"What in the world?" Fang Senyan muttered, confusion clouding his thoughts, when suddenly the prompt from the Nightmare Mark registered.

"Warning, warning, Contractor 7277630 has violated Nightmare Space regulations: utilizing a Space Active Ability in the Real World: Dai Shang Duan: Xu!!!"

"Warning, warning, Contractor 7277630 has violated Nightmare Space regulations: utilizing a Space Active Ability in the Real World: Dai Shang Duan: Xu!!!"

"Warning, warning, a Special Punishment Mission has appeared: Contractor 7277630's use of a Nightmare World exclusive Active Ability in the Real World will result in unpredictable consequences. You must eliminate all real-world witnesses within half an hour, or you will be erased. Mission completion yields no reward!"

"To use a special ability from the Space in the real world actually incurs such a terrifying penalty... What if someone filmed the process of using the ability and broadcast it on television? Wouldn't that spell instant death?" Fang Senyan couldn't help but feel a surge of relief that his own abilities involved mixing potions, and he always did that work alone and in secret, avoiding such a precarious situation.

Immediately following this, the Nightmare Mark delivered another notification:

"Your current Military Rank is: Second Lieutenant. Contractor 7277630's Military Rank is: Reserve Major! Do you wish to impose rank suppression upon him? Preventing him from taking emergency return measures to the Nightmare Space?"

Faced with this turn of events, Fang Senyan naturally did not refuse. This instance further highlighted the rigid hierarchy of military ranks within the Space. Fang Senyan, a mere Second Lieutenant, could suppress a Reserve Major! Considering they were separated by a full four ranks—Second Lieutenant followed by First Lieutenant, Captain, and then Major—not to mention the massive chasm between the Warrant Officer and Officer tiers, the fact that Fang Senyan could suppress this Reserve Major spoke volumes about the unexpected value of his legitimate Second Lieutenant rank.

Ibufu swept out another horizontal slash. The blade light flashed, accompanied by a swirling torrent of dao qi, which, even across more than ten meters of open air, remained lethally sharp, plunging deep into a human body. But Ibufu’s pupils constricted, because this certain-kill strike had been blocked. Fang Senyan lunged sideways through the air, seizing the stunned chairman of the Bamboo Union, Gu Yue'an, pulling him back from the very edge of death.

The invisible blade energy Ibufu had unleashed sliced across Fang Senyan’s back, carving a long, hideous wound. Blood sprayed out, dyeing the ethereal energy a vibrant red. The momentum did not diminish; it continued to whip forward, splitting seven or eight partition screens nearby. Amidst the fluttering debris of silk fabric, the blade energy pressed on, striking the wall behind, emitting a grating shriek that sent stone and brick flying, scoring a deep gouge a meter long into the masonry.

After rescuing Gu Yue'an, Fang Senyan hissed to him,

"Run!"

With that, he put force into his hands and hurled the man away. Clearly, according to the rules just laid out by the Space, if this witness survived, Ibufu would have to die! Fang Senyan understood this critical trade-off. Gu Yue'an cast a grateful glance at Fang Senyan, immediately forgetting all decorum and style, scrambling up and fleeing downstairs in utter disarray. Fang Senyan, however, darted into the corner of the adjacent hallway, hiding himself. He had already calculated the situation thoroughly:

Evidently, Ibufu had deployed his Space ability out of sheer desperation; this meant he was completely unprepared to face this sudden life-or-death threat. Under such pressure, Ibufu was likely to become urgently agitated and relentlessly pursue Gu Yue'an. Therefore, if Fang Senyan were to launch a surprise attack now, he stood a very good chance of success in one strike.

A wind carrying the faint scent of blood rushed in. Ibufu charged straight toward the stairwell, his imposing presence fully charged, radiating an aura that suggested he would cleave through gods and demons alike! Suddenly, a formidable silhouette strode out from the corner. This figure, bearing clear wounds all over his body, moved with an indomitable momentum, colliding head-on with Ibufu!

In that instant, blood erupted! It splashed onto the surrounding screens like a gushing spring!

Fang Senyan gasped for air in great gulps. He bore a horrifying penetrating wound in his abdomen, so severe that one could see through to his back from the front wound. For any normal person, such an injury would mean immediate death. Despite Ibufu being at an extreme disadvantage, his final, desperate counterattack inflicted considerable damage on Fang Senyan, especially the final stab to the gut, which dug deep into a previous injury. The terrifying force of the blade then exploded within Fang Senyan’s body. Had Fang Senyan not possessed the ability to suppress an enemy's critical hit rate, he might well have perished.

But it was worth it. Fang Senyan picked up a blindingly bright Blood Key from above Ibufu’s corpse and received confirmation of a Milestone: Suspect Completion Progress 2/10. More critically, in this fight, he had consciously and unconsciously incorporated some of the experiences gleaned from Reef, deliberately increasing opportunities for close combat and direct confrontation with the enemy. While this method was undeniably more perilous, he had to admit its effectiveness!

Fang Senyan could feel the emergence of an indescribable sensation within his body, something entirely novel that felt akin to the idioms 'a flash of inspiration' or 'a sudden surge of creative energy,' surging like an ocean tide. When it finally subsided, it would likely herald the awakening of his innate talent.

Fang Senyan took out his Endless Vodka hip flask and drained the remaining liquor. He felt the vitality-rich fluid permeate his limbs and bones, letting out a satisfied sigh. Although Ibufu was dead, his real-world identity seemed incredibly powerful; he could at least stand against the Bamboo Union, and there was a distinct possibility of reinforcements appearing. Thus, after a quick trip to the restroom to hastily bandage his wounds and wash off the blood, Fang Senyan changed into clean clothes and rushed directly into the room previously designated as Crab’s residence.

Though two of Crab’s enforcers remained in the room, they were no match for Fang Senyan. He dealt with them swiftly. Agitated, Fang Senyan looked around, heard a sound from the restroom, and kicked the door so hard it flew off its hinges and slammed into the wall behind it. Inside, he saw a bound figure, gagged, wriggling in intense, muffled "wuwu" sounds—it was none other than San Zai!

Fang Senyan quickly untied San Zai. San Zai looked like he had suffered greatly; as soon as he saw Fang Senyan, he grabbed his arm tightly, tears streaming down his face, sobbing,

"Brother Yan! They hit me, starved me, and shoved my head into the toilet bowl to hold me under the water, but I didn't say a word!"

Fang Senyan patted his shoulder and said in a low voice,

"Good job. But it's dangerous here; let's leave."

San Zai murmured an agreement. Stepping out, he saw the two enforcers on the floor, assuming they were merely knocked out. He kicked them resentfully a couple of times, but then something felt wrong. Seeing one man’s tongue lolling out ten centimeters from his mouth and the other slumped over a coffee table with his waist bent at a grotesque seventy-degree angle, neither looking remotely alive, he immediately jumped back, his face deathly pale:

"Brother Yan! Brother Yan! They... they seem to be dead!"

Fang Senyan said flatly,

"I know; I killed them. When I went looking for Crab, he mentioned torturing you. Everyone who dares touch my family must die!"

San Zai was stunned. "Then, what about Crab?"

Fang Senyan scoffed dismissively, "He surely preceded us."

By now, the outside was full of noise. When Fang Senyan fought in the Bamboo Union hall earlier, the private room’s soundproofing had been excellent, and business was slow at that hour, so despite the fierce fighting and casualties, no one noticed.

But when he confronted Ibufu later, with his dao qi and the Dai Shang Duan technique, it was like demolishing a building; the commotion was enormous. Moreover, the guards arriving for the shift change discovered the anomaly and found the man Fang Senyan had taken care of in the nearby utility room. Discovering fatalities immediately set off alarms.

Fang Senyan paused briefly, then opened the window to look down. It was only five stories high, leading to a quiet, narrow alleyway behind the building; he saw no one immediately below. For an ordinary person, jumping from this height would likely result in fractures, but for Fang Senyan, even a direct jump would cause minimal harm. He glanced at San Zai,

"I'll go down first. You jump immediately after; I'll catch you."

San Zai was startled. "Brother Yan, this is the fifth floor!"

Fang Senyan said calmly, "Do you trust me or not?"

San Zai fell silent. Having looked up to Fang Senyan as an idol his entire life, he bit his lower lip hard and finally nodded.

Fang Senyan, possessing at least 10 Agility (twice that of a normal person), pushed off the windowsill and leaped down. He easily used the railings and air conditioners on the outer wall for leverage, landing in the small alley below in a mere ten seconds, as lightly as a dragonfly touching water. He beckoned to San Zai, who closed his eyes and jumped down like a stone. Fang Senyan smoothly darted out, caught him, and rolled on the ground to dissipate the force. The two brothers escaped without incident, vanishing effortlessly into the crowd.