Chapter 96: Chapter 91: Breaking Limit, Assimilation, Black Knight

On the way back, Lin Feng directly operated the Flying Wing Tank, pushing all the Tiger Spine Zerg Giant Mandibles exposed at the rear into the spacious trunk.

He then shut the gates on both sides tightly.

Now that he possessed Orange Quality materials suitable for Tier Two, Lin Feng’s desire to Upgrade grew even stronger.

’First, I need to get the Lv16 Flying Wing Tank and the Red Profound Flying Armor on my arm to Tier One Full Level. Only then can I consider what to use the Tiger Spine Zerg Giant Mandibles for.’

As it stood, Lin Feng could only pray that the fusion modifications he’d made to the Tank hadn’t changed its classification from support equipment to weapon equipment.

Otherwise, just like with the Level 19 Grenade Cannon, he would need to kill a member of the Tier Two Zerg Race to complete the Tier Jumping Upgrade.

If that were the case, Lin Feng would be forced to use the newly acquired Orange Quality materials on the Red Profound Flying Armor, which offered the worst return on investment.

At that point, even if he could ignore attacks from the Black Spine Zergs, he would have to put himself in harm’s way and deliberately lure a squad of Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs.

As Lin Feng was lost deep in thought on the way back, the group traveled on in silence under the night sky.

「Three hours later.」

The Flying Wing Tank successfully completed its delivery and returned to the service area at the front line.

After getting out of the vehicle, Han Yuxin returned to the van she had arrived in. She then led a truck loaded with ten live Zergs away from the front line, ready to complete her second transaction.

Because time was short, on Lin Feng’s instruction, she ate a large amount of food in her vehicle and began her Tier Jump Superpower Awakening.

Lin Feng didn’t notice any spiritual fluctuations as she left. He figured her Superpower was probably an ordinary one related to Physique, meaning the risk of an accident during her Awakening was low. After giving her a few reminders, he let her go without further delay.

With Han Yuxin’s departure, the service area fell silent.

Lin Feng looked at the vehicle full of materials and the three live Cyan-winged Zergs, and decided to once again upgrade and modify the Tank and his Red Profound Flying Armor.

During the upgrade process, by integrating the few pairs of Cyan Wing Zerg Membrane Wings collected during the day, the Lv16 Flying Wing Tank successfully gained an enhanced Ground Effect Flight Mode.

Because fewer Black Spine Zerg Giant Mandibles were added this time, the upgrade completed in just two hours:

「Ground Effect Flight Mode (Deploys flapping Membrane Wings from the bottom of both sides, increasing aerodynamic lift and reducing tire load. Speed +150 km/h. Can adapt to complex water routes and terrain. Fuel consumption +100%, cruising range reduced by half.)」

For now, it had only boosted its speed, but Lin Feng was already very satisfied. After all, their speed was their greatest weakness.

The now Level 17 Flying Wing Tank possessed a terrifying speed of three hundred kilometers per hour—over eighty meters per second, approaching the speed of a bullet train.

This speed was already approaching the limit of what Chen Yanyan could handle. Any faster, and if they encountered complex road conditions, her brain wouldn’t be able to process the visual information and react in time.

It would be nearly impossible to evade obstacles that suddenly appeared in their path.

Even with more upgrades, Chen Yanyan wouldn’t dare to drive that fast. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Therefore, Lin Feng decided to stop wasting Membrane Wing materials on fusion upgrades for the Tank and instead test a theory he had.

Seeing that the Level 17 Flying Wing Tank still had over thirty Upgrade Points left, Lin Feng proceeded directly to the next Upgrade stage.

He opted against further fusion modifications and instead initiated a synchronized upgrade for himself.

He was already a Level 19 Perfect Awakener.

’I don’t expect a Red Quality Tank upgrade to help me achieve a Tier Jump Awakening, but at the very least, this warm current flowing into my body should allow my Attributes to Break the Limit!’

Without the delay from fusion modifications, the Flying Wing Tank upgraded very quickly, just like the Level 19 Grenade Cannon, finishing its level-up in a matter of minutes.

Lin Feng felt the warm current flow into him. Although it wasn’t as turbulent or scorching as it had been initially, he could still perceive a slight enhancement to his body.

Soon, as the enhancement finished, his personal Attributes showed new changes, just as he’d expected:

「Lin Feng, Level 19/19」

「Life Value: 160, Physique: 160, Spirit: 160」

His Life Value and Physique had both increased by 10 points, breaking the human limit of 150.

Thanks to Jiang Yun’er’s help, his Spiritual Attribute had already broken the limit and reached 155 previously. So even though it only increased by five points this time, it was still an excellent result.

Following the principle that one’s own strength is the most fundamental, Lin Feng immediately upgraded the Level 18 Tank to Level 19.

After these upgrades, Lin Feng’s personal Attributes stabilized at 170 points.

「Lin Feng, Level 19/19」

「Life Value: 170, Physique: 170, Spirit: 165」

His Attribute values were now only slightly lower than Qin Hu’s—and this was without having undergone a Tier Two Awakening. Among Tier One Awakeners, he was practically invincible.

Seeing the 170 values, Lin Feng felt a slight pang of regret. ’If I had done fewer fusion modifications on the Tank from the beginning, I might have had a chance to reach the absolute limit of a Tier One Awakening.’

However, thanks to the fusion upgrades, the Tank’s Defense and combat capabilities had also multiplied!

The resulting boost to his team’s overall strength was far greater than anything a single Tier One Awakener could contribute.

After Breaking the Limit, Lin Feng was preparing to deal with the three remaining live Cyan-winged Zergs when he heard a familiar voice call out from outside the tarp covering the garage.

In the early hours of the morning, Lin Feng switched his Red Profound Flying Armor to its Full Body Armor state and stepped out of the repair shop.

He saw Zhang Liying, her face wrought with anxiety, wiping away tears as she spoke, her voice fraught with emotion.

"Shen Jie ate the appendage of a Black Spine Zerg tonight and fell into a coma! He still hasn’t woken up, and he has a raging fever—it’s just like when we went through our Awakening..."

Lin Feng’s expression darkened. He followed her to the inn and, in a private room on the second floor, saw Shen Jie lying on the bed, his entire body flushed red and burning hot.

"Cool him down with water first, then give him some sugar water," Lin Feng ordered. "He can’t get through this on his own; he needs extra nutrition."

He recalled the technicians feeding concentrated Nutrient Liquid to Qin Hu at the field hospital. Combined with Ding Chenghai’s descriptions of biological experiments, he began to form a hypothesis.

Under his direction, Zhang Liying quickly went to Chen Yanyan at the Tank and returned with standard-issue military rations, which included high-calorie items like chocolate and easily digestible candies.

The situation was urgent, so they had to make do with what they had.

After being fed a large amount of liquefied food, Shen Jie’s condition improved noticeably. His burning body gradually cooled, returning to a normal temperature as Zhang Liying wiped him down.

Meanwhile, under the influence of the Superpower, his arms slowly began to mutate.

Two exceptionally long, black blades emerged, piercing the skin on the sides of his forearms.

At the same time, the skin on his upper body turned from its pale yellow color to a dark black, thickening like a callus until it resembled a black carapace.

Fortunately, Shen Jie’s breathing remained steady and his heartbeat was stable. For the moment, his life wasn’t in danger.

「Later that night, as the sky began to lighten before dawn.」

Shen Jie gradually regained consciousness.

His upper body now resembled that of an armored Black Knight, with two blades over a meter long extending from his arms.

Watching from the side, a glint flashed in Lin Feng’s eyes...

This rapid increase in Attributes from Devouring Assimilation reminded him of what Ding Chenghai had described.

’It seems,’ he thought, ’that a stable method for genetic modification is about to be born from my own hands.’