Seeing the apes flee, Master Pang Qian took Wen Yang and half of his squad to pursue them, while Yang Ying remained with the rest of the soldiers to care for the wounded.

The battle resulted in three minor injuries and three severe injuries, with no fatalities. The three severely wounded required immediate emergency treatment, as excessive blood loss posed a mortal danger, and their breached environmental suits needed repair, lest the ingress of cold air freeze the wounds or even kill them.

Several special forces soldiers tended to their comrades' various injuries, and Yang Ying, having nothing to do, rested nearby. His mind continuously replayed the recent events; Master Pang Qian’s immense power on the battlefield had left an indelible impression on him.

A squad led by a Psionic Master could overcome three squads without one—Yang Ying hadn't fully grasped this before, but now he had witnessed the might of a Psionic Master firsthand.

If three special forces squads had been trapped on that stretch of mountain road, caught between an advance and a retreat, with apes constantly attacking, they would surely have been annihilated. Yet, Master Pang Qian, almost single-handedly, had cleared the path and secured the majority of the spoils, demonstrating that individual prowess could indeed sway the tide of a localized engagement.

This was not to say the special forces squads were unimportant; without the suppression fire from these soldiers, Master Pang Qian facing thirty apes alone would inevitably have been overwhelmed.

It was clear that both quantity and quality were crucial on the battlefield!

This brief engagement today had profoundly affected Yang Ying. A Master-level Psionic expert provided a powerful boost to a unit's strength; the strengths of both sides could complement each other, creating an effect where one plus one exceeded two.

Bal had previously informed him that increasing the number of Zerg units would lead to an enhancement of psychic power. Yang Ying had only been mildly interested before, but now, he couldn't help but reconsider his earlier choices.

Yang Ying weighed his options internally, then called out to Bal in his mind.

Bal’s obsequious voice sounded in Yang Ying’s consciousness: "Peerless Master, your humble servant Bal is always at your beck and call."

"Bal, using the unit you calculated last time, do you know Master Pang Qian's psychic strength?"

If he hadn't asked, it would have been fine, but as soon as he did, Bal’s voice injected a note of sorrow: "Most benevolent and merciful Master, please, do not ask Bal to probe that Psionic Master; he is too formidable. Once my humble servant’s psychic energy leaves your protection and appears before him, it will be detected instantly. Probing his psychic power is entirely impossible. I beg the Master to forgive the ineptitude of Bal."

"In that case," Yang Ying stroked his chin—though the motion was obscured by his mask—then lowered his hand, "a rough estimation, that should be possible?"

"Over one hundred thousand!" Bal immediately responded.

Yang Ying was inwardly stunned: "One hundred thousand? Does that mean it would take over a hundred thousand Drones to achieve the same psychic strength as Master Pang Qian?"

Bal awkwardly confirmed: "That is indeed the case."

Yang Ying rose and began pacing, a movement that seemed abrupt to the nearby special forces, but since they detected nothing unusual about him, they paid it no mind.

"How much mental strength do Zerglings and Hydralisks enhance compared to Drones?" Yang Ying asked concisely.

"My Master, in terms of attainable psychic power, Zerglings only provide half that of a Drone, and Hydralisks are very similar to Drones."

Yang Ying nodded: "Meaning, it’s proportional to the population count they represent. What about other units?"

"Also proportional to the population count." Bal, as a Zerg overlord, could control units up to eight in population count and was not unfamiliar with the term.

Yang Ying sighed from the bottom of his heart: "Even using the cheapest Drones and Zerglings, completing this great undertaking would require five million Minerals. It's questionable whether the entire continent even holds that much Crystal Ore."

Bal immediately provided data to his Master: "Master, based on Bal's travels across the continent, the total proven reserves of Crystal Ore are estimated to be between 1.2 million and 1.5 million units."

Yang Ying shook his head. If this were a game, these minerals would be enough for dozens of battles, but this was reality.

"One regrets the scarcity of minerals only when they are needed. These Crystal reserves are entirely insufficient. The plan to develop the Zerg can commence, but it must be gradual. First, set up more expansions and produce more Drones. You can build Zerglings too, but not too many. The priority remains the development of the Terran strategy. We will proceed further once a few more lights are illuminated."

When the second lamp atop the central tower of the continent was lit, the landmass of the entire continent doubled in size, leading Yang Ying to hold immense expectations for the remaining lights.

In Yang Ying's plan, the Terrans of the floating continent were destined to step into reality, representing his overt power base. The Zerg, unable to be openly displayed, would instead contribute psychic energy to enhance his personal strength; they represented his intrinsic might.

The ideal scenario was to excel in both simultaneously: strength and influence, both must be robust.

While Yang Ying was lost in thought, the pursuit on the other side had been ongoing for about half an hour. Because the apes had lost their formation and fled in disarray when routed, and given their formidable leg strength—capable of covering a hundred kilometers in an hour—it was difficult for Master Pang Qian’s pursuit party alone to catch them all.

However, shortly after, Yang Ying noticed several dozen military magnetic motorbikes rapidly approaching from the direction the apes had fled, outnumbering the group Master Pang Qian had taken.

Yang Ying used his remote surveillance system to observe the convoy and identified the leader as Psi Trooper Sean, whom they had separated from that morning.

The motorbikes in the convoy bore fresh scorch marks, clearly indicating they had recently engaged in combat.

They arrived at Yang Ying’s temporary camp. Sean jumped off his bike: "Yang Ying, hasn't Master Pang Qian returned yet?"

"Not yet," Yang Ying nodded. "Why are you here? Weren't you following the apes down the other route?"

Sean explained: "During last night's briefing, the Master had assigned a task. He suspected a possible ambush by the apes on the path ahead, yet he also recognized it as the best opportunity to wipe out their main force. Thus, he devised a strategy to turn their plan against them. The path split in two: one rugged, one smooth. The Master chose the difficult, rugged path, which offered many spots for an ambush, effectively making himself the bait. He instructed us to travel along the other route for a while this morning, then circle back to follow behind your flank. This way, if you encountered trouble, we could converge from another direction to relieve you. However, based on the current situation, the Master resolved the apes before we even needed to engage; we only got to clean up some of the fleeing stragglers."

Yang Ying looked slightly puzzled: "Did you not run into the Master’s group?"

"We met them, and then we separated again," Sean waved his hand dismissively. "These apes are scattered everywhere; finding them isn't easy. They could be hiding anywhere, and they certainly won't line up neatly for us to kill. So, Master and I split up, each taking half the search area."

Not long after, Master Pang Qian also returned with his team. After comparing notes with Sean, they determined that a single-digit number of apes had escaped, including the enemy commander.