This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 256: Expedition to Red River Town!

Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Expedition to Red River Town!

At nine o’clock in the morning,

the commercial team set out on time.

Belching black smoke from their steep exhaust pipes, ten track-laden trucks loaded with ammunition roared to life and headed towards the eastern wasteland.

According to the plan, after leaving Changjiu Farm, the team would follow the provincial highway east, bypassing the desolate highway towns and battery factories, then veer towards the southeast. They would trace a V-shaped line on the map, skirting around the area controlled by the Chewing Bone Tribe, then head north to Red River Town after reaching Garbage City.

As the trucks were filled with cargo, people had to walk alongside them.

But actually, there was little difference.

Even if there were room on the trucks, no one wanted to sit.

Once off the provincial highway, heading further east, one couldn’t find a single intact road. Even with the good off-road capability of the tracks, the road itself was so uneven.

Furthermore, each of these trucks was laden with ammunition, so the drivers dared not drive too recklessly and crawled along in low gear.

Even though the ammunition was safe under normal circumstances, who could guarantee that every bump would be normal?

To avoid serious problems, one had to be extremely careful.

Besides the bumpy roads, the biggest threats were the beasts and snakes lurking in the forests and bogs.

Whether it was burly monsters or swiftly scuttling multilegged beasts, they could all pose a substantial threat to the caravan guards who relied primarily on light weapons.

In addition to these "dangerous species," there were basin-sized flies and mosquitos as long as an arm. These seemingly less combat-capable mutated creatures also could not be taken lightly.

Some flies, with red or green heads, had even evolved the ability to attack from a distance—spraying thumb-thick white insect eggs. These eggs usually carried a large number of germs, and while they might not cause severe direct harm, if they happened to hit a wound, at the very least it would result in an infected sore, and at worst, maggots would breed in the wound, which could easily be life-threatening if not treated promptly.

Only heaven knew how many dangers lay hidden in this wasteland.

"Once we get past that patch of snow up ahead, it’ll be a desolate wilderness," said Mole, picking up binoculars to look towards the southeast. "That place used to be a small town, but now the houses have mostly turned into concrete rubble, leaving only a half-collapsed opera house... Last time we encountered a Death Claw there, and there were bones on the ground, not sure if they were from Looters or mercenaries."

The snow was almost melted, leaving behind only a thin layer on the ground.

Many areas had turned into puddles altogether, and in the mud, a few clumps of tender green shoots had emerged.

Life on this planet was far more tenacious than people imagined.

"Will we encounter one?" asked Gnome King Riches eagerly.

"How could we? We’re here to make a delivery, not to hunt," Mole put down the binoculars. "We’ll be circumventing that area soon. Unless the beast seeks us out, which is unlikely."

The intellect of a Claw of death was considerably higher than that of monsters, and its instinct for danger was far stronger than that of common variants.

Unless one trespassed into its territory, a Claw of death rarely chose to take on a large group of humans.

It was highly likely that both parties would remain undisturbed.

It was also unlikely to encounter particularly dangerous carnivorous variants within a kilometer radius of a Claw of death’s nest.

Upon hearing that they would not encounter one, a few nearby players showed expressions of disappointment.

Elena said, "Speaking of which, I have yet to taste the flesh of a Death Claw... Of course, it’s not that I want to eat it, but I’m somewhat curious about the taste."

Debt Giant Eye chuckled, "A true wasteland delicacy connoisseur, just like Old Na!"

Elena retorted, "Get lost."

Debt Giant Eye looked up at the sky, observing the clouds, and sighed.

"A hundred kilometers... how long will that take."

Is there no portal or something like that?

Or even an auto-travel feature would be fine.

Mole checked the VM and glanced at the map, pondered for a moment, and said,

"If we don’t take a detour, we might get there in two or three days. With this roundabout, it’ll probably take five or six days."

The construction site youth and Brick protested, "Why don’t we just go straight through? I think it’s totally doable!"

Debt Giant Eye added, "+1, they’re just a bunch of losers anyway."

Glancing at the overconfident pair, Edge Shoveling couldn’t help commenting,

"Alright, we’re here to deliver goods, not heads."

Across from us are not just one thousand team, but three, totaling probably five or six thousand people. Even if there were five or six thousand chickens lined up, it would still take a while to kill them, let alone five or six thousand armed bandits.

These Looters had come killing their way here from the central part of the River Valley Province, and it’s unlikely there are no Centurions among them, let alone commanders from an Army. If they don’t show any flaws, it’ll still be difficult for the survivors of Red River Town to defend their territory.

A glint of excitement flashed through Edge Shoveling’s eyes.

A fight where the forces are evenly matched, huh?

Not bad.

It’s getting exciting!

Debt Giant Eye and the construction site youth and Brick exchanged glances, and their expressions suddenly became a bit peculiar.

"Are you panicking?"

"I wasn’t, but now I am a little."

"What if we die and have to go all the way back... then this trip would have been for nothing."

"Shit! Is it still possible to switch teams now?"

"Maybe... you could ask if Mole and his team are still looking for people?"

Edge Shoveling: "???"

...

Just past noon.

Less than four hours after the caravan had left for Red River Town, the one returning from Giant Stone City arrived at the south gate of Outpost Base.

Just back from a quest and seeing Wild Wind and Night Ten with bandages on, Quit smoking showed a look of surprise on his face.

"Damn, how did you two get injured?"

Old White smiled and said, "We were targeted by Looters on the way back, about twenty or so people, but it wasn’t a big deal."

Although Old White said it wasn’t a big deal, the expressions on the faces of the other NPCs in the caravan clearly weren’t as nonchalant as he described.

That leader named Qian Lai still had a look of lingering fear on his face.

And the guard beside him had acquired another set of colorful bruises; Quit smoking remembered that at departure, his arm was already bandaged, and now the other arm was wrapped up too.

Quit smoking had a curious look on his face: "Damn, those Looters could actually ambush you?"

Fang Chang explained,

"It wasn’t exactly an ambush. We noticed them early on, and they clearly knew about us too, following us all the way. We couldn’t move fast while escorting the goods, so we couldn’t shake them off. They probably couldn’t gauge our strength and didn’t dare get too close, waiting for a chance to strike from behind."

"We’d reached the edge of the fourth ring road when they probably felt that if they didn’t strike then, they would lose their chance. Finally, they couldn’t hold back any longer and took action, and then, we had a real fight with actual weapons in the back alley."

Quit Smoking said excitedly,

"Thrilling! How many did you take out?"

"About half, they ran after we fought off half," Old White smiled and tilted his chin up, gesturing toward the back of the group, "Look, we even captured two."

Next to a double-headed cow, two men wrapped in beast skins, looking despondent with their hands chained, were hanging from the cow.

Not far from another cow, hung the equipment they had seized. Aside from a few iron pipe rifles that even rookies wouldn’t use, there were surprisingly two assault rifles and a grenade launcher.

Two caravan guards stood by, keeping an eye on them.

Night Ten, swearing with bandages wrapped around his shoulder, said,

"Damn it, I suspect there are Looters in the slums! The moment I stepped out, I just had that feeling!"

Wild Wind said calmly,

"There’s no need to doubt. If I were a person from the slums, watching a bunch of fat merchants passing by every day, I would definitely think about skimming a little off them too."

Unlike Night Ten, he had been shot in the thigh, but the other side used steel-core bullets that went straight through his leg, so it wasn’t too big of a problem.

Fang Chang nodded in agreement with his two teammates’ speculation.

"Indeed, those Looters very likely came from the slums; I could even boldly guess that they had their eyes on us the moment we entered."

Where do all the Looters in Qingquan City come from?

They obviously don’t just jump out of stone crevices.

As the largest survivor settlement in the southern part of River Valley Province, Giant Stone City attracts populations from the entire province and even neighboring ones.

Not everyone can flood into the city; there isn’t enough space inside for so many people, nor are there enough jobs.

Most people can only set up a shack outside the city, doing jobs the city dwellers are unwilling to do; over time, this formed the slums.

The vast slums are breeding grounds for chaos and crime, not only producing mercenaries, cannon fodder, and scavengers, but also Looters.

It’s said that the gangs in the slums even have businesses that launder goods for Looters, and their black market always has some unusual items not commonly seen in the city. Keeping an eye on some seemingly easy targets, the ’fat sheep’, is naturally within their capabilities for those people.

Why doesn’t Giant Stone City manage this?

This question is very insightful, though a bit unworldly.

Looking at it from Giant Stone City’s perspective, the question could be reversed—

Why manage at all?

"Anyway, we made it back safely," Old White looked at Night Ten, "you and Wild Wind go back to the safe haven first to save your progress. He’s not too badly hurt, but you need to head to the medical bay for a minor surgery."

Cultivation chambers have the effect of accelerating recovery; for minor wounds with small incisions, even for the Intelligence System, lying down for a few hours would be enough for healing, which coincidentally is also the time to save progress.

As for serious but non-crippling injuries, usually, they only need a day or two in the chamber. If it’s over three days, most players choose to save progress first and then heal themselves up.

Getting shot once isn’t a big deal; just remove the bullet.

Initially, Old White planned to use alcohol to disinfect Night Ten’s wound and, imitating the NPCs, help remove the bullet.

Unfortunately, the bullet was lodged right below the shoulder joint.

Old White tried to pull it out with tweezers, but he couldn’t get it free and didn’t dare use too much force, for fear of turning a small problem into a big one, so he wrapped it up with bandages instead.

It’s no wonder the inexperienced NPCs were made to gawk by their actions.

But it’s not surprising.

One was there fumbling with tweezers over a wound, the other impatiently urging to hurry up, and key point, no anesthesia was used.

Such merciless behavior, even amongst Awakeners, would seem rather excessive. By now, several caravan guards were looking at the pair with a bit of admiration.

Night Ten nodded.

"Okay, so what about you and Fang Chang?"

Old White said with a smile,

"We still have to deliver the goods that everyone ordered. Later we need to head over to take care of some business with the Warehouse Manager."

Thanks to Teng Teng’s products selling like hotcakes in Giant Stone City, this trip was not in vain, and they made quite a profit.

After some discussion, instead of trading their earned two thousand chips for exoskeletons, they bought a used hydraulic crusher from the auction house.

This device could handle the rough materials of cement and was also able to break down concrete waste blocks. If they had ordered it from the factory, it would have cost at least five thousand chips, so getting it for two thousand chips was quite a steal.

Even though they had a Magnetic Confinement Plasma Cutting Machine Tool that could produce some precision instruments, inert gases used as cutting medium and the fusion batteries for power were not cheap, and the Outpost Base was still very short on heavy equipment.

Turning chips into commodities to sell back to other players was a one-time deal, at most making a profit from the margin, but bringing back production equipment meant a continuous stream of income!

Currently, the demand for building materials at the Outpost Base was skyrocketing, and what was the version answer was obvious.

The team from the Double Oxen Squad decided, after a brief discussion, to add a cement production line on top of their existing brick production line, also producing recycled cement bricks made from concrete rubble.

It’s said that the cement factory in Giant Stone City uses concrete slag, which is readily available in the Wasteland. Their technology for the reuse of construction waste materials had already been perfected through practice.

Next time they went to Giant Stone City, Old White planned to look for talents in the talent market, hoping to pick up someone skilled in cement aggregate recycling techniques to hire.

It’s said that the office now allowed recruitment on commission. You could apply through Luka or the Warehouse Manager, pay the wages in silver coins, and it was very convenient.

Besides their own purchases, there were also about two thousand chips belonging to other players. Some of the chips had already been exchanged for goods on their behalf, and some were left over.

Like the portion belonging to the wealthy lady Teng Teng.

This included a sewing machine weighing 220 kilograms with a built-in electric box and smart components, and 21 chips.

"Deliver to Vine Cottage?" Night Ten’s eyes lit up, and he chuckled, "Take me with you; I want to help out too."

"What help can you be?" Wild Wind rolled his eyes, "Look at yourself, your arm’s swollen like crazy."

Night Ten: "Damn it! It doesn’t matter in the Game; it doesn’t hurt anyway!"

While they were talking, Teng Teng had already arrived at the south gate.

Seeing the commercial team parked next to the unloading spot, she was about to inquire whether her ordered goods had arrived when she saw the bandages wrapped around Wild Wind and Night Ten and couldn’t help but ask in a low voice,

"Are you guys okay?"

Before Wild Wind could speak up, Night Ten started wailing,

"Wuwuwu, not okay at all. Got shot in the shoulder, hurts like hell."

Teng Teng: "Ah?! Then, you should hurry to the medical station..."

"Enough with the freaking acting," Old White rolled his eyes at Night Ten, and turning to a puzzled Teng Teng, he took out 21 chips from his pocket and handed them over, "Your stuff is on the back of a Double-headed Cow, weighing over 200 kilograms. You can’t carry it, so we’ll help deliver it later."

"Thank you! You’ve been a huge help!"

Teng Teng nodded gratefully but was too shy to accept the chips. Glancing at Wild Wind and Night Ten beside her, she whispered,

"The rest of the chips... I don’t need," she said. "Just consider them medical expenses."

"Take them."

Old White firmly pushed them into her hand, chuckling heartily as he said,

"Don’t listen to those two fussing, getting hurt in the Game doesn’t really hurt at all. Besides, it’s us who should be saying thanks. Without your masterpiece, we couldn’t have afforded that big device later on."

"But..."

"Our agreed upon reward has already been received, and it is as much as it should be," shook his head Old White, "We don’t do the disreputable thing of charging extra."

Hearing him say this, Teng Teng no longer insisted, whispered a thank you, and silently accepted the 21 chips.

However...

All the pretense was taken up by Old White alone, and Night Ten suddenly wasn’t happy.

"Damn! Who says it doesn’t hurt at all! There’s still a bit of sensation, you know?!"

Wild Wind added emotionlessly from behind,

"I object, it’s only Night Ten pretending to be in pain, I didn’t cry out."

Old White awkwardly smiled, scratching the back of his head,

"Ah, this... I didn’t pay much attention, mainly because Night Ten’s acting is so overdone. I’m too honest to watch him bully a young girl."

Night Ten: "Get lost! I think you just wanted to show off! Ptui!"

Wild Wind: "+1"

Old White: "???"

Teng Teng discreetly watched the three quarreling people, her cheeks turning slightly warm.

She always felt...

Like their relationship was very close.

So it seems!

Unaware of Teng Teng’s unnatural expression, Fang Chang saw her change into a set of light leather armor and curiously asked,

"Are you planning to go out?"

Hearing the voice from nearby, Teng Teng who had been lost in thought suddenly snapped back to reality and blushed as she nodded her head, saying shyly,

"Yes, I’m planning to take a look at Giant Stone City!"

"A mission?"

"Sort of, but mainly for market research!" Teng Teng’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she continued, "The cultural features and clothing styles of Giant Stone City are unlike any country in reality. Some things you just can’t see from photos alone—I want to see them with my own eyes!"

Fang Chang nodded in agreement,

"Indeed, there’s only so much you can include in a guide. Reading all the guides isn’t as good as playing it yourself... But how do you plan to get there?"

The road to Giant Stone City was not an easy one.

On their way back, besides facing Looters, they were also targeted by a group of potholing beasts hiding in the sewers.

It wasn’t life-threatening, but it was still a tough battle.

Before Teng Teng could answer, a nimble figure darted out from behind her.

"Mercenary Tail at your service!"

Dressed in a bulletproof vest and wearing a steel helmet, Si Si walked over from the side, pushing her helmet up to reveal her eyes.

"Wow! And Si Si!"

Seeing the two enthusiastic figures, Fang Chang was taken aback,

"Are you also going for market research?"

"Exactly! Tail wants to be a Mercenary!"

With that, Tail let out a world-weary sigh, shaking her head, "Damn it, it’s all because Ken is useless with his luck, all spent on the lottery! Failed to go to Red River Town, so annoying!"

Si Si glanced at her,

"But what if it’s because our presence lowered the team’s score?"

Tail immediately retorted,

"How could that be! Tail is also an Awakener, you know!"

Both of them had Awakened half a month ago.

After all, they had been in the Game for some time now and their development was moderate. Their strength was not weak, and with some effort, they could be considered T2 players.

However...

Fang Chang then looked towards the girl with the cat ears by their side.

She must be a new player, right?

"Are you as well?"

The cat ears on her head gently swayed, and the embarrassed Aoao Sesame Paste nodded a little,

"I, I haven’t Awakened yet... just a bit more."

"I’m not asking about that. Whether you’ve Awakened or not isn’t really key. What I mean is, are you planning to travel with them?" Fang Chang kindly reminded, "The road to Giant Stone City is quite dangerous, look at those two fools over there, they’re in their teens and still managed to get hurt."

Aoao Sesame Paste nodded vigorously,

"It’s okay! I, I’ve been on the Battlefield before!"

Although it was just logging off to report for everyone, it did play a key role!

At least, she was confident that she wouldn’t panic.

Seeing the determination in her eyes, Fang Chang smiled, nodded in approval, and said,

"That’s good! Full of spirit! Keep it up, girl!"

The Game, after all.

As long as it’s fun, no need to overthink.

Even if you die, it’s just a three-day OB on the Forum, no big deal, everyone goes through the newbie phase.

Besides, the Manager didn’t say newbies can’t do missions, right?

As long as you have the determination, anyone can contribute to the revival of the United Human.

"Wait a second, Teng Teng, are you sure it’s okay with only this many bodyguards?" Night Ten anxiously said, "Shall I go too? At least I can be a lookout."

Teng Teng repeatedly waved her hands to decline.

"No need, no need, there’s no need for all that trouble. You should just focus on healing. We have someone with Perception Type abilities in our team."

Just as Night Ten was about to ask who it was, that sharp voice with a hint of dullness came along with the strong clanging sound of steel colliding from nearby.

"Exactly!!"

Everyone turned to look in that direction and saw an "iron can" covered in steel plates taking meteoric strides towards them.

"Hmph, Perception Type level 12, Awakener Crow at your service! Look at this gear, who would dare say I only pick mushrooms! Hmm?"

The four members of the Bull Horse Squad were bewildered, and so were the caravan guards and watchmen not far away, stunned by her exaggerated appearance.

This breastplate armor...

Must weigh at least 300 kilograms, right?

Her tailgating eyes shone brightly.

"Wow! So impressive!! Si Si, we’ve won!"

Si Si froze for a moment, fell silent, then muttered to herself in a voice only she could hear.

"...Recycling VM is going to be a hassle."

Old White swallowed and asked cautiously,

"Is this... KV-1? Or Miner Type I?"

From the outside, it was completely indistinguishable!

"KV-1!" Standing proudly with her angular breastplate, Crow bragged, "Building this armor cost me quite a few silver coins! How about it, impressive, right?"

Old White had a subtly odd expression on his face and didn’t speak out.

Fang Chang cleared his throat and said,

"My blind guess is Mosquito, only that idiot would make this thing. Didn’t he warn you about... the energy issues?"

Crow blinked her eyes.

"Energy? What’s that?"

Fang Chang: "..."

Old White: "..."

Wild Wind: "..."

Night Ten anxiously said,

"The battery life! You’ve driven an electric car before, right? The battery life of a barebones KV-1 Exoskeleton is about one day, and you’ve directly added 300 kilograms of weight! Will your power last till the afternoon?"

Honestly, this turtle shell is even more of a holdout than the Manager’s previous suit!

Don’t these people bring their own mind when playing the Game?

Learning what from the NPCs?

"No problem! I’m fully charged!" Crow confidently declared, "A mere twenty kilometers, I can definitely make it!"

"I think you shouldn’t be too optimistic about that twenty kilometers," Fang Chang said tactfully, "Twenty kilometers is the straight-line distance, the actual distance can’t be calculated."

Old White nodded in agreement with this statement.

"Indeed, it’s not like you can fly there. Anyway, from here to Giant Stone City feels no shorter than to Far Creek Town, you’ll see for yourself."

"Ah?!" Crow was startled and her expression grew less confident as she whispered, "That far?"

"Yep," Old White silently nodded, "Which is why I didn’t wear an Exoskeleton."

Crow paused for a moment then anxiously said,

"So... what do I do?"

Old White: "If you’re Strength Type, wearing 300 kilograms of heavy armor and walking isn’t a problem since most of the weight is on the Exoskeleton. You just need to turn on the power when you need mobility. If you’re of other Types... I don’t know, but in any case, I don’t recommend it."

Tailgating looked at her, "How about Si Si wears it? She’s Body Constitution System!"

Si Si shot her a glance,

"I’m not wearing that kind of thing, no way."

Now, it was too late to change gear on the fly.

After they unloaded the pot-toting machine, the caravan at the door would set off again in no more than two hours.

However...

Crow didn’t give up.

Everyone agreed that seeking Boss Xia should be able to salvage the situation.

As Night Ten watched the group head towards the base, he couldn’t help but look at Old White.

"Can they make it?"

Old White was silent for a while, then shrugged his shoulders,

"I don’t know."

Night Ten hesitated and then said,

"Maybe... I should follow them?"

Wild Wind glanced at him,

"You’re not their dad, why are you fussing so much."

"But—"

Fang Chang patted Night Ten’s shoulder,

"Don’t worry too much. Three Awakeners, they’ll be fine."

Even if there’s a big problem, it’s only three days.

The unexpected touch on the bandaged shoulder made Night Ten shiver,

"Damn! Don’t just touch me willy-nilly, my arm is about to swell up!"

Old White rolled his eyes,

"Then why the hell don’t you go have surgery?"

"If you keep stalling and your arm ends up useless, we might have to patch you up next!"