The moment Fang Senyan stepped away, Reef, still immersed in the amniotic fluid of the Cocoon Mother, opened his eyes. A sharp, bright light flared within them, and wisps of dark red blood intermittently seeped from the wounds covering his body. At this moment, his powerful physique was gradually returning to its peak, shedding its former languor; every muscle was taut and dense, exuding a savage, forged-steel aura!

“This Sailor truly possesses extraordinary capabilities, managing to bring me to the very heart of this colossal Zerg base for healing so easily…”

“Perhaps I am truly not suited for the role of team leader. I shall observe the situation for a while longer.”

“Great favors require no excessive words of thanks. Sailor and Mogansa saved me this time, and their losses were substantial. If Sailor’s talents prove genuinely worthy of reliance, then following his directives is no ill thing. If he proves untrustworthy, I shall repay the debt of saving my life and depart.”

Having made up his mind, Reef felt an immediate lightening of spirit, as if a great weight had been lifted. His surface wounds were visibly healing at a rapid pace, and even the fractures within his bones were beginning to knit together, finally smoothing over as if untouched. Fully recovered, he rose from the fluid, the crimson viscous liquid pouring off him like a waterfall.

“This feeling of having all weariness swept away—it’s truly magnificent!”

...

When Reef finally walked out of the Hatchery chamber of the Cocoon Mother, Fang Senyan was still undergoing treatment to purge the remaining acid damage. Thus, Reef could only remain where he was, hesitant to wander. Suddenly, he spotted Mogansa, the dark-skinned brother, approaching from a distance with his trademark golden, A-shaped grin. Upon inquiry, Reef learned that the Drone the latter had captured was proving exceptionally efficient at mining, gathering an average of 30 units of Vespene Gas and 5 units of Rare Minerals per hour—at least double the efficiency of a standard Drone.

To put it more plainly, each Drone could work 16 hours a day, yielding 480 units of Vespene Gas and 80 units of Rare Minerals daily. These could either be sold directly to the Nightmare Imprint or gifted to the Matriarch of the Black Spine Brood. If sold at a price of 2500–3000 Universal Credits, exchanging them for reputation points would undoubtedly be more profitable, potentially netting several thousand reputation points. The only drawback was that both the collected Vespene Gas and Rare Minerals were currently raw ore; their value would increase significantly if refined.

Reef listened, utterly astonished:

“Is the Drone you caught truly mining Vespene Gas and Rare Minerals?”

Mogansa immediately escorted Reef to the site for observation. Once the unfortunate Drone returned from a collection run and presented samples, Reef couldn’t help but sigh:

“If I had known obtaining Vespene Gas was this simple, why on earth did I bother with that Main Quest?”

At that moment, Fang Senyan had also finished cleansing the residual acid from his system and joined them. Hearing this, he asked with curiosity:

“What does the Main Quest have to do with Vespene Gas?”

Reef shook his head:

“The Quartermaster at the Rum Outpost sells Vespene Gas and its accompanying Rare Minerals. Because I learned Forging-related abilities, I had a significant need for them. But the Quartermaster’s selling price was outrageously exorbitant, which is why I was determined to complete the Main Quest to raise my reputation. Alas… I never expected such a steady, trickle-in source!”

Fang Senyan mused:

“If you truly require these crystals and associated minerals so urgently, there are quite a few avenues. The most secure method is simply reaching Honored reputation, at which point you can directly purchase Drones to mine for you. However, the cost associated with this is quite high, and I don’t advise this path because reaching Revered status with the Black Spine Brood yields extremely valuable attribute exchanges.”

Saying this, Fang Senyan displayed the exchange menu he had previously recorded to Reef. Reef, being a discerning individual, immediately grasped the immense benefits embedded within these exchanges. He couldn't help but inquire of Fang Senyan:

“Then what is the other path you mentioned?”

Fang Senyan smiled, his tone as light as pure water:

“Robbery, of course.”

Five minutes later, the three individuals, now fully rested, had boarded the ordinary Host they had acquired. One kilometer ahead, the Spore Dragon was scouting the way. Although the general situation favored the Black Spine Brood in achieving absolute air superiority, the Red Stripe Brood showed no signs of surrender. They had completely overhauled their tactics, countering the current situation with suicide Mutalis supported by a massive influx of Hydralisks, successfully shattering the Black Spine Brood’s previous air monopoly. Thus, Fang Senyan and his companions maintained extreme caution.

Reef was intently focused on the electronic map before him. Fang Senyan’s previous annotations were still clearly visible, and his steady, confident voice seemed to echo right beside Reef’s ear.

“Within nearly a thousand kilometers of this vicinity, only two Zerg broods remain: one is our ally, the other is our enemy. Therefore, the target for our robbery is clearly the Red Stripe Brood… Tim [Mogansa], get that damned look of surprise off your face and listen to me finish—do I look like someone foolish enough to attack an enemy Cocoon Mother directly? The Red Stripe Brood only reached its current scale by slaughtering and annexing several other Zerg broods. The original locations of those broods should still contain unharvested Vespene Gas veins, though perhaps not as rich as before, and it’s highly likely the Red Stripe Brood utilized their former Cocoon Mothers as subsidiary bases.”

“You’ll notice that the connection between the Red Stripe Brood and these subsidiary bases is far from tight; even the closest one is over fifty kilometers away. For the Red Stripe Brood, having lost air control, it would take them at least half an hour to reinforce any subsidiary base.

“At this juncture, we will launch harassing attacks against all of the Red Stripe Brood’s subsidiary bases. Each raid will last only a few minutes. The key is to scout which subsidiary base holds the largest reserves of Vespene Gas. Then, once the Red Stripe Brood is worn ragged and completely confused about our main point of attack, we strike and shatter one of the bases decisively, allowing us to forcibly plunder its resources.”

Gazing at the map, Reef studied it seriously for a moment, then looked at Fang Senyan, a hesitation lingering on his lips. Fang Senyan smiled:

“I might overlook things. If you have any concerns, voice them now; it’s better than having friction once the fighting starts.”

Reef spoke earnestly:

“The Red Stripe Brood has lost air control, so their forces are undoubtedly concentrated around their main base. The outer branch bases will certainly be lightly defended—that’s undeniable. But we must never forget that Zerg bases harbor another powerful defensive organ: the Spine Crawler. This thing is incredibly potent, with high attack power and wide range. If there are three or more of them, combined with scattered Zerg units, we will stand absolutely no chance.”

Fang Senyan shook his head, utterly self-assured:

“Incorrect. Look at the surrounding terrain here. The Red Stripe Brood’s main base conveniently shields all the other subsidiary bases to the rear. Even if the Black Spine Brood dared to counterattack, their ground forces couldn't bypass the Red Stripe main base without being detected. Furthermore, although the Red Stripe Brood currently holds ground superiority with the Assassins plus the Volatile Zerg tactic, the Black Spine Brood can still maintain localized air superiority around their territory. This eliminates the possibility of large-scale aerial deployment using Hosts.”

“Therefore, the Red Stripe Brood’s primary concern should be sudden attacks from the highly mobile Spore Dragons! So, I am certain that their subsidiary bases will only be equipped with air-to-air Spore Cannons and a contingent of Zerglings, effectively separating their anti-air and anti-ground capabilities. This configuration should be sufficient to handle the vast majority of scenarios.”

“Finally, and most importantly, from an economic perspective, the Red Stripe Brood must currently be severely lacking in Rare Minerals. Consequently, the combination of Spore Cannons and Zerglings requires absolutely no Rare Minerals to field—this is the most effective dual air/ground defense system available to them, bar none.”

Reef was silent for a moment:

“You’re right, but if the Zerglings reach a certain number, they can still cause a headache.”

Fang Senyan chuckled:

“You can leave that problem entirely to me.”

“Oh, by the way,” Mogansa interjected suddenly, “why haven't we seen a single Firebat since the battle began? Are we going to run into them?”

Fang Senyan answered with certainty:

“I already asked the Overmind of the Black Spine Brood about that. After acquiring the heat-gland nodules, they have essentially cracked the genetic code for this creature and possess the capability to produce Firebats. Moreover, based on the Firebat’s genetic code, they’ve made targeted developments: the acid sprayed by newly produced Hydralisks in the Black Spine Brood now contains a hormone that causes fatal damage upon contact with a Firebat. Because the incubation cost of a Firebat is extremely high—the same energy equivalent could produce twenty Hydralisks—the Red Stripe Brood will absolutely never produce another Firebat again. Naturally, the Black Spine Brood’s own Firebats will also suffer this targeted vulnerability.”

Mogansa realized with a flash of understanding:

“So that’s how it is. Then, creatures like the Firebat are only highly effective against broods that haven't mastered their genetic code.”

Fang Senyan nodded:

“Essentially, yes.”