This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 372: The Man Who Always Gets Drunk to Unconsciousness by You

Chapter 372: Chapter 372: The Man Who Always Gets Drunk to Unconsciousness by You

A camp of roughly a hundred people, where rows of tents lined the border.

The crackling of a burning campfire.

Beside the "Electric Donkey" truck, a short-haired girl with hair up to her shoulders sat cross-legged on the ground, fiddling with the wrist-mounted computer in her hands.

Passing travelers often cast glances their way, because the combination of three women and two bears was indeed a rare sight here.

Especially since they were three young and pretty ladies.

That fair and delicate skin with lovely features would not only make young men’s hearts flutter but even the rugged female mercenaries couldn’t help but take a second look.

However, the thick-barreled machine gun welded atop the truck and the iron wires and bloodstains hanging from the front bumper served as a deterrent to many ill-intentioned onlookers.

After the business was done and the money was tucked into pockets, what kind of fun couldn’t be found?

This was the Wasteland.

No one was foolish enough to joke with their own life.

"Damn it... Why is there a communication range setting? Shouldn’t the player system be accessible from anywhere?" Tail said with a sigh of frustration, looking at the VM screen’s top right corner.

"You, asking this question as if it’s your first day in the Game." The white bear rolled its eyes, sitting next to her.

Hearing this, Tail’s mouth curled upward in a sly retort.

"Meat Meat, that’s where you lack intelligence. If we complain a bit more in the game, what if the planners hear us? Maybe they’ll change that setting."

"Eh? Can it work that way?" Meat Meat blinked, startled.

Sesame Paste chuckled subtly, "Ahaha... I guess that’s not going to happen."

"Be more confident, it probably can be removed."

Calmly maintaining the rifle in hand, Si Si skillfully fitted the last piece together, lifted the barrel, and aimed it toward the distant forest, "...even ’BabyBus’ can’t make every baby happy. Taking every suggestion to heart would only end up making the game a mess."

Teddy, sitting to one side, yawned and curled up in the shadow behind the truck.

Being a real bear, it couldn’t understand what the people were talking about and just felt sleepy.

If possible, it would, of course, like to snuggle up closer to Meat Meat, but each inadvertent approach would earn it a swat, and over time it no longer dared.

Nevertheless, following these humans wasn’t too bad, certainly better than the iron cage it used to live in, plus there was meat to eat every day.

It had grown accustomed to its current life.

Gazing at the crackling fire, Sesame Paste’s cat ears perked slightly with obvious anticipation.

"Speaking of which, how long will it take for us to see the desert?"

Si Si pulled out a paper map and glanced at it, her index finger rubbing her chin in thought.

"I don’t know, the border of the desert keeps shifting. The further west we go, the less useful the pre-war maps become... But we’re already on the edge of Rui Valley City, so we should be close."

At this very moment, they were staying at a survivor settlement called Karting Post Station.

As for why they were here?

That’s a long story.

A week ago, Pai returned to Camp 101, and with her guard duty completed and restless Tail suddenly expressing "a desire to realize Si Si’s dream of seeing the desert," she decided to make the next stop of the White Bear Knights’ journey the No.9 Oasis in Luoxia Province.

Although the strange wording was a bit beyond criticism, Si Si was still slightly moved that Tail actually remembered something she had said before.

So, they packed a few boxes of Devil Silk and artistic designs by Teng Teng, as well as some goods that might be more valuable in the desert, and set out on their westward journey.

After a week of trekking, they finally arrived at the border between Valley Province and Luoxia Province.

This was a place called Rui Valley City, with towering mountains to the north, forests to the east, and flat plains to the south, with collapsed houses and debris covering the wilderness.

Since this was the western exit of the South Corridor of the River Valley Province, there were a steady stream of commercial teams here, and the edge of the forest was dotted with survivor settlements.

For instance, Karting Post Station, where they stayed, was the largest nearby survivor settlement. Most of the passing commercial teams would choose to stop here, so they followed suit.

Most of the people here lived in tents, subsisting on grazing and hunting, and they grew a small amount of green wheat, gnarled potatoes, and a kind of fruit tree that didn’t require much watering.

In addition to the locals’ tents, at least sixty percent of the tents belonged to outside traders.

The local people had no currency of their own, mostly bartering or trading with pure gold Dinars.

Here, neither chips nor CR nor silver coins were accepted.

However, Si Si was surprised to find that the instant noodles they brought from City of Dawn could actually be used as money here.

One packet of instant noodles was equivalent to two Dinars—that’s nearly 10 grams of gold.

If she could take that gold into reality, she’d be rich!

While Si Si and Sesame Paste were still studying the map, Meat Meat had already started to doze off.

Just then, Tail, who was fiddling with her VM, suddenly let out an excited cry.

"We’ve got signal!"

"Signal?"

Si Si was slightly startled, instinctively tapping to open her own VM, only to find no change in the top right corner.

"How come I don’t have it?" Sesame Paste was equally puzzled, staring at her VM.

"It’s not the shelter’s signal, it’s in the friend list!" Tail said excitedly, "It’s Brother Quanshui!"

The VM was not only able to connect with the shelter system’s servers but could also establish a peer-to-peer connection between two devices, although some functionalities would be limited and the communication distance relatively restricted.

Only when within a 3~5 kilometer range would a very weak signal appear.

Huddling closer to Tail’s VM for a look, Si Si’s face suddenly showed a look of surprise.

"Spring Water Commander? What’s he doing here?"

If she remembered correctly, wasn’t that guy off to Qingquan City center to grind for the archaeology team level?

From Qingquan City to here was at least 150 kilometers. It had taken them a week to get here.

At that moment, a communication request popped up in the list, and Tail immediately pressed the connect button.

"Yi-yi-yi? Can you hear me?"

Amidst the noisy static, a familiar voice came through.

"...Ah Wei, are you in Rui Valley City right now?"

"Yeah."

"I’m above your heads."

"My Giao?!"

Teng Teng looked up, but the sky was pitch black, and he couldn’t see anything.

Quanshui did not pause, and continued speaking rapidly.

"150 kilometers is already nearing the flight range limit, I’ll keep it short. Earlier today, our Corps unlocked a mission released by the Archaeology team regarding Shelter No.79, which is near your location—"

"Eh?! Right near us??"

"Yep, I’ll explain the specifics once we meet. In a little while we’ll drop the airdropped supplies somewhere just north of you, under cover of the night, hopefully unnoticed. Tomorrow morning, you’ll use the coordinates to retrieve the airdrop."

"What’s inside the supply box? Food?" Teng Teng asked excitedly.

"It’s communication equipment! I need you to set up a communication base station in the southern suburbs of Rui Valley City and then stand by there, waiting for further instructions..."

"Wait a minute, we have our own things to deal with here." Si Si, sitting beside him, frowned slightly and interrupted Quanshui Commander gently.

It would take at least a week to get here from Qingquan City, and who knows how long it would drag on after the mission ends.

Unlocking the shelter mission is tempting indeed, but the overall benefits might not be much more than their current trading margins. If they had been told a week earlier, she would definitely have taken Teng Teng along to participate, but now they had already reached the edges of the Falling Leaves Province.

She liked to have everything planned out neatly and disliked deviations from the plan.

Although their relationship with Quanshui was quite good, it was only on the level of normal friends.

Only a sudden emergency or Ah Wei could make her abandon the plans they had already made.

Sighs could be heard through the communication channel.

"I know it’s a big inconvenience to ask of you, but this mission is really important, not just for the Storm Corps but for the Alliance too... You’re the only ones I can turn to now, can you do me this favor?"

"Si... Brother Quanshui is asking us like this; let’s give them a hand!" Teng Teng grabbed Si Si’s sleeve, eyes shining with excitement.

Mainly, she was curious about what exactly was inside Shelter No.79.

It was a two-digit shelter!

This was a first since the game launched!

Si Si, seeing right through Teng Teng’s thoughts, made a resigned face.

"Alright... for the Alliance’s sake."

Shelter No.401 was nearing saturation, Shelter No.404 and Shelter No.117 were already full, and Shelter No.101 discovered in West State City was privately owned. The new players had nowhere to go.

Taking over Shelter No.79 might persuade the officials to release more beta testing slots, and the server would be busier too.

Hearing this, Quanshui Commander breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, he had an alternative plan which was to air-drop a few paratroopers over to establish an outpost, but the effect would certainly not be as good as having Si Si and Teng Teng nearby.

As players who entered the game early, their combat power, although not quite on par with the top-tier players, was considered among the best on the server.

Besides setting up the outpost, he also needed their help with some reconnaissance missions.

"Appreciate it greatly! We plan to head out early tomorrow morning... Oh, by the way, do you need anything brought over? We could bring it along en route."

Upon hearing this, Si Si suddenly had an idea and spoke up.

"Just bring me a truckload of instant noodles and cola."

"A truckload of instant noodles?!"

Commander Quanshui was stunned, awkwardly saying, "Uh, our supply team only has six ’Electric Donkeys’ available; they need to carry a lot of supplies and construction materials, so the space is limited. Plus, the cost of a truckload of noodles... I might have trouble fronting that myself."

A pack of instant noodles costs two silver coins, a box of 24 packets sells wholesale for 40 silver, and a truckload would be at least five to six hundred boxes, at least 20,000 silver coins in total.

His total assets were certainly more than 20,000, but to get 20,000 silver coins in "cash" on hand was not necessarily possible.

However, at this moment, the generous Teng Teng sitting beside him said,

"No problem, I’ll transfer the silver coins to you after I log off! Including the money for the truck!"

Goodness me!

So a truckload of instant noodles meant the truck plus the noodles.

Faced with such a rich statement, Commander Quanshui didn’t quite know how to respond.

"Well, okay... I’m about to leave the communication range, so we’ll talk more after logging off. Also, remember to retrieve the airdrop."

"Okie dokie! Leave it to Ah Wei!"

The call ended.

Teng Teng curiously looked towards Si Si.

"Si, why are we buying so much instant noodles?"

Meat Meat and Sesame Paste were equally puzzled; they had plenty of provisions, more than enough.

Observing a few desert merchants nearby slurping up their instant noodles, as if they wished to lick their plates clean, a knowing smile appeared on Si Si’s face.

"Emmm... how should I put it?"

"I just have a feeling that those things might sell really well in the Falling Leaves Province."

Might even pass for money.

Perhaps noticing her gaze, a few men with white turbans whispered among themselves.

It seemed they reached a consensus.

Two of the young men stood up and walked towards her.

Noticing the two, Si Si silently slipped her hand into her pocket, gripping the hidden handgun.

"Don’t be nervous... we mean no harm; my name is Kaliman, from the Lion Kingdom of Oasis No.9." The young man in the lead raised his hands, signaling that he was unarmed.

However, Si Si did not remove her hand from her pocket, and watched them indifferently, speaking in not quite fluent United Human language.

"Do you need something?"

Kaliman took a deep breath and said,

"...Excuse me for asking, are you merchants from Qingquan City?"

Si Si nodded her head.

"Yes."

Seeing her nod, Kaliman and his companion exchanged glances, their faces lighting up with joy.

Just as Si Si wondered what was making the two so happy, the man named Kaliman continued,

"Before we left the desert, we ran into an injured traveler. He was badly hurt and delirious. By the time we found him, he was barely breathing. Following the teachings of the Spirit of the Desert, we couldn’t just leave him there, but we also had our own affairs to deal with..."

Si Si immediately asked,

"Is he from North Suburb?"

Kaliman shook his head.

"We don’t know about that... however, when he regained consciousness, he only asked us to take him to Qingquan City, to find a man named Chu Guang in North Suburb."

Hearing the Manager’s name, Tail’s face showed a look of surprise.

"Oh! He’s an acquaintance of the Manager!"

Si Si also snapped back to attention and quickly asked,

"Did he say his own name?"

Kaliman looked hesitant, then after a while said,

"It seemed like Luo something... Luo Hua?"

Luo Hua?

Si Si fell into deep thought.

It seemed she had heard this name somewhere before...

...

It was eight o’clock at night on North Street of the City of Dawn.

Although the night had already fallen, the street was still bustling with people coming and going.

Zhang Hai Ramen Shop.

Sitting at the table near the entrance, slurping his noodles, Su Ming couldn’t help but let out a heartfelt sigh.

"To be honest, I’m kind of reluctant to leave this place."

He was a soldier of the Enterprise 26th Strike Team, serving as a squad shooter in his team.

Following the Strike Team leader Yun Song all the way from the East Coast’s Province of Yúnjiānxíng to the central part of the continent, this was the first time he had felt like staying a bit longer somewhere outside of Ideal City.

His companion across the table teased him,

"Are you attached to the food here, or is it something else?"

"It’s both!" Su Ming laughed heartily as he finished off the soup in his bowl.

Happy days are always fleeting.

They could only stay in the City of Dawn for three days, and today was already the last one; they would be on their way tomorrow morning.

Thus, this was also his last dinner here.

If he had to choose between Ideal City and the City of Dawn, Su Ming was sure he would undoubtedly choose Ideal City.

And he was certain that anyone who had been to Ideal City would make the same choice.

Yet, the delicacies here were also hard to part with.

If only he could open a ramen shop in Ideal City.

Su Ming couldn’t help but entertain the idea.

But that was a thought for if he lived to make it back...

"Damn, I suddenly envy Old Shen a little," said his companion suddenly.

Su Ming knew who he was referring to, that Shen Feng who had been unlucky enough to have an arm infested by spore fungus.

However, at present, it was hard to say who was luckier.

They had to venture deep into the western desert, while that guy could comfortably stay here for a month and then head home with a commercial team passing by.

An inhibitor had stopped the spores from spreading, and aside from some inconvenience in using his hand, it barely affected daily life.

Thinking of that guy, Su Ming couldn’t help but say bitterly,

"You wouldn’t envy him if you saw his arm."

"That’s also true," said his companion across the table with a sigh, "I’ve never seen anyone with those symptoms, and I reckon even Ideal City might not have a good solution for it."

Another companion nodded in agreement.

"He’ll probably end up getting an amputation..."

At that, everyone fell silent, their mood becoming complicated.

No one knew what dangers lay ahead.

They didn’t even know if the people they were supposed to rescue were still alive...

...

The next day.

On the Northeast side of Dawn City near the airport, a neat row of ten half-track trucks was parked outside the military barracks.

The trucks were loaded with ammunition and supplies, some of which were produced by the New Alliance, and a significant part had been imported from Giant Stone City.

As for the spoils of war originally loaded on the trucks, as well as the premium goods brought from Ideal City, they had all been left in the City of Dawn’s warehouse.

Millions of silver coins were enough to last this team, which numbered less than two hundred, for a very long time.

Twenty shining power armors and over a hundred soldiers in exoskeletons had gathered beside the convoy.

Their backs bore the LD-47 series rifles, whose wooden stocks contrasted with their sci-fi-styled armor, creating a somewhat jarring appearance; however, they themselves didn’t see it that way.

After three days of practice, they had become generally familiar with this simplistic and retro weapon design.

Before the ammunition production line was complete, these served as an excellent substitute.

Standing at the front of the team,

Commander Yun Song stepped forward, looked at Chu Guang with a solemn tone, and said,

"Thank you for your hospitality, but our comrades are waiting for us ahead, we must continue on our journey... till we meet again!"

"You’re welcome; the Alliance’s doors are always open to its friends. We look forward to welcoming you back anytime," Chu Guang replied with a friendly smile on his face, extending his right fist, "Safe travels!"

"You too!"

Yun Song bumped fists with Chu Guang, then turned crisply and led his subordinates off towards the west.

He Ding followed in the team.

Although he wanted to stay, as a merchant accompanying the army, he had to move with the team.

However, for the sake of "cooperation" with Chu Guang, he left behind his own apprentice.

Besides his apprentice, five logistics personnel also stayed. They would be responsible for assisting the New Alliance in building the production lines for G9 assault rifle ammunition and parts.

This task would continue until the end of the month.

Watching the departure of Enterprise’s team, Chu Guang turned back to the barracks, casting his eyes upon the fully armed Spring Water Commander.

He wore the Destroyer Type I Exoskeleton he had previously drawn, with a stubby 120mm automatic-loading mortar protruding behind him.

Not far behind him, two hundred players of the Storm Corps were ready to depart.

They were to escort the Alliance’s pioneers to Rui Valley City, 150 kilometers away, to establish an outpost there.

Shelter No. 79 was not only significant for the New Alliance archaeologically, but it could also serve as a Novice Village.

After seizing that shelter, Chu Guang planned to send 3,000 cultivation chambers there in batches, turning it into the third Survivor Settlement of the Alliance.

Since the birth of the Legion System, this was probably the first time he had entrusted the task of "expanding and settling new territories for the Alliance" to players.

With a hopeful look at the eager Spring Water Commander, Chu Guang said in a serious tone,

"Rui Valley City is located at the junction of River Valley Province and Luo Xia Province, and holds great strategic and economic significance."

"We need to establish an outpost there to lay the foundation for developing that Wasteland. Your mission is not only to explore Shelter No. 79 but also to unite the local survivors and bring the spark of civilization to that place!"

"That will be our next settlement."

"I plan to entrust this task to you in full. I hope you will consider every decision you make seriously."

To develop a new settlement!

And entrusted entirely to him!

Upon hearing this, the Spring Water Commander immediately became excited and stiffly saluted.

"Rest assured and entrust it to me, dear Manager. I promise you, I will complete the task perfectly!"

"I will be watching you."

Chu Guang nodded, tapped his right fist on the breastplate in return salute, and said,

"Go."

Under the lead of Brother Quanshui, the morale of the Storm Corps was high as they set off on their journey.

Glancing at the trucks behind them, Chu Guang suddenly noticed an extra one, seemingly owned by the players themselves.

The truck was loaded with boxes of instant noodles, easily tens of thousands of packs.

Seeing this, Chu Guang’s expression turned rather odd.

What were these players doing with so many instant noodles?

He hadn’t seen them eating any before...

But Chu Guang didn’t think too much of it; after all, according to the rules he had set, apart from the supplies managed by the headquarters, players were free to bring whatever additional things they wanted.

About two hours later, the two hundred players of the Storm Corps had left the signal range of the New Alliance, and one by one, small green dots disappeared from the map.

Although their signals were gone from the map, Chu Guang could still sense the presence of those players through the "Shelter System" based on Morphogenesis Field technology.

"... Wish you all a safe journey, warriors of the Alliance."

Just as Chu Guang was about to close the map, four small green dots suddenly lit up near Rui Valley City, 150 kilometers away.

Surprised by the four green dots on the screen, Chu Guang couldn’t help but show a hint of astonishment.

"That was fast."

The previous night, he had sent a "Dragonfly" transport plane to Rui Valley City, stuffing communication equipment into an airdrop box and dropping it over.

It seemed his players had successfully recovered the airdrop box and set up a simple communication base station.

Restoring communications meant he could issue remote orders, stay informed about the local situation in real-time, and more conveniently command his players.

Thinking this, a pleased smile appeared on Chu Guang’s face.

Worthy of the players he had personally nurtured.

Their excellent self-management was as reassuring as ever.

Opening the mission editor.

Chu Guang accessed the pre-set template, ready to assign a few exploration tasks to those exceptional players, when the voice of Xiao Qi suddenly came to his ear.

"Master!"

"Your players have found a crew member from the Pioneer near Rui Valley City, and that person is seriously injured..."

The finger suspended in mid-air hesitated.

Without waiting for Xiao Qi to finish, Chu Guang immediately inquired,

"What is that person’s name?"

"His name is Luo Hua, the man you used to knock out with drinks!"