This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 377: Murderous Intent in the Dark

Chapter 377: Chapter 377: Murderous Intent in the Dark

"Sir... I’m just a merchant, could there be some misunderstanding between us?"

Looking at the dark muzzle of the gun in front of him, Jeppe sat paralyzed on the ground, not daring to take a deep breath, tremblingly pleading.

However, the man with a cold expression standing in front of him was unmoved, playing with a Pu-9 Submachine Gun he had picked up, and said in an indifferent tone,

"Where does this gun come from."

Hearing this question, Jeppe was internally crying out in anguish, but he didn’t dare to hide anything and truthfully revealed the reality.

He had guessed the identity of these people.

They, like the group of black-clad figures this morning, all came from that absurdly large airship, all from that damned Army!

"I, I found it."

"Where did you find it?"

"To the east, about five or six kilometers that way, along the edge of the forest, there’s a place called Karting Post... This morning, a group of people dressed somewhat like you had a conflict with some others and then started fighting... Right, I heard from other mercenaries, they seemed to be from the Alliance."

Jeppe spoke tremblingly, but the face of the man with a cold expression standing in front of him grew increasingly grim.

"...Alliance."

He, new to River Valley Province, had never heard this name before; it likely belonged to a regional power that had risen in recent years.

Such incidents were not unusual.

Humans naturally liked to band together for warmth.

However, regardless of what the Alliance was, they had now not only provoked the Army but also killed crew members aboard the Steel Heart.

The last Survivor Settlement that did this not only had their leader hanged from the Steel Heart’s airspeed stack but the men, women, and children of the settlement were captured and taken as slaves aboard the airship.

In the end, when the airship docked, barely one-tenth of them who were sold to the mines survived, most dying en route, with a variety of causes.

While there might be officers who restrained their men to treat captives well, it definitely wasn’t General McCullen they respected. The barbarians standing in front of them only had two outcomes: submission or obliteration.

A cruel smile cracked on Vito’s stern face.

He didn’t care about that Halec; a weakling who couldn’t even defeat a few natives didn’t deserve sympathy. What pleased him was that there was fresh fun to be had.

Frightened by that twisted expression, Jeppe shivered and said,

"I, I don’t know those people, I just happened to be passing by..."

"How many of them were there?"

"Three, three people..."

"Three?"

"And, and there was a talking bear! And one that didn’t talk... They were driving an armed vehicle, it looked like they were planning to go to Luo Xia Province, but after that incident, they didn’t continue westward but instead turned back... Yes! I remember! They went east! If you follow the edge of the forest eastward, you should be able to find them!"

As if clutching at a lifesaver, Jeppe blurted out haphazardly, spilling all the information he knew.

Vito quietly pondered.

A talking bear...

He had never heard of such a bizarre occurrence, but this was the Wasteland, after all, where anything could happen. It must have been that bear that dealt with Halec and his brothers.

Behind Vito, a muscular brute stepped half a step forward and said in a dull voice,

"It could well be some trap set by those folks, the ones who damaged our airship."

The brute had two bloodstained short axes hanging from his waist, carrying a hunting gun with the barrel sawed off on his back.

Although he could easily end his opponent’s life with bullets, he preferred the exhilaration of cleaving an enemy’s skull with the axes.

"We can’t rule out that possibility." Vito calmly pondered for a moment and said slowly in a measured tone, "We must make them pay."

Another gaunt man said,

"What do you mean?"

"First, report the information to Lord Rachel, then continue tracking to the east... The wounded from the Corporate might very well be in their hands as well."

After a pause, Vito continued,

"If we can catch both the culprits who damaged our airship and that Corporate Employee, General McCullen might personally reward us."

While the three black-cloaked Army men were discussing, Jeppe glanced at the scattered goods and the double-headed cow bleeding nearby, and his heart ached.

Today really was a supremely unlucky day.

He had first been blasted out of his tent by a bunch of Army men with broken noses, followed by a group that started a brawl next to his goods.

He hadn’t even had time to comprehend what was happening when a truck with a machine gun welded to it came barreling through and blew away his tent.

Those people were somewhat reasonable, compensating him with three Dinars.

Although the money was nowhere near enough to cover his losses, it made him feel a bit better.

Years of wandering the Wasteland told him that he shouldn’t stay long in this place. So without much thought, he immediately packed up and left that troubled land.

But, fatally, he picked up the weapons and personal belongings from a few corpses along the way.

And it was these items that brought him to the brink of death.

The three cloaked black figures caught up to him, first blowing away the head of the mercenary leader he had hired, then a muscled freak rushed forward and with a couple of bangs from his axes, knocked down the remaining two guards.

He even felt that

These three people in front of him were fiercer than the twenty or so he had seen in the camp put together.

These people were not only Awakeners but were also very likely to have undergone physical modification surgery or something similar—he distinctly remembered that muscular hunk getting shot, and now he was acting as if nothing happened, not even bothering to use a bandage!

The three seemed to have reached an agreement and were preparing to leave.

Jeppe let out a sigh of relief, thinking he was finally saved.

However, just as he had that thought, the man with the stern expression aimed his Pu-9 Submachine Gun at him.

"My, my lord?"

Jeppe’s heart leaped to his throat as he began pleading for mercy in a panic, but before he could finish his plea, the staccato burst of gunfire turned him into a sieve.

Looking at the Waste Land Wanderer lying in a pool of blood, Vito casually tossed aside the submachine gun he had picked up.

The muscular hunk glanced at the goods scattered all around and the fallen double-headed cow, clucking his tongue in slight regret.

"What a waste."

"Don’t waste time. The mission is what matters."

Without wasting another word,

Vito and his team members hastened towards the east.

...

"Deflection Shield?!"

Camp 101.

Seeing the photo on the screen and after listening to Chu Guang’s description, Pai exclaimed with wide eyes, blurting out this word that was somewhat foreign to Chu Guang.

It took her a long while to digest the shock in her heart before she spoke softly,

"Just how did you all manage to provoke such a monster..."

Chu Guang sighed, saying with a headache,

"It’s not that we provoked them; they came straight for us. This is the Wasteland, where trouble finds you even if you do nothing."

Thirty W-2 Attack Aircraft.

None survived!

Those fifteen rockets were the pilots’ last form of defiance.

Though they ultimately failed to inflict any damage on the airship, thanks to the players’ sacrifice, the shelter gained valuable intelligence.

If it turned out that their weapons couldn’t penetrate the enemy’s defenses only when they laid all their chips on the table, that would be a real disaster.

Now, at least, he had time to think of a counter-strategy.

However, as it stands, the shield technology was beyond Chu Guang’s comprehension, as well as the players’ sphere of knowledge.

Up to this moment, Mosquito was still complaining about the unscientific nature of the shields, frantically tagging him on the Forum, demanding that the new version’s BOSS be nerfed.

Chu Guang certainly wished to.

But he was not a real planner, and this world was not a real game—there was no console for him to use.

Most of the prizes drawn from the shelter were "non-lethal weapons", with the occasional piece of powerful-looking equipment that was only suitable for personal self-defense and was often inferior to weapons DIYed by players in large-scale war.

After much thought, his only option was to seek help from his friends at Camp 101.

Hearing Pai use the word "monster", Chu Guang’s expression slowly turned grave.

"That deflecting shield, is it tough to deal with?"

"Umm... where should I start?"

Pai pondered seriously for a moment, then continued,

"Deflection shields were standard on every starship during the Human Alliance Era, mainly to defend against meteorite impacts and kinetic energy weapons and chemical propulsion missiles fired by some illegally modified armed transport ships. The principle of the shield is based on gravitational field-related effects, and the efficiency of deflection is mainly related to the momentum and direction of the flying object."

"...What does that mean?" Chu Guang asked somewhat tediously.

Pai continued,

"In simple terms, faster objects with smaller angles of incidence gain greater deflection forces in the direction of the shield plane, and the shield’s effect on changing the vector direction is more pronounced."

Chu Guang asked directly,

"Is there a way to break through it?"

The Pai on the screen nodded,

"Of course, there is; the deflection shield is not omnipotent. For example, it’s almost ineffective against particle weapons, including but not limited to neutron bombs or optical weapons!"

"Then there are some large mass, low-speed objects that can effectively penetrate the shield’s defense... but such weapons are usually ineffective in actual combat, as most ships are equipped with at least a point defense cannon or a railgun as a supplement to the shield system."

"However, the simplest and most brutal method is actually kinetic energy weapons."

"Kinetic energy weapons?" Chu Guang paused, hesitating, "Didn’t you just say... that the shield’s deflection effect on high-speed objects would be substantial?"

Pai blinked, continuing as if it were obvious,

"Yeah, but energy is conserved, you know."

"The deflection shield’s interference with flying objects consumes a lot of energy, and the cost of launching a mass bomb using an electromagnetic accelerator is much cheaper than deflecting one."

"If it sustains concentrated fire over a short period, it might not only drain the shield capacitors but could also cause the shield generator to overheat, thus physically breaking through the shield’s defense... Ah, but this approach might not be of reference value to you."

It seemed she remembered something and changed her tone,

"If the airship’s power supply came from a fusion reactor, your munitions would likely run out before the shield capacitors... I remember you’re still using chemical energy munitions, right?"

Chu Guang: "..."

Then what the hell was the point of speaking?

Taking a deep breath, Chu Guang said to Pai, who was on the screen,

"Thank you for the intelligence; at least now we have a clearer understanding of what we’re facing."

The gratitude seemed well-received as Pai’s lips curled up proudly, and she said generously,

"Think nothing of it! If there’s anything else you don’t understand, just ask me!"

Watching Pai buzz with happiness for being helpful, Chu Guang couldn’t help but be infected by her optimism, and a smile spread across his face.

"Yeah, I will."

After the communication ended,

Chu Guang pondered for a moment then called Shu Yu, who was far away in Giant Stone City, and cut to the chase.

"I want tomorrow’s ’Survivor’s Daily’ to have the Army’s airship taking up the entire front page."

Upon hearing the Manager’s order, Shu Yu was stunned, confusion evident in his eyes.

"Army... Army’s airship?"

Although photos of the Steel Heart had gone viral on the official website of Wasteland OL, few residents of the New Alliance knew anything about it.

After all, NPCs couldn’t access the official website, and Chu Guang was the only one in the game who could log onto the official website.

Therefore, when he heard the Manager’s words, his feeling was not so much shock as a complete bewilderment over the situation.

Chu Guang knew he probably didn’t understand the situation right now, so he didn’t wait for him to ask and continued directly,

"I’ll explain the specific situation to you later, including photos of the airship and its weapons, and so forth..."

"However, these are not the key points."

"The key is that we must make the survivors in Giant Stone City realize that there’s a barbaric threat worse than the Chewing Bone Tribe advancing towards Qingquan City. The Giant Wall can stop the Tide, but it certainly can’t stop a 400mm howitzer."

"If they don’t plan to do something, when the airship arrives at their doorstep, they might as well wash their necks and wait for death."

"Of course, the most crucial thing is that we need their city hall, banks, factories, etc., as well as the nobles and the city lord inside the Inner City to know."

"The neighbor who borrowed two billion chips from them, the one making their lives better, is now in trouble!"

...

Late into the night.

In the eastern outskirts of Rui Valley City, about twenty kilometers from the "Steel Heart", a cargo-laden "Electric Donkey" was parked in a valley.

Here, one could barely see the airship, let alone be seen by it, making it an excellent camping spot.

The relatively rugged terrain and thick vegetation could also well conceal the campfire.

The White Bear Knights decided to camp here, while Kaliman continued on his journey with his guards to seek help in Qingquan City.

Si Si ultimately declined his request to travel together, after all, she couldn’t verify his identity and had no plans to return to "North Suburb."

They were to wait here for a rendezvous with the Storm Corps, establish an operational base, and then decide on the next move—whether to deal with the Army that emerged en route first or to find an opportunity to enter Shelter No.79.

In fact, Si Si was more inclined toward the latter.

What if something hidden inside could counter the airships, a secret weapon of sorts?

The likelihood was slim, but one could hope.

As a professional planner, Ah Guang wouldn’t randomly include two unrelated elements in the same version.

Even if it’s more realistic, after all, this is a game.

Sitting by the campfire enclosed by rocks, Sesame Paste fiddled with the silver card in her hand, her face lit by the firelight showing visible confusion.

"What exactly is this thing for?"

After handing her the card, Luo Hua had passed out again, not giving her a chance to ask for clarity.

"Could it be some kind of key?"

Meat Meat, sitting in front of the campfire with his head tilted, muttered in his honest voice.

"I remember... the Pioneer was supposed to be searching for No.0 Shelter in the desert, that’s what’s written in the setting collection on the official website."

"But why would he give us something so valuable?" Sesame Paste wondered.

"Maybe because we’re their friends?" Meat Meat said uncertainly, "Keeping it with us is surely better than letting the Army get it."

"...I have a different opinion."

Flipping through her notebook and organizing the intelligence, Si Si suddenly joined the conversation,

"It’s possible that the Corporate Employee only wanted to drag us into their conflict with the Army, anyway, even if the key is with us, we won’t have the chance to use it. And if they ask for it back, our Manager would surely return it to them."

The campfire crackled softly.

Sesame Paste and Meat Meat exchanged glances, whispering,

"I think it’s not that complicated... He probably just didn’t have anyone else to rely on, so he chose us, the only people he could trust."

She preferred to think it wasn’t so complex.

Meat Meat, sitting beside her, also firmly nodded his fluffy head in agreement,

"I think so too... they seemed like pretty nice people to me."

As for Teddy, he couldn’t understand what his owners were discussing and just dumbly licked his own paws.

Si Si didn’t refute her teammates’ views, and her gaze never left the notebook in her hands.

"Emmm... perhaps, I’m just proposing a hypothesis."

Humans themselves are complex creatures with many possible motives; it’s actually the simpler-minded individuals who are rare.

Besides, whether that card is a key remains uncertain.

The only clue they possessed was that the Pioneer had found something extraordinary in the desert, and it was likely the legendary No.0 Shelter that could end all suffering and reboot the Prosperity Epoch.

However, she still maintained her skepticism.

Not about whether they had really found it.

But did that kind of convenient thing really exist?

Even within the Game...

Looking at the notebook in Si Si’s hands, Meat Meat curiously asked,

"By the way, what have you written in your notebook?"

She often saw Si Si writing something on it.

"Some intelligence I’ve gathered."

"Including the setting about the Luo Xia Province mentioned by that guy who claims to be a prince, and the rumors I’ve heard from mercenaries and merchants... I’ll organize it and post it in the forum later."

This information was definitely more shocking than a few photos of airships.

There might even be a chance to be included in the official setting collection, like those who often write guides.

"I admire the bigwigs who write guides; I can’t even do travel guides well..." Sesame Paste said enviously, looking at Si Si.

Meat Meat nodded her head in agreement, expressing her thoughts,

"+1, I feel like the real Si Si must be a very reliable type."

Feeling a bit embarrassed by the praise, Si Si gave a light cough and said,

"That’s not the case at all; the real me is quite a hassle."

Sesame Paste looked at her in surprise.

"Eh? Really?"

Meat Meat also showed a surprised expression.

"I can’t imagine that at all!"

"It’s normal. Take Ah Wei, for example. You might think she’s not very smart in the Game, but in reality..."

Si Si hesitated for a moment.

Seeing her gradually awkward expression, Meat Meat, who sniffed out the scent of gossip, immediately asked curiously,

"In reality, she is?"

Si Si unconsciously shifted her gaze away.

"Emmm... Although she’s not very smart either, at least she’s quite reserved."

Sesame Paste couldn’t hold back and giggled, while Meat Meat touched her head in confusion.

She could imagine what it meant to not be smart.

But reserved...

She couldn’t imagine that at all.

Si Si flipped a page in her notebook and continued, pondering,

"Actually, I feel, rather than saying the Virtual world’s image is a projection of one’s real personality, it’s more like the person one wishes to become... Maybe because I’m not so reliable in reality, that’s why I wanted to try living differently in this ’second life’."

"Uh, now that you mention it, I think I can relate a little. In reality... I’m actually slightly socially anxious, but in the Game, it’s not so bad."

With a shy smile on her face and her cat ears swaying comfortably, Sesame Paste, sitting under a tree hugging her knees, embarrassedly tucked her chin into her arms.

Every time the conversation turned to real life, she felt somewhat awkward, so she quickly changed the subject.

"Speaking of which... where’s the tail? Why hasn’t she returned yet?"

"She went to collect the VM the pilot dropped; she should be back soon..."

Si Si closed her notebook and opened the VM screen, intending to check how far Ah Wei was from there.

However, at that moment, a strong sense of impending danger suddenly surged through her heart.

It felt as if she was being targeted by some dangerous beast.

Clearly, it wasn’t just her who noticed.

The cat ears, which had previously been swaying gently, now perked up. Sitting across the campfire, Sesame Paste clenched the Pu-9 Submachine Gun and Dagger already in hand.

"I thought I heard something just now..." she whispered, her pupils focused, scanning the dark forest.

Without any hesitation, Si Si put a pot on top of the campfire, quickly extinguishing the fire.

At the same time—

Six magnetically bound bullets already floated by her side, alert to the approaching malice.

"Be confident..."

"Seems like it can be removed."