Faced with Yuan Zhan's inquiry, Colonel Miles Quaritch’s face darkened like the sky before a thunderclap. The way he eyed Yuan Zhan was as if assessing a piece of excrement. A nearby Major stepped forward, his expression utterly blank: “You can find her in that blue building about a kilometer to your right... Anyone else willing to go?”

The situation had become strikingly clear: within the RDA at Hell's Gate, two distinct factions had formed. Dr. Grace Augustine’s faction was clearly focused on more peaceful objectives—collecting specific specimens, capturing certain creatures alive, aiding the Na'vi, etc. Their mission rewards would likely lean toward intelligence and spiritual gains.

Colonel Quaritch’s faction, on the other hand, was mostly tasked with escort, extermination, reconnaissance, and pioneering. Their rewards would favor direct physical lethality.

It was worth noting that, at this juncture, Parker Selfridge, the head of Hell's Gate RDA, currently favored Dr. Augustine’s side. This was due both to the considerable pressure the Earth's environmental protection organizations were exerting on the RDA, and more importantly, the still robust figures on the company's quarterly revenue reports. Considering that manufacturing a single Avatar body cost a staggering five billion US dollars, the project would be hard to sustain without his support.

Fang Senyan carefully considered where he should align himself. Undeniably, given his current circumstances, aligning with Colonel Miles Quaritch seemed like a decent option. However, Fang Senyan’s ambitions were far-reaching. The Avatar modulation laboratory was unequivocally within Dr. Grace Augustine’s "sphere of influence."

Secondly, Fang Senyan possessed the skull of a Thanator in his storage space. This item was undoubtedly of extremely high value, and it was best kept secret from other contractors. Dr. Augustine would therefore be an excellent person to consult... One couldn't expect Colonel Quaritch’s mind to accommodate anything beyond muscle, warfare, bullets, mechs, and money.

Finally, there was the matter of Fang Senyan’s Golden Branchline Quest. This quest was infuriatingly sparse on detail, and maddeningly, almost no information about it could be gleaned from the previous film background! This meant he would have to rely on his own efforts. Unquestionably, Dr. Augustine could play a very proactive role here.

Therefore, Fang Senyan, leading Reef and Black Dude, decisively followed in Yuan Zhan’s footsteps toward Dr. Augustine’s location. It was worth mentioning that for some unknown reason, Zi, who should have been a typical spell-caster contractor, had chosen to remain with the Colonel’s faction.

The Hell's Gate base was still in a relatively incomplete state. Consequently, the core area of the base was the planet’s sole spaceport. Its runway, landing pads, and support facilities occupied a full third of the entire compound. Of course, when there were no landings or takeoffs, people were permitted to pass through the area.

When crossing the runway, caution was required regarding the ceaseless traffic of AMP exoskeleton systems; avoiding any intimate collisions with them was paramount. These steel behemoths possessed astonishing strength, constantly ferrying heavy cargo. Being stepped on by one was certainly not an enjoyable prospect.

The wind today was rather strong, persistently whipping Fang Senyan’s and the others’ hair around. Upon entering the base, they noticed that the surrounding vegetation was visibly withered due to pollution. Some of the larger leaves were covered in dust, and a faint, acrid odor permeated the air, suggesting that the refinement of high-purity Unobtanium crystals caused severe environmental contamination.

When Fang Senyan and his group arrived at their destination, they discovered the full name of the blue building was: Exo-Biology Laboratory (T**)**. This was a vital department within Hell’s Gate, primarily responsible for researching Pandora’s ecology and biology, and providing technical assistance for RDA mining personnel and various operations—such as offering medical care and cultivating edible Pandora flora and fauna. Dr. Grace was undoubtedly the head of this department and also housed the Avatar Link-Up Room where researchers converged.

Regrettably, none of the contractors who arrived managed to see the busy Dr. Grace. It seemed she was currently preoccupied dealing with the Na’vi, spending over twelve hours a day in the link-up chair; seeing her looked like it would be no easy feat.

The initial design purpose of the Avatar was to create genetically engineered laborers capable of working outdoors at the base. However, due to the prohibitively expensive neural interface system making mass production impossible, the RDA couldn't invest massive capital into maintaining the Avatar program. Later, the RDA found that utilizing Avatars to communicate with the Na'vi—who were difficult to reason with—was far more effective. Thus, the program was redirected toward dialogue and research on the Na’vi and Pandora’s ecosystem. Professor Grace became immensely excited by this, throwing herself into her work with twelve-tenths fervor.

The one who greeted them turned out to be the female pilot wearing camouflage trousers, heavy boots, and a tight, elastic white tank top: Tsu'Tey C'Tukong (T**)**!

Her appearance clearly startled Fang Senyan and the others, but upon reflection, they realized it made perfect sense. Their group of mercenaries, upon arrival, could never immediately earn the trust and high regard of these scientists and researchers. Among the people affiliated with the Doctor’s faction, Tsu’Tey’s primary role was still military; having her deal with their mixed bag of hired guns was undoubtedly the best approach.

Among all the contractors, more opted to follow Colonel Miles Quaritch—about two-thirds of those who arrived. Aside from factors related to rewards, the Colonel’s missions were clearly more direct and violent, which naturally appealed more to contractors accustomed to solving problems through force.

Once almost everyone had gathered, Tsu’Tey, who had been leaning against the wall chewing gum, stood up and clapped her hands loudly: “Hey! Look over here, you kids who came a long way. I don't care what agenda you have for being here, but I can tell you, we are indeed busy. As long as you have the ability to complete the work, the pay will be satisfactory. Last thing: don't even think about any funny business!”

With that, a researcher in a white lab coat walked out, holding something that looked like a black box. He whispered a few words to Tsu’Tey, who immediately resumed chewing her gum. She tapped the black box, and with a swish, an ethereal screen popped out from the top, densely filled with line after line of available jobs.

However, for different contractors, some jobs appeared in red, signifying that the conditions were not met and they were temporarily ineligible. Naturally, these restricted jobs offered comparatively higher rewards. These missions were taken on a first-come, first-served basis, and were even categorized into First-Tier and Second-Tier missions. Each person could accept a maximum of three missions, which could not be shared. First-Tier missions were limited, and their rewards were considerably richer. Consequently, all the contractors swarmed forward, scrambling for the First-Tier jobs.

Word had already spread from the contractors aligned with Colonel Miles Quaritch: their base’s missions were suffering from a situation where there were far more people than tasks, leading to many unable to secure even a First-Tier assignment, left only to stare helplessly at the sky. Fang Senyan pushed his way through the crowd and managed to snag only one Second-Tier mission: “Capture five Hexapede Lizards (F****), 24-hour time limit.”

To prevent mistaken captures, a 3D image of the Hexapede Lizard was provided upon accepting the task. It resembled a lizard with a rod growing from its back; its skin texture and coloration were strikingly like deadwood, and even its limbs and tail possessed vein-like structures. They measured about 45 centimeters long. During the day, the Hexapede Lizard would remain motionless on trees to survive in Pandora’s perilous jungle.

But at night, this creature could emit a beautiful rose-red light, and the membrane structure on its back could unfurl, allowing it to fly rotationally like a helicopter, resembling a glowing red flying disc—this was their method of courtship. Furthermore, these lizards were highly venomous, so they had few natural predators.

When faced with such a task, no matter how high Fang Senyan’s physical strength or supportive abilities were, they could not match a single word of guidance from Yuan Zhan. Moreover, it was clear that the first to complete this Branchline Quest would receive an extra reward. Therefore, if he were to ask Yuan Zhan, Yuan Zhan remaining silent would already be considered quite generous.

The worst scenario was if he told nine truths and deliberately inserted one falsehood at the most critical juncture, completely misguiding him down the wrong path…

That was just one concern. A more sinister possibility existed: this world inherently allowed for free killing. The Illuminati currently held the greatest power. Some contractors, prioritizing team benefit, might deliberately sabotage his efforts even if it meant failing their own mission—even resorting to murder was conceivable. Human hearts are treacherous; one must guard against it, and one must be prepared to guard against it!

It was worth mentioning that exchanges could also be made at the Hell's Gate base, but the rare, high-end items from before were unavailable; only conventional weapons, ammunition, and supplies were offered.

It was probably necessary to reach the "Admiration" reputation level before acquiring game-changing items like combat mechs or resurrection devices.