This show of force was intended to make the Jia City Mother Empress commit to the deal, abandoning any thoughts of a pincer attack to surround Lin Feng and his people.

As the bombardment ended, Lin Feng left the fleet alone and headed for the city outskirts.

His Lv24 Flying Tiger Armor released the Might of the Tiger Zerg, while the aura of a Tier Two Mid-Stage Awakener also radiated from him across the smoke-filled, scorched earth.

Soon, in the middle of the road at the city’s entrance, which had been blasted apart by the shelling, a section of earth sank, forming a five-meter-wide hole.

Lin Feng was instantly on alert, retreating several dozen meters.

Before long, a swarm of large, Lv9 Red-Armored Beetles crawled out of the bottomless Wormhole. On their six- or seven-meter-long broad backs, they were actually carrying milky-white Zerg Eggs of a similar size.

The milky-white Zerg Eggs, resembling slabs of fatty pork, were still alive and squirming, nurturing a new generation of the Zerg Race within.

Seeing this, Lin Feng frowned slightly. A bad feeling instantly welled up inside him.

The next moment, the results of his Identification ability confirmed his suspicions:

[Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg Eggs, Lv20]

[Life Value: 210, Physique: ??, Spirit: ??]

[Evaluation: This is the transitional stage in the Upgrade and evolution process from a Tier One Late Stage Black Spine Zerg to a Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg. The Zerg Egg contains the nascent Energy of the Tier Two Zerg Race, but its specific organs have not yet fully developed, and its hard Giant Mandibles have not yet been equipped.]

[In the wild, this is a rare material for Upgrading and staving off hunger. The primordial organic fluid within can be safely consumed.]

After reading the Evaluation, Lin Feng’s brow furrowed even more deeply.

And so it was that, under his watchful gaze, over a hundred Lv9 Red-Armored Beetles, carrying fifty Tier Two Zerg Eggs, trembled as they crawled out of the hole...

A young woman, controlled by a parasite, sat atop one of the Red-Armored Beetles. She rode into the midst of the piled Zerg Eggs and spoke nonchalantly:

"Your strength is truly impressive. I’m growing more and more confident in our collaboration."

The voice of the Jia City Mother Empress issued from the throat of the young woman, whose eyes were a milky white.

Lin Feng raised his Lv25 Armor-Piercing Magnetic Cannon, his tone icy:

"Our deal was for Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs!"

The young woman revealed a smile, a stiff, slightly unnatural expression.

"That’s right. These *are* Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs. They just haven’t finished developing yet. They’re Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg Eggs."

"This stuff is hard currency among Mother Empresses, more sought-after than hatched, live Zergs."

"Zerg Eggs that haven’t undergone a spiritual contract can be given to any Mother Empress to hatch and control. Aren’t you humans known for your strong Spiritual Attributes? As long as you have a Spiritual Element Superpower, you can exert Spiritual Control over them from the moment they’re born."

"A living Zerg is far more useful than a dead one."

Lin Feng had no time for her twisted logic. According to the system’s Evaluation, the birth of a Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg was far more complex than just an egg.

Besides the Zerg’s body itself, the most important part was its pair of incredibly hard Giant Mandibles.

That stuff was a rare, Orange Quality material, and in Lin Feng’s hands, it was as precious as Upgrade Points.

After all, both his life-saving Flying Tiger Armor and the Land Patrol Battleship that served as his transport and safe house required the Giant Mandibles of Tiger Spine Zergs for Defense Upgrades.

With only Upgrade Points, Lin Feng could only increase his Combat Power and Basic Attributes, which did nothing to bolster his already weak Defense.

So, Lin Feng raised the barrel of his gun and aimed it directly at the Mother Empress’s human Avatar:

"No. I also need those Giant Mandibles..."

The woman controlled by the Mother Empress shook her head.

"I really don’t have those. Right now, I have fewer than two hundred Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs left. They’re all I have to my name; I can’t possibly give them all to you..."

"Synthesizing the Giant Mandibles requires absorbing a large amount of finished metal. I haven’t fought you humans much, so I haven’t collected these metal resources. And metal factories in Ning City and Jia City are few and far between."

"If you’re willing to give me a large batch of metal, I will make up for the missing Tier Two Giant Mandibles for you in less than three days."

"Otherwise, I’m afraid I can’t oblige."

Lin Feng’s gaze was sharp as he scrutinized the Mother Empress Avatar before him.

He knew that the material of the Giant Mandibles was a special Alloy synthesized from organic life and inorganic metals, capable of exhibiting extreme hardness while also possessing both toughness and the ability to self-repair.

Right now, Ding Chenghai of the Research Institute was using Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg Giant Mandibles to develop new, compatible infantry weapons for the Genetically Modified Warrior program.

This was also an indirect testament to how advanced the Zerg Race’s biotechnology was, as well as their immense potential for modification.

But with the Jia City Mother Empress’s flat refusal, Lin Feng was momentarily at a loss for a rebuttal.

Given her current strength, she probably couldn’t scrape together that many Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have needed to make a deal with him—her sworn enemy, at least in name.

Unfortunately, Lin Feng was also desperately short on Fine Steel at the moment.

His Replica ability was a money pit, a bottomless void.

He couldn’t use the Jia City Mother Empress to synthesize the bio-metal.

Lin Feng took a deep breath. He looked at the host before him, a mere Tier One Late Stage being. Even if he killed this Mother Empress Avatar, there would be no reward.

The Jia City Mother Empress had gotten smarter, leaving him no opportunity to fleece her.

After thinking it over, his only option was to increase the total volume of the trade to compensate for the current loss of materials:

"In that case, add another fifty!"

"Two hundred fifty Tier Two Zerg Eggs, and I’ll hold off the Hai City Mother Empress for ten days."

Hearing Lin Feng’s answer and his demand, the Mother Empress Avatar secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded and said:

"Fine. Two hundred fifty Zerg Eggs should be enough for you to advance to Tier Two Late Stage Perfection, and you’ll even be able to get a few teammates of the same tier. As for the missing Giant Mandible Material, you can just take it from that thing in Hai City!"