Dealing with Paul, this fellow, and competing on who had more money was truly a disgusting endeavor. That guy had already raked in a fortune from the spaceship refitting project before they departed, and from this, one could surmise that he was typically the sort who excelled at hoarding wealth. Thus, his actual amassed fortune must be staggering.

Frankly, Fang Senyan strongly disapproved of this philosophy of accumulating riches. Money only qualified as money when it was spent to convert into immediate combat power; otherwise, if one perished, it amounted to nothing.

Still, the vastness of the space ensured endless wonders, and one couldn't rule out the possibility of some reincarnated Grandet who, upon seeing the colossal numbers in their account, would erupt with extremely high-tier combat power, ready to defend their assets to the death...

The Dark Crystal sold for 380,000 Universal Points. As Paul was the purchaser, he naturally couldn't share any of the spoils, so Fang Senyan, Ronnie, and Aldaris divided the money among the three of them. At this moment, Android Number One delivered another exciting piece of news: the field automaton, once repaired, had naturally become a free porter. And inside its cargo hold, there was actually a small pile of rare ores. These were likely geological samples collected by survivors from the crashed ship back in the day, and now they were a boon to Fang Senyan and the others.

Among this small pile of rare ores, Fang Senyan noticed a red one and a purple one. The liquid metal lifeform was very interested in them, so Fang Senyan promptly bought them, and no one was tactless enough to bid against him, meaning the acquisition cost was a mere ten thousand Universal Points.

Fang Senyan passed on the rest of the rare ores. He understood the unspoken rule that if he ate the meat, others had to have the soup; to maintain team stability, one had to at least appear fair—even superficially so. In the end, from this heap of rare ores, six unknown strange items emerged, with the most valuable one potentially fetching fifteen Merit Points. Even the remaining rare ores, after being assessed by the android’s offline database, could be sold on the universe's second-hand market for at least a 300% profit.

Next, Fang Senyan claimed a need for solitude to gain some private time. He took out the Tear Stone and the two newly acquired ores. The red ore, upon appraisal, was identified as the Flame Gemstone. Appraising the purple ore required paying Universal Points, a sum Fang Senyan regrettably had no intention of spending—he first carefully chipped away the fragmented debris, then used a fine brush to remove impurities, and finally "fed" it to the picky liquid metal master.

Without waiting for Fang Senyan to summon it, the liquid metal lifeform had already detached itself from his glove, transforming into a pool of silver liquid the size of a washbasin, occasionally undulating like an amphibian soft-bodied creature, with brilliant silver-white light shimmering across its surface intermittently.

Fang Senyan tossed the three ores into the liquid metal lifeform. It was evident the creature was impatient; even before the Tear Stone and the Flame Gemstone landed on its surface, it split out two plump tentacles, coiled them up, and stuffed them into its own body.

This consumption process appeared vastly different from the last time. When devouring the pineal gland of the Ant Queen, the liquid metal lifeform's eating manner was extremely unsightly—it was practically a ravenous gulping down, not even bothering to spit out grape skins or seeds. This time, however, it was far more refined, resembling a child slowly licking a beloved lollipop. Furthermore, small bubbles occasionally rose from the silver-white surface of the liquid metal and popped. No impurities were released; it was likely as simple and amusing as a goldfish blowing bubbles, indicating the creature was in an exceptionally pleasant mood.

Fang Senyan sighed, waiting patiently as he watched the three stones slowly shrink, melt, and finally vanish.

Having finished its meal, the metallic lifeform re-coiled itself around Fang Senyan’s wrist, and immediately, the Nightmare Imprint delivered a prompt: "Silver Series Mission Hidden Branch Chapter: Infusion in Progress...."

"The Liquid Metal Lifeform has devoured a critical mission item, absorbing exotic metallic components which will greatly aid its growth."

"Notice: Your Liquid Metal Enhanced Lifeform has gained growth; mission completion rate has increased to 78%. Please continue searching for Tear Stones or similar items to increase the completion rate. The higher the completion rate, the better your reward."

"Notice: Due to being fed extremely rare and precious metal ores, your Liquid Metal Enhanced Lifeform has acquired a branching ability and its goodwill towards you has risen to the initial critical threshold. You will receive your first bonus augmentation."

"Siphon: Whenever an enemy (including weapons) makes any contact with the armor/weapon coated by the liquid metal, the Liquid Metal Enhanced Lifeform will analyze or memorize the enemy. Once seven accumulations are reached, the Liquid Metal Enhanced Lifeform will calculate the enemy's attack trajectory, thereby nullifying the enemy's next attack."

"It has this effect?" Fang Senyan was genuinely surprised and delighted, feeling an almost comical sense of nurturing an infant—as if the more diverse and balanced the food provided to a baby, the healthier the child would grow.

At this moment, footsteps suddenly sounded from outside—it was Android Number One. He walked over and bowed respectfully to Fang Senyan, saying, "Master, it seems there is a matter requiring your personal attention."

Fang Senyan frowned. "What is it?"

Android Number One’s waist remained bent at a perfect ninety-degree angle as he spoke slowly and deliberately, "It concerns those native humans. None of their parasitized companions seem salvageable; the Xenomorph larvae have grown too large. Furthermore, every live Xenomorph larva is a fortune."

At this point, Android Number One paused, adding with lingering eagerness, "A considerable fortune."

Fang Senyan nodded. "I will be there in five minutes."

However, Android Number One showed no sign of leaving, remaining in place. Fang Senyan turned back to him. "Do you require anything else?"

"Yes," Android Number One affirmed. "Master, I actually possess many secrets. This is determined by my highest operational authority, not by my personal will."

Fang Senyan paused. "I am aware of that; that's why I've never truly trusted you. Why are you bringing this up now?"

Android Number One looked at Fang Senyan with utmost seriousness. "Actually, previous intelligence was flawed. After we landed on Planet Upros, contact between the two sides did not cease. In reality, the Little Hawk still had a means to breach the blockade and acquire data instantaneously via one-way transmission from the camera in my right eye. Of course, doing so came at a rather severe cost."

"What cost?" Fang Senyan asked intently.

"The Little Hawk's seven reactors were forced into overload. At this rate, the new fortress warship, which has been in service for less than three years, will be completely scrapped within three months—utterly destroyed."

"I understand. Continue," Fang Senyan began listening intently to every word Android Number One spoke.

"I sense the overloaded scanning began right after you captured Mushroom Rock... and it has continued right up to this moment."

Hearing this, the muscles in Fang Senyan’s face couldn't help but twitch! He immediately grasped the crucial issue: "What kind of emergency could force those people to go to the extreme of risking the total loss of their warship??"... Could it be that they, too, were backed into a corner and were seizing upon me, a potential lifeline?"

Fang Senyan's emotions churned internally, but his expression remained still as a deep pool. He fixed his gaze on Android Number One and asked a pivotal question: "Since many of your actions are dictated by the highest authority, there must surely be a directive within that authority prohibiting you from disclosing secrets? So, why are you able to tell me this now?"

Android Number One straightened up, meeting Fang Senyan's eyes, and stated each word distinctly: "Because someone violated the glorious Empire's Constitution and remotely unlocked the restraint code within my brain! If this matter is exposed, he, his descendants, his descendants' spouses, and all his relatives will be executed! Because this is blasphemy against the sacred majesty of the Empire!!"

Fang Senyan instantly froze as if turned to granite; it seemed his breathing and heartbeat momentarily ceased. All his energy surged into his brain, dedicated solely to processing this information; only his eyes blinked rapidly.

After a long silence, Fang Senyan slowly exhaled. "I understand. It seems someone is staking everything on me, using this opportunity to transmit a message. Damn it... a staggering crisis has arisen between you and him! Does this mean I, too, am about to face an astonishing peril?"

Five minutes later, Fang Senyan arrived on the ground. He saw the group of captured humans gathered together, their faces grim. In front of the humans lay two flat rocks, upon which rested the two humans parasitized by the Xenomorph larvae. One of them had a chest smeared with blood—clearly, an incision had been made—but regretfully, the Xenomorph larva still seemed quite alive.

Fang Senyan quickly checked the time and said to Android Number One beside him, "Go check if Lord Dardanion has awakened?" (To be continued)