Faced with Bailangsi's accusation, veins popped on Reef's forehead, his face so ashen it looked ready to weep water. His fists were clenched tight, clearly signaling a rage pushed to its absolute limit. Fang Senyan stared, stunned into silence, then offered a wry smile as he quickly sat beside Reef and clapped him on the shoulder:

"Hey, Reef, his brothers and comrades just all died, and he lost a leg and an arm. Don't let it bother you."

Reef closed his eyes, took a deep, heavy breath, and said:

"No, he’s right to curse. It was my failure that implicated everyone."

Even with Fang Senyan’s skill for logical deduction, he hadn't expected Reef to be blaming himself! His whole body trembled, and he quickly wiped the sweat from his brow:

"You... you actually did very well. Abilities like Heart-Rending, which have a built-in damage reduction and speed decrease, already have a high chance of being resisted or immune. That was fate, not your mistake."

"No! It was my mistake." Reef's gaze was fiercely resolute, cutting like iron: "I am guilty. I cannot allow selfish impulses, the passing of blame, greed, or self-abandonment—these evil forces—to contaminate my heart. I will not let go of the responsibility I must bear!"

Fang Senyan was bewildered, frozen in place. He seriously considered whether Reef had been reciting scripture before rubbing his temples and sighing helplessly:

"Fine, fine. Since we are currently in the same team, we naturally have an obligation to help each other. So, how do you plan to compensate him?"

Reef stated flatly:

"There is nothing I can do for the deceased, but with current technology, Bailangsi’s lost arm and leg should be replaceable."

Fang Senyan shook his head slightly:

"That might be difficult."

Reef looked confused:

"Why?"

Fang Senyan thought for a moment before replying:

"In the original plot, the captain of the Hard Men squad, Lai Qi, was also crippled and used prosthetics. This suggests that even if the human side possesses this technology, the cost is likely astronomical. At least, it was something a Lieutenant leading hundreds of men couldn't afford. If we could exchange for this repair technology, the expenditure would also be extremely high."

Reef did not hesitate for a second:

"Even if the cost is high, we must exchange for it for him...!"

Reef then faltered, suddenly finding it hard to articulate the next part:

"But I don't have many general points or reputation left now. I know you, Sailor, are very capable. Could you help figure out a way first?"

While racking his brain, Fang Senyan suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for the contractor who had served as the "housekeeper" in Reef’s previous team. Though Reef was powerful, it seemed he brought just as much trouble as any difficult character. After thinking it over carefully, he said:

"If you hope to resolve this before leaving this world, then there's no hope from the Human faction. Because to quickly boost Human reputation, the mission they issue might be to completely destroy the Spore Highlands—a mission whose difficulty you know well... So, we can only approach it from the Zerg side."

"The Zerg?" Reef looked surprised.

Fang Senyan affirmed confidently:

"Precisely. Bailangsi lost an arm and a leg. These two parts are not organs with special significance like the human brain or heart. The arm might involve some fine finger dexterity, but the leg, in particular, has the simplest functional requirement: supporting his weight and allowing him to run. Given our relationship with the Black Thorns tribe, if we find the Black Thorns Hive Mother and ask for help, at least restoring his ability to walk shouldn't be a major issue."

Reef asked doubtfully:

"You mean, you want the Zerg to restore his severed limbs?"

Fang Senyan nodded:

"Yes, this method has the highest feasibility. Haven't you forgotten that we contractors can repair organs and limbs within the Black Thorns Zerg nest? Furthermore, if we sought medical help from the humans, there's a 78% chance we would leave this world before the procedure was completed."

Reef blinked in surprise:

"78%? That precise? How did you calculate that?"

Fang Senyan looked serious:

"I guessed."

"You..." Reef was speechless, leaning back against the host's flesh wall with a sulky expression. After a moment, he sent a trade request to Fang Senyan, returning the +5 Troll's Fighting Spirit and the other equipment. Fang Senyan, of course, returned the Dark Gold Necklace: Smith's Matrix Chip to Reef. Naturally, he also asked what reward one would actually receive upon hitting the stamina limit of fifty points. Faced with Fang Senyan's inquiry, Reef looked troubled, frowning with a somewhat lost expression, before sighing:

"Everyone has their own path to walk. I cannot say more about the rest."

Fang Senyan's gaze flickered: "Then... are the rewards you previously obtained still with you?"

Reef slowly shook his head: "No. One must reach the extreme value of fifty points to possess that... that kind of power! It is truly intoxicating!! A pity... it's not something I can possess right now."

"If you want it, why can't you have it?" At that moment, Mogansha also awoke, his voice hoarse. The previous battle had been pointless labor for him, as he hadn't received any mission to destroy the anti-air towers.

Reef frowned: "The only fate for a child given an invincible lance on the battlefield is to be crushed beneath it. If one wields a power that does not belong to them, they must pay a heavy price!"

Fang Senyan interjected suddenly: "Then aren't you in great danger right now?"

Reef lowered his eyelids: "As long as I don't use that power again, there should be no problem."

The Spore Highlands bordered the main base of the Red Stripe Zerg. Even by taking a wide detour, Fang Senyan and the others, riding within the host, could faintly see the battle clearly tipping in favor of the Black Thorns Zerg. Ultimately, this was due to the dozen or so Siege Tanks supplied by the 'Lethal Helmet' human base. The sheer destructive power these terrifying weapons unleashed in a defensive battle far exceeded the Red Stripe tribe's estimates.

Their masses of Hydralisks and Zerglings had to charge through the terrifying firepower of the Siege Tanks just to hit the Black Thorns' spine-spire turret formations. While the Black Thorns seemed to have few mobile forces left behind, their terrifying economic advantage was fully exploited. Embryonic Zerg in all Hatcheries began mass-producing cheap and numerous Zerglings, which flooded the front lines, relentlessly holding back the enemy's charge. Meanwhile, newly produced Red Stripe forces had to travel hundreds of kilometers to reach reinforcements!

More importantly, as the battle reached a stalemate, the Red Stripe Zerg forces couldn't spread out; only the Zerglings and Hydralisks at the very front could engage the enemy. The rest of the troops were jammed up in the narrow mountain passes of the rocky hills, helplessly enduring the bombing from the highly destructive Siege Tanks without the ability to strike back!

In the tactical analysis of the Red Stripe Overmind, a force mixed with Hydralisks and Zerglings, plus the host, should not pose a significant threat to the Black Thorns Overmind Moju, unless Moju/the Black Thorns Hive—Deep Palace—could simultaneously advance to Tier III, which would grant them powerful new units! This was deemed absolutely impossible!

Therefore, the Red Stripe Overmind didn't care about the narrow terrain preventing the full deployment of forces and the resulting massive extra casualties. Based on its overall troop advantage, even if its attack casualty ratio reached 4:1, the unending stream of follow-up forces it dispatched could easily break through that seemingly sturdy defensive line! However, the dozen or so terrifyingly lethal Siege Tanks generously gifted by the 'Lethal Helmet' were the single factor the Red Stripe Overmind had failed to calculate!

Under the precise bombardment of these human-made iron monsters, the casualty ratio between the Red Stripe and Black Thorns tribes soared to a terrifying 6:1! This meant that for every unit lost by the Black Thorns, the Red Stripe tribe had to pay the price of six units.

In a war between humans, such a casualty ratio would be enough to cause soldiers to completely collapse, but driven by genetics, the Red Stripe tribe continued its frenzied push, its relentless assault... until the very last Red Stripe Hydralisk lost its life, fell, and slowly dissolved onto the Black Thorns’ carpet of mucus.

At that point, the Black Thorns base was also a wreck. Not only had all the Siege Tanks exploded under the acid spray of the Hydralisks and the claws of the Zerglings, but every single Spore Dragon sent back for support was also annihilated. Furthermore, nearly one-third of the Black Thorns' structures had been destroyed, and fewer than three of the nearly forty spine turrets remained (as the Black Thorns Hive Mother advanced to Tier II, the total number of nutrient-rich structures also increased significantly)!

Conversely, due to the persistent harassment attacks by the Black Thorns, three of the Red Stripe sub-bases had already fallen.

And at the very moment the last Red Stripe unit fell! The Black Thorns Overmind Moju unhesitatingly issued the counterattack order. A Zergling missing its left foot was the first to hobble onto a host, its destination aimed directly at the Red Stripe base! Transported alongside it were three equally limping, severely wounded Hydralisks! This scant, embarrassingly thin vanguard was Moju’s first force for the counter-strike. But behind them, the eggs incubating in the hatchery were densely packed, forming an endless horizon that stretched as far as the eye could see.

Half an hour later, this half-crippled advance force, utilizing the host's speed, rapidly closed in to within one hundred kilometers of the Red Stripe base. They met head-on a mixed unit of Red Stripe Zerglings and Hydralisks—newly produced Red Stripe troops rushing to meet them. These too, without hesitation, began their charge towards the Black Thorns, attacking! And were inevitably swamped! RO