Apocalypse: My Items Upgrade Infinitely

Minutes earlier, Shen Jie received Lin Feng's command, charging ahead to the entrance they'd come through. There, a squad of Tier 2 Tiger Bugs, gathered from other nests, awaited to coordinate a pincer attack with the Pulse Scorpions.

Facing the long-range attacks of the Pulse Scorpions without knowing their position left Shen Jie at a disadvantage, but against the melee-oriented Tiger Bugs, he was fearless in his Winged Tiger Berserk form.

The insect genes within made him increasingly excited.

Leading the remaining team, Qin Hu noticed Shen Jie's state change.

His small tiger-like mandibles, reminiscent of a Tiger Bug, were hard to miss. Their hardness matched the mandibles, and with the gene warrior's reflexes, Shen Jie was more agile in close combat than his teammates wielding Tiger Tooth Chainsaw Swords. He could easily dodge the Tiger Bug's mandibles and counterattack.

But the most notable change was his insect-like head, with a meter-long mandible and an extra pair of limbs on his sides.

Such deep assimilation indicated a gene fusion rate exceeding 40%, possibly higher.

A reckless madman!

Qin Hu himself could barely maintain a 30% fusion safely.

Exceeding 40% meant retaining most sanity through sheer willpower, but irreversible mutations would manifest on the body.

For instance, when Qin Hu pursued Cheng Zhan, faced with a squad of three Tiger Bugs, he briefly surpassed the fusion safety limit. Once Lin Feng appeared, he halted the gene injection.

Even in those brief seconds, Qin Hu later discovered serrated exoskeletal growths on his legs, like grasshopper spines, sharp and hard.

Despite repeatedly cutting or pulling them out, they'd regrow by morning.

Exceeding the fusion limit caused unrepairable, irreversible changes, altering cellular DNA. Even amputating his legs would not remove the growths.

At least the mutations wouldn't spread further.

This experience made Qin Hu wary, always keeping his fusion below 40%.

He knew as a gene warrior, he'd eventually become a monstrous hybrid, not quite human or insect, but he didn't want to rush that fate.

He had the capital to protect, a wife and daughter waiting at home...

Seeing Shen Jie's transformation heightened Qin Hu's hidden fears.

He dreaded descending into madness, becoming an insect hybrid, unable to return.

He feared forgetting his human identity.

Gene assimilation brought side effects like memory loss and identity confusion.

Yet, the power was undeniable.

Qin Hu had witnessed Shen Jie's prowess in the Tiger Bug swarm, moving freely, untouchable.

This remarkable physique and reflexes surpassed any early Tier 2 awakener.

Contemplating the youth's determination, Qin Hu and his team pushed through the Black Spinal Bug swarm, reaching the entrance...

There, powerful Tiger Bugs swung their mandibles, clearing a path, charging at Shen Jie and the others.

Based on size and presence, this Tiger Bug squad was all mid-to-late Tier 2!

After two failed attempts, Haicheng's queen learned her lesson, no longer sending weaker early Tier 2 Tiger Bugs!

Instead, she summoned the top insect forces, deploying them all!

She aimed to eliminate all intruding awakeners!

As long as they didn't escape, all previous losses could be recouped, along with gene warrior data.

Facing the formidable enemy, Shen Jie, in his tiger-like form, charged without hesitation, clashing with the Tiger Bugs...

Qin Hu didn't hesitate, activating his gene fluid to flood his body.

His form donned black-yellow insect armor, his vertical pupils flashing with madness.

He signaled the remaining two gene warriors to activate.

Their gene fusion with Black Spinal Bugs exceeded 70%, enhancing their physique by nearly 70%. Combined with their abilities, they reached late early Tier 2 strength.

Equivalent to lv23 awakeners.

But in this extreme state, insect gene assimilation accelerated, causing rampant mutations...

Rationality waned.

The Tiger Bug swarm charged fiercely.

Twelve in all: four late-stage, eight mid-stage.

Combining the top forces of three nests.

Even if Shen Jie and Qin Hu diverted all late-stage Tiger Bugs, the nine Tier 1 awakeners struggled against the mid-stage.

Nine against eight might handle early-stage Tiger Bugs, but mid-stage ensured casualties, even with chainsaw swords.

One failure and the Tiger Bugs would overwhelm the others, triggering a domino effect.

Besides Qin Hu, the two gene warriors knew the dire situation.

Without giving their all, they'd quickly fall to the Tiger Bug mandibles.

As Shen Jie clashed with the front line of Tiger Bugs, the others joined the grueling battle.

The cleared nest floor became a death arena for man and insect.

Surprisingly, Shen Jie alone attracted three late-stage Tiger Bugs.

He engaged them with ease.

Dodging bites, he inflicted significant damage with his arm-blade mandibles on their underbellies and joints.

Qin Hu was elated; with someone sharing the burden, he could quickly dispatch the remaining late-stage Tiger Bug and support his subordinates.

Currently, Shen Jie's overall strength surpassed his own.

His combat skills against insects didn't match a high school student.

Even with 40% fusion, Qin Hu would struggle against three late-stage Tiger Bugs simultaneously.

The physique gap was nearly threefold; additional boosts couldn't bridge it, let alone face three at once.

Admiring Shen Jie's prowess, Qin Hu, in his tiger form, armored in dual layers, advanced with his chainsaw sword against the last late-stage Tiger Bug.

Exploiting his smaller size for speed and the chainsaw sword's superior mandible-breaking power...

In tiger form, Qin Hu swiftly defeated his enemy.

Pulling the chainsaw from the shattered Tiger Bug's head, he saw Shen Jie dispatching one late-stage Tiger Bug, still battling the other two.

Panting, Qin Hu intended to assist Shen Jie, only to find him invigorated post-kill, growing more excited.

His speed increased, his strikes intensified, needing no help.

Shen Jie overcame the human physique's endurance limitation, growing stronger in battle.

Perhaps this was the advantage of young awakeners, with deeper potential than those in their thirties or forties.

Knowing his limits, Qin Hu avoided disrupting Shen Jie's fight, waiting for his strength to return before heading into the dark to assist.

Yet, in his brief battle, his team suffered mishaps.

Late-stage awakeners versus mid-stage Tiger Bugs faced a 200 versus 400 attribute gap, a twofold strength disparity...

Even with armor and chainsaw swords, they couldn't compensate for the strength-speed difference.

Most weren't gene warriors, unable to reach Tier 2-level power, much weaker than Tiger Bugs.

While Tiger Bugs remained fresh, awakeners had fought two battles, enduring magnetic bursts.

Retaining 60% initial strength was ideal.

Facing foes twice their level, they struggled to survive.

When Qin Hu reached the field, he found a human corpse, armor shattered, bisected.

A Tiger Bug's signature move.

The chainsaw lay nearby, embedded in the ground.

Qin Hu frowned; casualties were expected, but he'd hoped for no losses with Lin Feng's help.

Yet they hadn't fallen to distant new Tier 2 attacks.

Instead, they died in agony, torn by Tiger Bug mandibles.

Fury burning, Qin Hu retrieved the chainsaw, attached a spare fuel line, and dual-wielded, charging at the nearest Tiger Bug.

With dual swords swinging, the chainsaw's buzz kept Tiger Bugs at bay, soon falling to the relentless mandible cuts.

With Qin Hu's aid, the eight members quickly overcame the remaining mid-stage Tiger Bugs.

The insect assault was annihilated.

After a relentless battle, Qin Hu's strength waned.

Wielding dual 800-kilogram chainsaws and maintaining tiger form drained energy.

After the final fight, dispatching the Tiger Bugs with the gene warriors, Qin Hu deactivated his form, halting gene fluid injection, turning to Shen Jie's battle.

As expected, Shen Jie soloing three late-stage Tiger Bugs finished sooner.

He was already harvesting mandibles.

Qin Hu smiled, familiar energy filling him, initiating a minor awakening from early to mid-Tier 2.

Advancing to lv24, Qin Hu's safe fusion threshold would rise.

As a mid-Tier 2 gene warrior, he'd no longer struggle against late-stage Tiger Bugs.

Elsewhere...

Facing three late-stage Tiger Bugs took Shen Jie four-plus minutes, nearing his limit. Afterward, he exited Winged Tiger Berserk mode to avoid frenzy from lost rationality.

Intense combat drained energy four to five times faster; despite eating well pre-departure, his stomach growled.

Sitting on a Tiger Bug corpse, back to Qin Hu's team, he licked insect blood from his lips.

During the fight, hunger compelled him to eat.

Initially tasting hesitantly, now Shen Jie naturally consumed insect flesh to replenish energy.

According to Lin Feng's hypothesis, his Tier 2 awakening's assimilation ability altered his appearance and internal organs.

Shen Jie's stomach evolved to digest insect nutrients.

He could discern the best-tasting, most nutritious insect parts, even enjoying the taste.

While Qin Hu's team battled, Shen Jie treated the battlefield like a kitchen, harvesting Tiger Bug mandibles while preserving the best meat.

Indeed, the ligaments connecting the upper and lower mandibles were the tastiest part.

After Lin Feng took the mandibles, Shen Jie had craved the exposed muscle.

Now, after cutting the mandibles, Shen Jie, back to the others, quietly ate the Tiger Bug's jaw muscle while staying alert.

Meanwhile, Qin Hu's surviving elite team tallied their numbers.

Two dead, one severely wounded.

Just eight remained, with only three gene warriors still combat-ready.

Facing another Tier 2 swarm would force retreat.

Sitting on a Tiger Bug corpse, Qin Hu instructed the others to replace chainsaw teeth and consume institute-provided nutrients, containing stimulants.

For awakeners, former stimulants had little effect, so researchers extracted a myogenic stimulant from insects, rapidly restoring muscle...

But once metabolized, a deep recovery was needed, or muscle cells would dissolve from over-expansion and contraction.

Causing a drop in physique.

Survival was uncertain, so restoring combat power took precedence.

During the respite, Qin Hu summoned a gene warrior to help retrieve the fallen and recover the chainsaw and materials.

The equipment was valuable, institute-provided.

Lives could be lost, but not the swords.

Trading with Lin Feng sought more materials.

Qin Hu brought a chainsaw, returning to the bisected teammate to close his unseeing eyes.

The bloodshot eyes resulted from waist compression and blood pressure spikes before death.

Lacking manpower, they couldn't retrieve the fallen or the new Tier 2 corpses.

They'd bury them here.

Digging a grave by hand...

Qin Hu heard a familiar voice from the darkness.

"Brother Qin? Captain Qin…"

Weak but clear to a Tier 2 awakener like Qin Hu.

After discerning the voice, it resembled his old comrades who died defending the first line...

They were lost with the line, bodies gone, so how were they here?!

Could they have hidden in the main fortress, evading insect searches, then tunneled into the nest, surviving?

Considering this, Qin Hu hurried toward the voice.

Then, a piercing scream stopped him!

"Ahhhh!!!"

"Help… help…"

The scream interrupted Qin Hu, knowing it was from the gene warrior he'd brought.

A Tier 2 warrior, even against mid-stage Tiger Bugs, could fight, so how did he fall?!

Even Qin Hu's senses detected no threat warnings, indicating no nearby Tier 2 insect threat!

What attacked him?!

Alarms blared in Qin Hu's mind, shattering his relaxed search. He gripped his chainsaw, spotlight on, running toward the scream.

A hundred meters away.

Hearing the cry, the team converged.

Spotlights revealed the downed warrior clutching a severed leg.

His right leg, above the knee, was cleanly cut, the bone's smooth edge indicating a sharp blade.

Fast and powerful, but Tiger Bugs lacked this ability.

Qin Hu frowned, ordering first aid.

Pain and blood loss led the warrior to faint after powdering and bandaging.

Before fainting, he grasped a teammate, describing:

"A bug… with a knife…"

Without swift transport to a frontline hospital, gene fusion couldn't save him.

Blood loss was deadlier than the wound.

Normal people would die in minutes; an awakened gene warrior barely stabilized.

But they couldn't leave yet, Qin Hu knew. They must find the threat, or panic would spread.

The seven remaining circled, scouting for danger...

Finding nothing!

No surface or ceiling threats, just Tiger Bug bodies, no knife-wielding bug...

Wait!

Qin Hu's face darkened, considering a possibility.

Could Shen Jie, overly fused with Tiger genes, have gone mad, hunting humans after Tiger Bugs?!

The thought seemed plausible.

Qin Hu nearly lost sanity once, and in the lab, saw many test subjects' minds shatter from over-fusion, becoming mindless killers.

Their bodies became insect-like, resembling humanoid insects.

Matching the wounded warrior's description.

Just then, from behind a Tiger Bug body emerged a bloody, waist-clutching humanoid insect.

His left mandible was broken, the right cracked.

The shattered head armor revealed Shen Jie's human face.

Qin Hu tensed, gripping his chainsaw, ready.

But then...

If Shen Jie wasn't the attacker, who caused his injuries?!

If not him...

Who?!

In the dark nest, unknown fear spread, gripping survivors' throats like invisible claws.

Their hearts raced.

Every noise sparked panic.

Then, from the nest's depths, came a rustling sound.

Spotlights shone on a lone figure dragging insect bodies toward them.

Seeing Lin Feng, they relaxed slightly.

Lin Feng noted Qin Hu's tense stance and Shen Jie's exhausted, steam-rising form by a Tiger Bug...

He frowned, tossing a three-meter humanoid insect corpse, asking:

"How many did you encounter?"

Not easy, 6k.

Tiger Bugs suffice for the battlefield, but Hunter Warriors are needed against gene warrior squads.

Two paths, merging into one for Tier 4 ascension.

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