Death Notice

Qin Lun quietly looked at the huge building in front of him. This building was located in the northern district of Devil’s Horn’s city center, and its shape was like a bell tower. Below it, a fan-shaped arch faced the street. Above the arch was a miniature white jade colonnade, giving it a somewhat religious Gothic church style.

Inside the colonnade stood some scaled-down statues of creatures in a row. There was an Archdemon with wings on its back, a Western flying dragon, a solemn-looking human Knight, and also an Elf archer carrying a longbow and wearing a hooded cloak. Above the jade colonnade was an irregular cloud, but inside this cloud were vague scenes of strong winds, lightning, and heavy rain, as if a huge storm was brewing.

This huge bell tower building was the Chaos Alliance headquarters in Devil’s Horn. At its entrance stood two Iron Golems over three meters tall. These Iron Golems had a certain level of artificial intelligence. Although their movements were slow, their defense was very strong. If both of them blocked the headquarters entrance, even if a High-Rank Apostle attacked, they couldn’t break through quickly.

Looking from the entrance into the bell tower building, one could see the spacious hall inside. On both sides of the hall, there were several service windows. Behind them was a stone staircase leading to the upper floors of the building.

However, Qin Lun’s attention was now focused on an orange-yellow portal in the center of the hall. This oval portal was one of the gateways to the Chaos Alliance’s Demiplane Trading Floor.

Two days earlier, Qin Lun had gathered all the other Serial Killers, except Firecracker Rand, at the Villa, and sold them the information about the Metropolis Domination War. After receiving this information, the other three Serial Killers made different choices.

Shepherd Hill regretfully said he would not participate in the Metropolis Domination War. It wasn’t that he couldn’t complete his Class Change in time, but because the early-stage Prayer Pastor had too weak attack power. Its buff skills were mostly team-oriented and very Mana Value consuming, making it really unsuitable for the Metropolis Domination War.

Disciple Hansen firmly stated he would definitely participate in the Metropolis Domination War and paid Qin Lun ten thousand Shattered Crystals for the information. However, he didn’t need the Elven Race’s internal Invitation Letter, saying only that he would find a way to get an external Invitation Letter.

Hansen had already completed his Career Quest and changed his class to Viking Warrior. He planned to use the external Invitation Letter opportunity to familiarize himself with this combat class during the selection matches. The Viking Warrior was an all-weapon warrior type. To utilize the Viking Warrior’s full capabilities, The Disciple needed to fight continuously and master various offensive and defensive equipment.

Finally, the Elven Race Invitation Letter was taken by Grant. Besides the ten thousand Shattered Crystals information fee, Joker promised that if he survived, he would return 500 City Points to the Elven Race, exactly offsetting Qin Lun’s fifty thousand Shattered Crystal debt. It wasn’t that Grant couldn’t come up with fifty thousand Shattered Crystals now, but to participate in the Metropolis Domination War, he needed to be fully prepared. The ten thousand Shattered Crystals information fee was manageable, but adding another fifty thousand Shattered Crystals to buy the Invitation Letter would really strain his resources, so of course he had to owe it first.

He had considered getting an external card, but he was different from Hansen. The Disciple was a hired killer who had accumulated many points at the Mercenary Guild. Moreover, the Viking Warrior class required combat experience.

Meanwhile, Joker Grant’s current combat class leaned toward MT, called the Armament Attacher. It could use its own parasitic virus to form external attachments. After many fights, his physical recovery was very slow. Before the Domination War, the fewer fights he had, the better he could maintain his condition.

Owing the debt was fine. Being able to receive a total of twenty thousand Shattered Crystals in information fees made Qin Lun quite satisfied. Besides, he didn’t think Joker would die in the Domination War. That mask skill of his was too abnormal and didn’t consume Mana Value. In a way, Joker’s abilities were more suitable for this kind of Metropolis Domination War than his own.

After watching for a while at the Chaos Alliance headquarters entrance, Qin Lun stepped inside.

“This is the Chaos Alliance headquarters. Please show your Identity Plate, sir!” When he reached the entrance, he was blocked by one of the Iron Golems. The Golem stretched out its thick iron arm toward him. On its forearm was a small groove, just right for an Apostle to insert their Identity Plate.

Qin Lun’s eyes flashed. He was not a Chaos Alliance Apostle, and his Identity Plate number was not registered in the Alliance’s records. However, before coming here, he had already asked Beruses how to enter the Chaos Alliance.

Qin Lun took out the Demon Clan Invitation Letter with the Scorching Plain depicted on the front and handed it right under the Iron Golem’s eyes. The Soul fire in the Iron Golem’s eyes flickered slightly. A red light swept over the Invitation Letter like a scanner. Then, it respectfully half-bowed and returned to its original post.

“Really great puppets!” Qin Lun’s eyes were full of admiration. Of course, he wasn’t praising the Iron Golem itself, but the person who made it.

The three major Apostle Alliances in Devil’s Horn were all similar in scale. The Chaos Alliance had over two thousand Professional Apostles under it, and hundreds of teams, big and small. Although the Alliance structure was quite loose and had little binding force on members, with such a large operation, there were naturally many daily trivial matters.

At this time, the hall was bustling with people coming and going, very lively.

After entering the hall, Qin Lun went straight toward the Demiplane portal. Those who could enter the Chaos Alliance headquarters could naturally enter the Demiplane Trading Floor, so no one stopped Qin Lun.

The Demiplane portal was about five meters tall and roughly two and a half meters wide. For Apostle races of any body size, such a large portal was basically sufficient. Taking one step into the portal, the scene in front of Qin Lun changed. A huge square appeared before him.

The Chaos Alliance’s Demiplane Trading Floor was overall circular, covered by an orange-yellow protective shield. Around the square were distributed rings of low shops, three layers in total, forming three concentric shop ring areas.

Most of these shops were made of wood and stone, with a low structure, no more than three stories high at most. Their upturned eaves and bracket sets were very different from Devil’s Horn’s architectural style, instead having an ancient Chinese charm. Most shops had unique wooden signs hanging from their door eaves, making the shop type clear at a glance.

For example: some shops’ wooden signs had armor patterns carved on them, making it obvious it was a shop selling protective gear. Shops carved with swords were certainly weapon shops. Shops carved with bows and guns naturally sold long-range attack weapons… and so on, very simple and clear.

The shop assistants inside were mostly Succubus and Rakshasi Woman with enchanting looks and professional smiles, making people feel good upon seeing them.

Curious, Qin Lun approached a weapon shop. The Succubus inside immediately came forward smiling and asked across the counter, “Apostle sir, what kind of weapon do you need?”

“What kind of weapons do you have?” Qin Lun asked with great interest.

The Succubus was slightly taken aback. Professional Apostles were different from ordinary Apostles. Apostles who came to the shop usually had clear goals. They had a general idea of the weapons they needed and wouldn’t buy blindly. Rarely would a Professional Apostle ask like Qin Lun did.

However, most Succubi employed in the Demiplane Trading Floor underwent strict training. Even if they had many doubts in their hearts, they wouldn’t ask directly. The Succubus turned around, took a catalog from the back, and placed it in front of Qin Lun.

“Respected sir, the goods in our shop are basically all included in this catalog. You can look first!” the Succubus said respectfully. “If your time is tight, please give me some general information, and I will select suitable products for you.”

Qin Lun nodded noncommittally and opened the catalog. After browsing for a while, he pointed to a sword-type weapon in the catalog and asked, “The catalog introduction is too general. Can you let me see this sword specifically?”

“Of course, please wait a moment!” The Succubus turned and entered the shop’s back area. Soon, she brought out a sword case containing the purple long sword Qin Lun had asked to see.

Qin Lun’s eyes flashed, and he was about to take the sword when the Succubus immediately reached out to stop him. Under his surprised gaze, she smilingly handed Qin Lun a monocle, then personally passed the purple long sword into his hand.

Qin Lun put on the monocle, and his eyes lit up immediately. The monocle’s lens displayed all the characteristics of the purple long sword, including skill introductions and additional physical attributes. It even had detailed information on whether the purple long sword could advance further, the equipment materials needed for advancement, and even the success rate.

These additional attribute data were quite similar to the several attribute data Qin Lun had set in his Death Notice. This monocle was actually a special item that could identify Apostle equipment.

At this moment, Qin Lun somewhat understood why Kelly had been so sure back then that the Gladiator’s Leather Armor was Dark Gold Quality. He originally thought the female Apostle had rich experience in identifying equipment, but now he realized it was probably the work of such an identification monocle.

In the monocle’s data, the last item was the price of the purple long sword, along with a mark indicating it was an unsold item. It reminded the buyer in red font that unsold items could not be placed into Storage Space or taken out of the Demiplane Trading Floor.

So that’s how it was! Qin Lun smiled lightly. No wonder the Succubus in front of him wasn’t at all afraid he would kill and rob. This kind of law seal was the best protection method itself, even more secure than the high technology at Devil’s Horn’s Auction House.

Seeing this, Qin Lun largely understood how the Demiplane Trading Floor operated. He put the purple long sword back into the sword case. Instead, he pointed at the monocle on his face and asked, “What’s the price for this thing?”

“Respected Apostle sir, the Equipment Identification Monocle costs three thousand Shattered Crystals each. However, please note it cannot identify items from the Legendary Domain!” The Succubus could now tell that the Apostle in front of her was a newbie, but she still maintained her smile and good professional demeanor.

“Hmm, you probably figured out that this is my first time entering the Demiplane Trading Floor. I didn’t come specifically to buy a long sword!” Qin Lun said with a smile. “Can you tell me which shop here can provide gun upgrade services?”

“No problem, it’s my honor to serve you!” the Succubus said sweetly. “If you want to upgrade guns, please go to the outermost third ring of the trading floor. Personally, I suggest you go to the third blacksmith shop from the far left on the third ring. Master Francis is the most outstanding gun forging master in the Chaos Alliance!”

“Hmm! Also… this Equipment Identification Monocle, I’ll take it!” Qin Lun nodded with satisfaction.

“Thank you for your patronage!” The Succubus got a brand new Equipment Identification Monocle for Qin Lun and took out a small payment device.

Qin Lun took out his Identity Plate and inserted it into the payment device. However, when entering the payment amount, he added an extra one hundred Shattered Crystals.

“Thank you for your generosity!” The Succubus bowed upon seeing this, her smile becoming even sweeter. One hundred Shattered Crystals was equivalent to more than a month’s rent for her.