This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 599: This Blame-Shifting is Too Shameless!

Chapter 599: Chapter 599: This Blame-Shifting is Too Shameless!

Beside the Steel Heart, an inflatable airship nearly fifty meters long, slowly approached the edge of the airship.

Although this inflatable airship was already massive, longer than a real-world Boeing, it still looked like a tiny sparrow next to the five-hundred-meter-long Steel Heart.

A group of flight attendants watched nervously as it hovered above the Steel Heart, lowering ropes and a gondola, slowly transporting people onto the deck.

As for why they were so nervous, it was mainly because the airship was filled with hydrogen, effectively a giant bomb.

However, the players riding in it were not the least bit panicked, not taking this potential safety hazard seriously at all.

After all, life respawned every three days.

Should such an accident really happen, they believed that the dog planners would certainly provide full compensation.

With both feet on the deck of the Steel Heart, Night Ten let out an unrestrained howl.

"Hahaha! Hu Han San is back!!!"

Just having finished a shift and passing by, Mosquito, with eight mechanical arms on his back and a pilot’s cap on his head, playfully teased with a smirk.

"Aren’t you the kid who gets up ten times a night? How did you turn into Hu Han San?"

"Get lost!"

"Haha!" Watching his irritated older brother, Jiujiu, who followed, laughed so hard she crouched down and gave a thumbs-up, "Uncle Mosquito, you’re really funny!"

"Hey, of course—crap! I’m not that old!"

"Pfft—"

"Hahahaha! Uncle Mosquito..."

Unable to hold back, Gui Gui burst into laughter, while Feng Qing demurely pressed her lips together, trying to contain her amusement.

The air was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

Although a tense and thrilling battlefield lay a few dozen kilometers away, no one except the NPCs seemed to be genuinely tense.

Out of curiosity, Falling Feather looked Night Ten up and down and asked with a smile,

"Didn’t you revive yesterday? How come you only got back today?"

There had been a game event going on for the past few days, with nightly flights between the Steel Heart and City of Dawn, departing precisely at midnight in the real world.

He thought this guy would have arrived here yesterday.

Night Ten sighed deeply.

"Ah, I got caught up in a hidden task at City of Dawn."

Falling Feather followed up with curiosity.

"What hidden task?"

Night Ten scratched the back of his head, unsure how to begin, and after thinking for a while, he said,

"Some guy from the Academy came looking for trouble with me, insisting I show her around City of Dawn. Suspecting she was a spy, I sent her to the guardhouse."

He wasn’t making it up; she really had seemed suspicious.

The Academy and the Alliance had no official relations, which was public knowledge on the official website.

Other than researchers like Chen Yutong and Yin Fang who had defected, there shouldn’t be any researchers wandering around City of Dawn.

At that moment, he thought she might be after Old White’s love interest, so he agreed to take her around and then promptly sent her to the station.

The exposed individual had blown up just as he’d expected, but for some reason, those guards didn’t believe a word he said.

Later, he would have to thoroughly vent on the forums about this. It was so unprofessional!

After having stood up, Jiujiu sighed heavily and held her forehead after hearing her brother’s story.

Falling Feather gave the little girl a look, sensing the complexity of the issue and continued to inquire with curiosity,

"And then what?"

Night Ten rolled his eyes.

"And then? She just freaked out, raised her fist, and was about to hit me! Damn it, those lazy guards didn’t even bother to help; they just wrote half an incident report, closed the door, shoved off, and locked it! After that... well, this guy called Luka, the city master, even showed up. Anyway, it was a huge hassle, held me up for a whole day."

Falling Feather looked baffled.

Not just him, but several Goblin Corps pilots, including Mosquito, stared at him, wide-eyed.

Gui Gui raised a hand.

"One question... are you sure that individual really was a spy?"

Night Ten unhesitatingly replied,

"What else could it be? Was there another possibility?"

Feng Qing shifted her gaze subtly and confided in Gui Gui, leaning close and whispering softly.

"It always feels like... the Manager is no simple character... murmurmur..."

Gui Gui had that same expression of profound agreement, nodding his head knowingly.

"Yeah... murmurmur..."

Night Ten: "...?"

Though Falling Feather was somewhat unclear, he massaged his temples with a headache and asked,

"So who was that person... do you know her?"

"I’d only met her once before, how else would I know she’s with the Academy," Night Ten scratched his head and looked around, his eyes lighting up, as he pointed toward the direction of the airship, "That one there. The Manager didn’t feel comfortable leaving her in City of Dawn and asked me to keep an eye on her."

Falling Feather followed his pointing finger and saw a young girl in a silver-white coat standing on the transport airship’s lift, clutching the ropes tightly, waiting for the nearly deck-touching ladder to stabilize.

Her face was pale; she couldn’t have been clearer about her fear of heights if the words were written across her forehead. Her raised collar waved like two flags, as her long ponytails fluttered wildly in the wind.

Two flight attendants were trying to persuade her to come down, yet she still clung to the rope, evidently unwilling to let go.

"It’s Jiang Xuezhou, level D researcher," Jiujiu sighed while looking in that direction, "Don’t let my brother’s flashy talk fool you; sometimes he’s so obtuse that even I’m amazed."

"Holy smokes! Level D?!" Mosquito exclaimed in surprise, looking at Night Ten as his mechanical arms smacked his shoulder, "Awesome, bro! That’s the same level as Yin Fang, right?"

"It’s none of my business," Night Ten irritably brushed off Mosquito’s mechanical arm, "And level is just a level; it has nothing to do with actual skill."

He didn’t think she was smart at all.

If she were, she wouldn’t have been caught by the Enlightenment Society.

Feng Qing glanced meaningfully at Gui Gui and whispered closer,

"It seems like the Manager is also quite something... murmurmur..."

Gui Gui, once again nodding in deep agreement as if understanding her thoughts,

"Indeed... murmurmur..."

Night Ten: "..."

These two have been whispering about something since a while ago.

So much for idle chit-chat, move the bomb already!

Elsewhere, flight attendants were still desperately trying to persuade Jiang Xuezhou, who stubbornly refused to leave the elevator.

"Ma’am from the Academy... the elevator has already reached the bottom, please come down quickly."

Jiang Xuezhou’s face was tense as she stubbornly said,

"No, isn’t there still a little distance left?"

The flight attendant’s expression was awkward, not really wanting to explain that it was only in these recent days that they started trying to land civilian airships on the deck of the Steel Heart—they usually just shuttled back and forth between the City of Dawn and Pioneer City.

The pilots had done their best to bring the elevator that close to the Steel Heart’s deck.

Another flight attendant patiently reminded her,

"Until we upgrade this elevator, this is the closest we can get. It’s for your own good, staying there might be even more dangerous..."

"..."

Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip nervously and glanced at the deck, her eyes colliding with those of Night Ten.

Her complexion instantly stiffened, glaring murderously at that guy for a moment before awkwardly turning her neck away.

However, as soon as she saw the clouds floating outside and the elevator swinging close to the deck like a swing, she turned her head back with a mournful expression.

She didn’t know why.

From the drone’s point of view, looking down from the sky had seemed perfectly normal, and there were no problems flying around in her mentor’s research ship.

But ever since she boarded this absurdly constructed hydrogen airship from the Alliance, she hadn’t had a moment’s peace...

Seeing her ridiculous expression, Night Ten almost couldn’t stop himself from laughing out loud.

This NPC was just too funny.

Unable to bear it any longer, Jiujiu sighed, pressed her hands against her brother’s shoulders, and nudged him through the crowd.

"Alright, alright, my big brother’s got a mission to do, excuse us brothers and sisters, excuse us..."

Caught off guard and pushed towards the airship, Night Ten stumbled a step and glared at the little devil.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on, stop, just listen to me and all will be done!" using a tone one might use with children, Jiujiu patiently said, "Go on, go on, go get her down now."

As soon as Night Ten heard this, he was immediately displeased.

"For a simple step forward, she needs my help? What does she even need legs for."

"Ugh, just go if I tell you to!"

After getting a stern look from his sister, Night Ten was about to argue, but then he thought about how close Jiujiu was with Teng Teng, so he swallowed his words.

"Fine, fine... I’ll go."

"Ey-heh! Good luck!"

Watching her big brother walk toward the elevator, Jiujiu sent a cheer of encouragement and a maternal smile his way.

Of course, she knew her big brother fancied Sister Teng Teng, but with his broody nature, he probably didn’t stand a chance.

She’s a mature lady, okay!

"""

It was just a bit of a laid-back attitude in the Game; in reality, he was a social elite who had designed many incredible works. How could he possibly fall for some smelly little brother who spews internet jargon nonstop and couldn’t even dare to ask for his contact details when meeting face to face?

So, give it up early, bro, and remember that paper dolls are your true love!

You must be happy!!

Jiujiu crossed herself over her chest and silently chanted "Amitabha" in her heart, secretly offering prayers to the Great Antler God for her elder brother.

Chu Guang watched the despicable guy who came in front of him, reluctantly extending his right hand, and the corners of his pale lips lifted slightly, regaining some color.

"Hmph... at least you have a bit of conscience." She reached out her hand with slight pride and placed it in the palm of the hand before her.

Night Ten rolled his eyes, about to proudly claim that it was Jiujiu who forced him, but he was sternly glared at by his little sister and swallowed the slick words he was about to say.

"Hurry up and come down... it’s not that high, stop embarrassing yourself. If you’re scared of this, you might as well go home and grow sweet potatoes."

"You!"

Jiang Xuezhou, who had just jumped off the elevator, nearly stumbled and fell when she heard this remark and even forgot her current altitude. As soon as she steadied herself, she glared at that guy with a murderous look.

Night Ten had no doubt that if this guy had laser emitters in his eyes, he would have been dead a million times over.

Truly fed the conscience to the dogs.

And to think, I even saved her life before.

Night Ten muttered to himself and ignored the guy. He was actually more concerned about the pairs of eyes around him that were watching the spectacle.

Seeing the atmosphere between the two was a bit stiff, Jiujiu bounced over between them, trying to smooth things over as she looked at Jiang Xuezhou and said.

"Don’t mind my elder brother; he’s just a bit tongue-tied. He’s actually very worried about you!"

Jiang Xuezhou, her chest heaving, glanced at Jiujiu and nodded slightly, saying in a low voice with embarrassment,

"Thank you... Jiujiu."

She had met this clever little girl yesterday in the City of Dawn, and her first impression was very favorable.

But it’s really unbelievable!

Such a polite kid, and that impolite bastard are from the same family!

Jiujiu blinked playfully.

"You thanked the wrong person. It’s my elder brother who helped you out; you should thank him."

"..."

Jiang Xuezhou pursed her lips, stubbornly turned her face to one side, whether being petulant or hiding the blush beneath her temples.

As the last piece of cargo was finally moved off the elevator, a group of aircrew breathed a sigh of relief and quickly signaled for the airship to leave the deck.

As if they were afraid that a certain someone might jump on it again.

Unable to bear the snickers and winks from that bunch of beasts around, Night Eleven was eager to get off the deck, quickly pulling his little sister and Xuezhou toward the gangway ladder.

They entered the interior of the Iron Heart.

Jiang Xuezhou’s tense expression visibly relaxed a lot; she looked around curiously and even started giving unsolicited opinions.

"Speaking of which, why do you use such primitive transportation... Doesn’t Giant Stone City have airplanes with plasma engines?"

Night Ten retorted without thinking.

"Primitive? I think it’s quite functional."

Jiang Xuezhou shot him a glance.

"""

"That hydrogen airship just now, in what way was it actually useful..."

Night Ten said without a second thought.

"It’s stable, fast, and has a large carrying capacity. Is there a better aircraft for the Wasteland than this?"

Seeing that he failed to grasp the crux of the matter, Jiang Xuezhou couldn’t help but criticize.

"What about safety issues?! Don’t you take the potential dangers into account?"

"Tsk."

Night Ten intended to mock, thinking ’like I’m scared with life on the line every three days’, but remembering the Player Manual, he swallowed the retort and muttered.

"If it bothers you so much, why not just copy those anti-gravity device blueprints for us? You think every settlement in this Wasteland has their tech tree maxed out like you guys."

"..." Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip and said nothing, a hint of discomfort and sadness welling up in her eyes.

Night Ten glanced at her, feeling an inexplicable panic when he saw the sorrow in her eyes, and subconsciously reflected on whether he had spoken too harshly. But upon further thought, he was perplexed.

He hadn’t said anything that was particularly offensive!

Logically, if the Academy had developed those technologies themselves, it’d be fine to use them however they wanted.

But the issue was that those technologies belonged to all of United Human. They should be inherited by all of humankind, yet a bunch of old fossils were stuffing the gold coins into their own pockets.

Is this something a person does?

In fact, those folks weren’t even truly utilizing the value of those technologies, merely hoarding them like hamsters.

At the very least, from the game setting, as a Resident of the refuge, he had every right to blame the Academy’s incompetence.

But...

He just couldn’t bear to see a girl look so sad.

Even if he disagreed with the Academy’s methods, those were political decisions, not something a low-level Class D researcher could influence.

"So, what are you here for?" Night Ten shifted the conversation.

"My mentor asked me to come," Jiang Xuezhou spoke softly, her voice tinged with melancholy.

"And what’s he here for?"

"There’s a severe disaster happening here... What kind of expression is that?"

"Nothing," shrugged Night Ten, looking up at the ceiling, "I was just wondering why you only came now."

Jiang Xuezhou fell silent, her eyes shut. Her gaze was filled with self-blame, sorrow, and a mixture of complex emotions.

Indeed...

Knowing the severity of the disaster, why did they only come now?

But how was this related to her?

Was it her fault?

After their last farewell, she thought she wouldn’t see this guy again, but to her fortune, her mentor had taken on a task related to the Alliance and lucked out by bringing her along.

This reunion after such a long separation should have been a joyful event. She didn’t realize how happy she was at the time.

Yet the first thing he did upon seeing her was to send her off to the police station!

Is that something a human would do?!

The more Jiang Xuezhou dwelled on it, the more aggrieved and angry she became, unconsciously clenching her fists as her teeth grated in frustration.

Hearing that grating sound, Night Ten thought Difficult for the Strong was nearby and glanced into the corner of the corridor.

Strange.

Hadn’t the Manager told him not to bring his little buddy onto the airship?

Surely that fat rat wouldn’t be hiding in the wall grinding its teeth, right?

Jiujiu, following silently behind the two, stayed quiet the entire time.

From the first sentence onwards, she was silenced by her brother’s high EQ and had no idea how to rescue the conversation...

Suddenly she thought that maybe a papercut with artificial emotions wasn’t suitable for her brother at all; even if the flags were almost hitting the ceiling, he would find a way to pull them down himself.

Jiujiu sighed silently to herself.

Sorry, big bro.

Your sis did her best!

Maybe you should save up for a bionic person instead.

That should be within reach...

As the group disappeared at the end of the hallway, no one noticed a shadow standing at the corner of the corridor.

As the footsteps gradually drifted away, Chen Yutong, who had been hiding there, finally breathed a sigh of relief and walked in the opposite direction.

Although she longed to see her friend, meeting now would only bring trouble for her and those harboring her.

She was already a dead person.

Better not to meet...

...

At the same time, in the Captain’s room of the Steel Heart.

A familiar conversation was unfolding, but there was not an ounce of warmth, and even a slight edge of a verbal fencing match.

"...there is a severe disaster happening here, you might not have fully realized the seriousness of the problem. I suggest you hurry a bit faster."

A robot fully covered in metal stood beside Chu Guang.

Its right hand was slightly bent forward, and a pale blue light with a bust composed of light particles floated above the palm.

That bust was none other than Jiang Xuezhou’s mentor, Yang Kai, who was sitting in his research ship at a location likely near the Steel Heart.

As before, he never showed himself in person and seemed to have his disciple carrying an external device around in a daze.

Should anything go south, he would undoubtedly be the first to flee.

From this aspect alone, Li Ke, who also was a B-level researcher, might not have the same air as this guy, but he certainly had much more courage.

At least that guy dared to run to the frontline of the battlefield to show off.

Lu Bei stared intently at the robot, his hand always near his weapon.

Chu Guang, however, was different.

Confident in his own strength, he didn’t take this fellow seriously and said indifferently, "Since you’re aware of what’s happening here, why only come now?"

Yang Kai sighed, sounding like he was apologizing, but his tone was light and without any real weight.

"We have our own difficulties, I hope you understand,"

Chu Guang continued to speak lightly.

"If you could elaborate on your difficulties, it might help me understand, but what I see seems more like a shrinking turtle."

"Turtle, that’s an interesting metaphor... Forget it, let’s talk about business, we’ve had enough pleasantries."

Yang Kai laughed and awkwardly changed the topic.

Seeing that he did not want to linger on this matter, Chu Guang chose not to waste time on something that would not yield any results.

Since the Academy had come here, it meant they were concerned about the situation, and as the one holding the initiative, he did not need to be polite with them.

Both emotionally and logically, he had every reason to express his dissatisfaction on behalf of the Alliance.

"Just as I wished," Chu Guang said calmly, "First, please explain to me the seriousness of the problem."

"That’s exactly what I was about to talk about."

Clearing his throat, Yang Kai proceeded.

"The infection effect of the Nago fruit on regions is divided into several stages, which I believe your researchers are aware of."

Chu Guang nodded.

"We’ve investigated three stages."

These were the results of Chen Yutong’s investigations.

In the first stage, a minority of the local people and animals and plants were infected by the Nago fruit.

During this phase, the Nago fungus barely showed any aggression or harm. Not only did it have sweet and juicy flesh, but it also provided almost invincible health to those who consumed it. The only side effects were occasional absent-mindedness and lack of concentration.

In the second stage, a majority of local people, animals, and plants were infected by the Nago fruit.

In this stage, the Nago fungus would gradually display its canines and ambitions of climbing higher up the food chain. Specifically, those who consumed the Nago fruit for a long period would frequently enter a "God Travel" state, losing response to external stimuli, and shedding their aggressiveness and combat power, hence becoming easier prey for more dominant beings at the top of the food chain.

Whether they were eaten by stronger Variants or used by the Church as offerings to their mutant allies.

The third stage was more or less an advancement of the second stage. Once the Nago fungus confirmed its domination over most of the organic entities in its territory through pheromones, it would completely shed its benevolent disguise. By spreading spores through the mycelium covering the earth, it would establish its domain—

Leading every organic being within the territory into a "Heaven" designed and dominated by gods!

"Not bad, being able to figure out so much in such a short time, it seems you do have quite some talent," Yang Kai said with approval after hearing Chu Guang’s succinct statement and continued, "However, your investigation is not thorough enough. In fact, there is a fourth stage after the third one."

Chu Guang: "What is that?"

Yang Kai continued.

"It follows the third stage. In non-academic terms, it’s like—when ’Heaven’ descends upon this land, and the moon goes from crescent to full, this land will forever become a kingdom of plague."

So does that mean transitioning from the third to the fourth stage takes about a month’s time?

Using such mystical language.

But what concerned Chu Guang more was something else.

"... Impossible to clear?"

"Exactly."

Yang Kai slightly nodded, continuing in a serious tone.

"Even if the Fake Nest—that is, the Nago Fruit Nest—is destroyed, the fungi that have taken hold here will still inertially execute their previous commands, and the ’Heaven’ will endlessly continue... Apart from mutants and other such deformed engineered creatures, every organic entity within the territory will lose its free will, like puppets with their strings cut."

"You should know that before, these puppets had their strings held by someone called the Saint Heir, so these living dead, even without self-consciousness, could still function properly, like livestock. However, if no one controls them, they might even struggle to feed themselves properly."

"Maintaining ’Heaven’ in the fourth stage is the best choice for The Church that has control over the Mind Interference Device."

"In fact, our researchers speculate that there should theoretically be a fifth stage after the fourth stage. That is, without external interference, allowing those organisms captured by the Nago to naturally die off, be consumed by the whole domain, then rot away..."

This is not hard to imagine.

Nago itself is a biological weapon created without self-awareness, engineered from fragments of mutated slime fungus DNA.

The Nago’s nest lacks the autonomous consciousness of the Mucor Nest; it’s more like an empty shell that merely looks substantial.

The Torch Church filled its core with the Mind Interference Device, which is why the whole artificial ecosystem has managed to keep functioning.

Once the coordination of the Mind Interference Device is lost, this vast ecosystem would immediately plummet into an abyss, becoming a paradise where only non-autonomous microbes can thrive.

Chu Guang’s face gradually changed; he probably guessed the final outcome, but still stared solemnly at the expert in front of him and asked,

"What would happen?"

"No one knows for sure as it has never been verified," said Yang Kai with a slight sigh. "You should know that because of the coordination of the Nago fungus, organisms infected by Nago aren’t decomposed at a normal rate by nature’s decomposers. Some scholars believe it would become an eternal kingdom of bacteria; others think that a massive, beautiful bouquet of crystal orchids will blossom from those corpses... You know of that flower, right?"

Chu Guang blurted out subconsciously,

"The flower that blooms on corpses—"

"Guides the way to the underworld," Yang Kai continued, nodding slightly. "To be honest, we really don’t know how to handle this issue. It’s not our style to kill people and burn the bodies. As for corporations, by the time they make up their minds, the trouble of one province could already have spread to half of Central Continent... Not to mention the Army; they would just take pleasure in our misfortune. You know what those guys are like; they are unreliable."

Well, damn.

The way they’re passing the buck is just shameless!

Chu Guang was immediately fired up.

"So you’re kicking the ball to me? That’s a whole province’s worth of people! Even if I could do it, I definitely wouldn’t have that much gasoline!"

Yang Kai said quietly,

"We have provided you with a thousand cubic meters of fuel, which is better than gasoline... even if you want to do that, it should definitely be enough."

Chu Guang stared intently at him.

Yang Kai avoided his gaze, touched his nose somewhat shamefacedly, and continued,

"Don’t look at me like that; it’s not a mess we created. Rather, we have been silently protecting the last bit of hope of the old civilization, even though you don’t understand the greatness of what we do."

"Look at the land beneath your feet. It’s terrifying to allow a bunch of unworthy people to possess the weapons of civilization."

"Ultimately, we’ll be leaving this planet; it’s on the schedule. But we don’t plan to take all the hope with us... Dr. Conclusion believes that the old civilization will not completely vanish, and that our shared, twisted fate will eventually reunite us in the future, even if we have ventured to the corners of the universe or to another galaxy."

"Instead of resenting us for not providing more help, it would be better to think about how to solve this problem."

Chu Guang suddenly gave a cold laugh.

"You’ve posed a difficult challenge for me; there was even a moment when I considered whether a thousand cubic meters of helium-3 would be enough for me to sleep until a thousand years later."

It should be enough, assuming there are no equipment malfunctions.

But, of course, he could never do that.

"I’m very sorry, although the person who posed the question isn’t me... My apprentice will help you solve some problems; if you decide to abandon this era and continue in hibernation, then please take her with you, although I believe you certainly won’t do that."

Yang Kai nodded slightly, vanishing into the azure light like a dispersing wisp of smoke, disappearing from the captain’s room.

——

(Thanks to ’hhhzz6’ for the Dominator reward!!! I was a few hours late updating the past few days, so I updated a bit earlier today; tomorrow it’s still the same time, same place for updates at six o’clock, haha.)