To deepen his understanding of this world's operational rules, Yang Ying re-entered the floating continent and landed next to the main Human base. Beside the base towered a crystalline forest; Yang Ying didn't count precisely, but it appeared to be over fifteen clusters.

This crystalline mineral was named "Silicon," a substance in crystalline form. Both the Human and Protoss races could use their advanced technology to transmute Silicon into any known material to construct their civilizations. Meanwhile, the Zerg could transform Silicon ore into organic matter, serving as the substance and nutritional source for their survival and development.

Four CVs were currently working within the crystal clusters, including CV Tom, who had returned with them. They pressed the cutters attached to their mechanical arms against the crystals, eliciting a shower of sparks as they sliced off large shards.

Beside them were two Gas Mines, not just one!

High-Energy Gas Vespene deposits—these could provide the energy required for the high-tier structures and units of all three races.

Yang Ying opened the screens of the three supervisors and asked, "Can you pool the collected Minerals and Vespene Gas?"

"Affirmative!" three voices replied simultaneously.

"Good," Yang Ying commanded. "Murphy, report your current total resources!"

Murphy reported loudly, "Reporting, Officer! Minerals: 150 units. Vespene Gas reserves are currently zero! Report complete, Officer!"

This was the standard starting resource for a StarCraft game: 50 Minerals per player, 0 Gas. Murphy's reported figure was the total for all three bases combined.

"In that case," Yang Ying pointed at Murphy, "from now on, focus the combined strength of all three races on developing the Terran first."

"Understood!" the three voices answered in unison. Odin and Baal showed no sign of dissatisfaction, nor did Murphy exhibit any particular happiness. Perhaps, in their view, this was simple obedience, with personal feelings entirely set aside during the execution of orders.

The reason Yang Ying chose to prioritize the Terran development was rooted in the memories of this body: Earthlings were fighting aliens, and the war had been raging for nearly half a century!

If he were to bring forth a Zerg or Protoss army, being discovered would inevitably lead to him being treated as an alien spy!

For development to proceed, another issue needed resolution.

"Do you have a population cap?"

Baal revealed a chilling smile and stated, "If there is one, it must have been set by you, the Omniscient and Omnipotent Master!"

That meant no cap. Yang Ying nodded and asked Murphy, "150 units of Minerals are exactly enough to construct a Barracks. How long will it take you to complete it?"

"Eighty hours!"

"And to train a Marine?"

"Twenty-four hours!"

Yang Ying recalled that in the game, building a Barracks took only 80 seconds, and training a Marine, only 24 seconds. He supposed the data in this world couldn't be treated entirely like a game. After a brief thought, he asked Murphy, "Given these figures, I need to see the first Marine in 104 hours. Can you manage that?"

"Yes, Officer!" Murphy looked as if he needed to expel all the air in his chest in one shout, as if anything less couldn't convey his absolute confidence.

Next, led by the three screens, Yang Ying toured the only structures currently on the continent: the main bases of the three races—the Terran Command Center, the Protoss Nexus, and the Zerg Hatchery.

The Terran Command Center was the crystallization of high technology, its exterior covered in alloy armor, its interior latticed with circuits. The Protoss Nexus was composed of mysterious matter, studded everywhere with crystals. The Zerg Hatchery was itself an organism, built from muscle and visceral tissue; all nascent Zerg forms—the larvae—were hatched within it.

After the tour, Yang Ying instructed the three supervisors:

"You will focus on development here. If you encounter issues, discuss them amongst yourselves first. Only notify me if you cannot resolve them. Do you have a means of notifying me?"

"We do. Your humble servant can send you information via psychic link, my infinitely authoritative Master!" the Zerg leader, Baal, bowed its head deeply.

"Then it shall be so. We will communicate again later."

Yang Ying terminated the communication and opened his eyes in the real world.

"A true man is born into troubled times; he must wield a three-foot sword and achieve unparalleled merit! Though I lack a three-foot sword, I possess the backing of StarCraft. Achieving unparalleled merit is now within sight!"

The sense of awe he had felt upon arriving in this sci-fi world had completely vanished. He had three powerful races supporting him; he could sweep across this 26th-century world.

At this moment, Yang Ying noticed the external temperature displayed in the upper right corner of his visor and realized that while he had been lost in thought, the air temperature had dropped by three more degrees.

The central air conditioning must have malfunctioned; otherwise, such an absurd temperature drop wouldn't occur.

Outside the window of this bedroom was the street, but the glass was now coated entirely with frost, rendering it completely opaque. Yang Ying walked over and opened the window.

The street was wrapped in silver-white. It wasn't just the ground; the walls, the rooftops, and everything exposed to the elements were covered in rime.

However, set against this white backdrop, the vibrant red was far more eye-catching than usual.

Nearly ten Graviton Vehicles and Graviton Motorcycles lay haphazardly strewn about, appearing as if struck by an immense external force. Not a single door or window on the Graviton Vehicles was intact; every single vehicle was smashed.

Torn corpses were visible everywhere, some near the vehicles, others scattered far and wide—the scene was extremely gory.

"My God, I managed to remain lost in thought for this long in this environment without being harmed. It seems even Heaven is on my side," Yang Ying mused with infinite feeling.

Yang Ying stuck his head out to survey the surroundings. Seeing no immediate threat, he quickly closed and locked the window, then returned to the bedroom to think.

Scrabbling through the memories of this body was useless. All he recalled was taking a shower, then suddenly feeling dizzy, falling to the ground, and then nothing.

This was immediately followed by Yang Ying’s transmigration. As for what caused all this, he remained utterly in the dark.

Yang Ying activated the communication device inside his helmet and sent a request to the City Hall. He heard only static. After calling out for a while, there was no response.

The communication was either being jammed, or the City Hall itself had a problem.

The former seemed more likely. The City Hall of Titan’s Light was protected by the Earth Federation Special Forces; it wouldn't fail so easily.

"Could the aliens have attacked? And here I was, trusting the Immigration Bureau when they said everything on Saturn's orbit was normal!"

After careful consideration, this was the only possibility.

Unfortunately, the original owner of this body, the other Yang Ying, believed the war was distant, repeating his mundane work every day, oblivious to the conflicts raging at the edge of the Solar System. He didn't even know how far Titan was from the front lines, so the information gleaned from his memory was incomplete.

War meant chaos; where could there be any safe place? Yang Ying knew complaining was useless; he could only rely on himself to find a solution.

Hiding in one place and waiting for an uncertain crisis to find him was not Yang Ying's style. Therefore, he decided to head to the City Hall to investigate.

Yang Ying remembered that the private computer in his helmet contained the city's electronic map. He pulled up the map to search for a route and distance from his current location to the City Hall.

The map displayed a winding, circuitous path. The result: it was a full twelve kilometers away!