This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 375: Dog Plan Is Up to Something New Again?

Chapter 375: Chapter 375: Dog Plan Is Up to Something New Again?

Above the clear skies, a W-2 Mosquito attack aircraft skimmed the edge of the clouds, heading towards Rui Valley City.

About 30 kilometers behind it, a "Dragonfly" transport plane with "Hydrogen balloon" communication system in tow followed.

Tail had guessed rightly, the esteemed Manager would of course not neglect his little players, generously sending over the second communication device.

Generous indeed,

Yet such "high-technology density" equipment was not cheap for the Alliance either.

Before dropping the second air-dropped box, Chu Guang needed to first figure out exactly what had happened on the previous, failed communication base, in order to avoid having the new one meet the same fate.

Sending in the Army would be too slow, without a road network there’s no speeding, and even if the Storm Legion was equipped with the most basic exoskeletons, they could only cover 30 kilometers per day.

The player corps had strong combat power and were bolstered by a "Morale Lock" aura, but their discipline would plummet in a straight line due to "boredom", so expecting them to forced-march over a hundred kilometers was unrealistic.

Therefore—

The air force had to be troubled.

"This is Falling Feather... I’m nearing the target airspace, currently searching for ground signals."

Glancing at the VM strapped to his thigh and watching Rui Valley City draw closer, Falling Feather pushed down on his control stick, manoeuvering his steed out of the clouds.

As per the mission requirements, he needed to establish contact with players on the ground, to understand what went wrong with the communication station, and report back to the "Dragonfly" transport plane bringing up the rear, snapping a few photos along the way.

The mission was an easy one.

So much so that he couldn’t help but yawn.

However, just as he was about to contact the ground players, a dark shadow at the far end of the sky drew his attention.

"What the f**k..."

"What is that??"

The magnificent Iron Airship was like a Peng spreading its wings.

The sight was not only shocking for its pure metallic shell but also for the dazzling array of weapons all over it.

It was unimaginable how such a behemoth could float in midair.

Even more unimaginable was the propulsion coming from a long row of propellers arranged in parallel.

The two concepts, primitive and advanced, miraculously coexisted.

Falling Feather’s eyes widened, his face a picture of astonishment. He couldn’t believe his own eyes.

Soon, all the shock transformed into intense excitement and awe in an instant.

So freaking awesome!

But—

It seemed to be having some trouble.

Faintly, Falling Feather saw flickers of flames on one of the propellers on the wing of the airship.

It seemed to have caught fire.

Just as he was thinking of flying closer for a better look, he suddenly noticed one of the hefty cannons on top of the airship slowly turning its angle, aiming straight at him.

That caliber.

It must be at least 100 millimeters!

The moment he locked eyes with the cannon barrel, Falling Feather’s face changed instantly.

"Holy shit!"

No time to hesitate.

He immediately jerked the control stick, trying to fly beneath the airship.

At the same time, he switched the communication channel to the "Dragonfly" transport plane 30 kilometers behind, reporting the situation at the front.

"Airship! An unidentified armed airship spotted above Rui Valley City, suspected—"

He hadn’t finished the last few words when an orange flame cut through his thoughts.

He didn’t even hear the sound of the cannon firing when the blue popup of[Connection Disconnected]cast into an abyss of darkness.

Slowly taking off the helmet.

Sitting on the bed in his bedroom, Falling Feather looked around in a daze, taking a good long while to come to his senses.

Damn it!

They opened fire without warning.

That’s completely lacking in martial ethics!

...

"Airship?!"

"Wait, suspected what?"

"Hello? Brother, are you still alive?"

Above the clear skies.

Sitting in the cockpit, Backseat Driver kept checking in with Falling Feather ahead, repeatedly asking about the situation in front.

However, that voice cut off in mid-sentence never answered.

Listening to the static on the communication channel, Backseat Driver gradually realized the situation might be more severe than he had imagined.

With this in mind, he no longer hesitated and, while pulling back on the throttle, he also tilted the control stick to the left, guiding the plane into an arc in the air, returning to the airport north of the City of Dawn.

A transport plane made entirely of A3 aluminum alloy and fitted with a full set of instruments, equipped with three engines, it’s far more valuable than the shoddy W-2.

Sitting in the rear cabin, Ice and Fire Brother called out.

"...Why are we turning? Aren’t we supposed to be going to Rui Valley City?"

"The situation has changed... Falling Feather said he saw an airship."

"An airship?!"

Ice and Fire Brother was a bit baffled.

What was there to fear about those antiques, almost extinct since World War I?

Too bad the 37mm cannon was on another "Dragonfly."

Given the angle, he even was confident he could use the gunboat to take that thing down.

"I’m not sure... I have a feeling it’s not just a simple airship. It was able to shoot down Falling Feather the instant he noticed it, so it must’ve been aware of us for a while."

"You mean that airship has radar?" Ice and Fire Brother said, surprised.

Backseat Driver thought for a moment and said.

"It probably does, a radar isn’t that complicated. If even an airship has it, it can’t be the Looter... but, I reckon it doesn’t have guided weapons, probably anti-aircraft cannons or something else."

After all, if they had missiles, they probably would have been shot down by the enemy before even coming into view.

World War I flight technology, World War II fire control systems... What sort of industrial trash is this?

But even if it’s industrial trash, it’s not something their dilapidated transport plane could handle.

At least give him a "Primary Trainer Six."

No need for AA shells, two 7.62 aviation machine guns would be enough... as long as nothing unexpected happened.

Without any hesitation, Backseat Driver pushed the throttle to the max and decided to zip away with full power...

...

Onboard the Iron Heart.

Inside the bridge.

Looking at the clump of black waste on the table, General McCullen, after a brief moment of astonishment, quickly had a hint of anger in his eyes.

"What the hell is this?"

"General Sir, this was tangled in our propeller. It was hanging underneath a hydrogen balloon, seems to be a line..."

Standing in front of General McCullen, the engineer wearing a high-altitude work suit bowed his head nervously, and quickly spat out his explanation.

A technical officer attached to the army stepped forward half a step and pinched a small clump between his index finger and thumb, staring and pondering for a long time.

"...It contains carbon and silicon, kind of like optical fiber."

This stuff is pretty common on the Wasteland, and you can see it in nearly every concrete building.

It’s said that in the distant Prosperity Epoch, humans were creatures that would die if they didn’t talk, with everyone’s body covered in loudspeakers, and every wall plastered with radios or similar devices.

These optical fibers, made from a carbon-silicon composite material, were as fine as hairs and covered cities like capillaries, forming a vast and complex information matrix.

Although this technology has been systematically lost, those hair-thin "ropes" have survived just like those concrete debris.

It was light enough and more robust than the average rope, but its strength was inferior to metal wire, and it wasn’t heat-resistant, so scavengers didn’t usually bother collecting it.

Of course, that’s not absolute.

Some survivor settlements use it to convey information, although this is not common.

"...It must be someone who tied this sort of fiber to a hydrogen balloon, and by chance, our propeller snagged it."

"An electrical short caused the hydrogen that got into the engine to ignite, setting fire to the oil on the transmission shaft."

The navigator surmised based on his own experience.

However, the standing adjutant was not satisfied with his explanation.

"By chance? I don’t think it was by chance. Who would just put up balloons into the sky for no reason? This is clearly a deliberate and malicious trap!"

"I think so too, it must be an anti-air balloon..." the staff officer speculated, "We’ve encountered similar things in the survivor settlements to the west before."

But the anti-air balloons they’d seen were much larger than the one they encountered just now, and what connected between the balloons was a sturdier steel wire.

It makes sense then that their radar and spotters completely missed that balloon.

"Are there any similar objects nearby?" General McCullen looked at the navigator with a stern face and asked.

The navigator hurriedly shook his head and said,

"No more, I had the observer carefully confirm it; in the nearby airspace, there was only this one!"

Hearing this, McLenn’s face couldn’t help but turn a bit unpleasant.

Only this one balloon nearby, and it just so happened to collide right with the engine of his own airship.

For a moment, he didn’t know whether to complain about the balloon being precisely placed, or to complain about his airship receiving it well.

"Regardless, this trap appeared on our route, and the person who set it not only knew we were coming but also predicted our course..."

With his index finger on his chin, the staff officer wore a serious expression and continued speaking at a measured pace.

"Although the trap itself is not very ingenious, to be able to cause us such trouble with such low-cost tactics... We cannot underestimate the strength of these people."

McLenn asked in a deep voice,

"Who do you think did it?"

The staff officer pondered for a moment before saying,

"The Grand Canyon is too far from here, and the Bugra Free State has our informants... The only nearby force capable of doing this is Giant Stone City. But I cannot make a definitive statement; after all, corporate reinforcements have also reached this vicinity, and it could well be those people’s doing."

As for the Survivor Forces of Luo Xia Province, he completely neglected them.

Those desert dwellers, although not on good terms with them, mostly dared not speak their anger.

There were very few who dared to rebel against them, and they simply lacked the ability to manage such a thing.

After all, analyzing flight paths was far too mystical.

Constant real-time monitoring of their location would be required, along with monitoring atmospheric currents, and even so, only a few potential routes could be predicted.

In fact, rather than a premeditated plot, he also wondered if it could be coincidence.

However, if you explained it as a coincidence, it made no sense why a deserted mountain would have a string of hydrogen balloons with no apparent meaning.

"Giant Stone City... I remember it’s survivors of the previous civilization."

The aide de camp pulled out a notebook from his bosom, flipped through a few pages, and muttered as he continued,

"According to reliable intelligence, the Post-War Reconstruction Committee helped them build a wall and gave them some weapons to combat the ’Tide’... It’s said that tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, live there. Their settlement is not too far from here, only 150 kilometers... but why would they target us?"

"Maybe they wanted to warn us to stay away from them? But this is a very small probability."

The staff officer shared a hypothesis, though he himself felt it was unlikely.

Such a foolish act was less a warning and more like a provocation.

Apart from wasting a bit of their time, it was without any deterrent effect.

It would only provoke them.

"These rats that only dare to hide in the gutters."

McLenn let out a cold snort.

"Whoever did this had better pray I don’t find out... I swear, I’ll make that person regret being born into this world."

Once he caught that person, he would strip them naked and hang them underneath the airship until they froze into an icicle before tossing them down.

After dropping this fierce threat, McLenn turned towards the engineer standing to the side, shivering.

"How long will the repairs take?"

"One week... no, three days, give me three days and I should be able to handle it!" the engineer said, sweating profusely.

Hearing it would take three days, a look of impatience flashed across McLenn’s face.

However, he knew that hurrying was useless.

There was no high-altitude port here that could help them quickly replace the damaged parts.

To make repairs, they would have to lower the altitude and throw down the airship’s anchor chain.

Then, they’d extend a rig through the hatch door, dangling the engineer outside like fishing with a pole, carefully dismantling the broken parts and replacing them with new ones.

Alternatively, they could choose not to repair and shut down one of the engines symmetrically on the left wing.

The remaining propellers would still be able to propel the airship, but missing two engines would reduce its speed by a full twenty percent, and its maneuverability and stability would also suffer.

The reduced maneuverability was acceptable, as such a huge vessel was never meant to dodge attacks with agility.

However, McLenn couldn’t endure travelling in turbulence.

Especially since he could imagine that if he returned with a damaged propeller hanging, that old fox Griffin would surely mock him.

Even if it wasn’t a very serious loss.

Standing by, the staff officer softly offered a suggestion.

"Our intelligence is several years old and likely outdated."

"We need to repair the engine anyway, so I suggest we set up camp here and send out a ground force to scout the nearby area. After gathering more information, we can then make the next decision."

The aide also chimed in and said,

"That’s what I think as well; I suggest we capture some of the local Indigenous People and interrogate them. Perhaps we can find out who did this!"

McLennan wore a stern face as he slowly nodded.

"Let’s do it that way."

Just as these words fell, a crew member sitting in front of the bridge console suddenly spoke up.

"Report! An unidentified flying object has entered our radar’s detection zone!"

"What is it?"

Having just had one of his propellers damaged, McLennan was a bit on edge and almost reflexively asked.

"It appears... to be a propeller plane," said the crew member, his tone uncertain.

Hearing it was a propeller plane, McLennan relaxed and impatiently said offhandedly,

"Make it go away."

"The other party is not responding."

"Then shoot it down."

"Yes!"

A crewman immediately picked up the phone on the console and relayed the firing parameters to the operator in the weapons control room.

Soon, a cannon shot was heard overhead.

The thick gun barrel spewed flames, accompanied by a slight tremor in the airship; a burst of fire exploded in the distance.

"Hit the target!"

"Confirmed destruction! The target is falling!"

Crew members sitting at the console reported one after another; even though it was just shooting down a propeller plane, there really wasn’t anything to celebrate.

Holding binoculars, McLennan quickly saw beneath the distant clouds a plane with broken wings spurting flames, plummeting straight into the city below.

Although he was not sure of any connection between this plane and the balloon, the flash of flames still provided him considerable relief.

"Send some people to check it out later," said McLennan expressionlessly.

The aide standing beside him snapped to attention and saluted.

"Yes!"

Then he looked at the staff officer next to him.

"You’re in charge of anchoring and deploying the ground camp."

"Also, report to me immediately with any news from Marine Corps No.29 that’s searching for corporate employees."

The staff officer responded, "Understood."

Putting away the binoculars, McLennan turned and left the bridge.

At this moment, he was unaware that the pilot of the plane he had just ordered to be shot down had gone to another world and, with an excited heart, was uploading photos of his "Iron Heart" to the official forum of a certain game.

Falling Feather: "Brothers! Look what I’ve found!!!"

"(Photo), (Photo), (Photo)..."

The photos were almost taken subconsciously a moment before being shot down.

Fortunately, before the onboard communication device was destroyed, these data were transmitted back to the signal tower north of the Dawn City and successfully synced to his photo album.

Although at this time, the vast majority of players were in the game, the enthusiasm of the backseat drivers for discussions about the new version was no less than that of the exalted ones who had secured closed beta access.

The post was quickly flooded with comments.

"Holy shit? Another expansion?! (Shocked)"

"Iron Airship! That cannon is freaking awesome!"

"Crying... Damn it, damn dog plan, you launch an expansion before even starting the internal test?!"

"Bro, do you not want your closed beta access anymore? (Sly)"

"Plan boss is awesome! (Cracked voice)"

In less than a minute, the post had over a hundred floors of comments, and soon after, the entire forum was boiling with excitement.

From the insignia on the airship and the size of the cannon, many backseat drivers guessed that this airship might be the Army’s doing.

As for how that iron clunker floated into the air, the hot debates on the forum were also varied.

Some said it was anti-gravity, others speculated it might be some kind of special lightweight material, and still others suggested it might be unknown technology based on gas molecule manipulation, just like the Manager’s hammer.

Whatever it was, one thing was certain: it was surely some kind of ’black technology’ that didn’t exist in reality, and there wasn’t even a hint of it as yet.

Almost everyone was looking forward to this "brand new version" and what new tricks the dog plan had come up with.

Everyone, that is, except for the planners themselves...

In the shelter on Floor B4.

Looking at the several photos on his laptop, Chu Guang, who was sitting on the sofa, was far from joyful; instead, his face was a picture of utter bafflement and confusion.

"...What the hell is this?"