This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 587 Nobody Knows Where They Are Going

Chapter 587: Chapter 587 Nobody Knows Where They Are Going

Inside the temporarily set up tent.

Chen Yutong took a blood sample from Little Lamb using the medical kit she carried, then used a cotton swab to hold on her wound and applied a medical adhesive tape.

Observing Little Lamb’s silence, Chen Yutong stroked her hair and praised softly,

"You are very brave. When I was your age, let alone getting a shot, even seeing blood would make me feel dizzy."

Embarassed from the compliment, Little Lamb smiled shyly and said,

"Actually... I am still a bit scared, but after seeing it so much, it seems not so scary anymore."

The whole villa seemed as if soaked in a pool of blood.

Not just blood, but also bodies, no matter how they were cleaned, there would always be some left behind.

When she had first come up from the basement, she was nearly scared to faint, and even now, she could hardly stand the suffocating air lingering around.

Watching Chen Yutong put the test tube containing her blood into a small silver box, Little Lamb asked quietly,

"Can my blood cure those people?"

Chen Yutong, examining the fluctuating test parameters on the screen, stroked her chin and pondered for a long time and muttered to herself,

"Still uncertain, but indeed there is an antibody in your body that can inhibit the secretion of enzymes by the Nago mycelium. This will help us to formulate an antidote or vaccine against this special fungus."

Not all organisms are affected by Nago; a very few individuals, about one in ten thousand, when consuming Nago, do not react at all. They suppress the infection by Nago mycelium with certain antibodies and digest it completely through their digestive system.

Little Lamb is not the only antibody carrier in the settlement, but most of the other carriers, along with those not brainwashed by the 03 frequency, were devoured in a previous upheaval.

Thus, this little girl carrying the antibodies and lucky enough to survive became particularly important.

A mind interference device can brainwash those addicted to Nago in a "God Travel" state, and the combination of these two was the culprit behind the Pine Wood Farm massacre.

If they could develop a vaccine or a cure that inhibits the growth of Nago mycelium, it would naturally lift the brainwashing imposed by the Torch Church on the various settlements in their diocese.

Of course, material-level technologies can only solve material-level problems; the mental brainwashing still requires a long time to repair.

The dominance of the Torch Church in the local area is not solely achieved through Nago. They leverage the economic model of plantation serfdom to amass an enormous number of followers.

Rather than saying their rule relies on Nago and mind interference devices, it’s more accurate to state that they only had the opportunity to do this after achieving complete domination.

There have probably been more than one incident similar to the massacre at the Pine Wood Farm.

Watching the serious-looking elder sister contemplating, Little Lamb asked curiously in a soft voice,

"Is sister a doctor?"

"Uh... not really," Chen Yutong pondered for a while and a smile spread across her face, "What sister is good at is not really treating and saving patients, but rather belongs more to the realm of research."

"Research?" Little Lamb tilted her head.

"Yes," Chen Yutong gently nodded, "Using existing knowledge to explore unknown mysteries, it can be understood like that."

Little Lamb nodded, seeming to half understand.

It always seems...

Very impressive.

Although she still did not fully understand what these so-called unknown mysteries were.

Seeing the admiration emerging on that tender young face, Chen Yutong guessed what she was thinking and smiled as she stroked her hair,

"Want to learn?"

"Yes!"

Little Lamb’s eyes lit up, excitedly nodding her little head.

But, perhaps thinking that her abrupt request might trouble others, those bright eyes suddenly dimmed again.

Little Lamb shyly whispered,

"Um. I don’t know anything, would it be troublesome to teach me... If it would cause trouble for sister’s work, never mind."

"Why would it be troublesome? Rather, having an assistant would be wonderful."

Once she started speaking, Chen Yutong continued joyfully,

"Here, although we don’t have as many rules as an academy, most people around are those who solve problems with brawn... Although those people aren’t bad, some dummies are quite cute, but there are not enough people available for a discussion. Astonishingly, such a big project is handed over to me, a newbie."

Stroking that fluffy hair, she looked into those anxious eyes and said gently,

"And... Sister, I will become a grandmother one day. By the time that comes, I’ll have to hand over the unfinished work to you guys."

Joy reignited in the youthful face, and behind the jubilant pupils emerged a glint of unprecedented hope.

In her past memories, no one had ever spoken to her like this.

Or more precisely, no one ever thought she was an important person, not even she herself thought so.

What she thought or did was unimportant, as long as she played the roles of a well-behaved, sensible daughter, a compliant hostage, and a young lady’s playmate... just like a vase placed on the windowsill.

But, in that moment, she suddenly felt her life regained meaning, no longer needing to wait for a fate that had already been set.

With her face flushed, Little Lamb nodded fiercely, and said determinedly,

"Yes! By the time that comes... leave it to Little Lamb!"

Although she knew childhood dreams often change, Chen Yutong did not speak those discouraging words, but simply smiled and stroked her head,

"Yes, keep it up!"

...

At the entrance of the tent.

Chen Yutong stepped out with the rosy-cheeked Little Lamb and gently patted her shoulder.

"Can you get back on your own?"

"Mm!" Little Lamb nodded earnestly, "I remember the way."

Chen Yutong smiled and nodded, then continued.

"When you get back, make sure you clear things up with your good friend Yinyin, alright? I think... those words might not have truly come from her heart, she might even be regretting them now."

Upon hearing Yinyin’s name, Little Lamb’s face fell, and after a while, she said quietly.

"Is that really not what Yinyin meant?"

Looking at Little Lamb who was earnestly asking for advice, Chen Yutong pondered for a moment before speaking.

"People are very complex creatures, they have many thoughts throughout the day, some negative, others positive... Words spoken in the heat of the moment might not truly reflect what’s most on their mind, it might just happen to be the thought that popped into their head. That’s why adults control their emotions, and it’s normal for you kids to not have that control yet."

As she reached this point, she smiled.

"After all this time, Yinyin must have calmed down. As long as you communicate patiently, I’m sure you’ll be able to clear up any misunderstandings."

Little Lamb nodded as if she understood, and gratefully bowed her head.

"Thank you... I understand now."

"Alright, go on then."

Watching the girl turn and leave, Chen Yutong wore an aunt-like smile and gently waved her hand.

Such a sensible child.

Suddenly, I feel like wanting one...

Just as she shifted her gaze from Little Lamb’s departing figure, a light cough came from beside her, followed by a teasing remark.

"Why do I always get to be the muscle-headed fool?"

Hearing the familiar voice, Chen Yutong’s face flushed as she turned to look at Old White leaning against a pillar nearby.

"When did you come... wait, did you hear that?"

Old White cleared his throat and responded.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was just about to come over and ask how things were going, and happened to hear you as I reached the entrance."

And this tent was set up right in the courtyard at the center of the guesthouse.

Even if he wanted to avoid it, there was no place to do so.

"It’s me who should apologize..." Chen Yutong said with an embarrassed expression, sheepishly continuing, "but I meant no harm, just making a joke..."

"Haha, no worries, no worries, I’m not one to hold a grudge," Old White grinned and asked, "So, how’s the antibody progressing? Can we use it yet?"

Chen Yutong nodded, then shook her head slightly.

"Well, we observed that it inhibits the Nago mycelium in clinical tests, but eliminating Nago’s impact completely will probably take a bit more time."

Old White nodded and continued.

"What now? Are you planning to go back to the base, or?"

"Of course, I’ll stay here," Chen Yutong said without hesitation, "though it’s unexpected, this place has the best laboratory equipment, and so many ’patients’. If we want to develop an effective vaccine quickly, this is the perfect testing ground."

Old White made a quip.

"Looks like we’re going to be here for a while then."

Chen Yutong said slightly embarrassedly.

"Sorry for the trouble."

"It’s nothing, all we can do is just this."

With a grin, Old White paused for a moment, then his expression became serious as he continued.

"But... I must clarify, the danger here has not been resolved. Although we repelled the combined assault of the Torch Church and the Mutants, it was largely because they lacked experience in large-scale combat. It’s hard to predict what will happen next."

Chen Yutong nodded understandingly.

"Right... I understand. If the situation turns sour, I’ll follow the arrangements and evacuate from here."

"That reassures me."

Old White smiled, about to say something else, when the signal light inside his helmet flickered slightly, and the sound of his teammate’s voice came through the communication channel.

"Boss, about 500 meters from the north gate, two motorcycles are approaching this way!"

Upon hearing the report through the communication channel, Old White’s expression turned serious as he pointed at his helmet and asked.

"What color?"

"Can’t quite make out the color... but it’s clearly people, the equipment looks like local Waste Land Wanderers; coming here at this hour is quite strange."

Pine Cone Farm was not an openly accessible settlement; normally only familiar traders would even come close.

"Wait for me to get there."

After ending the communication, Old White turned to Chen Yutong.

"We’ve got work here, I need to head to the gathering place’s entrance right away."

With a slight nod, Chen Yutong smiled and said.

"Sure, go ahead, don’t worry about me, I’ll immediately let you know if there’s any progress."

"Contact me or my teammates if anything happens."

Leaving these words, Old White no longer delayed and headed out towards the direction outside the manor.

At this moment, at the north gate of the Pinecone Wood Farm, two motorcycles stopped by the roadside, and two dusty men dismounted from their bikes.

Rifles slung over their backs and ammunition pouches hung on the motorcycles; this attire would draw suspicious gazes if visiting any settlement late at night.

But as they arrived here, no one came forward to question them. Everyone at the gate wore faces either heavy or numb.

They dug pits next to the fields, pushing carts filled with corpses to the gate, then dumping them into the pits and covering them with soil for burial.

Initially, Li Jinrong did not see the corpses until he smelled the thick scent of blood. Only then did he notice the bodies piled beside the haystacks.

The majority of the bodies were in pieces, many gnawed beyond recognition as if snatched from the jaws of wild beasts.

His Adam’s apple moved, but he could not utter a word.

Xiao Yue, following by his side, was the same, his face even paler. His lips twitched for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence from his throat.

"Damn..."

"What in the world happened here?!"

It was like...

Hell.

At that moment, a power armor stepped through the wide-open gates and stopped in front of him.

The helmet’s visor opened, and Li Jinrong saw that familiar face again.

"Old White."

Old White nodded.

"We meet again."

Li Jinrong looked around, taking a deep breath.

"What exactly is going on here?"

"The experiments by Torch Church. Unfortunately, we got involved," Old White’s expression clouded over as he looked towards the mound of bodies nearby, "Originally, if we had taken control of the farm owner here, we could have dismantled the bombs buried here one by one, but they were one step ahead of us."

Xiao Yue stared at him blankly.

"Experiments?!"

Old White: "About the Mind Interference Device and the Nago experiments... you came from the south, so you must have heard of their activities."

A look of astonishment crossed Li Jinrong’s face as he stood frozen for a long while before struggling to continue.

"I’ve heard of it but never knew the specifics. The settlements in Haiye Province are even harder to approach than here... Damn, what exactly do they want to do? What kind of experiment is this?"

He indeed had heard about Torch Church’s experiments, as those people practically acted without any cover.

But seeing the corpses numbering in the thousands, possibly even tens of thousands, he still couldn’t imagine what experiment was being conducted.

Yet, the evidence lay right before him.

Not far from the pile of bodies, there lay a mound-like obese giant, rotting on the ground like a pile of decomposed flesh.

If he remembered correctly, that was a biological soldier modified by Torch Church using mutants, probably called Goliath.

A few people looking like farmers silently wielded pickaxes, shoveling earth to dig a large enough pit to bury it.

Fortunately, it was winter.

Otherwise, the smell here would have been much more overpowering.

Old White remained silent for a while, then sighed.

"My perplexities are no fewer than yours. Probably no one knows what kind of ’Heaven’ those madmen are trying to reach except themselves."

No one knows how much more it will cost to get there.

After interrogating that Executioner named Li Jie, he had fully understood...

Those guys were simply impossible to communicate with.

Li Jinrong squeezed a sentence from his throat.

"...We must stop them."

Old White nodded.

"We think the same. If we let them continue to decay, they will eventually drag everyone down... Today it’s Brocade River Province, tomorrow it’s River Valley, and who knows how far the trouble will spread later."

"We have our own troubles to handle, an unending Tide that keeps coming every half-century, but our Manager thinks we must do something."

"Let’s talk about cooperation."

With that, he turned and walked towards the gate.

Xiao Yue glanced at the standing Li Jinrong and asked softly.

"What does he mean?"

Li Jinrong replied with uncertainty.

"That’s probably a signal for cooperation."

He indeed wanted to climb aboard the Alliance’s big tree; if they could get the Alliance’s aid, they would at least secure a stable rear.

However, he hadn’t expected the Alliance to initiate the offer.

Xiao Yue looked at him, hesitantly saying.

"Wouldn’t it be better to report back to the organization?"

He knew their leader suspected that there might be a traitor from Torch Church inside the Iron Tower, just as they would send spies to the Church, the others would naturally think of the same idea.

Moreover, the Torch Church, which controlled vast human resources and technical reserves, had the capability to handle matters more covertly and unexpectedly.

However, despite that being said, just the two of them could not represent the entire Iron Tower Organization.

Besides, there were still some who were trustworthy.

Li Jinrong pondered for a moment and shook his head.

"Let’s hear what they have to say first."

After speaking, he locked his motorcycle and handed his weapons to the soldier on duty at the door, following Old White towards the residential area...

...

The long night finally passed.

As dawn broke and the Sun rose, the Iron Heart hovered above the suburbs of Brocade River City, overlooking the ground like a majestic fortress.

The creatures hiding in the forest were disturbed by the overwhelming authority, running away from it.

Not just the timid Variants, but also the Mutants hidden within the urban areas were alarmed.

Yet, those who knew no fear didn’t run with their tails between their legs.

Their foreheads hidden in the ruins glowed with a greasy shine, with only bloodlust and fierceness on their grimacing faces.

There was no sign of fear on those faces.

They swung the tools in their hands and even fired rifles at the airship several kilometers away, shouting with coarse voices.

"Come over if you dare, you two-legged cowards!"

"Let your Mutant grandpa see how many heads you have worth chopping off!"

"%@$#!"

"Aaargh!"

Seeing that the airship made no response, they simply turned back, grabbed a dozen skinny and unsightly wretches from the cages where the prisoners were held, and pushed them onto the rooftop of one of the buildings of the "Champion" Biological Pharmaceutical Research Institute.

This was one of the tallest buildings currently in Brocade River City.

Ignoring the pleas of the men and women, they chopped off their heads with a single stroke and, tying their ankles with a rope, threw them over the side of the building so that their blood flowed down the exterior walls.

Like a crimson waterfall.

The reveling Mutants let out exhilarated roars whether they were the ones shedding blood or the ones splattered with it, or even those just watching the spectacle.

For them, blood sacrifice of a few bipedal animals was both entertainment.

And a ritual to pray for a "bountiful harvest."

The prisoners caged like livestock trembled with their faces consistently expressing horror, some even becoming unresponsive, sitting dazed...

The airship just quietly watched them and then dropped its anchor chain.

Although the henchmen didn’t take a mere airship to heart, Jia En, the tribe leader, showed a trace of astonishment when he saw the airship, followed by a frown of seriousness.

He finally understood what had happened last night.

But he didn’t understand why the Alliance would stir up trouble at this time.

The Apostle of the Torch Church had personally told him that once winter was over, Qingquan City would experience an unprecedented Tide.

The Alliance should be preparing for battle at this moment.

Supposedly, they shouldn’t have had the spare capacity to hinder their plans.

Standing behind him, the hunched figure of Gomo said softly.

"Our ally wants us to take care of the Pine Wood Farm...The Alliance’s forces have taken control there, and the Bishop suspects they are engaging in misconduct, which could jeopardize their ongoing plans."

Hearing Gomo’s voice, Jia En’s lips curled into a sinister sneer.

"He has the nerve to make demands of us, aren’t they going to explain what happened last night?"

Gomo sighed softly.

"He apologizes for the mishap last night, no one expected the Alliance to react so quickly, usually those people plan first before taking action, but now they clearly sent their people over first...Moreover, the Church will compensate us double for the prosthetics and weapons lost during the battle."

Hearing this, Jia En’s brow slightly relaxed.

In the Qi Tribe, strength equals status, whoever had the larger fist was the boss.

Therefore, those enhancements that could increase strength were far more valuable to them than those green-skinned consumables.

What Qi Tribe lacked the least were warriors.

From the womb, they were born fighters, learning to hunt before speaking, learning to cannibalize before walking.

Each of them was a soldier.

However—

"Tell him, I’ve taken the job, but leaving the city now isn’t a good idea, we should at least wait for rain or fog," Jia En stared at the airship, his expression grave, "Those gun barrels are like porcupines; we’d probably catch hell if we left from here."

There were shelters in the city, and without ground troops to direct them, the damage from bombing was extremely limited.

But it was different on the plains.

Though there were large forests from Brocade River City to the eastern suburbs’ Pine Wood Farm, they still had to cross one or two stretches of open land.

A dozen or twenty people might be fine, but a large-scale march of hundreds or thousands would definitely be spotted, and last night’s setback could well recur.

Noticing Jia En’s concerns, Gomo smiled softly and continued.

"Don’t worry about that."

"The Bishop has a way to get us in."

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.