The air filled with swirling, pale blue ice dust, yet the rest of the Ace team remained trapped in a state of shock—numb, bewildered, unable to believe what their eyes were seeing...

That Magsa, fiery like shrapnel from an AK; that languid Magsa, leaning against a coconut tree, thick lips pursed around a cigar; that Magsa who could resolve your troubles with a bullet at any moment; that Magsa who roared like thunder when angered...

Was simply dead. Just like that—dead, dead!!!!!

A surging, invisible wave of icy impact swept through, like a roaring tide, churning everything around into a landscape draped in silver. The members of the Ace team were instantly encased in thick layers of ice. Yet, their expressions were either masks of ultimate grief or vacant stupor, betraying a complete inability to accept the reality before them!

Reef was flung high by the frigid current, suspended mid-air, his lower body frozen solid into the ice. Blood and tears streamed down his face, yet he could still see with startling clarity the hand Magsa had extended toward him—that large hand, warm, powerful, rough, the very hand that had pulled him back from the abyss.

But the owner of that hand had saved him, and he, in turn, could not save him; he could only watch, and watch, utterly helpless!!!

Boss...

Boss!!!! What are you doing???

Zi had little interaction with Magsa, but she knew him to be a man of few words but immense reliability; any task assigned to him could be set aside with complete confidence, free from future worry.

So, after the battle commenced, Zi casually gave Magsa one instruction: Protect Sanzai.

But Zi never imagined that this simple instruction would be their final exchange! That single glance was destined to be a farewell...

Magsa had promised Zi he would guard Sanzai well, and in the most critical moment, he had fulfilled that vow with his own life, his own body.

Zi had assumed Fang Senyan’s silence was part of a deep strategy, a calculated forbearance, but...

This forbearance play was too ambitious, too grand!

Magsa was dead, and they were teetering on the brink, in dire peril!

Bastard!!! What are you doing?

Tears were already carving paths down Sanzai’s face, freezing into crisscrossing lines of ice in the extreme cold.

He had never known death so intimately, nor survived a brush with it so narrowly!

More importantly, the slender thread of life that saved him had been purchased with the life of his comrade...

I. I’m so scared. I just survived.

I don't want to die!!!!

Brother Yan. Save me. What... are... you... doing?

"Though there was a slight deviation, it was still a Perfect strike."

Pulzibila retracted his body from cover, shrugging casually. "That black man, Magsa, was quite loyal, actually taking the death blow meant for the Summoner. Huh, not bad either. The system notified me I killed a Colonist Hunter. I just earned a massive amount of Merit Points. Ooh! Time for the lottery draw—a pair of dark gold leather pants! What an unexpected reward. Lamb, Lamb, you damn well better figure out how you’re going to thank me for my great luck!"

KD suddenly frowned. "Something feels off... Wait, repeat what you just said."

Pulzibila tilted his head. "I said I just won a pair of dark gold leather pants."

"Not that part. The sentence before that. Cough, cough, damn it, why is my throat so itchy?" KD was already intently watching the members of the Curse-Ending faction, speaking haltingly between coughs.

Pulzibila paused in confusion. "I said, the system notified me I only killed one Colonist Hunter."

KD’s pupils constricted sharply. "That’s it!! My calculation of the battle was perfectly precise. That shot you fired should have directly eliminated one enemy Contract Holder. Moreover, while the shockwave from our Resentment Chill explosion wasn't overwhelmingly powerful, its indiscriminate damage to allies meant those jerks would certainly evade it, guaranteeing the collateral kill of one enemy already in a near-death state. That MT, Reef, and his Dark Gold Shield were all factored into my plan!"

"But you only got a notification for one kill! That means the MT is still alive! How could I have miscalculated? He shouldn't have any contingency or trump card, otherwise, given his personality, he would have used it already to save his teammate!"

KD suddenly paced back and forth like a caged beast, agitation rising. Pulzibila merely shrugged, unconcerned. "I think I saw a yellow glow flicker around Reef’s body... One person can't account for everything; there are always... Ah-ah-ACHOO... surprises. Damn it, just like this blasted sneeze."

KD fell silent, his pupils contracting as he looked toward the battlefield, sensing something abnormal.

On the battlefield, Reef’s position was the most conspicuous, and the most wretched, as he was frozen five or six meters in the air by the icing blast kicked up from the explosion of the giant azure rose.

Everyone had anticipated he would enter a near-death state, and Reef’s radiant, dark gold shield had drawn the greed of everyone present.

It was precisely for this reason that Sanzai and Zi, who were also thrown into a near-death state by the frost shockwave, were effectively shielded once more by Reef. Otherwise, if the remaining four people on the field had each targeted a different objective, at least one of Sanzai or Zi would have surely died!

The remaining four awoke to the astonishing fact that Reef had not died in the frost impact, still clinging to life in a critical state. They had no time for further thought, fearing that any hesitation would cost them too much time to act!

Seeing that their team was decimated, it signaled the end of any cooperation; the various teams were now competitors, even enemies!

Thus, as they prepared to strike, some were already contemplating how to secure their own safety after a successful strike, or how to turn on the one who succeeded!

The combined assault of the four powerful awakened ones slammed heavily into Reef's body!

Immense force surged outward, shaking loose a massive amount of the ice sealing Reef, dissolving it into drifting, pale blue powder. Nearly half the plaza was shrouded in this misty, ethereal ice dust, visibility dropping drastically, much like the scene just before the black man died. But, but!

A sliver of what seemed like unbreakable, sacred golden-yellow light shot out instantly—the formidable power of the Life Link appeared vividly before everyone’s eyes!

Life Link had actually protected Reef once before, but in that moment, the black man's glorious, self-immolating Nirvana had captured the majority of attention. Following that, the magnificent sight of the azure rose created by the Resentment Chill, coupled with the relatively mild power of the frost shockwave, meant the light around Reef’s body had only flashed momentarily—a fleeting gleam—and was consequently ignored.

But now, Reef was the focal point!

The layer of bright yellow light around him, like an eggshell, shone with extraordinary brilliance due to the fierce attacks of his enemies!!

That frail shield was etched with the unmistakable mark of vibrant life flowing through it, and that was precisely why it remained unbreakable!

Intense pain radiated from his body, yet Reef felt a self-abusing satisfaction, a feeling of retaliation, screaming wordlessly in his soul: "Boss... this pain, this agony, can finally be transmitted to you. But this is only one ten-thousandth of the damage I feel inside, one ten-thousandth! Can you feel it? Can you feel it?????!!!!"

Then Reef noticed the expression of Shali, who was closest to him and whose face was contorted most savagely amidst the swirling, pale blue dust.

Shali’s expression had originally been one of greedy madness and distortion—an expression Reef was accustomed to seeing. But at this moment, Shali’s look felt doubly strange; in mere seconds, it transformed into disbelief, stark terror, and a silent, agonizing struggle to speak.

It was impossible not to marvel at the richness of human expression; mere millimeters of facial muscle movement could transform a person so completely, from start to finish!

Reef’s gaze fixed upon Shali’s chest, where something appeared abnormal. Soon, that spot subtly bulged, then was sharply pierced, and a small, unremarkable sharp point slowly emerged.

And then it became visible: a knife tip.

A perfectly ordinary knife tip!

Yet, it had silently pierced the powerful Shali through the chest from behind, slowly and cruelly hoisting the man up, clearly intending to maximize his suffering!

Suddenly, the blade was withdrawn, and the tip vanished from Reef’s view. The light of life had fled Shali’s eyes. A torrent of blood gushed from his back as he slowly slumped, revealing the figure standing behind him!

That man, bathed entirely in blood, looking as if he were burning madly!

The man who had stood idly by, the man whose name the Ace team members had screamed internally countless times!!!

At this moment, Fang Senyan’s eyes were fixed with a madness bordering on absolute resolve! He looked into Reef’s eyes, and Reef, his face twisted in agony, gasped, his bloodshot single eye biting down hard, staring back. He clenched his fists tightly. Their eyes met; no words were needed, for they understood each other’s intent perfectly.

"I... feel... it."

Fang Senyan said calmly to Reef.

In that instant, Reef’s tears flowed again... Hearing those words, he felt he could die in peace.

My apartment has been without power since one o'clock this morning, so typing in the internet cafe isn't pleasant. Ah, I hope the electricity comes back soon.

Next, I recommend a book: The Dark Summoner in the Apocalypse.

The author's personal struggles moved me deeply, and his dedication to writing is inspirational, which is why I recommend his book. His entire life story is a testament to the struggle of a guy who could never stick with anything growing up—he truly has courage, managing to stand against every opposition—family, school, friends—just so he could write...