Death Notice-Book 3: Chapter 23: Landing on the Island
The Three Eyes holding the blade wheel was treacherous, or perhaps its combat habits from life took over. Its serrated blade swept past Qin Lun’s neck from both sides, severing his carotid arteries.
Blood sprayed like arrows from both sides of Qin Lun’s neck. Yet, he didn’t dodge at all. He even tilted his head slightly, seemingly eager to push his throat onto the blade. The violently erupting blood instantly smeared the red third eyes of both Phantom Demons, blurring their vision.
Though the Three Eyes could still sense the enemy’s body heat in their third eyes, their remaining combat instincts already wrote him off as harmless. Trusting their momentum, they raced past him. Their feet planted, ready to leap at the other enemy.
Qin Lun sneered coldly, twisting his upper body. The twin arcs of blood spraying from his neck cut beautifully through the air, like water jets thrown across a lawn.
The doctor spread his arms. Bang! Eight pea-sized pellets of light burst from the FN-500’s wide 25mm barrel. They formed a small ba-gua pattern, embedding themselves into the neck of the blade-wielding Three Eyes. The shot was point-blank. The Phantom Demon’s slender neck couldn’t handle such force. Its head was blown clean off.
At the same moment, there was a thud! Qin Lun’s Dagger of Sin plunged deep into the back of the head belonging to the Three Eyes wielding the Horse-Cutting Saber. But this Phantom Demon didn’t die instantly. Its tough life force let it twist around for a counterattack. Only when this desperate thrust hit air, did it collapse to the ground. It twitched briefly before crumbling into ash.
After killing the two Three Eyes, Qin Lun finally stumbled. Waves of weakness washed over him. Glancing at his status bar on the Death Notice, his Health Points were down to half… and still slowly decreasing.
Qin Lun frantically pulled out the Moonlight Recovery Ointment, smearing a thick glob onto his wounds. Only then did the decrease in his Health Points stop. After tending to his injuries, the doctor peered ahead. A faint, satisfied smile touched his lips.
Xiao Dao hadn’t failed him. The narrow alleyway frustrated the Fuyue wielding the spiked club. Its attacks couldn’t land on the nimble street kid.
A straight overhead strike was too simple; the attack area too small. Like using a sword to smash ants, it couldn’t touch Xiao Dao dancing around it. A wide horizontal sweep was awkward. The club, plus the Fuyue’s arm length, was too wide. It barely completed the motion, scraping only powder from the alley walls, never touching Xiao Dao.
But as Qin Lun finished the two Three Eyes, the Fuyue itself seemed to sense danger. It grew visibly agitated. It even started dragging its spiked club backwards, barreling towards both of them.
Qin Lun’s eyes flashed. He lunged forward, grabbing Xiao Dao and pulling him towards the alley exit. They scrambled towards the mouth of the alley. Only when nearly out did the doctor twist around and raise his arm. The FN-500, cooldown ended, roared once more.
Bang! This time, Qin Lun didn’t aim for the head. He targeted the Fuyue’s unprotected ankle. Its head was covered by a full metal mask. The FN-500 was powerful, but it couldn’t guarantee a one-shot kill.
The Fuyue crashed heavily to the ground. It struggled but couldn’t rise, only able to watch helplessly as its prey escaped within sight. Lacking a mouth, its rage was clear from how it pounded the earth with its club, cratering the ground.
“Qin Doctor, why—”
“No time! That brute isn’t taken down quickly. Staying is too dangerous. We move!” Qin Lun cut Xiao Dao off sharply, as if reading his mind. He waved dismissively. “This Phantom Demon Pearl is yours. One each!”
Xiao Dao looked at the pearl in his hand. His eyes flashed. Without argument, he silently pocketed it.
Qin Lun nodded, satisfied. Without Xiao Dao, he could have called his Black Bear, Ben, to stall the Fuyue. But since Xiao Dao had proven his worth, he deserved payment.
Of course, the pearl he gave Xiao Dao wasn’t from a Three Eyes. It was loot from a Blade Ashigaru earlier. For a newbie Reincarnator, a Blade Ashigaru pearl was the same as a Three Eyes pearl. But for Qin Lun, the Three Eyes pearl held seven Remnant Souls. That was more valuable.
Leaving the alley, they pressed on towards the Seine River. The closer they got to the riverbank, the thicker the piles of corpses littered the roadside. Muffled shouts and the booms of gunfire echoed sporadically around them. The Phantom Demon warships hovering over Paris seemed sparser.
But this wasn’t because Parisian helicopters had shot them down. On the contrary, they now controlled an even larger airspace, making them seem scattered by comparison.
The Seine River cuts through central Paris. Soon, they reached an embankment on the north shore. Gazing at a bridge not far off, Qin Lun frowned and stopped.
“Qin Doctor, aren’t we crossing the bridge?” Xiao Dao asked quietly, scanning their surroundings cautiously.
“No. I’m going in the water.” Qin Lun thought for a moment before replying slowly. “But this is a gamble! If Phantom Demons are underwater? That’s deadlier than facing a blockade on a bridge. I won’t help you then. Think it through!”
Xiao Dao blinked, surprised. He didn’t speak. Instead, he launched himself over the stone balustrade in one motion, splashing into the Seine River. His action gave his answer. Qin Lun gave a small smile and jumped in after him.
The Seine wasn’t clear. The May water temperature was cool. Hugging the embankment, they swam slowly towards Île de la Cité. From their spot, they were already less than two kilometers from the island. Twenty minutes of swimming would get them there.
Qin Lun’s choice was right. Aquatic Phantom Demons hadn’t yet appeared in the Seine. In contrast, most bridges over the river leading to Île de la Cité did have small patrols of Phantom Demons on them. Some bridges were littered with smoldering, destroyed armored vehicles. Soldiers inside had been trapped by Phantom Demons blocking both ends, dying right there.
As they neared Île de la Cité, Phantom Demons on the nearby bridges became faintly visible. The pair held their breath, moving with extreme caution. They slowed down, eventually crawling stealthily ashore at a remote corner of the island.
The state of Île de la Cité surprised them both. This beautiful jewel of the Seine now looked like hell. Tourist bodies littered the streets. The Phantom Demons here seemed to follow a different plan: kill everything human, with no sign of capturing live prisoners.
The historic landmarks and scenic spots, once belonging to artistic masters, looked bizarrely transformed. Their familiar facades were gone. Qin Lun and Xiao Dao clearly saw the buildings’ outer walls coated in a layer of flesh and blood.
This fresh, blood-dripping substance was overwhelmingly human. Only deeper down could you see the brownish Phantom Demon tissue. It was obvious. The island’s Phantom Demons were using their own tissue as a base, nourishing it with human flesh. They were turning this into their main base for Paris.
“Qin Doctor, do we still go deeper?” Xiao Dao asked grimly, staring at the horrifying scene.
Qin Lun shrank into a hidden corner outside a building, frowning in deep thought. A rare internal conflict gripped the doctor. From the evidence here, this place would surely become a major Phantom Demon camp, likely full of small Time-Space Nodes. But the surrounding environment was brutal.
Every second on the island was dancing on a knife’s edge. Discovery meant almost certain death, becoming fodder for these fleshy buildings. For the first time, Qin Lun hesitated, torn between raw survival instinct and raging curiosity.
“I’m staying. But you… you can’t go any further,” Qin Lun decided after a minute’s contemplation. He sighed, pulling out two more Phantom Demon Pearls for Xiao Dao. His eyes narrowed slightly. “Do me one thing. These two pearls are yours.”
“What thing? Is it dangerous?” Xiao Dao frowned, not immediately taking the pearls.
“Danger, sure. But do exactly as I say, and you’ve got a shot at escaping.” Qin Lun’s eyes gleamed. He leaned closer and whispered instructions into Xiao Dao’s ear.
After hearing Qin Lun, Xiao Dao hesitated for a moment. Finally, gritting his teeth, he nodded.
Qin Lun’s mouth curved into a brief grin, revealing his white teeth. “I’ll be watching from a distance. If I see you take these without doing what I told you…? I’ll find you. And when I do? Don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“Understandable!” Xiao Dao nodded briskly. He took the two pearls. Added to the one he got earlier, he now possessed the three keys for his Main Quest’s primary condition. Now, if he just evaded capture for seven days, he’d complete one Main Quest and return to the space.
Watching Xiao Dao’s retreating figure disappear, Qin Lun gave a slight shrug. He then turned and ran towards Notre-Dame de Paris. He truly had no time to babysit Xiao Dao. Besides, not being a Reincarnator, he couldn’t bind him with a contract. If Xiao Dao truly ran, Qin Lun really couldn’t force him back.
Île de la Cité wasn’t big. Though Qin Lun moved cautiously, pausing often, it still took only minutes to spot Notre-Dame de Paris’s massive façade piercing the sky ahead. There stood its two iconic bell towers.
Qin Lun ducked into a patch of bushes within the square opposite the cathedral. He settled down to wait. He needed Xiao Dao to make his move first before acting.
Time crawled. Even someone as controlled as Qin Lun started to feel anxious. Unwanted thoughts surfaced. Just then, however, a clamor erupted faintly from the far end of the island.
Seeing flames and thick black smoke rise against the sky in the distance, Qin Lun let out a silent breath. Xiao Dao had succeeded. But the doctor didn’t rush out yet. He lingered, watching until several Phantom Demons burst from Notre-Dame de Paris itself, racing towards the disturbance. Only then did Qin Lun decisively spring up and sprint full tilt straight for the cathedral entrance.
The main facade of Notre-Dame de Paris famously has three portals. The large central door hung slightly ajar. Qin Lun eased it open soundlessly and slid inside.
The instant he entered, Qin Lun’s eyes lit up. A slow, triumphant smile spread across his face.
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Book 3: Chapter 23: Landing on the Island
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