Fang Senyan’s eyes flickered upon hearing the time—midnight—and he nodded slightly before leaving with Jin Kuang. The moment he stepped out of Park Selfridge's office, Fang Senyan frowned instantly. Earlier, Mogensha and Reef had split up to join two temporary teams to complete their tasks, drawing attention away from their true purpose. If that group led by Stallo wasn't due back until midnight...

With that thought, Fang Senyan immediately spared no expense, contacting Mogensha and Reef remotely through the team channel:

“Whatever you are doing right now, and no matter how your mission is progressing, return to the Hell's Gate Base immediately. Be careful on your way. If you run into unavoidable danger, you can even use RD personnel as a shield. Based on my speculation, if we harm any RD personnel now, the repercussions will be quite severe.”

“There is only one reason why I’m urgently calling you back,” Fang Senyan continued seriously:

“Those Settlers haven't left yet. They are due to return at midnight tonight. We gave them a severe beating earlier because we had the advantage in numbers; these bastards are likely looking to get even right now! The Illuminati group huddling together isn't the main issue, but the remaining Contract Holders are all disconnected and working against each other—that spells big trouble… In this battlefield, its reputation is well-deserved; a single misstep can lead to a total collapse!”

Thinking of the sheer toughness of those Settlers, even Reef couldn't help but take a sharp, cold breath. However, he quickly expressed his concern:

“Then what about the mission we accepted?”

Fang Senyan smiled:

“Those few kilograms of high-purity Pandora Crystals we presented weren't offered in vain. Since we obtained RD Company's complete survey data for Pandora Planet, tackling the mission will be ten times easier than them blindly crashing around like headless flies! Given that, wasting these few hours doesn't matter much.”

“Ah, it’s just a pity that Park Selfridge proved so difficult to handle. Even with Jin Kuang’s capabilities plus all our crystal ore, we only managed to buy 'Friendly' standing with him. Otherwise, securing a mission from him would have significantly boosted RD Company’s reputation.”

The two understood the urgency of the situation. Reef said his goodbyes to his temporary allies. When the big Black man heard the words "return to Hell's Gate Base immediately," he immediately turned and left without a second word while he was actively engaged in a firefight.

Fang Senyan was also deeply worried at this moment. Reef’s value was self-evident, but Mogensha’s personality, looking deeper, also suited Fang Senyan’s taste very well. For instance, the high-purity Pandora Crystals previously used to bribe Park Selfridge were all readily offered by the Black man without question.

Such a substance was extremely rare in the Space, easily worth tens of thousands of universal points, and more importantly, perhaps unobtainable even with money! If these two teammates were to meet with misfortune, they would be very hard to replace.

However, less than five minutes passed before Mogensha cried out hoarsely:

“Damn it! I’m being targeted, they’re catching up…”

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of sharp gunfire erupted. Reef began to roar as well:

“I see you, coming from the west! These guys look like they were lying in ambush here already…”

At this point, Fang Senyan hesitated no longer, his face turning ashen as he bolted out! Fierce flames seemed to burn in his eyes. At this moment, one could see that Fang Senyan’s personal base attribute point for 'Spirit' had suddenly dropped by one point, his lips were pressed tighter together, and even his face seemed slightly contorted.

Mogensha appeared to be in a dire situation. He could barely stay standing, panting heavily, using his weapon like a crutch to forcefully brace himself against the ground. Two ghastly, long, crisscrossing lacerations were clearly visible across his chest and abdomen. If they had been even slightly deeper, he would have been cut open, yet beside his blood-soaked lips, there was a distinct, desperate, yet maniacal smile!

A blood-soaked key shimmered like red agate in his palm.

Five meters ahead of him, the Settler wielding a Katana was closing in step by step. This individual, named Chase Karl, had defeated seven men in the duel yesterday but was ultimately crushed under Mogensha’s foot at the peak of his strength. This was an absolute humiliation he was determined to wash away!

That was why he volunteered and actively joined the smaller pursuit team tracking Mogensha and Reef. He hadn't expected that in a two-on-one chase, Mogensha, who had once again broken through his limit, could still snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, managing to kill one of their side with blinding speed, leveraging his mastery of 'Burst Movement'!

The person Mogensha killed was not one of the thirteen original Settlers, but rather a Summoner similar to Phil from the Symbiotic Society—someone who could merge with summoned entities to gain massive power.

For example, when pursuing enemies, he would borrow the 'Power of the Deer,' granting him significantly enhanced movement speed while defense/HP would correspondingly drop. In a combat state, borrowing the 'Power of the Bear,' he would transform into a template similar to Fang Senyan, possessing high HP and Strength.

Mogensha had fought Contract Holders with similar abilities before. Thus, he seized the opportunity presented by Chase Karl’s eagerness for revenge, causing him to rush ahead to block their path and separate their forces. Exploiting the enemy's carelessness, Mogensha didn't retreat but counter-attacked with a sudden burst of fury, instantly driving the Contract Holder, who was utilizing the 'Power of the Deer,' into a critically wounded, near-death state, before delivering a final shot and killing the Contract Holder outright.

Although doing this meant Mogensha was left with almost no ability to fight back against Chase Karl, the fact that he could erupt and kill someone under such extreme disadvantage meant that his name would surely be heralded—or put less nicely, even if he died, he would have gotten his money's worth!

Moreover, during this recent breakthrough past his limit, Mogensha had directly invested in Agility and Stamina. High Agility meant he could escape faster, and high Stamina meant he could hold out longer. As even an ant clings to life, he still held hope, refusing to believe that their leader, Fang Senyan, would abandon them! The only thing he could—and needed—to do now was delay! Delay until death itself!

The enraged Chase Karl’s face was ashen as he swung his Katana at Mogensha again and again. The flashes of his blade looked peculiar, exhibiting a 'release-then-retract' quality. After being swung at incredible speed, the blade would linger momentarily upon touching Mogensha's flesh before snapping back.

With every flash of the blade, a patch of flesh the size of a palm would be sliced off Mogensha's body. The discarded flesh looked as thin as paper! Of course, the pain inflicted was as intense as death by a thousand cuts!

In the real world, Chase Karl was the most renowned sashimi chef in Hokkaido. What he intended to do to Mogensha was abundantly clear: he wanted to peel off the skin of Mogensha, piece by piece, the man who had caused him such utter disgrace!

“Run, keep running! Aren't you so strong? Everyone is under our surveillance; do you think anyone will come to save you?”

Chase Karl screamed while slashing, then kicked the still-stumbling Mogensha to the ground. He planted the sole of his heavy black boot directly onto Mogensha’s lips and ground it down forcefully, even shoving the toe of his boot into Mogensha's mouth!

Instantly, Mogensha’s mouth was filled with damp soil, and he could feel the hard yet slightly elastic texture of the rubber sole. This sensation was certainly unpleasant. But the Black man, bleeding from every pore, took it remarkably well, maintaining a cheerful smile, giving a thumbs-up with both hands raised.

Chase Karl's eyes showed a look of perverse satisfaction. His favorite pastime was driving his opponent to beg for mercy in desperation, only to kill them the moment he offered a glimmer of hope! So, he lifted his foot. The panting Black man spat out the dirt and sand from his mouth, then suddenly laughed and uttered that American curse word recognized globally:

“F*ck you.”

Chase Karl roared in fury—he had been toyed with! The blade flashed, and one of Mogensha’s ears flew off. His Katana then settled against Mogensha’s other ear, slowly slicing into it.

Warm blood trickled slowly down the Black man’s cheek. Mogensha was certainly not the type to endure pain silently; he screamed loudly, his face pale with agony. This seemed normal to Chase Karl, but he forgot one thing: a scream is also an excellent directional beacon. If Mogensha didn't appear to be in extreme agony, Chase Karl, bored, might have just started hacking off hands, feet, balls, or delivering the final throat slit.

A plume of dark, cyan smoke abruptly materialized beside Chase Karl. After a moment of dizziness, the Settler acted decisively, slashing his blade across Mogensha’s throat, putting him into a near-death state, and preparing to deliver the killing blow!

But just at that moment, delayed by that slight dizziness, a formidable silhouette lunged forward, grabbing the near-dead Mogensha by the shoulders with both hands! He used his own back to absorb the follow-up strike from Chase Karl’s blade, blocking it effortlessly, then exerted force with both hands to hurl Mogensha away.

Thank you all for your efforts last week; the midnight bonus update remains on schedule. RO