Chapter 97: Chapter 92: Lv19 Flying Wing Tank, Red Profound Flying Armor

[Shen Jie, Lv11/19]

[Life Value 70, Physique 105, Spirit 66]

[Superpower Awakening: Devouring Assimilation—Black Knight]

[Note: Target is in a Black Spine Zerg Assimilation State. Energy consumption increased by 100%, Physique increased by 50%, mental state unstable.]

A glint appeared in Lin Feng’s eyes, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

During the mission this morning, Shen Jie had killed two Black Spine Zergs and successfully reached Lv11. The Attribute Value cap for that Level was 70...

But now, in his Assimilation State, transformed into the Black Knight, Shen Jie possessed a shocking Physique Attribute of over one hundred!

That was equivalent to the Physique of a Tier One Middle Stage Awakened.

The extra 50% increase in Physique was far more powerful than the minor 10% boost from a Tier One Early Stage Physical Enhancement Superpower.

This also confirmed what Ding Chenghai had previously revealed about the gene modification project—it really did have the potential to turn the tables!

Right now, Shen Jie had only just entered the Tier One Early Stage, yet he was capable of fighting at the Middle Stage level.

If a Tier One Perfect Awakened with 150 points in Physique underwent this genetic surgery, they would get a minimum 50% boost, and that was before stacking their own Physical Enhancement Superpower...

’Two hundred plus one hundred... a Physique Attribute of three hundred or more!’

Extrapolating from the data on Tier One Awakeners, a modified human with a 300-point Physique Attribute would have Power reaching over ten tons, and their speed would break one hundred meters per second—faster than a diving Cyan-winged Zerg.

With such freakishly superhuman stats, they could definitely be called a complete Tier Two Awakener.

If they were mass-produced and equipped with humanity’s best gear, they could launch a surprise attack on the Wormhole, sweep through the ordinary Low-tier Black Spine Zergs, encircle and annihilate the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs, and finally enter the Nest to behead the Mother Empress!

Seeing Shen Jie’s Assimilation Superpower, Lin Feng could already foresee humanity’s future countermeasure against the Zerg Race.

’But the problem is, no one can guarantee the safety and stability of this genetic surgery!’

’What if the non-human soldiers they create refuse to obey their superiors’ commands?’

’Or what if the modified humans suffer from mental breakdowns...?’

Just as the Identification in front of him warned, after Shen Jie entered his Black Knight state, his Spiritual Attribute began to destabilize, and his Spiritual Value was continuously dropping.

Fortunately, his sanity remained intact.

Through the Black Armor Plates covering his head, Shen Jie saw Lin Feng standing nearby and quickly rose, only to kneel on one knee.

Before, he had been too weak to sense Lin Feng’s true power. But now, in his Black Knight state, his five senses were also greatly enhanced. He could perceive that the aura emanating from the man before him far surpassed that of a Tier One Late Stage Awakened.

’With the help of his Tank’s Upgrades, Lin Feng has already achieved a Breaking Limit on his Attribute Values. His current strength is somewhere between Tier One and Tier Two...’

This made Shen Jie, who had inherited the genes of a Black Spine Zerg, instinctively feel a sense of danger.

His chaotic consciousness immediately cleared.

Lin Feng noticed the taut muscles on his body and the black Arm Blades that had grown from his hands, which were inadvertently slicing through the floor tiles. He spoke to reassure him:

"This current form of yours has assimilated the genes of a Black Spine Zerg. You could call it the Black Knight."

"After entering the Assimilation State, you need to maintain constant focus. Otherwise, your consciousness will continue to deteriorate, and you could easily hurt those around you..."

Shen Jie glanced behind Lin Feng and saw Zhang Liying standing at the door, a towel in her hand.

Seeing her trembling, he nodded silently.

’My appearance... it’s truly monstrous.’ He wanted to speak, but his deformed throat could only produce a hoarse hiss, making him seem neither human nor zerg.

Lin Feng continued,

"You just completed the Assimilation. Rest for now. Try to see if you can deactivate this state."

"There are too many people in the service area. It’s not a good place to test its duration and special abilities."

"We’ll test it out tomorrow during the mission."

Shen Jie let out a rasping sound, then calmed his mind and guided the power to retract.

Following this, the armor plates on the outer layer of his body slowly receded back under his skin. The sharp Arm Blades on the sides of his hands also folded and retracted into his muscles like a mantis’s, leaving a fifty-centimeter-long, blood-red gash on the side of his arm, which slowly began to scab over.

The painful retraction made Shen Jie grit his teeth, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

In the end, all that remained of the Black Spine Zerg’s assimilated Outer Armor was a ring of fish-scale-like plates around his torso that couldn’t be retracted.

Still, it was enough that a shirt could cover it. No one would walk around in public bare-chested anyway.

Lin Feng nodded, glancing back at Zhang Liying. She was only Lv10, and her Attribute Values were all much lower than Shen Jie’s. He promptly reminded her,

"You don’t have the ability to handle this level of Assimilation yet. Familiarize yourself with the Red-Armored Beetle’s state first, and don’t try the Black Spine Zerg."

Zhang Liying nodded nervously. After Lin Feng left, she looked at Shen Jie, who had collapsed onto the bed and passed out from the pain.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she slowly walked forward...

......

Taking an upgraded dagger from one of his other subordinates, Lin Feng returned to the repair shop and pulled up the data panel for the fully upgraded Lv19 Flying Wing Tank. Its Basic Attributes had improved dramatically:

[Flying Wing Tank Lv19/19, Red Quality]

[Upgrade Points 14/10, Defense 150, Damage 130, Average Speed 150km/h, Range 1000km]

[Extra Attributes: Biological Armor (Defense Power +70), Armor-Piercing Car Head (Damage +60),

Unlimited Firepower (Ten machine guns, average Damage 40),

Self-Propelled Artillery (Three Lv19 Machine Cannons, Damage 160, ammo 9000, Bullet Recovery 1/1s), 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Life Radar (For every 1 Upgrade Point consumed, can detect all beings with a Life Value greater than 50 within a five-kilometer radius),

Storage Space (For every 1 Upgrade Point consumed, internal capacity expands by 1 cubic meter. Current living/combat area 60 cubic meters, trunk 50 cubic meters),

Ground Effect Flight Mode (Speed increased by 150km/h, adapts to complex waterway terrain, fuel consumption increased by 100%, Range reduced by half)]

[Tier Jumping Upgrade Conditions: Evolution Points 10/10 (Met), kill one Tier Two Zerg Race creature]

The Basic Attributes increased by 10 points with each Upgrade, which was within Lin Feng’s expectations.

There were no changes to the Extra Attributes, except for the three Machine Cannons on the observation deck, which were synchronously upgraded to Lv19, increasing their Damage and ammo capacity.

But when he saw the final Tier Jumping Upgrade Condition, Lin Feng was deeply disappointed. ’As expected. After being armed with so many offensive capabilities, the Tank needs to kill a Tiger Spine Zerg to complete its Tier Two Upgrade.’

’It might also be that the equipment is tied to my own synchronous upgrades, so I can’t use the Assimilation of inanimate objects for a Tier Jump Awakening.’

With his hope for a direct upgrade dashed, Lin Feng’s gaze shifted to the Arm Guard on his arm.

He took out the dagger. After surgically cutting into the live Cyan-winged Zergs in the trunk, Lin Feng discovered that their brain nerves were directly connected to their pair of flapping Membrane Wings.

This meant that after cutting off the Membrane Wings, the Cyan-winged Zergs would gradually die, just like how the Black Spine Zergs’ brains were located behind their Giant Mandibles. If you cut off the Giant Mandible, its brain would be exposed, and it would die quickly.

Otherwise, Lin Feng wouldn’t have always sold the zergs with their mandibles still attached, wasting valuable Giant Mandible Material.

’I can’t believe the Cyan-winged Zergs have the same structure.’ Lin Feng sighed softly and finished them off.

Since he couldn’t exploit a bug to reuse them, Lin Feng went all out. Through several fusion upgrades, he quickly raised his Lv16 Red Profound Flying Armor to Lv19.

Looking at the three rings of emerald green scales that appeared on the Arm Guard and the Data Attributes it displayed, Lin Feng finally broke into a satisfied smile:

[Red Profound Flying Armor Lv19/19, Red Quality]

[Durability: 10/10, Defense Power 150, Mutant Form: Arm Guard (unconditional), Full Body Armor (unconditional),

Absolute Defense (1/1 Back Armor)(10/1 Giant Mandible),

Blast Scale Armor (Reflects 90% of Damage taken, Defense Power reduced by 10%),

Flight Mode (Consumes 1 reserve Upgrade Point for ten minutes of wing-flapping flight, max speed 400 km/h, five-minute Cooling time)]

[Tier Jumping Upgrade Conditions: Ten portions of Red Quality material + one portion of Orange Quality material]

Three consecutive Upgrades increased the Basic Defense by 40. Lin Feng had fused a total of six pairs of Flying Wing Membrane Wings, but the improvement to the Flight Mode had diminishing returns with each one.

Lin Feng recalled the returns from fusing the Giant Mandibles before; as the item’s Level increased, the fusion effect had also continuously weakened...

’It seems the effect is best on the first fusion, with diminishing returns after that.’

’So instead of continuing to use fusion upgrades on the Flying Wing Tank, it would have been better to use them to break my own Attribute Value limits...’

’The returns would have been higher that way.’

Because next, Lin Feng would most likely have to engage a Tiger Spine Zerg in close combat.

Looking at the Tier Jumping Upgrade Conditions for the Lv19 Red Profound Flying Armor,

Lin Feng’s expression grew solemn. He decided to take the risk!

’If I can just craft a piece of Orange Quality defensive gear first, I’ll have the confidence to face a Tiger Spine Zerg again!’