Chapter 16: Killing Dance

Opening his eyes again, a familiar light filled his vision.

“Am I back again…?” Chen Ling adjusted to the brightness of the spotlights, his gaze slowly sweeping around.

The old stage, the black curtain, the packed audience seats—he was back in this nightmare.

“It seems that whether I fall asleep or die, I always return here.” Chen Ling drew this conclusion from his previous experiences.

Ever since he regained control of his body, the audience members who had left returned to the theater. Although their gazes seemed displeased, they showed no intention of acting again.

Chen Ling’s eyes naturally drifted to the screen in the center of the stage:

“Audience Anticipation: 24”

According to historical records, the moment he regained control of his body, the anticipation automatically rose back to 20. After his battle of wits with the enforcers, the anticipation increased again, finally stabilizing at 24.

“My last death directly deducted 50 anticipation points. If I die again and the anticipation is below 50… what will happen?”

Chen Ling didn't know the answer, but he guessed that if the anticipation turned negative, he would most likely die completely, and his body would be occupied by the “audience,” never to recover.

Just as Chen Ling was about to look away, he suddenly noticed a small, shaking treasure chest in the bottom right corner of the screen, which hadn't been there before.

He clearly remembered that this item wasn't there when he first entered the theater.

Chen Ling hesitated for a moment, then tentatively reached out and tapped the treasure chest…

A loud fanfare blared—!

The moment Chen Ling’s fingertip touched the treasure chest, an exhilarating burst of music erupted from the speakers on both sides of the stage.

The sudden music startled Chen Ling. The next moment, several spotlights shifted behind him. He turned to look and found a table had appeared out of thin air in the center of the stage.

It was an ordinary wooden table, looking somewhat old, blending seamlessly with the wooden floor of the stage. The spotlight shone on the table, illuminating a piece of paper that reflected a faint, pale glow.

Chen Ling walked straight towards the wooden table, and the two spotlights moved closer, eventually merging into one.

At the top of the paper, a few lines of small text were written.

“Detected Audience Anticipation breaking 60 for the first time. Achievement Unlocked – ‘Mostly Positive Reviews’!”

“You have gained one extra draw chance.”

“Upon use, a random character skill will be drawn from all characters who appeared in this play for you to learn.”

Chen Ling’s gaze swept over the text. Before he could react, the white paper suddenly vanished, replaced by a deck of cards laid out on the table.

These cards varied in color; most were white and gray, with a few blue ones occasionally appearing. The patterns on their surfaces ranged from simple to intricate, and the brighter the color and more complex the pattern, the more precious they seemed.

The next moment, these cards simultaneously flipped face down, revealing identical backs. Then, they stacked together at astonishing speed, finally spreading out neatly across the table.

Chen Ling tried to follow the blue cards, but with such an uncanny shuffling method, it was impossible to track the cards with the naked eye.

“There’s even a draw… It seems not everything in this theater is bad.”

Chen Ling took a deep breath, randomly picked a card in front of him, and gently flipped it over onto the table…

It was a blue card.

Once Chen Ling made his selection, all other cards vanished simultaneously. At the same time, several lines of text appeared on the blue card.

“Skill: Dance of Slaughter”

“Affiliation: God of War Path, Judgment Route, Third Tier.”

“Character: Han Meng.”

Seeing the name Han Meng, the image of the trench-coated figure who had fought back and forth with the red paper monster last night automatically appeared in Chen Ling’s mind. At that moment, only one thought remained in his heart.

This was a huge gain!

Since Chen Ling had transmigrated, among all the people he had met, Han Meng was undoubtedly the strongest in combat. Although Chen Ling didn't understand what “God of War Path,” “Judgment Route,” and “Third Tier” meant, there was no doubt that he had drawn the best possible option available to him.

The blue card dissolved into nothingness, and Chen Ling felt something new and profound within his body.

“Thank you for the gift.” Chen Ling now felt quite awkward.

He had stolen… no, *learned* this skill from Han Meng. In a sense, Han Meng was his benefactor… but just a few hours ago, he had severely beaten his “benefactor” and even ambushed him with a heavy blow.

That blow… it shouldn’t have killed his benefactor, right?

He felt a little guilty.

The crimson disaster danced wildly overhead,

Its terrifying pressure made people tremble;

A slender hand reaching out from within the disaster pressed down on his head… like the hand of a god descending from the heavens, dominating the world.

On the hospital bed, Han Meng’s eyes snapped open, and he almost bolted upright.

“Ouch—!”

The sharp pain in the back of his head made him grimace. His vision swam, and he fell back onto the bed.

“Brother Meng!” An enforcer who had been dozing beside him was startled. He immediately supported Han Meng. “Brother Meng! What are you doing? Don’t move around, you’ll rip your IV line out…”

Han Meng lay on the bed, finally regaining his senses, and asked blankly:

“Where is this?”

“The hospital!”

“That long-handed… no, where is that red disaster?”

“It…” The enforcer paused. “It must have escaped. When we arrived at the scene, we only found you lying there, Brother Meng…”

Fragmented memories flooded Han Meng’s mind. He couldn't help but touch the back of his head, grimacing from the pain.

This disaster… it likes to ambush from behind the head?

“What’s the situation? Are there any other casualties?”

“None so far. After its fight with you, that disaster hasn’t reappeared. It seems you injured it quite badly, Brother Meng.”

“I…”

Han Meng was about to say that he hadn’t actually hurt it at all, but after a moment’s hesitation, he swallowed the words.

He still needed to maintain his image in front of his subordinates.

“What time is it?”

“6:50.”

“…Help me up.”

“Brother Meng, the doctor said you need bed rest…”

“Bed rest, my ass!” Han Meng gritted his teeth and stood up. “That disaster is cunning. If we let it go on like this, it’ll cause big trouble sooner or later!”

“Cunning? Brother Meng, don’t you mean dangerous…?” The enforcer was quite knowledgeable, but it was the first time he had heard someone describe a disaster as “cunning.”

“Dangerous, but even more cunning!”

Han Meng subconsciously touched the back of his head. “And, I suspect it might have genuinely merged with a human…”

“A Fused one?” Hearing those three words, the enforcer’s expression changed drastically. “Should we notify Aurora City immediately?”

Hearing the latter part of the sentence, Han Meng gradually calmed down. “No, not yet. I need to investigate further… Right now, it’s just my guess, with no theoretical basis.”

“So what do we do now…?”

“Let’s go to headquarters first. The new batch of reserves should be arriving soon. We can discuss the details on the way.”

“Alright.”