Chapter 605: Violent Dan Role

Chen Ling and Li Qingshan walked on, seeing no one along the way except for the occasional disaster.

At this critical moment, all residents of the Mortal Realm wished they could hide in the cracks of the earth. Walking on the streets was undoubtedly an act of suicide. This once bustling and lively street had now become desolate and quiet.

Along the way, one or two more disasters appeared, but Chen Ling's stare made them turn and flee, leaving their path completely unimpeded.

"Fortunately, it's Brother Lin. If Baosheng had gone to the pharmacy himself, it would probably have been disastrous," Li Qingshan couldn't help but sigh.

"Speaking of which, it's a bit suspicious that his grandmother suddenly fell ill at this time," Chen Ling said, his brow slightly furrowed. "We've been at the theater for so long, and her condition was stable. Yet, it suddenly worsened right at the beginning of the Grey Realm's convergence..."

"Are you saying... his grandmother's illness is related to the Grey Realm?"

"The Grey Realm itself doesn't affect the human body. I'm not sure if the Crimson Sky Church causes any effects. I just suspect that this matter isn't so simple."

"By the way, what was Baosheng's grandmother suffering from?"

"Lymphoma, I think."

"Lymphoma... that's the same disease my father had."

"Your father also had lymphoma?"

"Yes, he got it when I was eight or nine, and he passed away within a year. Later, my mother also suffered from organ failure, and both of them died." A trace of bitterness flashed in Li Qingshan's eyes.

"..." Chen Ling's brows furrowed deeper. He suddenly remembered Mu Chunsheng, who had been half-dead with skin cancer before, and subconsciously spoke.

"There seem to be too many people getting cancer here."

"Too many?" Li Qingshan was startled. "Isn't that normal? People usually get some illnesses as they age."

"No, it's not normal."

Chen Ling had spent so long in the Aurora Realm and had rarely seen anyone with cancer. Yet, in the Mortal Realm, it seemed anyone of a certain age was afflicted with cancer or similar diseases... Perhaps this was why the average life expectancy in the Mortal Realm was only fifty years.

As they spoke, the end of the street gradually came into view in the distance. It was an empty intersection where the grey sky seemed to be split in two; one side, closer to Chen Ling and Li Qingshan, was a normal night sky, while the other side of the road was covered by an ominous grey firmament.

Two opera robes, one red and one green, stopped at one side of the intersection.

"Is that the Grey Realm convergence zone ahead...?" Chen Ling's gaze swept across the intersection, landing on the pharmacy at the opposite street corner.

"Is that the Grey Realm?" Li Qingshan was seeing the Grey Realm's sky for the first time. The leaden, oppressive clouds cast over the once vibrant Mortal Realm filled him with an instinctive sense of dread.

Across the street, dense, dark smoke rose from the city, and occasional terrifying roars of colossal beasts echoed, as if the area had already transformed into a living hell.

On this street, where the Jinghong Theater was located, disasters like the Giant Bone Eagle had already appeared even before the Grey Realm converged. It was impossible to imagine how many disasters and casualties had occurred in the areas already swallowed by the Grey Realm.

"The pharmacy is right there; we need to hurry."

Chen Ling walked straight across the deserted intersection towards the dilapidated pharmacy.

The pharmacy's sign was off, and its outer walls were covered in scorch marks and unidentifiable bloodstains. The upper half of the front door's glass was completely shattered, leaving only transparent shards strewn across the ground. Even so, the door remained tightly locked.

Peering through the broken glass, the pharmacy interior was pitch black, the counter was empty, and shelves filled with medicines were haphazardly arranged, stretching into the dark depths of the store.

"There's no one inside... Did the staff just flee when the Grey Realm converged?" Li Qingshan glanced inside and murmured.

Chen Ling didn't answer. He looked down at the door, which was locked from the inside, and his brows involuntarily furrowed.

"Brother Li, step back a bit and protect yourself."

"Huh? Oh..."

Li Qingshan nodded and took several steps back.

Chen Ling reached into the sleeve of his opera robe, and a glinting boning knife appeared in his palm. He deftly twirled it between his fingers before hiding it behind his back.

Li Qingshan was taken aback. "Brother Lin, where did that knife come from??"

"I 'borrowed' it from the kitchen earlier."

Chen Ling took half a step back with his right leg. After a brief pause, he unleashed a powerful kick. The immense force cut through the air with a faint hum, slamming into the tightly locked door like a cannonball!

Bang—!!

The pharmacy door instantly warped, flew several meters from its frame, and crashed to the ground with a clang after knocking over a section of shelves.

Dust billowed up, and the vibrant red opera robe settled. However, the dan role ornaments on Chen Ling's head were still swaying slightly. Witnessing this, Li Qingshan, standing behind him, couldn't help but speak.

"Brother Lin... isn't your dan role a bit too fierce? Even Mu Guiying wasn't as formidable as you."

Chen Ling walked straight into the pharmacy. The store's lighting was completely out, and combined with the darkness outside, the interior was virtually pitch black. Fortunately, Chen Ling possessed the Crimson Face eyes, allowing him to vaguely perceive some things in the dark...

The pharmacy was quite spacious, with at least twenty shelves arranged within. Chen Ling slowly walked past the shelves near the entrance, the hem of his grand red opera robe sweeping through the dim dust. The only sound around him was his soft footsteps.

As Chen Ling ventured deeper into the pharmacy, a strong scent of blood washed over him, and the vigilance in his eyes intensified.

Audience expectation value: 1

After Chen Ling passed several more shelves, the space before him suddenly opened up. A dozen or so shelves were deliberately arranged in a semicircle, encircling the area. In the center, crooked bloodstains formed a ring on the ground, and small, bizarre symbols were drawn in the corners, making the scene mysterious and eerie.

At the center of this blood-red ring, a figure cloaked in a red robe knelt on the ground. One hand clutched a short knife, its blade pressed against the lower part of their left chest, piercing only about one centimeter deep. Fresh blood trickled down the blade onto the ground...

Before them lay a small hammer, a pair of scissors, and a saw, resembling instruments of disembowelment and torture.

Seeing this, Chen Ling's pupils slightly constricted!

"Brother Lin, look out!!!"

Li Qingshan's shout came from behind, followed immediately by a whistling sound of something cutting through the air, rising from behind Chen Ling's ear. Chen Ling instinctively bent forward to dodge, and a gleaming blade barely grazed his scalp!

Almost simultaneously, the red-robed figure kneeling in the center of the blood ring sharply lifted their head, swung the small hammer from the ground with a backhand, and lunged it towards Chen Ling's face!

Thud—!

Everything happened too quickly. The pincer attack from both sides was as swift and unstoppable as lightning, instantly cutting off all of Chen Ling's escape routes. With a dull thud, Chen Ling's head was struck by the oncoming hammer in the darkness, and he was sent flying backward like a sandbag, crashing into a shelf which then toppled over with a resounding crash!