This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 150: Bombardment and Casualties

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Bombardment and Casualties

Boom!!

The blastwave spread out, raising billowing dust in the very center of the screen.

The combat command center was filled with noise.

"Grenades!"

"Damn—they’ve got artillery!"

"The enemy artillery positions have been locked on... fixed-wing drones are en route... encountering enemy anti-aircraft fire."

"Hit?"

"No... imagery is being gathered, looks like cluster munitions with proximity fuses, probably launched from some kind of man-portable rocket launcher. Their firing elevation isn’t high enough to pose a threat to us... they seem to have realized that and have ceased fire."

"You’ve used ’should’ three times."

"Because I’m not certain. The attack came from many directions, scattered throughout the forest. They’ve likely used some material to conceal their heat source... Done, two artillery pieces have been taken out, a large number of suspected enemy targets nearby, requesting use of tactical nuclear bomb."

"Request denied, it’s not the time."

"Roger... conventional ammunition depleted, returning to base."

The light fixed-wing drone circling in the sky began its return flight towards the Pioneer.

These small aircraft don’t carry a high payload and are mainly used for reconnaissance; they can’t rain down fire power indiscriminately like gunships.

Besides, they need to conserve some for tonight’s operation.

Lu Yang’s face was grave as he stared at the large screen in the command center, clenching his fists.

"What’s the casualty situation?"

"They fired 20 rounds. We calculated only 2 are trajectory-likely to hit us here, and both were intercepted by our close-defense fire."

Hearing this, Lu Yang slightly relaxed.

The Pioneer could rampage across the Wasteland only because of such capabilities. They have a total of 5 light rapid-fire close-defense guns based on electromagnetic acceleration, with four located on the outer waist of four steel platforms, covering four sides and up to a 60-degree elevation angle, down to a -5-degree depression angle. Another is on the top of one of the steel platforms, deployed in a modular, vertical fashion.

In fact, this "Dot Defense System" has blind spots; the closer the approach, the larger the blind area. However, beyond close-defense guns, they also have reactive armor to deal with threats, and as long as they’re not facing saturation fire coverage, there’s no need for excessive concern.

Their allies, on the other hand, were facing a tougher time...

"What about the other 18 rounds?"

The operator at the console said embarrassingly,

"Besides the 4 that went off course by a whole kilometer, the other 14 were aimed at Blue Jacket’s camp. The interception efficiency at steep angles is too poor; we were able to shoot down only 12..."

All those shells had been aimed at Blue Jacket’s camp, so much so that he couldn’t help but suspect they were targeting the camp’s smoke.

It was noon now.

Those Blue Jackets seemed to be cooking, right?

Maybe the Army mistook the smoke for that from steelmaking or some other production facility—clearly, they didn’t know that many of those modular production units were zero-emission...

Li De cursed, "Damn it! These sons of bitches, always bullying the weak and fearing the strong!"

Lu Yang clenched his fists tighter.

Although he wanted to avenge his allies, rationality still prevailed.

The enemy was provoking them into taking action.

It wasn’t the time yet!

Squeezing three words between his teeth, he turned and walked out.

"Wait for nightfall!"

...

kilometers away.

The artillery position turned into a sea of flames.

The fixed-wing drone flying above performed a surgical strike on both artillery pieces, with two high-explosive missiles descending from the sky, physically silencing Vanus’s two guns hidden in the forest.

Alongside came 600 rounds of medium-caliber electromagnetic accelerated projectiles, furiously killing around thirty Clone soldiers nearby.

But this was meaningless.

Vanus could produce as many of these cannon fodder as needed.

He even felt a bit of regret for not tricking the other side into using a tactical nuclear bomb.

However, looking at it from another angle, it also confirmed his guess that the equipment carried on the Pioneer wasn’t as exaggerated as imagined.

After all, those people couldn’t even be considered professional soldiers.

What was it they called themselves?

Professional security?

Nevertheless, exchanging two conventional shells for two guns, this round was a bit of a loss. Especially since their anti-aircraft rocket launchers hadn’t even touched the opponent’s camera, which was an alarming sign.

Looking at the fiery remains of the position, greed flashed in Vanus’s eyes, rather than any disappointment.

"...Is this the power of metallic hydrogen?"

Just 1 kilogram of explosive, the volume equal to 1 liter of water, yet the power was 35 times that of Teng Teng with over twice the detonation velocity.

Vanus didn’t understand the intricate knowledge, but the palpable power was impossible to ignore.

If he could get the Army to grasp these weapons, Vanus believed he could lead his men all the way to the East Coast and build an empire far greater than the one from two centuries ago.

There’s no doubt about that!

At this moment, his adjutant approached him.

"Commander, there has been no movement from the enemy."

Vanus squinted slightly, gazing southward.

"It seems they’re planning to save the main event for tonight,"

the adjutant respectfully said.

"Just as you predicted."

"Indeed," Vanus lifted his chin and ordered, "Distribute the rocket launchers, grenade launchers, cluster grenades and dynamite... all available anti-armor weapons, and make sure the men at the front are ready, and tell them that the day of their utmost loyalty has come!"

The adjutant nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes!"

...

At the action camp.

Chu Guang stood amid the smoke, with his warhammer held out flat in front of him. A wall of nitrogen, created by the high-pressure airflow, blocked and blew away every shard of debris.

Crow, who embraced Teng Teng, had a dumbfounded expression, looking at the towering figure of the Manager through the dust, her eyes gradually filled with little stars.

So cool!

Because she was so focused, she accidentally forgot about someone...

"Wuuu!!"

Chu Guang glanced at Teng Teng struggling in her arms—and the wooden box that had fallen to the ground—then slowly let out a breath.

Out of habit, he still asked.

"Are you okay?"

The nearly suffocated Teng Teng finally wrenched herself free, hair disheveled, face flushed red, glaring angrily at Crow, who almost sent her packing.

"What are you doing! I—I—I, nearly died there!"

However, the latter was completely unaware.

At this moment, Crow’s attention had been completely captivated by that handsome profile and silhouette, just nodding erratically like a pecking chicken, her stuttering voice even turning shrill.

"No, no problem! Manager sir, Crow won’t die, but as for you, um... you didn’t get hurt, right?"

Chu Guang gave a faint smile.

As a joke.

If that could hurt him...

He wouldn’t have come up to help.

With his 12 points in Perception and 11 in Agility, plus the speed boost from the exoskeleton, he was sure he could escape if he ran.

In fact, when the first shell landed near the ’Cow and Horse Squad’, Chu Guang made a preliminary assessment of the explosion’s power.

The explosive probably was regular dynamite, with an estimated 2–3 kilograms of explosive charge, and a lethal radius of about 10 meters.

Of course, the lethality of the shrapnel was harder to predict, bad luck scraping by could mean not dead but crippled.

So, when he sensed the second shell heading their way, Chu Guang didn’t even bother to drop to the ground, just pulled out the hammer from behind and pointed it forward, activating the "Shield Wall".

The impact fell 12 meters away.

The high-pressure released airflow perfectly blocked the shockwave and shrapnel generated by the explosion.

Not only did he save the clothes Teng Teng had just managed to make, but he also managed to save Vite, who stood beside him.

This favor would come in handy.

"Cough! Cough cough... thank you, you saved my life."

When the shell landed, Vite’s heart stopped beating, until the wind carrying sand woke him by choking him.

"You’re welcome."

Looking at the two craters in the camp and the little players lying on the ground beside them, Chu Guang stared at him with a grave expression and continued to inquire.

"I want to know what exactly is going on here?"

Vite swallowed nervously and said,

"I don’t know, I was in contact with the logistics department, but my colleague hasn’t gotten back to me yet... I presume they’re also in a panic right now, could you give me some time?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"That’s not urgent right now, it’s more important to treat the wounded."

Vite’s mood sank, and he quickly said.

"I’ll help you!"

Chu Guang hastened to stop him: "You go and get in touch with your colleague first; we can handle things here."

Unexpectedly rejected, Vite felt a bit stunned, but still nodded in agreement.

"Okay..."

By another blast crater.

Meat mountain big steamed bun, with a broad figure, released Tail and Sisi from his arms, sporting a frightened expression.

"Be careful, all of you."

Although she was also frightened, she instinctively wrapped her arms around the two people beside her, shielding them from the flying shrapnel with her broad, sturdy back and fur.

The white bear fur was bloodied, but surprisingly, it didn’t hurt. Variant players healed quickly, and she guessed it would heal in a while.

Come to think of it, this was the first time she’d been injured since entering the Game.

"I think your worries are unnecessary," Sisi said while rubbing her face and straightening her disheveled bangs and hair with dignity. "By the way, Sisi also thinks your actions were unnecessary."

Sure enough, just as she finished speaking, Tail started ranting furiously beside her.

"Damn it! I didn’t die! Fire another shot!"

Sisi sighed and grabbed Tail, who was swinging his fists at the sky.

"Stop it, Ah Wei, that’s too fake."

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: QAQ

The incident happened abruptly.

Although the alarm had sounded two hours earlier, no one expected nothing to happen when the alarm went off, only for artillery shells to fall two hours later.

Two shells landed in the camp, injuring more than ten people, two of whom died instantly.

Wrench and the others were standing quite far away and were lucky not to be affected. At the Pioneer, only Vite was in the camp, and Chu Guang had managed to rescue him.

A world where only players were injured was achieved.

Surprisingly, the Cow and Horse Squad, which was close to the artillery dropping point, suffered only minor injuries.

But on second thought, it made sense.

The player with the highest Perception server-wide was in their team, and the four of them cooperated very tacitly. Almost as soon as Night Ten warned them, the other three immediately dispersed and lay down with him.

The most tragic was Quit Smoking...

The kid was only five meters from the center of the explosion and had lain down in the wrong direction, charging straight toward the impact point. With a loud bang, not even his body could be found.

Beside the crater, looking at a charred half of a leg, Night Ten couldn’t help but smack his tongue.

"...I suspect he was targeted by Brother Guang."

Wild Wind dusted off the ash from his clothes and, after glancing at the gruesome scene, couldn’t help but shift his gaze away.

"This is too damn tragic... Just entered the Game and already gone," sighed Old White.

"But the compensation of 100 Silver coins isn’t bad. This brother won’t even have to move bricks, he can buy a rifle right off the bat... But why the hell did we hide?"

Night Eleven looked bewildered.

"Yeah... Why did we hide?"

I almost missed out on the subsidy!

Fang Chang patted his shoulder and said, "It’s good that we hid. If we can’t survive the next four days, wouldn’t our priority exploration rights be auctioned off by others?"

Hearing this, Night Ten, who had been regretting it a second ago, also came to a realization.

"Hisss... now that you mention it, it makes sense. Thank goodness I didn’t die," he said.

Wild Wind nodded.

"If we’re not sure when the BUG can be fixed, then that subsidy is more profitable for newcomers; for us, not so much."

Old White agreed: "Indeed."

In the center of the camp.

A group of players rolled on the ground wailing, a pitiful scene that saddened the listeners and moved onlookers to tears.

"I think I’m not going to make it!"

"My head, my head hurts so much! It must be blast syndrome! Put me out of my misery!"

"Can’t you act a bit more realistically? Do you get headaches in this Game?"

"Giao! I totally forgot!"

"Take care of my VM... take it back for me!"

"Damn! You just twisted your ankle, is it really necessary? I can’t even watch this anymore!"

"But what the hell exploded? Where’s the enemy? Brothers, grab your weapons, and let’s go after them!"

Chu Guang couldn’t stand it any longer and kicked several players who were obviously fooling around offline for a two-second cool down. When they logged back in, they behaved.

At that moment, Lu Yang, wearing power armor, walked over from the direction of the Pioneer.

Looking at the refuge residents lying all over the camp, his heart tightened with guilt.

These people had all come to support them.

But they ended up being involved in a conflict that wasn’t theirs.

Clearly, the Army’s people were coming for them.

"The injured and the dead... I’ve arranged for them to be sent back to the refuge. I need an explanation for what happened today."

Looking at the approaching Chu Guang, Lu Yang was silent for a moment.

"It was the Army’s men."

Chu Guang was slightly stunned.

"...The Army?"

"Yes," Lu Yang nodded and said, "They are a group of organized Looters, mainly active in the western region. However, they seem to have sent an Expeditionary Army to Grand Canyon in the northern part of River Valley Province recently, where they are fighting against the local Survivor Forces."

Connecting the news brought by the merchants from Red River Town, the Nomads who had wandered in from the North, and the broadcast he heard in the old town leader’s house, Chu Guang felt as if various clues were stringing together.

He nodded slightly and said,

"I’ve heard something about it... but I only know that there is a war going on in the North, not what they are fighting over."

Lu Yang: "I do know some of the inside story, but it probably has little to do with today’s matter, and I guess you wouldn’t be interested."

"I want to know," Chu Guang stared at Lu Yang and spoke, "please tell me if it’s convenient. It’s very important for me and my Residents."

Lu Yang was silent for a moment before he slowly began,

"Then I’ll start with what’s happening in the North."

Chu Guang quietly waited for him to continue.

"It’s not just the Army. Many inside the corporations are also interested in the Grand Canyon. It was once a national geological park of the United Human and also the site of the ’Pangu’ Energy Storage Center."

Hearing an unexpected term, Chu Guang was slightly startled.

"Pangu Energy Storage Center?"

Lu Yang nodded.

"Yes, in the pre-war era, people built many grandiose wonders, and the Pangu Energy Storage Center was one of them. Because of the huge disparity in day and night electric grid loads in the Central Region, it was mainly used to store excess surplus electricity and to use this surplus energy to improve the atmospheric environment."

Chu Guang frowned and asked,

"Storing the energy from nuclear fusion? How was that achieved?"

Lu Yang: "It’s said to be done through electrolyzing seawater."

Chu Guang: "How much would that take..."

Lu Yang: "I don’t know. I’ve only heard it was a lot, a whole lot. The chlorine gas produced as a by-product could even serve as an industrial raw material, supplying the surrounding industrial zones. Therefore, there’s a large amount of solid hydrogen stored underground at the Pangu Energy Storage Center, along with other things."

"In the earlier years, it was guarded by the 111th Orbital Airborne Division. After the Wasteland Era began, it was said to have continued under military control for a while, sheltering a large number of Survivors who had fled from other regions. But what happened afterward is unclear... In any case, it has now developed into a large Survivor Base. Their industrial capabilities are weak, but they have inherited quite a bit of pre-war equipment, some of which is still usable today."

"I think you might guess, such high-threat strategic facilities usually have very stringent defense measures, and one theory I’ve heard is that those facilities are still operational."

Chu Guang nodded.

Although he had never seen it, by comparing it to the Three Gorges Project, he could imagine to what extent pre-war society protected it.

Even his own hammer could be equipped with a nitrogen shield.

Would it be too much to put a plasma shield or special force field on the Grand Canyon?

Whether such technology existed was unknown.

But since cold fusion existed, one could boldly guess.

Being wrong wouldn’t matter.

Lu Yang continued,

"The corporations had previously sent Expeditionary Armies to the Grand Canyon, but it seems they ultimately failed. According to intelligence we collected on the way, about a year ago, the Army also dispatched an Expeditionary Army to the Grand Canyon, but it looks like they suffered a great loss."

Chu Guang: "Then why would they show up here? From the very Northern part of River Valley Province to here is at least 500 kilometers, right? The actual distance might well be over a thousand."

Marching in the Wasteland was not like crossing a vast plain; even if the larger ruins could be bypassed, you still had to traverse the smaller ones step by step.

Unless you could steamroll across like the Pioneer.

Lu Yang said in a grave voice,

"They’re probably headed for us."

Chu Guang: "...Coming for you?"

"Yes," Lu Yang nodded, "It’s quite obvious. There are only two corridors that cut through River Valley Province east to west, one in the Central plains and one in the South. Although the Pioneer allows us to transport a large amount of production materials across the wilderness, it also has obvious drawbacks – we can only move through the plains."

Chu Guang frowned and said, "But why would they—"

Lu Yang shook his head and said,

"There is no why. It’s one of the rules of survival. To be exact, as I have told you before, the Army is essentially a group of organized Looters. They drive cheap Clone Cannon Fodder to fight and enslave captured Survivor laborers. When we planned our route, we deliberately chose the path further away from them, but we didn’t expect to still be targeted."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

It made sense.

Such a big, fat sheep passing through one’s territory – anybody would want to shear some wool off of it.

The only question was how to shear it.

But on the other hand, the people of Giant Stone City seemed to be sitting still.

The two biggest forces in the Wasteland were clashing right at their doorstep, yet nestled at the edge of the third ring, they didn’t make a peep.

If Chu Guang remembered correctly, their combat power seemed pretty strong.

Didn’t they claim to offer defense outsourcing services?

He wondered why no salesman had come over.

Lu Yang: "That’s all the intelligence we have. They probably hope to get their hands on something good from us, to help them win the war that was doomed from the beginning."

Chu Guang: "How many of them are there?"

Lu Yang: "Two thousand."

Chu Guang: "???"

What the hell?

-

(Thanks to ’Little Yun Duo’ for the Dominion’s reward~~~~)

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