Death Notice

As Dr. Shahil directed his subordinates to pull back the curtains covering more than ten amniotic tanks, the creatures inside revealed their true forms for the first time to people outside the Millennium Bug Organization.

To Qin Lun and Grant’s surprise, these amniotic tanks were not all filled with nutrient amniotic fluid—most had the smell of formaldehyde. Additionally, three were vacuum-sealed containers holding biological specimens that had been sliced up by Millennium Bug scientists.

These creatures had died many years ago, but due to vacuum preservation, most retained their original lifelike appearances.

Dr. Shahil pointed to the only human-shaped skeleton among them and said, “She is Mina Harker. She was the foundation of our research in the early stages. She was the only woman in the Middle Ages to be embraced by the first vampire, Count Dracula, and she was also his lover.”

“Legend has it that after Count Dracula’s battle with Van Helsing, he was subdued by vampire hunters, and Mina Harker returned to human form and died at that time,” Major Montana quietly added from the side. “During World War II, Romania was part of the Axis powers. The Aryan Ark Corps found her grave and took her as a precious research specimen.”

“The vampire hunter Van Helsing… so he really was a legendary figure?” Grant asked curiously.

“Yes. It’s said that Van Helsing later also acquired vampire blood. The current leader of the HELLSING organization, Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, is a human descendant he left behind before his bloodline changed,” Major Montana said coldly, a sharp glint in his eyes. “Our greatest anticipated opponent and imagined enemy, the ace vampire of the HELLSING organization—Alucard—has a name that is the reverse spelling of Dracula and is suspected to be Count Dracula himself!”

“Gerthard, Gerthard?” Grant turned to Qin Lun with interest, only to be surprised to find that the young man wasn’t listening to them at all, nor was he paying attention to Mina Harker, whom Dr. Shahil had emphasized. Instead, he was staring intently at another biological specimen soaking in an amniotic tank, as though trying to find a flower on this corpse that had been dead for decades.

This biological specimen looked like a strangely shaped lizard, one with a turtle shell on its back. Its body surface had many black exoskeletal plates, and its head closely resembled a human’s. Three blood-red crystals were embedded where its eyes and forehead should be.

Qin Lun knew he had never seen such a creature before, but for some reason, he remembered a monster he had encountered before—the Phantom Demons from the Phantom Demon World.

This strange lizard before him seemed like a combination of Kirutosumu and the Three Eyes Phantom Demon. Although there were some differences from the Phantom Demons modified from human corpses, both Kirutosumu and the Three Eyes had similar black, horn-like layers resembling an exoskeleton, and the blood-red crystals on the “lizard’s” head were almost identical to those on the Three Eyes Phantom Demon.

For example, though frogs may vary in size, some dull and some brightly colored, even ordinary people could tell they belonged to the same species without being biologists.

Of course, aside from the exoskeleton-like layers and blood-red crystals, the two monsters looked quite different in appearance. What truly made Qin Lun feel they were the same species was the bloody scent neither could hide.

The Phantom Demons and this creature had exactly the same smell. Even mixed with the strong odor of formaldehyde, that strange bloody scent couldn’t be concealed.

Qin Lun knew he had never seen the creature before him, but he faintly felt that this was a type of Phantom Demon. The only difference was that the Phantom Demons he had seen in Paris were modified from human corpses, while the monster before him seemed to be an original, pure Phantom Demon prototype!

At a glance, among the dozen or so amniotic tanks before them, aside from Mina Harker’s skeleton, most contained these strange original Phantom Demons.

In addition to the turtle-shelled lizard shape, there was another type that resembled a Harpy. This bird-like Phantom Demon had pure black feathers, with its beak and head covered by a single piece of black exoskeleton. Its eyes were also replaced by purple-red crystal-like objects.

“Major, this is an Evil Spirit! It comes from mysterious wormholes!” Dr. Shahil walked over to Qin Lun with a smile. “Are you interested in these things?”

“Haha, I think I may have seen such a creature during my previous service!” Qin Lun forced a dry laugh, masking his expression before turning to ask, “Doctor, what exactly are Evil Spirits and wormholes? Could you explain them in detail?”

“Of course, Major Gerthard! Do you remember the Grimm Academy you fought against before?” Dr. Shahil adjusted his glasses elegantly and spoke with precision. “Actually, the original purpose of the Grimm Academy was to train specialized Green Hunters to deal with these Evil Spirits…”

Through Dr. Shahil’s explanation, Qin Lun and Grant learned another of the world’s secrets. It turned out that seventy or eighty years before World War II began, some small wormholes had appeared deep within certain mountain ranges and forests of Eurasia.

These wormholes existed for very short periods and their locations were never fixed. It was only known that they mostly appeared in the mountains of Eastern and Northern Europe, with fewer occurrences in other parts of the world.

Each time a wormhole appeared, it produced a kind of blood-red crystal at the site. These Blood Crystals were highly volatile and almost impossible to preserve, but they indirectly affected the flora and fauna within a certain area. Affected creatures, including humans, if they survived, would transform into the Evil Spirits Qin Lun now saw.

Over time, the number of wormholes appearing each year increased, and so did the number of Evil Spirits. What started as ordinary church schools training Demon Hunters eventually became the specialized Grimm Academy for dealing with Evil Spirits.

“Seventy or eighty years before World War II?” Qin Lun and Grant exchanged glances and immediately thought of the Space-Time Rift that appeared in 1866.

“It seems you’ve both guessed it! The prevailing view in the scientific community now is that the Space-Time Rift high above Earth is not the only one. Those wormholes are also a type of Space-Time Rift, but the energy sustaining them isn’t stable enough, and they close on their own after appearing briefly,” Dr. Shahil said with a smile.

“During World War II, although Germany occupied most of Europe, it was unfortunate that we never managed to locate the Grimm Academy’s base. They escaped us.”

“Doctor, why are they called Evil Spirits?” Qin Lun asked curiously. “Aren’t Evil Spirits supposed to be spectral beings?”

“Haha, there’s a reason they’re called Evil Spirits. After these monsters die, most of them vaporize and spontaneously combust. Apart from the Blood Crystals inside them and a pile of ash, almost nothing remains—just like bodiless ghosts. That’s why the locals call them Evil Spirits,” Dr. Shahil explained with a laugh. “The few specimens our organization has were preserved due to special circumstances. They hold great research value.”

Qin Lun nodded slowly, deep in thought. This was also similar to the Phantom Demons—after they died, no corpses remained; they only left behind a blood pearl in the ashes, and the residual soul power in them happened to be the best supplement for Life-Taking Relics.

“Dr. Shahil, were the human modifications for Captain Hans and the two lieutenants based on Evil Spirit modification technology?” Qin Lun’s eyes suddenly sharpened as he remembered the familiar bloody scent he had smelled on the training ground earlier.

He had initially thought it was due to vampire bloodline, but now he realized that vampires only treated blood as food. In daily life and combat, they didn’t carry any bloody scent.

The reason it felt familiar to him then was precisely because this bloody scent was identical to that of the Phantom Demons. Qin Lun had spent several days in the Phantom Demon World’s Paris—his nose was full of that smell back then; of course he would recognize it.

“Yes and no,” Dr. Shahil exchanged a meaningful glance with Major Montana before explaining. “Since most Evil Spirits don’t leave behind physical bodies, our understanding of them isn’t as deep as the Grimm Academy’s.”

“The foundational technology for most Millennium Bug Organization members’ human modifications comes from Mina Harker. It’s only in later stages that we incorporated some Evil Spirit research findings. Captain Hans and the others’ Superhuman bloodline is a mix of vampire and Evil Spirit.”

“Doctor, you really are fearless. Mixing bloodlines like that can easily cause problems. Aren’t you afraid of harming Captain Hans and the others?” Qin Lun couldn’t help but smile wryly. He himself had fused two bloodlines, but without Star Void’s profession prompts, he wouldn’t have dared to be so bold.

“Captain Hans and the others volunteered,” Major Montana answered Qin Lun, his expression slightly helpless. “Gerthard, I once said there was a period when the organization lost hope of reviving the empire. Everyone decided to perish along with the enemy and didn’t care about such matters at all.”

“Fortunately, we have Dr. Shahil, the world’s most outstanding Superhuman researcher. Aside from a few soldiers who lost their lives in the process, most eventually succeeded in their modifications.”

“You’re too kind,” Dr. Shahil said with a smile, bowing slightly before turning to Qin Lun with a serious expression. “Major Gerthard, Captain Kluge, I heard from the Major that Captain Hans and the two lieutenants didn’t perform as strongly as expected in your earlier sparring? If that’s really the case, please be sure to tell me your honest opinions!”

“No, each of the three has their own characteristics. The reason they were at a disadvantage in our match was simply due to lack of combat experience—it has nothing to do with their strength,” Qin Lun replied after thinking for a moment. “But since their bloodline comes from Mina Harker, and Mina was embraced by the enemy Blood Clan, when they encounter that Alucard, might they be controlled?”

“Yes, I’ve had similar concerns before, which is why I incorporated Evil Spirit research into their bloodline,” Dr. Shahil said, pushing up his glasses. “After that, it actually compensated for the Blood Clan bloodline’s weaknesses to a great extent.”

“For example, unlike ordinary Blood Clan members, Captain Hans and the others now are not afraid of sunlight or silver. They have strong self-recovery abilities and have shaken off the natural subordination to higher Blood Clan members…”

A sharp glint flashed in Qin Lun’s eyes as he frowned and asked, “Then have the common weaknesses of both the Blood Clan and Evil Spirits been worsened…”