With such a conflicted heart, Fang Senyan stomped on the accelerator again, but regretfully, the pedal, already mashed to the floor, offered no further response; instead, the sturdy steel plate surrounding it groaned in protest under the unbearable strain.

For the first time, Fang Senyan felt a profound sense of powerlessness, left only to await fate's judgment.

He detested this feeling intensely. All he could do now was hope the Queen of Blades would cease her pursuit, given her severe injuries.

Fang Senyan was certain that if Her Majesty insisted on matching the speed of his Vulture buggy, equipped with a plasma engine, while gravely wounded, victory for either side was irrelevant—the Queen’s injuries would inevitably worsen.

But Fang Senyan had miscalculated again. There were numerous ways the Queen of Blades could catch up: by mounting a Zerg Overlord, riding a Spore Brood, or even using a team of ten Zerglings to pull a sled... Competing vehicle speed with the Vulture buggy, as Fang Senyan imagined, was merely the crudest method.

Of course, Fang Senyan’s misjudgment stemmed from his ignorance of the past career of the Queen of Blades, Morrigan. What was so surprising about Morrigan, a once immensely powerful GHOST commander, being proficient in piloting various types of equipment?

Therefore, she chose the path Fang Senyan least expected: she eliminated the pilot of a Vulture buggy, jumped into the driver's seat, donned a pair of wraparound sunglasses, and engaged the engine!

Both the Queen of Blades and Fang Senyan were using transport vehicles assembled in the same manufacturing plant, meaning their performance capabilities were equally matched.

Morrigan, upon becoming a GHOST, underwent sixteen years of rigorous training; thus, not only was driving a Vulture buggy no challenge, but maintaining it was also well within her capabilities. Fang Senyan, up until this point, had only driven a Vulture buggy for ten minutes.

In terms of driving skill, Fang Senyan was defeated.

Furthermore, the Queen of Blades naturally weighed less than Fang Senyan. She possessed special abilities, such as manipulating gravity to reduce the Vulture buggy's weight, and her wings could assist in propulsion...

In terms of assistance, Fang Senyan was utterly crushed once more.

Consequently, the only advantage Fang Senyan currently possessed was a meager seventy-three seconds head start, and under the Queen’s relentless pursuit, those seventy-three seconds would be slowly eroded. In fact, Fang Senyan didn't even need to lose all of them—the instant he came within one kilometer of the Queen of Blades, both he and the Vulture buggy he piloted would immediately face the terrifying, unstoppable force of the Queen’s crimson lightning!

At this moment, Fang Senyan noticed that the ** had finished its devouring process. Paying it no mind, he allowed the ** to re-adhere to his pair of dark green gauntlets, while he focused solely on driving.

Though he couldn't see the Queen of Blades stalking coldly behind him, the prickling sensation brought on by his heightened perception was crystal clear, serving as a vital reminder: the mess stirred up by the seemingly unchanged ** was far from over!

As anxiety gnawed at Fang Senyan, the Nightmare Imprint suddenly delivered news that felt like a bolt from the blue:

"Warning: Awakened One 1018, your Planetary-Grade High-Energy Mechanical Power Gauntlets (Deep Green) have suffered severe damage!"

"Warning: Awakened One 1018, your Planetary-Grade High-Energy Mechanical Power Gauntlets (Deep Green) have lost over 70% of their mass and are deemed irreparable."

"Warning: Awakened One 1018, your Planetary-Grade High-Energy Mechanical Power Gauntlets (Deep Green) are judged as scrap. You will lose all associated bonuses, including but not limited to attributes, attack power, and special skills. Perhaps the remaining debris can fetch you a few hundred Universal Points."

Fang Senyan felt a wave of icy water drench him. He thought describing the day’s events as one disaster after another was hardly an exaggeration: first, botching a potentially lucrative chain mission, and next, the inexplicable destruction of his Planetary-Grade High-Energy Mechanical Power Gauntlets (Deep Green)!

These gauntlets could boost his strength by at least 20%; with the ** attached, they could grant a final surge capability, easily increasing his power by over 30%.

And now they were inexplicably ruined!

Before Fang Senyan could fully process this, the Nightmare Imprint prompted again:

"Warning: Awakened One 1018, your dark blue weapon: Wester has suffered severe damage..." A dreadful premonition suddenly gripped Fang Senyan’s heart. He really should have suspected something when the Planetary-Grade Gauntlets were destroyed! But the pressure from behind had choked him, dulling his reaction. He immediately checked, then roared in fury:

"**! What in the blazes have you done?!"

Indeed, at this moment, who else could be responsible for this mess other than the liquid metal lifeform, the **? Even while piloting the Vulture buggy at speeds exceeding four hundred kilometers per hour, Fang Senyan was overcome by a savage urge to tear the ** out and dismember it...

But he could only think about it.

Because the ** had already eliminated several of Fang Senyan's critical bargaining chips, it had now become his single greatest asset. Only a fool would destroy their only major asset...

So Fang Senyan had no choice but to swallow his anger. However, when he unconsciously checked the **'s status, he froze completely.

"** Liquid Metal Lifeform Type: G-Class Liquid Metal Lifeform (Distributed in a matrix dot pattern) Age: Mature Form (Human Age Equivalent: Youth)

"...How did it instantly become a Mature Form??" Fang Senyan snapped back to awareness from his sudden shock, as if stepping into empty air. "There were still so many pieces of equipment missing!"

Fang Senyan was unaware that the stone the ** had devoured—a treasure treasured by the Queen of Blades—was no ordinary object. It was called the Mobita Keystone, gifted to the Queen by the "Overmind," the very sovereign of the entire Zerg race, while the Overmind still lived. This stone possessed an enormous amplification capacity, allowing the Queen to manage her dominion spanning tens of thousands of light-years using her psychic senses.

The Zerg Overmind itself had only managed to find three such stones; its preciousness was self-evident. Under normal circumstances, this item could only be acquired after defeating the Queen of Blades. Thus, even if Fang Senyan had managed to breach the vault and obtain it, its value couldn't be assessed, and it was useless for leaving the world.

However, to the **—a special plot creature itself—this Mobita Keystone was an unprecedented source of nourishment. The stone was meaningless to Fang Senyan, but an unparalleled feast for it. Fang Senyan had accidentally acquired it, inadvertently completing the ** and accelerating its growth.

As Fang Senyan continued reading its status, an immense wave of euphoria washed over him, making all his previous losses seem worthwhile:

Origin: Undetermined. Attack Power: None Type: Weapon/Armor Material: Liquid Metal, Xenon Element, Various Unknown Curiosities, Synthetic Metal Elements. Weight: Undetermined by Fang Senyan Equipment Usage Conditions: None Never Wears Out Rarity: High-Tier Legendary Weapon

Active Ability: Devour Replication. The host, driven by its own hunger, transforms into a terrifying enemy of all equipment. During the consumption process, it can memorize and perfectly replicate all attributes of the devoured weapon (including but not limited to attack, defense, attribute bonuses, special abilities, enhancement levels), and then... instantly manifest as that weapon! Any weapon or equipment consumed by the ** will appear in the manifestation list, allowing you to choose a targeted manifestation anytime, anywhere. Note: The manifestation process takes one second. During this time, the ** will revert to its initial state, and all bonuses will temporarily disappear. Warning: Manifestation can only be used six times per hour, with a one-second cool-down between each use.

Passive Ability: Re-Plating Amplification. As the ** grows, it has absorbed numerous precious metals. Therefore, any equipment manifested by it will receive an additional +6 judgment (Refer to previous sections for details).

Passive Ability: Siphon. Whenever an enemy (including weapons) makes any physical contact with armor or weapons coated in the liquid metal, the Liquid Metal Enhanced Lifeform will analyze or memorize the enemy. Upon reaching seven cumulative contacts, the Liquid Metal Enhanced Lifeform will calculate the enemy's attack trajectory, causing the next incoming attack to be nullified.

Passive Ability: High-Tier Devour Memory. During the process of devouring equipment and weapons, the liquid metal lifeform can also memorize and perfectly replicate the equipment's special abilities, storing them. It can then choose one such stored memory to be an additional bonus applied to the manifested weapon! Currently possesses three Devour Memory slots. The currently equipped Devour Memory effect is: Annihilation! Two Devour Memory slots remain empty; please fill them quickly. Warning: Certain Devour Memory effects cannot be applied to certain equipment, such as ranged weapon effects cannot be added to melee weapons (e.g., if Fang Senyan devoured the memory of the spell Fireball, which is a spell-casting exclusive ability, it cannot be applied to gauntlets).

The liquid metal lifeform can manifest standard equipment that it has not devoured, but the manifested equipment will only possess the attributes of base standard equipment, with the enhancement level defaulting to +6.

Note: This powerful ** liquid metal lifeform is just one step away from becoming a Divine Artifact! But this single step could be an impassable chasm, or a bubble forever out of reach! RS