Apocalypse: My Items Can Upgrade Infinitely

Chapter 265: Chapter 160: Source of the Zerg Mental Realm, The Battle of Recapture (Part 2)

Ling Yi shook her head and commanded the Red-Armored Beetle Swarm. They carried the Zerg Eggs and Giant Mandible Material, quickly crawling out of the Nest to follow the Tier Two Corps squad ahead, heading for the surface through the top of the wormhole.

"I’ll cover our rear. I’ll also see if I can gather more of the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg Swarm." Standing at the entrance, Ling Yi watched Lin Feng move with the Swarm and paused.

The feedback from her Mind Sensing indicated there were still forty or fifty Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs nearby, but they were scattered, making it impossible to round them all up at once.

"Are you sure you can handle yourself? Given Shen Jie’s condition, I need to get back to the surface first and lead the Warriors in a retreat."

"The elite Tier Two Swarm reinforcements are almost here," Lin Feng reminded her, backing away as he spoke.

Ling Yi nodded and waved with a smile.

Once Lin Feng’s figure vanished up the sloping wormhole, she turned and looked deeper underground, murmuring:

"Come on. Let me see what you’re really made of."

As she spoke, several Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs materialized from the surrounding darkness, flanking Ling Yi.

...

「Above ground, in a residential complex by the Ring River.」

Seven hundred Warriors were already hidden in the buildings, tasked with guarding the wormhole entrance at the center of the complex—the same one the Tier Two Corps squad had used to go underground.

But after more than an hour passed with no sign of a Swarm attack, everyone gradually relaxed their vigilance and started taking turns on patrol and sentry duty.

Among these seven hundred Warriors, over a hundred were veterans who had previously served under Lin Feng; they had all reached Tier One Late Stage Perfection. The rest were newer recruits who, through this battle, had also completed their Tier One Awakening.

The number of Awakeners in a squad largely determines its strength.

The gap between Awakeners and Enhanced People was particularly stark. When facing Low-tier Black Spine Zergs, an Awakener could easily kill them using their Superpowers and equipment. An Enhanced Person, however, would struggle to do the same.

Furthermore, when fending off the endless assaults of the Swarm, the superior Physique of the Awakeners was a key factor in holding their ground. At the very least, they had the stamina to keep up.

「Two hours later, at three in the afternoon.」

The Low-tier Black Spine Zerg Swarm that had previously hidden within the city suddenly reappeared.

They massed together and charged, intent on breaking through to the wormhole entrance inside the complex.

The Level 19 veterans whom Lin Feng had appointed as squad leaders all wore grim expressions.

This wasn’t the first time they had faced the ferocious charge of a Black Spine Swarm; they were well aware of the danger and its terrifying destructive power.

This time, the Swarm’s aggression was clearly much stronger than in the previous probing attacks.

Their objective was now clear: breach the wormhole entrance to perform a pincer attack on the human Tier Two Corps. They would even use their own bodies to block the exit, bogging down the Hive invaders and trapping them underground.

However, the Swarm’s sudden appearance was also indirect proof that Commander Lin’s plan was on the verge of success.

For the seven hundred Warriors, victory meant defending the surface-level wormhole and surviving to the end!

The veterans who spotted the Swarm gathering in the distance immediately barked orders, telling everyone to get ready for battle.

They took up positions behind the windows and balconies on every floor, preparing to fire on the charging Black Spine Zerg Swarm.

’We have to keep the Swarm outside the complex!’

After a brief discussion, several squad leaders decided to send out fifty veterans armed with Shotguns. They would form a defensive line on the ground to eliminate any stray Black Spine Zergs that might slip through.

Soon after, fully-armed Warriors emerged from each building. In small groups of five, they moved to defend the walkways and gaps between the residential towers to the last man.

These were the blind spots for the troops firing from the buildings above.

With the first SHOTGUN blast, the battle erupted. The fighting grew fiercer as more and more Low-tier Zerg Swarms, controlled by the Node Mother, swarmed forward with no regard for their own lives.

Swathes of Zerg corpses were buried in the rubble of collapsing buildings, only to be covered by fresh layers of the dead.

They were like weeds, cut down only to spring back up, seemingly without end.

A Black Spine Zerg Swarm numbering in the tens of thousands surged forward.

Their suicidal charges allowed numerous Tier One Late Stage Black Spine Zergs to clamber over the bodies of their kin, break through the barrage of fire from the buildings, and storm into the complex. Exploiting the blind spots in the defenders’ lines of sight, they were about to reach the wormhole entrance!

But they were met with shotgun muzzles at point-blank range, aimed at the few that slipped through the net, mowing them down in droves.

As the fighting wore on, the new recruits exhausted the hundreds of rounds they carried for their own large-caliber rifles and Heavy Machine Guns.

Many veterans handed over their Shotguns, allowing the recruits to continue the fight. This maintained the suppressive fire and also let the new recruits quickly accumulate the Energy they needed to Upgrade.

Two hundred Shotguns and five thousand spare rounds. If they could form a 360-degree firing line with no blind spots, it would be enough to deal with a Low-tier Zerg Swarm numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

The only prerequisite was that the wielder had to be able to continuously withstand the weapon’s powerful recoil.

Unlike the prototype Electromagnetic Cannon that Lin Feng wielded, these Replicas only retained its Basic Attributes; everything else had been simplified wherever possible.

While it boasted a terrifying 190 points of Damage, it naturally also came with the immense recoil associated with such firepower.

Each shot sent a jolt through the user like the recoil of a real cannon, slamming into their shoulder like a heavy hammer.

This was precisely why Lin Feng hadn’t directly equipped the Enhanced People recruits with Shotguns—they simply weren’t qualified to fire them. Even a Level 10 Tier One Early Stage Awakener could only fire a single shot before needing a moment to recover.

Even as Replicas, one needed the appropriate Level, Physique, and Spirit Attributes to handle them and unleash their true power.