This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 478: It’s unfair to covet the gold coins in an old friend’s pocket

Chapter 478: Chapter 478: It’s unfair to covet the gold coins in an old friend’s pocket

"If it were a post by Professor Yang, hardly anyone would believe it.

But it’s different with those top-ranked ones.

Seeing Quit Smoking derail the conversation, Night Ten quickly clarified.

"Cough, it’s not that bad... Although we caught a few Level E people, we didn’t encounter anyone intercepting us along the way."

Fang Chang said, "It seems they didn’t want to make a big fuss either."

Spring Water Commander said, "After all, one of the corporation’s Aircraft was shot down, probably neither side wants to admit it."

Quit Smoking said, "Wait, here comes the problem, what about that Aircraft? Did you guys fix it?"

Night Ten said, "I was just about to talk about that! The Aircraft only had one engine broken, the other side is still good, I figured it’s too wasteful to throw it away, might as well pick it back up..."

Fang Chang said, "Picking it back up is fine, but with the size of a Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, how do you plan to retrieve it?"

Night Ten said, "That’s why I was hoping you could think of a way (comical)"

Killer Dagger said, "The gold coins that we finally snagged from that old thing! Please do it!"

Kidney Fighter said, "Wow, turns out the corporation is the ’old thing’ you mentioned."

Killer Dagger laughed, "Hahaha, it’s not important!"

"... You think I’m Doraemon?"

Looking at the post on the computer screen, Fang Chang couldn’t help but be amused and frustrated.

Night Ten said, "Hurry up, you’ve been free recently (comical)."

Fang Chang rolled his eyes and typed back.

"Get lost, I’ve been busy."

His recent trip to Ideal City wasn’t for leisurely strolls; he enrolled in an adult course at Yunjian University, gaining an understanding of Ideal City while refining the business plan details of Changyue Company.

This was the first real civil business cooperation between the Alliance and the corporation, which would determine how far their relationship could develop in the economic and trade fields.

For this, he also specifically delved deep into the corporation’s regulations as well as business models, etc., to avoid any obvious pitfalls.

Just like what Li Shuyue did during her time with the Alliance.

Honestly, even as a veteran player, it was his first time investing so much emotion into a Game.

What surprised him more was the production team of Wasteland OL.

They’d designed such rich content for a Survivor Settlement that he spent a month and felt he’d only scratched the surface.

He’d suspected long ago that the development team of Wasteland OL might be extraterrestrials, else it was impossible to explain the advanced AI, virtual reality technologies, and global logistics capabilities they had.

And Ah Guang...

Was it really the Ah Guang he knew?

"Forget it, now is not the time to be thinking about this... I need to figure out a way to tow that Aircraft back."

Pressing his temples, Fang Chang grabbed the mouse and clicked open the official map archive, dragging it to the approximate area of the crash site.

Since there were no landmarks, the Burning Corps couldn’t pinpoint their exact coordinates; they could only mark a general direction.

But he wasn’t worried about finding the Aircraft.

Such a big target could be located using the VM that Night Ten left there, even without drones or binoculars.

If it were in Province of Yúnjiānxíng, he could spend Cr to commission a private armed company or a salvage company to recover it.

But thousands of kilometers away in the wasteland...

Wait.

It wasn’t entirely wasteland.

Fang Chang’s eyes suddenly fell on the Grand Canyon, his eyes lighting up, he immediately typed.

"Isn’t there an Origin City and Endpoint City in the Grand Canyon? There should be mercenaries there willing to do the job for money, maybe even transport it directly to the industrial area of West State City... now that you mention it, didn’t Edge Shoveling go there? Why not ask him?"

Edge Shoveling said, "Uh, ask me what? (awkward)"

Good grief.

So he was peeking at the screen.

Seeing his reaction, though, Fang Chang had an ominous premonition and typed to confirm.

"You didn’t just go there for a task, did you?"

Edge Shoveling replied, "Uh... what else would I be there for? Did I miss a side quest? (awkward)"

Even without that awkward emoticon, Fang Chang could feel the awkwardness through the screen, and couldn’t help holding his forehead.

Isn’t it basic to scout a new map before pushing the main line?

Who finishes a task and then just leaves it like that!

While he was nursing his headache, his gaze suddenly fell on the meeting point of Luo Xia Province and the west side of the Grand Canyon on the map.

If he remembered correctly, he’d seen in a post by Big Eyes or someone that there was an area spanning hundreds of kilometers filled with nuclear craters and ancient battlefields.

Many Scavengers picked up trash there, even forming nomadic settlements, setting up camp where they found stuff. Many Scavenger groups used the money obtained from trash to upgrade their equipment, not only owning trucks, excavators, forklifts, but even cranes, as well as manmade "power armor" and "exoskeletons".

But that wasn’t the most important point.

The crucial thing was that these Scavengers recognized the value of Silver coins!

The Death Legion even bought supplies there!

An idea instantly came to Fang Chang’s mind, and he quickly typed a reply in the post.

"You guys could split up a few people to look around the Grand Canyon area for such Scavenger settlements and spend some Silver coins to hire some Scavengers to dismantle that Aircraft into parts and haul it back to River Valley Province... paying a bit more might even get them to deliver it to your doorstep."

Edge Shoveling exclaimed, "Holy shit?! Is that possible?"

Fang Chang replied, "Money talks, what’s not possible? Besides, package sorting is their specialty; let the professionals handle their own business, seems fine to me."

Quit Smoking exclaimed, "Epic!"

Night Ten added, "666!"

Debt Giant Eye: "Damn, are we the ones who explored this map or what?"

Construction Site Youth and Brick: "@Edge Shoveling"

Drum Hair Washing Machine: "Crap, where’s the leader of my corps? He was just posting in the forum a second ago."

Canyon Escaping Mole: "Hahahaha!"

...

While the players were discussing how to haul that big plane back, Chu Guang, who was peeking in the forum, was totally dumbfounded.

My goodness.

How many times had he been dumbfounded today?

After a good while, Chu Guang couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

"...These guys are really something."

Speaking from the heart.

Thinking about the gold coins in his old friends’ pockets, that was just not right.

Yeah, totally not right.

It didn’t quite match his persona, so since the players had already figured it out, he’d just let them handle it.

It seemed a bit unnecessary to issue a special task.

"Master, your expression is so weird." Xiao Qi sat on the edge of the pen holder, hands supporting her cheeks, curiously observing his face.

"You’re seeing things."

Chu Guang cleared his throat lightly and immediately put on a serious face and continued.

"Let the lord of Dawn City, Jiu Li, prepare a bit. After the components pass through Tianshui, buy it from the players as a surprise."

Xiao Qi nodded vigorously.

"Okay, Master! But... how do you buy it as a surprise?"

Chu Guang explained patiently.

"Just act a bit more surprised when paying... Refer to other classic RPGs. Anyway, make the players understand they’ve done something incredible, and if they contribute to the Alliance, they’ll definitely get rewarded."

In short, it was about encouraging players to discover "Easter eggs" outside of the given missions.

After unlocking floor B6, the server population had already exceeded ten thousand, and relying solely on the task system to push players forward was a bit overwhelming. Smart players needed to take the initiative and learn to manage themselves.

Like they were doing now.

Chu Guang had wanted to import those long-range big planes from the company, but their attitude was quite cautious, nothing like their generosity when selling the "Seagull" drones and No. 60 electromagnetic cannons.

Chu Guang could understand their caution.

After all, "projection capability" was a more sensitive issue than dangerous weapons for the forces on the Wasteland.

Dangerous Variants could be dealt with civilized weapons, but the only thing that brought a sense of security was distance. The Wasteland, filled with Variants, and the near-Earth orbit blocked by debris had turned into the most ideal moat in this era.

So, Chu Guang only asked Yi Chuan once whether they could import a "Tiger Whale" transport aircraft with a range of over three thousand kilometers.

After getting a negative response, he politely dropped the topic.

Unexpectedly, the very thing he desired but couldn’t have was obtained by his clever players in such an accidental manner.

This was truly a pleasant surprise.

Once the Alliance’s researchers had digested the plasma propulsion technology, he would select some of the more advanced but not too futuristic precursor technologies to share on the forum.

The main application of plasma propulsion technology was in aerospace, which would undoubtedly benefit the development of real-world aerospace technology.

As for the process, it would be the same as before.

Nobody was going to monopolize the bargaining chips on the table. It was a real win-win for those involved directly or indirectly in the game. Smart people would naturally understand the tacit agreement.

Chu Guang’s mouth couldn’t help but turn up in a benevolent, fatherly smile.

Not bad.

The guy who designed this system was freaking awesome!

Just then, a wind-chime-like voice drifted from the direction of the pen holder.

"Master."

Feeling pretty good, Chu Guang responded somewhat airily.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, just thought you looked really handsome when you smile!" Xiao Qi, clever beyond her years, rubbed her chin and gave a firm thumbs-up.

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

"Of course."

But speaking of which, has this little one been giving more flattering remarks recently?

When did it start again...

...

Above the campfire, tiny flames flickered.

Sitting cross-legged in front of the fire, Old White suddenly opened his eyes.

Sitting opposite him, Wild Wind was poking at the fire with a branch, and upon hearing Old White wake up, casually asked,

"Awake?"

"Yeah."

"Good timing, I’m logging off to grab some food," tossing the branch into the fire, Wild Wind patted the ash off his hands and then remembered something, "By the way, someone’s following us, about five kilometers away."

Old White said seriously.

"Can you confirm the number?"

Wild Wind casually replied.

"One tracked vehicle, same people, they didn’t leave."

"I understand, you log out and rest first," Old White nodded and continued, "By the way, I’ve posted tomorrow’s schedule in the group, take a look when you have time."

Wild Wind made an OK gesture, then crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaned back against the stone behind him, and closed his eyes to log out.

Taking shifts for night watch was basic operations for the players of Wasteland OL, especially these veteran players who had mastered the technique of logging in and out on time.

However, for the Academy, this scene was somewhat novel.

In Zhao Xiao’s eyes, he saw a team of soldiers heading towards the campfire. Barely had their buttocks touched the ground when another soldier sitting in front of the fire stood up, patted his trousers, and walked back in the direction the others had come from.

The entire shift change was smooth and seamless.

Not to mention any flaws, the interval was even less than half a minute!

Watching those well-trained soldiers, Zhao Xiao, leaning against a stone, couldn’t help but swallow and quietly commented.

"Are these guys robots ...?"

Chen Yutong, sitting beside him, didn’t speak, but her eyes were also filled with surprise.

After observing for so long, what impressed her the most about these self-proclaimed soldiers from the Alliance was their discipline.

But then again ...

Could this ability to fall asleep almost instantly and wake up simultaneously really be achieved through training?

She quite envied this ability.

At the same time, about five kilometers away from the Burning Corps camp, a tracked vehicle silently stopped on the reverse slope of a hill.

Jiang Xuezhou, sitting in the back of the vehicle, slightly closed her eyes and her brow furrowed slightly.

Seeing the change in her expression, a teammate sitting next to her immediately asked anxiously.

"What? Is there a chance?"

"No ..."

Jiang Xuezhou shook her head slightly, her expression solemn, "Their patrol route is very tricky ... It covers all areas within eight hundred meters nearby, almost without any blind spots!"

And they also had drones!

Although those people thought they hid them well, she had seen them in the sky, those quadcopter drones perched on nearby stones, like fixed cameras.

With the outside patrol teams, it was nearly impossible for them to approach their camp without alerting anyone.

Old Song, sitting in the driver’s seat, couldn’t help but say.

"They have to change shifts, right?"

Jiang Xuezhou nodded.

"Yes ... They just changed a moment ago, but the whole process took less than half a minute."

The cabin fell into silence.

Both Song Changfeng and Zheng Hao had grim expressions.

Originally, they planned to find an opportunity to rescue their captured teammates, but now it seemed there was no chance.

Jiang Xuezhou looked up at Zheng Hao, who was smoking in the passenger seat.

"Captain, what should we do?"

Zheng Hao was silent for a while before he said.

"Keep following them."

Everyone looked at each other, silent.

Old Song nodded slightly, and kept silent.

Other than waiting for an opportunity, they really had no better plan.

But ...

Could they really wait for it?

...

After taking over the night watch duty from Wild Wind, Old White immediately found a player who had just logged on and instructed him.

"You take two brothers and set off first, head to the nuclear crater area in the northwest of the River Valley Province, find the Scavenger camp there, and ask if they’re willing to take a big deal."

Having seen Night Ten’s post before logging in, the player immediately understood Old White’s intention and chuckled, nodding.

"Got it!"

The three players temporarily left the team and headed towards a fork in the southeast direction.

Feeling a bit hungry, Old White returned to the fireside to sit down, preparing to make some supper.

The supplies on the transport plane included plenty of food, and they had taken all of it without any waste. There was no lack of food and fresh water, so there was no need to be frugal.

He set up a griddle and supports on the campfire, skillfully tore open the plastic packaging, and poured rice, mineral water, and braised pork into the metal lunchbox in sequence, then covered it and placed it on the griddle.

It didn’t take long for bubbles to start bubbling at the edges of the lunchbox.

Old White reached out, took the lunchbox off the griddle, lifted the lid to check, and nodded in satisfaction.

A simple meal of braised pork over rice was ready.

The rich aroma instantly wafted through the air, causing the two captives nearby who were still awake to swallow involuntarily and unconsciously glance over.

Seeing this, Old White smiled knowingly and made two more portions, placing them on the griddle. Once cooked, he carried the lunchboxes over and asked the two.

"Hungry?"

Zhao Xiao looked at him nervously without speaking.

Sitting next to him, Chen Yutong was equally nervous, but seeing his expression was not fierce, she still reluctantly nodded.

Old White smiled, handed a meal to each of the captives, including the stubborn young man.

Taking the box, Chen Yutong shyly lowered her head and said.

"Thank you ..."

"Not at all, eat slowly, be careful it’s hot."

Old White casually replied and then sat opposite them.

Unable to endure the hunger pangs, Chen Yutong eagerly opened the lunchbox.

Though the food before her eyes seemed inexplicably strange, she mimicked Old White’s actions, scooping up a spoonful of rice soaked in broth.

The moment the spoon entered her mouth, her pupils suddenly burst with an odd glow.

This taste... it’s a bit weird.

Have another bite.

To figure out what exactly was happening to her taste buds, she scooped up another spoonful and shoved it into her mouth, and then another.

The tense expression on her face loosened a bit with the working of her jaw muscles, and the surprise in her eyes grew increasingly intense.

This...

What kind of peculiar technique is this?!

Was it picked up from some relic?

Watching the young man sitting unmoved, Old White couldn’t help but tease him with a smile.

"Eat it, it’s non-toxic. We wouldn’t bother using that stuff on you guys."

Gazing at the lunchbox in his hands, Zhao Xiao, who had been silent all along, suddenly said in a low voice,

"I killed your people... don’t you hate me?"

Chen Yutong quickly turned to the whose fault it was not to mention which pot, her face smeared with rice was filled with shock as if to say, "Are you asking to die?"

However, Old White, sitting opposite them, didn’t seem to mind; he simply continued eating while casually responding,

"Hate? I wouldn’t say that. He was a warrior. A seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy wouldn’t have killed him; he could’ve beaten you black and blue with his bare hands. It was the war that killed him, you just happened to land that shot."

Of course, he spoke so liberally mainly because resurrection was possible. If it were in the real world, he might have felt differently.

Thinking this, Old White couldn’t help but make a joke,

"Of course, I’m the only one who would think this way. If someone else catches you next time, you won’t be so lucky."

Zhao Xiao had a somewhat rigid expression, his heart filled with turmoil.

Chen Yutong quickly veered away from this heavy topic,

"The Alliance... what kind of place is it, really?"

Although it was a spontaneously thought question, she had been curious about it beforehand.

"That’s a very abstract question," Old White thought for a moment before replying, "For the Waste Land Wanderers, it’s probably a place where you can huddle together for warmth."

Zhao Xiao unexpectedly looked up at this man.

"From your tone, you aren’t a Waste Land Wanderer?"

"Resident of the refuge," seeing their surprised expressions, Old White touched his stubble, smiling as he said, "It’s normal that it doesn’t seem likely... this beard grows too fast, but shaved off, I do look the part."

Zhao Xiao’s expression was subtly odd.

In his memory, inhabitants of the refuges weren’t like this... even with a shaved beard, he couldn’t imagine it.

"So... what about you?" Chen Yutong continued, "What is the Alliance for the residents of the refuge?"

"Me?..." Old White pondered seriously for a moment, then continued, "I’m not sure about others, but for me, it’s a place that gave me a new lease on life."

Zhao Xiao: "A new lease on life?"

Old White spoke in the tone of casual chat,

"Yes, I left the forces a while ago, and life after military service was quite good, but the skills and knowledge I accumulated were hardly useful anymore. I sometimes find it a pity... but here, I’ve rediscovered the meaning I subconsciously crave."

Although pursuing "meaning" in a virtual world might sound odd, craving battle in the real world would be even stranger.

At critical moments, he would, like any other soldier, return to his old unit without hesitation, defending the undeniable bottom lines with a burning will.

But if possible, he would of course hope for everlasting peace, wishing never to use his skills in reality.

The two didn’t quite understand what he was saying, especially since his speech was laced with many terms they had never heard before.

Chen Yutong slightly furrowed her brows,

"Meaning?"

"Exactly, the meaning of being alive," Old White smiled and spoke casually, "Besides eating and drinking, people need to pursue something, and conveniently, the style of the Alliance suits my taste. Watching our Alliance grow day by day along with other residents of the refuge—it’s quite fun."

A pursuit beyond eating and drinking.

What a luxurious thought.

Staring at the now empty lunchbox in her hands, not even soup remained, Chen Yutong felt melancholy and couldn’t help but laugh at herself mockingly.

This was the Wasteland.

Just surviving was already hard enough...

Watching the two, still silent, Old White continued in a joking tone,

"Don’t just ask me, who exactly is the captor here? Let’s chat."

Zhao Xiao spoke with caution,

"Chat about what..."

Old White said with a smile,

"Anything, really. Life, dreams, or maybe a girl you like."

Getting closer makes it easier to ask questions.

He was quite experienced with this.

Captured prisoners rarely started by asking about random matters; they usually chatted about hometowns, pulled some family affairs, reminding prisoners that they were not just soldiers paid by salary, but someone’s friend, husband, or relative, which they happened to be as well. If not for the war, perhaps they could have been friends.

Appealing to emotions was much more effective than torture; chatting might lead a prisoner to slip up and confess everything without even realizing it.

Of course, this only worked on typical prisoners, especially those of lower status; trained spies were another matter entirely.

That wasn’t their job anyhow.

—

(Thanks to "Mengbuluo" for the reward!!!)

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