"A lot of people went crazy after they came out. Or rather, they were already crazy while they were down there, so we could only send them to the research institutes to... put them to some final use."
"I remember the subway tunnels in Wu City... weren’t they sealed off with cement?"
"When the time comes..."
Just then, the entire car lurched to a halt!
Lin Feng, lost in thought, had nearly rear-ended the car in front of him. Fortunately, as a Tier Two Awakener, his reflexes were sharp enough that even while multitasking, his instincts warned him just in time.
After the sudden stop, Lin Feng snapped out of his daze, a smile spreading across his face as he muttered to himself,
"So that’s it... So that’s how it is..."
Han Yuxin, whose words had been cut off by the jolt of the sudden stop, turned her head and asked in confusion,
"What do you mean, ’so that’s it’?"
The corners of Lin Feng’s mouth curled up uncontrollably.
"It’s related to the decapitation strike for the final battle. Because Wu City’s subways were sealed off early on, I subconsciously overlooked this detail."
"Several of the developed cities in southern Jiangnan Province have subway systems. In particular, there are several lines running from north of the Great River to Taihu Lake in Wu City, and to Xi City, which is southeast of Chang City. There’s even a direct route from the Riverfront Pier to Taihu Lake."
Lin Feng recalled memories of traveling around the region.
"If I were the Mother Empress, I definitely wouldn’t make a move and reveal my hand before the final battle fully breaks out. Even if the human fleet deliberately ignores its existence, its ally, the Hai City Mother Empress, wouldn’t allow it to do so either."
"So its only choice is to use the existing subway routes at the very beginning of the war to rapidly widen them into a subterranean highway..."
"...and reach Taihu Lake within a few hours!"
"At that point, the longer the war drags on, the more it benefits. It might even just go through the motions while supposedly cooperating with the Hai City Mother Empress to besiege the Wu City defenders, feigning compliance."
"And all we have to do is prepare an ambush along that route. If it wants to reach Taihu Lake as quickly as possible, that’s the only path it can take!"
Han Yuxin nodded. Although she didn’t fully grasp the meaning behind Lin Feng’s words, she knew it was all closely related to the final battle and that her reminder had been crucial.
So, she simply smiled at Lin Feng and didn’t ask any more questions.
After Lin Feng had intermittently laid out his deductive reasoning, he realized he’d been a bit lost in thought and continued speaking to Han Yuxin.
"Tomorrow morning, a batch of Tier Two Zerg Eggs will be delivered. Remember to send a few trucks in advance to transport the escorting Battle Group members and the Zerg Eggs over here."
The veterans of Company 201, who were among the first to follow Lin Feng, had all been Tier One Late Stage Awakened. After Lin Feng took command of the defeated remnants of the Thirteenth Division, they were assigned to assist Han Yuxin in clearing out the gang forces in Jin City.
Now that they had all advanced to become Tier Two Awakeners, they were very familiar with Han Yuxin’s people upon their return to Jin City.
Han Yuxin hummed in agreement.
"No problem. My people all know them; I just need to give them a heads-up."
Lin Feng nodded and said no more.
’He began to consider which station along the subway line would be the most suitable location for capturing the king in this decisive battle.’
Half an hour later, the convoy crossed the bridge over the river on the north side and entered the northern suburbs of Jin City.
Unlike the bustling city center, this area had the look of a rural town, surrounded by fields and countryside, with few dense clusters of high-rise buildings.
Golden rice paddies stretched out on both sides of the road.
This year’s summer rice had been ripe for days, but with everyone gone, there was no one left to harvest it.
After the next big rain, it would all sprout and rot in the fields.
Lin Feng took it all in, and a plan began to form in his mind.
Han Yuxin took out her phone to check a map and explained,
"The center of this district is about ten kilometers further north. It’s mostly towns and a few small industrial parks around here."
"Are we going to see Liu Yueqi first?"
Lin Feng nodded.
"Yes, let’s go check on her first."
Han Yuxin immediately called the lead vehicle and directed them toward a small town.
As they turned onto the county and township roads, the pavement immediately narrowed to just two lanes. Combined with the abandoned vehicles on the roadside, it wasn’t long before the convoy’s path was blocked by several dump trucks.
There had been a traffic accident. A boxy dump truck had collided with a sanitation truck and was lying on its side, making it impossible to simply release the brakes and push it aside.
One of her subordinates got out of the car. Lin Feng vaguely recognized him—it was the forest ranger who had acted as their guide when they were searching for the strategic grain reserve in Old Mountain.
Although he was a Jin City native, his hometown was actually in these northern suburbs, so he was equally familiar with this area.
He had seized that opportunity and worked his way up to become one of the base’s senior members.
Now, faced with several overturned dump trucks blocking the road, he was in a bind.
To maintain order back at the base, only three vehicles had been dispatched for this mission to find someone with their leader. Besides Han Yuxin, there were only five other members.
And five Tier One Awakeners in the Early and Middle Stages were in no way strong enough to move a dump truck weighing over ten tons. Back in the day, these things were the kings of the city, hauling dirt and debris between construction sites, kicking up clouds of dust wherever they went.
It was a good thing the overturned truck wasn’t loaded with dirt, or it would have weighed far more than ten-odd tons—not even a Tier Two Awakener would have had an easy time with it.
Lin Feng sat in the car, watching them plan to use their SUV to pull the overturned dump truck while the Awakeners pushed it toward the side of the road...
The whole ordeal would take an hour at the very least.
So, he got out of the car and walked over to them.
"How much farther is it?"
The ranger was taken aback for a moment, then quickly replied,
"About two kilometers. The target town is just ahead. The county-level granary mentioned in the intel is on the northern edge of town, close to the county seat."