The agony made Sha Biao break out in a cold sweat, his mind a complete mess in the throes of pain, unsure how to answer. But Fang Senyan seemed in no mood to wait for a reply; he bent his knee, pressing down hard on Sha Biao’s spine, then yanked violently at his hair, slamming Sha Biao’s face down onto the unyielding concrete floor! …………….

The three thugs left downstairs were marginal figures even under Hua Shan Fei’s command—the sort who couldn't make the big leagues and were only good for shouting encouragement. Consequently, they were neither favored by Sha Biao nor truly valued by Brother Hu. They dared not voice their anger at Sha Biao’s attempt to hoard everything for himself, but waiting below left them utterly bored, their insides crawling with hundreds of ants, a feeling that was equal parts panic and itchiness.

Only "Fevered Gut Four," the most vocal complainer among them, sneered: “Maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t go up. That Yan kid is downright wicked. Think about it, Brother Hu has followed Brother Hua Shan Fei for ten years; what kind of crossfire hasn’t he seen?

Heh! Getting stabbed from the gut all the way to the throat, tasting the very tip of the blade—Brother Biao taking three men up there might just… tsk tsk.” At this point, "Fevered Gut Four" fell silent, as even he found the scenario unbelievable. Just then, a scream echoed from upstairs!

The three below exchanged glances, and after a long moment, the most timid one, Huo Zai, whispered tremulously: “That… that sounded like Brother Kai.” “Nonsense!” “Don’t talk foolishly!” The other two cursed back, uncertain and annoyed: “It was clearly that bastard getting beaten!” But the scream sounded again soon after, and this time it was unmistakably Brother Biao’s twisted cry of agony. This was immediately followed by a dull, heavy thud-thud-thud sound of something impacting a hard surface. The rhythm was steady and carried a chilling penetration, making all three men’s hearts pound with dread.

Whether from cold or fear, goosebumps erupted all over their bodies. Suddenly, a third-floor window shattered with a loud crash. Amidst flying shards of glass, a dark silhouette was tossed out, landing with a sickening thump in the muddy water below.

This figure lay only five or six meters from the three remaining men. It was drenched in blood, yet one could vaguely make out the former robust physique. The hair looked like it had been brutally yanked; patches on the scalp were visibly swollen, and the hair was thin.

The figure’s face was utterly unrecognizable—teeth, eyes, hair, and flesh mashed into a single bloody mess, as if half a chewed tongue were stuck to the cheekbone. It looked as though the entire face had been dragged across rough ground for hundreds of meters! Seeing such a wretched sight, it was hard to imagine this was the once confident and swaggering Brother Biao.

If not for Biao’s unique preference for pairing a Mandarin collar shirt with flip-flops, identifying him would have been impossible. Immediately following, two more dark shapes were thrown down: the corpses of Ruan Fan Kai and Xiao Ning. Their faces were contorted in terror, neither man’s eyes closed in death.

Facing these three bloody pieces of evidence, the three men below felt a wave of sheer panic, as if a heavy stone had settled on their chests, making it hard to draw breath. At that moment, Fang Senyan appeared on a second-floor balcony, his arms crossed, looking composed and detached. He gazed down from his superior position, suddenly offering them a cold smile, and made a strikingly arrogant throat-slitting gesture with his right hand!

The gesture instantly propelled the three stunned thugs below into motion, as if their soles had been violently pricked by a knife. They let out an uncoordinated shriek and scattered, fleeing in different directions. This was precisely what Fang Senyan intended.

He leaped down from the second floor and immediately pursued the direction Fevered Gut Four had taken! The three thugs had a naive plan: scattering meant Fang Senyan could only catch one of them. But they had failed to account for one critical factor: their own stamina!

These three had already chased Fang Senyan for several kilometers through the mud and driving rain, then rushed up and down stairs panting, without taking a single sip of water. Even after resting downstairs for ten minutes, they had endured the cold and hunger. How much energy could they possibly recover?

Fang Senyan ran less than thirty meters before pouncing, finishing off the fastest runner, Zheng Quan, with a swift chokehold. He then veered west, chasing another hundred meters, and effortlessly knocked Fevered Gut Four unconscious; the man had absolutely no will to fight left. Finally, he went after Huo Zai, who was even less capable.

Seeing Fang Senyan close in, Huo Zai became increasingly frantic, and finally, his legs simply gave out, collapsing to his knees in a flood of desperate tears. By this point, every subordinate Hua Shan Fei had dispatched to eliminate Fang Senyan was dead. The only two survivors were the knocked-out Fevered Gut Four and the utterly terrified Xiao Ning.

Fang Senyan took a deep breath and let it out, feeling an indescribable sense of cathartic release. He clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within him, a bold ambition beginning to bubble up. Immediately after, he perceived a series of notifications from the Nightmare Imprint: “You engaged in fierce combat in the real world: Strength +1.” “You engaged in fierce combat in the real world: Agility +1.” “You continued fighting after being struck by an enemy in the real world: Stamina +1.” Looking at this string of alerts, Fang Senyan remained remarkably calm, as he had already gathered some intelligence: this kind of rapid personal attribute growth occurred only in the early stages.

After experiencing a couple more worlds, this intrinsic development would cease entirely, forcing reliance solely on attribute points gained within the Nightmare world for enhancement. Becoming a Contractor meant that the body's potential had been thoroughly awakened. If one engaged vigorously in training or combat, this potential would be rapidly developed until it approached the limit of a normal human body.

At this stage, a Contractor could essentially be viewed as an aggregate of multiple world champions, reaching the physical limit achievable by the human form in every aspect. Beyond this point, no matter how much the Contractor trained or fought, not a single attribute point could increase further because the body’s potential had been fully tapped. Advancement would then only be possible through the base ability points acquired in the Nightmare world.

This quick boost in the initial phase was also a protective measure implemented by the Nightmare space, intended to provide Contractors with a period of rapid growth, allowing them to adapt more quickly to the incredibly perilous Nightmare world. The 1.5 times base attribute value granted to newcomers upon entering the space served both to protect them and to let them acclimatize to physical changes ahead of time. While these thoughts churned in his mind, Fang Senyan began swiftly binding the living Fevered Gut Four and Huo Zai.

Both men were cold, hungry, trembling from fear and the chill, their eyes filled with helplessness and cowardice—they possessed no strength to resist. After tying them up, Fang Senyan dragged the most timid, Huo Zai, into the nearby factory building. He watched him quietly for a while until Huo Zai began to sob in sheer terror, before finally speaking in a measured tone: “Do you wish to die, or do you wish to live?” Hearing this, Huo Zai reacted as a drowning man grasping a lifeline, suddenly summoning unprecedented strength as he struggled and cried out: “Of course, I want to live!

Brother Yan, spare me! It had nothing to do with me. I never laid a single finger on anyone from your Fu Yuan crew!” Fang Senyan’s voice turned chilling: “I know you didn’t, otherwise you wouldn’t still be alive.

Tell me everything you know about Hua Shan Fei. I will then verify it with Fevered Gut Four next door. If there are any discrepancies between your stories…” At this, a sinister smile curled on Fang Senyan’s lips, but he let the threat hang unfinished.

Huo Zai shuddered, his mind flashing to the terrifying, mutilated face of Brother Biao, and he nodded frantically: “I’ll talk, I’ll talk!” Half an hour later, Fang Senyan emerged from the factory building. Naturally, he had obtained the information he sought. Fevered Gut Four had previously slapped Da Si Shu, so Fang Senyan had chopped off one of his hands; Huo Zai, however, was lucky enough to walk away unharmed.

Yet, Fang Senyan’s expression was not relaxed, as he realized he had underestimated Hua Shan Fei’s strength. The man had already advanced from a core position in the "Ghost Kid Gang" to the rank of Hall Master, and his relationship with the gang boss, "Black Ghost Dong," had shifted from subordinate to equal footing. This meant that even if Xi Di died in town, Black Ghost Dong could no longer easily touch him.

Although Fang Senyan had not been involved in the underworld before, he had certainly heard whispers of the "Ghost Kid Gang." If Hua Shan Fei had reached the level of Hall Master, his influence within the gang would have greatly increased. In a crisis, deploying gunmen from Vietnam would not be out of the question—terrible news for Fang Senyan. .....................

This week, A Tu is featured in the Sanjiang recommendations. There is a poll in the Sanjiang section that includes my book. If you have the capability, please go and cast a vote for me!

The method is: Open the Qidian homepage → Below the "Strong Recommendation" area/Leaderboards on the upper left → Click Sanjiang → Enter the Sanjiang page → Scroll down → Find Final Evolution and select vote! (To be continued. For the latest chapters, please visit:.)