Jiang Yun’er—a name familiar to everyone in the Federation, and even the entire world. To call her a popular actress would be an understatement; she was a national goddess.

Of course, her real name wasn’t Yun’er, and she probably didn’t even have the surname Jiang.

But that wasn’t the point. Even Lin Feng, who paid little attention to the entertainment industry, knew of two major incidents involving her from the past few years.

One was about an A-list male actor who, banking on his seniority, got handsy with a recently debuted Jiang Yun’er at a gala. The next day, he "committed suicide" at home.

The second was that, for years, there had been virtually zero scandals or rumors about her. Any paparazzi who tried to fabricate stories would find themselves shut down.

In short, she was a star with a perfect public persona.

So, in addition to her looks, her background was also perfect.

Rumor had it she was the daughter or granddaughter of some powerful figure. Even the current president had sought her endorsement to rally votes during the election campaign.

Her participation in the official recruitment campaign this time was another testament to her powerful background. Even the 13th Infantry Division had to accommodate her, going so far as to find a powerful Awakener to help.

But Lin Feng wanted no part in such a thankless job.

It was too much trouble, especially since his personality wasn’t the type to flatter and suck up to people.

No matter how beautiful she was or how powerful her backers were, getting Lin Feng to bow and scrape to accommodate her would be harder than killing him.

Furthermore, it was a bodyguard mission where Jiang Yun’er’s status was far higher than his own. He couldn’t even retaliate if things went south, which annoyed him even more.

"Why me? The army has plenty of experts. Can’t you just send a few of them?"

Lin Feng refused point-blank, his entire being radiating resistance and annoyance, just like back when he had a regular job and his boss would randomly assign him tasks outside of his duties.

Qin Hu spread his hands and began to explain:

"Our Awakeners don’t have the power to capture a Black Spine Zerg alone. Their combat styles are different. They rely on coordinated firepower for large-scale annihilation, whereas you rely on your own formidable abilities to fight solo."

"If I send a squad of soldiers, it will only attract more Black Spine Zergs and might even make the Mother Empress mistake it as us provoking a new war."

"Those bugs are cunning. They run away if too many people show up."

"So for this kind of mission, the fewer people involved, the better, and we can’t make a big commotion. We only have two Awakeners with the Superpower Bullet ability on our entire team, and their close-combat skills aren’t outstanding."

"Don’t worry, I’ll bring in a few special ops elites to coordinate with the operation. Your involvement is just to serve as a failsafe."

"If something unexpected happens, we need to get her out safely."

Lin Feng took a deep breath, weighing the pros and cons.

’If it’s just being a silent bodyguard, and I don’t have to deal with the unreasonable antics of these big shots, then it might be tolerable. In the end, it’s still about killing Zergs anyway.’

But he wouldn’t work for free. His material gathering had already fallen far behind because of the time spent capturing live Zergs.

"This falls outside the scope of our agreement, and it has nothing to do with the defense of Wu City."

"As a civilian Awakener, I’m willing to accept your employment. For payment, I require a large quantity of Zerg Race Biological Material, such as the Back Armor from Red-Armored Beetles or the Giant Mandibles from Black Spine Zergs."

"You must have collected a lot of that stuff."

Qin Hu considered it for a moment, then nodded and stood up.

"No problem. I’ll have a portion delivered tomorrow."

"Forty pieces of Crimson Back Armor and twenty pairs of Giant Mandibles. The other half will be delivered as the final payment upon completion. How does that sound?"

Lin Feng nodded with a smile.

"No problem. I hope everything goes smoothly."

With the deal struck, Qin Hu left the auto shop and led a team of engineers to survey the service area’s terrain and discuss how to build defensive fortifications.

Lin Feng returned to the RV. Chen Yanyan had already finished her preparations and was about to begin her Superpower Awakening.

"What did Qin Hu say just now? It looks like he’s got some serious status now, complete with his own escort."

Lin Feng grunted in acknowledgment.

"He was promoted to Major. He’s the hero being celebrated in the propaganda from that victory."

"He came over this time to arrange for us to stay here and continue the recon mission, to ensure the Zerg-capturing goes smoothly... but there’s also a special task."

Chen Yanyan’s eyes lit up. She had overheard the reward for the mission—a very generous amount of Zerg Race materials.

Lin Feng looked at Chen Yanyan’s curious gaze and suddenly realized she might know more about the subject. Before she could speak, he asked her a question instead:

"Do you know anything about the star Jiang Yun’er?"

Chen Yanyan was a little confused but answered anyway:

"Yeah, she’s a pretty down-to-earth celebrity who appeals to the masses. She has tons of fans, both men and women. She’s the dream girl for a lot of people."

"She’s been single ever since her debut. Her actual talent isn’t anything to write home about, but she’s gorgeous. She’s starred in a lot of blockbusters in recent years, so her career is really taking off..."

"Why? Don’t tell me she’s coming to the front lines to do some kind of morale-boosting show?"

Lin Feng shrugged. He almost wished that were the case; at least it wouldn’t be dangerous.

"She’s coming here to the Thirteenth Division to film a recruitment video. The higher-ups want her to kill a Black Spine Zerg to show that the Zerg Race isn’t so scary, encouraging young people to enlist and defend the Federation."

"So..."

Understanding dawned on Chen Yanyan’s face.

"So Qin Hu wants you to make arrangements and protect Jiang Yun’er so the filming goes smoothly?"

Lin Feng let out a soft sigh and nodded.

"I had no reason to refuse him. He offered too much, and not just the Zerg Race materials, but other preferential treatment as well. It was a package deal."

"The film crew will be here in two days. Who knows how far the Zerg Race’s territory will have expanded by then."

The corners of Chen Yanyan’s mouth lifted into a slight smile. She walked up behind Lin Feng, looked up at him, and started massaging his shoulders.

"Look on the bright side. Jiang Yun’er’s background is nothing to sneeze at. If you can get on her good side, it could help our Zerg-Hunting business in the future." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Even the President needed her endorsement. If she helped promote us, we could avoid a lot of trouble."

Lin Feng shrugged and, with a gentle push from Chen Yanyan, walked into the bedroom.

"I hope so. These celebrities are all just personas crafted by corporations. Who knows what they’re really like in private. I just want to complete the mission, get my reward, and not have her end up hating me."

Inside the bedroom, after drawing the curtains, Chen Yanyan lay down on the bed, which had been covered with a plastic sheet, and prepared to begin her Awakening.

Seeing her stripped down to her underwear, blushing with her eyes shut tight, Lin Feng sat on a stool by the head of the bed and tightly gripped her outstretched hand.

"Don’t act like you’re giving birth. No need to be nervous."

"You need to relax first. Adjust your body and mind."

"Come on, take a deep breath. Relax your muscles. Let the warm current in your chest spread throughout your entire body."

With Lin Feng’s comforting guidance, Chen Yanyan successfully entered the Superpower Awakening State.

After profuse sweating and a period of delirious muttering, the Level 10 Upgrade Awakening was nearing its end.

Her whole body was drenched in sweat, and a layer of grayish filth covered her snow-white skin—a mixture of shed skin and expelled impurities.

Chen Yanyan slowly opened her eyes. Seeing the many scratch marks on Lin Feng’s arm, her face filled with apology.

"I... I’m sorry..."

Lin Feng pulled his hand away and offered her a bottle of water.

"It’s nothing. Go wash up. You’re filthy."

Chen Yanyan swallowed, her mouth parched. She took the bottle and drained it in one gulp. Looking down at her body, a crimson blush spread from her chest to her cheeks.

She hurriedly put down the bottle and ran into the bathroom.

After she had been showering for a while, Lin Feng heard Chen Yanyan’s soft voice call out from the bathroom:

"Hey... um, could you grab me some clothes? I forgot to bring any."

Lin Feng looked into the bedroom’s storage cabinet. Inside were the many cosplay outfits he had collected before, along with some intimate lingerie. He was suddenly faced with a dilemma.

’Which set should I pick? And what color to go with it?’