Volume 1 Chapter 8: Everyone Has Their Own Thoughts

“If possible, I would rather move alone!” Hansen sighed helplessly. “But these Goblins seem to value us highly. Perhaps having more people means having more say.”

Among the five Serial Killers, “Shepherd” Hill was the oldest and the most knowledgeable. Originally a Catholic Priest, he was secretly an old pervert who ate human flesh and suffered from severe paranoia.

Another one, “Firecracker” Rand, was a strange existence among all the Serial Killers—the least dangerous individually but causing the highest social harm. To be precise, those killed by him were all indirect casualties. Before his arrest, Rand worked as a firefighter but was also a terrorist responsible for multiple bomb explosions, afflicted with antisocial personality disorder and harboring inexplicable hostility toward almost everyone.

The last one, “Joker” Grant, had a massive build, even taller and burlier than “Chameleon” Chekhov, whom Qin Lun had killed—almost a small giant. However, he was a deformed child with an ugly appearance and irregular facial features, suffering from severe skin conditions and facing discrimination from family and neighbors since childhood.

As a result, Grant fell into severe autism and inferiority, developing an extremely paranoid psychological disorder. After growing up, the solitary Grant began hunting beautiful women in nearby cities, peeling off their facial skin and sticking it onto his own face—this was also the origin of his nickname “Joker.”

In short, among the five Serial Killers, apart from The Disciple Hansen himself, the other four had serious mental issues. However, compared to the other three, Qin Lun could barely be considered a normal person when he hadn’t transformed into Joey Foster. So, in reality, The Disciple Hansen only had Qin Lun to discuss things with.

“What do you plan to do?” Qin Lun remained silent for a while before asking.

“Let them go out!” Hansen glanced at Lin Feng and Little Lian, who were huddled in the corner of the tent, and said calmly, “Lili is outside too!”

Qin Lun nodded at the two, and immediately they scrambled out of the tent like rabbits. To be honest, they had no interest in the conversation between the two Serial Killers. Although they knew those two wouldn’t harm them for the time being, the presence of the two Serial Killers was overwhelming; just sitting there made them feel suffocated.

“Those Goblins seem to value us highly. Perhaps we can be a bit more assertive and directly talk to their leader!” Hansen said in a deep voice after watching the two leave, turning back. “At the very least, we can test their true intentions.”

Qin Lun looked at the expressionless Disciple, his gaze flickering slightly, but he ultimately nodded.

“Good. When I entered the camp earlier, I observed its layout. The large tent in the center is heavily guarded—likely the residence of these little creatures’ leader. Let’s take advantage of the night to scout the way. It would be best if we could sneak in. What do you think?” Hansen raised an eyebrow, a hint of delight in his eyes.

“Okay!” Qin Lun smiled slightly and stood up without hesitation, lifting the tent flap and extending a hand. “After you!”

The two walked out of the tent and found Lin Feng and Little Lian chatting and laughing softly with Lili. The three of them got along quite well without any reservations. Seeing the two Serial Killers emerge, the three immediately fell silent and dispersed.

“Follow us!” Hansen glanced at them indifferently and commanded without courtesy.

The five of them walked through the camp. By then, the sky had turned completely dark, and dozens of orange crystal lamps illuminated the camp’s surroundings. Apart from a few Goblin sentries on patrol duty, most Goblins had returned to their tents to rest.

The patrolling Goblin sentries paid no attention to the five of them, only showing vigilance when they approached certain defensive structures.

Hansen, walking at the front, had a cold gleam in his eyes, a sinister smile slowly forming at the corner of his mouth. Just as he was about to take action, a figure flashed beside him, blocking his path.

“What are you trying to do?” Hansen growled in a low, angry voice upon realizing it was Qin-Lun blocking him.

“I should be the one asking what you’re trying to do!” Qin Lun still wore a faint, calm smile, but his gaze was icy as he quietly stared at the burly Hansen.

“The large tent where the Goblin leader lives is heavily guarded. I need to get some of their weapons before making a move,” Hansen said, narrowing his eyes slightly. “Those wide-mouthed guns are quite simple; they shouldn’t be hard to operate!”

“I only agreed to go with you to talk to their leader. I didn’t agree to join you in a riot!” Qin Lun said with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Hansen fell silent, the ferocity in his eyes gradually intensifying as he stared fixedly at Qin Lun without a word.

Qin Lun also put away his smile. With a flick of his right hand, a black dagger slipped from his sleeve into his palm, and a red gleam gradually brightened in his pupils.

The three people behind the two Serial Killers broke out in a cold sweat. If these two started fighting, their current comfortable life would come to an end, and the Goblins probably wouldn’t be so polite to them anymore.

“Since you don’t want to, then we’ll do it your way!” Hansen suddenly showed a strained, unnatural smile and spat out the words through gritted teeth.

“Heh heh!” Qin Lun flipped his right hand, sheathing the black dagger. He gave The Disciple a meaningful look, then led the way toward the large tent in the center of the camp. Only after turning his back did a cold smile appear on his lips.

Back in the small tent, Qin Lun had already realized that Hansen’s seeking him out wasn’t as simple as he claimed.

Hansen had been a mercenary since childhood, possessing proficient military skills and a habit of using force to solve problems. Trying to restrict his freedom through something like house arrest would be practically suicidal.

The “Lu-Lu Tribe” was a highly mobile Scavenger tribe. This camp had only simple defenses. As long as a certain level of chaos erupted, it would be difficult to contain a professional mercenary like The Disciple Hansen.

Of course, Hansen wasn’t Rambo; he needed someone to share the pressure, which was why he sought out Qin Lun and the others. His plan was essentially to use the other four as bait to facilitate his seizing weapons, ammunition, and vehicles to escape the Goblin camp. As a mercenary, he was very confident that even alone, he could find a way to survive in this Gobi desert.

However, for the others, this was not good news at all—especially Qin Lun and the rest, who would be forced to cooperate with Hansen in causing an uproar in the camp. Once the Goblins regained control, no matter how much these little monsters valued them, they probably wouldn’t be treated politely anymore.

The reason Qin Lun agreed to go out with Hansen was that he felt the surface reason Hansen used to cover his true intention made a lot of sense and coincided with his own thoughts.

Unlike Hansen, who was a soldier with a strong personality, disliking being controlled and preferring to grasp his own fate, Qin Lun felt that since these Goblins valued them, the prisoners—who made up almost half their number—might have a good chance of making the yet-unmet Goblin leader concede and reveal more inside information if they were more assertive.

However, what they didn’t expect was that when the five of them approached the large tent, the Goblin guards outside only hesitated slightly. Before they could even indicate anything, the guards voluntarily made way, allowing them to enter what appeared to be the Goblin leader’s large tent.

Qin Lun and Hansen looked at each other, each seeing a trace of surprise in the other’s eyes. They truly hadn’t anticipated this situation. But when they entered the large tent, their faces showed a hint of understanding.

It turned out that five other prisoners were already sitting inside the large tent: “Shepherd” Hill and “Joker” Grant, along with their three subordinate prisoner followers—only “Firecracker” Rand and one other person were missing.

But this made sense. “Firecracker” Rand suffered from antisocial personality disorder. Apart from the young prisoner following him—who had a strong rebellious mentality—almost everyone in his eyes was an enemy, so naturally no one went to discuss things with him.

No wonder the Goblin guards had let them in directly—they probably thought they were coming with the other five. And those five must have obtained the Goblin leader’s permission before entering, which also indicated that these little Goblin monsters indeed valued them highly and had made some concessions.

Seeing Qin Lun and the other four, Hill and the rest had no objections. The more prisoners who shared the same idea, the greater their bargaining power would naturally be. After Qin Lun’s group entered, they nodded at Hill and the others, then silently found a corner to sit down and observed the situation inside the large tent.

In the center of the large tent sat a plump, wrinkled old Goblin with age spots on its face. To its right sat the biker boss they had seen that morning. Between them was a small tea table holding, besides tea, the small pocket-watch-like instrument they had all seen before.

“Guests from another time and space, I am the Great Elder of the Lu-Lu Tribe. Next to me is my eldest son, Ged, the current chieftain of the Lu-Lu Tribe.” The old Goblin opened its muddy eyes and spoke slowly, the stiff, mechanical voice ringing in their ears once again.

“I know what you wish to ask. I will tell you everything. However, my spirit is not well. Please remain quiet and patient while I speak!”

When the Lu-Lu Tribe’s chieftain Ged met everyone in the morning, he had briefly introduced them to the Shattered Starry Sky. The Goblin Elder’s introduction to the Shattered Starry Sky was largely similar but provided more detail.

However, what the Goblin Great Elder said next—including why the Lu-Lu Tribe showed such strange attitudes and importance toward the prisoners—stirred up a storm of astonishment in the hearts of Qin Lun and the others.

Even these vicious and cunning death-row prisoners found it so unbelievable and wondrous.