Just then, the ground beneath everyone suddenly shook! This tremor originated from the very structure of the Grand Night Tower!

As if acting as a trigger, this initial jolt instantly provoked a second one!

If the first tremor was a slight probing, the second was a mad, explosive tearing!

As this second shockwave hit, Fang Senyan's expression changed drastically. He slapped down onto the tip of his own foot, instantly surging his Stamina to its limit of 31 points!

With a massive Krak-a-la sound, the building, originally constructed of brick and wood, was subjected to that terrifying, immense force. It instantly fractured, splitting open a colossal rent stretching over ten meters long and three meters wide. The spot where Fang Senyan and the others stood was not even the top floor, and amidst the violent swaying, furniture and benches slid toward the fissure. Bricks and stone from the ceiling rained down. Though these Contractors vastly surpassed normal human capabilities, they could only cling tightly to fixed objects amid the massive upheaval. In the next moment, their vision brightened sharply as sunlight suddenly streamed in.

Fang Senyan felt a chill course through him, his face paling. If this was the attack of a Contractor! There had been no preceding explosion sound, nor any sense of threat—the sheer terror of this power was surely no less than that of the Mountain Ghoul!

But soon, strange squeaking and grinding sounds emanated from below. Then, a monstrous, bizarre tree began to bore its way upward from beneath the floorboards, alive and writhing. Its branches thrashed like octopus tentacles, sending dirt, stone, and splintered timber flying into the air. The roots beneath the giant tree clutched at the ground surface like the desiccated, bulging veins of a human body! One could even see these root-like vessels wriggling, greedily sucking at something!

Fang Senyan immediately understood: what shattered the building was the surging power of this demonic tree sprouting! In the real world, there were instances of nascent sprouts forcing their way through human skulls or cracking bedrock. Here, with the emergence of this demonic wood, the force of its budding life would naturally be extraordinary. However, while its destructive power was immense, its fatal weakness must lie in its speed—it could only serve as a stationary defense. Enemies could approach or retreat at will, making it an easy live target for any Contractor possessing mid-range projectile abilities.

But at this moment, the Contractors erupted in a chorus of furious astonishment and cursing:

"Finley! What the hell are you summoning a Biting Willow for at this moment?"

"That idiot! The Metal Mentor is almost here; let's see how he deals with this!"

"..."

"Biting Willow?" The floor beneath Fang Senyan was already collapsing. He used one hand to grasp a dangling air-conditioning bracket overhead, suspending himself in the void. He had thankfully seen a manual entry for this very plant during a mission yesterday, and the data instantly surfaced in his memory.

Biting Willow Latin Name: ill Class: Dicotyledonous Plant, order Malpighiales, family Salicaceae Height: 3 meters juvenile, up to ten meters adult Attack Range: Equal to height Special Plant Ability: Rooted, Immune to Stun, Poison, and Bleeding status effects. Immobile. Special Plant Ability: Pyrophobic Special Plant Ability: Bark Skin, granting it additional Health and Physical Defense.

Just then, four figures in black flew overhead, simultaneously speaking in mechanical, cold voices:

"Magic Division on duty!"

Concurrently, a notification flashed within the Nightmare Imprints of all Symbiosis Society members:

"You have entered the patrol range of the Magic Division Inspectors!"

"How is the Magic Division involved?"

"How can this be happening?"

"Where is the Metal Mentor?"

For a moment, the members of the Symbiosis Society seemed to lose their backbone and plunged into chaos. Simultaneously, the structure they occupied shuddered violently and was finally completely ripped apart by the Biting Willow, collapsing with a roar! Bricks and wood tumbled down, the complete building reduced to rubble, kicking up dust that billowed across an area spanning hundreds of square meters.

At that exact moment, several grim-faced Contractors charged downward from surrounding buildings, brandishing vicious weapons. The leader gripped a massive two-handed greatsword that was blazing with furious flames. A faint sheen of light coalesced around his body, forming an almost transparent armor that flowed subtly. This armor was an intermediate support ability used by the Demon Contractors of the Banks Gang, called 'Psionic Armor,' capable of effectively absorbing most ranged damage—extremely potent, though the cost to deploy it was significant. Rumor had it there were even higher-tier advancements related to this ability.

Fang Senyan recognized the man charging ahead—it was Vance, known for his staggering 28 points of Strength! It appeared the Banks Gang had shrewdly exploited the Symbiosis Society's current crippling loss of close-combat power to set up an utterly treacherous kill zone, intending to wipe out the entire Symbiosis Society right here.

For Fang Senyan, supported by his 'Toughness' talent and a Defense rating of 15, even being buried alive on the ground floor might not mean death, especially since the building's collapse had provided him with ample cushioning time! Thus, he was among the first to stabilize. His superior Perception allowed him to notice the arrival of the Banks Gang members the instant the building buckled.

"Without a doubt, this is a pre-arranged kill zone!"

"The pivotal figure in this trap lies with Finley."

"His rank is high enough to know the whereabouts of his team's top assets: the Metal Mentor and Slave!"

"His power is great enough to destroy structures, allowing him to engineer this bizarre scenario that completely nullifies the Symbiosis Society's ranged advantage!"

"His meticulous planning is why he remained hidden until this very moment!"

"Of course, there is an even bigger question: only about thirty people entered this world, yet the Symbiosis Society deployed its entire roster... Where did these extra Banks Gang members come from?"

These thoughts flashed through Fang Senyan's mind like lightning. He immediately considered the Banks Gang perspective: if he were one of them, what would his priority be? Undoubtedly, to eliminate the close-combat members who possessed melee strength first!

With this realization, having been buried in the ruins, he had already seen the sunlight filtering in and was preparing to smash his way out with a punch, but he instantly forced himself to still again. His breathing slowed, becoming almost imperceptible. In such chaotic circumstances, almost no one would detect him.

Screams were already beginning to rise. Although the building's collapse was extremely chaotic, it posed little problem for high-Agility Contractors. Thus, the Symbiosis Society members were now in a terribly disadvantageous situation:

First, only those Contractors with high Agility could move freely, relying on speed and evasion to avoid the bulk of the danger during the collapse; most of these were ranged physical attackers, with perhaps one or two melee physical fighters.

Second were the melee members. They had relatively higher Strength, allowing them to protect themselves even when buried, and they were likely trying to claw their way out of the rubble. They could be expected to enter the fight in about two minutes.

The worst off were the Magic class members—lacking Strength, Agility, and Stamina. Some buried deep below might struggle to climb out on their own!

Therefore, as Vance charged into the lingering dust cloud, wielding his greatsword, he was met by a group of exposed, panicked Agility Contractors! Under the pressure of his full-power 28 Strength, anyone whose own Strength didn't reach 14 would even suffer extra crushing damage!

Through a gap in the debris, Fang Senyan watched a speedy Contractor named Okar cut down by Vance's sword. Despite raising his dagger to block, the impact was unstoppable; the greatsword, wreathed in roaring flames, sliced directly into Okar's shoulder blade, then pivoted and slashed sideways with the speed of a whirlwind! The Contractor let out a piercing shriek as he was flung away, landing in a state of critical injury. Those behind immediately rushed in, finishing him with one swift strike, leaving behind only a charred corpse and a key shimmering with bloody light.

Despite the 40% rule constraint, this Contractor hadn't lasted even three seconds!

As Okar was killed, gunshots rang out! They were measured, rhythmic bursts. The bullets cut through the air, even showing faint helical trajectories—clearly, the surviving gunmen of the Symbiosis Society understood this was life or death and were utilizing their abilities for sniper attacks at this moment.

The bullets struck Vance, but only caused a few ripples across the transparent armor on his surface. Vance's eyes turned crimson. He stomped violently on the ground, causing the brick and soil beneath his feet to explode outward. Then, gripping the blazing greatsword with both hands, he soared high above, instantly leaping seven or eight meters into the air before bringing the sword down heavily, aimed precisely at the gunman!

However, this gunman was also formidable. Fang Senyan recalled his name was Kiatasntov. Facing Vance's sure-kill strike, he fired one last targeted shot before executing an astonishingly smooth backward roll, putting at least five or six meters between himself and Vance! Fang Senyan was intimately familiar with this move; Kwest had used it repeatedly upon entering the world to escape Fang Senyan's attacks. The difference was that Kwest usually followed his roll with a grenade throw to stop any pursuit, whereas Kiatasntov maintained a superior distance advantage during his backward roll.

The flaming greatsword descended with crushing force, immediately scoring a ghastly, wide scorch mark across the debris-strewn ground, sending earth and stone flying! More terrifyingly, the flames clinging to the blade suddenly flared up with a whoosh, blazing fiercely and transforming the ground into a river of fire that surged forward, engulfing Kiatasntov entirely! Immediately afterward, two Contractors behind Vance charged forward, and under their pincer attack, they dispatched Kiatasntov with ease! Another key, shining with bloody light, dropped to the ground!