This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 473 Clones are also people, so they can be used to win twice

Chapter 473: Chapter 473 Clones are also people, so they can be used to win twice

"...These guys, they never think of me when they’re having fun, but the moment trouble rears its head, they remember me. I’m not your nanny!"

On the Iron Heart, in the Captain’s quarters,

Chu Guang, sitting at his desk, couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the "Edge Shoveling" report submitted on "how to handle the Clone soldiers."

In both the world before his travels and the one after, history had no precedent for the systematic capture of mentally challenged individuals.

The common practice for Survivor Settlements would definitely be to bury the issue and be done with it.

But the Alliance obviously couldn’t do that.

A disciplined organization must act according to the rules, and the correct approach should be to set a series of regulations and follow the established rules thereafter.

Chu Guang intended to ask Xiao Qi for an opinion, but Xiao Qi’s focus was on a rather odd aspect.

"Huh? Master wants to have some fun?" The voice carried a touch of surprise but also a sensible understanding.

Almost choking on his own saliva, Chu Guang coughed and said,

"I was just making an example...Don’t focus on these strange things, use that calculating power to give me some advice instead."

Xiao Qi, sitting on the desk, supported her chin with both hands, appearing deep in thought.

"Hmm...Xiao Qi doesn’t know either, there’s no precedent to reference in the database. But...do you think they are human?"

"I guess so, even if they are mentally challenged." Chu Guang replied offhandedly.

Xiao Qi continued to question,

"Then how does the Alliance usually deal with mentally challenged members?"

"They’re categorized with disabilities, managed by the Home of the Refugees, or assigned a designated guardian..." As he spoke, a light bulb went off in Chu Guang’s eyes.

Right.

Just find someone to manage these guys.

After some thought, Chu Guang spoke up,

"...The Clone soldier prisoners will be under the custody and discipline of their original direct superiors. In the POW Camp, they’ll be organized into teams of ten and set to work. If one breaks the rules, the whole team will be punished. If they fail to complete their work duties, the team leader bears the main responsibility."

Essentially, he would strip the ten teams of positions like assistant Centurion, Flag Holder, Hornist and so on, leaving the Centurion in charge of these mentally impaired and potentially violent Clone prisoners.

The duration of sentences in Alliance’s POW camps generally starts at ten years.

Unless the Army intends to redeem them, most Clone soldiers won’t even live to see the day they’re released, so that also spares the headache of how to deal with the impact of these special individuals on Alliance society and the social problems that arise from it.

Chu Guang spent ten minutes dictating details to Xiao Qi, including precautions to prevent Centurions from deliberately getting rid of dead weights to escape responsibility, filling in loopholes in specific clauses, and so on.

If managed correctly, these Clone soldiers could become decent labor forces, both in the fields and the mines.

Although these Clones couldn’t perform very complex tasks, they should have no major issues with simple and repetitive physical labor.

As for living standards, he decided to just put them at "subsistence hardship," the same as other POWs.

"Xiao Qi, did you get all that?"

Xiao Qi, sitting atop the desk, nodded with admiration.

"Mhm-mhm! I remember it all!"

A smile curled at the corner of Chu Guang’s mouth as he leaned back in his office chair and stretched languidly.

Though he had only started today’s work ten minutes ago, he felt well-deserved in his efforts.

There were no new changes at the front, everything was progressing smoothly and orderly.

Just as Chu Guang was contemplating whether to unwind by playing a couple of rounds of The Great Escape, Xiao Qi, sitting on the desk, suddenly lifted her head as if receiving a signal.

"Oh, master, there’s new news from the foreign affairs department. It’s about the corporation."

At the mention of news from the corporation, Chu Guang instinctively tensed up.

A big part of the reason he had fled to the frontlines was to avoid the representatives from the corporation.

Old friends from the East Coast were only agreeable when it came to giving money; they were notoriously nitpicky on other matters.

The Supreme Council had already decided to support the Alliance, but to date, they still hadn’t approved the Tiger Whale transport aircraft to head to the front.

For instance, everyone had agreed to push the Army out of Luo Xia Province to prevent further complications, and just when the battle was halfway done and with some advantages gained, the Council began to discuss whether to initiate ceasefire negotiations with the Army using prisoners of war.

Of course, negotiations were possible.

Means are only means, and the ultimate goals are clear in Chu Guang’s heart.

Ultimately, the progress of the Alliance must be achieved through agriculture, industry, and construction—warfare at most serves as a catalyst, but it’s peace that is the long-term plan.

Even so, the right time for negotiations would be after crippling the Army’s strategic positions in Luo Xia Province, significantly weakening the ambitions and capabilities of their "expansionists."

If possible, Chu Guang wished that his old friends from the East Coast would just stick to funding.

"What did they say?"

"He said a reporter from To Distant Report wants to interview General Soffter."

Chu Guang let out a sigh of relief, and his tone relaxed a bit.

"Isn’t McCullen enough?"

Xiao Qi: "Hmm...Xiao Qi thinks it might be precisely because the interview with General McCullen was so outstanding that they want to interview a few more generals."

Chu Guang paused for a moment.

"Outstanding?"

Imitating Chu Guang’s usual gesture, Xiao Qi extended her index finger and made a virtual stroke in the air. An image soon appeared above the holographic computer pen.

This is the news broadcast in Ideal City.

Collected by Fang Chang.

General McCullen on camera clenched his fists, his face ashen, an expression of righteous indignation on his face.

"...I’ll say it again, I didn’t lose to the Alliance! I lost to the despicable corporations! If not for the corporate support to the Alliance, I could not have possibly lost that battle in River Valley Province! And the one in the southern part of Luo Xia Province would have been even less likely!"

Compared to General McCullen’s righteous indignation, the reporter sitting opposite him wore a complacent expression, and yet pretended to be serious by biting his upper and lower lips.

After McCullen finished speaking, that reporter eagerly continued to press him with questions.

"So you think you actually lost to the corporations? But we don’t think so, whether it was the battle in River Valley Province or the one in the southern part of Luo Xia Province, they were the results of the hard struggle of survivors oppressed by the Army—it was their efforts that achieved the final victory—"

"Nonsense!" McCullen’s eyes bulged as he glared angrily at the reporter, "When have we ever oppressed the local survivors! We hadn’t even been to Oasis No.4! A valiant fight? What a joke! Did those tanks conjure themselves?"

Reporter: "Uh, actually... we did provide some parts, like the No. 60 electromagnetic cannon and such."

"It’s that damn railgun! Without that thing, the Alliance would never have been able to penetrate the Conqueror No. 10’s armor! And that flapping machine, without that thing, I wouldn’t have lost to a bunch of natives riding horses to fight! They’re just playing tricks behind others’ backs. If they had the guts, let’s set up a proper fight, fair and square!"

McCullen spat angrily.

However, he didn’t notice that the more angry he got, the happier the reporter sitting opposite him became.

Especially upon seeing him break down, that reporter simply cut himself out of the frame, placing McCullen in the center of the screen, letting him tell his story louder.

The interview was drawing to close.

Having gotten all the material he wanted, that reporter wrapped it up.

"Thank you for participating in today’s interview... But despite the complaints, I think you should still thank the corporations. If it hadn’t been for the pressure from the Supreme Council, you might have already died in the Alliance’s coal mines or hung from the gallows."

McCullen stiffly retorted.

"Dream on!"

A soldier might be killed, but never humiliated.

He would rather die than thank the enemy!

Yet the reporter didn’t care about his offensive towards the corporations at all; instead, he gave a closeup of McCullen’s stiff facial expressions, concluding the interview there.

Seeing the stubborn McCullen on screen, Chu Guang was momentarily stunned, then he couldn’t help but show a wry smile.

Good grief.

No wonder the corporate reporters wanted to interview more generals.

These officers beaten badly by the Alliance, not one would admit they had lost to the Alliance, instead saying they had lost due to lousy logistics, to the corporate equipment.

Even though they knew in their hearts that one or two pieces of gear couldn’t change the outcome of the war, admitting they lost due to lack of preparation to the corporations was still better than losing to a bunch of ’natives’ in their eyes.

At least they both regarded themselves as the rightful successors of the United Human.

The corporations had clearly become the last fig leaf for the surrendering officers.

The reporter in the camera had clearly exploited this, deliberately guiding and even provoking McCullen to answer in the direction he was hoping for.

Chu Guang tried to put himself in the shoes of the Ideal City residents; such an interview was indeed gratifying.

Issues about front-line war situations have surely been hot topics on the Ideal City Endpoint Cloud recently as well.

Chu Guang thought for less than two minutes, then spoke up.

"Agreed, let the reporters from ’To Distant Report’ go."

There was no harm in cheering up the neighbors’ residents, if only to make the Council’s "calm down" proposals lose their popular support.

Looking at the interview footage in the holographic window, Chu Guang suddenly had an idea, and looked at Xiao Qi, who nodded to indicate understanding, then continued.

"Set the interview location near No. 330 high ground. Also let them interview those clone soldiers... no need to go out of their way to do anything, just let them see those idiots."

Life ticks away at eight times the speed.

What an evil technology!

Those idiots who could only eat, drink, defecate, and fight—it should be enough to evoke the sympathy of Ideal City residents.

The generous Alliance could be the one to resettle these ’pitiable people’ swept into war, satisfying that misplaced sympathy in their hearts.

As long as they are willing to pay a sum of Credit Points that isn’t too expensive.

That way, the clone soldiers could not only become the labor force for rebuilding the Wasteland for the Alliance, but also help the Alliance obtain settlement subsidies from the corporation.

It’s like winning twice over.

The more he thought about it, the more ingenious his idea seemed. Chu Guang couldn’t help smiling and shook his head.

"This ’Dog plan’ is really inhumane."

...

Frontline.

The Skeleton Corps, after a short rest on No. 330 high ground, continued on their march under the lead of the Mole.

The Marshal of the Honey Badger Kingdom, Yard, stayed behind with the Restoration Army and fifty captured Conqueror series tanks, preparing to coordinate with the Death Legion to retake the full territory of Oasis No.3.

During the two days of waiting for the trucks to arrive from the rear, the Death Legion stationed on No. 330 high ground captured nearly four fully-staffed thousand teams, totaling over five thousand prisoners.

Most of them were clone soldiers, with a small portion being Weilante people and officers promoted from the Attendant Army.

To manage these POWs, the Alliance had to detach a thousand team from the Lion Kingdom Army and temporarily detained these prisoners in a valley.

Apart from the large number of prisoners surrendering, the herders from nearby villages and settlements also cautiously approached.

Previously, the Army had conscripted a large number of young laborers from the area, forcing them to the front lines to build defensive fortifications.

The Army had been defeated.

Some came looking for relatives, others seeking revenge, and still others merely to gawk or join the commotion.

They were expecting hospitality from their fellow villagers; instead, they were greeted by a host of troubles.

Unfamiliar with their heavy dialect of United Human, Edge Shoveling could do nothing but throw up his hands in headache and pass them off to Yard, the Marshal of the Honey Badger Kingdom.

As His Highness the Prince appeared before them, the several hundred herders gathered at the camp gates instantly fell to their knees en masse.

Gazing at Yard’s weathered face, tears of excitement welled up in the eyes of the leading old man.

"Your Highness, you... you’ve finally returned!"

As he looked at the trembling elder before him, Yard’s face showed a hint of guilt, and he helped the man to his feet.

"You’ve suffered much."

The old man cautiously glanced at the soldiers standing at the entrance to the camp and asked,

"Those people are...?"

Yard smiled as he replied,

"They are people from the Alliance, our friends!"

Hearing this, the herders around them broke into hushed chatter, and a look of realization crossed the old man’s face; however, it quickly turned to worry.

"The Alliance... the one from the south of River Valley Province?"

Yard nodded.

"Yes, they extended a helping hand in our hour of need, and it’s thanks to their assistance that we were able to return here."

The old man looked at those people apprehensively, hesitated for a moment, and then voiced his concerns in a low voice,

"Letting outsiders interfere with the affairs of the desert isn’t a good idea. The teachings of the Spirit of the Sand Sea exhort us to be vigilant against external threats... it might bring disaster."

Yard patiently explained,

"But what’s done is done. The Falcon Kingdom aligned itself with the Army first and invaded our territory with the Army’s support. We couldn’t defeat them with our strength alone... We had to seek help from beyond the desert."

The old man quietly asked,

"But what if the Alliance becomes the next Army? They’re already powerful enough—who’s to say they won’t force us to do things we don’t want to do, just like the Army did?"

"The Alliance’s Army is a disciplined force; they won’t do that. Their Manager has assured me of this. And from what I’ve seen in the Lion Kingdom with my own eyes, they are spreading order and helping locals rebuild their homes... which is precisely what we, in our turmoil, need the most right now."

Yard placed his hand on the old man’s shoulder and looked earnestly at his wrinkled face, saying sincerely,

"Please trust me."

...

While Yard was soothing the local residents’ emotions, not far away in the center of the camp, a "Tiger Whale" transport plane gently settled down onto the open space.

A man, both in dress and demeanor vastly out of place on the battlefield and the Wasteland, jumped out of the cabin first.

With an interview drone trailing behind him, he hit the ground running and excitedly asked,

"Where’s Sofert? The general you captured?"

The little player he had grabbed was taken aback, looking at the man in confusion.

"Who are you?"

Other curious players crowded around, eyeing this odd NPC.

Seeing the confused look on the soldier’s face, the man suddenly slapped his forehead, smiled apologetically, and hurriedly fished out a business card to hand over,

"Wu Kai’an! A journalist from To Distant Report! I heard there was good news from the front lines, and I’ve come all the way from Ideal City to interview your opponent..."

Well, now!

A reporter from Ideal City?!

As he scrutinized the translation on the VM screen, the player’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he raised his head with a grin, saying,

"A bunch of defeated soldiers, what’s the point of interviewing them? Better to interview me."

Wu Kai’an didn’t catch his meaning and asked blankly,

"Er, who might you be?"

"I’m the lawless Outlaw Maniac! Serving in the Death Legion, a Strength Type, good with shotguns, it’s just that our damned leader never gave me a chance... Damnit, just thinking about it pisses me off! I’ve been pedaling a tricycle all day, the wheel’s nearly smoking, and the battle was over without even seeing an enemy shadow!"

The player rambled on, getting more animated the longer he spoke.

Yet Wu Kai’an was utterly perplexed.

Mixing ten "dialect" words he couldn’t understand with three sentences of United Human, he didn’t catch a single word from the start.

Finally, when the player finished speaking, he asked softly,

"What does ’fa.wai.kuang.tu’ mean?"

"It means—"

"Cough."

Interrupting the new player with a cough, Old White approached from a short distance to receive the journalist’s business card, glanced at the bewildered man, and said,

"You’re here to interview General Sofert, right? He’s been taken to No. 330 high ground, 17 kilometers away. I’ll arrange for someone to take you there."

The Manager had called him just now and informed him about this.

Including the arrangement for the interview at No. 330 high ground.

Saying this, Old White turned to Sniper Bai, who had come with him.

"Could you take him over for me?"

"Sure thing! Boss," Sniper Bai snapped to attention, and then turned to the reporter with a smile, "Please follow me."

Finally, someone I can communicate with normally, Wu Kai’an relaxed and nodded with a smile.

"Thank you very much!"

Watching the two walking away, Outlaw Maniac grumbled discontentedly.

"Damn! Why won’t they let me be interviewed?"

"I’m saving you, no need to thank me. Go back and have a good look through the Player Manual," Old White said with a caring glance at the overconfident newbie he left behind, and then walked straight over to the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft in the center of the camp.

Greeting the pilot in the cabin, he said, "Hello, I am the commander of the Burning Corps."

Chewing gum, the pilot’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly moved his legs off the console, opening a small circular window beneath the cabin.

"Burning Corps? The Burning Corps?"

Old White smiled embarrassingly.

"Although I’m not sure which one you’re referring to, the Alliance should only have one Burning Corps."

The pilot exclaimed excitedly.

"I’ve heard about you guys a long time ago! Recently, The Great Escape that has exploded on the Endpoint Cloud has even released a skin for you guys... Ah, I almost forgot, you guys might not know what The Great Escape is."

Looking at the pilot who was talking to himself, Old White was clueless.

"There’s such a thing?"

"You don’t know how popular you guys are over there! Damn it, I should have brought a pen!" The pilot scratched the back of his head, chuckling as he stretched his right hand out of the small window, "Let’s get acquainted, my name is Sun Ze, pilot from the Enterprise Armed Forces Air Science."

"Old White."

Old White shook hands with him, and after letting go, cleared his throat to continue,

"...Let’s save the pleasantries for later. We have a pretty urgent task and need to use your aircraft."

"Understood! Your Manager has informed us, you’re here to bring back the parachuting pilot, right? Just come on up."

Pulling his right hand back in from the small window, the pilot gave a thumbs-up and gestured them to come aboard, then continued with animated excitement, "How are you planning to go down later? Skydiving?"

Old White coughed.

"It’ll be good if you just land normally..."

No need to skydive if they can land properly.

He was not crazy.

However, after hearing his reply, the pilot seemed disappointed, as if he had missed out on something fun.

Tapping on his VM, Old White quickly gathered Night Ten, Wild Wind, Quit Smoking, and a bunch of other brothers from the Burning Corps.

Twelve in total, all among the top fighters of the Burning Corps.

With a power armor unit, nine sets of Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" and ten sets of Type 5 "Light Cavalry" exoskeletons, the firepower of the twenty men could rival a reinforced company.

To ensure nothing went wrong, the Manager advised them to bring their best equipment.

Looking at the gathered troops, Old White turned on the power armor’s speaker and said,

"...There are two pieces of news."

"The bad news is our ace pilot has found a transport plane, so the mission to search the southern part of Oasis No.8 is off. The good news is the found plane is out of power, and it’s located in the north of the Golden Lizard Kingdom. So, the command has assigned us a new mission: to pick up Falling Feather and his baby from the Goblin Corps area. If possible, also recover the runaway ’Eagle Type’... It has some special research materials onboard that our darling white-haired NPC Miss is very interested in, so we’ll try to bring those back for her too."

Glancing over his brothers’ gear, Edge Shoveling, who was standing by watching the fun, asked curiously.

"Is the lineup this luxurious?"

Several of the top fighters from the Burning Corps were all here.

Just to pick someone up from the outside of the war zone, it shouldn’t be this exaggerated, right?

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Old White explained with a smile,

"Just being cautious. Who knows what’s around the Wandering swamp? Falling Feather mentioned there seemed to be quite a few Variants there."

Night Ten chuckled,

"+1, and we get to hitch a ride on a plane, a convenient way back to the frontline airport."

The Burning Corps belonged to the airborne forces, so naturally, they needed to be on standby at the airport for rapid support in critical areas.

It was said that the Lion Kingdom Army had encountered a few tough nuts in the northwest corner, so they would likely have an opportunity to take the field again soon.

Compared to hanging around in a truck for two or three days, riding a plane was indeed a bit more in line with the gaming experience.

At that moment, Debt Giant Eye, limping with a crutch, came over and sighed looking at everyone.

"Just take me away with you guys."

Night Ten asked with a playful smile,

"What’s up, isn’t the frontline fun?"

Scratching his butt, Debt Giant Eye cursed,

"Fun, so damn fun indeed!"