Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

The Cleaner's dual physical and energy barriers, like a giant bubble, completely enveloped a 500-meter area centered on the jewelry shop ruins.

The sky was covered by a semi-transparent energy film, giving it an eerie pale blue glow.

Occasionally, unidentified flying objects with burning tail flames would crash down with a whoosh, only stirring up energy ripples that spread out like water waves upon impact with the membrane.

An invisible force field operates silently, precisely guiding this out-of-control "garbage" into a pre-set deep pit outside the isolation zone.

At the eye of the storm, however, there was an eerie calm.

Apart from the occasional muffled thuds from the sky and the subtle sounds of the scavengers working on the wreckage like precision instruments in the distance, only the slow passage of time could be heard in this core area marked as the "highest danger zone".

Time crawled by second in the oppressive silence.

Forty-eight hours later, the negative effects of the cursed coins finally came to an end.

When the malice directed at her faded away, Su Xiaowei let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief.

The oppressive atmosphere that had been hanging over him had also quietly dissipated.

Bubuwang cautiously extended its paw, leaving Lin Yi's protective range, and tentatively touched Su Xiao's trouser leg.

After confirming that no meteorite or out-of-control truck was about to fall, Bubuwang let out a "woof" and pounced on Su Xiao, rubbing its big head against Su Xiao's legs and wagging its tail like a propeller.

This experience of negative attributes, especially the terrifying feeling of luck value falling into negative territory, has taught both Su Xiao and Lin Yi a very profound lesson.

This thing is practically a curse at the rule level; it harms people without any logic and is impossible to guard against.

From now on, if there's even the slightest possibility, we must take a detour.

The removal of the blockade zone was as efficient as it was when it was established.

As soon as the command was given, the pale blue energy film that covered the sky quickly dissipated, and the buzzing force field generator stopped working.

The long-awaited sunlight poured down without any obstruction, piercing through the dust and illuminating this neighborhood that looked as if it had been ravaged by a giant beast.

Sunlight fell on Su Xiao's face, and although her face still didn't show any obvious expression, the lingering gloom between her brows had indeed faded considerably.

"Mr. Baiye, Doctor." Peacock approached with several core team members.

Her face was marked with prominent dark circles, clearly indicating that 48 consecutive hours of high-intensity vigilance and post-disaster command had taken a heavy toll on her: "The lockdown has been lifted according to procedure. The post-disaster work is basically complete, and the official statement is that a large-scale underground gas pipeline chain explosion occurred. This is one of the standardized contingency plans for the cleaners to handle such incidents, which can minimize public panic and suspicion."

She handed over a sleek tablet terminal with an encryption symbol: "This is the preliminary assessment report and follow-up risk warning for this incident. You two can take a look. The details and data are all inside."

She paused, her gaze falling on Su Xiao, carefully choosing her words: "Furthermore, based on our experience in tracking the 'Viper' case, we strongly advise Mr. Bai Ye to keep a low profile as much as possible in the near future. Minimize unnecessary stays in densely populated areas. This is to give the real world some buffer time."

Her wording was very tactful, but the meaning was clear—it would be good for everyone if Su Xiao, this unlucky guy who had just gotten rid of the huge problem of negative luck, stayed away from the crowd for the time being.

Su Xiao glanced at the report summary on the tablet, then nodded expressionlessly: "Understood."

Lin Yi naturally reached out and took the tablet, his slender fingers quickly swiping across the screen, browsing the specific details and data models of the report.

A moment later, he handed the tablet back to the peacock.

"Thank you for your hard work. We were just planning to leave Guangming City for a while to relax and avoid the limelight."

Peacock visibly breathed a sigh of relief: "A wise choice. Have a safe journey. Please feel free to contact us via this frequency if you need anything or notice anything unusual."

She left behind a dedicated communication frequency and then quickly led her team to evacuate.

This neighborhood needs rebuilding, public opinion needs guidance, and the list of things to be done is piled up, so there's no time to waste.

Three days later, deep in the Pacific Ocean, a tiny volcanic island that was almost unmarkable on a map.

In the heart of the island, a simple yet primal open-air arena lies sprawled under the blazing sun like a colossal beast.

The circular grandstand, built of rough volcanic rock, extends upwards in layers and is now filled with all sorts of people.

There were well-dressed tycoons with bodyguards; there were mercenary leaders covered in tattoos and exuding a fierce aura; and there were observers in uniform with notebooks in hand.

This is the "Furnace Arena," the infamous ultimate "testing ground" of the underworld.

Various organizations, secret factions, and even some super-rich individuals seeking extreme thrills throw their carefully cultivated or heavily funded "creations," "weapons," and "thugs" into this bloody crucible, solely to test their ultimate combat capabilities and survival skills in a pure life-or-death struggle.

Death is the most common and insignificant footnote here.

There are no complicated rules, no fair referees, and no sentimental gestures here.

The only rule is: stand until the end, or die on the field.

Lin Yi and his group occupied a relatively spacious spot with a wide view on the higher part of the stands.

Su Xiao sat on the outermost side, his back against the cold volcanic rock, his hat brim pulled low, the shadow covering most of his face.

Lin Yi sat next to Su Xiao, his posture much more relaxed.

He even held a glass of juice made from some local tropical fruit with ice in his hand, its color vibrant, and he was slowly sipping it, as if he were on a resort beach rather than a bloody arena.

Next to Lin Yi was Fatty Ma, dressed in a flashy Hawaiian shirt, his big gold chain gleaming in the sunlight, talking animatedly to Blackie on the other side.

Blackie still looked as sharp as ever, his eyes scanning the entrance to the arena, assessing the contestants who were about to enter.

Hai Dong sat on the other side of Fatty Ma, his expression serious, occasionally turning his head to whisper a few words of advice to his son Hai Qing, who was sitting right next to him.

Hai Qing's face was slightly pale, and his hands were clenched into fists on his knees, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He strained to open his eyes wide and stare at the blood-soaked sand in the center of the arena, trying to hide the tension and discomfort in his eyes.

Lin Yi brought him here for a very clear purpose: to toughen him up and let him see the cruel reality of this world.

Xiao Ling, sitting next to Hei Pi, was the most out of place among the group.

Ever since she glimpsed a corner of that mysterious world in Guangming City, her originally mundane life has completely lost its color.

She begged and pleaded, even going so far as to ask Su Xiao, who usually seemed the most difficult to talk to, before she was finally allowed to join this "trip".

At this moment, Xiaoling's face was filled with intense curiosity and excitement. She held a small pair of binoculars in her hand and looked around. She seemed completely oblivious to the bloody smell that permeated the air, instead displaying an almost naive sense of curiosity.

"Look! That big guy! My God, his arms feel thicker than my waist!" Xiaoling excitedly tugged at the black leather sleeve and pointed to a huge figure at the entrance of the arena, bending over and struggling to crawl out of a low passage.

He was a typical bio-engineered soldier, nearly 2.5 meters tall, with a bare upper body whose muscles were bulging like piled-up rocks, and his skin had an unhealthy gray-green color, with large blood vessels wriggling under his skin like earthworms.

His head was fixed in place by a crude metal frame, and his eyes flashed with a ferocious red light.

His opponent also slowly walked out from the opposite entrance. He was a lean old man wearing a faded gray cloth robe and a pair of cloth shoes with multiple layers of soles.

He was hunched over, with sparse, gray hair, a face covered in deep wrinkles, and cloudy eyes that were half-open, as if he might fall asleep at any moment.

Compared to that bio-giant, he was as insignificant as a withered blade of grass in a storm, and the stands couldn't help but erupt in huge boos and laughter.

"What the hell? Are the organizers so desperate for money that they're sending an old coffin to their deaths?"

"Hey! You old codger! Get home and take care of your grandson! Stop making a fool of yourself here!"

"The betting is on! The giant will tear the old man apart in three moves! Odds are 0.1 to 1! Place your bets now!"

Xiaoling frowned, put down her binoculars, and looked clearly confused and distressed: "This...this is so unfair! That old man...how could he..."

Before she could finish speaking, a bell rang in the center of the arena.

"Roar—!" The bio-giant charged at the withered old man like an enraged prehistoric beast.

The enormous fist tore through the air, aiming straight for the old man's head.

If that punch landed, it wouldn't just shatter a head, it would pulverize even a piece of granite. The stands instantly erupted in a frenzy, with bloodthirsty screams, frenzied shouts, and the gamblers' hysterical cheers merging into a wave of fervent sound that nearly lifted the dome of the arena.

Just as the fist was about to touch the old man's gray hair, the old man, who had been keeping his eyes half-closed, suddenly shot out two terrifying beams of light from his cloudy eyes.

The hunched body, like a spring compressed to its limit, slid slightly to the side at an angle and speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

call!
The massive fist, carrying the aura of death, grazed the hem of the old man's cloth robe before slamming down with tremendous force onto the sand where the old man had just stood.

With a muffled boom, the sand and dust exploded like a bomb, creating a crater the size of a washbasin in the ground.

"What?!" Xiaoling exclaimed, covering her mouth in disbelief.

Enraged by its missed attack, the bio-giant swung its other arm with overwhelming force, aiming a swift, sweeping motion at the old man's waist. The force of the blow caused the sand and gravel on the ground to tumble to either side.

The old man's emaciated body, however, was as weightless as a willow catkin. With a light touch of his toes on the soft sand, he slid to the giant's side, brushing against the sweeping arm.
The old man's seemingly withered hand shot out like lightning, his five fingers held together like a bird's beak.

His fingertips easily pierced the bio-giant's rock-hard, gray-green skin, embedding themselves in a specific spot under its ribs.

"Ugh—!" The bio-giant's inhuman roar instantly turned into a painful howl. Its massive body convulsed violently, its sweeping motion abruptly halted, and its enormous arm fell limply to its side.

The old man used the momentum to spin around, and his other withered hand pecked out again.

This time, the target is the side of the giant's thick neck!

puff!
A dull, penetrating sound rang out, and with each strike of the old man's seemingly powerless fingers, a deep, bone-revealing blood hole was left in the giant's gray-green skin.

Its massive body crashed heavily onto the sand, kicking up a cloud of crimson dust.

Dark red, viscous blood gushed from several finger-sized holes in the burly man's neck, quickly spreading across a large area beneath him.

The old man straightened up, dusted off non-existent dust from his cloth clothes, his cloudy eyes swept across the stands, and he returned to his drowsy appearance.

He slowly turned around and walked towards the entrance he had come from, leaving behind the huge corpse that was rapidly losing its temperature.

The entire arena fell into a brief silence, which was then followed by roars and whistles that seemed to lift the dome off!

The gamblers frantically tore at their ticket stubs, the winners' wild laughter and the losers' curses mingling together.

"Hiss..." Haiqing's face turned even paler, and she gripped her father Haidong's arm tightly.

The visual impact far surpassed any written description; the bloody scene before him brutally shattered his past understanding.

Hai Dong patted his son's hand hard and said in a deep voice, "See? This is a real life-or-death struggle. Strength, speed, skill, and timing are all indispensable. Without the determination to kill the enemy with one blow, you will be the one who falls."

Hai Qing nodded vigorously, his eyes fixed on the rapidly expanding dark red patch on the sand. His stomach churned, but he forced himself to hold it in.

The excitement and curiosity on Xiaoling's face had vanished without a trace, replaced by a pale, disoriented expression and immense fear.

The binoculars in her hand fell to her knees with a "thud" and rolled to her feet without her noticing.

Her face quickly lost its flush of excitement, turning deathly pale, and her lips trembled slightly uncontrollably.

The bloody scene just now replayed repeatedly in her mind like a slow motion: withered fingers piercing tough skin, dark red blood gushing out, and a huge body crashing down in despair... The strong smell of blood that was originally just a background in the arena seemed to be magnified a thousand times in an instant, mixed with the smell of death, rushing straight into her nostrils and into her brain, making her dizzy.

"Ugh..." She suddenly covered her mouth, her body trembling violently. The intense nausea could no longer be suppressed, and she bent over and dry heaved, tears welling up instantly.

Blackie frowned and handed over a bottle of water and a plastic bag.

Fatty Ma sighed helplessly and gently patted her back: "I told you not to come, but you wouldn't listen... This isn't a place for girls to look at..."

Xiaoling took the water, gulped it down, rinsed her mouth, and spat it into the plastic bag. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up, her voice trembling with sobs: "I...I didn't know...that...that old man...he..."

She couldn't continue. The gaunt figure of the ancient martial artist and the deadly ruthlessness that erupted in an instant completely overturned her romanticized imagination of "masters".

"This is the 'furnace,' where you either kill your opponent or be killed by them."

Su Xiao remained leaning against the cold rock, the shadow under his hat obscuring his expression.

Ancient martial arts practitioners' precise and efficient killing techniques? In his eyes, they were full of flaws, with too many redundant movements and crude application of power.

Such a "master" is someone that even the lowest-ranking contractor among the first-tier contractors in the Paradise of Reincarnation might not be able to defeat.

However, it is impactful enough to "open the eyes" of ordinary people.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over Xiaoling's pale face and Haiqing's forced composure.

It's good to face reality sooner rather than later, rather than being scared out of your wits when danger strikes.

Seeing his cousin's distraught state, Fatty Ma gave Blackie a wink.

Hei Pi understood and immediately stood up, deftly helping Xiao Ling, who was limp and almost unable to stand, to her feet: "Let's go, Xiao Ling, let's go back to the ship and rest first."

Xiaoling offered no resistance, like a soulless puppet, letting Hei Pi help her stagger away from this bloody battlefield.

Hai Dong patted his son on the shoulder: "Qingzi, let's go back. That's enough for today."

Haiqing nodded silently and stood up with her father, her steps somewhat unsteady.

Two days later, in Guangming City.

The familiar damp air, carrying a faint urban exhaust odor, wafted in, replacing the salty and bloody smell of the island. The brightly lit cityscape flowed past the car window, cars and pedestrians hurrying by, everything seemed so…normal.

Xiaoling leaned against the car window, looking at the peaceful and tranquil street scene outside, her eyes still somewhat dazed.

The splattered blood, twisted corpses, and dying screams in the arena created an absurd and jarring contrast with the bustling and peaceful scene before us.

The cruelty of that other world, like a deep, bone-revealing wound, left an indelible mark on her heart.

Haiqing sat in the passenger seat, her childishness having faded considerably.

The car drove smoothly into the area where Su Xiao's jewelry shop was located. The surrounding buildings still had some traces of the cleaners' cleanup, but the overall area had returned to calm.

Bubuwang was the first to jump out of the car. It sniffed the air warily, and only after confirming that there was no lingering danger did it wag its tail at Su Xiao.

"Finally back." Fatty Ma stretched, his fat jiggling. "It's so much more comfortable at home! That ghost island, even sleeping there smelled of blood, it was such bad luck! If I had stayed any longer, I would have been pickled!"

Blackie didn't say anything, but simply helped carry a few simple pieces of luggage out of the trunk.

Lin Yi got out of the car, stretched his neck, and glanced at the dark entrance of Su Xiao's shop and the makeshift police tape around it.

Fatty Ma waved his hand, beckoning to Xiaoling, who was still immersed in the afterglow of fear and somewhat absent-minded: "Let's go, Xiaoling! Don't just stand there, go back and get some sleep!"

Hai Dong patted his son on the shoulder: "Qingzai, let's go home."

Haiqing nodded vigorously and followed her father to another car.

Lin Yi entered the traditional Chinese medicine clinic, his body sinking into the familiar curve of the chair back.

The world seems to have returned to its normal, peaceful rhythm.

The dust has settled, and the noise has subsided.

The hunter has returned to the Paradise of Reincarnation.

[Note: The hunter is about to undergo the assessment for advancement to rank six.]

[The hunter has been found to have signed a contract.]

[Promotion tasks are being revised...]

[The world 'Sleeping City' has been selected for advancement.] (End of Chapter)