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"It's also possible that the 'calamity' was too weak... and got killed with just one hit of the axe." Li Xiuchun suggested another possibility.
Chen Tan didn't reply. He stared at the figure in the pool of blood for a long time, then turned and took out a kitchen knife from the kitchen.
"What are you going to do?"
"Open his chest and see if his heart is still there." Chen Tan hoarsely said, "At least I want to know... whether I killed a calamity or the redemption given by God."
He half-knelt beside Chen Ling's body, and with difficulty, he cut open the chest with the blade. Li Xiuchun turned pale, turned her head, and rushed into the kitchen, vomiting violently.
A few minutes later, Chen Tan stood up slowly.
"How is it?" Li Xiuchun asked.
"Empty." Chen Tan looked at the empty chest cavity, as if relieved. "He doesn't have a heart."
"No heart? Then how..."
"Don't know."
Chen Tan paused. "Whatever it was... it's dead now."
"What about the body?"
"Hide it in the cellar... there are enforcers everywhere outside, we can't take it out."
Chen Tan moved the heavy wooden board from the corner of the living room, revealing a dark and narrow underground space.
In this era without refrigerators, relying on the cellar's natural insulation to store food was the best option. He was about to toss Chen Ling in when he stopped, seeing the gruesome neck wound.
"Go get A-Yan's costume," Chen Tan said.
"Whatever it is, this is still A-Ling's body... without a proper coffin, at least give him some decent clothes."
At the mention of the costume, Li Xiuchun shivered slightly.
"But last night... he came back wearing that costume..."
"It's just a piece of clothing." Chen Tan was about to argue, but thinking of the horrifying scene when Chen Ling returned home last night, he didn't insist. "Forget it, let's just leave it like this."
Chen Tan tossed Chen Ling's body into the cellar. He covered it with a wooden board, and firmly pressed the table on top, sealing it completely.
Next, Li Xiuchun began cleaning the bloodstains in the house. Despite the nauseating feeling it evoked, she persisted, pinching her nose.
Knock, knock, knock—
An urgent knocking suddenly echoed.
Li Xiuchun, who was cleaning the room, missed a beat in her heart, and turned abruptly to look at Chen Tan.
"Someone's here?"
"Ignore them for now, pretend no one's home."
Li Xiuchun nodded. The two of them held their breath in the living room, with only the muffled knocking echoing continuously. But the knocking showed no signs of stopping, instead, it grew more forceful. Soon, a deep voice sounded from the door:
"Enforcers' inquiry! Open the door immediately!"
Upon hearing the word "enforcers," both of them turned pale. After hesitating for a moment, Chen Tan gave Li Xiuchun a look, quickly changed his clothes, and unbuttoned, he walked towards the door.
Creak—
The door opened slightly.
Chen Tan stepped out, then closed the door behind him. "Enforcer, what's the matter?"
Drizzling rain fell from the gloomy sky as two figures dressed in black and red uniforms stood outside the door, their faces grim.
"Why didn't you open the door after knocking for so long?"
"I was just sleeping, it took me some time to get dressed," he chuckled awkwardly.
The two enforcers glanced at his unbuttoned clothes, then relaxed a bit. "Is this Chen Ling's house?"
"...Yes."
"Where is he?"
"He left in the morning and hasn't come back yet."
"When he returns, pass this notice to him." One of the enforcers took out a document from his pocket. "Zone Two and Three are currently under lockdown. All reserve enforcers who have passed the written test are summoned to gather. He's on the call-up list. Tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM, assemble at the enforcers' headquarters in Zone Three. Failure to attend will be considered voluntary withdrawal."
Chen Tan's heart skipped a beat, but he still took the notice calmly and nodded. "Okay, I'll make sure to pass it on."
The two enforcers turned and left, and Chen Tan breathed a sigh of relief.
He pushed the door open and walked back into the house.
Screech—Screech—
As soon as he entered the house, a piercing sound of metal friction entered his ears, like someone scratching a blackboard with sharp nails, sending shivers down Chen Tan's spine.
At this moment, Li Xiuchun was curled up in the corner, trembling all over. When she saw Chen Tan return to the house, her eyes, almost on the verge of collapse, finally lifted. She slowly reached out a hand and pointed towards the kitchen...
In the kitchen, a crimson figure stood with its back facing them, head lowered as if chewing on something.
Seeing that figure, Chen Tan's mind went blank instantly!
It was a young man whose neck was almost severed, his crimson flesh was visibly healing at an astonishing speed. He held a kitchen knife in his left hand and a bloodied axe in his right, both of which were being stuffed into his mouth...
Seemingly aware of Chen Tan's return home, the figure in the kitchen, draped in a bright red robe, slowly turned around.
That was Chen Ling, the one who lost his heart and was almost beheaded.
His cheeks bulged slightly as he chewed vigorously on the remnants of metal and wood, his scattered pupils resembling those of a beast, eerie and menacing.
"Dad."
A voice sounded from behind him. "I'm hungry..."
...
Chen Ling had a dream.
It was a cloudy afternoon. As usual, he returned home from training at the martial arts arena in the suburbs, pushing open the door with sweat pouring down his forehead.
It wasn't his birthday, but there was a cream cake on the dining table... Orange candles flickered in the dim living room, and two figures sat at the table, their eyes slightly red.
A cream cake, worth 200 copper coins, was something their family could never afford on ordinary days. He was puzzled and asked what day it was today. His parents told him it was the day before his brother A-Yan's surgery. They were overjoyed to hear that, as A- Yan's congenital heart disease had been a nightmare for their family. In order to cure him, his parents and he had been running around seeking help, but all clinics were helpless. A few days ago, his parents said they found a hospital in Zone Two and took A-Yan there. They were confident they could cure him.
Hearing this good news, he happily finished the cake. But soon his consciousness began to fade, and he collapsed onto the table. The last thing he saw was his mother, Li Xiuchun, covering her mouth, crying bitterly.
"I'm sorry... I'm really sorry." He heard his father's whisper. "A-Yan needs a heart... You would be willing, right?"
He opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but eventually fell into a coma.
Then, he felt himself being stuffed into a bag, with raindrops pattering on the surface of the bag. After a long time, he was finally lifted onto a table. He felt his chest being opened, and something was taken out from inside.
Then, he was dressed in clothes and moved somewhere in the heavy rain. The thick soil gradually engulfed his body, and everything around him fell into darkness and silence...
...
In the darkness, Chen Ling's eyes suddenly opened.
Spotlights lit up above his head, illuminating the red figure lying in the center of the stage. After a moment of daze, Chen Ling propped himself up with his hands, swaying as he stood up.
"Damn it... Why am I back again?"
Chen Ling's face turned slightly pale. His gaze subconsciously fell on the screen in the center of the stage, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
【Audience Expectation +1】
【Audience Expectation +1】
【Current Expectation: 67%】
【Loss of actor connection detected, performance interrupted】
【Audience Expectation -50】
【Current Expectation: 17%】
【Warning! Warning!】
【Audience intervention in the performance begins!】