The telephone directory was an exceedingly thick volume, listing the majority of residents alphabetically, complete with their home addresses, brief employment details, and personal summaries. Nearly every public telephone booth was equipped with one. However, it was around nine o’clock in the evening, the peak of Los Angeles’ vibrant nightlife, and the booths were swarming with people, forcing queues to form.

Fang Senyan’s objective was naturally not to make a call, but to find Sarah Connor’s exact address from the phonebook inside the booth. Although the main quest seemed unrelated to the female protagonist at the moment, looking at the entire Terminator universe, Sarah Connor remained the single most important figure. Finding her early and gaining her trust would undoubtedly secure a massive advantage.

He located a booth with a shorter line and waited patiently. Given Fang Senyan’s current strength, he could easily resort to robbery if he needed money, or simply beat someone up to force them to lead the way. He could even just drag the person out of the phone booth to look at the directory. Why go through such elaborate trouble?

The primary reason Fang Senyan insisted on following procedures so meticulously was partly due to his own disciplined cultivation and character—he was not the type to act recklessly. But that wasn't the main point. The crucial factor was Fang Senyan’s constant, vague premonition that committing acts that disrupted social order would bring about certain highly unfavorable knock-on consequences, consequences that might even lead to death. This was likely the advantage conferred by his high Perception.

Seeing three people still ahead of him in line, Fang Senyan slipped into a small convenience store. After buying a pack of cigarettes, he leaned against the side, puffing smoke, and casually tossed fifty dollars onto the counter to the stout woman running the store, declaring she didn't need to make change. The woman’s smile instantly made the flesh on her face tremble like ripples, and she was completely subservient to the fit, strong man before her. It seemed there was a strong seven or eight in ten chance of them ending up having a one-night stand. Just as Fang Senyan was about to leave to rejoin the queue for the phone booth, he was suddenly drawn by the sound coming from the television nearby:

“According to the LAPD, there is new development in the Brood Street robbery case. The suspect is named Prowl, who brazenly robbed a supermarket at 5:07 PM today, killing six citizens and making off with the day’s receipts. Three responding officers were subsequently attacked, two of whom died instantly. According to crime expert Smith, the suspect should have received rigorous close-quarters combat training, possessing leaping, running, and counter-tracking abilities far superior to the average person. The police have now deployed a large contingent to corner him in the ** avenue. Our reporters will bring you live coverage from the scene shortly.”

Fang Senyan’s brow immediately furrowed. He should have entered this world around 5:00 PM, and the timeline of this suspect named Prowl committing the crime at 5:07 PM matched up quite closely… At this moment, the television began broadcasting live footage. On the street, several police cars, lights flashing, were parked haphazardly. Two to three dozen officers had drawn their weapons and were taking cover behind barricades, while specialists were shouting demands for the suspect to surrender.

Suddenly, a speeding sedan burst onto the scene! The screech of its tires was so ear-piercing it almost made one want to plug their ears. The police fired without hesitation, sending sparks flying, and thick white smoke even began billowing from the car’s hood. But just then, an exceptionally agile figure flung the car door open and leaped out. His movement in the air was so fluid, like a fish swimming underwater. Upon landing, he rolled once, took a few quick bounds, and plunged straight into the cluster of police officers!

Instantly, the group of American police panicked. Firing their weapons meant risking hitting their own comrades, so they were naturally restrained. But the dark silhouette acted without restraint; one second he was ducking and sprinting, the next he slammed heavily into an officer. The sheer force of the impact sent the poor man flying five or six meters, shattering the rear windshield of a police car behind him. Needless to say, who knew how many bones in his body were broken.

Fang Senyan took a deep breath. He could clearly see that this figure’s speed surpassed his own. Calculating by eye, it was at least two to three times that of an average person running at full tilt. In other words, if this fellow were a Contractor, his Agility score must be above fifteen! And if his innate abilities further enhanced his speed, his movement speed could potentially be even faster!

The dark shadow weaved between the patrol cars, like a snake melting into the darkness—spicy, swift, venomous. With a twist and a bind, the officers fell silent, leaving behind only twitching, muffled groans, blood, strangeness, and, of course, astonishment! This was practically a massacre!

But at that precise moment, a police vehicle painted with dark green lettering sped in from a distance. This vehicle was quite large, resembling a type of RV, perhaps similar to an ambulance or a fire truck. The flashing light bar on top was active, yet it emitted no siren. Though still thousands of meters away, its style of high-speed cornering and drifting gave off a peculiar impression.

The moment Fang Senyan saw that police RV, an intense sense of danger immediately surged through him, causing him to instinctively take half a step back and clench his fist—if the deterrent effect on the television screen was this powerful, what would it be like to face it directly on site?! However, this deterrent effect was likely only perceptible to those with high Perception. The dark figure on the screen hesitated for a moment, suggesting his own Perception was not as acute as Fang Senyan’s, as he hadn’t felt the same intense sensation.

But in that split second of hesitation, the glass on the side of the police RV suddenly shattered! As shards of glass flew outward, three dark, gaping muzzles silently emerged, with the hands wearing black gloves steadying the weapons vaguely visible—hands as steady as a rock! Then, blinding muzzle flashes, over a foot long, erupted from the barrels! Before the shattered window glass had even finished falling, the dark figure in the distance was blasted skyward. He was hit first in the chest, then the forehead, then the lower body, three brilliant blossoms of blood splashing outward. In mid-air, he was knocked off course three times, flying seven or eight meters before landing with a “thud,” rolling a couple of times, convulsing face-down for a moment, and then lying completely still.

Under the glare of the powerful searchlights, the blood beneath the figure slowly pooled, forming a dark red lake that trickled into the storm drain. Only occasional involuntary spasms suggested he was still clinging to life, but he was clearly beyond saving.

Simultaneously, a prompt from the Nightmare Mark appeared in Fang Senyan’s ear:

“Based on your Perception, you will receive the following information.” “Contractor Number 1844 has been shot by Delta Force counter-terrorism operatives!” “Contractor Number 1844 is dead.” “Because you indirectly witnessed (via television) the death process of Contractor Number 1844, specific combat information cannot be provided.”

Fang Senyan drew a deep breath, feeling a chilling sweat break out all over his back! The moment the rapidly approaching Delta Force operatives fired, he had experienced a suffocating sensation as if his neck were being choked! It was clear that with his current power level, resisting them would be exceedingly difficult. He now understood a crucial point: the earlier hint about earning the "Butcher" milestone by accumulating over a hundred kills of innocent civilians in the Terminator world carried immense danger!

This unfortunate Contractor Number 1844 demonstrated that in this world, Contractors are subject to significant constraints; even possessing abilities far beyond normal humans does not permit arbitrary destruction of the social environment. This previous Contractor was a perfect example: he committed robbery and murder, naturally drawing police attention. However, with his ghostly agility, evading pursuit shouldn't have been difficult. But this guy decided to confront them head-on and wipe out the police, which inevitably attracted the terrifying Delta Force counter-terrorism unit.

In other words, as long as a Contractor's disruption of the societal rules is kept within a certain limit, the most they will attract is the pursuit and blockade of ordinary police. Ordinary police are the baseline of this world. As long as one does not deliberately trample over this line, they naturally won't summon the formidable Delta Force. And above Delta Force, there might even be stronger protective forces...

By this time, the television was showing the cleanup operations—removing bodies, wiping away bloodstains, securing the scene. Afterward, news commentators and guest analysts began dissecting the deceased criminal, linking his incredibly agile skills to possibilities like special forces training, drug overdose, vendettas, crimes of passion, schizophrenia, paranoia, and so on. The public seemed quick to accept this narrative.

Fang Senyan took a long drag on his cigarette, his eyes half-closed, allowing the sharp smoke to cycle fully through his lungs before exhaling. It seemed to ease the pressure in his chest. After thinking carefully for a moment, he noticed the phone booth outside was now empty, so he walked in and began searching for "Sarah Connor" in the directory.

According to the movie's plot, due to the severe loss of data after the future nuclear war, the Terminator couldn't immediately know the residence and other details of its assassination target, Sarah Connor, and thus also relied on the phonebook to track her down. Fortunately, the female protagonist Sarah Connor was the third listing in the directory (similar to multiple people having the same name in China). Therefore, the Terminator killed N.1 Sarah Anna Connor and N.2 Sarah Louise Connor before it started looking for the genuine N.3 Sarah Connor, which undoubtedly gave her vital warning time to hide.

(To be continued, please visit for the latest chapters.)