Chapter 83: Shen Jie's Secret, Diminished Fusion Gains, Aerial Ambitions

Shen Jie slowly awakened, while his companions, though they had completed their awakening, were still not fully conscious due to their weak constitutions.

Lin Feng narrowed his eyes. The unconscious Zhang Liying and Shen Jie shared the same ability: Assimilation.

It was peculiar enough for both to awaken such a rare power. What intrigued Lin Feng more was noticing, through Shen Jie's short sleeves, red carapace plates on his torso.

He recognized them immediately.

They were similar to the shield armor crafted from Red Beetle carapaces.

The question was, how did they appear on Shen Jie, merging with his skin?

Considering the ability's description on the data panel, an astonishing idea formed in Lin Feng's mind.

Once Shen Jie and Zhang Liying awakened and cleaned up in the adjacent bathroom, they stood in line with the others, awaiting Lin Feng's instructions.

Lin Feng furrowed his brow, instructing:

"Congratulations on completing your awakenings. While physical enhancement seems weak initially, with effort and growth, it can become formidable later on."

"Tomorrow, we'll continue our live capture mission, with even greater numbers and scale. It's late; have some supper and rest."

Concluding, Lin Feng added:

"Everyone else is dismissed. Shen Jie, you two stay."

As their teammates left, Shen Jie and Zhang Liying exchanged uneasy glances.

Once alone, Lin Feng spoke calmly:

"Do you know why you're staying?"

Shen Jie took a deep breath:

"Because of our awakened abilities?"

Lin Feng nodded, gesturing:

"Take off your shirt."

Shen Jie hesitated. While showering, he'd seen the strange changes on his back in the mirror and confirmed with Zhang Liying that they both had these hard plates.

He hadn't expected Lin Feng to know.

After a moment's hesitation, Shen Jie, under Lin Feng's calm scrutiny, removed his shirt, revealing red scales covering his back.

Under the stress, more scales appeared, resembling fearsome insect armor.

Confirming his suspicions, Lin Feng continued:

"That's right, this is your ability."

"Assimilation allows you to absorb and replicate abilities by consuming biological matter."

"So... have you eaten Red Beetles before?"

At Lin Feng's question, Shen Jie involuntarily trembled, then hoarsely explained:

"Before fleeing Haicheng, Zhang Liying and I were classmates. During the insect invasion, we were cleaning the school auditorium."

"To avoid the Red Beetles, we hid in a storeroom for a day, thirsty and hungry. After killing a Red Beetle with tools, we ate its flesh for strength to escape..."

"The next day, only we two survived; the others died from blood poisoning."

"Later, we boarded a school bus following a helicopter and met Mr. Lin."

Lin Feng considered them. He'd wondered if anyone would eat insect meat out of desperation.

Ding Chenghai's files clearly stated that insect flesh contained high sulfur and indigestible compounds.

Unlike Earth's crunchy arthropods, alien insects were like biological machines filled with fluids and hydraulics—useless except for their hard shells.

Thus, Lin Feng abandoned the thought.

He hadn't expected to meet two survivors of eating insect meat.

Their nightmare experience had awakened the rare assimilation ability, akin to bodily upgrades, with significant potential.

"How does insect meat taste?"

To ease the tense atmosphere, Lin Feng changed the subject after Shen Jie's explanation.

Shen Jie hesitated, surprised that Mr. Lin didn't see them as freaks, and recalled:

"It's terrible, like oily sponge. Even cooked, it retains the blood's strange taste."

"Zhang Liying and I ate little, got sick and vomited all night. That might be why we survived."

Shen Jie glanced at the nervous girl, reassuring her.

That night held more than he'd said, but it was irrelevant to their abilities.

"Now that you've awakened this ability, try eating some Red Beetle meat. If you can evolve full carapace armor, your defense will greatly improve. Also, learn to control it, keeping it hidden from others."

"Once immune to Red Beetle toxins, try Black Spinal Bugs... even Blue Wing Bugs."

A thought crossed Lin Feng's mind.

If they could assimilate insect traits, could they infiltrate the insect territory undetected?

Uncovering secrets and aiding attacks on second-tier guardians and the Empress...

As these ideas formed, Lin Feng smiled, increasingly valuing them:

"This ability is rare and promising, crucial in the future..."

"Don't worry about appearances. Power is the only measure now. When you can fly and kill Black Spinal Bugs easily..."

"People will only admire you."

"Rest well; tomorrow's tasks will be tougher."

Reassuring them, Lin Feng left the hotel.

Han Yuxin was busy with her first live insect sale, having left the service area by afternoon. Only Shen Jie's group and a few new recruits remained.

Lin Feng guessed her partner was someone like Princess Betty, who approached at the banquet—wealthy and well-connected, ready to trade resources with Han Yuxin.

Most importantly, this wouldn't affect Hu Fei's federal business.

With lucrative returns, Lin Feng didn't mind helping noble refugees regain their status.

He needed to stockpile supplies for the coming war with the insects.

Hu Fei wasn't focused on these matters; he was investing in his network.

Thus, Lin Feng relied on Han Yuxin's ambition to achieve his goals.

Her power depended on him, with her people under his control, ensuring her compliance.

Leaving the hotel, Lin Feng returned to the repair shop.

Under the tarp, he began upgrading the armored vehicle.

Over eighty Black Spinal Bug mandibles weren't just for the Lv14 vehicle; his Lv11 Crimson Armor needed attention too.

Chen Yanyan's Lv9 Red Beetle Shield also needed upgrading to Crimson Armor. Though she rarely fought, Lin Feng wouldn't skimp on her equipment.

A few mandibles were a small price.

With flashes of red light, his Lv11 Crimson Armor upgraded to Lv13.

It now boasted 90 defense, with a 80% backlash effect from the Explosive Scale Armor, reducing defense by only 20%.

After using 7 mandibles, Lin Feng spent 5 more for a Lv14 upgrade.

Unfortunately, the fusion brought no new attributes, only increasing backlash to 90%.

Unhappy, Lin Feng spent 6 more mandibles, raising base defense by 10, but no other changes.

Lin Feng frowned at his Lv15 Crimson Armor:

"Crimson Armor Lv15/19, Red Quality"

"Durability: 10/10, Defense 110, Transformations: Arm Guard (Unconditional), Full Armor (Unconditional), Absolute Defense (1/1 Back Guard) (10/1 Mandible), Explosive Scale Armor (90% backlash, 10% defense reduction)"

Was the limit reached with Black Spinal Bug mandibles? Would new materials unlock more attributes?

Considering Shen Jie and Zhang Liying's abilities, Lin Feng had a hypothesis.

He'd also planned to capture Blue Wing Bugs.

He'd test both next time.

Could Crimson Armor grow wings?

If Shen Jie and Zhang Liying could, why not the armor?

Lin Feng wasn't greedy; even gliding would make it far more agile than rigid armor.

Accepting the outcome, Lin Feng spent 3 mandibles upgrading Chen Yanyan's shield to Lv11 Crimson Armor.

She wouldn't need backlash effects, better to save back guards or mandibles for Absolute Defense, a potential lifesaver.

In total, he used 21 mandibles, gaining little beyond basic stats.

With over sixty mandibles left, Lin Feng stored twenty in the Crimson Armor, using the rest for Lv14 armored vehicle upgrades.

The next morning, Lin Feng rose from Chen Yanyan's soft embrace, sighing at the data of the unchanged Lv15 armored vehicle.

Clearly, blindly using the same material diminished returns, like an inverse function.

But this only fueled Lin Feng's determination.

Today's target: Blue Wing Bugs!

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