Chapter 104: Chapter 99: Replica Assembly and a Great Victory

Li Ran knew the Zerg Race’s cunning all too well, so he had already made preparations. At 9:30, he had each twelve-man squad divide into three groups, which then rotated back to the central area for brief periods of rest and sustenance.

The individual rations were preheated and ready to eat in just five minutes. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The remaining two-thirds of the soldiers stayed at their posts, ensuring the outpost had sufficient firepower.

This way, even if the Zerg Race launched a surprise attack during this period, they could hold them off long enough for the resting squad members to return as reinforcements.

This more or less solved the manpower shortage.

The outpost was originally even larger than the main fortress. Lin Feng knew it would take at least 150 soldiers to fully man every post. With 200, there would have been a comfortable surplus for logistical support and rest rotations.

But with the incident involving Qin Hu and the series of problems it caused, the outpost’s manpower had been reduced to just a hundred men. This forced Lin Feng to focus on quality over quantity.

Besides increasing the team’s overall upgrade strength, he had also addressed their weaponry. Using the steel Han Yuxin had sent, he had created over fifty Divine-level Pistols, which had now transformed into the shape of Heavy Machine Guns and were mounted in the upper and lower levels of the bunkers.

The overall firepower was double that of the main fortress on the frontline.

Moreover, as Replicas of the Level 19 Grenade Cannon, the Heavy Machine Guns possessed the attribute of infinite ammo. With maxed-out Durability, there was no issue of barrels overheating. Aside from the user being unable to activate other Attributes, they were absolute Divine Artifacts among White Quality weapons.

Of course, the fact that the user only received one-tenth of the Upgrade Points from a kill was the Replica’s only drawback.

Lin Feng estimated the remaining nine-tenths were used to maintain the Replica’s existence.

After all, they weren’t supported by the system. To achieve infinite ammo and other buffs, the Energy had to be converted and drawn from somewhere else.

But with a great enemy before them, as long as they could repel the Zerg Race’s attack and survive, a super Divine Artifact like this was an invaluable treasure they couldn’t have even hoped for.

It just meant they had to kill ten Zergs instead of one to get the same credit.

’Facing a Swarm that covers the mountains and fields, will we really run out of things to kill?’

Furthermore, through his own experiments, Lin Feng had discovered that with ordinary weapons, one had to kill Zergs at close range—within a hundred meters—to gain the corresponding upgrade effect.

Killing Zergs from a long distance yielded no reward.

This was why his RV needed to be close to the battlefield when it was upgrading to level 10.

Only then could it absorb the Upgrade Energy released by the mass deaths of the Swarm.

His own bound weapons and equipment, however, didn’t have such a drawback.

Or rather, it was a unique advantage granted by the system.

As Replicas of the Level 19 Grenade Cannon, the Divine-level Pistols also inherited this advantage.

So, in comparison, the Replicas were far more useful than ordinary weapons.

Besides, the holders couldn’t use them to threaten him, and the weapons would lose their effectiveness if they were taken a certain distance away from the original.

But to ensure stable returns, after introducing the new Heavy Machine Guns he was providing, Lin Feng specifically instructed all the soldiers present that if the Black Spine Zerg army charged within one hundred meters, they should still use their own grenade launchers and Machine Cannons for rapid suppression.

On one hand, the Heavy Machine Guns lacked sufficient firepower; on the other, getting kills at close range with their own items would grant them the full rewards, allowing for further Upgrades and Awakenings.

This was the only way to maximize their gains.

The dense Heavy Machine Gun fire could also severely wound the Black Spine Zergs. With good coordination, killing a small percentage of them wouldn’t be a problem either.

By the time the battered Black Spine Zergs charged up to the outpost, the Machine Cannon fire would easily finish them off.

And once they accumulated a certain number of kills, Lin Feng would naturally help them Upgrade, increasing their lethality.

Such a detailed and thorough plan caused the combat effectiveness of the outpost’s bunkers to skyrocket.

Add to that Li Ran’s rich command experience...

The first battle officially began at twelve noon.

Following the first warning shot from a scout on patrol, nearly a hundred soldiers poked their heads out, gripped the mounted Heavy Machine Guns, aimed at the teeming Black Spine Zerg army charging from several hundred meters away, and pulled the triggers, unleashing a frenzied barrage.

"DADADADADA!!!" x50!

The purpose of the Fortress’s design became apparent at this moment.

Its protruding, gear-like structures allowed the firepower facing a single direction to instantly triple, which, combined with the power of the Heavy Machine Guns, was swiftly unleashed upon the Black Spine Zerg Swarm.

The 12.7mm caliber bullets, each dealing up to 40 points of Damage, rained down like a torrential waterfall, smashing against the Black Spine Zergs’ external Armor.

Although a single bullet could only leave a dent, the machine guns’ Fire Rate in the thousands meant that several rounds would consecutively strike nearly every point of impact.

This meant the Black Spine Zergs’ four legs would be directly snapped, causing them to lose their mobility before they could even reach the bunkers.

But as long as a Black Spine Zerg wasn’t dead, the Heavy Machine Gun fire wouldn’t stop.

Because these Replicas had infinite ammo, they could just keep firing.

This was something Lin Feng had specifically instructed them to do.

Having exploited a growth bug with the Red-Armored Beetles back in Hai City, he knew better than anyone the terrifying recovery speed and self-healing abilities of the Zerg Race.

Once the Red-Armored Beetles were allowed to rescue the injured Black Spine Zerg Swarm...

...it would basically mean this entire operation had yielded no gains.

Not only would the new recruits gain very little, but the Zerg Race’s side would also suffer minimal losses.

Worse, the enemy would have scouted out their firing positions and operational intelligence for free.

This was unacceptable to Lin Feng.

So, under the continuous suppression of the Heavy Machine Guns, the swarms of Red-Armored Beetles emerging from the Wormholes near the Black Spine Zergs didn’t dare show their heads after suffering horrific casualties.

They were only the lowest-grade Zergs; even pistol bullets posed a threat to them, let alone Heavy Machine Gun rounds that dealt 40 points of Damage and could kill them in a single shot.

After leaving behind several hundred corpses, they retreated back into their holes.

And to dig new tunnels to connect to the area beneath the Black Spine Zergs would take at least ten-odd minutes.

Seizing this opportunity, the army of heavily wounded, downed Black Spine Zergs was mercilessly reaped by the Heavy Machine Gun bullets.

Although there were over three hundred in total, this converted to the equivalent of thirty Black Spine Zergs for the weapon holders. Instantly, a large number of newly promoted Level 9 Enhanced People completed their first kill, needing only rest to undergo their Superpower Awakening.

Many Awakeners also broke through to Level 11, feeling a warm current course through their bodies as their Attribute Values increased.

After the last Black Spine Zerg died and the swathes of fallen Zerg corpses had been shot to pulp, and seeing that no new Zergs were emerging...

Li Ran, Shen Jie, and the other squad leaders ordered the excited soldiers to cease fire.

Even though they had infinite ammo, there was no need to keep shooting the corpses. Not only would it reveal their capabilities, but it would also make the Zerg Race Mother Empress intentionally avoid the outpost fortress, whose firepower was too overwhelming.

If that happened, no one could continue to Upgrade, and Lin Feng’s ultimate goal would be difficult to achieve.

As the gunfire died down, the men, snapping out of their excitement, erupted in joyous cheers and howls.

The seemingly invincible Alien Zerg Race didn’t seem so terrifying after all.

But they had forgotten something. Without the power of the Replicas from the Level 9 Divine-level Pistol, a battle of just ten-odd minutes would have required them to reload three or four times. For new recruits, this fumbling would have exposed numerous weaknesses, giving the Black Spine Zergs the chance to charge the bunkers and wreak havoc.

In this battle, only Li Ran and a few other veterans knew in their hearts just how easily they had won.

Without Lin Feng’s support, this group of new recruits, even with the protection of concrete bunkers, would never have survived the ordeal of the first few days.

They were unfortunate in some ways, but lucky to have met Lin Feng, this powerful and mysterious Awakener.

At this moment, Li Ran understood. Mr. Lin, who was lying in the observation deck of the Tank in the center of the outpost—his true Superpower was far from being as simple as Superpower Bullet.

’His real Superpower must be an extremely rare special ability, a fusion of Physique and Spirit.’

’Something like weapon synthesis...’

’That would explain how that ferocious Tank, which kept changing, growing larger and stronger, transformed from an ordinary RV into the anti-air weapon now guarding the outpost.’

The gun barrels on the Tank, constantly rotating and aiming, were like sharp claws reaching for the sky, warning the Cyan-winged Zergs—which had once inflicted severe casualties on the Thirteenth Division—not to set foot here.

Otherwise, what awaited them would be death delivered by a torrential flood of countless bullets!

Thinking of this, Li Ran’s respect for Mr. Lin soared to new heights.

He recalled Brother Qin’s earnest and repeated words from his sickbed:

"From now on, only by following in Lin Feng’s footsteps will you have the best chance of surviving in these chaotic times."

Back then, Li Ran had been skeptical. After all, no matter how strong he was, he was still just a lone Awakener. How could he possibly contend with a behemoth like the military?

But now, the result of the battle was laid out before him.

It was more persuasive than any exaggerated rumor.

The outpost’s easy victory over the Zerg Race wasn’t because the new recruits had become Awakeners. The strong one was the Sergeant Major, who hid his true strength and calmly pulled the strings from behind the scenes...

After instructing a few of his subordinate veterans, who served as platoon leaders, to calm down the restless and complacent new recruits and have them remain vigilant, Li Ran and Shen Jie went to the exterior of Lin Feng’s Tank to report the victory of their first engagement.

Unexpectedly, the Sergeant Major on the observation deck replied with a deadpan expression, his voice coming from on high:

"The Zerg Race is already digging through the entire front line. Have the recruits prepare themselves. Tonight, you will face a Swarm surrounding you from all directions!"

"That will force us to split our manpower four ways!"