Pontan was nothing more than a simple, uncalculating brute. Though he now implicitly commanded and controlled the entire base, his respect for Fang Senyan remained as strong as ever.

He was currently facing a genuine predicament. Upon seeing Fang Senyan, he seemed to have grasped a lifeline. After directing his short-skirted secretary to serve coffee, he impatiently dismissed her, then urged Fang Senyan to sit down, his brow deeply furrowed as he lamented:

“Sir! A matter has been troubling me lately, and I don’t know what to do about it.”

Fang Senyan smiled slightly and said:

“Tell me.”

Pontan sighed:

“Although our current base is far from maximizing the discovery and extraction of Pandora Crystals, its sheer scale is already nearing the regulatory limits.”

Fang Senyan raised an eyebrow:

“Elaborate.”

It turned out that given the severe military situation (necessitating an alliance with the Protoss to counter the Zerg), humanity had implemented exploration and protection mandates among the populace.

This meant that even civilians, provided they could afford the Pandora Crystals, could hire the majority of military forces and weaponry for exploration and combat in the cosmos, with the General Staff refraining from any interference or taking a cut.

Pontan was currently a beneficiary of this system. Though an active service member, the forces he had established were not run through the General Staff; instead, he utilized his ample Pandora Crystals to directly purchase soldiers via the one-way teleportation devices, leveraging the privileges granted by the exploration mandate.

For instance, fifty units of Pandora Crystal could procure one Marine—a death-row inmate whose mind had been wiped, ensuring absolute obedience. A brand-new Siege Tank cost only one hundred and fifty units of Pandora Crystal plus one hundred units of accompanying rare GAS ore.

Under the regulations for establishing a base via the exploration mandate, Pontan, due to his Hero Unit status, automatically became the leader. The purchased units obeyed him implicitly, but these units were expensive, and secondly, lacking quality officer command, they often only achieved 80% of their potential combat effectiveness.

Pontan’s issue was that his current military strength was flagged as exceeding the established limits, both in base size and unit count.

Furthermore, acquiring advanced assets like the unparalleled Wraith space superiority fighter, atomic weapons, or the Battlecruiser required vetting and assessment by the General Staff… Pontan had been explicitly warned that due to his current violations, the General Staff would dispatch an investigative team, and everything he had gained could be nationalized.

The difference between the current situation and nationalization through the General Staff was this: if the command structure took over, and they deemed the area strategically significant, they would deploy massive numbers of troops and officers, placing all authority under central control… Naturally, Pontan would receive ample wealth and honors, allowing him to retire or continue mining as he pleased… After that, any extracted Pandora Crystals would go directly into the national treasury. The troops would be teleported in by the warzone command, requiring no outlay from him.

Fang Senyan certainly did not want to see Pontan, who was completely loyal to him, stripped of his authority. He pondered for a moment:

“When is the investigation team arriving?”

Pontan slumped dejectedly:

“I’ve been given a clear directive to respond within three hours, or the team will be dispatched exactly three hours from now, arriving via the one-way displacement portal. I have a feeling the General Staff is very interested in this location, so these investigators are likely the personnel designated to take over my command immediately. This means I’m about to lose everything I hold.”

“I truly didn’t anticipate that merely possessing over thirty Ghost fighters would draw the attention and investigation of the General Staff!” Pontan slammed the desk in frustration. “This is absurd; I know of an interstellar farmer who assembled a force of over a hundred Ghosts and is still operating without issue.”

Fang Senyan explained:

“That suggests the General Staff has focused its attention on this particular star sector, thus paying heed to even minor anomalies…”

Pontan pulled at his hair in vexation:

“But I wasn't aware of that.”

Fang Senyan suddenly narrowed his eyes:

“Perhaps… some unforeseen accidents could befall the members of the investigation team?”

“Damn it, before the General Staff even gave the order, they quietly dispatched some troops here. With these military police units present, anything I attempt is monitored, and the hired personnel won’t obey orders to attack regular military forces,” Pontan grumbled, deeply depressed.

Thus, Fang Senyan’s first suggestion was to halt expansion, but Pontan argued this was futile; the General Staff had already taken notice, like a dog that had caught a scent. No matter how tightly one hid the bone now in hand, the hound would inevitably come sniffing around.

Fang Senyan then fell into deep thought, requesting intelligence data for investigation. This highlighted the advantage of humanity’s superior reconnaissance capabilities. Using radar sweeps first, followed by high-speed, stealthy aerial photography from the Ghost fighters, they managed to gain a remarkably clear picture of the conflict between the Protoss and the Zerg.

After a long pause, Fang Senyan finally addressed Pontan:

“If that is the case, then we must leave the General Staff with a mess—a mess they would be unwilling to handle themselves. That should quickly extinguish their interest.”

Pontan looked stunned:

“What mess?”

Fang Senyan mused:

“Humanity has one advantage: our structures can also fly. And your current force is predominantly aerial, possessing high mobility…”

So Fang Senyan smiled and continued: “I observed that since the Spore Broodlings suffered heavy losses, and coupled with the severe shortage of rare GAS minerals, the Zerg have entirely abandoned aerial units, focusing instead on ground warfare augmented by air drops. We can use this situation to our advantage—a borrowed knife, if you will…” Two hours later,

A Queen suddenly located the Zerg Overmind, which was regenerating in the nutrient fluid of its Hatchery.

It extended a tentacle and touched the Cerebrate’s forehead.

The Cerebrate instantly received a new viewpoint—the external environment as observed by the pilot of a Human Ghost fighter. This effect was achieved because the unfortunate pilot had been infected by a parasite covertly ejected by the Queen.

This particular parasite did not harm the host; in fact, it subtly boosted resistance, and its method of infection was so stealthy it was almost impossible to detect. Its sole purpose was to share everything the host saw with the Queen.

The Cerebrate then saw a human base of modest size. More importantly, it discovered two unexploited Pandora Ore Veins there! Considering that the existing mineral reserves held by the Zerg and Protoss were nearly exhausted, these two seemingly meager veins could very well determine the outcome of the war!

Thus, the Cerebrate immediately assessed the defensive capabilities of the human base. It decided to personally lead a small contingent of elite forces to flatten it. This way, the troop movement would not be so large as to alert the opposing Protoss into launching an attack, ensuring a decisive victory achieved without detection.

The Cerebrate never considered this a trap, because if it were a trap, the cost would be a devastating loss for the human base, perhaps even its utter annihilation.

To put it plainly, without the Zerg threat, the Humans would be in a state of active conflict with the Protoss, just as they were. A human commander would need to be completely out of his mind to commit an act of self-sacrifice for the Protoss.

Three hours later, the Cerebrate led a group of formidable warriors into the human base. The defense showed no spirit, offering only token resistance (which was mounted solely by the military police), before the base was hastily lifted and the survivors fled via transport ships. The Cerebrate’s priority was the two ore veins and a swift conclusion to the fight, so it did not pursue aggressively. However, at this moment, reinforcements—a group of stragglers from what appeared to be the abandoned human base—began pouring out.

These seemingly panicked arrivals managed to slaughter seventeen or eighteen of the Drone workers the Cerebrate had dispatched to secure the ore veins. Enraged, and despite her psychic energy being severely depleted, the Queen unleashed her signature ability: a crimson storm of psychic energy, incinerating everyone present, who were, in reality, the members of the General Staff’s investigation team, turning them into charred remains.

The Cerebrate never realized that this display of overwhelming power had been recorded and immediately transmitted to Fang Senyan.

At that moment, Fang Senyan was outside the Protoss base of Ul’Aki. Upon receiving the video feed, he stormed into the Protoss stronghold to request an audience with Lord Ul’Aki. Although Ul’Aki was not fond of Fang Senyan, given such a magnificent opportunity, he unhesitatingly launched an assault on the Zerg base before him!

It had to be admitted that the Cerebrate was indeed a formidable legendary leader. Even under these dire circumstances, she had prepared a contingency. The remaining forces, though overwhelmed by the Protoss onslaught, were sufficient to hold them long enough for the Cerebrate to return—or so it seemed!

However, at this critical juncture, a human force that suddenly inserted itself into the battlefield became the final straw that broke the camel’s back. This human contingent was composed almost entirely of air units: thirty Ghost fighters and six Wraith space superiority fighters that obliterated the Zerg’s pathetic air force with crushing momentum, subsequently slaughtering every Zerg host on the battlefield!!! RQ