Volume 3 Chapter 40: Their Own Fates

The scene before their eyes blurred for a moment. When Qin Lun and Junko could see clearly again, they found themselves at the edge of a large venue. This venue was enormous, with a main hall covering hundreds of square meters, but the situation inside was somewhat strange.

Apart from the ashes in the center of the venue, which were likely left behind by Phantom Demons after they died, the entire place appeared excessively empty, with almost no furniture or decorations. However, rows of barred rooms lined the perimeter of the venue.

“The Vincennes Zoo… Amphibian Exhibit!” Junko walked up to a sign and read the French words aloud.

“The zoo? The Phantom Demon Rumors Record mentioned this place!” Qin Lun took out the Phantom Demon Rumors Record and carefully examined the entries.

“Darn it, that Reincarnator from the Phantom Demon faction tricked us. He only said this was Paris but deliberately didn’t mention it’s a zoo connected to the Phantom Demon biological research institute.” Junko bit her lip and said, “This is the stronghold of Guildenstern, the chief scientist of the Phantom Demons, and a key battleground for the two major factions. We’d better leave quickly!”

“No need to rush. In this world, the Oni Clan’s missions mostly involve attacking Phantom Demon bases, while the Phantom Demon faction’s missions are primarily defensive. Since this place has already been taken over, Reincarnators from both factions won’t return here for a while!” Qin Lun smiled and shook his head, then took out the Time-Space Energy Collector and threw it into the time-space gate they came from.

A few minutes later, the two emerged from the venue. The Vincennes Zoo was an open-range zoo located in the Vincennes Forest, using walls and moats to create large enclosures where animals roamed freely.

However, some amphibians and birds couldn’t be kept in open settings and were housed in exhibition halls instead. This venue was one of those exhibition halls, situated in the exhibition area.

“Should we… go further in?” Junko asked with some worry.

“Don’t worry! According to the Phantom Demon Rumors Record, after the Phantom Demons arrived, they used time-space gates to make the Paris Zoo the outer area of their biological research institute. As long as we don’t enter any more time-space gates, it shouldn’t be too dangerous inside the zoo!” Qin Lun thought for a moment and then said, “Let’s go, we’ll search the exhibition area!”

Qin Lun led the way toward a dome-shaped glass exhibition hall in the very center of the exhibition area. Among all the exhibition halls, it was the largest and most beautiful, covering almost an acre. The outside of this hall was covered with thick tempered glass, making it look like a glass fortress. Inside, dense tropical plants grew, and it originally housed various animals like boa constrictors and hummingbirds.

Now, these creatures had either become food for the Phantom Demons or had turned into Phantom Demons themselves. It was uncertain whether any Reincarnators had cleared them out.

The two entered the massive exhibition hall modeled after a tropical rainforest and found many corners in complete disarray, with numerous signs of battle. The many creatures originally kept in the hall had all disappeared.

“This place has already been cleared out!” Junko said calmly, “It seems there are quite a few clever people. Should we check somewhere else?”

“Wait a moment!” Qin Lun suddenly frowned and walked toward a corner of the hall. He dragged two human corpses out from the bushes.

The two corpses were a man and a woman. The man had an Eastern face and was quite young. The woman had blond hair and blue eyes, with a pretty face. She wore a sleeveless shirt and military-style trousers. Next to her body lay a shotgun commonly used by French military police.

“This woman… is Michele, the wife of the Oni Warrior Jacques Brown!” Junko examined the body carefully and suddenly widened her eyes in shock. “Although she wasn’t as strong as Akechi Samanosuke or Jacques Brown, she was still one of the Oni Warriors in the Phantom Demon World! She actually died here. This will probably affect many major storylines in the Phantom Demon World.”

“Oh, Michele?” Qin Lun’s attention was mostly focused on the other male corpse. Hearing Junko’s words, he grew interested in the female corpse as well and crouched down to examine Michele’s body carefully.

“The other male corpse… he also feels very familiar to me?” Junko looked at the man’s swollen face and asked uncertainly.

“His name is Lü Kuang. He was a student.” Qin Lun gazed at the familiar face, his eyes flickering slightly. Since Lü Kuang had been here, that other person…

“The fatal wound on Michele is on her back, and it wasn’t caused by the claws or teeth of an animal-type Phantom Demon.” A faint smile appeared on Qin Lun’s lips. “She probably didn’t die at the hands of Phantom Demons.”

“Hmm, the closest Phantom Demon ashes around her are over ten meters away, and there are many bullet marks on the rainforest trees. Michele was French military police, an excellent shooter. After becoming an Oni Warrior, ordinary Phantom Demons would find it hard to get close to her.” Junko nodded in agreement and said worriedly, “So that means she was killed by a Reincarnator from the Phantom Demon faction…”

“Not necessarily!” Qin Lun narrowed his eyes, and the face of Shepherd Hill flashed in his mind. With the priest’s abilities, coupled with Lü Kuang’s cover, it would probably be easy to gain Michele’s trust. What followed would be a tragedy.

He strictly forbade the lambs from preying on each other, yet he himself hunted freely from the flock without any restraint. That’s the so-called Shepherd!

“These two were the lost lambs you enjoyed, weren’t they!” Qin Lun muttered in a voice barely audible.

“What did you say?” Junko looked puzzled, hearing Qin Lun mumble to himself.

“Nothing!” Qin Lun looked at the bodies of Lü Kuang and Michele. The scene of Matthew and the other two betraying each other flashed through his mind, and he suddenly felt disheartened, even losing interest in the exploration he had originally planned.

“Where should we go now?” Sensing Qin Lun’s low spirits, Junko lowered her voice and asked.

“I want to leave.” Qin Lun pondered for a while before speaking.

“Leave? You want to return to the space?” Junko quickly understood.

“Yes, but before I leave, I plan to give you a gift!” Qin Lun smiled at Junko. “Come with me!”

…

“Shhh!” The Dagger of Sin slid across Junko’s snow-white neck. Drops of blood slowly seeped from the fine cut.

“Whew!” The girl pressed her hands on her knees, breathing heavily and said weakly, “Let’s stop here. We’ve been fighting for half an hour. Even if you’re not tired, I am! Even if you’re testing my strength, there’s no need to be in such a hurry!”

“You haven’t received the prompt yet…” Qin Lun frowned slightly and muttered, “Could it be that I guessed wrong?”

“Logically, some of the Reincarnator’s combat data should be measured by the space…” Qin Lun glanced at Junko, took out his FN-500, and grinned mischievously. “Maybe you’re not injured enough!”

“Bang!” With the sound of a gunshot, blood sprayed from Junko’s shoulder.

“You… want to kill me?” Junko clenched her teeth, her bright eyes filled with confusion and pain. But the next moment, her expression changed. The confusion in her eyes turned to shock as she stared wide-eyed at Qin Lun without blinking.

“Heh, looks like it worked. The prolonged battle finally brought a qualitative change!” Qin Lun grinned. “Are you happy with this gift?”

He couldn’t voluntarily reveal his identity to Junko, but if it was leaked during combat, Shattered Starry Sky couldn’t punish him for it.

“You are… an Apostle!” Junko stared at Qin Lun in disbelief.

In her Soul Mark, a flood of prompts poured out, including a richly rewarding Apostle hunting mission. Since she was the first to discover an Apostle in the Phantom Demon World, this intel earned her an additional reward.

“Alright, since you’ve received the gift, I should go now.” Qin Lun turned and walked into the distance. “Don’t follow me, or we can’t be friends anymore!”

“You…” Junko raised her hand slightly, a flicker of reluctance in her eyes, but she didn’t know what to say.

“Oh, by the way, among that batch of newcomers, there was a punk called Xiao Dao and a newcomer named Jonathan. They still hold loyal beliefs. If they survive, you could try reaching out to them.” Qin Lun waved without looking back.

“Goodbye, Miss Junko!”

Watching Qin Lun’s receding figure, Junko’s vision slowly blurred. She looked up at the sky in a daze.

“I’m alone again.” Junko sniffled sadly and walked dejectedly into the distance.

…

“Liza, hold on!” Jonathan, bare-chested, held the baby in one arm and dragged the young woman with the other as he ran through the streets. In the distance behind them, several Blade Ashigaru leaped from the buildings on either side of the street, closing in rapidly.

Turning a corner, Jonathan’s face fell. Ahead of them, more Blade Ashigaru appeared.

“Get into the sewer!” Jonathan used his bayonet to pry open a manhole cover and climbed down with the child. “Liza, come down quickly!”

“No, Jonathan, I can’t run anymore.” Liza tucked her hair behind her ear and looked calmly at the swaddled baby in Jonathan’s arms. “Please take care of Emi. If you make it back to the real world, give her to my parents.”

“Liza, don’t give up!” Jonathan gasped in shock and tried to climb back up.

“Bang!” Liza on the surface pulled out a grenade from her bosom and pushed the manhole cover shut. “Run, Jonathan, run!”

“Boom!” Flames surged through the gaps in the manhole cover, knocking Jonathan into the filthy water of the sewer.

Jonathan staggered to his feet, staring blankly at the manhole cover above. His hands loosened, and the swaddled baby fell to the ground, revealing the purplish, stiff face of a baby girl.

The blond young man trembled, covering his face with his hands. Tears streamed through his fingers. Emi had actually died long ago, but Jonathan never dared to tell Liza.

“Liza, I’m sorry.” Jonathan staggered deeper into the dark sewer.

…

“Die, just die!” Xiao Dao’s eyes burned with a frantic red light as he tightly squeezed a Phantom Demon’s neck.

The punk’s intestines dragged from his waist, and his lower body was gone. He rolled in the grass with the severely wounded Phantom Demon, splattering the lawn crimson with blood and flesh.