Volume 3 Chapter 28: BEN’s Change

“Brother…” a small, bloody hand abruptly stretched out from the emptiness.

“Hiss!” In a dim and bloody pit, a faint, snake-like hissing sound could be heard. At the bottom of the pit, among layers of piled bones, two blood-red “shining pearls” suddenly lit up.

But soon, the blood-red color on the “shining pearls” slowly faded away. Upon closer look, they were actually two eyes, bright as stars.

“Crash!” Two arms lifted from beneath numerous bones. In the dark pit, a sinister and terrifying figure slowly sat up.

“Seems I got lost again… Where am I? Let me think!” Qin Lun pressed his fingers into the bangs on his forehead. A cold gleam showed between his fingers. “I remember now! I’m in the Phantom Demon World… the Skeleton Labyrinth! Is it… the second day already?”

Qin Lun leaned against the wall of the bloody pit for a while. When his mind felt clearer, he opened his eyes again.

“My spirit has recovered!” Qin Lun didn’t mind the bloody smell in the pit at all. He took a deep breath. To him, the foul, half-buried corpses in front of him seemed incredibly fragrant.

“Huh, this head is…” Qin Lun looked around and quickly frowned. He moved two steps through the bone fragments and picked up a small head.

Last night, when he climbed down into the bloody pit, he was too tired. He basically didn’t pay much attention to his surroundings. He just buried himself in the bone pile, left a breathing passage, and immediately fell asleep.

The small head had heavy makeup, which felt very familiar to Qin Lun. It was the seductive young girl among the new Reincarnators. She betrayed a companion, but in the end, she still couldn’t escape the Phantom Demons’ pursuit. Qin Lun guessed she was probably killed by the octopus Phantom Demon, and her remains were thrown into this bloody bone pit.

Qin Lun looked at the girl’s dull, gray, lifeless eyes. He curled his lips, tossed the head aside, pulled his legs out of the bone pile, and carefully climbed out of the pit using the metal ladder.

Approaching the three-way intersection of the corridor, the black bear’s body was still stuck in the middle of the doorway. But after a day and night, it had started to rot. Qin Lun grinned. He intentionally left the black bear’s body there to see if the room’s owner had returned.

Now it seemed that the Reincarnators who broke into the Skeleton Labyrinth might have caused significant damage to the labyrinth. Or perhaps the Phantom Demons’ arch-enemies, the Oni Warriors, had entered this labyrinth. Probably, the Phantom Demons in the labyrinth could no longer control all areas. Even the Phantom Demon base protected by the labyrinth should have fallen into chaos.

Qin Lun didn’t enter the room immediately. He cautiously summoned the black bear BEN first. After sleeping yesterday, he sold most of his recovery items to gather enough virtual currency to quickly revive the black bear. He even sold one box of Moonlight Recovery Ointment, which pained him greatly.

The big clumsy bear looked confused at the corpse near the doorway. After a summoned creature dies, its memories are partially lost. It’s a biological instinct—selective amnesia—to avoid the soul experiencing the fear of death.

Under Qin Lun’s control, the black bear pushed aside the corpse it left behind yesterday. It avoided the axe overhead and entered the room first.

After entering the room, Qin Lun had the black bear drag the two bodies away from the door. Then he closed the bronze door again. Everything in the room was exactly as he left it yesterday. It seemed no one else had entered.

Qin Lun focused his attention on the transport elevator again. His eyes flickered slightly.

“Stand on it!” Qin Lun gave the order to the black bear through his mind.

The big black bear clumsily climbed onto the steps. BEN’s nearly three-meter-tall body was too huge for this single-person transport elevator. Under Qin Lun’s strong insistence, the big clumsy bear reluctantly turned around. It squeezed in bit by bit with its rear, almost forcing itself into the transport elevator.

There were several buttons on the control panel on the left side of the transport elevator. Qin Lun didn’t understand the symbols on them, so he randomly pressed one. Looking at the obedient summoned creature in front of him, he thought for a moment. Then he took out the incomplete Gene Potion from his chest.

“Drink it!” Black bear BEN obediently opened its big mouth and drank the potion its master prepared. After drinking, the black bear sneezed twice and shook its big head. It clearly disliked the potion’s strange taste.

Qin Lun grinned amusedly. He forcefully pulled down the small lever on the transport elevator. After doing this, he quickly stepped off the steps and stared intently at the transport elevator.

After he got off, the transport elevator, which resembled a demon’s head, began to tremble slightly. It made a strange rumbling sound. The two large crystals on top, like demon eyes, also started to glow.

Finally, after a strong flash of light, the rumbling sound from the transport elevator faded. Qin Lun lowered the hand shielding his eyes. As his eyes gradually recovered from the bright light, he saw that the black bear BEN inside the transport elevator had disappeared. The transport elevator was empty again.

“The Soul connection is still there… It seems this really is a transport device!” Qin Lun’s face showed a faint smile. Every time he verified his own deductions, he felt a climax-like satisfaction and excitement.

“Next, let BEN scout the situation at the other end of the transport elevator for me!” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed. He moved several wooden boxes in front of the transport elevator. Gripping his FN-500 tightly, he watched the transport elevator vigilantly.

This was the plan Qin Lun thought of yesterday. Unlike Matthew and the other Veterans, he had a summoned creature that could go first. It could test the situation at the other end of the transport elevator.

Although Qin Lun couldn’t share vision with the black bear BEN, the Soul connection between them could ignore space. As long as the distance wasn’t too far, Qin Lun could completely sense whether the black bear was alive or dead.

“It’s been one minute. BEN didn’t die immediately… Even if there are enemies on the other side, they probably aren’t too strong.” Qin Lun closed his eyes and slowly felt the black bear’s Soul. But soon, he opened his eyes in surprise. “Huh, BEN’s Soul seems to be strengthening. But why is it filled with such a violent aura…”

Could it be the effect of that Gene Potion? But shouldn’t the Gene Potion target the body? Why did even the Soul aura change? Could it be that Phantom Demons aren’t simple mutated creatures, but rather…

Qin Lun frowned tightly. He pinched his chin and fell into deep thought.

“Huh? BEN’s Soul enhancement is actually about to break the control of the summoning contract!” After only a few minutes of thought, Qin Lun’s expression changed again. “I must recall it. Not good, it’s actually resisting the Soul Contract…”

Qin Lun grunted. He covered his face with his hand. Two streams of blood dripped from his nose. This was backlash from the summoning contract.

“Tried to gain an advantage only to suffer a loss?” A shadow flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes. “Shortening the distance might help strengthen control. BEN’s life aura hasn’t weakened; there probably are no enemies on the other side!”

Once he made up his mind, Qin Lun didn’t hesitate. He rushed onto the transport elevator in three quick steps. He pressed the same button BEN used earlier and quickly pulled down the small transport lever.

After more than ten seconds of anxious waiting, another strong flash of light appeared before Qin Lun’s eyes. But this time, he was prepared. He tightly closed his eyes, not letting the bright light dazzle him.

When Qin Lun opened his eyes again, an ancient-looking stone corridor appeared before him. The corridor was almost entirely built from large stone blocks above, below, left, and right. These stones were gray-white and engraved with ancient patterns. They resembled pictographic symbols. They looked like ancient writing and also a bit like spell patterns.

As soon as this stone corridor entered Qin Lun’s sight, a very strange feeling rose in his heart.

According to Lü Kuang, Phantom Demons came about when Oda Nobunaga of ancient Japan sold his Soul to the Phantom Demon tribe. He offered humans as sacrifices to the Phantom Demons in exchange for their technology and aid. He used this to fulfill his ambition of conquering all of Japan, and even the mortal world.

The Phantom Demons that appeared now were transformed from Oda Nobunaga’s subordinate armies. Neither the Phantom Demon tribe itself nor the Oni Clan had physically appeared in the mortal world.

But this stone corridor didn’t resemble Japanese architectural style. It was even different from any human architecture Qin Lun knew. It was highly likely an important base built in imitation of Phantom Demon style.

“Roar!” A pained roar from not far ahead interrupted his thoughts.

“BEN!” Qin Lun looked at the huge creature ahead and felt slightly surprised.

The big black bear’s eyes had turned completely blood-red. It bared its teeth fiercely, with thick drool dripping between them. It stood upright, pressing against the wall. Its bear palms sank deep into the large stones. It completely ignored Qin Lun’s call, clearly in an unconscious state.

However, what surprised Qin Lun wasn’t the black bear’s displayed violence, but the changes in its body. BEN stood nearly three meters tall originally, but now its body had swollen even larger. Its strong muscles seemed ready to burst out. Its black fur was covered in wounds, revealing bright red muscle fibers.

Qin Lun’s expression turned serious as he observed his summoned creature. He didn’t try to recall it to the Summoning Space again. He had already checked the transport elevator he was in. He discovered a fact that made him want to laugh and cry: he didn’t know which button would send him back to the original room.

“What a miscalculation!” Qin Lun shook his head with a bitter smile. This was another mistake due to lack of experience. Fortunately, the black bear was currently in a frenzy and hadn’t noticed his presence. If the recall failed, he would have to fight his own summoned creature.

Qin Lun stayed quietly in the transport elevator. His gaze remained fixed on the changes in the black bear.

“Huh!” As time passed, Qin Lun suddenly felt that BEN was changing again. The black bear’s physical condition seemed to be worsening. Its originally jet-black fur was slowly turning ashen. Its swollen muscle tissues were shrinking. Small wounds around its body slowly oozed stinking pus.

“Roar!” The black bear finally turned around. It seemed to sense its master’s presence. The blood-red color in its eyes slowly faded. It staggered toward Qin Lun.

“If I don’t recall it now, it will probably die!” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed. He recalled BEN back to the Summoning Space.

But as soon as the black bear returned to the Summoning Space, Qin Lun’s face immediately turned ugly.

“So… even I have to pay a price…”