For an ordinary person, having their throat slit by a sharp weapon means instant death, but for a powerful Contractor, it was merely a severe injury. Even though the throat's data functions were neutralized, the data capabilities in other parts still persisted, stubbornly maintaining James's life.

He convulsed and writhed on the ground, a gurgling sound issuing from his throat, and spurts of bright blood gushed out. Yet, a venomous look remained in his eyes, and he suddenly lunged, embracing Fang Senyan's legs! He intended to use his arms' strength to drag the opponent down to the ground!

At this moment, Gian also fiercely activated his innate ability—a ball of orange-red light suddenly enveloped those nearby, boosting everyone within range by twenty points of Stamina.

Gian's innate ability was deemed standard fare. Firstly, everyone could use it, and secondly, it could stack with many related buffs. Furthermore, once buffed, as long as the one-hour time limit wasn't exceeded, the effect wasn't affected by distance, making it a versatile, all-purpose skill—so it was perfectly acceptable.

With the twenty-point Stamina boost, James felt much more secure and prepared to use force to pull Fang Senyan down. Embracing the opponent's legs with his arms, he held the superior ground and had all the situational advantage. Moreover, James had studied grappling techniques, confident that success was virtually guaranteed...

Unexpectedly, as James exerted his strength, the despairing message of a failed Grappling Technique check echoed in his mind!

His heart instantly turned ice-cold. Fang Senyan had stomped a foot onto his chest; amidst cracking sounds, several ribs snapped simultaneously. Fang Senyan immediately lunged towards Artemis, that woman whose flirtatiousness was ingrained in her bones!

Given Fang Senyan's personality, such a troublemaker needed to be dealt with early. She was like a thorn in Ronnie’s heart, a fatal weak point. Since Ronnie's strength was now his to command, Fang Senyan naturally preferred fewer flaws in that power source.

Seeing Fang Senyan bearing down on her with an incomparably fierce momentum, Artemis showed no panic. With every move, she manifested multiple afterimages. This ability was capable in both offense and defense; when taking damage, a portion would be shared by the afterimages, and during attacks, the afterimages would mirror the main body's actions, doubling the power of every strike.

Furthermore, she and Gian had already achieved perfect coordination—one focused on offense, the other on defense. Originally, James was the primary controller, forming a perfect iron triangle with the other two. Regrettably, James had already been sneak-attacked by Fang Senyan. Although he seemed to have some strength remaining, after being stomped by Fang Senyan, not a sliver of it was left.

Artemis was also a deeply calculating person. Seeing Fang Senyan infiltrate so stealthily and strike so ruthlessly, crippling James by more than half in one blow, she naturally pegged him as an Assassin-type.

However, Fang Senyan's subsequent actions overturned their assumptions. The fact that James’s grapple failed due to a lack of a strength check, and then Fang Senyan stomping James half to death, wasn't entirely unexpected.

So, Artemis immediately affixed the label of "not weak in strength" onto Fang Senyan’s profile. Coupled with her knowledge that discerning the illusionary opening required a Perception of at least fifty points, she reassessed.

Thus, Artemis mentally categorized Fang Senyan’s stats: Strength likely A, Perception B+, Agility seemingly around B. This, combined with Fang Senyan’s already demonstrated formidable close-combat offensive capability, led Artemis to her final evaluation... Berserker.

Therefore, based on her years of combat experience and considering her reinforcements were still outside, Artemis formulated a strategy of meeting aggression with aggression! If she could finish this guy before the others returned, she could naturally keep all the spoils for herself. In fact, when possessing a numerical advantage, Artemis's strategy was fundamentally sound.

The only error was that—Fang Senyan might be far more durable than they imagined!

Fang Senyan stood tall in the cavern... smiling menacingly at the two:

"Are you going to hand that thing over now, or shall I take it after trampling over your corpses?"

Artemis placed her hands on her hips, cackling sharply:

"Do you think the location we chose for our base would be that simple? Today, I ensure you walk in, but you won't walk out!"

As Artemis finished speaking, a powerful beam of light shot out from the adjacent wall. The light beam then struck the nearby wall, reflected, and after an instant of re-reflection and further refraction, the entire hall was suddenly dense with countless intersecting columns of light. Fang Senyan's vision was instantly subjected to extreme duress! No matter how powerful a data-based body was, it couldn't instantaneously defy physiological laws and remain unaffected by intense light.

In the blinding white expanse before his eyes, Fang Senyan suddenly felt something was amiss. He whipped his head aside, and a long gash was immediately raked across his cheek by the swiftly passing Artemis. He instantly counterattacked, but his blow connected only with empty air!

Realizing the situation was unstable, Fang Senyan stomped his feet, which crunched audibly as they embedded themselves into the rock floor. He rooted himself instantly, and the root phantoms of the Solar Steps immediately spread out beneath the ground!

Then, the ferocious SARS virus erupted with a triumphant roar, surging throughout the space. In that instant, Artemis and Gian felt as if they had stumbled into a trap. The sudden, sharp pain that shot through their nerves brought not only shock but also a primal fear of the unknown. More critically, none of this had registered in their combat logs!

Fang Senyan, for now, closed his eyes, facing the two opponents, a slight curve pulling at his lips:

"Now, are we even?"

Artemis shot him a venomous look but remained silent. However, her back began to slowly swell, forming fist-sized bulges. These bulges then split open as if molting, and a pair of wings sprang out! The wings were initially folded but expanded rapidly as they unfolded, finally forming transparent wings like those of a dragonfly, cicada, or a fairy!

Artemis was actually a Fourth Tier Refiner!!

She possessed the ability to manifest an (mutated/transformed) part of her body to enhance her combat prowess!

Artemis then launched her attack against Fang Senyan. She already possessed a potent afterimage ability in movement; with the wings' enhancement, her speed became ghostly, especially when Fang Senyan’s vision was severely impaired?

Artemis immediately rushed towards Fang Senyan with astonishing speed. Fang Senyan wasn't naturally skilled at dodging, and he let out a muffled groan as another spurt of blood erupted from his chest!

Strictly speaking, Fang Senyan could have avoided this thrust with dedicated evasion, but his instinct for dodging was weak at the moment; his first reaction was to block. This was dictated by his identity as an MT (Main Tank): teammates trust you and leave their backs to you. If you become cowardly and retreat when danger strikes, aren't you selling out your allies' vital points?

However, after achieving the hit, Artemis did not anticipate the side effect of the SARS virus—the asphyxiation attack suddenly taking hold—causing her to enter an incapable-to-breathe state. During this process, the enemy's movement speed would immediately drop by 50%, and their hit rate would fall to 0, slowly recovering to normal levels over the next ten seconds. If based on Artemis's usual speed, Fang Senyan’s counterattack certainly wouldn't reach her, but! With her movement speed simultaneously halved, Fang Senyan’s fiercely sharp slash came down directly overhead!

That heart-stopping streak of crimson light was, of course, the unique hallmark of the Demonic Sword Apophis! This sword specialized in utilizing agony; it hurt its wielder first before harming the enemy. Although this strike was still a full half-meter away from Artemis, the woman felt an intensely chilling cold pressing upon her, causing every hair on her body to stand on end. She shrieked and desperately tried to move away, but in that moment, her will utterly outstripped her capability!

Fortunately, Artemis had the advantage of two against one!

Beside her stood an MT willing to sacrifice his life for her.

At this moment, although Gian was seven or eight meters away from Artemis, he instantly threw his shield, which intercepted Fang Senyan's fierce downward slash just as it was aimed at the area above the shielding figure!

With a sharp clang, this was a pure test of weapon quality. The object Fang Senyan simulated was a high-tier Legendary weapon, while this shield was, at best, a Silver Plot item. When Fang Senyan’s full-power strike descended, sparks flew, and the sound itself was subtly different.

This thrown shield maneuver was Gian’s personal skill, designed specifically to cover distant allies, so it could fly back after being thrown. Seeing a clear crack already etched onto the shield's surface, he immediately shouted towards Artemis in alarm:

"Be careful, that guy's weapon... might be Legendary grade!"

Artemis’s eyes flashed with venom and greed. She slightly parted her lips, tumbled away, and collapsed onto the ground. Her ample chest rose and fell with her breathing, a sight quite captivating—unfortunately, Fang Senyan couldn't see it; such seduction held no sway over him.

Suddenly, Artemis looked at the blood-red weapon in Fang Senyan's hand, her gaze hardening with resolution. She shrieked:

"This is where you will be buried!" (To be continued. RS)