Volume 3 Chapter 32: Undersea Temple

Watching the girl cross the deep pit and step into the stone door, Qin Lun raised his eyebrows and sat down cross-legged. He appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, his consciousness sank into the Death Notice.

There were several flashing prompts in the Death Notice, one of which was related to the “Phantom Demon Rumors Record.”

“Apostle 70053, the Phantom Demon Rumors Record contains key information about the Phantom Demon World’s origin. Based on this information, it was possible to calculate 17.26% of the World Exploration Degree for the Phantom Demon World. Of this portion of the World Origin, 91.27% belonged to developed resources, while 8.23% remained undeveloped.”

“Apostle 70053, according to the Apostle Covenant terms, Shattered Starry Sky will grant a reward for intelligence acquisition. This reward includes 1% of the developed origin and 10% of the undeveloped origin… Calculation complete. Apostle 70053 will receive a total of 0.212% World Exploration Degree. The World Exploration Degree reward will be tallied upon return.”

Qin Lun blinked. He knew the Phantom Demon Rumors Record would yield some gains, but he didn’t expect it to reach this extent. He had obtained three Time-Space Cores, which only gave him a total of 0.236% World Exploration Degree. Yet, a single Phantom Demon Rumors Record directly awarded him 0.212% World Exploration Degree.

Of course, the Time-Space Cores had little impact on World Exploration Degree; the main rewards came from missions, with World Exploration Degree being an extra bonus. The actual World Exploration Degree affected by the Phantom Demon Rumors Record was 17.26%, but most of it was already developed resources.

The 0.212% Exploration Degree reward he received was essentially an intelligence reward.

In fact, the Phantom Demon World was not a Quest World controlled and developed by Shattered Starry Sky. Shattered Starry Sky started from scratch in this world. The World Exploration Degree recorded in the Phantom Demon Rumors Record actually belonged to the Superstring Space that developed this Phantom Demon World. The 91.27% World Origin from this Exploration Degree was already under the control of that Superstring Space.

Despite this, the intelligence Qin Lun obtained was still urgently needed by Shattered Starry Sky, especially the small amount of undeveloped World Origin. For Shattered Starry Sky, this information served as a guiding light, and the undeveloped World Origin provided a basis for intervening in the Phantom Demon World again.

Compared to Shattered Starry Sky’s gains, Qin Lun’s small World Exploration Degree reward seemed insignificant. However, effort equaled reward, and Qin Lun’s current actions would also improve his potential mission evaluation.

Now, Qin Lun’s total World Exploration Degree had reached 0.248%, nearly half of the Exploration Degree from the Orphan World in just two days.

This was also related to the unique nature of the Phantom Demon World. If it were a Quest World fully controlled by Shattered Starry Sky, following missions step by step, he wouldn’t have been able to pick up such gains so easily.

Besides the prompt about the Phantom Demon Rumors Record, there was a special notification below the mission description for the “Death Hunt” in the Death Notice. It was about equipment rental…

The Shattered Laws actually allowed Apostles to rent a specific type of equipment item during the Death Hunting Mission for a very low cost, and the first Death Hunting Mission offered free rental.

This information truly opened Qin Lun’s eyes. It was the first time he had seen Shattered Starry Sky be so generous. If Yoshida Junko hadn’t been there earlier, he would have exchanged for this equipment right away to take a look.

Combat Gauge (Special Equipment)

Quality: Purple

Material: Purple Flux Crystal, Super Sensor, Nano Computer

Weight: 15 grams

Passive Ability: Combat Assessment

Combat Assessment: The Combat Gauge could connect to the Apostle’s subconscious and estimate the target’s combat power and skill effectiveness through Perception. The stronger the Apostle’s Perception, the more accurate the estimated data. The Combat Gauge could assess five types of data: Combat Power Range, Skill Damage, Movement Speed, Defense Strength, and Health Points.

Note: The data obtained by the Combat Gauge changed continuously during combat. The five data types could display either peak values or current values as per the Apostle’s request, and some data items could be hidden.

In the exchange list, Qin Lun could only rent two types of Combat Gauges: one dark blue with a 1000 rental fee, and one purple with a 5000 rental fee. The usage period was limited to one Quest World.

In other words, if Qin Lun rented a Combat Gauge now, it would be reclaimed by Shattered Starry Sky when he left the Phantom Demon World.

Since the first Death Hunting Mission waived the rental fee, Qin Lun directly exchanged for the purple-quality Combat Gauge. The higher the quality, the higher the combat tier the Combat Gauge could assess. As for accuracy, it depended on Qin Lun’s own Perception.

This Combat Gauge looked like an antique-style contact lens. The lens was as thin as a cicada’s wing, colorless, and shapeless. It was obvious how to use it. Qin Lun lifted his eyelid and placed the Combat Gauge onto his eyeball.

As soon as the Combat Gauge touched his pupil, it felt like a screen appeared in front of Qin Lun’s right eye, though no data was displayed yet. Qin Lun adjusted it with his consciousness, then stood up and threw a full-force punch.

Estimated Combat Power: 13-19

Skill Damage: Normal Attack, Damage Value 0.27-0.22

Movement Speed: Insufficient Data

Defense Strength: Insufficient Data

Health Points: Insufficient Data

Qin Lun had once conducted a test in the Moonlight Forest, which allowed him to preliminarily quantify his physical attributes in the Death Notice. When he reached Devil’s Horn, he converted this data into Earth Federation measurements at the Training Ground.

His current physical attributes, measured on average, were about 1.2 times that of an average Earth male human. Fist power differed from damage value, as it also involved energy relations. Based on Qin Lun’s current damage value, one punch’s damage was about one-third that of a small-caliber pistol bullet.

There were many life forms among Apostles, and Qin Lun believed the Combat Gauge’s data representation would vary greatly. The Combat Gauge he wore likely calculated data based on human characteristics.

From this perspective, the estimated combat power of 13-19 probably referred to his current physical attributes, which were 1.2 times that of an ordinary person. The damage value range of 0.27-0.22 might use the small-caliber pistol bullet as a template unit.

Qin Lun narrowed his eyes slightly. This Combat Gauge was really useful. Although it was influenced by the Apostle’s own Perception, being able to quantify an enemy’s displayed combat power was still remarkable equipment. Most importantly, if combined with his Combat Model, it would greatly shorten the time needed for intelligence gathering during combat.

“I wonder if I can buy one!” Qin Lun tapped his temple with his finger and began searching the exchange list.

“It can’t be bought with Shattered Crystals or Exchange Vouchers. Aside from renting during the Death Hunting Mission, it’s only available through certain extra rewards or Bronze Level or higher mission evaluation cards!” After looking for a while, Qin Lun couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

Besides the above conditions, the Combat Gauge also had Apostle level restrictions. Qin Lun’s current title was first tier, second level. In the exchange list, he could only exchange for a dark blue-quality Combat Gauge with one Bronze mission evaluation card. Only during the Death Hunting Mission could he temporarily obtain a purple-quality Combat Gauge, one grade higher.

Actually, this was Shattered Starry Sky controlling the spread of Combat Gauges. This item could not only assess the combat power of Reincarnators but also observe the combat power of Apostles and other intelligent beings. Mass sales would not only make Apostles dependent on the Combat Gauge but also escalate conflicts among them.

“Time is about up!” Qin Lun temporarily set aside his desire for the Combat Gauge. He leaped up, lightly tapped the chessboard platform in the center of the deep pit with his toe, and crossed the pit to stand in front of a stone door.

Qin Lun carefully pushed open the stone door, revealing a passageway ahead. This stone door did not lead to the Dragon Mechanism Room but to the Shipbuilding Room, which Yoshida Junko had entered.

A slight curve lifted the corner of Qin Lun’s mouth. The Japanese girl didn’t seem to suspect his intentions at all. Perhaps the transaction involving the Phantom Demon Rumors Record made her truly believe he would go to the Dragon Mechanism Room.

Actually, it wasn’t entirely Yoshida Junko’s fault. From her perspective, Qin Lun wasn’t considered a High Rank Reincarnator yet.

If they couldn’t hide until the seven-day stay period ended, they could only follow their example and gather 1000 points of Faction Reputation, or directly clear the Shipbuilding Room to re-enter the outer maze from the other end of the Undersea Temple, then look for a Time-Space Node to return to Paris.

Hiding behind Yoshida Junko and the other two was useless; they wouldn’t leave a few dying Phantom Demons for Qin Lun to farm Faction Reputation. By the time High Rank Reincarnators from the Phantom Demon faction arrived, everyone would die.

“Too bad… I’m not a Reincarnator!” A strange smile appeared on Qin Lun’s face.

After entering the passageway, Qin Lun stopped delaying and began multitasking. He used his consciousness to check the map in the Phantom Demon Rumors Record while moving forward quickly.

As an Apostle, once the Phantom Demon Rumors Record was in his hands, the intelligence within could be fed back to Shattered Starry Sky through the Apostle Soul Mark, while the physical object remained with him.

This Undersea Temple was an abandoned shipbuilding base of the Phantom Demons. There weren’t many Phantom Demons guarding it to begin with, and the scattered Phantom Demons along the passageway had been dealt with by Matthew and the other two. Qin Lun encountered no trouble along the way.

Winding through the intricate passageways for about half an hour, Qin Lun finally approached the Shipbuilding Room of the Undersea Temple. The faint sounds of fighting reaching his ears made him slow his pace.

There was no gate ahead in the passageway. After exiting the narrow corridor, the scene before him made Qin Lun take a deep breath and shake his head with a bitter smile.

Before him was a magnificent dock square. At a glance, its area was no less than several square kilometers. The square soared to a height of nearly a hundred meters, supported by dozens of towering stone pillars, each so thick that three people were needed to encircle them. These pillars held up the arched ceiling at the top of the square.

Countless burning bone lamps hung from these towering stone pillars, illuminating both the entire square and the underwater world beyond the arched ceiling.

Deep blue waters nearby, pitch black in the distance… faintly visible giant plankton… colorful schools of underwater fish…

Qin Lun now understood why this place was called the Undersea Temple. This wasn’t just a Shipbuilding Room; it was practically an underwater dragon palace!