This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 392: Blood Battle in the Mist

Chapter 392: Chapter 392: Blood Battle in the Mist

"giao! Great Antler God?!"

Walking down the corridor of the serum storage, Tail, with earphones on, couldn’t help but exclaim in shock.

At this moment, Meat Meat and Sesame Paste’s faces were also full of surprise, although the former’s expression wasn’t as obvious.

Since Edge had his microphone on and the signal wasn’t blocked, the subtitles translated were soon synchronously transmitted to all nearby VMs.

Not just them.

Including the brothers from the Death Legion.

At this moment, all players active nearby had completely gone through the storyline triggered by Edge.

"No wonder... that guy said half of the chaos in this land originated from here," Meat Meat muttered quietly.

Through genetic engineering, the process of natural selection was artificially accelerated, breeding Variants far beyond the general standard...

And not just Variants.

Including those maintaining tribal lives as Looters.

Not all of them were descendants of clones produced by Shelter No. 79’s experiments, but a part clearly had genes that flowed from here.

They had robust physiques, some organs developing differently from common people, and even showed beast-like traits under specific conditions...

That wasn’t an Awakening.

It was—

"Genetic contamination..." Sesame Paste whispered, holding a radio.

Suddenly, Tail spotted a blind spot and spoke up.

"Wait... the Mother of Dead Claw said she herself was the Manager of Shelter No. 79, then who was that guy in the radio?"

Meat Meat: "Yong’s?"

Tail tilted her head.

"But wasn’t that plan a failure?"

Sesame Paste pondered for a moment and said,

"Maybe... The Manager of Shelter No. 79 thought it was a failure, but someone else didn’t consider the experiment failed? After all, didn’t the Mother of Dead Claw say that some of the test subjects had escaped outside..."

In terms of results, they indeed hadn’t bred an immortal and morally perfect "Emperor", but it wasn’t without gains.

They successfully broke through the barrier of 23 pairs of chromosomes, transplanting human consciousness onto some more powerful existence, thus breaking the limits humans could reach.

And that is exactly what they meant by "power that transcends forms of life."

That guy who called himself "Yong’s" clearly believed from the bottom of his heart that the experiment was successful.

He had embraced evolution entirely and completely accepted his current form, believing himself to be the ultimate form of Shelter No. 79’s plan.

The trio almost subconsciously thought of the Dead Claw outside.

That Dead Claw regarded Xiangling town as its territory, keeping the survivors there corralled in the library, overseeing the relics of pre-war civilization and the entrance to Shelter No. 79.

On their way to the research area, they stumbled upon the corpses of mercenaries and bounty hunters.

From their attire and weapons, they were clearly not from this place, but rather appeared as Waste Land Wanderers from outside.

Obviously, over the past century, they were not the first group of survivors lured here, nor were they the first ones to help that guy get the serum.

All the clues connected together, and the truth finally surfaced.

Meat Meat spoke as if suddenly realizing,

"No wonder he needs others to help him get the serum... Such a large body, he indeed can’t fit in here."

The entire shelter was designed for human inhabitants, with no channels or rooms prepared for the Dead Claw.

The Mother of Dead Claw, who claimed to be the Great Antler God, was the best example; the endlessly expanding entity could only lie motionless inside.

It couldn’t even obtain food for itself, instead relying on the help of its smaller, younger kin... It was really unclear who was keeping whom.

For some reason, Meat Meat’s mind suddenly conjured an eye-watering image, and she quickly shook her head to drive that scene away.

Tail frowned, stroking her chin in thought.

"But... the Manager is still alive, right? How did he get the Manager’s authority?"

Sesame Paste shook her head.

"I don’t know, perhaps through deceit, coercion, or some mechanism of authority transfer we don’t understand... In any case, whatever the method was, he clearly got the authority to Shelter’s gate, only then did he have a chance to run out of here."

And not just the shelter’s gate authority.

But the authority for all rooms from the research area to the shelter’s gate.

The shelter’s Manager’s authority seemed fragmented, and not entirely in the hands of the Manager.

After a pause, Sesame Paste looked at the repository holding the serum in front of her, her expression complex as she continued,

"I even have a feeling that maybe the experiments here never ended; natural selection is still ongoing, including us... and those mercenaries who died a long time ago are all part of an ongoing experiment."

"And the reason that ’Yong’s’ is so desperate for the serum is not just because he needs it to prolong his life, but also because he needs to use the experimental results here... to use that serum, which condensed numerous experimental conclusions, to become stronger."

Meat Meat: "Hiss... That might actually be possible."

"Wow!" Tail’s eyes sparkled as she said, "That’s awesome! Are you a detective in real life, Sesame Paste?"

With two pairs of admiring eyes looking at her, Sesame Paste’s cheeks blushed slightly, and her cat ears twitched in embarrassment.

"I, I... am just a regular teacher."

There were already this many clues.

Anyone under normal circumstances would think of it...

Standing at the laboratory gate, the two people and one bear talked openly.

Although the radio was held in Sesame Paste’s arms, Yong’s couldn’t understand their language, so he couldn’t understand what they were saying.

And since a while ago, the voice from the radio had disappeared, and even the clanging sounds of metal collisions could no longer be heard.

"What do we do now? Take the serum out?" Tail asked, stroking his chin.

Meat Meat muttered, "That two-story tall Dead Claw is definitely waiting for us outside... The Army’s hundred-man team had already been driven away by it. If we went out now, it would probably be a tight squeeze."

That creature was almost immortal.

Even if it was blasted by a 100mm cannon at close range, it jumped around as if nothing had happened. Even when bullets concentrated on its head, it still managed to survive thanks to its strong recovery ability and tenacity.

At that moment, Sesame Paste’s eyes shifted slightly.

"...I do have an idea."

Tail didn’t even ask but immediately raised his thumb.

"Oh! Let’s do just as you say!"

Meat Meat: "...?"

...

The laboratory stored a whole box of serum, a total of 26 doses, which seemed to be produced by some sort of automated equipment.

As Sesame Paste had guessed, this experimental facility was still operational and had been working according to a preset experimental process for a century.

Under the observation of automated experimental equipment, they extracted evolution factors from the victors who had emerged from natural selection and purified them to synthesize serums that induce mutations.

Through conversations with Manager of Shelter No.79, players had already learned the purpose of these serums.

They were not meant to reverse the mutations that had occurred, but to push the already mutated individuals to evolve further towards more extreme, environmentally adaptive directions, eventually creating entities that surpassed natural horror.

That is—

The King of Dead Claw!

Dog plan did not name the BOSS wandering outside; players could only use their creativity to come up with a name.

At that moment, Debt Giant Eye suddenly blurted out an idea.

"Speaking of... what would happen if we gave Garbage Lord a shot?"

The Drum Washing Machine was stunned.

"I don’t know, why don’t we lure it over and try?"

Construction Youth and Brick excitedly said.

"That’s a great idea! I’ll call him on the Forum once we get back!"

Edge Shoveling coughed and patted his brothers on the shoulder.

"We’ve got the serum... we should pull out now."

After obtaining the serum, players gradually withdrew from Shelter No.79 and returned to the municipal library located at Xiangling Street No.79.

Placing the radio on the table.

Tail exchanged a glance with Meat Meat and Sesame Paste, cleared his throat forcefully, and put on a serious face to turn on the power.

It was like performing some kind of religious ceremony.

"Dear Mr. Yong, we have successfully obtained the serum!"

After a brief burst of static.

A hoarse and low voice came from the radio.

"Really?!"

Although the voice was tired, it could not hide the surge of almost overflowing excitement.

"Oh! Really!"

Tail nodded vigorously in response to that hint of excitement, then continued, "By the way, how should we use that serum? Should we just catch a Variant and inject it?"

"Cough cough... Of course, it’s not used that way; this serum only works on Dead Claw," the voice from the radio said immediately, seemingly worried these people would waste the serum.

"Ah? Is that so?" Tail made a disappointed face, "But... how are we supposed to capture Dead Claw?"

The voice in the radio patiently said.

"Dead Claw... is indeed tough to deal with, but you don’t have to worry about that, I know an expert in the field, he can make the wild Dead Claw behave and willingly accept the treatment."

Sesame Paste suddenly mused and asked.

"But if the mutation that has already occurred is reversed... wouldn’t the degenerated Dead Claw quickly be eliminated by natural selection? How can we ensure the traits passed on?"

"Don’t worry, the change in traits won’t happen instantly, but will gradually accumulate over the process of inheritance... It will be a slow process."

Seemingly at a loss for words, Mr. Yong bungled for a while before awkwardly ending the topic.

"The technology involved is too complex to explain in a few words... You don’t need to understand so much, just do as I say, please... Consider it a favor for the people who are still alive in this world."

That line again.

Tail, Sesame Paste, and Meat Meat looked at each other.

Although it was the same order, they clearly felt the change in this guy’s attitude.

After learning that the serum had been taken out of the shelter, this guy didn’t even bother to come up with a careful excuse anymore.

Perhaps in his view, snatching that box of serum from their hands was not a difficult task.

However, maybe considering the potential risk of the serum being damaged, he still tried to deceive them to get the serum from their hands.

If Si Si hadn’t brought the diary to the official website, they might really have been kept in the dark...

"Oh, no problem! What should we do?" Tail blinked and asked.

The voice from the radio continued.

"I’ll give you coordinates... You can find the man I mentioned there; he will tell you how to use those serums."

Thinking of the plan Sesame Paste mentioned earlier, Tail asked excitedly, "Now?"

Mr. Yong said patiently.

"Of course not now, my friend doesn’t want to risk being spotted by that airship, let’s wait for the day after tomorrow."

"The fog should settle in by the next morning... Just bring the serum then."

Upon learning that the serum had successfully been moved outside the shelter, Yong’s, who had been urging them to hurry, no longer seemed so anxious.

The two days passed quickly.

At the appointed time, members of the White Bear Knights followed the radio’s directions and took the serum to the meeting point.

However, to everyone’s surprise, what awaited them there was not a human but rather a Death Claw that had just passed its juvenile phase.

Its limbs were completely bitten off, and even its tail was halved – it lay on the ground, its raspy breaths sounding like mournful howls.

Tail unconsciously gripped her assault rifle tightly and raised the muzzle, aiming at the wild creature.

But just then, the radio nestled in Sesame Paste’s arms suddenly spoke.

"Don’t worry, that guy is harmless, and now that he’s like this, he no longer has the strength to bite you..."

Accompanied by a teeth-gnashing laugh, the voice no longer hid its excitement and cruelty.

Pretending not to notice anything amiss, Sesame Paste inhaled the cold air deeply and then asked seriously,

"What about your friend?"

"He um... might not be able to make it because of some issues, but no worries, having you here is just the same," Yong’s replied with a feigned cheerful tone.

Clearly, the residents of the shelter were much easier to deceive than those cunning Waste Land Wanderers.

Previously, to lure mercenaries and bounty hunters into helping him retrieve the serum from inside the shelter, he had resorted to kidnapping, death threats, and promises of rewards.

Now, he merely used the "saving the world" excuse.

Expecting a few vials of serum to save the world...

Only the residents of the shelter would believe such a fairy tale.

Sesame Paste asked earnestly.

"What’s next? What do you need us to do?"

"Hmm... Let me think. First, take the box over there, then pull out the serum in the top-left corner, and give that creature an injection. Any spot will do."

Ordinary needles couldn’t pierce through the scales of a Death Claw.

But clearly, that didn’t include the one lying across the street.

That unfortunate creature had its eyes gouged out, its limbs and tail bitten off – it was left with barely half a life, its faint breath flickering like a candle in the wind, seemingly ready to leave this world at any second.

Clearly, Yong’s did not fully trust them.

Perhaps the ease with which she obtained the serum had made him suspicious, leading him to bring in an unknown creature to "test the poison."

But she had not planned to poison it anyway.

With the immune and healing capabilities of a Death Claw, it would likely require a lethal dose to actually kill it.

"... I’ll do it."

After giving Tail and Meat Meat a reassuring look, Sesame Paste pretended not to know and placed the radio on the ground, taking the box and stepping forward.

From the silver-white box, she extracted a serum, targeted the blood-soaked half-shoulder, and with a burst of courage, jabbed the needle in.

As the plunger pushed down, a raspy scream echoed almost instantaneously.

The injected Death Claw, like being electrified, bounced off the ground and then lost balance, crashing back down.

It was like a last flicker of light before death; it writhed on the ground like a worm, spraying blood everywhere.

In less than a minute, the Death Claw suddenly stiffened on the ground, curled up, ceased breathing and heartbeat, and did not move again.

Witnessing the bloody scene, Sesame Paste shivered, unable to help but step back.

"What, what happened?"

"Ha ha ha... Nothing, that’s perfect!"

He dropped this fragmented sentence and the voice then disappeared from the radio.

Almost simultaneously, a towering figure emerged from the morning fog in the distance, draped in iron chains, treading with heavy, steady steps.

Feeling the overwhelming pressure, the two humans and one bear widened their eyes.

"I giao... Super-sized trash lord," Tail muttered under her breath, glancing at a distant high-rise building before quickly averting her gaze.

Standing next to her, Meat Meat tensed up, already assuming a defensive stance.

"Another brood mother?"

"Eh?! How could you tell it’s a brood mother?"

Meat Meat’s face flushed slightly.

"Just look..."

The two-story tall Death Claw didn’t take her guard seriously, merely casting a casual glance at her.

All of a sudden, it spoke.

"...Not all living beings can withstand the blessings of evolution; that little one’s potential was completely depleted, and it’s normal that it died."

It looked down at the two humans and a bear standing in the middle of the street, its decayed lips splitting into a cruel smile and then speaking,

"There’s no need to panic... I won’t harm you, after all, you’ve done me a huge favor."

Sesame Paste swallowed hard, her voice trembling as she said,

"Are you... Yong’s?"

Although she had guessed it.

But seeing such a massive creature speak human words was still somewhat unbelievable.

"It seems you are quite surprised,"

Pleased with the expression on the girl’s face, Yong’s couldn’t be bothered to weave those lame excuses anymore and commanded,

"Continue."

"Now, inject me with the serum. After that, I’ll need your help with something else, to kill the creature in Shelter No.79, it’s right below the room at the entrance of the research area... Once it’s done, I’ll pay you."

Its authority was not complete.

Part of it was still held by the Manager of Shelter No.79. Only by killing that guy could it gain full authority and completely control every inch of Shelter No.79.

Looking up at the huge creature, Sesame Paste swallowed hard.

"The reward is..."

"Evolution."

Said casually, Yong’s smiled down at her, his breath blowing the grass leaves that stuck out of the concrete pavement to sway from side to side.

"Don’t you want to be like me? To possess extraordinary and saintly power. You could retain your own will and become the most powerful beings on this planet. You could even reproduce your own kind and become their ’Ancestors’..."

Sesame Paste’s expression stiffened, and she said nothing.

Tail, standing not far away, suddenly shivered.

"Uh, sorry... I still think bears are cuter."

Meat Meat also nodded subtly with a complicated expression.

"Um... suddenly it feels quite nice to be a bear."

As per typical RPG scenarios, this should be where a choice diverges, and choosing to embrace evolution could lead down a completely different main storyline.

But if this was a game still in beta, entering an unfinished side quest due to a bug might just kick you out...

"How should I inject you?" asked Sesame Paste cautiously. "The syringe for the serum... It can’t possibly pierce through your scales, right?"

"That’s simple."

Pleased with the submissive attitude of the girl in front of him, it lowered its towering head slightly and moved closer to her face.

Then, it slowly opened its huge, gaping mouth.

The stench filled the air, and it was clear that ever since it had become a Variant, it had never brushed its teeth.

As she stared at the forked tongue wriggling and the pulsating capillaries, Sesame Paste holding the serum felt all the hairs on her body stand on end, and her blood seemed to freeze.

However...

There was no more appropriate chance than now.

In the moment Yong’s lowered his guard, she suddenly flicked out two shortened-fuse grenades from her pocket and violently threw them into its mouth.

As the foreign objects entered its mouth, the creature’s basin-sized pupils momentarily filled with shock and terror.

Not waiting to watch the explosion, Sesame Paste agilely ducked behind a nearby decrepit car.

Almost at the same time, a loud boom echoed.

The burst of flames wildly sprayed, with chunks of flesh and broken teeth sticking to the walls and wrecked cars on both sides of the street, sizzling as they burnt.

Sesame Paste cautiously peeked her head out from the cover.

She saw the head, which looked like rotting wood, its entire lower jaw shattered and bloodied...

"Did it work?"

Excitement gleamed in her eyes, but the excitement didn’t last for more than two seconds before it turned to gravity as the huge body slowly shifted.

The bloody wound, crawling with worms, was healing at a visible rate.

Although she had thought it was a long shot to take down a boss of this level with just two grenades,

what she hadn’t expected was that its recovery speed completely shattered her understanding— even a fatal blow to the head, with shrapnel embedded in its brain, it could still regenerate perfectly, not even giving her time for a follow-up strike...

Was this thing still a carbon-based life form?!

"Very well..."

As the last inch of the wound sewed itself shut, Yong’s gently shook his head, the iron chains on its body clanging, and turned to look at Sesame Paste hiding behind the decrepit car.

It spoke deliberately.

"The path to transcendence lies before you; I gave you a chance, yet you stupidly chose to reject it..."

It stretched out its claw.

The half-meter-long curled blades, like five scythes, the visible murderous intent permeated through the dense morning fog, filling the entire street in an instant.

At the same time, the tumult of distant, wailing cries boiled over.

Those were the howls of the Claw of Death.

As most people know, summoning minions is a common skill among most stage bosses, and it obviously didn’t come here alone.

Its nest was nearby, and there clearly were other of its kind that it had bred nearby.

"I will kill you all in the most brutal way... including your kind."

"Goodbye—"

Before its words were complete, light flashed through the fog, and a thunderous cannon sound rolled from afar.

A 37mm armor-piercing incendiary launched by the Heavy Cavalry Gun traveled a distance of a kilometer, striking it solidly on the rear, making the massive body sway as if kicked.

It also made it emit a pained howl.

"Wow! Tail, that was awesome!" Tail excitedly punched the air.

Visibility less than a hundred meters.

A shot calculated solely based on teammates’ coordinates and still hit!

Though it’s a pity it didn’t hit a vital part...

Breathing slightly, a calm voice simultaneously came through the earpiece.

"Plan B—"

"Get out of the way!"

-

(The final Chapter about Shelter No.79’s storyline will be done before 4 PM. Thanks to "Contralight_Zengxian," "&Jianxin," "Not Like a Dandelion’s Dandelion," "Not Black Nor White," "Lin Pinyu," "ruesparrow," "Jiyu Hongjun" for the grand rewards!!!)

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