Chapter 1 An Overture

Fang Senyan's actions might seem a bit of an overreaction, but it was crucial to note one key point: this person also came out of the hotel room alone at the same time and in the same place! The significance of this was self-evident. He was very likely also a so-called "Contractor" like himself! Although Fang Senyan currently only had a superficial understanding of many things, he at least remembered the hint during the explanation of the world: "This scene is a peaceful scene. Contractors will not drop any items upon death!"

This sentence, in addition to its literal meaning, also revealed two bloody facts. That was, Contractors could be killed, and in the future, there might be scenes where killing Contractors would bring great benefits! More importantly, Fang Senyan's current mission was to destroy the space-time node within forty-eight hours. However, what if there was only one space-time node?

Then, without a doubt, he and the other Contractors would have a direct conflict of interest, and someone would inevitably face elimination. Although this probability was small, it couldn't be said to be nonexistent! In Fang Senyan's opinion, fists were undoubtedly the best way to resolve such disputes, without exception.

Therefore, Fang Senyan couldn't just sidestep him now, nor did he dare to do so! After the bearded man opened the door, he also stood still, seemingly with no intention of leaving. Because for him, there were also many concerns. If he turned around and went downstairs, it would be equivalent to completely exposing his back and the back of his head to Fang Senyan. If Fang Senyan had any malicious intent, then even if he didn't die, he would have to shed a layer of skin!

The two were deadlocked on the stairs. Both sides were guessing and wary of the other's identity, but neither dared to strike first. Because no one dared to be certain that they had a guaranteed victory. What's more, they were afraid of someone else being the praying mantis stalking the cicada. Fang Senyan thought for a while, raised an eyebrow, and slowly took out a cigarette from his pocket. After lighting it and taking a deep puff, he squinted his eyes as if intoxicated in the swirling smoke, then slowly extended his left hand and pressed it on the already blackened and decaying wooden railing next to him.

Fang Senyan's movements were very slow and light, the purpose being to avoid the other party misunderstanding that he would make any sudden moves. He exerted a little force with his left hand, and the already rickety wooden railing snapped completely with a "crack"! Then, he pretended to panic and fell down. It was only the second floor, and Fang Senyan easily did a somersault in the air and landed safely. He turned his head and took a deep look at the bearded man with a calm expression, then kicked away the two crooked stools blocking his path, pushed open the door of the hotel, and walked out onto the street.

Walking on the street that was still adorned with a string of neon lights, looking at the houses full of the characteristics of the seventies and eighties, and all kinds of old-fashioned cars, Fang Senyan took a deep breath, and a kind of illusion of creating history and rewriting history couldn't help but arise in his heart. But his eyes seemed a bit deep, like a well that had gone through thousands of years but was still full of vitality.

At this time, he was completely ignorant of the city, but there were too many things to do. The main mission he had accepted clearly indicated that there would be danger. Therefore, the first thing to do was to familiarize himself with the local environment, find some handy and powerful weapons as soon as possible to arm himself, and then he could talk about finding the space-time node and destroying it. At any time, only one's own strength was the most reliable guarantee.

To achieve all of these goals, the most convenient and quick way was of course to commit crimes. Fang Senyan, who had been short of money since birth, was no stranger to robbery and theft. But he had a vague fear of direct crime in his heart, so Fang Senyan, who had always followed his intuition, rejected this shortcut.

Then, finding a qualified guide was also a method. Although there were many ways to make a person serve, its essence was nothing more than coercion and inducement. Coercion was a double-edged sword. If one didn't have overwhelming strength, it would backfire. Therefore, for Fang Senyan, who was unfamiliar with the place, the best method was inducement.

However, Fang Senyan put his hands in his pockets and searched all over his body, only finding two five-dollar bills. This amount of money was only enough for a meal for Fang Senyan, and it was naturally far from enough to pay for inducing a qualified guide. Fortunately, in this world, although there were few and rare ways to legally increase ten US dollars to one hundred US dollars or even tens of thousands of US dollars, it couldn't be said that there were none at all. Fang Senyan was very good at one of them, which was... gambling.

In the previous real world, Fang Senyan's life could be said to have been spent in port bars all over the world. He had experienced various legal and illegal entertainment methods. Relying on his innate high perception, he actually won more and lost less at the gambling table. However, Fang Senyan knew how to advance and retreat and didn't intend to make gambling a hobby or career. Therefore, his reputation was not obvious, but his gambling skills were undoubtedly superb.

"If I need to raise funds through gambling, then conflict will be unavoidable."

"The unenhanced me can only deal with two adult men at the same time at most. Even if I'm enhanced now, I can only deal with five or six people at the same time at most. Once I'm surrounded and rushed, I'm afraid I'll still have to flee. That's right! My hidden talent ability, Tenacity, should be activated, but how this ability will perform in actual combat is still unknown."

"Time is tight, so I can only try it first. If it really doesn't work, I'll think of another way."

Fang Senyan calculated in his heart for a while. After making up his mind, he first paid attention to his surroundings and found that the bearded man hadn't followed, so he walked through two streets with peace of mind, turned a corner, and came to the middle of a side street. On the ground floor of a tall building on the left, there was a circle of rather dilapidated neon lights emitting a dim light. Vaguely, one could see the words "Dallas Bar" written on it. This place had few pedestrians, was located in a remote area, and there seemed to be a side door behind the bar, obviously to be used as a backup plan in case of emergency. The entrance of the bar imitated

the style of the West, with two saloon doors that swung open, but the hinges hadn't been oiled for who knows how long, so they creaked when pushed.

After walking to the door, a warm gust of air mixed with the smell of cheap powder, alcohol, and sweat rushed towards him, causing Fang Senyan to sneeze twice in a row. The bar was noisy and chaotic. The surrounding plaster walls were cracked everywhere, with some vulgar paintings or slang phrases written on them.

Niter had grown on the ground and at the base of the walls, and there was mud everywhere. Under the chandelier, to the right of the door was the bar. The wooden boards under the bar were cracked, and a layer of lead was nailed to the counter, on which were placed large wine glasses with iron hoops indicating different weights. Nailed to the wall was a wooden board with several glass bottles on it, shaped like full-body portraits of several stars. The bottles contained red and green mixed drinks, nothing more than beer, whiskey, and so on.

The bartender was a bald man, rolling up his sleeves and holding his arms in front of his chest. He had a horse face, and a pair of small yellow eyes stared warily at Fang Senyan, an unfamiliar guest. Fang Senyan walked directly to the bar and naturally threw out a five-dollar bill, saying in an impatient tone:

"Hi, Jack, give me a goddamn beer."

The bartender took the money, his expression softened a little, and smoothly slid a large glass of beer over, replying coldly:

"I'm Martin, thank you."

Fang Senyan sipped his beer and began to turn his head to look around. The place was filled with smog, and the people inside were gathered in five or six groups, most of them gambling. Two waitresses shuttled through them like butterflies, besides collecting bottles and delivering drinks, they also used their deep cleavage to carry the tips stuffed in, and they were very busy.

After Fang Senyan roughly walked around inside, he roughly understood the gambling methods of these people. He hung around outside a circle for a while, cheered a few times, and suddenly reached into his pocket, took out five dollars, and threw it into the circle to bet. Although this time he was only betting five dollars, Fang Senyan couldn't help but feel a trace of tension in his heart, as well as a long-lost stimulation and desire, because this was all the money he had!

Facts proved that Fang Senyan's superior perception did indeed play a great role, and five dollars became ten dollars. Then Fang Senyan lost another three dollars. After twenty minutes, five dollars had been multiplied six times. Then Fang Senyan changed to a circle and started playing Texas Hold'em. Overall, he lost more and won less, but the losses were small money while the wins were all big bets. In just half an hour, his assets had increased to four figures, and the faces of the surrounding gamblers were not very good. The way they looked at Fang Senyan also became frequent and fierce.

When Fang Senyan once again used a full house to kill everyone and leisurely swallowed up the surrounding people, the number of onlookers around this gambling circle had doubled. Especially Fang Senyan's left and right unknowingly leaned on two big men. These two guys intentionally or unintentionally showed off the black tattoos on their thick arms, and also said some ruthless words about how they had crippled so-and-so yesterday, undoubtedly exerting psychological pressure on Fang Senyan in disguise.

But Fang Senyan still won more and lost less, until the face of the mustached dealer wearing a cowboy hat opposite him was completely emptied. However, this guy seemed to not see that he was out of money, and continued to cross his arms and bet in a hoarse voice:

"Five hundred bucks."

Fang Senyan shrugged and said lightly:

"You have to take out the money first."

The mustached man raised his eyelids and sneered:

"Looks like you don't know Bloody Jack? Very good, I don't have money, I'll bet two fingers!"

As he said that, he actually took out a gleaming dagger from his boots and stabbed it on the table with a "po" sound.