Chapter 17
Under the brilliant sunset, Fang Senyan was still hunting, twisting with force to snap the neck of the peacock deer he had tackled. Then, without getting up, he casually tossed the plump deer to the Na'vi behind him and sat down on the nearby slope, taking a deep breath before turning to look east.

There was a very wide river bend there, but looking at the vast, rolling expanse, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe this bend as a lake. The distant sunset glow, burnt red by the sun already sunk below the horizon, caused the lake surface to ripple with countless crests, like myriad golden scales shimmering incessantly.

Mokansha walked over, chewing on a cigar, and mumbled, "Tough day, boss?"

Fang Senyan watched the burning sunset glow and shook his head slightly, answering a different question altogether: "It's 5 PM now, right?"

Mokansha was slightly taken aback, then looked at his watch and nodded. "Close enough."

Fang Senyan said slowly, "We entered this world at 5 PM."

Mokansha said with a wry smile, "Boss, can you just say what's on your mind?"

Fang Senyan smiled, stretched comfortably, turned his head, and stared at Mokansha. "Which means, if nothing unexpected happens, regardless of whether Zi and the others completed that final-step side quest, most of those guys should have left this world by now."

Mokansha took a deep breath. "That should be right. Could it be, boss, that you've been waiting for the Illuminati to leave all along?"

Fang Senyan said seriously, "That's right! The greatest difficulty with a Gold side quest is probably the interference from other Contractors! The rule that only one person can get the reward makes it difficult for others to sacrifice for you! What I need to do brooks no failure, and the instability of Zi's group is definitely a thorn in my side."

"The combined strength of their group is actually quite terrifying. If they were intent on disrupting things, it would be very troublesome! So I'd rather wait! Rather drag things out! The Illuminati's greatest strength is their high team cohesion, but that's also their greatest weakness. Even though Zi is very vindictive, she would definitely prioritize the big picture and return together."

Reef said thoughtfully, "Is it possible that they successfully completed the final side quest and also chose to stay in this world for extra time?"

Fang Senyan smiled and said, "Although I consider low-probability events when formulating a plan, them successfully completing the final side quest is already a low-probability event, and choosing to stay in this world for extra time is an even lower-probability event. That kind of situation is too rare to even consider."

"Then," Fang Senyan said, looking at Muru, who was galloping swiftly on horseback in the distance. The flames of fierce ambition burned in his eyes. "Now is the time for him to deliver on his promise."

Before long, Muru came galloping over, his face full of excitement. "My brother, I heard you needed something?"

Fang Senyan nodded and said solemnly, "Yes, I need the help of the Taki tribe. I may be in a very dangerous situation in the coming days and need someone to protect me."

Muru said seriously, "The Taki tribe will protect you with their lives."

Fang Senyan smiled and said, "The enemies may be very strong, possibly even stronger than the Mesa tribe."

Muru laughed loudly. "Those Mesa guys are very powerful, but their women are quite fine. My father's wife was stolen from the Mesa tribe. I'll do the same in the future! Any danger is a fleeting cloud before me!"

Listening to Muru's words, Reef felt increasingly awkward. Muru's father's wife, wouldn't that be Muru's mother? The way he spoke about it with relish, as if counting his family treasures, made it seem like he was showing off the honors and medals hanging on his neck.

At this moment, Muru jumped off his horse, walked to Fang Senyan's side, and said sincerely, "Brother, rest assured, the Taki tribe will be your strong backing at any time, any place, with just a single call from you."

Desolate, bizarre, distorted, empty – these were Fang Senyan and the others' first impressions of the scene before them.

What appeared before their eyes were dead trees growing horizontally on the cliff, spiral-shaped rivers flowing from low to high, bizarre tectonic plates jutting out from the earth like broken bones, roads twisted like grapevines, deep, bottomless cracks in the ground, and patches of sandy hollows like ringworm.

They could even see that some of the soil had formed rope-like strands like giant snakes, dozens of meters in diameter, mixed with fresh tree branches and fragmented tree trunks, sometimes intertwined, sometimes twisted, deeply penetrating the ground, as if an invisible giant hand with irresistible force had arbitrarily kneaded this area, then laughed wildly and hastily released it.

Yet, this place was originally very familiar to Fang Senyan and the others. This place was originally no different from the scenery of the rest of Pandora, with dense rainforests, bizarre creatures, tangled vines, and a moist layer of humus.

This was where the powerful Contractor Makage died, where the powerful Illinois tribe was completely annihilated, and also where the Chivatai Qin tribe met its end.

Fang Senyan crossed his arms in front of his chest, maintaining a relatively calm demeanor on the surface. However, looking at the bizarre scene before him, he couldn't help but feel a chill creeping up his spine. When he planted the highly explosive explosives under the Home Tree, he didn't consider that after the Home Tree collapsed, the resulting disruption of the relative magnetic balance would cause a crazed magnetic storm!

Clearly, if they had been unfortunately caught in that power at the time,

even a strongman with a Strength exceeding 100 wouldn't have been able to survive. They would likely have been instantly killed.

The closer they got to the center of the magnetic storm, the more bizarre the scenery became. Rocks hung high in the air everywhere, obstructing their vision, and the creatures of Pandora seemed to be stunned by this mad and violent force.

At this moment, even though the magnetic storm had subsided, the lingering creatures still trembled and cowered at the edge of the magnetic storm zone, afraid to enter, as if any life form that dared to enter would be cursed. As a result, Fang Senyan and the others walking within felt like they were in a wasteland devoid of life. The surroundings were truly silent. If the three of them weren't Contractors who were several times stronger than ordinary people, they would truly feel like they couldn't move an inch.

After struggling for a full half hour, Fang Senyan suddenly stopped and said in a deep voice, "This is it."

As they got closer to the center of the magnetic storm, the terrain became increasingly flat, simply because the magnetic storm's crazy power directly turned everything into powder, which then naturally settled under the influence of gravity. Without Fang Senyan's reminder, everyone could see that the place where the Home Tree originally grew had formed a terrifying sinkhole at least seventy or eighty meters deep.

The bottom of the sinkhole was very flat and wide, at least the size of two soccer fields. At the bottom of the sinkhole, however, a dense mass of Pandora crystal mineral clusters grew exposed to the open air! They were arranged together as densely as coral reefs at the bottom of the sea, and these coral reefs were transparent and crystalline, looking incomparably beautiful, like a dream.

Looking at this scene, Fang Senyan couldn't help but take a deep breath, then quickly climbed down along the pit wall of the sinkhole. When he stepped onto the bottom of the sinkhole, Fang Senyan suddenly took a deep breath and said, "Do you know why I insisted on blowing up the Home Tree that day?"

Reef asked curiously, "Wasn't it to ambush the Taki tribe's reinforcements?"

Fang Senyan said seriously, "I didn't expect that bomb to cause such a terrifying magnetic storm. My main purpose was to be done with it once and for all!"

Speaking to this point, a trace of fanaticism flashed in Fang Senyan's eyes!

"You know how much the Na'vi value the Home Tree. If any Na'vi discovered that there was an unowned Home Tree here, they would likely come to reoccupy it, and that would be quite detrimental to my plan! What I want is exactly like this! A quiet Pandora crystal mineral deposit without any life! To minimize the chance of being sensed by other creatures, so that our allies, in their most vulnerable nascent stage, wouldn't be strangled in the cradle! To give it the greatest and safest growing environment!"

At this moment, Fang Senyan was standing straight in place, raising his hands high to point to the sky. Clouds surged in the sky, and even the deep darkness seemed to let out a soft sigh. Then, Fang Senyan turned his head, looked at Mokansha and Reef, and revealed a mysterious smile at the corner of his mouth. "Now, is the moment to witness a miracle!!!"

In that instant, on the soft soil within a hundred square meters around Fang Senyan's body, five mounds about one meter in diameter suddenly bulged out, seemingly accompanied by the faint and powerful sound of heartbeats. As time passed, the fine yellow sand scattered, and the sky was filled with wind and clouds, as if the entire planet of Pandora was resisting their emergence in this way!!

In just a minute or so, several shrill howls echoed in the air. The soil on the surface of two of the mounds completely scattered, revealing an extremely tough eggshell. At this time, the two eggshells had already shattered, and the pungent smell of amniotic fluid assailed the nostrils. Four ferocious and agile black shadows leaped out from within, immediately jumping vigilantly to the surrounding high places, looking around.

These were Velociraptors! Ferocious creatures from the Star River world!!

And beside the Velociraptors, there were three unhatched egg sacs rapidly arching.