Presently, everyone else stirred awake one after another. Fang Senyan dared not underestimate the situation, pushing everyone to maximize their combat readiness. This included mobilizing ‘Number Seven’ (the name it gave itself), the mutated servant of the Dicerian race belonging to Reef, and calling upon Old Charlie—who had applied for non-combatant protection status (able to transfer personnel to another plane upon enemy attack, but incapable of participating in or assisting combat in any way). Naturally, San Zai’s Kurut Fruit had to be summoned ahead of time as well.

Because Fang Senyan had absolutely no time to reallocate and strengthen Ramtas’s genes, he could only summon the boar-man Ramtas that could previously shoot back spikes, exactly as he was. Otherwise, after Fang Senyan optimized and refined him, Ramtas’s combat capability could have been boosted by over 20%.

Of course, to avoid attracting undue attention, Ramtas and the others had undergone a disguise. The most amusing transformation was the Kurut Fruit, which was disguised as a chubby little boy, somewhat resembling Dudley, Harry Potter’s cousin, except this version had a long stream of snot dangling, wide, round eyes, and was constantly munching on snacks, lending him an air of simple-minded honesty.

San Zai remained profoundly exhausted, though this fatigue wasn't physical; it was the weariness of utter mental depletion. Reflected in his stats, his health and MP recovery speeds had stalled—simply put, he was like someone who hadn't slept for five days and five nights.

The remedy was straightforward: a cup of hot cocoa, followed by twenty-four hours of sleep in a warm bed would restore 60% of his energy; another twelve hours would bring him back to ninety percent.

Following this, Fang Senyan and the others habitually searched the wreckage of the car. They discovered most of the occupants were dead, with only three survivors. However, these three were all severely injured. Given the environment—temperatures around zero degrees Celsius, coupled with a torrential downpour—cold, bleeding, and pain were rapidly eroding their bodies and health. Consequently, the condition of the wounded was far from optimistic.

At this juncture, Old Charlie suddenly addressed Fang Senyan with deference: “Master, judging by the world’s introduction and its core theme, whether to save these people is likely a critical decision.”

Fang Senyan paused, then nodded slowly: “You make an excellent point. What is your counsel?”

Old Charlie’s graying hair beneath his derby hat was soaked by the rain, yet he seemed oblivious, once again adopting that gentle yet chilling tone: “Master. My recommendation is... kill them. Although this might trigger a chain reaction of complications, potentially increasing the mission difficulty, I believe that at any juncture, destruction and slaughter are a hundred times simpler and less troublesome than salvation and construction!”

The air fell terrifyingly silent; the atmosphere seemed to freeze solid. Fang Senyan’s primary motivation for bringing Old Charlie close was initially to utilize him as an imperial encyclopedia. Ultimately, Fang Senyan’s final objective was to pave the way for his entry into the Great Clock Research Institute of the Empire; Old Charlie, who once possessed the highest level of data access authority, might prove invaluable.

However, Fang Senyan had not anticipated that after entering the Nightmare Space and successfully regaining a human body, Old Charlie would display such formidable logical deduction abilities! His reasoning was always based on the coldest calculation of self-interest, chillingly mechanical, instilling in others a sense of fierce, unapproachable detachment.

Thus, even though Old Charlie remained silent, Fang Senyan could sense that this man’s past must also be extraordinary, harboring secrets—perhaps someone who lost everything in a brutal political struggle, yet stubbornly refused to yield, fighting on with gritted teeth.

Fang Senyan considered Old Charlie’s words carefully, then shook his head seriously: “Though I know you are correct, I cannot bring myself to harm innocent people. This is a matter of principle for me. Since the main objective hasn't materialized yet, we will treat the wounded first.”

At this, under Fang Senyan’s direction, the group began moving the injured down to the edge of the nearby cliff. They hastily constructed a makeshift tent using dismantled door panels from the car and the canvas cover from the trunk, then started a fire.

The warmth of the bonfire finally brought consciousness back to the few wounded survivors. At this moment, Fang Senyan’s bottle of “Endless Vodka,” long set aside, proved useful once more. A swig of the potent liquor, warming one from the tongue straight down to the stomach, gave strength back to the moans of the wounded. The shadow of death was temporarily banished from their bodies.

Suddenly, the dry wood in the fire cracked explosively, drawing Fang Senyan’s attention. He watched the flames leap and dance, then unexpectedly coalesce into characters that instantly appeared before him.

“You have saved five passengers from the vehicle, but their conditions have only just stabilized. You now have two choices.”

“The first is to abandon them here; rescue will arrive at daybreak, and some among them will die as a result.”

“The second is to escort them to the town of Forks, fifteen kilometers away, where they can receive medical aid at the hospital. However, you will lose precious time. To reiterate: the time you lose is valuable time before the end of the world arrives!”

Fang Senyan was an extreme person who disliked moderation. Despite the numerous warnings, he decisively chose to head for Forks. Trekking fifteen kilometers in the darkness, heavy rain, and cold might seem nearly impossible for ordinary people, but for Fang Senyan and his group, it wasn't overly difficult. Thus, an hour later, they entered the desolate, cold town illuminated by dim streetlights, seemingly devoid of human life.

For some inexplicable reason, as soon as Fang Senyan entered the town, he felt a persistent, vague sense of unease—like the fiery, violent heat hidden beneath the mirror-like surface of blue skies and white clouds at Tianchi Lake; once unleashed, it could only be described in four words: utter annihilation!! (Okay, that’s more than four words, but it’s not the first time, so never mind; feel free to roast me.)

The arrival of the three wounded people at the hospital caused an unusually significant stir. The formerly quiet town became lively as if a bomb had been dropped. Several cars quickly parked outside the hospital, their lights illuminating the mud on the wet streets until it glistened.

Fang Senyan vaguely observed that the town was nestled in a valley, flanked by towering, dark mountains that stretched endlessly toward the horizon in the gloomy, cold rain. The slopes were covered with towering Douglas firs, hemlocks, spruces, and rare Red Cedars. The atmosphere was quiet, desolate, and possessed a morbid stillness akin to a tomb.

“How is San Zai?” Fang Senyan turned and asked Zi as she strode out.

Zi nodded: “He’s fine. We found him a bed and put him straight to sleep.”

“Why such a massive reaction over these three wounded people?” Fang Senyan continued to inquire.

Zi nodded: “Because that car was supposed to pass through Forks anyway. These three injured people are residents of the town—one of them is the mayor. Don’t you feel something is amiss?”

Fang Senyan narrowed his eyes: “Are you suggesting...?”

Zi frowned her exquisitely beautiful brows and explained slowly: “This bizarrely peaceful start is unlike anything I’ve encountered before, but I have a constant feeling of wind building before the storm—as if something is about to happen in the next second...”

While they were discussing this, a group of people, the grateful patients, rushed over to thank them. Especially the mayor, whose large belly was tightly cinched by an ill-fitting suit jacket, he struggled slightly while solemnly shaking Fang Senyan’s hand, bowing, and expressing his heartfelt gratitude.

After completing this round of formalities, Fang Senyan was wondering why the Space had dropped them here, especially while emphasizing the preciousness of time. Just then, the Kurut Fruit, holding a large bag of jerky, sidled up to him, tugging gently at Fang Senyan’s trousers: “Uncle, ah-woo ah-woo.”

“Here, unstable.”

“Earth seems angry.”

“I feel the rocks roaring with excitement.”

The two-headed Kurut Fruit still slurred his words, but Fang Senyan, combining the terrain he had observed with his recollections, suddenly understood. The Space’s test was interconnected, seemingly simple and ordinary, yet filled with ingenious design!

“This town is about to be swallowed by a landslide!!” Fang Senyan felt a sharp jolt in his heart. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. This town relied primarily on logging, leading to severe destruction of the vegetation on the slopes on either side. Coupled with the prolonged rainfall, the surface soil was completely saturated.

Therefore, Fang Senyan’s first reaction was naturally to flee!

And his second thought was: What about the residents of this town, most of whom were still asleep?

Fang Senyan immediately asked: “Guoguo, roughly how much time is left before nature loses control?” The Kurut Fruit took a long time using gestures to convey to Fang Senyan that there was less than an hour!

“I think I understand the Space’s intention,” Fang Senyan’s brow cleared with sudden realization: “They are using this test to set up our main mission! I must save every single person in this town!”

The third update reached two thousand characters. I discovered quite a few bugs, which I overturned and rewrote. Everyone rest assured, I will make up the difference before six o’clock this afternoon.