Book 3: Chapter 48: Prisoner Gathering

“Temporary team emblem?” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed as he took the emblem handed over by Lili.

The emblem was thin as paper and was neither iron nor gold, feeling cold to the touch. The moment he got the emblem, specific introductions and functions of this emblem appeared in the Death Notice.

Temporary Low-level Team Emblem: Only suitable for reserve Apostles and Apostles in the first tier of the title system, this emblem can be used by no more than five Junior Apostles to form a temporary team. This temporary team has no Team Warehouse, no captain privileges, and can only be used for one Quest World. After forming a temporary team, all team members will be forced to enter a Quest World together within a month.

“Boss Qin Lun, we know our strength is quite low, but we will definitely not hold you back in the Other World. After entering the Quest World, whether you act alone or with us is entirely up to you. Just when we encounter some situations, you can give us some advice!” Before Qin Lun could speak, Lin Feng said urgently.

Qin Lun looked at the emblem without speaking. He could see that the three of them had grown a lot; at least they were no longer as lost and terrified as when they first entered the Shattered Starry Sky.

Although Lili was a prisoner, she might have had the lightest crimes among all the prisoners—besides some petty theft, she had only one charge of manslaughter; the deceased were two Mafia members who tried to gang-rape her. As for Lin Feng and Little Lian, one was just a spoiled young master and the other a small nurse.

Compared to other prisoners, their independent survival abilities were much weaker. Faced with life-and-death choices, it was inevitable they would feel uneasy and want to rely on a strong person. However, that they sought him out instead of another Serial Killer probably meant they had already given it some thought.

The three clearly stated they wouldn’t be a burden to Qin Lun—this wasn’t just politeness. Qin Lun had no psychological burden about abandoning them in critical moments; he might even use them as bait or decoys. Actually, operating separately would better ensure their safety.

Qin Lun had about 10 days left before entering another Quest World. The drawback of this team emblem was that it might delay his next Otherworld Mission by 20 days. The benefit was that it could let him experience in advance the differences between an Apostle team and an individual. It was important to know that teams entering Other Worlds would definitely receive different Otherworld Missions from individual ones.

“Alright, next time I’ll enter the Other World with you!” After a quick thought, Qin Lun agreed. He currently had no competitors and felt the adjustment time was too short; since he had a chance to rest a couple more days, it was a good choice.

“By the way, let me give you a suggestion. Since this emblem can take five people, you can sell the last remaining spot!” Qin Lun said with a light laugh.

“Sell a team spot?” All three were stunned. Lin Feng frowned and asked, “If we sell it to someone we don’t know, we wouldn’t feel at ease. If we sell it to other prisoners, even with you along, others would probably see the three of us as dead weight, right?”

“Haha, having the interval between Otherworld Missions too short isn’t a good thing. Even I feel mentally tired; I believe other prisoners will reach their limit even faster than me!” Qin Lun shook his head. “If someone comes along, this mental pressure will lessen a lot. Besides, with me here, there should be prisoners willing to join!”

“Alright then, we’ll ask around and see,” Little Lian said softly after exchanging glances with the other two.

After finishing their serious discussion, Qin Lun drank a few cups with the three, then headed towards the Projector that recorded Apostles’ experiences. This Projector was a special piece of Spiritual Equipment, an instrument lent to the mercenary headquarters by a certain Apostle team, which Disciple Hansen had rented out. Any Apostle could record, modify, and delete information in the Projector.

Qin Lun connected his Death Notice to the Projector and found that many prisoners’ world adventure experiences had already been recorded. These records were mainly voice narrations without related images, making it impossible to distinguish the truth of the intelligence. However, Qin Lun believed the intelligence here was genuine; currently, there was no competition of conflicting interests among the prisoners, so there was really no need for petty tricks.

Most prisoners recorded their general adventure experiences and task gains and losses, mentioned the powerful monsters and local customs they encountered, and also asked some questions they cared about.

Compared to ordinary prisoners, Qin Lun paid more attention to the adventure experiences of the other four Serial Killers, and specifically looked up Shepherd Hill’s entry.

The Shepherd was somewhat vague about how he killed the Oni Warrior Michele in the Paris zoo of the Phantom Demon World, only using phrases like “critical situation” and “internal strife.” However, Qin Lun noticed that in his gains, he mentioned obtaining Michele’s Soul-Sucking Bracelet.

This discovery made Qin Lun raise his eyebrows. Others might not know what Michele’s Soul-Sucking Bracelet was, but he had seen the Demon-Breaking Mirror and knew this item clearly.

Michele was the weakest Oni Warrior in the Phantom Demon World; her Soul-Sucking Bracelet couldn’t compare to Akechi Samanosuke’s and Jacques Brown’s Oni Gauntlets. But this thing was, after all, a triple-sucking equipment that absorbed blood, energy, and durability—its grade might have already surpassed Dark Gold. This one item alone almost offset all of Qin Lun’s gains in the Phantom Demon World.

After viewing everyone’s experiences and questions, Qin Lun also roughly narrated his two Quest Worlds. Of course, such narrations couldn’t be extremely detailed. Observers needed to think more to gradually understand the prisoners’ thoughts and considerations in every action step, thus gaining reference for themselves.

The questions left by prisoners in the Projector were mostly consultations about equipment and skills. Qin Lun noticed that the other Serial Killers hadn’t left any questions inside.

Actually, Qin Lun could understand the other Serial Killers’ thoughts; from Hill, it was clear that the other Serial Killers’ gains might not be worse than his. As long as they could find answers in the Devil’s Horn, these Serial Killers were unwilling to expose their weaknesses. Moreover, given their rapid progress, even if they raised their questions, others might not be able to answer them anyway.

As for ordinary prisoners, they didn’t have such concerns. After all, everyone had only passed one Quest World; their weaknesses and progress were similar in all aspects, so exposure didn’t matter.

After casually answering a few ordinary prisoners’ questions, Qin Lun put down the Projector and quietly hid in a corner to drink. The prisoners’ gathering wasn’t very lively; except for prisoners playing pool and cards who occasionally shouted, most others drank while quietly appreciating the records in the Projector.

The not very lively atmosphere didn’t mean everyone was dissatisfied. Actually, even Qin Lun felt he had gained a lot after coming out. These prisoners were the best among hundreds of death row inmates; besides being heinous criminals, most could be considered outstanding talents. Their choices and mistakes in the Quest World served as significant warnings to others.

After leaving his contact number, Qin Lun left alone. Returning to the Villa, he found Didi sleeping on the sofa in the hall. The little one had some bruises and wounds on his limbs, making Qin Lun smile knowingly. It seemed Didi understood his intention and had started training his combat ability in the Training Ground.

The next few days were calm, except for one afternoon when Little Lian sent a message saying all team members had assembled. They arranged to meet him and, through the Temporary Team Emblem, had him join this temporary team. To his surprise, the final member turned out to be another Serial Killer—Clown Grant.

After forming the temporary team, a countdown of about 11 days appeared in Qin Lun’s Death Notice. In other words, his rest time was only extended by about a week, not the originally guessed 20 days. He estimated this might be because Little Lian and the other two’s first Other World journey was also almost due.

Calculating this way, the Earth humans in their batch who entered the Shattered Starry Sky had task intervals of less than two months at most—their quality as Apostles was frighteningly high.

Qin Lun spent most of his following time in the Training Ground, often taking some time to instruct the little Goblin Didi. After having a goal to strive for, the little one was very diligent, often ending up bruised and battered, with frequent fractures and internal injuries.

Seeing the little Goblin often tearful from pain, his big eyes blinking pitifully at him, Qin Lun had no choice but to reluctantly take out that box of Moonlight Recovery Ointment and give it to Didi. He sometimes suspected the little one was intentionally getting injured and then pretending to be pitiful in front of him to gain sympathy.

When there was about one week left on the countdown, Mafa finally came to visit again, and Qin Lun’s information task posted at the mercenary headquarters also received feedback. Mafa brought him the World Tree Fruit and also conveyed the proposal from the Moon Elf Council of Elders. The Council agreed to exchange the World Tree Fruit for the Black Bear but required an additional payment of 50,000 Shattered Crystals on credit.

Frankly, since the Black Bear couldn’t be refined into a Bloodline Item, it could only be used for bloodline research. Obtaining a Phantom Demon-type bloodline from research would take a long time, not equivalent to the World Tree Fruit. This was actually Mafa giving up the World Tree Fruit he had prepared for his own use.

As for the extra 50,000 Shattered Crystals, the Elven Race did this on principle for equivalent exchange. Qin Lun thus owed Mafa a big favor; his ties with the Moria family were getting deeper and deeper.

After seeing Mafa off, Qin Lun opened the task contact feedback from the mercenary headquarters. An Apostle wearing an elf mask appeared on the projection.

“So you’re the Apostle who wants to know how to turn the World Tree Fruit into a Bloodline Item?” The Apostle on the other side had a clear, delicate voice—probably a female Apostle. Looking at the Demon Mask on Qin Lun’s face, she asked somewhat surprised.

“I am a friend of the Elven Race; this mask on my face is just a temporary result of a transaction. Please don’t pay it too much mind,” Qin Lun, quick-witted, tapped the Demon Mask on his face and hurriedly explained.