The subsequent events unfolded naturally, as if inevitable. (Net) At this time, the Broodmother was still continuously dispatching Zerglings in suicidal harassment attacks, but once the Cerebrate of the Fluid Brood perished, the troops within the base reverted to a state of instinctual defense, completely unable to focus on those engaged in harassment.

When the Blackspine Cerebrate, Mo Zhizhi, made its overwhelmingly powerful entrance, it immediately seized control of the troops from the Broodmother's grasp. A stream of more than a dozen Zerglings filed into the Fluid Brood's base, meeting up with Fang Senyan and his group. They managed to destroy the severely wounded Queen of the Fluid Brood with little effort.

Then, the Zerg Queen, Jianni, floated over. Although the Fluid Brood still held numerous Zerg troops, under the halo-pressure of the ascended Blackspine Cerebrate Mo Zhizhi, they scattered in panic, unable to muster any thought of resistance, posing no threat to this elite mutated Queen.

Jianni paused briefly upon a structure that appeared relatively tall, and then her entire body seemed to dissolve as she parasitically merged into it. That structure ceased producing embryonic larvae and began to evolve toward the form of a Hive Mother. All the Zerg troops of the Fluid Brood seemed to find their anchor and gathered in front of this structure.

Twenty-four hours later, this structure would evolve into a Hive Queen, though naturally, it had already been brainwashed by the elite mutated Queen Jianni to regard itself as a subsidiary base of the Blackspine Brood. The troops of the Fluid Brood would consequently pledge allegiance, becoming a part of the forces under the Blackspine Cerebrate Mo Zhizhi.

At this point, Fang Senyan and Mogansa finally relaxed and sank to the ground to rest. Especially for Fang Senyan, the preceding battle seemed straightforward, yet a single misstep in coordination could have resulted in him being torn apart by the Fluid Brood's forces. Thus, he hastily bandaged his wounds before leaning against the nearby wall and falling into a deep sleep. Mogansa’s energy was also significantly depleted; he had intended only to catch a brief rest at this opportunity, but he too could not resist the encroachment of exhaustion and slept.

Time slipped away rapidly until the Blackspine Hive Queen and the Cerebrate were reunited. Only then were the sleeping Fang Senyan and Mogansa awakened by the prompt from the Nightmare Mark:

“You have completed the regional hidden event: The Resurgence of the Blackspine Brood.” “You have gained the friendship of the Blackspine Brood.” “Your reputation within the Blackspine Brood has instantly risen to Revered.” “You can now purchase new biological weaponry from the Broodmother.”

The two were instantly overjoyed and rushed to check. Indeed, a series of purchasing menus had appeared at the Blackspine Broodmother’s location. These covered nearly all the Zerg unit types that had appeared:

“Zergling, Hydralisk, Larva Host, Drone.” These four unit types were available for immediate purchase. “Mutalisk, Scourge, Lurker, Zerg Queen.” These four unit types also appeared in the purchase list, but the available quantity for each was 0.

This was because these four unit types required both the Blackspine Brood's Hive Queen and Cerebrate to ascend simultaneously, followed by the construction of the relevant advanced buildings and the research of corresponding technologies, before the genetic hormones could be synthesized to incubate these advanced units. Of course, these purchasable biological units were not native to this world, and none of them were elite variants.

Mogansa frowned as he looked over the long list, suddenly exclaiming, “Huh?”

Fang Senyan asked, “Are you referring to the price of the Drone?”

Mogansa said gravely, “Exactly. Purchasing a single mining Drone requires a full 5000 Reputation points and 2000 Universal Credits! This price even surpasses that of the Mutalisk and the Zerg Queen!”

Fang Senyan nodded: “My rank is slightly higher; let me check to see what’s going on.”

The next moment, Fang Senyan immediately knitted his brow: “Damn, just checking the information costs 500 Universal Credits! Let me see… The Drone you purchase is not native to this world and has no construction capability. If it dies when you leave this world, the Pandora Crystals gathered by your Drone during your stay will become your private property, which you can sell for Universal Credits or process.”

In that instant, both Fang Senyan and Mogansa hesitated. If converted, the price of one Drone would amount to at least five thousand Universal Credits, but the price of Pandora Crystals, how much a Drone could gather, and the timing of their departure from this world—all these factors remained unknown. Therefore, purchasing Drones was almost entirely a gamble.

If Fang Senyan and Mogansa were still part of that temporary team and held a dominant position, they would have the standing to take such a risk. But regrettably, they currently lacked the capital to bet! More importantly, Fang Senyan considered a crucial issue: the items they were seeing were only for the Revered reputation level! And above that lay the Exalted level purchase options! Furthermore, Gold Mine’s abilities sometimes partially failed when confronting the Zerg, meaning Fang Senyan and the others could not "preview" the Exalted purchase list from the Broodmother.

The two had barely walked a short distance from the Hive when they ran right into the Machine Gunner, Bailangs, who appeared to have been waiting there for a long time, presumably on purpose. These specialized soldiers of the Gravel Brood were now considered allies of the Blackspine Brood and could move freely within the base, though restricted from places as forbidden as the Hive Mother. Unlike Fang Senyan and the others, whose Revered reputation status had afforded them the privilege earned by fighting side-by-side with the Cerebrate Blackspine during the most perilous moments.

Bailangs snapped a crisp military salute: “Sir, Lieutenant Colonel Dundee requests your presence.”

Fang Senyan was slightly taken aback: “What is it?”

Bailangs stated seriously: “After learning that the Blackspine Zerg had completely secured this area, we proceeded to the crashed ship site, excavated some equipment, and established communication with headquarters. Headquarters has also sent down some directives; I believe Lieutenant Colonel Dundee wishes to discuss these matters.”

Fang Senyan and Mogansa exchanged a glance, nodding, joy flickering in their eyes. This was because, during the time they had been fighting, their own reputation points had unfortunately dropped by two points again. Undeniably, the other team led by the Reef faction was encountering severe trouble! Two more had likely died. If their mission failed, and Rig Johnny was killed, they themselves might be forcibly recalled. If they could secure a decent side quest from Lieutenant Colonel Dundee, it would undoubtedly allow them to delay their return by a few more days.

The two headed towards the Gravel Special Forces camp. The entire Blackspine Brood was now a scene of bustling activity, with vast, bizarre organs incubating everywhere, while embryonic larvae busied themselves hatching Drones for mineral collection.

Indeed, the strategy Fang Senyan had proposed to the Broodmother was utterly ruthless, not only harsh toward the enemy but also toward themselves! To deceive the Fluid Brood, the entire base—excluding the Broodmother’s core, the "Hive Mother," and two structures—was left solely with the prerequisite facilities for producing Hydralisks, Zerglings, and fifty densely packed Spine Crawlers! By Fang Senyan’s estimation, even under the worst-case scenario of a full-scale counterattack by the Fluid Brood, this defensive line could hold out for at least two to three hours.

The consequence of such all-out militarism was inevitably a severe depletion of vitality. Moreover, for the Hive Mother to ascend, foundational structures such as the Zergling Nest were prerequisites. Thus, it was estimated that it would take several hours before the prerequisite conditions for the Hive Mother's ascension could be met, and even longer for the process of ascension itself to complete.

Fortunately, the Fluid Brood had now been absorbed by the Blackspine forces, and its stored Pandora Crystals were naturally seized by the Blackspine Cerebrate Mo Zhizhi and transported back to its lair. Furthermore, the majority of the Fluid Brood's combat units could be inherited. By integrating the resources of both bases, its capital was significantly boosted. Thus, the fortunate thing was that the Blackspine Brood could still develop furiously and spend lavishly, avoiding an immediate economic crisis.

Following the Zerg's viscous creep, Fang Senyan and the other walked towards the Gravel Special Forces camp. After rescuing the Blackspine Cerebrate Mo Zhizhi, the treatment of this unit had risen from cannon fodder to allies. Along the way, the Zerg encountered by Fang Senyan and the other lay obediently on the ground, demonstrating their respect through their actions. Surrounded by numerous incubating Zerg structures that occasionally sprayed jets of blood, and with the piercing cries of the Zerg echoing in their ears, it was, frankly, a nightmare environment for those with weak psychological fortitude.

Perhaps for this very reason, the Gravel Special Forces camp had conveniently relocated, setting up quarters next to a dry stone mountain a short distance from the Zerg. However, they were only separated from the Zerg's creep by a few meters. In reality, while the Zerg were maniacally brutal, having them as allies brought many benefits:

For example, those bothersome Scorpions, Sand Vipers, and Buzzing Mosquitoes absolutely dared not approach the Blackspine territory; the creep alone was enough to digest them. Even some fierce native creatures kept a wide berth around the Zerg base, avoiding countless potential troubles. Furthermore, the Larva Hosts patrolling the skies twenty-four hours a day never slackened or made mistakes, dutifully signaling any impending raid, which undoubtedly rendered night watch duty a nearly obsolete activity.