This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 297: Past, Present, Future

Chapter 297: Chapter 297: Past, Present, Future

"Prepare for battle!"

As the words fell, the five members of the squad spread out to cover near the surrounding shelters in perfect unison.

Old White charged into a building by the street, kicking open a half-closed door, and placed the rectangular box filled with fuel rods in a safe spot. Then, he loaded his Sickle Assault Rifle and quickly moved to the window.

The movements were fluid and completed in one go.

"Position reached!"

"+1"

"I’m ready too!"

They had practiced such coordination countless times, spreading evenly around the buildings based on the green dots on the VM map, controlling all possible approaches.

Almost no blind spots!

The crew of the Niu Ma Squad nervously awaited the start of the battle.

However, as time passed, the street remained silent.

Still not a sound.

Quit smoking, who stood at the front line with Old White, held his breath and cautiously observed the surroundings.

But besides the gently swaying vines by the windows and the leaves rustling in the breeze, there was no visible movement in the entire street.

Could it be an illusion?

Just as this thought surfaced in their minds, a whizzing sound came from above.

Before anyone could react, something exploded over their heads.

Boom—

Night Ten, hiding behind a half-collapsed concrete wall, was stunned.

"Damn it?! A mortar!"

In fact, mortars were very inefficient in urban combat; the blast from the surrounding cover would severely limit the shrapnel’s range.

But as if oblivious to this fact, another three shells were fired at them.

Each of these shells exploded midair, all about twenty meters away from them!

"And they’re airburst shells..." Wild Wind frowned, glanced at the VM screen’s signal, then quickly scoped the outside from the window, squinting slightly.

Tiny fibers gently floated down from the air, like the fluff on a dandelion.

That was the culprit for signal jamming!

"It’s signal-jamming shells!"

Night Ten’s curses came from afar.

"Damn it! No wonder the drone isn’t responding!"

The latest "Type Five" Light Cavalry Exoskeleton at the NPC shop didn’t just come with a helmet visor, it also included a palm-sized mini drone mounted on the shoulder for close-range reconnaissance, which could share the view on one’s own or teammates’ helmet visors.

But now.

The drone was rendered meaningless.

Not just Night Ten’s drone, but Wild Wind’s "Y-1 Firefly" quadcopter was also useless.

Old White turned on the speaker in his helmet and shouted.

"Night Ten, find a high ground to spot and take out the observer! Quit Smoking, follow me; we’ll find a way to take out their mortar!"

The advantage of not understanding each other’s language completely manifested at this moment; they couldn’t understand the NPCs, and the NPCs couldn’t understand their communication.

"Roger that!"

Quit Smoking was about to get up, but just then, long tongues of flame shot out from a window directly across the street, and bullets rained down like a storm.

Debris exploded off the concrete slope, frightening Quit Smoking, who quickly ducked back behind cover and crouched down amidst the chaotic gunfire.

Seeing his teammate suppressed by fire, Old White immediately raised his rifle and sprayed bullets toward that very window to cover his teammate’s movement.

At the same time, intense gunfire also came from the other side of the street.

That was where Wild Wind and Fang Chang were!

Old White’s brows furrowed tightly.

These people’s combat training was not that of a ragtag team!

At least—

Much more disciplined than those Looters!

"Fire at will!"

Shouting loudly, Old White emptied the last of his magazine into the windows across the street, and after reloading, he began to move out from cover.

The enemy’s mortars continued to fire, and soon the area would be completely isolated from the outside world. Night Ten was moving towards a higher position; areas above the twentieth floor should be able to restore communication with the shelter.

Meanwhile, Fang Chang and Wild Wind had engaged the enemy.

A four-man squad approached from their flank, running squarely into them; the glittering muzzle flashes moved through the narrow alleyway, filling the entire street with flying debris.

There was no exchange of words.

Amongst the silence, fierce gunfire erupted.

Shot twice in the chest, fortunately blocked by the bulletproof plate, Fang Chang, gritting his teeth, released his emptied PU-9 Submachine Gun, took hold of the Dawn Composite Bow, and his pupils suddenly narrowed.

Bullet time!

The swirling dust around him suddenly slowed down.

Along with the whole world.

Including himself!

Locking onto a figure in the smoke, he drew the bowstring as fast as he could, and his fingers released.

The bowstring vibrated at a frequency visible to the naked eye, and the powerfully launched three-edged arrow zipped lightning-fast into the smoke.

Simultaneously, bullet time was over!

Whoosh—

The dark silhouette’s chest collided squarely with the arrow released by Fang Chang, letting out a muffled groan before collapsing backward onto the ground.

Seeing the pitch-black armor on the person, surprise flickered in Fang Chang’s eyes.

Just who were these people?!

...

Dimitri, who dragged his fallen comrade behind cover, holding an assault rifle in his hand, was also filled with surprise.

It wasn’t the identities of these people that surprised him—they knew exactly who their targets were. What amazed him was that their equipment and combat awareness far exceeded their expectations.

Pre-war police exoskeletons!

Where did they get these things from!?

But no matter who they were, they weren’t escaping from here today!

"The left lung has been pierced! Raven can’t hold on much longer!" the medic shouted loudly.

"Hemostatic spray! Quick! Get that wound treated first!"

"These barbarians... they’re using bows and arrows?!" A soldier had barely finished speaking when a hail of submachine gun bullets whizzed past his head, causing him to quickly take cover again.

"Don’t underestimate them!" Dimitri shouted, "There’s something odd about that bow!"

Helmet-assisted aiming?

Or an electronic eye?

That reaction speed was just too fast!

Especially since these people had actually anticipated their ambush beforehand, which caught him completely off guard.

Their exoskeletons were capable of shielding heartbeats and 90% of thermal emissions. Even an Awakener from the Intuition wouldn’t be able to detect them from such a great distance, right?!

Dimitri pulled a fragmentation grenade from his waist, but before he could even pull the pin, a whizzing sound followed by an explosion burst overhead almost simultaneously.

Hundreds of steel balls burst from the arrow, sweeping across a cylindrical area and catching those hidden behind cover completely by surprise.

It was lucky that their exoskeletons protected them from the shower of shrapnel, otherwise that single arrow would have been enough to cause significant casualties.

Dimitri did not dare to take their situation lightly. He clenched his fist tightly and signaled to the two combat-ready teammates to spread out to the ruins on both sides, bypassing the enemy’s intensive fire zone.

At the same time as this group was deeply shaken, Fang Chang, the one who had shot the arrow, also had a face full of surprise.

He took one of his explosive arrows and wasn’t affected?

Well then.

Here comes another!

Without hesitation, he drew another explosive arrow, worth 50 silver coins, placing it upon the bowstring. Fang Chang was ready to draw back and shoot when Wild Wind tapped his shoulder.

"They’re encircling us!"

Fang Chang’s expression changed subtly, and he made a split-second decision.

"Retreat!"

...

Shelter No. 404’s B4 floor viewing room.

The digital screen on the wall simulated the flames of a fireplace, emitting comforting crackling sounds.

The ambience here was indeed nice.

The only downside was that it made it easy to forget the difference between day and night.

Chu Guang did not go outside for inspection today, but instead sat on the soft sofa, flipping through a scientific popularization book taken from the bookshelf.

The book was titled "Past, Present, Future."

Though most of the content was only superficially narrated, it still broadened Chu Guang’s horizons.

"As early as the 20th year of the Prosperity Epoch, the Research Ships of the Human Alliance had finished exploring all the planets in the Solar System and initiated the South Gate Two exploration project."

"By the 30th year of the Prosperity Epoch, the South Gate Two exploration project had been preliminarily completed, and the Human Alliance’s first Colony Ship successfully set sail..."

"South Gate Two is 4.24 light-years from Earth, isn’t it?"

"Is this mastering superluminal travel?"

Chu Guang’s face looked strange as he paused on a line in the book.

"... Gravity Link?"

According to the description in the book, during the Era of Prosperity, physicists of the Human Alliance discovered a "Gravity Link" between two massive celestial bodies.

Aerospace engineers referred to it as a "gravity corridor."

Though in the classical mode of motion, spacecraft would require hundreds or even thousands of years to travel from the Solar System to other star systems, but by using the gravity corridor, a spacecraft could ’jump’ between two massive star systems in a relatively short time.

Generally speaking, the time taken for a jump was directly proportional to the mass of the spacecraft and the distance between celestial bodies and inversely proportional to the mass of the celestial bodies, with a specific formula facilitating calculations.

According to this formula, jumping from the Solar System to the South Gate Two System would be faster than jumping between Earth and Mars.

Yes, there were many gravity corridors.

They could exist between star systems, between planets within a star system, and even between star clusters. However, due to the issue of jump points, nearly 99.99% of these corridors were impractical despite their existence.

Fortunately, the physicists of the Human Alliance resolved this issue. They not only calculated the method to determine the route of a gravity corridor but also derived a formula to calculate jump points, making "hyperspace travel" using gravity corridors achievable for human civilization.

This discovery also laid the foundation for the continuing Prosperity Epoch.

Controlled fusion resolved the energy problem, and the discovery of gravity corridors made colonization beyond the Solar System possible, simultaneously addressing issues of material and living space.

Human civilization thus reached its first "ascension," taking the inaugural step from being interstellar natives towards becoming masters of the cosmic ocean.

To be honest, this popular science book makes this segment read like a thrilling novel.

Perhaps considering that the audience is children, that colony ship heading to South Gate Two is practically depicted as a paradise on Earth.

As for now...

It’s more like the aftermath of a failed tribulation.

Not only is the power utterly dissipated, but the Human Alliance has been completely eradicated as well.

Chu Guang now somewhat understands how Yin Fang must have felt.

The more he learned, the more dejected he felt.

"Damn..."

"If only I had traveled back a hundred years earlier!"

When you don’t know, you ask—Is it too late for fake alcohol now?

According to the book "The Past, The Present, The Future," if one traveled back to the early or even mid Era of Prosperity, barring an attempt at "time travel" or "wanting a peek into the future" in a sleep cabin and courting death, one might never witness the collapse of the flourishing world.

Chu Guang flipped to the next page.

Regrettably, this popular science book does not delve into the "Gravity Link" in detail, just as most popular science books on parallel worlds would not paste the complete derivation of relativity; rather, they broadly summarize it as "seeking shortcuts through hyperspace."

Chu Guang had some understanding of hyperspace, literally meaning a multidimensional space.

And this was the most surprising aspect for him.

In "modern physics," force is usually explained as the collision process between the particles that make up matter and the particles that transmit force. Within this framework, the four fundamental forces, aside from gravity, can be consistently explained and calculated and are compatible with experimental results.

This is known as the "Standard Model."

And it is the cornerstone of modern physics.

Yet this model is not perfect, just as Newton’s classical mechanics cannot explain the motion laws of massive celestial bodies, this model also has its temporal limitations—it cannot perfectly accommodate gravity.

Hence, "string theory" was proposed. Within this conjectured theoretical framework, the three fundamental forces are explained as open strings, while gravity is explained as a closed string.

Based on this assumption, gravity could traverse all dimensions.

Could the physics of the two worlds be connected?

Though it’s only a conclusion from two sets of theories.

Staring at the lines of description in his hands, Chu Guang suddenly thought of those recordings he unlocked on Floor B2, particularly the sections about the Morphogenesis Field.

"...If star clusters can have Gravity Links between them, could there be similar links between universes?"

Chu Guang was unsure of the mass of the universe; it was like oil reserves, which seemed to "increase with better exploration technology."

But assuming that the mass and the distance between two universes were both infinite, Chu Guang tried plugging them into that simplified formula mentioned in the popular science book and deduced that the mass of a spacecraft ’m’ was infinitesimal.

In other words, according to the "Gravity Link" theory, even if such a link existed between two parallel worlds, it would not allow even a single quark to pass through.

But what about particles with "zero rest mass"?

Like photons.

The transmission of information requires a medium, and the exchange of carriers means that the transmission of information becomes possible. As to what this medium is specifically, probably only physicists from the Human Alliance Era could answer.

"The Morphogenesis Field connecting parallel worlds might just be based on a similar theory."

"But how are parallel worlds located, anyway?"

Chu Guang gently closed his eyes, digesting the knowledge he had just absorbed.

The 20 points in intelligence were slightly helpful.

If he weren’t a Manager, perhaps he could have become a world-renowned physicist on the Earth of a parallel world.

At the very least, the content of this book alone, if he were to update it to the official data bank, could be enough to shake up the physics community of the parallel world.

He might even nab a Nobel Prize.

But that’s an ideal situation.

The Earth of the parallel world does not have the capacity to verify these theories, and the superficial descriptions in the popular science book are insufficient as rigorous scientific conclusions; they could at most serve as a "correct direction."

As for himself, he’d likely be seen as a "high civilization" messenger, and this popular science book would likely be seen as evidence of "high civilization’s benign enlightenment of Earth civilization."

Then came the question.

How much should this book sell for in silver coins?

Thinking of Brother Wild Wind from the server, a smile couldn’t help but curl the corners of Chu Guang’s mouth.

"Keep on upgrading."

"When you guys help me revive the United Human, I’ll give you the title of Earth’s chief physical scientist to enjoy, and maybe throw in a couple of Nobel Prizes, how about that?"

Of course.

If you can’t bear it, don’t blame your brother.

Just as Chu Guang was smirking and turning another page, Xiao Qi’s voice suddenly came from the side.

"Master."

"What’s up?"

"Your Burning Corps’ signal has disappeared from the map."

What the fuck?!

Startled, Chu Guang quickly closed the book he was holding and tossed it aside, picking up the tablet on the desk without a word and opening the map.

Five green dots had vanished from the East District of Qingquan City.

"System!"

A pale blue window appeared before him, and Chu Guang instantly switched to the player list. Seeing a few players’ online icons, he slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

It was just the radio communication that had been cut off, not the Morphogenesis Field!

The clones were still alive!

It must be some kind of signal interference device that had blocked their signals.

Although there was a possibility of an accident, the safety of the fuel rods was vital to whether Shelter No. 401 could be operated, and no accidents could be allowed to occur.

It took only a second to make a decision; Chu Guang tapped his index finger lightly on the tablet, sending out the "pre-edited" task commands.

"Let Mosquito’s plane go take a look!"

Xiao Qi’s voice came, full of vigor.

"Okay!"

At the same time, on the runway north of the City of Dawn, a wooden plane with its propellers turning slowly taxied out of the hangar door.

Mosquito, who had just been teaching a few apprentices how to operate a glider a minute ago, jumped into his own cockpit without a word and buckled his flight cap made of dog skin on his head.

The two machine guns on the plane had been upgraded from 7mm small pipes to the 10mm Maxim-II, turning the entire wooden glider from a reconnaissance aircraft into a ground attack aircraft.

Mosquito painted shark’s teeth on the nose of the plane with paint, making the entire nose look like a shark with its gaping maw wide open.

Although the paint job didn’t add to its combat effectiveness, it sure looked cool.

See who would dare to say again that he scrapes the ground like a pissing dog!

"You guys keep practicing! Just don’t take them into the sky, anything else goes!"

The four training aircraft weren’t equipped with weapons, so it would be useless even if they went up.

However, as soon as they heard that, the four apprentices immediately showed their displeasure.

Soul Chaser: "Fuck!"

Soul Chaser: "You’re hogging it all for yourself again!"

Kill God: "Get down and let me fly!"

Discourage: "%￥#@!"

"Buzz off, you think you can do a real mission? Go get a license in real life first!"

Soul Chaser: "Do you even have a license?!"

Mosquito didn’t bother to reply. He just smirked, pushed the throttle to the bottom, the moment it hit takeoff speed, he pulled the control stick and also lowered the wind goggles of his helmet.

The mission was simple.

Patrol the East District of Qingquan City at low altitude and search for Old White’s signal.

If an accident was discovered, provide support.

If safety was confirmed, scout out their advance direction before the energy runs out.

Intuition told Mosquito that when such missions pop up, you can usually ignore the second scenario. No need to think about it; it’s almost certainly the real deal!

The entire squad had vanished from the map.

The enemy forces were likely formidable!

Blood surged through his veins. Although they were still more than ten kilometers away, Mosquito’s index finger already touched the safety switch of the fire button.

"My brothers!"

"Wait for me!"

...

East District of Qingquan City.

Gunshots crackled like firecrackers.

Leaving Quit smoking behind to pin down the machine gun on the opposite side, Old White planned to first take out that annoying mortar.

But only after reaching the position did he realize that things were far from as simple as he had thought.

He saw a heavy exoskeleton standing in the center of the residential complex’s flowerbed, with two armored arms propped against the ground, in a sprinting posture, as the mortar tube on its back fired continuously.

With every shot, dust would fly from the ground.

This, what the hell, wasn’t a mortar.

It was clearly an exoskeleton version of a self-propelled gun, damn it!

The three exoskeleton soldiers guarding around the "self-propelled gun" immediately noticed Old White the moment he appeared. Without a word, they raised their rifles and sprayed bullets at him.

Barely missing being swept by a burst of fire, Old White, hiding behind the residential building, immediately poked his rifle out from cover to return fire.

However, the opposition was clearly no pushover. Three assault rifles fired simultaneously, the fierce firepower pushing him back into cover.

The three soldiers in exoskeleton armor didn’t stop there. They spread out in a triangle formation, providing covering fire and advancing towards him.

Looking at the cracks on the bulletproof panel of his left arm, Old White gritted his teeth and swapped magazines, beginning to move toward a half-collapsed building nearby.

The entire area had no signal, probably because the dust from the jamming grenades had blown over; he didn’t even know if his teammates were dead or alive.

But fortunately, the heavy exoskeleton’s mortar tube had ceased firing, so perhaps the pressure on Fang Chang and the others had lessened a bit.

"Damn it... where the hell did these people come from!?"

Could it be that Fang Chang’s market crash had attracted the planners’ attention?

Surely not, right?!

It’s not only them cutting the leeks.

As Old White was pondering in bewilderment, a gunshot sounded in the distance.

One of the three exoskeleton soldiers in pursuit, attempting to move sideways, was shot, the armor cracked open, and his body nearly stumbled to the ground.

His teammate immediately pulled him into nearby cover. Pressed by the threat of the sniper rifle, they dared not come out of cover, only managing to maneuver through the narrow view of the rubble.

"Nice!"

Old White rejoiced inwardly and did not miss this rare opportunity, firing back a burst, suppressing those attempting a flanking maneuver.

Both sides fell into a standoff!

They relied on their cover and shot coldly at each other.

However, what made Old White’s heart sink was that the "self-propelled gun" had begun firing again.

And this shell landed just ten meters to his side!

Left with no choice, Old White had to abandon suppressing those three exoskeleton soldiers and retreated to the building across the street from the residential area.

Crouched behind cover, Wu Lun replaced his magazine and, gritting his teeth, took his two teammates and followed up.

The toughness of the enemy exceeded his expectations!

There was still no word from Dimitri; someone had actually bypassed their front line and penetrated to the mortar position six hundred meters away from the firefight zone.

Wu Lun lightly tapped his finger on the exoskeleton’s helmet and came up with a plan, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Give up! You’re already surrounded!"

"We won’t kill you, just hand over the Black Box you stole from us!"

The voice echoed through the streets.

Old White, wielding a submachine gun, frowned.

What is this guy talking about?

His proficiency in the United Human language was not as good as Fang Chang’s, just enough to spit out a few words. Sometimes he was fine if they spoke slowly, but he would get lost if they spoke quickly.

However, misunderstanding aside, he couldn’t let himself seem weak in spirit.

Old White copied the pronunciation from across the street and returned the sentence verbatim.

"Surrender! You’re already surrounded!"

Wu Lun: "???"

We’re surrounded, sure.

Is this guy hallucinating?

However, just as he was thinking this, a sharp screech suddenly pierced the air.

Wu Lun turned his head sharply, only to see a "Shark" with its mouth wide open swooping down toward their mortar position behind them.

A flash of fear crossed his eyes as he shouted out.

"Ted! Get out of the way!"

Ted, wearing a heavy exoskeleton, had obviously also noticed the anomaly in the sky and quickly withdrew his arms planted in the ground.

But it was too late!

Two 10mm machine guns erupted from the Shark’s gaping mouth with tongues of fire!

"Rat-a-tat-tat! Die!"

Mosquito, providing gunfire through his mouth while shaking in the cockpit, excitedly pulled the trigger to the limit, aiming at the exoskeleton carrying the cannon barrel and firing indiscriminately.

Though covered with bulletproof panels, an exoskeleton is still an exoskeleton, and even with additional panels, it couldn’t withstand the torrent of fire from a fixed-wing aircraft.

Facing a wild spray of 10mm machine gun fire, in just a few seconds, the heavy exoskeleton turned into a sieve.

Ammunition boxes and batteries instantly sparked half a meter high flames, and the man, without even a chance to scream, was blown to pieces along with his armor.

The aircraft pulled up to regain altitude, heading toward the sky.

"Damn it!"

Staring hard at the aircraft, Wu Lun’s eyes filled with bloodshot veins.

His teeth nearly cracked with rage as his finger pressed the trigger to the limit, emptying the entire magazine until the aircraft disappeared from sight.

The other two teammates did the same.

Anger almost made them lose their senses.

However, as the team leader, Wu Lun quickly regained his composure thanks to the remnants of his sanity.

They had air support!

Though it was just a laughable propeller airplane, those two heavy machine guns were no joke. Their equipment was not advanced enough to defy common sense.

Here, in the River Valley Province far from Death Coast, right at the enemy’s doorstep, the opposing side had near limitless supplies and reinforcements, whereas his own side had none.

Thinking of the man’s earlier shout, Wu Lun’s heart sank a bit more.

Maybe that person wasn’t joking.

Their reinforcements had really encircled them!

They had only one chance!

If they couldn’t capture anyone, they would have to resort to Plan B and keep heading north, seeking help from the Looters they had once sponsored.

With no time to hesitate, Wu Lun immediately pulled out a signal gun from his waist and fired a flare into the sky to alert his teammates ahead.

Then he turned to the two teammates beside him and ordered,

"Retreat!"

...

The battle was over.

The enemy had abandoned their position and retreated further into the ruins.

Mosquito circled in the sky a few more times, ultimately not finding a second opportunity to dive, and started to head back after confirming the safety of his own people.

Quitting smoking took the box containing the fuel rods and met up with Wild Wind and Fang Chang, then moved to reinforce in the direction of the signal flare.

Here they met Old White.

"What the hell?! Are you okay?" Fang Chang asked with a look of surprise on his face at the sight of Old White’s shattered bulletproof vest.

"Don’t worry too much, got hit by seven or eight bullets," Old White said, removing the drooping vest and reflecting, "If this were real life, I’d probably be gone by now."

Wild Wind coughed lightly.

"No need to guess, have a little confidence."

Quitting smoking asked nervously,

"Should we chase them?"

Old White shook his head.

"Chase what, the mission is important. Call Night Ten back, we need to get going too... It would be trouble if they had reinforcements!"

How to chase?

Their VM signal still hadn’t come back, and the enemy had already pulled back into the ruins.

They couldn’t just leave the fuel rods here.

Looking at the suicide-bombed heavy exoskeleton nearby, Fang Chang walked over, yanking the charred body out of the armor.

After rummaging on the body, Fang Chang’s hand suddenly paused and he pulled out a necklace with a charred dog tag attached from inside the collar.

It bore the symbol of a Torch.

"Did you find something?" Old White came over and asked.

"Yeah."

Fang Chang nodded, showing the dog tag in his hand.

"The Torch’s emblem... with his name engraved on it, though I don’t recognize these letters."

Looking at the burned remains of the heavy exoskeleton, Old White took a signal flare from his waist, pulled the ring, and dropped it beside the remains.

The flare emitted billowing red smoke.

"Let the NPCs handle this."

Old White patted Fang Chang on the shoulder.

"Let’s go."

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