Volume 4 Chapter 1: The Combat Hero

“Clang!” As Qin Lun opened his eyes and raised his hand, a metallic sound came from his body.

“Shackles?” He looked at the handcuffs on his wrists and frowned slightly.

Qin Lun raised his head and looked around, a faint green glow flickering in his eyes. The Moonlit Elf’s Night Vision Ability turned the dark night into day.

This was a dark and filthy prison cell. The stone bricks on the floor were cold and damp, the chill seeping deep into his bones. The blackened walls gave off an indescribable stench. Near the wall stood a single bed, its iron legs covered in dark red rust. The thin cotton quilt on the bed was torn, revealing clumps of blackened, matted cotton. In the corner was a latrine pit, surrounded by clusters of black and yellow filth that made anyone who saw it feel sick.

“I hate this place!” Qin Lun made no attempt to hide his irritation. His past experiences as a prisoner had given him an extraordinary aversion to any arrangements that restricted his freedom.

He stood up and took two steps, then stumbled. Looking down, he saw a heavy shackle around his ankle, connected by an iron chain fixed to the wall. The range only allowed him to move within half of the Prison Cell Area.

A strange feeling welled up in Qin Lun’s heart. The green glow in his eyes slowly turned red, and a low, beast-like growl came from his throat. Just as he was about to erupt, a ripple like water waves spread across the dark wall opposite him, and a scene resembling a black-and-white film appeared.

The content of this silent black-and-white film was about a war. There were military formations wearing steel helmets, marching in neat rows, stepping in unison through a parade square; forests of towering artillery barrels on towed howitzers; massive warships cutting through the waves in the ocean…

Fighter planes swept across the sky like dark clouds; bombers dropped bombs on the city below like hens laying eggs; tanks rumbled forward, crossing trenches; a battlefield plain covered with rotting corpses and raging fire…

It wasn’t until Qin Lun saw in the film that short, thin man with a small mustache who was passionate on the podium; that old gentleman in a wheelchair; that fat man in a wool coat; that politician in a wide-brimmed military hat, always holding a large pipe…

That he snapped back to reality, surprised, and muttered softly, “The Second World War from Earth’s old century?”

Some scenes in the film differed from the history he had read, but it was clear that it depicted the Second World War. The film played quickly, reaching the end in just over ten minutes. Then, rows of prompt information that only Apostles could understand appeared.

World Setting: Parallel World of Earth

Time: January 25, 1945, 11:00 AM

Location: Military Police Prison, Munich, Germany

Main Quest: Heracles

Difficulty: Sergeant Major – Lieutenant Colonel Rank

Quest Hint: This is a team quest. Apostles will receive assistance from Plot Characters. Specific content is unknown. Quest rewards will be distributed upon return based on the Apostle’s Contribution Points. This Main Quest has several hidden branches. Completing any hidden branch will be considered as achieving the quest objective.

Warning: The difficulty of hidden branches in the Main Quest ranges from Sergeant Major to Lieutenant Colonel rank. With the assistance of Plot Characters, the quest difficulty can be considered one rank lower. The Sergeant Major level applies to first-tier Apostles, while the Lieutenant Colonel level applies to second-tier senior Apostles or third-tier Junior Apostles. Please be cautious when accepting quests. Failure to complete any hidden branch of the Main Quest will deduct 55 points of Soul Lifespan from the Apostle.

“Another Quest World dominated by humans!”

Qin Lun’s attention was not on the prompt information from the Death Notice. Instead, he murmured to himself. This was already the third alternate world he had entered. All three worlds were dominated by humans and had some connection to Earth, seemingly based on Earth’s history or mythology.

Apostles themselves were merely Soul entities. Their external Law Body could transform into any form. In a sense, they could become any life form and enter any non-human-dominated time-space plane. For example: the world of the Mechanical Clan, the silicon-based world, the cosmic starry sky…

“Could it be because I was originally human that the Shattered Starry Sky assigned me to Quest Worlds with humans as the main body? Or is it because my strength and Apostle level are not high enough to access other high-tech and High-Magic Worlds?”

Qin Lun’s gaze flickered as he fell into deep thought, momentarily forgetting the filthy and squalid environment of the dark cell.

“Clatter!” Just as Qin Lun was thinking, the sound of unlocking came from the cell door.

“Clean him up, then take him to the interrogation room!” A few sentences in heavy Munich-accented German came from the doorway.

Several tall and burly German Army soldiers rushed into the cell, unlocked Qin Lun’s shackles, unceremoniously grabbed him by the arms, and hauled him out of the door. Suddenly moving from the pitch-black cell to the bright corridor, Qin Lun instinctively squinted, and the green light in his eyes quietly faded away.

The German Army soldiers took him to a shower room. When they unlocked his handcuffs and ordered Qin Lun to wash himself, he realized that the dirty, ragged prison uniform he was wearing was actually a set of gray German Army military attire.

Was the deceased character from the plot also a German soldier? Qin Lun stood naked under the showerhead, hot water flowing down his cheeks and broad chest, washing away the grime from his body.

Qin Lun immersed his consciousness into the residual memory data of this body…

Gerthard Heinrich: twenty-eight years old, born in Obernkirchen, Hannover. His father was a rural farmer. He enlisted in 1936. During the war, he received short-term officer training at the Munich Officer School. He currently belonged to the German Army Mountain Hunter unit, First Division, Alpine Special Brigade, as a Second Lieutenant platoon leader.

Gerthard was a pure German man, with a calm and resilient personality, skilled marksmanship, and outstanding military skills. The reason for his imprisonment was getting involved in a brawl among soldiers at a bar. The specific details of the incident were unclear, possibly because Gerthard had drunk a lot at the time, leading to memory loss after death.

However, Gerthard’s cause of death was quite clear: this physically robust German officer had committed suicide. It seemed his parents, wife, and children had all died in Allied Forces bombings. Upon receiving the tragic news, the German Second Lieutenant drank heavily at the bar, which led to the brawl.

After being imprisoned, Gerthard felt he had lost his military honor and purpose in life. In deep despair, he chose to commit suicide. Strangely, the method Gerthard used to kill himself did not appear in the memories, as if he simply decided to die and quietly passed away.

After finishing washing, Qin Lun turned off the water tap and looked at the wet face in the mirror. The German man in the mirror had a high forehead, a prominent nose, thin cheeks, and lips pressed together tightly like a blade. In the deep-set eye sockets, those sharp, pale gray eyes reminiscent of an Owl were striking.

This was a rigid, resilient, cruel, and indifferent man! The corner of Qin Lun’s mouth lifted slightly into a strange curve. He enjoyed playing such a role.

“Second Lieutenant, here are your military uniforms!” When Qin Lun came out of the shower room wrapped in a towel, a German military policeman handed him a set of brand-new military attire. “Please get dressed immediately. The Lieutenant Colonel is waiting for you!”

After putting on the military uniform, the German military policeman led him through several corridors into a sealed interrogation room. Qin Lun noticed that these corridors had no windows at all; air circulation basically relied on exhaust fans. He guessed this place was probably underground or inside a mountain.

The interrogation room was empty except for a simple desk. A few meters in front of the desk stood a wooden stool. Behind the desk stood a German staff officer.

This officer was burly, estimated to be over six feet four inches tall, which was more than 190 centimeters. He had a huge scar running from his chin to his temple on the left side of his face. His sharp eyes stared intently at Qin Lun as he entered the room.

Qin Lun’s pupils contracted. The Gerthard he possessed was a pure German soldier who cared about almost nothing except war and weapons, but his mind held the name of this officer.

Otto Skorzeny!

Countless dazzling accolades surrounded Skorzeny: Germany’s combat hero, commander of the Oranienburg Special Forces, the miracle rescuer of Mussolini…

He was responsible for Operation Iron Fist to stop the Hungarian dictator Hollthy from betraying the Axis Powers. He sent commandos disguised as U.S. troops to infiltrate the Allied Forces rear, causing significant disruption and impact. He was once called “the most dangerous man in Europe” by British Prime Minister Churchill.

Qin Lun took two steps forward, straightened his back, lifted his head and chest just as Gerthard would have in his memories, and faced Skorzeny with a cold expression.

“Second Lieutenant Gerthard Heinrich, once awarded the Iron Cross Medal for exceptional bravery in combat!” Skorzeny pointed to the wooden stool, then turned and sat back at the desk, picking up Gerthard’s file to examine.

“Do you remember how you ended up in prison?” Skorzeny’s sharp eyes fixed on Qin Lun.

“I don’t remember!” Qin Lun replied expressionlessly.

“You started a violent brawl in a bar full of officers. Among the more than twenty people you injured, seven were severely wounded, five of whom have died. This includes two Wehrmacht lieutenants and one SS major!” Skorzeny’s mouth twitched slightly as he read Gerthard’s file.

According to the recollection of the military police officer who recorded this information, they dispatched two squads of armed military police to subdue Gerthard, but all were defeated by the Edelweiss-wearing Mountain Division Second Lieutenant. In the end, he collapsed drunk on the ground, and they tied him up and brought him to the Military Police Headquarters.

After Gerthard woke up, he seemed to realize he might not escape a court-martial and felt he had lost his military honor. At the same time, his relatives had all passed away, leaving him with nothing to live for, which was why he chose to commit suicide in his cell.

The thought flashed through his mind, but Qin Lun remained tight-lipped, offering no defense for himself.

“Second Lieutenant Heinrich, you were once Germany’s combat hero! I can understand your pain, but I do not appreciate your choice!” Skorzeny tapped the desk with his finger, stood up, leaned on the desk, and glared down at Qin Lun. “Let me be direct. I have a mission that requires individuals with exceptionally strong combat abilities and unique skills. Will you atone for your crime through meritorious service? Or will you rot in this cell?”

“Does Germany still need a sinner like me?” When he spoke again, Qin Lun found his own voice unusually hoarse.