Fang Linyan

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Fang Linyan (方林岩) 1
Alias(es)	Jerry Lin (Avatar Mode identity); Contractor 72AFS 24
Species/Race	Human; uses a healthy clone/avatar body while in Nightmare Space 24
Gender	Male
Age	19 at his lung-cancer diagnosis; Jerry Lin’s avatar identity is 23 2 24
Affiliation	Nightmare Space Contractor 24 29
Occupation/Role	Survivor and Contractor; his Jerry Lin identity is recorded as a former repairman 24
Status	Alive, though seriously injured after completing Reverse History (last shown) 50
First Appearance	Chapter 1: “Prelude - Withered Summer” 1

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Nightmare Space entry / Contractor 72AFS	23 24	Survives the descent process when the S.K.M. Black Iron Medal resonates with his black old-fashioned phone. Awakens in Avatar Mode as Jerry Lin, a healthy clone body.
Voodoo Black Magic: Blood Spider (D-Rank)	24	Chooses Blood Spider over physical-transformation options, gaining a black-magic attack that requires a Voodoo Doll, blood, and 10 MP per cast.
Enhanced Voodoo Doll	27	Crafts a blue-quality Voodoo Doll with a Six-Eyed Red-Bellied Spider and his own blood, improving the summoned Blood Spider’s mobility and jumping ability.
Fully datafied Contractor body	29	Gains stabilized attributes, HP and MP bars, and the consequences of functional loss associated with Nightmare Space’s digitization system.
Scholar title	35	Completes the Scholar milestone by touching and reading the Mayflower Compact; gains 20 MP and an evolvable title.
A-Rank Talent: Bullet Time	35	Awakens a calculation- and reaction-enhancing talent during the museum conflict. Its use rapidly drains MP and leaves him with severe headaches.

Background / History

Fang Linyan was abandoned as an infant at an orphanage with ten thousand yuan and a slip naming him “Fang Linyan.” He grew up without a conventional family and was later taken in by Uncle Xu, whose honesty heavily influenced him. After Uncle Xu’s death, Fang Linyan borrowed over one hundred thousand yuan for medical treatment and funeral expenses; even after being diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, he remained determined to repay those debts before dying. 1 2

At nineteen, he learned that he had late-stage lung cancer. The diagnosis initially broke him, but his fear of death hardened into an obsessive resolve to fight fate rather than wait for it. A supernatural encounter in a supermarket restroom and messages on a stolen phone led him to Huichuan Pier No. 5, where he witnessed a battle between the enhanced Contractor Fang and other combatants. 2 3 7 8

At the pier, Fang Linyan killed a gravely wounded woman to prevent his hiding place from being exposed. He recorded and analyzed the battle, identified Fang’s probable weaknesses, and manipulated Anmoreya Corporation into pursuing him. Fang Linyan ultimately lured the injured Fang aboard a cargo ship, drugged him through a prepared drink, and beheaded him with a plasma-cutting device. 8 10 18 19

Using Fang’s Bloody Key, Fang Linyan obtained five retroviral vector syringes. He injected four of them despite the risk of water intoxication, temporarily suppressing his cancer symptoms. The mysterious phone later directed him to Kays Café, where a hidden basement and a cup of coffee triggered his descent into Nightmare Space. 20 21 23

Appearance

In his original body, Fang Linyan is physically weakened by terminal lung cancer. In Avatar Mode, he inhabits Jerry Lin’s healthy clone body: a robust young Chinese man who resembles him but has a noticeably stronger build. 16 24

• Originally pale, gaunt, and prone to violent coughing fits and coughing blood. 2 9
• His illness leaves him exhausted by ordinary exertion, including climbing through a warehouse window. 5
• Jerry Lin’s avatar body is healthy and robust, with golden-white fuzz on the back of its hands. 24
• Uses disguises when surveilling dangerous locations, including sunglasses, a hooded sweatshirt, heavy pendants, and baggy jeans. 21

Personality

Fang Linyan is intensely survival-driven. His terminal illness gives him a deep fear of death, but that fear manifests as stubborn resistance rather than resignation. He plans routes, checks equipment, prepares contingencies, and refuses to gamble blindly when information can be obtained first. 3 4 18 19

He is analytical under pressure, often turning small observations into decisive advantages. He identifies Fang’s habits through clothing fragments and timing, exploits a guard’s priority of protecting the Mayflower Compact, and recognizes hidden hostility in an injured opponent’s movements. 10 31 34

His pragmatism can become ruthless. He kills the wounded woman at the pier to preserve his own concealment, uses innocent-seeming behavior to bait enemies, and shoots Contractor 91UK3 after pretending to be deceived by her act. However, he also refuses to steal from an unconscious old man despite desperately needing money and shows concern for the homeless men he hires as distractions. 8 25 30 34

Abilities & Skills

Strategic Planning and Deduction

Fang Linyan’s greatest strength is his ability to gather evidence, form hypotheses, and prepare layered plans before acting.

• Identified Fang’s French connection, luxury habits, probable transformation limit, and reliance on water-based escape routes from battlefield footage and records. 10 18
• Designed three contingency plans to capture Fang; Plan A used a cargo ship, surveillance, a tailored meal, and sedative-laced cream bread. 19
• Uses opponents’ priorities against them, such as forcing the museum guard to protect the Mayflower Compact instead of immediately attacking him. 31 32
• Can remain calm enough to reconstruct events and uncover hidden mission conditions during a crisis. 48 50

Voodoo Black Magic: Blood Spider

A D-Rank black-magic technique chosen after entering Nightmare Space. It summons a blood-red spider that Fang Linyan can direct against targets. 24 28

• Requires a Voodoo Doll as a casting item, plus blood and 10 MP. 24
• Has a 100-second casting cooldown. 24
• His Six-Eyed Red-Bellied Spider-enhanced doll improves the Blood Spider’s speed, jumping, and ambush potential. 27 28
• Can inflict extreme pain and temporarily incapacitate targets, creating openings for escape or attack. 28 33 44
• Its pain is inflicted through black magic rather than ordinary nerves, allowing it to affect the bio-weapon mutant despite the creature’s impaired pain response. 45
• As basic black magic, it has limited direct lethality and is most effective as a stealthy disruption tool. 28

Bullet Time

An A-Rank Talent that awakens during the conflict over the Scholar milestone. 35

• Greatly improves calculation, observation, and reaction speed, allowing him to process events as though they were slowed down. 31 32 35
• Lets him anticipate actions such as weapon timing and attack trajectories. 32
• Rapidly consumes MP and causes debilitating headaches after use. 35
• Its initial activation appears to be supported by his black old-fashioned phone, which is left cracked and nearly drained afterward. 31 35

Mechanical Craftsmanship

Fang Linyan received crafting-related training from age eleven and has exceptional practical machining ability. 25 38

• Crafts Voodoo Dolls with unusually refined proportions. 25 27
• Machines precise gadget components in a repair shop, impressing Smith and his workers. 38
• Disassembles ordinary objects and reconstructs the parts into weapons, including brass knuckles and a hand crossbow. 40 41 43
• Coats crossbow bolts with toxic industrial powder for rapid bloodstream delivery. 43

Datafied Contractor Body

Following digitization, Fang Linyan gains the standard systems of a Nightmare Space Contractor. 29

• Has stabilized physical output, HP, and MP. 29
• Functional loss cannot normally be healed through rest or ordinary medication. 29
• His avatar body’s death would also kill his original body. 24

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Black Old-Fashioned Phone — Receives mysterious messages, resonates with Fang Linyan’s mind in danger, and helps shield him during his descent into Nightmare Space. 3 23 31
• S.K.M. Black Iron Medal — Looted from Fang’s storage; reacts with the phone during descent and becomes part of the protective phenomenon around it. 20 23
• Voodoo Doll — Required casting item for Blood Spider; Fang Linyan crafts an enhanced blue-quality version using a Six-Eyed Red-Bellied Spider. 24 27
• Retroviral Vector Syringes — Five syringes recovered from Fang’s damaged case; four are used in an attempt to control Fang Linyan’s terminal cancer. 20 21
• Homemade brass knuckles — Crafted for use aboard Flight 11 and used to incapacitate the captain. 41
• Homemade hand crossbow — Built from machine parts; fires processed nail bolts, including poisoned ammunition. 43
• Scholar title — An evolvable title that grants 20 MP; only one title can be equipped at a time. 35

Relationships

• Uncle Xu — Guardian and moral influence. Fang Linyan borrowed heavily for Uncle Xu’s treatment and funeral, then pawned Uncle Xu’s treasured watch to finance his plan against Fang. 2 18
• Doctor Zhou — Underground doctor who sells Fang Linyan EVE pills and a Hercules Super Nitrogen Pump; warns him about the risks of the medication. 9
• Fang — Enemy Contractor whose retroviral injections represent Fang Linyan’s chance to survive. Fang Linyan studies, tracks, traps, and beheads him. 10 16 20
• Anmoreya Corporation — Fang’s powerful enemy organization. Fang Linyan sends it information about Fang in order to provoke a conflict he can exploit. 18
• Unknown text-message sender — An unidentified force that directs Fang Linyan toward the Silver Case, Kays Café, and ultimately Nightmare Space. 3 21 23
• Contractor 91UK3 — Blonde Contractor who unknowingly helps Fang Linyan pressure the museum guard; Fang Linyan later kills her after seeing through her attempted deception. 32 34

Story Role / Major Arcs

Huichuan Pier Incident

Following the mysterious phone’s instructions, Fang Linyan travels to Huichuan Pier No. 5 in search of the Silver Case. He arrives late, witnesses a supernatural Contractor battle, and records evidence that becomes the basis of his plan against Fang. 3 5 8 10

Hunt for Fang and the Retroviral Injection

Desperate to treat his cancer, Fang Linyan turns Fang’s own enemies against him, discovers his likely hiding place, and creates a multi-layered ambush on a cargo ship. Fang’s death gives Fang Linyan access to the Bloody Key and the retroviral vector syringes. 18 19 20

Descent into Nightmare Space

After following a second set of messages to Kays Café, Fang Linyan enters a hidden basement, drinks coffee from a machine, and is pulled into Nightmare Space. He survives the descent and begins operating through Jerry Lin’s Avatar Mode body. 21 22 23 24

Scholar Milestone Conflict

Fang Linyan attempts to touch the Mayflower Compact to earn the Scholar milestone. He identifies a hidden Contractor conflict, manipulates the guard and blonde Contractor into fighting, then kills Contractor 91UK3 and gains the Scholar title. 30 32 34 35

*Reverse History*

Assigned to board American Airlines Flight 11, Fang Linyan discovers a terrorist hijacking plot. He takes control of the cockpit before the terrorists can act, uses Blood Spider and homemade weapons to eliminate threats, and manipulates the mutant terrorist into focusing on him rather than the passengers. 40 42 45 46

He later realizes that Jerry Lin was secretly the deputy leader of Al-Qaeda’s Seventh Armed Squad. By betraying the hijacking operation and deliberately entering a dying state with a poisoned bolt, Fang Linyan completes the mission with an S-rank evaluation. 48 50

Notable Quotes

“I don't want to die. I'm only nineteen!” 2

“Sorry. If you didn't die, I would.” 8

“Do you want to live or die?” 42