Obviously, Option A, the 'Steroid Rage' ability, was the choice for those leaning towards offense, while Option B, 'Mr. Bodybuilder,' was prepared for those favoring defense, such as Summoners; a Contractee would invariably choose B. Fang Senyan pondered for a long time, ultimately deciding that as long as he was alive, anything was possible, especially after his experience amidst the metal storm of the Flying Demon Key had made him keenly aware of this fact, so he chose B.

Following the guidance of the Nightmare Mark, Fang Senyan quickly arrived at the plaza adjacent to the Nightmare Space. He stopped upon reaching the designated area near the center of the space. Suddenly, he felt a slight movement beneath his feet; the floor detached from the main structure and swiftly ascended. Simultaneously, three red tentacles extended from beneath the floor, rapidly weaving an enclosed yet spacious railing around Fang Senyan's front, back, left, and right—clearly to prevent falls. Fang Senyan touched it; the texture felt like steel cores wrapped in sponge, faintly warm, and the barrier was quite sturdy.

Riding this rudimentary "elevator," Fang Senyan ascended to the very top of the space. Upon reaching his destination, the floor beneath him immediately dissolved into the adjacent wall and vanished. Ahead was a hexagonal metal corridor that gave an immediate impression of being unbreakable, as if time itself could not wear it down. As Fang Senyan stepped inside, three dark green beams of light instantly appeared and scanned along his body; had he made any sudden move, he believed he would have instantly died.

At the end of the corridor was a metal chair inlaid with many large, oval crystals. Fang Senyan sat down, and a full-spectrum virtual screen popped up before him:

"Contractee Number 1018... Human"

"Verifying Identity..."

"Current Nightmare Mark rank is Recruit."

"Current rank eligibility allows promotion to the next rank. Proceed immediately? Yes/No?"

"Yes."

"Current Nightmare Mark rank has been promoted to: Private First Class."

"Current rank eligibility allows promotion to the next rank. Proceed immediately? Yes/No?"

"Yes."

Following this, Fang Senyan leaped three ranks, skipping directly over the thresholds of Corporal, Sergeant, and Staff Sergeant.

Fifty Merit Points was the threshold for promotion to Second Lieutenant. Fang Senyan's current Merit Points totaled 53, meeting the standard for advancement. This promotion from Staff Sergeant to Second Lieutenant was not as simple as just moving up one level. Even in the real world, Second Lieutenant was the lowest commissioned officer rank in most national forces, signifying the transition from soldier to officer! From this point on, he transformed from one being led to one who leads!

Previously, rank promotions in the BJ military structure were announced by the simple mechanical voice from the virtual screen before him. However, this time, the full-spectrum virtual screen began displaying chaotic interference. After a moment, a somewhat hoarse voice came through:

"Wow, another one who has passed the initial trials, cough, cough. Very good, very good. Let me see... Contractee 1018, congratulations on achieving the rank of Second Lieutenant."

Fang Senyan was stunned:

"Who is this?"

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. I am not your enemy. In fact, I am also a human like you, just... from the future."

"The future?" Fang Senyan remained confused.

The hoarse voice cleared its throat a couple of times:

"That's right. Strictly speaking, you could be called mercenaries we've brought in from past eras. However, your current strength does not yet meet our requirements. Once you grow to a certain level, we will naturally contact you again."

"Mercenaries?" A surge of furious rage suddenly welled up in Fang Senyan's heart. He recalled all the dangers he had endured in the previous Nightmare Worlds, facing death by a hair's breadth. "You make us struggle between life and death, treating our lives like ants! Is this also considered hiring us?"

"Don't get agitated, Second Lieutenant!" The voice on the other end sounded accustomed to such reactions and spoke calmly: "To gain something, you must lose something. Most people who can enter this Space are those harboring extremely intense obsessions or grievances. They possess long-held anger and suppressed feelings with no outlet. We can fulfill your desires, naturally, we require you to fight for us. Isn't this a perfectly fair transaction? You offer your efforts, and the Nightmare Space has forced anything upon you?"

"But..." Fang Senyan was momentarily speechless.

The hoarse voice continued placidly:

"If you still feel our actions are inappropriate, I can give you a chance right now: you can leave the Space immediately. The Mark on your chest will be erased, and your memories here will be wiped clean. You can go back to living the ordinary life of a 21st-century person."

"No!" Fang Senyan was startled and instinctively shouted, "I haven't obtained the medicine to restore my Fourth Uncle's crippled arm yet! How can I leave?"

"... " The hoarse voice smiled slightly, "See? See? The relationship between us remains a fair transaction."

"... Fine, I understand. I take back what I said earlier." Fang Senyan said dejectedly. "Grant me the rank."

The hoarse voice expressed approval:

"Very good. The next time we meet, I hope you will have grown enough to fight for us. Remember, the place where you acquire the most Merit Points is on our battlefields, after all."

"One last piece of advice, purely personal. Second Lieutenant, usually only a very small number of talented Contractees receive such preferential treatment."

Fang Senyan nodded seriously:

"I will keep it close to heart."

"Cherish your Merit Points. Allocate them as sparingly as you would cherish your beloved **; treat them with utmost care, otherwise... believe me, you will definitely regret your past extravagance in the near future."

Fang Senyan suddenly remembered something else:

"I previously received a prompt that Merit Points could be traded. Perhaps acquiring some would be a good option?"

The hoarse voice replied faintly:

"We do not actually encourage the exchange of Merit Points. It is a foolish idea. Moreover, now that you are a Second Lieutenant, you are no longer eligible to trade with others. Ah, to put it this way, the permission to trade Merit Points was opened to soldiers as a means to increase their initial survival rate. Given your current permissions, I can only tell you that Second Lieutenants who advance through trading do not receive our recognition or personal investiture, and the benefits they gain are limited to only a few, mainly set up to allow them to form teams... I have said enough. Good luck, and I hope to see you again, Second Lieutenant."

Immediately after, a prompt sounded in Fang Senyan's ears:

"You have been promoted to: Second Lieutenant. Your Nightmare Mark has received the following authority upgrades."

"You can purchase relevant rank items anytime, anywhere within the Nightmare Space."

"Your personal storage space capacity has increased by 100%."

"You are now able to form a basic team, with a maximum limit of five members."

"You can appoint a deputy, but their rank must be at least Sergeant/Sergeant. This appointment will consume one Merit Point."

"You have gained one free right to purchase rank items from the Space."

"You have gained the right to actively enter the Nightmare Space once every two weeks in the real world. Each active entry will grant an additional 180 minutes of stay time. The cumulative stay time in the Space after completing a Nightmare World is 48 hours."

WARNING: If your total Merit Points fall below 50, the currently granted authority upgrades will disappear, and your rank promotion will be revoked.

Looking at this series of upgrades, Fang Senyan felt relatively satisfied. After completing the Pirates of the Caribbean world, he had received the prompt that Merit Points could be traded; he supposed those early teams were formed through trading Merit Points. He suddenly recalled another matter and loudly inquired:

"May I ask what determines the rewards in Universal Points, Potential Points, and Basic Attribute Points upon mission completion assessment?"

The response this time reverted to the mechanical, cold voice of the Nightmare Space; clearly, the individual who had just conferred the rank upon Fang Senyan had departed.

"Assessing authority..."

"Please pay 600 Universal Points, Contractee 1018."

"Current rank is: Second Lieutenant. Payment required is 500 Universal Points."

Fang Senyan was quite speechless; he still transferred 500 Universal Points. In this Space, one was constantly made aware of efficiency, coldness, and a pursuit of ultimate exploitation. Pervading everything was the stark, realistic principle: you reap exactly what you sow, it’s that simple—as precise as a machine, and as merciless as one, too!

Soon, Fang Senyan received the answer: "The Universal Point reward for the completion assessment is related to the theoretical exploration depth of the completed mission. The Nightmare Space will use the theoretical maximum of all missions you could potentially accept and complete as the benchmark for evaluating your mission theoretical exploration depth."

"The Potential Point reward for the completion assessment is partially related to the overall world exploration rate and partially related to the completion evaluation after accepting a mission."

"Only when you conduct in-depth exploration of the main storyline, key characters, and special scenes during your adventure in the Nightmare World will you receive additional Basic Attribute Point rewards."

Note: You cannot have your cake and eat it too. In the early stages for a Contractee, without strong team support, obtaining additional Basic Attribute Point rewards may simultaneously restrict the amount of additional Potential Points/Universal Points you can gain.

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