Capítulo 118: Chapter 118: Shen Jie's Duel, Upgrade! Charge Call, Electromagnetic Burst
As the explosion's flames erupted from the mouth of the lv28 Tiger Bug, the heatwave and shockwave severed the robust muscles linking its massive jaws.
With its ligaments torn, the heavy lower jaw hung by remnants of flesh.
The enormous insect body, propelled by inertia, crashed onto the main road, sparking as it skidded.
It slid dozens of meters, smashing the central green belt stone pillars to pieces before finally stopping.
Following the leader's unexpected fall, the pursuing Tiger Bugs braked hard, their legs digging into the asphalt, creating deep gouges.
Two kilometers away on the battleship, Lin Feng didn't receive a kill confirmation.
Using his identification skill, he saw the severely injured lv28 Tiger Bug had taken 700 damage, leaving it with 180 health.
Lin Feng didn't hesitate. This wasn't the time for capturing live insects—letting this big catch escape would waste his efforts.
He fired three more shots at the fallen lv28 Tiger Bug.
The first armor-piercing shell ended its life, while the subsequent two pierced its shattered body, striking two mid-stage Tier 2 Tiger Bugs.
Without Death's Eye lock-on, they only lost parts of their bodies and limbs, remaining mobile.
"Killed an lv28 Tiger Bug!"
With the main threat neutralized, Lin Feng swiftly activated Death's Eye to lock onto the remaining targets.
The Tiger Bugs, unfazed by their leader's death, continued the queen's orders, attacking the Land Cruiser Battleship.
The queen understood that in close quarters, humanity's ranged advantage would vanish, giving the Tiger Bugs' jaws a chance to strike.
Yet, in those two kilometers, even needing just a minute, Lin Feng had ample time to lock on.
Twenty seconds later, Lin Feng decisively pulled the trigger.
Fifteen shells launched in quick succession!
They struck the Tiger Bugs' eye-sockets under their back armor, explosions shattering their brains, taking them down one by one.
One early-stage Tier 2 Tiger Bug, shielded by buildings, only suffered shrapnel wounds, losing half a leg and about a hundred health.
This Tiger Bug limped away, using buildings as cover.
Lin Feng frowned; while he could track it with telepathy, the buildings blocked the armor-piercing shells from penetrating multiple concrete walls.
He could either have Chen Yanyan drive the battleship to chase it or use the Flying Tiger Armor for aerial pursuit.
Leaving meant losing the replicated weapons' effectiveness, risking his team to the insects. Using the Flying Tiger Armor's flight mode was reserved for critical moments since each use cost 1 reserve point, equivalent to ten Black Spinal Bugs or one Tiger Bug mandible.
Using it for one early-stage Tiger Bug seemed wasteful.
As Lin Feng pondered, his telepathy detected a familiar signal.
Telepathy and life radar skills could detect both insects and human awakeners.
A fast-moving signal approached the injured lv22 Tiger Bug from the side.
With two hundred health remaining, it was still formidable, retaining seventy percent strength despite its mobility issues.
Pursuing it was Shen Jie, the team's strongest individual aside from Lin Feng.
Driving an SUV, Shen Jie pursued the fleeing Tiger Bug.
After circling the city, he appeared behind it.
Shen Jie leaned out the window, suppressing it with his lv19 shotgun, firing over a dozen shells. Due to the vehicle's shaking and his limited shooting skills, only three or four hit, causing fifty to sixty damage.
Exiting the replica's effective range, Shen Jie tossed it into the back, drifted to a stop, and leapt out.
Standing firm, he activated his assimilation ability, transforming into the Black Warrior.
His arms grew two-meter-long blades, physique soaring, the sinister black armor covering him emanating danger.
His physique reached 225, breaking into early Tier 2, his body structure subtly transforming...
Becoming more insect-like.
The Tiger Bug three to four hundred meters ahead sensed Shen Jie's presence and hostility!
Though Shen Jie absorbed Tier 1 insect genes, his mental strength hadn't dwindled below the Tier 2 Tiger Bug's, keeping his body under control and unafraid.
For the Tiger Bug, an inferior Tier 1 Black Spinal Bug daring to challenge it...
This was unforgivable!
Insect hierarchy was strict.
It ensured hive order through genetic and rank suppression!
Any insubordination faced harsh punishment!
Death and recycling!
Despite its injuries, the Tiger Bug saw Lin Feng had ceased attacking. The hive retreat order was overridden by the genetic mandate to handle defective products upon seeing Shen Jie's Black Warrior form.
The Tiger Bug halted, glaring at the small "Black Spinal Bug."
This suited Shen Jie perfectly.
Seeing the Tiger Bug limp toward him, Shen Jie charged.
As they were about to clash...
In front of the twelve-meter Tiger Bug, Shen Jie seemed as small as a chick, but his energy far surpassed his size.
Size offered power but sacrificed agility.
When Shen Jie's arm blade clashed with the Tiger Bug's jaws, sparks flew. Instead of being thrown back, Shen Jie bent backward...
Curling under the Tiger Bug's jaws as it charged forward.
Shen Jie seized the opportunity!
During the clash, he angled his bone blade against the long jaws, using friction to sharpen it. When the Tiger Bug's vulnerable belly faced him...
He stabbed deep!
The bone blade tore a meter-deep gash, slicing through ten-centimeter armor and severing internal organs!
Insect blood sprayed like a fountain. The Tiger Bug, destabilized by the sudden wound, rolled over, turning to face Shen Jie.
It met a deadly blade!
Piercing its fist-sized eye, the blade plunged into its skull, shredding its brain.
The Tiger Bug, unable to react, lost nervous control.
With its abdominal wound draining health, as Shen Jie withdrew his blade, the Tiger Bug died.
Its jaws twitched reflexively.
The Black Warrior, panting atop the Tiger Bug, felt a surge of energy from the corpse.
It swept away his fatigue, even regrowing his broken left arm blade.
But the energy lingered, waiting for Shen Jie to stabilize before fully releasing, aiding his Tier 2 awakening.
After a brief rest, Shen Jie rose, ready to carve the mandibles for transport.
As he turned, the Land Cruiser Battleship arrived with the regrouped vehicles to clean the battlefield.
Seeing the danger passed, Shen Jie reverted from his assimilation form.
Maintaining it too long risked mental decline, affecting his sanity.
Through persistent training, he could hold the Black Warrior form for half an hour before going berserk.
Planning meticulously, Shen Jie had devised dozens of strategies for this victory.
The imposing Land Cruiser Battleship, having collected fifteen Tiger Bug corpses, stopped by Shen Jie. Lin Feng disembarked, approaching him.
Patting Shen Jie's shoulder, he said:
"Congratulations on nearing Tier 2 awakening!"
"This is your trophy. Eat these mandibles, and you might grow armor like mine..."
"Tiger form assimilation will boost your strength!"
Excited by Lin Feng's words, Shen Jie anticipated gaining the tiger form.
Armor comparable to Tiger Bug shells meant an extra life in future Tier 2 insect battles!
For Shen Jie, reliant on close combat, this was more vital than weapons!
Lin Feng's generosity moved Shen Jie.
His victory relied on Lin Feng defeating other Tiger Bugs and crippling this one's leg.
Without these factors, Shen Jie couldn't isolate a Tiger Bug, facing at least three in a squad.
Lin Feng saw Shen Jie's courage to challenge a Tier 2 Tiger Bug and succeed, deserving this honor.
If the Flying Tiger Armor wasn't more useful, Lin Feng would have crafted one for him.
A small truck was found, hot-wired, and used to transport the corpse.
At noon, after two battles, Lin Feng ordered a withdrawal.
En route, to free storage space, Lin Feng merged spare Black Spinal Bug mandibles into the team's Red Armor, upgrading to lv10 Red Xuan Armor...
And fused ten Tiger Bug mandibles into his Flying Tiger Armor.
With previous kills, he now had thirteen upgrade points.
"Flying Tiger Armor lv20/29, Orange Quality"
"Durability: 10/10, Defense 200, Stored Upgrade Points 13/2"
Preparing for hive combat, Lin Feng upgraded the Flying Tiger Armor.
The upgrade was swift. With the battlefield cleared and low-tier insects gone, by the time Lin Feng ordered a return to the highway, the Flying Tiger Armor had reached lv23:
"Flying Tiger Armor lv23/29, Orange Quality"
"Durability: 10/10, Defense 350, Stored Upgrade Points 4/5, Base Form: Arm Guard, Full Armor, Tiger Insect Might (Unconditional)"
"Variant Form: Absolute Defense (1/1 Mandible)
Explosive Scale Armor (90% damage reflection, 10% defense reduction, 1 durability per use)
Flight Mode (1 reserve upgrade for 20-min flight, 400 km/h max speed, 5-min cooldown)"
"Note: Only one variant form can be active at a time"
Three upgrades brought no major change, but flight mode duration doubled.
Lin Feng, considering future battles, merged remaining Tiger Bug mandibles from storage into the lv23 Flying Tiger Armor.
The lv24 Flying Tiger Armor gained a new form:
"Flying Tiger Armor lv24/29, Orange Quality"
"Durability: 10/10, Defense 400, Stored Upgrade Points 4/6, Base Form: Arm Guard, Full Armor, Tiger Insect Might (Unconditional)"
"Variant Form: Absolute Defense, Explosive Scale Armor, Flight Mode"
"New Base Form: Charge Call (Summons nearby low-tier life within 2 km to attack target)"
"Note: Charge Call boosts physique by 10%, reduces spirit by 10% for followers"
Lin Feng brightened at the last feature.
Charge Call mimicked the queen's mental control and likely originated from the lv28 late-stage Tiger Bug.
Upgrading a Tier 2 Tiger Bug would grant Tier 3 abilities, akin to a Tier 3 queen.
Though not directly useful, it enhanced rallying or attacking, boosting morale and combat potential.
Upgrading the Flying Tiger Armor, Lin Feng turned to his lv23 Armor-Piercing Cannon:
"Armor-Piercing Cannon lv23/29, Orange Quality"
"Upgrade Points 11/5, Damage 400, Effective Range 10 km, Remaining Ammo 9000/9000"
"Extra Attributes: Bullet Regen 1/s, Space Magazine 9000 Rounds, Death's Eye 0/50, Fire Coverage Damage 50+50/s, Coverage Area 10,000 Square Meters, Bullet Time 10s, Cooldown Ten Seconds"
Increased damage and ammo, reduced cooldown for Bullet Time.
Watching resting soldiers eat, Lin Feng initiated another upgrade.
After killing fifteen Tiger Bugs, the lv22 Armor-Piercing Cannon could upgrade thrice, prompting Lin Feng to leave one for Shen Jie.
One or more wouldn't affect its upgrades.
Two upgrades later, as lunch break ended, Lin Feng smiled at the enhanced weapon:
"Armor-Piercing Railgun lv25/29, Orange Quality"
"Upgrade Points 0/7, Damage 500, Effective Range 10 km, Remaining Ammo 1w/1w"
"Extra Attributes: Bullet Regen 1/s, Space Magazine 10,000 Rounds, Death's Eye 0/50, Fire Coverage Damage 50+50/s, Coverage Area 10,000 Square Meters, Bullet Time 10s, Cooldown Ten Seconds"
"New Extra Attribute: Electromagnetic Burst (Switch to EMP rounds, range reduced by ten, creates plasma bubble, kills within ten meters, paralyzes all within 100 meters)"
"Note: Closer range increases EMP damage, paralysis"
Learning the new attribute, Lin Feng gazed at the quiet outskirts.
A hidden thought emerged.
With Electromagnetic Burst and Flying Tiger Armor, close combat grew stronger!
He could venture deeper, capturing Tiger Bugs!
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