Chapter 43: First Act

Chen Ling’s gaze swept over the first few lines. As he turned the page, he saw many familiar scenes and phrases, as if everything he had experienced over the past few days had been compiled into a script and recorded there.

"It's you," said a man in a white coat from behind a wooden table, turning slightly. "Are you here to pick up medicine for your brother again? Didn't he transfer to the hospital in District Two?"

"Ah Ling, you're dead. You shouldn't be here." Chen Tan's eyes were bloodshot as he tightly gripped his axe and spoke hoarsely, "Whatever is occupying your body... I will set you free."

Low thunder rumbled across the dim sky...

"Don't be afraid, big brother," Chen Yan whispered. "I'll help you bury him."

"Hello, I am Enforcer Chen Ling... are you ready to answer my questions?"

Rather than be a puppet for the rest of his life, Chen Ling would choose death.

"Monster... monster!!" an enforcer screamed in horror. "He's not human! He's a monster!!"

The last line was a descriptive passage:

He stood alone in a sea of blood, his dagger gently sliding to the ground. As a wisp of cold wind blew past, he fell backward like withered grass.

Reading this, Chen Ling felt a prickling sensation on his scalp.

Although he had long been aware that he was being watched, only now did he truly feel the eerie strangeness of it all.

Crucially, Chen Ling could only see his own parts; everything that happened when he wasn't present was obscured by thick black lines... Even he, the "protagonist," didn't have full review rights to this script.

"So, it's a script written based on my personal experiences..." Chen Ling murmured to himself.

As the last line concluded, the pages automatically bound themselves into a volume in the void, falling into Chen Ling's palm. Several lines of text on the cover were particularly prominent.

Act IChapter of Origins - *Heartless*Starring: Chen LingAlso featuring: Chen Yan, Han Meng, Chu Muyun, Chen Tan, etc.

Meanwhile, a wooden bookshelf appeared out of thin air in a corner of the stage.

Chen Ling gazed deeply at the script in his hand. After a long moment, he walked toward the bookshelf... He placed the script on the leftmost side of the first shelf, with the words *Heartless* on the spine facing outward, clearly visible.

Just as Chen Ling was about to turn around for his second specified draw, a familiar voice echoed in his ear:

Intermission over, please resume your performance.

The large black curtain slowly opened.

Chen Ling's consciousness left the theater and drifted into the void...

"You're awake?"

As Chen Ling opened his eyes, Chu Muyun's voice calmly drifted from nearby.

The heater hummed in the room. Chu Muyun had already taken off his wool coat and was quietly sitting in a chair by the window, dressed in a shirt and vest, flipping through a medical book.

Before he could utter another word, a short knife flashed to his throat, its chilling killing intent instantly extinguishing the lamp and candles!

In the dim room, Chu Muyun's eyelids twitched. He looked at the red-clad figure before him and slowly spoke:

"It seems that divine path has indeed affected your personality... Is your killing intent really that strong?"

"You knew A Yan was fake, yet you pretended nothing was wrong and stayed for so many days... What was your purpose?" A fierce glint flashed in Chen Ling's eyes.

"I'm a doctor. I came to District Three, of course, to treat you."

Chu Muyun closed his book. "If I had ill intentions towards you, you would have died countless times already."

Chen Ling stared at Chu Muyun.

"How much... do you know?"

"Unfortunately, I know everything."

"What do you mean by 'everything'?"

"What do you think?" Chu Muyun's lips curved into a smile as he turned slightly towards Chen Ling. "I'm very curious... how are you able to maintain your sanity while fusing with a 'world-ending' calamity? Or rather... how are you balanced?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling's pupils abruptly constricted.

Ever since their first meeting, when Chu Muyun tried to find ways to stay, he must have already sensed something was wrong.

For the following days, he had been observing Chen Ling, even taking the initiative to subtly inquire about Chen Yan's characteristics... This seemingly gentle man with silver-rimmed glasses was, in fact, the most cunning.

But Chen Ling had not expected the other party to expose his identity as a fuser, and even the "Spectator" level, with a single sentence.

"So... what do you plan to do?" Chen Ling retorted. "Split my brain open to take a look? Hand me over to the enforcers? Or use this to blackmail me into doing something for you?"

"Honestly, I'm quite interested in the first option," Chu Muyun said, spreading his hands helplessly. "Unfortunately, my superior wouldn't allow it... As for the second point, that's even less likely. If I went to the Enforcer Headquarters with you, I'd be the first one arrested..."

"Your superior?"

Chen Ling keenly grasped the key point. "Aren't you Aurora City's Miracle Doctor? Who is your superior? The dean?"

"The 'Miracle Doctor' was just an identity I fabricated to infiltrate Aurora City."

"Then what is your true identity?"

"...Have you heard of the Twilight Society?"

Chen Ling shook his head.

"The Twilight Society is a secret organization established outside of humanity's nine... no, now eight great realms. All members are numbered according to poker card ranks and secretly infiltrate various human realms to conduct clandestine activities."

"That doesn't sound like a righteous organization."

"No, we *are* a righteous organization," Chu Muyun said, pushing up his glasses with a faint smile. "It's just that in the eyes of the world, our form of righteousness represents absolute evil..."

"Sorry, I'm not interested in joining a cult."

In his previous life, Chen Ling had heard countless stories of cults and pyramid schemes using brainwashing tactics, which primarily involved instilling twisted ideologies to control people's minds. Even with the "calamity" he bore in this life, he had no intention of falling into depravity.

"That's why I said, we aren't a cult... our philosophy simply conflicts with this era," Chu Muyun patiently explained. "Moreover, our salaries are very high, about ten times that of an enforcer."

"Ten times?" Chen Ling looked at him in surprise, then shook his head. "But money doesn't hold much meaning for me... even if I had money, I'd need a life to spend it."

In his previous life, Chen Ling would undoubtedly have been tempted by a tenfold salary, but things were different now. His primary goal was to escape the control of the "Spectators"; everything else was trivial to him.

"We also have many resource channels. If you encounter hurdles while ascending the divine path, you can seek help from other members."

"Do you have many members?"

"Around twenty-something are currently alive."

"Let's talk about our righteousness then..."