I'm no thespian deity.

"The convergence of the Gray Realm?"

Chen Ling did have this term in his memory. The original owner of his body should have seen it somewhere.

"Don't tell me you've even forgotten about the Gray Realm." Doctor Lin stood up, poured the blood in the tea mug into the sewer, and said slowly,

"Before the Great Catastrophe, someone proposed a hypothesis. In this universe, there are countless parallel spacetimes existing. These spacetimes were all formed from the birth of the earliest universe, like the rays of light released after a candle is lit, spreading in all directions. But because the light is infinite, they extend infinitely towards all possibilities and never intersect."

"But everything got messed up after the scarlet meteor streaked across the sky."

"All the spacetimes were disrupted with fluctuations. An unknown and eerie gray world began to overlap with the real world."

After washing the tea mug, Doctor Lin didn't pour out the water in it but placed it on the table. Since he used some force during the process, the water surface in the mug was rippling.

Doctor Lin tore off a piece of paper and stuck it above the water waves. The rippling water began to soak the paper. From small, uneven water stains, it gradually permeated the entire paper surface.

"At first, only a small part of them converged. But as time passed, more and more areas converged. The matter and creatures from that world started to appear in our world. Even most of the habitats that originally belonged to humans have now been occupied by that world. Only nine 'domains' remain to shelter humans and keep the spark of life alive."

"Since the sky of that world is gray, we call it the 'Gray Realm'."

"When the Gray Realm converges with the real world, a series of strange events beyond our understanding will occur. Even monsters from the Gray Realm will descend, which is what we call a 'calamity'."

"Generally speaking, among the survivors who have encountered the convergence of the Gray Realm or been attacked by a calamity, 80% of them will suffer from mental disorders, and most of them will never be cured for the rest of their lives..."

"I suspect that your current situation is related to the 'Gray Realm'."

"Think carefully. Have you ever encountered the convergence of the Gray Realm and been caught up in it?"

Facing Doctor Lin's question, Chen Ling tried his best to search through the memories of the original owner, but in the end, he found nothing... No matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn't remember any other memories of last night.

"I don't know." He said bitterly.

Doctor Lin thought for a moment, took out a piece of letter paper from the drawer, and quickly started writing.

"Your situation is not just a simple mental illness anymore... I'm just an ordinary person and can't cure you.

However, I know someone who may be able to help you in treating the aftereffects of the Gray Realm pollution.

After all, he is a true [Doctor]."

Hearing this, a glimmer of hope lit up in Chen Ling's eyes. "Where can I find him?"

"He lives in Aurora City, but he usually likes to roam around and provide free medical consultations. It is said that he goes wherever there are difficult and complicated medical cases. This is their path to becoming a god...

Anyway, you give this letter to the Enforcers at the gate of Aurora City, leave your name and address, and they will forward it for you.

At most, within three days, that [Doctor] will come to find you on his own initiative."

"Thank you so much!"

Chen Ling took the envelope and thanked him sincerely.

In fact, when he saw the salt grains melting on the way, Chen Ling already felt that something was wrong. The things happening to him seemed to no longer be explainable by illness. He came to this small clinic. Firstly, because he had already walked halfway there, and secondly, he really didn't know where else could possibly help him.

From what Doctor Lin said, this [Doctor] seemed to be special, and he even mentioned the path to becoming a god...

Could it be that there is also a unique human cultivation system in this world? Otherwise, according to Doctor Lin, all humans should have been completely wiped out during the so-called Great Catastrophe and the convergence of the Gray Realm.

Chen Ling even thought that the distorted scientific level in this world might also be related to the Great Catastrophe.

"You're welcome. Give my regards to your younger brother." Doctor Lin smiled slightly.

"He's still in the hospital in District 2... I'll pass on your regards when I visit him next time."

Chen Ling stood up, said goodbye to Doctor Lin, and pushed the door to leave.

As that figure gradually disappeared under the sky where the aurora flowed, Doctor Lin's eyes narrowed slightly.

"An actor, huh..."

...

"The first time I saw the screen in my dream, the audience expectation value was 29%."

"When I tried to escape for my life, it rose to 30%."

"On the way here, it dropped back to 27%..."

"Just now, when Doctor Lin was pranked, it rose back to 29%."

"Assuming that the 'audience' is really in my mind and these numbers are not illusions, what exactly affects the rise and fall of the expectation value?"

The cold wind was bleak. Wrapped in a thick cotton robe, Chen Ling walked towards home while seriously thinking about this.

The stage, the audience, the expectation value... Every time the expectation value increased, it seemed to be accompanied by the occurrence of an event. So, could these events be regarded as the "plots" on the stage?

The more interesting the events happening around him were, the more attractive the "plots" would be to the audience, thus increasing the expectation value?

The screen said that when the audience expectation value was lower than 20%, the personal safety of the actor would not be guaranteed...

Chen Ling didn't know exactly what kind of danger it was, but judging from the fact that the "audience" could interfere with reality to a certain extent, it was very likely that he would become their tool for venting anger and be killed by their tricks.

Chen Ling thought his train of thought was right, but to prove whether it was correct, he still needed to take practical actions.

"Maybe, I should try to design the 'plots' actively."

Chen Ling murmured to himself.

"A Ling, have you had your breakfast yet?"

Chen Ling turned his head and saw that in the breakfast stall on the street, an uncle with a towel wrapped around his head was fanning the stove and shouting at him warmly.

The moment he saw the uncle, an idea suddenly flashed through Chen Ling's mind.

"Not yet, Uncle Zhao." The corners of Chen Ling's mouth turned up slightly, and he walked towards the stall.

"Come on, I'll get you some soybean milk and fried dough sticks. It rained heavily last night, and the humidity is high. You can't go without breakfast to warm your body." Uncle Zhao scooped up a bowl of steaming soybean milk and came over.

"Thank you, Uncle Zhao."

Chen Ling reached into his pocket, took out three copper coins, and handed them to Uncle Zhao, but the latter pushed them back.

"How can I let you pay for breakfast? Uncle will treat you."

"Come on, Uncle Zhao. Although we've been neighbors for more than ten years, we still have to settle the accounts properly."

"You're such a kid. Uncle doesn't want your money. If you can help my Xiaoyi with his studies when you have time, Uncle will send you breakfast every day." Uncle Zhao grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Hasn't he already graduated? Does he still need tutoring?"

"With his grades, he can't even get a job assignment. I plan to let him repeat a year of school. He can't just do odd jobs every day, can he?"

"Oh..."

"A Ling is really a good boy, smart and filial. If one day Xiaoyi can become an Enforcer like you, I'll wake up smiling in my dreams."

Uncle Zhao let out a long sigh. "It's a pity that this kid doesn't live up to expectations."

Chen Ling's hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he still opened his mouth and said,

"Uncle Zhao... Do you know why Xiaoyi's grades are so poor?"

"Ah? Why?"

Chen Ling was about to say something but fell silent for a long time. Finally, he shook his head. "Forget it, Uncle Zhao. Pretend I didn't mention it... I promised him to keep it a secret."

"Don't be like this!"

Uncle Zhao's heart rate increased. He casually added a marinated egg to Chen Ling's bowl and scratched his head in a hurry.

"A Ling, I know you're Xiaoyi's good friend, but there are some things... As his father, I should know something, right? I raised Xiaoyi by myself, getting up early and staying up late every day to earn money to send him to school, just hoping that he can have a better life in the future...

If you know something, you must tell me! We're all doing this for his own good..."

Seeing Uncle Zhao's urgent inquiry, Chen Ling was slightly moved. After struggling for a moment, he seemed to have made up his mind.

"You're right, Uncle Zhao. As a friend, I really can't bear to see Xiaoyi 堕落下去了..."

"Degenerate? What exactly happened to him?"

"He's in a relationship."

"Ah?" Uncle Zhao was stunned. "Does this kid have such charm?"

Chen Ling calmly took a bite of the fried dough stick and slowly spat out three words:

"With a guy."