「Lin Feng, lv7/9」
「Life Value 40, Physique 35, Spirit 36」
「New Over-level Ability: Divine Arm lv11/19」
The data for his body's Basic Attributes hadn't changed much. Lin Feng's attention was focused on his arms.
Stimulated by the warm current, Lin Feng's arms had already fully healed and regenerated. They had even grown stronger; when he flexed his muscles, the outer layer of Back Armor would bulge slightly.
It got to the point where Lin Feng wanted to draw his Divine-level Pistol right then and there and use its Metal Storm attribute to spray fire wantonly.
Unfortunately, the still-regenerating bullet count and the many survivors around him forced Lin Feng to remain rational and suppress the eager urge.
After learning about the outside world from Ding Chenghai, Lin Feng glanced at his phone. Rescue was still ten-odd minutes away. He said a word to the two women, went back to the rooftop window, and leaped back into the tenth-floor corridor.
Drawing his lv7 Divine-level Pistol, he now possessed a pair of Divine Arms. He could use their ultra-high Fire Rate at will; no matter how large the Red-Armored Beetle Swarm, they would fall to his gun.
Walking through the corridor littered with severed limbs, Lin Feng didn't see any more Swarms gathering. Killing over one hundred and fifty Red-Armored Beetles had already routed this small Swarm.
He looked at the gun in his hand:
「Divine-level Pistol lv7/9, White Quality」
「Upgrade Points: 88/10, Damage 25, Effective Range 1000m, Remaining Bullets 1800/2000」
Killing one hundred and fifty Red-Armored Beetles had earned him far fewer Upgrade Points than he'd expected. This was because many of his bullets hadn't dealt 25 points of Damage. In particular, the Zerg below lv4 were mostly killed by stray shots and hadn't been counted.
Still, 88 points was enough for Lin Feng to complete the subsequent upgrades. He just didn't know if he could break through the lv9 limit and enter the next Realm.
Lin Feng suspected that the Soldier Zergs Ding Chenghai had mentioned were powerful beings of lv9 or higher. Their evolution was so advanced that they were completely impervious to rifle bullets.
For the army to face such a monster, it would take at least a reinforced fireteam to take one down. And from Ding Fatty's tone, the number of these Soldier Zergs far exceeded the total number of soldiers in the Federation's army...
'If I want to successfully gather enough supplies in Hai City, I have to get stronger as fast as possible and gain the power to kill Soldier Zergs on my own!'
Lin Feng immediately started the upgrade for his Divine-level Pistol. At the same time, he walked over to the pile of Red-Armored Beetle corpses and rummaged through them, looking for Back Armor material that could still be absorbed into his Shield Armor.
He quickly collected a dozen or so intact pieces of Back Armor.
Putting down his backpack and taking out his tools, Lin Feng used his Divine-level Pistol to punch through a piece of Crimson Back Armor, then crafted it into an upgradable item.
After three or four minutes, the Red Armor Shield on Lin Feng's body finally upgraded to lv7:
「Red Armor Shield lv7/9, White Quality」
「Durability: 10/10, Defense Power 35, Mutant Form: Back Armor (unconditional), Shield Armor (12h/1 Back Armor), New Mutant Form: Absolute Defense (1/1 Back Armor)」
It had consumed a total of fifteen pieces of Back Armor material to finally upgrade to lv7 and gain a new form. Lin Feng then fused another five pieces into it as an Upgrade Reserve for backup.
He then tested the new form. The next second, the Shield Armor on his body suddenly glowed red, forming a pale red, semi-circular dome within a five-meter radius around him.
The protective shield appeared as a form of fluctuating Energy, not a solid substance. It only lasted for about ten seconds before instantly dissipating.
During this time, Lin Feng tested it with his Long Saber. He could pass through it if he moved slowly, but a fast slash would get stuck.
What was even stranger was that when Lin Feng tried to fire his gun, the highly penetrating bullet came to a dead stop against the protective shield, unable to pierce it.
In Lin Feng's experience, only one type of substance exhibited a similar phenomenon.
A non-Newtonian fluid—a state of fluid that yielded to gentle force but resisted harsh impacts.
But an energy shield was surely not that simple. At a critical moment, it could protect him and his companions.
The cost was just a bit high. About ten seconds had consumed one charge from his Upgrade Reserve.
After the experiment, Lin Feng used all the remaining Back Armor material on another, new Red Armor Shield, upgrading it from lv2 to lv6. He also stored five pieces of Back Armor in it.
As it was upgraded, the Back Armor form became smaller and smaller, while the duration of the Shield Armor form grew longer. Lv7 lasted 12 hours, while lv6 lasted 6 hours.
This new Shield Armor was prepared for Sister Yurou. Lin Feng was afraid the lv4 Red Armor Shield she had wouldn't be enough. As for the new lv7 Absolute Domain form, it involved things that were hard to understand and couldn't be revealed for now.
He knew very well that after Zhang Yurou returned, the secret to making the Red Armor Shield would be uncovered.
This kind of multi-form Shield Armor, both lightweight and possessing extremely high defense capabilities, would definitely be highly sought after and even mass-produced on a large scale.
Lin Feng didn't want to expose more of his own secrets, but to a limited extent, he still had to support humanity's resistance. They couldn't lose too quickly and leave him trapped in a hopeless situation.
Besides, Sister-in-law Yurou's personal safety had to be guaranteed. The Shield Armor was a gift from him. If she handed it over to the Federation, she would at most get some material rewards. But in her hands, it meant more benefits and power.
The mass production of the Shield Armor would also help Lin Feng become less conspicuous and avoid being recognized.
After considering everything, Lin Feng, now wearing a brand new set of Red Silver Shield Armor and carrying a small shield, returned to the rooftop and walked up to Zhang Yurou.
"This is a more advanced shield. Swap it out with the one you have. Each charge can maintain a Shield Armor form like mine for about 6 hours, and you can use it five times."
"After you arrive safely, you can have technical specialists study it and see if they can figure out how it's made. The materials are all over the battlefield anyway."
Zhang Yurou took the lighter, more compact shield. She quickly understood Lin Feng's meaning and stepped forward to give him a deep kiss.
After a long moment, they reluctantly separated. She cupped Lin Feng's cheeks with both hands and said softly,
"After you escape Hai City, remember to contact me. If you need anything, just ask. I'll be waiting for you in Steel City."
Lin Feng smiled faintly and urged her to hurry and switch it out.
Zhang Yurou took off her jacket and removed the lv4 Back Armor from her back. The device was convenient to place there; she just had to reach out and press a button on her side, and it would instantly envelop her entire body in a protective layer of Shield Armor.
After stuffing the advanced Shield Armor from Lin Feng onto her back, Zhang Yurou shivered slightly, put her sun-protection jacket back on, and then handed the lv4 Back Armor to Chen Yanyan, who was standing beside her.
Taking the Back Armor, a hint of joy appeared on Chen Yanyan's face. She glanced up at Lin Feng, and seeing his smiling approval, she copied Sister-in-law Yurou's actions and stuffed it onto her back.
A wave of security washed over her.
Some of the other people on the rooftop saw this scene and showed expressions of surprise and confusion. Only a few guessed what was happening, their gazes holding a trace of envy.
Among them were the saber-wielding girl, Liu Yueqi, and her prospective uncle-in-law, Zhang Xuan.
As the leader of this group of teachers and professors, Zhang Xuan was not only young and charismatic but also extremely skilled at manipulating people. In just one day, he had schemed to use a giant insect to get rid of the previous department head, then relied on his own "self-sacrificing" proposal to quickly become the group's pillar of support.
'Why did I have to be so final with my words earlier...?' He could now naturally see that there was something unusual about Lin Feng's group and felt a pang of regret.
And yet, this guy with the gun had actually managed to survive the Swarm's assault.
Fortunately, he had dragged everyone down with him. They all stood in opposition to Lin Feng's group, and no one could lose face by going over to ask for advice.
As for him, he just needed to approach Chen Yanyan to get a chance to pry Lin Feng's secrets out of her. Then he could incite the crowd to force him to hand over his pistol or armor.
Within minutes, numerous schemes took shape in Zhang Xuan's mind. Dealing with a young man in his early twenties like this was child's play.
It was just a pity that his way of thinking had not yet transitioned from the order of peacetime.
Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, a sound came from the distant horizon.
Everyone on the rooftop stood up one after another and gazed into the distance. Soon, a black dot appeared in the western sky. It grew larger and larger until its true form was revealed.
The black dot was a helicopter!
Everyone immediately cheered. Even though they were exhausted after enduring the long night, an unprecedented vitality now erupted from within them.
However, Lin Feng, who knew a little about military matters, quickly identified that this was no rescue helicopter, nor was it a transport helicopter. It had a slender fuselage, numerous weapon hardpoints on its sides, and a 20mm Machine Gun on each side of the cabin...
This was a Federation multi-purpose attack helicopter!
While everyone was cheering, Lin Feng quietly led the two women over to the communication equipment.
Ding Chenghai let out a long sigh and shook his head.
"Just as I guessed. The Zerg Race has probably dispatched aerial units, which is why they sent a Wuzhi-10. A regular transport helicopter probably wouldn't have been able to protect itself."
Then, he spoke with a few engineering professors and got a small communication device from them. It was only palm-sized and had an old-fashioned black-and-white LCD screen.
Ding Chenghai handed it to Lin Feng, his expression grave.
"I'm truly sorry, but we can't take you with us."
"This is a signal receiver and decoder. It can only pick up a specific frequency, but its reception range is extremely wide. I'll inform you of the latest research intelligence from time to time."
"Good luck, Lin Feng. I believe you can definitely escape. Remember, the further inland you go, the safer it is. I'll be waiting for you in the Northwest!"
Lin Feng took the communicator and nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry. I'm the last of my family's line. I won't die that easily!"
As he finished speaking, the helicopter locked onto their position, arriving above the rooftop. After circling for a moment, it dropped two rappel ropes.
Amidst the sweeping gale, two fully-armed special operations soldiers in black rappelled down.
The moment they landed, they raised their large-caliber firearms, aimed them at the crowd, and shouted through a loudhailer:
"Don't crowd around!"
"Only those whose names are called come up!"
"First one, Ding Chenghai!"