Chapter 100

Chapter 100

“That damned old man didn’t leave me a shred of dignity…”

After leaving the office, Xue Chuan grumbled nonstop. “What did he mean by, ‘Cannon fodder like you should be grateful for the chance to die in the line of duty’? That’s going too far…”

“I hope he wakes up impotent tomorrow…”

Qin Lan had no interest in bantering with him. He walked silently, Lu Xingshan’s words replaying over and over in his mind.

He was considering what path he should take next.

To be honest, reaching this point had far exceeded anything Qin Lan once imagined.

He used to be an F-rank failure destined to die inside an instance. No one cared whether he lived or died, and even Qin Lan himself had long been prepared for an early death and an earlier reincarnation.

Back then, he had not dared think about tomorrow.

“Tomorrow” was a luxury he could not afford.

But after his Talent awakened a second time, Qin Lan acquired greater and greater power. He accomplished things he had never dared dream of–becoming an Anomaly Hunter, killing anomalies, and toppling the Qian Group, which had once seemed like an untouchable colossus.

Instead of finding certainty, Qin Lan became lost.

He was already powerful enough. A gap still separated him from someone like Lu Xingshan, but within a place like Safe Zone 088, he could move almost entirely unchallenged.

He could effortlessly earn wealth beyond an ordinary person’s wildest imagination, buy a mansion, and retire.

He could eat and drink as he pleased. Even if Safe Zone 088 was destroyed, he had the ability to protect himself. He would only need to move somewhere else and begin a new life.

But was that truly right?

What was he actually pursuing?

Remembering Lu Xingshan’s words left Qin Lan’s chest tight and made it difficult to breathe.

In truth, Qin Lan had never intended to stay.

He had witnessed the power of the existence on the other side of the Abyss and knew it was not something he could resist.

Inside an instance, Qin Lan might have been interested in trying. At least resurrection would give him a safety net.

Now, however, anomalies could break free of their instances and enter humanity’s final sanctuary directly.

That meant Qin Lan’s “resurrection” would no longer protect him.

It was the method on which his survival depended, and the source of his fearlessness against anomalies.

Now Qin Lan could truly die.

Only 1-Star anomalies had emerged from the fissures so far, but as time passed, there was no guarantee that 2-Star, 3-Star, or even 4-Star anomalies would not follow.

When that happened, Qin Lan would risk death just like everyone else.

Was it worth it?

“Mommy, look! Those two big brothers are Anomaly Hunters…”

A child’s voice interrupted Qin Lan’s thoughts.

A little boy stood by the street, holding his mother’s hand. He blinked his large, curious eyes at Qin Lan and Xue Chuan, his gaze full of innocent admiration.

The boy’s mother bent down and rubbed his head. Her voice was gentle.

“That’s right. Those big brothers came to protect us.”

“They’ll drive all the monsters away…”

Stars seemed to shine in the boy’s worshipful eyes. “They’re amazing!”

“Once all the monsters are gone, can we go outside the walls and play?”

That innocent light sent a faint pain through Qin Lan’s heart.

Since the cataclysm, humanity’s living space had contracted again and again.

Qin Lan had seen the Fallen Zone with his own eyes. Every part of it contained traces left by human civilization. Once-prosperous streets had become ruins, and once-bustling cities had become realms of death.

His textbooks had shown him magnificent landscapes, dazzling works of human culture, and beautiful scenes of clear rivers and verdant mountains.

But they existed only in textbooks.

When he saw those places in person, only broken walls and devastated ruins remained. Even the wind carried the stench of decay.

Qin Lan stood still and remembered many things.

The people running for help when disaster struck in Final Destination.

The innocent townspeople of Fairytale Town.

And, of course, the pitiful teachers and students of Dead Silence Academy.

Without anomalies and without the Abyss, those people could have lived in a peaceful, harmonious world. They could have worked, built homes, traveled to the landscapes they wished to see, and loved the people they wished to love.

“Xue Chuan, are you afraid of death?”

Qin Lan suddenly spoke, his voice low.

Xue Chuan was watching suggestive videos on his phone. He casually liked a clip of a streamer dancing in a miniskirt and answered without looking up.

“Of course I am.”

“Who isn’t afraid of dying?”

Qin Lan paused. “Then you’re still going to stay? Shanhai Pavilion should be much safer.”

Xue Chuan opened the streamer’s private messages and sent a hundred-word proposition without raising his head.

“Being afraid to die and being willing to die are two different things, buddy.”

Qin Lan stared at him.

Xue Chuan put away the phone. His manner remained casual, but he became serious for once.

“I don’t have many ambitions in this life. I just want to live spectacularly.”

“I’m afraid of death, and I want to live. But if my death could mean something important, I’d be willing to accept it.”
Xue Chuan chuckled, his grin roguish yet open.

“One of my senior brothers once said that no one is born the protagonist.”

“Most people are handed the role of a supporting character.”

“But… so what?”

His tone remained light, as though he were telling a dirty joke. “Supporting characters have their own reasons to exist and their own scenes to play.”

“Someone has to fill those roles. But if you prove your worth in the part you’re given, doesn’t that make you the protagonist of your own story?”

“As long as I die looking cool enough, I’m a protagonist too.”

Those words brought sudden clarity to Qin Lan.

When he first became an Anomaly Hunter, he had wanted only to preserve his life and find someone powerful to shelter him.

Back then, a single 1-Star anomaly could drag him into a bitter struggle, and a few common thugs could chase him like a homeless dog.

Now he possessed power, and with it, the right to choose.

That power was not meant to let him alone survive by hiding from everything.

“What the fuck?!”

Barely had Xue Chuan finished his stirring speech when he cursed under his breath and stared at his phone with an ashen face.

“That’s a femboy? I thought it was a woman… Can I unsend a private message? This is humiliating…”

“Femboys, stay away from me…”

Xue Chuan shut off his phone while cursing, looking as though he had swallowed a fly.

Qin Lan watched him and laughed despite himself, shaking his head.

The man constantly swung between reliable and outrageous.

Still, Xue Chuan’s unintentional words had helped Qin Lan understand many things.

If Safe Zone 088 fell, countless children would die and countless parents would perish.

Those children would have the same expectation for the future shining in their eyes as the little boy from moments ago.

Anomalies had no right to crush that hope.

Qin Lan hated injustice.

A person’s life should be held in their own hands, not controlled by some fucking anomaly.

And certainly not by the so-called Abyss of another world.

…

“Senior Qin, you’re back?”

Tang Qingqing wiped blood from her face. She was breathing heavily, but could not hide the excitement in her voice.

Fatigue lingered on her features, yet her eyes were astonishingly bright.

Qin Lan’s gaze settled on her slender frame, and surprise crossed his face.

“Tier 2? You advanced that quickly? You really do keep surprising me…”

They had not seen each other in only a few days, yet Tang Qingqing’s Curse Core had already broken through to Tier 2. Even Qin Lan found the speed astonishing.

Delight rose in Tang Qingqing when she heard his praise. She lowered her head shyly, the tips of her ears turning red.

“I didn’t expect it to happen this quickly either…”

“I’ve spent the past few days guarding the fissure. I killed many 1-Star anomalies and absorbed a great deal of curse energy…”

Qin Lan understood.

The spatial fissures inside the Safe Zone were effectively stable monster spawners. There was no need to search for instances or spend time investigating rules. They were fully automated mystery dispensers.

“But Senior Qin, the fissure seems to be growing. The anomalies coming out are getting stronger too.”

Concern flashed through Tang Qingqing’s eyes. “At this rate, the arrival of a 2-Star anomaly is inevitable.”

Qin Lan stared at the fissure suspended in the air. On the other side lay darkness that distorted all light, resembling the pupil of some living creature gazing coldly into this world.

Bang… Bang…

Just as he was about to speak, the fissure suddenly began trembling, as though something on the other side was slamming into it with tremendous force.

“Another one!”

Tang Qingqing reacted immediately. Knowing this signaled the arrival of another anomaly, she assumed a combat stance.

Qin Lan stood calmly beside her and watched.

He also wanted to see how the anomalies imprisoned within instances were breaking free and entering this world.

The fissure trembled for a long time, but in the end, only a tiny slip of paper flew out.

It spun unsteadily through the air.

Then it drifted down beside Qin Lan’s feet.

“Huh? What is…”

Tang Qingqing stared in confusion. She had never seen anything like this.

Qin Lan narrowed his eyes, bent down, and picked up the paper.

The instant his fingertips touched it, he sensed a faintly cold, evil aura.

A short line had been written across the paper in neat characters.

[Do you like my new toy?]

The next moment, not only the fissure before them but all four other fissures across the Safe Zone began shaking violently at the same time, like five hearts beating in resonance.

“Careful! The curse index is rising!”

“2-Star! A 2-Star anomaly is coming through! All units, prepare for battle!”

Chaos erupted. Alarms, shouts, and pounding footsteps intertwined as the entire site snapped into a state of high tension.

Qin Lan’s face darkened. He crushed the note in his fist until his knuckles turned white.

This was a declaration of war.

A declaration of war from the Abyss.

He raised his head and stared into the churning darkness deep within the fissure.

“You really think I’m afraid of you?”