Death Notice-Book 3: Chapter 6: Settling Down
After walking out of the glazed hall, Qin Lun and Didi were greeted by two enormous warrior statues.
The two statues stood facing each other, twenty meters apart, each over fifty meters tall. They stood against a thick, heavy city wall, clad in armor while holding knight greatswords and tower shields. The two knight swords met at the center above their heads, forming a magnificent city gate.
Through the gate, a wide road paved with blue stone slabs stretched toward the city center. Qin Lun walked along the blue stone road into the gate, and the noises of the city began to fill his ears.
Turning to survey the area near the city gate, a knowing smile appeared on Qin Lun’s lips. Even the young goblin Didi’s face showed a look of realization.
The new Apostles who had gathered and entered Devil’s Horn early had not gone far. They were surrounded by a group of Apostles in a corner not far from the gate.
Although these Apostles wore warm smiles, they clearly had ill intentions. They might have been recruiting newcomers into their teams, trying to squeeze benefits from the new arrivals, or perhaps, like the old demon Beruses, persuading the new Apostles to pledge their service to a ruling race.
Even though they did not resort to violence, the weak newcomers found it difficult to break free from the encirclement. Without paying some price, it seemed they would be entangled for a long time. These people were very perceptive, and there might have been informants in the glazed hall who could instantly identify these clusters of new Apostles entering Devil’s Horn.
Although provocation in Devil’s Horn equated to starting a fight, veteran Apostles felt no burden when pressuring newcomers. After all, they had gone through the same experience.
Of course, not all the new Apostles were trapped. Some, like Qin Lun, likely anticipated this situation and avoided the harassment beforehand.
In fact, there were city guards stationed near the gate who watched everything but did not intervene. None of the new Apostles cried out loudly for help from the city guards. They may have been less cautious than Qin Lun, but that did not mean they were fools.
No one who became a Formal Apostle could possibly be a fool. Shouting for help would indeed summon the city guards immediately, and the Apostles surrounding them would let them go at once. After all, absorbing new Apostles was the foundation of the Apostle City’s enduring existence. Since Devil’s Horn promised to shelter new Apostles, it would never renege on its reputation.
However, no new Apostle would willingly sacrifice their dignity over such minor harassment. If they had to call for the city guards over this small embarrassment, how could they ever become Apostles or carry out Otherworld Missions? They might as well cut their own throats to avoid living in shame.
Qin Lun, wearing a Demon Mask and leading the young goblin at the city gate, drew no attention. His appearance did not resemble that of a new Apostle, so no one bothered him.
“Master, did you foresee this situation?” Didi whispered sneakily.
Qin Lun shook his head with a faint smile, remaining silent. He was not a deity; how could he have predicted such specific details? Before leaving, the Serial Killer noticed that the Demon Clan no longer followed the new Apostles, which reminded him of his own experience when he first entered Handan Prison.
Back then, four vicious prisoners died instantly in the shower room of Handan Prison. Qin Lun, or rather Joey Foster, never even used his prison bunk and ended up in the prison’s intensive care unit, only returning to his cell three months later.
“Honorable Apostle, need a ride?” A booming voice sounded from behind Qin Lun and Didi.
Qin Lun turned and saw a middle-aged “short one.” This short man had broad shoulders and a thick build, resembling a square block. He had a full beard on his chin and a large nose, as if God had carelessly stuck a lump of mud in the middle of his face. By human aesthetic standards, he was ugly.
“Honorable sir, I’ll take you anywhere in this city for just 3 Shattered Crystals!” the middle-aged short man said with a respectful and cautious smile.
Although the Apostle City had strict laws protecting the Sapient Races serving the Apostles, those in service roles were still in an extremely vulnerable position. Working in Devil’s Horn was a high-reward but also high-risk venture.
Looking at this middle-aged short man, Qin Lun’s mind stirred, recalling another ruling race in Devil’s Horn—the Dwarf Clan.
“3 Shattered Crystals is too much! Our place is very close to the city center. 1 Shattered Crystal is enough!” Before Qin Lun could speak, the young goblin jumped out from behind and began fulfilling his duties as an attendant.
Qin Lun shifted his gaze from the two arguing figures and observed the buildings lining both sides of the blue stone road. Most buildings in Devil’s Horn were relatively low, rarely exceeding five stories, mostly between two and three floors.
Perhaps due to the sparse population and vast land, these buildings covered large areas. The alleys connecting to the blue stone road were about seven to eight meters wide, with neat pedestrian paths in front and stone-covered underground water channels.
Most buildings along the blue stone road served commercial purposes. Those closer to the gate included many guild receptions, carriage services, and possibly recruitment offices for Apostle teams. Many of those surrounding the new Apostles were likely recruiters.
Further from the gate, Qin Lun vaguely saw various named taverns, inns, potion shops, and equipment stores. Through the shop windows, he noticed flashes of extremely advanced technology inside, even including 3D holographic projections for product introductions.
What surprised Qin Lun was that, aside from doors and windows, the outer walls of these buildings were not made of wood or stone but metal. Although these walls were painted with dyes and lime to prevent glare from reflections, the exposed parts clearly had a metallic sheen.
The architectural style of the entire city had a medieval stone castle feel, but the stone structures were replaced by metal buildings, while the ancient furnishings were filled with ultra-modern sci-fi technology.
Ancient architectural style combined with technologically advanced interior fittings! Qin Lun tapped his temple with a finger, a strange expression appearing on his face.
By this time, the bargaining between the middle-aged gnome named Ram and Didi reached its conclusion. They finally settled on hiring Ram’s carriage for the price of 2 Shattered Crystals.
When Ram brought the carriage over from nearby, Qin Lun was surprised to find it was indeed an imitation medieval carriage, but it was pulled by two mechanical horses powered by Magic Crystals.
Speechless, Qin Lun sat in the open carriage and closed his eyes to rest. Meanwhile, Didi and Ram seemed to have developed a rapport and chatted throughout the journey. However, Qin Lun knew the young goblin was gathering information.
Didi was clever and mentally mature. Qin Lun’s earlier explanation quickly made the young goblin realize that his master could not expose his ignorance as a new Apostle in public. Therefore, it fell to Didi to chat with the coachman Ram and obtain some basic knowledge about Devil’s Horn.
Ram was very talkative. Along the way, he not only introduced the various shops on both sides of the road but also described some important areas within the city.
If Beruses and the demon girl’s earlier descriptions of Devil’s Horn were the skeleton, then the fragmented information in Ram’s words added flesh and blood to that skeleton, giving Qin Lun a vague general impression of Devil’s Horn.
From Ram’s words, he also learned about the cost of living in Devil’s Horn. In this Apostle City, average daily expenses for an ordinary Apostle, including accommodation and meals, amounted to about 20 Shattered Crystals, totaling 600 per month.
For Apostles like Qin Lun, who undertook an Otherworld Mission every half month with a basic reward of 2000 Shattered Crystals, this was not particularly high consumption. However, for those Apostles who only undertook an Otherworld Mission once every six months, it was somewhat unbearable.
To live normally in Devil’s Horn, undertaking an Otherworld Mission every two months was the minimum requirement. Alternatively, taking on more urban employment tasks was another option. It seemed this was likely Devil’s Horn’s qualification standard for categorizing resident Apostles.
No wonder some Apostles chose to live in their original Floating Cities. Aside from preferring their original cities, the inability to afford the high cost of living in the Apostle City was probably another reason.
These Apostles only came to the Apostle City for trade when they had accumulated some surplus equipment and items, following the periodically opened Starry Sky Gate. Although such transactions incurred high taxes in Devil’s Horn, it was still better than being unable to establish themselves.
Qin Lun was growing increasingly satisfied with his little attendant Didi. The little guy had been insignificant in Moonlight Forest. But after arriving in Devil’s Horn, the young goblin finally demonstrated his value. Qin Lun did not want to be bogged down by life’s trivial matters, and finding a clever, tight-lipped attendant on short notice was not easy.
The urban area of Devil’s Horn was not very large. Half an hour later, the carriage arrived at the residence provided to Qin Lun by the Demon Clan. Didi paid the fare using Qin Lun’s Identity Plate, exchanged communication codes with Ram, and then followed his master into the residence.
It was a two-story modern villa. Separated by a row of other villas, it faced the main street, with both location and lighting being quite good.
The villa was fully furnished and spacious. Aside from lacking spare clothes and food, it had everything else, including a complete set of tableware and a refrigeration unit. Didi also had his own large room and seemed very satisfied.
In the evening, a ringing sound suddenly came from outside the villa’s door.
Didi went out and opened the door to find the two elves they had agreed would visit: Mafa Moliya and Adeline Moria.
“Welcome, Lord Mafa!” Qin Lun smiled, coming out from the living room to greet him. “Long time no see!”
“Haha, Lord Qin Lun, for Apostles who go out on Otherworld Missions, perhaps a long time has passed. But from our perspective, it’s only been two days since we last saw each other!” Mafa shook his head with a wry smile.
Qin Lun was taken aback but quickly realized: he had spent a whole month in the Orphan World, but in Shattered Starry Sky, it had indeed only been two days since he last saw Mafa.
“Haha, you’ll gradually get used to such changes!” Mafa smiled gently. “I’ve come to deliver some items. Your request to Adeline has been fulfilled!”
As he spoke, Mafa took out several items from his carry bag and placed them on the living room coffee table. Looking at these items, a complicated expression appeared on Qin Lun’s face.
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Book 3: Chapter 6: Settling Down
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