A mini-nuclear bomb with a yield equivalent to tens of thousands of tons of TNT, for example.

A suicide squad would have to charge into the Underground Nest under the cover of other units, giving their all just to take the Mother Empress down with them...

There would be a chance of success.

However, the cost to humanity would be immense.

It would take at least a thousand Tier One Awakeners, working in concert with over a hundred Tier Two Awakeners, just to have a fifty-percent chance of success against a single, ordinary Tier Three Early Stage Mother Empress.

And no one—not the conscripted Awakeners nor the executing Commander—would be foolish enough to send so many elite warriors on a suicide mission.

That was why Ling Shuyan found Lin Feng’s bold declaration so hard to believe.

She believed he was engaging in pure fantasy.

After nearly a full minute of silence, Ling Shuyan stated flatly:

"Are you dreaming!?"

"Genetic Warriors can’t use their powers from activated Assimilation in the Mother Empress’s presence! The higher their Fusion Level with Zerg Race genes, the more they resemble Tiger Spine Zergs. Before a Mother Empress, they’re completely helpless!"

"If you’re planning to use genetic modification on those hundred-plus Tier Two Awakeners to help you with some ’behead the Mother Empress’ plan, I can tell you right now, with absolute certainty, that it’s impossible!"

Her unexpectedly harsh words startled Lin Feng for a moment. But after hearing her warning, his expression remained unchanged as he replied coolly:

"Don’t worry. I’m more aware of that than you are."

"We already have a detailed plan in place. As for the difficult task of killing the Mother Empress, I’ll be handling that myself."

"As for the hundred-plus Tier Two Awakeners, they won’t all undergo genetic modification. We will only schedule the surgery for those with a high Spiritual Attribute who volunteer."

"Even so, that will probably be thirty to forty people."

"Get ready on your end. If you need anything, just find my subordinate, Miss Han Yuxin. She’s currently the supervisor of Jin City and can mobilize people to help you gather any necessary medical supplies."

Seeing his confident demeanor, Ling Shuyan wanted to press the issue, but Lin Feng’s tone was firm and left no room for doubt.

After a moment’s hesitation, she agreed.

"Alright. When should I expect them?"

Lin Feng glanced at the clock in the conference room. It was already seven in the morning.

"Tomorrow afternoon."

With that, he hung up.

Now wide awake, Ling Shuyan sighed in relief as the call ended. She raised her arms, stretched languidly, her prominent chest swelling as she did so. Then, she slid her chair back and turned to look out the window.

Several institutes from the Jin City Research Institute had already retreated west to Huizhou with the Jiangnan Zhou Li Guard Team. The original security guards had also been replaced by Han Yuxin’s people.

Their equipment was crude, but they were far stronger—every single one of them was an Awakener.

Right now, this group was patrolling around the biology research institute. It felt less like guarding and more like they were standing watch, or even surveillance.

Ling Shuyan had no issue with this.

’In these chaotic times, researchers could only realize their value by aligning with a major power. Otherwise, their status and compensation would be lower than even that of a common soldier.’

’And I’ve only been able to advance my research this quickly thanks to the test subjects Miss Han sent over.’

’Large batches of Jin City survivors and gang leaders. The latter, in particular, were almost all Awakeners, or at the very least, Late-stage Enhanced People.’

’They were all perfect, hard-to-come-by test subjects.’

’Most of those sent over had committed heinous acts during the nearly two months of this apocalypse; they had blood on their hands. Using them for experiments to help humanity fight the Zerg Race invasion came with no moral burden or psychological stress.’

Between receiving so many living test subjects at once and obtaining the precious Primordial Gene from Lin Feng, Ling Shuyan had been too excited to sleep for days. If not for the robust constitution of an Awakener, she would have collapsed and died on the operating table long ago.

Just before Lin Feng’s call, she had been so exhausted from her sleepless nights that she had passed out at her desk.

Now, a new mission was on its way.

Ling Shuyan rubbed her face, forcing herself to wake up.

’It’s time to prove the Research Institute’s value to my new employer, Lin Feng!’

Meanwhile, after hanging up, Lin Feng immediately dialed Han Yuxin’s number.

A week ago, with the help of dozens of Tier One Peak Awakeners and a large number of retired Support Soldiers, Han Yuxin had successfully cleared out the gang forces entrenched in the Jin City District.

After reclaiming most of the area, she began gathering supplies according to Lin Feng’s instructions, mainly raw materials like Fine Steel needed for Copy synthesis.

At the same time, she recruited willing survivors to join the Support Soldiers and bolster their logistical forces.

To feed the sudden influx of tens of thousands of people, they needed more hands to harvest resources from Taihu Lake and its tributaries. They also had to start developing the fishing resources of the Great River that flowed through the Jin City District.

The manpower shortage for this was in the tens of thousands.

On top of that, they had to begin constructing fortifications within the city district to prepare for the great battle for Jin City that was to come.

Having previously managed a thousand people at most, Han Yuxin clearly felt overwhelmed.

This was different from an army, where soldiers would obey orders unconditionally. The organizational discipline and execution of soldiers far surpassed that of civilians.

How to effectively manage the survivors, and how to select and install middle and lower-level managers, became the biggest challenge plaguing Han Yuxin.