Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Qin Lan forced a stiff smile and retreated step by step.
“What resurrection ability?”
“Han, I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
Han Chan gave him a kindly smile.
“You don’t need to play dumb with me.”
“I can see your deaths.”
When Qin Lan froze, Han Chan patiently explained.
“My Talent has two effects.”
“The first allows me to see how a target will die in the future through physical contact.”
“Normally, inside the Final Destination instance, I should see only one scene…”
Han Chan gave a wry smile.
“But when I shook your hand, the flood of images nearly tore my mind apart.”
“Every imaginable method of death, all at different points in time, yet every scene had the same protagonist–you.”
“There are only two possible explanations.”
Han Chan pointed at his head and grinned.
“Either I’ve gone insane and my Talent is out of control…”
“Or you truly have experienced death many times.”
Now Qin Lan really began to sweat.
He had never imagined that the Talent he had kept hidden for so long would be seen through so directly by Han Chan.
“Is it too late for me to deny it?” Qin Lan asked cautiously.
He did not know whether Han Chan was friend or foe. Naturally, the discovery of his secret filled him with worry.
“It’s fine. You don’t need to be nervous.”
Han Chan scratched his head.
“I came to this instance specifically because of you.”
“He said your ability would be extremely useful in the future, so he asked me to give you a hand.”
Qin Lan grew even more confused.
“He?”
Han Chan did not explain and brushed past the subject.
“You’ll understand once the two of you meet. In any case, I’m inside this instance because I knew you would come.”
“And unless I came, you wouldn’t be able to leave.”
Han Chan gave him a meaningful look. “The hypothetical you mentioned in the restaurant… was actually true, wasn’t it?”
“You know you can’t die inside this instance, which means the instance can never be cleared.”
“But I can help you.”
The flood of information nearly burned out Qin Lan’s brain.
Han Chan had challenged an unsolvable instance specifically to help him?
And someone else had directed him here?
He could even help Qin Lan “truly die”?
Only now did Qin Lan suddenly recall the moment when the three of them first met on the bus.
Han Chan’s first words upon seeing Luan Zimo had been, “You’re here too?”
But when he saw Qin Lan, he had said, “You must be Qin.”
Qin Lan had noticed nothing strange at the time. Looking back, however, Han Chan’s objective had been obvious from the beginning.
He had indeed come for Qin Lan.
Luan Zimo was the unexpected variable.
“What I just described was the first effect of my Talent.” Han Chan abruptly changed the subject.
“Its second effect allows me to see where anomalies are.”
“Although Death never appears personally in this instance, it has numerous incarnations of varying sizes. One of them is inside this casino, and it has been waiting for you for a long time.”
Han Chan stepped aside and gestured for Qin Lan to follow him inside.
“You don’t have to trust me. You can turn around and run.”
“But I suspect you’ll end up coming back sooner or later.”
Han Chan smiled faintly, as though everything rested within his grasp.
Qin Lan remained silent for a long time.
“Uh, Han…” he finally said bitterly. “Are all 4-Star Anomaly Hunters as absurd as you?”
In response, Han Chan removed the badge from his chest and casually tossed it aside.
“This thing doesn’t prove anything.”
“According to the official records, you’re only a 1-Star Anomaly Hunter too, aren’t you?”
Qin Lan paused.
“I suppose that’s true.”
Han Chan’s words reassured him somewhat.
If every 4-Star Anomaly Hunter were as abnormal as Han Chan, the thought would be terrifying.
Even Lu Xingshan had only pressured Qin Lan through overwhelming strength.
Han Chan, however, had genuinely frightened him.
The feeling that the man could see through everything about him was deeply unpleasant.
“Let’s go. I happen to want a look at Death too.” Han Chan grinned. “I can see that dense curse from miles away. It’s practically a lighthouse.”
They pushed open the casino doors and found the interior deserted.
Of course it was. The place was temporarily closed.
Then again, saying it was completely empty would not be accurate. A dealer in a white suit sat at one of the gambling tables.
Qin Lan stopped and spoke weakly.
“Han… There’s one person in this enormous casino, and that guy’s head is glowing like a lamp. That obviously has to be Death.”
“What do you think our chances are if we rush it together, use everything we have, and kill it?”
Han Chan glanced at Qin Lan.
“Why don’t you try? Once you have the answer, remember to tell me after you resurrect.”
Qin Lan smiled awkwardly. Naturally, he had no intention of attacking.
What a joke. This was the final boss of a 5-Star instance, a supreme anomaly capable of toying with 4-Star Anomaly Hunters.
Even one of its incarnations was far beyond Qin Lan’s ability to provoke.
The white-suited dealer slowly turned, revealing the perfect face of a “kindly old man.”
It was the universal face of the elderly stranger who appeared when a heartbroken film protagonist cried on the curb, offering timely wisdom about love.
It was also the face of the old mentor who arrived when the impoverished hero of an inspirational drama was ready to abandon all hope, providing precisely the encouragement he needed.
Every benevolent elderly face one could imagine would have fitted the dealer perfectly.
Although Qin Lan knew it was Death, he felt no fear. Instead, a strange sense of trust rose within him.
“You have finally arrived.” The dealer nodded to Qin Lan.
“Damn, what a cliche line…” Qin Lan shuddered. “You aren’t about to say, ‘You must have many questions, my child,’ are you?”
“If you do, I’m asking for a refund…”
Appreciation entered the white-suited dealer’s eyes as it studied Qin Lan.
“You evaded every trap I designed. It was… a most delightful surprise.”
“I have waited a very long time for someone like you to appear.”
“In my eyes, no one understands death better than you. One might even say your understanding is second only to mine…”
Qin Lan could not resist interrupting again.
“That’s rich. You’ve killed me so many times that it’d be strange if I didn’t understand death. How about targeting me a couple fewer times?”
“And getting mauled by a dog is far too humiliating. If you insist on having something bite me to death, why not make it a rabid beauty with long legs, black stockings, and a ridiculous chest? At least I’d die with some style…”
The white-suited dealer paused, then slowly continued.
“If you can defeat me in the wager that follows…”
“I will make you my successor.”
Qin Lan nodded.
“Your successor? That sounds pretty–”
“Wait. Hold on!”
His eyes widened like bells.
“Successor to what? Say that again!”