Capítulo 109: Chapter 109: Counterattack, Vehicle Upgrade, and Materials
Lin Feng certainly wouldn't compel the soldiers, who had just faced a life-threatening crisis, to follow him back into danger. However, now that they had pledged their allegiance to him, it was crucial to solidify this trust through mutual commitment, not just by Lin Feng's efforts alone.
At critical moments, the soldiers needed to demonstrate their loyalty and execute Lin Feng's commands, thereby strengthening the bond of leadership and followership.
The insect horde tried to use humanity's decapitation strike against him, but Lin Feng was not one to take such maneuvers lightly. He planned to turn the tables and catch the insects off guard.
Of course, he had no intention of sacrificing the newly trained awakeners to the Black Spinal Bug army.
Thus, the Flying Wing Vehicle halted a kilometer away from the outpost.
Lin Feng disembarked, directing the convoy to form a defensive perimeter using the troop transports, tasked with eliminating the heavily injured Black Spinal Bugs left by the C4 explosions.
These were valuable opportunities for leveling up—wasting them was not an option.
Most of the awakeners were still in the early stages of Tier 1, in dire need of strengthening.
Lin Feng then gathered Li Ran and others to discuss the plan:
"The Tiger Bugs are in the deep pit beneath the outpost. The explosion destroyed the tunnels; they are either dead or gravely injured."
"The Red Beetles will open the tunnels to rescue them, but they need time. This is our chance."
"I need you to cover me here, holding off any potential insect reinforcements."
Everyone nodded, relieved that Lin Feng wasn't recklessly sacrificing the team they'd just saved.
Shen Jie, though, was a bit disappointed.
He wanted to accompany Lin Feng into the caves.
However, this mission was exceptionally dangerous, and Lin Feng might be hard-pressed to ensure safety for others.
Especially since Shen Jie was a crucial part of Lin Feng's future plans and couldn't be risked here.
Assuring Shen Jie to stay with the group, Lin Feng called Li Ran aside before departing.
Li Ran was the only unstable element in the group.
Unlike the other soldiers who were new and had no ties to the Thirteenth Division, Li Ran had served for years. Lin Feng was not Qin Hu and was not as familiar with him.
Facing Lin Feng's silent gaze, Li Ran felt a lump in his throat, understanding the concerns. He spoke first:
"Before joining the bio-experiment project, Brother Qin told me to follow you..."
"This recent decision by the Thirteenth Division proves they're not worth dying for."
"I have no other ambition; as long as you fight the insect invasion, I'll stay with you!"
Lin Feng nodded slightly. On one hand, he genuinely needed manpower; on the other, Li Ran and his veteran teammates could quickly organize and mobilize the team...
Shen Jie and others were still too young. Although their personal strength met the standards, their combat training was like a blank slate, lacking command experience.
Without Li Ran and his team, Lin Feng's departure with the 201st Company would have amounted to nothing more than forming a third-rate gang or bandit group.
This was Lin Feng's real concern.
With Li Ran's pledge of loyalty, Lin Feng decided to stoke the fire, sharing his thoughts:
"My reasons for leaving are twofold: First, Brother Qin mentioned that after the Wu City battle concludes, the rear industrial base would fully relocate, and the Federation would gradually reduce logistical support to the south..."
"When that happens, the Thirteenth Division will inevitably crumble, unable to maintain its massive numbers."
"Secondly, this missile strike incident—haven't you noticed anything suspicious?"
Li Ran took a deep breath and nodded after a few seconds:
"The Thirteenth Division's leadership has issues!"
Lin Feng acknowledged with a nod, adding:
"There's a mole, likely an insect spy."
Hearing this, Li Ran's pupils contracted, his grip on the shotgun slick with sweat.
He initially thought it was merely a power struggle within the Thirteenth Division, aiming to eliminate Qin Hu's remaining influence.
He hadn't expected Lin Feng to suggest such a shocking idea as an insect infiltrator!
But thinking further, if the insect Queen wasn't at the missile's targeted location, humanity would have abandoned multiple defensive fortresses for nothing.
In that context, it seemed more plausible!
As this realization dawned, a figure flashed in Li Ran's mind. Looking at Lin Feng's serious expression, he blurted out:
"Is it Major Cheng... Cheng Zhan?!"
Lin Feng nodded, patting Li Ran's shoulder:
"Don't let this slip out. We lack direct evidence, and Cheng Zhan is now a Tier 2 awakener, a colonel and commander of the awakeners' camp, not someone we can arrest on suspicion alone..."
"If he truly sabotaged things, his superhuman abilities could decimate the Thirteenth Division's leadership, and the Wu City defense would collapse without a fight."
"There's still time. If you can reach your old teammates who sent the message, tell them to break through the encirclement and escape the insect siege!"
"This is the last chance—sacrifices must be made decisively."
"When we broke through earlier, the sudden surge of Black Spinal Bugs indicates the insect Queen has long been prepared."
"Their real goal is more than just breaching the defense line."
"Devouring the thousands-strong defense force of fortified humans and awakeners is also part of their scheme."
Finishing, Lin Feng sighed, boarded the Flying Wing Vehicle, and sped off.
Leaving a shocked Li Ran, who rushed to a troop transport equipped with a radio, instructing the communications officer to contact the awakeners on the front line and escape the defense.
Meanwhile, after the explosion, the previously aggressive insect swarm at the front line suddenly seemed disconnected, dumbfounded.
Many retreated back into the burrow entrances.
This scene quickly alerted the defending soldiers, and after contacting the command center, the news received brought jubilation...
Judging by the battlefield's abrupt change, the previous bunker-buster missile strike likely killed or severely wounded the insect Queen, leaving the insect army leaderless and disoriented.
Now was the prime opportunity for the defense to launch a counterattack!
While venturing beyond the perimeter was daunting, the internal side of the walls, where Red Beetles had dug burrow entrances and abundant remaining insect swarms lay...
It was time for a thorough cleanup to reduce the threat of being attacked from both sides!
The headquarters' orders were to act on opportunities, but many units eager for merit and awakening sent out two-thirds or even their entire forces...
Launching a full-scale operation to eradicate the remaining insect swarms within the city.
Other companies stationed within various forts, due to insufficient weapons and ammunition, could only hold the line, intercepting potential insect assaults from outside.
But many veteran awakeners intended to follow the main force out of the city to slay Black Spinal Bugs, advancing to late-stage Tier 1.
Among them were many of Li Ran's former teammates.
They formed several elite units, with clearly defined roles, even carrying portable small radios for platoon-level communications.
Soon, they received Li Ran's urgent warning!
In the depths of darkness, lurking in the burrow entrances, numerous Black Spinal Bugs lay in ambush.
They awaited only a command from their Queen to surge forth and engulf the humans leaving the defense line!
Simultaneously, on the external battlefield, Tiger Bugs would lead the Black Spinal Bugs, coordinating with the city's chaos, to obliterate the under-defended fortresses.
The Queen's conspiracy was on the brink of realization!
...
Even if Lin Feng deduced the truth, he couldn't change the tide.
He could only strive to weaken the insect forces and strengthen his own.
With the Lv19 Flying Wing Vehicle utilizing ground-effect flight to traverse the ruined highway, it reached the service area.
The previously clean and level service area was shattered, littered with mounds and deep pits.
Without ground-effect flight, which significantly reduced tire pressure on the ground, even a tracked vehicle would have sunk into the multiple three to four-meter-deep trenches, unable to move.
Thankfully, the ground-effect flight proved effective, combined with Chen Yanyan's superb driving skills, bringing the vehicle to a stable stop beside the outpost.
The sunken outpost was tilted, one side deeply buried, the other with walls still three to four meters exposed above the pit.
It seemed the Red Beetles had excavated a massive underground cavern below to shelter the Tiger Bugs, drawing the missile's tracking.
Lin Feng stood at the edge, observing a giant hole over twenty meters in diameter in the center where supplies once lay.
Using psychic sense, he detected two remaining bright spots below, confirmed by life radar results from Chen Yanyan inside the vehicle.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Feng activated the Flying Tiger Armor's flight mode, plunging into the deep pit.
The explosion's destruction had collapsed the entire cavern.
But Tiger Bugs, swifter than the insect Queen, could retreat as the bunker-buster missile penetrated the earth, accelerating with its tail explosion.
The cloudburst bomb involved a secondary explosion; the initial blast merely dispersed the stored high-explosive gas, mixing with air to form an explosive gel, igniting a devastating secondary explosion.
This mirrored Lin Feng's initial use of a gasoline and hydrogen mix.
These few seconds, though insufficient for the insect Queen to escape, allowed the highly mobile Tiger Bugs to climb dozens of meters...
Escaping the deadly central zone.
Lin Feng recalled that during the outpost evacuation, there were five bright spots underfoot, representing five Tiger Bugs, with two still glowing...
Indicating two living insects!
Their path showed frantic upward excavation.
As the outpost continued to sink, it would eventually crush the buried insects to death.
Nearby, many Red Beetles aided the excavation, but with Lin Feng's arrival, clad in Flying Tiger Armor, exuding the terror of a predator, they scattered.
Lin Feng smoothly landed at the bottom of the thirty-meter pit.
He spotted a Tiger Bug with a claw protruding from the bottom, though most of its body remained beneath the outpost.
With a bit more effort, it could break free.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Feng raised his gun, grasped the half-meter-thick limb, and yanked it free with the thrust of his wings, pulling the struggling Tiger Bug from the pit.
Before it could react, a black gun barrel aimed down at its limbs.
With four shots, the Lv19 grenade launcher form of the Armor-Piercing Cannon targeted the Tiger Bug's vulnerable joints, severing four limbs.
This Lv23 Tiger Bug was already gravely injured, its health halved from over 300 points. Now, with its limbs severed, it had less than fifty remaining.
Even a grenade launcher could end it.
With the Tiger Bug neutralized, Lin Feng wasn't satisfied, grabbing a steel cable from the nearby elevator.
These steel cables could bear tens of tons, even hundreds, like ship chains or suspension bridge cables.
The elevator cable, only four centimeters thick, was more than sufficient against a nearly dead Tiger Bug.
In a Tier 2 awakener's hands, the hundred-kilogram cable was as manageable as rope.
He easily used it to bind the Tiger Bug's massive jaws, tying a secure knot.
With his immense strength, capable of snapping four-centimeter steel bars, flexible steel cables posed no challenge.
However, the Tiger Bug's body and jaws were heavy—its ten-meter jaws alone weighing a ton, with its head and body totaling over three tons.
The membrane wings could only lift half a ton.
But seeing the cables, Lin Feng had a flash of inspiration.
He secured two more cables, tying one end to the Tiger Bug's jaws and the other to the Lv19 Flying Wing Vehicle's rear tow hook.
With preparations complete, Chen Yanyan floored the accelerator, the engine roaring as she and Lin Feng hauled the Tiger Bug from the pit to the surface.
Following Lin Feng's instructions, she turned the vehicle and rammed it.
The vehicle's three sharp prongs pierced the Tiger Bug's head, yellow-green blood gushing out like a fountain...
A notification for the vehicle's upgrade flashed before Lin Feng:
"Lv19 Flying Wing Vehicle upgrade conditions met: Upgrade Points 10/10, Kill Tiger Bug 1/1."
"Initiate upgrade?"
"Note: Choose to forego personal synchronization upgrade for equipment fusion upgrade."
Now wasn't the time for upgrading, so Lin Feng used an upgraded Lv9 standard long knife on the Tiger Bug's jaws.
Halfway through, the blade bent.
Lin Feng had to load the entire Tiger Bug carcass into the trunk. Fortunately, its body was narrow enough to squeeze in.
After fitting one in, the fifty cubic meter space was nearly full, prompting Lin Feng to use reserve upgrade points to expand it to two hundred cubic meters.
During the escape, the heavy machine guns and autocannons had harvested numerous Black Spinal Bugs, and the C4 explosions had absorbed much stray energy.
The vehicle now had over six hundred upgrade points stored.
Lin Feng pondered whether the upgraded storage space attribute still counted Black Spinal Bugs for capacity.
About to start a tiered upgrade, he decided to use all remaining upgrade points for storage expansion.
The trunk expanded to 500 cubic meters, with the living and combat area reaching 150 cubic meters, providing a sixty-square-meter bedroom and living room.
A one-bedroom, one-living room, and one-bathroom setup sufficed.
After preparing the upgrade materials, Lin Feng heard Chen Yanyan's shout:
"Lin Feng, there's another one! Another Tiger Bug has climbed up!!"
While Lin Feng left the center cavern, the scattered Red Beetles, following the Tiger Bug's orders, reappeared to excavate it.
The Tiger Bug was a mid-Tier 2 Lv24 Tiger Bug:
"Tiger Bug, Lv24/29, Heavily Injured."
"Health: 250, Physique: 350, Spirit: 36."
As it climbed out of the outpost pit, reaching the surface, the outpost, unable to bear the weight, collapsed entirely into a sinkhole.
It almost crushed the severely wounded Tiger Bug beneath the soil.
Along with the ground's tremor came a loud explosion...
Next to the vehicle, Lin Feng lowered the Lv20 Armor-Piercing Cannon, expressionless, approaching the Lv24 Tiger Bug's shredded body.
Having just escaped death, it couldn't react before Lin Feng's shot ended it.
The armor-piercing shell penetrated its carapace, exploding inside its brain, leaving it in pieces.
Dragging the only intact part, the massive jaws, back to the trunk, Lin Feng surveyed the surroundings. Black Spinal Bugs were regrouping...
And deep within the sinkhole, Red Beetles were already excavating the dead Tiger Bug's carcass.
There was no value in lingering.
He got back in the vehicle, ordering a return.
Upon returning, besides finding a secure and secluded temporary camp for the soldiers...
The vehicle needed upgrading to Lv20 orange-grade equipment!
Then using replication skills, everyone would get new gear, equipping Lv19 vehicles with basic attributes comparable t
o military armored vehicles!
After completing these, Lin Feng had one crucial task, requiring a solo mission.
That was to head back to the Thirteenth Division's base...
To confront Cheng Zhan, the insect spy, repaying him for the missile he arranged.
It was customary to return the favor.
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