Chapter 11: Judgment

The moment these words fell, Han Meng pulled the trigger.

Click—

The mechanism clicked, but no bullet was fired.

Instead, the ground in front of Han Meng disintegrated instantly. Soil and gravel vanished into nothingness, as if an invisible bullet had shattered matter at the molecular level!

This "deconstructive" bullet reached the red paper monster in a thousandth of a second!

Under the invisible force of deconstruction, the red paper tentacles floating in the air were forcibly torn apart, creating a gap. Then, a circular wound with a radius of one meter completely pierced the monster's body!

Through the massive circular wound, Han Meng could even see the streets of District Three in the distance. This single shot had obliterated two-thirds of the monster's body.

Just as Han Meng was about to holster his gun, a sudden change occurred!

The red paper monster, now with a gaping hole in its center, didn't die. Instead, it continued to extend more red paper as if nothing had happened.

Now, it resembled a giant red paper sun, countless paper strips twisting and hanging in the wilderness sky.

[Audience Expectation -1]

[Current Expectation: 14%]

Han Meng's pupils contracted slightly!

He immediately raised his gun and fired three more shots at the red sun above. The deconstructive force tore three large holes in it.

Fine rain drifted down through the three holes, landing on Han Meng's solemn face, chilling him to the bone.

Whoosh—

Countless paper strips surged down like a crimson rain, instantly turning the wilderness into a honeycomb. Han Meng fired wildly, barely managing to tear a gap in the red rain to save himself.

"This is bad..." Han Meng's back was already drenched in sweat.

He could feel that he was no match for this Calamity!

For some reason, the monster's aura had surged again, jumping from the initial Level 5 to the peak of Level 5, just a hair's breadth away from the terrifying Level 6!

At that moment, a hand clad in an opera robe reached out from the paper monster, lightly and precisely pressing down on Han Meng's head!

"Hehe."

A light laugh echoed in Han Meng's ears. In the next moment, he was slammed to the ground, his head hitting the earth with a heavy thud!

Boom—!!

The ground cracked, and Han Meng, at the center of the impact point, spat out a mouthful of blood, lying motionless like a lump of mud.

The battle had ended. The red paper returned to the monster's body, and the light rain sprinkled over the scarred earth.

Just as the red paper monster was about to leave, the opera-robed arm that had emerged from it suddenly grabbed the monster's body, tearing at it fiercely, as if something was trying to break free...

---

Five minutes earlier.

"The audience is intervening in the performance?"

Seeing the last line of text, Chen Ling's heart sank. He quickly looked up at the front of the stage.

Countless crimson eyes still watched him from the darkness, but in the corner of the audience seats, a section of chairs was now empty...

Some of the audience had disappeared.

Thud—Thud—Thud!!

The shadowy figures in the audience seats stomped their feet on the theater floor, creating a rhythmic, thunderous sound.

In the confined space, the noise was deafening. Their crimson eyes locked onto Chen Ling, filled with anger and accusation!

Thud—Thud—Thud!!!

Under their synchronized stomping, Chen Ling even felt the stage shaking. The spotlight above trembled, as if it wouldn't hold much longer.

Chen Ling understood.

Because he had been killed by an axe in reality, the "performance" on stage had come to an abrupt halt.

The interruption of the performance had infuriated the audience, but they couldn't communicate directly with Chen Ling. Instead, they expressed their dissatisfaction and threats through this stomping!

"So... I'm not actually dead?" Chen Ling stared at his hands in disbelief.

"But if my consciousness is here... then who is controlling my body now?"

Chen Ling seemed to realize something. He turned around and saw a large black curtain covering the back half of the stage. He pulled it aside slightly, and a series of images flooded his mind!

He saw himself turning the dinner knife into paper, scaring Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan into unconsciousness, and fighting the two enforcers...

The sensation was surreal, as if he were sitting in front of a large screen, watching his own actions from a third-person perspective... Of course, the "protagonist" was no longer him but the "audience" that had taken over his body!

The audience was intervening in the performance.

[Audience Expectation -1]

Chen Ling's peripheral vision caught the flickering text on the screen. In the next moment, another group of figures in the audience seats disappeared.

"The lower the expectation value, the more audience members intervene in the performance..." Chen Ling muttered, raising his hands. He saw his body becoming increasingly transparent.

"At the same time... my existence is being erased?"

Indeed, if the audience completely took over as the "protagonist," what use would he be?

Chen Ling's heart sank to the bottom. He knew he had to do something.

Standing in front of the curtain, Chen Ling took a deep breath and tentatively reached out his hand toward the flickering "images" behind it...

Either reclaim his body and become the "protagonist" again or die.

Chen Ling's fingertips passed through the curtain, as if touching a barrier, slowing down.

This barrier wasn't rigid but more like a "membrane"—soft yet incredibly resilient. After a few attempts, Chen Ling finally managed to push a single finger through.

"There's a chance!" Chen Ling's eyes lit up slightly.

Using all his strength, he forced his hand through the barrier, then his forearm, elbow...

Just then, the text on the screen flickered again:

[Audience Expectation -1]

As the expectation value dropped to 14%, another group of audience members disappeared. Chen Ling felt the barrier becoming increasingly solid. He noticed his body becoming more transparent, and a thought crossed his mind.

It wasn't that the barrier had become stronger... but that his body had grown weaker.

Chen Ling clenched his teeth, but he could only slowly push his arm through the curtain, his progress now several times slower than before. Anxiety gnawed at him.

At this rate, he estimated that if the expectation value dropped to around 10%, he would no longer be able to pass through the curtain.

Finally, after relentless effort, one of his arms fully passed through the curtain.

He saw Han Meng struggling under the red rain in the images. After a moment of hesitation, Chen Ling reached out and pressed his hand against Han Meng's forehead, using the red paper monster's strength to knock him unconscious.

This way, no one would witness his return to reality through the curtain.

With his arm on the real-world side, Chen Ling grabbed the curtain and tore open a narrow gap.

His second hand reached through the gap, forcefully prying it open until it was wide enough for his body to pass through. Chen Ling took a deep breath and plunged into the opening!