Volume 1 Chapter 10: The Great Elder’s Suggestion

After finishing speaking, the Goblin Elder gasped slightly; with great effort, he moved his obese body, picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and leaned back on the deck chair, closing his eyes to rest.

His son Ged, who was also the current chief of the Lu-Lu Tribe, quickly pulled over a blanket to cover the old man, then turned and glared angrily at the prisoners.

A goblin’s lifespan was only about one-third of a human’s, and his father was over forty years old, which could be said to be a very long life for a goblin. But the elder was now near the end of his life and could pass away at any moment; today, having been pushed by the prisoners to say so much, it drained a lot of his energy.

However, Ged understood in his heart why the old goblin treated the prisoners so leniently; it was because in the Crimson Gobi continent, there happened to be a Floating City of the Elven Race wandering there at the moment.

Floating Cities generally treated Probationary Apostles very politely, but there could be some differences in the details. After all, Floating Cities in the Shattered Starry Sky belonged to all kinds of Sapient Races, including gentle ones like the Elven Race, unpredictable elemental beings, and naturally cruel races like Trolls. Not every Probationary Apostle immediately agreed with the first Floating City that took them in.

The more similar the Floating City was to the Probationary Apostle’s race, and the closer their worldviews and values were, the stronger the Apostle’s identification with the Floating City would be in the future. Even if these Apostles grew powerful later, they would see the Floating City that took them in first as a second home. This type of Apostle was the most welcomed by all Floating Cities, and they received the best basic benefits.

Humans and the Elven Race might not be the same race, but their ideals and forms were very similar, making them a highly desirable group to take in. After all, Floating Cities sometimes went for years without finding a single Apostle, so they took almost anyone without being picky.

Once the twelve humans from another world were sent to the Elven Race’s Floating City, the Lu-Lu Tribe would gain extremely rich rewards. Adding to those gains from the otherworld base and all of the Lu-Lu Tribe’s savings over the decades, they were very likely to achieve an ultimate dream shared by all Scavenger tribes.

That dream was for some outstanding young children in the tribe to gain formal settlement rights in a Floating City. Floating Cities were like small kingdoms built by the ruling Sapient Races, and they also had many weak subservient races.

However, subservient races did not have formal settlement rights; they could only enter the Floating City temporarily during major disasters for short-term protection.

The subservient races that obtained formal settlement rights had to have made outstanding contributions to the Floating City. This was a form of equal citizenship; the Floating City had a duty to provide these members with a series of survival rights like upbringing, education, housing, and work, and their children would directly get formal residence rights after birth.

It could be said that gaining a certain number of formal settlement rights in a Floating City meant gaining the spark to continue the race’s heritage; for a Scavenger tribe like the Lu-Lu Tribe, this truly counted as an ultimate dream.

Of course, the Lu-Lu Tribe could have disregarded these Probationary Apostles’ feelings entirely, forcibly captured them, and sold them to the Elven Race’s Floating City like slaves. After all, these twelve Probationary Apostles in front of Ged would most likely all die out without exception in the early Otherworld Missions.

However, there was always that small chance with everything; if one or two in the twelve human Apostles grew powerful and held grudges against the Lu-Lu Tribe, the outcome would not be what the tribe hoped for. After finally gaining formal residence rights, there was a risk that all those members could be assassinated by the Apostles out of revenge.

This was the main reason why the Goblin Elder risked his own exhaustion to personally answer the prisoners’ questions and clear their doubts. Like the Floating Cities, the Lu-Lu Tribe was betting on the future—on the boundless potential yet to be realized in these Apostles.

Having gotten the answers they wanted, the prisoners fell into silence; the atmosphere in the large tent felt strange.

To be fair, the prisoners had almost nothing on them, and to survive, they had to get help from the local races; otherwise, they wouldn’t even get out of the Crimson Gobi, let alone face unknown future Otherworld Missions. However, being treated like goods for trading made these vicious people, who were condemned prisoners, feel deeply unhappy.

“I know the honored guests are dissatisfied, but please trust this old wreck, the Elven Race’s Floating City is your best choice right now. As long as everyone agrees to go to the Floating City, the Lu-Lu Tribe is willing to apologize to each honored guest afterward and give generous compensation.”

After letting the prisoners absorb the earlier information, the Goblin Elder opened his eyes again and spoke slowly. “This compensation will help you settle into this world faster and prepare for carrying out Otherworld Missions…”

The prisoners exchanged glances; the Goblin Elder’s final suggestion finally won them over. Though the goblins had decided their fate without consent, it benefited their survival. If it also saved their dignity and pride, then following the arrangement wasn’t too bad.

“Can we choose our own compensation? For example, your weapons and vehicles!” Hensen’s low voice sounded among the prisoners.

“Of course, but for safety reasons, weapons and vehicles can only be handed over at the gates of the Floating City.” The Goblin Elder’s old face finally showed a smile. “Other compensations can be given immediately, like this world’s money, food, fresh water, or even special minerals from the Crimson Gobi…”

“Great Elder, those minerals…” Ged was startled and suddenly stood up.

“Ged, shut up! No matter how valuable the minerals are, the key is to show our sincerity to the honored guests!” The old goblin grinned meaningfully. “Weapons, vehicles, minerals—anything in the Lu-Lu Tribe camp is yours to pick. If the honored guests need servant attendants, the Lu-Lu Tribe might even provide a few young and pretty female members…”

After coming out of the Goblin Elder’s tent, the prisoners felt like ages had passed; they quietly dispersed and headed to their own tents. They had received so much information that night, they needed time to digest it. The Goblin Elder seemed to know they needed space to think, telling them to ask for compensation individually tomorrow.

After Qin Lun and the other two returned to their tent, each quickly found a corner to rest in. Though, from the slight movements as the others tossed and turned, Qin Lun knew they were awake too, just like himself.

Floating Cities, Apostles, Otherworld Missions, continent wars… all kinds of confusing thoughts spun wildly in the mind until late into the quiet night, when Qin Lun slowly drifted into a dream.

…

“Brother…” a faint, gentle call seemed to drift in from afar; Qin Lun shuddered and opened his eyes wide, sitting up straight from sleep, only to find Lin Feng and Little Lian awake and discussing softly.

“Did you call me just now?” Qin Lun asked in a low, serious tone, his face gloomy.

“No, not at all! What’s wrong?” Lin Feng and Little Lian looked at him blankly.

“Nothing!” Qin Lun’s expression softened a bit; he shook his head hard as if trying to shake something off.

“Well… Boss Qin Lun, what kind of compensation do you think we should go for?” Lin Feng asked carefully.

“What do you want?” Qin Lun turned to look at the playboy.

“I want one of their blunderbuss guns; it might be useful for those future Otherworld Missions. Does that seem good?” Lin Feng asked cheekily.

Qin Lun narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at Lin Feng with a half-smile. It was easy to read the playboy’s mind—once in the Floating City, everyone’s survival would be more secure, and Lin Feng wouldn’t have to cling to a Serial Killer out of necessity. Having a weapon made him feel safer.

“That’s your thing, decide it yourself; I won’t interfere.” Qin Lun shrugged with a smile, a kind look in his eyes.

“Thanks, boss! I’ll go find the Goblin Elder now!” Lin Feng said happily, darting out of the tent and vanishing from view.

Idiot! A cold smile formed on Qin Lun’s lips seeing Lin Feng leave, but he turned back to Little Lian, his face gentle again. “How about you? What do you want to ask the goblins for?”

“I… I don’t know!” Little Lian pouted, her baby-fat cheeks drooping sulkily, looking very down. “If we really can’t go back to our world, I want to stay with you both.”

“Aren’t you afraid Joey might hurt you?” Qin Lun raised an eyebrow, surprised at the little nurse.

“Yes! But I don’t want to be alone!” Little Lian nodded glumly, then her eyes lit up suddenly as if remembering something. “At most, when you change, warn me so I can run away in time!”

“I can’t control that,” Qin Lun said softly, his gaze growing warmer. “If you haven’t thought of what compensation to take, I can suggest something. Don’t pick weapons or vehicles, and skip this world’s money; go for something unique to the goblins.”

“You mean their minerals?” Little Lian asked curiously.

“Not necessarily minerals—anything special that only goblins have…” Qin Lun grinned brightly, exuding cheerfulness.

“OK, then… I’ll go now!” Little Lian hesitated for a moment before heading out.

Qin Lun smiled faintly; the tent had food and fresh water from the goblins. The food looked like mashed potatoes again, suggesting goblins had a limited menu. After washing his face, Qin Lun wasn’t in a rush to leave; he sat on the ground and slowly ate his fill.

Meanwhile, Lin Feng and Little Lian both returned from outside. Lin Feng rubbed his hands, unable to hide his excitement—probably having gotten what he wanted. Little Lian showed no clear emotion, but her lab coat pockets were stuffed full with unknown items.

Qin lifted the tent flap, glanced at the sky, felt the time was right, and stepped out to head toward the large tent where the Goblin Elder lived.

Last night, the Goblin Elder had told them to ask for compensation alone not only to give them thinking time but with a deeper reason.

On reflection after returning to the tent, Qin Lun realized that the old goblin had managed to control the whole conversation the previous evening.

Though this was partly because the prisoners were desperate to learn about this world, the fact had to be faced that four of them were unstable Serial Killers. The old goblin had used words alone to keep them from questioning anything—such skill was remarkable.

This was really fun! A hint of amusement flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes as he lifted the large tent flap under the watchful eyes of the goblin guards…