The Armored RVâs engine roared as it accelerated to over a hundred kilometers per hour within a hundred meters. Its sharp, solid triangular Thrust slammed viciously into the injured Black Spine Zergs lying on the ground ahead.
As she floored the gas pedal, Chen Yanyan gradually realized why Lin Feng had ordered her to do this.
âItâs most likely for the RVâs next upgrade.â
Having already formed a sort of bond with the RV, she could feel its subtle changes. For instance, with every Black Spine Zerg they ran over and killed, the RVâs power would increase ever so slightly.
Although the boost wasnât much and vanished in an instant, it couldnât escape her keen spiritual perception.
âThinking about the items Lin Feng had, especially that ridiculously powerful little pistol...â
âThe condition for using his Superpower must be just like strengthening by killing Zergsâhe has to kill a certain number of them to be able to modify the form of his items.â
It was an easy deduction to make.
The specific details might differ, but Chen Yanyan wouldnât ask any further.
Having been an assistant to a boss for over a year, she was well aware of what she should ask and what she could say.
This sense of discretion was a key reason Chen Yanyan had managed to survive.
As the RV ran over one Black Spine Zerg after another, some of the smarter ones managed to desperately dodge just before the triangular Thrust on the front could strike.
Lin Feng didnât care about their narrow escapes. Their fate was sealed anyway; a quick death now would spare them a long, painful torment.
What truly concerned him was the wear on the front of the Armored RV. It was reinforced with Giant Mandibles from Lv14 Black Spine Zergs; though they had been modified to be harder than the originals, they still couldnât withstand continuous impacts.
And this was with Lin Feng having the Black Spine Zergs run over while lying down, not a head-on collision. In that case, the relative velocity would exceed two hundred kilometers per hour, and even a tank wouldnât hold up.
The current situation was already the best-case scenario Lin Feng could arrange: using the eighty points of Damage from the RVâs front to harvest the remaining Black Spine Zergs.
Seeing many of the Zergs dodge, Chen Yanyan couldnât help but ask:
"Should I reverse and hit them again?"
Lin Feng shook his head. For now, he only needed to kill at least eight. He was keeping a close eye on the RVâs data panel. As soon as the Upgrade Points reached ten, he would have her stop the vehicle immediately to start capturing live Zergs.
The objective was clear, and every second counted.
In the Zerg Raceâs territory, there could be no hesitation. If they got bogged down and surrounded by a Swarm, not only would they fail to gain any benefits, but they would also waste a large amount of their supplies.
"Just keep ramming through. Donât worry about the ones that get away."
Lin Feng reached out and patted Chen Yanyanâs shoulder. The powerful jolt from each impact made both of their hearts tremble.
He needed his woman to stay calm.
Soon, the Armored RV, having rammed its way through, successfully killed the eighth Black Spine Zerg. At that moment, two survivors remained ahead.
Seeing that the Upgrade Points progress bar on the panel had reached ten, Lin Feng decisively called for a stop.
Chen Yanyan slammed on the brakes, bringing the RV to a screeching halt. However, it still sent one Black Spine Zerg flying. Fortunately, since its speed had dropped by more than half, the Zerg that flew five or six meters away was still alive, though wounded.
With the primary objective complete, Lin Feng got up, opened the door, and jumped out. A layer of black and red armor materialized on his bodyâthe Red Profound Armor activated directly.
"Turn the RV around first and move forward at an idle. Iâll follow behind and load the live Zergs."
Chen Yanyan nodded and began to turn the vehicle around on the highway, preparing to make a getaway.
Lin Feng drew his Lv16 Machine Cannon but switched it to Divine-level Pistol mode.
The Machine Cannonâs power was too great right now; it could easily kill the already heavily injured Black Spine Zergs in one shot.
Once a Zerg died, its value would plummet several-fold.
But the Divine-level Pistol, with a Basic Damage of only forty, would inflict at most twenty to thirty points of Damage after piercing a Black Spine Zergâs Armor. This allowed him to precisely control its remaining health.
It would only take a dozen or so shots to break its remaining limbs.
Faster than using a knife to chop them off.
After dealing with these two Black Spine Zergs, Lin Feng expertly bound and packaged them, tossing them into the open rear cargo bay.
Chen Yanyan watched in the rearview mirror, maintaining a low speed to match Lin Fengâs pace as he captured the Zergs.
Soon, one after another, the surviving Black Spine Zergs that had luckily dodged the RV but hadnât had time to escape the highway were neutralized, dismembered, and captured alive by Lin Feng.
All twelve remaining Black Spine Zergs were successfully captured. Each was two and a half meters long and over a meter wide, nearly filling the expanded storage space of the Lv12 Armored RV.
Lin Feng looked at the jam-packed rear compartment, smiled, and closed the door. He hoped the next upgrade would grant a spatial Attribute like the one his Legendary Pistol had.
âOtherwise, if he had a huge haul in the future with nowhere to store it, the loss would be devastating.â
With that thought, Lin Feng returned to the driverâs cabin.
Chen Yanyan looked in the rearview mirror at the eight Black Spine Zergs she had run over and killed. Noticing that Lin Feng hadnât taken their pairs of Giant Mandibles, she reminded him:
"Arenât you going to take those materials?"
Lin Feng glanced at the timer on his phone. Eight minutes had passed since they first encountered this group of Black Spine Zergs. Although it would only take a little more effort to squeeze out the last bit of value from them...
...it wasnât necessary.
It wasnât worth risking being spotted by the Cyan-winged Zergs in the sky or surrounded by a large army of Black Spine Zergs, all for the sake of a few Giant Mandibles.
This wasnât a time of war; there was no one on the front lines to draw fire for Lin Feng.
Therefore, it wasnât worth the risk.
âBesides, he could just get those materials from Qin Hu.â
Prudence and caution were the excellent qualities that had kept Lin Feng alive. Even with the support of the Upgrade System, others might not have been able to develop so quickly and safely.
Capturing twelve live Zergs in one goâtwice as many as last timeâwas already a bountiful harvest. He didnât even need the Red-Armored Beetles to put the icing on the cake.
"Letâs go now. Weâre not staying,"
Lin Feng replied. Chen Yanyan nodded while flooring the gas, speeding away from the battlefield.
On the way back, after hearing Lin Fengâs explanation, the reality of the situation finally dawned on Chen Yanyan.
She had grown accustomed to the safety of being by Lin Fengâs side and had become oblivious to the encroaching danger. Now, remembering they were deep in the Zerg Raceâs heartland, a wave of fear washed over her, and she pushed the accelerator down even harder.
The return trip was unobstructed. Perhaps the severed limbs and organs of Black Spine Zergs hanging from the triangular Thrust on the front of the RV scared off the Red-Armored Beetle Swarms along the road.
These low-level creatures scrambled to get out of the way.
The ones that were too stupid to react in time were crushed to a gruesome death under the Armored RVâs solid tires.
After a series of crisp CRUNCHES, they were reduced to two-dimensional pancakes of Zerg.
Upon their smooth return to the service area, the ferocious and terrifying appearance of the Armored RV drew a crowd of onlookers.
Even the construction workers on the site outside the mallâs rest building cast looks of astonishment and envy.
They had already heard that there was a powerful Awakener in the service area who was unstoppable, killing any Zerg that stood in his way. Seeing Lin Fengâs return, their gazes were filled mostly with envy and admiration.
Lin Feng parked the RV next to a repair shop in a more remote area. Before he could even get out, he saw a camera crew, laden with photography equipment, trying to approach to get a closer look.
Although they were Jiang Yunâerâs professional team, their journalistic instincts took over, and they couldnât resist trying to get novel, firsthand material.
News about the Zerg Race was currently generating so much traffic that the entire nation was refreshing their feeds 24/7. Even a top-tier celebrity like Jiang Yunâer had to come and ride the wave of popularity.
If they could interview such a legendary Awakener, they would surely blow up the internet today.
In their eyes, this was not only a chance to get rich quick, but also a god-sent opportunity to advance their careers.
However, the soldiers assigned to protect them blocked their path, refusing to let them pass.
Excuses like, "This isnât part of your filming duties," and, "Mr. Lin doesnât wish to be disturbed," were completely ineffective against their restless and eager hearts.
It wasnât until Jiang Yunâer gave an order from her luxury RV that they finally reined it in and departed, albeit reluctantly.
Lin Fengâs expression turned icy as he watched this scene unfold.
âThe trouble I was wary of has arrived after all.â
The actions of this camera crew confirmed Lin Fengâs inner worries.
âTheyâre a bunch of pests.â
And right now, there was no way Lin Feng would accept any interviews or leak any inside information.
For one, he didnât want to do all the hard work just for someone else to reap the benefits. More importantly, he didnât want to attract too much attention during his growth phase. For another, many of his private dealings couldnât see the light of day.
His business of selling live Zergs, his personal dealings with Qin Hu, and his upgrades to the RVânone of it could be exposed.
But Lin Feng also knew that these paparazzi wouldnât give up, just as a dog will always go back to eating shit.
And tonight, he had to upgrade the Armored RV. This batch of live Zergs also needed to be shipped out quickly.
Just as Lin Feng was pondering how to deal with these paparazzi, his gaze fell upon the scene at the construction site on the other side.
A few familiar faces appeared in his line of sight.
The corners of Lin Fengâs mouth lifted into a slight smile.
âHe instantly had a plan.â