This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 331: Occupying Western Province!

Chapter 331: Chapter 331: Occupying Western Province!

Gunshots continuously resounded from the east.

Chu Guang, standing beside a wooden raft, muttered as he looked up at the "flame" flickering incessantly in the night sky.

"...Has it not ended yet?"

Had something gone awry?

Just as he was becoming frustrated, a wooden raft drifted from the eastern alley toward him.

Seeing the man standing on the raft, who was indeed one of his Centurions, Chu Guang’s heart leapt to his throat.

The raft reached the shore.

Without waiting for his trusted subordinate to steady himself, Chu Guang grabbed his shoulders, urgently asking,

"How did it go? Who won?"

"The New Alliance won... they’ve taken over the headquarters," the Centurion immediately replied.

"And Golden Tooth?" Chu Guang pressed on, "What about him? Was he captured?"

The Centurion swallowed.

"He’s dead!"

Chu Guang: "Are you sure?!"

The Centurion nodded vigorously, his voice tense.

"Sure! I saw it with my own eyes! A cannonball from the New Alliance went through a hole in the wall, then there was an explosion... Not only Golden Tooth, but several Apostles from the Torch Church were killed!"

Hearing this, Chu Guang finally relaxed and couldn’t help but clench his fists.

"Excellent."

Seeing the joy on Chu Guang’s face, the Centurion who had seen Golden Tooth’s body wore a complex expression.

That tyrant was dead.

The war had finally ended.

However, it ended with their defeat.

Although the New Alliance had promised that their treatment would be different from ordinary prisoners, it didn’t change the fact that they were captives.

As for what the future held...

Probably only heaven knew.

Noticing the complex look on his subordinate’s face, Chu Guang realized that showing too much happiness might be inappropriate at this time.

So, he coughed and patted the Centurion’s shoulder.

"Don’t be too sad. It’s all that fool’s fault for following Dylon’s terrible advice, throwing all the tanks into a critical gamble, leading our tribe to the abyss. The failure isn’t on us."

"Moreover, the Manager of the New Alliance told me in a letter that surrendering is only half a loss, so we’ve only lost half."

"That’s not a bad outcome, so stand tall. Now we are going to take over those prisoners... there’s no shame in this."

...

Upon learning of Golden Tooth’s death, Chu Guang immediately led over a thousand of his followers from the west side defense region to the headquarters, coordinating with the Burning Corps to take control of the nearby streets’ checkpoints and guard posts.

Though it meant turning their guns against their friends, they had no other choice by then.

To demonstrate his loyalty to the New Alliance, Chu Guang didn’t hesitate to order his tribe to fire on their brothers, even rushing to the frontline to supervise the battle personally.

Initially, his followers hesitated, but as casualties occurred, they got swept up in the fervor, setting aside their internal conflicts.

They were Looters.

They didn’t have moral constraints or psychological burdens.

Attaching to the powerful was just part of the law of the jungle.

"Chu Guang, have you gone mad?!"

Cloud Tooth, prompting his men to advance, saw Chu Guang behind opposite cover amidst blazing flames, his face showing a nearly insane expression.

Facing his former comrade, Chu Guang felt slightly awkward, but it only lasted half a second.

"Arguing is pointless, everything now is that fool’s own doing... surrender! Golden Tooth is dead!"

"Already... dead?"

Shock and disbelief flashed across Cloud Tooth’s eyes, quickly replaced by deep hatred and anger as he bellowed,

"Never!"

Chu Guang no longer masked his feelings, wholly shedding his restraint, raising his machine gun and firing across the street at the other cover, fiercely shouting,

"Then go to hell!"

The New Alliance soldiers triggered a smoke grenade, throwing it vigorously.

The red smoke crossed nearly a hundred meters, landing squarely on Cloud Tooth’s position.

Before the Looters could react, a rain of fire descended from the sky, blowing them and their cover skyward.

Watching the thick smoke rise ahead, Chu Guang silently mourned his former comrades for half a second, then clenched his fist tightly and harshly said,

"Well done!"

Don’t blame me, brothers, rest in peace.

It’s out of my hands...

With Cloud Tooth’s death, the morale of his thousand team instantly plummeted.

Facing the fierce firepower of the New Alliance and Chu Guang’s troops, the remaining Looters quickly fell into disarray.

At this moment, a broadcast rang out around the surrounding urban area.

"I am the Manager of the Alliance."

"Looters of the Ya Clan, your headquarters has been occupied, Skull Breaker·Golden Tooth was killed by our soldiers while trying to escape."

"Your defeat is certain, surrender is your only way out!"

"We do not kill prisoners, but will show no mercy to those who resist!"

Golden Tooth...

Dead?

The Looters heading toward the headquarters showed confusion and fear on their faces.

When they heard of Golden Tooth’s death, it felt as if the entire sky had collapsed.

From the Thousands of leaders to the rifle-toting lackeys, everyone fell into confusion, not knowing what to do.

In the southern frontline of the urban area, standing beside Monkey Fang, a strategist from the Army softly sighed.

"...Surrender, we’ve already lost."

Monkey Fang’s face twisted with anger as he grabbed his collar.

"Shut your mouth! Who do you think brought us to this point today?"

"Is it because of Dylon?" the strategist asked with a sarcastic tone. "Indeed it was his fault... relying on you all was the most foolish decision of his life. If you want to kill me, just do it, because you don’t have much time left."

Monkey Fang stared at him with murderous eyes for a long time, but eventually, he let go of the grip he had on the man’s collar.

"...What should I do?"

"Take your men and surrender. The New Alliance’s bombardment of the Southern Urban District is clearly a feint; their main force is on the west side. If you surrender before they enter the city, it will be more sincere than waiting for them to break in."

Monkey Fang swallowed hard and spoke nervously,

"But, but we don’t have flyers; I burned all the flyers we found."

Lord Jin Ya had ordered that anyone secretly keeping flyers would be executed; Monkey Fang dared not disobey and would search his subordinates’ pockets several times a day to ensure there were no traitors in his team.

Hearing this naive statement, the strategist only scoffed.

"What are you talking about, foolishly? Do you really think your subordinates are that obedient? I bet if you just declare the war over, they can produce over a thousand surrender tickets on the spot."

Monkey Fang’s face turned alternating shades of pale and flushed, his fists clenched and unclenched tightly.

After a fierce internal struggle, the desire to survive prevailed.

Under his command, over a thousand Looters from the Southern Urban District came out of their hiding places with their hands on their heads, walking batch by batch toward the New Alliance’s position.

At this very moment, at the position of the New Alliance, the Skeleton Corps was guarding the front line of the trench.

"I mean, they surrendered just like that?!"

That’s too cowardly!

Holding a telescope, Mole, watching the group of Looters walking towards them with hands on their heads, couldn’t help but curse under his breath,

"After all, NPCs only have one life, not shameful, not shameful."

Holding a wooden meal box, Elena was chewing slowly and spoke lazily.

Seeing him eating so deliciously, Gnome King Riches standing next to her couldn’t help but swallow and glanced at his meal box.

"What’s that?"

A dark shell covered with leaves that probably were spices.

At least it looked cooked.

"Shellfish shrimp, I caught them by the lake, want one?" Elena generously offered him a toothpick.

Though hesitant, hearing that it was shrimp, Gnome King Riches relaxed his guard a bit and skewered a shrimp ball as thick as a thumb.

The shape of the shellfish shrimp was quite unique; he stared for a long while and couldn’t see the head or the pincers, hesitated for a moment, and then finally threw it into his mouth.

Hmmm...

The taste was unexpectedly okay?

Just a bit fishy, smelled like the river.

Watching his good brother crunching away, Elena reminded him,

"Remember to spit out the shell, it’s tough to chew, quite painful."

"Painful? Why did it break the moment I bit it?" Gnome King Riches, who was still chewing, was startled.

Elena also froze for a moment, her expression suddenly a little awkward.

"Uh... are you sure you’re eating shrimp?"

Gnome King Riches was dumbfounded, and his chewing jaw stopped.

"Holy shit, there’s something else in your bowl?"

Elena glanced subtly around.

"...No worries, maybe a few snails got mixed in, not a big deal."

"Ugh!" Before he could finish, Gnome King Riches, leaning on the car door, began to vomit.

Putting down his telescope, Mole glanced at Riches.

"...Daring to steal food from Old Na’s bowl, you really must have an iron head."

Upon hearing this, Elena holding the meal box immediately objected, "Damn! You say that as if the food I eat isn’t human food."

In the chasm, the escaping Mole retorted, "Which normal human would roast iron worms!"

"What iron worms, that’s mantis legs! And not all mantis have iron worms!"

While the two bickered, the Looters with their hands on their heads had already reached the front of the New Alliance’s position.

Liuding, clad in exoskeleton, led a fully-armed hundred-strong team forward and took custody of these captives in batches.

All Looters above the rank of centurion were kept separately and imprisoned within the position.

The rest were placed in front of the trenches, squatting down with their heads in their hands, waiting to be sent to the newly built POW camp in Qingstone County.

At the same time, at the temporary command post of the New Alliance.

Looking at the VM screen, Chu Guang’s face, which had been tense, finally relaxed into a smile.

"It’s over."

Vanus looked at him, surprised.

"The command post broken down?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, although there were some deviations in the plan, and we didn’t capture Jin Ya alive, recovering his body serves the same purpose."

The Ya Clan could maintain an army of tens of thousands largely due to the personal prestige and bloody authoritarian rule of the chief.

Once Jin Ya himself was dead, whether killed in battle or from illness or natural causes, the tribe would quickly disintegrate.

Unless a new strong leader emerged to take charge.

But under such circumstances, that possibility was almost nil.

And with the fall of the Ya Clan, the Chewing Bone Tribe that swept across the River Valley Province would also come to an utter end...

"In less than two months, you destroyed a Looter Tribe nearly 30,000 strong... you’ve created a miracle," Vanus couldn’t help but remark.

Chu Guang smiled modestly.

"The miracle wasn’t created by me, but by the people of the New Alliance."

Vanus looked at him, pensive, and nodded after a moment.

"So that’s how it is."

If that was the case...

Victory was indeed within reason.

...

Sporadic gunfire continued throughout the night.

As news of Jin Ya’s death spread, Looters hearing the broadcast gradually emerged from their shelters, raising their hands high, surrendering in an organized manner.

A hint of dawn crept across the sky.

The main urban areas gradually fell silent from gunfire, and West State City finally welcomed a peaceful dawn.

Chu Guang, clad in powered armor, squinted at the twilight from a distance and turned to Liuding standing by his side.

"A new settlement, how about calling it Dawn City? Or do you have a better idea?"

Liuding thought for a long time, but lacking any real culture, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Good name!"

Chu Guang laughed heartily and waved his right hand forward.

"Advance!"

The First Army Corps stood by at their original position.

The Second Corps and other player corps such as Death and Jungle began to advance.

The resistance within the urban area had largely ended, but not everyone had surrendered willingly.

Despite a series of defeats and brutally oppressive tactics pushing the Ya Clan to the brink of endurance, there were still some die-hard loyalists willing to fight for their tribe until the last moment.

"These despicable cowards! They’ve betrayed their own flag and promises!"

"Surrender? Hahaha, dream on!"

"Fox Tooth" roared in anger at the forces under Rock Tooth, retreating and fighting alongside the remnants into an abandoned commercial center.

Since the defending troops in the southern urban district had surrendered on the spot, he was immediately put in a disadvantageous position upon heading to reinforce the southern front.

Facing isolation without support, more and more of his men began to drop behind and flee.

By now, he couldn’t even muster three hundred-man teams.

Fortunately, the abandoned commercial center’s underground parking housed an ammunition depot.

Inside were military supplies and provisions for the southern front, enough to last a considerable time. The solid foundation and above-ground structures could withstand bombings and shelling well.

To seize this ammunition depot, personnel would have to be sent in.

As Chu Guang pondered which corps to assign this task to, a captive he had brought along as a guide suddenly stepped forward, cupping his hands in salute.

"Supreme and most high Manager, if you are willing to trust me, please leave this stubborn fool to me! I am willing to lead my men into the underground parking to capture this ammunition depot and offer it to you!"

As he spoke, Monkey Fang’s eyes were filled with flattery and ingratiation.

Given the option, he would rather not go to the mines to labor.

On the Wasteland, even being Cannon Fodder was better than hard labor.

The former at least had a chance to enjoy spoils of war and an opportunity for a turnaround, while the latter was pure drudgery, with the only fate being to work oneself to death in the mines.

Chu Guang initially wanted to tell him to stay out of the way, but upon reconsidering, saw this as a potentially good opportunity.

The war was over, and he no longer needed Cannon Fodder, but he did need people to manage prisoners of war.

At present, the only reliable individuals he had were Rock Tooth and his subordinates.

These men had surrendered and aimed their guns at their own, making it impossible for them to be in the same place as other prisoners.

However, as they were all from the same faction, employing them exclusively as overseers was improper.

To prevent a too-solid middle layer forming in the POW camp, it was necessary to support a "second in command" to check Rock Tooth.

Thinking this, Chu Guang looked toward Liuding standing beside him.

"The thousand-man team that surrendered last night, are they still at our position?"

Liuding nodded and replied.

"Yes, they are currently held by the First Army Corps."

Chu Guang then turned his attention to Monkey Fang.

"I will send an army corps to support you. I hope to see results before nightfall."

Monkey Fang was ecstatic.

"Thank you for your trust! I promise to bring you ’Fox Tooth’s’ head!"

"Try to capture him alive if possible," Chu Guang instructed before waving him off.

Monkey Fang’s troops had already assembled at the entrance of the underground garage. The hundred men who formed the vanguard were equipped with captured PU-9 submachine guns, each receiving two magazines distributed by the logistics personnel.

Eager to prove himself, Monkey Fang volunteered to lead the charge himself.

Chu Guang nodded in approval and also instructed his quartermaster to give the suicide squad an additional offensive grenade.

At the same time, three hundred players from the Death Legion also received the task to clear up remaining enemies.

The expansion pack would enter the scoring phase in 24 hours; this was the last chance to earn points.

The players who received the missions rubbed their hands together in excitement, while those who didn’t showed envious expressions.

"Dammit! We are also trained in infantry combat, why aren’t we going?"

"Exactly! It’s a dark curtain!"

"There must be some unspeakable py deal behind this!"

"Get lost, what py deal? This is about letting the professionals handle it! You don’t know jack!" Debt Giant Eye said with a smirk on his face, already shouldering a flamethrower borrowed from the Lin Army Corps.

Walking to the front of the team, Edge Shoveling yelled out,

"Brothers, switch to submachine guns and flamethrowers; those with bayonets, mount them; those without, carry your shovels, ready to enter the tunnels!"

The members of Death Legion let out excited cries.

"Ao ao ao!"

Watching their overwhelming fighting spirit, the paratroopers preparing to lead the charge swallowed nervously.

To be so excited about a potentially deadly street fight.

Were these people all mad?

"Let’s leave this place to them; we’ll continue moving forward."

Chu Guang ordered a few NPC supervisors from the Second Corps and waved his hand, leading the main force deeper into the urban area.

The temporary placement area for the prisoners of war was set up at the former site of the Civic Square in the southern part of the new district.

There was a large open space here with no obstacles for cover. The theater on the north side of the square had a good view, and a single machine gun was enough to hold the entire square.

Throughout the night, prisoners were brought here continuously.

Their casualties were not very severe; apart from a few who resisted desperately, many were captured by the guerrilla team while trying to escape north or surrendered systematically with their superiors.

Initially, Rock Tooth had them tied up with ropes.

Later, as there were too many people and not enough rope, they simply stripped off their beast skin jackets, tearing them into strips of leather to use as makeshift ropes and bandages.

The weather in May was bearable, but if it had been a few months earlier, many might have frozen to death.

By dawn, the entire square was packed with people squatting, nearly filling the whole open space.

Rock Tooth and his subordinates stood around the square, rifles at the ready, in groups of ten, vigilantly watching the crouched prisoners.

Using their peripheral vision to stealthily watch those traitors with white cloths wrapped around their arms, the prisoners, goblin-like in appearance, all had eyes flashing with hate.

However, upon seeing the soldiers of the New Alliance, that hate all turned to dread and fear.

They were truly frightened!

"...Respected and supreme Manager, your most loyal servant, Rock Tooth, welcomes your arrival!"

Upon seeing the power armor at the front of the procession, Rock Tooth immediately recognized Chu Guang’s identity, hurriedly put on a flattering smile, and went forward to greet him.

Chu Guang glanced at the crowd of people filling the square.

"How many prisoners are there?"

"21,708 people!" Rock Tooth immediately replied.

"Are you sure about that number?"

"Uh, approximately... there might be a difference of around one or two hundred," Rock Tooth said, sweating profusely.

Chu Guang smiled faintly but did not make things difficult for him.

In fact, he had already directed the Hummingbird drone to hover above the square, having Xiao Qi count for him.

A total of 21,573 people, with some statistical errors, but the errors were not significant.

Some of these POWs were direct descendants of the Ya Clan, while others were from the Eastern Provinces or the Bugra Free State.

Before paying off their sins, Chu Guang had no intention of letting them go home.

"...Having so many people gathered here is a risk; I suggest transporting them in batches back to Qingstone County for custody," Liuding advised in a low voice, coming up beside Chu Guang.

Chu Guang thought for a moment and said,

"The POW camp in Qingstone County probably can’t accommodate so many people; our initial estimate was between eight thousand and ten thousand prisoners, we didn’t build that many houses."

The number of prisoners far exceeded their expectations.

He never expected them to surrender so quickly, without even encountering a decent resistance.

"Then, perhaps..." a flicker of ruthlessness passed through Liuding’s eyes.

Rock Tooth, standing to one side, didn’t dare to make a sound, standing there trembling with fear.

Chu Guang gently shook his head.

"There’s no need; the mine in Qingstone County needs people, and Dawn City also needs people. Send some to Qingstone County, and the rest can stay where they are and build their own POW camp."

So many people were indeed a risk, but they also represented an opportunity.

To catch up with those wasteland forces that had developed over a century, stability could not be their only priority.

Looking at Rock Tooth standing to one side, Chu Guang continued.

"Besides these prisoners, what about those slaves you captured? And the craftsmen who made weapons for you, where are they now?"

Rock Tooth nervously said,

"Those slaves and craftsmen are scattered in the cells in the new district... I’ve arranged for people to watch them."

"How many people?"

Rock Tooth hesitated, obviously not yet having had time to count.

"About... just over ten thousand."

"Ten thousand?" Liuding was taken aback, frowning, "Why so many?"

Rock Tooth nervously clamped his mouth shut, not daring to speak.

In fact, at their peak, they had nearly fifty thousand prisoners and thirty-five thousand members.

But then they faced famine, rodent infestations, disease, plus the cessation of warfare and the failure of land reclamation, many slaves died.

That left just over ten thousand.

"There are over five thousand people registered in Town of Hope... plus these over ten thousand slaves, if we give them all resident status, our food reserves might not handle the burden," the accompanying quartermaster adviser whispered.

Chu Guang fell silent for a while.

"Now it’s the end of May; by holding out until the July harvest of wheat and early rice, we should be able to sustain them. Opening the trade routes to the south, we could buy food from the farmers in Brocade River Province using copper mines and sulfur..."

If the situation became urgent, using nutrient paste to bridge the gap was also allowed.

Pausing briefly, Chu Guang continued.

"...As for residential status, we promised to issue it to every survivor in Town of Hope; just do what we said before. As for those liberated slaves, initially issue them the status of supervised identities by the standards of refugees."

Supervised identities are a buffer between refugees and residents, with limited residential rights.

Normally, incoming refugees are given supervised identities. Only after a period of learning and work, mastering a basic living skill, they could change their registration information and obtain a residence permit.

This method could minimize the societal impact and burden from incoming populations.

The quartermaster quickly noted down the Manager’s orders.

"What about those craftsmen?"

Chu Guang: "Keep them confined, but separate from other prisoners."

The quartermaster nodded.

"Yes!"

Chu Guang then turned to Rock Tooth.

"Take me to that Golden Tooth’s palace; let’s see what treasures that guy has hidden."

Upon seeing that the Manager had stopped his rigorous inquiries, Rock Tooth finally breathed a sigh of relief, immediately nodding and bowing energetically.

"Right away! I’ll take you there!"

The group marched imposingly toward the new district.

Meanwhile, a series of victorious messages, as if given wings, flew back from the front line to City of Dawn. They swept through the town square broadcasts, reaching everyone’s ears.

The New Alliance has taken over West State City!

Skull Breaker·Golden Tooth executed!

The Ya Clan utterly annihilated, over twenty thousand Looters captured, nearly ten thousand slaves liberated!

Each piece of news alone was enough to astonish those who enjoyed such spectacles for an entire day.

At the entrance to the trading post.

Merchants leading double-headed cows, mercenaries, and travelers with their backpacks all paused in their steps, exchanging surprised glances.

"Golden Tooth is dead...?"

"They’re serious?!"

"If the Ya Clan is really done for... The Chewing Bone Tribe must be close to its end too," a rifle-bearing mercenary said in surprise, staring at the broadcast.

"Finally over! It’s been nearly two years since I’ve been to a pub in Bugra to see my old flame... Hope she still remembers me," his companion couldn’t help but say.

"Hahaha, those bone-chewing hyenas are finally going to hell! Praise the grand Alliance, praise the Federation’s Manager! Tianshui will remember his deeds!" a tired merchant shouted excitedly, drawing sidelong glances from the bystanders.

It was clear the group of Looters had made him suffer great losses.

"Thank the omnipotent Great Antler God, this land has finally welcomed its master..." a traveler disguised as an old man devoutly knelt on the ground and prayed.

Sim, who was far away in the headquarters of Red River Town Horseshoe Iron Business Group, heard about West State City through the telegram and stood petrified behind his desk.

After a long while, like a stunned bird, he finally came to his senses and squeezed out half a sentence questioning his own life.

"...Could it be a fake?"