Staring at the shattered giant insect corpses piled up throughout the corridor…
Liu Yueqi swallowed hard. After sheathing her saber, she hurried forward to support Lin Feng's arm.
A searing heat passed through his clothes and into Liu Yueqi's palm. 'The price for what he did must be high,' she thought.
Lin Feng's arms were severely injured. After resolving the Swarm crisis, he immediately initiated his Level 7 Upgrade. A surging torrent of heat flowed from the Divine-level Pistol into his body.
This Upgrade, like the one from Lv. 3 to Lv. 4, didn't just strengthen his entire body; it also generated a surplus of Energy—equal to half his total—that now coursed through him.
To ensure he could continue using the Divine-level Pistol's Metal Storm ability, Lin Feng decisively channeled this Power into his arms. This would both greatly alleviate the damage from overloading them and enhance the strength Level of his arms.
As Liu Yueqi supported Lin Feng, she felt as if her hands were submerged in a hot spring, with the perceived temperature reaching forty or fifty degrees Celsius.
She asked with a hint of worry:
"Is this a side effect? The price for overusing your ability?"
"Let's get upstairs, quickly. My aunt is a teacher at the medical school. She has a first-aid kit. We need to get her to bandage the wounds on your hands..."
Lin Feng frowned slightly and nodded, ignoring the second half of her sentence and asking about what she'd mentioned first:
"Overusing my ability? What do you mean? Has someone here had a Superpower Awakening?"
Liu Yueqi looked at the man beside her in surprise.
"You don't know? Huh? Wasn't that barrage of bullets your Superpower?"
Lin Feng coughed lightly, a flush creeping up his face as the heat surged through him.
"I guess you could call it my ability..."
Liu Yueqi remembered where they had come from and nodded in sudden understanding.
"Right, you escaped all the way from the city without receiving any outside news. The teachers at Hai University's Engineering department used lab equipment to set up a temporary communication station on the rooftop. They connected to the military district and got a lot of the latest intelligence."
As she spoke, Liu Yueqi made a fist triumphantly.
"As long as you kill those Worker Zergs, you get a small Power boost. They said it's some kind of Energy transfer. Anyway, killing bugs makes you stronger, that's the gist of it. You can strengthen yourself a total of nine times, and each time you need to kill one more than the last."
"And after the sixth time, there's a chance you'll have a special Superpower Awakening, like you did."
"Hehe, I just killed a few bugs myself and completed my fifth enhancement. I'll be able to have my Awakening soon!"
As she said this, Liu Yueqi looked at Lin Feng with a trace of awe and reverence in her eyes.
"You're so strong, you must have killed a lot of Worker Zergs on your way here. Have you ever run into Soldier Zergs?"
Lin Feng's brow gradually relaxed, and he said with a smile:
"Not that many. I was just lucky and happened to get a pistol, so I managed to kill a few early on."
"These big red bugs are the Worker Zergs you're talking about, right? Then what are Soldier Zergs? Even bigger bugs?"
At the mention of this, a look of terror appeared on Liu Yueqi's face. She said, still shaken by the memory:
"These are just temporary names the professors came up with. The official definitions and designations haven't been announced yet."
"But the professors believe that these giant alien bugs are like the ants and bees on Blue Star, with a clear division of labor within their colonies."
"The ones attacking the urban areas are probably the numerous Worker Zergs, responsible for gathering food and building nests."
"And the ones holding back the Federation Army—those massive swarms of big black bugs—are the Soldier Zergs."
Lin Feng listened with rapt attention. What he lacked most right now was information about the outside world. After he got to the rooftop, he needed to have a good talk with those professors and get a handle on the current situation.
The two of them slowly walked to the window leading to the rooftop. Zhang Yurou and Chen Yanyan were waiting there, guarding the spot for Lin Feng's return.
The moment they saw Lin Feng, they both breathed a sigh of relief.
But when they saw the blood on his hands, their hearts tightened again. They quickly leaned over, and working together, used a rope to pull Lin Feng up. Then they brought Liu Yueqi up as well.
The moment the high school girl clambered onto the rooftop, her aunt pulled her aside and anxiously checked her over.
"Are you crazy?! You went off on your own again! What time is this to be showing off! Do you have a death wish?!"
Listening to Liu Ruojiao's alarmed and angry scolding, Liu Yueqi dug a splinter of bug from her ear and replied with some impatience:
"Alright, alright, I'm fine. Can't you see I'm alive and kicking, not a scratch on me? Let me tell you..."
As she was complaining, Liu Yueqi saw that her aunt's eyes were filled with tears, ready to spill over. She immediately reined in her impatience and took her hand.
"Don't worry, Auntie, I'm okay."
"But that Mr. Lin hurt his hand. He needs you to take a look and help treat it."
"Let me tell you, Mr. Lin is actually a super-powerful Superpower Awakener. You should have seen it! With that little pistol, he killed hundreds of Worker Zergs in an instant..."
Pulled forward by Liu Yueqi, Liu Ruojiao heard that someone was injured and finally managed to hold back her tears. She wiped her eyes and suppressed her turbulent emotions.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng was being questioned by the other two women. Zhang Yurou lifted his arm and saw a gash, three centimeters long and very deep, torn in the web between his thumb and forefinger.
Although the bleeding had stopped, the torn wound wouldn't heal so quickly.
"Did this happen just now when you were shooting downstairs?"
Lin Feng nodded with a smile.
"It's nothing, just a moment of carelessness. Besides, compared to the results of that barrage, this price is not worth mentioning."
"I took out nearly one hundred and fifty of the giant bugs. I'm in the middle of a Level Upgrade right now, so I'll recover soon."
Zhang Yurou hummed in acknowledgment. She could feel that Lin Feng's arm was surprisingly hot, which must be the reward from the Upgrade for killing the bugs, but seeing such a serious injury on his hand, she couldn't help but admonish him.
"You can't be so reckless in the future. You had no guarantee you'd come back safely. If you keep joking around with your own life, how can I believe that you'll make it back?"
"Lin Feng, look at me. I want you to promise me."
Lin Feng looked into her eyes and nodded solemnly.
"Mm, I know. Don't worry, Sister-in-law. I promise it won't happen again."
Sighing softly, Zhang Yurou felt the young man before her was still not steady enough, a bit too reckless. She glanced at the woman beside her, the meaning in her eyes self-evident.
Chen Yanyan nodded lightly, indicating that she understood. She would keep a close eye on Lin Feng from now on.
Just then, Liu Yueqi pulled her aunt over to the three of them and pointed at the wound on Lin Feng's hand.
"Here, make way, the doctor's here!"
The two women stepped aside, and Liu Yueqi led her aunt to stand in front of Lin Feng.
Lin Feng looked at the teacher from Hai University. She didn't seem very old, wearing a high-necked knit sweater and a light black, cinched-waist long skirt that highlighted a traditional, conservative, teacher-like style.
But she was quite attractive, the type that grows on you, becoming more charming the more you look. Lin Feng guessed she was in her early thirties, exuding the air of a mature woman, just like his Sister-in-law.
"This is my aunt, Liu Ruojiao. She studied medicine, so let her take care of it for you."
Liu Yueqi introduced the woman she had brought before him.
Liu Ruojiao tucked a stray strand of hair, ruffled by the wind, behind her ear. She took a small rectangular bag from behind her back, unzipped it, and took out disinfecting iodine, medicinal powder, and bandages.
Lin Feng smiled and thanked her.
"My name is Lin Feng. Thank you, doctor. I'm sorry to trouble you."
A blush crept onto Liu Ruojiao's face. She shook her head and replied softly.
"Please, don't be so formal. I should be thanking you for saving Yueqi. Thank you so much, Mr. Lin."
"Besides, I only teach theory. I don't have much practical experience, so please don't call me a doctor..."
As she spoke, she took Lin Feng's hand and lowered her head to clean the wound.
"The wound is quite deep, but luckily the bleeding has stopped. We don't have the proper conditions right now, so we'll have to let it heal on its own. Try not to do anything that might strain it."
Liu Ruojiao instructed Lin Feng as she bandaged his hand.
Her hands were extremely delicate and smooth, clearly having never done any hard labor. Compared to Lin Feng's rough pair, they were like a fine work of art.
Looking at Liu Ruojiao, Lin Feng was much taller than her. She was just over 160cm, not even as tall as her niece, Liu Yueqi, who stood beside them.
But from Lin Feng's vantage point, looking down, he could just make out Liu Ruojiao's figure hidden beneath her knit sweater.
The skin at her chest was as fair and smooth as mutton-fat jade. Her ample assets, however, were perfectly concealed by the sweater. Judging by her chest-to-waist ratio, she undoubtedly had a rare and superb figure. It was a pity that such natural beauty was hidden under loose, old-fashioned clothes, unknown to all.
Only Lin Feng, thanks to the fortuitous angle and his Hawkeye ability, had inadvertently discovered it.
While Lin Feng was enjoying the process of having his wound treated, Chen Yanyan, who was behind him, quickly noticed the change in his expression. Following his gaze, she understood the reason.
Chen Yanyan then looked toward Sister-in-law Yurou.
Zhang Yurou picked up her backpack and motioned for Chen Yanyan to join her on the other side of the rooftop to sort through their supplies.
"Should we be wary of her?"
Chen Yanyan asked in a low voice. The wind on the rooftop was strong and the Swarm below was noisy, so there was no need to worry about being overheard.
However, Zhang Yurou unexpectedly shook her head, watching Liu Ruojiao's figure with great interest.
"Wary of who?"
"Liu Ruojiao knows some medicine. I just heard them say she's engaged to that associate professor you know. They're practically married."
"This might be an opportunity."
Chen Yanyan didn't quite understand her sister-in-law's meaning.
"What opportunity? To break them up?"
Zhang Yurou jutted her chin, discreetly pointing toward the young woman off to the side who was sheathing her Thousand Slash Saber.
"There, see? It's not just us who have that idea."
As she spoke, the corners of Zhang Yurou's mouth turned up slightly.
"Lin Feng is still young, reckless, and gets hurt easily. A team on the run like ours needs a doctor to provide emergency medical treatment."
"And this person must be completely trustworthy, and also utterly loyal to Lin Feng..."
"You should... understand what I mean, right?"
Chen Yanyan, frowning, was somewhat in a fog. But she did understand the last sentence...
Looking at Teacher Liu, who was currently treating Lin Feng's wound, she couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt... and also a strange sense of excitement.