This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 201: It’s A Miracle, My Lord

Chapter 201: Chapter 201: It’s A Miracle, My Lord

Central Continent Aerospace Experimental Base.

With the surrender of the Looters in the underground ecology park of Building No. 3, the last bit of sporadic resistance was extinguished.

When the captured Looter leader "Card" heard that they had been defeated by a group of Blue Jackets, incredulity was written all over his face.

But whether he accepted it or not, the outcome of the war had already been decided.

From the start to the end of the battle, it lasted a total of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 7 seconds.

More than two hundred players participated in the battle, 28 died, and 21 were injured, with 4 fatally injured who chose to use Resurrection Coins, and the rest suffering non-disabling minor injuries.

Even five Body Constitution System players, within less than half an hour after the battle ended, had their wounds basically scabbed over, shifting from seriously injured to lightly injured, then, to grazes.

At the same time, more than half of the battle damage in this battle was sustained by Group A, consisting of forty players acting as the feinting group.

As the unit directly confronting the Looters, they miraculously tied down more than 80% of the Looter’s combat power despite being absolutely disadvantaged in terms of force, terrain, and firepower, and successfully repelled the Looters’ two charges. This created a decisive opportunity for the main force on the eastern front.

To commend their bravery, Chu Guang awarded all forty players a Medal of Honor.

Although the closed beta version of the medal was no tangible object, merely a small icon displayed on the VM character pages and the players’ forum profiles, it was undoubtedly a delightful surprise for players keen on unlocking and collecting game achievements!

On the side of the Looters, a total of 152 participated in the battle, 94 died, and the remaining 57 were all captured, with half of them seriously injured.

A great victory in this battle!

"...If not for seeing it with my own eyes, I would never believe this battle report."

After returning the VM to Chu Guang, Vanus, who watched the entire battle from start to finish through the drone’s perspective, still had an incredulous look on his face.

There was no significant gap in equipment between the two sides.

While the Shelter No. 404 side fired two rounds of support rockets, the morale impact was obviously greater than the actual killing effect.

On the other hand, the Looters on the high ground had clearly obtained more Army-equipped gear.

Through the aerial footage from the drone, Vanus saw at least five light machine guns.

This didn’t even count those on the four trucks!

In terms of the terrain, the Looters held the high ground, using existing houses and the Enclosing Wall as cover.

And the Residents of the refuge below the hillside only had pine tree roots and the surrounding snow to rely on... These couldn’t really be called reliable cover, barely better than nothing.

Vanus found it difficult to imagine how these Residents of the refuge managed to take the entire high ground while only losing just over thirty people.

Compared to Vanus’s disbelief, Chu Guang’s expression was as expected.

Although in terms of casualties, the figures reported were considerably lower than his own estimates, it basically aligned with his expectations.

Chu Guang took back the VM from Vanus and didn’t mention the terms of their wager immediately. Instead, he looked at him and asked.

"What do you think of those Looters?"

Vanus pondered for a moment before giving his assessment.

"They do not appear to be your average Looters."

However, Chu Guang was not satisfied with his answer.

"That’s obvious, I, of course, know they’re not your average Looters. What I want to know is if you saw any familiar elements in them."

Vanus was slightly taken aback and thought for a moment before saying.

"...Now that you mention it, there is a resemblance. Although they had certain tactical flaws, it’s clear they had received professional training."

And the one who trained them might very well be one of his former colleagues!

Just then, footsteps approached the temporary command post’s door, and a guard stood at the entrance, saluting rigidly.

"Report! The interrogation results are in. We’ve extracted from those captives that they were just the vanguard; the main force is still behind. Their leader instructed them to hold out until dawn, saying reinforcements would arrive before tomorrow morning."

So they think they can make it until tomorrow morning.

A strange expression crossed Chu Guang’s face.

One had to be incredibly confident to believe that this rabble could hold out against his players until tomorrow morning.

"How many are in their main force?"

The guard shook his head.

"We can only confirm it’s a thousand-strong team, the exact number is unclear."

Chu Guang looked at Vanus.

"What’s the general size of an Army’s thousand-strong team?"

Vanus thought for a moment and said.

"About 2,000 people on average, the least would be 1,000, but it could go up to 5,000, depending on the configuration of the Ten Thousand Troops to which they belong. For instance, the thousand-strong team I previously led consisted of 2,000 people, primarily light infantry, equipped with two howitzers. If they are confident the reinforcements can arrive before dawn, they must have wheeled vehicles or other fast-moving carriers."

Chu Guang tried asking.

"Any tanks?"

"I have no idea," Vanus said with a wry smile, "I sincerely suggest that you’d better send out a reconnaissance team to search northward along their supply route."

"I have already sent people."

Chu Guang glanced at the map, where he saw Fang Chang and his two companions had left their original observation point and moved to the Experimental Base.

He had prepared some equipment for them there.

Most likely, it would come in handy.

...

At the same time, in the Central State Aerospace Ecology Experimental Base.

On a messy battlefield, Fang Chang and his group finally received the equipment Manager had allocated to them—two bicycles.

"What the hell? Just two bicycles?"

Staring at the roughly made, material-saving bicycle in his hands, Night Ten was completely dumbfounded and didn’t know where to begin his rant.

There were three people; they could at least have given three bikes!

Minutes before, Old White, who had rendezvoused with them, patted Night Ten’s shoulder with a smile.

"Trucks have been diverted for transporting supplies; you’re lucky to even get two bicycles. Be content, many people arrive here by vehicle and end up having to trek back on foot!"

Unlike the picky Night Ten, Wild Wind didn’t have any complaints about the mode of transport in his hands.

After all, he used to ride this thing to class every day.

"Old White, are you coming along?"

"Why the hell would I join you when I’m injured like this?" Old White lifted his clothes to show a bandage on his stomach, stained with two patches of blood.

Even dried, the sight was still startling!

Seeing the wound, Night Ten exclaimed.

"Holy shit, are you okay?!"

Old White replied with a smile.

"What could possibly happen to me in the game? I’ll just lie down in the Cultivation Chamber for a while, and I might be completely healed by tomorrow."

At that moment, Fang Chang suddenly remembered something and turned to ask.

"Speaking of which, Old White, I’ve been meaning to ask, how did you manage that first kill?"

Hearing this, Old White’s expression turned somewhat awkward as his gaze shifted away.

"Uh, if I said I just found it, would you believe me?"

Fang Chang gave him an unimpressed look and tossed the question back.

"What do you think?"

...

Inside the Experimental Base.

Five trucks climbed onto the high ground, and together with four trucks captured from the Looters, nine trucks lined up neatly in the open space.

Under the commands of the deputy captain of the guard, players, huffing and puffing with heavy loads, were loading their spoils of war onto the trucks.

Clearing the battlefield was also a part of the battle.

Although the captured supplies were "mission props" that belonged collectively to the refuge, these mission props could offer extra "war scores" for all players who participated in the battle during the reward settlement phase after the battle had ended.

This was precisely why the players were moving them with such diligence.

If it weren’t for the guards watching, these guys might have even moved the tables and chairs from the lab!

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Wait a minute, why can’t corpses be considered war spoils? Can’t they be used to produce Resurrection Coins?"

I Max Black: "That really doesn’t make sense!"

Worker Kid and Bricks: "I can help drive; we can make a few more trips, I guarantee to strip this Experimental Base bare!"

Players next to the trucks chattered noisily.

Walking by from a short distance, Lu Bei gazed at the supply boxes on the trucks, endlessly musing to himself.

"This year, we should be able to have a good harvest!"

Nearly 50,000 rounds of ammunition filled dozens of large boxes. Winter clothes and quilts were piled up in bundles.

tons of green wheat, 15 tons of horned potatoes, stuffed into several trucks!

It was evident that the Looters must have spent quite some time transporting these supplies from the rear.

Moreover, there were over thirty boxes of dried rats, cockroach slices, mysterious dried meat, and a large amount of nutrition paste with unknown ingredients.

However, Manager didn’t seem inclined to keep these dubious foods from unknown sources.

The nutrition paste was dumped down the hillside, while the dried rats, cockroach slices, and dried meat were thrown into a fire pit to burn; whatever could be burned was burned.

Manager had ordered that they were to evacuate the area by twelve o’clock, prioritizing everything useful that could be taken away.

As for the unusable munitions that couldn’t be easily transported, they were destroyed on the spot; it was crucial that not a single usable bullet was left for those Looters!

At this time, Lu Bei suddenly caught sight of a few odd boxes, and upon lifting the lids, he was instantly stunned.

They were artillery shells!

"Why are there artillery shells here??"

Lu Bei counted them: there were more than fifty of them. The caliber appeared to be quite large; he gestured with his hand and estimated they were about 10 centimeters in diameter.

But he hadn’t seen any cannons around here, had he?

Surely those Looters wouldn’t use them as bombs, right?

Standing by his side, a somewhat older guard spoke.

"Perhaps the cannon is further back. I heard that the vanguard troops were the first to arrive here."

"Just the vanguard troops?!" Lu Bei said anxiously, glancing at the refuges’ residents preparing to evacuate, "What if those Looters attack? Isn’t it too early for us to retreat now?"

The slightly older guard laughed as he continued.

"What’s there to fear! We took the fuel rods from the reactor and carried off their supplies. Even if they take the high ground back, so what? They can’t conjure up food from nowhere!"

...

Next to the supply loading site.

Chu Guang, clad in powered armor, was finally in a dingy tent, seeing the four-meter-long lizard.

This was actually Chu Guang’s first time seeing a Claw of death with his own eyes since he’d come to the Wasteland.

And at such a close distance!

Studying the beast before him, Chu Guang fell into deep thought.

Looking at it this way...

Junk King really did bear some resemblance to this thing.

"Xiao Qi."

"Present, Master. Do you have any orders?"

"Help me take a picture with this Dead Claw."

"...?"

Though Xiao Qi was baffled by his master’s request, he still lowered the drone and took a photo by the tent entrance of Chu Guang and the Dead Claw.

The photo was sent to the helmet.

Chu Guang admired his own style for a while and nodded in satisfaction.

Not bad.

He’ll post this selfie on the official website later!

At that moment, Chu Guang suddenly noticed that the Dead Claw’s eyes had opened at some point, and a pair of amber pupils were staring at him.

The stared-at Chu Guang didn’t panic for a second, silently pulling out the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer strapped to his back, his index finger already on the handle’s touch control.

Seemingly sensing danger from the hammer, the Dead Claw lying on the ground instantly became much more subdued.

Glancing at the metal collar around the Dead Claw’s neck, Chu Guang looked towards the robed old man standing in the tent.

Just as Old White had mentioned in the Forum, this person, both in clothing and temperament, was clearly different from the Looters.

Especially that hooded grey robe, which gave him a mysterious vibe.

Without any small talk, Chu Guang got straight to the point.

"What’s that hanging around its neck?"

The old man replied softly.

"It is a Miracle, my lord."

Chu Guang frowned slightly, shooting the old man a glance.

"Speak plainly."

Undeterred, the old man said.

"The device’s name is Miracle, my lord. If I must provide a simple explanation, it allows us to establish mental communication with Variants."

Through the old man’s assured gaze, Chu Guang could tell that this guy probably had no idea how to explain this stuff or the principle behind its working.

That didn’t matter, though.

There were two experts in the refuge, one well-versed in cybernetic implants and other mechanical devices, the other in biology.

Chu Guang believed at least one of them would be interested in this thing.

Setting aside the Dead Claw issue for now, Chu Guang looked at the old man and asked.

"I’ll change the question— who are you?"

The old man whispered,

"The apostle of the Torch Church, sir, you can consider me a neutral third party."

Torch?

...The Church?

Hearing the familiar word "Torch," Chu Guang’s face showed a strange expression as he looked at the old man who seemed to be unaware of the situation.

"You were captured on the Looter’s ground, and you still have the nerve to tell me that you’re a neutral third party?" he said, looking at the bewildered old man.

"We will settle the score with the Torch later."

"Now, take your things and follow me."

"I will take you to where prisoners should be kept."

...

Dawn was breaking.

Accompanied by the roar of engines, three steel-plated pickup trucks made a round outside the experimental base but ultimately, lacking the courage to approach the highland, they departed northwards.

A few more hours passed.

It was now midday.

The three steel-plated pickup trucks returned with vengeance.

Besides those three vehicles, over two hundred Looters, led by twenty Centurions, were divided into twenty small teams, assaulting the highland from both the east and the west simultaneously.

The man holding the binoculars, with only a tuft of hair on his head, gazed in the direction of the experimental base, a victorious smile curling up at the corner of his mouth.

"It looks like those people have run away."

His name was Gang Ya, the Centurion of the Chewing Bone Tribe under Black Snake’s thousand troops, and also a direct descendant of the clan leader of the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Standing beside him, the man in a dark blue coat with an eyepatch over his left eye was named Kevin, previously a Centurion under the Expeditionary Army.

After General Kras’s defeat, he had encountered the Chewing Bone Tribe while fleeing southward.

These Looters were quite interesting.

Seeing his dark blue coat, they, against all odds, did not attack him but rather welcomed him warmly.

Kevin was at first completely confused by their behavior.

Knowing that usual Looters, upon capturing people from the Army, would be ecstatic to make them into human skin sofas or other objects as war trophies, he found their acceptance strange.

However, these Looters were very pragmatic.

The captured Army deserters transformed overnight, taking up positions as strategists and instructors in the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Kevin had also met many deserting soldiers like himself, with no hope of return.

Thinking that he had nowhere to go, and no other skills besides warfare, he decided to stay put.

Watching the overly excited Gang Ya, Kevin felt he should remind him, so he cleared his throat and said,

"This is not a good sign... If they chose to retreat, it means in their eyes, this place has lost its strategic value."

Hearing these words, Gang Ya’s expression instantly darkened.

Just then, one of his subordinates ran over with a frontline report.

Just as Kevin’s foreboding words had suggested, the worst had indeed happened.

His men easily reclaimed the experimental base, but what was left was an empty shell.

Those who had attacked them had not only taken the supplies prepared for their troops but even removed the fuel rods from the ecological park under Building 3!

All that was left were about twenty severely wounded soldiers, thrown directly into the hall of Building 3, now lying on the floor, moaning weakly.

Those despicable thieves!

Cowards who feared war!

And those dumb teammates! To guard such a highland and not even hold it for a single night!

Gang Ya clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fury as he stared in the direction of the experimental base.

Those were the supplies they had looted from many survivor bases, some of which were even his share, all for the purpose of clearing the way for the troops headed to the front line.

Kevin could probably guess what was on his mind, but he still cautiously offered his suggestion,

"Without supplies, even if we deploy the main forces here, we can only freeze and starve... This place has lost its strategic value, let’s retreat."

"We can’t just let it go like this!" Gang Ya’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and he said bitterly, "They must be survivors from around here! We have to get the supplies back!"

Kevin looked at him, baffled.

Get them back?

From those maniacs who took over the highland in one night?

Did this guy really know what he was talking about???