After aiding the Black Thorn tribe in eliminating those one hundred and seven Spore Drakes, Fang Senyan's reputation value soared once more.

In truth, only a monstrous figure like him would dare to gamble on such a move, because the instant he leaped out of the Deep Stinger’s sac, he was guaranteed to suffer shrapnel damage from the Spore Drakes’ projectile fire. Although this splash damage was only 50% of the original impact, at that moment, no fewer than forty Drakes' worth of spores would have struck him! If not for the protection of his ‘Toughness,’ he would have been instantly annihilated on the spot!

Of course, high risk brought high reward. With this reputation increase, Fang Senyan had reached the 'Adoration' standard for the Black Thorn tribe! He could now view the highest tier of exchange rewards! When he called up the exchange menu from the Mother of Thorns, he and Mogansa both sucked in a sharp breath:

Your reputation at the Insectoid Tribe: Black Thorn has reached Adoration. No further exchange for special troops is available at the current difficulty. Available passive abilities for exchange are as follows: Injecting Vemon Gene to Modify Adrenaline: Permanently increases your movement speed by 33%. Cost: Fifteen thousand Reputation Points, two thousand five hundred Universal Points. Injecting Hydralisk Cavity Muscle Contraction Hormone: Permanently increases your ranged attack distance by 15%. Cost: Fifteen thousand Reputation Points, two thousand five hundred Universal Points. Injecting Zerg Chitinous Care Fluid: Permanently increases your defense by 2 points. Cost: Fifteen thousand Reputation Points, two thousand five hundred Universal Points. Injecting Power of the Hive: Increases all your attributes by 1 point. Cost: Twenty-five thousand Reputation Points, five thousand Universal Points. Note: Exchanged Zerg passive abilities of the same effect type do not stack; only the highest value applies. (For example, if Fang Senyan first exchanged for Vemon Gene to Modify Adrenaline, granting +33% movement speed at this difficulty, and later returned at a higher difficulty to exchange for Vemon Gene to Modify Adrenaline II, granting +50% movement speed, the resulting increase would be 50%, not 83%.) Note: You may assist other Contractors in making exchanges.

Clearly, the most worthwhile exchange here was the Power of the Hive. If acquired, it would undeniably compensate for the base attribute deficit incurred upon arriving in this world, and result in a significant surplus!

The reputation Fang Senyan could currently utilize spanned from Neutral to Friendly (3000), Friendly to Respected (6000), Respected to Revered (12000), and Revered to Adoration (21000). Fang Senyan’s current reputation was a terrifying Adoration level, plus a little over 6000 points, totaling 48,000 reputation points he could draw upon. Mogansa was currently just over Revered, meaning he had accumulated around 22,000 reputation points. However, one issue needed careful consideration: once Fang Senyan exchanged for the Power of the Hive, his reputation would drop below Adoration, losing access to the Adoration exchange list.

So, after conferring, Fang Senyan arranged for Mogansa to transfer 20,000 reputation points and 5,000 Universal Points to him. Fang Senyan would then contribute 5,000 of his own reputation to help Mogansa exchange for the Power of the Hive first. Fang Senyan, retaining his Adoration status initially, would then exchange for the Power of the Hive himself, granting +1 to all attributes. His total reputation would then drop to 18,000 points, leaving him stalled right at the threshold between Revered (9000/12000).

Naturally, even though Mogansa's status dropped to Neutral, his personal rapport/acquaintance with the Black Thorn Brain-Mite Sludge/Mother of Thorns remained intact. Therefore, almost nothing changed, except that the insectoid troops would no longer salute him, and he wouldn't receive corresponding purchase privileges from the Mother of Thorns. Just as the two were rubbing their hands together, preparing to seek more reputation from the Red Stripe tribe, an unexpected situation suddenly arose!

Their Merit Points plummeted again! Since two individuals had already died previously, in less than ten minutes, the Merit Points dropped by a full 4 points!!! Reaching the absolute limit for deductions in this main mission! Any further deaths or mission failures would no longer result in point subtraction.

The hidden significance behind this was immense: it signaled that Reef's faction squad had reached their breaking point after a long and grueling battle. Thus, even though no one had died in the preceding tens of hours, once a single element collapsed, it would trigger a domino effect, leading to the total breakdown of their entire defense line!

Mogansa, this dark-skinned fellow, felt quite emotional watching that string of reduced Merit Points. Sometimes, life's choices truly could not afford to be wrong. Compared to him, the strengths of Hanik (who had gone berserk) and Joel were not vastly inferior. The only difference was that they had chosen Reef, who seemed like a brute, while he had opted for Sailor, this potential stock. Now it seemed Sailor was truly deep and hidden, having carved out a niche for himself in this side mission using the flesh and blood of the Insectoids!

“Damn it…” Thinking only this far, Mogansa began to miss the human side mission he had abandoned: destroying the giant Spore Fungus Ejection Anti-Air Turrets! His vision momentarily swam, and his face grew pale. If he had known the Black Thorns and Red Stripes were destined to clash, how could he possibly have given up on that seemingly overly difficult mission? But fortunately, Sailor seemed quite straightforward, possessing the bearing of a great general. Although he seemed to have suffered a short-term loss, in the long run, it might not be a bad thing.

Suddenly, their Nightmare Imprints subtly shifted, and they received a violent coughing sound—the weak voice of a woman, yet one that sounded quite familiar. Mogansa immediately recognized it as Tulip, the Summoner who had chosen to follow Reef and the others:

“No matter who you are… or what harsh conditions you impose… we accept them all.”

“Please save us, our coordinates are, chou… mo.”

“We have been pushed into desperation, and four key plot characters are trapped with us. We can hold out for six… hours at most.”

Upon hearing this cry for help, Mogansa shook his head slightly. Clearly, two paths lay before him: either squeeze more reputation from the Red Stripe tribe and complete the side mission, or rush to the rescue of Reef's team. The first path, with the Black Thorns having already secured complete air superiority, was undoubtedly a clear, smooth highway. But the second path was a dead end filled with extreme risk and minimal potential reward—even an idiot knew which to choose.

Accustomed to the bloodshed of gunfights since childhood, and having mingled in the Nightmare Space for years, Mogansa had seen through everything. He stood up easily, dusting off his golden combat trousers:

“Let’s go, Boss. Those Red Stripe insects are still waiting for us to sweep them clean.”

Fang Senyan’s eyes flickered slightly when Mogansa changed his address to 'Boss,' but he didn't refuse, suddenly asking:

“Why can we hear that bitch Tulip’s voice?”

Mogansa thought for a moment:

“This should be a special form of mental transmission, similar to the Hive’s, but it consumes an astonishing amount of Universal Points, perhaps even deducting base attribute points. By the way, Boss, you also recognized this woman as a bitch?”

Fang Senyan smirked:

“Only an idiot like Reef would fall for it. When this woman was fleeing, her peak speed was faster than a maddened Hanik. It’s certain she held back plenty of tricks. Never mind her. I just calculated the linear distance between the coordinates Tulip reported and our location isn't too far—only eleven hundred kilometers. Now that the Black Thorn Hive has been upgraded to Level 44, related technologies have also advanced. Even a standard Host possesses the transport and flight capability of that powerful mutated elite, the ‘Deep Stinger,’ although its health and defense are far inferior. If we purchase one Host, we could reach them in just two and a half hours.”

Mogansa looked stunned:

“You’re not actually thinking of going to rescue them now?”

Fang Senyan glanced at him meaningfully and said:

“Do you want to lose three points of your highest attribute for free?”

Mogansa was immediately silenced. Thoughts flashed through his mind: “Are you planning to rescue that main character: Rigg Johnny?”

Fang Senyan smiled faintly: “We’ll play it by ear. Besides, I just checked. The only hostile insectoid tribe to the Black Thorns currently is the Red Stripe tribe, and their conflict is a struggle for regional dominance. Therefore, if we travel aboard a Black Thorn Host, as long as we don’t run into any Red Stripe creatures, the other insectoids will treat us with neutrality and coldness… Of course, the moment we step out of that Host, naturally, the other insectoids will attack both the Host and us.”

“But…” Mogansa hesitated. “Going over now doesn't seem worth it. One trip back and forth will take at least five hours. What if the Red Stripes attack while we’re gone? Moreover, if we use those five hours to hunt Red Stripe bugs, the gains might not be smaller than the rescue effort, and the risk involved would be less!”

“No! If we hadn't eliminated those hundred-plus Spore Drakes, the Red Stripes might launch a probing attack. Otherwise, the chance of them attacking right now is very slim.” Fang Senyan nodded with certainty. “And if we go, the potential gain might actually be greater than staying put. I repeat my stance: if you choose to stay, you are free to do so.”

Following this, Fang Senyan took some Universal Points from Mogansa and went to the Hive to exchange for one Host that could serve as an aerial vehicle. He also exchanged for two Spore Drakes to act as escorts. The purpose of these two wasn't attack, but to attract any threats they might encounter, allowing the Host, assigned the transport task, to flee quickly.