Apocalypse: My Items Upgrade Infinitely

As the SUV entered a side street, the road narrowed, with two lanes cluttered by abandoned vehicles and numerous red armored beetles crawling under cars and in storefronts.

They had reached the edge of the city center, where the presence of giant bugs increased significantly.

Lin Feng frowned, the morning sun glaring intensely. His Eagle Eye, highly sensitive to light, prompted him to lower the sun visor.

Noticing his discomfort, Zhang Yuruo retrieved a pair of sunglasses from the glove compartment.

With them on, Lin Feng felt much better.

Driving several hundred more meters, they reached the heart of the university district. Behind their SUV, a dozen red armored beetles followed, waiting for an opportunity.

Ahead, Haicheng University came into view, its central plaza swarming with a vast sea of insects...

Thousands of red armored beetles lay dormant.

Through his Eagle Eye, Lin Feng saw distant dormitories, where surviving students fought a relentless battle against the beetles!

The entire university city was under siege by the swarm!

"Turn left! Head for the side gate!"

As the group was stunned by the scene, Chen Yanyan's voice called from the back, snapping Zhang Yuruo back.

Zhang Yuruo quickly turned the car, crushing several blocking beetles, following Chen Yanyan's directions.

"If the helicopter's for professors, it should head to the research institute near the side, next to the affiliated high school."

"The west gate usually has fewer people, so there shouldn't be as many bugs! Hurry! The giant insects behind us are closing in!"

Chen Yanyan glanced back at the beetles, gathering like a cafeteria at lunch.

Luckily, as a Haicheng University graduate, she knew the area well, proving invaluable now.

In this life-or-death race, a sudden thump echoed from the roof. The sunroof crumpled, and the SUV began swerving uncontrollably.

A massive red armored beetle emerged from the windshield...

It raised its enormous mandibles, poised to strike!

Lin Feng's pupils contracted. This beetle was terrifyingly over three meters long!

"Red Armored Beetle, lv7/9"

"Health: 70, Constitution: 20, Spirit: 5"

In the nick of time...

Lin Feng leaned out the window, gripping his legendary handgun, aiming and firing!

At a mere two meters, three consecutive bullets struck the beetle's underbelly, severing its thick limbs and puncturing its abdomen, spraying yellow-green fluid.

The three shots dealt forty-five damage, and the close-range impact knocked the beetle off the roof, tumbling behind the car, injuring many trailing beetles, slowing their pursuit.

But before the trio could relax, a greater threat loomed. As Zhang Yuruo activated the wipers, clearing the windshield of the insect's fluids...

Dozens of giant red armored beetles clung to the tops of abandoned vehicles, glaring at the SUV.

Barely seated back in his seat, Lin Feng, heart pounding, shouted:

"Accelerate!"

He leaned out again, firing at the approaching beetles.

In the urgency, there was no time to kill them all. Lin Feng shot each one, preventing any lv6 or higher beetles from reaching the car, while conserving ammo.

At this rate, even with 700 reserve bullets, it might not be enough.

Under Lin Feng's command, the SUV accelerated, jumping from 50 to 100 km/h, crashing through the giant beetles ahead.

Though over three meters long and half a meter high, they were no match for the three-ton SUV.

Zhang Yuruo and Lin Feng, one above and one below, worked seamlessly, soon breaking through the giant beetle encirclement.

Guided by Chen Yanyan, they circled to Haicheng University's west gate, where a building bore the "Graduate School" sign.

Chen Yanyan pointed beside it:

"There, next to the graduate school is the faculty dormitory. Professors were likely resting there during the eclipse."

"Adjacent is Haicheng's affiliated high school. We're on the university district's edge; the graduate school isn't crowded, so there shouldn't be too many bugs."

Zhang Yuruo nodded, turning left, crashing through the automatic gate, and shattering the security booth, leaving only bloodstains.

Inside Haicheng University, they drove 200 meters to the faculty dormitory.

Lin Feng fired multiple shots, killing three beetles feasting at the entrance.

After the tense battle, the trio arrived safely, with Lin Feng's upgrade complete:

"Lin Feng, lv5/9"

"Health: 30, Constitution: 25, Spirit: 26"

His attributes showed no major changes, with five-point increases post-lv4 upgrades.

After breaking through, Lin Feng's lv5 legendary handgun accumulated 26 upgrade points.  

Of course, he fired more bullets than that, but many missed or didn't inflict the required fifteen damage.

Shooting from a moving car, due to the jolts, accuracy was low. Even with Eagle Eye, hitting a beetle's abdomen three times was lucky.

Upon arrival, Lin Feng steadied himself, entering clearing mode, repelling the pursuing beetle horde.

Lin Feng targeted the beetles' limbs, disabling their mobility with a shot, buying time for Zhang Yuruo and Chen Yanyan to retrieve their gear.

They retreated, sealing the dormitory door, temporarily blocking the beetle swarm outside.

But Lin Feng knew the iron door wouldn't hold long. With more beetles arriving, their mandibles were already denting the door, pounding ominously.

Fortunately, the giant beetles seemed poor climbers, their size limiting agility.

With no time to spare, Lin Feng led the shaken women inside.

Many beetles still roamed the dormitory halls. Lin Feng led, with Chen Yanyan and Zhang Yuruo shielding the rear, clearing isolated beetles as they advanced.

Seeing beetles devour corpses, Lin Feng decisively shot them, knowing there was no time for the women to practice; they needed to ascend quickly.

With the city powerless, the dormitory elevator was useless. Unfamiliar with the layout, Chen Yanyan followed emergency signs, eventually finding a stairwell at the corridor's end.

But the stairwell door was locked from inside, defying their efforts to kick it open.

Lin Feng instructed the women to stand back, then fired five or six shots at the lock, breaking it.

Entering the stairwell, they climbed upward.

The faculty dormitory had ten floors, unlike student dorms with dozens per floor. This one had ten apartments per floor, each single-occupancy.

The helicopter couldn't land below, only hover above, using ropes for evacuation.

So they needed to climb to the top floor and reach the rooftop.

This would also signal the rescue team.

Fortunately, few beetles occupied the stairwell. By the fifth floor, they encountered only two or three, feasting by the corridor doors.

Lin Feng dispatched them, locking each floor's doors.

Emergency exits shouldn't be locked; some places remove the locks. But the first-floor door was locked from inside. Lin Feng suspected someone had escaped into the building, locking the door behind them to prevent more beetles from entering.

After a brief rest on the sixth floor—mainly for the burdened women—Lin Feng breathed deeply, hoping his handgun's upgrade would finish soon.

As the beetles' levels rose, so did their health and defense, rendering the legendary handgun less effective.

Though he anticipated more bugs near the city center, he hadn't expected so many.

Haicheng University's main gate was a sea of red beetles, a rolling tide. A lv5 legendary handgun, even at lv9, wouldn't withstand such a deluge.

He needed to upgrade fast!

After the break, they continued, stopping at the tenth-floor entrance.

Here, the stairs were blocked by a heap of beetle corpses, more than ten.

They bore slashing wounds, many severed heads, and stripped carapaces.

Cautiously stepping over, Lin Feng found the ninth-floor door chained, slightly ajar, with a 30-centimeter gap.

Enough for them to crouch and squeeze through.

For safety, Lin Feng, armored, decided to go first.

Better not break the chain, risking an open door and a beetle flood on the ninth floor.

He peeked in, squeezing through.

As he ducked and turned, a cold glint flashed, a blade poised at his forehead.

A female voice demanded:

"Who! What are you?!"

Lin Feng turned.

Beside the door stood a girl in a white blouse and black pleated skirt.

The uniform seemed familiar, likely from the high school adjacent to Haicheng University.

Why was a schoolgirl here?

Lin Feng frowned.

She wore black-framed glasses, straight hair in a princess cut, and gripped a long knife...

Her eyes, tense, locked onto him.