This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 418: True Strength is Not Level, But a Brave Heart

Chapter 418: Chapter 418: True Strength is Not Level, But a Brave Heart

"Good brother, the task of promoting the artwork is entrusted to you!"

"Hehe, didn’t you ask if Ah Guang could create a female account? The chance to dress up as a woman is here!"

"Try black stockings too!"

"Don’t forget Teng Teng’s artwork!"

"Get lost!!!"

From the runway of the airport, someone’s voice was desperately shouting, and amidst the laughter and farewells of the crowd, the door of the "Tiger Whale" transport plane slowly closed.

The cylindrical engine emitted a deep blue arc below, pushing the huge body to lift off from the runway and smoothly fly forward.

Carrying the good wishes and blessings of the residents of the Southern River Province, that touch of blue light disappeared into the distant sky.

It would bring more to this place.

Outside the airport, Dolly clasped her hands in front of her chest, silently offering her blessings.

After the plane disappeared, she quietly turned and left the crowd.

Old White, Night Ten, and Wild Wind stood outside the crowd, with one power armor and two exoskeletons, accompanied by an "Alpha Dog." The lineup was quite luxurious.

Approaching Dolly, Old White tapped his helmet twice and unlocked the face mask.

"We will take you to Giant Stone City... But, are you really not going to wait here for his return?"

"I have to go back to work," Dolly said somewhat awkwardly, looking at the power armor in front of her and spoke softly, "Um... I can’t afford that much compensation."

Old White chuckled and said, "The payment has already been made by that guy, so don’t worry. We’ll get you there safely."

Dolly was stunned.

"How much did he give you?"

"That would be at least three meals," Old White grinned and said, "Talking about money hurts relationships, buddy. Oh, and don’t think about paying for that guy, we don’t accept invitations from others."

Seeing Old White say so, Dolly, although still slightly embarrassed, accepted the kindness of everyone and gave a gentle nod.

Fang Chang had told her before leaving that these three were his good brothers.

If she encountered any trouble while he was away, she could contact them.

Meanwhile, back at the airport.

Staring in the direction the airplane had disappeared, Yi Chuan was dazed for quite a while before recovering and turning to Chu Guang to ask.

"Just now... what was he shouting?"

It sounded like he heard "Get lost"?

"What does ’Get lost’ mean?"

"Uh... anyway, it means goodbye," Chu Guang cleared his throat and said with a subtle expression, "In Shelter No. 404, we only use this word with our best friends."

Yi Chuan’s face revealed a realization.

"I see... ’Get lost’ means goodbye, your language is really strange."

Yelling it out loud must express strong feelings, a deep sense of reluctance to part with a friend.

I must remember this.

"It’s been 200 years after all... It’s normal for accents to change. Every family has its own difficult scripts to read, okay, let’s not discuss this anymore." Afraid that he would take it to heart, Chu Guang quickly changed the subject.

With the strange pronunciation repeating in his mouth, Yi Chuan nodded, not only memorizing the pronunciation but not taking it too much to heart.

The world is so big.

There are many shelters.

Compared to those bizarre plans and schemes, in his view, Shelter No. 404 was relatively normal...

...

In the far-off Luo Xia Province, on the northeast side, a small town lay beside a mound-like coal mine, surrounded by rows of shacks.

On one side lived the slaves, and on the other, temporary workers.

"Wake up, hurry and get up, it’s time to work. Damn, you sleep like a pig; do you still want to earn your wages?"

A calloused hand continuously slapped his face.

The Old Soldier who had just logged into the game opened his eyes.

The harsh sunlight squeezed through the cracks in the wooden walls and hit his face, but instead of a pleasing visage, what met his eyes was a face - sunburnt, peeling, dark yet flushed.

That man was the mine overseer.

The wrinkles on his skin made the Old Soldier involuntarily think of the Eaters, his eyes instinctively flashing a murderous intent.

The miner felt intimidated by his gaze, the overseer instinctively stepped back, but quickly remembered his authority and glared fiercely in return.

"What are you looking at? Are you still working or not?"

Standing at the doorway, the guard had a revolver hanging at his waist, his glance drifting over with the threatening gleam of the revolver’s trigger as clear as the silver light.

However, the Old Soldier didn’t regard him at all.

As a Third Stage Gene Sequence agile Awakener, even if he were lying face up, he had at least three ways to pin these fools to the ground like dead dogs.

Yet...

He couldn’t actually do that.

"...I’ll work."

Shaking his groggy head, the Old Soldier crawled out of his sleeping bag, picked up the mining pick resting next to the shack, and walked towards the hill nearby.

Watching the man’s retreating back, the overseer breathed a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead with his sleeve, only then realizing his palm was sweaty.

There were two types of workers in the mine.

One type was the mine owner’s slaves, the other, day laborers.

The former were easy to manage; according to the laws of the Golden Lizard Kingdom, a slave owner had the right to handle his slaves in any way, as long as he could provide a valid contract.

However, the latter were more complicated.

Some were hiding from enemies, others were merchants or mercenaries who had lost their possessions to the Looters and escaped here by a hair’s breadth.

Just like the man just now.

That look...

It was as if he had crawled out from a pile of corpses...

At this moment, walking towards the mine, the Old Soldier had no idea what the overseer ugly as an Eater thought of him; his mind was silently calculating how many Golden Lizard Coins it would take to reach Oasis No.9.

This place, known as Three-part Town, or simply 3-Part Town, got its name from unknown origins. All he knew was that it was located at the northernmost edge of Luo Xia Province, at the southernmost tip of Oasis No.8, and the entire region belonged to the territory of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

This area was rich in coal and iron mines, as well as the most common commodity on the wasteland—slaves.

The locals didn’t capture slaves themselves, but travelers lost their possessions for various reasons and couldn’t afford the travel fees to leave the desert, and thus had to sell themselves to nearby mine owners or wealthy locals.

This place somewhat resembled the predecessor of the Red River Alliance.

Yet, because of its low productivity, it had never developed a futures market.

Moreover, development here was minimal; unlike in Southern River Province, you couldn’t buy nutrient paste. The town’s single generator was up at the mine, and a card-punch robot converted from a vending machine was probably the darkest piece of technology here.

The cheapest food here was dry, coarse black bread, which sold for about one gold coin a pound; then came milk, so cheap that locals drank it like water.

The Old Soldier calculated that to reach Oasis No.9, he’d need to prepare at least two weeks’ worth of water and food for two people.

Even if he ate bread at every meal, including the cost of fresh water, he would need at least 32 Golden Lizard Coins.

Worked all day and would get 4 Golden Lizard Coins, as an Awakener, though part of the Agile system, my strength attribute wasn’t low, with a bit of effort reaching 6 coins shouldn’t be a problem.

"...So by that calculation, I’ll need at least five more days."

"Wait, hang on, almost forgot to factor in daily expenses... Actually, I can only save about 2~3 Golden Lizard Coins per day."

Old Soldier did the math on his fingers, and suddenly, to his misery, realized even if he worked his ass off in mining, it’d take nearly two weeks just to save up enough for travel expenses.

"Freaking game, what the hell is this crap!"

He cursed under his breath, swung his mining pick furiously, and struck the rock face hard.

Damn!

The sparks that flew startled the nearby miners, who all scrambled to get out of the way.

Holy moly.

This guy’s trying to bring the whole mine down!

Better keep my distance!

Maybe it was his exaggerated movements, or perhaps his terrifying expression, but somehow Old Soldier found himself the only one left in the mining section.

Channeling his frustration into strength, Old Soldier now seemed truly like a Pangolin, hammering away continuously, and soon enough, an entire mining cart was stuffed with ore.

He rolled up his sleeves and worked the entire day.

Finally, exhausted, he walked out of the mine and took today’s pay from the annoying foreman at the door.

The foreman had intended to skim a bit off the top, but the menacing look in Old Soldier’s eyes scared him off, preventing him from even trying.

Weighing the meager six coins in his hand, Old Soldier couldn’t help but feel reflective.

Compared to these vampires, their Manager was simply too ethical, too kind!

The Alliance’s minimum hourly wage was one Silver Coin.

Working 12 hours a day could earn at least 12 Silver Coins, but that’s the minimum wage, and since the formation of the Alliance, almost no one lived on minimum wage.

Due to rapid economic growth, coupled with the Alliance’s unrestrained investment in industry, encouraging domestic production and contracting debt to attract foreign investment, factories in the Alliance’s industrial zones were all hiring.

As long as you were literate, finding a job with a monthly wage of 500~600 Silver Coins was easy. Even if you couldn’t read, you could enroll in a night school class, do odd jobs, and learn at the same time.

And if someone had a technical skill, their wages could start in the four figures, with no upper limit.

The only thing he couldn’t figure out was, since Wasteland OL always prided itself on being realistic, where was all this money coming from?

He never saw the Manager fleece anyone, or exploit anyone, only saw the Alliance Bank throwing money around, and the rewards for missions were never stingy.

What had kept inflation at bay with such aggressive quantitative easing?

Unable to resolve this puzzle, Old Soldier decided to just stop thinking about this complex issue for now.

After all, if he couldn’t figure it out, he might as well just focus on doing what a Pangolin should.

With today’s earnings, Old Soldier didn’t head back to his shack but went to the nearby town instead.

There was a drag on him there waiting to be fed.

He swore.

Once the task given by the Manager was completed, he was definitely going to chop up that guy!

Taking a deep breath, Old Soldier shelved his negative emotions and pushed open the door of the inn.

As he stepped into the inn’s lobby and hadn’t even started up the staircase, he saw Coleway, completely drunk, slumped over the lobby’s bar with drool pooled on the table, a half-drunk beer beside him.

Noticing the shadow on the table, Coleway opened his half-slitted eyes, saw Old Soldier standing nearby.

With a sloppy smile, he waved his furry arm.

"Ah... Pangolin, you’re back, huh–"

"The beer here really gets to you... Let’s have a drink together. Oh, do you have any money on you? Cover the drink for me, and I’ll pay you back when we get back to the Army."

Old Soldier took another deep breath.

Not good.

His blood pressure was rising!

Suppressing the urge to kill, he looked at the bartender behind the counter and asked through gritted teeth.

"How much?"

"5... 5 Golden Lizard Coins."

Frightened by the murderous look in his eyes, the bartender’s voice stuttered, and his hand was already reaching for the gun hidden under the counter.

coins?!

Hearing this number, Old Soldier almost spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes instantly reddened, and he reached out to grab Coleway by the collar.

No more caring about identities.

He grabbed the drunken Coleway and pulled him up in front of himself, his nose almost poking into his eyes.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind! 5 Golden Lizard Coins, do you know how much I bust my ass all day to earn?!"

"6 coins! 6 coins!"

"I work all day for those vampires, not even catching a bite, and you’ve been drinking here all day!"

"Do you even fucking want to go home anymore? Are you even a man?"

Old Soldier roared angrily, cursing and yelling until his voice was hoarse, so much so that he even smoothed out his usually stuttering Human United speech.

The whole bar quieted down, staring in shock at this scene... including the bartender standing behind the counter.

Army?

Are these two... from the Army?

With his shoulders heaving dramatically, like the waves crashing on the shore, Old Soldier’s eyes widened like copper bells.

If looks could kill, the man he was holding would have died countless times over, and he had never been lenient when killing members of the Army.

Damn it!

Son of a bitch, I can’t take it anymore!

He felt like a little wife who worked two jobs to support her family while her husband was a useless drunkard who indulged in eating, drinking, prostituting, gambling, and never worked.

The Army is flagged as criminals, right?

They are criminals, right?

Criminals can be killed, right?

Safety zones or whatever didn’t matter anymore; he had already decided, to kill this guy and then commit suicide, three days be damned, it’s still better than wasting three months!

You damn NPC not acting human—

Don’t blame me for not acting human!

"What the hell are you—"

Coleway, who was being held by the collar, was startled, about to angrily rebuke the Pangolin who was holding him, when he suddenly noticed the "disappointed" look in his eyes, and the words reached his mouth but stopped.

A wave of guilt churned in his chest.

While he was rolling up his sleeves and working in the coal mines to save up for the fare back to the Army, he was actually drinking away the hard-earned money, numbing himself with alcohol, escaping failure, escaping reality.

As a noble Vellante man, his loyalty to the Army, to His Excellency the Marshal, had been bested by a Waste Land Wanderer born in the wilds...

The guilt turned into remorse, and Coleway closed his eyes in pain, letting out a sigh.

"I’m sorry..."

"..."

Old Soldier’s chest heaved with fury as he gritted his teeth with hatred.

He was thinking about what kind of death he should arrange for this fellow, but unexpectedly, he heard the words "I’m sorry" from this man’s mouth.

"...I know, my attempt to evade reality is ugly, and my cowardice and incompetence have let down your loyalty. I am not a good leader."

Watching the agitated Pangolin, Coleway’s Adam’s apple moved, and his eyes filled with increasing guilt.

Suddenly, as if he had made up his mind, he spoke.

"Pangolin."

"What?" Old Soldier growled fiercely.

He was now angered just by hearing the name Pangolin, to the point where he felt like chopping himself up.

Coleway looked at him.

"Kill me."

Old Soldier was slightly stunned, overwhelmed by his expression and these words.

Seeing that he did not speak, Coleway continued in a calm voice.

"Take my head back to the Survivor Settlement in River Valley Province, they should pay you. I am ashamed of my decadence and self-destruction. I do not deserve your loyalty. This is the last compensation I can offer you, hoping it can make up for your disappointment."

Looking at those sincere eyes, Old Soldier fell silent. His hand, which had been clutching Coleway’s collar, loosened then tightened again.

This bastard...

"...I’ve fucking walked for a week... no, two weeks, all for a Centurion’s head?"

Who the hell cares about your damn head!

Like the Alliance is some native head-hunter?

Staring fiercely at him, he squeezed out a sentence through clenched teeth.

"...If there’s even a little bit of self-respect and pride left in your heart, slap yourself twice and then stand up from here! You’ve lost, but you’re still alive, and there are still things you can do, even if it means dying on the way back!"

Old Soldier let go and pushed him, throwing him back to sit at the bar.

Killing a person was easy.

But a dead man is worth nothing.

Old Soldier admitted he was indeed impulsive just now, thinking of giving up in despair.

It was just a game.

Do I need to put up with this shit?

But after calming down, he eventually let go of the anger in his heart.

Particularly when he recalled that night in the forest, fighting bravely against the Army’s pursuers with a few young girls, he felt his old face blush.

People younger and weaker than him who had joined the game later managed to stay optimistic and fought bravely to the end...

What right did he have to talk about giving up?

He had done well along the way, not only gaining the trust of Army officers but Coleway had even promised to introduce him to General Griffin, he was so close to success...

He was far from being at his wit’s end.

"...Looks like I’m still not strong enough." Glancing at Coleway, who was lost in thought, Old Soldier muttered to himself.

For different reasons, both seemed to fall into reflection and unwittingly calmed down.

However, just then, Old Soldier suddenly noticed that everyone in the tavern was looking at him.

Coleway, noticing the same pair of eyes, suddenly felt embarrassed and muttered softly.

"...Did you just say ’Army’?"

By now, denying it was pointless, as it was obvious everyone around had heard.

Old Soldier’s Adam’s apple moved slightly as he nodded gently.

"Yeah..."

Damn, that was careless.

There were about twenty people in the hall, each armed with guns. Although they had drunk some, none seemed weak.

With his skills, he could probably take out half at most before being turned into a sieve.

That was the optimistic scenario.

However, to his surprise, none of them made a move.

Were they waiting for a chance?

As he pondered, a man looking like a merchant spoke quietly with two mercenaries by a table near the door, then stood up and walked toward them.

Old Soldier’s nerves tensed, watching him intently, his right hand already touching the dinner knife on the table.

Not just to guard against this man.

But also against the innkeeper behind the bar.

The movements under the table were clear, whether cocking a gun or pulling a trigger, the middle-aged man with a beard had already grabbed the gun hidden there.

And it was a revolver.

Old Soldier calmly observed the situation in the hall, already calculating in his mind.

If the innkeeper drew his gun, he would use the dinner knife in his hand to slice the man’s throat at the first instance, then throw Coleway behind the bar to use it as a cover to exchange fire with the rest in the hall.

This was the border of the Golden Lizard Kingdom; the camel was tied in the inn’s backyard. He could grab other Commercial Teams’ supplies and escape into the desert...

"Don’t be nervous... we mean no harm."

The approaching merchant showed a conciliatory smile and raised both hands to show he was unarmed.

"My name is Ah dan, from Bugra Free State... Are you guys with the Army?"

Old Soldier was momentarily taken aback.

"Yes."

The merchant named Ah dan, looking intrigued, continued.

"How curious... This is Oasis No. 8. Have you reached here already?"

Old Soldier and Coleway exchanged glances.

The latter cleared his throat, stood up from the bar, and resumed his officer’s demeanor, taking over the conversation from Old Soldier.

"We ran into some trouble and got separated from the main force."

Hearing this, the people in the hall relaxed, no longer staring in their direction, though the clinking of glasses carried snippets of conversations related to the frontline.

The merchant named Ah dan nodded understandably, eyeing the man before him as if trying to gauge his identity.

Touching his chin thoughtfully, he said.

"I see... so, the battle at Oasis No. 9 isn’t over yet?"

Coleway’s expression turned awkward.

Originally, the Iron Heart was supposed to return to Oasis No. 9 to rendezvous with the frontline troops. However, no one expected that they would encounter a group of fearless natives who managed to shoot down the invincible airship.

Lacking the Iron Heart’s firepower and aerial reconnaissance, the situation of the Falcon Kingdom and the Army’s allied forces at Oasis No. 9 had clearly not met expectations.

If they had successfully regrouped, Oasis No. 9 would have probably been secured long ago.

It seemed that Coleway had misunderstood the expression on Ah dan’s face, and Ah dan smiled and said,

"Don’t be nervous, we mean no harm, in fact... we happen to have a batch of supplies to deliver to Oasis No. 9, if you don’t mind, we can travel together."

A stranded officer.

This identity itself was full of stories.

If they could send this unlucky fellow back to the army, the army would never be stingy with their reward.

Moreover, this favor, for a merchant like him who dealt with the army, was absolutely beneficial and harmless; many people in Bugra Free State had made a fortune thanks to these big-nosed fellows.

Coleway’s eyes lit up, but his mind soon became alert, slightly squinting his eyes.

"How do I know you won’t sell me to the Lion Kingdom?"

Though he was drunk.

His intelligence was still intact.

Ah Dan made a helpless expression and reached into his bosom, pulling out a sheet of paper under their watchful eyes.

"You should recognize this order, shouldn’t you?"

Coleway squinted and looked at the words written on the order, immediately showing surprise.

Old Soldier noticed the change in his expression but, alas, without any translation tools, he couldn’t recognize the words on the paper, so he asked quietly,

"What does it say?"

"Eight thousand rifles, 1.2 million rounds of ammunition... This is a purchase contract, stamped with the army’s seal, and signed by the logistics officer, I recognize that fellow’s handwriting."

Coleway looked at Ah Dan, the merchant, no longer with caution but excitement in his eyes.

"You’re going to Oasis No. 9?"

"Of course, it looks like you are, too," Ah Dan said with a smile as he put the order back into his bosom and extended his right hand to Coleway, "Since that’s the case, if you don’t mind, we can go together."

Coleway shook his right hand and his gaze drifted unconsciously around him, lowering his voice to ask,

"These people, are they okay?"

Seeing the worry in his eyes, Ah Dan smiled and said,

"What could go wrong? Respecting the teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea and following the ancient covenant, although all the kings of the desert declared war on the Falcon Kingdom, only the Lion Kingdom actually sent troops."

"The Camel Hump Kingdom is at the far southern end of the desert, too far away and unwilling to fight. The royal family of the Golden Lizard Kingdom hasn’t been that devout for a long time... It seems a bit inappropriate to say this here, but in short, they prefer the eggheads who bring them quirky and strange trinkets to nebulous beings, you know who I mean."

Coleway furrowed his brow.

"The Academy?"

"Correct."

Pausing for a moment, Ah Dan continued with a smile,

"Anyway, it’s relatively safe here. The locals might not like your nose very much, but they don’t want to make trouble. Our trade routes have been operating for a while now, the kingdom’s guards know where these armaments are headed, but no one will investigate too closely; everyone turns a blind eye."

Hearing this, Coleway relaxed, his face showing relief,

"Looks like I worried for nothing... Thanks for the information."

These past two days, even when drinking, he dared not show his nose and used a scarf to cover it.

It’s been torturing him!

"Not at all, you’re an important client of ours," Ah Dan said with a gentle incline of his head, speaking in a cheerful tone, "There are quite a few commercial teams here going from Bugra Free State to Oasis No. 9... General Griffin is very generous, thanks to that lord, we’ve also made quite a bit."

Watching Coleway converse happily with Ah Dan, the Old Soldier stood aside and was secretly astonished.

Good grief.

Isn’t Bugra Free State a vassal of Grand Canyon?

The merchants there were actually doing business with the Army!?

What’s even more outrageous is that the war situation in Luo Xia Province also deviated from the official information released on the website.

There wasn’t an alliance of kingdoms at all; from start to finish, it was the Lion Kingdom struggling alone, with all other kings declaring war outwardly, but secretly appeasing.

The Golden Lizard Kingdom in the far north was especially impressive.

Those smartasses simply turned a blind eye to the enemy supply lines within their own borders, allowing Bugra Free State’s equipment to be transported from the northern part of River Valley Province to the frontline at Oasis No. 9.

Did they think they wouldn’t get hit because they were backed by the academy?

That’s just too sly!

"Sir... I’m tired, I want to go back to my room and lie down for a bit," Old Soldier said softly, with a tired expression on his face.

He wasn’t tired at all.

What was imperative now was to quickly log off and share this explosive news on the official website.

Since the last update, the official website’s forum also had a task bar, and this heavyweight information not only fetched Silver Coins but also huge rewards in Contribution Points!

Hearing the voice of the Pangolin, Coleway turned his head.

Not minding his subordinate’s previous disrespect at all, he nodded slightly and said in a gentle tone,

"Go on... Also, you don’t have to go out to work tomorrow, I can’t let my loyal subordinate do such menial work."

That gentle gaze made Old Soldier’s skin crawl.

Unaware of his subordinate’s peculiar expression and having complete trust in his loyalty, Coleway turned his attention to Ah Dan.

"Could you lend me some money? I guarantee with my honor, I will pay you back double after we reach the army’s camp."

"You’re too polite, it’s just some worldly possessions; consider this money as making a new friend," Ah Dan said with a smile as he placed a bag of Gold Coins on the table.

Inside were a full 200 Dinars.

Recognizing the signature on that order alone was worth investing in him.

Grabbing a handful of Gold Coins from the bag and slamming it on the table, Coleway looked at the bar’s owner.

"Is this enough?"

Seeing the Gold Coins on the table, the owner’s eyes went wide, and without caring how annoying that bulged nose was, he hastily nodded and bowed with a smile,

"Enough, enough... For Dinars, 10 is plenty!"

He had touched the gun under the table earlier because he feared these people might ditch the bill.

But now, there was no need to worry about that at all, a bag full of Gold Coins was enough to stay here until the end of next month.

Watching the hotel owner carefully counting the money, the drunk look on Coleway’s face vanished, and the glory of the army seemed to return to him.

He lifted his chin and looked down his nose at the owner, casually saying,

"Don’t bother counting. Use the remaining money to open another room for my warrior, the most spacious one you have!"

"And, prepare a bucket of hot water and clean towels, as well as one pound of cooked beef and the best beer to send to his room!"

"Remember, the best beer," Coleway pointed at the table with his index finger, pointing at the half-cup of beer and squinting his eyes at the hotel owner, "If you dare fool my people with this slop-like trash, next time I pass by here, I’ll tear down your home!"

"Alright, sir!" Not caring about the threat and happy about the money, the owner’s eyes lit up as he quickly gathered the Gold Coins into his arms and went back behind the bar into the kitchen to notify the staff.

Coleway turned back to look at the Pangolin, speaking in a gentle voice.

"Thank you for waking me up, reminding me there are things more important than life in this world... Go rest, have a hot bath, eat your fill, then sleep."

"We leave early tomorrow."

Feeling that gentle gaze, Old Soldier felt as if all the goosebumps on his body had fallen to the floor and his scalp tingled as if he had touched an electric door.

Damn.

Better lock the door well tonight...

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