This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 582 This is a Necessary Sacrifice

Chapter 582: Chapter 582 This is a Necessary Sacrifice

When the "Viper" transport plane returned again, it was two o’clock in the morning.

Accompanying this flight, apart from Wild Wind, the Killer Dagger brothers, and a group of twelve, was Ms. Chen Yutong, an active researcher of the scientific expedition team.

Seeing Chen Yutong jumping out of the cabin, Old White’s face showed a trace of surprise as he walked up to her and asked.

"How did you get here?"

"The Mind Interference Device here malfunctioned, didn’t it? The Manager entrusted me to come here and restore it to normal..."

Chen Yutong glanced around at the bloody carnage, feeling a tumult in her stomach as she shifted her gaze from the mountains of corpses and seas of bones to Old White, sizing him up with concern.

"Are you unhurt?"

Old White said with a wry smile.

"What could happen to me? There were only about twenty people after all."

That so-called Executioner’s Squad’s equipment indeed had something to it, but honestly, their combat power wasn’t outstanding and they relied too much on the power of their equipment. It was only natural they lost their gold coins.

What Old White didn’t know was that it wasn’t that the Executioner’s Squad wasn’t strong, but that their own combat power was somewhat exceptional. Gaining recognition from the Weilante people was not something that could be achieved with brute strength alone.

With the strength of that team, they might not be able to win against the army’s youth corp in a frontal battlefield, but sabotage, subversion, poisoning were all routine for them, and assassinating a settlement leader was as easy as pie.

The Torch Church managed to conquer such a vast territory and turn countless settlement sites within the parish into their puppets, largely thanks to the Tribunal.

But then again, that same Executioner’s Squad also hadn’t expected that their optical camouflage would fail, which was why they stopped using that device in later battles.

They probably all feared that the Alliance had gained some technology capable of seeing through optical camouflage; otherwise, it was completely unexplainable how their continuous two surprise attacks both ended in failure.

Chen Yutong suspiciously sized up Old White, confirming that he wasn’t just putting on a brave front but genuinely unhurt, then she breathed a sigh of relief and curved her lips as she said.

"I’m relieved you’re alright."

Old White sighed.

"I’m definitely fine, but you might not be. This is a war zone, not just for fun."

Chen Yutong blinked.

"You will protect me, right?"

Old White paused, then nodded.

"Of course, I will do my best..."

Seeing that Chen Yutong had no intention of giving up on staying there, he couldn’t help asking, "Aren’t you studying Nago? I remember you specialize in biology."

Chen Yutong smiled.

"That’s right, but I also have a bit of exposure to the research on Mind Interference Devices, remember? I had you accompany me to inspect the eastern suburbs of Qingquan City."

"I thought you were just curious to visit."

"At that time, it was indeed just a visit, but later I found it quite interesting and learned a bit about it using the resources from the scientific expedition."

Having said that, she couldn’t help but proudly curl the corner of her lips.

That device really wasn’t difficult for her.

Her learning ability was not weak, especially in her field of expertise, and coupled with the fact that she was at the golden age for scientific research, if not for the crowded stage of the academy, she would not have been a mere Level E.

Just a simple understanding was fine...

Old White couldn’t help but feel ashamed.

Not being good at studies was a lifelong regret for him, and it seemed that there was no chance to make up for it in this lifetime.

Seeing that Old White was still standing there motionless, Chen Yutong urged him.

"Alright, let’s not waste time here. It’s too late for someone else to come. Hurry and take me there."

Old White sighed and nodded.

"Follow me."

They crossed the stairwell and came to the other villa’s basement.

When passing through the collapsed door panel, Chen Yutong saw a little girl tied up like a rice dumpling and another girl guarding beside her.

When she looked at Little Lamb, Little Lamb was also surreptitiously sizing her up.

Chen Yutong stopped in front of her, bent down with her hands on her knees and asked.

"Is this sister your friend?"

Little Lamb nodded, speaking softly.

"...Yes, Sister Yinyin, she is two years older than me."

"Yinyin, that’s a nice name," Chen Yutong gently stroked Little Lamb’s head, curved her lips, and asked, "What about you?"

Little Lamb shyly whispered.

"I... Little Lamb."

Little Lamb.

In the Wasteland, the most common names were mountains, rivers, the four seasons, then plants, insects, and birds, tables and chairs. Even though some agricultural settlements used names like cow and horse, naming children after sheep was not common.

Chen Yutong fell silent for a while and then gently said.

"Your friend will get better."

Hearing this, the tense expression on Little Lamb’s face visibly relaxed, and a look of joy appeared.

She didn’t know why she instinctively trusted this unfamiliar sister, but she felt like this sister knew a lot, just like a doctor.

"What about the people outside..."

"They will get better too."

But, perhaps, they couldn’t return to how they were before.

The memories created while being brainwashed wouldn’t disappear, and those who had died would not come back to life. Even if it was for just a short duration, those crazed thoughts would linger until they were conscious.

This settlement’s survivors would probably spend a long time fraught with anxiety and regret.

After all, those who truly died at the hands of the Alliance Soldiers likely accounted for less than half.

Seeing both Little Lamb, with her joyful expression, and Yinyin, who was struggling and writhing, Chen Yutong inwardly sighed lightly and followed Old White into the back of the basement’s laboratory.

When she saw the experimental equipment in the compartment on the side of the hallway, her face showed surprise.

"...This is."

Seeing the astonishment on her face, Old White stopped and curiously asked.

"What’s the matter?"

"Nothing..."

As a biological laboratory, this place could be considered quite well-equipped.

Constant temperature incubators, ultra-clean workbenches, biosafety cabinets—these basic devices were a given, including more advanced ones like protein testing devices, cell synthesis devices, DNA synthesis devices, EEG machines, and so on.

These basic experimental tools were nothing cutting-edge during the Prosperity Epoch; remnants of biological laboratories or pharmaceutical factories all had them.

However, it was puzzling that some of the devices were clearly not salvaged from ruins but made after the Wasteland Era.

As for how she knew...

It was because those few devices were almost standard in the Academy’s Biological Institute.

She was all too familiar with them...

He Anshui was the owner of the Green Pine Inn.

His inn was located right next to the gate of the Pinecone Wood Farm, a very recognizable and memorable location since it was the only inn within miles.

His daily work mainly involved hosting traders and mercenaries who came and went, and he also helped his boss, Old Master Zhao, gather information about the Wasteland.

No settlement could thrive solely on farming; there were always goods that needed to be exchanged with outsiders.

Especially for an agricultural plantation.

Old Master Zhao was well aware of how the Pinecone Wood Farm needed those traders, but he deeply distrusted those cunning folks. Therefore, even though there were plenty of vacant houses in the settlement, he would never allow outsiders to stay.

Unless the trader was appointed by him.

Thanks to this, by running the only inn at the Pinecone Wood Farm, He Anshui had made a small fortune with his exclusive business rights.

Although he had to turn over most of his earnings to the old master, this business still allowed him to save some money.

Moreover, he didn’t have to venture far like Yang River nor need to send his family to the manor’s guesthouses as hostages. Old Master Zhao trusted him completely since he was just by the settlement.

Whether it was people or property.

He Anshui was a man without ambition, nor did he harbor excessive thoughts—he just wanted to live his days peacefully. After all, over the years of running the inn, he had seen too many Wasteland Wanderers with missing limbs.

Those guys might not have masters but that was about it, nothing in their pockets, and dead without anyone asking.

Compared to such an uncertain life of not knowing if there will be another meal, he preferred the certainty of happiness.

Perhaps, that was also why his father named him "Anshui"—hoping he would be as stable as the water in the well in their backyard.

Speaking of which, Wu Wen Zhou had returned, bringing news from the north that the Wasteland Wanderers there, tormented by the Looters, had ultimately decided to band together.

Seeing him animatedly discussing the alliance, He Anshui knew that the guy was probably contemplating leaving, but he scoffed and dismissed the idea.

The outside world was more of a funny story to listen to, who knew how dangerous it actually was.

And so what if corn was 0.9 Silver coins per kilogram?

Could meat be cheaper than here?

Here, whether it was gold or silver, just one coin could buy a big basket. He didn’t know about how other serfs lived, but at least he was quite comfortable.

He indulged in hearty meals of meat and drank abundantly, inadvertently gaining weight.

The most comfortable place on the Wasteland had to be the Pinecone Wood Farm...

He didn’t know how much time had passed.

The buzzing in his ears finally faded away, and his blurry vision gradually cleared. He Anshui shook his head and patted his old face with his right hand.

"Slap—"

The sticky touch made him slightly uncomfortable.

Even if he wasn’t one to wash his face often, it shouldn’t be so oily as to stretch. His mouth felt the same, as if filled with rust, his throat as if glued shut.

"Did I fall asleep..."

He mumbled vaguely, and as he opened his mouth, something fell out, "plop", and splattered on the ground, a thick crimson mess.

Tomato...sauce?

Staring at the crimson puddle in front of his knees, he was stunned. His gaze slowly lifted, and then he saw the unrecognizable "thing" lying in that pool of blood, and familiar faces kneeling beside "that thing."

Among them were the inn’s cook, the waitstaff, and the nearby farming serfs... all sorts of people, roughly twenty or thirty, crammed this narrow guestroom full.

Like him, they were all kneeling, baffled and despondent facing the unrecognizable "thing."

Blurry memories began to awaken.

He Anshui recognized this room—it was the guest room of his old friend Wu Wen Zhou who often traveled.

He had wondered at noon why that guy didn’t go home even when he was at the doorstep, instead, he came here to join the mercenaries’ buzz.

He had already guessed who that unrecognizable person was...

Actually, there was no need to guess.

He remembered.

"Old...Old Wu..."

He Anshui’s lips began to tremble, his face drained of color. Like he had been electrocuted, he jumped back, slumping to the floor, retreating against the wall.

The soaked pants dragged across the floor, leaving behind a startling trail of blood.

What have I done?

No...

Why?

His stomach felt as though it had been filled with sulfuric acid. He Auf vomited, curling up in the blood and vomit, convulsing as if in a seizure.

"Ah...cackling..."

He couldn’t speak, nor did he know what to say.

He wanted to ask why.

Why had it turned out like this?

Just a second ago everything was fine...why?

He had a multitude of questions he wanted to ask, but didn’t know whom to ask.

People kneeling next to Old Wu were like him, slowly coming to their senses, then gradually overwhelmed with fear and despair, vomiting profusely, tears and stomach acids forcibly ejected from their bodies...

People knelt confessing, or screaming as if venting, or banging their heads against the wall, trying to end this miserable nightmare, numbing their nerves with pain.

The cries and wails filled the Pinecone Wood Farm once again.

This time, it seemed even more tragic than the first half of the night...

A pristine white room.

A scene of tragic images confined within small screens the size of palms, piecing together a semicircular wall.

Sitting in the center of the room, an old man quietly watched the ongoing human purgatory, his usually calm face finally softened into a gentle sigh.

Even though he knew this was a necessary sacrifice on the road to Utopia.

Even though he knew those creatures were merely domesticated livestock.

But witnessing this tragic sight still stirred a touch of mercy in him.

Even the Mind Interference Device couldn’t achieve 100% brainwashing, and Nago had its immune individuals, let alone a technology still in its infancy.

The 03-frequency would make 99% of people consume the 1%, and if those 99% of test subjects were to awaken, most would be crushed by their own memories.

Therefore, he had requested the mutants to clear the area.

The purpose was to let these test subjects pass away painlessly after the experiment’s end.

This was his greatest act of kindness towards those who had sacrificed their lives for the glorious evolution.

However, unexpectedly, those heartless individuals intent on achieving their goals by any means had tampered with the frequency of the Mind Interference Device.

This was a cruelty worse than killing them.

"I still need to cultivate further..."

Detecting a flash of irritation, Luo Gan murmured to himself with a lowered gaze.

He had previously used Zhao Tiangan’s body to meet with those children, and seeing their astonished expressions, he couldn’t resist teasing them a bit.

This was actually inappropriate.

Among the many bishops of the Torch Church, he was one of the elder ones, having entered the Holy Land over a decade ago, yet his cultivation was the shallowest.

Here, cultivation didn’t refer to meditative practices or reciting scriptures, but rather a refinement or sublimation of one’s own temperament.

Humans cannot complete their evolution on their own, just as one cannot reach the sky by stepping on one’s own foot, regardless of what shoes one wears.

Even if technology could attach wings to a person, it would not enable them to think like a bird born with wings.

Undoubtedly, humans, who stand at the top of the food chain, are more advanced than birds, and there is no need for humans to become birds. But when a civilization’s development hits a bottleneck and humans leave the soils essential for their survival, inherent human limitations gradually reveal themselves.

Perhaps this species is only fit to possess a civilization within light-years.

Human nature, closer to the foundation than methods and systems, constructs the underlying logic of human civilization.

It’s not a precursor technology to warp engines, nor does it solve any problems in the physical world, but it forces humanity to give back everything unearned.

Otherwise, how to explain that after advancing to the stars, the United Human, having resolved all conflicts and transitioning to unity, would lose everything merely three years after a long period of prosperity?

The "Torch Plan" provided an explanation.

The disintegration of the Post-War Reconstruction Committee gave another explanation.

This species always lives in unstable environments; once they perceive a threat to themselves, they will always try to strike first.

Only a minuscule chance remains that they will rightly bet on a bright future—an event often labeled great or miraculous in the history of the United Human.

Because it is rare.

Even if it indeed occurred and had a significant impact on the course of history.

Inspired by the Torch, the church devised a solution.

To elevate this frail species to a new dimension, one must think from a perspective above humanity. Becoming a "Perfect Life Form" is just a superficial explanation; what they truly needed to do was to become gods.

Humans cannot adapt to life in heaven.

But gods can!

For this reason, the bishops of the Torch Church must forsake all human traits and oversee humanity from beyond, which is fundamentally why all bishops enter the "Holy Land."

Only by entering the "Holy Land," free from the constraints of gravity, can one achieve true divinity!

If not done, they will eventually end up like the earliest mutants, who had become another species but still stood from a human perspective, thinking with a human identity.

The end result was obvious.

The mutant tribe that arose from this did not inherit any of human civilization and instead appeared as a retracing of the path humans had already taken from primal society.

And they themselves, either got killed or went mad.

Luo Gan often lamented that although he had abandoned his physical body, he still struggled to fully sever ties with human nature.

Perhaps because he was too old when he entered the Holy Land, outdated concepts clung to his decaying flesh, etched into circuit boards with electric currents.

He often envied that child.

The chosen Saint Heir.

That fellow was like a blank slate, perfectly embodying the main god.

"Sorry, the Executioner’s Squad has failed... The Alliance’s forces have occupied our research facility and activated the 05-frequency through the Mind Interference Device."

"The interference we applied to the test subjects... has been lifted."

A voice floated to Luo Gan’s ears, interrupting his reverie.

With a light flick of his index finger, a pale blue floating window drifted before him, revealing in the dark a robed apostle kneeling with bowed head.

The backdrop of the camera was the basement of the Pine Grove Farm Church.

The shadow of the hood obscured the person’s face.

Though he could not see the apostle’s eyes, Luo Gan could sense the shame and regret hidden beneath the brim.

In fact, until the Executioner’s squad intervened, their experiments had been going quite smoothly; however, their opponents were a bit too experienced on the battlefield.

But overall, the experiment was successful.

Just not perfect.

Not wanting these loyal children to blame themselves, he comforted them with a gentle voice.

"It’s alright, my children, a minor mishap means nothing to us, especially since we have already obtained the necessary data."

"The experiment at Pine Grove Farm is over, retreat through the passageway beneath your feet, someone will meet you at the end of the tunnel."

"The cleanup will be handled by the Qi Tribe."

The apostle, head bowed, replied respectfully.

"Yes, Bishop."

Luo Gan’s face displayed an approving smile.

However, just at that moment, his brow slightly furrowed as he sensed something amiss.

Bishop...

That was indeed his title, yet it was typically laypeople or peripheral apostles who addressed him as such.

A more official term of reverence would be Pioneer or Forerunner.

Even though some apostles close to the core of the Torch Church might privately use titles like "Bishop" and "Pastor," they usually wouldn’t in hierarchical interactions.

Of course, such a trivial matter was not enough to displease him; he was merely a bit puzzled.

In order to resolve the confusion in his mind, he gazed down at the apostle and spoke.

"My child, raise your head."

"Let me see your eyes."

The apostle clearly hesitated, not understanding his intention, but complied obediently, slowly lifting his head to meet his gaze.

There was nothing unusual about those eyes.

They showed the normal confusion and puzzlement anyone would have.

The only flaw—

Perhaps they were too contrived.

They didn’t seem like human eyes.

Rather, they resembled an "object" draped in human skin...

At that moment, Luo Gan finally perceived where that sense of discord stemmed from.

Seeing through the poor act, his murky pupils gradually filled with a hint of murderous intent, as he extended his withered finger toward the screen in front of him.

He wanted to tear this guy apart!

Just as he reached out, the paper-like figure hidden within the screen seemed to detect the danger, abruptly fleeing backward as if it wanted to distance itself from him.

The image on the screen shook violently, as if an earthquake had occurred, that person desperately escaping into an underground tunnel, yet no matter how much they ran, they remained within that paper-thin screen.

He didn’t know how this guy had sneaked into his memory partition, but if it thought it could get out of here alive, that was far too naive.

Watching that self-proclaimed clever fool dash into a cage, Luo Gan’s lips slowly curled into a cruel smile.

"You can’t escape."

Just then, something unexpected happened.

His words had just left his lips when the screen close to him disappeared with a "snap".

His right hand grasped at nothing, his expression instantly froze, then irritation surged in his cloudy pupils.

"Damn..."

He’d been played...

After Zhao Tiangan died, he hadn’t bothered with the now-useless corpse, not expecting the abandoned interface lodged in that guy’s head to be exploited by the opposition.

That they had even managed to retrieve the man’s body in such circumstances... he had underestimated those vermin.

He tapped to open the communication interface.

Luo Gan was about to relay the message of the intelligence leak to the four apostles staying in the Survivor Settlement, but the communication disruption icons glaringly hung beside those four names.

His expression gradually shifted from astonishment to solemn.

The opposition hadn’t turned off the Mind Interference Device after capturing it; instead, they had increased its output power, extending the interference range beyond the manor.

No wonder they had so quickly removed the interference on Band 03 for those survivors...

Now, no one was able to contact the four apostles within the settlement; he could only pray they were savvy enough to immediately evacuate upon sensing anything amiss.

The only consolation was that if he couldn’t reach those four apostles, the Alliance people probably couldn’t reach the soldiers in the settlement either.

For a while at least, those kids were safe.

However, even so, Luo Gan found it hard to feel optimistic.

He closed his murky eyes, and sighing softly, he murmured to himself.

"This is troublesome..."

...

On the bridge of the Iron Heart.

Zhao Tiangan’s body lay on a stretcher, having been cold for some time.

Previously, the "Viper" transport plane had brought it back to the military base at the provincial border under the Alliance’s control, and later, on Chu Guang’s orders, another "Viper" had brought it here.

Currently, an expressionless bionic stood beside him, kneeling on one knee, poking its index finger into his nostril, its pupils flickering with a pale blue data stream.

Suddenly, its body slightly shook, and its eyes simultaneously closed. At the same time, a wisp of thin, blue smoke emerged from the corpse’s nostril.

It was as though something was being burned away.

Solar Eclipse’s eyes opened again, and the pale blue data stream had vanished, its finger also withdrawing from the corpse’s nostril.

Having waited for quite a while by the side, seeing that there was finally a result, Frost, more anxious than anyone, hurried forward to inquire.

"How did it go?"

Solar Eclipse glanced at Frost, then toward Chu Guang standing to one side, and in an unruffled tone, said.

"In the church’s basement... there’s a passage leading outside, the apostles must be there."

"Thank you, you’ve been of great help!"

Chu Guang nodded his thanks, then instructed Xiao Qi to update the new intelligence and tasks on the players’ terminals.

Although the signals around the manor were disrupted by the Mind Interference Device, another world’s official Forum remained unaffected.

His clever brother-in-arms who excelled at exploiting game bugs had specifically arranged for someone to be stationed offline to receive firsthand intelligence in case communications were cut off.

Playing games with smart people was a delightful thing.

"Don’t mention it! Serving you is our honor," Frost said with a brilliant and charming smile, speaking before Solar Eclipse could, "Please feel free to bother us with anything you need!"

Solar Eclipse remained silent, simply staring silently at its own right hand, eyes filled with bewilderment.

"How strange..." it murmured to itself.

How did that guy figure it out?

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