I'm Not The Drama God
Vol. 1 - Ch. 14 - You Are Also a Calamity

This robe indeed belonged to Chen Yan.

When a small, ragtag theater troupe rolled into Zone Three eight years ago, their makeshift outdoor stage and two plays captivated seven-year-old Chen Yan.

In this world, theatrical culture wasn't widely embraced, and despite the theater troupe's two days of diligent stage preparation, only five attendees appeared. Among them were Chen Ling and Chen Yan, drawn in temporarily while playing outside, a passerby coerced into being part of the audience, and a beggar who arrived seeking food from the theater troupe.

And then there was one more–a teacher from the Second Zone who genuinely loved theatrical culture, drawn by its reputation.

Among the five, only Chen Yan and the teacher listened attentively to the entire play. Chen Ling fell asleep halfway through, the passerby hastily left at the beginning, and as for the beggar, he rushed onto the stage to beg for food during intermission, only to be kicked off by a performer playing a warrior, cursing as he left.

However, Chen Ling noticed the genuine fascination in his brother's eyes as he gazed at the stage.

After that day, Chen Yan began to self-study theater. He managed to get hold of two books from somewhere, practiced singing every morning in the house, transcribed scripts, and even learned sewing and made costumes himself.

The one Chen Ling was wearing was sewn by Chen Yan himself, with a very small blue flower left at the corner where he sewed.

"Here, it's back to you."

After washing the robe, Chen Ling handed it back to Chen Yan. He looked at his reflection in the flowing water, and most of the wounds and bloodstains had disappeared.

The two walked along the small path, carefully approaching the edge of Cold Frost Street, looking towards home.

Around the dilapidated house where the gate was broken, it was completely cordoned off by a police line, with several enforcers in black and red uniforms moving around.

On the two stretchers at the entrance lay two bodies covered in white cloth.

"How's the situation?"

"No hope." One enforcer looked at the white cloth with regret. "They were ordered by Monge to track this couple earlier. They probably encountered resistance halfway and rushed into the house. They sacrificed themselves in the fight against the calamity."

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

"...No."

The enforcer's gaze turned to the entrance, where a man and a woman were being helped out of the house by other enforcers.

Their pupils were dilated, their faces pale, and they trembled incessantly, as if they had lost their souls.

"They survived."

"Weren't they the ones attacked by the calamity first? Why did they survive?"

"We speculate that although they were the first to be attacked, they did not resist. Those two enforcers provoked the Calamity by pulling out their guns, which led to their deaths..."

"Are you saying the calamity was playing with them at that time?"

"That's the idea."

"Any other clues?"

"Hardly any... The ability of that calamity is very peculiar. It tore apart almost half of the house, leaving no valuable information behind. We can't even determine which direction it entered from."

"Cold Frost Street is so large, yet it happened to intrude into this household. Is it a coincidence?"

"Hard to say. Cold Frost Street is situated at the outermost edge of the Third Zone, with mountains at its back. Beyond that lies the tumultuous burial mound, intersecting with the Gray Zone, and then comes the Second Zone... Judging from the path, if the calamity emerged from the Gray Zone, wreaked havoc in the Second Zone initially, sought refuge in the mountains, and later moved towards this part of Cold Frost Street, it seems plausible."

"The location of the murders in the Second Zone is also near the mountains?"

"Yes, these locations are not far apart and are all on the same line." The enforcer nodded slightly.

As they were about to say something else, a sharp, piercing scream came from nearby.

"Calamity! Calamity!"

Li Xiuchun suddenly broke free from the enforcer beside her, as if she had seen something extremely terrifying. She stared at them, backing away frantically. "You won't harm me! You won't harm me!"

As she retreated continuously, she suddenly bumped into the people behind her who were supporting Chen Tan. This collision caused Chen Tan's pupils to shrink suddenly. He curled up immediately, holding his head in his hands, muttering meaningless characters, his eyes filled with fear as well.

The numerous enforcers glanced at each other, a hint of helplessness flashing across their faces... They were not too surprised by this, but instead skillfully tied them up with ropes and stuffed white cloth into their mouths to prevent them from disturbing the public, then headed straight to the Zone Three headquarters.

Seeing this scene, Chen Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

Dr. Lin had said that among the survivors of encounters with the Gray Zone or calamity attacks, eighty percent would suffer from mental disorders, and most would never recover. Now it seems that this symptom also appeared in Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan.

For Chen Ling, this was fortunate, because he had only seen four people turn into disasters with her own eyes. The two enforcers had already been killed by the "audience." Once Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan revealed everything, he would immediately be wanted.

Fortunately, Li Xiuchun and Chen Tan had both gone crazy now, so his identity wouldn't be exposed. He could still walk the streets openly as Chen Ling.

Of course, this was under the premise that the enforcers didn't replace him later.

"It's still not safe... It's best to replace a way to completely block their investigation..." Chen Ling didn't like taking risks, nor did he like having his fate held in someone else's hands. His brain raced, trying to replace the safest method.

Just then, a figure dashed out from beside him!

"Mom! Dad!"

Chen Yan exclaimed, running towards the two figures being taken away, his haggard face filled with anxiety.

Chen Yan didn't know what had happened exactly. He was just a fifteen-year-old boy, and seeing his parents being brought out of the ruins was no different from the sky collapsing.

Chen Ling's gaze slightly condensed. He subconsciously wanted to grab Chen Yan, but after hesitating for a moment, he quickly followed behind Chen Yan, also calling out for his parents.

Hearing their cries, the enforcers all turned their heads simultaneously, seeing two teenagers running towards them in a hurry, then began to lower their heads and flip through the files.

"This couple has two children, one eighteen and the other fifteen."

"We didn't replace any bodies in the house just now. I was about to send someone to search, but I didn't expect them to show up on their own..."

"Ah, poor kids."

"..."

The enforcers murmured to each other.

Chen Yan rushed to Li Xiuchun's side, about to say something, when Li Xiuchun's pupils suddenly contracted violently. She somehow spat out the white cloth, staring ahead and yelling loudly, "Calamity!! You are also a calamity!! Do you also want to kill me?!"

Chen Yan stood frozen in place instantly.