The burn of the strong liquor remained the same, a fire scorching the taste buds, yet the searing sensation as it slid down his throat instantly spread throughout Dr. W’s entire body.

This involuntary reaction brought Dr. W back to the wild abandon of his youth—moments of great drunkenness, great joy, great weeping, and great sorrow. He understood that while the taste of the liquor might offer a fleeting, high-octane pleasure as it passed the palate and throat, the feeling of it seeping through the ravaged esophagus and stomach into the viscera must surely be torture.

But the agony he expected did not arrive!

Instead, there was a feeling of intense warmth, a blissful heat, as if he had just downed a cup of piping hot brown sugar and ginger soup while suffering from aches and a pounding headache; a tingling warmth even permeated his very bones.

The pain seemed to recede noticeably at this point, clearly numbed by the alcohol, yet the feeling of comfortable bliss lingered. Dr. W couldn't resist taking two more swigs, and as the intoxication deepened, the pain became even fainter.

He slipped into a state of light drunkenness, a sense of relaxation and comfort that Dr. W found impossible to articulate—his whole body felt weightless, as if suspended among the clouds. Working in this state, he suspected, would yield twice the result with half the effort.

“A pity… it’s all gone,” Dr. W inverted the flask, confirming the harsh reality with his eyes, before letting out a deep sigh, followed by a rather indelicate burp.

Fang Senyan merely smiled:

“Try taking another sip in fifteen minutes.”

With that, Fang Senyan turned and walked out, simultaneously tapping his earpiece. He was beginning to receive the latest intel—though Zi and the others hadn't sent him an emergency signal, Fang Senyan deduced that Loki and his crew were already sampling the various feasts he had prepared for them.

As soon as the secure, encrypted channel connected, Fang Senyan heard Reef excitedly shouting:

“Left flank, left flank! Quick, calculate the lead distance!”

“Fantastic! That burst of bullets should teach him a lesson. Whoa! Loki’s making a move, no worries, switching to the next target immediately!”

“Switch to armor-piercing rounds. Smoke grenades! Activate infrared scan, whoa, go for a rapid double-tap headshot!”

“Let me, let me have a go!”

Listening to these morally bankrupt shouts, one might easily mistake them for people playing a shooting game like CS, but the truth was: they were operating remote-controlled weaponry, unleashing a barrage against Loki and his team.

Undoubtedly, this 'I can shoot you but you can't shoot me' tactic was utterly despicable and base, but it was remarkably morale-boosting. Fang Senyan tapped his earpiece and spoke into the channel:

“Are they in Sector F2 now? Very well, collapse the passage ahead of them. Make them choose between digging or taking a detour.”

“OK, detonation successful! Looks like they chose the detour. Controlling Earth abilities isn't easy; can't count on Kurut fruit being everywhere, Brother Yan!”

“A detour? Are they heading to Sector F3? Excellent. The Sower defense system there should be installed by