Chapter 313: Leaving

On a stage where no one takes notice, to achieve a curtain call with resounding applause.

Chen Ling seemed to recall something, turning his head to look at the frozen, desolate city and the surging aurora borealis above it. Those were the souls of Aurora City's inhabitants, etched into the sky, gazing down upon the land.

No one takes notice... resounding applause... curtain call...

Curtain call?!

A thought instantly flashed through Chen Ling's mind. His eyes gradually lit up!

"Red Heart 6, what's wrong?"

Seeing Chen Ling suddenly stop, several members of the Twilight Society who were walking ahead turned back to look. They gazed at his solitary figure standing in the black snow, their eyes filled with confusion.

"Seniors, please go ahead," Chen Ling looked up at the sky full of aurora borealis. "I... have something else to do."

Everyone was startled, and spoke in surprise:

"You're going to stay behind by yourself??"

"Seriously? The calamities from the Forbidden Sea are about to breach the city soon. Is anything more important than your life?"

"You're only a second-tier now and no match for those calamities. Once they enter the city, it will be practically impossible to get out."

Even these Twilight Society members, whose thought processes differed from ordinary people, couldn't understand Chen Ling's actions at this moment. In their eyes, Chen Ling was only a second-tier, not strong enough to withstand a single blow from any random calamity of the Forbidden Sea. Staying behind now was no different from seeking death.

Instead, Nine shrugged and spread his hands, saying:

"What are you all panicking about... If Red Heart 6 stays, shouldn't the Forbidden Sea be the one to be afraid?"

The others realized, looking at Chen Ling with subtle expressions. They suddenly felt Nine had a point. This kid was a "World Destroyer," after all. If he truly went berserk, the entire Forbidden Sea might suffer!

"Red Heart 6, are you sure?" Only Chu Muyun still frowned. "If you stay this time, you'll truly be alone and helpless. No one can come to save you."

Chu Muyun had personally witnessed Chen Ling go berserk. He knew this matter wasn't as simple as others thought; if the "World Destroyer" power wasn't controlled properly, Chen Ling would also die.

Chen Ling nodded calmly. "I'm sure."

A stage where no one takes notice, a curtain call with resounding applause... In this world, perhaps only Aurora City at this moment could fulfill these conditions. In other words, if he missed this opportunity, he would never have another chance to advance to the third tier.

Rather than cut off his path to advancement and never be able to return to his original era, it was better to gamble his life here and fight for it!

The good news was, he already had 68 points of audience expectation. With a little more effort, he could gain an extra life, so he wasn't entirely without a chance.

Chu Muyun was about to say more to persuade him, when a clear, cold female voice came from the very front:

"Let him stay."

Several people turned their heads to look. They saw Club King standing alone at the front, holding an umbrella, watching Chen Ling at the end of the group.

Falling black snowflakes scattered on the ground between them, and their gazes met.

"Do what you want to do," she spoke again. "We'll wait for you outside the city for ten minutes. After ten minutes, regardless of the outcome, we won't wait any longer."

Chen Ling was stunned for a moment. He had originally intended for the others to go ahead, but he hadn't expected Club King would be willing to wait for him. One had to know, what was about to erupt was a wave of calamities from the Forbidden Sea, and even outside the city, they could hardly avoid being affected.

Chen Ling wasted no more time, nodding immediately:

"Thank you, seniors!"

He turned and rapidly rushed back along the path they had just taken!

"Tsk... This batch of newcomers is really something else." Watching his retreating figure, someone couldn't help but exclaim, "A second-tier daring to face the Forbidden Sea head-on, that's even crazier than Red Heart 9."

"Hey, talk about him, why bring me into it?" Nine was displeased. "I'm a respectable person, aren't I?"

"...Right, right, you're a respectable person."

"Let's go, let's go... otherwise, the calamities will be nipping at our heels soon!"

The eight figures took one last look in the direction Chen Ling had left, and headed straight out of the city.

Chen Ling moved swiftly through the snow-swept streets. A third of the frozen corpses by the roadside had already been invaded. Not just eye sockets, nostrils, and ears, but even the skin surface had begun to sprout eerie blood-red flower clusters. The incantations moving across the sea surface were frantically searching for physical bodies, but because their numbers were few and they hadn't yet entered various buildings, the victims remained a minority.

Speaking of which... How did Club King manage to hold back the calamities of the Forbidden Sea for so long?

This question flashed through Chen Ling's mind. As he ran in a certain direction, he leaped onto the high points of nearby buildings, gazing out beyond the city walls...

His pupils slightly contracted.

Beyond the city wall, a dark red slash mark cut across the sky. Below the slash, streaks of dark red light descended, like an enormous red curtain being drawn, separating Aurora City from the calamities of the Forbidden Sea.

At this moment, countless figures were crashing into this red curtain from the other side. The surface of the curtain occasionally showed imprints of different calamity bodies, and even giant, grotesque handprints. As these things crashed frantically, cracks began to appear on the curtain's surface...

She separated the city from the calamities with just one curtain?

Just who was this Club King?!

Chen Ling was deeply shaken, but his steps didn't falter. Within tens of seconds, he crossed the streets and arrived before the ruins of the shattered city gate!

Tan Xin, covered in blood, was sitting alone in the ruins, gazing at the surging aurora above, lost in thought.

He saw Chen Ling approaching, and confusion appeared in his eyes.

"You?" Tan Xin frowned slightly. "Why are you back again?"

Time was short, Chen Ling had no time to explain to him. He asked directly:

"Give me the detonator for the 'Re-emergence' plan's explosives."

Hearing this, Tan Xin was slightly taken aback. "What do you intend to do?"

"The calamities from the Forbidden Sea are about to breach the city. Do you think those souls wandering in the sky want to see their physical bodies used as nourishment to give birth to millions of calamity monsters?" Chen Ling raised a finger and pointed to the sky full of aurora.

Tan Xin froze. He looked at Chen Ling for a moment, then slowly leaned back against the wall.

"You... intend to flatten Aurora City?"

"Yes."

"The detonator isn't on me," Tan Xin shook his head.

"Not on you?" Chen Ling was stunned. "Didn't you take it?"

"I took it, but I was being hunted by the Enforcers at the time and also had to face the Aurora Lord directly. Naturally, I couldn't keep it on me. If they had stolen the detonator from me, the plan would have completely failed."

"Then where is the detonator??"

Tan Xin was silent for a moment, then slowly uttered two words:

"Han Meng."