After making all the necessary arrangements, Fang Sen paused to consider, feeling his current force was perhaps a bit too weak for this endeavor. Literary Website He then mobilized three Gunners from the Gravel Company, led by Bairans, to support him, and prepared to set off. However, just before departing, this dark-skinned fellow, Mogansha, rushed over and clambered into the host's transport cavity, huffing in annoyance: “Damn it, you aren't planning on going to reap all the benefits alone.”

Fang Senyan shrugged and smiled faintly. “Might just be going to die alone.”

Mogansha chewed his gum dismissively. “To hell with that. I swear by the Tam Tree, since I met you, you’ve never taken a loss. It’s always been me taking the hit.”

Fang Senyan rolled his eyes. “Oh, I'm not confident about Lieutenant Colonel Dundee's mission either. That's why I let you choose. Since you made the choice yourself, you can’t blame me.”

Mogansha secured the host's two tentacles, which served as seatbelts, while shaking his head. “That’s why I’m choosing to go with you this time. Hey, I’m saying, the host can only carry eight people, and between the people we need to rescue and the story characters, there will be at least five. Leaving only three spots seems a bit tight, doesn’t it?”

Fang Senyan said placidly: “I’m afraid there might be too many spots left empty.”

Fang Senyan’s faint remark was enough to indicate the dire situation of the Reef group! While the two were talking, the host had already taken off, flying toward the designated coordinates under the escort of two Bombardier Dragons. With its speed enhanced, the host flew only slightly slower than the Bombardier Dragons, and sitting inside the cavity, they felt no wind outside at all. To avoid unnecessary trouble, both the host and the Bombardier Dragons ascended to the maximum possible altitude.

Looking down at the planet from the high altitude, one could see endless ochre plains stretching toward the distant horizon, with only some gray or brown pseudo-vegetation existing within certain subterranean rifts. Any mountains were merely winding hills less than a thousand meters high, with little soil, consisting instead of piled-up, deeply cracked, lead-gray rocks, where one could even observe the brutal force of crustal movement violently pushing up rock strata.

Mogansha looked at the magnificent extraterrestrial scenery below and suddenly asked: “Didn’t they say they could hold out for another six hours? Why aren’t you optimistic?”

Fang Senyan sighed. “We witnessed the extremely high level of strategic intelligence displayed by the Black Spine Brainworm Juice. According to the original plotline…”

Saying this, Fang Senyan glanced at Bairans beside him. Seeing that he and the two Sergeants had their eyes closed resting, clearly indicating the space had automatically shielded his words, he continued: “After the protagonist was trapped, the commanding officer of the Tough Guy Detachment, Rich, and Sergeant Tizi, who had a crush on him, also sacrificed themselves in that battle. Finally, the Fire Bugs burrowed out of the ground, and the base walls became completely useless. At the most critical moment, the remaining troops left here aboard a rescue ship sent by headquarters. This time, however, it’s clearly not that simple. Based on our current situation, it’s highly likely that the rescue ship dispatched by headquarters will be late or might not arrive at all!!”

Mogansha exclaimed: “That’s possible?”

Fang Senyan was silent for a moment. “Have you forgotten our mis—oh, right, my mission? Destroying at least one giant Bombard Fungus anti-air turret. According to the Black Spine Brainworm Juice, this thing was set up by the overlord of all insectoids—the Zerg’s Queen of Blades (similar to a human Emperor)—capable of posing a powerful threat to aircraft on outer space lanes. Our ship was subjected to strong interception when we entered the world. After all these days, the Zerg’s anti-air capabilities will undoubtedly have been terrifyingly strengthened. That’s why I say it wouldn’t be strange if that rescue ship were late or even destroyed.”

At that moment, one of the Bombardier Dragons suddenly began flapping its wings violently as a warning! Fang Senyan and the others pushed aside the host’s internal roots to look outside, spotting a swarm of the mutated Explosion Mosquitoes they had seen before, spreading their sharp, grayish-white chitinous wings, rapidly gliding closer! A Black Spine tribal Bombardier Dragon flew up and issued a warning cry. The swarm of mutated Explosion Mosquitoes immediately dispersed, circled for a moment, and then left.

Flying along the way, they occasionally encountered aerial warning patrols from other insectoid groups. However, upon realizing that Fang Senyan's host was just passing by, these insectoid tribes indeed did not initiate an attack. The electronic map they had purchased earlier now proved useful. Judging by the surrounding terrain, the Whiskey Base needing aid was right ahead.

Evidently, due to the need to mine Pandora Crystal Ore, this base was reluctantly built on an indefensible plain. Fortunately, humans are inherently excellent at defense. According to the markings on the electronic map, Whiskey Base possessed one hundred and thirteen machine gunners, eight Iron Bunker Machine Gun Turrets, six Dank tanks, and seven surface-to-air missile defense towers. This force was sufficient to resist over a thousand Zerg troops… of course, this was based on the premise that no Fire Bugs attacked.

Although the markings on the electronic map remained perfectly clear, the terrain ahead was flat, ochre-colored plain, showing no signs of any human structure. Flying further ahead, they actually encountered the sticky mucus carpet unique to the Zerg! After flying a little further, they clearly saw a burgeoning Zerg emerging nest, with twenty to thirty Zerglings lazily sprawled on the ground beside it. In this Zerg sub-base, shattered steel, twisted walls and barracks, wreckage of tanks, and tattered armor were visible everywhere. Corpses were either consumed or had already turned into nutrients for the Zerg mucus carpet.

Those metallic materials, once structures like Hatcheries appeared, would be rapidly dissolved, feeding the elements back to the developing eggs to enhance their defense and attack power. Seeing this scene, a chill rose in Mogansha’s heart: “Could it be that Tulip has already been absorbed by the Brainworms? And having us come here is actually a trap set by the Brainworms?”

Fang Senyan shook his head. “Doesn't seem like it. If my deduction is correct, never mind. This Zerg base is weakly defended. Let’s take it out first. Although there’s only one structure hatching, it represents a Zerg sub-base. Wiping it out should earn us considerable benefits from the humans.”

Saying this, Fang Senyan controlled the host he occupied to land. The twenty or thirty Zerglings below were not taken seriously by Fang Senyan at all. His combat experience against the Zerg was already very rich. Upon landing, he unleashed the flamethrower, spitting fire wildly. The two escorting Bombardier Dragons also swooped down to assist the attack. Then, Mogansha and the Bairans squad also scrambled to join the fray. At this point, given the strength of their group, let alone twenty or thirty Zerglings, even ten times that number would not have been an issue!

Three minutes later, this still-hatching Zerg base exploded into a cloud of gore, and Fang Senyan and Mogansha both received the notification: "You have destroyed a Zerg sub-base, gaining four points in Human Alliance reputation." However, this kind of good fortune would likely only happen once. The Zerg building sub-bases here probably assumed the enemy wouldn't arrive anytime soon, hence the lax defense. If they were to continue building sub-bases here to mine Pandora Crystal Ore later, the defense would surely be much tighter. If they returned in force, they might have to face a frenzied siege from a swarm of Hydralisks.

After doing their nefarious deed, the group dared not linger. Once a sub-base's nest died, the Hive would sense it intensely, and reinforcements would likely arrive instantly.

The group hurriedly boarded the host and began fleeing the scene of the crime. Mogansha looked at the coordinates Tulip had reported when asking for help on the electronic map, a hint of confusion in his voice. “Their current location should be on the mountaintop? If they are on the mountaintop, they are safe from the burrowing assaults of the Fire Bugs, which counts as a clever move. That woman’s initial broadcast was for all Contractors in this world, but I doubt any other Contractors here would come to save her, right?”

Fang Senyan scoffed. “If they had sufficient troops, moving to the mountaintop would undoubtedly be a good move. But after a bitter fight, they can't even protect the lives of their own team members! In such a precarious situation, going to the mountaintop to face a furious pincer attack from the mutated Explosion Mosquitoes overhead and the Zerg swarm below—isn’t that courting death?”

Mogansha frowned. “Then what was her purpose in tricking us into going there?”

“Because they never received news of our deaths, Tulip, that bitch, presumed we weren't dead. The situation she was in when she sent out the distress signal must have been so perilous that she desperately believed even reinforcements couldn't save her,” Fang Senyan stated calmly.

Mogansha’s eyes immediately turned vicious: “So, she intended to drag us down with her? That hill must be an important defensive area for the Zerg. That bitch, I hope I never see her again!”

Fang Senyan watched the plains swiftly sliding by below, a trace of disdain on his face: “That woman is probably dead by now. I guess her head is most likely being digested in the stomach of some Zergling. Hmph, if she didn't specify an escape route and location, did I not know where to go? It couldn't be too far from this base, a place that avoids the Fire Bugs burrowing up from underground, shields against aerial attacks, and allows Contractors with defensive talents to maximize their abilities. Clearly, the nearby caves are their best option!”