As the bear's size towered over him with its eyes burning with killing intent, Alpha's voice echoed in Lin Fang's mind. "Lin Fang, proceed as if you were facing a Lord Tier Beast."

Lin Fang's jaw tightened. "A Lord tier, huh? Maybe I shouldn't have deactivated the skill earlier."

With a flick of his wrist, twin daggers of Xuanwu materialized in his hands, and he exhaled once, lowering his stance. "Alright then," he muttered. "Let's end this quickly."

The bear lunged forward, swiping the claws like cleavers through the air. Lin Fang dodged sideways, evading the attack by a hair's breadth, and then he countered with a downward slash. The dagger cut deep across the creature's forearm, spilling blood to the floor.

*Graaa*

The beast roared and swung again, this time faster. Lin Fang met the blow head-on once again, crossing both daggers to parry. The impact sent a shockwave that shattered nearby glass panels, blasting Lin Fang to the back.

Lin Fang, who held his footing, slid across the floor for a moment before he spun in the air and landed on the floor.

Narrowing his eyes, he murmured. "System, Activate, Combat Merge. Select Cloud"

In the next second, the system's chime echoed in his head.

*Ding!

[Active Skill: Combat Merge is now active.]

As the Blazing Smilodon went into hibernation, Lin Fang received its stats.

Tightening his grip, he charged forward. Turning into a blur, he unleashed the daggers' skill at the same time.

*Ding!

[Twin Fang Slash is now active]

With both daggers shaped in a cross, he swung them down upon narrowing the distance in that second.

Before the Bear gets to respond to the heavy instincts of moving away, the attack landed on its chest, from shoulder to the lower abdomen on either side, a huge cross-shaped cut was on its body, and the blood started gushing out of its body as he bear howled in pain, staggering.

He vanished from sight again. A blink later, he appeared behind the beast with one of his daggers poised against its neck.

The bear froze, panting heavily. Blood dripped down from its wounds, staining the terrace floor red.

Alpha's voice then cut in. "It's perfect. Now proceed to execute to eliminate the threat."

Perhaps Lin Fang himself was about to kill the bear, but Alpha's words suddenly made him hesitate. His grip tightened on the dagger and then stopped. Instead, gave a powerful kick to his back.

As it fell to the floor, he exhaled sharply, forcing his muscles to relax. The daggers were dismissed into the inventory.

"Why?" Alpha questioned him right away.

"I have no qualms killing monsters that threaten my life," Lin Fang replied quietly with his eyes still locked on the downed creature. "But he's not a monster. He is a human."

Alpha's heavy voice turned a bit serious as it replied. "You have to change those naive thoughts, Lin Fang. You were almost killed twice by the very humans. Now, this is the third time. I'm afraid that if you don't put away these stupid thoughts, it will come back and bite you."

"I know, but I don't want to be a murderer," replied Lin Fang, firm on his ideology. He turned his back as the bear's massive body reverted slowly to its human form. The man was unconscious and bleeding but alive.

Meanwhile, down on the 3rd floor, the soft jazz music of the banquet hall played faintly in the background. Vivian sat at the table, but her hand was trembling as she raised a glass of wine. The edges of her vision blurred.

Her pulse quickened unnaturally. "What… what's going on…?"

She pressed a hand against her chest, heat coursing through her body while her breathing became unsteady. The room seemed to spin.

"Babe?" Mark's voice came softly, almost too soft. He reached out, putting on a mask of concern. "Hey, are you okay?"

Vivian's words slurred, "I… I don't know. Something's wrong. Tell Lin Fang… tell him to come down…" At the same time, her hand was already hurriedly moved to her smartphone. 1 number was pressed on hold and dialed an emergency call.

Meanwhile, Mark nodded quickly, voice filled with false reassurance. "Yeah, of course. Just… come on, you need to rest."

He wrapped an arm around her and half-carried her out of the banquet room. No one stopped them.

Moments later, he pushed open the door to a suite room he had already arranged on the same floor. Once he had laid her down on the bed, his face suddenly twisted from fake worry to a smirk.

Meanwhile, a semi-unconscious Vivian's mind swam in confusion and heat. "It's… so hot… what… did you…" her hands automatically reached out to her own bosom… "You… what's in that drink…"

Mark's smirk widened further, "Nothing, Babe. Just a simple drug… Forget about it." Slowly, removing his shirt buttons, he said. "Embrace your feeling and give in to me…"

At the same time, his other hand shot into his pocket and took out his smartphone, the camera switching on in the next movement, recording her who was spasming left and right as the effects of the drug got stronger.

She clenched her fists tightly as he threw the shirt away and was about to reach for her, her face turning deep red in anger but helplessness, too. The mana in her system is trying its best to nullify the foreign agent that has already been digested…

However, right then, the door exploded open with a crash. A gust of wind swept in as the splintered remains of the lock hit the wall.

Standing at the doorway was Lin Fang, who was sweating like hell and taking heavy breaths. "Phew. Thank goodness, I came in time…"

Mark froze mid-motion, his smile dying instantly. His phone slipped from his hand. "Wha—what are you doing here?" he stammered in a cracking voice.

Lin Fang didn't reply. Letting out another deep breath, in a blink, he was in front of him and shot his hand forward. His hand gripped Mark's throat tightly before slamming him into the wall so hard the plaster cracked.

Mark choked, with his legs dangling as his body was raised above. Lin Fang said in a cold voice. "You're lucky I got here before something irreversible happened. Or else, I wouldn't have hesitated to crush that throat…"

He threw Mark across the room. The man crashed into a table like a rag doll and fell to the floor, gasping.

Lin Fang then turned, pulled the sheet over Vivian to cover her properly, and faced him again.

The icy dagger shimmered into his hand again, this time just one. Pointing it at him, he said. "You hired those men upstairs, didn't you? They're all unconscious now, and one will die if you don't save him now. Now, take them and leave before I change my mind."

Mark's face turned white. He staggered to his feet, clutching his neck.

"Y-you… You will pay for this…" He spat in a trembling voice, but his eyes betrayed his fear.

Lin Fang took one step forward. The air grew heavy with killing intent as he poured mana into it. "Don't take my kindness and your influence for granted."

Mark flinched back. Without another word, he grabbed his shirt and bolted for the door.

Lin Fang's gaze then dropped to the smartphone on the floor. The screen is showing nothing but dark, but he saw that the recording was on. His expression hardened, and he crushed it beneath his boot as Mark was rushing away.

Just then, a faint pulse of mana stirred behind him. Lin Fang turned toward Vivian, who slowly raised.

Before Mark could reach the exit, the mana lashed out from her palm, forming something like a serpent, which then wrapped around him like a rope. He was yanked off his feet, suspended midair once again.

Lin Fang looked at her in surprise.

Vivian's eyes were glowing faintly as Mark's scream cut the room in half.

She slowly sat up with her cheeks flushed from the earlier fever, but her stare was hard as steel, even as her breath appeared ragged. "I'm giving you one week, Mark," she said in a low voice, almost a growl. "Break the engagement. Convince your father to pull out of my company with his investments, using whatever cockamamie reason he can come up with. If on the eighth day you haven't—then I don't care about jail, bankruptcy, or dragging my own parents into the street. I will have you and your whole family eliminated. Understand? Now get out."

Mark didn't need a second warning. He stammered, nodded over and over, eyes wide with panic, then bolted from the suite as if the floor had caught fire beneath him. The door slammed shut.

Vivian let out a long, shaking breath and buried her face in her hands for a second. She turned to Lin Fang, "Thank you," she said, voice quiet. "If you hadn't come…"

Before Lin Fang reacted, Vivian's body trembled as she fell back onto the bed, her breathing uneven and sharp. "That bast*rd… that drug he fed me," she gasped, her voice rough with desperation. "It's making my body burn. Its effects increased as I used mana… Damn it. I didn't expect a trap was laid…"

Her pulse was wild beneath her skin, her temperature climbing by the second. Lin Fang hesitated at her bedside, torn between concern and caution.

"Please," she whispered, clutching the sheets as though they might anchor her. "Do something—anything. Just take me…"

"Wha…"

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