Chapter 86: Chapter 81: Firepower Coverage, Harvest, and Awakening

As soon as Lin Feng finished speaking, Shen Jie volunteered and stepped out of line:

"Sir, I’ll do it!"

At his side, Zhang Liying wanted to go with him, but Shen Jie stopped her.

"You stay. They still need you to lead them."

He then found two other guys, and the three of them formed a small team. They climbed into a police SUV and, under Lin Feng’s watchful eye, slowly drove into the heart of Zerg Race territory.

Before they left, Lin Feng stood to the side and gave them some instructions:

"Don’t drive too far—stay within three kilometers. The Zerg Race patrols are tighter now, so you’ll run into them before long."

"The moment you make contact, turn around and flee. Once you’ve created some distance, the other two should open fire from the back of the vehicle to draw the entire patrolling Black Spine Zerg Swarm after you."

"You don’t need to go too fast. Maintain about forty-five to fifty miles per hour, and prioritize safety. The Black Spine Zergs aren’t actually that fast—about thirty to thirty-five miles per hour—so you can easily outrun them in the vehicle."

"I’ll be behind you to provide fire support, but I won’t get too close. You have to lure the Black Spine Zergs out first."

"That’s the only way we can take them down safely."

As he spoke, Lin Feng picked up a walkie-talkie. Chen Yanyan had brought it back from Han Yuxin; it was standard-issue equipment from the police station, useful for staying in contact during missions.

"Keep the radio on. As soon as I spot something, I’ll contact you."

Lin Feng finished explaining the intricate details of the mission. This was all critical, life-saving information.

Shen Jie and the others nodded seriously, committing it to memory.

After watching the police SUV disappear in a cloud of dust, Lin Feng climbed to the second level of the Armored Tank and ordered everyone else back inside to avoid any surprise attacks from Cyan-winged Zergs.

Normally, Cyan-winged Zergs wouldn’t be drawn out without a fight, but since their Nest had been attacked, there was no telling how they might react.

Lin Feng had to be on high alert.

That was why he didn’t take the risk of sending the Armored Tank in first. He wanted to avoid provoking the Zerg Race Mother Empress, which could attract a massive swarm of Black Spine Zergs and cause the live-capture mission to fail.

This was also one of the reasons he was training new subordinates.

The Armored Tank’s firepower was immense, and it had likely already been marked by the Zerg Race. The risks of venturing deep into their territory multiplied with each incursion.

By having Shen Jie and his team drive an ordinary vehicle, however, the risk was greatly reduced. The simple-minded Zergs would just see them as common intruders. Their defensive response wouldn’t be the same as it was for the Armored Tank, which immediately drew a Swarm of hundreds, if not thousands.

As the police SUV drove into the heart of Zerg Race territory, Lin Feng activated his Mind Sensing for the first time.

Instantly, an imperceptible wave of Spiritual Energy radiated out from him.

Like a sonar pulse, any life form with a Life Value exceeding fifty would appear as a flash of light in his mind.

The higher the Life Value, the larger the point of light. The more creatures were gathered, the denser the points of light would appear.

With this, every member of the Zerg Race at Level 5 or higher within a three-kilometer radius was rendered completely visible on the three-dimensional map in his mind.

But to Lin Feng’s surprise, the range of his Mind Sensing included not only the sky and the ground but also extended underground, revealing even more.

However, the range of the Spiritual Energy was reduced tenfold underground, limiting his detection to a 300-meter-radius hemisphere below him. Still, this would allow him to detect a surprise tunnel attack from the Zerg Race hours in advance.

The ability wasn’t of much use right now, but it would be incredibly effective during the future battle for Wu City, stationed inside the Fortress of an outpost.

Lin Feng guessed the military probably had similar detection methods, but they surely weren’t as convenient as his own, which allowed him to sense and prepare for threats anytime, anywhere.

Pleased with this unexpected boon, Lin Feng ignored the five or six Wormholes dug by a Red-Armored Beetle Swarm beneath his feet. As long as he didn’t see the bright signatures of Black Spine Zergs, they weren’t a concern.

His attention was fully focused on a group of fast-moving points of light about two kilometers away.

From their movement speed and the brightness of the light points, Lin Feng judged that this was the closest Black Spine Zerg patrol in the vicinity.

Without hesitation, Lin Feng picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke to Shen Jie’s group, who were still out searching:

"Do you copy? The Black Spine Zerg Swarm is five hundred meters to your Southwest! Turn around now! Turn around and head back! Get clear first, then open fire to draw them out!"

The walkie-talkie’s communication range was within three kilometers, but in the open plains with no buildings to block the signal, it could be received even from five kilometers away.

Shen Jie, the driver, was already on high alert. The moment he heard Lin Feng’s command, he yanked the wheel into a drift, pushing the police SUV to its absolute limit.

He slammed the pedal to the floor. The engine roared, and the vehicle’s speed shot up from a crawl to over fifty miles per hour.

As a result of his thrilling maneuver, just a few dozen seconds later, a swarm of Black Spine Zergs charged onto the highway, nearly cutting off the SUV’s escape route.

Fortunately, Shen Jie reacted quickly. Realizing the Black Spine Zerg Swarm would appear behind them, he had accelerated to break out of the encirclement.

Only on the highway could they build up enough speed to escape the Black Spine Zergs’ pursuit.

Faced with the relentlessly pursuing Black Spine Zerg Swarm, the two companions in the back followed Lin Feng’s orders. They shattered the rear window, crouched down, and opened fire.

This way, they wouldn’t have to lean out of the vehicle and expose themselves to attack from Cyan-winged Zergs.

Having escaped from the jaws of the Zerg, Shen Jie reduced their speed to a steady forty-five to fifty miles per hour, maintaining a two-to-three-hundred-meter gap between them and the Black Spine Zerg Swarm.

To make sure the Zergs wouldn’t give up the chase, he even turned on the police SUV’s siren.

The piercing WEE-OO WEE-OO sound quickly drove the pursuing Black Spine Zerg Swarm into a frenzy, and they latched on relentlessly.

Meanwhile, two kilometers away, Lin Feng stood on the observation deck of the Armored Tank. He had already used his Mind Sensing to confirm the swarm’s numbers and position.

There were twenty-six in total, three of which were giant Tier One Late Stage Black Spine Zergs.

Taking them down would normally require a reinforced company of a hundred men with heavy weapons.

But the Level 19 Grenade Cannon in Lin Feng’s hands wasn’t just for single-target shots. Its Firepower Coverage Attribute could instantly unleash the firepower of an entire artillery battery!

It had a massive 10,000-square-meter coverage area and dealt an instant 40 points of Damage. Charging it for two seconds increased that to one hundred Damage. It was like dropping a grenade on every square meter within that 10,000-square-meter area every two seconds.

With that level of saturation and rate of fire, never mind a small Black Spine Zerg Swarm; even an army of hundreds or thousands of them couldn’t withstand many volleys.

With one weapon in hand, Lin Feng could single-handedly provide the firepower for an entire battlefront.

So now, dealing with a mere twenty-six Black Spine Zergs would be child’s play.

To avoid killing the Black Spine Zerg Swarm outright with his Firepower Coverage, Lin Feng didn’t charge the shot. He waited until they were hot on the police SUV’s tail and had closed to within four hundred meters of his position, then he activated the Firepower Coverage.

He unleashed a saturation strike dealing 40 points of Damage across the two-hundred-meter stretch of road occupied by the Swarm.

Once he had his target acquired, Lin Feng aimed at the Black Spine Zerg Swarm behind the SUV and pulled the trigger.

Red light gathered at the muzzle. An instant later, a torrent of projectiles shot out, and the powerful recoil was easily absorbed by the Level 19 Lin Feng.

The next moment, a chain reaction of explosions tore across the distant highway. In the span of just two or three seconds, every Black Spine Zerg, from the front of the pack to the rear, was engulfed by blasts a meter in diameter.

Shells detonated on their bodies and at their feet, shattering four of their sharp legs. Each Zerg sustained around one hundred points of Damage.

The Tier One Early Stage Black Spine Zergs were already on the brink of death.

As for the Late Stage Black Spine Zergs, because the damage was spread evenly across the area, their larger bodies were hit by more projectiles. While a single hit wasn’t fatal, the cumulative Damage was more than enough to give them a world of hurt.

Dragging their shattered legs, they tried to flee.

But Lin Feng’s group quickly arrived and broke their remaining limbs and pincers. The Zergs collapsed, gnashing their huge Giant Mandibles in helpless rage, completely immobilized.

Lin Feng had Shen Jie and the others each kill one Zerg and remove its Giant Mandibles. He then had Chen Yanyan kill the three giant Late Stage Black Spine Zergs.

Their bodies were too large, took up too much space, and were too difficult to control safely.

Killing them directly allowed them to keep the pair of Late Stage Giant Mandibles, which were far more valuable used to merge with the Tank or Upgrade the Red Profound Armor than they would be if sold.

With Shen Jie and the eight newcomers helping, the process of harvesting the Giant Mandible Material was exceptionally fast.

In just two minutes, not only had each of them killed a Black Spine Zerg as Lin Feng ordered, but they had also packed eleven pairs of Giant Mandibles and the fifteen remaining live Black Spine Zergs into the cargo hold of the Tank.

Lin Feng, meanwhile, could sit comfortably on the observation deck, his only duty to keep watch for any harassing Cyan-winged Zergs.

This was far more efficient and relaxed than when he had to do everything himself.

The first mission with the newcomers was completed smoothly. Lin Feng used his Mind Sensing to detect other Black Spine Zerg Swarms in the distance, coming to investigate the situation...

He immediately gave the order to head back, not wanting to linger.

As long as the set objective was complete, Lin Feng would never get greedy and overstay.

He didn’t want to attract more attention from the Swarm.

On the way back, everyone had a smile on their face. But not long after Lin Feng’s group left, among the Black Spine Zerg Swarm that had come to investigate...

a Late Stage, Level 19 giant Black Spine Zerg spat an egg-like sac from its Giant Mandibles, dropping it on the ground.

After the Zerg Swarm left, several Red-Armored Beetles arrived to clean up the scene, licking the Black Spine Zerg blood splattered on the ground.

Two of the Red-Armored Beetles sniffed at the sac on the ground, smelling a familiar scent.

Suddenly, a slimy human hand tore through the skin of the sac from within and emerged.

Immediately after, a human figure covered in translucent slime and reeking of the Zerg Race’s peculiar odor crawled out of the sac and stood up on the highway.

Cheng Zhan slowly opened his eyes. The swollen lump on the back of his head quickly disappeared into his cervical vertebrae.

He shook the slime from his body and glanced at the Red-Armored Beetle Swarm that had gathered around him out of curiosity.

The low-level bugs immediately scattered in all directions as if frightened.

Then the man looked in the direction of Wu City, stepped over the highway guardrail, and slowly walked into the depths of the forest.

......

Back at the service area, Lin Feng gazed at the main structure of the outpost, now largely complete, and let out a gasp of amazement.

The entire Fortress was eighty meters long, sixty meters wide, and fifteen meters high. The overall structure was elliptical, with five protruding sections designed to enhance Firepower Coverage on the flanks.

Combined with its inverted-trapezoid exterior, they could hide in its bunkers and harvest Black Spine Zergs indefinitely.

After a moment of admiration, Lin Feng had Han Yuxin take five of the Black Spine Zergs, while the remaining ten live ones were given to Hu Fei to be transported away.

Next, he went to the hotel and had Shen Jie’s group eat and drink their fill. Once they were rested and in peak condition, they would begin the Superpower Awakening to reach Tier One.

This time, eight people were awakening at the same time.

Lin Feng hoped that at least one of them would get something other than the dime-a-dozen Physical Enhancement Superpower.

Among them, he had the highest hopes for Shen Jie...

He wondered what kind of Superpower this determined young man, who dared to fight and risk it all, would ultimately awaken.