"Aren’t you going to check it out?"

Liu Yueqi walked up behind Lin Feng, carrying her Thousand Slash Saber.

"What if they’re just asking you to go back and die?"

Lin Feng retorted. An urgent mission with such generous rewards appearing so coincidentally... it was hard not to connect it to the crisis of the Swarm closing in behind them.

If he got dragged into that rescue effort, it would be a suicide mission. ’A job where you earn the money but don’t live to spend it.’

Even if he were to join, he’d have to wait until this crisis was over.

Lin Feng went straight back to the vehicle and took out the receiver Ding Chenghai had left him. It contained the files he had sent.

The latest data on Superpower Awakening.

Currently, there was only a certain chance of awakening a Superpower after seven enhancements. However, those who awakened early were relatively weak and would only achieve a full, official Awakening after their ninth enhancement.

Therefore, an Awakening after the ninth enhancement was considered a certainty.

Some people awakened early because they had a natural affinity for the Dark Energy that stimulated life’s potential. Such individuals could even get enhanced in their daily lives without needing to kill giant Zergs.

Sister-in-law Yurou was one such example.

However, these cases were extremely rare, and the trigger conditions remained unknown.

The vast majority of Enhanced People completed their Superpower Awakening during the Tier Jumping Upgrade after their ninth enhancement—in other words, by killing a level 10 or higher Black Spine Zerg.

These were mostly front-line soldiers in the army. Besides the majority who awakened Physical Enhancement, some gained shooting-related Superpowers.

The Physical Enhancement could rapidly boost base stats by over 50% in a short time, and those with it were called Berserkers.

As for shooting-type Superpowers, they included, but were not limited to, Precision Sniping, High-Speed Auto-Aim, Superpower Bullets, and so on.

Although the types were varied, they were all inextricably linked to a soldier’s basic profession. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Therefore, these Superpowers were too one-dimensional. The Research Institute hoped to obtain some special Superpowers to use as material samples for experiments.

The ability Lin Feng had previously demonstrated—controlling the shape of objects—was one of them.

But even that wasn’t too unusual. Those who could create fire or manipulate certain types of matter left the researchers even more bewildered and excited.

As for the Superpower Awakening process itself, it typically involved two to three hours of intense fever, where one’s blood felt like it was boiling as Dark Energy stimulated their life’s potential.

The exact duration and intensity varied from person to person.

Of course, this state wouldn’t suddenly occur on the battlefield right after killing a Black Spine Zerg. The Awakening would usually begin gradually after the intense battle was over and the person was resting back at camp, completely relaxed and calm.

After the Awakening, any wounds on the body would also heal completely, but this was limited to minor external injuries. Missing limbs and the like could not be regenerated.

Having grasped the basics, Lin Feng felt more prepared.

Just then, the propaganda vehicle from up ahead came to a stop at the end of the traffic jam—right where Lin Feng and his group were.

He had assumed the staff from the recruiting office were just driving out to turn around and continue their broadcasted announcements, but to his surprise, they stopped right there.

Or rather, they stopped near Lin Feng’s group.

Soon, a man and a woman in gray-green military attire got out of the pickup truck. They saw the two pairs of Black Spine Zerg Giant Mandibles strapped to the top of the RV, with yellowish-green Zerg blood still dripping from them from time to time.

They walked straight to the passenger side of the RV.

After a knock on the window, Lin Feng rolled it down.

The female staff member, wearing simple, elegant makeup, offered a professional smile to those inside the car.

"Hello, are you Lin Feng, Mr. Lin?"

Lin Feng gave a slight nod, remaining silent.

The pretty woman smiled and continued:

"We learned from Lieutenant Qin that you’re a Superpower Awakener? There’s a temporary regulation that requires all new Awakeners to register their information."

Lin Feng took his wallet out of his backpack and produced his ID card.

The woman handed it to her companion behind her to fill out the registration, then spoke again:

"Would you mind demonstrating your Superpower?"

Lin Feng drew the pistol from his waist, startling the two of them into stepping back, their hands instinctively reaching for their own waists.

"Don’t be nervous. Weren’t you the one who asked me for a demonstration?"

Lin Feng spoke calmly, raising the gun and aiming at the green woods beside the expressway. BANG! The blast round hit a large tree half a meter in diameter.

The explosive warhead tore the thick trunk in half. The nearly twenty-meter-tall tree crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar.

The immense power stunned the nearby onlookers. When they looked at the RV again, their expressions held less greed and jealousy, and more fear and respect.

A Physical Enhancement Superpower wasn’t so obvious, but the deterrence of an enhanced bullet was direct and dangerous.

The pretty woman who had come to register him had personally witnessed the red Flash from the muzzle. The fired bullet kicked up a wave of heat that washed over her face.

Feeling the bullet’s power firsthand, the woman was both frightened and a little excited. Her legs felt slightly weak. She leaned against the car door, her face faintly flushed, and her attitude grew even more respectful:

"So, Mr. Lin, you’ve awakened Superpower Bullet."

"My name is Han Yuxin. I’m a staff member at the Jianghai Expressway Second Section recruitment station. We’ve just completed your registration and authentication. Here is a copy of the temporary security management regulations. Please take it and be sure to abide by them."

"Right now, the front line urgently needs talented individuals like you. The compensation is extremely generous..."

As she spoke, Han Yuxin noticed the woman in the driver’s seat.

"Your family and relatives can use the emergency lane to go directly to the special cafeteria and rest area we’ve set up at the service station. If you’re interested, please let me know."

Lin Feng nodded, taking the A4-sized stapled regulations and his ID card.

"Thank you."

After handing him a business card, Han Yuxin led her companion over to Liu Yueqi. Her treatment wasn’t nearly as good; they only gave her a brief introduction to the employment benefits and didn’t even provide a copy of the regulations.

Lin Feng casually flipped through the papers. They mostly stipulated that Superpower Awakeners were not allowed to arbitrarily abuse their Superpowers against other Awakeners or ordinary survivors.

However, joining the official forces came with preferential treatment for positions, such as serving as a public security administrator on this road or joining a patrol team to deal with the sporadic Swarms that harassed the area from time to time.

Of course, if one was willing to accept frontline missions, the rewards would be even more generous, and there would be preferential treatment for promotions.

Enlisting directly in the army, however, came with many more requirements, but the military also provided more powerful support and guarantees, such as transport for immediate family to the rear, free weapons and equipment supplied by logistics, and a substantial pension for those who died in service.

In short, each option had its pros and cons.

Lin Feng, of course, preferred the former. Operating between the rear and the front lines was not only a bit freer, but it also meant he wouldn’t have to worry about his system being exposed.

The officials’ attitude toward civilian Awakeners was quite reasonable. There were no mandatory requirements, likely because they understood that people who suddenly gained Superpowers were difficult to manage. Forcing or coercing them might even cause them to switch sides on the battlefield.

It was better to adopt a voluntary principle.

In any case, those who craved Power were bound to stay on the front lines or at the edge of the warzone, because without killing Zergs, they couldn’t continue to enhance and awaken.

After reading through it all, Lin Feng had a plan. When Han Yuxin and her partner returned, he agreed.

"All right, I’ll join the Public Security Administration Bureau."

A trace of joy appeared on Han Yuxin’s face, and her smile became much more sincere. By discovering and recruiting a powerful Awakener with Superpower Bullet, she would also receive a considerable reward.

"Excellent. We’ll process the paperwork for you right away."

She took the man back to their truck, printed an employment ID card, and handed it to Lin Feng.

"Mr. Lin, you can follow us now to the temporary office set up in the service area, or you can come on your own later."

"After selecting a specific position, you will receive your enlistment rewards, which include a week’s worth of rations for three people and fifty liters of gasoline or diesel."

"This is your employment ID card. Please keep it safe. It also serves as your emergency pass."

Lin Feng nodded, accepting the terms.

"Okay. I’ll go this evening after I take care of a few things."

Watching the pickup truck drive away, Lin Feng took out the business card Han Yuxin had given him. Besides the official contact number, her personal contact information was written on the back.

Lin Feng took out his phone to add her, and his request was accepted instantly.

Han Yuxin quickly sent a message:

"Mr. Lin, are you interested in learning about the urgent mission?"

"You’ve probably guessed it’s about the crisis on the front lines. Right now, we need a high-quality team of Enhanced Awakeners to carry out harassing and guerrilla attacks against the new Swarm, to slow down the speed at which the Swarm is closing its encirclement."

"The goal is to buy time for the main forces to escape the encirclement."

"You would not be asked to participate directly in the rescue or face the Swarm’s frontal assault."

Lin Feng replied, "Understood. I’ll consider it," then turned off his phone and plugged it into the car charger.

Nearby, Chen Yanyan was looking through the regulations. She asked:

"Are you going to turn back? By yourself?"

Lin Feng shook his head. ’It’s still too dangerous to go with my current strength.’

First, he needed to complete his own evolution and see what new changes his awakened Superpower and the bound RV would bring.

"I’ve killed the Black Spine Zerg. I need to rest for a while to complete the Tier Jump Awakening that comes after the ninth enhancement."

"The process will take about two or three hours. Keep an eye out. If there’s real danger, take this and use the emergency lane."

With that, Lin Feng handed the employment ID card to Chen Yanyan and opened the door to the rear compartment of the RV.

Lying on the bed, he activated the Armor Shield form. His entire body was enveloped in a layer of the level 7 Red Silver Armor Shield. With five uses of Absolute Domain in reserve, his safety was practically guaranteed.

With all preparations complete, Lin Feng tapped the upgrade button, initiating his own level 10 Upgrade—the Tier Jumping Superpower Awakening.

A surging, scorching torrent of Energy burst forth from the Blast Gun...

...and instantly engulfed Lin Feng’s entire body.