This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 446 The Beginning Place

Chapter 446: Chapter 446 The Beginning Place

In the vast mountain valley.

Escorted by over a hundred fully armed soldiers, the impressive hundreds-strong Alliance delegation advanced into the depths of the valley.

"...Ahead lies Origin City! The capital of the Grand Canyon, and our destination for this trip!"

The man who spoke was clad in gray power armor, which seemed somewhat similar to the Dragon Rider Power Armor from the NPC stores, yet upon closer inspection, it was entirely different.

His name was Ma Kai, captain of the nearby patrol team.

When he heard that the delegation of the Alliance was bringing prisoners from the Army, he immediately volunteered to serve as their escort and guide.

Since they had fought a war against the Army just last year, the majority of residents in the Grand Canyon viewed the Army with hostility.

At least, that was the case for these soldiers.

Thus, the enemy of their enemy was naturally their friend!

Noticing those unfriendly gazes, Antonite’s eyes were filled with tension, his face turning white as if he had applied a layer of paint since a while ago.

On the contrary, standing next to him, Piman, the Thousands of leaders from Camp 530, displayed a calm and composed demeanor.

He looked far from a prisoner, more like he was on a suburban jaunt accompanied by bodyguards.

"...Relax a bit, my friend, we’ve already reached the Grand Canyon, there’s nothing to fear."

Antonite glanced at him, saying with nervous expression.

"What do you mean?"

Piman coughed softly and replied in a quiet voice.

"I mean just that, the most dangerous part of the journey is already behind us."

Without a doubt, those who most wanted them dead were from the Bugra Free State.

After all, if they were to reach the Grand Canyon, then those tradesmen and the Army would certainly not be able to conclude their deals.

Whereas the Alliance undoubtedly did not wish for them to die, and at most, the Grand Canyon would only lock them up for interrogation. When the time came, all they had to do was answer any questions posed to them.

In fact, on their way here, they had encountered five or six attacks already.

Only, the Alliance soldiers really were ruthless. They had just fought a battle at Camp 530, and then traveled overland for nearly a thousand kilometers. Even cut off from their supply lines, their combat power had not been affected in the slightest.

"Behave yourselves!"

The two prisoners were whispering to each other, which immediately earned them a glare from one of the soldiers nearby, who then turned to his comrade.

"Split these two guys up."

"Yes, sir!"

The rookie carrying a rifle nodded and moved forward, but before he could reach them, Piman had already consciously slowed down, distancing himself from Antonite.

Up front with the delegation.

Walking next to Ma Kai was the ambassador from the Alliance, a man named Wu Huaide.

This gentleman had previously served as the secretary in the Alliance embassy in Giant Stone City. After the secretary was transferred to Giant Stone City, he took over the charge of the embassy for a while, then he was called back to the Alliance to enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This trip to the Grand Canyon was his first time representing the Alliance as an ambassador, his demeanor and speech still showing some restrained nervousness.

However, according to the Manager, this was not necessarily a bad thing.

It’s possible that the power of the Grand Canyon was on the same level as the Enterprise Legion. Moreover, unlike the others, it was located right in River Valley Province.

Meeting a powerful neighbor right at your doorstep for the first time, a cautious diplomatic stance seemed to be the better choice.

"Before coming here, I thought the Grand Canyon was just a valley; I didn’t expect that my imagination was too conservative." As he spoke, Wu Huaide felt a surge of emotion.

Ma Kai chuckled.

"Haha, what you said is not wrong; this is just a valley, only it stretches out for hundreds of kilometers, looking a bit larger."

Just a bit larger?

The players following behind couldn’t help but grouse in their minds.

They had taken a full two days to walk from the northern region of River Valley Province to here, and it had taken them another half a day to make it from the edge of the valley to this point.

Not being able to fast travel truly sucked!

"Speaking of which, does the name ’Origin City’ have any special meaning?"

Hearing the ambassador’s question, Ma Kai replied with a smile.

"No special meaning, just that this place is where everything began."

"Where everything began?"

Wu Huaide didn’t quite understand and was about to ask for details when they had already reached their destination.

In front of them stood a towering colossal gate.

Rather than calling it a gate, it was more like a dam embedded in the direct center of the valley.

The black mass of hundreds of people in the delegation stood in front of that immense gate, like ants under a large tree.

Construction Kid with a Brick looked up all around, scratching the back of his head with a puzzled look on his face.

"Isn’t there supposed to be a Holy Shield in the Grand Canyon? How come I don’t see it?"

Debt Giant Eye glanced sideways at him.

"Do you use an umbrella on a sunny day?"

The Construction Kid with a Brick was taken aback.

"What... does that mean."

"He means, that thing only unfolds during a war; it’s usually turned off... I guess."

He chimed in as the Army Leader Edge Shoveling glanced towards the front, where the towering giant gate was slowly opening.

And when that door was halfway open, all the players present revealed expressions of surprise—even shock.

Layer upon layer of concrete houses sat on the slopes to each side, and atop the slope was a long strip of glass curtain wall embedded in the mountain, likely a whole other world inside, but completely invisible from the outside.

In the middle of the valley, interlacing steel-reinforced bridges and corridors crisscrossed, with elevators on both sides of the mountain connecting the upper and lower layers.

What was shocking, though, wasn’t just these, but at the center of the canyon was an abyss that seemed to have no bottom.

The mountainsides of the abyss were also embedded with blocky concrete buildings, forming a massive architectural complex.

As sunlight could only shine onto the bottom at noon, street lamps along the roads began to light up day and night starting from halfway up the mountains.

This was a city buried in a mountain hollow, and beneath it was buried trillions of tons of hydrogen, oxygen, chlorine, and numerous mineral elements generated from the electrolysis of seawater, all preserved in solid form.

What surprised Edge Shoveling wasn’t its background setting, but the architectural layout here.

After a long silence, he couldn’t help but make a snide comment.

"Aren’t they afraid of landslides?"

Even without landslides, if it rained or something, this canyon was basically a natural riverbed.

Not to mention they had built such a massive gate, it was practically an artificial reservoir.

"Kakarot" said with a subtle expression.

"Perhaps... it’s black technology."

The technological content here did seem to lag far behind that of Ideal City, yet one should not judge solely by appearances.

On their way, they had seen at least a hundred power armors and all kinds of exoskeletons.

At least in terms of combat power, no one dared to underestimate them.

These people were in no way inferior to the Army, and of course, would not be inferior to enterprises either.

A man wearing a brown long coat was standing at the entrance of the giant gate, nodding slightly as a sign of respect.

"Welcome to Origin City. I am the Secretary-General of the Chief of the Great Rift Valley, Yang Wei, in charge of external affairs."

"Alliance Ambassador, Wu Huaide," Wu Huaide stepped forward and shook hands with the man in the brown long coat, sincerely bringing up negotiations, "Our visit this time is mainly about matters related to the Luo Xia Province."

Yang Wei nodded in acknowledgment.

"I have reported your matters to the Chief. Please move to the resting room to wait for a while; he will personally meet with you shortly."

"Thank you."

"Please don’t mention it. Follow me, please."

As he spoke, Yang Wei then looked towards Ma Kai, who was standing beside Wu Huaide.

"I will take care of the guest. Please take those two captives from the Army to where they belong."

Ma Kai grinned and said.

"Roger that!"

The exchange of captives was quickly completed.

Piman didn’t resist and followed the approaching guard with composure.

Antonite did the same.

Though his face showed frustration, he was a smart man and knew that being obedient at this time would spare him some suffering.

Over 300 players from the Death Legion had successfully made it here, nominally belonging to the soldiers of the Alliance; it was not possible for everyone to meet with the leader of the Great Rift Valley together.

That would be unreasonable both emotionally and in principle.

Wu Huaide, following the Manager’s instructions, selected a few players with the highest Contribution Points to follow the Secretary-General to the resting room.

The rest followed the captain named Ma Kai to temporary lodgings prepared by the Great Rift Valley for the Alliance to rest.

It was already getting late outside, and time to log off.

Although it was a pity not to see the upcoming storyline, with the existence of the official Forum, they wouldn’t miss any critical information.

Temporarily handing over command to "Kakarot," Edge Shoveling and his group followed Yang Wei onto the elevator upwards, arriving at a floor atop the Great Rift Valley.

The structure here was completely different from below; spacious halls and long corridors were cast entirely out of an alloy, resembling a space capsule floating on a high orbit as seen in sci-fi movies.

Through the full-length windows lining one side of the corridor, one could directly overlook deep into the valley.

While passing through the corridor, a young construction worker with a brick suddenly spoke up.

"I think I get it now."

"What have you figured out now?" Debt Giant Eye glanced sideways at him.

"This place gives me the feeling... just like those sci-fi movies about space colonies."

The surrounding players all paused in surprise.

"What?"

"You guys don’t get that feeling?" The construction worker with a brick scratched his head, abashedly saying, "The architectural complex below in the Great Rift Valley and the technological vibe here are not on the same level at all, but the quality of life still seems decent. And structurally, I always feel that those buildings... are like eggs under this space capsule."

Debt Giant Eye couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing at his metaphor.

Meanwhile, Edge Shoveling showed a thoughtful expression.

"Hmm... that might actually be possible."

The drum washing machine nodded thoughtfully.

"I think there’s some truth to it."

Debt Giant Eye: "...?"

No matter what the facility was all about, some people finally reached the door to the lounge.

The spacious room was furnished with many tables and sofas and surrounded by bookshelves displaying many books that seemed to have been aged.

According to the general tendencies of the Game, valuable information was either hidden in the books or in the mouths of NPCs, requiring the players to collect it on their own.

However, those standing here were all "illiterate". Everyone was passable at listening and speaking, but reading and writing were subpar, leaving them to rely on VM’s offline translation function for a rough understanding.

But...

Taking a photo and syncing it to the official website when they had a signal was also an option.

Edge Shoveling took a book from the shelf and flipped through it, eventually turning back to the cover.

When he saw the emblem printed on it, he paused with a slightly weird expression on his face.

"Is this... an enterprise emblem?"

"There are ones from the Army and the Academy too," said Debt Giant Eye, standing beside another bookshelf and flipping through two books, "...but I haven’t seen the Torch Church."

Drum Washing Head Machine: "Maybe the Torch Church doesn’t have enough prestige? It’s only been established for over 20 years after all."

Debt Giant Eye frowned.

"But why are there marks of the Army and the enterprises, and the Academy? The last two have fought wars against the Great Rift Valley, haven’t they?"

Construction Site Boy with Brick scratched the back of his head.

"I saw from the setting collection on the official website that the Army, enterprises, and the Academy were once part of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee, and the headquarters of that committee is in River Valley Province..."

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

Origin City...

Where it all began.

His Adam’s apple bobbed, and Construction Site Boy with Brick said in an uncertain tone.

"...Could it be right here?"

Pairs of eyes looked his way, making his heart flutter.

"It’s just a guess, haha... Don’t make fun of me if I got it wrong."

However, no one made fun of him.

Not even Debt Giant Eye.

Staring at the books in his hand, Edge Shoveling’s brow was furrowed, and he unintentionally swallowed.

"Maybe... it’s really possible."

...

While the players were collecting clues in the lounge, unbeknownst to them, the Alliance’s ambassador had been invited to the room next door.

Although they had followed all the way there, they had missed the key main plot.

Sitting on the sofa.

Wu Huaide watched the gray-haired, sleepy-looking old man before him with a restrained expression.

From the earlier pleasantries, he had learned that the old man’s name was Ge Yan, the Chief of the Great Rift Valley, akin to the Manager of the Alliance.

Unlike the towering, dignified, and spirited Manager.

His eyes were cloudy, his face lined with wrinkles, and he looked as though he suffered from senility.

Although having such thoughts seemed disrespectful, Wu Huaide couldn’t help having them, and a sense of pride welled up within him.

The old man sat quietly, his eyes always focused on the young man opposite him, but his gaze seemed to pass through him, looking towards someone who wasn’t present.

After a long silence, he seemed to have received the answer he was seeking, and his withered lips finally moved.

"...I have already learned about your matters, and an investigation team has been sent to the Bugra Free State. I assure you that within three days, I will give you an explanation."

The Bugra Free State, a vassal of the Great Rift Valley, having the words from the Great Rift Valley’s leader, would surely mean that those profiteers and armies couldn’t succeed in their dealings.

Not expecting it to go so smoothly, Wu Huaide’s brows relaxed slightly, and a pleasant smile appeared on his face.

"Thank you very much."

The old man replied with a faint smile.

"I can’t accept that thank-you; it was our oversight in the first place. I should have apologized to you for the inconvenience it has caused you."

Surprised by the old man’s candid attitude, Wu Huaide was moved.

If he could convince the Great Rift Valley to send troops against the Army, it would undoubtedly bring a swifter end to the war.

Although it wasn’t the task assigned to him by the Manager, he decided to give it a try.

"Speaking of which... there is something I don’t quite understand." Taking advantage of the pleasant conversation, Wu Huaide found a suitable angle and started speaking.

The old man watched him with a kind and pleased expression.

"What is it?"

"The Army’s deployment in Luo Xia Province is clearly headed this way, why have you... allowed them to do so?"

Continuing with a sincere tone, Wu Huaide said.

"Once they complete this supply line, more soldiers will be sent to the front lines, and you will inevitably have to engage in another battle. Why not join hands with us now and once and for all eradicate future trouble!"

After hearing this, the old man briefly fell silent, then spoke.

"The claim that the Army is coming for us, and that we have allowed their actions... both of these statements are inaccurate."

Seeing that indifferent expression, Wu Huaide couldn’t help but clench his fists resting on his knees.

"Is that not the reality?"

The old man looked at him calmly.

"It’s the part you see, but not its entirety."

Without waiting for the young man before him to speak up, the old man continued.

"Let’s change the subject. How do you think the Wasteland could be ended? Is it by building a lot of houses? Building many schools to pass on knowledge? Producing many weapons? Or letting residents live the lifestyle of the Prosperity Epoch?"

Wu Huaide opened his mouth, looking blankly at the old man in front of him, unable to come to his senses for a moment, let alone understand why he was suddenly bringing this up.

Seeing that the young man didn’t answer, the old man continued in an even tone.

"All these things are actually very important, but there needs to be a corresponding plan for what to do first and what to do afterward."

"We need to clear the surface of mucilage and radioactive materials, revive the already declining atmospheric environment... This is the foundation for the continuation of our civilization and is also the overarching direction of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee."

"To accomplish these tasks, we need a strong army, technicians responsible for recovering and preserving the legacy of civilization, and producers of industrial and consumer goods."

"But people are not machines, everyone will have different ideas, even if we all work towards the same goal, there will still be disagreements on many issues."

"Does this relate to... our previous topic?" Wu Huaide couldn’t help but ask.

"Of course it does," said the old man with a nod, "whether it’s the Army, the Academy, or enterprises... they all once belonged to the Post-War Reconstruction Committee. Even if contradictions and disagreements led us to part ways, we have not forgotten our work. That work, like a precise machine, is still going on methodically, only in a different form."

Wu Huaide: "Including detonating a nuclear bomb? Is that also part of the work???"

The old man coughed lightly.

"That matter... definitely went too far."

Wu Huaide couldn’t help but continue to press.

"Even if the Army tries to conquer you?"

However, faced with the pressing tone, the old man just lightly smiled.

"If the entire Army intended to conquer us, it wouldn’t be just an Expeditionary Army coming here. Besides, those people have already been dealt with by us."

Wu Huaide stared at the old man before him.

Completely different from those young soldiers outside.

This old man seemed to harbor no hatred at all, not even taking that war seriously.

It was as if...

It was just a side effect of antibiotics, perfectly acceptable in the course of treatment.

"I don’t understand..."

Looking at the puzzled face, the old man replied in a very soft voice.

"That’s not important. What matters is that your Manager understands. If he came from a shelter, then he must understand what I mean."

A surge of anger welled up inside Wu Huaide, although he knew such emotions shouldn’t appear in a diplomat, he was a survivor of the River Valley Province and had been displaced by the fleeing soldiers of the Expeditionary Army.

His hatred for the Army was no less than his hatred for the Chewing Bone Tribe, and now that fury had spread to here.

That calm and serene expression, as if the war was just a trivial matter, an acceptable price to pay for a long-term strategy.

What does it mean to proceed methodically?

What does it mean to take a different form?

Everything was in the plans of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee.

But he never heard the part about himself in these plans.

Where was he?

What about those survivors who lived neither in the Great Rift Valley nor in the Giant Stone City?

If the old man hadn’t mentioned the Manager, it would have been easier, but he even mentioned their Manager...

Taking a deep breath, Wu Huaide suppressed the anger in his chest, knowing this was not the time to be emotional.

He wasn’t representing himself.

He was representing the Alliance!

Even though he knew he was talking to no avail, he couldn’t help but raise his voice in one last effort, trying to wake up this old man who seemed to be either asleep or pretending to sleep.

"The Army isn’t just planning to eliminate Variants; they even plan on eradicating all people other than the Weilante People! Is that part of your grand salvation plan too? When the Weilante People rule the world, where will we be? Getting plastic surgery to heighten our noses?"

The old man shook his head.

"That’s the idea of some Weilante People, like a tumor in the muscle, a mistake, but I trust that it’s not all there is to it. Not to mention, their Marshal himself isn’t a Weilante Person. As the leader of the Army, how could he endorse such a crazed notion?"

"Of course, I don’t agree with a lot of his actions. Ending chaos requires violence, but his indulgence in violence has indeed gone too far."

A look of surprise crossed Wu Huaide’s face.

Not because of the old man’s words themselves, but because of the information contained within them.

"The Army’s Marshal... is not a Weilante Person?"

"That’s right."

"How do you know?"

A look of reminiscence passed over the old man’s face, though it soon turned into a slight sigh.

"I certainly know because I watched that kid grow up."

"And... the Weilante People appeared later on."

Wu Huaide looked at him, clueless.

"...?"

——

(Thanks to the "Tang Zhang Clan" for the generous reward!!!)

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