Fang Senyan was not at all surprised by the Red-Striped Brain Worm’s escape; remaining in that place where resources were steadily dwindling to await death would have been sheer folly. As long as one lived, anything remained possible!

When the Black Thorn Brain Worm Demon Juice was captured in the enemy’s main nest, who could have predicted its eventual ascent to overlord status? Surely, the Red-Striped Brain Worm that fled was far better off than when it first arrived on this planet starting from scratch!

Next, the Nightmare Imprint offered further prompts: Side Quest: The Crisis of the Black Thorn Tribe (Completed) Quest Difficulty: B- Quest Objective: Delay the Red-Striped Tribe’s attack by any means necessary. Quest Completion Rating: Perfect Quest Description: The escape of the Red-Striped Brain Worm marks the perfect conclusion of this mission.” Mission Description: With your assistance, the Black Thorn Tribe has driven away the Red-Striped Brain Worm. Victory is now within grasp, and you shall receive the highest level of additional rewards and evaluation. You may choose two options from the following rewards to serve as your final compensation: Reward A: General Points +12,000. Reward B: Six points distributed randomly among your base attributes. Note: Selecting this option will allow you to freely allocate six base attribute points across your primary stats. The randomization principle will be determined based on your current attributes. Reward C: Merit Points +5. Reward D: Obtain the authority to purchase various Zerg troop eggs from the Black Thorn Tribe. Hint: Zerg eggs purchased can hatch into corresponding units and can be carried out of this world. Hint: Units hatched from used eggs will perish when you depart this world. Reward E: Your remaining time in this world will be extended by seven days.

After lengthy consideration, Fang Senyan ultimately selected options B and D. To be honest, option E was exceedingly tempting because additional time meant anything was possible. However, he considered that the upcoming mission for the Black Thorn Zerg would likely involve a direct confrontation with the direct forces of the Queen of Blades—a task that would be unduly difficult—and Reef seemed unwilling to further leverage the reward gained from utilizing the 50-point maximum Stamina extreme value. Thus, he had to reluctantly pass on E.

Upon selecting option B, Fang Senyan unexpectedly gained a random distribution of Strength +3 and Stamina +3. Although he desperately wished those three points in Strength could have been added to Stamina, what was done was done.

After choosing option D, the purchasing manifest that popped up was similar to previous lists, featuring all the standard units that the Level II base, the Black Thorn Mother Nest, could produce. However, the units purchased this time were all marked with the suffix “Egg” for hatching. This time, perhaps because the units could be taken out of this world, the cost required not only Reputation and General Points but also Pandora Crystals and G Rare Companion Ore.

Fortunately, having helped the Black Thorn Tribe counterattack the Red-Striped Tribe earlier, Fang Senyan and his companions now possessed a respectable amount of usable reputation. The only shortfall remained the Pandora Crystals and G Rare Companion Ore.

Luckily, Fang Senyan contacted Mogausha and Reef at this juncture to explain his predicament. Since Mogausha had started calling him “Boss,” the items to be purchased now were intrinsically linked to the future survival of their team, meaning Mogausha would certainly need to contribute something.

Mogausha readily expressed his support upon hearing the situation. The unfortunate Drone he had coerced and cajoled through threats and bribery had been diligently mining, accumulating quite a bit—and Mogausha generously agreed to hand over all the Pandora Crystals and G Rare Companion Ore he possessed. Clearly, for Mogausha, having completed the side quest regarding the Black Thorn Tribe's crisis, regardless of his personal aspirations, he would inevitably choose option E! Since he could remain in this world for another seven days, it meant he could continue to exploit that hapless Drone for another week, thus making him willing to part with all his current mineral gains.

Of course, a significant portion of the Pandora Crystal Ore and G Ore held by Fang Senyan also rightfully belonged to Reef—Reef had previously spent 20,000 General Points to purchase them in hopes of enhancing his forging capabilities. When Reef learned of Fang Senyan's difficulties, he magnanimously allowed Fang Senyan to use them first. Mogausha then pledged that half of the crystals his Drone gathered in the following days would also go to Reef, resulting in a situation where everyone was content.

With sufficient financial backing secured, Fang Senyan naturally dispatched his beloved Goblin Gold Mine into action. The creature bustled forward, grinning wickedly while brandishing a battered calculator, rushing toward the Black Thorn Mother Queen. Before beginning the purchases, it even pried the batteries out of the calculator and gnawed on the now-riddled casings with its teeth before formally commencing the grand procurement. The resulting Zerg eggs acquired were as follows:

Zerg Host Egg (9 eggs): Each use yields one Black Thorn Zerg Host. The Host has 1000 HP, no combat capability, a maximum flight speed of 480 km/h, and can transport objects weighing up to 10 tons. The transport volume must not exceed 3m x 3m x 5m. The Zerg Host possesses anti-cloaking capabilities and the ability to camouflage itself in other worlds. Using this ability costs 500 General Points. Note: Camouflage allows the Zerg Host to disguise itself as a common flying vehicle in that world. Note: Being inside the Zerg Host’s abdominal cavity will increase your health regeneration rate.

Zerg Exploding Mosquito Egg (3 eggs): Each egg yields 2 Zerg Exploding Mosquitoes upon use. The Mosquito has 100 HP, a maximum flight speed of 800 km/h, no offensive capabilities, and can self-destruct upon approaching any aerial unit, dealing 300 damage.

Zerg Raptor Egg (5 eggs): Each egg yields 2 Zerg Raptors upon use. The Raptor has 50 HP, a maximum running speed of 80 km/h, and an attack power of 27–33. It possesses the ability Zerg Adrenaline Boost (Passive: +50% movement speed) and Burrow. Note: Burrowing underground makes it extremely difficult for enemies to detect it, granting 50% of normal vision, and simultaneously providing a health regeneration boost.

Zerg Drone Egg (2 eggs): Hatching yields 2 Zerg Drones, possessing all the capabilities of a standard Zerg Drone, including the ability to mine Pandora Ore for you.

Purchasing these eggs consumed over ten thousand General Points, and the accumulated Reputation was spent down to zero, causing his somewhat plump savings pouch to rapidly deflate; only 5,900 General Points remained. However, earning money within the space was not the ultimate measure; the wisdom lay in spending it swiftly to convert it into immediate combat power. Thinking this way, the pang of heartache Fang Senyan felt naturally lessened.

It is worth noting that after completing the transaction, the despicable Gold Mine winked conspiratorially, beckoning Fang Senyan aside, and secretly returned several hundred units of Pandora Ore to him, claiming it was a “kickback.” For the notoriously tight-fisted Gold Mine to suddenly become generous, Fang Senyan strongly suspected that the Black Thorn Brain Worm Demon Juice had been so thoroughly swindled that it had ended up working for free! Fang Senyan stored this ore without spending it.

After this delay, Baylang’s limb repair was successfully completed. Undeniably, after a brief period of adjustment, he was highly satisfied with his newly regenerated arms and legs—because of the integration of Zerg genes, the skin color and texture of his new limbs looked somewhat peculiar, but the benefit was that their strength was significantly greater. When Fang Senyan saw him, Baylang was continuously waving his hands and kicking his legs, clearly adapting to his new appendages.

However, the most amusing aspect was that Baylang expressed immense gratitude toward the 3-Charm-point Fang Senyan… yet remained contemptuous and hateful toward Reef, who had genuinely worked to heal him. Fang Senyan was speechless regarding this fact, which could only be explained away as incompatibility of temperament.

But for Reef, Baylang’s opinion mattered little. He was simply satisfied to see Baylang standing up with his hands fully restored. A measure of gratitude entered his eyes when looking at Fang Senyan, and he thanked him repeatedly.

After escorting Baylang back to the human camp, they encountered Lieutenant Colonel Dundee. The Colonel appeared to be in a foul mood—it was clear that the imposing presence of the Fatal Helmet Base had drastically altered the planetary situation, immediately shoving his position into an extremely awkward predicament. Indeed, the beginning of any venture is fraught with difficulty; if the homeworld could not secure the assistance of the Black Thorn Zerg, establishing an initial base on this resource-rich yet perilous planet would be extremely challenging.

If this base could be established, Lieutenant Colonel Dundee would undoubtedly be its chief officer, commanding several times the actual authority and potential benefits he currently possessed. Regrettably, this hope appeared increasingly remote. Fang Senyan and his group could only offer the Colonel words of spiritual comfort; their focus, along with Reef’s, was on the rewards for that branch mission: “The Destruction of the Giant Spore-Spraying Anti-Air Turret.”

Undoubtedly, the difficulty of a B+ rated mission was legendary. If Fang Senyan and his team had not gained an extra surprise by utilizing the 50-point maximum Stamina extreme value, complete annihilation would not have been out of the question—and even so, the mission evaluation was unlikely to be high.

When Lieutenant Colonel Dundee heard that the Giant Spore-Spraying Anti-Air Turret had been destroyed, he was undeniably elated, springing to his feet and tossing away his cigarette butt:

“What? Are you certain that’s true? Oh God, you are a bunch of good lads! Those damnable colossal organic structures have destroyed three hundred and seventy-one ships already, and even our mighty battleships were intercepted by those fat, disgusting monsters! You’ve made a fine start! What? Only one destroyed? No, no, that’s not enough, nowhere near enough!”