Chapter 7: Full District Lockdown

That afternoon, the screams on Frost Street were almost constant.

Yet Chen Ling, the instigator of it all, sat quietly under a tree, propping his head up, observing the crowd and munching on snacks, all while monitoring the changes in audience anticipation.

When Uncle Zhao first started hitting Zhao Yi's backside, the audience anticipation would increase slightly, but after a few times, the growth stagnated and eventually settled at 48. After watching for a long time, the anticipation actually dropped by 1, becoming 47... It seemed the audience was getting a bit bored.

"Are all the audience members in my head just thrill-seekers?" Chen Ling couldn't help but wonder.

Through this experiment, Chen Ling could now confirm that audience anticipation changed based on his actions. If the events he was experiencing were exciting enough, anticipation would rise; but if there was no excitement for a long time, it would drop as time passed. Didn't that mean if he wanted to keep the anticipation above 20, he would have to continuously create "exciting plots"?

Today, Zhao Yi provoked him first, and since the other party was a bully on Frost Street, a small lesson was understandable. But he couldn't do this every day, could he? If things continued this way, wasn't he destined to become a great demon plaguing the world? Thinking of this, Chen Ling felt a bit weary.

Chen Ling's only hope now was the doctor from Aurora City mentioned by Dr. Lin. Perhaps that doctor could remove the disaster pollution within him and save him from this life path of a "passive thrill-seeker."

Just as Chen Ling was deep in thought, a low bell toll echoed from afar!Dong—dong—dong!!

Three bell tolls, as if piercing through space, reverberated in every corner of the world. The moment they heard the bell, the expressions of the surrounding crowd changed. Even Uncle Zhao, who was still chasing Zhao Yi, stopped and looked towards the distance in surprise.

"Three disaster bells?!" an old man exclaimed, his face extremely grim. "How is this possible?"

"The disaster bell ringing is a warning signal from the enforcers, indicating they've detected traces of a Gray Realm convergence within the district, meaning a disaster has invaded..."

"Didn't they say the Aurora Realm is protected by the aurora and rarely converges with the Gray Realm? In the past ten years, disasters have appeared no more than three times..."

"Where is that disaster now?"

"I don't know... just hurry home! Don't come out unless necessary!"

Upon hearing the three disaster bells, everyone's faces turned uniformly pale. Zhao Yi, who had just been crying out in pain from the beating, felt his legs give way and collapsed to his knees.

The ground beneath his feet trembled slightly. Chen Ling turned his head and saw over a dozen swift horses galloping from afar. On each horse rode a figure in a black and red uniform, with handgun holsters slung across their waists. Their expressions were equally solemn.

"Suspected high-risk disaster detected! District Three is under full lockdown! No one is allowed to enter or exit!!"

"Look out for any suspicious signs around you, such as roads or buildings appearing out of nowhere, strange-looking mysterious creatures, or even humans behaving abnormally!!"

"Report any abnormalities to the enforcers immediately!!"

"Everyone, please cooperate with the investigation!!"

The enforcers' voices echoed through Frost Street and every corner of District Three. Accompanied by the lingering echoes of the disaster bell in the air, an inexplicable tension enveloped the world. At this moment, no one had any interest in watching the drama. Everyone rushed home, and even Zhao Yi, after taking a harsh slap, was grumbling and dragged indoors by his father.

Chen Ling stood alone under the tree, ready to head home. Just then, two lines of characters flashed in the pile of fallen leaves:Audience Anticipation +18Current Anticipation: 65

Seeing the audience anticipation surge, Chen Ling was startled. The next moment, a chilling thought suddenly sprang into his mind...

"They... they couldn't be coming for me, could they?!"

***

District Three.Enforcer Headquarters.

Dim daylight filtered through the hemispherical glazed dome, casting colorful specks of light that illuminated the interior. A flag several meters long hung high in the center by ropes. Against its dark background, two cyan hexagonal stars overlapped, resembling shimmering stars in the arctic night sky. Beneath the flag, over a dozen enforcers in black and red uniforms stood with stern expressions. They stood in a rigid line, facing the direction of the headquarters' main entrance, as if waiting for something.

As the main doors opened, five enforcer officers, cloaked in black trench coats, walked in side-by-side. Among the five, Han Meng walked in the very center, his trench coat hem adorned with four silver stripes, while the other four only had three stripes. With their arrival, all the enforcers present immediately stood at attention.

"What's the situation?" Han Meng asked in a deep voice.

"The disaster bell has already rung, and District Three is currently under full lockdown, but there's no trace of the disaster yet..." An enforcer hesitated for a moment before finally asking, "Brother Meng, the disaster pointer self-destructed... what does that mean?"

"There are only two scenarios for a disaster pointer to self-destruct," Han Meng stated calmly.

"The first is the arrival of a special disaster nearby, one whose abilities happen to nullify the disaster pointer... However, this explanation is purely theoretical; no such disaster has ever been discovered so far."

"The second is the invasion of a Level 9... or commonly known as a 'World-Ending' class disaster nearby, where its residual energy fluctuations exceed the pointer's tolerance limit, causing it to automatically explode."

"'World-ending' class??" Everyone's faces turned ashen.

"No need to be so nervous... You don't really think a 'World-Ending' disaster would descend, do you?" The enforcer officer beside Han Meng chuckled. "'World-Ending' class disasters are entities capable of obliterating an entire human realm. There are only a few of them in the entire Gray Realm... If a 'World-Ending' disaster truly descended, let alone District Three, even Aurora City would probably be reduced to dust the moment it arrived."

Hearing this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, it must just be a special 'disaster'?"

"For now, that's the only explanation."

"But the disaster pointer is broken, how are we supposed to rate it?"

"We can't rate it," Han Meng shook his head. "Unless it reappears and we engage with it... What's most important now is to mobilize all personnel for a carpet search, to find it before it actively harms anyone."

"A carpet search, then... but we might not have enough manpower."

"Then temporarily call upon the reserve enforcers. Didn't the written exam just finish a few days ago? Gather those who qualified and tell them this is their practical exam."

"Yes, sir!"