In the dead of night, Fang Senyan and the others abruptly opened their eyes from their sleep.

An indescribable sensation washed over them, a feeling saturated with astonishing majesty, akin to the boundless, profound darkness of the firmament descending from above, an all-encompassing blanket carrying an irresistible, supreme will! Under the scan of this sensation, the unique markings growing on Fang Senyan’s arms began to resonate powerfully, an event that could not be suppressed regardless of their efforts.

Instantly, everyone understood a grim reality! The Predator mothership had arrived at Planet Uproth and was beginning to scan the lifeforms upon it! The Predators should not yet know that Fang Senyan and his group had deliberately branded themselves, but once those beings rendezvoused with the advance team, they would inevitably deduce what had occurred.

According to the intelligence gleaned from the captured Predator warrior, while screening the branded organisms to weed out the "spies" might be difficult, they could, at most, delay the process by three days...

Fang Senyan never banked his life on low-probability events, so he calculated that from this moment on, their group had, at best, only a day and a half remaining! This timeframe even had to account for the buffer time needed to return to the vicinity of the Mushroom Rock and excavate the Hornet probe they had used for descent! A heavy feeling settled in everyone's hearts.

Unable to rest, they stepped out to gaze up at the heavens.

The dark sky was a canvas dotted with countless, brilliant stars.

Encircling them, between the two bright, ochre-yellow asteroid belts of Uproth, a thumb-sized black speck suddenly materialized in the celestial sphere! That had to be a Predator vessel.

Normally, spacecraft designed for ultra-long-range interstellar travel would not land directly on a planetary surface unless absolutely necessary, preferring instead to deploy smaller sub-craft for descent.

Suddenly, a chilling thought struck Fang Senyan, and he slowly asked: “I wonder if you’ve ever considered one thing?” Aldaris glanced at Fang Senyan: “You’re probably referring to our retreat path.” Fang Senyan nodded silently: “Compared to the Predators, human technology, while arguably within the same general era, still has a noticeable gap—rather like the technological disparity between the Chinese Eighth Route Army and the American forces during the Korean War.

So, can the Hornet probe we used for escape truly evade pursuit from these beings?” Silence descended, and the atmosphere grew awkward.

Yet, Fang Senyan’s eyes gleamed with a cold light: “The answer is already in our hearts; we were just unwilling to face it.

Let me state it: we probably can’t outrun them, but that absolutely does not mean our path to survival is cut off!” Fang Senyan’s next words instantly galvanized everyone: “Think about it: why did the Predators send an advance team? The reason is simple: the advance team can arrive here faster...

Have you considered what this implies? It means that discounting the vastness of cosmic travel, the speed of a Predator sub-craft can actually be faster than that of the main mothership! Therefore, our only chance lies in assassinating them and seizing their vessel!” “In other words, if we recklessly blast off into the sky in that Hornet device, a single Predator laser blast will finish us off, leaving us with lingering regrets! But if we stay on the ground, given this species’ arrogance, they are bound to deploy warriors to hunt us down...

Now, would you rather face an irresistible beam of energy, or face high-ranking Predator warriors with whom we still have a chance for a fair fight?” Undoubtedly, Fang Senyan’s words opened many avenues of thought.

The initial hurdle centered on how to pilot a captured Predator vessel.

However, this difficulty was quickly resolved: Rony possessed universal piloting skills—an ability he had acquired through a bizarre stroke of luck, allowing him to master the operation of any machinery after a short period of contact.

This mastery wasn't limited to Predator ships; according to Rony, in the Transformers world, he had even piloted a heavily damaged, comatose Starscream! It was evident that every individual present had a spectacular past.

What Fang Senyan didn't disclose was that even if Rony’s capability proved insufficient, the Predator mask itself contained a simplified ship operation manual, meaning Artificial Human No.

1 could also take the helm in a critical moment.

The key to successfully commandeering a Predator sub-craft, however, was precise timing—not too soon, nor too late.

If the enemy suspected their intentions prematurely, the endeavor would become exponentially harder, as they might have countermeasures ready.

In short, the operation required three principles: stability, precision, and ruthlessness! Furthermore, even with the decision made to seize a ship, Fang Senyan and the others still had two potential courses of action: The first option was to target and seize one of the sub-craft deployed by the initial advance team.

The second option involved letting events unfold until the mothership, upon locating them, inevitably dispatched a sub-craft loaded with a full complement of Predators to "clean up the trash." Choosing the first option meant limiting the engagement with the villainous Fabro people to half a day, leaving only a day for the complex maneuvers required to capture the ship, which would leave no time to extract the Xium element.

The second option was to wait for the Predators’ "cleanup crew" to descend nearby and confront them directly—a direct, fast approach, but one that guaranteed a death match where only victory was acceptable.

These two plans sparked intense debate.

Ultimately, Fang Senyan suggested addressing the wicked Fabro people first.

The decision for the second stage would depend on the outcome of the first.

If they suffered significant setbacks here, they would immediately enact Plan One.

In any case, if this initial plan succeeded, surviving to this point and managing to steal a Predator vessel would undoubtedly count as a meritorious deed overshadowing past failures.

With the strategy agreed upon, the group lost all desire for sleep.

Consulting the map and the testimonies of their two captives, they set off under the cover of darkness toward the encampment of the Black Fungus Tribe.

It seemed the Black Fungus Tribe had ruled this territory for so long, basking in their tyrannical status, that no one had dared to attack them for a considerable time; consequently, the tribe’s defenses appeared remarkably lax.

The settlements of the villainous Fabro people were typically situated in valleys—and these valleys had to be humid, never dry, as dryness inhibited the growth of the fungus they called the "Black Liver." Fang Senyan and his team dispatched several snoring sentries along the way before reaching the ridge overlooking a valley saturated with a dense, putrid stench.

The scene that unfolded before them was horrifying.

The dismembered corpses and flesh of numerous victims were piled beneath the massive caps of the "Black Liver" fungi.

The air reeked of decay.

In addition to the masses of "Black Liver" mushrooms, the valley floor contained clusters of shack-like structures.

When the wind blew, vast, web-like white filaments floated off these shacks, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a ghostly realm.

The villainous Fabro people could secrete these white, thread-like substances, which they used to line the interiors of the immense, simple hexagonal structures built from brushwood, serving as reinforcement.

These shacks were the common dwellings of the Fabro people.

Sharp squeals occasionally echoed from within—the sound of the Fabro people snoring.

Though they were strict vegetarians, the sheer brutality and viciousness of these beings were in no way inferior to any carnivorous group.

Fang Senyan signaled Rony and, following the original plan, handed him two items: two severed left arms of the Predators.

Fang Senyan had already instructed Rony on how to operate these items, primarily teaching him how to activate the self-destruct sequence embedded in the limbs.

After careful study, Fang Senyan had determined that the Fabro tribe had two primary vulnerabilities: the malignant "Black Liver" fungus and the Klut mineral deposits they hoarded.

Klut mineral was indispensable to every single Fabro individual, and the more powerful the Fabro warrior, the greater their need for Klut minerals! Therefore, it was impossible that this strategic resource was simply mined and consumed daily by ordinary tribesmen; a bad day without a harvest could lead to starvation.

Consequently, there had to be a storage location for the Klut minerals.

Fang Senyan’s plan was for Rony to stealthily infiltrate the area and place the two Predator arms as timed bombs in critical locations.

The destructive power of these bombs was undeniable; reliable data indicated a blast radius spanning several city blocks, with the core detonation power rivaling a nuclear weapon.

It was conceivable that once both major weaknesses of the Fabro people were detonated simultaneously, it would cause spectacular chaos.

At that moment, a small contingent could set fires within the camp to exacerbate the disorder, while the main force would advance for a swift, decisive strike against the Fabro leader, situated deep within the valley—a plan deemed highly feasible.

According to the assignment, Pokan and Aldaris were designated to remain behind to maximize the chaos.

Pokan could spontaneously manipulate the terrain to create disadvantages for the enemy, while Aldaris’s Mind Storm would be a devastating weapon when the enemy forces were too disorganized to mount a coherent assault.

It must be admitted that if this plan were executed successfully, the probability of success was high.

But plans never keep pace with reality! Fang Senyan never anticipated that Rony would encounter a major obstacle during the very first step of planting the bombs inside the valley! (To be continued)RQ