Death Notice Book 7: Chapter 40: Intersecting Plotlines

Release Date: 2026-05-07 13:22:30

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Volume 7 Chapter 41: Battle Intent »

“Mr. Qin Lun, we have picked up that person. They are waiting for you at Clubhouse 3!” The gang underboss who had been sent out earlier pushed the door open and entered, standing behind Qin Lun and speaking softly.

“Mmm, good. I leave this place to you. Destroy this base after all the explosives are set off.” Qin Lun’s eyes flashed, and he stood up from in front of the surveillance screen. His only trump card was Kurapika. Since they had already captured a member of the Troupe, tonight’s plan could be considered a great success.

Qin Lun picked up a felt hat, put it on his head, turned up his collar, and walked out of the residence. However, he did not leave the alley where the house was located. Instead, he went to the dead end, where there stood a tall, sturdy wall.

This wall was the rear wall of a building from the adjacent block. Qin Lun flipped his left hand, and a black iron hook chain dropped to his side. With a flick of his wrist, it clamped onto the top of the wall, and he vaulted over. After passing through a cluster of buildings, he left the block where the Graveyard Building was located, and the sound of gunfire in his ears faded away.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, several police cars sped past on the main road in front of Qin Lun, their sirens and lights blaring. The Phantom Troupe had been besieging the Graveyard Building block for half an hour, and the military and police systems of Yorknew City were already in chaos.

Qin Lun pulled down the brim of his felt hat. He waited for the police cars to pass, then headed towards a small hotel across the main road. This small hotel was an asset owned by a local gang boss. It had been requisitioned by a representative of the Ten Dons, though even the boss himself didn’t know what it was really for.

Most assets belonging to gangs had secret underground hideouts. Qin Lun had the Ten Dons arrange seven or eight such places, mixed up and labeled with numbers. Until the last moment, no one knew which hideout the young man would use.

Seeing Qin Lun enter through the main door, the gangster disguised as the front desk manager immediately and silently handed him a set of keys. Qin Lun nodded to him, took the keys, and went straight upstairs.

After reaching the second floor, Qin Lun used a key to open an inconspicuous guest room at the end of the corridor. However, as soon as he pushed the door open, a flash of cold light shot straight towards him.

“Thunk!” Qin Lun looked at the fruit knife quivering in the doorframe, then spoke irritably to the man in the room. “Hey, Rand, I kindly helped you avoid the battlefield, and this is how you treat me!”

“Hmph, as if you have a kind bone in your body.” Rand’s face was dark. He took a bite of a freshly peeled apple and said calmly, “Speak. Why did you really call me here? Didn’t we agree to stay out of each other’s way?”

“Don’t tell me you can’t guess?” When dealing with Rand, another Serial Killer, Qin Lun didn’t use sweet talk. He was very direct. “Did you finish your Main Quest?”

“Yes, I got the Hunter License!” Rand hesitated for a moment, but chose to tell the truth. After all, his and Qin Lun’s main plotlines shouldn’t directly conflict. “But the rewards from my Main Quest were too small. I plan to use the remaining time to complete a Side Plot.”

Rand’s tone was full of dissatisfaction; he was clearly unhappy with the arrangements made for him by the Shattered Starry Sky. Ordinary Apostles would be overjoyed just to finish their Main Quest in a Quest World. Only freaks like Rand and Qin Lun would be so picky, complaining about not enough danger and not enough rewards.

“Is your Side Plot in Yorknew City?” Qin Lun noncommittally rubbed his chin.

“Mhm!” Rand’s eyes flickered slightly. He probed, “I heard you have deep connections with the local gangs here?”

“Yes. You know I joined the Shadow Beasts. The Shadow Beasts organization is actually the secret military force behind gangs worldwide.” Qin Lun said this calmly, then tightly shut his mouth.

Rand stared intently at Qin Lun, who said nothing more. The latter just kept his head down, looking at his own pale fingernails as if a pretty flower had grown on them. The room fell into an eerie silence.

“Our mission plots are bound to intersect. What do you want?” After a long silence, Rand was the first to speak.

“Let me see your Side Plot!” Qin Lun lifted his head and said with a grin.

“Nonsense! Why don’t you show me your mission details first!” Rand snorted disdainfully and rolled his eyes.

“Mine is the Main Quest, yours is a Side Mission. Their importance isn’t the same!” Qin Lun waved his hand dismissively. “We signed a Soul Contract. Besides, you also think our missions don’t directly conflict. Of course, you should show some sincerity first.”

Rand’s face shifted through uncertain expressions. Finally, he sighed and revealed his Side Plot. Qin Lun was right. Failing the Main Quest came with severe punishment from the Star Void, while failing a Side Mission had no penalty. The two couldn’t be compared.

However, the reason Rand was willing to show his mission details first was because he needed Qin Lun’s help. Although Firecracker had successfully completed his Main Quest, this Side Plot he had now taken was actually the most important reward for him.

The process of Rand obtaining his Hunter License had been quite twisty, but in the end, it was a close call without real disaster. The mission difficulty wasn’t very high, so the rewards weren’t that great either. But after he became a Hunter, he realized that the Nen Ability system was the most worthwhile reward to pursue in this world.

But he was different from Qin Lun. Or rather, he was different from all the other Serial Killers. Firecracker Rand killed people using bombs and arson. He hadn’t personally witnessed that many bloody scenes. He didn’t have a fully formed Heart of Slaughter like Joey, nor the battle-hardened willpower forged on the battlefield like Hansen.

Therefore, it was extremely difficult for Rand to obtain a Nen Ability. Perhaps the Shattered Starry Sky calculated this point, so it guided him to a Side Plot related to Nen abilities. This Side Plot was very strange. It required Rand to go to Yorknew City and find a “Zoroastrianism” Ahura Mazda Bronze Statue.

Logically, having a location and a target object, finding something shouldn’t be difficult for someone like Rand. However, Rand wasn’t an ordinary person after all. He had a vague premonition that this mission definitely had hidden difficulties.

As soon as he received the mission, he spared no expense and rushed to Yorknew City at top speed. He originally thought this thing would be hard to find. Unexpectedly, he had only asked a few people before learning the whereabouts of this Ahura Mazda Bronze Statue. It was an antique item scheduled for an upcoming Auction.

Rand arrived in Yorknew City on September 2nd. After he got the news about the bronze statue, he immediately decided to infiltrate the Auction that very night and steal the statue.

In his half-day in Yorknew City, he had already learned that this Auction was hosted by gangs from all over the world.

Originally, the best choice was to wait for the bronze statue to be auctioned first, then hijack it mid-transport, thus avoiding a direct confrontation with all the world’s gangs. However, Rand had a nagging worry. He feared complications might arise, so he preferred to risk offending the gangs and strike directly during the Auction.

“Hahaha!” After reading Rand’s mission, Qin Lun burst into laughter.

Rand’s worry was correct. All the Auction items had actually already fallen into the hands of the Phantom Troupe following the defeat of the direct subordinate Shadow Beasts. In other words, no matter how early Firecracker acted, he would never find that “Zoroastrianism” Ahura Mazda Bronze Statue at the Auction.

“What are you laughing at?” Rand’s face darkened. “What about your Main Quest?”

He had seen the battleground-like gunfight near the Graveyard Building and knew things definitely weren’t simple. His plan had most likely already failed. Otherwise, he would never have abandoned his operation and come to this small hotel with the gangsters sent by Qin Lun.

Qin Lun’s eyes shifted. Rand’s current mission target was in the Troupe’s hands, but that didn’t mean Firecracker Rand had to be on the same side as him. One must remember that Rand’s cover identity was also a Meteor Street thug. As long as he sold out the Hunter Side to the Troupe, it wasn’t impossible for him to get that bronze statue.

“To be honest with you, my Main Quest is a Killing Mission. There are two opposing sides. Before you are on the same side as me, I can’t show you the mission details,” Qin Lun said with a light laugh. “However, I am confident I can help you get that bronze statue. The condition is that you sign a Soul Contract with me and fight the enemy together.”

Rand narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Qin Lun in silence.

Qin Lun knew he couldn’t make Rand act just with words. Smiling, he flipped one hand, took off the Earth Drake Leather Armor he was wearing, and tossed it to Rand. “If you ultimately fail to get the bronze statue, then this piece of armor will be my compensation.”

“Purple-Gold Leather Armor?!” Rand’s pupils contracted. He rubbed the leather armor in his hands and fell into thought. He could tell the Earth Drake Leather Armor was worth at least two to three hundred thousand Shattered Crystals. Even if it couldn’t compare to the Nen Ability system, it indirectly proved Qin Lun’s sincerity.

“So, what do you say?” Qin Lun asked with a smile.

“Alright, it’s a deal!” Seeing Qin Lun’s sincerity, Rand decisively threw the leather armor back to him.

The Apostle owner wasn’t dead, so he couldn’t use this armor. He couldn’t even put it in his Storage Space. If Qin Lun died, this item would just be taken back by the Shattered Starry Sky, and the Bloody Cube might not necessarily yield the armor.

After signing a new Soul Contract with Rand, Qin Lun then chuckled to himself and revealed the full truth about his Main Quest and the actual situation.

After listening to Qin Lun’s account, Rand’s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Just from the Phantom Troupe’s strength and their origins from Meteor Street, he knew the young man had tricked him.

Without signing a Soul Contract to join the Hunter Side, he actually had many ways to get the bronze statue from the Troupe. After all, for the Troupe, it was just a relatively unimportant antique.

Of course, that would also mean he had to oppose Qin Lun. From that perspective, the current choice wasn’t unacceptable. Rand was just angry about being used by Qin Lun.

“Heh, you’re scared!” Qin Lun looked at Rand provocatively.

“Hmph, having opponents like the Troupe is indeed thrilling. But being tricked into it by you is different!” Rand’s face was gloomy, and he spoke bluntly. “I’m telling you now, I have my own way of doing things. I won’t take orders from you.”

“Whatever, whatever!” Qin Lun said, still smiling. “But, for now, do you want to come with me to see the Troupe member we just captured?”

«Volume 7 Chapter 39: Plot Within Plot

Index

Volume 7 Chapter 41: Battle Intent »