The subjugation team returned to Titan’s Light, their mission successfully completed. As dozens of motorcycles rumbled back into the temporary barracks, Master Pang Qian immediately ordered the unit to disband.

This was Yang Ying’s first time in this makeshift camp, which had been converted from a boarding school. After all, the entire city had suspended classes for the time being, with no schools open.

Dormitories and classrooms had been transformed into barracks. The sports field was teeming with drilling soldiers—running laps, doing push-ups on the ground, pull-ups on the horizontal bars, and engaging in various competitive sports like basketball and martial arts. There were one or two thousand people in total.

Since Master Pang Qian and Wen Yang both needed to attend debriefings, Yang Ying was led by a few members of the subjugation team on a tour of the temporary barracks. Then, urged on by the crowd, he found himself at a temporary shooting range set up inside the gymnasium.

Because Yang Ying’s marksmanship had left a profound impression on the subjugation team during the ape-man campaign, he was compelled to give another demonstration at the range.

In the end, Yang Ying realized that his intuition played an enormous role in his shooting. Even without the scope, he could hit the bullseye every time, whether the target was moving or stationary, earning the deep admiration of the onlookers.

Yang Ying knew his skills were far inferior to Master Pang Qian’s, but people like the Master were rare; awakened individuals were seldom seen among humanity in the solar system.

By the time Wen Yang arrived, Yang Ying was already encircled three deep. Wen Yang managed to pull him out of the crowd and bring him to Master Pang Qian’s quarters.

Seeing Yang Ying arrive, Master Pang Qian produced two physical books. “One of these books details the knowledge of psychic energy (Nian Li), and the other covers basic swordsmanship. Take them and study them carefully. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can come ask me.”

“Thank you kindly for the books, Master,” Yang Ying replied, accepting them with both hands. “I will study them diligently.”

Master Pang Qian then handed him an access pass. “This is for entering and leaving the barracks. If you have time, I will set aside an hour after eight o’clock every evening specifically to guide you in your swordsmanship.”

“This…” Yang Ying hesitated before taking the pass. “Master, your great kindness makes me feel unworthy.”

“You are worthy!” Master Pang Qian laughed. “I am also thanking you on behalf of everyone in the city whom you have benefited. You saved three hundred thousand lives; your merit is immeasurable. What is an hour of my time?”

Yang Ying paused for a moment before finally accepting the pass.

After bidding the Master farewell, Yang Ying returned to his own apartment and immediately collapsed onto the sofa. The first thing he wanted to do was not read, but enter the Floating Continent.

To maintain secrecy from the subjugation team, he hadn’t journeyed astrally for two days, and considerable progress had been made on the Floating Continent.

Under the command of Baal, the Zerg’s first sub-base had begun to develop. Near a mining area in the southwest corner, a large, pulsating biological base encased in a membrane was visible.

Meanwhile, in the Human sector, the framework of a Tank Factory was taking shape. A CV worker was laboring intensely on the site, striving to complete the heavy factory soon.

As for the Protoss, they remained unchanged.

Yang Ying first circled the concentrated area of Human structures, observing the operation of various buildings. He was very satisfied; the entire construction zone was operating at full capacity. He then landed near the Human Command Center and activated Murphy’s communication screen.

“Commander! Welcome to your inspection, Commander!” Murphy shouted enthusiastically.

Yang Ying nodded once. “You’ve done very well. I am quite satisfied.”

“Thank you for the praise, but I still have much to do, Commander!” Murphy’s face beamed with joy, as if Yang Ying’s compliment was his greatest reward.

Yang Ying continued, “Baal mentioned that the Firebat and Medic units have been birthed. Bring them here to see me.”

“Yes! Please wait a moment, Commander!”

After a short while, two figures came running from a distance.

One, clad in red, wore a thick protective suit resembling heavy armor, carrying a massive fuel tank on his back, crisscrossed with plastic tubing, and featuring twin nozzles on the back of his hands—clearly the Firebat.

The other wore a white protective suit with a red cross insignia on the neck, holding a shield in one hand and a syringe in the other—undoubtedly the Medic.

The two ran up to Yang Ying, snapped to attention, and saluted crisply.

“Firebat Brian reporting to the Commander!”

“Medic Katarina reporting to the Commander!”

Yang Ying returned the salute. “Good! Stand at ease! I came here today specifically to meet you both. Congratulations on your emergence. I hope you will continue to strive and become exemplary Firebats and Medics!”

“Yes, Commander!” the two responded in unison.

Yang Ying led them to the lakeside for a drill. Brian unleashed two streams of dragon-fire from his hands, boiling a small section of the lake water. According to him, the flame temperature reached three thousand degrees, hot enough to melt gold and iron!

Medic Katarina, on the other hand, could use her syringe to inject a liquid imbued with vital energy—a green potion—into a wounded body, capable of rapidly healing various internal and external injuries.

Yang Ying brought a Zerg Drone as a test subject, shooting a wound with a laser pistol. Then, Katarina administered the potion with a quick injection, and the wound visibly reverted to its original state at an astonishing rate.

The birth of the Firebat and Medic made infantry tactics far sharper and more versatile, and survivability increased exponentially. Coupled with the Medic’s flash grenades, which could blind targets—a principle eerily similar to the pepper shakers Yang Ying had once used—they would be immensely helpful against single or small groups of ape-men.

Of course, the technology for flash grenades had not yet been developed; they had to await the results from the Research Institute. The Institute’s current priority was the development of combat stimulants, so the flash grenade would take some more time.

After concluding his astral journey, Yang Ying immediately began reading the two books.

Neither book had a title, and their covers were somewhat worn, suggesting they were quite old.

He was startled when he began reading. The very first chapter of the book on Psychic Energy detailed a method for Psychic Body Sculpting, capable of significantly enhancing a person's physical strength in a short period. The principle was this:

When a person exercises frequently, their muscles develop; if they become paralyzed, the muscles atrophy. This is because exercising muscles send signals to the brain, which reacts by regulating the muscles to develop or atrophy.

However, using psychic energy can stimulate certain nerves, achieving effects equal to, or even better than, exercise.

In other words, Yang Ying could sit still while tricking his brain into believing his body was exercising, thus achieving the effect of training without training.

For Yang Ying, whose physique was average, the Psychic Body Sculpting method was a godsend, capable of rapidly strengthening his stamina to a level where he could adapt to the intense motions of the battlefield.

As he read, Yang Ying began practicing in earnest. He used his right arm as an experiment, carefully permeating his psychic energy through the skin to the muscle layer, then meticulously sensing the presence of the nerve endings.

After about five minutes, he began to feel something—it was as if his entire right arm had been dissected before him, with every nerve and blood vessel clearly visible. Following the method described in the book, Yang Ying used his psychic energy to stimulate the nerve endings.

At that moment, the muscles in his right arm suddenly contracted.

“Wrong. It should be the nerve signal moving, not the muscle. Not this nerve. Try again…”

Yang Ying steeled his resolve, experimenting again and again. He traced nerve by nerve; the muscles would contract and relax erratically, simply refusing to obey, but he did not give up.

Finally, the muscles ceased their chaotic movements, and a tingling, numb sensation washed over him from his right arm.

A smile finally broke across Yang Ying’s face. “I found it. This is exactly what the book described. Tomorrow, I’ll check the results. If the book is correct, the difference should be evident by then.”