Chapter 227 - 147: The Furnace Pit and Ling Shuyan’s Arrival
Chapter 227: Chapter 147: The Furnace Pit and Ling Shuyan’s Arrival
These arm-thick, braided steel cables could easily lift thirty or forty tons.
Lin Feng and Shen Jie then jumped into the water.
Protected by their Flying Tiger Armor and Winged Tiger Frenzy Forms, the two of them didn’t have to worry about Zerg Race attacks. As long as the exploded furnace cooled down, their path would be clear.
Soon, Lin Feng reached the location of the former core. The surrounding water temperature was still forty to fifty degrees, but this didn’t affect them as they began to clear away the rubble covering the furnace.
Once the area around the opening was cleared, they found a thick layer of cooled metal blocks beneath the shattered, fleshy furnace shell. The material was very similar to that of a Giant Mandible, but it lacked some plasticity.
Lin Feng touched it, and a prompt flashed before his eyes:
[Zerg Race Giant Mandible—Unfinished, Orange Quality]
[Note: Can be used as a material for synthesis and Upgrades.]
’I can’t believe this huge, semi-finished product weighing over ten tons is actually useful.’ Lin Feng immediately tied the steel cable from his waist to the metal block.
After confirming it was secure, he gave it a hard tug.
The Warriors on the bank received the signal and began to pull with all their might, dragging the object tied to the cable ashore.
As the large, semi-finished block was moved aside, another small, sunken pit was revealed beneath it.
The two of them worked together, digging open the buried hole.
The next moment, a small tunnel leading deep Underground appeared before Lin Feng.
It was only three meters in diameter, likely a transport pipe connected to the bottom of the furnace used for refining the initially liquefied biological metal.
The two gestured to each other briefly, then squeezed inside.
Lin Feng led the way, stepping on the solidified residue underfoot. It was then he discovered that the tunnel walls were forged from Giant Mandible material. ’No wonder it withstood the explosion’s impact,’ he thought. Aside from some cracks and water leakage, it was largely undamaged.
The two walked single file for several hundred meters. The seeping river water gradually disappeared, leaving only the residual cooled liquid metal underfoot.
’Based on our direction, we must be under the county’s urban district now.’
Lin Feng used his Mind Sensing and detected a large Hive beneath them.
There were also signs of Red-Armored Beetle activity near the pipe. They had burrowed in to collect the flowing liquid biological metal, using it to complete the final synthesis process for the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg Giant Mandibles.
Following the trail, the two finally emerged from an opening. Lin Feng held the Electromagnetic Cannon in one hand and gripped his Tiger-toothed Chainsaw Sword tightly in the other...
Using Flight Mode, he landed steadily. At the same time, his Flying Tiger Armor released the Might of the Tiger Zerg, scaring away the approaching Black Spine Zergs and the Red-Armored Beetle Swarm.
Shen Jie, carrying the steel cable, followed close behind.
This Hive was slightly different from the one the two had entered Underground in the Wu City East District.
The Hive walls were covered in unknown fungi emitting an eerie green fluorescence. The light illuminated the dim cavern, allowing Lin Feng and Shen Jie to barely make out their surroundings.
Deep within the Hive stood a giant wall of flesh. It had no discernible head or limbs, looking more like a ceaselessly growing, brownish-red tumor.
Lin Feng narrowed his eyes. ’This thing must be the biological factory where the Zerg Race produces its Tier Two Giant Mandibles!’
’Just like the previous Biological Melting Furnace, it’s a living organism!’
He then led Shen Jie, and the two of them began to cut into the mountain of flesh before them.
As their blades fell, both Lin Feng’s Tiger-toothed Chainsaw Sword and Shen Jie’s arm-mounted Bone Blades struck something hard.
When they pulled their weapons free, they revealed the Orange Quality Giant Mandibles, created through organic synthesis from the liquid metal blocks delivered by the Red-Armored Beetles.
One, two, three...
In the end, they dug out a total of twenty-eight, equivalent to fourteen pairs of Giant Mandibles.
It was enough to equip an entire Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg Swarm.
But in Lin Feng’s view, this was likely only one or two days’ worth of production. Considering the rate of cutting and transport at the shipyard, hundreds or even thousands of Giant Mandibles must have already been produced.
Enough for the Mother Empress to hatch a massive number of Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs.
The Mother Empress here was also making early preparations for the future battle at Taihu Lake.
As they shredded the pile of rotten flesh, Lin Feng received feedback through his Mind Sensing, which revealed that a large number of Tiger Spine Zergs were rapidly approaching.
With no time to think, Lin Feng ordered Shen Jie to help him tie the Giant Mandibles with the steel cable and stuff them into the liquid metal transport tunnel. They were a perfect fit.
Lin Feng raised his Electromagnetic Cannon and fired wildly at the distant Hive entrance, causing the walls to collapse. This buried the entrance and blocked the approaching Tier Two Zerg Race reinforcements.
’It seems this Tier Two Mother Empress hasn’t reached the Tier Three Middle Stage yet, which is why there aren’t any new types of Tier Two Zerg Race under her command.’
But the most pressing matter now was to get the Giant Mandible Material out.
They had to get it out before the tunnel was destroyed, trapping them deeper inside.
Fighting their way out would be no problem for the two of them, but hauling away this massive pile of Biological Material without the cover and support of a Tier Two Corps was practically impossible!
Fortunately, Shen Jie moved quickly. After Lin Feng blocked the entrance with his shots, he came over to help. It only took them a few minutes to stuff all the Giant Mandibles into the tunnel.
Shen Jie went first, pulling the steel cable, while Lin Feng brought up the rear, pushing with all his might.
With nearly a hundred tons of Power, he pushed the Giant Mandibles, making difficult progress through the five- to six-hundred-meter-long tunnel.
Behind them, the roars of the Tiger Spine Zergs echoed as they continuously destroyed the tunnel’s outer walls, only a few dozen meters away from Lin Feng.
Fortunately, water was constantly seeping in from the front due to the explosion. The flow reduced the friction, and before long, the two of them successfully reached the entrance beneath the furnace.
Shen Jie used the nearby steel cables to secure the Giant Mandibles and haul them up to the bank one by one.
Finally, only the furious screeches of the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs were left, echoing from deep within the tunnel.
Having narrowly escaped and secured the Tier Two Giant Mandibles, Lin Feng sat beside the collapsed pit and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, all they had to do was wait for evening, when Chen Yanyan would arrive with the fleet to pick them up.
After a short rest, Lin Feng walked into the dock.
The large ship under construction inside looked like a warship. Unfortunately, the Zerg Race had already carved away most of it, leaving only the bottom of the hull, which weighed just over a hundred tons.
While they waited, the Zerg Race that had retreated into the city sent out small Black Spine Zerg Swarms to launch several feint attacks from the flanks. They also dispatched a dozen or so Tier One Cyan-winged Zergs to observe the shipyard.
These scouting attempts were easily repelled by the Warriors. Lin Feng even found it amusing, using his Eye of the Death God to snipe the Cyan-winged Zergs out of the sky.
He then had Shen Jie lead a team to collect their corpses as spoils.
After their ploy backfired, the Zergs stopped their attempts.
However, the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs were nowhere to be seen.
’They probably sensed my presence,’ he guessed.
’Or perhaps the Hai City Mother Empress sent them a warning.’
...
As the sun set, Chen Yanyan arrived with her fleet. After crossing the bridge to meet them, she brought Lin Feng some unexpected news:
"A woman named Ling Shuyan, who claims to be the director of the Jin City Biological Research Institute, has come to discuss something with you."
"She came all the way from Jin City. Is this related to that time you went to Old Mountain Park to find Professor Ding?"
The corners of Lin Feng’s mouth turned up slightly as he watched the Warriors carry the Giant Mandibles into the Battleship’s rear storage bay. He then told her about his plan to recruit researchers to modify the Tier Two Corps.
Chen Yanyan frowned slightly.
"That woman doesn’t look like a pushover."
"I sent her and her people to help at the field hospital for now. I told them you’d be back later."
Lin Feng nodded. He left the Battleship and returned to the dock. There, he took the remaining material from the warship’s hull, combined it with the Black Spine Zerg Giant Mandibles and Cyan Wing Zerg Membrane Wings that his people had collected, and synthesized a total of twelve Flying Wing Tank Replicas.
As for the remaining materials in the warehouse, he used them all to replicate Level 19 Scatter Cannons, some of which he integrated into the new Tanks.
By the time the fleet was ready to return, it boasted twenty Tanks as escort vessels, effectively doubling its overall size.
With such firepower, they could easily suppress a charge from a Zerg Race army tens of thousands strong.
Once everything was packed up, including the survivors from the other side who had boarded the Tanks...
In the fading light of sunset, Lin Feng stood on the bow of the lead ship and gave the order to return:
"I haven’t met her in person yet. Let’s go. Time to head back and meet this Ling Shuyan."