This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 476: Only the Acknowledged Are Captives

Chapter 476: Chapter 476: Only the Acknowledged Are Captives

Technology and combat power are two different dimensions.

While leading Group A towards the crash site, Zheng Hao quickly made contact with a group of corporate soldiers and immediately engaged in fierce gunfire with them.

In that moment, Zheng Hao felt a significant strain.

These people were strong!

And visibly so!

Group B’s smooth progress led him to a misjudgment, even an inappropriate one—they could rely on their equipment advantage to easily eliminate these people, and then surreptitiously intercept the abnormal "mother."

However, Group B’s advantage was due to having the numerical upper hand, with six versus three and a sniper supporting from outside the battlefield.

The situation on his side was completely different.

The opposing soldiers spread out in groups of three, sustaining their defensive line with alternating firepower, and soon he discovered a squad flanking him.

These people’s tactical application was almost fluidly perfect, without any pause or hesitation.

Their coordination was chilling!

The balanced battle quickly deteriorated with the death of a team member, and gunfire from all directions made him feel like he was not fighting against a ten-person group of scattered mercenaries, but a well-trained army.

These people were definitely not corporate employees!

They seemed more like professional soldiers!

Just as his side was professional in exploring relics, they were professional in warfare!

"Captain! Their firepower is too fierce, we can’t hold on much longer—"

A team member, shot in the leg, shouted in alarm and sprayed bullets towards a distant dirt mound, trying to suppress the advancing soldiers.

However, his gunfire didn’t last even three seconds before an RPG-launched HE grenade, trailing a thin tail flame, smashed into the dirt mound in front of him.

The explosion’s blast wave and shrapnel simultaneously hit his chest, hurling him from behind the mound like a rag doll, unconscious on the ground.

"Liang Ping! Damn!"

Watching another teammate fall, Zheng Hao’s eyes reddened instantly; he pounded his fist into the ground, helpless.

The voice of Group B’s vice leader came over the communication channel.

"Captain, the ’mother’ has mutated! It’s sprouted more than a dozen tentacles and entwined the leader! Zhao Xiao is also under their control... we need backup!"

Seven against three, and having already taken down one, they were still getting counter-killed!

Even though he still had Group C standing by in the track vehicle, he knew that even deploying the last reserve would be futile.

Perhaps after seeing that the initial strike of the "swarm" failed, he should have decisively ordered a retreat...

These people were clearly too much for them!

Zheng Hao clenched his teeth and finally squeezed out the words through gritted teeth.

"Retreat!"

...

After incurring a casualty of four personnel, the academy team attacking the crash site seemed to finally realize they had kicked an iron plate.

"They’ve retreated."

Wild Wind’s voice came over the communication channel.

Watching the enemy’s movements with a drone’s eye view from above, Killer Dagger, leaning against cover, looked towards Old White, eager to go on.

"Boss, should we chase them?"

He wanted to chase after them.

These guys were weaker than he expected; it was a pity not to obliterate their gold coins.

Old White thought for a moment.

"No need,—mission priority."

The enemy vehicle was just five kilometers away.

According to Wild Wind’s assessment, it looked neither like a tank nor like a rocket vehicle, but more like a large SUV capable of navigating swamp terrain.

The identity of these people as academy members was clear.

And from their equipment, it didn’t seem intended for combat against people, but rather, for equipment against Varients, so it could be inferred that this squad was likely a "scientific expedition."

Eliminating these people wouldn’t be difficult, but they were too close to the Wandering Swamp, and it might not be wise to provoke them too much.

Teaching them a lesson was enough.

As the army leader, he had more to consider.

Right now, the Manager’s task was crucial, and they needed to avoid unnecessary complications as much as possible.

Old White raised his chin and pointed toward two people lying on the ground, barely alive.

"We have prisoners here, wrap them up... Oh, and you, log off and report the situation here to the Manager."

Killer Dagger reluctantly lowered his gun and turned on the safety.

"Alright then."

The battle shifted into the stage of clearing up the battlefield.

Of the four academy personnel left behind, only two died; one was a bionic person, the other a cyborg, whose parts could be salvaged.

The guy hit by the RPG incredibly survived, though he passed out—other players were astounded.

Also, a female prospector was shot in the abdomen and right leg, essentially losing the ability to move.

Inside the "Tiger Whale" transport plane there was a medical kit produced by Kang Mao Group from Ideal City, including hemostatic spray, bandages that accelerated wound healing, and oral reagent that boosted blood production.

Old White got a few medical packs from Sun Ze, distributed a few to his teammates, then walked over to the female prospector leaning against a crooked tree.

Seeing the man approaching, Chen Yutong’s already weak breathing quickened, her eyes shrunk in fear, but soon sharp pain from her injuries made her inhale sharply.

Watching the burly man before her, she said tremblingly.

"What... do you want to do..."

Almost everyone on the planet—even those not human—viewed them as "hot commodities." Even if their knowledge wasn’t of interest, their bionic and cyborg parts could fetch a good price.

She had heard about the dire fate of researchers who fell into other forces’ hands; she just never thought she would find herself in such a situation one day.

What would happen next, she dared not even think about...

However, the man in front of her didn’t seem to want to harm her.

"Let me dress your wound, or you can do it yourself."

"Dress the wound?" Chen Yutong looked at him warily, her face clearly showing distrust, "Why... why would you save me?"

Old White replied casually.

"No reason, our army doesn’t kill prisoners."

Except for the Mutants who cooked people in oil and the Looters.

Blame this game for being too realistic; sometimes he too couldn’t help but lose control.

However, ever since the mine in Qingstone County had opened, aside from still showing no mercy towards Mutants, they had significantly reduced the executions of Looters.

Leaders who refused to surrender would be hanged for public display, while minor followers were usually sentenced to hundreds of years of labor based on the victims’ accusations.

As for the reactive substances and nutrient paste industries, they predominantly switched to using mucosal entities, though the conversion rate was low, they were plentiful and cheap.

Chen Yutong stared blankly at the man in power armor.

Since when did corporations adopt such traditions?

Seeing that she still had the strength to talk, Old White tossed a medical kit beside her.

"Since you can still move, I won’t help you."

With the power armor, it was difficult for him to control his strength.

After glancing at the medical kit, Chen Yutong hesitated for a while but ultimately reached out and quietly said thank you as she lowered her head.

Old White didn’t mind and went over to check on another prisoner before heading straight to the outside of the temporary camp.

The squad members who had gone to support team five had already returned.

Along with a pilot and "his SSSR-class battle pet," they also brought back a sniper covered in mud and a bionic person tied up like a rice dumpling.

"These guys... definitely from the Academy," Sun Ze observed the expressionless bionic person and murmured quietly in surprise.

Hearing this, Old White curiously looked at the pilot and asked,

"How do you figure that?"

Sun Ze smiled and said,

"It’s too easy, Kang Mao Group’s bionic people are far more advanced than theirs."

Old White was taken aback.

He had never seen corporate bionic people express emotions on the battlefield; this was their first direct confrontation with such technology.

More advanced than the Academy’s...

Is that really the case?

Laying there expressionlessly, Xuan Feng didn’t care much about such irrelevant mockery.

However, Zhao Xiao standing nearby became rather agitated. Upon hearing someone mock the Academy’s technology, especially by comparing it to corporate technology, he jumped up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on.

Spitting out the mud in his mouth, he glared at the arrogant man and said,

"Nonsense! How is your technology more advanced than ours!"

"What else then?" Sun Ze looked at him and couldn’t hold back a laugh, continuing mockingly, "You can’t even create a simulation of emotions and facial expression plugins, and you talk about being advanced?"

"Keep talking nonsense! Who said we can’t create them? The AI core technology was stolen from us by you!" Zhao Xiao argued out loud, his face turning red, "We just don’t waste our time on such meaningless things."

What’s the use of giving robots so many fancy expressions!

Aren’t bionic people just fine if they can work?!

Sun Ze just riffed in his ears, dismissively saying,

"Stolen, sure... that’s ancient history. Even Endpoint Cloud has been updated numerous times, and you’re still stuck in the past. By the way, speaking of which, that AI core technology is originally United Human’s technology, just temporarily held by you. How does it become yours?"

A century and a half ago, although rarely mentioned, was not a secret in Ideal City and one could even access the unsealed action records on Endpoint Cloud with some effort.

However, despite occasional curiosity, he had no interest in delving into that past.

The research facilities on the East Coast were originally funded by the Production Department – water, electricity, food, research materials, and consumer goods all came from them. Their ancestors merely took what belonged to them.

In the bigger picture, the bankruptcy of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee wasn’t the fault of any one individual.

It merely ran its full natural course like a large tree.

He felt that even without the people of Weilante and the long winters, other issues would have driven those who were never truly aligned apart anyway.

Perhaps one day, Ideal City, too, might disappear into the annals of history, just like once-flourishing United Human.

But honestly, he really didn’t care.

Even the sun isn’t eternal, how can mortals claim forever?

He didn’t want to stretch his neck too far forward, nor did he want to be someone constantly looking back; the path beneath his feet right now was just fine.

When he returned to Ideal City, he could boast on Endpoint Cloud—oh no, share his new life.

This mission, not only had he flown on the same plane as the legendary Burning Corps, but he had also crashed down from the sky with them.

Isn’t this way cooler than scoring 2000 points in "The Great Escape"?

However, the attitude of this prisoner still irked him, so he turned to Old White, who was standing on the side enjoying the show.

"Can I kick him a couple of times?"

Since it wasn’t a prisoner he had captured himself, he asked out of politeness.

Old White shrugged and grinned, saying,

"We can’t mistreat prisoners, but I’m willing to let him go temporarily so you can have a fair fight."

Sun Ze shrank his neck.

"Then never mind."

Zhao Xiao, on the other hand, was eager to try but was unexpectedly let down when his opponent chickened out, clicking his tongue in disappointment.

However, unintentionally or not, this disdainful smack was heard by Sun Ze, and the verbal sparring resumed.

But clearly,

In the arts of verbal battles and sarcasm, the corporate employees who regularly surfed the Endpoint Cloud seemed more experienced.

It was entirely one-sided with Zhao Xiao turning red in the face.

"Anyway, this plane looks beyond repair," the players nearby, engrossed in the excitement, began to discuss with great interest.

Corner Old Six: "I think corporations are a bit more advanced! Those bionic people don’t understand art films, and they still shop and pay."

"That’s not necessarily true, I think that Mantis Knife is more awesome, nearly got me..." Night Ten spoke in a casual tone about the terrifying event, craning his neck and looking around, suddenly realizing someone was missing, "I was just about to ask, where’s Quit Smoking?"

Corner Old Six: "Ah, that guy disappeared again, did you just notice? Wait, why did I say ’again’?"

"Gone?" Night Ten was stunned, as he hadn’t really been paying attention, then he quickly asked, "What about Props brother?"

Corner Old Six sheepishly smiled: "That guy got shot in the legs twice, just now in the reeds, he asked me to ’finish’ him off... and made me promise not to tell everyone."

Night Ten couldn’t help but exclaim, "Damn! What a waste."

Corner Old Six smiled timidly and said, "Well, he belonged to the Intelligence System, so it’s common for them to be physically weak, try to understand."

Lost Rookie: "Hahahaha!"

Wild Wind: "..."

Chen Yutong anxiously watched these people.

Seeing those two sets of salvaged exoskeletons, she guessed that they might have lost people, but she couldn’t understand why they could still laugh.

What made her even more nervous was Zhao Xiao.

This guy and that corporate employee were getting into a nasty argument, and she was genuinely worried about what these people might do to them.

The only thing that surprised her was what that man in the power armor had said earlier.

"Are they not part of the corporation?"

Chen Yutong pondered in her heart.

Regardless, it seemed their mission had failed anyway, so debating this now seemed somewhat meaningless...

In a nearby corner, Falling Feather comfortingly patted Xiaoyu’s head.

"Don’t be down... that thing isn’t organic, it’s normal that you can’t eat it, and you managed to control it, which was a big help to me. Also, don’t just put anything you find into your mouth, what if you upset your stomach!"

The brothers from the Burning Corps had switched to using ropes to bind that metal clump, so it no longer needed to use its tentacles to keep things tied.

Xiaoyu’s face still held a dejected expression as he muttered under his breath.

"Ehm..."

It still couldn’t understand.

Why that thing was inedible.

At that moment, Killer Dagger, who had just logged off to report on the mission’s progress, walked over to the crowd.

"New mission!"

Old White immediately looked towards him and asked,

"What did the Manager say?"

Killer Dagger reluctantly said,

"The Manager said... let us stand by near the crash site."

Old White frowned.

"We probably can’t afford to delay here too long... did you tell him about the firefight with the Academy’s exploration team?"

"I did, and he even praised us for doing a good job in the mission notification..." Killer Dagger sheepishly smiled and continued, "Anyway, he’s busy negotiating with the corporation, trying to convince them to send another plane... but the corporation was quite shocked, they didn’t expect to lose a plane."

That’s well done.

Old White stared at him, whispered doubtfully.

"Ah, that... it’s not a problem, right?"

"As long as the pilot is okay, the Manager said everything is fine," Killer Dagger glanced at the employee who was still arguing with a captive, "The corporation’s stance is that if the plane can’t be fixed, it’s fine to blow it up, but the pilot must be alive; otherwise, they won’t take risks for us again... That’s the bottom line."

The players around were all astonished.

After a long pause, Night Ten scratched his head unwillingly glancing at the transport plane and its co-pilot scratching his head while reading the manual.

He finally couldn’t help but comment.

"Damn... chucking it just because of a busted engine."

That’s such a bloody waste!

...

On the edge of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

A man in luxurious clothing stood on a dune, followed by a column of brightly dressed dismounted cavalry.

His name was Blair Golden Lizard, a prince of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

Watching the approaching tracked vehicle, he smiled pleasantly and stretched his arms wide from afar.

"Welcome! Friends from afar! On behalf of the Royal Family of the Golden Lizard Kingdom, I welcome your arrival!"

Compared to the sharp-edged tracked vehicle in the distance, Blair and the hundred or so cavalry behind him seemed mismatched, but under the backdrop of the Wasteland, it was perfectly harmonious.

The vehicle stopped on the dune.

Li Ke, who got off the vehicle, walked up to the noble-looking man, smiled faintly, and extended his right hand, choosing a handshake over a hug.

"B-level researcher Li Ke, I represent the Academy’s External Affairs Department’s Special Plan Group and extend our greetings to you."

Blair didn’t mind that the B-level researcher hadn’t hugged him; instead, he was pleasantly surprised by the visitor’s level of importance.

Typically, A and B-level researchers seldom left the Academy, let alone left the Wandering Swamp. Welcoming a visit from a B-level researcher was a rare event twice in the history of the Golden Lizard Dynasty.

"We have prepared a palace for your stay... please follow me," suddenly, his gaze landed on the tracked vehicle as if remembering something, he quickly smiled apologetically, "Of course, you are fine staying in the vehicle... We will lead the way ahead."

Li Ke nodded with a smile.

"I would be honored to follow your lead."

In recent years, the Academy hadn’t remained unchanged, at least in terms of adapting to local customs, they had "sacrificed" a lot.

A long time ago, they suffered losses due to their rigidity and underestimation of politics, which led to their property being seized by two traitors.

Led by Doctor Conclusion, the Academy hidden in the Wandering Swamp underwent a series of painful reforms while emphasizing academic pursuit, they strengthened cooperation with the external world, establishing the External Affairs Department and Internal Affairs Department parallel to the Investigation Department and Research Department.

According to Doctor Conclusion’s guiding philosophy, over the last 150 years, they used some "simple technologies" to attract a group of weaker Survivor Settlements, and established a "Science Committee" centered around the Academy on the Wandering Swamp.

Under the committee’s framework, they were able to recruit new members into the Academy from those allied Survivor Settlements, sharing limited technology in exchange for the vassals’ primary and secondary outputs while utilizing the settlements’ dependence on the Academy to protect its flanks.

Golden Lizard Kingdom was one of the Academy’s protective moats and was one of the largest achievements of the External Affairs Department since its establishment.

The food it produced not only supplied the Academy but also the other "Technology Alliances" in the Wandering swamp.

The war in Sunset Province had severely affected the production of food. Last month, even a nuclear bomb had been detonated, causing panic within the Science Committee.

Many feared that storms sweeping over the desert would sprinkle radioactive dust onto the fields of Oasis No.8.

Although such concerns seemed somewhat funny in the wasteland, as who didn’t have a bit of dust on them these days, to soothe the anxious children, the Chief Technical Officer of the Academy, having heard the report from the Science Committee, still performed some necessary work and handed over the task of mediating the war to the External Affairs Department.

Honestly, Li Ke thought it was difficult.

Given the company’s current "beat the Army’s head" situation, even his bionic assistant thought that the probability of a full-scale war erupting was close to sixty percent.

By next spring, it was likely that a tidal wave of clone troops would storm into Sunset Province carrying the Army’s strategic nuclear reserves.

Yet even so, he felt that if he did nothing, the little heritage that his ancestors left in Sunset Province might not last a few more years.

A good choice was to persuade the corporate to quit while ahead.

However, according to Yukar the pilot, it wasn’t that the Army was being beaten down by the corporate; instead, it was the Waste Land Wanderers who had ganged up and battered the Army until they were black and blue.

This was completely unexpected.

Even if the Army’s deployment in Sunset Province was weak, it still dominated to the west of the Central Continent.

Those guys were constantly battling with what they referred to as Barbarians, Mutants, and Variants. How could they not defeat a bunch of Waste Land Wanderers?

He suspected for a moment that Yukar was lying.

But he couldn’t figure out any motive for Yukar to lie, so he decided to first go to the vassal country to understand the actual situation before making the next move.

If it was really as Yukar said, that it was the "Alliance" leading this war, and the corporate was merely inciting it from behind...

Convincing a regional survivor force to quit while ahead would obviously be much easier than persuading their long-time nemesis to ceasefire.

Li Ke returned to his vehicle and gestured for the driver to follow the cavalry forward.

But at that moment...

He suddenly received a call from the External Affairs Department.

"Failed?!"

Jumping up from his seat, Li Ke’s face was filled with surprise.

Impossible.

The "Beacon" team in the Investigation Department’s containment plan group was somewhat famous, and those people were experts in exploring relics.

How could they fail to handle even a half-dead Eater and its vindictive mother entity.

Realizing that the situation might be more complicated than he imagined, Li Ke slightly furrowed his brows and continued to inquire urgently.

"What exactly happened?"

The other end of the communication channel continued.

"According to the captain of the Beacon team, they encountered the corporate’s transport plane... A group came down from it and hijacked the mother entity. Furthermore, various signs indicate that the mother entity is related to the corporate; it not only did not attack the corporate’s employees but also helped the corporate’s employees capture one of our bionic agents."

"The corporate’s plane?!"

Li Ke was stunned, his expression quickly turning serious.

While he didn’t want to read too much into it, the appearance of the corporate’s plane near the Wandering Swamp was not a friendly gesture.

Especially since they were conducting secret research on those "Mutated slime fungus"...

Pressing a finger to his temple, he pondered for a moment and said.

"Can the captured bionic be contacted?"

"Can’t be reached... They must have wrapped it in some metallic object, or dismantled its communication chip."

Figures.

The other side wasn’t foolish.

Li Ke closed his eyes, thinking for a long time.

His first priority was to mediate the war.

As for the mother entity... although he was very interested, if it was something created by the corporate, this matter had already exceeded the scope of his authority, and he could only let the Head of the External Affairs or even the Chief Technology Officer of the Academy decide how to handle it.

"Let’s not act rashly on this matter, order the Beacon team to cease activities and stand by, do not expose our identities."

The other end of the communication hesitated.

"But... we’ve already shot down their plane."

Li Ke’s mouth twitched.

"It’s fine, that kind of industrial trash would have malfunctioned sooner or later... Maybe they crashed it themselves."

A bitter laugh came from the other end of the channel.

"We have captives in their hands."

"Bionic?"

"No... it’s a Level E agent, maybe two or three, we’re not sure. They retreated so hastily, it was impossible to confirm the condition of their teammates."

These incompetent fools!

Li Ke couldn’t help but curse inwardly, taking a deep breath to calm his rising blood pressure.

Meanwhile, he had completely forgotten that he himself was the one who had ordered the capture of that mother entity.

Captives...

Indeed, it was a hassle.

The Academy’s AI could guarantee absolute loyalty, but humans were uncertain, especially since it involved a Level E.

Fortunately, a Level E should not have full knowledge of the mission, so even if interrogated, they likely couldn’t divulge any sensitive information.

The current top priority was "war mediation."

Regarding the matter of the mother entity...

Without the authorization of the Chief Technology Officer, even if he wanted to rescue them, his current authority allowed him to do nothing, certainly not dispatch another exploration team.

The Investigation Department would never agree.

Tapping his finger on the armrest of his seat, Li Ke slowly said.

"Only the recognized are captives."

The other end of the communication was silent for a moment.

"Yes..."

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