Chapter 200: A Passing Encounter?

Seeing this, Chen Ling’s heart trembled slightly!

When he heard the footsteps, he had already sensed something was off. This residential building only had four floors, and most of the units on the fourth floor were unoccupied. Who would be heading to the fourth floor at this hour?

Combined with today’s unusual circumstances, Chen Ling’s vigilance was already at its peak. Without hesitation, he changed his face at the corner just in case. Unexpectedly, he actually ran into something sinister.

Who would be carrying such a large paper figure around in the middle of the night? And if they were taking it home, that was even more bizarre...

Moreover, for some reason, the moment Chen Ling’s gaze met the paper figure’s crimson eyes, his hair stood on end. His instincts told him that this person was anything but ordinary!

Noticing someone descending the stairs, the hunched figure slowly raised its head. Its drooping eyes swept over Chen Ling, but upon seeing an unfamiliar middle-aged man, it listlessly lowered its head again and continued climbing the stairs on its own.

In the deathly silent and cramped stairwell, the two figures passed each other by.

As Chen Ling walked past the paper figure, he even felt a faint chill seep into his bones, piercingly cold.

Fortunately, the figure carrying the paper figure didn’t seem interested in him. It turned a corner after reaching the fourth floor and headed straight for the end of the hallway...

In the distance, a figure emerged from the unit at the end of the fourth floor—the very room Chen Ling had locked behind him, Wen Shilin’s apartment.

Damn it...

Chen Ling’s heart sank. The person carrying the paper figure was definitely no ordinary man—most likely a holder of some Divine Path. Judging by their movements, they were clearly targeting Wen Shilin... If Wen Shilin had gone home to rest tonight, he’d probably be a corpse by now.

Chen Ling forced his steps to remain steady and unhurried, showing no signs of abnormality. Just then, a thought flashed through his mind...

Wait!

Where’s the paper figure that person was carrying?

Chen Ling distinctly remembered the figure had been carrying the paper figure while climbing the stairs. But when they emerged from the apartment just now, the paper figure seemed to have vanished?

The moment this thought arose, Chen Ling felt a slight weight on his shoulder, as if something had latched onto his back...

A chill shot up from his feet to his brain. Without hesitation, he drew his dagger and slashed backward!

Clang!!

The blade of the dagger blocked the paper figure’s sharp teeth just before they could bite down, producing a metallic clang. At the same time, a pair of hollow crimson eyes stared at Chen Ling, their vivid rosy cheeks almost pressing against the back of his head.

The sight made Chen Ling’s pupils contract sharply. He had no idea when the paper figure had gotten behind him or how it had suddenly come to life, but one thing was certain—he’d been marked.

The paper figure’s razor-thin teeth gradually exerted force, visibly bending and warping the metal blade. As an irresistible force surged through the dagger, Chen Ling instinctively released the hilt!

The next moment, the dagger shattered in the paper figure’s mouth. The sharp fragments were chewed like candy, reduced to scrap metal within seconds.

[Audience Expectation +3]

What the hell is this thing?!

Chen Ling had never seen anything so bizarre. He swiftly retreated to put distance between himself and the paper figure, but it floated after him effortlessly, as if weightless...

"Almost let you slip by..." The paper figure’s mouth split open, emitting a shrill, eerie voice.

It raised a thin, flimsy fist and weakly swung at Chen Ling. Seeing no way to dodge, Chen Ling planted his back foot firmly, channeling all his strength into his right fist as he punched back!

Bang!

Fist met paper fist. Chen Ling felt his punch crush through the paper figure’s hand as if it offered no resistance. Before he could process it, his own fist suddenly went rogue—twisting mid-air and slamming into his own chest!

Chen Ling spat out a mouthful of blood, several ribs snapping instantly. For that brief moment, it was as if his fist no longer belonged to him.

Stabilizing himself with difficulty, Chen Ling refrained from attacking recklessly. Instead, he frowned at the eerie paper figure, his mind racing!

"That punch wasn’t something an ordinary human could throw," the paper figure observed hollowly. "But according to intel, both Wen Shilin and Lin Yan are ordinary humans... So who are you?"

Hearing this, Chen Ling’s suspicions were confirmed. This thing was here for him and Wen Shilin.

"That’s my line," Chen Ling replied coldly.

The paper figure seemed to have given up on questioning. It floated toward Chen Ling again... Earlier, while climbing the stairs, it hadn’t paid much attention. But upon reaching the fourth floor and realizing only one or two units were occupied, it immediately sensed something off about Chen Ling descending at this hour—especially since Wen Shilin’s apartment was empty. Naturally, it connected the dots.

But regardless of who Chen Ling was or what he’d done to Wen Shilin, once captured and subjected to soul-crushing interrogation, everything would become clear.

Having witnessed the paper figure’s unnatural abilities, Chen Ling had no intention of engaging it head-on again. He bolted into the distance, pushing his injured body to its limits... Yet even then, he couldn’t outrun something that had caught up to[Blood Drop Step].

Realizing this, Chen Ling’s mind raced. He abandoned the idea of fleeing to open ground and instead dashed into the neighboring residential building!

Compared to Wen Shilin’s building, this one had even fewer occupants, most of its units abandoned and empty.

Chen Ling nimbly slipped through a broken second-floor window. His fingers tore at his chin once more, and his figure vanished on the spot.

Half a second later, the paper figure floated in through the same window. Its hollow crimson eyes swept the room, and finding no one, it silently drifted into other rooms, searching methodically.

After circling the entire floor with no results, the paper figure seemed puzzled. It stood motionless in the center of the room, its neck rotating 360 degrees as it scanned its surroundings...

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from above its head:

"For the justice of human civilization..."

"I sentence you to death."