Chapter Forty-Two: Discussion on the Loot Draw (Thanks to Ally Leader Mingtian, MD, for the support!)

Before Fang Senyan, that life shield utterly shattered, dissipating like a soap bubble, but he did not raise his fist again. His expression suggested a moment of quiet contemplation, as if Riel’s words had snagged his attention:

“Oh, really?”

“Really!” Riel lifted his head to meet Fang Senyan’s gaze. Then, he saw the muzzle of a dark gun pressed squarely against his forehead! Immediately following came a deafening boom!

“My regrets, Mr. Riel, your suggestion failed to sway me.” Fang Senyan retracted his ambition, speaking faintly. “Because my instincts told me you were utterly without sincerity.”

Fang Senyan then bent down, casually wiping Riel’s wide, unclosing eyes, and picked up the chilling, blood-red key Riel had dropped.

He listened to the prompts ringing in his ears:

“You have killed Reserve Colonist No. 17214!”

“V, Milestone Achieved: Suspect 4.”

Fang Senyan glanced at the silver plot-item lying quietly in the Nightmare Space—the Acid Gland of the Hydralisk—then looked at the green light shining on his right fist, and scoffed:

“You truly disappoint me, Mr. Riel. I truly overestimated your strength. I expected a grand, desperate counterattack, but you didn’t even force me to use my last trump card.”

Then, Fang Senyan quickly wrapped a bandage around himself and walked wearily toward the woodland clearing where Reef and Mogansha waited. The wind had picked up, and the sky had taken on a disturbingly dark hue; the leaves rustled with a crisp, dry sound. A bolt of lightning streaked across the heavens, illuminating Fang Senyan’s dirt-caked, scarred back, yet lending him an air of unyielding, mountain-like fortitude.

Reef sighed comfortably, finally stretching his shoulders as he rose from the ground.

“Damn it, the near-death state is awful! You can only watch, can only listen, but can’t move—it’s like being trapped in a Nightmare State.”

He felt the cool sensation emanating from the bandages affixed to his body, healing his wounds, and he sighed contentedly. Looking at the severed stump of Fang Senyan’s left arm, he frowned slightly:

“Looks like you had a brutal fight.”

“Hmph. With you stalling out front for so long, my goal was naturally to obliterate those two! If I hadn't used a ruse, employing a strategy that left Riel clinging to false hope, how could I have killed him?”

Fang Senyan was already aggressively tearing at the flesh-and-blood vines strangling Mogansha’s body. Though deprived of their master’s command and no longer aggressive, these tendrils still clung to their prey with a carnivorous instinct, ceaselessly secreting paralyzing toxins. Even with Fang Senyan’s current Strength rating of 49, he struggled to rip them apart with one hand. Reef, however, quickly drew his lightsaber and, with a few swift swishes, freed Mogansha.

Mogansha’s entire body was crisscrossed with deep purple-black marks, coupled with a host of temporary negative effects like Weakness, Paralysis, and reduced Max HP. It took him a moment to recover, leaning against a nearby tree, gasping:

“Those disgusting vines, those damned plants! Argh! I hate everything that can bend! So tonight, I am absolutely eating spaghetti to vent my rage!”

Fang Senyan took a deep breath:

“The horror of the Colonists… is only hinted at here. If Reef hadn’t already drained most of that Illusionist Yu Ze’s mental power, and if Riel hadn’t been such a fool whose abilities and specialties were largely countered by mine, we might all have been wiped out here.”

Reef gritted his teeth:

“That Yu Ze… even if he hadn't found the skull of the Phantom Overlord Wyvern, those two likely had no good intentions. Did you notice? The cooperation agreement they signed with us was forged!”

Hearing Reef’s words, the other two quickly checked and found it was indeed true. Fang Senyan pondered:

“It seems that’s how it went down. It wasn't that his ability could exploit spatial loopholes; it was that the Illusionist Yu Ze deliberately misled our perception during the signing, making us think the contract was notarized through the Nightmare Mark—when in reality, that step was skipped entirely! Damn it, if we had a teammate with high mental power, we wouldn't have fallen for this trick. However, his scheme had many flaws. For example, when completing the penetration milestone, the reward they promised never actually materialized. We must be much more cautious about this aspect in the future.”

Several dazzling streaks of lightning now carved paths across the sky, winding and shining. Raindrops the size of beans began to smash down from above, hitting Fang Senyan’s exposed skin, immediately fragmenting, causing a faint burning sensation, and a subtle stinging in his pores.

Because Pandora’s atmosphere contained substances harmful to humans, the rainwater was also corrosive. While it might not threaten the lives of powerful Contractors, being drenched was always detrimental to wounds and intensely uncomfortable.

As the heavy rain descended, the surrounding green leaves began to pop under the impact of the drops. In mere moments, the world became a vast, blinding sheet of downpour, and the sound rushing into their ears was a constant, roaring deluge.

Under such conditions, it felt as if water ruled everything. Forcing a return to the ship now might invite disaster—flash floods, landslides, mudslides, or getting struck by lightning, which could result in instant death. Thus, Fang Senyan pointed toward the distant Hometree, and the three bolted towards it.

Watching the lightning relentlessly crisscrossing the heavens, Mogansha trudged through the mud and water, his voice laced with worry:

“Doesn't a larger tree attract lightning more easily…?”

Fang Senyan shook his head:

“Impossible. Don’t forget, near every Hometree, there must be a rich Pandora mineral vein. The magnetic vortex it creates can cause rocks to float weightlessly, and lightning will be repelled by that field. Otherwise, I imagine the poor Na’vi race would see thousands of their people struck dead by lightning every year.”

Since Riel and Yu Ze launched their ambush near the Hometree, the trio easily rushed into its hollow. Inside, it was pitch black, filled with flashing lightning and torrential rain, yet the tree cavity held an indescribable tranquility. The Hometree exuded a unique, fresh scent; even the oxygen masks couldn't completely block it, gradually calming the three men.

Riel and Yu Ze clearly had high Bloodlust scores, meaning both dropped Blood Keys. Fang Senyan considered the matter, picked up Riel’s Blood Key, and summoned the Blood Chest. Facing the four options (refer to previous chapters if details are unclear), Fang Senyan admitted he hesitated...

Riel’s equipment was exceptionally good, befitting someone sent as a mole who seemed highly valued by his leader, “Zeus.” The two silver plot-level daggers were superb, and the +7 Deep Blue armor-piercing long saber performed impressively—all likely fetching exorbitant prices. Furthermore, his Shadow Clone skill and gear boasting at least +8 Fire Damage were rare finds.

But at this moment, Mogansha, the dark-skinned comrade, noticed Fang Senyan’s hesitation and spoke seriously:

“Boss! Draw the item directly! Yes, choose the option to randomly receive three items from the dead man’s storage space. Don’t forget that Crimson Card! That rare loot that only Colonists have a small chance of dropping.”

Fang Senyan frowned:

“I checked the information on the Crimson Card earlier; it said my authorization was insufficient. Do you know some inside scoop?”

Mogansha chuckled, took a swig from his canteen filled with Gatorade, and wiped his thick lips:

“I heard a bit from the Metal Mentor. The Crimson Card is only dropped by Colonists who’ve killed many people. Once dropped, it doesn’t summon a chest for you. Instead, it functions like a hotel key card.”

Now Reef was intrigued:

“A key card?”

Mogansha nodded seriously:

“Exactly. Think about it: a key card that functions within the Nightmare Space... that can only mean access to our private rooms! Once you use the Crimson Card to open the door, you can go in and plunder freely!”

“Plunder freely??” Fang Senyan, usually composed, couldn't help but inquire: “But he’s already dead!”

The dark-skinned man pursed his lips—a gesture that only made them appear thicker and his expression more guileless:

“Who really knows the details? I’m only repeating what I heard, and I suspect Fanu only heard it from someone else; he never saw it himself. More importantly, from their conversation, Markey seems like a truly villainous character. Not only did he defect after extracting enough benefits from his team, but it seems he also screwed over and profited from plenty of people before meeting us. That’s why I suggest you’re better off gambling on the Crimson Card he dropped.”

Reef nodded in agreement:

“I support that view. If you choose equipment, there's a 50% chance of getting nothing useful, and even if you get something, it might not be what you want—that probability is less than one in four. But choosing to draw three items guarantees a yield. Judging by how long your fight lasted, that kid must have burned through a lot of his consumables. I estimate the chance of drawing that Crimson Card is at least fifty percent.”

“Fine! I’ll draw it!” RO