Fang Senyan was indeed unhappy about the 1000-point merit prerequisite for promotion. However, his elevation to colonel had always been a just reward - precisely what he deserved after successfully landing on Eupros planet and braving countless hardships before transmitting through the built-in camera of Android One the truth about those incredibly rich mineral veins.

A large quantity of Qiong element rods were still stowed in Fang Senyan's personal space. That was truly the main event!

Fang Senyan clearly understood the principle that it was better to have one bird in hand than two in the bush. He believed the alliance members comprehended this as well. While Eupros' mineral content was indeed abundant, abundance didn't necessarily mean rapid conversion into usable high-purity elements - just like how everyone knew the ocean contained rich oil reserves, yet all nations still fixated on the Middle East.

Eupros was arguably the epitome of barren wastelands. Even ignoring the existence of Blood Race beings, merely those two damned deadly asteroid belts made transporting any exploration and mining equipment there an arduous challenge - let alone establishing stable production capabilities.

Even if production succeeded, who could guarantee the Blood Race wouldn't sabotage it? Constructing a full set of production lines might take decades, yet destruction could occur in mere seconds.

Thus fundamentally speaking, Fang Senyan's crew had painted a beautiful illusion. But this starving empire still needed to rely on the Qiong element rods they currently carried for emergency supplies.

With such thoughts in mind, Fang Senyan entered General Mungo's office. Hmm - judging by the changes in the bald man's shoulder insignia, he'd now been promoted to lieutenant general.

As Fang Senyan stepped inside, Mungo was resting his chin on a jawline scraped raw by shaves that were more like razors, carefully watching a battle replay and related combat damage data. A quick glance at the screen told Fang Senyan it showed Lieutenant General Mungo mobilizing nearly half of the fortress' mobile combat forces into those asteroid belts to rendezvous with him.

The bastard was clearly applying pressure from the get-go.

Despite knowing this well, Fang Senyan still found himself susceptible - after all, he'd never experienced flying through asteroid belts where over half his life hung on pure luck. He couldn't deny feeling a twinge of emotion when seeing numerous allied warships rushing to rescue him at that moment.

Mungo noticed Fang Senyan and paused the screen with an exasperated sigh: "Colonel, I need your help."

Fang Senyan neither wanted to refuse nor appear vulnerable, so he chose silence. The golden rule was: every extra word might cost tens of millions!

What Mungo rambled about for hours amounted to nothing but his unauthorized fleet resulting in heavy casualties and impending accountability.

But Fang Senyan had already learned most facts from Archer earlier - that this guy had secured an exceptionally powerful connection, practically bullying the base with impunity. Unauthorized military was child's play compared to what he'd done!

Faced with such a stone wall, what could Mungo do? He still needed someone else's help. Direct court-martial would only backfire.

Two hours of tense standoff later: Mungo was foaming at the mouth while Fang Senyan yawned his ears raw. The colonel certainly didn't believe this was the only interested party - without price shopping, he'd never commit to anything.

Just as tensions reached their peak and Mungo prepared to concede with a bitter smile, someone knocked on the door. Before he could respond, the doors silently slid open!

A line of imposing soldiers in dark red combat armor strode in. All bore lieutenant colonel ranks. Fang Senyan sensed an indescribable deathly aura from them - as if their life spans had been brutally compressed, condensing sixty years into six explosive years, always ready to perform at optimal levels.

These dark-red armored troops formed two neat lines and completely ignored Mungo before a lieutenant colonel activated the holographic projector. A man unfamiliar yet not foreign entered through the door: it was none other than Major Fijian, who had previously clashed with Fang Senyan. He licked his lips and looked at Mungo with evident amusement: "Surprised, old friend? I should be in military court right now, shouldn't I?"

Mungo snorted coldly: "Bloodguard... how did you manage to get on the old man's good side? Strange - what value could a dog like you possibly hold for him?"

Major Fijian laughed uproariously: "Originally none! But who expected that seemingly idle move of freely offering your flagship FJ01 would become my lifeboat. My informant returned alive, carrying 166 pure Qiong element rods at 99.999% purity - and there's my greatest value!"

Fang Senyan instantly understood: Ronnie and Major Fijian had clearly been entangled long ago! Evidently, Fijian had spared no effort for Ronnie, so naturally, upon Ronnie's safe return, the Qiong element rods must have been prioritized to be sold to him.

Daradan's brain injury could only be healed within the Nightmare Space. That meant without Fang Senyan's commitment revealed, Major Fijian had indeed seized a significant advantage - after all, possession is nine-tenths of the law.

The holographic image flickered as Fijian mentioned "the old man" appeared again through 3D projection. The aged figure now displayed an unusually genial demeanor, first expressing thanks for Fang Senyan's contributions to the empire before probing about the quantity of Qiong element rods in his possession.

Fang Senyan had carried the Wasp-class flyer and several rare items: the King Jelly from Unicron Ants (which enhanced four-dimensional attributes) and Xenomorph ovum fluid (reducing 33% acid damage when applied). These consumed considerable space, so he'd only brought back 221 Qiong element rods in total.

Of course Fang Senyan wouldn't sell them all. He bluntly stated the round figure of two hundred - an astonishing amount! The old man continued to persuade him into cooperation while Fang Senyan merely smiled enigmatically, a classic case of not lifting your stick until you see the rabbit.

But these people refused to let go easily and promptly summoned Ronnie for demonstration, instantly dispelling Fang Senyan's doubts.

It turned out the Nightmare Space had cooperative ties with humanity. With such collaboration came mutual benefits - naturally allowing some degree of influence over the space itself. These Qiong element rods were completely useless to them, akin to carrying a ton of 97-octane gasoline back to ancient times, thus best traded with the empire.

Ronnie provided 150 Qiong element rods in exchange for:

Firstly, reducing required merit points by 50% for next rank promotion

Secondly, three task selection opportunities within the empire - avoiding dangerous missions while securing high-value ones first

Next, receiving the Imperial Purple Star Medal granting additional privileges based on rank: discounts and purchase rights for new honor potions. Most importantly (as Fang Senyan noted), attacks against lower-ranked contractors would inflict 20% increased damage.

The new honor potion had independent cooldown period - a powerful drug instantly increasing maximum life points by 1500, lasting 24 hours, and auctionable!

And finally:

As gratitude for their contribution to the empire, they'd receive raw materials for a blood weapon, with the Nightmare Space personally crafting one specifically for Ronnie. And remarkably generously, they even let Ronnie choose what type of weapon it would be!

***

At this point, especially regarding that final condition, Fang Senyan's heart skipped several beats - nearly agreeing outright! But just then, the holographic projection flickered again and another figure emerged.

A young man appeared who looked casually disheveled yet radiated an air of quiet confidence. At first glance he seemed lazy and fidgety, like some typical untidy rich kid, but only through occasional glints in his eyes did one discern his latent arrogance and sharpness.

When the old man arrived, Mungo obviously couldn't rival him on mere presence alone - so naturally sought out someone higher up.

Prince Pongbalu was currently a core figure at the Big Ben Research Institute. While the institute could mobilize entire imperial resources, its consumption was equally enormous - just like how it still desperately lacked Qiong element rods! Upon hearing Mungo's account and learning half of them had already been cunningly seized by the old man...

His anger boiled over instantly.

Upon appearing, Prince Pongbalu immediately took control of the base's weapon systems without hesitation. He launched lasers and machine guns indiscriminately in a brutal display - first cutting down those twenty Bloodguard soldiers without delay!