During his stay at his sister-in-law's house, Lin Feng had already run numerous experiments. The system could only identify a small variety of items as upgradable, and they were almost all simple weapons.
His smartphone, for example, was a purely auxiliary piece of technology. Though identified as Red Quality, it had no upgrade method or path.
'It's not like he could use his phone to fight the insects.'
Fortunately, none of that was very important. The Crimson Back Armor in Lin Feng's hands was the key to staying alive.
The Iron Shield he had crafted earlier didn't trigger an Identification. It was too crude to even be rated as White Quality.
But a Red-Armored Beetle's Back Armor should qualify.
Surprisingly, though the Back Armor was four centimeters thick and hard enough to be impervious to blades and bullets, it felt incredibly light in his hands.
It weighed only four or five pounds, like a piece of styrofoam.
Its surface gave off a metallic luster. It wasn't an exoskeleton made of chitin, like the insects of Blue Star, but some kind of biological Alloy.
Striking it with a saber produced a clear, crisp sound.
When Lin Feng used Identification, the result quickly appeared:
「Red Zerg Beetle, White Quality」
「Evaluation: The only valuable part of a Red-Armored Beetle. It is extremely tough and can be used to make a shield.」
Although it couldn't be directly upgraded, a slight smile appeared on Lin Feng's face when he saw the last few words of the Evaluation.
Being able to make a shield meant he still had a chance.
The only problem was the Back Armor's exceptional hardness. Even a pistol bullet only left a shallow dent on its surface. To make a shield out of it, he'd need a small electric drill.
While searching for wire earlier, Lin Feng had spotted a few toolboxes in a storage cabinet on the balcony. One contained the small electric drill he needed, equipped with a modular lithium battery that didn't require an outlet.
These were all basic tools for construction work. Though Lin Youzhi was dead, he had left behind a lot of good stuff, which was one of the reasons Lin Feng had wanted to come to his sister-in-law's house in the first place.
Besides his promise to take care of his sister-in-law, the useful tools at Lin Youzhi's house were also one of Lin Feng's objectives.
It was a pity he hadn't found a chainsaw,
or he would have had another powerful melee weapon.
Carrying the Back Armor, Lin Feng handed the Bone-Chopping Saber to Chen Yanyan and said,
"If you can stomach it, dissect this thing and see if you find anything else."
Chen Yanyan was about to ask why Lin Feng's parents were missing, but seeing his lack of interest in the topic, she took the Bone-Chopping Saber and sliced open the membrane beneath the giant insect's carapace.
Meanwhile, Lin Feng went to the balcony, took the drill from the toolbox, fitted it with an eight-millimeter bit, and began to drill holes.
Thirty minutes and one burnt-out drill bit later, he had finally managed to drill about ten holes in the Back Armor. He threaded nylon rope from the cabinet through the holes and fastened a leather strap to it.
And just like that, a handheld shield was made.
Lin Feng named it the Red Armor Shield.
An Identification scan confirmed his suspicions:
「Red Armor Shield LV2/9, White Quality」
「Durability: 9/10, Defense Power: 10」
「Evaluation: A crudely made shield. Pay attention to its Durability. Collect more of the same material to Upgrade.」
Lin Feng smiled. Upgrading defensive items was different from sabers and guns; he needed to collect more Back Armor.
Now, with the Red Armor Shield in hand, he no longer had to worry about the insects' direct attacks. His Defense was greatly enhanced.
His previous Iron Shield couldn't block a Red-Armored Beetle's pincers at all; one strike had nearly destroyed it.
Lin Feng returned to the living room holding his shield. Zhang Yurou was already out of the bathroom and saw Chen Yanyan crouching on the floor, stirring the giant insect's remains with the saber.
The internal organs were a pulpy mess, emitting a strange, indescribable odor.
Unfortunately, her search yielded nothing. Chen Yanyan only found a grayish-white sac, like a fish's air bladder, but it was empty.
Zhang Yurou looked slightly worried and asked,
"Xiaofeng, what do we do now? The building is surrounded by those insects. It's not safe to go outside."
Lin Feng took out his pistol and removed the magazine. He had fired three bullets earlier, and one had regenerated, leaving ten rounds. He then swapped in a spare, fully loaded magazine and said to his sister-in-law,
"Sister Yurou, where's the other car?"
Zhang Yurou's eyes lit up. After Lin Youzhi had bought a new car, he didn't sell the Land Rover SUV he'd driven for five years, instead leaving it for her to use for groceries and errands.
That old Land Rover was parked right next to the building. If they could drive, the road would be much safer.
Understanding what Lin Feng was getting at, Zhang Yurou hurried to the entryway and pulled a set of car keys from a box. This was the key to their escape.
Lin Feng nodded. 'Good thing his brother's family was rich.' If they didn't have a car, he had no idea how they would escape the complex amid the Swarm's attack.
Now, they just had to guarantee that the three of them wouldn't be surrounded by the Swarm in the short, twenty-odd meters between the building's exit and the car.
Lin Feng planned to take advantage of the building's favorable terrain to farm more Upgrade Points, and especially more Back Armor material.
The Red Armor Shield was very useful; it would be best if they each had one.
That way, they'd have an extra layer of protection if they encountered any danger during their escape.
After he shared his idea with the two women, they were in full agreement. After all, rescue was still nearly twenty hours away, whereas driving to Hai City University was only a three-kilometer trip across two city blocks.
If all went well, it would take seven or eight minutes at most.
And if they had two more Red Armor Shields, Zhang Yurou and Chen Yanyan wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt by the insects when they struck with their sabers.
Having made their decision, the three of them prepared to move out again.
Lin Feng looked at the gun in his hand. It currently had 5 Upgrade Points. With just 5 more, it would Upgrade to LV3, and its Extra Attributes would be enhanced as well.
'And he wouldn't have to worry about the ammo count.'
Holding up the Red Armor Shield, Lin Feng led the two women out of the apartment and back to the door of Room 201. His plan was to let out one insect at a time; it would be easier to deal with and less risky.
A Red-Armored Beetle's physical strength wasn't that great. Its main attack was a rapid, projectile-like hammering with its pincers, capable of shattering a person's leg bones. Therefore, as long as they hid behind the door with the shield held low, they would be quite safe.
Lin Feng found the apartment key in the dead woman's pocket. Bracing the shield in front of him, he slowly pulled the door open. Through the crack, he could see a single Red-Armored Beetle inside—the very one that had attacked him earlier.
Furthermore, it was an LV4 giant insect. Its Life Value was a full ten points higher than the one they had killed before, making it slightly larger at about 2.3 meters long…
At the moment, it was chewing on fruit from the coffee table.
'Looks like these insects will eat anything.'
But clearly, the higher nutritional value of flesh and blood was far more appealing to them.
As the scent of blood drifted through the crack in the door, the Red-Armored Beetle, which had been eating a pear, immediately smelled it and crawled over, pressing against the gap and sniffing around.
Lin Feng whispered a warning:
"Get ready to fall back!"
He then yanked the door open wider, hiding behind it and leaving a thirty- to forty-centimeter gap. As the Red-Armored Beetle squeezed out sideways, he kicked the door shut, slamming it into the creature and knocking it onto its back, exposing its vulnerable underbelly.
Realizing its danger, the Red-Armored Beetle began to struggle frantically, trying to flip itself back over.
But Lin Feng had already had his gun aimed for some time.
He fired three quick shots, breaking three of the Red-Armored Beetle's legs on one side. Now unable to right itself, it flopped onto the ground, still struggling ceaselessly.
Bracing himself with the shield, Lin Feng took the Long Saber from Zhang Yurou and forcefully hacked off the pair of pincers near the giant insect's mouth, dealing 8 points of Damage.
With that, the Red-Armored Beetle was completely neutralized.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Feng had the two women take a turn.
They were to use a shield for Defense while swinging a saber from the side to hack at the giant insect's three remaining legs.
Zhang Yurou, full of pent-up frustration, volunteered. She grabbed the Long Saber and began hacking at it fiercely.
Seeing her grow bolder and gradually overcome her fear, Lin Feng felt a sense of relief.
'As long as you take that first brave step, you have a fighting chance against a Red-Armored Beetle.'
He was, however, keeping a close eye on the insect's Life Value.
「Red-Armored Beetle, LV4/9」
「Life Value: 12, Physique: 7, Spirit: 2」
An LV4 Red-Armored Beetle had 40 points of Life Value. After Lin Feng's three shots took off 12 points, it was left with 28. The two women then hacked away another 16 points with the Long Saber, leaving only 12.
The Red-Armored Beetle was now paralyzed on the ground, hissing faintly as it clung to life.
"Enough! Don't kill it."
Seeing that Zhang Yurou had no intention of stopping, Lin Feng quickly grabbed her arm to stop her from swinging again.
Zhang Yurou stopped, panting for breath. Her chest heaved under her yoga tank top, which rose and fell with each gasp. Sweat dripped into her cleavage; the tense chopping had left her drenched.
As she gradually calmed down, Zhang Yurou realized she had gotten carried away by the tension. Obeying Lin Feng, she lowered the Long Saber.
Watching the Red-Armored Beetle hiss and flail, Zhang Yurou took a deep breath.
"Wh-why aren't we killing it?!"
Lin Feng shook his head, taking the Long Saber from her as he explained,
"We need to study the giant insects' weaknesses…"
"Killing one or two of them is pointless. The key is figuring out how to kill them *quickly*."
Just then, the Long Saber gained four Upgrade Points, bringing its total to 7/10. Lin Feng's pistol also gained three points, displaying 8/10. It was just two shots away from an Upgrade.
'If I go for a headshot, one bullet should do it.'
But of course, Lin Feng's true purpose wasn't just research. He was keeping this Red-Armored Beetle alive for a more important reason: to maximize its remaining value.
As a veteran gamer, Lin Feng abided by the principle of laying low, playing it safe, and power-leveling like mad…
He decided it was time for his first attempt at gaming the system.