Apocalypse: My Items Can Upgrade Infinitely

"You’re here so soon!?"

"I’m at a Research Institute on the southernmost edge of Old Mountain."

"This place used to be a weapons testing site. When you pass the fork in the road and see the ’No Entry’ warning sign, just turn in."

The speaker volume was turned up high, so all three of them heard Ding Chenghai’s words crystal clear. Lin Feng glanced at Han Yuxin behind him, who, after a moment’s thought, whispered that it would only be twenty minutes.

So, Lin Feng replied:

"Alright, we’ll be there in under half an hour. Get what I asked for ready. And find some more people on your end; this many living Zergs won’t be easy to move."

After he hung up, they soon spotted the fork in the road under the dim light of the setting sun.

A rusted, old sign marking a restricted military area still hung beneath a streetlight, warning passersby.

Chen Yanyan made a sharp right turn and drove in.

A wire gate blocked their path. Lin Feng couldn’t be bothered to get out and unlock it, so he just told Chen Yanyan to ram it with the Flying Wing Tank. The giant Thrust spike on the tank’s triangular nose instantly tore through the rust-red gate.

They entered a tree-lined path in Old Mountain. Years of dead branches and fallen leaves had covered the concrete road, making it clear this was a path no one had traveled.

Ten minutes later, after circling the base of the mountain several times, a long, old white building resembling a factory finally appeared in the afterglow of the sunset.

Lin Feng had Chen Yanyan stop at the widened entrance, turn the vehicle around on the spot, and back the trunk up toward the Research Institute.

He honked the horn a few times as a signal.

Soon, several rescue tow trucks drove out from the side of the nearby Research Institute. Ding Chenghai was sitting in the lead vehicle. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

He was just as scruffy and unkempt as when they had first met on the roof of the Hai University dormitory, though he seemed to have put on some weight, making his chubby face even rounder.

’Looks like the food at the Research Institute is pretty good.’

Once they met, the two exchanged a few pleasantries before getting straight to business:

"The Tiger Spine Zerg’s Giant Mandible is on top, but we drilled two holes in it. That shouldn’t affect your use of it, right?"

Lin Feng walked over to the tow truck and saw a pair of Giant Mandibles that were several meters longer than the truck’s flatbed. They were nearly ten meters long and weighed over a ton...

[Lv. 22 Tiger Spine Zerg Giant Mandible, Orange Quality, precious Fusion Material. Can be used to Upgrade Red-quality items.]

As the Identification results appeared, Lin Feng showed a satisfied smile and nodded to Ding Chenghai.

"It’ll do. I’ll get you your goods now."

With that, Lin Feng walked back to the trunk of the Flying Wing Tank.

Since it was nearing dusk, the dim light limited their visibility. Plus, Ding Chenghai and his men were generally just Mid-Low Tier Enhanced People, so they couldn’t see clearly.

However, the sharp-eyed Ding Fatty still noticed that this large, modified vehicle was unusual, especially its thick external armor and the Armor-Piercing Car Head on the front...

’It’s comparable to a heavy tank!’

Adding in the black gun barrels poking out from all sides, Ding Chenghai, as a professional weapons researcher, could determine the Tank’s level of firepower with just a few glances. It was practically a small, mobile fortress.

Unfortunately, as powerful as it was, it couldn’t be mass-produced.

Its post-modification functions and performance were top-notch, but when factoring in fuel consumption and production materials, it was extremely wasteful.

Only a "filthy rich" whale like Lin Feng would spare no expense to stack armor and enhancements.

As a researcher, cost-effectiveness was a critical factor in weapons development.

While Ding Chenghai was lost in admiration for the Tank, Lin Feng took out the remaining five Black Spine Living Zergs and a still-flailing, legless Cyan-winged Zerg from the spatially-folded trunk.

He had four living Cyan-winged Zergs in total. After taking one out, three remained. Lin Feng didn’t want to expose his true strength or the spatial folding inside his trunk.

The technology was too advanced and could easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings and trouble.

After walking a full circle around the Flying Wing Tank, Ding Chenghai’s gaze was quickly drawn to the living Zergs outside the trunk. To this day, his institute had only ever handled two Black Spine Living Zergs, and even then, they were only experimented on for a day or two before some big shot from Jin City took them away to prevent them from dying by accident.

A single Tier One living Zerg meant a chance at a Tier-Jumping Superpower Awakening, allowing an ordinary Enhanced Person to become a powerful Awakener...

In the eyes of some, this was more important than research.

Now, to be able to get an extra five Black Spine Living Zergs and an even more precious Cyan-winged Zerg from Lin Feng, Ding Chenghai was naturally overjoyed.

He was even more worried than Lin Feng about the news leaking and attracting the covetous attention of certain individuals.

That’s why this transaction was conducted with extreme secrecy, with no more than five researchers involved.

Each department in the institute would get one, and his Weapons Research Institute would get the extra Cyan-winged Zerg.

In truth, Ding Chenghai had long been coveting the Zerg Race’s enlarged version of the Flapping Dragonfly, wanting to study its structural materials and the secret to its stable flight.

After confirming their vitality, Ding Chenghai generously directed his teammates to untie and drop the massive Tiger Spine Zerg Giant Mandible from the tow truck.

"Want me to send a vehicle to help you take it back?"

"This pair of Giant Mandibles is huge and hard as iron, but it’s very light. The Zerg Race uses some kind of combination of metallic elements and Biomass to create these things."

Lin Feng shook his head, declining Ding Chenghai’s kind offer. He then walked forward and lifted the Tiger Spine Zerg’s Giant Mandible with both hands. Without the immense power of its original owner to swing it, it was just a dead material, and for Lin Feng, it was easy to move.

He was now a Tier One Perfect Awakener. Even without the boost from Physical Enhancement, his 150 points in the Physique Attribute still allowed him to lift three to four tons.

Watching him slide the Giant Mandible into the trunk, leaving three meters of the tip sticking out, Ding Chenghai realized that Lin Feng’s Awakening Level was far beyond what he had imagined.

But on second thought, for someone to be able to capture so many living Zergs on the front lines, they had to have formidable strength. The normally rational Lin Feng wouldn’t have taken such a risk otherwise.

With the transaction complete, Ding Chenghai gave a final piece of advice before they parted ways:

"Remember to take the back roads. The highway should be empty. Regarding the flaw in Late Stage human Awakening that we mentioned on the phone yesterday, the Breaking Limit you talked about is one way to compensate, but in practice, there have only been a few isolated cases..."

"After all, not many people can awaken Superpowers with dual Attributes of Spirit and Physique simultaneously."

"Most Awakeners with Physical Enhancement have a base Physique Attribute that’s a notch weaker than a Zerg of the same Tier, even if they’ve killed several Tiger Spine Zergs."

"Only by using their Superpower and entering a berserk State can they overpower a Tiger Spine Zerg of the same Tier."

"Our human physique isn’t outstanding. We’re exceptionally gifted in the spiritual aspect, but Awakeners of that type are rare, and for them, the Physique Attribute is an even greater weakness..."

Lin Feng nodded, recalling the matter with Qin Hu, and asked in a low voice:

"You guys in biotechnology, do you have some kind of modification project? The Major Qin I mentioned was invited to voluntarily undergo modification because of his lost leg..."

Ding Chenghai’s brow furrowed slightly. He led Lin Feng to a corner by the roadside. Gazing at the sunset that stained the sky blood-red, he revealed in a low voice:

"I wasn’t directly involved in this, but I know about it. I coordinated with them to develop compatible bioweapons..."

"This biotechnology is a top-secret project at the institute; it’s very hush-hush. I remember it being related to the ’Decapitation Strike’ plan proposed by the military a few days ago. The goal is to cultivate a batch of ultra-strong bio-soldiers to launch a surprise attack on the Zerg Race’s underground Nest."

At this point, a grim and incredulous expression appeared on Ding Chenghai’s face:

"The plan was so insane back then that many people within their own biological research center opposed it. But as the Federation suffered a crushing defeat on the front lines, with tens of millions dead or wounded... law and morality became less important."

"They began to study the cells of the Zerg Race, trying to analyze the reason for their freakish nature. Soon, they made a breakthrough with extreme experiments on some death row inmates."

"The cells that make up the Zerg Race possess extremely strong Life Force and adaptability..."

Ding Chenghai pointed at the living Zergs being loaded onto the truck. Even with all their limbs broken off, they could repair their wounds in a short time and still thrashed about, trying to attack any human who came near.

"Those madmen extracted progenitor cells, similar to stem cells, from the bodies of living Zergs and then combined and cultured them with human cells..."

"I’m not too clear on the specifics of the technology. It’s related to the cloning and gene programming that emerged over a decade ago. Although they were explicitly banned by Congress, those large corporations and the lunatics in their labs have been researching them nonstop."

"In short, after the inmates were injected with the extracted Genetic Essence Liquid, they exhibited varying degrees of mutations that resembled the Zerg Race’s form."

"They ultimately became a kind of human-Zerg hybrid mutant."

"Even though this mutation is extremely unstable, with most test subjects dying violently within hours, or even just a few dozen minutes..."

"But through testing and autopsies of the corpses, they discovered that under the stimulation of the Zerg Genetic Essence Liquid, these inmates went directly from being ordinary people to becoming Awakeners with Physical Enhancement!"

"They skipped all nine enhancements!"

"Afterward, they kept adjusting the dosage and secretly conducting further, in-depth experiments on Enhanced People, and even Awakeners."

"Awakeners have stronger physiques and higher Spiritual Attributes. Their tolerance for mutation also far exceeds that of Enhanced People."

"According to the latest report, the Genetic Essence Liquid extracted from the cranial nerves of the only living Tier Two Zerg can allow a Tier One Late Stage Awakened to break through directly to Tier Two!"

"This is much faster and more convenient than having to kill a Tier Two Zerg to get a single chance at a Tier Two Awakening."

"In the current situation, it’s also more cost-effective!"

"But for these genetically modified people, the Zerg gene stimulation accelerates their metabolism dozens of times over, so their lifespans are shortened accordingly."

"There have even been cases in multiple experiments where test subjects showed premature aging, their withering cells eventually dying off completely."

"In the end, humans can’t compare to the Zerg Race. To maintain super-high spiritual intelligence while also possessing a super-strong physical foundation, it seems sacrificing one’s lifespan is the only way for now."

Having said this, Ding Chenghai, who had been suppressing his feelings for a long time, let out a long, regretful sigh after venting his thoughts.

Lin Feng, who hadn’t interrupted him, acted as a quiet listener. After getting the inside information he wanted, he asked the crucial question:

"So at this stage, what’s the success rate of the experiment? Can it help Major Qin regenerate his lost limb?"

Ding Chenghai shook his head and spread his hands helplessly:

"Only they know the exact success rate, but they’ve already reported the results. Judging by the reaction from the higher-ups, they’re willing to increase their support, even diverting research resources that were meant for us to them."

"So the success rate should be quite high. At the very least, they can mass-produce Tier Two genetically modified people."

"As for regenerating lost limbs, that’s definitely a piece of cake for the highly active Zerg cells."

"But from what you said, that Major Qin has already completed his Tier Two Awakening and possesses the strongest physique right now. Perhaps that could increase the success rate of the modification..."

"Those madmen wouldn’t waste such a valuable test subject. They’re counting on him to overcome some of the lingering reservations within our society."

Lin Feng nodded and took a deep breath.

"Thanks, this information is very important."

A flash of disgust crossed Ding Chenghai’s eyes.

"It’s not my project. Besides, I have no fondness for those madmen who perform live experiments. And this kind of highly unstable genetic mutation could very well lead to even trickier problems."

"They’re just looking for a quick fix. Sooner or later, they’ll reap what they sow and be destroyed by the monsters they created with their own hands..."

Lin Feng shrugged.

"Before that happens..."

"We have to win this war first."

Ding Chenghai’s brow furrowed, but he nodded in agreement.

"You’re right. If we don’t defeat the Zerg Race, humanity’s future will remain bleak."

Lin Feng grunted in acknowledgment and looked at the living Zergs being loaded onto the truck.

"By the way, the Red Armor can be fused with the Black Spine Zerg’s Giant Mandible or the Cyan-winged Zerg’s pair of Membrane Wings."

After offering Ding Chenghai a few more ideas, Lin Feng boarded his Flying Wing Tank and left Old Mountain in the twilight of the setting sun...