Chapter 46: Eye of the Reaper, Flying Bugs Appear
Lin Feng quickly moved to the lookout tower on the second floor, eager to test the Lv14 Auto-Cannon in his hands.
"Auto-Cannon Lv14/19, Red Quality"
"Upgrade Points: 9/6, Damage: 100, Effective Range: 4 km, Remaining Ammo: 2000/2000"
"Additional Attributes: Bullet Recovery 1/s, Space Magazine with 2000 Ammo"
"New Active Attribute: Eye of the Reaper (Selected) (Charge for one second to lock onto a target's head) 0/10"
"Evaluation: This is a super firearm with the power of a condensed auto-cannon. The bullet, after secondary enhancement, rivals a 30mm shell, causing a two-meter diameter damage radius upon impact. Killing targets grants upgrade points."
When Lin Feng saw the upgrade results from the passenger seat, he was so excited that he trembled. The upgrade not only increased damage by twenty but also doubled the range and ammo capacity.
This small handgun now wielded the power of a 30mm auto-cannon. Most importantly, it added three new active attributes to choose from:
Eye of the Reaper: Charge aiming, allowing one headshot lock per second of charge. Maximum ten locks.
Bullet Time: In close range, increases gun aiming speed and bodily reaction speed by an initial 20%. Duration 10 seconds, cooldown 10 minutes.
Firepower Coverage: Indiscriminate bombardment over a 100-square-meter area within effective range, with power increasing the longer it is charged.
After a quick review, Lin Feng knew the three attributes represented different paths: Eye of the Reaper for precision sniping, Bullet Time for close combat enhancement, and Firepower Coverage, as the name suggested.
In the five-second selection window, Lin Feng assessed the current situation and decisively chose Eye of the Reaper.
He was dealing with a small swarm of Black Spinal Bugs, numbering no more than a hundred, attacking in scattered scout teams.
Bullet Time was for close-quarters duels, and Firepower Coverage suited open battlefields but couldn't kill a Black Spinal Bug outright, only maim.
Choosing Eye of the Reaper, combined with the auto-cannon's 100 base damage, meant that any first-stage bug below Lv20 could be taken out in one shot!
For rapid leveling and strength gains, Eye of the Reaper was the best active skill.
Holding the Lv14 Auto-Cannon, Lin Feng moved to the second-floor lookout tower of the armored camper, aiming at the Black Spinal Bug swarm a kilometer away.
There were 23 bugs in total, but without a hundred-strong heavily armed force, they were hard to handle, especially for these poorly equipped civilian awakeners. If they only had basic physical enhancement abilities, they stood no chance against even a small group of Black Spinal Bugs.
The awakeners were suffering heavy casualties, with their convoy reduced to just three vehicles desperately fleeing.
The bugs pursued relentlessly, splitting into two groups: one chasing the vehicles, the other flanking to intercept.
Without rifle interference, at full throttle, the Black Spinal Bugs were faster than the cars, as they didn't need to navigate around road obstacles.
Taking advantage of the time these awakeners bought with their lives, Lin Feng activated the active attribute, focusing completely. His senses dulled to everything but aiming, entering a state of complete concentration.
His pupils dilated, the black and yellow hues filling his eyes, leveraging his visual advantage as an awakener to pre-aim targets, locking onto ten Black Spinal Bugs within ten seconds.
Once all targets were locked, Lin Feng, in Eye of the Reaper mode, decisively pulled the trigger.
The bug swarm, already 500 meters away and closing in on the toll station entrance, had only seconds left.
A series of explosions sounded as the Lv14 Auto-Cannon unleashed a string of fire. The bullets, enhanced to shells, flew at nearly a kilometer per second, striking the bugs' brains behind their mandibles.
The 30mm shells pierced the bugs' tough armor, with the molten metal spray destroying their brains.
As the explosions subsided, ten Black Spinal Bugs lay dead on the highway.
This spectacle stunned those fleeing in the vehicles, halting even the bugs' assault for a moment.
But after a brief hesitation, with no large human force in sight, they resumed their chase.
With 13 bugs remaining, all below Lv14, Lin Feng realized they couldn't breach the camper's armor and were suitable for capture.
Switching from Eye of the Reaper to standard auto-cannon mode, the base 100 damage would suffice against the dozen bugs.
As long as he avoided the head, each shot would severely wound them.
In the next few seconds, another vehicle crashed during its escape. Lin Feng didn't intervene—this was their mess to clean up.
Besides, he needed them to keep the bugs' attention. If they were all killed, what then?
With the bugs chasing the vehicles to the highway toll station, Lin Feng signaled Chen Yanyan to drive forward, taking aim at the bugs' legs.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each shell blasted off their leg segments, leaving the bugs heavily injured.
After the sixth was wounded, the remaining seven bugs finally sensed danger, leaping off the highway and burrowing into the greenery tunnels.
Even with Lin Feng's quick reflexes, only one more was injured.
Six Black Spinal Bugs successfully escaped.
It seemed the underground tunnels were crucial for the bugs, allowing them to deploy troops silently and providing retreat paths.
They also avoided human artillery fire.
Luckily, digging tunnels took time, giving humans a chance to prepare countermeasures.
With the bugs dealt with, Chen Yanyan drove to the injured ones, and they began binding and collecting them.
"You kill one, and you'll awaken your superpower as an awakener."
Lin Feng took a rope, shooting off a bug's mandibles and binding the barely alive creature, indicating the rest.
Chen Yanyan hesitated with the divine handgun:
"Now? But I still have to drive."
Lin Feng shook his head:
"No worries, superpower awakening requires relaxation. Sleep it off at the service area."
Nodding, Chen Yanyan broke the mandibles, then took Lin Feng's upgraded Lv6 long knife, striking the remaining Black Spinal Bug twice.
Not all items gained extra attributes after upgrading. The ordinary long knife remained just that, albeit with more power.
At 60 damage, the bug died instantly.
A warm flow entered her body, settling in her chest and abdomen, not triggering immediate awakening.
After killing one, they quickly loaded the six Black Spinal Bugs into the camper's expanded trunk.
There were also the fifteen Red Armored Beetles from before.
The useful mandibles from Chen Yanyan's bug were also taken.
Lin Feng intended to drive further and collect the ten bugs killed with Eye of the Reaper, gathering their mandibles for the camper or shield upgrades.
Meanwhile, one of the two surviving modified vehicles, seeing Lin Feng's effortless handling of the bugs and their capture, turned back in envy.
Stopping about thirty meters away, Zhao Lu emerged from the vehicle.
Now Lv11, he had gained a level, indicating he had killed at least one Black Spinal Bug.
Chen Yanyan raised her gun in warning, while Lin Feng smiled:
"What's this, Brother Zhao wants to hunt more bugs? Be my guest."
Seeing Lin Feng's haul, Zhao Lu realized they had paved the way for him.
They took all the damage, reaped no rewards.
Greedy, Zhao Lu took a deep breath, bitterly saying:
"Without us risking our lives to lure them, Mr. Lin wouldn't have such a bounty. With so many bugs, surely you could share some?"
"We don't want live bugs, just a few mandibles..."
He eyed the camper's front, planning to modify a vehicle or sell it. A pair of Black Spinal Bug mandibles was worth a live Red Armored Beetle.
As Zhao Lu spoke, Lin Feng's smile turned cold, ready to refuse...
Just then, a sharp shriek pierced the air!
A flash of green-blue light passed by.
Blood sprayed as the awakener's head was severed, rolling to Lin Feng's feet.
Zhao Lu's expression froze, mouth open to speak, unaware of his beheading.
"Run!"
With no time to assess the enemy, Lin Feng yanked Chen Yanyan into the camper's cab.
"Damn it! The enemy's airborne!"