This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 432: The Oasis Beneath the Mountains and the Truth Behind the Legend

Chapter 432: Chapter 432: The Oasis Beneath the Mountains and the Truth Behind the Legend

"Achoo—"

General McClellan, standing at the entrance of the tent, sneezed. He didn’t manage to bite down in time and accidentally spat the cigarette butt from his mouth into the sand.

He rubbed his sunburnt nose and glanced at the discarded cigarette on the ground, muttering a curse under his breath.

"Damn it."

Although this was a perfect plan, the indignation still lingered in his heart at the thought that he, a dignified two-star General and the noble "Conqueror of the Skies," was reduced to overseeing construction work in the desert.

And for some reason,

He had been feeling a chill down his spine since a while ago.

This kind of feeling had occurred two or three months earlier, and it was not long after that when the propeller of his beloved Iron Heart had entangled a hydrogen balloon that drifted from who knows where.

He still couldn’t be sure which damn fool had released that balloon...

"Increase the patrol!" General McClellan looked towards a recently promoted Thousands of Leaders and ordered with a dark face, "Expand the search radius from 3 kilometers to 5, and arrest anyone who approaches. Shoot anyone who resists!"

The officer beside him stood straight, saluted, and responded.

"Yes!"

Watching the officer jog away to carry out the order, General McClellan stepped on the cigarette butt and ground it with his boot before turning his back and walking towards the north end of the camp.

The airport runway was under construction.

Without bulldozers, they had to dig with shovels and transport the soil with wheelbarrows and trucks.

The land here was severely desertified, and to prevent cave-ins during aircraft landings, they had to reinforce the runway.

More than fifty army soldiers patrolled the edge of the runway, overseeing the attendants at work.

And over a thousand attendants, shirtless under the scorching sun, were digging out the earth.

As he observed the rows of naked arms and shoulders, General McClellan cleared his throat and raised his voice to shout.

"The August sun is like a red-hot furnace, I know you’re being roasted until you’re dizzy and your limbs are as heavy as lead... But it’s better to bake here under the sun than to be charred by white phosphorous on the frontline or burned by gasoline until nothing’s left."

"That’s what your comrades in arms are going through, and your enemies will torture you in the cruelest ways, so you must fight, keep moving forward; that is your only way to survive. Be grateful we’ve shown you a clear path; you don’t have to be slaves to the kings, or puppets to corporations. The hardships you endure today will be repaid a hundredfold to our enemies tomorrow."

"They will repent in the flames, turn to ash in millions of degrees of heat, and be crushed into dust by our fury!"

"Put in more effort!"

"Get moving!"

Seeing the people digging even harder, General McClellan nodded in satisfaction and turned back to the barracks.

At this moment, a barrel of ice cream would be perfect, preferably fed to him by Princess Teresa... No, that barbarian-captured woman was already tainted. Better to visit the old king’s harem after the war.

His interest in women was actually rather mild; after all, such pleasures came too easily to him.

It was the ice cream that was the rarity, produced in the high mountain pastures by the banks of the Sorate River, a luxury reserved for nobles even thousands of kilometers away.

With that unfortunate Finod around, those natives should recognize its value.

He hoped those country bumpkins hadn’t foolishly wasted it...

...

The sun was already on the verge of setting.

In the shadow of the wooden keg, a black and white cat yawned lazily and casually licked its paw.

Just then, a dried fish dangled in front of it.

Smelling the salty scent wafting over, the cat narrowed its amber pupils and elegantly stepped forward.

Giving a polite mew towards the dried fish, the cat—attuned to reading the room—saw no objection from its "servant" and unceremoniously started eating.

Clearly, it had grown accustomed to people feeding it... or rather, offerings.

It seems what that old man Buma said was correct; the people here really liked cats, to the point that the cats lived leisurely and were fearless of humans.

"Mew mew~"

Gently rubbing its warm, fluffy head, enjoying the comfortable purring, Sesame Paste, squatting on the ground, smiled with eyes curving into crescents. Her cat ears lazily wobbled, her face brimming with contentment.

Beside her, the hulking White Bear squatted, curiously looking at the small creature on the ground.

"Come to think of it, have all the cats in Wasteland come here?"

"Hm, it is indeed strange. I haven’t seen cats in other places... I’ve seen dogs though," Sesame Paste recounted carefully.

Seeing how well the cat was fed and cared for, Meat Meat showed an envious expression.

"Damn, I want to pet it too..."

"You can, but you’d better be careful. Your paws are too big, don’t hurt it," said Sesame Paste, making room for Meat Meat to sit beside her.

"Hehe, don’t worry, I’m very careful when petting cats!"

Rubbing her paws together enthusiastically, Meat Meat gingerly stretched out her bear paw.

However, before her paw could touch the cat, the frightened cat puffed up its fur and hissed.

Meat Meat, wearing a helpless expression, quickly withdrew her paw.

She was about to clarify her good intentions, but the cat had no interest in listening, and with a fish in its mouth, quickly slipped into the shadows of the narrow alley.

Watching the cat disappear into the alley, Meat Meat’s face was covered in disappointment and hurt.

"Hmm... Do I look too intimidating?"

Sesame Paste didn’t know how to comfort her, but seeing that almost crying expression, she couldn’t just leave her alone. She could only pat her hands with a mixture of laughter and tears and stand up. She touched the broad and fuzzy shoulder.

"How could that be, Meat Meat is so cute... Maybe it’s because it’s never seen a talking bear."

The people here were very superstitious, yet unexpectedly tolerant of the unknown.

Even when they encountered a talking bear, their reaction was just, "Your bear can actually talk," rather than screaming "Monster!" and attacking with a weapon.

It was probably not just because the Wasteland had its share of oddities, but also because the locals were often involved in trading, and had grown accustomed to strange tales.

For example, the cactus inn next to them.

The receptionist was an old model bionic being, so old that its skin had faded.

It was said that during the Prosperity Epoch, it worked as a receptionist in a holiday hotel twenty kilometers away—until it reached its service life and was sent to a scrap processing center.

Before it could be scrapped, the War broke out, and it ended up sitting on the assembly line of the abandoned factory for nearly two centuries, until a few decades ago when the owner of this inn picked it up, allowing it to resume its prior work.

Its actual working time had far exceeded its designed service life, which meant it often said strange things, occasionally offended guests, and was always prone to staring off into space for long periods.

Whenever this happened, the inn’s manager would come out to take over registering guest’s information.

"...I remember when I first saw it, I was 7 years old, and now I’m almost 47, time really flies."

"Indeed." Sisi, who was standing at the bar waiting, nodded and casually agreed.

years old.

That age was considered long-lived on the Wasteland.

She faintly remembered hearing from someone that according to the game setting, the average lifespan of NPCs in this world was only 35 years, and most people encountered unsurvivable accidents in their twenties.

Flipping through a worn notebook, the manager rubbed his index finger over it, then suddenly looked up with an embarrassed expression and apologized.

"Sorry, guest, we’ve been a bit busy lately, we have only one twin room left... What about changing one of them to a double bed room?"

Before Sisi could answer, Tail excitedly leaned in, energetically raising her right hand.

"Oh! No problem! Tail and Sisi will sleep together!"

Sisi coughed softly.

"Then... one twin room and one double bed room, please."

Saying this, she placed a few 10-valued golden camel coins on the table. They had exchanged some loot scavenged from the Looters for some change at the market, so now they had about six or seven hundred in savings.

It was enough for daily expenses.

Staying at the inn was relatively cheap, nine golden camel coins per room, even including a large chunk of rye bread for breakfast.

They said if you weren’t picky about your accommodations, you could find rooms as cheap as two golden camel coins a day, those sort of storage rooms for servants were also available to guests.

As for renting a garage, it was a bit more expensive, but only 15 golden camel coins a day, and if you paid monthly it was just 300.

Which made Sisi decry being cheated.

A "scenic area map" plus a tourist brochure talking about local customs sold for the price of nine days’ room rent!

No wonder the seller didn’t bother counting the money before stuffing the pouch she dropped on the stall into his pocket.

golden camel coins must have netted him at least a 40 coin profit!

Such a rash decision!

The key to the twin room was given to Sesame Paste and Meat Meat, while Sisi took Tail upstairs.

Passing through the corridor.

She saw a man with a full beard and a woman with a face full of sorrow standing next to a window on the second floor.

The man was wearing a sun-faded linen shirt, and he had the air of someone who had been a soldier or at least worked as a caravan guard, and probably a team leader.

The woman in front of him wore a beige dress, her brown hair was slightly curly, and her face was pretty. Her slightly bulging belly seemed to indicate a recent pregnancy.

"...There will always be a way. I heard that in Silver Moon City, they are hiring sailors. If all else fails, I’ll go there to try my luck."

"But... what about me and the kid?" Desperation was written in the woman’s eyes.

"..." The man stayed silent, out of options.

After hesitating for a moment, the woman seemed to make up her mind, and she took off the ring on her ring finger.

"Maybe you can take this... see if it can be traded for something..."

The man quickly grasped her hand.

"Don’t do that... Let me think of something else."

Sisi glanced at the couple, guessing that they must have fled from Oasis No. 9 or Oasis No. 3, and by now, had spent all their savings.

As Sisi was sizing them up, the man also noticed the two girls who had come up the stairs and approached after a moment of hesitation.

"Ladies, I’m very sorry to bother you, but could I... exchange some money with you?"

Sisi glanced at the pouch in his hand, which contained Golden Lion Coins. There was a substantial amount, probably three or four hundred—the two must be from the Lion Kingdom.

The man must have realized how presumptuous his request was and began to retract his hand awkwardly, not wanting to impose.

He knew all too well that the currency of a defeated country wasn’t worth anything.

If it were a few months ago, this bag of money could have been exchanged for at least 400 golden camel coins.

Now, even if they dropped two zeros, it was doubtful. Even in desperation, he didn’t want to take advantage of these two young ladies.

However, Sisi still took the bag of money from his hand and gave him another bag in return.

"Deal, after this journey ends, we’re actually planning to head to Oasis No.9, so there won’t be a need to exchange money there."

The man paused, looking at the money bag handed over by the young girl, and said with a guilty conscience,

"This... is too much."

The hefty weight of the bag must hold at least 300 golden camel coins, enough to live modestly for half a year.

Even enough to engage in some small trade.

Si Si weighed the money bag in her hand and offhandedly remarked,

"Your country hasn’t lost yet; those who are still resisting, their determination justifies this price. Just take it."

The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his face a mix of gratitude and a touch of shame.

After a brief silence, he accepted the money bag and bowed deeply.

It was the only thing he could do at the moment.

"Thank you for your generosity, may the Spirit of the Desert Sea bless your journey. My name is Charlie... Although it’s an insignificant name, not worth remembering, should fate have us meet again, I will repay the kindness you and your husband have shown me."

Finding the guy quite amusing, Si Si’s mouth curved into a smile.

"Don’t worry about it too much, it’s just a transaction. Just be good to your wife, that’s all."

Tail chuckled at her side too and said,

"Oh! Borrowing your good luck, hopefully we’ll find a ton of treasure on our way back! By the way, by the way, we’re from the White Bear Knights, and our leader is a talking great white bear—please spread our legend far and wide, and make it sound even more outrageous!"

The man gaped at the two young ladies, then bowed deeply again and returned to his wife to share the good news.

Under the gaze of two pairs of grateful eyes, Si Si and Tail headed towards the deeper part of the corridor to their room.

Watching Si Si pull out a key to unlock the door, Tail stroked her chin in thought for a while, then suddenly as if she’s discovered an incredible secret, she dramatically said,

"Incredible, I didn’t expect Si Si to have a soft spot, not even suspecting that the couple might be swindlers."

Si Si responded nonchalantly, not too openly,

"No, I just felt that if I didn’t buy it now, I might not get another chance, so I bought it as a memento... Ah right, you can deduct this expense from my share of the earnings, after all, it’s my personal interest."

Although it seemed like no one really cared, she thought it was better to be clear about it.

She had seen too many guilds that were once close fall out over an item that would become obsolete in two versions.

Tail looked shockingly at Si Si who pushed the door open.

"Eh! So Si wants to hog the limited-edition gold coins?"

Si Si was startled for a moment, then smiled and shoved the money bag into Tail’s hands.

"...Then consider it a part for Ah Wei, too."

A room worth 9 golden camel coins was much more spacious than a small single that costs 3 golden camel coins, not only with a bright window and a soft large bed, but even with a private bath.

Petra Fortress isn’t in an oasis, but after all, it’s within the territory of the Camel Hump Kingdom; freshwater is slightly expensive, but not scarce.

Also, Oasis No.4 is different from other oases; not all freshwater is supplied by "embankments." Tobal River, which flows from the mountains towards Silver Moon Bay, also irrigates a great expanse of land.

In the local slang of Camel Hump Kingdom, Tobal’s pronunciation carries the meaning of greatness and motherhood, this is also one of the cultures formed after the Wasteland Era.

No sooner had she tossed her luggage aside, Tail swept into the bathroom like a gust of wind, and soon, the sound of splashing water followed.

It had been a month without a bath.

It was certainly driving her mad.

Si Si sat by the window, with the sounds of street vendors hawking outside. She carefully flipped through the "Oasis under Tobal Mountain Range" she had purchased with cash, resting it on her lap.

The author’s name is Pigeon, which looks like a pen name. He described his life story in just a few strokes on the title page, claiming to come from Wandering Swamp. Surprised to discover this pearl hidden at the foot of the mountain on this land of despair, he abandoned his employer’s task, settled down here, married a fisherman’s daughter, and spent his time teaching and writing.

This book, written in the 150th year of the Wasteland Era, and its author are both famous, mainly documenting the geography and local customs of Oasis No.4 and the Camel Hump Kingdom.

If one compares Tobal Mountain Range horizontally with the "Roof of the World" in the real world, then the location of Camel Hump Kingdom strangely resembles Bengal in a different world.

Just that it’s smaller in size, only totaling 80,000 square kilometers, with a population of only about 1.5 million, living in a total of twelve city-states, including "Petra Fortress."

The royal city here is Camel City, where a third of the oasis’s population lives, located at the southwestern corner of the bay.

If you pass through Petra Fortress and follow Tobal River all the way south to the delta plain, you will reach Silver Moon Bay, the most prosperous area in the entire oasis.

Silver Moon City, located on the delta plain, is the most flourishing port city of the Camel Hump Kingdom, with its unique urban landscape consisting of scattered islands and rivers that meander between buildings.

Though the population is only 300,000, more than 70% of the kingdom’s revenue comes from here.

"... The locals trade with the islands to the south and the Poluo Province to the southwest. The big horned cattle in the desert actually come from Poluo Province. It’s said that there are fishmen with gills there, giant frogs that spit acid... Incredible."

"Oh! Poluo! Can you see Poluo there?" Toweling her damp hair, Tail, who had just emerged from the bathroom, perked up at Si Si’s muttering and curiously leaned in.

Seeing Tail like that, Si Si’s face turned red, and she pulled the curtain closed.

"You... at least put on some clothes."

Tail stood defiantly with her hands on her hips and a cocky smirk.

"What does it matter! I heard that everyone sleeps naked in the dorms!"

Si Si shifted her gaze slightly.

"... I may have gone to a fake university."

Tail, who had been playful, finally regained her sense of propriety, put on a T-shirt, and sat down quietly next to Si Si, wrapping her hair in a towel as if intending to let it dry naturally.

Here, they even have bionic people, but no hairdryers—it’s just as you would expect from the Wasteland.

Tail leaned in close to the book, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at the illustrations, hoping to find clues to a new map before rushing to the forum to brag to everyone.

Sisi coughed softly and returned to the previous topic.

"It just happens to sound similar, translating directly to ’the land south of towering mountain ranges.’ I’m more inclined to transliterate it directly as ’Poluo.’ The location of that province seems a bit like an enlarged Italic peninsula. Our current fortress is like Innsbruck, Camel City like Ravenna, Silver Moon City like Venice... if you only consider the geographical locations," she said.

The Jubar Mountains, stretching towards the southwest, blocked overland travel, so the only way to reach Poluo Province from Oasis No.4 was by water.

According to the description in the book, there were also Variants in the sea, said to have combat power on par with sea monsters.

However, these Variants usually only thrived in the deep sea and were highly sensitive to smells.

Locals discovered that the Variants detested the scent of Black Iron Wood, so they made wooden steamships from it for longer distance trade. In the shallower coastal waters, they also used iron-clad ships.

The author named Pigeon had a very rigorous narrative style—he might well be a researcher from the Academy.

As Sisi pondered this, Tail, staring at the illustration with her hands propping up her cheeks, suddenly let out a sigh of amazement.

"Who would’ve thought the world was so big!"

"Indeed..."

The sea on the other side... Rubbing her chin, Tail suddenly grew solemn, "Is it an enemy?"

Sisi froze for a moment, then chuckled.

"... You’re ruining the mood, Ah Wei."

"Hehe..."

Tail scratched the back of her head, a little embarrassed.

Just then, she caught sight of a scroll on the nightstand, which reminded her of the treasure map. With a grunt, she stood up and grabbed it.

Looking at the map unfurled on the floor, Sisi raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Oh, it’s quite large," she remarked.

That wasn’t too shabby of a statement.

"Wow! Sisi! There’s a red ’X’ marked on the map! It’s really a treasure map!"

"Anyone with a pen could make that mark," Sisi replied off-handedly, her gaze lingering on the map before suddenly furrowing her brow slightly.

Her index finger flipped through the book pages subconsciously, finding the description of Lost Valley.

The ruin was significant both materially and spiritually to the kingdoms of the oasis.

Therefore, the book dedicated a considerable section to its description.

"...According to local lore passed down by word of mouth, it’s where The God of the Sky fell, and his burning scepter turned the plains into a valley. That’s undoubtedly Oasis No.7, and based on existing documents, I suspect there are radioactive materials and ’mutated slime fungus’... or what could be called remnants of a curse."

"I should go there to see for myself, but my body can’t take much more, and for the sake of my lovely son, I must quash the urge for adventure. Perhaps someday in the future, when I have no more attachments, I will take a look—if something there could be restored, that would be perfect, although I hold no hope."

"Those living half a century ago were gods in the flesh, hoping to solve the problems of the gods with wrenches and screwdrivers; they might as well have lit a candle to pray."

Reading this far, Sisi was almost certain the pen-named Pigeon author was the Academy’s researcher—or rather, a Prospector.

That pessimistic and self-deprecating tone was exactly like a certain coffee machine-obsessed research brother.

"The more you know, the more pessimistic you become—be glad you have an optimistic Manager. If it were me, I would have given up treatment long ago" ... This was a line often said by that NPC.

Her eyes fixed on a line in the book, and Sisi combined the context to make a rough explanation with her limited vocabulary.

"...Titan."

Tail’s eyes lit up with excitement as she lifted her head.

"Titan?"

Definitely a hidden quest!

Sisi nodded, her gaze moving across the book pages as she thought before speaking.

"Yes... The author collected rumors about The God of the Sky, and based on the locals’ descriptions, he believes it might be some kind of large land combat equipment with the specs of an Escort Ship, equipped with a mobile reactor, heavy firepower, and a starship-level shield."

A machine waving the holy flame, wrestling with a spirit swinging countless long whips, ultimately consumed under the scepter that fell from the sky... That sounded like Transformers battling a Tentacle Monster.

If the Tentacle Monster was interpreted as the Lair, then the machine swinging the holy flame was easy to explain.

It was probably similar to Civilization 6’s Doomsday Mech or Titanfall’s hunk of iron.

This did not seem like a battle that occurred during the three years of war but rather like something from the Committee era.

"Hmm, maybe there really is something incredible there, but—"

However, it was probably best not to complicate things now.

After all, compared to a ruin with unknown difficulty and reward, the treasure at hand worth millions was more important.

Yet—

When she met that expectant gaze, that sharp and clever face couldn’t help but reveal a helpless smile.

Closing the book she held, Sisi placed it aside and dusted herself off as she stood up from the floor.

"... It would be such a waste not to take a look."

Tail leaped up in excitement.

"Oh! Charge!"

----

(Thank you "xXMaster BrotherXx" for the Dominion reward!!!)