This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 234: Fuel Engine

Chapter 234: Chapter 234: Fuel Engine

Before midnight.

The convoy finally arrived at Changjiu Farm.

And the players had gradually returned to Outpost Base, or logged off at the nearby save point in the farm.

Many experienced symptoms of fever, fatigue, and dizziness before logging off.

Those who had read the strategy threads on the forum immediately understood what was happening and found a Sleep Cabin to lie down in.

Near the save point.

The air was filled with a joyous atmosphere.

"Hey buddy, you made it too?"

"Hahaha, we all came together, what a coincidence!"

"I’m not asking for much, just give me an SSSR when I draw for talents!"

"That’s not asking for much?!"

"May the planners bless me, I’m willing to trade a lifetime of being single for an invincible talent."

"The planner says he got the message and that he’ll arrange for you to get a talent that turns you into a support."

"Damn it."

Players who had their Awakening celebrated with each other, while those who were a little or a lot behind frantically consumed lemons, their faces brimming with envy and jealousy.

Although the talents hidden in their Gene Sequence were determined from the moment they "logged into the Game," and the planners had no way to change them, Chu Guang still felt genuinely happy for them.

At least ten had awakened in this battle.

Maybe even twenty!

They had taken a big step toward forming an Awakening unit.

Standing next to Changjiu Farm’s warehouse, Chu Guang gazed at the trucks loaded with supplies and the thriving young players, a proud paternal smile forming on his face.

The tender shoots in the field had grown taller again.

How wonderful.

...

Players who had logged off brought the front-line battle reports to the Forum, sharing their joy of victory with the logistics vocational players and the Backseat Drivers still in queue.

They also showed off a few "photographically enhanced" approved Game original drawings.

And Chu Guang, at last, received the battle report he had been waiting for all day.

The first was the highway entrance ambush, with 227 participating players against the four over-equipped hundred-man squads from under Lord Black Snake, including logistics transport and artillery teams, totaling 628 people.

Among the players, 17 were killed (including seriously injured), and 33 were wounded.

They killed 371 Looters, captured 257, and did not count those who escaped in the chaos, estimated to be only around 10 to 20.

The prisoners included one Centurion and two staff officers.

Chu Guang was slightly regretful that the Thousands of leaders, Black Snake, was killed while fleeing, and his young player failed to catch him alive.

But it didn’t matter, capturing a staff officer was just as good; anything they could get out of Black Snake’s mouth, they could get from his officers.

Anything beyond that, they probably didn’t know anyway.

Prisoners of value for interrogation were temporarily held in Changjiu Farm, while Luka dealt with those of no value.

Recently, he had planned a re-education camp near the North of Rhombus Lake to reclaim the wasteland north of the lake.

Although the camp was still an empty Open Space, Chu Guang would provide the prisoners with a dozen logging axes, letting them build their own cells.

Very humane.

Escape?

That’s a creative thought, worth giving a try.

Aside from the prisoners, there were also 488 Slaves liberated.

It’s said that there were originally 2,000 people, but by winter only half remained, and now there’s only these few left.

Most of them are of working age, many like the paper mill foreman Wu Mu, skilled in construction, forging, planting, husbandry, and even simple medical treatments, or possessing arithmetic and literacy among other singular talents.

The majority came from the central and northern parts of the River Valley Province, with some from other areas in the south—mostly those captured by the Looters during their raids on villages. One could say that they have suffered both mental and physical torment along the way.

Chu Guang planned to temporarily settle them in the Refugee Camp, to join the illiterate populace in literacy and numeracy classes, including geometry.

Only an educated workforce can become a quality workforce.

These people will become the foundation of industrialization.

Although this would put some pressure on food supply in the short term, in the long run, this investment was absolutely worthwhile.

Moreover, Chu Guang had just obtained a batch of food from the Looters, roughly estimated to be about 84 tons, half of which was potatoes, thirty percent rice, with the rest being other grains and legumes.

In addition, there were 21 tons of nutritional paste, likely used by the Looters to feed their slaves, which could now be used to feed the prisoners of war.

"...We have captured 25 trucks in total, and besides food, the supplies being transported also include a large amount of cotton products, raw cotton, and animal furs," reported Wrench.

"In terms of weapons, those Looters mainly used Army-issued weapons, including 610 ’Opener’ rifles, 50 Pu-9 submachine guns, 98 ’Blade’ assault rifles, along with a small number of iron pipe rifles and Centurion pistols."

"Regarding ammunition, their trucks were stocked with 60,000 rounds of 7mm bullets and a small selection of other calibers. 100 Iron Fist Rocket Launchers and 150 rounds of 100mm ammunition, among other things."

While giving his report, Wrench handed Chu Guang a list.

Other than weapons, food, and items for warmth, the list also included some other materials.

For example, gold.

For example, various kinds of alcohol.

These Looters not only inherited the equipment of the Army but also their penchant for gold and alcohol.

After quickly reviewing the entire list, Chu Guang had just one feeling.

These guys were really damn rich, so fat they were dripping with grease.

Just how much of the Expeditionary Army’s assets had this Chewing Bone Tribe inherited?

Though the equipment might be a bit less for arming a battalion, it was more than enough for an enhanced company or a battalion.

If every thousand team were this loaded...

Putting down the list in his hand, Chu Guang muttered to himself.

"Thanks to my brothers for delivering this express package from thousands of miles away. I’ll make good use of it."

Wrench was slightly taken aback.

Express package?

What was that?

However, this wasn’t the first time he’d heard words from Manager that he had never encountered before, so he wasn’t too surprised.

Wrench was well aware that in front of the Manager’s vast knowledge, like an ocean, what he understood was merely a droplet in the sea, so not understanding was normal.

"The Army rifles also use a 7mm caliber, but the cartridge length is different, they’re not interchangeable... what a shame for these 60,000 bullets."

Wrench nodded and said, "Indeed, but their Pu-9 submachine gun is a good piece, less powerful than our Short Scythe but much easier to handle."

The Short Scythe, or LD-47c, a short-barreled version of the Sickle Assault Rifle, is a "submachine gun with an automatic rifle body, firing full-power cartridges."

Compared to the Short Scythe, the Pu-9 submachine gun was mainly designed for close-quarter combat and trench sweeping with engagement distances within 50 meters and rarely at 100 meters.

At that distance, a small-caliber, high-rate-of-fire submachine gun indeed has certain advantages. Paired with extended magazines or drum magazines, it could even unleash firepower comparable to that of a machine gun in short bursts.

Chu Guang picked up a Pu-9 from the carriage, playing with it in his hands for a while, an interested expression surfaced in his eyes.

The weapon was light, weighing less than three kilograms.

Its design was somewhat reminiscent of the Thompson submachine gun, though only the slanted grip looked similar—the internal structure was distinctly different.

Chu Guang loaded a magazine into the gun and sprayed a burst into a nearby pile of snow.

The sound, similar to ripping fabric, was crisp and pleasant to the ear, although it felt like the power was slightly lacking.

"It’s quite effective against the common Eaters or Martyrs, a bit strained against Crawlers, and I doubt it could penetrate the defense of Tyrants."

"It’d do for Mutant Cockroaches, rats, Hyenas as well, high rate of fire can make up for lack of precision, and there’s no difficulty controlling it at close range, suitable for low-protection targets."

"However, using it to shoot roaches is unlikely to break even."

Chu Guang turned off the safety of the gun and put it back in the carriage, providing a fair assessment.

"It can be given to newcomers."

The newcomers mentioned here do not refer to newbies who just entered the game but players in the stage between levels 2 and 5.

The vast majority of them have already completed the "Pass the Torch" quest, mastered basic combat or survival skills, graduated from their mentors, and most have already reached Citizenship status, saving enough money to buy the "User Interface".

According to the economic system designed by Chu Guang for the players, players at this stage can complete the second equipment change in their lives within 3 to 7 days, switching from iron pipe rifles or crossbows to "modern weapons," and thus begin to experience the complete game content.

However, the LD series weapons designed for the needs of the current development environment of the shelter are in fact not suitable for newcomers.

Especially the Intelligence System—if the initial Intelligence attribute is 7, usually, Strength is only 3. Within the first ten levels, there is a chance to add a point to Strength, and Awakening adds another point; it’s typically not until level 10 that one can steadily have 5 points of Strength... which is the average level for a normal adult.

Without the help of an exoskeleton or mechanical prosthesis, operating the LD-47 assault rifle is still quite difficult.

For them, using other faction weapons designed for ordinary people as a transition is a good choice.

After checking the weapons, Chu Guang directly went to the last row of the convoy.

There was an armored pickup truck parked there.

It was the only one of the eight armored pickup trucks that was intact; the others were more or less damaged, needed some repairs before they could be used, or were simply blown up, beyond repair.

Chu Guang was very curious about this vehicle, especially its power source.

After opening the hood to check, Chu Guang then went to the side rear of the cart and found the fuel tank on the back of the cargo area.

The location of this thing was very cleverly hidden; the front was the cabin, the sides had armored steel plates, and there was also a protective cover on top to place the base for a fixed machine gun.

Unless you get around to the direct rear or shoot through the side armor, you basically can’t hit the fuel tank.

Chu Guang opened the fuel tank cap, stuck out his index finger to touch it, then brought it closer to his nose to smell.

The smell was light, not very volatile, and the oil was thick, somewhat resembling diesel.

"Diesel engine?"

The wrench was slightly startled.

"What is that..."

Chu Guang wiped his hands, casually said,

"Nothing much, just an old-fashioned oil-burning engine."

Relative to this world, fossil fuel engines indeed qualify as antiques.

Solid-state hydrogen batteries had already become widespread during the Prosperity Epoch for civilian use, and some special equipment even used metallic hydrogen batteries, completely leaving behind chemical energy, and directly using cold fusion.

No matter how advanced the technology, the limitations of fossil fuel engines are there, and with the continuous innovation of energy storage methods and energy technology, obsolescence was just a matter of time.

However, after the decline of civilization, many technologies that had been swept into the grave seemed to have been dug out again.

Looking at the wrench, Chu Guang continued to ask,

"Did you see any fuel on those trucks? They might be in barrels, just like the liquid in this fuel tank."

The wrench was slightly taken aback, thought carefully for a moment, and then nodded, saying,

"I think I’ve seen it, but I thought it was oil for making Molotov Cocktails, so I counted it under raw materials. It should be on the list I gave you before."

Chu Guang took out the list to take a look, and indeed, under the raw materials section, he found the item labeled [Combustion Agent].

These looters had quite a stockpile, iron drums with a capacity of 200L, a total of 10, and some were in smaller barrels of 5 liters.

This fuel supply might not be enough for an entire fleet, but it was sufficient for a few armored pickup trucks.

Chu Guang slightly furrowed his brow.

Food can be obtained through plundering, but maintaining a supply of fuel this way could be somewhat challenging.

After all, this place is the Wasteland.

Survivor settlements with industrial capabilities are definitely in the minority, and even if they do produce aliphatic hydrocarbon fuels, without a unified production standard, it’s difficult to match directly.

"The Chewing Bone Tribe is suspected of controlling an oil well, or other special fuel production facility, of uncertain production capacity and reserves."

"What’s certain is that this fuel contains aliphatics; it definitely can’t be cooking oil."

"Could it be oil crops?"

Oil isn’t just fuel; it’s also an important industrial material.

The main sources of organic chemical materials in Spring City are the Cam Trees planted by the various survivor settlements.

These trees produce fruits that can be pressed for oil, and the resin is premium quality rubber, commonplace in the central region of the Central Continent. The technology was born before the war.

Chu Guang silently noted down this information and after thinking for a moment, he looked towards Wrench and ordered,

"Take these fuels to Outpost Base."

It would still be best if Yin Fang could analyze the composition of this stuff to see if it was dug up from underground or produced from something else.

This guy used to be a Class D explorer for the Academy; he definitely understood the Wasteland better than Chu Guang, who had been in this world for less than a year, and certainly more than Heya, who had just emerged from a Sleep Cabin, and Boss Xia, who was incredibly superstitious of urban legends.

If Chu Guang could determine the composition and production methods of the fuel, it would help him have a more comprehensive grasp of the intelligence about the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Besides, it would certainly be more reliable than the information extracted from the mouths of the captives.

After all, most of those captives were illiterate and often embellished their testimonies with their own imaginations, resulting in bizarre information at times.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to be honest; they simply did not understand.

Chu Guang still remembered the devotee from the Torch Church who referred to the "collar" that could enslave the Claws of Death as a "miracle."

Wrench said earnestly,

"Alright, Lord, do you need it sent over now?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said,

"Tomorrow morning is better, just to be safe."

Having noted the Manager’s orders, Wrench was about to leave to supervise the guards unloading the cargo when he suddenly remembered something and added,

"By the way, Lord, besides that oil, there’s something else loaded on one of the trucks. We’ve studied it for a long time and still can’t figure out what it is. The captives couldn’t explain clearly either, only saying it belongs to Lord Black Snake."

Chu Guang’s heart stirred, and he immediately said,

"Take me to see it."

"Please follow me!"

Wrench quickly led Chu Guang to the back of the truck.

Two guards climbed onto the truck and carried a wooden box down.

Chu Guang opened the box and was momentarily stunned.

This thing...

Wasn’t it the same object hanging around the neck of the Claw of Death he kept in the shed at the West Gate??

Chu Guang immediately asked,

"How many of these are there?"

The guard replied,

"We counted, and there are a total of 37."

Chu Guang’s face lit up with joy.

37!

What a find.

It seemed the surgeon had been captured, and these Looters had no idea how to use these devices, so they just threw them in the truck.

An epic enhancement for the Intelligence System!

Unlike before,

this time, it might be a real boost!

-

(And to my brothers who have waited a long time, I apologize. It’s not that I didn’t want to update sooner, but I really couldn’t make it... I’ve been writing since 1 a.m., including planning, outlining, and drafting the main text. I need to catch up on some sleep and will continue writing when I wake up. I was supposed to write about the mission reward settlement, the heartfelt meeting with the captives, and the next plot point today... but my writing speed wasn’t up to it, and I only got halfway through.

I’m truly sorry! I’ll strive to maintain 10,000 words a day, but I have never tried such a long burst of writing before; it has always been about 4k. I’ll finalize it by the morning, if not by ten, then at least before noon. Please give me a little time and understanding... Love you guys.)