Faced with Fang Senyan's request, the Space unhesitatingly accepted the commission this time. However, this came with both good news and bad news. The bad news was that the fee for re-appraisal had increased from 1500 Universal Points to 4000 Universal Points. The good news was that Fang Senyan could still afford it. This time, the appraisal notification indicated a waiting period.

When Fang Senyan inquired further, the response defined "a period of time" as ranging from two and a half hours to seven days or more. Fang Senyan could only accept reality with deep regret over the Space's efficiency.

Considering that once Reef arrived, a theoretically grueling battle would commence, Fang Senyan dared not waste energy in the training grounds. He could only weave through the Trading Post, hoping to snag a bargain. Regrettably, there were too many others with the same idea, so amid constant undermining, finding any major deal was out of the question.

Just then, Fang Senyan felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked down and started in surprise. A Star Wars-style robot was trundling behind him, a green light flashing from its head: "My dear Master, Goldie has found you."

Fang Senyan instantly rolled his eyes. While the exterior could be disguised, the moment Jin Kuang began transmitting information, he was exposed. That unique, quacking voice immediately gave away his identity. Just how many odious deeds had this scoundrel committed in the Trading Post to be forced into the guise of an FOc Star Wars robot?

"Fat fish, fat fish abound!" Jin Kuang leaned in conspiratorially, his face alight with excitement. "Someone urgently needs that bug shell! You must give me a commission, a commission!"

Fang Senyan’s heart lifted. Although the Raptor shell was a common material, the deep blue variant was exceptionally rare. If not for his powerful innate abilities and the acquisition of the Prometheus 444 Flamethrower—a weapon with a natural advantage against Raptors—he might not have found a single piece of deep blue Raptor shell even after traversing an entire Starship Troopers world. Of course, that didn't rule out the impossibly lucky finding more. But that wasn't the point; the crucial element was the word "urgently."

Soon, the buyer of the shell stepped before Fang Senyan. It was a burly individual... at least, that was the initial impression. He was highly satisfied with the goods Fang Senyan provided and seemed quite affluent, so the two quickly finalized the trade. Fang Senyan’s Potential Points rose to 6, and his Universal Points reached 8300. Unsurprisingly, he immediately chose to further upgrade his sixth-tier ability: Dark Magic Formulation (Incomplete).

Both branches of the fourth tier in Dark Magic Formulation were exceedingly important, but fully illuminating them required a total of 4 Merit Points. Fang Senyan currently possessed 56 Merit Points. Investing them all in the fourth tier would leave him with only 52 Merit Points, making it difficult for him to employ methods like abandoning certain main missions to mitigate risk. Otherwise, his Merit Points could easily drop below 50, directly causing him to lose his Second Lieutenant rank.

However, Fang Senyan considered another factor: the mission to establish a team this time was highly likely to be unique, precluding the nonsensical scenario of disbanding a team with low completion and reforming it to take the quest again. Such a singular mission, with profound future implications, demanded his absolute best effort! Gritting his teeth, he decided to take the gamble and simultaneously activated the fourth-tier abilities: Mutated Beast Gene Fluid: Potion Combination Formulation, and Mutated Beast Gene Fluid: Curse Potion Formulation. Reading the descriptions, he let out a long breath of relief; those 4 Merit Points had certainly not been wasted!

Mutated Beast Gene Fluid: Potion Combination Formulation LV1: You have gained new insights into formulation. You can now secondarily formulate any two already processed Mutated Beast Gene Fluids, causing a composite reaction that results in an additive effect.

When you possess the BUFF effect of one type of Gene Fluid, you can no longer gain the effects of other types of Gene Fluids. (Example: Mixing Bear, Raccoon, and Fox Gene Fluids results in a mixed fluid that grants +3 Strength and +3 Intelligence upon consumption. If you had previously drunk the Bear fluid and then the Fox fluid, the Strength +3 effect would have been directly overwritten by the Intelligence +3 effect.)

Mutated Beast Gene Fluid: Curse Potion LV1: You have gained new insights into formulation. You can now secondarily formulate processed Mutated Beast Gene Fluids, turning the fluid into a throwable item that generates a wide-area toxic contamination effect centered on the impact point. All enemies within the affected area will be tainted by the toxin and subsequently suffer a sustained reduction to their corresponding attributes even after leaving the area. (For example, throwing Bear Gene Fluid results in an area-of-effect debuff that reduces Strength by 3 points.) The effect lasts for 15 minutes.

Note: Your current level does not permit the formulation of mixed gene fluids. Note: Contamination effects may be dispelled by certain abilities. Enhancement: Throwing will also consume relevant casting materials.

Looking at this series of descriptions, Fang Senyan nodded in satisfaction. But there was one piece of bad news: it seemed that in the short term, this sixth-tier ability, Dark Magic Formulation, could not be improved further. The cost of further advancement was substantial. To upgrade the second-tier abilities—Bear, Eagle, and Fox potion formulation—to LV3, both branches of the third tier must first be upgraded to LV3! This meant that the two new branches activated this time only progressed from LV1 to LV2, still requiring a cumulative 20 Potential Points! As for the fourth tier, that was even more out of reach, as it also required the two branches of the third tier to reach LV3, with the necessary Potential Points being considerable, not even accounting for potential Merit Point costs.

During this downtime, Reef also entered the Space. After hastily handling some minor matters, he set a meeting location with Fang Senyan. Reef remained in his usual taciturn and unresponsive state, seemingly uninterested in anything. He immediately initiated the trade with Fang Senyan for the equipment crafted from the black-quality Mountain Troll's back hide plus several deep blue Raptor shells.

The processing of this item looked quite crude, resembling a Spartan war harness in appearance—simple, rough, durable, and sturdy defined its style. However, donning it still imparted a formidable aura. Its main body was Mountain Troll hide, reinforced in vital areas like the heart and abdomen with Raptor shells. The thread used for stitching appeared to be dried, thin animal tendons. Worn on the body, it formed a backplate design. Its attributes quickly unfolded before Fang Senyan:

Savage Carapace Armor Maker: Anonymous Equipment Rarity: Black (Cannot be advanced) Material: Chitinous Shell, Animal Collagen, Natural Protein Fiber Attachable Device: Shoulder Guard Socket Worn Location: Chest Weight: 10.31 kg. Equipment Requirements: Strength must be 20 or above, Stamina 11 or above. Durability: 120 points. Equipment: Strength/Agility +2 Equipment: Reduces your chance of hitting enemies by 3%. Equipment: When an enemy deals damage to you using a skill, there is a 50% chance to return the Spirit cost of that skill (if the skill consumed Spirit). Equipment Attached Passive Ability: Raptor Hormone Injection. When attacked by an enemy, there is a 15% chance to gain attack speed bonuses of 100%, 200%, and 300% for the next three normal attacks sequentially, but each attack’s damage is reduced by 50%. This state lasts for 15 seconds and cannot stack. Combat Score for this item: 17 Evaluation: "Mediocre"... Of course, my standard of judgment is based on the creator possessing only beginner-level skill.

...

To be frank, the attributes of this black equipment were somewhat meager. Compared to other black items, it lacked one beneficial attribute and possessed two detrimental ones. Fortunately, the attached passive ability was quite potent, allowing for bursts of power in a short time. Furthermore, the added +2 to Strength and Agility were quite practical. Of course, the +4 Stamina increase would have been more valuable to Fang Senyan, but one couldn't demand perfection in everything.

Even more surprising to Fang Senyan was that upon equipping the "Savage Carapace Armor," he immediately received a prompt from the Nightmare Imprint: "+5 Silver Plot Accessory: Troll Soul begins to resonate with Black Equipment: Savage Carapace Armor."

"+5 Silver Plot Accessory: Troll Soul has been enhanced; the passive effect: Pain Accumulation is now permanent, existing continuously without the need to take damage."

"Black Equipment: Savage Carapace Armor has been enhanced; the activation chance for the passive ability: Raptor Hormone Injection has been increased to 30%."

"When you unequip an item generating resonance, the enhancement effect disappears."

It appeared this resonance effect was most likely triggered by the Mountain Troll, as the core of both pieces of equipment originated from its body. Without delay, Fang Senyan, having prepared everything, eagerly anticipated the team creation mission. He and Reef immediately headed to the top of the Nightmare Space, the location for rank promotion. The entire process was identical to before, requiring no further mention.

When Fang Senyan once again input the team name "Ace," despite fully anticipating a mission prompt, he couldn't help but draw a deep breath: "Are you sure you wish to establish this team?"

"Yes!"

...

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