This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 311: Forging Strategic Depth Through Battle

Chapter 311: Chapter 311: Forging Strategic Depth Through Battle

Dawn City Prison.

Sitting in a dark cell, Bernie’s face was etched with exhaustion and despair.

He could understand the failure of the expedition to the Grand Canyon. They had indeed underestimated the strength of the Grand Canyon, and even more so, the capabilities of the Holy Shield System.

Even after two centuries, the sky-darkening shield was still not something their artillery could penetrate. Their clone army launched a fearless charge, yet it still failed to alter the course of the battle.

Under the intense firepower of the Grand Canyon, their ten thousand troops were annihilated.

However, what Bernie couldn’t understand was why, aside from not conquering the Grand Canyon, even a plain survivor settlement proved so difficult to breach.

At that moment, footsteps echoed from the corridor outside the prison.

Bernie looked up and saw a familiar face, which made him freeze for a moment.

"...Vanus?"

Vanus sighed.

"So, it was you... How is Dylon?"

Hearing his superior’s name, a bitter smile appeared on Bernie’s face.

"No wonder... Seeing you here answers some of my questions."

Knowing that this guy likely attributed the victory to himself, Vanus shook his head.

"It has nothing to do with me. I simply followed the standard procedures and strategies. However, their performance exceeded my expectations."

Bernie fell silent for a while.

"I remember you were ordered to intercept the Pioneer."

Vanus nodded.

"Yes."

Bernie did not ask about the outcome.

Because there was no need to.

The man was standing here without shackles on his hands, even wearing a VM similar to those of the Blue Jackets, no doubt his whole being had transformed into one of them.

Seeing that Bernie remained quiet, Vanus walked over to the cell window and continued, unprompted.

"During my captivity, I was sent to a brick factory to work. Initially, I thought they intended to humiliate me by this, but eventually, I found out that wasn’t the case."

"I worked alongside nearby survivors. They taught me how to make mud bricks, how to fire them into blocks, and how to build houses with those bricks..."

Vanus paused briefly.

"I still remember that coworker, who excitedly told me about finally having his own house through his hard work, planning to bring his family over after the winter. I remember the color of his hopeful eyes... It was something I had never seen in my domain."

"At first, I didn’t understand what that color in his eyes meant. It was only later that I realized, it was hope for the future."

"They chose a path drastically different from ours, a path where even the lowest wasteland wanderer could attain equality and dignity. The people here are willing to sacrifice everything for the land beneath their feet, even their last drop of blood."

"You were facing a group of warriors with faith, who clearly knew what they were fighting for. Do you still think you only suffered a few tactical missteps?"

Bernie swallowed hard.

After a long thoughtful silence, he managed a bitter smile and said,

"So you came here just to mock your old friend?"

"No."

Vanus turned to look at him.

"To be precise, it’s an invitation."

...

As night fell,

the players gradually logged off, and the official forum of "Wasteland OL" was buzzing with excitement.

The epic victory earlier had exhilarated many players, who vividly described the event on the forum.

Previously, players could only narrate their bragging through text without much solid content, leaving the backseat drivers to imagine the scenarios. Although they spoke arrogantly, they secretly envied but weren’t deeply moved. It mostly depended on the official promotional videos to stave off their hunger.

Now it was different.

Since the development of paid features like "game screenshot" and "squad voice," players no longer needed to type to boast—sharing images was enough.

Of course, considering harmony and love, blood would be replaced with pink paint, and R16 and some sensitive images would be restricted.

After all, without the helmet, there’s no "dream filter." Dreaming of breaking arms and legs might not scare someone, but seeing it in real life might lead to wetting themselves.

Pick up trash 99 level:"...Just as I said, it happened quickly—Looter pointed his gun at me, and I instantly slid, taking down two of them! Not to brag, but a hundred heads in ten minutes is doable. Alien sequence is damn strong! (grinning)"

Proud Brothers:"LMAO, is that all? Proud to boast about a hundred heads in ten minutes? Ever heard of Dragon Group? Normal I guess, kiddo, if you haven’t—it’s where my bro is from. He told me, even the weakest link in their group can run through a whole squad with just a dagger in ten minutes."

Pick up trash 99 level:"(sweaty soybean)"

Night Ten:"Err, Dragon snipers? I actually have that. (joking)"

Elena:"Curious to ask, is your brother nicknamed Shura, always lifting his mouth’s corner at ninety degrees before he strikes? (joking)"

Gnome King Riches:"Ministry of Foreign Affairs: I advise you not to talk trash here. This isn’t the internal network. (joking)"

As usual.

Every time there’s a major event or update on the official website, Proud Brothers would pop up with a sarcastic joke when everyone was showing off, and then immediately disappear from the forum, ignoring any mentions, just like a ground squirrel.

Both regular players and backseat drivers had grown accustomed to it; nobody really took it to heart.

Soon, Junk Collector continued sharing his heroic deeds, but just then, the battle report and settlement information from Qingstone County’s great victory suddenly appeared on the official website.

Pick up trash 99 level: "Damn? Was it that fast this time?!"

Quit smoking: "The planners are awesome!"

Usually, the battle reports wouldn’t be available until the next day, but this time, unprecedentedly, they were released the same evening.

To everyone’s surprise, the highest score on the battlefield was achieved by the Storm Corps.

As the legions that first broke through the inner city defenses and penetrated the enemy headquarters, Storm Corps, despite fierce resistance from the enemy, captured Lion Tooth and several bandit leaders, earning plenty of additional points.

However, this wasn’t the decisive factor.

What really determined their significant lead in war points was their lightning-fast advancement during the street fights with Looters in the city area.

Brother Spring Water, with his exceptional leadership, led his team to wipe out two hundred-man squads successively, taking only half the expected time to breach all defensive lines from the south of Qingstone County to the enemy headquarters.

To put it bluntly, the outstanding performance of the Storm Corps in this battle allowed the campaign to end at least an hour earlier.

Considering casualties and ammunition consumption, the command center awarded them 23,000 points!

The second place went to Brother Mole’s Skeleton Corps for their excellent performance in siege battles, followed by the Death Legion.

The latter, despite having a high kill count and clearing hidden threats in stairways and alleys, had their overall score lowered due to nearly thirty percent battle damage.

As for Mosquito’s Goblin Corps, they ranked fourth.

Undeniably, the rockets they launched and the ensuing airstrikes heavily devastated the Lion Tooth tribe stationed in Qingstone County.

However, the Goblin Corps also suffered significant losses.

The players who managed to successfully fly the plane back were less than thirty percent...

As for the Burning Corps, because the ambush battle at Pine Forest Valley wasn’t settled together with Qingstone County’s siege but was treated as two separate battles, it ended up in fifth place.

WC Real Mosquito: "Damn! Our squad had so many kills! Why am I not the MVP!（frantic）"

Spring Water Commander: "That’s what you don’t get, fighting isn’t about scalp collection, how could you count by kills. If we really counted by kills, who would you talk to about digging trenches and holding positions, everyone would rush forward to score kills, and nobody would care about the rear.（smug）"

Night Ten: "You used too much ammunition, a single round of your rockets literally sends logistics straight to heaven.（amused）"

Canyon on the Run Mole: "Exactly! What’s the use of just counting kills, I took down the first line of defense myself!"

Edge Shoveling: "Speaking of which, how many of your planes flew back?"

WC Real Mosquito: "Does any good brother know when the battle rewards will be credited, hehe."

Quit smoking: "Damn! That topic shift was too abrupt!"

Falling Feather: "These planes are too hard to pilot. T.T"

Edge Shoveling: "Man, everyone says I’m a rogue driver, who really is the rogue driver here!"

Property Chicken Killer: "Hmm, our Jungle Corps’ ammunition consumption also seems a bit high, scratching head."

The ranking of battlefield scores is only for reference.

The battle rewards will be calculated for each legion based on their performance in various mission stages through a fixed formula.

The server will directly distribute a basic reward containing a large number of silver coins and contribution points to players based on their legion’s total score.

Legion commanders can also reward outstanding players in combat with 1st to 3rd class merit, allowing them to receive an additional 50 to 150% on top of the original rewards.

The number of merits that can be awarded during a battle is tied to the legion’s score in the battle. As for who specifically receives the awards, Chu Guang has delegated the decision-making power to the legion commanders.

Under the current system, there are no costs associated with players joining or leaving legions.

Legions that clearly distribute rewards and punishments naturally become more valiant in battle, while those that can’t even manage that will gradually marginalize.

Allowing legion commanders to handle internal affairs within the legion is both a power granted by Chu Guang and a test of their organizational abilities.

As legions grow in scale, they start as company-level units, but with increased player numbers and level progression, outstanding legions will quickly evolve into battalion-level, regimental-level, and even multi-division corps.

Chu Guang will update the version as needed.

Whether or not players can adapt to the version is up to them.

Of course, in addition to the merits determined by each legion internally, this campaign, like usual, will see medals awarded to players by Shelter officials.

Even though in the current version, the main body of the war consists of various legions, individual power is also not to be underestimated.

As the first legion-scale group battle since the opening of "Wasteland OL," this campaign produced 375 whiteboard medals and 12 special medals.

These special honors come with substantial additional rewards and are granted by the shelter to individuals who performed exceptionally in the campaign.

For instance, Difficult for the strong.

As an underground operative active behind enemy lines, Brother Difficult’s provided intelligence and chaos created at the enemy’s rear were crucial to winning the war.

He also received the server’s sole gold "Eagle Eye Medal" for these efforts.

Difficult for the strong: "Hahaha, who dares to call my sequence useless now! Strong as hell! (smug)"

Night Ten: "What’s the use, ordinary people can’t even choose this sequence. (amused)"

Quit smoking: "Speaking of which, what about your little brother?"

Difficult for the strong: "No problem! Anyway, tomorrow I will be alive again, and I’ll fake my death after returning! (evil laugh)"

...

Refuge Medical Laboratory.

Chu Guang, who sat up from the scanning bed, saw the updated attribute panel through the tablet.

He had sweated profusely last night and had come straight to Heya’s place after getting up.

Sure enough.

Due to the players’ outstanding performance in the battle, he had leveled up again.

[

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Third stage)

Level: LV.20→LV.22

——Basic Attributes——

Strength: 23→25

Agility: 18

Constitution: 21

Perception: 19→20

Intelligence: 20

]

"...This time the sequence development progress actually increased by 2%."

Sitting in a chair opposite Chu Guang, Heya lightly flicked her silver-white hair, curiously sizing him up.

"By now, I’m used to seeing weird things, but the only thing that confuses me is the principle behind the growth of your sequence progress."

"Isn’t this the topic I taught you?" Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under her direct gaze, Chu Guang casually picked up the jacket on the bedside and put it on.

Heya nodded her head and continued.

"Well, I have a few guesses so far, but none of them have enough evidence yet."

"Just tell me the most probable one."

"The Lair."

Chu Guang’s hand froze while pulling the zipper, and he gave her a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?"

"When I was researching the Lair, I got this inspiration. Don’t you think your evolutionary pattern is somewhat similar to the Lair?"

Heya continued with interest.

"The Lair releases specific evolutionary bodies that integrate surrounding offspring entities; the offspring entities evolve through the process of devouring, and as the command tower for the offspring entities, The Lair grows from the evolutionary process of its offspring... Although this analogy is a bit far-fetched."

Chu Guang: "...I think it’s more than just a little far-fetched."

"Sure, after all, my understanding of the morphogenesis field technology is completely blank," Heya shrugged helplessly, "If only you could get more detailed information."

Chu Guang: "I hope so too. I’ll let you know as soon as there is any news."

As a "Singularity level" technology stored in Shelter No. 404, so far the information he held about the morphogenesis field was only a fragment of audio that contained a few words.

There are many possibilities that could be guessed, but until there is sufficient rigorous evidence, they can only be conjectures.

Just like Schrödinger’s cat.

Only after opening the box can the situation inside the box be known.

As for now.

Lacking sufficient clues, curiosity is futile.

After leaving the medical laboratory, Chu Guang returned to the browsing room, got himself a bottle of milk from the fridge, and sat on the sofa to log into the official website of "Wasteland OL."

As he expected.

For the first large-scale battle of "Wasteland OL," the players were as excited as 200-pound kids, the forum was as lively as the New Year’s celebration.

Especially after Xiao Qi uploaded the edited battle footage, from the sky to the ground, and then to the narrow buildings, the rendered details were almost as real as an actual battlefield!

Players had already had their thrill in the game, and Backseat Drivers had their thrill as well.

The hesitant onlookers could not contain their boredom and spent a precious ten minutes of their lives filling out a form.

Although only about 30 new accounts were released each day, what if they got lucky?

Driven by emotion, the number of pre-registered players surged significantly.

However, compared to the huge base of pre-registered players, the increase in the five figures was not so obvious anymore.

"This is way more thrilling than 2042!"

"Enough said, even if it’s just cutting leeks, I accept it. When will the gold entrance be opened? I’ll start by spending 50 cents!"

"Thousands of players PVE simultaneously, what a pity there’s no PVP mode, it would definitely be more thrilling."

"Quit dreaming about PVP, there’s only one faction to join for now. But the game’s AI is pretty awesome, playing PVE isn’t much different."

"+1, such impressive technology used for gaming is totally wasted. (sarcastic)"

Ignoring the less informative comments, Chu Guang scrolled down and noticed that many players were discussing the battle scoring mechanism and the formula for calculating battle earnings.

Although he had never publicly disclosed these details, players were still able to deduce certain patterns from the available information.

Take Brother Fang Chang for instance.

Less than two hours after the update went live, strategies about the new Legion System and battle earnings were already popping up on the forums.

"...To cut a long story short, two key points. One concerning the legions, the other about the players in the Legion System."

"Many must have noticed in this battle that the points added to the Legion System not only decide the development path of the legions but also define the tasks they might receive in specific battles."

"For example, legions with higher armor are more likely to trigger siege tasks. Those with higher mobility are more likely to trigger flanking missions. Players who opt for the support route almost never go to the front line; they either fly planes or offer artillery support from the back."

"The war scores are mainly determined by the performance at each stage, different types of tasks have different KPIs. For instance, speed of breakthrough for siege tasks, casualties for street fighting tasks, and precision of firepower for support tasks, and so on..."

"After the Beta version, the division of work among the legions will be clearer, and the score calculation will be closer to reality. Capturing significant targets, intercepting vital intelligence, or eliminating enemy forces other than intelligence units in encounters will not be included in the stage assessment but will be considered as bonus points, directly added to the final score."

"In a nutshell, as long as you complete your combat tasks with the standard amount of ammunition within the stipulated time, you can achieve a high war score."

"At the same time, the basic income players earn during the battle will also mainly depend on this score."

"To gain higher earnings, you need to secure higher scores for your team. And for those who perform exceptionally in battle, the legion commander can, with the authority they hold, grant them an additional 50%, 100%, or 150% of rewards."

"While the legion commander can decide whom to award based on their subjective judgment, the number of honors they can give out is linked to the scores on the battlefield."

"In other words, if the rewards and punishments are not clear, the cohesion of the legion will decline, making it difficult to obtain higher war scores in battle, thereby entering a vicious cycle where profits and numbers continuously drop."

"Strongly advise all legions to establish a proper reward and punishment system quickly. As the level of the legion rises, the number of players it can accommodate will also increase. Eventually, it might be possible for the players to command an army group themselves, and the earlier the structure is established, the lesser the resistance to change."

"Additionally, it’s also advisable for rookies to consider not just the ranking of a legion but also how well-defined its rules are and the other members’ opinions of their own legion when choosing a legion to join!"

Not bad.

Brother Fang Chang truly understands me as always.

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

When designing the legion system, his primary intent was to encourage players to gather with others who shared their gaming style and then build a suitable organizational structure based on this, maximizing the combat effectiveness of this unique group.

As for what this system is called, those are just minor details.

He couldn’t possibly design a unique growth path for every player, but players could DIY their favorite tactics within the rules.

And if they couldn’t find the fun, they could always hand their helmet over to someone who could and have themselves a good sleep in bed.

Besides discussing the legion system itself, many players also focused on the economic aspects beyond the war.

Take the Canyon Fleeing Mole, for instance.

This fellow outright claimed in a post that the New Alliance was about to experience a construction boom.

And his reasoning was simple.

"Qingstone County is at least 80 kilometers from the City of Dawn, right? How much cement, steel, sand, and asphalt would it take to build roads and railways to there? No need to think about it, the demand for these bulk commodities is bound to skyrocket! Setting up a sand quarry and a biomass oil refinery in Far Creek Town would definitely make a killing!"

Tail: "Wow! Awesome! Si Si, take notes!

Si Si: "Noted, noted."

Canyon Fleeing Mole: "Damn! You freeloaders, at least share some profits with me! (frantic)"

Chu Guang read the post from start to finish, feeling impressed and silently giving it a star.

With such clever little players, how can the United Human not be reclaimed?

Of course, all the things Brother Mole mentioned in his post had already crossed his mind.

After conquering the Western Province, it wasn’t just about extending roads and railways there; Chu Guang planned to move heavy industry there as well.

The location of the City of Dawn was too close to Giant Stone City, a strong neighbor. Developing heavy industry right under their nose posed too great a risk.

The New Alliance needed enough strategic depth to cope with potential threats.

Once the war was over, Chu Guang planned to establish a new settlement in West State City to shelter the local survivors and gradually transition the heavy industry of City of Dawn northward.

West State City, surrounded by mountains and near lakes and rivers, had ample mining resources identified, and most importantly, there was no "mutated slime fungus," making it much easier to develop heavy industry than in Qingquan City.

As for the City of Dawn, it would serve as a base for light industry, agriculture, and commerce, producing essential goods and various consumer products needed by residents of the New Alliance.

However, to turn these plans from blueprints to reality, the first step was to deal with the Ya Clan stationed in West State City...

Chu Guang closed the official website, preparing to leave the browsing room for the surface.

Just then, Xiao Qi’s voice suddenly came from beside him.

"Master! Your players stationed in the Pine Forest Valley are under artillery fire!"

At the sound of this, Chu Guang’s expression slightly stiffened.

Here it comes!

"Notify all members of the Burning Corps to log in immediately!"

Xiao Qi’s voice was as enthusiastic as ever.

"Right away!"

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