"The aura of [Judgment] has disappeared."
"The aura of the disaster has also disappeared."
"If nothing unexpected happened, Vick should have succeeded."
"Victor Hale is too fast; even if we wanted to take credit, we couldn't catch up..."
Under the rainy night, four figures in black coats rushed toward the battlefield in the wilderness, the remaining law enforcement officers from District 3.
Their eyes scanned the desolate battlefield, and they couldn't help but feel a chill.
What kind of intense battle could have reduced this place to such ruins?
"This disaster... looks like it's something serious..."
As they spoke, they looked toward the other side of the battlefield, where a bloodied figure lay on its back, motionless like a corpse.
"Vick?!"
One law enforcement officer immediately rushed over, lifting Victor Hale's unconscious body, anxiously checking for signs of life.
The other three officers stood still, exchanging glances, their eyes flashing with a strange light...
"Is he dead?" One of them asked.
He was Marshall Zhang, the second-in-command of District 3's law enforcement.
"Not dead! He's still alive!"
A slight disappointment flickered across the faces of the three, and two of them looked at Marshall Zhang, who hesitated for a moment before shaking his head.
"What about the disaster? Where's the body?"
"It ran?!"
"We haven't found the body, it must have run away..."
The group immediately searched the surroundings. After the rain had washed over everything, there were no clues left behind. The disaster that had been fighting with Victor Hale just moments ago seemed to have vanished as if it had evaporated into thin air.
"Marz! Marz!!"
Meanwhile, a law enforcement officer in black and red rushed over from the distance.
"What's the hurry?" Marshall Zhang raised an eyebrow and asked.
"We just received intelligence from District 2... Last night, there was a disaster attack there as well. Half of a street was bloodied, and thirty-six people were killed."
"What?" Marshall Zhang asked in shock. "Was it the same disaster?"
"They said it was a level 3 disaster, so it shouldn't be the same one."
"Two disasters crawling out from the same Gray Realm convergence? That's not a common occurrence..." Marshall Zhang pondered. "Was it killed?"
"No. They said the disaster killed the people and then headed to the mountains. It's possible it passed through the mountains and entered District 3."
"Then District 2 wants us to send some manpower... They've suffered too many casualties, and the law enforcement there can't keep up."
"Got it. I'll handle it."
The law enforcement officers quickly carried the unconscious Victor Hale, heading toward the hospital. Marshall Zhang's eyes lingered on the battle-scarred wasteland and the distant outline of the mountains hidden in the night. He was deep in thought.
"Same Gray Realm convergence, two disasters... interesting."
...
"Brother, aren't we running?"
As night deepened, the two boys walked along a desolate path toward Frost Street.
"Why would we run?" Evan Stone asked in return.
Maxe Stone hesitated, scratching his head for a long while, unsure of what to say.
"Besides, even if we did run, where could we go?" Evan Stone said helplessly. "The Aurora Realm is this big. With one city and seven districts, normal people can't get into Aurora City. Between the other seven districts, Districts 2 and 3 are locked down..."
"Then why don't we hide in a valley somewhere?"
"Hiding doesn't help. They'll come looking for us sooner or later. We can't just keep retreating," Evan Stone half-heartedly countered.
The truth was, Evan Stone himself was considering finding somewhere to hide, but he couldn't do that!
Although he had regained control of the "stage," the audience expectation was still stuck at 20%. If he didn't do something to increase the audience's expectation, he would be taken over again and turn into a monster.
Maxe Stone vaguely sensed that something was off... but didn't think much of it. Since his brother said they shouldn't hide, there must be a reason.
"Maxe."
"Yeah?"
"Aren't you afraid of me?" In the darkness, Evan Stone turned to look at him. "You should have seen it... I turned into a monster just now."
Maxe Stone lowered his head, staying silent for a long time.
"Brother, it doesn't matter if you turn into a monster, as long as... you're still you."
"How do you know I'm still me?"
"It's just a feeling..."
Evan Stone gazed at him deeply, his expression blurry in the darkness.
"By the way, how's your body?" he asked. "After a heart transplant, aren't you supposed to rest for a long time? You've been running around outside like this, isn't it a problem?"
"The doctor seems really capable, I'm recovering fast."
"Oh..."
Evan Stone suddenly thought about how this world seemed to have supernatural powers. Otherwise, how could heart transplants be done in a world without electricity? Maybe there were even methods for fast recovery?
Evan Stone's gaze fell on his smooth neck, and he seemed to recall something. "By the way, where's the safety charm I gave you? The one you usually wear around your neck?"
Maxe Stone froze, reaching up to feel his chest, only to find it empty.
"I don't know... Maybe it fell off when I was running."
"...It's fine, I'll make you another one when we get back."
"Okay." Maxe Stone spoke again, "Brother... aren't you going to wash up? Walking around like this in the street will scare people."
Evan Stone froze, instinctively reaching up to feel his neck, realizing it was slick and covered in blood.
Strangely, after coming out of the red paper monster, the wound on his neck had healed abnormally fast. In just half an hour, the blood and flesh had already fused together, though it still looked red and gruesome, making him seem like a demon risen from hell.
Reluctantly, Evan Stone found a nearby stream, took off his bright red stage costume, and began to wash the blood from his body.
"Brother, there's something I've been wanting to ask..." Maxe Stone said, confused.
"Why are you wearing my stage costume?"
"I... I don't know."
Evan Stone stared blankly at the costume on him... He remembered that when he was chopped to death, he wasn't wearing this.
Thinking carefully, he realized that when he came home that night, he was already wearing this costume. From Richard Stone and Grace Stone's words, it seemed like they had used it to wrap his body after they murdered him.
But why hadn't they dressed him in it this time? Why had the costume returned to him on its own?
Evan Stone couldn't make sense of it, so he decided not to dwell on it. Since coming to this world, strange things had been happening more and more...
He had planned to burn the ominous costume, but seeing Maxe Stone's pitiful gaze, he sighed and silently began washing both the costume and himself.