This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 362: Friends from Afar

Chapter 362: Chapter 362: Friends from Afar

"Are you a glutton or what?!"

Staring at the mess on the table, Dolly’s eyes widened in shock.

A lizard meat skewer, as long as a forearm and thick as two fingers, crammed full of tails charred to a ruddy finish, valued at three chips.

She was already full after eating just one, yet this guy had polished off a whole four skewers!

Dolly’s gaze inevitably shifted downward.

She wanted to figure out where on Earth all the food this guy ate had gone?!

"Aren’t you the one who told me to make myself at home?"

Fang Chang calmly wiped his mouth with a napkin, appreciating the expression on her face for a moment.

After some thought, he went on to criticize.

"The taste is indeed average, nowhere near as good as back home."

It seemed the lizard meat was imported from the south, where he had heard that there were farms raising edible lizards.

There was also crocodile meat, which chewed much like chicken.

But then again, the cost of living here was really steep, such a simple dinner had already run up a bill of twenty chips.

Fang Chang couldn’t help thinking that opening an old street barbecue joint in Giant Stone City could be quite profitable.

Although most of the residents here couldn’t afford to splurge, the mercenaries certainly could.

Looking at the pile of wooden skewers on the plate, the corner of Dolly’s mouth twitched as she reluctantly reached into her pocket.

However, Fang Chang had already tossed a green chip worth twenty-five into the waiter’s tray.

"...Bring me two more beers and another lizard skewer, and keep the change."

"...Yes, sir." The waiter rolled his eyes inwardly as he looked at the green chip on the platter.

Keep the change indeed.

There wasn’t any change to give back in the first place!

Seeing Fang Chang picking up the tab, Dolly was stunned.

After quite a while, when the beer and skewers arrived, she muttered softly.

"Weren’t you my guest... why did you pay for it?"

"Once I get my first paycheck, I’ll treat you then. You better save your chips for rent and loan repayment," Fang Chang said as he sipped the beer, which tasted as weak as water, and teased Dolly, who pouted, "Besides, treating me with the chips I gave you doesn’t seem right. I feel like I’m losing out."

"But, but it’s what I earned!" Dolly protested with a flushed face. "How can that be considered using your chips?"

Fang Chang couldn’t help but laugh at her amusing reaction.

"Right, right."

He never thought that one day, he’d become friends with a string of data.

But putting that aside, it was quite an interesting experience...

...

North outskirts of Qingquan City.

At the entrance and exit of the provincial highway, a dense crowd of figures was slowly approaching from the distance.

Rather than a commercial team, they looked more like a military convoy.

The man leading them was clad in light gray power armor, heavy steel, and composite materials armored him from toes to teeth.

The Gauss rifle he held in his hand was like a greatsword laid across his chest.

The hundred or so people following him, aside from the twenty power armors, were all wearing "Pioneer" exoskeletons and carrying "Black Swan" assault rifles.

Unlike the crew of the Pioneer, they were a corporate army, real soldiers.

Judging by the bullet holes and scratches on their vehicles and armor, their journey had been anything but smooth, and they’d seen their fair share of intense battles, not just one or two.

At that moment, the man at the front raised his right hand, and the thick formation came to a slow stop.

A short distance ahead of him stood an azure power armor.

The man fixated on the power armor for a while.

If he remembered correctly, this model was called "Supervisor," a police-type armor from the Human Alliance Era.

Behind the azure power armor were dozens of soldiers clad in "Type Five" exoskeletons, also a police-type armor from the Human Alliance Era.

Such equipment was generally only seen in shelters.

The man was about to say something.

But the power armor in front of him took the initiative to lift its helmet visor, speaking out with a resounding voice.

"Welcome, friends from the East Coast. I am the Manager of Shelter No. 404 and also the manager of the New Alliance. You can call me by my name, Chu Guang, or by my code name, Dawn."

Seeing the visor lifted on the other side, the man at the front tapped twice on the side of his helmet, opening his own visor as a gesture of sincerity.

Just as Chu Guang had expected, there was a robust face beneath the helmet.

Younger than he had imagined; he looked to be just in his early twenties.

"Yun Song, captain of Assault Team No. 26 of the corporate army," the man introduced himself.

"We’ve left from the Ideal City to reinforce the Pioneer in the Western Desert. Our intentions have been communicated to you over the channel."

"We need to resupply and rest here for a few days before we continue our journey."

Captain Yun Song, whose speech was very direct and uncompromising, had a distinct military style, completely different from the engineers Chu Guang had dealt with before.

Chu Guang glanced at the followers behind him, soldiers armed to the teeth, numbering about one hundred and twenty or thirty.

The remaining thirty or fifty people were probably logistical personnel, only a few of whom carried pistols or similar self-defense weapons.

In addition, there were nearly ten semi-wheeled and semi-tracked vehicles, probably loaded with supplies.

And those twenty or thirty double-headed cows and mutated donkeys carrying cargo didn’t seem to have come from Ideal City. They were probably picked up along the way.

Unchanged in demeanor, Chu Guang still wore a smile as warm as the spring breeze.

"Welcome, the doors of the Alliance are always open to its friends!"

"This isn’t the place for conversation. We’ve prepared a banquet to provide a warm reception for you."

"Please follow me."

The "Long Endurance Farm" built by the Pioneer for Shelter No. 404, had an exchange condition: to provide a resting place for the employees and troops of the corporation when their reinforcements passed through the northern suburbs of Qingquan City.

Seeing that the Manager before him was fulfilling the agreement, Yun Song’s eyebrows relaxed slightly, and a smile spread across his tense face.

"Thank you."

"Don’t mention it."

With an ever-present smile on his face, Chu Guang replied calmly.

"We are friends. It is only right to lend a hand to a friend in trouble!"

...

City of Dawn did not prohibit Waste Land Wanderers carrying weapons from entering, but there were requirements for the scale of the armed personnel and the types of weapons.

For example, regular mercenary groups and caravan guards could enter and leave freely, but armed forces exceeding 50 people had to register in advance before entering.

Additional ammunition and explosives had to be left at the trading station next to North Street and could not be brought into City of Dawn. They could be taken away upon departure.

Carried weapons wouldn’t have their magazines checked, but the safety must not be disengaged arbitrarily, especially on the streets, where the muzzle must always be pointed downward.

Drones patrolled the skies above City of Dawn.

Any violations would trigger the launch of the guard team within 10 minutes, and depending on the threat level, nearby players would receive an arrest mission.

For these soldiers who came from afar, in terms of numbers, equipment, and nature, they had obviously exceeded the ordinary scope and naturally couldn’t be treated like a regular mercenary group during the entry process.

However, as the corporation was a partner of the New Alliance, Chu Guang generously granted them the permission for military transit.

The garrison was selected next to the airport.

With the 2nd Army being moved to patrol West State City, there were plenty of available barracks.

Upon reaching the entrance of the barracks, many of the soldiers’ faces showed signs of relief.

Clearly, they had endured much hardship on the way.

A surprised look spread across Yun Song’s face as he repeatedly compared with the tablet in his hand.

The screen displayed photos taken by the Pioneer.

The barren land was once nothing but a concrete enclosing wall, with a few barracks made of foam material.

Yet everything before him was unrelated to the photos in his hands.

Row upon row of tidy barracks sat on the open space, with several wooden hangars next to the straight runway, 100 mm cannons standing tall, and not far off, a reinforced communication tower.

Looking southwest, one could see the brightly lit night. Although the full scope of the survivor settlement couldn’t be seen, from the flickering outline alone, it was clear that it was a thriving settlement with a population of perhaps no less than ten thousand.

The strong contrast left Yun Song stunned in place, and he couldn’t help but turn to Chu Guang and ask.

"This place... is it really Long Endurance Farm?"

He suspected he might have gone to the wrong place.

Anticipating his astonishment, Chu Guang smiled and said.

"That’s a name from history now; it’s called City of Dawn these days."

"As for the farm, it’s just a corner to the northwest of City of Dawn. We transformed the barren land north of the lake into farmland. If you had come here half a year earlier, you could still see the track marks left by the Pioneer on the land."

"But now, it has been covered by a vast expanse of rice and corn fields."

Yun Song didn’t speak, but the amazement in his heart was clearly etched on his face.

Such an event would not be surprising around Ideal City.

Due to trade with the corporation, many survivor settlements in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng had also developed very well.

Especially those around Cloud-On-City and Cloud-Below-City, which became opulent thanks to the extensive trade routes and the remnants of pre-war civilization.

Yet such a miracle had occurred deep inland in the wilderness!

It was utterly inconceivable!

However, now was not the time to discuss such matters.

With a composed expression, Yun Song looked towards Chu Guang and earnestly said.

"We have 20 wounded among our team. Before settling us, can you provide resting beds for them first?"

"Wounded?" Chu Guang asked in slight surprise.

Yun Song nodded, his face grave as he spoke.

"When we passed by Yongdong City, we were ambushed by a group of mucosal entities disguised as survivors... Four brothers remain there forever, and another 20 suffered varying degrees of infection during the battle."

"Their symptoms are very rare. In addition to being irritable and aggressive, they also have increased appetite, drowsiness, and uncontrollable violent behavior."

"Without the professional medical equipment and personnel to handle their conditions and no cryogenic hibernation devices to alleviate their pain, we can only periodically inject them with sedatives."

"Continuing on the road with them is a burden, and it’s dangerous for them. We plan to leave them here temporarily."

"In July, a corporate caravan will return from the west, and they will take our wounded back to Ideal City. We will need to trouble you to look after them for a while... Of course, we will pay you for your service."

Listening to the words of the assault team captain before him, Chu Guang’s expression also slightly changed.

Disguised as survivors, slime molds?

Had the Lair in Yongdong City developed to that extent?

What surprised Chu Guang even more was that even this group of professional soldiers, armed to the teeth with high-tech equipment, had been caught off guard by the mucosal entities there.

If he remembered correctly, Batch, who opened an aluminum factory in the "North Suburb," seemed to have been parasitized in that very Yongdong City too.

"I will have my doctor look at you guys," Chu Guang said seriously.

Although he didn’t hold much hope for the small clinic here, Yun Song still nodded his head.

"Thanks for the trouble."

...

The welcoming banquet was held in the army barracks, and these big-headed soldiers weren’t fussy about the dining environment.

Instead, after so many days of living exposed to the elements, just having a table to eat at already made them feel delighted.

Not to mention the rumors about delicacies.

When they first crossed the border of River Valley Province, many were filled with expectation.

And now, that expectation had indeed not been let down.

Over twenty round tables were set up in the open space, with the center of each table cut out to accommodate a large pot.

Stones were piled up underneath the pot, with blazing charcoal fire burning inside. The boiling pot churned with froth, and the air was filled with enticing aromas from the steam, causing everyone sitting at the tables to constantly swallow their saliva.

Thin slices of meat and various meatballs were placed in wooden racks on the tables, alongside sliced cabbage, water-droplet laden bean sprouts, mushrooms, tofu chunks, instant noodles, and more.

Eyes darting between the pot and the ingredients on the table, a corporate soldier sitting there couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked,

"...What is this? How do we eat it?"

"Hotpot, it’s quite a common way of eating here. Just like this, you put the ingredients in and cook them, then scoop them out to eat," Lu Bei said with a smile as he demonstrated.

He picked up a slice of beef as thin as paper with his chopsticks, swished it in the pot a couple of times, and then dipped it into a sauce plate before popping it into his mouth.

Seeing how deliciously he ate, the other soldiers around the round table started to follow suit with great enthusiasm.

The two groups ate and talked, and the atmosphere was as lively as the steam rising from the pot.

At first, everyone was somewhat reserved.

But after a few slices of beef accompanied by beer were consumed, they quickly warmed up to each other, and the conversation flowed more freely.

Looking at these ravenous men, the nearby Guards Corps soldier, eating at the same table, couldn’t resist asking,

"Say, don’t you guys have hotpot where you’re from?"

He had heard that Ideal City was a very affluent place, purported to be the closest to the Prosperity Epoch utopia on this wasteland.

In comparison, their neighbor Giant Stone City seemed as insignificant as a speck of dust on a diamond.

Despite the exaggerations in the rumors, seeing these famished fellows, it was hard for Lu Bei to picture just how affluent that place could be.

A few corporate soldiers exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.

"No idea, I’m a Level F employee."

"I’m actually Level E, and I should be promoted to D after I get back."

"The defense department’s pay grade goes up by a half, but the Cr they give can only buy some basic food."

"We don’t really care much about the methods of cooking, but protein and fat are not too scarce."

"The restaurant processes the food and serves it up, and the flavors are generally not as potent as this."

At that moment, a corporate soldier who had been busily stuffing his face without joining the conversation, couldn’t help but raise his head and let out an envious swear.

"Damn... do you guys eat like this every day?"

Lu Bei smiled shyly.

"Not really every day... just occasionally."

Who could handle eating hotpot every day, after all?

Even if one’s stomach could withstand it, the rear end certainly couldn’t.

There were plenty of good things in North Street of Dawn City, and the New Alliance treated its soldiers quite well, so they didn’t have to fixate on eating the same thing voraciously.

Hearing this from their allies, the envious corporate soldiers seemed to finally find some balance in their hearts.

As expected.

Such delicious food wasn’t something one could afford to eat every day...

...

Due to the urgency of time and the inability to prepare dinner for more than two hundred people, Chu Guang had a stroke of insight and simply invited them to have hotpot.

This kind of food that can be cooked while being eaten is not too troublesome to prepare, and it could even be cut while eating, plus the hotpot base was pre-made.

As for arranging for the soldiers of the Guards Corps to dine with the corporate soldiers who had come from far away, that too was Chu Guang’s arrangement.

The main reason for doing so was to foster friendship between the two sides and to dispel any wariness.

Of course, there was another reason, which was to borrow their prestige.

Long ago, Chu Guang had heard that the nobles and rich merchants of Giant Stone City were the corporate’s number one "bootlickers." The entire industrial system of the outer city, even the layout of some city blocks, were modeled and improved upon that of the corporate.

Commodities from Ideal City, especially high-tech products, often sold at astronomical prices in the inner city of Giant Stone City.

If it weren’t for the reluctance to lose the benefits in the city and the distance being too great, those nobles would probably have run off to the East Coast to enjoy their blessings by now.

Thinking this, Chu Guang, sitting at the dining table, couldn’t help but reveal a meaningful smile.

"If this photo appears on the front page of ’Survivor’s Daily’ tomorrow, I wonder what those nobles from the Inner City will think."

"The corporate delegation arrived at the ’North Suburb’ with the 26th Assault Team of the Army Department, to engage in a friendly exchange with the Alliance Guards."

He even came up with a headline for the new newspaper.

"What is this noodle made of?" As he dropped another block of instant noodles into the hotpot, the deputy officer of the assault team couldn’t help but ask.

In the Ideal City, noodles were commonplace, but this was the first time he had seen fried noodles.

Although the idea of deep-fried carbs sounded extremely unhealthy, the taste turned out to be unexpectedly addictive.

Especially after boiling it in a spicy hotpot, the flavor was simply fantastic!

Perhaps it was because he was hungry from the journey, but from the first bite until now, he hadn’t stopped eating.

This was already his third bowl!

"...It’s a type of convenience food that can be cooked in a hotpot or just by adding hot water. You came in such a rush—if you had informed us a day or two earlier, we could have prepared a more sumptuous meal," said Chu Guang, smiling.

It was noticeable that the corporate didn’t allocate much budget for this visit.

Even the logistics were outsourced to merchants from the Wasteland.

The man sitting to the right of Yun Song was the merchant accompanying the military; his name was He Ding, and he claimed to be a merchant wandering the Wasteland.

However, being in charge of the logistics for a long journey, he didn’t seem to be just any ordinary merchant.

"...To keep adding food to the hotpot while eating, I’ve never seen such an odd way of eating."

The merchant named He Ding chewed his food slowly with a curious expression on his face.

It seemed as if he had discovered a business opportunity.

"Is this not common elsewhere?" Chu Guang casually asked.

"There are similar things, but the flavors are not so intense..." After taking a sip of beer, He Ding suddenly changed the subject and looked at Chu Guang, "May I inquire about the recipe for the seasoning? Of course, I am willing to pay for it."

Chu Guang said with a smile.

"It’s no secret. If you’re interested, you can have a chat with the chef later."

He Ding shook his head, saying in a joking tone.

"In my many years of doing business, the first experience I learned is that free things are the most expensive. I’d rather have the opportunity to pay for goods directly."

Chu Guang looked at him with slight surprise.

It seemed this guy wasn’t easy to fool.

But that made sense.

Most of the crew members aboard the ’Pioneer’ were engineers; it was normal for them not to be good at business.

This guy was a bona fide merchant and clearly had extensive dealings with survivor settlements outside of Ideal City.

The tricks that usually worked without a hitch for Chu Guang probably wouldn’t be as effective on him.

Chu Guang readily said, "No problem! But let’s talk about this after the party is over."

He Ding smiled.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity. In fact, I’m quite interested not just in the hotpot, but also in the instant noodle cakes."

"Although they don’t seem to be high in nutritional value, I guess they’re not difficult to preserve and can provide a large amount of calories. If combined with some dehydrated vegetables, they might be quite popular with mercenaries and commercial teams."

Not bad.

This guy has something!

Chu Guang’s look of surprise towards him grew.

It wasn’t something very difficult to think of.

But being able to sniff out a business opportunity from a bowl of noodles before the meal was even over, this guy was indeed not simple.

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

"You’ve got it!"

"Our instant noodles are actually most popular among mercenaries, followed by long-distance commercial teams."

He Ding was intrigued.

"Can you tell me more?"

"No problem!"

Chu Guang found that he got along quite well with this guy, especially when they talked about investing in factories, expanding sales channels, and entering the market of the Province of Yúnjiānxíng.

But just then, Chu Guang suddenly noticed that the team leader named Yun Song seemed somewhat distracted while eating, so he asked with concern.

"Is it not to your taste?"

"No, your food is delicious, thank you for your hospitality," Yun Song sighed, staring at the bottle on the table with a hint of worry in his eyes, "I’m just a little concerned about those injured brothers."

Chu Guang could sense his feelings at the moment, but didn’t know what to say, only offering some words of comfort.

"Don’t worry, our hospitals here may not have the conditions that you have, but our doctors and biologists are absolutely professional. Especially when it comes to research on the Lair and Mucosal Entities, we’ve been dealing with those things long ago."

As he was speaking, a flash from his VM on his arm caught his attention, and a pop-up message appeared on the screen.

Chu Guang tapped to open it and saw that the message was sent from Heya.

[The inhibitor has been injected, the patient’s condition is stable.]

With a slight surprise raising his eyebrow, Chu Guang’s face immediately brightened with a pleasant smile.

"...We were just talking about good news, and here it comes."

---

(Thanks to "一叶落而知天下秋丶" for the generous rewards!!!)

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