God of Drama

Chapter 14 You Are Also a Calamity

This opera robe did indeed belong to Chen Yan.

Eight years ago, a small and impoverished opera troupe arrived in District Three. They built a makeshift stage in the wilderness and performed two plays. Seven-year-old Chen Yan became utterly fascinated.

In this world, opera culture was not popular. The troupe spent two arduous days setting up the stage, yet only five people came to watch: Chen Ling and Chen Yan, who were playing nearby and got drawn in, a passing porter who was pulled in to make up the audience, a beggar who came to ask the troupe for food, and finally, a teacher from District Two who genuinely loved opera and had come specifically to watch.

Of the five, only Chen Yan and the teacher watched the entire performance attentively. Chen Ling fell asleep halfway through, the porter left in a hurry as soon as the play started, and the beggar rushed onto the stage during intermission to beg for food, only to be kicked off by a martial role actor. Cursing, he walked away.

But Chen Ling noticed the light in his younger brother’s eyes as he gazed at the stage.

After that day, Chen Yan began to teach himself opera. No one knew where he got his hands on two opera books. Every morning, he would wake up early to practice singing, transcribe scripts, and even learn to sew in order to make opera costumes.

The robe that Chen Ling wore was personally sewn by Chen Yan. At the hem, there was a tiny, delicate blue flower—a mark left by his stitches.

"Here, take it back."

After washing the robe, Chen Ling handed it to Chen Yan. He glanced at his reflection in the water—the wounds and bloodstains were mostly gone.

The two of them carefully walked along a small path to the edge of Frost Street and looked toward their home.

The house, its front door shattered, was now completely cordoned off with caution tape. Several enforcers in black-and-red uniforms moved about inside.

Two stretchers lay at the entrance, each carrying a corpse covered with a white sheet.

"What's the situation?"

"Beyond saving." One enforcer glanced at the bodies with regret. "They were ordered by Mongo to track that couple. They must've realized something was wrong inside the house and tried to break in. They were killed while fighting the calamity."

"What about the couple? Are they dead too?"

"...No."

The enforcer's gaze shifted toward the doorway. At that moment, a man and a woman were being helped out of the house by other enforcers. Their pupils were unfocused, their faces ashen, their entire bodies trembling violently, as if their souls had been stripped away.

"They survived."

"But weren't they the first ones attacked by the calamity? Why are they still alive?"

"We suspect that, although they were the first to be attacked, they didn't resist. The two enforcers, however, fired their guns, which enraged the calamity—so they were the ones killed..."

"Are you saying that the calamity was toying with them?"

"That seems to be the case."

"Any other clues?"

"Almost none... The calamity's abilities are extremely strange. It tore apart most of the house, leaving little useful information. We can't even determine which direction it came from."

"Frost Street is huge. Was it just a coincidence that it attacked this specific house?"

"Hard to say. Frost Street is on the outermost edge of District Three. Behind it is the back mountain, then the mass grave where the Grey Realm once converged, and beyond that, District Two... If the calamity crawled out of the Grey Realm, then rampaged through District Two before fleeing to the back mountain and eventually storming into Frost Street, the sequence would make sense."

"The murders in District Two also happened near the back mountain?"

"Yes. The locations are close and align in a straight line." The enforcer nodded slightly.

Before they could continue, a sharp, frantic scream came from nearby.

"Calamity!! Calamity!!!"

Li Xiuchun suddenly broke free from the enforcer holding her, as if she had seen something utterly terrifying. She stared at them with wide, panicked eyes, then scrambled backward in a frantic crawl.

"You won’t trick me!! You won’t trick me!!!"

She stumbled back and collided with the people supporting Chen Tan. The impact caused Chen Tan’s pupils to shrink suddenly.

He immediately curled up, clutching his head, mumbling incoherent syllables. His eyes, too, were filled with unrelenting terror.

The enforcers exchanged glances, a trace of helplessness flashing across their faces. They weren’t particularly surprised. Efficiently, they tied the two up with ropes and stuffed white cloths into their mouths to prevent them from disturbing the public, then escorted them toward the District Three headquarters.

Seeing this, Chen Ling let out a sigh of relief.

Dr. Lin had said that 80% of survivors from Grey Realm convergence events or calamity attacks suffered permanent mental disorders. It seemed that Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan had developed those symptoms as well.

For Chen Ling, this was fortunate. Only four people had witnessed his transformation into a calamity—two enforcers, now killed by the "Audience," and these two, now insane. If Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan revealed the truth, he would be immediately hunted.

But now that they had lost their minds, his identity remained safe. He could continue walking the streets as Chen Ling.

Of course, that was only if the enforcers didn’t find additional evidence.

"It's still too risky... I need to find a way to completely stop their investigation..." Chen Ling disliked taking chances, especially when his fate was in someone else's hands. His mind raced, searching for the most secure method.

At that moment, a figure suddenly bolted past him!

"Dad! Mom!"

Chen Yan cried out and dashed toward the two figures being taken away. His gaunt face was filled with urgency.

Chen Yan had no idea what had happened. He was just a fifteen-year-old boy. Seeing his parents being carried out of the ruins felt like the end of the world.

Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed. Instinctively, he wanted to grab Chen Yan, but after a moment’s hesitation, he instead followed closely behind, also calling out for their parents.

Hearing their cries, the enforcers turned around. They saw two boys rushing toward them and then looked down at their files.

"This couple has two children, one eighteen, one fifteen."

"We didn’t find their bodies in the house. I was just about to send someone to search for them, but they came on their own..."

"Sigh, poor kids."

The enforcers murmured among themselves.

Chen Yan rushed to Li Xiuchun and was about to speak when her pupils contracted violently. Somehow, she spat out the white cloth and screamed at him:

"Calamity!! You are a calamity too!! Are you here to kill me?!"

Chen Yan froze in place.