Though Fang Senyan’s appearance was quite wretched at this moment—his face blackened by the smoke of the grenade explosion, his torso having taken a direct blast from a shotgun—his clothes and pants were utterly tattered. He was riddled with at least dozens of bleeding wounds of varying sizes all over his body. Yet, having been hit squarely by the shotgun pellets, the passive effect of the accessory, the Obsidian Fossil Anchor, had been triggered! His Stamina soared to a terrifying 30 points, placing him in peak condition!

According to the displayed combat log, the theoretical damage from that close-range shotgun blast was 217 points, and the peak damage from the grenade's core explosion was even higher, approaching 240 points. However, first, the P-Rule weakened the damage by 40%, reducing the shotgun's impact to 130 points and the grenade’s to 144.

Next, the formidable 15-point damage reduction derived from Fang Senyan's full 30 points of Stamina needed to be factored in—that accounted for a full 37% damage absorption. The shotgun's impact was thus further reduced to 82 points, and the grenade’s to just over 90 points.

But there was still one final, solid line of defense guarding Fang Senyan! That was the innate ability: Toughness, which forcibly weakened all physical attack damage by 25 points. Calculated this way, those two seemingly terrifying attacks had only inflicted about 120 points of damage on Fang Senyan in total. Of course, for someone like Si Dang, this was a devastating figure capable of instantly killing him, but for a monster like Fang Senyan, who possessed a Stamina value as high as 300, 120 damage was barely worth mentioning.

For Si Dang, had he not been careless, he could have engaged Fang Senyan in a prolonged fight utilizing the shotgun's inevitable 'knockback' capability, combined with the area-of-effect grenade and his handy back-step maneuver. The prerequisite was that he needed to immediately put about ten meters of distance between himself and Fang Senyan. Describing Si Dang’s action as a single misstep leading to total defeat was hardly an exaggeration.

Fang Senyan did not rush to kill Si Dang; instead, he planted his foot squarely on the man’s throat. This served to restrain the remaining two enraged figures from the Banks Gang from making any further moves, while he himself bent over, hands bracing his knees, gasping loudly, deliberately putting on a show of being utterly spent and wounded, appearing as if he were on his last legs.

The nearby Contractor had initially been awestruck by Fang Senyan’s fiercely aggressive style, but seeing his current weakened appearance, their tension eased slightly. They had encountered many fighters as reckless and death-defying as Fang Senyan before; as long as they held a numerical advantage, someone who only knew how to fight desperately was no real threat. -=Manual Hand-typed by Member=*

Si Dang, however, was exceptionally unlucky. In the real world, he was a highly skilled mechanic, and his personal innate ability, Preheat, was related to this: it could be cast on himself or allies, boosting the damage of the next three attacks by 30%. But his defeat was so abrupt and bewildering that he didn't even manage to deploy this ability before being utterly vanquished!

Meanwhile, the battle on the other side had also reached a fever pitch. Fante, whose Strength was rumored to reach 28, wielded a two-handed greatsword, swinging it with formidable momentum; even when a swing missed, the lingering force sent dirt and debris flying around him, projecting an image of unmatched might. Oran, however, lay motionless on the ground nearby, his fate unknown. Das’s weapon was unique: a Mauser rifle.

This type of rifle was the progenitor of all subsequent modern rifles; famous weapons like the Type 38 Arisaka and the Hanyang Type 88 in China later referenced its design. The rifle's rate of fire was also slow, its magazine usually holding only three to five rounds, but its power was significant. Its lethal potential was further augmented by the bayonet fixed to the barrel and the sturdy wooden stock. At this moment, a faint deep blue glow emanated from the Mauser rifle. Although Das’s back had been struck by the greatsword, leaving a gruesome, bloody mess, he skillfully used the Mauser to parry, evade, and attack, appearing equally formidable in both long and close combat!

Seeing Das gradually nearing his breaking point, the principal figure of the other team, "Symbiosis Society," the man named Crowbar, suddenly stepped forward:

“Fante, Hagrid has left Diagon Alley and is preparing to return. What do you think that big fellow will do when he sees the current situation? To be honest, I’d be very happy to see you disqualified and sent away, but your actions here might drag down our completion evaluation along with you!”

Fante suddenly swept his sword around, the edge of the two-handed greatsword flashing with blue light, crashing heavily against the stock of Das’s rifle. A deep gash immediately appeared on the thick wooden surface. Das was violently forced back five or six steps, his face turning ashen, and he let out a sputtering cough, spitting up blood. However, Fante did not press the attack, instead turning toward Fang Senyan and demanding in a hoarse voice:

“If you have the guts, kill him!”

Fang Senyan smiled, revealing blood-stained teeth, a look of unintentional cruelty in his expression:

“I may not have the guts to kill him, but I certainly have the nerve to chop off this bastard’s limbs.”

Fante’s facial muscles twitched again: “What do you want?”

Fang Senyan replied coldly: “I just used a potion and two items during the fight! They cost three thousand general points. No matter whose subordinate he is, I need some compensation, or just wait until this guy becomes a human stick.”

Fante took several deep breaths, then closed his eyes; one could see his knuckles were white as he gripped the greatsword. He then reached into his robe and threw an object directly at Fang Senyan:

“Take this and get lost!”

Fang Senyan snatched it out of the air. The Nightmare Imprint immediately relayed the information:

US Field Premium Bandage Origin: Third Medical Supply Factory, San Francisco, California Equipment Rarity: Light Blue Composition: Cotton, Linen, Hemostatic Agent Bandage: Upon application, immediately stops bleeding and restores 60 Stamina over the next 30 seconds. Note: The Stamina restoration effect is interrupted by taking damage. Note: After using this bandage, any medicine with the same effect cannot be applied for the next 300 seconds. Evaluation: The word "Premium" is always reassuring.

Fang Senyan shrugged, finally lifting his foot from Si Dang’s throat, who remained unconscious. Das gained a vital moment to breathe and looked toward Crowbar with a degree of gratitude. Crowbar’s intelligence network seemed quite robust; it was likely that someone in his team had previously entered this world and risen to a high enough position to provide such timely warnings. Indeed, less than ten minutes later, Hagrid’s massive frame appeared swaying at the door of his small cabin, then lumbered over and stared at the unconscious Si Dang with astonishment:

“Oh! Good heavens, did he just retreat from the Normandy landing fields?”

Oran was relatively fine, having been hit by one of Das’s tranquilizer darts, and woke up after a few minutes. Si Dang was not so fortunate; not only was he in a near-death state, but his right hand was badly maimed, and his left shoulder had taken a heavy axe blow. Even the robust physique of a Contractor could not recover quickly from such injuries.

No one spoke. The entire Nightmare Space advocated for teamwork; just as Crowbar had said, if Hagrid knew his 'hired hands' were fighting amongst themselves, it was hard to predict whether it would affect everyone’s potential mission findings or final task evaluations upon exiting the world. For those who relied on the team to survive, these two factors were fundamental and non-negotiable.

“Mr. Hagrid,” Crowbar stepped forward politely. “There was an unfortunate accident. Poor Si Dang was trying to climb the tree to diligently complete his work and happened to fall, landing directly onto an axe left below…”

Hagrid looked at the nearby tree, then at the unconscious Si Dang, scratching his messy hair as he mumbled:

“Strange, that shouldn’t happen…”

His murmurs made everyone’s hearts clench momentarily, but Hagrid soon shook his head, hoisted Si Dang up, and offered an apologetic shrug:

“It’s not the beginning of term, so Madam Pomfrey (the school nurse) isn’t at the school either. He’ll have to be treated by me for now.”

The crowd watched Hagrid swing the 180-centimeter-tall Si Dang away as if he were carrying a chicken. After walking a dozen meters, Hagrid suddenly turned back and said very seriously:

“Injuries aside, you must all complete your work on time. Honestly, I really dislike having to fire people. Also, before sunset, I expect to see this miserable lawn restored to its original state.”

Hagrid’s words acted like a whip, swiftly scattering the group. All the Contractors started working nervously. Clearly, the subtext of Hagrid’s statement was: Injuries or not, the mission must be finished, or you will certainly be dismissed!

Following the previous battle, Fang Senyan had skillfully cultivated an aura of "madness" and "recklessness" around himself. Such daredevil personalities are often popular in teams but are also the first to die. However, in this current complex environment, if anyone considered targeting him, they would have to weigh whether the cost justified the reward.

Conversely, Das’s formidable strength drew the suspicion of most others: many Contractors could manage a one-on-two fight, but to take on Fante and Oran alone, and crucially, to take down one of them! Such power was difficult even for core members of the Symbiosis Society to achieve, so how could it not arouse suspicion? Fang Senyan thus remained sheltered under the shadow of the outwardly flamboyant and arrogant Fante, quietly and discreetly awaiting his next opportunity.