This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 448 Eternal ’Love

Chapter 448: Chapter 448 Eternal ’Love

Non-professional response: "It stopped moving?!"

Star River not entering dreams: "What’s the situation?"

Falling Feather: "I have no idea! I just put on the helmet and watched the countdown, but suddenly the timer stopped moving. QAQ"

Clear Wind: "????"

Star River not entering dreams: "Scared me, I immediately put it on to check, thankfully I’m fine."

Gui Gui: "Weird, aren’t you guys on the same plane?"

Star River not entering dreams: "I’ve got no idea either!! (laughing to death) (funny)"

Falling Feather: "(angry)"

In "Wasteland OL," flying an aircraft into the sky isn’t news. Anyone can pull the joystick and step on the throttle, but safely landing the plane, now that’s impressive.

At first, when people heard that Falling Feather crashed the plane again, they didn’t really have any reaction and even typed "Basic skills six" in the public screen.

But when they heard about his resurrection countdown getting stuck, and the 666-spamming players couldn’t revive either, especially those flying, it blew everyone out of the water.

Everyone expressed disbelief and requested proof.

But the annoying part about this game is that the images aren’t directly displayed on the retina; it skips the optic nerve and goes straight to the brain.

Unless you are the owner of the helmet, even players with beta testing qualifications can’t see anything through it.

In other words, sticking a mobile phone inside the helmet to take a picture won’t work — Fang Chang tried that when he first got the helmet.

Night Ten: "That’s impossible. Although Brother Guang may be a bit bad at games and a little petty, he’s absolutely honest and transparent in his conduct. He definitely wouldn’t put a lock on your resurrection CD for a real account ban. Try putting on the helmet again? Maybe it just got stuck?"

Wild Wind: "Ah Guang: I will remember you. (side-eye)"

Night Ten: "Sorry, Brother Guang. (awkward)"

Makabazi: "Hahaha! You wimp! Ha ha ha haha! Rookie!"

Fang Chang: "Could it be a bug? I’ll ask for you."

Mosquito: "What bug? He must have cheated! Dude, quick, tell us, where did you buy the cheats? How much per month? (mischievous grin)"

Falling Feather: "Damn! This game doesn’t even have an operating system, how could I cheat! (freaking out)"

Teng Teng: "That’s too bad..."

Crow: "Yeah, normally being locked in Ah Guang’s tiny black room only lasts 72 hours. Just endure it and it’ll be over soon enough with something to look forward to. But having your resurrection countdown stuck... feels like a ghost story. (╯﹏╰)b"

WC really has Mosquito: "What? Crow got locked in Ah Guang’s tiny black room???"

Debt Giant Eye: "I bet Ah Guang is in there too!!"

Pick up trash 99 level: "Giao! Pass it on down the tail!"

Crow: "????"

Due to the victim continuously livestreaming his "withdrawal symptoms," the thread grew taller, soon becoming the hottest post on the forum. Both gamers and backseat drivers joined in the crowd.

Under the jeers of the onlookers, Ah Guang, who had been playing dead for five minutes, finally showed up.

"Cough, everyone please calm down. Since no player has been killed by a nuclear bomb so far in this game, a little bug in the memory programming has occurred. But it’s not a big issue! I’ve already reported the bug to the tech department, and they said they’ll send a couple of plumbers over to check it out later."

Falling Feather: "How is it not a big issue? (angry)"

Light: "Of course, for accounts affected, we’ll offer compensation. As for the compensation plan, it’s currently being looked into and should be a very special reward... I’ll discuss it in a meeting with my colleagues later."

Falling Feather: "Bro!!! (excited)"

WC really has Mosquito: "WTF? There’s compensation?"

Quit Smoking: "Is it too late to get bombed by a nuclear bomb now???"

Fang Chang: "Cough cough, just wanted to ask... are there any nuclear bombs near Ideal City? No particular reason, just kind of missing home."

Watching the replies in the forum, Chu Guang couldn’t help but twitch his brow.

These guys...

Can’t they have some dignity?

But indeed, players being unable to log in was a big issue. The impact on the game experience was a small matter, but triggering urgent missions was major.

The Morphogenesis Field was the biggest ace up the Alliance’s sleeve.

The only uncertainty now was whether this situation was caused by external factors or because the refuge judged the clone to be risky and hence acted proactively.

Either way...

This instability had to be addressed as the highest priority!

Thinking this, Chu Guang immediately ordered.

"Xiao Qi, issue a mission to all players nearby the coordinates, asking them to check the area and recover the pilot’s body."

Xiao Qi reminded him softly.

"But, sir, that coordinate area is out of the communication range."

Chu Guang slightly startled.

"They haven’t logged off yet?"

"Maybe they are celebrating a victory?" Xiao Qi suggested uncertainly.

Hmm...

That was indeed possible.

Chu Guang thought for a moment, then ordered.

"Copy the mission details onto the VM of player ’WC really has Mosquito’, and have him fly the details to them."

Since the Beta era, players’ range of activities had increasingly expanded, with the proportion of players who operated long-term outside of the Alliance’s communication range approaching 6%.

Chu Guang had Xiao Qi upgrade the VM software program, so not only could players offline take missions from the refuge through the official website, but their VMs also had sender capabilities, synchronizing pre-set NPC missions to nearby players’ mission tabs under specific circumstances.

Such missions were usually disseminated close-by and typically served as an emergency measure.

Sitting on the table, Xiao Qi tilted his head.

"But wouldn’t it be beyond the range of flight?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"It doesn’t matter. One less plane isn’t a big deal, just let him stash a foldable bike in the cabin and find a flat spot to land."

...

North of Petra Fortress.

The market at the city gate was a bustling hub of excitement, vibrant like a fiercely burning furnace.

The clinking of glasses stretched from the tavern down the street, as drunken revelers shouted with inebriated voices.

"Long live the Kingdom!"

"Long live the Spirit of the Desert Sea!"

"A toast to the lord’s envoy!"

"Hahaha! Tonight we drink till dawn!"

Tonight, there was no curfew. The lord had declared that as long as they wished, they could drink until daylight.

Just for tonight, patrolling guards wouldn’t shoo these drunken revelers home, but merely stood by to prevent them from causing trouble while drunk.

Just a few hours ago, they had defeated the invincible army, stopping the curse and disaster that were descending upon Oasis No.4, and safeguarding the kingdom’s peace.

It was said that the day after tomorrow, His Majesty the King himself would come to this fortress to commend their bravery. The kingdom’s High Priest would also arrive, to meet the kind and benevolent divine envoy.

By now, no one doubted the divine envoy’s identity.

All the soldiers and militiamen who participated in the battle had witnessed the scene in Lost Valley.

The light that shattered the clouds and the earth-shattering flames and columns of air were undoubtedly the depiction of the apocalypse in the Silver Moon Holy Words!

As people immersed themselves in the joy of victory and survival, an airplane appeared in the northern night sky, and was spotted by a patrolling guard.

"What is that?"

Lights twinkled in the sky.

He immediately grabbed his binoculars for a look, only to see an airplane with a shark’s head painted on it, flying towards them with lights on.

Those bloody teeth clearly indicated that the newcomer meant no good, and the shark, as described by the sailors of Silver Moon Bay, was a formidable beast.

The guard immediately became vigilant and reported this discovery to the patrol captain.

Upon hearing this, the captain did not dare to delay, and immediately issued an order.

"Cavalry, assemble and follow me to take a look!"

The airplane did not head directly for Petra Fortress, but instead landed on a sand dune to the north.

A large group of cavalry burst out of the city gates, encircling the direction where the airplane landed.

Mosquito had just crawled out of the cockpit when he saw a circle of cavalry wielding carbine rifles around him.

The menacing display stunned him, but he quickly pulled out the alliance flag from the cockpit.

"Don’t shoot! We’re on the same side!"

...

Lord’s Mansion.

Inside the granite hall, an orchestra played melodious and elegant music, as people in lavish attire equally indulged in celebrating the hard-earned victory.

People shuffled back and forth in front of long tables, which were laden with pottery full of fine wine, and plates filled with roasted chicken legs, lamb legs, beef, and all sorts of strange vegetables and fruits.

The variety of food here was rich and outrageously plentiful.

Sitting at the long table, players from the Skeleton Corps fully embraced the "clean plate" spirit, transforming into voracious eaters, their bellies open as they ate and drank, all the while murmuring in conversation.

"Hey, if we buy some cattle and sheep from here and transport them back, we’ll definitely make a fortune!"

"Let’s talk about that when we go back. After this, we still need to meet up with the main force on the southwest side of the Lion Kingdom and head north to liberate the Honey Badger Kingdom... There’s a bunch of activities lined up."

"When do we leave?"

"Depends on when the logistics convoy arrives, we can’t just drive tanks all the way across."

"Speaking of which, I think the princess of the Honey Badger Kingdom is really pretty."

"Damn, why isn’t the Manager interested!"

"Why do you care?"

"I freaking placed a bet!"

"Sheesh..."

As reinforcements from the Alliance, they received Petra Fortress’s calm and warm hospitality.

Whether for the sake of the fifteen tanks that had made the army flee in disarray, or because most of these people were Awakeners, they were truly worthy of this respect.

Benefits do not necessarily come through war, but strength is always the foundation of respect.

No one minded their gluttonous eating manners.

Even Ross Gold, a traditional noble who cares about the angle and force with which he cuts his steak, would selectively ignore the uncouth behavior of their peers at a banquet. Instead, they are deeply impressed by their uninhibited demeanor and hearty appetites.

The surrender faction in the Camel Hump Kingdom is a little different from the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

The latter was motivated by intertwined interests, whereas the former admired sheer military prowess and despised unstable situations.

If the Alliance could defeat the Army on the open battlefield, they certainly wouldn’t mind switching their allegiance.

"By the Spirit of the Sand Sea... that guy just stuffed at least half a lamb into his stomach!"

"Where does all that food go?"

"That guy over there ate 5 chickens!"

"Incredible... such rudeness."

"Rudeness? You call that rudeness? If I could eat 5 roast chickens in one meal, I’d grab them with my hands too!"

"Exactly, eating big bites of meat is the elegance of a warrior... It’s just a cultural difference."

"With so many brave and skilled warriors, no wonder the Alliance dares to arm wrestle with the Army!"

As a group of satiated nobles were astounded and whispered about possibly picking a couple of sons-in-law to improve their side branches’ bloodlines, Si Si seemed to be in a spot of trouble.

Lord Sain approached her.

This muscular man, with his arm in a bandage and slightly tipsy, wore a face full of stubble that looked formidable without even a frown, now glowing slightly rosy.

"Do you have a husband?"

"No, why?"

"A fiancé?"

"...What’s it to you?"

"May I be your suitor?"

Hearing this, Sesame Paste, who was drinking milk, nearly spat it out, and Tail and Meat Meat, who were competing over who could eat more chicken legs, immediately stopped their contest and looked up excitedly.

"Wow! Si Si just got a marriage proposal from an NPC!"

"Spread the word! Si Si has kids now!"

Si Si just froze on the spot.

"...Huh?"

Taking those cheers which he didn’t understand as encouragement, Sain continued to gaze at her intensely, his eyes filled with sincerity.

"...I know it may be a bit abrupt to say this, but I cannot keep these words in my heart. Your beauty and bravery have captivated me. Could you give me a chance to court you?"

"If you are still angry about something from earlier, I sincerely apologize."

Si Si stared blankly at the guy.

"I’m not angry... but don’t you have a wife already?"

The bearded man chuckled awkwardly, shyly speaking.

"Just three... but it doesn’t matter, my relationship with them isn’t about love, it’s an alliance marriage."

Si Si: "..."

Tail: "giao!"

In a whisper, Meat Meat asked, "Ah Tail, how should we spread this...?"

Tail pondered thoughtfully, chin in hand.

Suddenly her eyes lit up, but before she could speak, her mouth was covered by a smiling Sesame Paste, leaving only muffled sounds leaking through her fingers.

"Don’t be naughty, Ah Tail."

Si Si sighed without paying much attention to his friends’ playful noises.

"Sorry, you’re a good person."

Therefore, there’s no need to take things so seriously in the game, but this guy was far from her ideal type.

Not to mention the "X and Producer" kind of artistic style, at least he should be tall and powerful, handsome and serious like the Manager...

Well, actually the first two don’t matter, she mainly wanted to see a serious person become unserious.

That kind of inconsistency would feel great.

Sain was stunned for a moment, his expression confused, unable to grasp the situation.

A good person...

Why apologize?

...

On the other side of the banquet hall.

Mole poured himself a glass of wine, gazed at the endless array of roasted meats on the table, and sighed deeply.

"It would be great if Old Na were here."

There was plenty of food here, but the variety of cooking was pitiful; no matter the type of meat, it was just seasoned, shoved into an oven, and then served on a bed of vegetable leaves.

Then there were all kinds of fruits, some familiar from the real world, and others he had never seen before.

He heard that there were sand worms in the nearby deserts, taller than city walls.

If Old Na were here, he’d be ecstatic.

The Thousand Leader sitting next to him thought he was talking to him, but didn’t understand and apologetically said,

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Nothing, I was just saying... how nice it would be if my good brother Old Na were here." Mole nonchalantly repeated in United Human language.

"He..."

The Thousand Leader’s Adam’s apple bobbed, he guessed something from his expression, and then stopped talking.

"He died."

Mole sadly burped, spicing up the tale of what had happened at dusk.

"In order to buy me time, he drove the tank out voluntarily to serve as bait and attract enemy fire, and ended up getting hit directly by an army tank’s shell... When I walked up at the end, not even a whole corpse could be found inside."

The Thousand Leader was silent for a moment.

The burly man patted him on the shoulder and solemnly consoled,

"...Don’t be too sad, the Spirit of the Sand Sea will remember his bravery. To die for sacred honor, his soul will enter the eternal Oasis."

"I’m not sad, what’s there to be sad about," Mole shook his head, leisurely sipping his red wine, "anyway, once I fall asleep, I’ll be able to see that guy again."

Hearing this, everyone around fell silent.

The Thousand Leader sniffed, and a young lady from who-knows-where discreetly wiped the corner of her eye.

Venturing to foreign lands to fight, a comrade falls just before dawn, unable to share the victorious wine.

His pretense of strength was heartbreaking.

However, they didn’t know that every word he said was true.

In a while, once the banquet ended, he’d find a place to lie down, and he could brag online with those buddies.

No problem!

The Thousand Leader did not say any more comforting words, but just clinked glasses with Mole.

"The Alliance is always our friend, I won’t forget this kindness, may our friendship last forever!"

His tone was incredibly sincere and earnest.

Mole grinned and clinked his glass.

"May our friendship last forever!"

Just as he finished speaking, the doors of the banquet hall suddenly opened.

Amidst the melodious music, a guard clad in bulletproof gear hurried to Lord Sain’s side.

"Sir, a plane has landed in the desert north of Petra. the pilot who descended claims to be from the Alliance."

The recently friend-zoned Sain was still confused, trying to understand why he was rejected.

But upon hearing the guard’s report, he immediately set aside his romantic troubles and grew serious.

"Bring him here."

The soldier saluted and marched back briskly.

Sain cleared his throat, fetched the soldier named Mole, and they both walked to the entrance of the banquet hall.

Soon, the pilot was brought in.

He wore a pilot hat stitched from hyena skin and was immediately taken aback by the array of fine food and drink as he reached the door.

"Holy shit, I’ve been bleeding in the front lines, and you’re eating like this!"

His talk of bleeding was an exaggeration.

The afternoon’s battle was a breeze; the opposing planes didn’t get a chance to engage in a dogfight before they were obliterated by a volley from the Manager.

This was his most rewarding potato digging session, even more comfortable than the time fighting the Chewing Bone Tribe.

Seeing the pilot’s unworldly demeanor, Mole quickly coughed.

"Don’t embarrass our Alliance... But hey, why are you here?"

"Hehe," Mosquito raised his eyebrows, his face animated, "The Manager himself instructed me to deliver this message."

As he spoke, he tapped twice on his VM, and a slight vibration synced to Mole’s arm.

[Mission 1: Investigate the crash site of ’Cloud Dragonfly’ Flapping Machine.]

[Mission 2: Retrieve the body (or remains) of pilot Falling Feather.]

Mole was stunned the moment he saw the missions.

Retrieve remains, seriously?

Good grief, after a million-ton three-phase bomb, what remains could there be...

Any ashes left?

"...Isn’t this asking for the impossible?" he finally couldn’t help but complain.

Mosquito chuckled.

"I think so too, probably only the Difficult for the Strong brothers could find that."

Mole: "No... what’s the use of that thing anyway?"

Mosquito: "Who knows! But it makes sense to assign this mission; you might not know since you haven’t logged off, but our Falling Feather bro seems to have been nuked into a bug."

Mole: "Holy crap?"

There are actually bugs in this game?

No wonder they’re always fixing things...

Mosquito continued speaking.

"Anyway, Ah Guang is contacting the technical department to rush the repairs, but he probably didn’t notify the NPCs in the game, so the Manager had his most loyal Mosquito come to check things out."

Mole: "..."

Mosquito chuckled and said, "Take me with you when you go; I’m quite curious. I’ve never seen what it’s like to be bombed by a nuclear bomb."

The conversation between the two was completely incomprehensible.

Confused, Lord Sain of the city was about to ask what they were talking about when Si Si walked out from the banquet hall and looked at him.

"A new prophecy, the evil spirits summoned by the Army have not been completely sealed. We need to deal with the enchanted barrier of the curse... the divine envoy just told me."

Clearly, she had also received that mission, including the people from the White Bear Knights.

Upon hearing Si Si’s words, Sain didn’t feel embarrassed about being previously refused; rather, his expression turned serious as he furrowed his brows.

"But now the Land of the Lost is piled with a massive amount of curses, even capable of withering plants and trees unless we use—"

"We’ve brought anti-radiation drugs and radiation suits, so it shouldn’t be a big issue."

Looking at the girl before him, Sain earnestly asked,

"Must we go?"

Si Si spoke with feigned gravity.

"For the safety of the residents of Petra Fortress, we must ensure that the curse there is permanently sealed... the divine envoy said it is her duty and her responsibility. I hope you can understand."

Sain was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"I understand. I will arrange for a guide for you."

"Good luck."

Standing to one side, Mole and Mosquito exchanged glances, sharing the surprise in each other’s eyes.

"Awesome..."

"666."

She spoke nonsense with a straight face, not even blushing, and the crazy part is that he actually believed her!

That’s really something...

Lost Valley.

In a deep and dark cavern resided a room filled with jars and containers; if not for a few malfunctioning terminals and the connected culturing vessels, one would never have recognized it as a laboratory.

Pigeon, with a face full of scrapes like a swamp, scratched his chin in bafflement, looking at the young man unconscious on the metal bed, muttering to himself.

"This shouldn’t be happening, right?"

His heart and lung functions had recovered, but the man just wouldn’t wake up, as if his soul was lost.

It was indeed bizarre.

He had lived so long, yet this was the first time he had seen such a strange occurrence...

Time went back several hours.

Some fool outside had detonated a nuclear bomb, causing the nearby mountain to collapse by half, almost burying him alive.

It was fortunate that the explosion occurred in the center of the valley, nearly 10 kilometers from the mountain stronghold.

It was fortunate that the remnants of the river embankments still held plenty of alloy structures, blocking some of the high-energy rays.

If not for these "fortunate" events, perhaps only "Little Red," the mother body, would have survived.

Although he pulled through with his strong regenerative powers, the poor mortal was not so lucky; his body’s large molecules were instantly turned into a sieve by high-energy rays, with organic tissues massively necrotizing.

"If we leave this guy alone, he will undoubtedly be done for."

Seeing as fate had brought them together, Pigeon decided to help him out and asked Little Red to create a "Seed of Life" and give it to him.

The so-called Seed of Life was a name coined by Pigeon.

In plain terms, it was just a division of fungal mycelium.

However, unlike other regional slime molds, these "Symbiotic Slime Molds" neither extract nutrients from the host nor consume the host to evolve themselves, nor do they transform the host into one of their own.

Instead, they sacrifice their autonomous consciousness, integrate themselves into part of the host, grant the host powerful abilities, and over the years slowly replace the aging, dead cells that can no longer replicate, keeping the host forever healthy and youthful.

It was like all-encompassing, selflessly devoted love!

In this symbiotic relationship, the host would break free from the shackles of age, not become sluggish due to aging but instead grow stronger over the years.

The longer one lived, the more cells would be replaced. And since the "Symbiotic Slime Mold" lacked autonomous consciousness, even if all the cells in the body were completely replaced, the host’s own consciousness would remain intact.

As for the cost that the young man was worried about.

In Pigeon’s view, it could hardly be called a cost.

Every known form of life cannot escape metabolism, whether it’s an organic or inorganic body, eventually needing to replace worn-out parts.

Even without any external factors, the cells in a human body would completely renew every six years. This is just normal metabolism and does not affect whether a person remains the same person.

The slime mold with which he was symbiotic also could not escape this metabolism.

The only difference was that slime molds could reproduce indefinitely, while his body cells had the limitations of telomeres, gradually becoming weaker over time.

But the slime mold symbiotic with him would never despise his aging; the eternal love would always surround him.

Even if all the cells in his body were rotten, he could still stand here like a healthy young person, not only maintaining a flexible mind, but even able to reproduce offspring with his own DNA.

This was simply a biological miracle!

As for whether he was now Pigeon or some mucosal entity called Pigeon, as far as he was concerned, it really didn’t matter. He was still in control of this body.

Thought is the fundamental reason for human existence!

The body is just a shell to contain those thoughts!

Moreover, this slow and gentle change that replaced only a few cells at a time was much more reliable than "crudely destroying the body and uploading the mind to a circuit board."

If it were during the Prosperity Epoch.

His research would surely become one of the greatest discoveries of that era!

"Eeem?"

Little Red tilted her head while she stood in the laboratory.

Her round, smooth tentacles were like a dolphin’s mouth, softly floating at the back of her head, undulating like seaweed. The blurred facial features were full of confusion, just like Pigeon standing beside the bed.

"Do you not understand either?"

Pigeon sighed and scratched his rotting occiput.

Little Red nodded.

But just then, it suddenly looked up toward the lab door, the tentacles on the back of its head slightly tensed, a crisp voice drifting out.

"Eeem."

"Are you saying someone is coming?"

Pigeon muttered and looked at Little Red, who nodded, then glanced at the young man lying motionless on the bed.

There have always been people stirring things up in Lost Valley recently, perhaps Academy’s Prospectors or other treasure seekers. Frankly, he wasn’t too keen to bother or care about them.

But remembering the nuclear bomb that had exploded before, he still sighed and twisted his stiff neck.

"You wait here... I’m going to take a look outside."