This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 153 Survivors of Qingquan City

Chapter 153: Chapter 153 Survivors of Qingquan City

The distant rolling thunder disturbed the tranquility of Qingquan City.

Behind the ruins buried by the snow curtain, in Giant Stone City located on the edge of the three-ring line, people crossing the street corners and alleys all raised their heads.

"What’s that sound?"

"It’s pretty rare to have thunder in snowy weather."

"That’s not thunder... sounds a bit like something exploded."

"From the north? I’ve heard it’s been going on for a long time."

"They wouldn’t bring the fight to Qingquan City, would they? There’s nothing here worth coveting for those country bumpkins."

"You just called them country bumpkins, and you still expect them not to covet what you have?"

"Even if they really did attack, what of it? Master Fang will surely have a way to deal with it!"

Here, you can’t see too far.

Citizens who could survive in the city would never go outside. The poor living under the concrete walls might go out scavenging, but usually, they wouldn’t go too far.

In the corner bar, a few mercenaries who had seen the world could tell something from the explosion, but they just shook their heads and continued drinking their beer diluted with water, not even interested in discussing it.

Whatever was happening there, it was not their concern. Even if there was plenty of work to be done there, with this damn weather, it wasn’t realistic to go to the north suburb of Qingquan City from the edge of the three-ring line.

After all, these poor devils had no chance of flying to their jobs...

Inner City center.

Top floor of a pitch-black skyscraper.

A man in a crisp suit stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his expression meticulous.

Of course, you cannot see the northern suburbs of Qingquan City from here. Giant Stone City, surrounded by a ring of tall buildings, presents only a view of a vast stretch of grey ruins in any direction you looked.

But.

His eyes were not only here.

Staring at the reflection on the floor-to-ceiling window, he muttered to himself in a low voice.

"They’ve even used nuclear bombs."

A response came to his ears.

"Yes, sir."

"And the outcome? Who won?"

"Looks like it was the corporate people."

The man nodded.

The Army was strong, but after all, they were held back by the people of the Grand Canyon. The corporations had fewer people, but they had the upper hand in equipment and logistics.

The probability of victory was originally 4 to 6, but at the moment the tactical nuclear bomb was dropped, it became 3 to 7. If the Army didn’t have a stronger card to play, it was only logical for them to lose.

Of course, this analysis was from the standpoint of a spectator. War and playing poker are fundamentally different after all, and even a 1 in 10 chance can lead to victory.

But.

The betting houses would probably be bustling today.

Those who had bet on the Army would likely lose a fair amount.

"Should we intervene?" the voice by his ear asked.

"If the leader of the Army is still alive, buy him. When the messenger from the Army arrives, we can do them a favor."

The voice continued to inquire: "What if he is dead?"

"Then send a greeting to the corporate people, remind them to use fewer radioactive weapons, the aftermath will be troublesome."

Whether it was the Army or the corporations, it was best for him to interfere as little as possible with their conflicts. This is River Valley Province, and either side was too far away from here.

"We better not get involved in their disputes, offending anyone would be troublesome, and pleasing anyone would bring no benefits."

"But after all, it happened on our turf."

"Send someone to mediate then."

...

Brown Farmstead.

Looking at the flames rising in the distance, the farm owner huddled in the house, shivering uncontrollably, muttering non-stop.

"Nuclear bomb... tactical nuclear bomb..."

His young daughter looked at her father, puzzled.

"Dad?"

"Don’t worry, dear," the wife placed her hand on his shoulder, speaking softly, "That’s far from us."

"Get lost!"

The man angrily waved his hand and accidentally hit his little daughter’s face with the back of his hand, sending the head flying off.

Sparks were jumping from the lonely neck.

The wife was taken aback for a moment, sighed lightly, and silently went over to the head.

As he saw the head rolling on the ground, the man was startled for a moment and quickly calmed down, but he couldn’t help muttering.

"Damn it... hope it doesn’t mean war is coming again."

"We’ve already spent enough money this year! Let me have some peace!"

...

Bet Street.

A group of survivors looked at the sky not far away; from their location toward Rhombus Lake, they could only see a small beam of light.

Many people had come out of their shacks to whisper at the light in the distance.

Yu Hu glanced at his elder brother and asked in a muffled voice.

"Brother, what is that?"

Yu Xiong frowned.

"Not sure. Doesn’t seem like it’s from Rhombus Lake, seems even further... Elm District?"

For the survivors of Bet Street, that was a rather unfamiliar name, only occasionally heard from scavengers coming from the north. It was said to be an old urban area covered by forests; there’s hardly any garbage worth scavenging, let alone a whole brick.

Yu Xiong had only been there once when he had followed the tracks of a deer herd. On his way back, to avoid the men from Blood Hand, he had taken quite the detour.

Yu Hu said blankly.

"Is it far from Brother Chu’s place?"

Yu Xiong nodded.

"Quite far, about 20 kilometers or so."

"Oh, that’s good," Yu Hu breathed a sigh of relief, scratching the back of his head, "I’ll go check on Little Fish tomorrow; she’s been away from home for a while."

Yu Xiong also missed his sister a bit and said.

"Go see how she’s doing. I hope she’s okay there."

Yu Hu, "Brother, how about going together?"

"I’d better not; there’s still guard duty to train, and we have patrol duties every day," Yu Xiong ruffled his little brother’s head, "If you have time, it’s better to go learn some writing at the castle, especially now that it’s winter."

Old Charlie’s school?

Wasn’t that just for kids?

Yu Hu recalled it was mostly children under 16 there, whose parents sent them to learn writing and arithmetic to save a meal or two.

"Why should I learn that stuff..." Yu Hu said in confusion.

Yu Xiong didn’t know how to explain, after all, he was illiterate himself and had only recently learned to write his own name by attending night school. All he could vaguely say was,

"Anyway, this is something Brother Chu got, you just need to learn it, it’s definitely going to be useful."

Several kilometers away at Outpost Base.

Upon hearing the sound, Xia Yan, leaning on a cane, stepped out of the weapon store, staring at the flashing light in the north, murmuring in shock,

"...A tactical nuclear bomb? These guys are fighting way too fiercely."

Tactical nuclear bombs with a yield below one ton were purchasable in Giant Stone City with chips, although few people ever bought them.

For one thing, they were expensive.

For another, they were dangerous.

Many Variants were keen on settling in radiation-dense areas, especially highly dangerous ones like Crack Claw Crabs, Night Demons, and Death Scorpions, which particularly enjoyed such environments. The radiative energy made them as excited and savage as if they were on drugs.

If it was in the city area, it usually turned into a breeding ground for Eaters and Crawlers. If it was in the suburbs, it was hard to say what strange species it might attract.

At that moment, Xia Yan suddenly noticed a small figure at the entrance of the sanatorium, who, like her, was looking at the northern sky.

The light from the torches at the entrance flickered.

Even though there was some distance between them, she could still see those big, shiny eyes filled with fear and worry.

Sighing, she walked over and placed her hand on Little Fish’s head.

"What is that?" Little Fish asked softly.

Xia Yan, unusually speaking in a softened tone, comforted,

"It’s nothing good... but it’s okay, they’re all strong and won’t be harmed. You should head back now, it’s getting late."

...

Because of a sudden tactical nuclear bomb explosion, the survivors in the northern suburb of Qingquan City were all in a panic.

It was not unusual for some clueless youth to throw a nuclear bomb at the Variants, but those were much smaller in power, maybe just a few hundred kilograms or about a ton in yield, and the sound wasn’t as loud.

Some said it was the Army coming from the north.

But no one could explain why the Army would bother with this godforsaken place.

Others suggested a Super Mutant had appeared, and the local survivors, desperate to live, detonated a tactical nuclear bomb.

However, nobody could remember any survivor settlement in the North Suburb having the capability to deal with a Super Mutant.

In contrast, on the official website of Wasteland OL, things were bustling as if it was a festival.

In fact, in-game activities for players genuinely felt like a celebration.

On the Forum:

Quit smoking: "Damn, I’m splitting apart! Walked 10 kilometers and didn’t even see a construction site, one shell just took me away! (crying)"

Elena: "Two minutes of fighting, two hours of running, it’s definitely squad confirmed. (funny)"

Night Ten: "Eh, Old Monk, you’ve returned?"

Elena: "Call me Old Monk one more time! (`Д´*)9"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Bursting with joy! I charged into the trench with a slide tackle, my claws slashing wildly! But these damn monsters have no martial morality, actually using a bundle of grenades to blow me up!"

WC truly has Mosquitoes: "Next time, you’d better charge for that boiler, not expensive, just the cost price, 100 Silver coins, okay. (sideways glance)"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn! Are you robbing me?!"

Night Ten: "Lots of familiar IDs here. By the way, how many people died in this round?"

Elena: "At least 20, when I came down I passed a row of bodies... Oh, and that automatic rifle fire was quite satisfying, just went brrrr, but too bad I had two clips left, big loss. (funny)"

Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Definitely more than twenty, this time it might even hit a hundred! Waiting for a mate to get finished off by friendly fire."

Makabazi: "Hahahaha! You guys laughed at me, you feel stupid now? Now you’ve come down to join me, huh?"

Night Ten: "Don’t brag, at least we died in a group fight, we’ll still get paid from the spoils of war when it’s all tallied, I think it was worth it. (funny)"

Elena: "Indeed, that scene was absolutely spectacular, a real feast for the eyes, especially that wave that charged along with the power armor. Anyway, I also think it was worth it. (Funny)"

Makabazi: "#&@!"

Even the garbage lord joined the fray, Makabazi dude totally lost his defense.

The forum was once again filled with a cheery atmosphere, with everyone speculating about the ultimate loot from this great battle.

Buying power armor is unrealistic; in other games, that thing would be at least level 30 equipment, so it’s not something to count on in the early stages.

But buying a gun should always be possible, right?

After a good while, nearly around noon in the real world, someone finally brought news from the front lines.

Gnome King Riches: "Brothers, I got replenished! A total of 117 people dead, more than half, it was horrendous! But the enemy fared worse, I heard from the trenches that over two thousand bodies were dragged out, and not a single one is intact! But we might have struck it rich this time, we captured 5 light trucks, and who knows how much supplies in the fortifications! Now it’s just about how to divide the spoils!"

Night Ten: "Hehe, I’m not asking for much, just hoping it’s enough to buy that automatic rifle, and if not, just sell me the red dot sight on its own, a gun with a sight and one without are like two different weapons."

Mosquito in True WC: "Agreed!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "What the heck are you agreeing to! You’re the sleaziest, hoarding all the guns you buy in the warehouse and never bringing them out!"

Mosquito in True WC: "Damn! Didn’t I come down to join you all!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Don’t pretend I didn’t see it, you blew yourself up with your own hand grenade!"

Night Ten: "Pfft."

Makabazi: "Hahahaha!"

Mosquito in True WC: "Fuck you!"

Anyway, this battle was really exhilarating.

As for the spoils of war, even if you wanted to worry about it, you couldn’t; that was a matter for the game’s program.

Everyone expressed their hopes that the developers, the game planner daddies, would be decent enough to give a little extra death gratuity, seeing how we don’t know when we’ll be able to get online for the next wave.

We’re not asking for much, 200 silver coins seem reasonable.

If we could get up to 300 silver, that would be even better.

In the forum, the conversation gradually shifted to be dominated by players from Company P and the big picture folks, from whether it’s better for a machine-gunner to move five meters forward or backward, to which was stronger in the game’s settings—armies or corporations.

One represented the powers of the extreme west; the other the extreme east. Typically, they would never cross paths, but somehow, their underlings ended up fighting in the central River Valley Province.

According to official information from the website, it seems the Army follows a human wave strategy supplemented with other land doctrines. The troops they encountered this time were the most common Clone light infantry + trench fortification, with the two artillery pieces probably representing the firepower support doctrine.

Their advantage lies in low logistical pressure and esprit de corps; these Clone Infantry behave as if brainwashed, or perhaps they aren’t fully sentient humans at all, preferring to be killed rather than surrender.

As for the corporations, they likely focus on "mobile warfare" land doctrine, with all members being heavily armed high-tech troops, high in mobility, strong in armor, equipped for night combat and even air support.... Even though it’s just one light fixed-wing aircraft, it’s better than none.

On the surface, it might seem like the latter has greater advantages and more expensive equipment, but their performance on the battlefield does not seem as invincible as the data suggests.

After the power armor cut through the Army’s first line of defense like a knife through butter, they quickly faced an embarrassing problem.

There was no one behind them.

Spring Water Commander: ".... The Pioneer can at best be considered a scientific expedition team; the soldiers aren’t professional military but more like adventurers. Doing as well as they did is already not bad. If it were a conventional army clash, this kind of problem simply wouldn’t exist, would the corporate headquarters really lack light infantry? I don’t believe it."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Heh, if they actually fought on a real battlefield, they’d be facing hundreds, even thousands of forces just like the Army we saw today. They can build cannons, so would it be hard to build an engine? No need for dark tech, just slap together a WWII-level tank chassis with a railgun on top, definitely cheaper than power armor."

Million Mighty Army Lindon Wan: "They can’t fight it out, right? With an entire continent between them, how long would the supply line need to be? Moreover, with the landscape of the Wasteland, it’s all guerilla Variants along the way, non-combat attrition would be maxed out for sure."

Seafood Can Merchant: "Speaking of which, why don’t they just take the sea route? The sea route is obviously easier than land."

Duke Venetian Seaview: "Maybe there are threats in the sea."

Scaring Ghosts at the Grave: "Right, right... imagine if a Kraken-level sea monster came along, even 10 Pioneers would probably have a tough time."

Gnome King Riches: "Cough, stop arguing, isn’t whether they’re strong or not all down to how the developer sets it?"

He hit the nail on the head.

But no one paid attention to him.

The game is still in closed beta, with version numbers only reaching Alpha, each version like a new game. Who knows what kind of outrageous stuff will come out next.

Nobody can say for sure.

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