This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 571: The Suspected Awakening Mutant

Chapter 571: Chapter 571: The Suspected Awakening Mutant

"Aircraft?!"

"And a damn Mosquito-style one..."

In the jungle, a group of people looked up in surprise as a W-2 Attack Aircraft strafed gunfire at the ground before quickly pulling up and climbing in altitude.

Mutants outside the town fired into the sky, with bullets whizzing upwards, but they couldn’t keep up with the aircraft as it sped away.

It wasn’t long before the plane circled back for another round of strafing, sending a large number of green-skinned mutants who couldn’t dodge in time to their demise.

That cannon seemed to have eyes of its own.

Clearly, someone was directing its ground fire.

Looking up at the sky, Old White’s face showed a hint of surprise.

"This brother’s flying pretty well."

Wild Wind nodded in agreement.

"It’s got to be one of our own."

W-2 Attack Aircraft had only been exported to Brocade River Province less than a year ago.

Even with uniquely talented players, it was impossible to master flying the aircraft to perfection with just a single life.

Old White glanced at the VM, noting the icons of other players nearby—two green dots were not far from their position.

One of the quickly moving green icons was marked with the name Falling Feather.

Night Ten was also shocked as he checked the VM.

"Holy shit? The Luoyu Brothers?"

Quit Smoking expressed his surprise.

"What are they doing here?"

Fang Chang thought for a moment and said,

"They’re probably doing a side quest. Remember, when the Mercenary Guild was first introduced, there were some new tasks updated, and I saw a lot of highly profitable ones were snapped up."

At the time, since he was about to head to Brocade River Province anyway, he had considered picking up some tasks from the Mercenary Guild. But his hands were a bit too slow, and those high-profit tasks were gone almost as soon as they were posted.

Gotta say, this brother’s reflexes were incredibly fast!

"Regardless of why they’re here, since we have the same enemy, that makes them our allies!"

With that, Old White grinned and chambered his rifle.

"Get ready to fight!"

The communication channel was filled with excited roars, and everyone else also clicked their rifles into place.

"For Brother Chicken’s revenge!"

"Awoo, awoo, awoo!"

It was about two hours earlier.

After leading the residents of Dusty Town to retreat, they took a Viper Transport Plane back to the area, intending to avenge their brother, Midnight Chicken Killing.

Or to put it another way, to land the final blow on the mutant Elite Monster with the cybernetic body modifications.

The green-skinned guys were originally partying on the battlefield, but it seemed they were not fully satisfied, so they huffed and puffed their way eastward.

They followed the beasts’ tracks all the way here, and then they heard gunfire in the area.

Rushing towards the sound of the guns, they indeed saw the green-skinned mutants attacking the settlement.

If there were no surprises, this corroded and riddled settlement, infected by Nago, was unlikely to last half an hour in the hands of these green-skinned fellows.

However—

Now, it seemed, the unexpected had already happened.

Hearing the gunfire from all directions, Euog’s fierce pupils flickered with a hint of panic as he roared for his men to charge.

"Charge forward! Tear them apart!"

Blistering tracer rounds roamed wildly through the jungle.

Especially the barrage of bullets coming from the rear was denser and more cunning than from other directions,

putting even him under pressure.

These people were completely different from those he had encountered before!

Their fighting style was not like that of well-trained soldiers, but also distinct from the tough guys he had met previously.

They were like something in between.

Retaining a fierce fighting style while coordinating on tactics.

They worked in teams of three, columns of three, attacking in pincer movements, alternating fire for suppression, and using crossfires to maximize the use of cover.

Though the full-power rounds from the LD-47 weren’t as powerful as the Armor-Piercing Bullets from a Bomb Gun, a hit to the head was just as effective.

A mutant centurion, screaming with his minions while adorned with a fully enclosed steel helmet and steel plates, had just left cover and didn’t make it two steps before his head was exploded by an Armor-Piercing Bullet from a 20mm Cavalry Gun.

Hot brain matter and blood splattered everywhere, leaving several nearby Mutant Warriors stunned.

Yet the continuous burst of gunfire didn’t stop for their halted steps, and soon a cloud of blood opened on their bodies.

One unlucky devil had half a shoulder blown off, and another’s head was left with only half a jaw hanging by his neck.

Just one encounter.

A squad of ten reduced by more than half!

And the incessant gunfire was still advancing, like an abrupt downpour, tearing open a breach in the mutants’ once-solid line.

Euog glared at those wearing Exoskeletons.

His instincts told him these guys were dangerous!

Even more dangerous than all the prey he’d encountered in his lifetime combined!

And it was for this very reason that he felt an immense rage welling up within him.

It was as if the juicy steak in his plate had suddenly leaped up and slapped him across the face.

How dare these weak and ugly two-legged creatures stand before him!

Again and again, making him eat crow!

Euog clenched his jaws so tightly they creaked, his gums turning a bloody red.

His right arm’s metallic parts shook violently, and his entire body’s muscles were twisting and expanding like writhing earthworms.

"Ogre—"

"I’m going to chop you up and make you into meat pies!"

He roared furiously, like an uncontrollable Wild Bull, wielding the machine gun and firing bursts of gunfire. The recoil seemed non-existent to him—the bullets whizzed by, shattering tree trunks as thick as thighs into splinters and bark.

The sudden surge of firepower momentarily suppressed the onslaught of the human soldiers. They fired at him, but their standard rifle bullets couldn’t harm him.

All his vitals were protected by steel; he even donned a welded steel helmet on his head, 15 millimeters thick, impenetrable even by full-power rifle rounds!

After shooting an arrow that exploded a mutant’s head, Fang Chang, who had been pushed back behind cover by the barrage, immediately turned to Night Ten.

"Night Ten!"

"Understood!"

Focusing on the one firing the machine gun, Night Ten, who was holding a Gauss Rifle, took a deep breath of the frigid air and flicked the charging switch with his index finger.

Hum—

The buzzing sound of electricity resounded.

Blue electrical arcs gathered terrifying energy within the gun barrel, and a mass bomb was loaded in, poised like a crossbow waiting to be unleashed.

Stay calm...

He calmed himself, an unprecedented stillness washed over him as he emotionlessly aimed at that ugly face, and pressed the trigger—

Then released it!

"Bang—!"

A sonic barrier-piercing explosion rang out as the mass bomb, travelling at several times the speed of sound, flew straight through the woods towards that green skull.

But the unexpected happened.

The mutant, as if teleporting, swiftly sidestepped, dodging the fatal shot with an incredibly agile move.

The mass bomb hit a tree trunk too thick for one person to embrace, blowing a clean hole through it.

The mutant who dodged the fatal blow stood near the flying sawdust, his bloodthirsty gaze stabbing over like a dagger.

Coming face to face with those eyes, Night Ten was utterly shocked.

"What the fuck?!"

Quit Smoking next to him was also stunned.

"Did you miss?"

Night Ten spoke absentmindedly.

"No... he managed to dodge that?!"

Just as he finished speaking, a string of machine-gun fire streaked towards the mutant from the sky.

If it were just a mortal body, those 20mm armor-piercing bullets would have riddled it with holes, but the mutant, as if cheating, once again displayed a miraculous evasion technique.

Firmly watching that figure, Night Ten, with his Gauss Rifle, realized he couldn’t even see the trajectory of his movement.

Fang Chang, with his agility system, squinted his eyes.

His extraordinary dynamic vision allowed him to see threads of detail invisible to the average person.

"...Bullet time?"

He possessed a similar talent.

Essentially, by speeding up the brain’s processing of visual information, he broke down the world around him into frame by frame sequences.

Specifically, everything, including himself, seemed to slow down.

But even if he could see the bullets coming towards him, dodging them was far from easy; he didn’t even have 100% confidence in avoiding them.

Let alone bullets traveling at several times the speed of sound.

Yet with a mutant’s physical abilities, combined with the enhanced functions provided by cybernetic prosthetics, dodging such a deadly strike wasn’t entirely impossible.

"These bastards are trickier than we imagined..." Fang Chang notched an explosive arrow and shot at the mutant.

The explosive arrowhead released shrapnel in a conical spread, but it seemed like mere tickling as it grazed the mutant.

The mutant grinned mockingly, without paying any heed, pulled out a chainsaw from his back, connected it to his right arm, and charged towards them with meteoric strides.

Confronted with that towering and formidable figure, Night Ten felt his scalp tingle, and he stowed the Gauss Rifle’s stand preparing to retreat and gain distance.

Old White, standing behind him, stepped forward and out of cover, drawing a thermal cutting axe attached to his power armor.

"Leave it to me."

Seeing the sharp-angled power armor, Ogre’s bloodshot pupils suddenly trembled violently, his eyes flashing menacingly.

He recognized this armor!

He was there last night!

His older brother had died at the hands of this man!

"Ogre!!!!"

The chainsaw in his hands screeched with metal friction. He roared angrily, charging at the hulking mass of metal, the 1.5-meter-long chainsaw feeling light in his grip as he hoisted it high over his head.

For an instant.

Old White, hands gripping his short axe, watched the approaching behemoth intently, not letting his guard down despite the equipment he wore.

His battlefield-honed instincts told him this one was strong!

Even stronger than the one Night Ten encountered that night!

But even so—

There was no way he could lose!

"Die—!"

Ogre bellowed with rage as he charged towards the power armor, the chainsaw, as light as a toothpick in his hand, was raised high above his head.

In that moment.

He suddenly vanished, leaving only an afterimage in his place, then violently surged forward three to five steps.

The vertically descending chainsaw, enveloped in a burst of brutal force, crashed down on the power armor like thunder striking from the heavens.

The very air around seemed to have been split open by that chainsaw!

So fast!

Barely catching sight of the monster’s trajectory, Old White’s eyebrows furrowed violently, and his muscles tensed to their limits.

Almost at the same moment, the battle axe clenched in his hand erupted upwards like molten lava exploding from a volcano!

"You’re the one who should die——!"

The swift short axe was still a step faster.

The blunt edge of the axe hammered upwards against the mutant’s breastplate from below, the dull sound of the collision rippling out in waves of sound that felt as though they could shatter eardrums.

Feeling the tremor in his abdomen, Oleg cracked a smile, aware that the axe hadn’t even breached the steel plate hanging on his chest.

Although the chainsaw hadn’t yet fallen, he could almost see the spectacle of this two-legged creature before him being cleaved in two by his chainsaw!

However——

That smile appeared for only a fleeting frame on his twisted face when the alert in his expression turned into an incredible shock and fear.

A scorching energy pierced through his breastplate, searing his iron-tough skin, and then, as expected, went straight through his abdomen and chest!

The axe that struck his breastplate didn’t seem like an axe at all. It was more like a heavy hammer pounding on heated iron, bursting forth in a spectacular spray of sparks.

The arm gripping the chainsaw lost all strength.

He didn’t even have a chance to let out a pained scream before he felt that scorching energy tear through his body and soul, sending his consciousness flying out from his shattered husk.

The rotating chainsaw flew out, stuck into the ground, its chain jammed by mud and pebbles. He crumpled to the ground, the light in his bloodthirsty pupils gradually fading.

A deathly silence on the battlefield.

For a moment, even the sound of gunfire paused.

Face after face, unnaturally pale, stared blankly in this direction, watching their leader fall without understanding what had happened.

The speed was too fast.

Both their leader’s strike and the human’s counterattack in the iron lumps had occurred in an instant.

And by the time they snapped out of it, everything was already over.

A pair of bloodthirsty and cruel eyes slowly filled with fear and timidity, some mutants began hesitantly retreating, some even turning to run.

They weren’t completely immune to fear of death.

It was just that most of the time, they were braver than their prey.

Even when facing insurmountable monsters, they still cowered and turned to run, driven by the instinct to survive!

At this moment, in their eyes, the guy holding the axe, standing over the body of their leader, was undoubtedly a true monster!

That guy wasn’t human at all!

They had never seen a human who looked like that!

A bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield, with the mutants, typically the pursuers, now being chased by a group of armed humans.

At the western gate of the town, behind the shooting barriers, a group of militiamen and mercenaries were dumbfounded by the commotion in the forest outside.

"...The sun rising in the west? Those mutants are actually running away?!"

And it wasn’t just a few mutants; it was hundreds of them, chased by a dozen or twenty people!

The mercenary who lowered his gun rubbed his eyes, squinted hard at the situation outside, trying to see what exactly had happened.

He mumbled to himself doubtfully,

"Am I hallucinating...?"

If one person saw it, it may have been a hallucination.

But with so many people witnessing it, it couldn’t possibly be an illusion.

Crouching behind the shooting barrier, the mercenary leader’s eyes filled with disbelief, which quickly turned into admiration.

He clenched his fists and shouted excitedly,

"Damn... These guys are badass!"

Are they people from the Alliance?

The equipment would suggest so, right?

Looking at those fully-armed individuals from afar, Mayor Ma had a mixed expression on his face.

He was glad that, at last, the peaceful little town didn’t have to suffer the brutality of the mutants.

But he was concerned that this group, capable of hammering mutants’ heads, might be even tougher to deal with than the mutants.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

These people definitely didn’t come to help them out of heroic kindness.

He was very clear about that.

The arrival of this group might not be a good omen for the situation in Brocade River City, let alone the entire Brocade River Province...

"Holy shit? Old White?!"

Above the clear sky, watching the mutants fleeing south and the group chasing behind, Luoyu was full of surprise.

From the VM, he had already confirmed the identity of those people.

Below, Star river and Xiaoyu did the same, quickly joined up with Old White’s group, and pursued the fleeing mutants.

"Hey, what’s the situation down there?" asked Kong Lingkai, tremulous and seated behind Luoyu, not daring to open his eyes and look down himself.

A few bullets had just grazed the side of the cabin, leaving noticeable marks, nearly scaring his soul away.

Luoyu, relaxed, casually responded,

"Ah, it’s pretty much over."

Kong Lingkai paused,

"It’s, it’s over?!"

Luoyu said with a smile,

"That’s right. You guys are lucky. The Alliance’s strongest army happened to be nearby on a mission; they must’ve come to help after hearing the gunfire... those mutants are done for."

"The Alliance..." murmured Kong Lingkai, his face a mix of happiness and fear, indecipherable in what he was thinking.

Falling Feather couldn’t care less about what he was thinking, adjusted his course, and began circling down towards the farmland south of the town.

Seeing the altitude begin to descend, Kong Lingkai suddenly became anxious and hurriedly asked,

"What are you descending for?"

Falling Feather looked back at him curiously,

"Isn’t that obvious? The fight’s over, we’re out of bullets. If we don’t go down, how long do you plan to float up in the sky?"

Kong Lingkai stuttered for a while before managing to squeeze out a sentence,

"Can you... drop me off at the Pine Cone Wood Farm down south?"

Falling Feather asked with a smile,

"What would I do there?"

Hearing this, Kong Lingkai immediately became frantic,

"How can you not keep your word! You said you’d help me escape—"

As soon as Falling Feather heard this, he burst into laughter and teased,

"All the mutants are dead. What are you running for now? I said I’d help you escape, not let you direct me. Isn’t this considered an escape?"

Seeing that the guy was about to say something more, Falling Feather decided not to entertain him any longer. He switched the flaps to landing gear and pulled back the throttle while stepping on the left rudder.

"Buckle up!"

The wings tipped upwards, like a giant bird with its wings spread, plunging towards the ground, quickly landing the gear into contact with the frozen soil.

After a severe bout of shaking, the plane’s landing gear dragged through the field for quite a distance.

Gripping the control stick tightly, Falling Feather managed to bring the plane to a safe and stable stop, relying on his abundant flying experience.

"Hey, you okay?"

He called out to the back, and after a long pause with no response, Falling Feather turned his head just to see the guy behind him had rolled his eyes back,

"Fuck... is he dead?!"

That ghastly appearance gave Falling Feather a fright; he quickly unfastened his seatbelt, got up, and dragged the person out of the cockpit.

Fortunately, there was still a heartbeat.

He should still be alive.

Just then, Old White and the others came over from not far away, with Star River and Xiaoyu in tow.

"Eeeh!"

Seeing Falling Feather standing next to the plane, the Xiaoyus in their exoskeletons cried out in surprise and swarmed towards him, checking him for injuries with eager hands.

"Cough—wait, be careful! There’s still a person lying on the ground!" Falling Feather screamed as he was surrounded.

Watching Falling Feather being swarmed by the Xiaoyus, Night Ten’s face showed a look of envy.

"Damn... I’m kind of jealous."

Wild Wind glanced at him.

"Since when did you get such weird tastes?"

Night Ten was taken aback,

"What are you talking about... a pet that can split and fight, one that’s worth a whole squad, and can even buff, isn’t that badass? What’s that got to do with tastes?"

Wild Wind gave Night Ten a strange look, and seeing that the guy didn’t seem to be feigning ignorance, he subtly averted his gaze.

"... Okay. My bad for thinking dirty."

Night Ten: "...?"

After much fuss, the excited Xiaoyus finally let Falling Feather go.

Seeing everyone laughing and looking this way, Falling Feather’s face turned red involuntary; he straightened his clothes and cleared his throat to open the conversation,

"... What a coincidence to bump into you all here."

"It is indeed," Old White grinned and then said, "Are you here on a mission?"

"It’s not me; Star River is the one on the mission here. I was going to Pine Cone Wood Farm to pick someone up..." Glancing around at the devastation, Falling Feather sighed and scratched his head, worrying, "The mission reward doesn’t look easy to claim."

Such a small and broken farm, asking for someone was like asking for the farm owner’s life. The entanglements of interests here were probably more complicated than he had originally imagined.

"Don’t worry, bro! My word is good. You helped me, I’ll definitely help you!" Star River walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a chuckle.

Ten thousand silver coins!

Rich!

Fang Chang and Wild Wind exchanged glances, then both looked back at Falling Feather.

"Pine Cone Wood Farm... is it the largest settlement in this area?"

Falling Feather was taken aback, then nodded,

"I guess so... I haven’t heard of any bigger settlements."

Fang Chang continued to ask,

"Do you know the NPCs there?"

Falling Feather scratched his head,

"Not exactly... but my mission is somewhat related to that settlement. My employer asked me to join a convoy to sneak into the settlement and then take the opportunity to rescue his daughter."

Upon hearing this, several players around showed excited expressions.

Before Falling Feather could react, Fang Chang gripped his shoulder, his eyes intense,

"Good brother, mind if we hitch a ride?"

Falling Feather was stunned,

"... A ride?"

"Yes," Fang Chang nodded and earnestly said, "We need to investigate some things at that settlement, about the Torch Church."

"The Torch Church..."

Upon hearing this name, Falling Feather suddenly remembered something and added,

"Ah, right, the very town we just saved has a Torch Church chapel! And that’s not all, they’ve planted a lot of Nago there. They seem to have merged the Nago with their faith—"

"It’s not just that one settlement. The whole Brocade River City, even the entire Brocade River Province, is in that mess... not just the rampant Nago, but also mutants." Old White glanced towards the direction of Town Of Hope, squinting, "We want to figure out what exactly they’re up to, what’s hidden underneath that Champion Pharmaceutical Research Institute."

"But first, we need to find out where our enemies are."