Book 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.