Chapter 46: Secrets of the Twilight Society

"The Capital Grand Theater..."

Isn't that the theater where he used to work?

Chen Ling recalled the day he was crushed to death by a chandelier and transmigrated—there was a suspected earthquake then... So, had he really come back?

At the same time, a group of pedestrians stopped, pointing at the screen.

"A red meteor?"

"Speaking of which, I think I saw it this morning too... it just whizzed by."

"Ugh, why didn't it hit Earth? Come on, world, end already, I really don't want to go to work anymore..."

"By the way, what's this 'extremely localized earthquake' about? I didn't feel anything this morning. It couldn't really just target those few buildings, could it?"

"The news said it was caused by magnetic pole shifts... Whatever, it didn't affect me anyway."

As the news interruption ended, the building's screen reverted to advertisements. The crowd lingered for a moment, then turned and left.

Only Chen Ling remained standing there, deep in thought.

A red meteor...

So, could his transmigration also be related to this meteor?

A bus drove past Chen Ling, pulling him back from his chaotic thoughts. He saw the red "Route 33" sign on the bus, and as if remembering something, he immediately rushed towards it.

A blur streaked across the sidewalk, and he hastily boarded the bus just before its doors closed.

"Good reflexes, young man," the elderly driver said, rubbing his eyes. "I didn't even see how you got here... You must be a sprinter, eh?"

Chen Ling then realized, looking down at his hands, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

The Dance of Slaughter... had he brought it back with him??

"Scan the code, young man."

The driver, starting the bus, pointed to the QR code payment machine with his chin. "Two yuan."

"I..." Chen Ling searched all his pockets. "I don't have any money on me."

"It's QR code payment, you don't need cash."

"...And I don't have a phone."

As he said this, Chen Ling felt like a savage who had emerged from the Stone Age...

"Oh, don't give the poor boy a hard time. I just got two yuan in change from buying groceries, I'll pay for him." From the front seat, an elderly woman with curly hair pulled out two coins from her pocket and dropped them with a clink into the box.

"...Thank you, Auntie."

Chen Ling politely thanked her.

"Young man, are you an opera singer? I like watching opera too. Hey, what role do you play?"

Hearing the auntie's words, Chen Ling realized he was still wearing that bright red opera robe, which stood out conspicuously on the bus.

"I, I just sing casually," Chen Ling replied awkwardly.

The bus seats were full, so he held onto a handrail, swaying slightly with the moving vehicle, while casually chatting with the auntie.

As one bus stop after another passed by the window, Chen Ling's heart gradually grew anxious. He glanced at the name of the next stop and slowly moved towards the back door of the bus. As soon as the bus came to a complete stop, he quickly rushed off.

Across the bus stop was a residential community.

Chen Ling took off his conspicuous opera robe and walked straight into the community, familiar with the paths, arriving in front of a low-rise apartment building.

Seeing the building unharmed, Chen Ling finally let out a sigh of relief... This was his home.

His greatest fear was that the earthquake's scope had reached here, and his parents would meet the same fate as him... Thankfully, everything was safe.

Chen Ling entered the building's entrance, only to find it draped with white mourning cloth. His heart sank, and he immediately took the elevator to the ninth floor.

As the elevator doors opened, a wave of crying reached his ears.

"Caiyun... don't cry anymore. If you keep crying like this, what will happen to your health..."

"That's right, if A'Ling were still alive, how heartbroken would he be to see you like this?"

"A'Ling was a good child, but his fate was really... sigh."

Chen Ling stood dazed in the elevator, his gaze passing through the half-open door to see many figures surrounding a middle-aged woman, offering sympathetic comfort.

Chen Ling recognized them; they were his relatives from the capital, all his aunts and uncles were there, and the woman surrounded in the middle was his mother.

The middle-aged woman held a black-and-white photo, her face already tear-streaked from crying.

The figure in the photo... was Chen Ling himself.

Two relatives stood in a corner, talking softly.

"Where's Chen Ling's dad?"

"Still at the hospital, discussing A'Ling's funeral arrangements... They said Caiyun should come back first to pack his belongings."

"Did you see A'Ling's... body?"

"Yes," the relative nodded. "Poor child... his head was smashed in, apparently by a chandelier."

"At the hospital, Caiyun held A'Ling's hand and cried for over an hour, eventually his dad had to pull her away..."

"Sigh... Heaven has no mercy."

"Come on, let's go persuade Caiyun. No matter what, we need to arrange A'Ling's funeral first..."

"Yes..."

Chen Ling stood in the elevator like a statue, watching everything unfold.

He wanted to step out of the elevator, but he didn't know how he would explain himself to his relatives and mother... His mind was in turmoil.

Just then, the elevator doors automatically closed.

As the metallic elevator doors slowly closed, the door to Chen Ling's home was pushed open, and the relatives, supporting Caiyun, began to walk out.

Thump—

The elevator doors closed, perhaps someone downstairs had pressed the button, and the car slowly began to descend...

"...Mom." It was only then that Chen Ling, his lips pale, hoarsely uttered the word.

He looked at his reflection on the metallic elevator door, and his mother's image, kneeling and weeping just moments ago, reappeared in his mind. He felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart.

He took a deep breath, as if making a firm decision, and frantically pressed the button for the ninth floor.

He wanted to see his mother.

However, the elevator continued to descend.

At the same time, familiar dark green text appeared in the void:

CODE TIMELIMIT REACHEDREAD INTERRUPTED

BOOM—

The elevator car plummeted rapidly!

"MOM!!!"

Amidst the heavy snow, Chen Ling suddenly sat up from the ground.

He gasped heavily, his pupils involuntarily dilating. He looked around and found himself still in the mass grave.

"Damn it... What in the world is going on??" Chen Ling came to his senses and couldn't help but curse.

Just now, he had almost believed he had truly returned... but when he opened his eyes, he was still in this wretched place!

Chen Ling's gaze fell upon the USB drive in the snow.

"Through it, you might understand us a little better..."

What exactly was the organization Chu Muyun belonged to?

Why did they have a USB drive?

And could it even send him back to his previous life?

Chen Ling's hands, supporting his body, clenched involuntarily.

He took a deep breath, snatched the USB drive into his hand, and turned to run down the mountain...

Xiaofang's General Store.

By the counter, the woman stretched lazily, watching the fading twilight outside. "He probably won't come," she said.

"No, he will," Chu Muyun replied confidently, sitting on a chair and flipping through a book.

"Why are you so sure? Over the years, many people have refused the Twilight Society's invitation, haven't they?"

"If the Red King says he'll come, he will definitely come."

Just as Chu Muyun finished speaking, the general store's door was forcefully pushed open!

Chen Ling stood outside in the heavy snow, his chest heaving violently, as if he had run furiously from somewhere.

"We need to talk," he said, holding up the USB drive and speaking deliberately, word by word.