officers. Their pupils were dilated, their faces ashen, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably, as if they had lost their souls.

"They survived."

"Weren't they the first to be attacked by the calamity? Why did they survive?"

"We speculate that although they were attacked first, they didn't resist. The two officers drew their guns and fired, which enraged the calamity, leading to their deaths..."

"Are you saying the calamity was toying with them?"

"That's the implication."

"Are there any other clues?"

"Almost none... The calamity's abilities are very strange; it tore apart most of the house, leaving no valuable information. We can't even determine where it entered from."

"Frost Street is so large, yet it happened to break into this particular house. Is that a coincidence?"

"It's hard to say. Frost Street is on the outermost edge of District Three. Behind it is the back mountain, and beyond that is the mass grave where the Gray Realm intersected, and then District Two... From a pathing perspective, it's plausible that if the calamity crawled out of the Gray Realm, it first went on a rampage in District Two, then escaped into the back mountain, and finally charged into this section of Frost Street."

"The murders in District Two also occurred near the back mountain?"

"Yes, these locations aren't far apart and are all in a line," the officer nodded slightly.

Just as the two were about to say something more, a sharp scream came from not far away.

"Calamity!! Calamity!!!"

Li Xiuchun suddenly broke free from the officer beside her. As if seeing something extremely terrifying, she stared fixedly at them while scrambling backward, "You won't harm me! You won't harm me!"

Her continuous retreat led her to violently crash into the group of people supporting Chen Tan from behind. This collision caused Chen Tan's pupils to suddenly contract.

He immediately curled into a ball, clutching his head with both hands, muttering meaningless sounds, his eyes also filled with terror.

The surrounding law enforcement officers exchanged glances, a hint of helplessness flashing across their faces. They weren't overly surprised by this; instead, they expertly tied them with ropes, stuffed white cloths into their mouths to prevent them from disturbing the public, and then headed straight towards the District Three headquarters.

Seeing this scene, Chen Ling felt a sense of relief.

Doctor Lin had said that eighty percent of survivors who encounter a Gray Realm intersection or a calamity attack develop mental disorders, with most being incurable for life. It now seemed this symptom had appeared in Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan.

For Chen Ling, this was fortunate. Only four people had witnessed him transform into a calamity. The two law enforcement officers had already been killed by the "audience." If Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan spoke out, he would immediately become a wanted man.

Fortunately, since Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan were now insane, his identity wouldn't be exposed, and he could still walk freely on the streets as Chen Ling.

Of course, this was assuming law enforcement wouldn't track him down later.

"It's still not safe... I'd better find a way to completely block their investigation..." Chen Ling disliked taking risks, and even more, he disliked his fate being in someone else's hands. His mind raced, trying to find the most secure method.

Just then, a figure darted out from beside him!

"Mom! Dad!"

Chen Yan cried out, sprinting towards the two figures being led away, his gaunt young face filled with anxiety.

Chen Yan didn't know what exactly had happened. He was just a fifteen-year-old boy, and seeing his parents brought out from the ruins felt no different than the sky collapsing.

Chen Ling's gaze sharpened slightly. He instinctively wanted to pull Chen Yan back, but after a moment's hesitation, he quickly followed close behind Chen Yan, also calling out for his parents.

Hearing their shouts, the law enforcement officers turned around simultaneously. They saw two teenagers rushing towards them, then lowered their heads to review their files.

"This couple has two children, one eighteen and one fifteen."

"We didn't find any bodies in the house earlier. I was just about to send people to search for them, but they showed up on their own..."

"Ah, poor children."

The officers whispered among themselves.

Chen Yan rushed in front of Li Xiuchun, about to say something, when her pupils suddenly contracted violently. She somehow spat out the white cloth and screamed, staring ahead: "Calamity!! You're a calamity too! You want to kill me?!"

Chen Yan froze instantly.