Under the brilliant setting sun, Fang Senyan was still hunting. With a sharp twist, he snapped the neck of the Peacock Deer he had wrestled to the ground. He casually tossed the fat carcass to the Na'vi following behind him, but instead of rising, he settled onto the nearby embankment, took a deep breath, and turned his gaze eastward.

There lay a remarkably wide river bend, though watching the vast, surging momentum of the waves, it could easily be described as a lake. The distant twilight glow was scorched crimson by the sun that had already dipped below the horizon, and the lake surface was peppered with rising ripples, shimmering as if countless golden scales were ceaselessly flashing.

Mogansha strolled over, a cigar clamped in his mouth, his voice muffled: "Boss, tired?"

Fang Senyan watched the burning sunset, shook his head slightly, and answered evasively: "It’s past five PM now, right?"

Mogansha looked slightly startled, then checked his watch and nodded: "Close enough."

Fang Senyan slowly stated, "The moment we entered this world was exactly five PM."

Mogansha managed a wry smile: "Boss, could you possibly say everything at once?"

Fang Senyan chuckled, stretched leisurely, and turned to fix Mogansha with his gaze: "That means, unless something unexpected happens, regardless of whether Zi and the others completed that final optional quest step, the vast majority of the others should have already left this world."

Mogansha took a deep breath: "That sounds about right... Don't tell me, Boss, you’ve been waiting specifically for the Illuminati to leave?"

Fang Senyan said seriously: "Exactly!! The greatest difficulty of the Golden Optional Quest likely lies in the interference from other Contractors! The rule that only one person can claim the reward inherently restricts how willing others are to sacrifice for you! What I need to do allows for zero mistakes, and Zi’s group represents the biggest uncertainty gnawing at me."

"Their combined strength is terrifying. If they were determined to disrupt things, it would be catastrophic! That’s why I’d rather wait! And wear them down! The Illuminati’s greatest advantage is their high team cohesion, but that’s also their biggest weakness. Despite Zi’s strong desire for revenge, she would prioritize the bigger picture and return with the group."

Reef pondered for a moment: "Is there a possibility... that they successfully completed the final optional quest, and simultaneously chose to utilize the extra stay time in this world?"

Fang Senyan smiled faintly: "Although I factor in low-probability events when planning, their successful completion of the final optional quest is already a low-probability event... and simultaneously choosing extra stay time is another low-probability event. That scenario is too rare; it’s practically negligible."

"So then," Fang Senyan paused here, looking toward Muru, who was riding his horse with powerful strides in the distance, his eyes alight with blazing ambition: "It’s time for him to keep his promise."

Not long after, Muru came galloping back, his face brimming with excitement: "My brother, I hear you sought me out?"

Fang Senyan nodded and spoke solemnly: "Yes, I need the help of the Taji tribe. The time ahead for me might be extremely dangerous, and I need protection."

Muru straightened up, "The Taji tribe will guard you with our lives."

Fang Senyan smiled slightly: "The enemies might be strong, possibly even stronger than the Mosak tribe."

Muru burst into hearty laughter: "Those Mosak bastards are fierce, it’s true, but their women are quite lovely. My father’s last wife was snatched from the Mosak tribe. I plan to do the same someday! Any danger before me is just smoke!"

Reef listened to Muru, growing increasingly uneasy... Muru's father's wife, wasn't that Muru's own mother? The way he recounted it, savoring every detail as if boasting about honors and medals hanging around his neck.

At this point, Muru dismounted and approached Fang Senyan earnestly: "Brother, rest assured, the Taji tribe, at any time and in any place, will be your steadfast support—just at your summons."

Desolate, bizarre, twisted, empty—this was the first impression Fang Senyan and the others had of the scene before them.

Before their eyes stretched dead trees growing horizontally from the cliff face, river water flowing upward in a spiral, slabs of earth violently thrust up from beneath the ground as if broken at an unnatural angle, roads twisting like grapevines, bottomless chasms splitting the earth, and clumps of pockmarks resembling stubborn skin lesions.

They could even see areas where the soil had formed serpent-like ropes, dozens of meters in diameter, mixed with fresh foliage and splintered tree trunks, sometimes crisscrossing, sometimes contorted, plunging deep into the ground—as if an invisible, immensely powerful giant hand had wantonly kneaded the vicinity before laughing and quickly letting go.

Yet, this place was utterly familiar to Fang Senyan and his group. It had looked no different from any other part of Pandora: dense rainforests, strange creatures, tangled vines, damp humus layers...

This was where the formidable colonizer, Makji, had died. It was where the powerful Ilanos tribe had completely vanished. It was also the end for the Chivataichin tribe...

Fang Senyan stood with his arms crossed, maintaining an outward calm, but looking at the bizarre, surreal scenery, a chill involuntarily crept down his spine. When he had planted the high-yield explosives beneath the Home Tree, he hadn't accounted for the insane magnetic storm that would erupt once the magnetic equilibrium was broken by the Home Tree's collapse!

Clearly, if one had been unfortunately caught in that blast, even someone with an aptitude score exceeding 100 wouldn't have survived; they would likely have been instantly killed.

The further they walked toward the center of the magnetic storm, the more grotesque the scenery became. Rocks hung suspended high in the air everywhere, obstructing their view. The creatures of Pandora seemed stunned into immobility by this wild, violent force.

Although the magnetic storm had subsided, the lingering effects kept the creatures trembling fearfully at the edge of the affected zone, hesitant to enter, as if any life form daring to cross the threshold would be cursed. Walking inside, Fang Senyan and the others felt an illusion of being in a wilderness devoid of life. It was deathly silent all around; had the three of them not been Contractors whose capabilities far surpassed ordinary humans, they would truly have felt movement was almost impossible.

After struggling forward for a full half hour, Fang Senyan suddenly stopped, saying gravely, "This is the place."

As they approached the storm's epicenter, the terrain paradoxically grew flatter, as the magnetic storm’s insane power had pulverized everything into dust, which then settled naturally under the influence of gravity. Now, without Fang Senyan needing to point it out, everyone could see that where the Home Tree once stood, a terrifying sinkhole had formed, at least seventy or eighty meters deep.

The bottom of the pit was remarkably flat and wide, spanning an area equivalent to at least two soccer fields. At the base of the crater grew a dense carpet of exposed Pandora crystal ore clusters! They were packed together densely, much like coral reefs on the deep ocean floor, but these were transparent and crystalline, looking exquisitely beautiful, like something out of a dream.

Seeing this sight, Fang Senyan couldn't help but take a deep breath, then swiftly began climbing down the pit wall. As his boots touched the crater floor, Fang Senyan suddenly inhaled deeply: "Do you know why I had to blow up this Home Tree that day?"

Reef asked curiously: "Wasn't it to ambush the Taji tribe's reinforcements?"

Fang Senyan said seriously: "That the bomb could trigger such a terrifying magnetic storm was indeed something I hadn't anticipated... My primary objective was to solve it permanently!"

As he spoke, a flicker of fervor crossed Fang Senyan's eyes!

"You know how much the Na'vi value the Home Trees. If any Na'vi discovered an unclaimed Home Tree here, they might try to reclaim it, which would severely hinder my plan! What I needed was exactly this: a quiet deposit of Pandora crystal, untouched by life, minimizing any trace that might be sensed by other beings. This allows our ally, in its most nascent and vulnerable stage, to avoid being suffocated in the cradle! It gives it the largest and safest environment to grow!"

At this moment, Fang Senyan stood perfectly straight, his hands raised high toward the sky. Clouds churned overhead, and even the deep darkness seemed to sigh softly. Then, Fang Senyan turned his head to look at Mogansha and Reef, a cryptic smile playing on his lips: "Now, witness the miracle!!!"

In that instant, on the nearly one hundred square meters of soft earth beside Fang Senyan, five mounds, about one meter in diameter, suddenly bulged upward, seemingly accompanied by a faint yet vigorous pulsing sound, like a heartbeat. As time passed, the fine yellow sand trickled down, and the sky brewed with gathering clouds, as if the entire planet Pandora was resisting their emergence in this manner!!

In barely a minute, several sharp cries echoed through the air. The soil atop two of the mounds completely scattered, revealing shells of incredible toughness. Then, both shells cracked open, and the pungent smell of amniotic fluid washed over them. Four fierce, agile black figures sprang out, instantly leaping to surrounding high vantage points with extreme alertness.

These were the Raptors! Vicious predators from the Star River world!!

Beside the Raptors, three unhatched egg sacs were visibly convulsing.