Just as Lin Feng was wondering what was going on, Qin Hu leaned in and explained in a low voice,

"The command center has a proposed battle plan."

"They call it a decapitation strike."

Hearing those two words, Lin Feng’s pupils constricted. He instantly thought of a possibility and lowered his voice as well.

"You’re planning to send an elite squad of Awakeners to go directly after the Mother Empress?!"

Qin Hu saw the astonishment in Lin Feng’s eyes and nodded, openly admitting it.

"That’s right."

"Of course, not right now. We’ll wait until after the defensive battle at Wu City breaks out and the Mother Empress has dispatched her entire army of Black Spine Zergs to the front lines..."

"That’s when she’ll be at her most vulnerable."

"Once we pinpoint her location, we dispatch a squad of highly Awakened individuals, equip them with our most powerful personal weaponry, and attempt the decapitation strike on the Mother Empress!"

"If we can just kill or seriously injure the Mother Empress, the crisis will be resolved instantly. Without her command and control, the great Zerg Race army will be nothing more than a flock of headless chickens."

A triumphant look appeared on Qin Hu’s face as he imagined the moment humanity would utterly defeat the Zerg Race.

A few staff officers at command had devised this plan in the afternoon. It was primarily designed to counter the threat of the Mother Empress flanking them. If she were to avoid a head-on confrontation, the entire defensive line would become the biggest joke of the century.

Thus, the contingency plan was to find a way to execute a decapitation strike against the brain of the Zerg Race: the Commander, the Mother Empress.

The mission was to be carried out by a special forces unit composed of Tier One Late Stage Awakeners.

When Qin Hu first heard the news, his joy lasted only a few minutes. To his dismay, he soon realized that finding suitable candidates was proving to be a thorny issue.

Because this was, in all likelihood, a one-way mission.

Not even the strongest Tier One Awakener could withstand an assault from a hundred Black Spine Zergs at once.

In the reinforced Awakener battalion under his command, several Tier One Late Stage officers had already openly refused to participate in what was clearly a suicidal, one-way mission.

The overall power of the Awakeners was swelling rapidly. Tier One Late Stage Awakeners, in particular, possessed Physique and Spiritual Attributes more than ten times greater than an ordinary person’s.

Physical Enhancement Awakeners among them could easily throw a punch with the force of several tons, move as fast as a gale, and even exceed speeds of one hundred meters per second when pushed to their limit.

Their short bursts of combat power far surpassed that of a Black Spine Zerg; they could even take down a tank, the king of ground warfare, single-handedly.

If they were willing, five hundred Awakeners could not only easily wipe out an army of several thousand Black Spine Zergs, but they could also annihilate tens of thousands of regular soldiers within hours.

Having Awakened and upgraded to such a degree, they could almost be considered a different species of human. Naturally, their mindsets had changed as well.

Given the circumstances, it was incredibly difficult to recruit a loyal and reliable team of elites for such a suicidal mission.

Even if they were forcibly conscripted, they could just slack off and phone it in. The crucial part was that command couldn’t do a thing to stop them.

So, it all came down to volunteering.

As a result, since the notice went out in the afternoon, only one or two Tier One Late Stage Awakeners had approached Qin Hu to inquire. Even they demanded exorbitant rewards, which had to be paid upfront.

None of that was an issue. As long as they could seriously injure the Mother Empress and turn the tide of the war, he could agree to anything.

The critical problem, however, was that there was simply no one.

After all, when faced with one’s own mortality, all the glory and wealth in the world was nothing but a fleeting dream.

And Command had put the pressure on Qin Hu, demanding that he assemble two elite special operations squads, a total of sixteen people, within three days.

This was why Qin Hu had been agonizing over the matter.

He had even considered giving up and siding with the Awakeners to avoid being ostracized.

As a veteran special ops captain, Qin Hu still knew how to weigh his priorities.

He never expected, however, that Lin Feng’s few crucial words at the party would cause him to see a flicker of temptation in the eyes of those Tier One Late Stage officers.

For them, who had already hit their upgrade ceiling, the only thing that could possibly tempt them was the chance to grow stronger and break through to Tier Two.

And this, by a stroke of luck, happened to align perfectly with the planned decapitation strike.

’Whether they actually have to kill the Mother Empress is another story. First, I just need to gather the required number of people.’

Qin Hu’s explanation allowed Lin Feng to quickly grasp the underlying interests at play. However, he was not optimistic about the decapitation strike.

As one of the few survivors to have witnessed the Mother Empress burst forth from the earth with his own eyes, the scene from the Suburban Area of Hai City was seared into Lin Feng’s memory.

Even if he had now overcome the psychological trauma, the terror inspired by that colossal beast was impossible to shake.

As a High-tier Zerg Race Mother Empress, she had no weaknesses aside from her extremely slow movement speed. She was far beyond the capabilities of a group of Tier One Late Stage Awakeners.

Even a mere Lv. 32 High Tier Early Stage Mother Empress possessed a staggering 12,000 Life Value. It would be difficult to even seriously injure her without a direct hit from a bomb with the explosive equivalent of a hundred tons of TNT.

That’s right. Just seriously injured.

To kill her outright, Lin Feng estimated they would need a low-yield nuclear warhead, and they would have to seize the brief window of opportunity as she emerged from the ground.

On top of that massive health pool, she also had 1,100 points in Physique and 1,500 points in her Spiritual Attribute. When facing a group of Low Tier humans, she could easily dispose of them using her spiritual Superpowers alone.

Lin Feng even suspected the Mother Empress possessed some special kind of Spiritual Control Superpower; otherwise, she wouldn’t be able to command the Low-tier Zerg Race armies from such a great distance.

’I hope those tempted Tier One Late Stage officers, if they do join the mission, will just test the waters on the fringes. They should just team up to take out any Tier Two Zerg Race and then retreat immediately. They shouldn’t get carried away and go looking for the Mother Empress, because that’s just suicide.’

’Well, I’ll wish them luck in advance.’

Lin Feng raised his glass, sharing a knowing smile with Qin Hu.

Then, an idea sparked in his mind.

’Business is business,’ Lin Feng thought. Since Qin Hu was so grateful, he decided to cash in on this unexpected favor to give his Armored RV’s Attack Power a significant boost.

"Then allow me to congratulate you in advance, Brother Qin, on completing this difficult and important mission... As it happens, though, I have a favor to ask."

Lin Feng set down his glass, his tone suddenly changing.

Qin Hu’s eyes narrowed.

"What is it? I’ll have the materials you need sent over first thing in the morning."

Lin Feng nodded.

"Thanks, but I was referring to something else."

Qin Hu nodded silently, waiting for him to continue.

Lin Feng took a deep breath and said quietly,

"For this mission of holding the service area, the handgun I have isn’t going to cut it anymore. Could you spare some heavy weaponry? A Large-Caliber Machine Gun, for example."

"I want to convert that RV into an infantry fighting vehicle."

At this, Qin Hu’s brow furrowed. If Lin Feng had joined the Thirteenth Division as a Special Soldier, it would be a simple matter. He could have given him an armored vehicle, no questions asked. But Lin Feng had joined the State Guard, and Qin Hu had no authority to deal weapons privately.

Seeing Qin Hu’s hesitation, Lin Feng continued,

"Today, when I was scouting the Zerg Race’s range of activity, I ran into Cyan-winged Zergs on my way back."

"They gather intelligence for the Mother Empress. If I don’t have adequate anti-air capabilities to take them down, my movements will be exposed. The Mother Empress would likely find out about our plans and deployments ahead of time."

Hearing this, Qin Hu deliberated for a moment before finally nodding.

"I’ll send you what you need under the pretext of arming a forward outpost. But you cannot, under any circumstances, drive that modified RV into Wu City."

"And make sure the vehicle is well camouflaged. Don’t let it be too conspicuous."

A slight smile played on Lin Feng’s lips as he solemnly promised,

"No problem at all. I wish you success with your mission."

...

By the time Lin Feng and Han Yuxin returned to the service area in the jeep Qin Hu had arranged, it was already the early hours of the morning.

Halfway back, a tipsy Han Yuxin looked at the takeout box in Lin Feng’s hands and burst out laughing again.

"I can’t believe you actually asked to pack up the leftovers at the banquet, especially in the VIP section..."

"It was a buffet!"

"You didn’t see the waiter’s awkward expression, did you? He had to run down to the back kitchen just to find a box for you. After tonight, the other VIPs might not remember anyone else, but they’ll definitely remember you, you adorable weirdo."

Lin Feng shrugged. He didn’t care about any of that. ’My principle is to take what you can get. What’s a bit of face worth? Can you eat it?’

"I had to bring some back for my teammate who couldn’t make it," Lin Feng explained. "I’m not the type to keep all the good stuff for myself."

Lin Feng offered this brief explanation and said no more.

Han Yuxin gazed at the man beside her. The sharp, defined lines of his profile suddenly seemed even more handsome in the moonlight.

Emboldened by the alcohol, she let her limp body slowly shift closer to Lin Feng, gently resting her head on his broad shoulder.

After arriving at the service area, Lin Feng helped the stumbling Han Yuxin back to the inn. He managed to evade her clinging attempts to make him stay and settled her onto the bed in a back room.

Then, carrying the takeout box, he returned to the Armored RV.

He tiptoed into the bedroom and saw that Chen Yanyan was still fast asleep. He then took out the Lv. 15 Machine Cannon hidden in the storage container under the bed.

It was time for the next Upgrade.

Just then, a pair of long, slender, snow-white legs appeared from behind him.

Slender feet snaked over his shoulders, bent, and hooked around his neck, pulling him back onto the bed with a single motion.

A light, soft, and playful murmur followed.

"Leaving without even saying goodbye..."

"Tell me! How are you going to make it up to me?"