Preparing for War with the Path of the Sovereign
"ćLittle Junior Brotherć! You succeeded?!"
As soon as Chen Ling returned to his residence on the grassland, he heard the pleasantly surprised voices of Ning Ruyu and the others ring out.
Chen Ling turned his head to look and discovered that his four senior brothers and ćSenior Sisterć hadn't left. Instead, they were gathered at his doorway chatting, seemingly waiting specifically for him.
"It can be considered an initial success." Chen Ling smiled.
Under everyone's curious gazes, Chen Ling still summoned his "ćVermilion Countenanceć". When they saw the apricot-colored eye makeup, their eyes all lit up:
"This stroke is truly drawn quite well... It's a bit like the eyes of a ćFemale Leadć role, yet somewhat different..."
"ćLittle Junior Brotherć was originally good-looking to begin with. Now with this eye makeup, he is even more perfect... If he were to show his face a bit in the ćRed Dustć ćMain Cityć, I estimate he could casually suppress all those stars."
"How could that vulgar rouge and powder compare with ćLittle Junior Brotherć? ćLittle Junior Brotherć has what it takes to be the world's number one ćFamous Actorć!"
ćLuan Meić, ćWenren Youć, and ćMo Jueć were all clicking their tongues and sighing at Chen Ling's eye makeup. Only Ning Ruyu scrutinized those eyes for a long time before asking doubtfully:
"ćLittle Junior Brotherć... your eyes seem different from before?"
"It seems so." Chen Ling's gaze looked around.
Previously, when his ćSecret Eyeć was activated, it could only enhance his grasp of details, such as observing micro-expressions or the trajectory of an enemy's movements. But now, whether it was the breadth or precision of his vision, both had taken a qualitative leap... An ćOrdinary Personć could at most see things clearly within 50-100 meters. But for the current Chen Ling, even at a distance of five hundred meters, he could clearly see the body of an ant on the ground.
But Chen Ling could feel that this still wasn't the limit of these eyes... These eyes could see even more.
However, there were no enemies around right now, only his few senior brothers, so he temporarily couldn't test it. Chen Ling could only temporarily put away the "ćVermilion Countenanceć". The apricot red at the corners of his eyes gradually faded away as he waited for a suitable opportunity.
Wait...
Right at this moment, Chen Ling suddenly realized something.
An opportunity?
ććAudience Expectation Valueć: 69%ć
Chen Ling saw this line of prompt float up. He rubbed his chin with one hand and fell into deep thought.
Now he possessed his own "ćVermilion Countenanceć" and the capital to gamble with ćThe Audienceć. As long as the ćExpectation Valueć wasn't too low, he could try to snatch his body back from ćThe Audienceć's hands... Didn't this mean that as long as he deliberately stalled the ćExpectation Valueć at a suitable number beforehand, then entered the ćTimeline Save Fileć, and actively released the "ćMockeryć" ćCalamityć, he would possess the power to fight a battle against the ćPath of the Sovereignć?
Once this thought emerged, Chen Ling's mind immediately became active. He seemed to have found a way to break free from the ćPath of the Sovereignć and continue his activities within the ćTimeline Save Fileć!
But the crucial point of this plan lay in finding the most suitable ćExpectation Valueć number. He had to guarantee both that he could snatch back his body and that the strength of the released "ćMockeryć" wouldn't be instantly killed by the ćPath of the Sovereignć.
Chen Ling thought about it on the spot for a long time before finally making up his mind:
"Senior brothers, ćSenior Sisterć, for the next period of time, I am going to enter into seclusion."
"Seclusion?" The few of them all froze.
"Yes. I will lock myself in my room the entire time, not participate in any activities, and not see anyone... I'm just telling you all in advance."
The current ćAudience Expectation Valueć was still at 69%. Even if Chen Ling died, there would still be 19% ćExpectation Valueć left. Although ćThe Audienceć would intervene in the ćPerformanceć, the strength released wouldn't be very strong, roughly equivalent to the standard of the ćThird Tierć... Therefore, Chen Ling had to actively lower the ćAudience Expectation Valueć.
And the best way to lower the ćExpectation Valueć was, naturally, to make ćThe Audienceć feel bored.
The senior brothers and ćSenior Sisterć exchanged glances. None of them understood Chen Ling's intention in doing this, but they didn't ask further. After all, they respected ćLittle Junior Brotherć's own ideas.
"Then what about your meals?" ćWenren Youć suddenly asked. "Do you need me to deliver your meals to your door?"
Chen Ling froze for a moment, a wave of warmth rising in his heart:
"Then I'll have to thank ćThird Senior Brotherć."
...
Chen Ling bid farewell to Ning Ruyu and the others one by one, then returned to his room and locked himself in.
It was already afternoon. The sun was gradually sinking into the end of the grassland. The dim yellow sunlight sprinkled into Chen Ling's bedroom, coating the floorboards in a layer of pale gold.
Chen Ling, draped in the ćGreat Crimson Theatrical Robeć, sat alone on the floor. Propping his head up with one hand, he stared blankly at the scenery outside the window.
A cramped room, no interpersonal relationships, no plot progression, and absolutely no fun to be had... Chen Ling's "ćPerformanceć" was suddenly left with only dullness and tedium. Even ćThe Audienceć in the ćThe Theaterć could only stare blankly at the window along with him.
Time passed, minute by minute, second by second. About two hours later, the sun completely set behind the mountains, and night fell upon the human world. Specks of starlight gathered in Chen Ling's eyes, interweaving into two lines of text:
ććAudience Expectation Valueć -1ć
ćCurrent ćExpectation Valueć: 68%ć
Very good, they finally couldn't hold it in anymore.
Chen Ling recalled the situations of the several times ćThe Audienceć had "intervened" in his ćPerformancećs up to now, roughly dividing them into a few tiers in his mind:
18%ā19%: An extremely small portion of ćThe Audienceć left their seats and began to occupy his body to intervene in the ćPerformanceć. The strength displayed was roughly at the ćThird Tierć standard. However, after the ćExpectation Valueć dropped by 1, the combat power would experience a substantial increase.
16%ā17%: Roughly equivalent to the ćFourth Orderć. In the very beginning, it was at this stage that he swept through the ćLaw Enforcersć of ćAurora Cityć and fought an inseparable battle with ćHan Mengć.
14%ā15%: This had already reached the level of the ćFifth-Tierć. Within this range, he could press ćHan Mengć against the ground and hammer him explosively, instantly killing the ćPaper Puppet Masterć, ćPu Wenć, and a crowd of other ćFifth-Tierć ćDivine Path Possessorćs. At this stage, it was very difficult for him to snatch back his body himself. At the time, it was with ćChen Yanć's mutual assistance that he managed to escape a disaster.
13%: Corresponding to the ćSixth Stageć. This was also the lowest ćExpectation Valueć Chen Ling had currently experienced. He could easily exterminate the ćStars Chamber of Commerceć. However, the curtains of the ćThe Theaterć at that time had completely hardened. Relying solely on Chen Ling himself, there was absolutely zero possibility of snatching back his body. If ćMo Jueć hadn't intervened at that time, he estimated he would have completely become "ćThe Audienceć".
Chen Ling predicted his own limit in his heart. It should also be right at 14%ā15%. Even if he now possessed the ćVermilion Countenanceć, once it dropped below 14%, it was almost impossible to snatch his body back relying on himself... Therefore, the power of the "ćMockeryć" ćCalamityć he could mobilize was at most only ćFifth-Tierć.
"That ćPath of the Sovereignć is also ćFifth-Tierć, so it's just right." Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.
Chen Ling's gaze returned to the 68% ćExpectation Valueć. He gripped the ćTimeline Save Fileć ćUSB Driveć in his hand, planning to immediately enter the ćSave Pointć as soon as the ćExpectation Valueć dropped to 65%. Otherwise, he didn't know when the next time he'd be able to accumulate this much ćExpectation Valueć would be.
Chen Ling slowly closed his eyes, intending to rest and recuperate, so he could meet the bitter battle within the ćTimeline Save Fileć in his best condition.
...
ććAudience Expectation Valueć -1ć
...
ććAudience Expectation Valueć -1ć
...
ććAudience Expectation Valueć -1ć
ćCurrent ćExpectation Valueć: 65%ć
After an unknown amount of time passed, the instant this line of characters floated up, Chen Ling's eyes violently snapped open!!