The Gypsy woman in the pushed-away black headscarf looked decidedly displeased. She immediately let out a sharp, mocking laugh, her gaze fixing on Kambi. The fierce expression on Kambi's face miraculously began to melt away in that instant, replaced by one of confusion and helplessness. The woman's voice, originally cold and sharp, softened into something sweet and gentle:

"You will give it to me, won't you? After giving this thing to me, you will feel your right hand grow so heavy, so incredibly heavy, that you cannot bear it, forcing you to find an axe to sever that now-useless hand..."

"Hypnosis?!?" The thought flashed simultaneously through Fang Senyan's mind and the minds of his two companions! And this middle-aged woman with the black headscarf was truly vicious; Kambi had merely pushed her with his right hand, and she intended to hypnotize him into cutting off that very hand?

Seeing Kambi actually fall for it, reaching out to hand over the small black cloth bag, Reef stepped forward to intervene. But the middle-aged woman in the black headscarf suddenly produced a stack of items from her bosom, flicked her wrist, and a thin, wickedly sharp object spun out at high speed. Reef snorted, snatched it mid-air, and blood immediately seeped between his fingers—it was a playing card, the Three of Clubs!

To be able to injure Reef, the edge of this playing card was undoubtedly as sharp as a common blade.

It was no wonder ordinary pirates dared not trade with these Gypsies. Just looking at the casual skill displayed by this woman—mastery of mind-affecting hypnosis combined with this remote attack method using thrown cards—was enough to leave one stunned.

However, for Reef, such a wound was superficial. He pressed forward undeterred. The middle-aged woman's expression shifted, and she shot out three more finger-flicked projectiles. This time, three playing cards whistled through the air, slicing across Reef’s throat, chest, and arm, sinking deep into the flesh!

For an ordinary person, these would have been fatal blows, but amidst a spray of blood, Reef struck out with a punch, utterly unfazed, landing squarely on the woman's face. He sent her flying two to three meters back. When the woman scrambled up from the ground in disarray, several patches of ochre were already soaking into her black face veil—clearly indicating either a gushing nosebleed or severe internal injury causing her to vomit blood.

"While I never proactively strike women, that absolutely does not mean you can exploit my mercy!"

After the woman was struck down, Kambi's hypnotic state instantly broke. He looked down at his own hands with a bewildered expression. Then, he immediately clutched his head, writhing in pain, letting out disjointed sounds—likely the result of severe neural shock from the hypnosis.

Reef casually pulled the playing cards embedded in his skin free and tossed them to the ground. Fang Senyan’s gaze lingered for a moment on the three blood-stained cards that had fallen near him. He identified their faces—Four of Clubs, Six of Clubs, Seven of Clubs—a thoughtful look entering his eyes before he addressed Morgan Shaw:

"You take Kambi and leave this place first. Reef and I have superior stamina and higher resistance to abnormal states. It won't be easy for them to hypnotize us two. More importantly, lurking in the shadows will grant me a greater sense of security."

The dark-skinned man nodded, flashing a wide, toothy smile, and led Kambi away. As Reef and Fang Senyan had drawn most of the surrounding attention, their departure proceeded without further visible incident.

By this time, the Gypsy woman in the black headscarf had managed to get back on her feet. She shot a venomous glare in their direction before scurrying back inside. Soon after, five or six more women began emerging from the large tent within.

Fang Senyan noticed that the woman walking in the center wore a headscarf patterned with red, yellow, and green, and her veil was pure white, with a single red dot painted between her eyebrows, resembling a cinnabar mole. She held a crystal ball that glowed a deep crimson; within it, patterns shifted magically and bizarrely, as if an entirely new world was being formed and dissolved in an instant.

Besides her, the other women wore mostly red or white headscarves and veils of matching colors, but even those who held crystal balls possessed items far inferior in both size and quality to the one held by the central figure.

A woman in a white headscarf leading the group looked toward Reef and spoke coldly:

"Outsider, you dare attack the sacred Diviner? Then prepare to face the retribution of Luzina."

Reef snorted in response:

"It was your old woman who attacked me first."

The woman in the white headscarf clearly became furious, flipping her wrist to reveal another stack of playing cards appearing in her palm. But just then, Fang Senyan suddenly called out:

"Wait a moment."

Surprisingly, the woman in the patterned headscarf and white veil immediately echoed:

"Wait a moment."

The reason these Gypsy Diviners complied so readily was that Fang Senyan stood perfectly still, extending his right hand. Between the tip of his right index finger and his thumb, he delicately pinched a seed—a seed that was blackish-green with a metallic sheen. It was evident that a moment's squeeze would cause it to burst with a pop, splattering juice everywhere.

"Very good," Fang Senyan smiled. "I finally have an opening to speak. But rest assured, I am not a person given to needless chatter."

"Firstly, I came seeking your expertise to identify this unknown seed. It appears you recognize this item."

"Secondly, I am not opposed to selling it—provided the price is one that truly satisfies me."

"Finally, I am a person who holds grudges easily. If I experience an unpleasant incident like being attacked, I will express my displeasure by increasing the price. Listen closely: for every subsequent attack against us, I will double the selling price."

Fang Senyan paused here, then turned his smile, serious and intent, toward the middle-aged woman in the black headscarf whom Reef had just attacked:

"Your recent action deeply displeased me, so my asking price doubles to twenty thousand gold pounds. Your single failed attack is now valued at ten thousand gold pounds. If there is another attack, you must consider carefully: if you fail to kill me, you will need to pay forty thousand gold pounds to buy it."

At this point, Luzina, the woman with the white veil, scoffed:

"I have traveled from the place of sunrise to the place of sunset, and never have I encountered such an ignorant and arrogant fool as you."

As soon as her words fell, two high-speed spinning playing cards flew from Luzina's palm. Unlike before, these cards emitted a piercing, soul-chilling whistle as they spun. The trajectory of the two cards was already elusive in the air; they suddenly collided before flying back from opposite directions to slice in tandem. Reef, caught momentarily off guard, sustained two long gashes across his back, blood flowing freely. Even more bizarrely, after injuring Reef, the cards seemed to possess a life of their own, hovering back into the air, ready to strike again the next second!

At that moment, Reef clenched his right fist, bolstering himself with his Armor of Conviction, and immediately lowered his head, charging straight toward Luzina. Yet, for some inexplicable reason in Fang Senyan's eyes, Reef’s forward charge appeared excruciatingly slow, as if he were merely marching in place.

Clearly, Reef had unknowingly fallen victim to an illusion, causing a severe distortion in his perception of distance.

"Oh? An illusion?" A cold smirk appeared almost simultaneously on the lips of Fang Senyan and Reef. Ever since their battle with Leer and Yu Ze, the Ace Team had engaged in painful introspection, discussing countless strategies for dealing with illusions should they encounter them again, compiling several countermeasures.

Reef had chosen the simplest, most direct method from their list!

He took a deep breath, his chest seeming to swell, then let out a sudden, wild roar toward the sky!

"Heart-Rending Shriek!!!"

The range of Reef’s Heart-Rending Shriek was now considerable. Luzina was caught within the skill's area of effect. Though she was on the periphery, she was immediately damaged, her face paling as she stumbled back a few steps. The illusion shattered instantly.

Reef closed the distance, eager to press the advantage and also mindful of completing the main objective. Thus, instead of drawing his light-saber, he swept his shield in a heavy arc, connecting solidly with Luzina's face, immediately following up with a kick that sent her howling in a piercing shriek. She curled into a ball, gasping on the ground until she could finally catch her breath.

Fang Senyan didn't even lift his eyes. He said calmly:

"Next. And I should mention, the seed price has now doubled to forty thousand gold pounds. If you dare strike again, the price will be eighty thousand gold pounds."

Luzina suddenly shrieked like a shrew:

"Everyone attack at once! There are only two of them, I don't believe... you idiot!!!!!"

With a soft snap, Fang Senyan crushed the seed between his index finger and thumb. Greenish fluid splattered everywhere. He nonchalantly flicked the liquid residue from his fingers, then looked at the surrounding Gypsy Diviners, whose bodies were practically trembling with suppressed fury, and stated with satisfaction:

"I forgot to mention one thing: group combat is strictly forbidden. Only one-on-one duels."

As he spoke, Fang Senyan produced another seed, calmly pinching it between his thumb and forefinger. He added coolly:

"Perhaps you still believe I'm someone who speaks without meaning it. Feel free to challenge my credibility again?"

Recommended read: The Human Project. Synopsis: "When swords and firearms stand side-by-side, when internal power clashes with magic, when martial arts rub against fighting techniques, when games merge with other worlds—uh, have you ever seen the Sunflower Manual practiced by someone using a gun?"