The population of the Insectoid and Protoss races on the floating continent has greatly increased, now ten times what it was initially.

However, a problem gradually emerged as the three races developed.

Unlike in the games, the three races under Yang Ying’s command were not simply born ready to be used indefinitely without consumption. Millions of beings required sustenance; the larger the group, the more resources were needed to maintain it—their very existence carried a cost.

Yet, the native resources of the floating continent were protected. Apart from some renewable resources, the three races rarely gathered them, especially non-renewable minerals like iron, aluminum, and rare earths, which were mostly left untouched. The floating continent did possess common ores, not just silicon and high-energy gas, and in considerable amounts.

Yang Ying believed that if resources from others could be used, one's own should be conserved. Thus, he primarily utilized resources purchased in the real world. Various ores and organic matter were constantly flowing into the floating continent through the procurement department of the Teran Corporation, replacing the continent’s native resources and supplying the three races to sustain their growth.

But now, as the maintenance costs of the three races continued to rise, the resource issue was becoming increasingly severe.

Due to the Teran Corporation’s consolidation of several large mining enterprises during the dismantling of the Directorate, coupled with acquiring fifteen industrial cities from the Singer and the Earth United Industrial Group, and controlling the Asteroid Belt—an industrial holy land—mineral resources were abundant, and shortages had not yet occurred.

The problem lay with organic resources.

More specifically, the issue of insufficient organic resources stemmed from the development of the Zerg.

The foundation of Zerg survival is the creep. Both Zerg structures and individual units absorb the nutrients they require through the creep, and the creep itself is manufactured by hatcheries and larvae through the digestion of organic matter.

Now, in Zerg territories, the ground is covered everywhere with purple creep, especially in major Zerg population centers. These areas host numerous Zerg structures and an overwhelming swarm of units—flying overhead, crawling on the ground, even swimming in the water. Both structures and the swarm are living things that require nutrients to survive.

Although each individual Zerg consumes far less nutrition than a human, their highly evolved digestive systems allow them to maintain formidable mobility on minimal intake, but with over ten million Zerg now settled on the floating continent, their sheer numbers meant the various organic matter they consumed daily reached astronomical figures.

Yang Ying had studied military theory works which stated that war was ultimately a contest of resources, the most critical aspect being the efficiency of converting those resources into combat power. Viewed from this angle, the Zerg were the most powerful of the three races.

They lacked the Protoss’s mastery of spacetime technology, nor the devastating power of Terran nuclear weapons, but they possessed terrifying reproductive capacity and adaptability to all environments. They could strip an area of resources in the shortest time, convert them into Zerg units, and then seek more resources for further conversion.

Their speed in converting resources into fighting strength far exceeded that of the Terran and Protoss. Individually, they might not be strong—a single Ultralisk, for instance, could never defeat a carrier or a battlecruiser—but they could field thousands of Ultralisks at once, a tide even a battlecruiser fleet could not withstand against successive attacks.

There was an insect on Earth strikingly similar to them that perfectly represented the Zerg image: the locust. Wherever they passed, the land lay barren for a thousand miles, having consumed everything edible, then multiplied exponentially to move on and consume elsewhere.

The Zerg were the same. Recently, Yang Ying gradually realized that the Zerg development rate was far exceeding his initial projections, with their demand for organic matter increasing geometrically. Maintaining the current swarm population alone nearly exhausted all organic supplies. Yang Ying was forced, under his mandate as Overmind, to order the Zerg to halt their growth, lest they begin consuming the organic resources of the floating continent itself.

To supply the Zerg with more organic matter, Yang Ying had instructed the Teran Corporation some time ago to create a massive ripple in Earth's organic matter markets. The company heavily invested in agriculture, forestry, fishery, animal husbandry, and all industries related to organic matter, causing prices for these items to skyrocket instantly.

By now, the supply strain on the Zerg had eased slightly from the previous tension, but Yang Ying knew the next problem wouldn't be long in coming.

Sustaining the Zerg purely through resource shipment was proving difficult; their needs grew faster than the Teran Corporation’s development, and this pace would only accelerate. Therefore, after achieving space-jump technology, Yang Ying began considering whether he should send a portion of the Zerg out to develop beyond the Solar System.

The galaxy was vast; there should be many other places where the Zerg could thrive.

On the other hand, the Protoss and the 'Gods' (likely referring to a self-styled group or another faction, implicitly the remaining Protoss or allied races) had already approached Yang Ying regarding the allocation of two hundred and seventy million units of psionic power, a figure far beyond the known limits achievable by a peak master. In truth, Yang Ying had already neared this bottleneck when he opened the door to the Khala path and established the High Council. After a slight increase in the following days, his progress had stalled.

The lights on the floating continent, since the last one was lit on the fifth level (the second one), the third light remained unlit.

This indicated that Yang Ying's psychic strength could not break the three-million mark. Measurements from Protoss instruments placed his current psychic strength at 2.98 million—clearly, this number represented the absolute capacity limit of his current soul, the vessel.

Calculating further, dividing the two hundred and seventy million units of psionic power equally, he could create nine peak masters approaching three million each. Yang Ying was quite satisfied with this, as it provided him with deep confidence. After all, in the entire Solar System, the Terran and 'Ape' races combined only possessed eight peak masters—one less than him.

Furthermore, with the Carriers and Battlecruisers now commissioned, the Teran Mercenary Corps was utterly transformed, ascending to a new level. It was no longer just a mercenary group possessing strong military power and significant influence, but truly an armed force occupying the apex of the pyramid in the human world.

The construction of the Behemoth-class battlecruisers was not done one by one, but initiated in batches, meaning they would also be completed in batches. After the first Behemoth was completed, nine more Behemoth-class battlecruisers were scheduled to roll off the line within the next month.

More batches of Behemoth-class battlecruisers would be put into service subsequently, with each batch larger than the last. The production quantity of battlecruisers also continuously increased, mirroring the external development of the Teran faction and the internal expansion of the floating continent, since only with greater resources could the construction of such massive warships be sustained.

While reviewing various documents and data, and simultaneously contemplating and reviewing everything that had happened in the past half year, a cup of hot tea was presented before him by a pair of hands as white as jade.

"Sir, have some tea and take a break," Katerina’s gentle voice reached Yang Ying’s ears.

"Good," Yang Ying closed the light screen before him, took the teacup she offered, and took a small sip. He immediately felt an aroma spreading in his mouth, lingering endlessly. After finishing the tea, he smiled and said, "Your skill improves with every serving; this tea tastes better each time."

"That’s because the tea leaves are fine," Katerina chuckled softly. "This was sent by Ghost Agent Fake Tom. The Teran Corporation’s momentum has been exceptionally swift lately, and it’s the prime time to choose partners. Many people are clamoring to curry favor; gifts arrive in continuous waves, always the best of everything. This tea, they say, was collected from the mother tree of Wuyi Da Hong Pao. Legend says there were six mother trees five hundred years ago, but five died successively for various reasons over the centuries, leaving only the last one. They say one gram of this tea can sell for over a million, and it’s priceless."

"Is that so? Then I should savor it properly," Yang Ying said, raising the teacup again.

The two sipped their tea while conversing about more private matters known only to them. After a short while, the tea was finished. Katerina, her face slightly flushed, collected the tea set and left the room.

Not long after she left, Kalia entered. He announced, "Sir, there are matters here requiring your review."

"Display them," Yang Ying instructed.

Kalia nodded, activated a light screen, which displayed a series of intelligence reports. He pointed to one, stating, "The Ten-Star Battle is about to commence. Eight fleets of the Terra Army have canceled all leave and are engaged in intensive preparations."

"Has the supreme commander for the Saturn offensive been confirmed? Is it Alexander?" Yang Ying asked casually.

"It has been confirmed, but it is not Alexander," Kalia shook his head. "It is Josephus himself taking the field."

"Ah, the divinely gifted strategist Josephus?" Yang Ying smiled slightly. "It seems the Earth Army is extremely eager for victory in the Saturn campaign. Wongsale and Josephus are old adversaries, even though their age difference is more than double."

"However, based on certain indicators, I deduce that the Earth Army sending Josephus might not be solely to counter Wongsale," Kalia stated seriously.

"Who is it for, then?"

"Us!"

"Do you have proof?" Yang Ying raised an eyebrow. "If you are this certain, there must be considerable evidence."

"Please observe. Although our intelligence capabilities have an outstanding reputation, there are always those who are exceedingly confident in their security, unaware that their every move is under our surveillance." Kalia opened several files, and a series of images appeared on the screen—mostly recordings of private meetings, complete with audio.

Yang Ying watched and listened, his expression calm. He merely commented dryly, "They intend for us and the Ancient Legion to wear each other down so they can reap the spoils. A truly clever strategy!" To know what happens next, please log onto... [Censored/Placeholder for external link/platform reference]. More chapters, support the author, support genuine reading.