This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 300: If All Else Fails, Imagine Yourself as a Missile

Chapter 300: Chapter 300: If All Else Fails, Imagine Yourself as a Missile

North of Dawn City.

A group of refugees appeared in the patrol team’s view.

In fact, the on-duty sentinels had spotted them as they passed through Far Creek Town; with so many people, it was impossible to cross through the forest — they had to take the main road.

Though refugees had been joining Dawn City sporadically, a procession of over three hundred was rare.

Not willing to take any chances, the patrol team leader, carrying a Mediator’s Rifle, approached with five squad members and shouted from a distance of fifty meters.

"Who are you?"

As he shouted, he scrutinized the group.

The team consisted of men and women, old people, and children... They didn’t seem to be looters, but he couldn’t completely let his guard down either.

The leader of the group stepped forward a few paces.

"We’re survivors from West State City, the looters destroyed our homes... You said on the radio broadcasts that you would take in those who are homeless, we have nowhere else to go, please let us in."

West State City? "Are there still living people there besides the looters?" a patrol team guard muttered under his breath.

Another guard whispered.

"It does sound strange. Maybe the Ya Clan doesn’t have enough manpower to control the entire city... Aren’t there resistance organizations there?"

The patrol team leader was also puzzled, but he still reported the situation to his superior through the communicator on his ear.

He didn’t wait long.

The superior quickly issued instructions to take them in.

After receiving the order, the patrol team leader raised his voice.

"We’re willing to take you in, but you must agree to surrender any weapons you have."

There was a stir among the refugee group.

Hesitation was apparent in some of their eyes.

Giving up their weapons meant putting their lives in someone else’s hands.

However, the leader of the group agreed resolutely, without a second of hesitation.

"No problem!"

"As long as you can guarantee our safety."

Their weapons, mere iron pipe rifles compared to the more advanced equipment of the guards which looked more like fire pokers, were practically useless anyway.

The patrol team leader nodded.

"That’s assured."

"The New Alliance will shelter every resident who abides by the order."

"Please follow me."

...

The "Home of the Refugees" was located on the northwestern side of Dawn City, close to the western side of the farms and not far from the northern trade station and the commercial street.

Assigned as a dormitory-style apartment for placing refugees, the living space per person here wasn’t large; each room had four beds crammed into it.

But no one complained.

A shelter from the wind and rain, clean beds, and bedding, each room even having a window, was paradise for the homeless refugees!

Most times, finding a barn with straw bedding was difficult enough; they couldn’t even begin to dream of having a house to sleep in.

The staff at the Home of the Refugees hadn’t expected the patrol team to bring back so many people.

Over three hundred hungry refugees made the staff busy tallying numbers, cooking, and assigning dormitories.

Due to the lack of staff, some workers from the logistics division at the nearby trade station were temporarily drafted to help care for the elderly, women, and children.

"There, there."

Watching a child curled up asleep in his mother’s arms, Frost River touched his head and handed a bottle of milk to his mother, gently saying,

"Take this."

It was her dinner originally.

But it wasn’t a big deal for her to miss one bottle.

Tears sparkled in the woman’s eyes as she shakily reached out to take it.

"Thank you."

Frost River curved her lips in a small smile.

"No need to thank me, we were also taken in by the management back then."

Though the conditions weren’t as good as they are now.

As she was about to tend to others without disturbing the sleeping child, the woman suddenly reached out with her frail hand, grasping her arm.

"Wait, wait a moment, on the road just now... we encountered a group of people, they wore black armor, there were eight of them. I don’t know if they belong to you, but they didn’t give me a good feeling."

Black armor?

Frost River looked at her surprised and said earnestly.

"I’ll report this to the guard team."

The refugees soon received the promised hot water and food. Though just a bowl of green wheat porridge, it was far better than the roots and bark they had been eating on the road.

The soup even had a meaty scent!

Everyone was devouring it eagerly.

Once they had finished, Luka would take someone to register their identities, and depending on their abilities, introduce or arrange suitable work for them.

Beside the apartment was the security office.

The refugee leader sat in a visiting room’s sofa, his face filled with apprehension.

Just ten minutes ago, he was brought here and informed by the on-duty guards that the manager of the New Alliance wanted to have a chat with him.

Then the door opened.

A figure in azure power armor walked in.

He recognized immediately this person as the manager of the New Alliance. The man was so startled he barely started to rise, possibly even bow, but Chu Guang raised his hand to stop him.

"No need for formalities, just sit, I’m only here to understand the situation."

Having just finished a meeting to confirm the plans for a northern expedition, Chu Guang came to see the refugees.

Honestly speaking,

After seeing their conditions, Chu Guang was even more resolved about the northern expedition.

It wasn’t completely out of kindness or soft-heartedness.

From a strategic perspective, with Giant Stone City to the south, it was too difficult to expand in that direction; the New Alliance could only increase its strategic depth by moving north.

If those looters were allowed to continue their pillaging, the entire central part of River Valley Province might become deserted.

No matter how fertile the land might be, someone needs to go and cultivate it.

The guard on duty brought Chu Guang a metal stool, for which Chu Guang nodded in thanks and sat opposite the man, getting straight to the point.

"The guard must have informed you of my identity, so I won’t bother introducing myself. What’s your name?"

The man replied respectfully.

"My name is Zebra, sir."

Chu Guang slightly curled the corners of his mouth, his expression somewhat odd.

Sensing the subtle change in the manager’s expression, the man hurriedly continued.

"Please, feel free to give me a name!"

Chu Guang said casually.

"Alright... Let’s go with Ma Ban then."

This person had no remarkable features, neither tall nor short, the type that gets lost in a crowd, so Chu Guang didn’t know what name would be appropriate and simply reversed the order of his original name.

Unexpectedly, this guy seemed to really like his new name, his face lighting up with joy as he said.

"Thank you, sir!"

Chu Guang gave a slight cough.

"Let’s leave the small talk for now, tell me about the situation in West State City."

Ma Ban sat upright on the sofa, his expression growing serious.

"Which aspect would you like to know about?"

Chu Guang inquired.

"How many Looters there are, how many survivors."

"Looters... Are you referring to the Ya Clan? There are quite a few, I’m afraid," Ma Ban said with a heavy expression. "At the start of the year, there were only ten thousand-member squads, but after the snow melted, many Looters from neighboring provinces joined them. Now, there are probably twenty to thirty thousand."

Chu Guang nodded.

This number was similar to what he had heard from his "troublesome brother."

The capability of the Chewing Bone Tribe to raise an army of over ten thousand on the Wasteland was not to be underestimated.

Especially since these people had not only taken over equipment and command personnel from the Legion’s Expeditionary Army but had also received support from the Torch Church.

This battle would not be easy.

Ma Ban paused, then continued.

"As for the survivors... there should also be quite a few. I know of about four to five thousand, but there are probably more."

"That many?" Chu Guang looked at him in surprise. "How did so many of you avoid capture by the Looters?"

Ma Ban explained.

"The underground transit network of West State City connects the underground commercial streets and residential areas. We are familiar with the terrain there and have used the subway to cope with the Looters. Though their firepower is much stronger than ours, they’ve only destroyed our homes on the surface. The underground world is still under our control..."

Only then did Chu Guang remember that West State City was a small city nestled by the mountains and rivers, lacking high-density housing and not afflicted by the release of the "Mutated slime fungus" or lairs.

Instead, there were other Variants.

"Since you’ve been able to cope with the Looters, why did you suddenly decide to leave?"

Ma Ban’s face showed a trace of bitterness.

"Because of the plague... No one wants to leave their homeland, but a rat plague erupted there. We ran out of food, and our neighbors had no spare grains to lend us. We had no choice but to leave."

A plague?

Chu Guang’s expression grew intricate.

Was this strong man hiding something from him?

If he remembered correctly, he had instructed him to raid the Looters’ granary, not to harass the local survivors.

Of course, it was also possible that he was reading too much into this.

The accumulation of corpses alone could lead to rodents, insects, and plagues. Even without this big rat, the Master of Difficulties, West State City’s rats and cockroaches would still proliferate.

He couldn’t blame all the misdeeds of rats on him.

Except this guy hadn’t mentioned this on the forum at all...

Just then, Chu Guang was struck by a thought.

"Did you hear our broadcast?"

Previously, when the New Alliance was established, he had set up a radio station to promote the New Alliance’s refugee accommodation policy, but there hadn’t been much response.

Not many survivor settlements had radios, and even if they did, not everyone could hear them.

For instance, Old Leech’s castle had a radio, but he definitely wouldn’t play it aloud for all the survivors to hear.

A large influx of immigrants attracted by the "Voice of the Alliance" like this was a first.

"Yes," Ma Ban nodded, his voice full of gratitude. "Your broadcast gave us the resolve to leave. Although we were initially skeptical about it being another trap by the Looters, we had no other choice... Thank you for fulfilling your promise."

"You’re welcome, I always fulfill my promises," Chu Guang paused, then continued, "Do you understand radio communications?"

Ma Ban immediately replied.

"A bit."

Chu Guang continued to inquire.

"Can you read and write?"

Ma Ban: "I can read and write."

Perfect.

Chu Guang’s face broke into a pleased smile, nodding in approval.

"Excellent!"

Chu Guang now needed a capable local, someone to unite members of the Resistance organization in West State City, coordinating with the New Alliance’s military operation scheduled for the next month.

However, he couldn’t yet discuss the northern campaign with outsiders.

Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then decided to first assess his capability. He spoke up.

"In a while, I’ll have someone from logistics contact you, and you cooperate with them to complete the registration of new resident’s identity information."

Hearing this, a surge of excitement washed over Ma Ban.

My goodness.

Was he about to be promoted?

Excited, Ma Ban quickly nodded.

"I will definitely do my utmost to cooperate!"

Chu Guang rose from his chair, smiled, and said.

"Good. I look forward to your performance!"

...

Official Forum:

[Update Landmarks:

East Plantation (Special Produce: Brain Fungus, Power Pills): The Psyche Interference Tower has been restarted; hunting is prohibited within a three-kilometer radius of the Iron Back Apes in the third ecological protection garden, offenders will be fined 100 silver coins.

Shelter No. 401: (Recommended for new players: Eaters, Wild boar, Gray Monkey) (No Hunting: Iron Back Apes within a three-kilometer range, offenders fined 100 silver coins.)

]

[Alliance Trends:

"Home of the Refugees" has taken in 397 refugees from West State City.

The New Alliance seized the production device for Variable Temperature Jackets; now available for purchase at NPC stores.

The "Northern Expedition Plan" will start within 30 days! Target: Western Province!

]

[Today’s Recommended Recipes: Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, Salt Roasted Bird Wings]

Tail: "Yikes! Did the map update just after Tail left?!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ"

Si Si: "Northern Expedition Plan... are they releasing a new expansion?"

Falling Feather: "I just got my VM! This is too thrilling!"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Hahaha, it’s rising! (excited)"

Kid Talking Nonsense: "What what, what’s rising?"

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Silver coins! As everyone knows, when new maps or expansions are released, the trading prices for game currency always go up! Variable Temperature Jackets sound Niubi! And with the upcoming battle, the price of silver coins will definitely surge. (proud)"

Kid Talking Nonsense: "Nah, I thought water prices had gone up, scared me into reading the announcement again. (grumbling)"

Makabazi: "Relieved, it doesn’t affect my farming!"

Wild Wind: "I don’t know how to comment, but a Variable Temperature Jacket... that’s actually just a Blue Jacket, right?"

Elena: "Got it, no need to worry about beginner’s gear failing anymore when going out, so does it mean a bear market for Vine Cottage? (sarcastic)"

Gnome King Riches: "Dump Vine Cottage stocks! (sarcastic)"

Teng Teng: "Wait, you guys buy the clothes I make, just because there’s no other choice? QAQ"

Night Ten: "Not at all! The clothes Teng Teng makes look awesome! Last time at Giant Stone City, Brother Fang Chang stared at them for ages. (sarcastic)"

Elena: "I think you all are crazy, but I have no evidence. (sarcastic)"

Teng Teng:

Fang Chang: "(too scared to talk.jpg)"

Although it wasn’t an update announcement, the announcement still sparked a lot of discussion among players.

The Blue Jacket is actually available for purchase now!

As one of the newbie benefits, the self-adjusting temperature and breathable Blue Jacket is the only piece of black technology accessible to players during the newbie period.

Unless under extremely cold or hot conditions, one Blue Jacket is enough to meet a newbie’s needs for clothing.

However, this item was previously limited; each person could only have three sets, irreparable when damaged, and not repurchasable.

As a result, most players wouldn’t dare to wear their Blue Jacket on long trips or to fights, always changing before a fight.

Back when there was no cotton, everyone draped in beast skin looked more like Looters than the Looters themselves.

As for the Psyche Interference Tower, that got even more interesting.

Reading the description of the device, it seemed to be able to impose mental suggestions on Variants of a specific psychic frequency, transmitting negative emotions to drive them away. The lower the intelligence of the Variant, the stronger the effect, and the higher the intelligence, the more emotions they could comprehend.

I mean, this thing is basically a divine artifact!

Since it could use emotions of fear to drive the monsters out of the safe zone, couldn’t it also use emotions of joy to gather them in a specific area?

Damn.

Just by reversing the operation of the Psyche Interference Tower, grinding for monsters would be so much easier!

Who knows, it might even be possible to instill impure psychological suggestions in the Variants, accelerating the reproduction rate of specific populations!

Besides "Blue Jacket is available for purchase" and "Psyche Interference Tower," the topics discussed by the players were mainly focused on the Northern Expedition.

It was obvious to anyone with eyes.

A new expansion pack was coming!

Spring Water Commander, "Hahahaha! I freaking knew it! The major changes in the Legion System were indeed paving the way for the new expansion pack! (proud)"

I Max Black, "Niubi, niubi, that’s really niubi."

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Speaking of which, Old White, what doctrine did you guys choose?"

Old White, "Light Infantry."

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Damn, I thought you would go for Motorization! (Surprised)"

Fang Chang, "You still lack understanding of the version. The Legion System standardizes the Alliance’s equipment, but it doesn’t limit private equipment. In other words, we can buy our rifles with Silver Coins and pay for our own ammunition."

Edge Shoveling, "Damn, what’s the point of your logistics then?"

Fang Chang, "It’s useful, who said it isn’t! For example, under the ’Special Operations’ branch of the Light Infantry doctrine, equipment costs for light infantry are reduced by 50%. Understand what a discount means? For 25 logistics points, you can exchange for a ’Light Cavalry’ kit that includes a Type Five Exoskeleton! Although it can only be used in wartime or on special missions, there are no restrictions by Contribution Level, and the equipment wear is covered by the Alliance."

Of course, if the equipment breaks, there is a replenishment time, and the more high-end the gear, the slower it replenishes, so it’s better to take care of what you have.

Death doesn’t matter, it only takes three days.

But if the equipment breaks, it affects the Battle Rating.

Which, in other words, means losing money.

Old White, "Besides the Light Cavalry kit, the Heavy Cavalry kit also falls under Light Infantry tags, originally costing 200 logistics points, but after the discount, it’s just 100 points. To buy it in the store requires an advanced citizen plus 100,000 Silver! Using logistics points is much cheaper than buying with Silver Coins! (grinning)"

Every level up in the Legion adds 1 scale and 1 logistics, which equates to 10 people and 10 points; you can exchange for a set of Light Cavalry Exoskeleton by the time you reach Level 3.

Every ten levels is a phase, from F phase to E phase there’s an extra reward of 10 skill points, tossing all into logistics effectively gives you an additional 100 logistics points, instantly enough for a set of "Heavy Cavalry".

Leveling up the Legion is much easier than personal Sequence Levels, as Fang Chang researched the experience curve, which mostly rises at phase-up points.

By the time the Northern Expedition starts, as long as you’re not too lazy, advancing to Level 10 and ranking up to a Level E Legion shouldn’t be too difficult.

In short, the "Special Operations" under the Light Infantry Doctrine, in contrast to "Human Sea Assault," is designed for smaller legions planning to go the elite route.

But if players are willing to partially fund their own military expenses, buy their own ammunition and basic equipment, and forcibly increase the size of their legion, the game officials won’t interfere.

As long as it reduces casualties and achieves greater victories, covering the costs out of their own pocket, this path might not be less profitable for the players who choose it.

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Man, rich people, scary scary... I’ll just honestly go with Motorized Warfare."

Debt Giant Eye, "Human Sea right line is the real deal! Devil’s twenty-five steps! A real man should fight with bayonets! (joking)"

Edge Shoveling, "Roll roll roll, don’t stir things up, let me think before deciding."

WC There Are Mosquitoes, "Hahaha! Do you even have to think? If it were me, I’d definitely blindly choose ’Firepower Advantage’! Old White, I’m applying to leave the squad, I want to go solo!"

Old White, "Approved."

WC There Are Mosquitoes, "Damn! So merciless! You’re not even trying to keep me!"

Old White, "Keep you for what, you’re not even on the front lines, following us restricts your performance, it’s pretty good for you to support from behind. (smirking)"

Wild Wind: "Agreed!"

Mosquito: "Goblin Corps is recruiting pilots and gunners! Agile system players preferred for pilots, no restrictions for gunners, private message to sign up!"

Falling Feather: "Me me me! Can a LV3 newbie like me join?"

Mosquito: "No problem! I’ll teach you everything! (grinning with bared teeth)"

...

Mosquito was not joking.

The next day, on the runway near the military camp, stood about a hundred newbies. Although many were nervous and left after walking around, most of them stayed.

Mosquito counted the numbers.

A total of 71 people.

Out of which, fifty came to be pilots of the Agile system, and the rest were there for gunnery.

Not bad!

Very spirited!

Mosquito looked at these rookies excitedly and cleared his throat to announce.

"Those who have flown before, stand on the left. Those who haven’t, stand on the right."

A newbie raised his hand.

"Coach! Does a glider count?"

"I’ve done parachuting!"

"I’ve played War Thunder!"

Pleased with the way the newbies addressed him, Mosquito chuckled and said,

"Let me restate, those who have flown before, stand on the left. Those who haven’t, stand on the right, and those who have in games, stand in the middle!"

The crowd shuffled again.

After a bit of a mess, a few still stood on the left, but the right side was completely empty.

Mosquito nodded in satisfaction.

Having flown in games counted as experience, too. Even just 0.1 experience is better than none, at least they’d avoid some common-sense mistakes.

Like causing an "offline" due to overload.

Or landing with missiles to save ammo.

What?

Can they fly it back?

Is that important to the Goblin Corps?

He would naturally provide the most complete equipment for those who knew how to fly, "high players," and try to cut corners on the planes for the newbies, aiming to minimize the losses from crashes.

If all else failed, he could always add a parachute to the batteries and motors.

Just enjoy and then ask the army to retrieve them.

"No matter if you know how or not, I’ll start from scratch. This isn’t a jet. It’s actually not hard to fly, the hard part is flying it back."

"But no big deal!"

"If you’re really dumb, just imagine yourself as a missile! I believe after dying a few times, even if you strapped a dog to the control stick, it’d learn how to fly!"

The newbies’ faces glimmered with excitement.

Imagine themselves as missiles?

That sounds thrilling!

Standing aside, Soul Chaser quietly cautioned,

"The new corps can only recruit ten people, right?"

Along with Soul Chaser, Kill God, and Discourage, their newly formed Goblin Corps already had five members. Due to the limit, they could only recruit five more.

Mosquito rolled his eyes upon hearing this.

"Don’t be so rigid. Ten within the formation only, others just can’t use the corps system’s equipment. Who said we couldn’t recruit reservists? Isn’t a month enough for our corps to reach LV10? Just slowly pull people in when the level is high enough!"

What?

You can do that?

Soul Chaser was stunned.

This interpretation of the version was incredible.

LV10 might be a stretch.

But Mosquito felt, being a half T0 player himself, reaching LV7 or LV8 shouldn’t be a problem! Upgrading a corps wasn’t as hard as personal levels; teaming up for high-contribution missions made leveling easy.

Mosquito was brimming with confidence in his own capabilities and financial resources.

And just yesterday, he had received an advance payment for an order to produce thirty planes!

The New Alliance military wanted him to improve the WX-2 model planes to increase their altitude and range, ensuring they could provide effective support to a battlefield 100 kilometers away for at least ten minutes.

Ten minutes?

They were underestimating him!

The solid hydrogen batteries in this game were almost like cheats.

Traditional batteries have the oxidant packed inside, but this thing directly uses oxygen from the air, replacing the whole "positive electrode of the battery" with a membrane, allowing all the saved space to be filled with reductant. Hydrogen, the reductant, had an energy density nearly 2.7 times that of gasoline or diesel!

A not-so-cold knowledge, in reality, batteries’ energy density couldn’t even come close to gas, lagging an entire order of magnitude behind.

But in "Wasteland OL," it was a whole different story. Batteries produced by NPC factories far outperformed fuel!

Hence, Goblin Technology planes charted a path totally unimagined in reality.

"An order for thirty planes is too conservative! First, let’s order a hundred motors and a thousand battery packs!"

Standing beside, Discourage was shocked.

"What!?"

"Was the advance payment that much?!"

Mosquito chuckled.

"Who said it has to be the advance payment? Can’t I use my own money?"

Childish!

Once the planes were built, orders would surely come.

Soul Chaser gave a thumbs up in admiration.

"Niubi!"

This was simply too rich!

Basking in the admiration of his followers, Mosquito proudly said, "The glider’s payload is too small, from here to the southernmost end of West State City is a hundred kilometers!"

"Small planes aren’t enough; we should go big!"

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