The prompts in the spatial interface materialized, line by line—cold, relentless, monotonous, and mechanical—and settled into Fang Senyan’s vision.

“You will immediately receive a Team Formation Quest. During this quest, life-threatening danger is generally not encountered, but your final evaluation will determine the welfare and team abilities granted after the team is established! Do you confirm proceeding?” “Yes!” “The maximum number of participants for a Team Formation Quest is five, but the difficulty increases linearly with the number of members. Do you wish to undertake this team establishment quest with the temporary team member beside you?” “Yes!” “Identity verification recalculating…” “Data review in progress…” “Reading data…” “Contractor No. 1018, this is your first application for a team establishment quest; you must pay the following fees to generate your exclusive mission channel.” “Merit Points: 0 / Potential Points: 10 / Universal Points: 10,000.”

Fang Senyan froze, instantly turning to Jiao Shi with a pleading gaze. The two huddled together, finally managing to scrape together the required sum, albeit sweating profusely. Fang Senyan immediately fell back into a financial deficit, with only 1,000 Universal Points remaining for self-defense. At this juncture, Fang Senyan couldn't resist checking again:

“If I am dissatisfied with the completion of this mission and choose to disband the team to reapply later, what will happen?” “Reapplying for a team establishment quest requires: Merit Points: 10 / Potential Points: 30 / Universal Points: 100,000. Merit Points cannot be paid by others.” “Jiao Shi…” “What?” “Let’s just aim for a good result on the first try,” Fang Senyan wiped his brow.

After waiting for about ten seconds, a string of messages followed: “Fees successfully paid.” “Notification: The dedicated teleportation rift channel for the team quest has been generated. Please return to your private space!” “Notification: The dedicated teleportation rift channel for the team quest has been generated. Please return to your private space!” “Warning: The dedicated teleportation rift channel for the team quest will disappear in 600 seconds!” “Warning: The dedicated teleportation rift channel for the team quest will disappear in 600 seconds!”

Seeing these messages, neither dared to delay. They hurried back. Fortunately, the space was a peaceful zone, usually free of unexpected delays, so the allotted 600 seconds proved quite ample.

Upon rushing back to his private space, Fang Senyan immediately noticed a shimmering portal radiating a dark grey aura in the center of the room. This portal was about the height of a man, its surface occasionally rippling with ashen-black waves, and fleeting shadows seemed to flicker within. Fang Senyan took a deep breath and stepped into the light.

Passing through the gate this time did not involve a loss of consciousness. Fang Senyan felt a brief flash, a moment of darkness, and then found himself standing in a boundless forest. The trees here were remarkably tall and straight, resembling the spruce forests of the Alps. They were widely spaced, and the ground was covered only by a thick layer of fallen leaves; there were hardly any shrubs, let alone grass.

A thin layer of mist hung about, seemingly absent when observed directly, but weaving around him whenever his attention drifted.

Thus, only three colors registered in Fang Senyan's vision: the brown-black carpet of decaying leaves on the ground, the brown-grey trunks scoured by wind and frost, and the somber, pale grey sky above. He inhaled deeply, feeling the biting cold air enter his alveoli, releasing its oxygen. Yet, this air carried a faint, indescribable stench, offering no sense of freshness whatsoever.

Fang Senyan was standing at the base of a slope when he suddenly heard the sound of leaves being crunched overhead. He immediately adopted a defensive posture and looked up. Soon, the source of the noise appeared in his sight—it was Jiao Shi, whom he had just parted from. The man walked as if he were a steamroller, steady and resonant, seemingly incapable of ever falling.

“Look at this,” Jiao Shi held out an object. “I found it stuck in a tree nearby.”

Fang Senyan took it and frowned. The object was made of metal, clearly sharp, shaped like a three-edged spike. The pointed tip featured a blood groove, and it was coated in a layer that looked like dull grey-black plating.

“It’s an arrowhead, forged from pure steel, and it seems to be coated with poison,” Jiao Shi stated seriously. “This tip is incredibly sharp.”

Fang Senyan frowned: “Can you take me to where you found the arrowhead?”

Since Jiao Shi had only just entered this world, the location where he found the arrowhead was not far—less than ten meters up the slope, embedded in a massive fir tree. The arrowhead hadn't penetrated deeply, and judging by the scratch marks on the wood, it had been there for only a short while, which is why Jiao Shi found it easily.

Fang Senyan carefully examined the depth and angle of the impact indentation, then turned and directed his gaze toward a large spruce directly opposite the mark. He walked over and scrutinized it, his expression gradually darkening. He said in a strained voice: “We are in deep trouble. I fear the difficulty of this mission is far more terrifying than we imagined!”

Jiao Shi walked up to Fang Senyan, slightly bewildered, and bent down to observe the spot Fang Senyan had been looking at—and then... he saw what had been obscured by the thick trunk of the spruce: the arrowhead had actually pierced straight through the spruce trunk and embedded itself into the fir tree on the opposite side!!! More critically, the opening where it passed through the spruce was remarkably smooth, almost as if drilled with an electric bore, suggesting unimaginable penetrating power!!

It must be remembered that trees in cold regions grow extremely slowly, making their wood incredibly dense. This pierced spruce must have had a diameter of at least one meter. To put it bluntly, even a shot from a sniper rifle might not achieve the effect of this single arrow strike! The two exchanged glances, both recognizing the shock in the other's eyes. Evidently, both considered themselves tanks, meant to stand on the front line absorbing damage, so their immediate thought was identical…

“What would happen if this arrow struck my body?!”

Jiao Shi picked up the arrowhead again, examining it closely, and frowned: “Strange, where is the shaft?”

Fang Senyan shook his head: “Based on the current information, I can only confirm we have arrived in an era where gunpowder is not yet prevalent; other details remain vague. Therefore, there are too many possibilities for the shaft’s disappearance. It might have been destroyed by fighting energy during flight, it could be a magic arrow, or, the last possibility… the one most unfavorable to us—this arrowhead was thrown by hand like a hidden weapon, completely lacking a shaft.”

Hearing Fang Senyan’s final deduction, Jiao Shi couldn't help but roll his eyes: “Oh, Sailor, I truly hope your sense of humor doesn't prove prophetic.”

At this moment, the Nightmare Mark also sent a notification: “Contractor No. 1018, welcome to the Nightmare World.” “This is your first Team Formation Quest experience.” “Team Quest: Survival.” “Quest Summary: Live, and strive to stay alive until you can endure no longer.” “Quest Difficulty: Unassessable.” “Notification: During the team quest, you may choose to return to the Nightmare Space at any time. Any damage that might result in fatal consequences will only force you into a Severely Injured state. In this state, you will gain 10 seconds of invulnerability, during which you can choose to immediately return to the Nightmare World. However, be warned: once the 10 seconds of invulnerability expire, you will still be subject to attacks that can cause death!” “Notification: Any Universal Points, Potential Points, equipment, or items acquired during your time in this world cannot be brought back to the Nightmare Space upon departure (this includes concocted potions/forged equipment). Other aspects are unrestricted, but any relationships you establish with NPCs (whether enmity or friendship) will carry over to your next world entry.” “Time: Third Age 3018 (3 years before the start of The Lord of the Rings trilogy).” “Location: Middle-earth, The Misty Mountains.” “Scenario: The Lord of the Rings.” “Difficulty: (Nightmare).” “Pain Attenuation: 50%.” “Personal Ability Enhancement: 0%.” “Current Scenario Exploration Rate: 0.00%.” “Supplementary Information: Other Contractors have already begun adventuring in this scenario. Usually, you will not interact with them, but this is an open scenario! You may also be attacked by them. Protection rules for you will supersede all other killing rules.” “You will automatically master the relevant language and can interact fluently with characters in this world. This knowledge will be forgotten upon leaving the world.” “Accepted Quests: 1.” “Certain items you carry are restricted and cannot be used in this mission.” “Your appearance/identity has been modified and will automatically revert upon returning to the real world. You can also adjust your appearance settings in the Nightmare Space. If you have questions, silently recite the relevant query through the Nightmare Mark; if your authorization level is sufficient, you will receive an answer.”