Chapter 21: Peace Talisman

"Anyway, your task for the next two days is to search this street for any stray hairs from the calamity under the rubble, or anything else unusual..."

"Anything unusual?"

"The power of a calamity affects the surrounding reality, and the specific way it does so varies depending on the calamity itself... Some calamities distort everything nearby just by their presence, others cause fires, and it's said that even stranger ones can control humans... We call this influence a 'calamity domain'."

"The higher a calamity's level, the greater the destructiveness and range of its calamity domain. Overall, we classify all current calamities into levels one to nine, though each level has nicknames to intuitively express their destructive power. For instance, a Level Nine calamity... we usually refer to it as 'World Destroyer'."

"'World Destroyer...' Chen Ling was stunned. 'So, can a Level Nine calamity really destroy the world?'"

"While there's some exaggeration, it's pretty close to true world destruction... Reportedly, a 'World Destroyer' level calamity possesses the power to completely annihilate a human realm." Qian Fan seemed to recall something, lowering his voice as he spoke.

"You didn't know?"

"What?"

"Actually, the one that escaped from your Third District the night before last... that was a 'World Destroyer'."

Chen Ling's face immediately turned pale.

"Haha, I'm just kidding with you." Seeing Chen Ling's reaction, Qian Fan laughed and patted his shoulder. "I heard that your Third District's calamity pointer did indeed explode, which usually only happens when a 'World Destroyer' descends... But how could that be possible? There hasn't been a 'World Destroyer' descent in nearly a hundred years, and if it really were one, the Third District would have probably been annihilated instantly. How could it still be peaceful now? So, it's more likely that a calamity with a domain that specifically affects the calamity pointer descended. Didn't your Han Meng Enforcers fight it yesterday? They confirmed it was a Level Five calamity, not a 'World Destroyer'... So, relax."

Qian Fan stood with his hands on his hips, his face full of smiles.

But Chen Ling couldn't smile.

As the "culprit" who had severely beaten Han Meng, Chen Ling knew perfectly well what Qian Fan's so-called "Level Five" calamity truly was.

The "Level Five" that Han Meng encountered wasn't actually a Level Five... It was simply because the audience's expectation value was exactly at 1415 at the time, and the "audience" usurping the stage had the combat power equivalent to a Level Five calamity.

Chen Ling clearly remembered that the number of "audience members" who had run out at that time was less than one percent of the entire audience.

What if the "audience" collectively escaped?

Would that mean... a complete "World Destroyer" would descend?

A cold sweat broke out on Chen Ling's back at the thought.

He had considered that the calamities in the "audience seating" would be powerful, but he hadn't expected them to be *this* powerful... They were super-calamities with "world-destroying" capabilities! A ticking time bomb capable of obliterating a human realm!

"Alright, go get to work," Qian Fan said contentedly.

"...Okay."

As Qian Fan left, Chen Ling was left alone on the ruined street.

He took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing the fear in his heart, and began searching through the rubble... No matter what level the "audience" was, they seemed to have to abide by the theater's rules. As long as Chen Ling kept the audience's expectation value above 20, nothing would go wrong.

Audience Expectation Value 1. Current Expectation Value: 32.

Two lines of characters materialized in the rubble, then vanished in an instant.

Since going undercover among the Enforcers, the audience's expectation value had increased by 10 points in one go. However, over time, it was still dropping at a steady rate. At the current pace, if he did nothing, it would fall back to 20 within 36 hours at most.

For the next few hours, Chen Ling meticulously searched through the ruins, but after several hours, he still hadn't found any hair or traces left by a 'calamity domain'.

To be honest, Chen Ling was also very curious about what kind of calamity had escaped alongside his "audience."

"Chen Ling!"

A voice came from nearby. Chen Ling, who was intently searching for clues, looked up and saw his fellow unfortunate companion, Wu Youdong, approaching.

"I heard them say you came early this morning?" Wu Youdong was covered in sweat, indicating he had likely walked all the way from the Third District. "How did you get here so fast? Didn't you go home?"

"No, something came up."

"Is it about your brother?"

At that question, Chen Ling suddenly looked up. "What did you say?"

"Oh, when I came just now, I passed by your house... I saw Officer Han Meng there, saying he was looking for your brother." Wu Youdong wiped his sweat, unable to help but sigh, "But, brother, your home is in even worse condition than mine... The house has holes in it?"

Chen Ling ignored Wu Youdong's teasing and asked again, "Did Han Meng question my brother?"

"No, there was a tall man with silver-rimmed glasses talking to him inside the house. I didn't catch what they said exactly, but Officer Han Meng left after only a few words... He didn't even enter the house."

A tall man with silver-rimmed glasses?

Chen Ling was stunned for a moment, then a thought suddenly flashed through his mind... He had completely forgotten about this!

He had previously sent a message to Aurora City, hoping that doctor would come to treat him. He hadn't expected so much to happen in the past few days, completely pushing it out of his mind... Now, it seemed the doctor had arrived as promised to examine him.

But wasn't the Third District blockaded? How did he get in?

A series of questions flashed through Chen Ling's mind. He urgently wanted to go home and see what had happened.

"I can't talk anymore right now. My task is to relocate the surviving residents of Ice Spring Street, and I have a lot more to do." Wu Youdong glanced at the time, said goodbye to Chen Ling, and hurried away.

Since Han Meng had been diverted, he likely wouldn't have a chance to interrogate Chen Yan, meaning their home was still safe... Chen Ling thought, as he quickly walked toward Qian Fan and the others.

That doctor was a complete unknown to Chen Ling. He dared not leave Chen Yan alone with him for too long.

He had to go home, immediately.

*Crunch—* Chen Ling took a step, crushing a piece of tile in the ruins. He looked down and saw a faint hint of red pressed beneath the fragments.

Chen Ling frowned slightly, bending down to brush away the debris. The outline of red gradually became clear... As he saw the full object, his pupils constricted sharply.

It was a tattered peace charm.

In the corner of the charm, two tiny characters were embroidered: Chen Yan.