The violent landing was naturally hardest on the Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito. Cracks visibly spiderwebbed across its bony armor from the impact, exposing the dark purple flesh beneath. Fang Senyan, meanwhile, slammed into a nearby barracks, shattering the helmet he wore into several pieces. Blood streamed down his face, making him look severely wounded, prompting gasps from the surrounding soldiers. What they didn't know was that Fang Senyan's life-force maximum had hit 530 points, augmented by a terrifying 19 points of defensive warding, not to mention his innate damage reduction talents! Therefore, Fang Senyan had only sustained superficial injuries.

It was the hapless soldier who had been lifted by the Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito who was truly grievously wounded. After suffering heavy trauma to both shoulders, he endured this fall during the air drop; his degree of misfortune was easy to imagine. Fortunately, after shaking his head clear, Fang Senyan immediately rolled and positioned himself in front of the soldier. According to the technology of this era, as long as one wasn't killed instantly, rescue was always possible. Clearly, if this soldier survived, Fang Senyan’s accrued reputation points would increase substantially. Therefore, without question, if there was any chance of survival, Fang Senyan had to preserve the man’s life.

The Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito flapped a few times, staggering back to its feet. A large portion of the membrane on one of its bony wings had shattered, rendering it incapable of flight. Malice flashed in its eyes as it zeroed in on Fang Senyan and dove straight at him. Fang Senyan could have dodged this attack, but any dodge would leave the unfortunate heavily wounded man exposed. Thus, in the next second, he collided heavily with the injured Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito!

Fang Senyan’s abdominal armor was easily pierced by a sharp bone spike, leaving a wound the size of a bowl, but Fang Senyan’s face contorted as his fist whipped forward, cutting a muffled gale through the air, landing mercilessly on the savage monster's eye. Where the blow landed, green ichor sprayed and bone fragments scattered. Despite the creature’s thick hide, it shrieked in agony and staggered back five or six meters, its wings beating frantically against the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

Though Fang Senyan was now tough, the piercing blow from the Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito that went through his abdomen was vicious, inflicting significant damage. He couldn't withstand several more hits like that, yet the situation demanded he not dodge because of the gravely injured soldier behind him who needed saving. Right then, rage boiled up and desperation took hold. Fang Senyan glanced around, instinctively reaching back, preparing to activate "Ambition" to let this monster taste the flavor of Caribbean lead slugs!

However, just as he was about to act, the familiar da-da-da triple-burst sound echoed in his ear. A flame-tipped bullet flashed forward, striking the Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito squarely in its body. It didn't just pierce deep into its core; it erupted with a whoosh, immediately setting the creature ablaze from head to tail.

Almost simultaneously, another bullet struck a nearby thick pipe with a sharp clang, causing a colorless gas to hiss and spray from the breach.

The third bullet, following closely behind, ricocheted off the adjacent steel wall, flying diagonally to hit the switch for the nearby barracks door. That iron door immediately swung open from the inside out, perfectly shielding Fang Senyan.

The Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito roared in agony as it burned amidst the flames, but the only target it could reach was Fang Senyan! It lunged toward him, but as it moved, it plunged directly into the stream of transparent, colorless gas hissing from the pipe! Compounding the issue, it was already alight with fire, triggering a violent, immediate explosion! It was blasted apart, its carapace fracturing as it tumbled, engulfed in flames. Fang Senyan, though only five or six meters away from the creature, was protected by the barracks door in front of him and only felt a scorching heat wash over his skin—yet he remained utterly unharmed!

Such precise calculation, such commanding awareness of the larger picture—the work accomplished by three bullets was in no way inferior to the combined efforts of three contractors! Who else could this be but Golden A, Mogansha?

Seizing this precious moment to breathe, Fang Senyan grabbed the wounded soldier behind him, rolled once, and bolted clear. However, to maintain an appearance among the other contractors so as not to seem too abrupt, once out of the Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito's attack range, Fang Senyan still forced himself into a posture of gasping heavily, feigning utter exhaustion.

At this point, several combat soldiers eased their anti-air pressure and began providing fire support this way. Rounds from the -14 "Penetrating" electromagnetic rifle hissed out, but their effect against the Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito's outer hide was actually not very good. Clearly, this creature's evolutionary path favored defense against ranged attacks, whereas close-quarters combat like Fang Senyan's inflicted considerable damage. Still, it appeared these story-line soldiers possessed rich combat experience, and with the addition of a powerful operator like Mogansha providing auxiliary fire, they managed to finish the creature off safely afterward.

Upon killing the Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito, Fang Senyan gained only 300 reputation points, but by saving that soldier, he earned 500 reputation points. In addition, he acquired an item called the Zerg Core. This thing couldn't be eaten, nor could it activate any special abilities, but according to Mogansha, it could be exchanged for reputation points at the quartermaster. Mogansha had killed many Zerg outside as well, but the Zerg Cores he obtained were all suffixed with a different character.

Once the Giant Mutated Exploding Mosquito died, the suicide attacks from the other Exploding Mosquitoes gradually subsided. No new reinforcements appeared, and the remainder were quickly wiped out by the combined firepower of anti-air missiles and armored machine gunners. Fang Senyan abruptly turned to Mogansha and asked:

"How many Zerg Cores have you collected so far?"

Mogansha replied frankly:

"Seven or eight."

Fang Senyan gave him a deep look:

"Give them all to me. And any Zerg Cores you get from now on must also go to me."

Mogansha hesitated for a moment but then readily agreed:

"Fine."

Just then, a figure flashed through the entrance of the steel base, sprinting over with ghostly speed. Faint afterimages trailed behind him—it was Hanike the Maniac, the fastest member of their team. His entire body was smeared with a viscous, greenish fluid that emitted an indescribable odor, and on his right chest was a gory, ragged wound, looking as if he had been struck head-on by some beast's claw.

Hanike gasped deeply, coughing up bloody foam, and urgently addressed the two men:

"Hurry to the west side to provide support! Tulip has obtained a hidden mission, and completing it is likely to be a great help to us!"

This news was undoubtedly exhilarating. Fang Senyan exchanged a look with Mogansha, and they hurried over. Surprisingly, two machine gunners wearing combat armor agreed to follow them for reinforcement. Upon asking, they learned it was because Fang Senyan had saved the life of their squad leader, Santis.

They traveled west for nearly a kilometer before sensing the sound of combat ahead, prompting them to speed up. From a distance, they could see two massive metal tracked vehicles roaring slowly toward the base. Their outer hulls were riddled with scars, many metal armor plates buckled upward, and even the twin-barreled cannons had been violently bent. Several sections of the engine compartment were billowing thick smoke; it was a miracle they were still operational.

Reef held a short sword emitting a black glow in his left hand, while his right hand grasped the skull of a bizarre-looking monster. Leading a small group, he was fighting defensively, retreating ahead of the war vehicles! They were being pursued by hundreds of creatures the size of Dobermans.

These creatures possessed highly developed forelimbs and seemed devoid of skin, revealing entirely pink muscle tissue, with clear muscle texture and lines visible. Spikes grew around their heads and spines, and their claws were extremely sharp. Their heads bore some resemblance to pangolins. Mixed among these creatures were three or four leaders, similar in appearance but two to three times larger. Their limbs had sprouted sharp, elongated appendages, suggesting they were the commanders of the pursuing force.

Mogansha stopped, assumed an aiming posture, and then transmitted a string of data to Fang Senyan through the Nightmare Imprint:

Raptor () Unit Type: Ground military unit, biological entity Length: 1.2 meters, Weight: 52 kilograms Strength: 11 Agility: 19 Stamina: 2 Perception: 0 Charm: 0 Intelligence: 0 Spirit: 0 Zerg Biological Ability: Carapace Lv0 (Tougher shell allows for longer survival) Zerg Biological Ability: Claws Lv0 (Sharper claws allow for quicker enemy termination) Raptor Special Biological Ability: Primary Genetic Modification, granting the host 30 extra Hit Points. Raptor Special Biological Ability: Metabolic Boost, permanently increasing host movement speed by 33%. Raptor Special Biological Ability: Adrenaline Rush. Evaluation: Adept at clustered combat, their specialty is using their serrated forearms and sharp teeth to tear apart everything in their path, including any sturdy fortification! —

Uh, to clarify briefly here: this world is structured around the framework of Starship Troopers combined with the general military archetypes of StarCraft 1, mainly because the Starship Troopers plot has significant plot holes.

Secondly, some people have asked about Fang's low Intelligence/Spirit stats. In this book, Intelligence does not equate to IQ; it should be understood as affinity for magic.

Finally, there will be another chapter tomorrow at noon! Friends who are free can wait for the update.

For more novels, visit storyread.net.