This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 279: Second Awakening!

Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Second Awakening!

[[Worldwide Announcement: The Tide will end within seven days, and task rewards will be sent to player accounts within 24 hours...]]

The bell tower bathed in morning light, acted like a torch lit atop the ruins, incinerating the lair of the "mutated slime fungus."

This battle almost depleted all the ammunition reserves of Shelter No. 404.

Not to mention the 7mm bullets, nearly a thousand rounds of various 20mm armor-piercing, high-explosive, and incendiary shells were used, and 88mm mortar shells were fired relentlessly regardless of cost.

Chu Guang didn’t really mind though.

Out with the old, in with the new.

A huge fiscal deficit is certainly worrying, but the military industrial capacity of Shelter No. 404 had reached unprecedented heights, stimulated by "Void Silver coins."

Currently, with sufficient raw material supply, the daily production capacity for 7mm full-power bullets could reach up to 200,000 rounds, weighing nearly 5 tons.

With a large number of "light cavalry guns" being equipped, the No. 81 Steel Factory had achieved mass production of 20mm armor-piercing bullets, significantly reducing production costs and labor.

The two managers of No. 81 Steel Factory are currently researching mass production improvements for the more complex high-explosive and incendiary shells, and it is believed that results will not take long.

Once war breaks out, this will be Shelter No. 404’s greatest reliance!

After the battle ended.

NPCs in protective gear went to the battlefield to recover bodies, while the task of guarding and clearing remaining Variants was handed over to the guards, and players gradually left the front lines.

Clones needed to rest.

Many players had fought all night, sustaining only on surging adrenaline withstanding the [Fatigue debuff], and as the emotional high wore off, many started yawning.

Injured players returned to the shelter, while uninjured players found a nearby save point (Sleep Cabin) to log off.

As for players who died or were mortally wounded, they had logged off much earlier.

At this moment, every section of the official website was bustling.

Tail: "Damn... Why did I get assigned to Company C, I didn’t even see what the BOSS looked like! (ó﹏ò｡)"

Troop formations were randomly assigned.

To ensure that each wave had sufficient combat power, Chu Guang had Xiao Qi allocate players so that, aside from Company A, which had the highest proportion of Awakeners as the vanguard, the proportion of Awakeners in other companies was the same.

Of course.

The players couldn’t possibly know this.

In the eyes of the vast majority, not being assigned to the most thrilling and dangerous front lines was simply bad luck.

Si Si: "It’s the participation that counts, we even killed three Tyrants, that’s pretty good. (Pat pat)"

WC True Mosquito: "Tyrants are just trivial, I scored two BOSS kills and one first worldwide announcement kill! Hahahaha! So thrilling!"

I Max Black: "MMP! Are you proud of stealing kills?! I was about to go A!"

Makabazi: "Exactly! Too much! I can’t watch this!"

Talk Less Bullshit: "Be a decent person!"

WC True Mosquito: "Doesn’t matter! A steal is a win! (smirk)"

Mosquito, unsurprisingly, snagged the MVP of the entire battle.

Those two hundred-kilogram air-dropped bombs obliterated the Tide’s Node Creature, directly turning the tide of battle!

But that second BOSS, there was indeed a hint of kill-stealing...

There really was no need to crash into it, hence complaints from frontline players.

But would Mosquito care?

Obviously not.

His own plane, he’ll crash it if he wants to.

Not to mention, he was already used to it.

Spring Water Commander: "Honestly, I’ve been thinking, does your plane even have landing gear?"

WC True Mosquito: "How could it not! How else could I have slid down from upstairs? If I hung a bomb beneath, it would’ve scraped right onto the ground! But then I realized it’s pointless, there’s no airspeed valve or gyroscope, and it’s pitch black down there. Forget not having a runway, even with a runway, I couldn’t land, so I thought might as well just crash."

Ward Foot Gas Who Levin: "No offense, but that 7mm peashooter is too weak; why not just use a 20mm cannon? Don’t you enjoy the rattling and booming?"

Aye, I Need To Use The Bathroom: "Exactly! Have you considered a 37mm gun? We’ll help you modify it! (funny)"

WC True Mosquito: "Roll on, none of your business! I can make a cannon myself!"

Ward Foot Gas Who Levin: "You can make one? I’m dying of laughter."

Aye, I Need To Use The Bathroom: "Exactly! You must be joking!"

WC True Mosquito: "@￥#%!"

Getting a plane airborne is too easy; fast enough and just tilt the nose, it’ll go up, and if not, then it won’t.

But bringing a high-speed flying plane down is so much harder!

Speed, altitude, angle, and a flat runway, missing any one is a no go, and this wooden plane didn’t even have a dashboard.

However, for Mosquito, this less-than-perfect flying experience wasn’t entirely a bad thing. Although he crashed a plane, it provided him with invaluable experimental data and flying experience.

Next time, he was confident he could do better.

As for the cost?

Offline for three days only.

No big deal!

The post quickly went off-topic, turning into a verbal battleground between Iron Factory No. 81 and Goblin Technology.

With comments like "The 88mm barrel, that’s still my handiwork" and "Only wimps play with a 20mm tiny tube, real men use large-caliber rockets," the bragging got more and more outrageous.

But oddly enough, their arguments were well-founded and thoroughly backed up.

Most people couldn’t get a word in edgewise on such topics, so they flocked to other threads. However, Mosquito and the two factory heads, relying solely on their own power, managed to hype up the derailed post to the hot list.

Later, some tech-savvy Backseat Drivers came in to spectate, adding their comments here and there, making the post even more intense.

In a typical forum, the manager would have intervened to keep things calm by now.

But this forum had no such rules.

Thousands of comments piled up without anyone calling a halt, continuing to build layer upon layer until the two major factories ceased fire, yet the thread kept growing.

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Yeah, having strong connections is awesome, you can talk about anything no problem."

Outlaw Maniac Ghegwa: "It’s not about being strong or not, this forum’s server is a bit dodgy. A tech-savvy buddy of mine spontaneously decided to try and hack into the server for a look, and couldn’t even find the door."

Jiawen IV Nidamu: "Even weirder, any complaints related to this website, whether through external or internal channels, vanish without a trace. Even if the staff are too lazy to deal, they’d at least put up a blacklist, right? This site not being blacklisted, I reckon there’s definitely someone high up backing it."

Grandpa Ao: "Hehe, keep dreaming! It’s just a small-time betting site, at most it’s under the jurisdiction of the public security squad, you think the leaders have nothing better to do than come here and shoot the breeze with you? The idea that someone up top is involved is hilarious."

Whether there were people up top or not wasn’t something ordinary players could know.

Perhaps there had always been, or perhaps not, or maybe the "100% real Virtual Reality Game" itself was a test field for some mysterious research institution?

Otherwise, it couldn’t be explained why the game was filled with domestic players, with players not facing any language barriers among themselves.

Of course, only players who got beta test privileges and those who filled out reservation forms would consider this aspect; but for those purely here for fun and trollish netizens, the biggest debate was whether such a game even existed.

To say it didn’t exist, yet the promotional PV was well-made.

To say it existed, it wouldn’t still be a mere urban legend circulating in gaming circles, with less discussion than some universe famous for ruthlessly harvesting gamers.

Every time this topic came up, it sparked fiery arguments, kindling frustrations that the world couldn’t be as one imagined.

Just as the thread became more skewed, an official announcement suddenly updated at the top of the forum, pushing through all sections.

It was a game PV, posted by Xiao Qi.

Although it lasted only three minutes, it condensed all the thrilling moments of last night’s "Tide Battle," capturing every scene from sky to land, without a single dull moment!

Each shot, undeniably, was a piece of art!

Each frame was cinematographic!

Though the gory parts were slightly adjusted technically, it didn’t affect the viewers’ enjoyment. Whether it was the particle effects of each dust grain or the sharp lines of the blue power armor, everything was so realistic it was beyond criticism.

Many netizens even exclaimed,

If you turn off the filter, it’s just like real life!

And this time, Lord Arrogant Brother, exceptionally, posted his second thread of the day within an hour after being metaphorically slapped in the face.

"Hehe, keep dreaming..."

"If that’s really the game graphics, I’ll live-stream myself eating crap!"

Whether or not it was actual game footage had become irrelevant.

The tense and exciting battlefield, coupled with soul-stirring BGM, heated the blood of not just the Backseat Drivers watching but also the real players who had just logged off, who couldn’t wait to dive back in.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Awesome! I made it on TV again! Hahaha!"

Elena: "And this time I wasn’t playing a corpse. (Slippery)"

Spring Water Commander: "Good thing I had my gear on! (Gritted teeth)"

Crow: "Hey, why was the video posted by Xiao Qi today? Wasn’t it always Ah Guang before?"

Tail: "I’ll tag her for you! Qi"

Usually, this planner named Xiao Qi didn’t interact with netizens on the forum, and even Tail didn’t really expect her to respond.

Yet, at that moment, something unexpected happened.

Xiao Qi: "Ah Guang, well, he’s asleep. o(*////▽////*)q"

Crow: "???"

Tail: "?"

Night Ten: "What the heck?! Isn’t Ah Guang a lonely single? (Shocked)"

Fang Chang: "Be careful of that playboy, he never even announced it officially on social media, remember to check his mobile phone to see if it’s set to private visibility. (Sneaky smile)"

Xiao Qi: "Hehe, don’t talk nonsense, we’re not what you think.ヾﾞ(@≥◡≤@)ﾉﾞ"

Teng Teng: "So what’s your relationship with him? Do you know each other in reality? Have you met his parents yet? (curious)"

Xiao Qi: "He’s my master. o(*////▽////*)q"

The post was quiet for a while.

Although it only lasted a short second.

Teng Teng: "Anyway, better call 110 first."

Xiao Qi: "QAQ?"

Players could take off their helmets and get out of bed, but Chu Guang didn’t have such a gadget. After staying awake for more than twenty hours, he fell asleep on the bed as soon as he got back to Shelter No. 404.

When he woke up, it was already night.

"...Has my schedule flipped again?"

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Chu Guang, slowly sitting up from the bed, mumbled to himself and glanced at the pool of liquid beneath the bed.

Metabolism acceleration caused heavy sweating, and this time there was significantly more sweat than before, making him feel slightly dehydrated.

With a sense of strength filling his entire body and his mind and vision clearer than ever, Chu Guang even dimly saw a fingerprint sticking on the doorknob.

No surprise at all.

He had leveled up again!

"Previous development progress was 19%."

"...So now should it be 20%?"

Second Awakening!

Chu Guang felt a surge of joy.

Although he was eager to get a medical checkup right away, the sudden increase in bodily functions brought an uncoordinated feeling, forcing him to not rush out of bed immediately.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, he gently moved his fingers and limbs, adapting to the changes happening to his body.

Not to brag.

Now, he even had the confidence that he could dodge a bullet fired directly at him just by relying on his intuition, reflexes, and strength!

Of course.

Such things are better known to oneself, there’s no need to go out of the way to try it...

Standing in the elevator, Chu Guang had planned to take a shower first and then go see Heya for a checkup, but just then, a thought struck him.

"Speaking of which... did the mission to unlock Floor B4 get completed?"

Thinking of this, Chu Guang couldn’t keep calm anymore.

Last time when unlocking Floor B3, he had retrieved two Black Boxes from the warehouse, solving the problems of players’ save issues and insufficient Attribute Panels.

This time he had staved off the Tide, unlocked Floor B4, surely it wouldn’t be too much to expect a Black Box that could print power armor?

Besides the Cultivation chamber and the Black Box, there must be other goodies!

However, just as an excited Chu Guang reached out to touch the elevator’s touchscreen, a pale blue floating window appeared before him.

[Remaining unlocking time: 6 days 12 hours 13 minutes 6 seconds]

Seeing these words, Chu Guang almost choked with frustration.

Damn it!

Hadn’t the Tide already been repelled?

And the mission was completed, wasn’t it?

Did they really need to wait until the spore density outside returned to normal to open the door?

Worrying was futile, Chu Guang took a deep breath and pressed the button for Floor B3.

Anyway.

First, figure out the changes in his own body.

...

Medical laboratory.

Heya, coming out from the adjacent analysis room, handed a tablet full of data to Chu Guang, who was sitting on the scanning bed.

"...It’s hard to believe, the changes occurring in your body are becoming more and more astonishing. Are you sure you haven’t used any drugs or other technological means?"

Chu Guang, taking the tablet, glanced at it briefly before switching to the more concise and intuitive Attribute Panel.

"No, by the way, would this be considered a Second Awakening?"

Heya raised her eyebrows, curiously asking.

"Second Awakening? Is that some kind of professional term? Has anyone conducted similar research?"

Chu Guang casually said: "No, it’s just a term conventionally used by Waste Land Wanderers for this phenomenon... I heard it from someone else."

As for whether anyone has researched it, only those who have researched it would know.

There are no academic forums in the Wasteland, where the gap in knowledge and cognition is even wider than the wealth gap. Even in modern society, not everyone can clearly tell the difference between selective gene expression and DNA mutation, let alone the illiterate inhabitants of the Wasteland.

But maybe the Academy would know something about this phenomenon?

However, the Wandering Swamp is too far from here.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2) → Manager (Stage 3)

Level: LV.19 → LV.20

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 18 → 23

Agility: 13 → 18

Constitution: 16 → 21

Perception: 14 → 19

Intelligence: 15 → 20

]

[-

Talent: 1. Wild Instinct: In extreme conditions, Wild Instinct can be activated, increasing all attributes by 10~15% while fatigue accumulation rate increases by 20~30%.

2. Mind Intimidation: Can exert mental pressure on fully sentient life forms weaker than oneself, weakening their resistance.

3. Swarm Mentality: Able to share 3~15% of the Intelligence attribute with fully sentient life forms weaker than oneself, enhancing their inspiration and thought speed. This effect is influenced by distance, number of people, acceptance, etc., with a maximum range of 10m.

]

After reviewing the attribute panel from top to bottom, a look of surprise crossed Chu Guang’s face.

Damn.

An increase of five points in all attributes!

No wonder he felt like Superman when he woke up today.

But what is this last skill?

Does it enlighten people’s minds?

With his current Intelligence attribute at 20, the maximum of 15% is only a 3-point increase, but for a normal person with a base intelligence of just five points, isn’t that essentially a 60% increase in neural activation?

And if used on a group, that’s a guaranteed boost of 0.6 points!

This talent is really Niubi!

But...

How exactly does this work?

While Chu Guang got lost in thoughts, Heya pondered briefly before suddenly speaking.

"The research on the Lair still needs some time, but regarding the evolutionary bodies... I’ve discovered something quite unusual."

Evolutionary bodies are what the Waste Land Wanderers call Node Creatures.

Although few know what role they play in the Tide, most people can tell that they are distinctly different from the common Variants like Eaters, Crawlers, or even Tyrants.

Whether it’s their manner of fighting or their dominance over lesser beings.

They are like the bizarre species in a "Mutated slime fungus."

Chu Guang looked up at Heya and asked curiously,

"What have you found?"

"By comparing samples retrieved from the Decaying Knights, the Queen, discarded Tanks, and Trucks, I’ve discovered some peculiar DNA fragments in some of their cells..."

Heya moved next to Chu Guang and swiped her index finger lightly across the tablet, quickly switching the screen from the attribute panel to another research report.

"Look familiar?"

Chu Guang noticed the picture in the report, showing two long strains of unfolding DNA, next to which another image depicted structures resembling synapses.

As for those numbers and symbols.

He could be certain.

It was his first time encountering them.

"Just tell me the conclusion."

Heya seemed unsurprised by Chu Guang’s request.

"It’s still too premature to conclude, but all clues seem to point to one thing."

"Those ’evolutionary bodies’ are likely transformed humans!"