Chapter 224 - 146: Danger Perception, The Shipyard’s Wormhole
Chapter 224: Chapter 146: Danger Perception, The Shipyard’s Wormhole
The others needed to rest and prepare for the afternoon’s battle.
It would also reduce the risk of exposing their position.
At a signal from Lin Feng, the squad members stowed their guns and drew their Close Combat Weapons.
Gunfire would attract a massive Swarm, making it easy for them to get surrounded.
Clad in their Red Armor, they had no reason to fear the Red-Armored Beetles.
As the group pushed deeper into the port and neared the edge of the county seat, Lin Feng spotted a warehouse filled with huge piles of stainless steel pipes and neatly stacked I-beams.
He roughly estimated there were over a dozen tons of it.
Meanwhile, several Red-Armored Beetles hiding within caught the scent of intruders and began crawling out from the dark depths of the warehouse.
There were over a dozen of them in total.
Startled, Jiang Chengcheng immediately ducked behind Lin Feng.
But Lin Feng simply waved a hand, and the two Tier Two Awakeners behind him stepped forward, bare-handed and relying on their Red Profound Armor.
They raised their fists to the Red-Armored Beetles and proceeded to shatter their solid carapaces with their bare hands.
The Red Profound Armor was created by fusing Black Spine Zerg Giant Mandibles, making its hardness far superior to that of the Red Armor.
And the nearly ten tons of Power a Tier Two Awakener could exert was far more than these low-level Zergs could withstand.
As for the Tiger-toothed Chainsaw Sword on Lin Feng’s back, neither the Red-Armored Beetles nor the Black Spine Zergs were worthy opponents for him to draw it against.
"Don’t go for the head. Leave them half-dead."
Receiving their orders, the Tier Two Awakeners smashed their fists viciously onto the Red-Armored Beetles’ carapaces.
In just a minute or two, the floor was littered with dying, struggling Zergs.
Lin Feng took a dagger from a Warrior and handed it to Jiang Chengcheng.
"This is your reward for guiding us here. Go finish those Zergs off, just like you did before..."
Jiang Chengcheng swallowed, her grip tightening on the hilt. Her expression gradually hardened, and she walked slowly toward the remaining Red-Armored Beetles.
After watching her kill the Zergs with a clean technique that was nothing like her first time, Lin Feng turned to inspect the steel products with his Identification skill.
Unlike the rusted containers and iron railings outside, the neatly stacked steel pipes and I-beams met the raw material requirements for his Replicas.
Lin Feng reached out, touched a steel pipe, and quickly used Copy to create a Level 19 Scatter Cannon.
The newly joined Warriors stared, dumbfounded, while the Tier Two Awakeners to the side had already grown accustomed to it.
After confirming the materials were suitable, Lin Feng had one of the Tier Two Awakeners take the small team to escort Jiang Chengcheng back to their temporary camp next door. Then, they were to lead the main force over,
to clear out this warehouse district and get everyone equipped with Shotguns.
As for Lin Feng, he planned to take Liu Yi and venture deeper toward the distant shipyard to investigate.
Watching the squad members’ backs disappear among the shipping containers, Lin Feng turned and looked toward the distant shipyard, his brow furrowed.
Liu Yi clutched his Shotgun, his expression tense.
"Sergeant Major, is there something ahead?"
Lin Feng nodded. When he had scanned the warehouse district with his Mind Sensing, he’d detected more than just the Red-Armored Beetles Jiang Chengcheng had spoken of. He’d also seen a faint, massive flash of light from the shipyard, four or five kilometers further west.
It was the signature of a Black Spine Zerg Swarm gathering together.
’Why would they be massing in the shipyard? It’s just a river crossing away from Chang City on the opposite bank; they could easily invade it.’
’There must be some other reason for their presence.’
’It’s a good thing I didn’t blindly lead the company into the city proper. We could have easily been caught in a pincer movement—a dangerous predicament with no way to advance or retreat.’
Led by Lin Feng, the two of them crept forward. They discovered more Swarms along the way, even spotting hordes of Red-Armored Beetles at the edge of the port.
They were huddled in the corners of buildings, sheltering from the scorching sun.
Their State was poor; they were on the verge of death.
Some of them were even sucking the juices from the corpses of their fallen comrades...
At noon in midsummer, the concrete ground of the port could reach temperatures of forty to fifty degrees.
’Were these Zergs all roasted to death?’
Puzzled, Lin Feng had Liu Yi stand guard below while he climbed to the top of a Gantry Crane. From the highest operator’s cabin, he gazed toward the distant shipyard.
Using the scope on his Electromagnetic Cannon, he soon got a clear view of what was happening in the shipyard.
In the center of the shipyard, a massive pit created by the Zerg Race had appeared, flooded with back-filled river water.
Then, he saw vast numbers of Red-Armored Beetles hauling heavy, cut pieces of steel and diving into the water-filled Wormhole.
Many Red-Armored Beetles collapsed under the heavy loads, dying from exhaustion mid-transport. Their bodies were carried off by others and discarded in a corner, eventually forming a small mountain of corpses.
Following their transport route, his eyes traced a path to a dilapidated drydock off to the side.
Hundreds of Black Spine Zergs were gathered there, tearing apart an already-cast ship’s hull. They were gnawing on the hull’s Special Steel modules, shearing off irregular chunks weighing one to two tons apiece.
Once the pieces fell, the Red-Armored Beetles were responsible for hauling them back to the flooded Wormhole.
Lin Feng’s expression grew grim as he watched the scene unfold.
’This swarm... they’re gathering metal materials.’
’And the only use for that is to synthesize the hardened Giant Mandibles of Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs.’
’But I need that Special Steel to Copy amphibious Flying Wing Tanks.’
’I have to stop the Zerg Race from stealing it!’
Back on the ground, Lin Feng immediately led Liu Yi back to the port’s warehouse district, where they met up with Shen Jie and the others who were just arriving.
"Gather all members! Assemble here!"
"I had planned to wait for the midday heat to pass and fight this afternoon. But right now, the Zerg Race is plundering critically important resources, so we have to act sooner."
"All units, prepare for battle!"
"Shen Jie, send a team to clean out the Red-Armored Beetles here. Move fast, and don’t expose our position."
After Lin Feng issued his orders, he waited for the team to finish their cleanup task and fully assemble...
Lin Feng used the remaining steel pipes to Copy dozens of Shotgun Replicas.
After distributing them, Lin Feng assigned fifty Warriors, led by the two Tier Two Awakeners, to guard the eastern flank and the bridgehead, preventing the Zerg Race from circling around to surround them.
The remaining Legion squad members and a hundred more Warriors would follow him...
To assault the shipyard!
He was now more interested in that flooded Wormhole.
’Perhaps inside, I won’t just find completed Tier Two Tiger Zerg Giant Mandibles. It might even connect to the incubation Hive for Tier Two Zerg Eggs!’