Having managed this series of affairs, Fang Senyan and his group successfully handed over to President Wilson, and then, following the prompt from the space, boarded a small airship designated for emergency evacuation.

Once aboard, they immediately felt that although the airship was unmanned, it began ascending at an astonishing speed, piercing through the atmosphere and emerging into the vast expanse of the starry sky.

Because the reward for passing the trial was exchanged for +1 point of Legendary Rating, the summary of clearing the trial was swift and required no further discussion; soon, the entire group returned to the Nightmare Space.

Upon returning to the team space, Fang Senyan discovered a box placed on his desk, inscribed with the words: "Imperial Special Transit Privilege Delivery." It seemed to be a system transfer directly from the Empire.

Fang Senyan was puzzled as to who would send him such an item. Based on his deductions, it likely concerned his Bloodied Major General battle armor, but with myriad pressing matters at hand, he decided to set it aside for the moment.

Feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of tasks, he sat beside his desk, sketching and listing everything out one by one.

The very first thing Fang Senyan needed to address was synthesizing the title obtained after acquiring "The Grand Collector."

Next, his Merit Points were sufficient; primarily, the earlier ten-kill streak combined with the disintegration of the Demon Sword Apophis had brought in a massive influx of Merit Points. His current standing was: Colonel 403/400 (minus 8 points used for Extinction), clearly indicating it was time to advance to Major General.

There was also the pressing issue of replenishing the team's roster. This was now a matter of absolute urgency. As for the potential recruits, Fang Senyan had a few candidates in mind, but he always refrained from making moves without certainty; he hadn't mentioned them to the others, lest an unsuccessful recruitment attempt result in considerable embarrassment.

In addition, Fang Senyan needed to reach optimal condition to utilize the Legendary item, the Scalp of the Cretan Deity, in order to acquire an S-rank ability. Meanwhile, San Zai also needed to prepare for learning the Power of the Departed.

Zi and Jiao Shi, having acquired the Awakening Skill in the previous world and rapidly reinforcing it, risked feeling like they were rushing development; therefore, following standard procedure, they needed extra training and practice within the space to maximize its power.

Then there was the life-or-death situation concerning the Deep Green Gloves. Clearly, if Extinction were used again, those expensive gloves would undoubtedly turn to dust. Until this issue was resolved, Fang Senyan might as well consider the Extinction ability sealed.

Old Charlie also required a certain level of enhancement because of the seed of the demon Freddy planted in his mind—another money-draining endeavor...

Finally, with his innate abilities upgraded, the resistance to disease factors should theoretically increase, which was almost a certainty. This meant he might be able to attempt a foray into... SARS?? But Fang Senyan immediately shivered at the thought. To learn SARS, he would clearly need at least thirty Merit Points reserved...

Ugh, what a headache! Fang Senyan sighed, finally managing to jot down one item that could benefit the team’s economy:

There was still an extra Dark Gold Battle Rod he could sell; this thing should fetch a good price. Moreover, there were thirteen remaining "Foul Phantom Particles"; unknown artifacts that could be exchanged for Merit Points were always hard currency, and these items valued at 13 Merit Points should also bring in a nice sum... "Gold Mine! There’s a great opportunity to make money." Fang Senyan leaned back in his chair and called out languidly.

By convention, Mr. Gold Mine held a loftiness surpassing that of the English Swordsman and the French Musketeer, and such loud outbursts usually garnered no response—unless the content mentioned keywords like "making money," "getting rich," or "profit."

So, Fang Senyan was certain Gold Mine would appear before him within three seconds, materializing in the previously empty corner of the room in the blink of an eye.

But this time, Fang Senyan miscalculated. He closed his eyes and opened them again, only to find the space still empty. For a moment, Fang Senyan felt utterly bewildered, not knowing why, and a corresponding emptiness settled in his heart.

"Gold Mine, huge profits, if you don't show up soon, I’ll take this deal to someone else."

Still no response. Fang Senyan narrowed his eyes, slowly rising, and walked toward the room where Gold Mine usually stayed. Though he rarely visited this space, he remembered the furnishings clearly—Gold Mine’s method of decorating was exceptionally unconventional.

In the exact center of the room sat a sky-blue hammock patched over and over; if nothing else was amiss, Gold Mine would usually be snoring upon it. The left corner of the room was blackened by soot, beside which a crude cooking stove was built with broken red fire bricks, topped with a rusty iron pot. Piled next to it were heaps of discarded books, old newspapers, broken copper and aluminum soda cans, and a worn-out burlap sack meant for pig feed hung on the wall.

Judging by the position and proud display of the blackened sack, it resembled how nobles displayed the severed heads of bulls, bears, or deer they had hunted in their living rooms.

But as Fang Senyan reached the doorway, he froze.

The room before him was clean and tidy to an unprecedented degree!

Of course, this "clean and tidy" was relative; the scorch marks from smoke on the walls remained, as did traces of dust everywhere, but those broken items—the hammock, the rusty pot, the burlap sack—were all swept away!

Fang Senyan stood motionless at the threshold for a long moment before finally finding a word that aptly described the scene: "Moved out."

A complete, clean departure.

In disbelief, he opened his personal status panel. Under the "Servant" sub-item, only the name "Old Charlie" was listed!!!! Gold Mine had somehow, without him realizing, voluntarily severed the master-servant bond with Fang Senyan.

An indescribable emotion washed over Fang Senyan. He was seized by a feeling he couldn't name, and the ache of losing Mogansha resurfaced from the depths of his heart, stirring an urge in Fang Senyan to weep uncontrollably! He had once heard a song called "Crying Isn't a Crime for Men," and now, he deeply understood the sentiment within those lyrics.

But after a moment of stunned silence, Fang Senyan quickly suppressed this emotion. He understood it was a futile endeavor that solved nothing; rather than wasting energy on it, it was better to figure out why Gold Mine had suddenly disappeared.

Fang Senyan looked around the empty room, observing carefully, until his gaze settled on the soot-stained corner—Gold Mine’s kitchen, where the creature presumably cooked secretly using waste paper and kindling.

Fang Senyan pondered for a moment before walking over and pressing his most sensitive fingertip pad onto the floor. He immediately noticed that this particular spot was significantly warmer than the surrounding area. This proved one thing: Gold Mine’s escape was not premeditated; rather, while he was busy with his daily life, cooking, he must have sensed something critically important that shattered his worldview, forcing him into a hasty flight.

To fathom another person's state of mind, the best approach is to reconstruct the scene and then place oneself in their position to consider the problem.

Therefore, following his memory of the usual layout, Fang Senyan sat down where Gold Mine frequently sat while cooking to meditate. Clearly, judging by the residual heat on the floor, the moment Gold Mine sensed something abnormal was likely the instant their group returned. So, what specific things had he brought back on this return?

As Fang Senyan racked his brain trying to recall every detail, his fingers idly tapped the floor beside him, but his fingertips felt a rough, uneven surface, as if there were crisscrossing scratches on the smooth floorboards.

Fang Senyan was instantly startled. This area was supposed to be absolutely safe, meaning floors and furniture could not be damaged—at least, he couldn't manage it. So how could these scratches on the floor be explained??

With that thought, Fang Senyan’s mind sparked. He found a large, thin sheet of paper, pressed it firmly onto the scratched floor, and began rubbing back and forth with a pencil. Gradually, the scratches became visible. Upon careful inspection, they turned out to be several hastily scrawled and messy sentences!

Fang Senyan had noticed before that when Gold Mine was alone, he liked to scratch patterns on the ground with his long, sharp, black goblin fingernails; he never expected this habit to yield such an important clue today. Now, Fang Senyan began reading the sentences on the paper, stepping into the complex psychological state Gold Mine must have been in.

"The Master has a very strange feeling..."

"Familiarity and strangeness mixed together, like three cents mixed in with seven pence."

"Feeling agitated, as if I missed something. Did someone drink a coconut milk can I failed to pick up just now?"

"Hmm, these bastards are back again? Hahaha, I have a premonition I can profit handsomely from this. Time is money!"

"What is that feeling... is that... the residual aura of Apophis??"

"How is that possible, how is that possible? Apophis was eaten?"

"Shouldn't Apophis submit to all direct bloodlines? Why was it destroyed and consumed instead? The aura on the Master now... it’s not the absolute void hidden within Extinction! Truly, it is not. Though it looks very similar to Extinction, there is a fundamental difference! Like the difference between gold and platinum!"

"Have I been wrong from the very beginning? Heavens, heavens!! Has the great Gold Mine made a mistake worse than losing ten gold coins?"RQ