Facing the leader's attitude, Fang Senyan shrugged. He didn't consider himself some adorable, invincible baby who expected the Earthlings to orbit him and bend over backward to befriend him; securing the right to freely enter and exit the Protoss base had already achieved his objective.

For Fang Senyan, searching for a deliberately concealed Dark Templar Shrine on the vast, lost Temple Planet felt like looking for a needle in a haystack. Rather than that, it was better to stick close to the main Protoss forces, lying in wait. By fully embedding himself within the Protoss contingent, he could attack or retreat as needed—a solid approach.

Dusk had fallen. The Protoss Nexus sat atop the highest point of the entire base. From Fang Senyan's perspective, the whole complex shimmered with faint, pale-blue lights. Streamlined architectural contours and an azure exterior formed the dominant aesthetic. If one filtered out the aggressively patrolling Zealots and High Templars, the scene possessed a truly mystical, noble, and ethereal beauty.

A patrol of Zealots passed by and immediately spotted Fang Senyan, a human daring to stand on their sacred ground. They instantly surged forward in a standard, fan-shaped encirclement, fists clenched in visible anger, each drawing its Psi-Blade. However, the aura emanating from the mark left by Ur-Azki quickly stunned them. These zealots obediently apologized, half-kneeling to demonstrate submission and respect for the heroic unit, before departing.

Fang Senyan waited outside for nearly an hour. By now, he observed that on the darkening plain, despite the bone-chilling cold that seemed to pierce the marrow, not only did the Protoss structures twinkle with dreamlike lights, but the plain where the bloody battle had raged during the day also emitted sounds, mournful as weeping, ethereal and plaintive.

Simultaneously, numerous fist-sized orbs of light ascended from the fissures in the plain. Fang Senyan had encountered these before; they were likely the so-called 'Devil's Eyes.' They dotted the desolate, cold landscape of the day, adding a layer of mysterious desolation and magnificent grandeur.

At this juncture, Fang Senyan couldn't resist checking his spoils from the day's great battle. Because it was difficult to find targets entirely "pure" and uncontaminated, he had only managed to salvage two or three White or Blue-grade pieces of equipment, all of which he had immediately fed to G-Point for enhancement. Killing Zerg had also yielded some scattered Soul Crystals, which he figured might prove useful.

After waiting a little longer, Fang Senyan felt the temperature drop even more severely. Even with his constitution, standing motionless outside made the cold feel like needles stabbing into his skin, so he was unwilling to wait further.

Unexpectedly, at that moment, the massive doors of the Nexus rippled as if disturbed by water. Then, the still-formidable Sokada strode out, his crimson cape billowing. He looked left and right, spotted Fang Senyan, and burst into roaring laughter:

"You are certainly no match for me now; the great Leader just bestowed upon me even greater power!"

Fang Senyan had certainly tested his mettle against Sokada before. He was slightly superior in raw strength, but Sokada possessed incredible speed. Comparing the two, their baseline abilities were roughly equal—at least, their baseline abilities. Hearing Sokada boast, Fang Senyan’s fighting spirit immediately ignited, and he prepared to exchange blows.

Sokada reached out and grasped Fang Senyan’s hand. As they locked grips, they immediately began to exert force! This was a pure collision of muscle against muscle, a direct test of power against power!

Yet, despite Fang Senyan clearly holding the advantage in strength, he felt as if Sokada had transformed. The moment they gripped, the muscles hidden beneath Sokada’s armor twitched and vibrated intensely. Fang Senyan felt that even though he was applying force, it was like trying to push a massive, high-speed truck charging down from a height, only to meet a long stretch of uneven, undulating, wavy slope that skillfully dissipated all his strength!

Immediately following this, just as Fang Senyan's fresh strength was peaking and his old effort was waning, Sokada launched a fierce counterattack. He seized Fang Senyan's shoulders and cleanly hurled him backward!

Fang Senyan slammed heavily against a nearby structure before pushing off the ground with his palms and springing up agilely. He instantly noticed large cracks webbing across the polished floor beneath Sokada’s feet and immediately understood:

"You transferred my strength into the ground?"

Sokada laughed heartily and walked over, draping an arm around Fang Senyan’s shoulder:

"Come on, come on! I’ll take you to try our finest beverage!"

Walking through the Protoss base, filled with psychedelic, sharp, high-tech marvels, with faint blue specks of light drifting past occasionally, Fang Senyan felt a sense of being visually overwhelmed. He noticed many High Templars standing motionless around the Pylons and asked Sokada for an explanation out of curiosity.

It turned out that the bodies of the High Templars were mechanical shells, and the ones controlling them were the spirits of veteran warriors who had suffered severe injuries and could no longer fight on the front lines.

When not engaged in combat, these veteran souls preferred to enter the Pylons to communicate with each other, sharing the merits and spoils earned on the battlefield, enjoying a rare period of leisure and pleasure. When battle erupted, these souls could instantaneously return to their formidable steel bodies to fight for the Protoss.

Following Sokada, Fang Senyan arrived outside a structure with a peculiar shape. The left side featured a giant, slowly rotating gear connected to an oblong section about thirty meters long and five meters high. The right side held a huge sphere adorned with missile-shaped objects roughly five to ten meters tall. The exterior of the building was a pale yellowish color.

Sokada called this place the Forge Laboratory. Its primary function was to provide additional enchantments for ground-based Protoss units, comprehensively boosting their attack power, defense, and plasma shield strength. Although named a laboratory, this facility also served as a leisure and recreation venue, akin to a bar.

Pushing open the door along the beige, semi-metallic steps, Fang Senyan felt a wave of warm air wash over him. However, his ears registered the clear, crisp sounds of dripping water, which were exceptionally pleasant to hear. Looking closely, he saw High Templars, Dark Templars, Zealots, and others, all nodding their heads rhythmically, seemingly captivated by the sound.

Sokada walked to a spot on the wall and addressed a screen:

"Two glasses of Morangan for me, undiluted."

Soon, two cups filled with an amber liquid automatically floated out from an adjacent aperture. Fang Senyan sniffed the drink and caught a pungent scent reminiscent of hydrogen peroxide. As he felt a surge of apprehension, Sokada clinked glasses with him. Fang Senyan had no choice but to take a tentative sip, only to discover the texture was truly bizarre. It started with a cool sensation of watermelon and cucumber upon entry, transitioned into a rich, thick creaminess, and finished with a bitter aftertaste like fermented beer when swallowed.

However, after drinking this concoction, an immediate sensation of soaring through the clouds washed over him, making his steps feel soft and springy, as if he were walking on cotton wool.

Fang Senyan was about to ask Sokada to order him something tailored to human tastes—plain water would suffice if necessary—when the music suddenly shifted, transforming into the sound of a gale sweeping across mountains. All the Protoss simultaneously raised their glasses, shouted:

"Mok'a!" and then jumped up from their seats like they were raving at a club, twisting their bodies with hands held high.

By now, Fang Senyan had largely figured out that the music the Protoss favored wasn't performed but rather consisted of various sounds generated by nature, which they considered celestial music. Sokada had already darted over to a seemingly tall female (?)—Fang Senyan couldn't easily distinguish Protoss genders—and began swaying his body. It seemed the standard for good dancing among the Protoss was twisting one’s body to the extreme without falling over...

In the crowded area of Protoss, the brand placed on Fang Senyan's brow by Lord Ur-Azki began to glow, suffusing his body in a faint blue light, signaling him as a special friendly unit. Thus, no one interrupted him. He surveyed the surroundings—triangular, circular, and elliptical stools—casually selected one, and sat down.

Suddenly, someone approached Fang Senyan and sat opposite him:

"Human?"

Fang Senyan looked up. He still couldn't determine the other's gender, but judging by the wrinkles on the neck and face, this was an elder. He nodded. Fortunately, the Protoss communicated telepathically, so there was no language barrier:

"Yes."

"I have been here for one hundred and thirty years, and this is the first time I've had a human customer. What, you don't care for Morangan?" the elder asked.

Fang Senyan answered honestly:

"Yes, that's right."

"Oh! I cannot permit a customer—especially a human customer—to say my hospitality was lacking! Tell me what you need?" the elder insisted.

Fang Senyan smiled slightly:

"I regret to say, I don't have any money to cover the bill."

"Damn it, this isn't about a bill! Tell me quickly!"

"A glass of clear water," Fang Senyan requested.

The elder stared at Fang Senyan with a peculiar gaze for a moment, much like someone being asked by a patron at a high-end bar to bring a glass of soy sauce or vinegar. Then, he satisfied Fang Senyan’s request. Fang Senyan sipped the water slowly, realizing that without doing anything, he had become the center of attention... The sensation made Fang Senyan distinctly uncomfortable.