Frost Street.

Two disheveled figures stood at the door of the house, their faces full of hesitation.

This house that once belonged to them is now occupied by a person who has come back from the dead...

or rather, a "thing," contaminated by the Ashen Realm last night, so the high probability is that the disaster disguised as Chen Ling is inside.

"What should we do now..." Li Xiuchun swallowed hard.

"What can we do?”

Chen Tan took a deep breath.

"Go in, quickly grab all our belongings, and then run! Run to District Five or Six, the farther away from here, the better!" "But it's still inside, what if we wake it up?”

"It has already left." Chen Tan looked at the muddy footprints at the door, saying firmly.

Hearing this, the woman finally breathed a sigh of relief, she opened the door with the key, and the two rushed in.

"Only take coins and valuables! Anything too heavy, leave it behind!" "I'll go to the bedroom, you go to the living room!" "Hurry, hurry! Time is of the essence! We don't know when it will come back!" The two frantically pulled out two burlap bags and started packing their things.

The man opened the drawer and stuffed all the money into the bag, preparing to leave.

He saw the axe used for self-defense at the head of the bed, hesitated briefly, and also stuffed it into the burlap bag.

Their family was not wealthy, and valuable things were few, but precisely because of these two points, they couldn't bear to give up the only possessions they had earned with their own hands.

Li Xiuchun stuffed three cotton and linen clothes into the bag, made sure nothing was left behind, and hurried to the living room.

The two carried the burlap bags on their shoulders, ready to leave, when Li Xiuchun suddenly spoke up: "What about An Yan when he comes back?”

"Then we'll go to District Two first! After we get him out, we'll run together!" Chen Tan answered decisively.

"He will definitely look for his brother..." "His brother is already dead." As Chen Tan spoke, he prepared to open the door, and at that moment, the sound of the key entering the lock echoed.

The two froze in place! The door slowly opened, and a young man walked in.

Chen Ling saw the two carrying burlap bags, slightly stunned, and asked in confusion, "Dad, Mom, where are you going?”

Chen Tan and Li Xiuchun were as if they had seen a ghost, their faces pale.

At the same time, a fast horse galloped past the window, the shouts of the enforcers echoing in the street: "High-risk disaster suspected! District Three is completely sealed off! No one is allowed in or out!!"

"Be vigilant of any suspicious signs around you, such as roads or buildings appearing out of nowhere, strange mysterious creatures, or humans with abnormal behavior!!" "If you notice anything unusual, report it to the enforcers immediately..."

The voice of the enforcers gradually faded away, and in the narrow house, an eerie silence descended.

"We..." Hearing the voices outside, both of them trembled, looking at the young man in front of them with fear, as if he had turned into a demon from hell!

Chen Ling's gaze fell on the two large burlap bags, and thinking back to what the enforcers had just shouted, he comforted, "Don't worry too much, that disaster thing seems to be not nearby, the street is still fine, right?”

Chen Tan:...

Li Xiuchun:...

Chen Ling was also helpless.

Originally, when he heard the news of the "world-ending" disaster invasion, he didn't think much of it, but seeing the audience's anticipation skyrocket, he suddenly felt that things were not good...

Zhao Yi was beaten all afternoon, and his anticipation value barely increased by a dozen points, but with just one shout from the enforcers, the anticipation value soared to over sixty! According to Chen Ling's current understanding, this means they have found something very exciting.

Unfortunately, this excitement...

might be himself.

Dr.Lin had mentioned the convergence of the gray boundary and disaster before, and he happened to have crossed it last night, with the original host's memories disappearing that night...

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

All these clues combined, who else could this disaster be if not him? Chen Ling speculated that what these enforcers were looking for was likely the audience in his mind.

Chen Ling also considered whether to surrender directly to the enforcers and let them figure out how to deal with the audience in his mind, but judging from their attitude towards the disaster, the possibility of being taken down along with him was greater.

In any case, he decided to try to weather this storm first, observe the situation, and then decide.

Seeing the two still tense and nervous, Chen Ling sighed and took the initiative to help Li Xiuchun bring the sack over.

"Mom, where can you run off to at this time?”

"Districts 2 and 3 are both sealed off, we can't get out at all.

Are we supposed to sleep on the streets outside?”

When Li Xiuchun heard the first sentence, she was stunned, but after hearing the rest, she barely came to her senses and forced a smile, saying, "Yes...

you're right." "Dad, you should relax too, don't be too nervous...

what about Ayan if we escape?”

Chen Tan swallowed his saliva, his eyes fixed on Chen Ling, trying to find any hint of strangeness or murderous intent on the latter's face...

but he failed.

Every move of Chen Ling's was not like a "disaster," and there was no difference from the Chen Ling in his mind.

But Chen Tan knew very well...

he was not Chen Ling.

Chen Ling was already dead.

"You two sit down for a moment, I'll go to the kitchen and pour you a glass of water." Chen Ling saw that the two still looked pale, pulled out the chairs next to the table, and then walked into the kitchen.

Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan glanced at each other, and in the end, they sat down obediently...

As Chen Ling poured water in the kitchen, he thought about how to ease the atmosphere and casually said, "By the way, Mom, the sausage you left for me this morning was very delicious, how did you make it?”

"Sausage...?”

Li Xiuchun was a bit confused.

She and Chen Tan had gone to the mass grave last night, where did she leave any sausage? "It's the one on the cutting board." Chen Ling replied.

Li Xiuchun's confusion deepened, she tried hard to remember, and finally seemed to recall something, her face turning as white as paper! "When did you leave sausage for him?”

Chen Tan asked in a low voice.

"I...I didn't leave any." Li Xiuchun also lowered her voice, trembling as she replied, "There was...

a boning knife on the cutting board...

but when I was putting things away just now, I found...

the knife was gone." Chen Tan's face also changed abruptly! At the same time, Chen Ling, who was standing with his back to the two in the kitchen, continued slowly, "The sausage tasted very good, but it seemed a bit tough...

Mom, remember to cook it softer for me tomorrow." The living room fell into a dead silence.

Chen Ling poured water and handed it to the two, but he noticed that their faces seemed even paler...

"Are you both okay? Are you feeling unwell?”

Chen Ling sat across from them, puzzled.

"...We're fine." Chen Tan took a deep breath, quietly pulled the sack on the floor to his feet, and spoke with a slightly calmer voice, "Ling." "Yes?”

"Do you remember what happened yesterday...?”

"Yesterday?”

Chen Ling tried to remember again for a while, then shook his head, "I can't recall...

what's wrong?”

"...Nothing." Chen Tan gently sipped some water, as if he had made up his mind, looked directly into Chen Ling's eyes, "How do you think...

we've treated you?”

"Very well.If it weren't for you taking me in back then, I would probably have frozen to death on the roadside long ago...

My biological parents didn't want me, it was you who raised me, worked hard day and night to put me through school, everything I have is thanks to you." Everything I have is thanks to you.

Upon hearing this sentence, a sense of relief flashed in Chen Tan's eyes...

"But what if one day, Ayan falls ill...

only your heart can save him...

would you be willing to save him?”

Chen Ling was stunned.

In that moment, he felt that the sentence sounded familiar.

Fragmented memories surged from the original host's mind, and Chen Ling's head began to ache again...

Suddenly, he remembered that the original host seemed to have heard similar words last night.

"I...I..." Chen Ling held his head, a look of pain on his face.

"Ayan is our own flesh and blood.

Your mother took medicine and ruined her body just to conceive him...

We tried for ten years before finally having this one and only child..." "A child truly belonging to us!" "Now that he is sick, we cannot just watch him die...

The shaman in District Two said that as long as we can get a young heart under 20 years old, we can replace Ayan's failing heart." "Ayan has called you his brother for so many years, you have been our son for so many years, we have never asked anything of you, but only this time...

we beg you to save Ayan."

"Tell me...you are willing, right?”

Chen Tan's body trembled slightly as he looked into Chen Ling's eyes, filled with pleading and anticipation.

He was like a child who had done wrong, waiting for a belated forgiveness.

At this moment, the fragmented memories buried in last night's storm finally began to resurface in Chen Ling's mind.

He endured the pain in his head, took a deep breath, and hoarsely said, "So...

it was you who killed him..." "Him?”

"...Does Ayan know?”

"He doesn't know.

If he knew that he was going to receive your heart...

he would rather die than agree." Struggling with guilt and conflict deep within, Chen Tan came to his senses and reached into the sack at his feet, slowly pulling out a sharp axe.

"Ling, you are already dead, you shouldn't be here." Chen Tan's eyes were bloodshot as he tightly gripped the axe and hoarsely said, "No matter what is occupying your body...

I will set you free." A deep thunder rumbled across the dim sky.

The sharp axe was raised high...

and swung down with force! Bang— A warm splash landed on Chen Tan's face, crimson blood bloomed on the floor like a bouquet, and Chen Ling's body fell stiffly to the ground with a dull thud.

The axe embedded in his neck, almost severing his entire head, his dilated eyes staring into nothingness, his face still showing traces of pain and confusion...

He was dead.

No heartbeat, no breath, his body gradually turning cold, like a martyr fallen among the crimson flowers.

Chen Tan's chest heaved violently as he stared fixedly at the lifeless body, sweat soaking his clothes...

"Dead, dead...?”

Li Xiuchun sat paralyzed in the chair, trembling as she spoke.

"...Dead." "What about the calamity?”

Chen Tan paused, "...

I don't know." Li Xiuchun stared blankly at the corpse, then suddenly said, "Do you think...

it's possible that he is not the calamity...

but rather God giving us another chance for redemption?”

"If that's the case..." Chen Tan chuckled bitterly, "then we truly deserve to go to hell."