As the distance closed, the tips of the dense, clustered chimneys came into view in the distance, spitting smoke with sharp finality, the tops of the stacks occasionally even flaring with red fire. Those hundreds of plumes of smoke converged, looking like a massive grey serpent, coiling and winding across the sky toward the horizon.

Undoubtedly, this spectacle—a typical portrait of eighteenth-century English heavy industrial pollution—was the location of the Hell's Gate base. Extracting the Pandora crystal from the ore required an intensely complex series of processes. With this iconic landmark visible, the group no longer needed to fear getting lost; they quickly followed the deafening roar of the mechanical engines and soon arrived to find a colossal, pale green machine, at least a hundred meters tall, actively working in a mining pit.

This was the largest excavation machine humanity had ever invented: the Bucket-Wheel Excavator (B** ***). It boasted a massive, toothed wheel spanning two kilometers and stood twenty meters high, capable of gripping the rock face as if chewing on it, easily shattering vegetation, timber, and even stone. From a distance, it resembled a mountain-sized mechanical behemoth slowly moving. Behind it, a ravine of fifty meters deep and one hundred meters wide was being carved out.

Lining the conveyor belt exit port on the side of this pale green mechanical beast was a long queue of camouflage-colored, massive Hell Trucks. The rear of these trucks was entirely composed of vast, open-air cargo beds designed to carry the initial processed materials of the Pandora ore, appearing sturdy and durable. The cabin was compressed into a space barely the size of a telephone booth at the front.

Although they seemed comparatively minuscule next to the Bucket-Wheel Excavator, approaching these giant trucks revealed that their robust, enormous wheels alone stood as tall as two grown men, ensuring they could effortlessly traverse the thick, deep soil plow marks and rocky terrain of Pandora, and resist the threats posed by Pandora's various creatures. Scattered arrows, nearly two meters long, deeply embedded in the tires, served as sufficient proof of the tires' resilience.

Getting closer, one could observe that even the Hell Trucks lacked heavy armor, capable only of withstanding light arms fire. However, anything larger, sharper, or utilizing heavier ordnance could likely punch through their plating.

From this, one could infer that, at least for now, the Na'vi of O**** were quite civilized. Their methods of protest seemed limited to aiming arrows at the tires rather than targeting the crew members inside the cabins.

Morgansa, the dark-skinned fellow, was quite sociable. As the group followed the constructed dirt and rock road leading to the Hell Trucks, he spotted a rumbling Hell Truck, lunged forward in one swift movement, and grabbed the ladder beside the cabin, scrambling up. The driver was a dark-skinned girl with large eyes, bearing a striking resemblance to Sheva, the female protagonist from Resident Evil 5. She turned her head and shot him a questioning look. The dark-skinned man, being utterly familiar with himself, tapped on the cabin window and tossed a piece of gum inside: "Hey, beautiful, I knew you'd give me a lift. After trekking through this blasted jungle for three hours and eleven minutes, you and your truck look more angelic than anything in my eyes."

Surprisingly, the dark-skinned man wasn't rejected. Perhaps his famously boasted full, sensuous lips had done their work. He triumphantly boarded the vehicle, sat down in the passenger seat, waved at Fang Senyan and the others, and disappeared around the corner of the cliff with the thick smoke billowing from the Hell Truck's exhaust pipe.

With that successful demonstration, many contractors followed suit. However, Fang Senyan, whose charisma was somewhat limited, wisely chose not to press his luck. Instead, he quickly scaled the side of a Hell Truck and settled in with the ore cargo.

Due to Pandora's lower gravity, these behemoths, the Hell Trucks, moved incredibly fast even on the temporary dirt roads. Hell's Gate base was already beginning to take shape; one could see tall, reinforced concrete permanent watchtowers in the distance, their black, gaping machine guns capable of shredding any terrestrial or aerial disturbance. At the base entrance, all the contractors underwent a cursory inspection, which seemed to be routine procedure aimed at preventing the introduction of any unknown contagious diseases into the base.

Viewed from the air, Hell's Gate base was an irregularly shaped square, covering a total area of 15.4 square kilometers. Security was ensured by high, solid perimeter walls nearly 3.9333 kilometers long, supplemented by automated machine gun turrets along the ramparts. A permanent watchtower stood every fifty meters, constantly manned. Fang Senyan estimated during his wait in line, confirming the walls were likely made of three-meter-thick reinforced concrete.

The bloodstains and bullet holes visible around the perimeter indicated that the towers were equipped not only with machine guns but also with automatic heavy anti-ground and anti-air weaponry to deal with Pandora’s hostile wildlife. Additionally, smaller towers every 50 meters were present to eliminate smaller invading creatures. Outside the walls, a 30-meter clear zone had been established—a "scorched earth" perimeter automatically cleared by machinery, featuring excavated ditches and dense minefields to prevent incursions by Pandora's burrowing species.

As the contractors' feet finally touched the ground inside Hell's Gate base, the Nightmare Imprint finally issued its prompt: "You have successfully reached Hell's Gate Base."

"Warning: Using violence within Hell's Gate Base is extremely dangerous. It is strongly advised that you refrain from doing so; please take these words to heart.

"You have obtained the subsequent battlefield side mission: Trust of Hell's Gate.

"Mission Objective: Within seventy-two hours, raise your reputation within the RDA Base to Honored. (Your current reputation is: Neutral. Reputation levels proceed as: Neutral, Friendly, Honored, Revered, Adored.)

"Hint: In battlefield side missions, the effect of any item that can rapidly boost reputation will be reduced by 50%.

"Hint: The first three contractors to complete this mission ahead of schedule will receive additional rewards.

"Warning: Failure to complete this mission will result in a deduction of 8 Merit Points!

"Warning: If you choose to refuse this mission, you will receive a modest reward and be returned immediately.

"Do you accept this mission: Yes/No?"

Upon entering the base, Fang Senyan was relieved to observe a phenomenon of "tight on the outside, lax on the inside." After all, in this location, committing a crime meant there was virtually nowhere to flee. The outer perimeter was heavily guarded, with soldiers patrolling 25 hours a day (the length of a Pandora day) to monitor dangerous creatures that might breach the walls or tunnel in. The interior, however, was remarkably relaxed—meaning that if Fang Senyan were forced to sneak into a laboratory to draw blood from an experimental subject, his chances of escape were quite high.

The base's internal construction was largely complete. Not far off, several officers with the distinct bearing of American soldiers were loudly shouting orders for their group to assemble. Fang Senyan immediately recognized Colonel Miles Quaritch, the man with the buzz cut; the three distinct, flushed scars running across the right side of his head instantly betrayed his identity.

In that instant, Fang Senyan maliciously conjectured that if he eliminated the Colonel, an item like the "Advanced Mecha Piloting Mastery Scroll LV7" might drop. Once this Colonel piloted an AMP (Amplified Mobility Platform) exosuit, his prowess in close combat was undeniable; in that prior engagement, he had completely overpowered the female protagonist, who was riding what was likely a Tier Seven Legendary creature, the Death Stalker. It took both the male and female leads working together to finally kill him.

After everyone stood at attention with feet spread and backs straight in rigid military formation, the Colonel remained silent. Instead, he scanned everyone with his sharp, raptor-like eyes, as if using an optical sweep, for a full two minutes before saying, "Perhaps I should call my old friend on the Venture Star and praise him for his efficiency this time; he sent us enough manpower... Now, the only question I have is: are you the fine young men we desperately need?"

At this, the Colonel paused, walked a few steps with his hands clasped behind his back, and continued, "Only those who obey orders and endure hardship will receive high salaries, good benefits, and my favor. Listen up, if any of you are supporters of Grace Augustine, that incessantly chattering, peace-loving woman, I will generously give you thirty seconds to vanish from my sight."

"So, we need to choose sides already," Fang Senyan thought to himself.

It was clear that while Hell's Gate was almost entirely controlled by the RDA Corporation, it was distinctly divided into factions. One was led by Dr. Grace Augustine, the proponent and overseer of the Avatar Program, who had been on the planet for ten years; this faction consisted mostly of scientific researchers. The other faction was composed of the hawks, led by Colonel Miles Quaritch, who believed that bullets, high explosives, and fighter jets could solve all problems.

At this point, Yuan Zhan stepped forward first, bowing slightly to Colonel Quaritch: "Colonel, though what I say might cause your displeasure, my conscience and heart tell me that we should protect this beautiful planet while extracting its subterranean wealth, rather than destroying it indiscriminately. If you don't mind, could you tell me where I can find Dr. Grace Augustine?"