In response to Reef’s query, Morgana merely smiled without speaking, his eyes lost in deep reminiscence. Reef glanced at Morgana’s expression and continued seriously, “I remember after you left, the enraged Hanik and Joel debated the reason for a long time. They both concluded that you must have secretly hacked some equipment within the team, something at least of Silver-story level, which is why you would abruptly defect. () Otherwise, there was simply no motive for you to do such a thing.”

Morgana’s expression grew grave, giving a wry smile and shaking his head, taking a deep breath: “The reason I became a freelancer, strictly speaking, was entirely caused by the Boss.”

Reef was even more astonished: “Sailor caused you to become a freelancer? How can that be?”

Morgana slowly shook his head: “The Symbiotic Society at the time staked everything on stealing the Philosopher's Stone from the Harry Potter world, but they were obstructed by the Banks Gang. The Banks Gang was repelled, and the melee combatants, along with the crowbars, were completely wiped out. In the end, it was Metal Mentor, Slave, and a few others who entered the underground Gringotts, still intent on seizing the treasure. Among those cannon fodder were Sailor, whom everyone considered a newcomer.”

Disbelief was already etched onto Reef’s face. He wasn't an idiot, and he had already guessed the general thrust of Morgana’s narrative: “Could it be…”

“Exactly. I don’t know what transpired in the depths of that Gringotts, but the final outcome was that the Symbiotic Society dissolved due to the death of its founder and designated deputy leader… and the one who walked out alive was him! Sailor!”

Morgana offered a bitter smile: “Before, Sailor was merely a promising prospect in my eyes. But ever since I received the news of Metal Mentor and Slave’s deaths, I have wholeheartedly called him 'Boss' ever since.”

Reef chewed over the implication of Morgana’s words and couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for ‘Sailor’s’ experience. He reflected that in such an utterly perilous situation, he himself wouldn’t have managed to survive, let alone take down Metal Mentor and Slave.

While the two were chatting and exchanging information, the health bar of that Spore Anti-Air Spitter turret was depleted. With a crack, it burst into a cloud of bloody mist. Fang Senyan no longer worried about fuel consumption; the Prometheus III flamethrower operated at full capacity, shooting out two long tongues of fire that incinerated seventeen or eighteen charging Zerglings twenty meters away into balls of flame, after which they rapidly retreated. Reef took up the rear guard this time, Morgana covered the middle, and Fang Senyan withdrew first. The three boarded the Host and then sped away. All three possessed rich combat experience, and their initial coordination was seamless.

After ascending into the Host’s pouch and taking flight, all three finally relaxed. After all, there was a Spore Dragon paving the way ahead; if anything went wrong, it could give them an early warning. Reef was genuinely curious about Fang Senyan’s innate defense talent, so he spoke up to ask. Fang Senyan, already intending to befriend Reef, hid nothing and directly displayed the details of his C+ talent. This immediately made Reef realize why Fang Senyan had been able to hold out for so long among the Zerglings.

Clearly, if they had to face 500 Zerglings simultaneously, Fang Senyan would likely survive longer. But if they faced ten Elite Zerglings at once, Reef would undoubtedly last longer. Following this, the trio proceeded to attack two more Red-Striped Zerg bases, succeeding in both assaults, and casually eliminating nearly two hundred Zerglings and dozens of Hydralisks along the way. However, as they approached the next Zerg base, Fang Senyan terminated the planned assault just before initiation.

The reason for abandoning the plan was simple, even absurd: both he and Morgana felt that something was distinctly wrong. This ominous feeling arrived completely without warning or discernible cause. Yet, Fang Senyan abruptly halted the plan. Using the Sense warning as a justification would be hard to defend; in the Nightmare World, danger lurked everywhere, and the Sense would alert one to any potential threat to life. But, as the saying goes, fortune favors the bold; if one stopped every time the Sense warned them, they would accomplish nothing.

Therefore, the greatest utility of the Sense was to avoid sudden ambushes and to dodge fatal damage during combat. Such a sudden change of plans by Fang Senyan was extremely rare in the Nightmare World. However, he offered no explanation. Only after they had distanced themselves on the Host did he state grimly: “That base showed no signs of having been recently attacked, yet the number of Zerglings inside was down by about a hundred. Moreover, the Drone count collecting Pandora Ore at the other bases was no less than fifty, but this one only had forty-five. In addition, the frequency of Drones carrying crystals in and out of the Hatchery is very high.”

Although Fang Senyan said no more, Morgana and Reef understood his meaning: Where did the hidden Zerglings go? And since the Zerg must sacrifice one Drone as the core body for any organ structure to be incubated, where did the missing five Drones go, and what did they hatch? The frequent movement of Drones into and out of the Hatchery further indicated one thing: a large batch of eggs was continuously incubating, thus requiring a large supply of Pandora Crystal Ore energy!

If only one of these discrepancies appeared, it might be a coincidence, but if they all manifested together, it was most likely a trap. Of course, for the Red-Striped Zerg, achieving this level of complexity was enough to lure the Brain-Worm of the Black-Striped Tribe into the hook. Regrettably, their opponents were Contractors!

“So, what should we do next?” Reef couldn't help but ask. His tone carried a distinct query. Team leadership isn't self-proclaimed; prestige is cultivated bit by bit through these small matters. When others develop a spontaneous dependence on you, it becomes difficult to avoid that position even if you don't want it.

Fang Senyan smiled and said: “The main objective of our reconnaissance this time was to confuse the Red-Striped Brain-Worm’s vision and scout the conditions of the various bases. The ultimate goal is to plunder the ore from their subsidiary bases and acquire merit. Since we already have a target, we should head straight there.”

Reef took a deep breath: “Your target—do you mean Base Number 1?”

Fang Senyan nodded with firm certainty: “Precisely.”

...

The light was dim, and a Hydralisk was patrolling faithfully within the base. Although its surface still bore clear wounds, they could mend steadily and rapidly on the Zerg's own mucus carpet. Despite heavy losses sustained during a previous Spore Dragon assault, evidenced by the remnants of spore shell fragments scattered everywhere, the enemy had also suffered severe casualties. The corpses of the black Spore Dragons, slowly being digested in the carpet mucus, were clear proof of this.

Suddenly, a combat signal echoed from afar. When Zergs fight, they release hormones akin to those of bees and ants. Races other than the Zerg cannot detect this scent, but for their own kind, it is a distinct marker. Without hesitation, the Hydralisk hurried towards the battlefield. However, as it twisted its body and stepped outside the base perimeter, a tongue of fire suddenly spat out from a hundred meters away!

The clear tattatatata sound transmitted distinctly. The Hydralisk had just turned to spit acid at the hidden enemy when the massive impact force carried by the bullets knocked it to the ground, and its body exploded into a mess of chunks and blood.

About a kilometer away in an open area, Fang Senyan and Reef fought side by side. They had already eliminated nearly a hundred Zerglings here in total. The Spore Dragon and the Host hovered at the eastern and western access points. If the Red-Striped Brain-Worm sent ground reinforcements to aid this area, they would undoubtedly receive advance warning.

However, intelligence received from the Black-Spine Tribe’s neural link half an hour ago indicated that the Black-Spine Brain-Worm Mojiu had already deployed nearly a quarter of its forces to attack the Red-Striped Brain-Worm’s Sub-Base No. 4, three hundred kilometers away. The reserve of Pandora Ore in that mine even exceeded the output of the Red-Striped Tribe’s main base! This attack could be a feint, but it could also convert into a full-scale assault in the shortest time possible!

Therefore, for the Red-Striped Brain-Worm, preserving Sub-Base No. 4 was currently the top priority. Their attack with just three individuals against Sub-Base No. 1 should not be taken seriously by the Red-Striped Brain-Worm. More importantly: the Pandora Ore reserves in the mine near Base No. 1 were also on the verge of depletion, which naturally meant it had lost most of its existing value.

“Is that about it?” Reef cleanly pulled his black light-saber backward from the maw of a Zergling. The green fluid clinging to it rapidly volatilized, hissing as it vanished instantly. “If they haven't hatched new forces, the troops in this sub-base should be depleted.”

The two men, back-to-back, appeared quite battered, but in reality, all their injuries were superficial. Every move they made was agile and precise, with no impact on their individual combat strength. Fang Senyan nodded: “A, how is your situation over there?”

“Damn it, that Hydralisk actually spat acid on my! God, if my performance suffers in any way later, I swear I will wipe out every single Hydralisk I see!” Morgana shouted angrily.

Fang Senyan retorted bluntly: “I have zero interest in the thing you got sprayed on by the Hydralisk. I’m asking how many troops you can see left inside the base.” H