Barely slipping into the spatial rift, we leave the bleak World 4466 behind. Zhen Shan’s dimensional space envelops us in absolute blackness, a silent void offering the security of a nuclear fallout shelter.

  "That was close," I sigh with relief, patting my chest. "In here, not even his maker could find..."

  Before I can finish the sentence, I feel a terrifying pressure crushing my chest, piercing right through the dimensional layer.

  Outside, the sphere of chaotic energy in the Chief Executor’s hand doesn’t explode as I predicted. Instead, it condenses, elongates, and transforms at breakneck speed. In just a split second, that red-black orb morphs into a massive energy greatsword tens of meters long. It glows with a malevolent aura, so sharp it seems to devour the surrounding light.

  "What is he planning to do?" Reo exclaims.

  The answer comes immediately. The giant swings the sword.

  SCHWING!

  An ear-piercing sound like fingernails scratching a chalkboard echoes throughout the dimensional space. The void wall in front of us is ripped open, a long gash revealing the maniacal grin of the monster outside.

  "What the hell is this now?!" I scream, my fur standing on end. "Hacks! Since when do Executors know how to switch classes mid-fight? He’s way too smart for that buggy interface!"

  Without a word, the monster retracts his wings and charges straight into the rift like a living drill.

  "Get out! Immediately!" Zhen Shan roars.

  At the exact moment his giant head squeezes in, we slip past him and rush out. It is a spectacular U-turn worthy of an action blockbuster.

  As soon as we set foot back under the gray sky of Hell Beta, Zhen Shan spins around, his hands weaving seals with the speed of a dancer.

  The spatial rift slams shut with a thud, trapping the monster inside the very cage we just escaped. Golden sealing characters shine brilliantly, wrapping around the fracture point.

  "Phew..." I wipe the sweat from my forehead. "Thank goodness. Now he’s stuck in there. By the way, Boss Tiger, how long will this seal hold? Five minutes? Ten minutes?"

  Before Zhen Shan can open his mouth to answer, the air in front of us vibrates violently.

  CRACK... CRACK...

  Spiderweb cracks appear in the sky, right where the seal was just established.

  "Stupid question," Zhen Shan mutters.

  Space shatters like a fragile sheet of glass. A red-hot energy blade slices through the sky, and the giant Chief Executor shoots out, roaring madly. He looks even more furious than before, his sleek black body radiating murderous intent.

  "He clings like a starving leech!" I curse, backing away. "Hey Zhen Shan, you’re the security expert, right? Do you have any other way to contain this liability? If we keep playing tag like this, I’m going to run out of stamina before he does!"

  Zhen Shan dodges a horizontal slash that cuts across the sky, his black suit flapping. "I do. I can establish the 'Eternal Prison' or 'Heaven's Net.' But those grand arrays require preparation time and energy gathering. It takes at least 30 minutes just to draft the schematic."

  He glances at the holographic watch on his wrist, then turns to look at me with an even more serious expression.

  "We also have about 30 minutes left."

  "30 minutes for what?" I ask.

  "30 minutes before Alethea reports to Director Ariel about activating the Rescue Protocol," Zhen Shan replies, his voice cold as ice.

  "In other words," Reo’s voice chimes in, "we have exactly 30 minutes before those old bosses up there start burning through Department 1031’s entire fiscal budget to open the Cloud-Hopper gate and send a rescue team down."

  That prospect is even more terrifying than the monster.

  "No!" I scream pathetically. "I’d rather fight ten Chief Executors than deal with that paperwork!"

  "Fine then, let's lay all the cards on the table," I mutter with frustration. Without a word of warning, I separate my spirit form from Reo's body. It feels like shedding a heavy winter coat in freefall.

  Reo's physical body wobbles slightly but instantly regains balance. This math teacher really lives up to his Senior Sensitive title. He calmly circulates his energy, hovering in the sky as if getting evicted from his own body at five hundred meters is just a daily routine.

  "Aren't you being a bit too spontaneous, Boss Fox?" Reo adjusts his trench coat collar, which is flapping in the wind. His tone is nonchalant. "If those were rookie Sensitives, that stunt would have turned them into splattered meat paste."

  "You can survive on your own, stop whining," I wave my hand, floating beside him in my fox form. "Now listen closely. I have a Plan B-minus that will definitely save more time than drawing that thirty-minute array."

  I turn to Zhen Shan, who is flying parallel to us.

  "Zhen, possess Reo. Use this shell to optimize physical output, then get me that Executioner's head. I need his head intact to perform a few mind-manipulation tricks."

  Zhen Shan's tiger ears twitch. He narrows his eyes at me with suspicion.

  "Mind manipulation? You mean that 'Insanely High FP Consumption' Law?"

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  I almost bite my tongue.

  This guy. Does he really enjoy mocking me that much? He holds onto every little grudge.

  "Ahem... well... basically, yes!" I argue, stretching my neck while my tail fluffs up. "Stop asking so many questions! Your job is to cut off its head and keep that headless bastard from disturbing me while I perform brain surgery on it. Got it?"

  Zhen Shan says nothing more. He gives a decisive nod. The avatar of the Tiger God dissolves into a brilliant golden beam and slams straight into Reo's chest.

  The teacher's body jerks. When he opens his eyes again, the usual calm blue pupils are gone. They are replaced by a fiery, amber gold filled with authority and killing intent. The aura around him shifts completely.

  "Go!"

  Reo's voice resonates with a deep, guttural timbre. He kicks against the air, creating a supersonic boom, and shoots forward like a golden arrow tearing through the gloomy night.

  The giant Executioner roars upon seeing his prey flee and flaps his wings to give chase. But Zhen Shan's speed now far exceeds the monster's perception. Both descend, flying dangerously close to the ground, skimming past ruined buildings at breakneck speed.

  Zhen Shan swings his arm. The surrounding air vibrates violently. Out of the void, tens of thousands of giant light swords materialize, hovering like a meteor shower in reverse. He grabs one sword, and the remaining ten thousand blades simultaneously turn their points toward the enemy.

  The battle unfolds at a speed the naked eye cannot follow. The more the Executioner frantically accelerates, slashing wildly with his void sword, the more gracefully Zhen Shan weaves through the tiniest gaps. In the eyes of the giant monster, Zhen Shan is now just a buzzing golden fly, but every time that fly passes, a deep gash appears on his black body.

  He begins to run out of steam. His sword strokes become chaotic and sluggish.

  And the decisive moment arrives.

  Zhen Shan dodges a horizontal slash and shoots upward, level with the giant's massive neck. The light sword in his hand glows blindingly bright.

  SLASH!

  A clean cut, so fast that the air does not even have time to separate.

  The giant, ugly head of the Chief Executioner slowly slides off its neck as black blood sprays out like a fountain.

  "Sit, boy!"

  I do not miss the opportunity. Nine fox tails unfurl, shooting out dozens of Foxfire chains to bind the falling head tight.

  "Open!"

  I use my claws to tear open space, creating a small rift just big enough to stuff the head in, then I drag my patient inside.

  Outside, the headless body of the Executioner staggers. Having lost its controlling brain, it falls into a state of frenzy. It begins swinging its sword wildly at the air, at the buildings, and even at its own body.

  "I'm leaving the rest to you, Boss Tiger!" I shout back before the rift closes.

  Zhen Shan hovers before the rampaging monster, holding the light sword with a cold expression. His task now is to be a punching bag, preventing this soulless corpse from wrecking my operating room. Fortunately, a headless guy cannot execute complex tactics anymore.

  I turn my back to the outside world, facing the giant head now bound tight in the dark space.

  The severed head of the Chief Executioner floats in the pitch-black void, looming large like a mobile two-story house. His bloodshot eyes roll wildly, and his mouth, split ear to ear, opens and closes incessantly. It emits the sickening squelch of jaw muscles trying to crush something invisible. Up close like this, I realize his appearance is truly an aesthetic crime scene. Looking at him for too long makes me feel like I need to wash my eyes with holy water.

  He refuses to give up, struggling and roaring until the dimension shakes. But the more he writhes, the tighter the Foxfire chains constrict, hissing like grilling meat.

  "Be a good boy, big guy," I mutter, weaving hand seals. "Time for your medicine."

  A massive surge of spiritual power explodes from behind me. Thousands of azure flames converge, weaving the form of a colossal Nine-Tailed Fox, towering and majestic, illuminating the entire void.

  From the spirit beast's fingers, countless threads of divine power, thin as spider silk but tougher than steel, shoot forth. They pierce through the monster's thick skin, embedding themselves deep into the acupuncture points on that massive head.

  Zzzzzz...

  The roaring ceases instantly. His red eyes glaze over, and his eyelids droop. He is under wide-area anesthesia.

  "That should do it," I exhale, smoothing the white fur on my arm. "Now... let's take a little stroll inside this oversized, empty head to see where you hide your central processing unit."

  I close my eyes. My consciousness detaches from my spirit body, sliding along the blue divine threads to infiltrate his mind.

  In the blink of an eye, the scenery shifts.

  I find myself standing in a long, dark, damp corridor. The paint peels from the walls, the white tiled floor lies shattered, and the air reeks of antiseptic mixed with the metallic tang of blood.

  "Great," I sneer, my fox tail flicking against my leg. "The mental interface is an abandoned hospital? Truly the aesthetic taste of a low-budget indie horror dev."

  I raise my hand, creating a glowing blue thread from the tip of my index finger. This is the digitized version of "Ariadne's Thread," helping me mark my path in this chaotic memory maze. Getting lost inside the head of a deranged monster would be the most embarrassing occupational accident in history.

  I begin walking down the hall, opening each patient room door to check the "data."

  The first door opens. Pop.

  A 3D memory manifests. The giant stands amidst a ruined city. He does not eat people like the small fry. He... stomps. He lifts his colossal foot and crushes dozens of sinful souls below into piles of red sludge. Then, he stands watching them slowly regenerate into human form, only to... stomp again. A brutal and meaningless loop.

  "Disgusting," I crinkle my snout, slamming the door shut. The fur on the back of my neck stands on end in horror.

  The second door.

  This time, it is a memory of management work. He stands atop a high tower, emitting strange sound waves to command the swarm of smaller Executioners to patrol and hunt.

  "Ah, so you are a middle manager just like me," I nod in sympathy. "KPI pressure and herding a swarm of dim-witted subordinates. I feel your pain."

  I close the door. This area is full of junk files. Violence, orders, instincts. It is not what I need. There is no source code for the Law.

  "I have to go deeper," I mutter. "Right down to the Subconscious layer."

  I reach the end of the corridor, where a massive, rusted iron door stands locked by dozens of black chains.

  I reach out to touch it, but...

  CLANG!

  A hexagonal barrier of light suddenly appears, blocking my hand. A spiritual Firewall.

  On that light screen, a panel materializes, floating in the air.

  A complex 2D maze drawing with a tiny human-shaped statue at the starting point. Below it, text flashes. "Guide the lost soul to the finish line to unlock."

  I look down at the countdown timer on my wrist.

  [Time remaining: 25 minutes 00 seconds]

  Twenty-five minutes before Sister Alethea calls Boss Ariel to activate the rescue protocol.

  "Dammit!" I scream, kicking the invisible wall hard. "I crawl all the way into their heads, and I still have to play puzzle mini-games? Which sadistic dev of a god designed the security mechanism for these monsters' consciousness? He deserves to be banished down here to live with them for eternity!"

  I take a deep breath, trying to cool down my overheating head.

  "Alright, alright... If it's puzzles you want, it's puzzles you get. I am the master of speed-running puzzle games."