This opera robe indeed belongs to Chen Yan.
Ever since an impoverished small opera troupe arrived in District Three eight years ago and set up a tiny stage in the wilderness to perform, seven-year-old Chen Yan had been fascinated by it.
In this world, theatrical culture was not popular. Back then, the troupe spent two hard days building the stage, but only five people showed up... Chen Ling and Chen Yan, who were attracted by the performance while playing in the wild; a passing porter dragged over to make up the audience; a beggar who came to beg for food from the troupe...
And one was a teacher from District Two who genuinely loved theatrical culture and came upon hearing of it.
Among the five, only Chen Yan and the teacher listened to the entire performance. Chen Ling fell asleep halfway through, the porter left in a hurry at the beginning, and as for the beggar, he rushed onto the stage during the intermission to beg for food, only to be kicked off by a martial opera actor and left cursing.
But Chen Ling saw that her brother's eyes, when looking at the stage, were filled with light.
After that day, Chen Yan began to self-study opera. He somehow obtained two books, getting up early every day to practice singing in his room, copying scripts, and even teaching himself needlework to sew opera costumes.
The one Chen Ling was wearing now was sewn by Chen Yan himself, with a tiny blue flower he had stitched at the corner of the hem.
"Here, take it back."
After washing the opera robe, Chen Ling handed it to Chen Yan. He looked at his reflection in the water, where the wounds and blood had mostly disappeared.
The two walked carefully along the path to the edge of Frost Street and looked toward their home.
The house with its broken gate was completely cordoned off by police tape. Several law enforcers in black-and-red uniforms were moving around inside.
On two stretchers at the door lay two bodies covered with white cloths.
"How's the situation?"
"No hope," a law enforcer said with regret, glancing at the cloths. "These two were ordered by Brother Meng to tail the couple in this household. They probably broke in after discovering something inside and died fighting the calamity."
"What about the couple? Are they dead too?"
"...No."
The law enforcer looked toward the door, where a man and a woman were now being helped out by other enforcers. Their pupils were dilated, faces ashen, and bodies trembling incessantly, like lost souls.
"They survived."
"Weren't they the first to be attacked by the calamity? Why did they survive?"
"We suspect that although they were attacked first, they didn't resist. The two enforcers angered the calamity by drawing their guns, so they were killed..."
"Are you saying that calamity was toying with them?"
"That's the idea."
"Any other clues?"
"Almost none... That calamity's ability is very strange. It shredded half the house, leaving hardly any valuable information. We can't even tell which direction it broke in from."
"Frost Street is so big, yet it happened to break into this household. Was it a coincidence?"
"Hard to say. Frost Street is on the outermost edge of District Three, with a back mountain behind it, then the mass grave at the junction of the Gray World, and then District Two... In terms of path, if that calamity crawled out of the Gray World, first went on a rampage in District Two, then fled into the mountain, and then rushed to this part of Frost Street, it would make sense."
"Were the murder scenes in District Two also near the mountain?"
"Yes, these locations are close and aligned in a straight line." The law enforcer nodded slightly.
Before they could say more, a sharp roar came from not far away.
"Calamity!! Calamity!!!"
Li Xiuchun suddenly broke free from the law enforcer beside her. As if seeing something extremely terrifying, she stared fixedly at them while scrambling backward, "Don't you dare harm me!! Don't you dare!!!"
As she stepped back repeatedly, she abruptly collided with the crowd supporting Chen Tan behind her. This jolt made Chen Tan's pupils shrink sharply.
He immediately curled into a ball, hugging his head with both hands and muttering meaningless words, his eyes also filled with terror.
The law enforcers exchanged glances, their faces flickering with helplessness… They were not too surprised by this. Instead, they skillfully tied the couple with ropes, stuffed white cloths into their mouths to prevent disturbance, and then headed straight for the District Three headquarters.
Seeing this scene, Chen Ling felt relieved.
Doctor Lin had said that among survivors of Gray World intersections or calamity attacks, 80% would suffer from mental disorders, and most would never recover. Now it seemed this symptom had also appeared in Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan.
For Chen Ling, this was fortunate. Only four people had witnessed him become a calamity—the two law enforcers had already been killed by the "audience." If Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan revealed everything, he would be wanted immediately.
Thankfully, both were now insane, so his identity would not be exposed. He could still walk the streets openly as Chen Ling.
Of course, this depended on the law enforcers not investigating him later.
"It's still not safe... I better find a way to completely block their investigation..." Chen Ling disliked taking risks, even more disliking having his fate in others' hands. His mind raced, trying to find the surest solution.
Just then, a figure rushed past him!
"Mom! Dad!"
Chen Yan exclaimed, sprinting toward the two escorted figures, his gaunt young face full of anxiety.
Chen Yan had no idea what had happened. He was just a 15-year-old boy. Seeing his parents being carried out of the ruins was like the sky falling.
Chen Ling's gaze sharpened. He instinctively wanted to pull Chen Yan back but hesitated for a moment before quickly following behind, also calling for their parents.
Hearing their shouts, the law enforcers turned around simultaneously. Seeing the two teenagers hurrying over, they lowered their heads to check their files.
"The couple has two children, 18 and 15 years old."
"We didn't find their bodies in the house earlier. I was about to send someone to look when they showed up..."
"Sad kids."
"..."
The law enforcers murmured among themselves.
Chen Yan rushed to Li Xiuchun and was about to speak when her pupils dilated violently. Somehow, she spat out the white cloth, stared ahead, and shouted:
"Calamity!! You're also a calamity!! Do you want to kill me too?!"
Chen Yan froze in place.