This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 609: The Battle of the Strongest Against the Strongest

Chapter 609: Chapter 609: The Battle of the Strongest Against the Strongest

Jia En felt like his head had been slammed by the Iron Heart, so much so that he couldn’t make out what the person in front of him was saying last.

The compressed solid nitrogen that had slammed into his crown was powerful enough to rip through steel armor, not only shattering his skull but also forcefully pressing the fragmented remains into his shoulders and chest cavity.

Even the regenerative abilities of the active cells beneath the keratin armor were not enough to mend a head shattered like a watermelon...

Dead silence filled the room.

Aside from the sporadic crackling of the flames, for a moment, only the whooshing sound of the cold wind brushing across the deck could be heard.

It was as if a pause button had been pressed.

The surrounding players were all dumbfounded.

Watching their leader encounter danger, they initially planned to step in to improve their standing, also to avoid a server reset, but in the blink of an eye, the battle was over.

Staring blankly at the headless BOSS, Quit Smoking’s eyes widened, and it took him a while to swallow his saliva.

"...He must be cheating."

Wild Wind was also stunned.

"...Was that an instant kill?"

A Variant that not even a 20mm aircraft gun could kill had been annihilated with a single hammer blow by the Manager.

For a moment, he couldn’t decide whether the Warhammer was more awesome or the person wielding it.

Fang Chang was equally stunned.

It had been ages since the Manager had personally taken action, something that felt like an old tale from the Alpha version, and he had almost forgotten that this man was also ruthless.

He was curious about one thing.

What level was this guy exactly?!

Only Old White wasn’t surprised.

To be precise, he didn’t have time to be surprised.

The Variants, fluttering their wings, didn’t disperse like birds and beasts after their leader’s death; instead, they attacked even more fiercely, seemingly out of their minds.

Old White, clutching the 20mm cannon, could only wildly fire at the continuously advancing Variants, turning to the bewildered crowd and shouting.

"Damn! Don’t just stand there, help out—!"

Ignoring the players, who continued to fight in a panic, the swiftly arriving Guards too were stunned upon seeing the monster lying before Chu Guang.

Originally, seeing the Manager head to the deck had scared Lu Bei to death, especially seeing the Variants swooping down with flapping wings, his heart leaped to his throat.

But what followed was merely a false alarm.

The beast with fluttering wings roared impressively as it dove towards their Manager, but without even touching a single hair, it died instantly as if it smashed its head on the ground in prostration.

Then they saw their Manager, with one hammer blow, crush the skull of the flying giant, who could not even utter a scream before dying.

A guard standing next to Lu Bei swallowed his saliva and mumbled quietly.

"What just... happened?"

Nearby, the ground crew was ecstatic, their lips trembling as they muttered.

"Great Antler God above..."

Their Manager truly was the Chosen One!

How else could they explain the almost certain dive going inexplicably off course?

And it went off by just a step!

It had to be the protection of the Great Antler God!

In fact, Chu Guang was not any "Chosen One," and Jia En’s fatal strike going off course was naturally not the Great Antler God’s doing.

That god was in Shelter No.79, munching on chips and belching, and couldn’t possibly have traveled almost a thousand kilometers to Brocade River City to help.

Seated in the research ship, Yang Kai was staring intently at the holographic screen, his nose almost pressing against the transparent display, his face filled with disbelief.

"Deflection Shield?! It was a Deflection Shield?!"

He knew that the Iron Heart had a Deflection Shield installed, but after seeing what the biological soldiers of the Torch Church looked like, he dismissed it as unimportant.

After all, the device wasn’t omnipotent; it was hardly effective against slightly slower guided weapons, let alone against landing combat biological soldiers.

Yet, Chu Guang’s maneuver completely overturned his understanding and expectation of the Deflection Shield’s role on the battlefield.

Could it really be used like this?!

Far away, a hundred kilometers distant, Alzu was shocked as well, blankly staring into the dark North, unable to speak for a long time.

Jia En...

Dead?

That guy was the strongest in the Qi Tribe.

His biological armor, designed to combat power armor, held not only the strength to tear steel and defense comparable to alloy armor but also had self-repair abilities not found in traditional mechanical armors...

Alzu hadn’t discounted that one-in-ten-thousand chance that the results of Jia En’s led Variant Clusters might fall short of expectations, and after landing on the aircraft, being repelled by the Alliance.

After all, the brains of most Mutants weren’t normal.

Even so, the mad Jia En and the out-of-control Batwing People would at least inflict severe casualties and chaos on the Alliance’s frontline command system, buying time for Nago’s domain transition from the third to fourth stage...

At least, that was his plan.

Thus, upon seeing Chu Guang, his joy was visible, almost impatiently urging Jia En to finish him off.

"Just as long as Chu Guang dies—"

"More than just the war zone of Brocade River City, the entire Alliance would plunge into endless chaos!"

"The entire Central Region will never again have anyone who can block the light and faith of the Torch from shining on this barren land."

"Yet, he could never have imagined that just as he almost saw the dawn of victory, all light was extinguished before his eyes."

"The strength they took pride in."

"The trap they had spent years setting up in Brocade River City to deal with the Army, the Academy, and corporations..."

"Was wiped out in a single strike."

"The cold evening wind brushed against his face, Alzu’s Adam’s apple moved, a face full of wrinkles gradually showed despair."

"No..."

"The cool, watery night dissolved that defeated cry, they had used up their last ace buried in this land."

"The war is still ongoing."

"But the war here had already ended..."

"..."

"Onboard the Iron Heart."

"Watching the headless corpse that fell before him, the blood plasma at his feet, and the tracer rounds dancing in the night, Chu Guang expressionlessly retracted the warhammer in his hand."

"Beasts will be beasts after all."

"Trying to wrestle with an entire airship."

"Did they think this was a joke?"

"I had originally planned to tear off your wings, and throw you from the deck to see how big of a crater you would make... This death is a mercy for you."

"He truly had intended to do so."

"Though he didn’t know how big a leader this fellow was in the Qi Tribe, considering the Mutants’ society respects the strong, this one who could command over ten thousand minions clearly stood high, at least a Ten Thousand Leader, responsible for countless lost souls."

"However, Chu Guang quickly thought again, what if this guy’s wings grew back during the free fall, or if some overlooked Variant rescued him, that would be a big loss."

"This kind of scourge is better off dealt with in a single move, since ancient times glossing over without a finishing move has never ended well."

"And—"

"Heya had asked him to gather some research samples."

"Coincidentally, he also wanted to find out exactly what this guy was all about."

"At that moment, a group of guards dressed in Type Five Exoskeletons ran towards him."

"The one leading was naturally Lu Bei, this lad was holding a rifle, with a blood-stained dagger hanging at his waist and his breastplate covered in blood."

"Opening his helmet visor, he looked at Chu Guang with concern and asked hurriedly,"

"Sir... Are you all right?"

"Looking at the anxious young man, Chu Guang faintly smiled and amicably said,"

"Do I look like I’m in trouble?"

"Chu Guang meant to comfort this loyal young man, but after hearing this, Lu Bei seemed a little stunned, and his expression suddenly turned to one of shame."

"Lu Bei lowered his head, eyes brimming with self-reproach."

"As the leader of the Guards Corps, he should have acted as his shield, letting the Manager fall into danger was truly a dereliction of his duty."

"Perhaps noticing his distress, Chu Guang thought for a moment, then continued,"

"Raise your head."

"The order I gave for you to lead your men and fight shoulder to shoulder with the crew was my order; standing here with the soldiers of the Alliance was my call. You have loyally fulfilled your duty, and you should feel proud rather than guilty."

"Chu Guang, hanging the warhammer behind his back, walked forward and patted his shoulder."

"You’ve done well."

"Speaking these words, he turned his gaze towards the northern night sky."

"The tracer fire surged like sparks, thinning gradually."

"The winged Variants, having lost their leader, screeched as they dove suicidally towards the soldiers on the deck."

"Though their assaults became fiercer, they lacked any semblance of tactics, not only did they fail to reverse the downturn but expedited their defeat."

"More and more Variants fell from the sky, with few survivors left, anyone could see that these flying beasts were exhausted to their last."

"At that moment, two flashing lights appeared in the distance."

"Two Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft flew in from the night sky, one after the other, shifting from fixed-wing mode to vertical takeoff and landing mode, dragging blue plasmic wake, they hovered and landed on the northern side of the Iron Heart’s deck."

"A hundred well-trained soldiers and mechanized equipment swiftly completed deployment."

"But just as they finished deployment, the battle on the deck had also come to a full close, with the last Variant exterminated."

"Watching the sharp-toothed monster that fell beside him, Gu Wei, who had just boarded the deck holding a light machine gun, was startled."

"Fuck... What is this thing?!"

"Surprised, clearly not only him."

"Watching the creatures with sharp teeth fallen on the deck, many soldiers wore faces of astonishment."

"Mutants?!"

"They even have wings!"

"What’s so strange about that... Over in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng, there are ones with gills on their chins."

"Hisss... Do you think there’s a chance that the mutants from the Province of Yúnjiān and these winged guys are freaks created by the same group of people?"

"Who knows... but I think it’s quite possible!"

"Quiet, prepare for battle, we’re not here on a picnic!" Listening to his teammates discussing over the communication channel, Yun Song frowned and reprimanded them.

Upon hearing their captain’s reprimand, everyone immediately shut up, but they were at a loss regarding the latter part of his command.

Of course, they knew they weren’t here for a picnic.

But the problem was—

Where was the enemy?

From afar, they had seen tracer lights dancing on the deck, yet by the time they arrived here, the battle seemed to have already ended...

At that moment, Old White, wearing power armor, came walking over from not far away, unlocking his helmet’s face guard, and looking surprised at Yun Song standing at the front of the team.

"What are you doing here?!"

Yun Song was puzzled in his heart, but did not show it on his face.

"We’re here to help... We heard you were attacked by the Torch Church? With more than ten thousand biological soldiers?"

"You mean this?" Old White kicked the incomplete corpse of a Variant at his feet, grinned, and said, "The problem is not—"

"The problem is serious."

The voice that floated from behind interrupted his half-finished sentence.

Old White instinctively turned his head and saw an Alliance Manager in bright blue power armor walking towards them.

He immediately understood his meaning and tactfully stepped aside.

Watching the Alliance Manager approach from afar, Yun Song paused slightly and gave a wry smile.

"Sorry, we came as fast as we could—"

"I’m not blaming you."

Chu Guang shook his head, looking at Yun Song as he continued.

"Actually, I’m grateful that you extended a helping hand to us in this moment of danger, rather than standing back and watching like some others."

"But I must mention the issue of efficiency. We shared the intelligence we had collected with you long ago, and the threat brewing beneath our feet here is no less significant than that posed by the Enlightenment Society and No.0 Shelter, and it’s not just a threat to us but one you will eventually face as well."

"Tonight’s tragedy could have been avoided, not just tonight’s... If our cooperation could have been a bit closer, if you could have taken things a bit more seriously, we could have nipped all the trouble in the bud, instead of waiting for it to grow into an inoperable tumor!"

Looking at Chu Guang, Yun Song was slightly at a loss for words and after a long moment said.

"Sorry, I’m just a soldier following orders, unable to influence the decisions of the council... But I’ll convey your words to my superiors."

Chu Guang glanced at his helmet, where the action recorder was on, and slowly nodded.

"It would be best to do so."

He had called over the corporate people through Solar Eclipse for this very reason. After all, a long time ago, he had summoned the corporate ambassador based at the Alliance to discuss the situation in Brocade River Province and the plots of the Torch Church, but so far, the only support the Alliance had received was two biomechanical beings.

Clearly, the council hadn’t truly grasped the gravity of what was happening in Brocade River Province. According to the reports from the Alliance’s ambassador stationed at the corporation, the council had merely discussed it as a historical issue and ignored its more serious essence.

Based on their typical behavior, only when a problem became too significant to ignore would they start to show their true capabilities.

However, Chu Guang could not afford to watch them drag their feet any longer.

Brocade River City was far away from the Province of Yúnjiānxíng and Ideal City, but only seven or eight hundred kilometers away from Qingquan City.

And the Torch Church, aside from their stronghold in Brocade River City, also controlled a massive base in Haiye Province.

If the Alliance’s situation in Brocade River City appeared too smooth, his allies probably wouldn’t take this matter to heart either.

Although the Torch Church’s hidden trump card in Brocade River City had indeed surprised Chu Guang, he immediately thought of exploiting this incident to actively trigger the explanatory clause in their alliance pact, leading to the deployment of Assault Team No.26.

Even if Assault Team No.26 didn’t fire a single shot or directly enter the fight, Yi Chuan later had to report this military action to the council.

This report would play a crucial role in the council’s discussions.

Although it was somewhat unfair to Yi Chuan, a truly honest man, for the sake of pulling the corporation into the water by any possible means, he had no choice but to do this.

Yun Song somewhat understood Chu Guang’s intentions, nodded, and continued with a hardened expression.

"Then, is there anything else we can help you with?"

Chu Guang looked at the corpses nearby.

"I hope you can take some of these monsters’ bodies back with you; your research institutions might be interested in the DNA of these creature’s cells and the secrets hidden within."

Previously, the crew of Pioneer had mentioned a variant in the Province of Yúnjiānxíng with blue skin and fish gills along its jaw.

They were able to live in the sea, dwelling along the coastlines, and survivors who lived along the coasts were greatly troubled by them.

Seeing these flying beings, he had a feeling—the amphibious mutants might also be the work of the Torch Church.

Hearing this not-so-troubling request, Yun Song breathed a sigh of relief and slowly nodded.

"No problem, I was actually about to discuss this with you... Anything else?"

Chu Guang was about to say no when he suddenly remembered an embarrassing situation, his expression subtly turning as he glanced beyond the side of the deck.

"Um... We have a plane that’s stuck on the gun barrel in the gun bay; we might need to trouble you to help retrieve it."

Huge Rock Military Industry’s aviation production line hadn’t completely recovered yet, and the Alliance only had a total of two Vipers—it would be too regrettable to lose one.

Fixing it up a bit would still make it usable.

However, upon hearing Chu Guang’s request, Yun Song was taken aback.

The plane... hung on the barrel of a gun?

How on earth did that happen?

"Alright... I’ll try."

It wasn’t entirely out of good will.

He was mostly just curious how the plane ended up there.

At that moment, Wild Wind, who was spectating nearby, glanced at Fang Chang with an intriguing expression and softly coughed.

"I think I know where Night Ten went off to..."

The recovery of the Viper transport plane wasn’t as troublesome as expected.

The Tiger Whale transport plane, hovering directly under the gun barrel, first opened its rear hatch, gently pulling the Viper secured by ropes from below, where several members of the Assault Team secured it inside the cabin, then increased the engine power and slowly ascended.

For the massive "Tiger Whale," the "Viper" hanging on the 155mm gun barrel was like a jellyfish, effortlessly swallowing it whole.

At this moment, the superiority of the plasma engine over helicopter rotors became immediately apparent. Although it was not as fast at low-altitude penetration as the rotors, it offered stability and nearly all-direction maneuverability that rotors could never match.

Watching the battered and chewed plane, the soldiers inside the cabin couldn’t help but marvel.

It was hard to imagine what it had gone through before...

The first to descend from the damaged cabin was the pilot, followed by the lady in the back seat clutching a rifle.

Standing aside, Su Ming felt she looked familiar, and it quickly dawned on him that he had seen her before at the No.0 Shelter in the Great Desert.

Realizing she was a researcher from the academy, his eyes widened.

"Wait, you are—"

Just as he expressed his surprise, Jiang Xuezhou grabbed his arm and interrupted him, pleading,

"Wait, there’s another person outside!"

"There’s another person is..."

Su Ming instinctively looked outside, his gaze followed the hanging ropes upwards, and then he saw a scene he could never forget.

There, at the gun’s bent section, lay a soldier in exoskeleton, his waist nearly severed by the rope.

Watching the tragic scene, Su Ming unconsciously swallowed, and a sudden pain gripped him.

It was hard to imagine...

The pain that man must have suffered before his death.

"Let’s get him down."

Yun Song had already noticed the man lying on the gun barrel and concisely ordered, signaling the pilot to rise so that the bent barrel could be extended into the cabin.

Several of them stepped forward with a cutter to saw off the entire section of the barrel.

Watching this warrior who had clung to the barrel until death, everyone couldn’t help but pay their respects.

Seeing Night Ten, who turned into this to save him, Jiang Xuezhou felt a sting in his nose, and tears and snot flowed out again.

Yun Song sighed, kneeled on one knee, and unfastened his helmet to see the face of the brave soldier.

However, the moment he saw that face, both he and Su Ming standing nearby were stunned.

This guy...

Looks kind of familiar?

Meanwhile, on the "Wasteland OL" official website.

Some guy who had "died" not long ago was cursing in a post.

"MMP! Why hasn’t the resurrection CD started yet!"

"It’s been almost an hour!"

Falling Feather: "Could it be a bug? It happened to me last time too."

Night Ten: "Crying, can someone shoot me in the head?"

Elena: "Too bad I’m on the front lines, can’t help you. (wacky)"

Gnome King Riches: "Next time for sure. (wacky)"

Mosquito from WC: "Hahaha, I still have 70 hours on my CD! (wacky)"

Night Ten: "%￥#@!"

Falling Feather: "Wait, Brother Mosquito, what about those eight mechanical arms of yours?"

Mosquito from WC: "F*ck! I totally forgot! QAQ"

Makabazi: "Pfffft hahahaha! You’re trying to kill me, Dad!"

Feng Qing: "Our leader should have mentioned it; for a mission like this, we’d be willing to go if the pay was good."

Elena: "I don’t know whether to envy this guy for being able to afford to be so reckless or pity him for his terrible loss. (wacky)"

Gnome King Riches: "No worries, Brother Mosquito, we’ll help you look, maybe you can get them back. (wacky)"

-

(Under the weather and lost appetite, numb...)