Vol. 1 - Ch. 7 - Lockdown of the Entire Area

That afternoon, the echoes of screams on Cold Frost Street hardly subsided. Amidst the chaos, the provocateur, Chen Ling, sat serenely beneath a tree, casually munching on melon seeds amidst the onlooking crowd. All the while, he discreetly monitored the fluctuations in "audience anticipation."At first, when Uncle Zhao spanked Zhao Yi, the audience anticipation would slightly increase, but after a few times, the growth plateaued, ultimately settling at 48%. Then, after observing for a while, the anticipation dropped by 1% to 47%...

It seemed the audience was getting a bit tired of it too.

"I wonder if all the audience in my mind are just seeking entertainment?" Chen Ling couldn't help but wonder.

Through this experiment, Chen Ling could confirm that the audience anticipation changed based on his own actions. If the events he was experiencing were exciting enough, their anticipation would rise, but if there wasn't much excitement for a long time, the anticipation would gradually decline...

Doesn't this mean that if he wants to maintain the anticipation above 20%, he has to continuously create "exciting plots"?

Today, Zhao Yi provoked him first, and considering the other party was a bully of Cold Frost Street, it was reasonable to give him a little lesson... but he couldn't do this every day, could he?

If he continues like this, wouldn’t he be destined to become a notorious villain causing trouble for others??

Thinking of this, Chen Ling felt a bit weary...

Now, the only lifeline for him was the doctor mentioned by Dr. Lin from Aurora City.

Perhaps he could rid himself of whatever contamination or disaster was within him and rescue himself from this life trajectory of being a "passive entertainer."

Just as Chen Ling was lost in thought, a deep tolling of bells sounded from a distance!

Dang—Dang—Dang!!

The three bell tolls seemed to penetrate space, echoing in every corner of the world.

The moment the crowd heard this bell, their faces changed, even Uncle Zhao, who was chasing Zhao Yi, stopped his hand and looked bewildered into the distance.

"Three bell tolls?!" an elder's face turned extremely ugly. "How is this possible?"

"When the Calamity bell rings, it's a warning signal from the enforcers, indicating that they've detected traces of Grey Convergence within the Greater Region, meaning a Calamity is invading..."

"But wasn't it said that the Aurora Realm is protected by the Aurora, hardly ever converging with the Grey Realm? In the past ten years, the appearance of Calamity hasn't exceeded three times..."

"Then where is this Calamity now?"

"I don't know... Anyway, let's hurry home! Don't come out unless it's necessary!"

Upon hearing the three bell tolls, everyone's faces turned pale. Zhao Yi, who had just been crying out from being spanked, even collapsed to his knees.

The ground beneath their feet trembled slightly. Chen Ling turned his head and saw more than ten fast horses galloping from afar.

Each fast horse was ridden by a figure dressed in black and red uniforms, with holsters slung around their waists, their faces equally serious.

"Suspected high-risk disaster appearance! Lockdown of all sectors! No one is allowed in or out!!"

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

"If you notice anything unusual, report it to the enforcers immediately!!"

"Everyone, please cooperate with the investigation!!"

The enforcers' voices reverberated across Cold Frost Street and every corner of Sector Three, accompanied by the lingering tolls of the Calamity bell. The world became enveloped in an indescribable sense of tension.

At this moment, no one was in the mood for idle gossip. Everyone rushed home in a hurry. Even Zhao Yi, after receiving a big scolding from his father, was dragged into the house.

Alone under the tree, Chen Ling also prepared to go home. At that moment, two lines of characters flashed in the pile of fallen leaves:

【Audience anticipation +18】

【Current anticipation: 65%】

Seeing the sudden surge in viewer anticipation, Chen Ling was stunned.

In the next moment, a chilling thought leaped into his mind...

"Are they... coming for me?!"

Zone Three.

Enforcers Headquarters.

Dim sunlight filtered through the hemispherical glass dome, casting colorful rays of light into the room.

A flag, stretching several meters, proudly hung high in the center. Against its jet-black backdrop, two green hexagonal stars overlapped, resembling the dazzling stars of the Arctic night sky.

Beneath this flag, a dozen enforcers in black and red uniforms stood solemnly. They stood in a straight line, facing the direction of the headquarters gate, as if waiting for something.

As the gate slowly opened, five enforcers, dressed in black cloaks, walked shoulder to shoulder.

In the middle of the formation was Han Meng, distinguished by his cloak embroidered with four silver lines, while the other four bore only three. Their arrival prompted all the present enforcers to snap to attention simultaneously.

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

"The Calamity bell has been rung, and Zone Three is currently under full lockdown, but there's no trace of that disaster yet..." one enforcer hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Brother Meng, what does it mean if the Calamity pointer self-destructs?"

"When the Calamity pointer self-destructs, there are only two possibilities," Han Meng calmly replied.

"The first possibility is that a special Calamity has arrived nearby, and the abilities of this special Calamity happen to disable the disaster pointer... However, this explanation only exists in theory, and so far, no such calamity has been discovered."

"The second possibility is that a Ninth Level... or the so-called 'World-ending' level Calamity invasion is nearby, and the residual energy fluctuations exceed the limit the pointer can handle, causing it to explode automatically." Sᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"'World-ending' level??" The crowd's faces turned ashen.

"No need to be so nervous... You don't really think a 'World-ending' calamity would happen, do you?" The enforcer next to Han Meng chuckled.

"A 'World-ending' level calamity is capable of annihilating an entire human realm. There are only a few of them in the Grey Realm... If a 'World-ending' calamity really happened, it wouldn't just be Zone Three affected. Even Aurora City would probably be wiped out in an instant when it arrives."

Upon hearing this, the crowd finally breathed a sigh of relief...

"So, it should just be a special 'calamity'?"

"At the moment, that seems to be the only explanation."

"But with the calamity pointer broken, how do we classify it?"

"We can't classify it." Han Meng shook his head. "Unless it reappears, and we confront it... Right now, the most important thing is to deploy all available personnel for a comprehensive search. We need to find it before it actively harms anyone."

"A comprehensive search... But our manpower may not be enough."

"In that case, temporarily call up the reserve enforcers. Didn't the written exam end a few days ago? Gather the qualified candidates and tell them this is their practical exam."

"Yes!"