This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 218: The Recoil is Strong! But Also Powerful!

Chapter 218: Chapter 218: The Recoil is Strong! But Also Powerful!

Old White might have been bragging or not.

After hearing what he said, Brother Levin immediately turned and went back to the neighboring workshop, pushing out a freshly assembled 20mm autocannon on a cart.

Excitedly, he came back to Old White, his eyes shining as he said,

"Bro, let’s give it a try, huh?"

"If you can really handle this thing for one shot, we’ll try making that thing you mentioned!"

Creating a weapon that most people couldn’t use had no meaning—Factory No. 81 wouldn’t set up a production line just for one player.

But on the other hand, if such an outrageous weapon could be used, that would be a huge win!

The 20mm barrel and ammunition were already available.

The turn-bolt locking mechanism wasn’t too hard either, just make a scaled-up version of the Arbiter I bolt-action rifle’s receiver!

There were at least 200 to 300 strength-type players in the server, and half of them might awaken within the next month.

What a huge market that would be!

This thought got Brother Levin all worked up.

Hearing Brother Levin’s suggestion, Old White found it quite sound, so he cheerfully agreed.

"Alright!"

Saying so, Old White didn’t dilly-dally, he reached out and picked up the nearly fifty-kilogram autocannon, striding outside.

The power of the strength-type was undeniable—even such a heavy autocannon seemed as light as a baseball bat in his hands.

Brother Levin and Brother Ciso brought some test ammunition while Fang Chang and Midnight Chicken Killing curiously followed along.

The group quickly arrived at the Goblin Technology Rocket Firing Range on the edge of the industrial district.

The area was littered with concrete debris, a five-meter-high building had been blasted into fragments from continual explosions.

As they arrived, Mosquito, carrying a rocket tail, walked out of the rubble.

Seeing the large group, Mosquito paused.

"What are you all doing here?"

Old White chuckled and said,

"Bro, borrowing the place for a bit!"

The Variants were hiding indoors in this deep winter, and finding a target on the streets was not easy.

But Mosquito’s place had plenty of targets.

To ensure the effectiveness of the rockets, Mosquito Brother, a carpenter by trade, had skillfully crafted dummies out of wood, many of which were fitted with steel plates to simulate the armor of Looters and Mutants.

Despite being displeased with these people interrupting his experiments, Mosquito was also curious about the power of the big gun in Old White’s possession, so he didn’t say much and stood by to watch.

"How about we start with a 20mm thick steel plate? Let’s see if it can penetrate that," Mosquito mumbled significantly after glancing at Brother Levin.

"Isn’t that obvious?" Listening to Mosquito’s nonsense, Brother Levin rolled his eyes.

Standing by Old White, adjusting the weapon, Brother Ciso couldn’t help but join the scoffing.

"Exactly! If it can’t even penetrate 20mm of steel, what kind of cannon is it?"

Mosquito laughed, intrigued, and asked,

"So tell me, how deep can you penetrate?"

Brother Levin chuckled, spreading his five fingers.

"Within a hundred meters, 50mm; at 500 meters, 20mm."

"Pfft, keep dreaming!" Mosquito rolled his eyes with an unbelieving look, "That’s even fiercer than a Barrett!"

Brother Levin continued to chuckle.

"Nonsense! Didn’t I tell you it’s a cannon? Didn’t you see how long our riflings and bullets are, and how much charge we use!"

"How much?"

Brother Levin closed his mouth and said nothing.

He felt this guy was fishing for their trade secrets.

That was what they had wasted so much budget to figure out, the charge ratio.

Want it? Pay up!

Seeing he couldn’t coax any information, Mosquito had a look of regret.

At this moment, Old White had mastered the technique of using the autocannon, placing the protruding magazine on his shoulder, and confirming with Brother Ciso beside him.

"It’s set to single fire mode now, right?"

As Brother Ciso moved back, he said,

"Yes, it’s set. Just choose a target and fire to find out!"

"Got it."

Old White excitedly raised the long barrel, aligning the mechanical scope to aim at the dummy about 100 meters away.

The dummy had a 20mm thick steel plate on its chest, realistically shaped in the form of a robust man about 1.8 meters tall.

Taking a deep breath of the icy air, Old White braced his muscles, ready for the recoil and then pulled the trigger.

Bang—!

A thunderous boom erupted.

A half-meter-long flame spat from the muzzle, and the recoil surged through his body, reaching his feet instantly.

Old White’s heels stirred up a swath of snow, scattering and flying backwards, splashing Mosquito and Brother Levin’s faces.

The ground trembled!

The wooden dummy in the distance exploded like it had been hit by a truck, bursting into splintered fragments, with the struck steel plate flying out and collapsing on the ground, mangled.

"Damn! That power is kinda wild!" Mosquito’s eyes went wide, and he forgot to wipe off the snow on his face.

Just a moment ago he had doubted it, thinking this piece of junk could hardly penetrate 50mm at a range of 100 meters, but now he was starting to believe it!

Holding the cannon, Old White, alongside the onlooking Fang Zhang and Midnight Chicken Killing, were all similarly stunned.

This power was just damn intense!

The two factory directors from Factory No. 81 chuckled, smug expressions filled their faces.

"Are you kidding me? I told you this thing is a cannon! Do you even know what a cannon is?"

"Exactly! You think the explosive speed enhancement of X-4 fibers is a joke?"

Originally smug, Brother Levin suddenly got a jolt when his teammate accidentally spilled a secret and quickly covered Brother Ciso’s mouth with his hand.

"Alright, enough talking!"

"Wuwuwu!"

Honestly, spilling the beans didn’t make a difference; the information was already available on the official website.

They had merely referenced real-world data and figured out a reliable ratio, which made the cannon’s initial speed approach its maximum while the barrel could withstand the chamber pressure.

Mosquito swallowed.

Although he had heard of nitrocellulose made from X-4 fibers obtaining an "explosive speed enhancement," he had never actually tried it.

After all, it seemed a bit counterintuitive.

But could it really be true?

Not far away, Old White had already taken off his exoskeleton.

That previous shot had given him a rough idea of the weapon’s recoil.

Next, he wanted to try firing it standing up without any gear!

Everyone around stopped talking and turned to watch him.

Then came another thunderous roar!

Old White, resting the cannon on his shoulder, suddenly jerked backward but managed to brace himself with his muscular strength.

"Damn, that recoil is fierce..."

"But I can handle it!"

After lowering the cannon, Old White opened his collar to inspect his right chest.

A shoe-sized red mark appeared from the recoil, but there was no bruising or other injuries.

His level was now LV12, with 19 points in strength, just one point short of having muscle strength four times that of an ordinary person!

With such terrifying muscle strength, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say he was half a mutant.

And his skin hadn’t even turned green!

If he had activated "Boundary Breakthrough," he wouldn’t have budged at all just now.

Fang Zhang couldn’t help but comment.

"Deserving of being the first fierce man of the server, I, Long Days Ahead, acknowledge you as the strongest!"

Old White chuckled.

"Too kind, too kind."

Midnight Chicken Killing, filled with envy, came forward and touched the cannon lying on the ground, its barrel sizzling the snow into white steam.

He weighed it and found it wasn’t too heavy.

Looking back, he asked, "Can I give it a try?"

Brother Levin nodded excitedly and generously said, "Go ahead, no need to be polite!"

Didn’t expect "Awakening" to be so badass.

If every strength-type player could withstand this recoil after awakening, wouldn’t their weapons sell like crazy?

That’d make more money than selling axes!

Indeed.

Strength-types, forever the gods!

After getting permission from Brother Levin, Midnight Chicken Killing also took a shot.

However, his experience was slightly more embarrassing than Old White’s, as the cannon barrel lifted from the recoil, and he staggered back, nearly tumbling over.

After all, he had just awakened, and at LV10, typically only had 17 points of strength, not matching up to the now level 12 Old White.

Missing those 2 points of strength, without activating a talent, he really couldn’t handle it.

From this, one could deduce that the optimal attribute for using this weapon would probably be 20 strength 10 constitution. Or, as a fixed weapon, then everyone could use it.

"Nice piece!"

Midnight Chicken Killing was excited, but soon calmed down, shaking his head as he lowered the cannon.

"Sadly, with such huge recoil, there’s no way you could fire it continuously."

"And definitely not while charging forward."

It’s powerful.

But it doesn’t quite fit with his unlocked "Berserker" talent!

Hearing this, Brother Levin almost couldn’t help bursting out laughing.

"What’s the freaking use of charging forward with such a big thing? The barrel would poke people in the face."

Brother Ciso couldn’t help but chime in.

"Exactly! Stick to your axe if you don’t appreciate real art."

Midnight Chicken Killing: "..."

Damn!

What’s wrong with using an axe?

Looking down on melee players?

Have the guts to challenge me!

Old White and Fang Chang walked over and looked at two factory heads from Factory No. 81.

"How about it? OK or not?"

"Can you modify the machine gun to single-shot?"

The two factory heads looked at each other.

"If it’s changed to single-shot, can it still be called a machine gun?"

"Indeed."

Old White, unconcerned about these minor issues, said with a hearty laugh.

"Then what do you think it should be called?"

Brother Levin, after a brief moment of thought, suddenly focused on the modified breastplate of Old White’s exoskeleton, his eyes lighting up.

"Cavalry Gun!"

He looked toward Brother Ciso, his eyes burning with excitement as he continued.

"What about calling it the ’Cavalry Gun’ anti-tank rifle?"

He estimated the cost to be around 900 silver, with a selling price of either 1000 or 950.

The ammunition could be the same as the machine gun’s, without even needing a change.

Once the number of awakened players increased, this equipment was sure to sell like crazy!

Their thoughts aligned swiftly, and Brother Ciso, excited, gave a thumbs up.

"Sounds good, brother, I think it works! But since it’s 20mm, shouldn’t it be considered a cannon?"

"Pfft, don’t nitpick, being cool is all that matters!"

Watching them, Mosquito stood by, his face full of envy.

Clearly, he also saw the commercial potential of the invention.

Damn!

They are all making a killing on arms!

Looks like he had to step up his game too.

...

As December drew closer, "Wartime Regulations" had been in effect for 25 days.

If not extended, this regulation had already passed almost half its duration.

In the past 25 days, the steel production capacity and the literacy rate among workers in the new industrial zone had doubled.

Thanks to the night school and study group system implemented in the new industrial zone, after the 12-hour workday, factory foremen would organize lessons for workers in literacy, arithmetic, and geometric drafting.

Literacy, in particular.

According to the rules in the new industrial zone, recognizing basic text was one of the main criteria for apprentices to advance to official workers.

Once promoted to official worker, not only would their salary double from two to four silver coins, but they would also sign long-term stable labor contracts with the factory, and even have a chance to become foremen employed directly by the shelter.

Those foremen with VM were quite enviable, being able to chat merrily with the Blue Jackets, and it was said their daily salary had risen to five silver!

Consequently, the workers were highly enthusiastic about their studies, especially the refugees from far away.

They were the ones most eager to stay.

And they were the ones most eager to be recognized as "indigenous people" of this territory—those acknowledged by the Blue Jackets!

Apart from the development of the industrial zone, what pleased Chu Guang the most was his little players.

Up to now, 13 players had awakened.

Among them, 5 were strength, 3 agile, 2 perception, 2 constitution, and 1 intelligence.

This included Edge Shoveling, who often walked the fine line between life and death, becoming the 2nd perception-type player to awaken in the entire service.

Both had unlocked fairly decent talents, and combined with their personal combat styles, they were likely to pull off some impressive tricks.

Then there was the hunting enthusiast Gnome King Riches, editor Canyon from Mole Daily who escaped the mole, and always-in-the-front constitution-type kitchen Tomato Scrambled Eggs, as well as Old Na who diligently practiced internal strength.

These were players who had entered the game early, including two agile and two constitution types.

Players who entered the game later also had a group reaching Level 9, vaguely approaching the breakthrough edge, expecting to break through in another month.

However, the intelligence system differed from the other systems, with a severe polarization observed in the higher zones, even showing a clear discontinuity.

So far, among all the intelligence-system players, only Wild Wind had reached Level 10.

None of the other intelligence-system players had even reached Level 9, though there were some at the peak of Level 8.

Additionally, what surprised Chu Guang was that lifestyle profession players in the intelligence system seemed to level up faster than combat professions.

For instance, Teng Teng had been at Level 8 for quite some time, and the progress bar for the breakthrough was right in front of him.

Perhaps the first intelligence-system player to awaken would be one who didn’t fight on the frontlines or battle monsters?

On the official forum, players debated whether this was fair.

Especially Mole Old Brother, who specially opened a thread for this issue.

"Regarding the Intelligence System: Thoughts on the Eve of Alpha1.0 Version"

"Hello everyone, it’s your Big-Nosed Mole here, not writing a guide today, but sharing some personal insights."

"As more and more players awaken, the strength system once again affirms its status as the planner’s favorite child, becoming the unquestioned version child."

"And the intelligence system, regrettably, remains on the cold bench from the start to the end of the game’s beta test, confirming its position as the beloved brother of the Alpha test version."

"I’ve predicted the rise of the intelligence system more than once, and more than once, the planners ruthlessly disproved me. From the arrival of the Pioneer to the gameplay of the exploration team">’.

"The cloud of uncertainty that hung over the heads of the Intelligence System never seemed to dissipate, even if occasionally a player unlocked different gameplay. Their experiences could not conveniently be transferred to others."

"All the common knowledge or norms about MMORPGs seemed ineffective when it came to the Intelligence System. It was as if it was a discarded sequence, maybe the designers never intended for it to be influential."

"After all, its impact was indeed hard to perceive directly, and the expandable gameplay was not as rich as with other systems."

"At first, I thought so too, but later I gradually realized that perhaps it wasn’t that the designers deliberately ignored the Intelligence System, but rather, it was originally designed this way."

"Killing monsters for leveling up isn’t all there is to a game, just like life isn’t just about schooling and promotions... From the moment you enter the game, you can feel that the game operators are deliberately crafting this atmosphere."

"They transformed ’Wasteland OL’ into an almost real world, making NPCs seem human, and besides elements of violence and destruction, they provided a completely different path for their players—creation."

"Use your creativity and wisdom to change this decayed planet, planting the flag of United Human on the edge of the Kuiper Belt."

"Perhaps, this is the version answer for the Intelligence System."

"And it’s an Easter egg left by the game developers for us."

"Likes 666, replies 200+"

"After reading the post from beginning to end, Chu Guang felt an indescribable sensation."

"Such talent..."

"Honestly, he hadn’t thought so deeply."

"But this interpretation seemed flawless."

"He casually marked the post as excellent and continued browsing the forum."

"Suddenly, his gaze settled on a post vastly different from the current popular topics in the forum."

"’Speaking of which, New Year’s Day is coming. Where does everyone plan to celebrate?’"

"The post was made by Crow."

"Since winter began, she had been quite active on the forum, as combat wasn’t her strength; she was only good at freeloading, so there wasn’t much she could do in the game."

"New Year’s Day, huh..."

"Looking at the post, a trace of melancholy suddenly appeared on Chu Guang’s face."

"It’s an important holiday."

"He remembered he died in March, arrived in this world in April, and discovered Shelter No. 404 in September."

"Almost a year had passed..."

"He had no relatives worth missing, his life had been a rush, and his friends were mostly online, so that after coming here, he never thought about finding his way back home."

"What for?"

"At least in the shelter, he was collecting other people’s rent."

"Scrolling down with his mouse, some people in the post said they planned to be offline for a day to spend time with family, others didn’t care much as the in-game time didn’t conflict with real life; they’d just log in later."

"Chu Guang stared at the post for a while, then suddenly spoke."

"Xiao Qi."

"A mild voice floated from beside him."

"Here, Master."

"Chu Guang thought for a moment and said."

"New Year’s is coming soon, should we hold an event in the game... like celebrating the holiday or something?"

"Xiao Qi: ’Eh? The same kind of celebration as before? But Master... we seem to be running low on food.’"

"I know," Chu Guang sighed lightly, "but we should commemorate the outgoing Wasteland Era Year 211... Is there a cheaper way to celebrate?"

"They say pre-war society had many holidays, as the average annual working hours totaled less than 300."

"With both cultural and technological prosperity, there seemed to be a holiday every other day."

"But after the Wasteland Era, good days were gone."

"There were no good days to celebrate here, and oftentimes even the climate acted up."

"And along with a cultural discontinuity, many people, despite using the United Human language, knew nothing about the United Human’s affairs, only that without work, there was no food; without scavenging, there was death."

"Some midsize to small survivor settlements primarily focused on agriculture selectively preserved some festivals to celebrate the harvest and pray for the next year’s bounty, but this obviously didn’t include scavenger-driven Bet Street or the serf-dominated Brown Farm."

"Especially since all survivor settlements in the north suburb of Qingquan city were mostly these types, or possibly a transit site engaged with tradesmen."

"Chu Guang had been in Wasteland for so long, he had never seen the scavengers of Bet Street have any celebration."

"But having a holiday could boost morale and enhance both a sense of belonging and cultural identity."

"After all, apart from players, the plots he controlled were inhabited by drifters from all directions."

"He had to find a way to unite them."

"Holidays and celebrations were perfect for this."

"Xiao Qi was silent for a while, perhaps using a search tool or earnestly pondering the problem."

"After quite some time, that meek voice drifted back."

"Xiao Qi thinks, since it’s Wasteland... maybe there’s no need to stick entirely to the Earth’s holidays."

"How about... taking the opportunity of celebrating to encourage everyone to try some new foods?"

"And then, in the name of the event, award a prize for the most creative recipe."

"Try some new foods?"

"Award for the most creative recipe?"

"Chu Guang was momentarily stunned."

"For a moment, he even changed his evaluation of Xiao Qi."

"This guy..."

"Could he actually be a genius?"

"——"

"(Thanks to the guild leader of ’Dragon Yin’ for the reward~~~~~)"