Capítulo 106: Chapter 106: Replica, Pneumatic Hammer Shotgun, Beacon
Lin Feng's awakening upgrade was completed quickly, possibly because strengthening to Tier 2 didn't involve the qualitative change experienced when transforming from an enhanced human to an awakener. What was initially estimated to take five hours finished in just three.
It was almost 5 p.m.
The troops were rotating for rest and meals.
Lin Feng raised a glass with the beauty in front of him to celebrate.
Chen Yanyan opened a bottle of low-alcohol red wine, which had no effect on awakeners.
They toasted and drank, celebrating the moment.
Then Lin Feng began to indulge in the delicious food on the table.
The awakening upgrade had consumed much of his body's stored energy.
He had digested all his previous meals, and even the subcutaneous fat around his waist and hips was depleted.
The suppressed hunger was unleashed at the sight of the feast.
After devouring five dishes, equivalent to three soldiers' rations, his hunger was somewhat alleviated.
Satisfied, he took out the rifle slung over his back, showing Chen Yanyan the rare and dangerous weapon.
It was currently the only orange-quality weapon.
With a base damage of 250 and armor-piercing properties, it allowed the wielder to easily eliminate several Tiger Bugs.
Even against a mid-Tier 2 large Tiger Bug, Lin Feng was confident he could take it down.
Resting for a moment, Lin Feng heard a voice outside from Li Ran:
"Report, the defenses for tonight are in place. Please come inspect them, Mr. Lin."
Lin Feng opened his eyes from Chen Yanyan's long legs, knowing it was time to appear.
The inspection was more to boost the morale of the sentry troops.
His presence at the outpost would instill absolute security and courage to face the challenges of the night.
As Lin Feng stepped out of the vehicle, he saw Li Ran, Shen Jie, and other commanders, all with expressions of joy and anticipation.
Without saying much, Lin Feng followed them to the outpost, greeting and encouraging the young soldiers, praising their efforts.
In their gradually firm expressions, Lin Feng saw the maturity of seasoned veterans.
After surviving the Wucheng battle, they would become elite soldiers.
Company 201 would become Lin Feng's foundation, expanding into thousands of saviors in the future.
After a round of inspection, Lin Feng had the other captains return to their posts and led Li Ran and Shen Jie to the outpost's center at the rear of the winged vehicle.
Lin Feng opened the trunk, revealing the few remaining steel plates.
The standard steel plates, made of refined steel, were leftovers sent by Han Yuxin. Each was a square meter, five millimeters thick, and weighed 40 kilograms.
One plate could produce five lv9 god-tier handgun replicas. Lin Feng used twenty plates to equip each awakener with a heavy machine gun.
Now, with ten plates left, Lin Feng decided to create lv19 grenade launcher replicas to counter the increasingly fierce night attacks.
The outpost was a ring-shaped fortress, and even if Lin Feng joined the fight, he couldn't cover every direction alone.
Equipping the other captains with lv19 grenade launchers was the best choice.
While the grenade launchers couldn't directly kill Tier 2 Tiger Bugs, hitting them multiple times at close range could seriously injure them.
This would slow the insects' advance, prevent them from breaching the fortress walls, and allow Lin Feng to address the uneven firepower distribution.
As Lin Feng placed his hands over the steel plates, a replication prompt appeared:
"Consume 100 kg of refined steel to create one lv19 grenade launcher?"
The lv9 god-tier handgun replicas required only five kilograms of refined steel, but the lv19 grenade launcher required twenty times that.
A ton of refined steel produced only ten grenade launchers.
Lin Feng frowned at the material cost, a significant expense.
These were refined steel, not ordinary recycled iron. With coastal ports lost and foreign high-quality iron ore unavailable, domestic mines and steel plants faced declining quality and quantity.
Refined steel production would only decrease.
Currently used for weapon production, refined steel had become a controlled commodity, stricter than food acquisition.
Accumulating large quantities of refined steel wasn't easy.
Lin Feng might have to rely on Hu Fei and Han Yuxin for stable channels; otherwise, he'd have to visit the steel plant at Tiger Pass personally.
Perhaps asking his sister-in-law for assistance could help.
However, the steel plant was four to five hundred kilometers from his chosen battle site, making transportation a major issue.
While contemplating future refined steel acquisition, Lin Feng completed the replica synthesis.
As red light enveloped the remaining ten plates, they transformed into four identical large-caliber rifles.
Lin Feng's eyes flickered, having imagined the replicas as a never-mass-produced legendary weapon, nicknamed the "Pneumatic Hammer" shotgun.
It was the highest single-shot damage shotgun in various shooting games.
Seeing them identical to the game versions, Lin Feng's lips curled into a smile.
Upon synthesis completion, the shotguns' attributes appeared:
"Grenade Launcher Replica lv19, Red Quality"
"Damage 190, Effective Range 5km, Remaining Ammo 5000"
"Base Attributes: Bullet Recovery 1/s, Space Magazine 5000 Reserve Ammo"
"Note: Effective within 1 km of the original. One-tenth of kill rewards feedback to the holder. Cannot harm the original holder. Basic attributes activate upon target kill."
Satisfied with the replica attributes, Lin Feng sighed in relief.
As long as bullet auto-recovery and space magazine attributes remained, the replicas were valuable.
Additional attributes like Death's Eye and Firepower Coverage could be achieved with enough replicas.
With 5000 reserve rounds and a recovery rate of 3600 per hour, they could withstand the insect wave.
Four lv19 grenade launcher replicas could easily intercept and eliminate over ten thousand Black Spine Bugs.
Their presence would ease Lin Feng's burden.
He handed two large "Pneumatic Hammers" to Li Ran and Shen Jie, explaining:
"These are as powerful as my old hand cannon, each shot akin to a 155mm grenade launcher. There are four in total; use them to defend the other four protruding bunkers and prevent Tiger Bugs from breaching the outpost walls."
The fort had five protruding bunkers, enhancing crossfire and output.
Hearing Lin Feng's explanation, Li Ran and Shen Jie eagerly took the heavy pneumatic hammer shotguns, eager to test them at the outpost.
Having seen the infinite ammo machine gun, Li Ran was most excited. The pneumatic hammer shotgun meant another super bullet awakener.
More of these would equate to an artillery battalion in power.
Holding the powerful weapon, Li Ran couldn't help but say:
"Shotgun? More like a shell cannon."
Lin Feng nodded:
"Pneumatic Hammer Shotgun, sounds good. Let's call it that."
He handed over the remaining two, cautioning:
"They pack a punch, with significant recoil."
"At 100 kilograms, the continuous firing force isn't manageable for a late-stage Tier 1 awakener."
Both Li Ran and Shen Jie, frontline commanders, had reached late-stage Tier 1 after the previous night's battle.
Li Ran was lv17, Shen Jie lv18, just shy of Tier 1 completion.
They could handle the powerful pneumatic hammer cannon.
Among the outpost defenders were others at late-stage Tier 1, so wielders wouldn't be an issue.
Watching them leave enthusiastically, Lin Feng returned to the outpost front, watching the sun set and night fall...
Countless insects began emerging from their holes.
A new round of battle was about to begin.
On the frontline, the main fort defenders, tense and unrested all day, relied on coffee to stay alert.
The insects' intimidation and exhaustion tactics were working.
After nearly forty hours without proper rest, the troops were mentally exhausted!
Half of this time was spent in grueling defense, a challenge even for awakeners, let alone new soldiers with only enhanced human capabilities...
Fatigue and numbness dropped their combat effectiveness drastically, impairing aim and ammo supply at night compared to the previous night.
Veterans understood this was unavoidable.
They too once believed these lowly alien insects would be obliterated by artillery.
But wave after wave of endless insect hordes battered the defenses.
Even with ample ammo, human flesh and blood couldn't endure, weakening over time.
Tonight, Tiger Bugs might attack. Without timely anti-tank missiles and mortars, the wall gates would suffer severely.
If the insects breached, causing casualties, even a successful defense would worsen over time.
Fortunately, frontline commanders weren't foolish, promptly rotating north and south defense forces in the main fort.
Troops from the northern fort, who hadn't fought the previous night, replaced the southern defenders.
Insects weren't foolish; they'd focus on one defense line, especially since the southern gate was breached. A little more effort could destroy several forts.
Opening a breach would let the insect army flood in for a full assault.
Rotating human defenses north and south reduced combat decline.
But humanity's efforts didn't stop there.
During the day, as Tiger Bug squads approached and intimidated, hidden teams in the main fort launched feint attacks.
Three super bullet awakeners used special bullets sent from the research institute.
The bullets contained a compound glue that adhered strongly to Tiger Bug shells.
Initial plans to embed transmitters in the shells were scrapped after Ding Chenghai analyzed Tier 2 Tiger Bug mandibles.
Their Mohs hardness exceeded 10, harder than diamond, the hardest known stable natural material.
Ordinary steel bullet heads had a Mohs hardness of 4.5, and armor-piercing tungsten alloy heads were 9.5, unable to penetrate Tiger Bug's 60-70mm bio-alloy armor.
The research institute shifted tactics, attaching signal transmitters with adhesive, turning them into beacons to locate the Queen.
Several adhesive-equipped beacon bullets were fired by three super bullet awakeners from the 13th Division, using awakened energy and electronic optical sights to accurately hit Tiger Bugs two kilometers away.
They fired thirty shots, marking eighteen Tiger Bugs on the battlefield.
The ping-pong-sized beacons emitted signals every two minutes, tracking the Tiger Bug swarm's location...
Whether the first defense line held was no longer a concern for the division and federal command...
Locating the Queen and deploying strategic bombers for remote deep-penetrating thermobaric bombs to destroy the insect brain, completing the "decapitation operation," was paramount!
With the beacon tracking, Tiger Bug movements were relayed back.
Analyzing the action paths on-screen...
Research institute analysts and mapping engineers quickly pinpointed three likely Queen locations.
One was just outside the former highway toll station, now an outpost, south of Wucheng!
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