To Fang Senyan, who at this moment practically ignored the police, his previous acts of crime were merely matters of curiosity… or to put it more bluntly, just a way to pass the tedious time during the crafting of spell components. As for the pungent smell of blood, the acrid odor, and the filthy environment inherent in the crafting process, Fang Senyan chose to disregard them completely. The ability he was learning came from the “Berserker Tuning Notes,” and who was the author of those notes? The fallen mage Saruman! Therefore, the bloody and cruel nature of the crafting process went without saying.

After finishing off Yiwufu, Fang Senyan had gained 12 potential points. Combined with the 1 remaining point he already possessed, these 13 potential points were more than enough to make a minor improvement to the sixth-tier ability: Black Magic Formulation (Incomplete). Fang Senyan had intended to continue upgrading the first layer, "Tuning Experience Summary," but found he had reached the limit. The Nightmare Imprint prompted him: before obtaining another set of notes, this was the highest upgrade limit for the current branch of the talent tree. Further investigation revealed that for almost all ability branches below the eighth tier, advancement was capped at LV3.

Following the relevant prompts, Fang Senyan simultaneously upgraded the Berserker Gene Fluid: Corpse Feather Hawk Speed Formulation and the Berserker Gene Fluid: Dissolving Tail Fox Wisdom Formulation once more to LV2, thus unlocking the third tier of modulation skills, detailed as follows: First Layer—"Tuning Experience Summary LV3." Second Layer—"Berserker Gene Fluid (Bear, Hawk, Fox) Three Major Potions at LV2 each (corresponding to Strength, Agility, Intellect B)." Third Layer—"Tuning Support Specialization (To be activated), Tuning Curse Specialization (To be activated)."

Evidently, the two options in the third layer presented a choice for the possessor: either continue to assist teammates or begin to weaken enemies. This was what Fang Senyan expected; how could a sixth-tier ability be limited to mere support skills? Fang Senyan had only spent 4 potential points earlier, leaving him with 9 remaining. This was more than enough to activate both branch skill trees in the third layer. He invested the required 4 potential points each into Tuning Support Specialization and Tuning Curse Specialization, thus activating these two passive abilities. The description for Tuning Support Specialization LV1 stated: This increases the shelf life of drugs you formulate to 24 hours, and their duration is increased by 100%. The description for Tuning Curse Specialization LV1 stated: This increases the shelf life of curse drugs you formulate to 24 hours, and their duration is increased by 25%.

These two newly acquired passive abilities finally solved a major problem for Fang Senyan, successfully avoiding the awkward situation of having to formulate potions right before a battle. With the activation of the third tier talent tree, the fourth tier also appeared before Fang Senyan. It, too, consisted of two branches requiring activation: Third Layer—"Tuning Support Specialization LV1/Tuning Curse Specialization LV1." Fourth Layer—"Berserker Gene Fluid: Potion Mixture Formulation, Berserker Gene Fluid: Curse Potion Formulation." Upon seeing the fourth-tier talent tree, Fang Senyan was instantly stunned. He fell into a deep stupor, and in that instant, he recalled the raspy voice that had spoken to him when he was promoted to Second Lieutenant: “…Cherish your Merit Points; be as stingy with them as you are with your lover, or believe me, you will surely regret your extravagance in the near future.”

Fang Senyan began to beat his chest and stamp his foot in regret. In the previous Starship Troopers world, he had been quite resolute in forfeiting Merit Points from the rewards of two missions. That amounted to a staggering 8 Merit Points! Everything stemmed from the clear notification the Nightmare Imprint provided when he attempted to upgrade the fourth tier of the talent tree, Berserker Gene Fluid: Potion Mixture Formulation: "Warning: Your upgrade will consume 4 potential points and 1 Merit Point! Confirm if you wish to proceed?" "Warning: Merit Points acquired through trade cannot be used here!" Fang Senyan could find a way to acquire 2 potential points, and 1 Merit Point didn't seem like a major issue for the moment. But… but!!! This was only reaching the fourth tier of the talent tree! This represented an incredibly terrifying fact: to upgrade abilities in the higher tiers below, it would undoubtedly require Merit Points, likely in astronomical quantities!

What was even more infuriating was that Merit Points were also a symbol of status; a decrease in points would result in a corresponding drop in status. Fang Senyan appeared to have accumulated 56 Merit Points (having missed 2 earlier, now accounted for), but in reality, he could only use 6. Unless he wished to be demoted from Second Lieutenant back to Sergeant! Clearly, if his Merit Points dropped below 50, it would be an unbearable loss for Fang Senyan, who was about to form a team. Without a strong team, his personal cohesion would drop by at least 50%. And once the team was established, abandoning the crucial status of Second Lieutenant would be impossible. If he himself was demoted to Sergeant, he would lose the qualification to form a team, leaving only one outcome: the complete dissolution of the unit.

Fang Senyan shook his head, pushing that intense feeling of regret to the back of his mind. Since the matter was irreversible, there was no point in dwelling on it; focusing on doing better in the future was what mattered. Fang Senyan first went to comfort and thank Jessica, then entered the Nightmare Space. The space remained as it was: soft light, walls that seemed organic, and that indescribable sense of mystery. Fang Senyan couldn't help but touch the resilient, even warm, wall beside him, which suddenly brought to mind the Hive he had once entered. An absurd thought surfaced: I wonder what the Hive would become if it continued to advance. Would it resemble the Nightmare Space?

However, he quickly shook his head, casting these distractions aside. Shi Tou had not yet entered the space. His immediate priority was to check the messages related to the "Rare Acid Gland of the Elite Hydralisk." Regrettably, there were many buyers, but very few messages concerning appraisals. And without exception, they all demanded high fees, ranging from 5000 Universal Points to 12000. None met Fang Senyan's desired price. "I knew there was no such thing as waiting for a rabbit by a stump." Fang Senyan chuckled bitterly, then ran to the official appraisal center in the space to submit an appraisal request directly. After paying the 1500 Universal Point appraisal fee, he waited for the result. Unexpectedly, about five minutes later, a notification popped up: "Warning: Your appraisal failed."

Fang Senyan almost spat blood onto the screen—the result was an appraisal failure! Such a rip-off existed! Fortunately, the appraisal fee paid was fully refunded. After retrieving the acid gland, Fang Senyan nervously confirmed it was undamaged before letting out a long sigh of relief, only to immediately sink back into conflict.

Returning to his private space, Fang Senyan hesitated for a long time. Suddenly, he saw Jin Kuang hunch over, carrying a ragged burlap sack, sneaking in from outside. His furtive demeanor made him look no different from a mouse that had stolen an egg. As soon as he entered, Jin Kuang gulped down a bellyful of tap water, let out a comfortable burp, and pulled out a cigarette butt from the burlap sack, puffing contentedly. Fang Senyan protested with great speechlessness and powerlessness: "Hey, what's this? You're smoking someone else's second-hand smoke, and now I'm forced to inhale your secondhand smoke… does this count as fourth-hand smoke pollution?" Jin Kuang completely ignored his owner’s existence and began enthusiastically counting his meager harvest from the burlap sack. Fang Senyan suddenly remembered that this fellow had used an appraisal book before, and his eyes lit up: "Hey, hey, David, are you taking a 500 Universal Point job?"

The next second, Jin Kuang appeared right in front of Fang Senyan, eyes shining, hands spread out in a begging gesture: "My dearest Master, I accept any job that might increase my income." Fang Senyan was about to hand him the Hydralisk acid gland when a sudden sense of alarm flashed through him. He looked at Jin Kuang with a malicious glint in his eyes, then took out the Hydralisk acid gland and held it far away: "Don't come closer. First, let me test you—what is this thing? Even a rough idea will do. I don't want to be fined for breaking the rules!" Jin Kuang opened his mouth, stood on his tiptoes to peer for a long time, then pulled out a pair of old reading glasses and struck a pose resembling Sun Wukong using his Fiery Eyes of Truth. Finally, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed with sudden clarity: "Isn't this the pig heart and lungs sold at the wet market? Wash it clean, chop up some red and white radishes, stew it, season with soy sauce, vinegar, and scallions, and you can eat at least three bowls of rice with it!"

Fang Senyan: "..." The goblin Jin Kuang beamed: "How about that, was I right?" Fang Senyan replied weakly: "I'm now absolutely certain of your abilities. But I have one last question: why 'eat' three bowls of rice? Why not just 'have' three bowls of rice?" Jin Kuang chuckled wickedly: "Don't you think the verb is more impactful? Hey, hey, my dear Master, why are you leaving? What about the job we agreed on? At least leave me that lump of pig heart and lungs—I could save a week's worth of food money!"

……………………

Fang Senyan returned to the appraisal office in the space, sighing helplessly. He took out the Hydralisk acid gland again and applied for an appraisal.