This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 338: Even the Exalted Have Their Off Days

Chapter 338: Chapter 338: Even the Exalted Have Their Off Days

"I swear! Why the hell is it a second-hand item?!"

Near Dawn City’s military camp, beside the armory.

Spring Water Commander finally saw the "grand prize" he had drawn and was utterly dumbfounded on the spot.

The hefty cannon emitted a chilling glint.

But no matter how you looked at it, it seemed like it had been repainted.

Not just the cannon, but other parts of the exoskeleton were the same. Although repaired, you could still see conspicuous bullet marks on that black exoskeleton.

The battery module and ammunition rack had clearly been replaced, and the helmet was completely mismatched, probably remanufactured from aluminum alloy.

Oh boy!

Not just second-hand.

It was a heavily repaired battle-damaged version!

Realizing this, Spring Water’s good mood vanished in an instant.

The only comfort he found was that the 120mm mortar and the automatic loading system still worked. Luckily so, otherwise he would have had to bring an assistant to help him load the ammo.

That would be like taking off your pants to fart.

Seeing Spring Water looking like he was about to burst into tears, the little players who came by hoping to absorb some of his luck exploded into raucous laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"Dying of laughter!"

"Poor Brother Shui, that knife coming straight at him and he couldn’t dodge it in the end."

"Wuu wuu wuu, thank the planners! They’ve finally nerfed this piece of crap!"

"#%@&!"

Fuming, Spring Water’s face turned red as he cursed and dragged along the Battlefield Atmosphere Group and Old Black, who were trying not to laugh themselves sick, to test the cannon in the forest.

Although the Looters of West State City had been dealt with, a multitude of Variants still roamed the forest.

These Variants bred rapidly and might have spread from other regions.

Usually, when there were many people around, these Variants wouldn’t come near and would even actively keep a distance.

However, as soon as they found someone alone, they would cunningly approach, waiting for a chance to strike.

The First Army Corps and Second Army Corps conducted regular patrols to prevent Variants from attacking the survivor construction sites and lumberjacks.

But relying on just two corps to protect the safety of five or six thousand people was clearly insufficient.

Today, early in the morning, the quartermaster issued a vast number of hunting missions, covering almost all the possible Variants in the vicinity of Dawn City.

Including monsters, Multilegged Beasts, Mutant Brown Bears, Claws of Death, Crack Claw Crabs, Battleship Shrimps, Blackwater Snakes, and so on.

On one hand, hunting helped reduce their numbers.

On the other hand, it provided some game to improve everyone’s meals.

One of the most significant contributions of the New Alliance to the Wasteland might be bringing over cooking methods from the Different World.

Many Variants that were previously inedible or unpalatable had now become delicacies.

You could still hunt some game near Dawn City.

Over by City of Dawn, larger Variants had almost disappeared.

The three walked through the forest for a while when I Max Black suddenly stopped, raising his hand to signal the others to halt.

Spring Water Commander, seeing this, excitedly asked,

"What’s the situation?"

I Max Black closed his eyes and frowned, waiting quietly for a while before whispering,

"About 500 meters from us... should be slightly to the east, probably a monster."

Spring Water Commander couldn’t help but retort,

"What do you mean, probably? You’re awakened, can’t you report more precisely?"

"Fuck! I’m not a radar!" I Max Black muttered under his breath.

The Spring Water Commander looked toward the nearby Battlefield Atmosphere Group.

"Old Soldier, go check it out, but don’t start anything. I’ll cover you with a barrage, then you can move in."

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group was speechless.

"Seriously, a barrage for just one monster? Do we really need to bring out the artillery?"

Would the money from the mission even cover the cost of the shells?

120mm mortar shells must be more expensive than 88mm ones.

"You don’t understand! This is called being cautious!" the Spring Water Commander said assertively.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group rolled his eyes and moved forward with his rifle to scout.

The Spring Water Commander planted his hands on the ground and drove the support column into the earth, sticking his butt out as the cannon barrel rose high.

I Max Black watched with a baffled expression.

He wondered if it was just his imagination, but he always thought the thing looked like a Squirtle.

This thought was dangerous—he had a low threshold for laughter, and he almost burst out laughing.

"Pfft—Hahaha..."

The Spring Water Commander ignored him and kept his eyes fixed on the vm on the ground.

After a short wait, a line of text came through.

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: [It’s a monster, and an adult one at that, looks to be around six or seven hundred kilograms.]

At the same time the message was sent, the monster’s coordinates were also marked on the map.

Seeing the message, the Spring Water Commander immediately perked up, adjusted the cannon behind him, and excitedly started talking to himself.

"32 degrees north-east, straight-line distance 671 meters—fire!"

As he finished speaking, the long cannon boomed, and the large shell soared high before crashing down heavily.

It wasn’t over with just one; before the sound of the explosion reached them, the Spring Water Commander fired two more rounds.

"Boom—!!"

The shell hit the ground, and three consecutive heavy artillery blasts roared, their fiery wrath blooming in the forest.

The monster hadn’t even realized what had happened before it was engulfed by the shrapnel and flames.

"Holy shit..." I Max Black, watching from the side, had a face full of astonishment.

Even from 500 meters away, although invisible, the explosion had clearly disturbed the entire nearby forest...

Feeling the trembling earth and the hot breeze slowly blowing, the Spring Water Commander felt a surge of excitement.

This power!

It was freaking awesome!

"If only I had a drone! Right, I’m from the Intelligence System, how the fuck did I forget to bring a drone out here!"

Curses came over the communication channel.

"Fuck! Could you give a warning before firing? Lucky I’m fast, or I’d have been gone too!"

Spring Water Commander: "Hahaha! Bro, is this equipment awesome or what? Wait for me; I’ll come over to check the kill radius."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "??? Are you even listening to me?"

He pulled up the stakes he had driven into the ground.

The Spring Water Guy picked up the vm from the ground, excitedly walking toward the coordinates of the bombardment.

Judging by the shrapnel stuck in the surrounding trees, the kill radius of this shell was nearly 30 meters!

As for the monster near the center of the explosion, not only was an arm blown off, but it was also riddled with shrapnel, dead beyond doubt.

The Battlefield Atmosphere Group walked up, took a look, and realized he didn’t even need to finish it off.

Clicking his tongue, he couldn’t help feeling a mix of astonishment and envy.

The power was truly undeniable!

At the moment three novice players were testing new equipment in the forest, a delegation from Camp 101, which was exiting the city from the southern suburbs of West State City, coincidentally heard an explosion emanating from the forest.

"What was that sound just now?"

A man over fifty lifted his head, his face marked with surprise.

His name was Button, an environmental engineer who specialized in water resources as well.

Upon hearing that the New Alliance planned to build a dam in Sector Four to control the flooding of West State Lake, he immediately applied to join the delegation.

If the flooding issues of West State Lake could be resolved, the vast expanse of black soil on its northeast side could be transformed into fertile farmland.

He had thought of this long ago.

However, unfortunately, back then there were hundreds of survivor communities in West State City, which simply couldn’t unite.

Later, when the Chewing Bone Tribe attacked the area, the project was completely shelved.

Now, West State finally had a visionary leader who, sharing the same idea, focused on the flooding of West State Lake, which made him incredibly happy.

"It sounds like an explosion..." another electrical engineer named Yuan Feng frowned.

"An explosion?"

"Hasn’t the war ended?"

The delegation was abuzz with this revelation, exchanging astonished looks.

Seeing this, Lu Bei quickly stepped forward to reassure everyone.

"Please don’t worry, it might be our soldiers... or it could be hunters hunting. Though the Looters have been eradicated, there are still many Variants active nearby! But rest assured, our soldiers will do everything to keep you safe!"

Stretching his neck and looking southward, Pai curiously asked,

"Why would they use a cannon for hunting? Shouldn’t they be using hunting guns?"

Lu Bei scratched his head, unsure how to answer this question.

Pai, excited, continued,

"Can I go take a look?"

"No," before Lu Bei could respond, Button standing beside him immediately chastised in a low voice, "The forest is too dangerous, and we aren’t here for a leisurely outing."

"Okay... I get it," Pai responded, sticking out his tongue and drawing out his words.

A person standing beside them, draped in a white cloak, hadn’t spoken from the start. The shadow under their hood obscured their facial features, and their indifferent expressions made it impossible to determine their gender.

Fang Chang, walking beside the group, was observing this particular NPC.

This NPC gave him an unusual feeling.

Different from the rest of the delegation.

He had personally seen this individual emerge from that door.

At that moment, Night Ten suddenly spoke up.

"I feel it might not even be human."

Wild Wind: "...Good thing it doesn’t understand what you’re saying."

Old White nodded in agreement, "I used to think language barriers were problematic, but now I think it’s a blessing that the settings include language barriers, or else it would be so much more troublesome."

Fang Chang: "Indeed."

The more realistic the AI, the smaller the mind, yet most players are unbridled in their boisterous comments.

Culture is like a photo—adding a filter isn’t a bad thing, it’s good for you, good for me, good for everyone.

Night Ten: "Damn, I was just saying... You guys are way too careful about NPCs!"

"No choice," Fang Chang sighed sadly, "Who made the game this realistic? The happiness of our latter half of our lives depends on it."

Old White made a helpless gesture: "...Whether it’s happy or not, just losing favorability from failing hidden tasks is frustrating enough."

Sequence Level means combat power, Contribution Level implies social status, but experienced players know that both are just the surface; the biggest variable in the game is actually the hidden "favorability."

"This favorability can be understood as a form of ’recognition’."

"Especially for faction leaders, if their favorability is high, they can always trigger some main storyline missions."

"And the rewards from these missions tend to far exceed those of regular missions."

"So why do so many people bestow a bunch of titles upon the Manager? Employ various tactics to flatter? Is it because they are idle?"

"Of course not!"

"It’s just a game, not a real person, let alone one that can make money, so it’s not embarrassing!"

"A group of people was discussing this when another group came towards them from the front."

"They saw a set of azure power armor, surrounded by a dozen guards, walking toward them."

"Upon seeing the Manager, Lu Bei’s eyes lit up, and he excitedly went up to greet him."

"Manager Sir!"

"Since participating in the airborne operation, he had been training new recruits from the Third Army Corps behind enemy lines, and after the war ended, he immediately took Wang Zhong to Camp 101."

"Now that the mission was over, he could finally return to the Manager’s side."

"Looking at the loyal young face, Chu Guang, who had removed his helmet visor, smiled and nodded. He then turned to look at the representatives from Camp 101."

"The visiting delegation consisted of six people."

"For a survivor settlement with a total population of only two or three hundred, that was quite a number."

"It was evident that they placed significant importance on their relationship with them."

"But what really delighted Chu Guang was the knowledge these people possessed."

"This excited him more than the Black Box."

"The elderly man at the front was about to speak when Pai stepped forward, raising her index finger in salute."

"Respected Manager Sir, we come from Camp 101, my name is Pai, representing the visiting delegation."

"She had thought up this script the night before."

"It would be a pity not to say it."

"Seeing her gesture, Chu Guang was slightly surprised."

"He had seen this military salute before, in the books at Shelter No.117."

"If he remembered correctly..."

"Wasn’t it the salute of the Human Alliance Fleet?"

Thinking of this, Chu Guang jokingly said,

"Nice to meet you, recruit of the fleet, but we have no more ships. The last mission the organization gave you, is to rebuild our homeland, waiting for the day we set sail again."

"Having seen all sorts of performance art from players every day, he was no longer surprised by any bizarre behavior."

"However, what he didn’t expect was for the young girl to puff out her chest and crisply say,"

"Yes! I guarantee to complete the mission!"

"Huh?"

"Did the signals actually match up?"

"Watching Pai ’play around’ there, Button turned to Chu Guang and said anxiously,"

"Respected Manager Sir, please forgive her impudence."

"Chu Guang laughed."

"Don’t be so nervous; you’re not my soldiers, and we aren’t at war now, no need to salute me."

"Saying this, he put on a serious face and extended his right hand."

"My name is Chu Guang, and my friends often call me Dawn. Feel free to do so."

"Watching the towering iron hand before him, the old man hesitated slightly and gently shook it."

"Button, environmental engineer from Camp 101. I heard your plans to treat the lake water, so I volunteered to come here. This is Pai beside me; she’s a student of the most learned person in our camp..."

"Not just Pai."

Button introduced everyone accompanying him, including a silent bodyguard in a cloak.

However, he didn’t go into much detail about that person, merely mentioning his name was Tianqin and that his responsibility was everyone’s safety.

Chu Guang didn’t really mind, his eyes brightening up after hearing the old man’s introduction.

"So, you’re an expert in hydrology?"

Button said with a smile.

"I wouldn’t say expert, but hydrological engineering is indeed within my specialization. I’ve researched the data on West State Lake before; this lake is a product of the environmental transformation plan during the Human Alliance Era in Central Continent..."

Once he started talking about his field, Button couldn’t stop, rambling on from the origins of the plan to the founding of West State City.

Seeing that his explanations were endless, Chu Guang quickly seized an opportunity to steer the conversation back.

"This is something we can elaborate on! However, this isn’t the place to chat, please follow me back to the camp!"

"We’ve prepared a temporary resting spot for you, and tomorrow I will accompany you to Dawn City, and we can discuss it in detail on the road!"

Button nodded excitedly.

"No problem!"

The group continued their journey.

On the way back, Pai kept hovering around Chu Guang, her big eyes filled with curiosity.

Or, to be more precise, around the power armor he wore.

"Is this the legendary power armor?"

"Yes," Chu Guang replied in a gentle tone.

"Wearing such a big chunk of metal all the time, doesn’t it tire you out?" Before Chu Guang could answer, an excited Pai said, "Can I touch it when you’re not wearing it?"

This guy seemed to have endless energy, filled with curiosity about everything he saw.

Chu Guang wasn’t annoyed, instead, he became interested in her area of expertise.

"I heard your teacher is quite impressive?"

"Of course! My master manages the entire camp’s archives! He knows everything!" Pai proudly puffed up her chest.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, then asked.

"What about you?"

"I’m super awesome too! But unlike my master, I mainly study mechanics..."

As she spoke, something suddenly occurred to her, and she immediately ran to the cloaked bodyguard, rummaging through his backpack, and pulled out a doll.

The doll was tiny, only about the size of two palms, dressed in a blue-striped white onesie.

Its golden hair and blue pupils were probably modeled after herself, but the facial features were utterly different, exquisitely refined, giving off a gentle vibe.

She handed it over generously, saying in a pleasant voice.

"This is for you! A gift from Ambassador Pai, hoping we can continue to interact peacefully and friendly!"

Listening from the side, Button’s forehead sprouted a black line, pinching his brow with a somewhat headache.

Although there was indeed a part about exchanging gifts, this clearly wasn’t the right time for it.

Watching Pai’s earnest expression and the doll in her hands, Chu Guang couldn’t help but curl his lips, about to laughingly say that he appreciatively got the gesture.

However, just at that moment, he suddenly heard Xiao Qi’s whisper in his ear.

’Wuu wuu wuu, master~’

This unexpected act of coquetry made Chu Guang’s skin crawl.

Yikes!

Where did this guy download this voice pack from?

Just as he was about to ask what it was up to, Xiao Qi continued in a pitiful tone.

’Can you give it to me?’

Chu Guang was stunned for a moment.

"What do you need this for?"

Seeing Pai’s expectant look and being unable to withstand Xiao Qi’s pleading, Chu Guang finally reached out and took the doll.

"Thank you."

A happy smile appeared on Pai’s face.

"You’re welcome! It was short notice, and I didn’t have time to prepare any other gifts, so please don’t mind."

It’s only polite to reciprocate.

It was evident that the doll meant a lot to her.

Chu Guang thought for a moment and waved his hand upward.

A hummingbird drone, the size of a fist, floated down and steadily landed on his hand, folding its thin, cicada-wing-like propellers.

Staring at the silver-white metallic sphere, Pai’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Is this a Hummingbird?!"

A product of the Human Alliance Era!

Due to its compact size, it could freely maneuver through tight spaces and capture images from all angles without dead zones. It was said that many people from that era used this device for live streaming.

"It seems I’ve met someone who knows her stuff."

Chu Guang smiled and placed the silver-white metallic sphere in her hands.

In the advanced blind boxes, the Hummingbird drone was a rare prize unassociated with weapons.

As for this Hummingbird, it was the prize Chu Guang drew from a blind box last night, and he had even drawn two of them.

Giving one as a gift wasn’t a big deal.

Every Hummingbird flying over the New Alliance had defensive plugins installed, preventing them from being controlled by hostile forces even if hijacked or forced to land.

These safety codes were embedded into the core logic of the operating system, ensuring within the signal coverage of the New Alliance; they wouldn’t go places they shouldn’t or be used for actions against the New Alliance.

Giving a drone was certainly better than giving a weapon.

Pai, receiving the Hummingbird, was overjoyed and repeatedly thanked him, then went off playing with the drone.

Looking at the doll in his hand, Chu Guang’s facial expression was a mixture of confusion and amusement; he ultimately stuffed it into his backpack.

This scene was noticed by nearby players, who started whispering among themselves.

"What’s that doll?"

"An action figure?"

"Holy moly, even the Manager has this hobby!"

"This has to be shared!"

Wild Wind, who hadn’t participated in the conversation, coughed.

"... I think it’d be better if you kept your voices down. Other NPCs might not understand us, but it seems like our camp leader can."

Night Ten immediately shut his mouth.

...

After returning to the camp, the two sides exchanged gifts.

The gift from Camp 101 was a holographic computer pen.

Once activated, the port’s holographic imaging device would emit an azure beam of light, displaying a pale blue holographic screen within the beam.

Button personally demonstrated to Chu Guang how to operate it.

Even Chu Guang, who had seen plenty of high-tech gadgets, was amazed and happily accepted the gift.

He had wanted a portable holographic computer ever since the Pioneer’s arrival, but hadn’t had the chance until now.

Now, his wish was finally fulfilled.

Camp 101 demonstrated their technology to the New Alliance, and Chu Guang, in return, was not stingy and gave a generous reply.

This reciprocal gift included 100 crab meat pies, 100 nuclear cola sodas, ten bags of coffee beans, various pastries and delicacies, ten rolls of Devil Silk, and ten lengths of Devil cloth, among other things.

Anyway, apart from the Spirit Leaf and nutrient paste, Chu Guang had stuffed the representative specialties into a huge gift package, filling up an entire truck.

For a survivor settlement with a population of two to three hundred, this was undoubtedly a grand gift.

When they saw the gifts loaded on the truck, everyone in the visiting group wore expressions of surprise.

"This... isn’t this too precious?" Button said somewhat sheepishly.

Chu Guang smiled and replied,

"These are common items in the New Alliance, and not as precious as you imagine. Please, accept them."

It was the first meeting, and naturally, he had to give more.

Otherwise, how would he create a shocking effect?

As for the meaning, it was naturally to showcase the prosperous culture and bountiful products of the New Alliance!

And as for the use?

The uses were too great!

How else would he get others to willingly work?

To facilitate communication, at the end of the meeting, Chu Guang also gave Button 100 hundred-yuan banknotes.

Looking at the puzzled old man, he patiently explained,

"In the New Alliance, everyone needs to pay for purchases, even the manager. You can use these silver coins as an activity fund."

Though still puzzled about how to use them, Button nodded respectfully.

"Thank you for your care."

After settling the visiting group, Chu Guang returned to his own tent.

Yin Fang followed him.

Seeing that there were no others around, he stepped forward and lowered his voice.

"That Tianqin, is a bionic person."

At these words, Chu Guang was slightly startled.

"Bionic person?"

Yin Fang nodded solemnly.

"Believe me, I wouldn’t make a mistake."

Working as a frontline prospector for the academy, he had absolute confidence in his own judgment and instinct. From the moment they had met, he had kept an eye on that individual.

Chu Guang looked surprised.

Having been in the Waste World so long, he had often heard rumors about bionic people but had never seen one in reality.

"A bionic person... is there a problem?"

"No problem, but we need to be careful," Yin Fang said seriously, "If it’s a companion type bionic person, they are mostly harmless, but it obviously isn’t that type."

"But if it’s designed as a combat bionic person, depending on its capabilities, it could potentially be more dangerous than the Claw of Death!"

Regardless of breed or model, the combat power and power armor of the Claw of Death approximately belonged to the same tier in the Wasteland.

The former excelled at one-on-one battles and was suited for complex terrain, while the latter possessed stronger comprehensive abilities and could adapt well to any battlefield environment.

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully, taking this piece of advice to heart.

He didn’t believe Camp 101 had a reason to offend him, but being careful was always wise.

After giving his update, Yin Fang went back to fix the fuel rod.

Having shed his power armor, Chu Guang was about to open his VM to check how his currency recycling plan was progressing.

However, just then, the backpack he had thrown aside suddenly trembled, and a doll crawled out of it.

Seeing this, Chu Guang was startled, and he drew the handgun from his pocket.

"Wuwuwu, Master," the doll, with an aggrieved expression, faced the gun, "Are you going to kill Xiao Qi?"

Hearing the familiar voice pack, Chu Guang lowered his gun, dumbfounded, and stared at it.

"What the hell?!"

"I’m not a ghost; I’m Xiao Qi," said the doll sitting on the table and blinking.

Chu Guang: "..."

Seeing Chu Guang silent, Xiao Qi cautiously said,

"Master, are you angry?"

"No."

Chu Guang sighed and put away his gun.

Pinching the bridge of his nose to gather his thoughts, he decided to start with the most concerning issue.

"What’s the situation with this doll?"

"It’s a bionics learning robot. Its body is equipped with precision electromechanical components and rare bionic control components. Apart from being a bit small, it’s almost indistinguishable from a real person!"

The doll, sitting on the table, happily looked towards Chu Guang, its eyes shining brightly as it spoke.

Its lively facial expressions, if not observed closely, indeed looked almost like a real person’s.

"...Of course, its control program is much cruder than the peripherals. Even the basic general-use AI template used can’t replicate facial expressions, so Xiao Qi just rewrote its operating system."

"From now on! This body belongs to Xiao Qi, and Master, you can treat it as Xiao Qi too! Hehe."

Looking at the triumphant Xiao Qi, Chu Guang showed a surprised expression.

Thinking back, Yin Fang hadn’t even realized that this doll was a bionics learning robot?

That girl named Pai was something...

Of course, it might also be because Yin Fang’s attention was fully on Tianqin at that time.

Chu Guang seriously looked at Xiao Qi and asked,

"Are you sure it’s safe?"

Hearing this question, Xiao Qi proudly said,

"Don’t worry, Master! Xiao Qi not only carefully checked it twice but also rewrote the underlying logic controlling the motor! You can always trust Xiao Qi!"

Chu Guang somewhat relaxed but soon felt embarrassed for worrying that a girl might be scheming against him.

Clearing his throat, he changed the subject.

"...What’s the use of this thing?"

Xiao Qi, hands on hips, boastfully replied,

"Humph, it’s very useful. From now on, Master can take Xiao Qi along on trips!"

Most crucially, it finally had its own legs!

No more bothering Boss Xia even for climbing a simple step!

"Even without this thing, aren’t you always by my side?" Chu Guang asked, puzzled, looking at the doll sitting on the table.

His VM was always networked with the shelter, and he rarely left the coverage range of the shelter’s signal.

Whenever he needed it, it would appear by his side.

"It’s not the same!" Xiao Qi shook its head like a rattle drum, very sure of itself.

Though not knowing exactly what was different, Chu Guang tentatively believed its words.

After all, such a palm-sized thing wouldn’t be a hindrance to carry around, and it might come in handy as an ace in the hole at a critical moment.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the tent, followed by Ma Ban’s voice.

"Sir, a group of people has arrived outside our camp!"

Chu Guang slightly frowned.

Standing up to go to the door, he pulled back the tent curtain and asked Ma Ban.

"Who?"

Ma Ban continued quickly,

"They claim to be from the Bugra Free State in the north, employed by the ’Firestone’ Group!"

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