"Want to go together?"

Lin Feng added, looking back. When no one responded, he shrugged and walked back to his RV.

"Let’s go. We’ll test the waters first."

After giving Chen Yanyan the order, the RV shot out of the highway toll booth and into the depths of the darkness.

In Lin Feng’s vision, a notification for his lv10 Highly Modified RV had appeared: [Acquiring Upgrade Points]. It seemed that just by entering the Swarm’s territory, he could rack up mileage and earn Upgrade Points.

"Activate the Shield Armor Form. Speed up, but don’t go too deep. We’ll just cruise around the perimeter."

"Take off the Night Vision Device. It’s useless once the high beams are on."

Although Chen Yanyan was a bit confused, she still followed Lin Feng’s orders, pressing the switch at her waist. The Shield Armor that enveloped her entire body materialized.

Then, following the navigation route on her phone, she carefully skirted the edge of the Zerg Race’s occupied territory.

With a full tank, they could travel five or six hundred kilometers, and they had four extra barrels of gasoline in reserve. They had nothing to worry about.

Lin Feng planned to drive about eighty kilometers to gather enough points for the RV’s first Upgrade and see what changes it would bring. This would make it safer when they ventured deeper.

Once inside the Zerg Race’s territory, their vehicle was the key to survival—far more important than any offensive measures.

Not long after Lin Feng’s RV left, two Awakeners from the remaining group stepped forward, leading their respective squads to drive deep into the Zerg territory.

Qin Hu watched them go, then ordered his men to turn their vehicles around, form up, and raise their weapons.

With fifty people and fifty rifles, plus Light Weapons like grenades, taking out four or five Black Spine Zergs with focused fire would be exceptionally easy.

Plus, with his own Grenade Cannon for fire support, this mission was a piece of cake for Qin Hu. Even if things went south, they could just drive away.

It was nowhere near as thrilling or dangerous as the last rescue mission deep inside the city.

Qin Hu, cradling his gun in the back of a jeep, silently lit a cigarette and prayed for Lin Feng’s group to have good luck.

Meanwhile, on a provincial highway to the north, Lin Feng’s RV hadn’t ventured into the heart of the territory at all. It was just cautiously exploring within a twenty-five-kilometer range of the border.

As the mileage in the occupied zone increased, his lv10 Highly Modified RV gained another Upgrade Point. It was now just seventy kilometers away from the 10 points needed for a hundred kilometers.

Chen Yanyan was far more familiar with the roads in the Hai City Suburban Area than the other two. She used to travel here often for business or to drive Lin Youzhi.

The RV’s high beams illuminated eighty meters ahead. On the empty street, besides a few abandoned cars, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

With the streetlights out, only their lone vehicle moved through the night.

There was an indescribable eeriness to it all.

Chen Yanyan’s long legs gently pressed the accelerator, keeping the RV moving at a steady eighty to ninety kilometers per hour.

Soon, after driving for half an hour, they hadn’t encountered any Black Spine Zerg Scouts. Instead, they saw the glow of fire and heard the distant sounds of gunfire and explosions.

A fierce battle had broken out ahead.

Lin Feng, who could see farther, spoke up:

"That’s the Federation’s state armed guard. They’re on the front lines, trying to stop the Black Spine Zerg Swarm’s encirclement..."

"That level of intensity is not something we can handle. Turn around and go back. We don’t want to get targeted by the Black Spine Zerg Swarm."

As he spoke, a violent explosion BOOMED in the distance. The RV’s windows rattled, and they could clearly feel the shockwave.

Chen Yanyan nodded, quickly hit the brakes, and turned the vehicle around, driving away from the battlefield with lingering fear.

Behind them, a mushroom cloud slowly rose into the air.

Lin Feng leaned out the window and looked back. ’It would take at least a three-thousand-kilogram aerial bomb to create a mushroom cloud that big.’

It seemed the higher-ups were pulling out all the stops to prevent the Swarm from annihilating the Thirteenth Division.

An aerial bomb with such a large payload could level a standard hundred-meter-long soccer field, and its effective kill radius would be several times larger.

If used effectively, a single one could be enough to kill hundreds of Black Spine Zergs.

’I hope they succeed!’

On the way back, Lin Feng’s group encountered several groups of Red-Armored Beetles. Attracted by the RV’s headlights from earlier, they were lying in wait by the roadside.

Lin Feng switched his Divine-level Pistol to a different mode and easily crippled their limbs. After stopping the RV, he brought Liu Yueqi forward, letting her finish off the wounded Zergs with her saber to accumulate Upgrade Points for both herself and her Thousand Slash Saber.

At the same time, he collected their Back Armor, tying it to the roof of the RV for later use.

Unfortunately, time was tight, so he couldn’t make a Red Armor Shield for Liu Yueqi.

After driving another forty kilometers, Lin Feng’s RV finally accumulated enough Upgrade Points from the hundred-kilometer journey.

After he tapped Upgrade, an extra option popped up for the lv10 Highly Modified RV:

「Consume one self-upgrade to add materials and activate Extra Attributes? Current compatible materials: Red-Armored Beetle Back Armor, Black Spine Zerg Giant Mandible」

Lin Feng took a closer look and was instantly overjoyed.

’My personal upgrades are handled by the Blast Gun, but the RV needs to get stronger as soon as possible!’

So, he immediately chose to fuse both Zerg organs from the roof into the Upgrade!

While the Upgrade was in progress, Lin Feng had Chen Yanyan drive to a roadside intersection at the edge of the territory and turn on the high beams to continue attracting scattered Red-Armored Beetles.

This served two purposes: to accumulate more Upgrade Points and materials, and to thin out the number of Red-Armored Beetles in the area. That way, even if a Black Spine Zerg Reconnaissance Squad showed up, it wouldn’t be able to summon a Red-Armored Beetle Swarm to surround them.

Chen Yanyan could also get out of the vehicle and use the Divine-level Pistol Replica Lin Feng had given her to practice on the Red-Armored Beetles, getting some combat training.

With nothing else to do, Lin Feng took out the toolbox he’d brought from his villa’s garage and started modifying a Red-Armored Beetle Back Armor, turning it into an upgradable shield.

After using five pieces of Back Armor, a new lv4 Red Armor Shield was complete.

Lin Feng added a few Upgrade Reserves to it and called out to the young woman in front of him:

"Hey, come and get this."

Liu Yueqi cautiously finished off a Red-Armored Beetle and stripped its Back Armor before returning to Lin Feng’s side.

"This is..." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Lin Feng pointed to the Shield Armor he and Chen Yanyan were wearing.

"It’s like what we’re wearing. It can block a Red-Armored Beetle’s pincers, but I don’t know if it can withstand a Black Spine Zerg’s Giant Mandible."

Liu Yueqi happily accepted the A4-paper-sized shield. Nearby, Chen Yanyan shot a few more Red-Armored Beetles and explained:

"Tuck it into the back of your clothes. It’ll attach automatically. Press the button on your waist to switch to Shield Armor Form."

Lin Feng nodded.

"It only lasts for a few hours, but that should be enough."

He then got back in the RV to check on its Upgrade progress. As long as no Black Spine Zergs showed up, the two women could handle these Red-Armored Beetles.

He was saving his Blast Gun for the Black Spine Zergs.

A faint red glow appeared on the RV’s exterior. Its upgrade was a bit slow.

Twenty minutes later, the Highly Modified RV’s upgrade was complete:

「Highly Modified RV lv11/19, Red Quality」

「Upgrade Points 0/10, Damage 40, Defense Power 60, Average Speed 120km/h, Range 400km」

「Extra Attributes: Biological Armor (Defense Power +20), Armor-Piercing Car Head (Damage +20)」

「Evaluation: This is a fused biological Tank. It possesses sturdy armor and a hard Armor-Piercing Car Head, allowing it to rampage across the battlefield. However, please monitor its wear and tear. Earn Upgrade Points based on mileage driven on the battlefield.」

After fusing with the Red-Armored Beetle Back Armor, a layer of red and silver, like Shield Armor, appeared over the RV’s outer metal shell. Its total Defense was now a high eighty, meaning low-level Black Spine Zergs couldn’t even scratch it.

And after fusing with the Black Spine Zerg’s Giant Mandible, a sharp, triangular outer shell grew over the RV’s former front bumper. Its black material resembled the Giant Mandible and was hard enough to withstand continuous gunfire.

The entire vehicle had been transformed from its previous fragile state into an apocalyptic Tank.

Lin Feng felt that if it went full throttle now, it could ram right through several Black Spine Zergs.

Seeing the RV’s immense transformation, the two women at his side reacted differently. Chen Yanyan was relatively calm; having been with Lin Feng for a while, she had become somewhat desensitized to such strange occurrences and was merely surprised. But the newcomer, Liu Yueqi, was completely dumbfounded, her jaw dropping as she clutched her Thousand Slash Saber, at a loss for what to do.

It was Chen Yanyan who reacted quickly, shooting down a Red-Armored Beetle that was about to pounce on Liu Yueqi, preventing the new Shield Armor from being damaged for nothing.

Coming to her senses, Liu Yueqi unconsciously walked over to the RV, closely examining the grim and ferocious modified vehicle, which now resembled a berserk war beast.

Lin Feng was also captivated by it and wished he could take it for a joyride himself. Unfortunately, the more important task at hand was to use it to lure the Zergs out.

He patted the solid Outer Armor and said to the two women:

"Alright, that’s enough. Let’s start the massacre!"

Chen Yanyan walked over to the driver’s side. Lin Feng sighed, tossed her the keys, and remarked:

"I can’t believe you’re getting its first run after the big upgrade. Drive it well. Unleash its full potential!"

Chen Yanyan was ecstatic. She hadn’t expected to get the chance to be the first one to drive it.

Looking at the Highly Modified RV’s ferocious front, its thick Outer Armor, the sense of security this behemoth provided was something her flimsy Shield Armor couldn’t compare to.

After getting in and buckling her seatbelt, she turned the key and slammed on the gas. The explosive roar of the engine sounded like the furious bellowing of a wild beast, an instantly exhilarating rush.

"Let’s move out!"

At Lin Feng’s command, the lv11 Highly Modified RV shot forward like a beast uncaged, rushing into the depths of the Swarm’s territory!

And soon, the high beams illuminating a hundred meters ahead and the roar of the engine attracted a patrolling Black Spine Zerg Reconnaissance Squad!

The three of them appeared just two kilometers ahead of where Lin Feng’s group had temporarily parked.

Right in the path of the newly modified RV.

"Charge! Don’t stop!"

Lin Feng roared!

His right hand shot out the window, raising the lv10 Blast Gun that was already itching for action. He aimed at the three Black Spine Zergs in the distance and unleashed a rapid-fire barrage!

BOOM!!!