To illustrate a simple example, if the Symbiosis Society went to extreme lengths to kill Scar Henry, and among the dropped items was the Obsidian Fossil Anchor that Fang Senyan was wearing, would the Metal Mentor want to keep it for himself? Of course, he would! But would the Metal Mentor dare to claim it? The answer is no. [Bookmark:] First published, if he did so, the morale of all the melee contractors charging at the front lines of the team would instantly collapse, and the entire team would shatter. Everyone would covet such an item, but due to the greater good, even as the team leader, he absolutely would not dare to take it.

Conversely, if he obtained the formidable black weapon "Ambition," and a melee fighter in the team dared to keep that weapon for themselves, the agile ranged fighters would immediately riot and cause unrest, clearly violating the established rules within the team and perhaps even within the entire space. Anyone who has survived this long in this world is no fool; they aren't fighting for free labor on your behalf. Once such rules are broken, the very foundation upon which the entire team is built will be shaken!

When Fang Senyan limped out of this hilly area, it was already approaching noon. Far behind him, the distant hills churned with a green tide, and the piercing, angry cries of the Centaurs occasionally drifted on the wind. When Fang Senyan decisively chose to leave, those Centaurs had already sensed something amiss and had become wary, organizing themselves into groups of three to actively search their surroundings. Had he lingered any longer, he would likely have met his end in that scenic spot.

At this moment, Fang Senyan's standing among the Centaurs had plummeted by about 5000 points, and the priority of their hatred toward him had increased by +5. Fang Senyan estimated that if any Centaur spotted him, regardless of whether there was a mountain of knives and fire ahead (Fen Jie and Xiao Yue Yue) or roasted clover meat behind, they would relentlessly pursue him. Therefore, ignoring his severe injuries, he did not stop until he had completely exited the Centaurs' active territory.

By a nearby stream, Fang Senyan cleaned himself up, washed away the blood, bandaged his wounds, and only then had the chance to take stock of his loot.

The five Centaurs had dropped four keys, a drop rate considered quite excellent. However, for creatures like the Centaurs, who lacked any obvious critical flaw, such a high drop rate was necessary compensation for the difficulty of the hunt, otherwise, it would violate the spatial principle that "greater danger yields greater reward."

Among the four keys, there was one deep blue key, one light blue key, and the remaining two were white. Fang Senyan had always harbored a desire to open multiple keys and chests all at once—a peculiar habit perhaps akin to how many children like to shell many sunflower seeds, pile all the kernels together, and then devour them in one satisfying bite. After hunting these Centaurs, Fang Senyan could finally satisfy this minor wish. Soon, prompts regarding loot acquisition flooded his Nightmare Mark interface:

Scroll: Black Voodoo. Material: Parchment Quality: Deep Blue. Description: This is a vicious technique formed after Hertzrul. Bloodmark mastered some simple dark sorcery and combined it with botanical concoctions. Upon learning, one can create the poison: Black Voodoo. Skill Details: Please refer to the preceding text. Learning Prerequisites: Basic Meditation LV3, Basic Prayer LV3 / or mastery of the advanced basic ability Sorcery Mastery. Universal Combat Value for this item: 10 Note: You had better keep a bottle of air freshener on you at all times. Weapon: Hertzrul. Bloodmark’s Wooden Spear Quality: Deep Blue Material: Beechwood Attack Power: 11~30 Attack Interval: 2 seconds Durability Range: 3 meters (Melee) / 25 meters (Thrown; this effect is not guaranteed accurate as the current owner lacks the necessary prerequisite abilities) Equip Effect: Piercing Damage +10. Weapons with piercing damage have a greater chance of inflicting a through-and-through wound on the enemy, Bleeding Chance +10%, Bleeding Damage +10%. Equip Effect: Strength +3 Equipment Slot: Hand Weight: 8 kg Universal Combat Value for this item: 13 Note: Only by coating this weapon with Black Voodoo can its strongest killing power be unleashed. Next, the items Fang Senyan acquired included: Fresh Centaur Liver x2: Freshness period 120 minutes, Function ??? Intact Centaur Grey Leather x2: Uncured, Function ??? Intact Centaur Dark Leather x1: Uncured, Function ??? Darkly Gleaming Long Mane x1: Function ??? Fresh Centaur Hindquarter Meat: Freshness period 360 minutes, Function ??? Centaur Hearts x2: Function ???

According to Fang Senyan’s speculation, all these unknown items marked with ??? were likely valuable, perhaps even being highly sought after by certain quest NPCs in Diagon Alley. It was a pity that nothing like a "Centaur Whip" had dropped; otherwise, Fang Senyan might actually have approached an appropriately aged individual—an uncle in his forties or fifties dressed well—in Diagon Alley to actively try and sell it.

After sending the house-elf Raggi away, Fang Senyan used Floo Powder to return to Diagon Alley. However, he was in no rush to find his dear Mr. Infinite, as he currently had no money to pay Raggi's leasing fee. For a Goblin, Fang Senyan had every reason to believe that the consequences of owing them money would be severe; Mr. Infinite might immediately summon a squad of guards to seize everything valuable on him to cover the debt—in any case, the Centaur liver remained fresh for two hours, giving him time to get there before then.

Even in broad daylight, Knockturn Alley seemed desolate and cheerless. If a gust of wind swept up a few fallen leaves, it truly held the atmosphere of a cemetery. Fang Senyan brushed past several figures whose faces were hidden by the collars of their trench coats, involuntarily shuddering at the auras emanating from them.

The London Third Meat Consortium appeared even more discreet and concealed during the day. Fang Senyan noticed a long-nosed, gap-toothed old woman setting up a stall on the hatch that served as the entrance, her display filled with junk. The old woman was dark and thin, huddled deep in her thick clothes, utterly indifferent to everything. When Fang Senyan approached her to speak, she paid him no heed—clearly, his Charm score of a meager 2 was exerting its powerful, upwardly mobile effect once again.

With no other option, Fang Senyan glanced around to ensure no idle onlookers were present, then reluctantly pulled out the blood-soaked bundles of Centaur hides and shouted directly toward the ground:

"John, if you still want the goods, you have one minute to seize the opportunity."

Fang Senyan shouted several times with no response. It was the old woman who glanced at the hides on Fang Senyan's back. Initially calm, she became quite astonished after a closer look, uttering in a raspy voice, "Centaur hide? You looking to trade for coin?"

Fang Senyan paused, "Of course, if you can meet the price?"

The old woman croaked, "Let me see."

She shuffled closer, rubbing the hides with fingers like a chicken's claw for a long moment: "Very rare, surprisingly, no signs of magical scorching. I’ll take them at one hundred pounds each."

Fang Senyan snatched the Centaur hides back, offering a strained smile: "Hello, Auntie. Goodbye, Auntie."

However, one couldn't blame the old woman for being stingy; it was entirely due to Fang Senyan's low Charm score. There were two reasons why the hulking John quoted Fang Senyan a sincere price: first, he desperately needed this shipment, and second, this was a follow-up mission from the Goblin Infinite, intended to compensate contractors for losses incurred due to Goblins ignoring Charm. Thus, the reward was generous, which is why the Nightmare Space allowed Big John to quote a fixed price, bypassing Charm calculations to prevent those with high Charm from gaining excessive profit.

The old woman watched reluctantly as Fang Senyan drew the bundle of hides back, persistently asking, "What else do you have?"

Since Fang Senyan had already pegged her as a shrewd merchant, he had no intention of dealing with her further and replied curtly, "Yes, lots, but you can't afford it."

Just as the old woman was about to say more, Fang Senyan heard a sound behind him. In a questionable and volatile place like Knockturn Alley, his nerves were constantly taut. He immediately spun around to see John, the person he was looking for, right behind him. John spotted the Centaur hides on his back instantly, his eyes lighting up, and promptly pulled him aside, lowering his voice:

"Oh, my God, did you persuade the great Queen Elizabeth to wage war against those savage fools, the Centaurs? Come this way, but be careful of those idiots from the Ministry!"

With that, he led Fang Senyan into a nearby building. Descending the nearby stairs and jumping into a cellar, he then pulled open a hinged door in the wall. Soon, Fang Senyan found himself back in the trading hall of the London Third Meat Consortium, but this time, he was enjoying the VIP single-room treatment.

"This quality is truly excellent—no scorch marks, none of that damned magical interference, no noxious magical residue. Boy, you've done a fine job."

John patted the three hides enthusiastically.

Fang Senyan shrugged, "Dear John, that's not what's important to me. What matters is that I can sell it for a correspondingly fair price."

John laughed heartily, "You will be satisfied. What was our initial agreed price?"

Fang Senyan immediately stated, "White/Brown ones at 400 pounds each, Black/Grey ones at 200 pounds each."

John immediately produced a thick stack of banknotes: "The quality of the Centaur hides you brought is unexpectedly good. How about 300 pounds per hide?"