Chapter 149: Audience's Warning

Thump—thump—thump!!Dull drumbeats, mixed with the wailing wind and snow, seemed as if they would shatter the earth and the sea.

At this moment, all the runic seaweeds of Winter Harbor retracted into their reflections, like a bizarre octopus pulling back its tentacles. Surging waves splashed dozens of meters high on the sea surface, and an immense black silhouette began to gradually rise from the spray.

Due to the great distance and immense waves, Chen Ling couldn't make out what the object looked like. Moreover, the part of it that emerged from the sea seemed to be just the tip of an iceberg, resembling from afar a colossal mountain peak rising from the seabed.

Innumerable black tentacles extended from the seabed, thrashing wildly between sea and sky, like twisted lightning churning the waves. Upon closer inspection, those "tentacles" were revealed to be the runic seaweeds that had earlier emerged from the reflections.

Chen Ling stood on the front of the train, which was rapidly speeding away from Winter Harbor, staring fixedly at the distant behemoth, his mind shaken.

He didn't know what that thing in the sea was, but judging by its sheer size alone, it could instantly obliterate any calamity he had ever encountered. Even the colossal fifth-order bone eagle that soared through the Gray World on powerful wings was less than a tenth the size of the portion of this creature visible above the water.

If size indicated the rank of a calamity, then this one in the sea had to be at least seventh-order, if not higher. It was no wonder Winter Harbor had been so easily extinguished. With such a calamity hidden along the frozen coast, even with just a few casually deployed seaweeds, it could silently kill tens of thousands.

The bad news was... the calamity in the sea seemed to have been provoked by them.

As the sea waves were pierced and shattered by the swirling seaweeds, those black shadows swept menacingly over the Winter Harbor coastline, surging towards the train, which was rapidly moving out of Winter Harbor's range. They moved so fast that they created sonic booms in the air, and in an instant, they had covered two-thirds of the distance.

As the seaweeds lashed out, a pervasive grayness rapidly spread around them. The sky visibly transformed into a heavy, leaden gray, and all color was leached from the world. At this moment, the unstable equilibrium between the real world and the Gray World shattered, accelerating their convergence.

"Brother Zhao Yi... my eyes are broken." Ling'er, huddled in a corner of the control room, rubbed her eyes vigorously, seeing the colors drain from her sight, and spoke with a slight sob.

"Ling'er, it's not your eyes that are broken." Zhao Yi, whose own vision had also become a monotonous black, white, and gray, gritted his teeth as he drove the train, comforting her, "...it's this world that's broken."

On top of the train, the blood-colored greatcoat also lost its vibrancy as the Gray World manifested. Seeing this, a flicker of doubt crossed Chen Ling's mind.

Before, when he was in the Gray World, that splash of red was distinctly retained... Why was it gone now?

Chen Ling suddenly recalled that the last time he had been in the Gray World, he had been wearing the vibrant red opera robe that manifested with him after his resurrection. This time, however, he was merely wearing a greatcoat stained crimson with blood. Could it be that the Gray World preserved not his color, but the specific hue of that vibrant red opera robe?

Chen Ling didn't have time to dwell on it, because those several seaweeds, lashing through the air, had already reached them. As the runes on the seaweeds' surfaces flared, a terrifying pressure swept over them!

At the same time, a sharp sting emanated from Chen Ling's body, and runes began to flicker beneath his skin, seemingly on the verge of breaking through.

Just as Chen Ling felt his body was about to slip beyond his control, the void behind him suddenly warped, and pairs of scarlet eyes opened into existence!

Those were countless angry gazes, as if their most cherished plaything were about to be snatched away. Threats and warnings, transcending time and space, brought an immense pressure down upon this world. The seaweeds, suspended in mid-air, instantly froze.

Before Chen Ling could fully comprehend what was happening, the runes beneath his skin rapidly faded, as if they had never been there at all. The seaweeds suddenly recoiled into the surging waves, like scalded tentacles, retreating even faster than they had arrived.

When Chen Ling looked back, there was nothing behind him.

He didn't know what had just transpired, but he could surmise that the "audience" had been unable to resist intervening... Yet, by all accounts, they weren't supposed to interfere with his life or death. Was there another reason?

Though Chen Ling couldn't fathom it, he still breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless, they had survived the terrifying calamity's assault.

As the train gradually disappeared over the horizon, amidst the surging waves, the colossal shadow still stared fixedly in the direction they had departed.

Hoarse, strangely toned whispers emanated from it:

"It's the one from... the Ghost Mocking Abyss...""Why isn't it staying in... the Ghost Mocking Abyss... coming to our Forbidden Sea... what is it doing?""Is it... provoking us...?""Enough... we... are not that one's match... let it go...""Break through... the last human city-state... and the entire North will belong to the Forbidden Sea... Don't cause further trouble."

The eerie whispers gradually faded, and beneath the surging waves, the colossal entity slowly sank into the seabed. Broken ice floes drifted on the sea's surface, reflecting the shadows of innumerable seaweeds.

The train whistled as it sped across the frozen tundra, with fierce winds swirling fragmented snow through the air.

Chen Ling climbed from the train's roof into the control room and saw Zhao Yi "intimately interacting" with the withered hand on the dashboard, sometimes gripping it tightly, sometimes loosening his hold slightly, and sometimes gently twisting it, seemingly having mastered its operation.

"Chen Ling, are we safe now?" Zhao Yi wiped the sweat from his brow and asked.

"Safe for now."

Chen Ling's gaze fell on Zhao Yi's back, his eyes slightly narrowing.

"Zhao Yi..."

"Hm?"

"Doesn't your back hurt?"

Zhao Yi paused, then remembered that his back was still hurting. He immediately grimaced and said, "It hurts, of course it hurts! I'm in agony right now... Quick, help me take a look, what's wrong with my back?"

Chen Ling stood behind Zhao Yi, silent... He saw that Zhao Yi's back had been almost split in half by a whip mark so deep it reached the bone, yet no blood seeped out.

Along the edges of the gaping wound, dark, intricate runes slowly writhed, seemingly consuming his body.

"Did that seaweed leave this mark on you?"

"Yeah, it just lashed my back, I nearly died from the pain..." Zhao Yi twisted his back, "Chen Ling, quickly treat my wound; I don't want it to get infected."

"..." Chen Ling shook his head. "This wound is unnatural, I can't treat this..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Chen Ling thought for a moment. "There's a highly skilled doctor in Aurora City named Chu Muyun. Go find him once you enter the city and have him take a look."

"Is my wound really that bizarre?" Zhao Yi twisted his head, trying to glimpse his back, but couldn't. After a moment's attempt, he gave up the idea and asked instead, "Okay... So where are we going now?"

Chen Ling's gaze fell outside the train car, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Pick up our 'audience'... then, enter the city."