Apocalypse: My Items Upgrade Infinitely

Once the two women finished packing, Lin Feng's bandaging was nearly complete.

Liu Ruojiu's skills were proficient, likely due to her teaching experience, and once finished, Lin Feng's bandaged hand could handle the gun without any hindrance.

"Thank you, Professor Liu."

Lin Feng sincerely expressed his gratitude, as Liu Ruojiu's skills ensured he remained in peak condition, which was crucial.

Liu Ruojiu nodded, reiterating to avoid strenuous activity to prevent further injury, then returned to the group of teachers.

Lin Feng glanced at his fractured armor-clad hands, noting the shield armor's damage had reduced its usage time by ten minutes from the remaining fifteen.

Fortunately, he had two upgrade reserves left. Using one, a flash of white light restored the bloodstained and bug-stained shield armor to pristine condition.

He planned to later search the beetle carcass pile downstairs for intact red carapaces to continue upgrading the Red Armored Shield.

This equipment was his last resort for survival and could not be neglected.

Witnessing this, Liu Yueqi pondered Lin Feng's true abilities, suspecting they might be rare.

As Lin Feng finished, Zhang Yuruo and Chen Yanyan approached with their backpacks. Zhang Yuruo handed Lin Feng a bag:

"It contains supplies and food. Take it; I don't need it."

"Now we just wait for the military to send a rescue helicopter. It should arrive in twenty minutes."

No sooner had Zhang Yuruo finished speaking than several people adjusting communication equipment atop the roof's power room exclaimed:

"We've made contact! Coordinates: 126.46°E, 28.03°N, dormitory next to Haicheng University's research institute, all personnel accounted for."

"Roger that. Rescue arriving within thirty minutes!"

Hearing the commanding voice over the microphone, the gathered people shifted from worry to joy.

Having endured a day and night of fear and anxiety, they could finally leave this hell on Earth.

Lin Feng joined the women, aware that not everyone could leave. The military had its priorities.

The rooftop held fifteen survivors, plus Lin Feng's group made eighteen. A standard Federation transport helicopter could carry about twenty people.

Considering crew, medical equipment, and weapons, rescuing ten was already fortunate.

So Lin Feng and his group remained calm, unlike the jubilant teachers and professors, silently observing.

As groups dispersed, Lin Feng noticed someone familiar by the communication equipment.

The person, disheveled and unkempt, sat cross-legged beside two beetle corpses, poking the innards with a stick.

Lin Feng approached and sat across from him.

The man slowly looked up, his expression shifting from disbelief to shock, then excitement as he embraced Lin Feng:

"Good kid! What are you doing here?!"

"Was it you who hurried upstairs earlier?!"

Lin Feng nodded, countering:

"Ding Fatty, weren't you transferred to the Northwest Institute? Why are you back without a word?"

"Did He Jie hit you hard?"

At the mention of He Jie, Ding Chenghai's joy dimmed, apologizing bitterly:

"Ah, don't bring it up. She's like your mom, a bit obsessed... Sorry, I didn't mean that."

Lin Feng's unexpected acquaintance with Ding Chenghai stemmed from his mother's first disciple, He Jie, now a senior researcher.

Ding Chenghai had fallen for her at first sight, but He Jie, devoted to research, had no interest in relationships.

After Lin Feng's father's disappearance, He Jie often checked on Lin Feng at his mentor's behest, leading Ding Chenghai to befriend him.

When He Jie moved to the Northwest, Ding Chenghai left his prestigious position to follow her, only to end up back here.

Lin Feng shrugged, indifferent to his mother, who bore but didn't raise him.

More than personal matters, he was concerned about external news:

"Do you know the current situation? Including regional conditions and external responses?"

Ding Chenghai nodded, using his stick to draw in the dirt:

"Almost all coastal cities have been invaded by alien insects. They're smart and understand human society well."

"So far, humanity hasn't reclaimed any cities; most have fallen, becoming insect landing platforms."

"The red beetles we encounter are the most common worker bugs. The military faces soldier bugs, far stronger."

"They're five meters long, three meters tall, with sharp limbs and huge mandibles, like land tanks, moving fast. Regular rifle bullets can't pierce their armor; only large-caliber sniper and heavy machine guns can."

"To kill them, you need artillery!"

"But our army is already struggling, and they burrow into tunnels dug by worker bugs, making artillery and air support ineffective."

"The only good news is their queen, a massive biological fortress, moves slowly, and worker and soldier bugs can't stray far..."

"So if you can leave the city, you can escape."

Realizing something, Ding Chenghai glanced around, ensuring no one else was listening, then leaned in, whispering:

"Only a few important people can leave; you might not get on the helicopter."

Lin Feng frowned, surprised Ding Chenghai confided this:

"How do you know? Are you one of them? Didn't tell the others?"

Ding Chenghai spread his hands defensively:

"If I told, who'd save me? Help us hold the corridor?"

"To make it convincing, I kept a low profile. I didn't even check your commotion downstairs."

"Yes, I'm researching equipment, so the military wants me to develop new weapons against alien swarms, but not those people."

He gestured subtly at the scattered teachers and professors, mostly managers and academics, of little help in the current situation.

Among them were Professor Zhang Xuan and his fiancée Liu Ruojiu.

Those leaving included professors adjusting communication equipment.

Ding Chenghai eyed the women with Lin Feng, regretful:

"You'll have to fend for yourselves. I can't convince the order-following tools."

"But you stopped the worker swarm downstairs. You've likely awakened a superpower?"

He pointed his stick at Lin Feng's red-silver shield armor, intrigued:

"Is your ability transforming objects?"

Lin Feng shook his head. Ding Fatty was smart, but he didn't want to reveal too much, avoiding exposing his system:

"I don't know. I can survive."

"I heard Liu Yueqi mention bug-killing enhancement. Do you know about it?"

Ding Chenghai's expression grew serious:

"Yes, the Federation's researching it. Many frontline soldiers gain enhancements from killing bugs. It's hypothesized these alien insects travel via spatial tunnels from afar."

"They harbor energy that activates life potential, transferring upon death."

"After seven enhancements, accumulated energy might trigger extraordinary abilities."

"This might be a divine favor, bringing disaster but also a new evolution era."

He set the stick down, rubbing his hands expectantly:

"Starving all night. Got food?"

Lin Feng rolled his eyes, handing him a can of fish from his sister-in-law's fridge.

Taking it, Ding Chenghai swallowed eagerly but didn't open it. Instead, he used his stick to rummage through the beetle's body, extracting a milky pouch.

Borrowing a lighter from an old professor, he gripped the pouch's nozzle, igniting the lighter near it. A faint blue flame shot out.

Whoosh!

Like a blowtorch, it hissed sharply!

He aimed the flaming nozzle at the can.

Lin Feng gaped at the spectacle, amazed at Ding Fatty's ingenuity. Who knew the white sac in the bug's body had such a use?

Ding Chenghai chuckled, explaining proudly:

"I pondered all day how these alien bugs manage energy. With their size and speed, their food and oxygen needs aren't small..."

"Dissecting them, I found this."

"The bugs have a hydrogen-storing sac, secreting substances to lower hydrogen liquefaction conditions, slowly releasing chemical energy..."

"So they can't leave liquid water and landed from the ocean."

"Hydrogen's heat per kilogram is three times gasoline, four times alcohol, the highest of all fossil and biofuels, second only to nuclear."

He elaborated, marveling:

"What a perfectly designed organism."

"Look, it's heated. Want some?"

He pinched the sac nozzle, extinguishing it, then opened the can, the fish aroma wafting out.

Hungry, he picked up a piece with his fingers, clearly famished.

Lin Feng shook his head, learning more about the insects' strength, feeling more anxious for humanity's future.

His inner concerns and urgency deepened.

Finally, his Lv7 upgrade completed: