This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 460: This Newbie’s Got Something Special!

Chapter 460: Chapter 460: This Newbie’s Got Something Special!

He rushed to the position, all in a fluster.

Old Soldier pulled out his telescope and took a glance at the person coming from across the way, heaving a sigh of relief upon catching a glimpse.

Good.

It’s I Max Black.

It seemed that the Storm Corps were the ones arriving this time.

Compared to the brute force of the Death Legion, at least this group would pretend to play the part.

A hundred-odd people lay prone 500 meters away, using the cover of the uneven slopes, they began digging with shovels to make dugouts, intending to dig their way forward while shoveling.

Seeing how diligently his brothers were acting, Old Soldier decided to pull out some real skills, he turned to Buford and ordered solemnly.

"Don’t rush to fire just yet, wait until they get closer before shooting!"

"Yes, tall one!"

After taking the command and nodding, Buford couldn’t help but silently complain, wondering who it was that had begun firing from a long distance yesterday.

However, just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he saw the boss kick the machine gunner’s butt.

"Move aside, I’ll do it."

The machine gunner was stunned for two seconds, promptly stood up, and made way for the only heavy machine gun in the thousand team.

As he watched the boss inadvisably take over the machine gun spot, Buford wanted to persuade him with a bittersweet smile, but before he could touch his shoulder, he heard two abrupt gunshots.

Two plumes of dust sprang up in the distance.

Buford looked at his superior, dumbfounded.

"...Sir?"

Old Soldier, staring at the smoking barrel, coughed and said awkwardly.

"Cough... I was just checking the feel, it fired by accident."

He then glared at the machine gunner beside him.

"Why didn’t you put the safety on?"

The machine gunner had a wronged expression and took a while before he could voice his grievance.

"Sir, you told me yesterday to take the safety off as soon as I see someone."

Old Soldier was startled.

"Did I say that?"

Machine gunner: "..."

Buford: "..."

Although it was just an accidental discharge of two shots, the clone soldiers in the trenches reacted as if they heard a signal, each of them setting up their guns beyond the trench and pulling the trigger, regardless of the distance.

The crack of gunfire merged into continuous sounds across the position, like firecrackers during the New Year—though much sound, little effect.

These clone soldiers weren’t too bright to begin with, and their long-distance accuracy was notably dismal.

For this reason, hardly any officer would issue automatic weapons to clone infantry; it’s pure torture for logistics.

Even so, when over a hundred people fired in one direction simultaneously, the net of fire still had a certain deterrent effect.

Bullets suddenly zipping by startled I Max Black, who was digging a dugout, he quickly bowed his head lower, afraid of being taken out by a stray bullet.

The reaction of the new players beside him was entirely different.

Though they also jumped with surprise, it was a completely different picture.

The bullets landed less than half a meter from their heads.

The sand that splashed up blinded their eyes, Return to soil & Rest in peace instinctively shrank his head, but soon an excited expression appeared on his face.

"Holy shit, this is freaking exhilarating!"

Far from being scared, he even reached out to the spot where the bullet landed and actually found a deformed bullet head embedded in the ground.

A look of discovering a New Continent appeared on Return to soil & Rest in peace’s face, his eyes wide with surprise.

"Holy cow! You can actually find bullet heads in this FPS game!"

And it was hot to the touch!

Just for this detail, he was overwhelmingly impressed!

Ah Nie glanced at him, quickly noticing something amiss.

"Bro, where’s your gun?"

Return to soil & Rest in peace gave an embarrassed smile.

"I didn’t get one!"

Ah Nie was startled.

"What the hell are you here for, then?"

"Isn’t there a shovel here?" Return to soil & Rest in peace winked and smiled, then his eyes strayed towards the weapon on Ah Nie’s back, "It’s fine, I’ll use yours when you’re dead."

Ah Nie: "???"

Just then, something hot whooshed past his left ear, nearly grazing his earlobe.

The bullet hadn’t hit him.

But it hit another player standing about twenty meters behind him.

"Argh—!"

An exaggerated scream echoed through the open space, the player’s shoulder suddenly bore a bloody hole, his body shook violently, and then, like wearing a mask of pain, he twisted into a knot on the ground like a worm.

After twisting for a good while, realizing that everyone around was watching him, he couldn’t continue his act and sheepishly stopped with a chuckle.

"Heh, I forgot, I guess there’s no sense of pain... Who’s got a bandage? The blood won’t stop flowing out."

I Max Black rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze from the man.

Asking for a bandage, really.

He’s practically a dead man now, what the hell does he need a bandage for?

Watching the crackling gunfire ahead, I Max Black drew his pistol, took aim in front, and shouted.

"Brothers! Keep those shovels moving, dig hard! Don’t stop—!"

Holy crap!

Old Soldier, that rotten guy, doesn’t act human!

Just serving up people for him felt like a bargain.

Had to show him some colors!

I Max Black’s eyes spun in their sockets, he suddenly had an idea and shouted.

"The G53-7 section’s BOSS is right ahead! Catch that guy called Pangolin, kill him, and you’ll be rewarded with 1000 silver coins!"

At the mention of a reward of 1000 silver coins, the sprawling new players were instantly excited!

Several of them almost stood up, but as theirs shoulders lifted half an inch, they were suppressed back down by the gunfire from the opposing position.

Besides the reckless ones, there were also some more rational players among the new ones, who shouted to I Max Black.

"Boss, how do I turn on the display ID mode?"

This question left I Max Black dumbfounded.

"What, show IDs mode?"

The newbie said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah! It shows character names, how else would I know who’s called Pangolin?"

Upon hearing this, I Max Black suddenly realized.

Right.

The newbies had never seen that guy.

"Don’t worry about it too much, just grab the one with the flat nose, the ugliest hammer, and you’re done—"

Before he could finish speaking, I Max Black’s forehead exploded into a mist of blood, and he was disconnected before he could even grunt.

Seeing the commander fall, the new players were all dumbfounded.

"Damn..."

"Big Bro?"

The head was smashed like a watermelon, obviously stone cold by then.

Ah Nie looked bewilderedly at Return to soil & Rest in peace, who was lying beside him.

"What... what do we do now?"

Return to soil & Rest in peace swallowed hard.

"Don’t ask me... I just want Tranquility."

The truck that had brought them over had already driven away.

There was only a small motorcycle left leaning in the back, seemingly the commander’s own, probably planned for use in the charge.

A Strength Type player clenched his teeth, unable to bear the indignity of being suppressed by enemy fire, and even less able to tolerate the endless digging and shoveling, he let out a roar.

"Brothers, charge!"

"To avenge our brother, I Max Black!"

This shout immediately garnered numerous responses from his comrades, as the players one by one rose from the ground.

Those with guns fixed their bayonets, and those without held shovels; accompanied by a thunderous roar, they launched a fearless charge.

"Charge!"

"Aooo!"

"Drop the Gold Coins, you curs!"

As it turned out,

A hundred people scattering and rushing forward was somewhat more effective than them running together in a clump.

Moreover, these newbies weren’t completely without their own thoughts.

Seeing one guy get taken down by a burst from a machine gun, others quickly changed their tactics and began serpentine maneuvers.

However, it turned out that this tactic, common in FPS games, was pretty much useless in the almost completely realistic Virtual Reality Game.

That was a machine gun with a firing rate of six hundred rounds per minute!

Not to mention the one manning the machine gun was a Second Awakening, Third Order of Sequence in agility – a big shot.

In just one minute, until the last man fell fifty meters from the position, the entire thousand team was wiped out.

And as this batch of newcomers collectively disconnected, posts summarizing their deaths began to emerge one after another on the Forum in another world.

"Ah, indeed we should’ve just dug the trenches properly..."

"That’s right... leaving cover was just stupid."

"Even if we charge, it should be at the right moment... I found that the enemy’s rifles aren’t that accurate; it’s just that damn machine gun that’s fierce!"

"Next time we need to get a cannon or something to at least take out that machine gun!"

"Who the hell made that shout?"

"I remember it was some dumbass Strength Type."

"Grass! Who the hell are you calling dumbass?!"

"It’s you! XX! Dumbass!"

"%￥#@!"

...

Unlike the howling newbies, the Old Soldier was quite pleased this time.

The last delivery sent over by Debt Giant Eye had not a trace of sincerity; this time, not only could the newbies dig, but they also put on quite a show for him, which was genuinely entertaining.

To express his gratitude, he logged off at a spot where he wouldn’t be disturbed and went on the Forum to leave a couple of compliments, only to nearly spray out his cola when he saw the posts.

Good lord.

They were treating him like a BOSS to farm!

He didn’t know who started it, but the whole Forum was abuzz with new players sharing the joke that killing Pangolin would drop 1000 Silver Coins.

Watching the player discussions get hotter and more ludicrous, with some even suggesting setting up something like a "vanilla sugar Big Ivan," he felt nervous sweat seeping into his palms.

He quickly switched to the group chat he had created earlier and mentioned a few allied commanders.

"What’s going on with you guys? Didn’t we agree to send me some kills? How did it turn into dropping my Gold Coins?!"

I Max Black: "Damn! You cur finally show up, you went too hard just now, couldn’t you have let me finish speaking?!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Cough cough... I saw you fire a shot, thought you were urging me to send you off quicker."

Valley Escaping Mole: "Hahaha!"

I Max Black: "@#%#!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Put your stuff aside, who’s gonna deal with that group of newbies? Send kills as agreed, and don’t mess up my good things."

Spring Water Commander: "Why manage them, I think it’s quite good, didn’t you complain that yesterday’s batch was too deliberate? Using all means necessary, this is what’s really real! (smirk)"

Debt Giant Eye: "Exactly! I was just pondering, directly sending kills is stupid."

I Max Black: "+1, besides, as a level twenty-something powerhouse, are you really worried a few newbies will upend you?"

Seeing this bunch of curs still egging on, the Old Soldier was on the verge of exploding and typed furiously.

"Darn it! Have you seen what they are discussing?!"

Spring Water Commander: "Relax, I’m not gonna give them any powerful weapons, just a couple of old rifles from storage... In the worst case, hide in your anti-cannon hole and send out the clones."

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "..."

Edge Shoveling: "Suddenly got the mood, we’re up tomorrow, right? (smirk)"

Young Construction Worker with Bricks: "I’ll lead the team! (smirk)"

Seeing that smirk, the Old Soldier felt a chill down his spine.

Noticing he had been offline for over ten minutes, he cussed and shut down the computer, putting on the headset to return online.

...

That same night,

In the headquarters of Area 53, Coleway finally received a report from the frontlines.

And the moment he saw the report sent from sector seven, he was stunned.

"... Ammo exhausted in sector 7?! What happened?"

Yesterday, he had just been there, and had taken the time to check the front-line supply situation. By all accounts, the ammunition for a standard unit was reliable.

How could it be that not even 48 hours had passed, and they were already running out of ammunition?!

Were they treating bullets like peanuts to snack on while drinking?

The reporting officer continued with a serious expression.

"In the last two days, the Alliance dispatched small troop units twice to launch surprise attacks on our defense area at Section 7."

Coleway had no doubt that his Pangolin would fabricate something like this, but he couldn’t help but ask.

"Is the situation confirmed?"

The officer nodded.

"I sent someone to the front line to check... The corpses left unattended outside the trenches couldn’t be fake. According to their battle reports, they wiped out more than 250 enemies in these two days, and seized over 240 rifles, a pistol, and nearly six thousand rounds of ammunition."

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"The seized weapons have already been sent to the logistics department... Some of the weapons need repairs, but they should be useable after some fixing."

He didn’t listen to the rest of the words.

When he heard that they wiped out more than 250 enemies, Coleway’s eyes instantly widened, and he sprang up from his chair with a whoosh.

Wow!

More than 250 people!

Even if two ten thousand troops faced each other in a firefight all day, they might not achieve such results.

His first reaction wasn’t that Pangolin was a matchless tactician, but whether the Alliance’s commander had lost his mind?

After calming down, he fixed his gaze on the strategic map and pondered for a long time. Suddenly, a trace of enlightenment appeared in his eyes.

"...Could they be using this method to eliminate internal dissent?"

The officer standing beside him looked slightly hesitant but quickly nodded.

"That is a possibility."

After all, the Alliance wasn’t just one person. General Griffin had sent them an ultimatum, and they would certainly be divided on whether to engage in ceasefire negotiations, with voices supporting both war and peace factions arising.

Coleway could even guess.

The rationale of the pro-peace faction would simply be that the Alliance was too weak and too small compared to the Army, and if a full-scale war broke out, they probably couldn’t last even three days.

That was indeed the reality.

Neither the expedition to the Grand Canyon, the detention of the Pioneer, nor the subsequent invasion of Luo Xia Province represented the collective will of the Army.

The corporate assistance to the Alliance was also just a minor matter among many for the corporations.

If a full-scale war truly erupted, it was unclear who would have the advantage between the Army and the corporations, but he had no doubt that the Alliance, in its precarious position, wouldn’t survive a single round.

However, even so, there must still be voices within the Alliance pushing for war.

After all, while the exact state of the Army’s supplies was difficult to gauge, the overall problem wasn’t hard to guess.

Based on such speculation, if he were part of the Alliance’s pro-peace faction, he would certainly use this argument against the warmongers—

’Since you’re so confident you can win the second half, then you can lead the charge with your men. Or at least provide evidence that the Army really can’t continue.’

This would not make it hard to understand why the Alliance resorted to such desperate tactics as the fuel-adding strategy.

Staring at the strategic map on the table, Coleway narrowed his eyes and a smug smile curled on his lips.

"Pity they picked the wrong opponent and ended up clashing with one of the valiant warriors under my command."

After saying this, he saw the officer.

"Divert half of the ammunition from Sections 6 and 5 to Section 7! We must not show them our weakness!"

The officer hesitated.

"But... what if they adjust their tactics and attack other lines of defense next time?"

Coleway chuckled confidently.

"Since it’s a probe of our strengths and weaknesses, they can’t just hammer away randomly. They’ll have to focus their attacks on one point to break through, I’m certain they’ll come back in a couple of days!"

Regardless,

the dead aren’t faking it.

Being able to use just a little ammunition to wear down the most determined living forces of the enemy is a win in any book!

Not only that, this method also allows us to sustain the war with the war.

The enemy can’t possibly come empty-handed; the weapons and ammunition they bring can be recycled and reused!

"Hold off on sending the captured equipment and ammunition to the maintenance crews for now. Wait until I’ve drafted the battle report, and then we’ll send it all together to the higher command! Let’s see if they can divert some ammunition our way!"

The officer’s eyes lit up.

Brilliant idea!

With a hundred thousand troops lined up along the front, there are always a few units defending areas that aren’t so crucial, or positions that are somewhat in the rear and less likely to be attacked.

As long as the commanding office realizes the situation here, they will surely allocate some ammunition to them!

Thinking of this, the officer immediately stood upright and saluted excitedly, taking the order.

"Yes, sir!"

The message was reported up the chain.

And sure enough, it reached Griffin in just two days.

He wasn’t surprised by the Alliance’s small scale raid on the Army’s defensive line.

Strategic caution and tactical audacity do not conflict.

Moreover, that ultimatum was just a unilateral notification from his side, not a proper ceasefire agreement. He never expected the Alliance to be so frightened by a piece of paper that they wouldn’t dare fire a shot.

If he were the commander on the other side, he too would send small forces to probe and see how capable the opposition really was and whether they had the guts to make him pay a price.

But that Centurion named Pangolin was quite interesting.

Griffin had seen his record.

Although it was that fool McCullen who had promoted him and he was from the Retinue Army, his skills and loyalty were indeed beyond question.

Single-handedly hunting the two-story-tall Mother of Dead Claw, and in the face of defeat, carrying his superior officer across the desert, breaking through the enemy encirclement to return to the rear.

Whether in terms of loyalty or bravery, he was impeccably perfect, even to the point where Griffin himself couldn’t help but admire.

Such talent was a waste to send to the front lines.

If only he were a Weilante person, or even half Weilante by blood, he would have transferred him to the Personal Body Guard as a captain.

The Weilante People’s mistrust of foreigners was innate, and the reasons can be traced back to the early Wasteland Era.

"Could there be a problem with this man?" Griffin’s adjutant hesitated as he stood beside him, "I always feel... his victory was a little too smooth."

Griffin tapped his index finger lightly on the table.

"We can’t rule out that possibility. Even Weilante people could betray us, let alone a foreigner. But so far, other than his large appetite, I haven’t noticed any other problems with him, and I won’t rashly punish someone who has contributed based on intuition."

Since Pangolin brought Coleway back, his men had been monitoring him. They found that, aside from eating a lot and spending a bit more time in the bathroom, he hadn’t shown anything unusual and hadn’t even left camp once.

If such a person had issues, then there would be too many suspects to count.

After thinking for a moment, Griffin made up his mind and looked toward the officer standing at the camp entrance to give an order.

"Send a telegram to the front line, ensuring that Area 53’s ammunition needs are met first! The Alliance is very likely to launch a retaliatory strike on Area 53-7, and we must not let them see that we have issues with our ammunition supply!"

"Additionally, send a Battlefield Reporter to Area 53-7."

He paused, a slight smile curling the corner of his lip.

"So brave a military exploit should not remain in the headquarters, it should be communicated to the entire Army!"

"Everyone must know!"

...

The heroic deeds of Area G53-7 and the Pangolin were undoubtedly a welcome relief to the Falcon, Army Allied forces, who had lost the number 9 Oasis to the hard-fought Alliance.

Despite a lot of skepticism from the junior officers about this accomplishment, they couldn’t find any fault after seeing the photos taken by the journalists.

After all, those people who looked and were built so differently from the residents of the Luo Xia Province couldn’t just be padding the numbers with civilians...

In a certain military camp in the defense zone, a few soldiers gathered together, talking about the broadcast they had heard during their meal and a recent newspaper that was delivered to the camp.

"Have you heard? Area G53 wiped out a hundred team yesterday!"

"That Pangolin, right? I know him! Heard he once killed a Death Claw as tall as a five-story building with his bare hands when he was with McCullen in the Southern River Valley Province!"

"Bare hands?! I heard he used weapons?" a muscular soldier with disbelief written all over his face said, his eyes wide.

He was known in the team as a tough guy, but his highest feat was killing a Dead Claw that was two men tall.

And he had used guns and traps.

The soldier who was boasting smirked.

"It doesn’t matter! What kinds of weapons aren’t like toothpicks in front of creatures of that caliber? The Iron Heart couldn’t handle those monsters, but he did. The Alliance? Hah, no matter how many they bring, it won’t be enough for him to kill."

A soldier who had been silent the whole time couldn’t help but express his sincere exclamation.

"Such terror..."

Meanwhile, the Pangolin in Area G53-7 wasn’t feeling as cheerful as he did at the beginning, and he couldn’t bring himself to smile at all.

Not because he’d killed his own people.

He still observed a moment of silence, but holding a machine gun and collecting heads was just too satisfying. Plus, since he was on an undercover mission, he wouldn’t face any punishment from the Manager, and he didn’t need to go easy on the newbies.

While others acting undercover would lift their gun muzzles an inch to avoid killing, he not only struck to kill but was also afraid of not finishing the job, often firing extra bullets into the bodies.

However, before long, he quickly found that the Alliance’s offensive was getting stronger.

Or to put it more accurately.

The newbies had grown.

Especially those who had died once, after enduring the painful "three days detox," they deeply realized how precious life was.

And so, those who did not wish to die swiftly finally took a serious attitude under the guidance of veteran players and quickly mastered the skills needed to survive on the battlefield.

Although the newbies were not very proficient, when a group of people started taking things seriously, they still managed to cause quite a bit of trouble for Comrade Pangolin in his work.

What used to take just a burst of fire to send one person off now required at least two bursts.

Moreover, he had to constantly watch out for the dirty tricks these newbies would pull.

Like the recent offensive where these newbies even used gas cylinder bombs, and one homemade cannon almost blew up his machine gun position.

Fortunately, apart from making a big noise, that thing had no other advantages, only killing a few clone soldiers and one Centurion.

And Spring Water’s explanation was—"That was something the newbies made with the military ammunition from the warehouse, sugar and gas cylinders from the kitchen, and fertilizer bought from the locals."

He almost believed it!

If there wasn’t someone experienced behind this, he’d eat a heap of shit!

The newbies were getting stronger as they fought, and the battlefield gradually started feeling strained.

Especially when he discovered, to his amusement and dismay, that not only were these newbies treating him like a boss in an instance to grind, but those commanders had even started thinking of him as an instructor, throwing all the newbies to him for training.

My goodness.

He felt like he was doing three people’s Work!

Only getting one day’s pay was a huge loss!

In the anti-canon hole.

Looking at the captain with a gloomy face, Buford swallowed his saliva nervously and asked,

"Captain, how many people have we killed these past few days?"

The irritated old soldier replied offhandedly.

"Over a thousand, what about it?"

Buford said with a distressed look on his face,

"Captain, our brothers’ ammunition has hit rock bottom, and even the supplies allocated from the thousand teams are nearly spent! If there are no more supplies delivered... I’m afraid we’ll have to go up and fight them with bayonets."

The old soldier was just about to impatiently respond with, then let’s fight with bayonets.

However, at that moment, a sentry ran in hurriedly, saying with a face full of joy,

"Report to the officer! The supply truck has arrived!"

The old soldier was stunned for a moment, then the gloom on his face dissipated instantly, and he stood up from his chair, overjoyed.

"Look, the ammunition has arrived."

Buford was also stunned, looking at the captain with an incredulous face, his gaze had changed from just moments before.

The entire army was short on ammunition, yet they managed to send some here.

Could this guy be some big shot’s illegitimate son...

The old soldier chuckled, picked up his officer’s hat, and put it on.

"Let’s go, check out our spoils—cough, our supply!"

A group of people went outside the barracks, where about a dozen trucks were parked by the roadside, loaded to the brim with boxes of ammunition.

Watching the centurions happily moving boxes of ammunition from the trucks, Buford’s worried expression also vanished, his eyes brimming with excitement and anticipation.

"...This must be a thousand team’s worth of ammunition!"

The old soldier’s mouth curved upwards in a smirk, and he coughed lightly, pompously stating,

"It seems, the higher-ups place great importance on us."

Buford quickly offered up a laugh with a flattering remark,

"Of course... You are now a war hero. Yesterday’s broadcast was still praising your heroic deeds! I heard the news has spread throughout the entire army, who knows, maybe the battle reports have even reached Triumph City."

Not taking the praise to heart, the old soldier just laughed it off,

"Hahaha, you all have your merits too!"

After patting his adjutant’s shoulder, the old soldier walked forward, picked two boxes to look at, and suddenly noticed the numbers on the boxes.

G40-1, G40-2...

Is this...

The code for the defense area?

Suddenly realizing something, a look of interest emerged in the old soldier’s eyes.

Discreetly moving away from the truck they were at, he went over to the one at the end of the line, randomly picked out two boxes to check.

Very coincidentally, the last numbers were also 1 and 2.

However, the prefix had changed to G41.

Seeing this, the old soldier was shocked.

Good grief.

Is it a sequential number?!