Chapter 26: Ready to Answer My Questions?

Qian Fan left after saying that.

Chen Ling stood rooted to the spot, involuntarily recalling Wu Youdong's bowed head and subtly clenching his fists.

Wu Youdong had bowed his head.

What about him?

In his previous life, Chen Ling might not have been much different from Wu Youdong; only by bowing his head could he carve out a living in society. But this time...

Chen Ling slowly turned his head, his gaze chillingly fixed on the surviving half of Ice Spring Street.

They want me to bow my head?

Ha ha...

District Three.

The basement.

A fierce, icy gale swirled out of nowhere, howling as it struck Chu Muyun!

The kerosene lamp on the ground shook violently, extinguished in an instant, and as the entire basement plunged into dead silence and darkness, Chu Muyun grunted and fell heavily to the ground!

He looked up in astonishment, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief!

Just now, the moment he activated the Eye of Tracing Origin, he seemed to glimpse pairs of crimson eyes, looking over from the void of infinite distance...

That single glance made his path to divinity tremble!

"This, this is..."

Chu Muyun stood stunned for a long time before suddenly snapping back to reality.

He immediately scrambled to his feet and frantically rushed up the stairs, returning to the convenience store!

"What's wrong, Spade 7?" The woman frowned slightly, seeing Chu Muyun's hurried and panicked appearance.

"...I saw it."

"What?"

"'Annihilation'."

The woman paused, not understanding what he meant for a moment.

"That entity is an 'Annihilation' disaster!" Chu Muyun stated with certainty.

"That's impossible," the woman immediately shook her head. "No one can merge with an 'Annihilation' entity, not even the current leader of the Fusion Faction... You must have been mistaken."

"I absolutely wasn't mistaken! Its gaze even filled my divine path with dread!"

"This..."

"We must notify the Red King and the Gray King immediately."

Chu Muyun walked to the counter, pulled out paper and pen, and quickly began to write.

"If this is true... then it's likely to cause a huge problem," the woman immediately realized the gravity of the situation. "Even if both the Red King and the Gray King arrive, we might not be able to deal with him, unless Lord Aurora also joins forces with us..."

Hearing this, Chu Muyun's fingertips paused.

"What's wrong?" the woman asked.

"'Annihilation'-class disasters possess the power to exterminate an entire human domain," Chu Muyun slowly turned to look at her, his eyes gleaming with madness. "So what if we kill him and unleash the 'Annihilation' entity... wouldn't we then no longer need to carry out that plan?"

The woman was stunned.

"That's an 'Annihilation' entity! Are you insane?!" The woman stopped mid-sentence and shook her head. "I almost forgot, you official members are all lunatics to begin with..."

"I was just speaking idly," Chu Muyun pushed up his glasses, his mood calming, and spoke calmly, "Let's consult the Gray King and the Red King first..."

After finishing the letter, Chu Muyun handed it to the woman, who glanced at him.

"By the way, weren't you supposed to conduct an absorption assessment on him? Are you still doing it?"

"...Yes."

"Then, as his recommender, what's your assessment of him...?"

"S," Chu Muyun replied with unprecedented seriousness.

"Extremely dangerous."

Tap—tap—tap—

A crisp knocking sound echoed, causing the many District Two enforcers, who were leisurely drinking tea, to pause and look around in confusion.

"Who would come at this hour?"

"I don't know..."

Qian Fan said, opening the teahouse door.

Chen Ling stood quietly outside the door. Seeing it open, he smiled and waved at the enforcers inside.

These were the enforcers originally responsible for Ice Spring Street in District Two, yet they were now holed up here drinking tea, leaving everything to Chen Ling and Wu Youdong. This alone spoke volumes... It seemed Wu Youdong had been telling the truth.

This group of enforcers was in cahoots with the people on Ice Spring Street. Their refusal to conduct a search, instead sending only two rookies, was purely for show.

This way, if Aurora City headquarters were to inquire, they could claim insufficient manpower and that Chen Ling and his partner handled everything on Ice Spring Street, thus shifting the blame while maintaining good relations with Ice Spring Street. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

Seeing that it was Chen Ling, the enforcers immediately lost interest, lowering their heads to drink tea, with no intention of conversing with him.

"It's you? Why are you here?" Qian Fan asked, surprised to see Chen Ling.

"There are still some matters concerning my work that I need clarification on from you, sirs."

"What matters?"

"My task is to question the survivors of Ice Spring Street for information regarding the disaster, correct?"

"Correct."

"What if they don't cooperate?"

Hearing this question, Qian Fan sneered inwardly but replied patiently,

"If they don't cooperate, you figure out how to make them cooperate... We are enforcers; we have the power of enforcement."

"So, can I use force?"

"Of course."

Chen Ling heard the other enforcers inside the room couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Then I understand," Chen Ling nodded. "If they don't cooperate, I'll drag them here for you sirs to deal with."

"Good that you understand. Go quickly; your assessment ends tomorrow, so you must complete the task today."

As Chen Ling left, Qian Fan closed the door behind him, and then several unrestrained laughs erupted.

"That kid, he's really thickheaded..."

"Even more naive than that Wu Youdong."

"Did you hear that? He's even talking about using force... Did he really not bother to find out what kind of place Ice Spring Street is?"

"Ah, he's from a poor place; how could he have so many information channels? Don't make fun of him... Tea, tea."

Faint laughter filtered through the door crack, reaching Chen Ling's ears, but he paid it no mind.

At this moment, his attention was on the prompts flashing before his eyes:

Audience Expectation Value 1...1...1

"'Chen's Directing Principles,' Article Thirteen:

"When existing conflicts are clear, emotional climaxes can be appropriately increased through character relationships, drawing in the audience's emotions, heightening the gratification from the original conflict's eruption, and even introducing additional points of conflict for subsequent gratification."

Chen Ling could, of course, go directly to Ice Spring Street and cause a scene, but doing so would result in a relatively singular conflict, and the audience expectation value wouldn't increase much...

Therefore, he chose to draw the enforcers into the game.

Chen Ling walked through the ruined first half of Ice Spring Street, arriving at the place with the most survivors... the Black Axe Tavern.

This place was usually the most frequented gathering spot for Ice Spring Street residents. Now that half the street was in ruins, it served as a temporary residence for some. It was also where Wu Youdong had been humiliated yesterday.

But Chen Ling was not him...

He held an investigation form in one hand and pushed open the tavern door with the other. As a harsh creak sounded, the entire tavern fell into dead silence.

Countless fierce, cold gazes swept towards the doorway, converging on Chen Ling.

"Hello everyone, I am Enforcer Chen Ling..."

"Are you ready to answer my questions?"