Chen Yanyan controlled the gas and brake pedals with her mind, her hands simply resting on the steering wheel to keep it steady.

This allowed her to practice and grow more familiar with her Superpower while also conserving Spiritual Power.

As they left the service area, she caught a fleeting glimpse in the rearview mirror of a mysterious woman, half-visible through the window of the luxury RV.

Thanks to her Awakening upgrading to Lv10, Chen Yanyan, who had just crossed the threshold into Tier One, now possessed excellent eyesight, able to make out facial details from one or two hundred meters away.

So she quickly recognized the woman in the sunglasses. It was the wildly popular "national goddess," Jiang Yun’er.

This was the first time Chen Yanyan had seen such a high-caliber, top-tier celebrity in person. Although she had met some second- and third-rate young actors and starlets at a villa in the Hai City suburbs while working as Lin Youzhi’s assistant, the truly powerful top-tier stars weren’t bound by their agencies.

And Jiang Yun’er was one such superstar.

Even the media conglomerates had to vie with one another to provide her with resources.

Although Lin Feng had mentioned it to her, Chen Yanyan was still a bit surprised to have such a close encounter with a huge star, practically on their doorstep.

Especially since Jiang Yun’er was even more stunningly beautiful in person than on screen. Even Chen Yanyan, who had always prided herself on her exceptional looks, felt herself pale in comparison.

What surprised Chen Yanyan even more, however, was Lin Feng’s reaction. He was completely unimpressed by the uninvited star, even seeming disdainful and annoyed.

On the way to the suburbs of Hai City, Chen Yanyan, who had been bottling up her questions the entire drive, finally couldn’t hold back any longer once Lin Feng had finished his work in the rear of the vehicle.

"Did you see the woman in that other RV? The window rolled down at the last second, revealing half her face."

After leaving the service area, Lin Feng had moved the three Machine Cannons from the rear storage and mounted them on the second-floor observation deck.

Ordinarily, they would be kept under a tarp. In combat, the mounting brackets could be raised and the side armor plates lifted, allowing for rapid-fire, comprehensive coverage of the surrounding area and the sky above.

These were actually prepared specifically for Chen Yanyan, intended to bolster the RV’s offensive power and transform it from a support vehicle into a multi-purpose combat vehicle, drastically increasing its potential in battle.

Lin Feng had made a point of inspecting them. These Machine Cannons were offensive items of Red Quality, and all of them showed a certain degree of wear, having clearly just been through the crucible of war.

Although Qin Hu had promised to provide Lin Feng with heavy weapons, he couldn’t just requisition brand-new equipment directly from the armory. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The main front in the battle for Wu City was too critical, so they could only secretly send over used equipment.

Fortunately, any item in Lin Feng’s possession could be restored to pristine condition with a single Upgrade, completely erasing all wear and tear.

These three battle-hardened Machine Cannons had fired at least several thousand rounds. Even at a low estimate of one Black Spine Zerg killed for every hundred rounds fired, they would have accumulated enough Evolution Points for one Upgrade.

So with a simple effort, Lin Feng Upgraded all three Machine Cannons from Lv10 to Lv11, making them good as new.

Unfortunately, aside from a slight increase in Damage, they didn’t gain any Extra Attributes upon Upgrading, unlike his bound equipment.

Many special functions couldn’t be replicated on items alone; they needed the system’s support. And even when possible, it always came at a price.

For example, his former Red Armor Shield’s Shield Armor Form and Absolute Defense Form had both consumed Upgrade Reserve.

Only a Tier Jumping Upgrade could lift some of those restrictions.

The lackluster Attributes of the Machine Cannons were within Lin Feng’s expectations. He looked at the three Lv11 Machine Cannons, each with only 60 Damage—enough to require two or three precise shots to kill a single Black Spine Zerg. Yet, far from being disappointed, an idea began to form in his mind.

After finishing his preparations, Lin Feng wiped his greasy hands with a rag and returned to the driver’s cabin.

Chen Yanyan’s sudden question about the incident before their departure caught Lin Feng off guard for a second. He paused, then replied bluntly:

"Because it’s trouble."

"And a woman you can’t afford to offend is the worst kind of trouble."

"I’m the kind of person who hates trouble. When we first met, I was worried bringing you along would be a huge hassle. Luckily, you proved through your actions that while you may not be of much use, at least you don’t cause any trouble."

"So, I let you come along."

"But this celebrity, Jiang what’s-her-name..."

Lin Feng explained, his eyes scanning both sides of the road.

Chen Yanyan supplied,

"Jiang Yun’er. A top-tier star in the Federation, and a world-class superstar."

"It’s mainly her face. It’s completely natural and stunningly beautiful. A lot of female celebrities and women who care about their looks get minor plastic surgery to try and match her features."

Lin Feng shook his head.

"This isn’t about whether she’s pretty or not. In these chaotic times, a pretty face won’t feed you. Think of all those powerful figures back in Hai City. Weren’t their lives cut down like weeds in a single day? Even if they were lucky enough to escape, what are they now that they’ve lost Hai City? They’re nothing."

"This is an era where strength reigns supreme. And as the Alien Zerg Race accelerates its invasion, that fact will only become more apparent."

"We need to focus on growing stronger as quickly as possible, not waste our time trying to curry favor with some big shot."

"Unless an interaction provides a concrete benefit—like Hu Fei’s business deals or Qin Hu’s friendship—it’s a pointless drain on our time and resources."

"Stop being fooled by the rose-tinted filters of the peaceful era. You should work harder. Who knows, maybe the world-class superstar of the future will be named Chen Yanyan."

After hearing Lin Feng’s explanation, Chen Yanyan nodded seriously, lost in thought.

As she shed her old mindset, she couldn’t help but feel a flicker of secret delight. Lin Feng’s dismissive view of other women meant her own position was that much more secure. Clearly, ability was more important than a pretty face. ’With Lin Feng’s protection and help, I might actually have a precious opportunity to become famous throughout the world. As long as I become powerful enough, there will be no shortage of people to spread the stories of my glorious deeds.’

Having adjusted her mindset, Chen Yanyan adopted a serious attitude, aligning herself with Lin Feng and focusing on her driving.

Soon, forty kilometers past the service area, Lin Feng spotted signs of the Zerg Race. In the wooded areas beyond the emergency lanes, mounds of earth from Wormholes dug by Red-Armored Beetles appeared one after another.

This swarm of low-level Worker Zergs dug almost ceaselessly, sparing no effort to expand the Zerg Race’s territory. Not even the efficiency of human industrialization could match their speed.

After driving another two kilometers, now three kilometers from the toll station, they both saw a large number of Red-Armored Beetles on both sides of the road, devouring the grass and trees.

In just the past twenty-four hours, they had swept through a vast area, leaving behind only barren land where not a single blade of grass remained.

At this rate, in less than ten days, the Zerg Race would have dug their underground Wormhole tunnels all the way to the suburbs of Wu City.

By then, from the skyscrapers in the city proper, people would be able to see massive Swarms roaming the urban fringe.

Just like the threat they faced now: a small patrol consisting of twenty Black Spine Zergs.

They appeared suddenly on the highway, spotting the RV at the same moment it spotted them.

Following Lin Feng’s instructions, Chen Yanyan decisively turned the RV around. At the same time, she took control of the Divine-level Pistol in her left hand and unleashed a hail of bullets at the Black Spine Zergs that had just appeared.

With only 40 Damage, the bullets from the Level 9 Divine-level Pistol just sparked against the Black Spine Zergs’ bodies. Neither the high-velocity slugs nor the resulting shrapnel could inflict any real harm.

Instead, it only served to trigger the Black Spine Zergs’ aggression.

After confirming the low threat level of their enemy, the Black Spine Zerg Swarm charged the Armored RV, led by several large Soldier Zergs above Lv13.

To kill any and all intruders in their territory was an instinct engraved in the Soldier Zergs’ very genes.

While Chen Yanyan executed the maneuver, Lin Feng moved from the driver’s cabin to the second-floor observation deck. A smile touched his lips as he saw the Black Spine Zerg Swarm in hot pursuit.

However, he didn’t draw the Lv16 Machine Cannon from his hip—its Damage was overkill for this. Instead, he hefted one of the ordinary Lv11 Machine Cannons.

After confirming there were no Cyan-winged Zergs circling overhead, Lin Feng peered through the scope and aimed at the Late Stage Soldier Zergs at the front of the Black Spine Zerg Swarm.

He deliberately aimed for their limbs and fired.

Sixty points of Damage was enough to tear through their sharp legs.

As long as he could break a Black Spine Zerg’s leg, slowing it down or immobilizing it, then the objective of this excursion would be achieved.

Before long, after some expert kiting by Chen Yanyan, all twenty of the relentlessly pursuing Black Spine Zergs were down on the road.

Because they weren’t completely dead yet, they wouldn’t attract other Swarms to investigate, at least for a little while.

Then, Lin Feng returned to the driver’s cabin and instructed Chen Yanyan to drive the Lv12 Armored RV back along the road, running over the crippled Black Spine Zergs.

The Upgrade Points needed to upgrade the RV to Lv13,

were right before their eyes.

Unable to run away.