"What’s the status of the Genetic Warrior research project?"

As Lin Feng asked, Ling Shuyan’s voice soon came through the phone. In contrast to her usual sharp, composed self, her low tone now carried a heavy exhaustion and grogginess.

Fortunately, she quickly grew more alert, and her answer did not disappoint Lin Feng:

"Uhh... the progress... it’s... it’s ready!"

"We can already perform the modification surgery in batches. The success rate for genetically modifying Tier One Awakeners is 70%, while for Tier Two Awakeners, it’s over 95%. Tier Two Awakeners have greater resistance and endurance, so to ensure a high survival rate, I recommend waiting until the soldiers reach Tier Two before considering the surgery..."

Lin Feng nodded.

"No problem. Even after the modification, the boost to a Tier One Awakener’s Physique Attribute is extremely limited."

"They’re still not very effective against a large-scale Swarm. Plus, their Spiritual Attribute isn’t high, so they’re easily susceptible to complete Assimilation, losing all sense of self."

Ling Shuyan hummed in agreement, her voice tinged with pleased relief.

’Compared to her other partner, Lin Feng clearly has a better understanding and respect for scientific facts. Then again, Qin Hu’s situation is far more dire than the one in the South, leaving him with fewer options.’

’The two situations weren’t comparable.’

The battle to defend the Federal Capital was imminent.

According to news from the front lines, several satellite cities on the Capital’s outer ring, which had been converted into military fortresses, were already engaged in fierce battles with the Zerg Race’s vanguard.

The entire front line stretched for over a hundred kilometers, with 400,000 to 500,000 soldiers in active combat—and this was just the Zerg Race’s initial probe.

Once they assessed the strength of human resistance, the next offensive from the Swarm would be even more ferocious.

After all, this was a joint attack by more than eight Mother Empresses—a terrifying combined force capable of annihilating a human army of millions.

Like a plague of locusts, they left nothing but desolation in their wake...

’That’s why Qin Hu is so anxious to arrange the modification surgeries; he’s being forced by the sheer danger of his situation.’

’As for Lin Feng, his forces are strong enough to handle one or two Zerg Race Mother Empresses. The entire Jiangnan Province only has four, and no more than three are likely to target Jin City.’

’Combined with genetic modification and equipping them with Chainsaw Swords, the army under Lin Feng’s command will probably soon be strong enough to crush the Zerg Race Mother Empresses.’

’Plus, with over a thousand kilometers of strategic depth behind him, he can fight and fall back, constantly wearing down the enemy’s forces while strengthening his own...’

’In the future, he’s bound to become a powerful, undeniable force within the human resistance!’

’Compared to Qin Hu, who chose to go north and bet everything on a single gamble, Lin Feng’s future potential is clearly higher.’

This was a major reason why Ling Shuyan had chosen to stay.

’Qin Hu is a high-risk, high-return, short-term investment. Lin Feng is a low-risk, long-term one.’

With this in mind, Ling Shuyan asked:

"If we’re only modifying Tier Two Awakeners, that makes things much simpler..."

"You only have a few Tier Two Awakeners, right? Roughly when will they be coming for the surgery?"

The corners of Lin Feng’s mouth lifted slightly.

"Just a few? That was the case three or four days ago. Not anymore."

"I already have over a hundred Tier Two Awakeners. They will form a Tier Two Corps and follow me deep into the Underground Hive to carry out the crucial mission of killing the Mother Empress and completely annihilating the Jiangnan Zerg Race!"

After he spoke, the other end of the line went silent for a long time.

Ling Shuyan stared at the phone on her desk, her brain momentarily short-circuiting. She hadn’t even had time to wipe away the faint trickle of drool at the corner of her mouth from her nap.

She was already deeply shaken when Lin Feng mentioned having over a hundred Tier Two Awakeners. But then, as his planned arrangements came through the phone’s speakerphone, even Ling Shuyan, who possessed a wealth of intelligence, was stunned into silence by his casual decision.

Her deep understanding of the Zerg Race meant she knew better than anyone just how difficult it would be to venture deep into the Underground Hive for a life-or-death battle.

To Awakeners, a Hive with a mere three-level structure was like three increasingly tall and insurmountable peaks.

To penetrate more than five hundred meters underground, find the Mother Empress’s nest, and kill her amidst the tight protection of the Tier Two Zerg Race—it was pure fantasy!

After Qin Hu became a Genetic Warrior and gained immense power, he had approached Ling Shuyan to assess if even a Tier Two Late Stage Awakener could infiltrate a Hive and carry out a decapitation strike against the Mother Empress...

However, Ling Shuyan, who was intimately familiar with the Zerg Race’s ecosystem, had given him a single, unequivocal answer: absolutely impossible.

A High-tier Mother Empress commanded its Swarm not just through superior size and Power, but also through its formidable mental control.

A Mother Empress capable of commanding hordes of Tier Two Zerg Race would surely be able to influence Tier Two Genetic Warriors as well.

Therefore, the crucial mission of killing a Mother Empress could only be entrusted to unmodified, "pure" Awakeners. Yet, their power was hardly enough to pose a fatal threat to a Mother Empress.

It was a seemingly unsolvable paradox.

As far as Ling Shuyan knew, no Awakener possessed the overwhelming power needed to kill a Mother Empress single-handedly!

Unless a Genetic Warrior could reach Tier Three... but aside from the Zerg Race Mother Empresses, no other High-tier Zerg Race had been discovered anywhere on the planet.

Unless, of course, humanity’s most advanced weapons were factored into the projections for the decapitation strike.