First Warp

According to the data on the construction panel, the Crystal Tower took up a fair amount of space, and with the need to lay out housing clusters, there was no way to perform a warp-in inside the jungle.

After scanning the vicinity, Rohana found a large open area about a dozen kilometers south of the cave—enough to build a small town or something.

Shen Jun strolled unhurriedly through the dense forest. Not far behind him lay the corpses of several small Alien Beasts, each one a gruesome sight, barely intact. Though these were among the smallest beasts in this jungle, they were still the size of water buffalo—dangerous animals by the standards of Shen Jun's home world.

The power of psionics exceeded Shen Jun's expectations, perhaps tied to his talent. With psionic enhancement, his strength surged dramatically, allowing him to tear apart these buffalo-sized beasts with ease.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a Tentacle Beast, drawn by the scent of blood, blocked Shen Jun's path. He noticed a wound on its belly and bite marks scattered across its body.

"Oh, what a small world."

No mistake—this was the same Tentacle Beast that had chased him yesterday.

Shen Jun pulled out a wrist-guard-shaped device, pure white, forged from psionic materials, brimming with technological flair.

The Psionic Concentrator—a symbol of a Templar's identity and the standard-issue gear of the Protoss. It condensed the fierce, wild psionic energy of a Protoss into a Psionic Blade, sharp enough to cut through any known substance.

Rohana's starter gift to Shen Jun wasn't just those Crystal Minerals and Vespene Gas; it included a full set of High Templar equipment, resized to fit his frame.

Protoss typically stood around three meters tall. At normal size, a one-meter-eighty Shen Jun would probably have to wear the wrist-guard as a helmet.

The equipment had shrunk, but its power hadn't diminished—in fact, it was lighter and more agile. However, with Shen Jun's current psionic level being only half-baked, conjuring a Psionic Blade was his limit.

As for activating the Crystal Array embedded in the Energy Heavy Armor—that was out of the question. The Psionic Shield was tempting, but that level of psionic energy was far beyond what Shen Jun could control now.

Whether it was the Psionic Concentrator or other psionic gear, they only had output functions. Whether condensing a blade or a shield, the input of psionic energy was controlled by the Protoss themselves.

Thus, a skilled Templar could even micro-manage to maintain a Psionic Blade around the clock, while a low-level Zealot could only hold out for a few hours.

If the input exceeded what one could control, it easily led to psionic overload. Having the equipment destroyed was lucky; the greater risk was triggering a miniature Psionic Storm, devastating everything around.

"Today, I'll test you out."

Shen Jun fitted the Psionic Concentrator onto his right wrist and channeled psionic energy into it. A brilliant blue light blade, about half a meter long, extended from the front of the device.

For some reason, the Tentacle Beast hesitated to attack Shen Jun. It vaguely sensed that this human was different from yesterday, now giving off a deadly threat.

Its instincts screamed for it to flee, but the corpses behind Shen Jun tempted it with hunger.

Shen Jun didn't care why the beast wasn't attacking. He only remembered how badly it had chased him yesterday. Now was the perfect time for revenge. He charged forward, closed the distance, leaped, and drove the Psionic Blade straight into the beast's eye.

"Roar!"

Pain ignited the beast's ferocity. That little prey from yesterday dared to wound it?

Unacceptable!

Shen Jun carved a long gash across the beast's face, didn't linger, and rolled to the right as he landed. At that moment, the Tentacle Beast's claw slammed into the spot he'd just vacated.

"Oh, you're a feisty one."

Shen Jun moved far more nimbly than the beast. A few quick sidesteps brought him to its flank. He locked onto the wound on its belly, his eyes sharpened, and thrust the Psionic Blade with full force, slicing along the injury to open a gash. Just before the guts spilled out, he darted away.

"ROOOAR!"

Agony drove the beast into a frenzy. Dark purple-black blood gushed out, and the thick stench of blood filled the air.

The beast's strength drained rapidly; its movements grew sluggish. Shen Jun slashed it several more times, and soon it collapsed to the ground, motionless, dead from blood loss.

"Roar, roar!"

From the woods behind the beast, two small shadows darted out—two juvenile Tentacle Beasts, half the size of a human. They circled their mother's corpse, crying out, and when they couldn't rouse her, they bared their teeth at Shen Jun.

Seeing this, Shen Jun felt a pang of emotion. How cruel of him to make such young lives lose their mother?

With that, he raised his blade and sent the two little ones to reunite with her.

He lined up the three Tentacle Beast corpses together and nodded in satisfaction. A family should stay together.

"Rohana, open the panel. Let me see how much Biological Essence I've collected."

"Biological Essence: 1550 (one adult Tentacle Beast: 350, one juvenile: 50, plus three other Alien Beasts at 200 each)."

Shen Jun smiled in approval. "Not a bad haul."

He dismissed the Psionic Blade and continued toward his destination. Along the way, he encountered no more Alien Beasts—whether that was luck or misfortune, he couldn't tell...

Reaching the center of the open area, Shen Jun looked around. To the north, the land was all jungle and hills, stretching endlessly in both directions, while to the south lay a lake.

He had to admit, this planet's ecosystem was incredible. If not for those Alien Beasts, it would be perfect for human habitation.

Shen Jun opened the construction panel and, without a second thought, tapped on the Crystal Tower. The Nexus was important too, but there was no sign of Crystal Mineral veins or Gas Geysers—maybe they didn't even exist on this planet. Two hundred adult Protoss were far more appealing.

After all, they could easily hunt Alien Beasts and collect Biological Essence as an alternative energy source. The Protoss had lived by hunting in ancient times, so the Nexus wasn't an urgent need.

He set the Crystal Tower right in the center of the clearing. Rohana's voice rang out: "As you command, Commander." A massive beam of light materialized out of nowhere, within which a building flickered, half-real, half-illusory.

The moment it solidified, the light vanished, and in its place stood a magnificent Crystal Tower. A translucent Khaydarin Crystal floated above a base forged from Psionic Alloy. This tower was far larger than in the game—nearly twenty meters tall, covering about thirty square meters.

Then, the Khaydarin Crystal blazed with blinding light. Two hundred smaller beams descended around the tower. Shen Jun knew—his first batch of Protoss troops was about to arrive!