Chapter 633: Old Friend Knocks

Liu Qingyan’s heart stirred slightly when she saw the poker card. Her gaze swept over everyone again, this time carefully and solemnly, as if she intended to imprint each face into her memory.

At the same time, she gently bowed, slightly lifting her skirt with both hands, and curtsied to the group: “My name is Liu Qingyan, and I have been awaiting your arrival for some time.”

At her words, Jian Changsheng and the others looked surprised and retorted, “Did Chen Ling tell you we would be coming?”

“No.”

“Then how did you know we would come looking for you?”

“Lord Chen Ling asked me to stay, and there must be a reason for it… Since you are Lord Chen Ling’s companions, your sudden appearance now must be related to him,” Liu Qingyan explained softly.

Spade Jack exchanged glances with the others, seemingly impressed by the young girl, but important matters took precedence. He directly handed Chen Ling’s letter to Liu Qingyan.

“This is a message he sent us, specifically asking for you.”

Liu Qingyan took the letter and immediately saw the eight large characters written in blood: “If anything unexpected happens, find Liu Qingyan.” After a moment of thought, she suddenly spoke: “What unexpected thing happened to you?”

“We lost them,” Jian Changsheng scratched his head helplessly. “The people from Floating Life Painting seem to have used some kind of teleportation method, and our tracking was interrupted… So, we came to you to see if there’s a way.”

Liu Qingyan smiled. Holding Chen Ling’s handwritten letter with both hands, her soft black hair danced lightly in the wind. Her unruffled, black-gem-like eyes curved slightly, a rare sight, resembling delighted crescent moons. Liu Qingyan couldn't remember the last time she had smiled, but now, she was truly happy.

“I will lead you to him.” Liu Qingyan folded the letter carefully and tucked it into her embrace like a treasure.

“You can find him? But he might not even be in the main city of Hongchen anymore. Are you sure you can?”

“Yes.” Liu Qingyan nodded slightly, resolutely, “No matter where he is, no matter how far… I can find him.”

Hearing Liu Qingyan’s confidence, the members of the Twilight Society exchanged questioning glances. They had never heard of such a thing. Who exactly was this girl? A GPS pathfinder?

“Since we now have a way to locate him, let’s hurry and depart,” Jian Changsheng couldn't help but say. “Heart Six is probably fine; that guy is cunning and not easily killed… But Spade Eight has been deep in enemy territory for months. If anything goes wrong, it would be terrible.”

“Then you’re overthinking it,” Heart Nine shrugged. “Lin Xi… Spade Eight, that kid is very sharp-witted; he won’t be easily taken down. Besides, he has a close relationship with Floating Life Painting, and from what I know of those artists, they wouldn’t kill him.”

“Regardless, let’s make it quick.” Spade Jack looked up at the sky in the distance. Between the lead-grey clouds, the immense convergence point of the Grey World, temporarily sealed by an abstract painting, hung like a black hole above everyone’s heads, deep as an abyss and chilling to behold.

“I have a feeling… something big is about to happen here.”

As Spade Jack, Heart Nine, Jian Changsheng, and Liu Qingyan departed, the street area amidst the ruins once again fell into a deathly silence.

In this district, not a single pedestrian could be seen. The residents here had either been killed by the calamity, or, terrified, had fled outwards, only to perish in the even more dangerous surrounding areas. The remaining survivors dared not venture out, hiding instead in extremely secluded corners, trembling with fear.

At this moment, only one theater building still stood beneath the oppressive, dull sky, with faint lights flickering within.

On the street in front of Jinghong Tower, a figure slowly emerged from the distant swirling dust. It was a figure in a blue woolen overcoat, carrying a briefcase in one hand, a blue scarf fluttering silently in the wind. They seemed to have rushed from a different climate zone, appearing entirely out of place in Hongchen.

In their hand was a letter with squiggly, almost unreadable writing, like crawling insects. Only the words “Help me, help me, help me” were clearly visible. He lowered his head, pushing up his glasses, and carefully checked the address at the bottom of the envelope, his eyes filled with disdain for the messy handwriting.

Finally, he stopped at the entrance of Jinghong Tower. He put the letter back in his pocket, raised a hand, and gently knocked on the theater door.

A creak—

As the theater door opened from within, the lantern light illuminated the man. Chu Muyun adjusted the frame of his silver-rimmed glasses and smiled politely: “I heard someone here needs a doctor?”

***

Guernica.

Chen Ling paused, surprised, when he saw the small arrow symbol.

“Is that… Spade Eight’s doing?” Chen Ling stared intently at the spinning arrow drawn on it, his expression subtle.

Although Chen Ling had long suspected that Spade Eight was imprisoned with him, he hadn't expected to see Spade Eight's mark in such a place… How did he draw it on that large face? And could that drawn arrow really rotate on its own?

Chen Ling looked in the direction indicated by the arrow, and without much hesitation, he walked towards it with light steps. Although he wasn't yet sure if Spade Eight's arrow pointed to himself or something else, Chen Ling had nowhere else to go. Rather than aimlessly wandering in the void, waiting to be “bored to death,” it was better to take the initiative.

But Chen Ling soon realized that things were far more complicated than he had imagined.

In this hollow world, there were no reference points. As the large face receded and disappeared, Chen Ling found himself completely immersed in a cosmic “vacuum”… Without reference points, it was impossible to determine location, and even Chen Ling couldn't accurately find his direction in such an environment.

Helpless, Chen Ling could only try to walk as straight as possible, following the direction of his toes. While this worked for short distances, as he walked in that direction for a long time, his confidence waned.

Audience Expectation: 1Current Expectation: 43

In just over an hour, the audience's expectation had dropped by two points. Chen Ling could feel their dissatisfaction rapidly increasing… It was like buying a movie ticket, only for the protagonist to get lost in the desert from the very beginning and remain lost for over an hour, with nothing but swirling sand in sight. Even if the “protagonist’s” acting was superb and their appearance outstanding, it wouldn't curb the audience's resentment.

And now, Chen Ling's situation was such that he couldn't even see the “sand.”

Chen Ling's heart sank to rock bottom… At this rate, he wouldn't even survive twenty-four hours in this place.