The azure Soul Crystal shimmered with an eerie light in Fang Senyan’s palm. He took one last look at Pontan, seeing not a trace of fear or timidity in his eyes, but an unyielding resolve.

Undoubtedly, Pontan’s reaction gave Fang Senyan the confidence he needed. He drew a deep breath, activated the Protoss Soul Crystal, and designated the target for its use.

Instantly, clear fissures spiderwebbed across the crystal’s surface, accompanied by a series of dry, cracking sounds in the air—like the distinct snaps of a river freezing or thawing in the winter flood season. The crystal then disintegrated into fine, crystalline blue powder, drifting into the air like scattered diamond starlight, breathtakingly beautiful, almost dreamlike.

Yet, these flecks of dust momentarily coalesced into the distorted specter of a Protoss soul, unleashing a silent, agonizing shriek of refusal, as if desperately trying to escape its tragic fate. Fang Senyan, surprised by this bizarre phenomenon, couldn't help but look back at Pontan and ask:

“Are you absolutely certain you want to go through with this?”

He saw Pontan’s face alight with sheer euphoria. It turned out the man wasn't worried about dying; he was terrified Fang Senyan had been bluffing about the entire process!

Having witnessed it firsthand, confidence flooded him. Seeing Pontan’s transformation, Fang Senyan decisively swept the floating dust toward Pontan, gently pushing it forward.

The fine dust billowed up and was inhaled through Pontan’s nostrils. Immediately, Pontan’s face contorted in agony; it felt as though every bone in his body was seizing up with rusty pain, and his right leg went numb, heavy, and unresponsive.

He tried to scream in anguish, but the only result was the contortion of his facial muscles; no sound escaped. Amidst the torment was a strange, stinging numbness, a bizarre sensation as if his entire limb were a candle of wax, slowly dissolving and melting away.

Fang Senyan sighed. Since he understood nothing of the enhancement's principles, he could offer Pontan no aid, but this was the path Pontan had chosen. They could only leave it to fate.

Before departing, however, Fang Senyan did his utmost: he forced three swigs of Endless Vodka down Pontan’s throat and slipped him a bottle of his self-mixed enhancement serum. Fang Senyan had no idea if it would help, but giving it was better than withholding it.

The next morning, Fang Senyan was awakened by uproarious laughter. He opened his eyes to see Pontan’s face flushed crimson and twisted in excitement. The man was violently shaking another engineering SCV by the shoulder, roaring with laughter:

“Hahahaha! I did it, I really did it! I can feel the power surging within me!”

The poor SCV’s helmet rang like a gong from the impact. Before Fang Senyan could speak, Gilgishana snapped at him irritably:

“What in the hell are you doing?”

Pontan grinned wickedly: “Hey, little doll, I’m not afraid of you now. Want to go one-on-one?”

Gilgishana was a woman as wild as they come—in the military, it was rare for any woman outside of nursing to survive without a certain edge—and she immediately grabbed the nearby machine gun, pulling back the charging handle with a loud clack, staring fiercely:

“Try me!”

Before she could say more, Pontan charged like a maddened bull. The speed and brute force were leagues beyond anything he possessed before! Gilgishana could only raise her machine gun to parry the impact, but Pontan was already bringing the welding torch down over his head!

Though he hadn't flipped the switch, the thirty-kilogram welding torch slammed onto the gun’s body with a sharp crack. The rivets on the machine gun exploded outward, and the once straight rifle barrel bent into a distinct concave shape.

Gilgishana was smashed backward, stumbling before falling heavily to the ground, her face pale. A suffocating pressure gripped her chest, almost making her vomit. Pontan pressed his advantage, stepping forward and shoving the nozzle of the welding torch against her neck, sneering triumphantly:

“You’re dead! Hahahaha! Aren't you supposed to keep your promise and spend a night with me now?”

Fang Senyan rolled his eyes internally. Indeed, lust was a powerful engine for human evolution; the brute had evidently summoned such incredible strength purely over the desire for a woman’s favors.

It was now clear that Pontan’s body seemed physically larger. His previous musculature looked merely aesthetic; now, it housed explosive power. Veins coiled like angry snakes across the bulging muscle masses, giving the impression that biting down hard would cause the muscle fibers to resist with savage fury, emitting a low, grinding sound.

“Are you on stimulants??” Gilgishana coughed violently, incredulous. “Aren't you afraid of dying?”

Stimulants were drugs whose side effects were severely underestimated. These internal chemical injection systems, when administered to a human, produced extremely strong positive effects… and negative ones.

This cocktail, mixing synthetic adrenaline, endorphins, and a cognitive enhancer, would instantly stimulate the nerves, giving the injected soldier immense boosts to speed and reaction time. However, long-term side effects included, but were not limited to: insomnia, wasting, manic/mildly manic states, convulsions, paranoia, hallucinations, internal bleeding, and brain necrosis. Therefore, stimulants usually had to be administered alongside medical stabilizers.

SCVs or ordinary humans were strictly forbidden from using stimulants—this wasn't a restriction, but actual protection. Pure application of stimulants without corresponding medical drugs could lead to instant death, which was why Gilgishana posed the question.

“Wahaha, use that stuff??” Pontan roared with laughter. “This is my power! The legendary strength granted to me by His Excellency! Though this power nearly killed me, I crawled back from the gates of hell.”

Watching the ecstatic Pontan, Fang Senyan suddenly received a notification:

“Plot Character Pontan (Elite SCV) is utterly awestruck by you. The relationship between you has shifted to Worship. You may now view his detailed profile.”

Pontan (Elite SCV) Base Attributes: Strength 88 / Agility 65 / Stamina 38 / Perception 50 / Spirit 28 / Intelligence 31 Elite Plot Creature Special Attribute: This creature gains an additional 100 HP for every point of Stamina. Equipment: SCV Specialized Armor (Defense +10) Weapon: Multi-point Welding Torch. Ability: Bulky (Creatures with this ability gain a 20% Strength increase when attacking targets smaller than them and have a 33% chance to knock down targets smaller than themselves.) Acquired Prefix Name: Skilled. His full title is now: Skilled Engineering SCV Pontan (Elite). Creatures possessing this prefix often exhibit extraordinary skill in certain areas. With this prefix, Pontan's resource gathering speed has increased by 500%, and his construction speed as an Engineering SCV has increased by 500% (one equals five), while saving 20% on building materials. As Pontan’s strength continues to improve, this prefix will also evolve.

Fang Senyan then looked at the other engineering SCVs; their average attributes hovered around forty points, illustrating the massive leap. When Pontan claimed his strength was a gift from Fang Senyan, the others were stunned, even SNAKE looked completely disbelieving.

At this point, Fang Senyan maintained silence regarding all questions, tossing the chaotic scene over to Pontan, who was currently preoccupied with harassing Gilgishana due to his heightened lust. Fang Senyan had much to do after waking up; his first priority was finding Ronnie. Since Ronnie had called for aid, he must have left some clues for him to follow.

Naturally, Pontan would remain behind to do the hard labor; establishing a base quickly seemed like a good choice. Fang Senyan planned to venture out with SNAKE again to gather intelligence. Despite the many secrets SNAKE harbored, Fang Senyan had undeniably acquired a wealth of firsthand information through their dealings.

It was through SNAKE’s briefing that Fang Senyan learned the planet of Lost Temple was far larger than Earth, but it contained vast Death Zones permeated by a virulent poison lethal to both Terrans and Protoss. Even the hardy Zerg could not hatch eggs within these areas.

Therefore, only the areas colored in a dark, ashen hue were safe for travel. In total, these safe zones amounted to roughly the size of Taiwan Province, scattered across the planet in fragments.

This meant that Fang Senyan’s search for friends or foes might not be as complicated as initially imagined. SNAKE also informed him that the Lost Dark Templar Temple was not fixed in one location; otherwise, not just enemies, but even those fanatic Protoss whose beliefs diverged would have long since found and annihilated them.

To obtain the coordinates of the Lost Dark Templar Temple, one had to wait for the right moment. When the Temple finally manifested, it would trigger various anomalies, the direct consequence of which was the appearance of Bermuda-like regions where patrolling aircraft would mysteriously vanish.

The realization sent a sudden chill down Fang Senyan’s spine. He abruptly recalled a puzzle he hadn't solved: how did SNAKE ensure his leadership status wouldn’t be challenged by high-ranking survivors?

Because, quite possibly, any officer capable of threatening his position had already been eliminated by SNAKE’s machinations!