This theatrical robe indeed belongs to Chen Muyu.
Eight years ago, a small and poorly equipped troupe arrived in the Third District, setting up a makeshift stage in the wilderness to perform two plays. Chen Muyu, only seven years old at that time, fell in love with it.
In this world, theatrical culture is not popular. The troupe had worked hard for two days to build the stage, but only five people came... Chen Yifei and Chen Muyu, who were attracted by the performance while playing in the wilderness, a passerby porter who was coaxed into being part of the audience, a beggar who came to ask for food from the troupe...
And one other person, a teacher from the Second District who truly appreciated theatrical culture and came specifically to see the performance.
Among the five, only Chen Muyu and the teacher listened attentively to the entire performance. Chen Yifei fell asleep halfway through, the porter left hurriedly after the start, and the beggar rushed onto the stage during the intermission to ask for food, but was kicked off by a martial artist actor and left cursing.
But Chen Yifei saw that his younger brother's eyes, when looking at the stage, were filled with light.
After that day, Chen Muyu began to learn theater on his own. He somehow obtained two books and would wake up early every day to practice singing in his room, transcribe plays, and even learned sewing to make theatrical costumes himself.
The one on Chen Yifei was sewn by Chen Muyu himself, with a very small blue flower sewn into the corner of the garment.
"Here, take it back."
After washing the theatrical robe, Chen Yifei handed it to Chen Muyu. He looked at his reflection in the water, and the wounds and bloodstains were mostly gone.
The two cautiously walked along the path to the edge of Hanshuang Street and looked in the direction of their home.
They saw that the area around the broken-down house was completely sealed off with warning tape, and several law enforcers wearing black and red uniforms were moving around inside.
On two stretchers by the door lay two bodies covered with white cloth.
"What's the situation?"
"There's no hope." One of the law enforcers looked regretfully at the white cloth. "They were ordered by Meng to track this household. They probably found out that something was going on inside and broke in, sacrificing themselves in the process of fighting the calamity."
"What about the couple? Are they dead?"
"...No."
The law enforcer looked towards the door, where a man and a woman were being supported by other law enforcers as they walked out of the house. Their eyes were glazed, their faces were ashen, and they were trembling uncontrollably, as if they had lost their souls.
"They survived."
"They were the first to be attacked by the calamity, why did they survive?"
"We suspect that although they were the first to be attacked, they didn't resist. The two law enforcers drew their guns and shot, which angered the calamity, so they were killed..."
"You mean, the calamity was just playing with them?"
"That's what it means."
"Are there any other clues?"
"Almost none... The calamity's ability is very strange. It tore apart most of the house and didn't leave any valuable information. We can't even determine from which direction it broke in."
"Hanshuang Street is so large, but it happened to break into this household. Is it just a coincidence?"
"It's hard to say. Hanshuang Street is already at the outermost edge of the Third District. Behind the street is the rear mountain, and further back is the chaotic graveyard where the Grey Boundary intersects. Then it's the Second District... From the path, if the calamity crawled out of the Grey Boundary, went to the Second District to wreak havoc, then escaped into the rear mountain, and then rushed to Hanshuang Street, it's also reasonable."
"The location of the murder case in District Two is also near the back mountain?"
"Yes, these locations are not far from each other, and they are all on the same line." The law enforcer nodded slightly.
Before they could say anything else, a sharp scream came from not far away.
"Calamity!! Calamity!!!"
Li Xiuchun suddenly struggled away from the law enforcer beside her, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying. She stared at them fiercely, rolling and crawling backward, "You won't harm me!! You won't harm me!!!"
As she backed away continuously, she bumped into the people behind her who were supporting Chen Tan. This collision made Chen Tan's pupils contract suddenly.
He immediately curled up, holding his head with both hands, muttering meaningless characters, with fear in his eyes as well.
The law enforcers around exchanged glances, with a trace of helplessness on their faces... They were not too surprised by this, but skillfully tied them up with ropes, stuffed their mouths with white cloth to prevent disturbing the residents, and then walked straight towards the headquarters of District Three.
Seeing this scene, Chen Yifei felt relieved.
Dr. Lin had said that among the survivors who encountered the intersection of the Gray Realm or calamity attacks, 80% would suffer mental disorders, and most of them would never recover. Now it seemed that this symptom had also appeared on Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan.
For Chen Yifei, this was fortunate, because only four people had witnessed him turning into a calamity, and the two law enforcers had already been killed by the "audience". Once Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan revealed everything, he would immediately be hunted down.
Fortunately, now both Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan were insane, so his identity would not be exposed. He could still walk openly on the street as Chen Yifei.
Of course, this was under the premise that the law enforcers did not investigate him further.
"It's still not safe... I need to find a way to completely block their investigation..." Chen Yifei didn't like adventures, and he didn't like his fate being held in someone else's hands. His mind was racing, trying to find the safest method.
Just then, a figure rushed out from beside him!
"Dad! Mom!"
Chen Muyu exclaimed and rushed towards the two figures being taken away, his exhausted little face filled with anxiety.
Chen Muyu didn't know what had happened. He was just a fifteen-year-old boy. Now, seeing his parents being taken out from the ruins was like the sky falling.
Chen Yifei's gaze slightly condensed. He instinctively wanted to stop Chen Muyu, but after a moment of hesitation, he quickly followed Chen Muyu, also calling out to his parents.
Hearing their cries, the law enforcers turned around simultaneously. They saw two teenagers running hastily and then began to flip through the documents.
"This couple has two children, one is eighteen, and the other is fifteen."
"I didn't find any bodies in the house just now. I was about to send someone to look for them. I didn't expect them to appear themselves..."
"Alas, poor children."
"..."
Several law enforcers whispered to each other.
Chen Muyu rushed to Li Xiuchun and was about to say something, but Li Xiuchun's pupils contracted violently. She somehow spit out the white cloth and stared ahead, shouting,
"Calamity!! You're also a calamity!! Do you also want to kill me?!"
Chen Muyu was instantly stunned in place.