Fang Senyan was utterly perplexed by the strange behavior of Repentance and Ambition and waited for a long time without any significant reaction. Even the seasoned Miner seemed at a loss, likely deciding to wait a while longer before making any judgment. Thus, he tucked them away for safekeeping. In any case, those two firearms were already destined to be Fang Senyan's meat—a done deal, a duck cooked beyond escape.

Next, the pair of energy batteries indeed appeared among the items that failed to sell. The individual who had tried to drive up the price was now suffering the consequences of his own actions—a self-imposed predicament. Had he allowed Fang Senyan to secure them, he could have easily pocketed an additional ten thousand Universal Credits. As it was, managing to sell them at all now was a bonus.

After the dispersal, Fang Senyan should have returned to his Nightmare Space and headed straight home to rest. The intricate sparring he’d engaged in during the auction had left him profoundly exhausted; his eyelids were already fighting a fierce battle, yet he forced himself to maintain a façade of alertness.

This was because he sensed that the Miner's database might hold access to a trove of classified information. Although the conditions for achieving Ambition suggested some discrepancies with the actual circumstances, the information itself was undeniably useful for the immediate situation.

At this point, Fang Senyan had already received the Empire Grand Celebration’s supplementary promotion mission. This was one of those highly coveted, unconventional missions that, unlike the time dilation experienced by Reef and the others when traversing worlds, would not delay his normal entry into the Nightmare Worlds for further adventures.

A bold idea began to form in Fang Senyan’s mind: he wondered if he could skillfully weave his way through the current situation to complete the subsequent mission—Silver Series Sub-Chapter: Injection—concurrently. By doing so, he could potentially prevent being forcibly separated from his team and transported to a designated world in his next traversal, where he would be required to infuse the necessary energy into the Liquid Metal Enhanced Lifeform.

Upon hearing Fang Senyan’s request, the Miner began querying the data. After a moment, a troubled look crossed his face: “Your first mission involves military rank, elevating its secrecy level to Yellow. Your second mission, potentially involving the appearance of a Divine Artifact, has been escalated to Red. If I want to search that data, I’ll have to go through illicit channels…”

Fang Senyan immediately understood the implication: “If there are costs associated with that, please name your price.”

The Miner shrugged. “Accessing data at the Red and Yellow secrecy levels… requires at least a General-level clearance. Bypassing that security won't be cheap.”

Fang Senyan smiled faintly. “We have an old saying back home: you get what you pay for. I’m not afraid of the expense; I’m only afraid the intelligence will be inaccurate.”

The Miner stated matter-of-factly, “You can rest assured about the accuracy of the information. Twelve thousand. Ten thousand will cover the reaction costs for the bypass, and two thousand is my hazard fee for risking the breach.”

Fang Senyan promptly transferred the twelve thousand. The Miner quickly provided a series of documents: “Supplementary promotion missions are usually awarded to those who have made exceptional contributions—perhaps ranking first in Honor Value on a high-level battlefield, or eliminating a key figure on the Red Notice list, and so on. You have truly excellent luck, catching this opportunity during the Empire’s celebration. Analysis suggests these missions most often involve exterminating rebellious natives, followed by mapping and collecting information on an unexplored territory, and finally, possibly a rescue operation.”

“As for the energy infusion for the Liquid Metal Enhanced Lifeform, it requires traveling to a specific world sector to gather rare ores with extremely poor metal content for it to consume. These ores are known as Speckled Crystals. Hmm, why does it require ores with such poor metal content?”

“That’s because the Liquid Metal Enhanced Lifeform’s consumption capacity is very weak initially; it needs slow cultivation. Feeding it high-metal-content ores right away would be like giving a baby pure fatty meat—entirely detrimental. Furthermore, the non-metallic components in Speckled Crystals greatly aid in the division and proliferation of the metallic cells.”

“Therefore, based on your requirements, theoretically, there is a chance these two missions can be merged and completed together. When selecting the mission, you must prioritize a target planet that is as desolate and primitive as possible.”

“Because Speckled Crystals, fundamentally, can be viewed as a type of metallic lifeform, and they are exceptionally sensitive to contamination. The more developed an area is, the less likely they are to exist. To put it visually: the exhaust fumes from a single spaceship landing can be enough to cause Speckled Crystals across nearly a thousand square kilometers to wither and dry up.”

Fang Senyan recorded this data, yet a flicker of astonishment crossed his face: “Wait, when I go to that world, I won't arrive directly through a portal?”

The Miner looked deeply at Fang Senyan: “You are now a formal Lieutenant Colonel; you are qualified to access some higher levels of secrecy.” (This involves extensive background exposition, which was previously posted online, but many readers might not know it. Therefore, it’s being included here in the free public section of the book rather than a VIP chapter. Please check the public section/Work-Related/Background.)

After hearing the Miner’s explanation, even someone as astute as Fang Senyan paused in stunned silence: “So, this supplementary promotion mission I’ve received is actually part of the Planetary Colonization Plan? And the destination won't be those parallel worlds ravaged by temporal turbulence, but actual planets existing in the future universe?”

The Miner nodded. “Precisely.”

Fang Senyan stiffened slightly, unable to help but say, “This truly exceeds my expectations.”

The Miner chuckled. “You don’t need to be overly tense. Before they dispatch you on a mission, they will certainly subject you to a series of training sessions to help you adapt to the environment as much as possible, preventing you from running off to die needlessly. Don't just mention Lieutenant Colonels; every Contractor who reaches the rank of Major is considered an asset.”

Fang Senyan nodded. “I understand.”

By this time, the auction was over, and the surrounding virtual reality scenery was beginning to fade, losing its energy support and becoming unstable. Fang Senyan looked at the Miner. “Is there any other information you can offer me?”

The Miner pondered for a moment and smiled. “Unlike you folks, our workplaces are mostly on alien planets, with only rare opportunities to visit parallel worlds. So, I can only tell you this: while distracting yourself to find an extra opportunity in a volatile parallel adventure world might be a good tactic, on undeveloped planets, focusing intently on your primary objective is the key to survival. Distraction there is only inviting trouble.”

With that, the Miner vanished from Fang Senyan’s sight. Fang Senyan then returned to his affiliated Nightmare Space. He half-reclined on a lounge chair, pressing his index finger against his temple, feeling a throbbing pain. Beyond that, his mind was a complete fog, leaving no room for thought.

In a hazy state, he exited the Nightmare World and returned to reality.

Stepping out of the stairwell, Fang Senyan noticed that although it was only past nine in the morning, the subtropical sun was already slanting down fiercely, pouring its heat directly onto his skin. While this UV intensity might be strong for people vacationing or working, for Fang Senyan, who desperately needed relaxation, it was a thoroughly enjoyable, warm sensation.

His head heavy with fatigue, he ambled into a coconut grove, rented a local hammock, ordered a fresh coconut, and settled in comfortably.

An indescribable wave of comfort immediately washed over his entire body.

The sparse leaves of the coconut trees filtered some of the sunlight onto him, which felt wonderfully soothing. Fang Senyan took a sip of the coconut’s sweet, clear juice, letting the straw hang from his mouth, and just as he settled down, a soft snore escaped him as he drifted directly into a deep sleep.

Fang Senyan was awakened by the elderly woman who rented out the hammocks. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and climbed out. Although his body was still craving more sleep, he could see the sky in the distance was already painted in a fiery sunset—the sun had dipped below the horizon, making it past seven in the evening. Staying in the hammock any longer would definitely be detrimental to his health.

Fang Senyan shook his head, and the myriad thoughts that had been swirling in his mind rushed back. He felt an odd itch and soreness on his back, and when he reached back to scratch, he discovered his entire back was covered in deep, crisscrossing indentations left by the hammock ropes.

Furthermore, as Fang Senyan turned his head, he gasped sharply. Because he had been so utterly exhausted, his muscles had completely relaxed during sleep. Combined with his hasty movement to sit up, he had wrenched his neck—a sharp, tearing pain akin to a cramp.

In reality, Fang Senyan’s condition was relatively mild. In hospitals, there had even been cases where patients died from fractured cervical vertebrae caused by excessive drinking. This occurred because, deeply anesthetized by alcohol, the neck muscles were completely slack; when a friend moved the drunkard too roughly, the head swung directly from left to right, resulting in a direct cervical fracture in the absence of muscular protection...

Fang Senyan clutched his neck, gasping and repeatedly tapping it, before walking toward Pier 55. Sleep was no longer his primary need; his starving stomach was issuing a stern protest. He found a roadside food stall and sat down.

The owner was quite familiar with Fang Senyan and immediately brought him two freshly caught deep-sea oysters. Prying them open with a knife, he slurped the juice—the taste was slightly fishy, but once accustomed to it, one could appreciate a very unique texture.

Then, because Fang Senyan was ravenous, he ordered a full table of side dishes: oyster omelet, Guangdong congee, stir-fried cuttlefish, stinky tofu, and more. The signature 'Golden Taste Shrimp' here was exceptional—the shrimp head was coated in starch, while the tender tail meat remained intact. The fried 'artificial shrimp head' was crispy and delicious, and the tail meat was tender, succulent, and unforgettable.

After filling his stomach, Fang Senyan was just about to head back for a nap when his Nightmare Imprint suddenly heated up, indicating an anomaly in his storage space. He knew something significant must have happened, assuming it was the result of Ambition and Repentance finally interacting. However, when Fang Senyan excitedly checked the details closely, his expression immediately grew grave.