I'm Not A Drama God

Chapter 10: "Audience" · Gulp. · Chen Tan couldn't help but swallow hard. · "This... how is this possible??" he rasped. "No heart, head hacked off, and he can still move?" · "Where did those opera clothes come from? We didn't put them on him!" · "I don't know!!!" Li Xiuchun, completely consumed by terror, answered incoherently. "He... when he crawled out from underground, he was already wearing them! It’s the same costume we wrapped him in when we buried him last night! He’s a ghost... he really is a ghost! He’s come to take our lives!" · "Bullshit! There are no ghosts in this world!" · The scene before him was far too eerie, and Chen Tan’s legs felt weak with fear. But he eventually summoned his courage, snatched a steak knife from the floor, and lunged at Chen Ling’s face! · He had killed Chen Ling twice; he could kill him a third time! · Whatever was inside that body, it only looked frightening—it didn't seem nearly as terrifying as the Calamities rumored to be outside. This thought gave Chen Tan a surge of desperate bravado. · The sharp blade sliced through the air, but just as it was about to touch Chen Ling, it jerked to a halt in mid-air. · Chen Tan froze. He strained with all his might, but the knife wouldn't budge an inch, as if an invisible giant hand had clamped onto the blade, locking it in space. · "Hehe." · A chilling giggle echoed from behind Chen Ling. · In the next heartbeat, the knife in Chen Tan’s hand vanished into thin air. In its place was a long, thin strip of red paper. · His pupils vacant, Chen Ling finished chewing and swallowing the axe and the cleaver. He stared straight at Chen Tan, stepping forward with a mechanical, raspy repetition of the same three words: · "Dad, I’m hungry." · Those simple words made Chen Tan’s scalp tingle with dread. · He didn't doubt for a second that Chen Ling would grab his head next and shove it into that mouth to be crushed and chewed... His bones wouldn't be any harder than the axe or the cleaver. · "Run!! Get outside and find the Law Enforcers!!" · Chen Tan spun around and bolted toward the front door! · He knew this situation was beyond their control. Their only hope was to seek help from the Law Enforcers. Those omnipotent Enforcement Officers would surely have a way to deal with a Calamity! · As for how the Law Enforcers would judge them later for premeditated murder and organ theft—that was a problem for another time. · Going to prison was better than losing his life. · Crouched in the corner and shaking, Li Xiuchun was jolted back to her senses by the shout. She scrambled toward the closed door on all fours. · Taking advantage of Chen Ling’s focus on Chen Tan, she reached the door and lunged for the handle... · Only to grab thin air. · Li Xiuchun looked down in a daze, realizing the handle had vanished. No—not just the handle. The entire door had become a drawing on red paper, flattening from three dimensions into two. · She couldn't open a door drawn on paper. · "Hehehehe..." · A chorus of voices layered over one another from every direction, as if the room were now filled with countless invisible figures. They watched the pair, their scarlet eyes brimming with mockery. · Red paper shards danced around Li Xiuchun. In her delirium, she saw face after eerie face. · She screamed incessantly, backing away until her eyes held nothing but pure, unadulterated horror. · Finally, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed onto the floor, unconscious. · 【Audience Expectation Value -1】 · 【Current Expectation Value: 16%】 · Simultaneously, Chen Tan felt the ground vanish beneath him. He slammed hard onto the floor and looked back in shock, only to find the entire surface had turned red, undulating like waves. · He stared blankly at the approaching Chen Ling in his crimson robes. Realization dawned on him, and he screamed in terror: · "It’s true... what the Law Enforcers said is true!" · "You’re a Calamity!" · "You’re a Calamity that stole A-Ling’s body!" · Hearing this, the crimson-robed Chen Ling stopped. · The corners of his scarlet mouth curled upward. He pressed a pale finger to his lips in a "hush" gesture. · "Shhh—" · Just as the endless red paper was about to submerge Chen Tan, the sound of shattering glass exploded from the side! · "Calamity signature detected at 128 Frost Street!! Destruction rating: Level 4! Requesting immediate Enforcement Officer backup!!" · Two figures in black and red uniforms burst through the window. One of them scanned the room and spoke rapidly. · "Copy that. Backup is en route. Hold the target if possible!" A stern voice crackled from the radio on the Law Enforcer's belt. · One of the Law Enforcers gave a bitter laugh. "A Level 4 Calamity? How are we supposed to hold that?" · Seeing the two Law Enforcers barge in, the Audience in the void let out a soft "oh," as if they had discovered even more interesting toys. · With a casual flick of the crimson-robed Chen Ling’s finger, the fallen Chen Tan lost consciousness instantly. Blood began to seep from his seven orifices, staining the ground beneath him... · "Keep your distance! Survival is the priority!" · One Law Enforcer retreated quickly, drawing his sidearm and pulling the trigger repeatedly! · Bang! Bang! Bang! · The brass bullets cut through the void, but before they could reach the crimson-robed Chen Ling, they turned into tiny red paper scraps and dissolved in mid-air. · Chen Ling raised a hand slightly. Countless paper strips slithered out from the wide sleeves of his opera robe like serpents, binding the two Law Enforcers. · The paper wrapping them suddenly twisted, wringing them like wet rags before slamming them heavily onto the floor. · 【Audience Expectation Value -1】 · 【Current Expectation Value: 15%】 · The crimson-robed Chen Ling’s form began to swell, his costume straining as if human faces were about to burst through his skin. Chaotic whispers filled the space. · Within seconds, he had transformed into a Red Paper Monster, bristling with fluttering paper tentacles. Scarlet eyes opened across the paper surfaces; not a trace of Chen Ling’s original appearance remained. · It smashed through the paper door and lunged into the deserted street. The misty rain fell upon it without making a sound. · Picking a direction at random, it streaked away like a scarlet phantom! · Almost simultaneously, a black-clothed figure cut through the dark clouds, following in hot pursuit. · "Target Calamity sighted," Han Meng said calmly. · "...Is it World-Extinction level?" a worried voice asked over the radio. · "Based on the aura, Level 5 at most. It seems a Calamity did descend last night, but the sensors misjudged its energy intensity." · "Level 5 is still extremely dangerous! Be careful, Brother Meng!" · Han Meng didn't reply. He tracked the red phantom to the wilderness on the edge of District Three, then plummeted downward like a cannonball! · BOOM—!! · The black meteor struck the wilderness, creating an invisible shockwave! · As dust and sand sprayed in all directions, the red shadow was forced to a halt. Its dense thicket of paper tentacles swayed in the wind, every eye turning simultaneously toward the settling dust. · A figure lowered his head to light a thick cigarette and stepped forward. Beneath his black windbreaker, four silver patterns glowed faintly. · A breeze-like Domain expanded invisibly, enveloping the Red Paper Monster. · "I am Han Meng, Chief Enforcement Officer of District Three, Aurora Realm." · With a cigarette in one hand, he drew a pitch-black handgun from his waist with the other. His thumb clicked the safety off. The sand and stones within the Domain began to vibrate slightly as a lethal intent locked onto the Red Paper Monster! · His lips parted, his words carrying the rhythm of a fundamental law: · "By the justice of human civilization..." · "I sentence you to death." · [END]