This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 633: The "Hell-level Difficulty" Stage That Has Existed Since the Server Started

Chapter 633: Chapter 633: The "Hell-level Difficulty" Stage That Has Existed Since the Server Started

The gray-green fog was quietly approaching.

Gazing at the enclosing wall and the machine gun position just within reach, pairs of pupils lurking in the darkness gradually reflected a crimson light.

It was now six o’clock, and Qingquan City had just entered the night, the temperature not too cold yet.

For the spore clouds spreading through the air and the mycelial entities lurking in the underground passages, nighttime was the best cover.

The wind had just started blowing, and the visibility in the streets of North Suburb had silently dropped to less than fifty meters in the still quietness.

Watching her children, Xiya felt quite proud.

The only pity was that the humans had cut off all branches of the North Suburb underground tunnel; otherwise, she could have completely infiltrated her mycelial entities into their rear and then suddenly struck.

The plan could have been more perfect...

"Go, my children."

Overlooking those bloodthirsty souls with invisible eyes and standing on a crimson fungal carpet, Xiya let out a silent cry.

"Turn them into nourishment for birthing life—"

"Devour them!"

...

"Roar—!"

The resounding roar completely shattered the silence of the night, and the Variants suddenly rushing towards the defensive line were like an onslaught of torrential rain, the killing intent hitting their faces almost causing everyone to hold their breath involuntarily.

Like a dam, the towering wall spouted long tongues of fire, and the noisy barrage traced paths through the fog, landing on the destroyed streets.

The surging groups of mycelial entities fell one after another, but soon more entities from behind pressed forward relentlessly.

Those bursts of fiery explosions were like pebbles hitting the waves, unable to stir the slightest ripple in the billowing waves.

The defensive line less than a kilometer from Giant Stone City.

Watching the tide surge like billowing waves, the soldiers clutching their assault rifles involuntarily showed signs of panic on their faces.

They were all soldiers from the Punishment camp.

At the same time, they were criminals captured in the crackdown earlier that year.

As for the Tide, they were all too familiar with it, having lived at the foot of the great wall.

Yet, when they truly faced the Tide at that moment, even the most ferocious criminals could not control the deep-seated fear in their bones.

The Eaters, usually slow-witted, were like they were on drugs.

Even the weakest mycelial entities had turned into vicious beasts, unified under the murderous hive consciousness.

That was an existence even the Claw of Death would avoid, no single Variant on the Wasteland was a match for these creatures.

They would devour everything they saw!

Rip their prey apart, chew, devour—

Until every inch of the prey’s flesh melted into this vast hive, completely becoming part of that terrifying Consciousness Entity.

"Damn it, how many of them are there?!" Watching the mycelial entities constantly disappearing in the gunfire and continuously filling the gaps, a prisoner couldn’t help but let out a cry of fear.

"Great Antler God above..."

Crouched behind cover nearby, another prisoner murmured a prayer, trying to overcome the terror in his heart by invoking the name of the Great Antler God.

And not far from him, a burly man with a shaved head kept glancing backward with his eyes alternating between fierceness and panic.

If it weren’t for the Supervisory team’s machine gun pointed at the back of their heads, he would have run away without hesitation, as far as he could!

There were only about a hundred people at one position, each hundred-man team responsible for a street.

Ahead of them was the tidal surge of sticky mold, behind them were the positions of the Militia Group. If they fell, those people would not hesitate to rain down artillery fire on their heads.

As the commanding officer of these prisoners, Bit’s eyes were filled with struggle.

This was their only chance for freedom—

Only by proving their loyalty with blood.

Could they become human again!

In the moment when the gunfire ceased, the Eaters had already appeared at the edge of the machine gun range, and he, pulling the trigger, simultaneously released a roar that vented fear.

"Ahhhhhh!!!"

...

The Tide was already in contact with Giant Stone City’s defensive line, and the Alliance’s positions were temporarily still quiet.

However, almost everyone could sense the turbulent undercurrent lurking beneath the silence.

Three Fungal Death Claws moved along the edge of a building, leading dozens of mold-infested monsters, drawing close to position No. 3 in Zone 06 of the Alliance under the cover of night and gray fog, penetrating towards position No. 4 in the middle of the defensive line.

The human Lair was right before their eyes!

That pair of amber pupils bore the thirst for blood; they were nearly seeing the building emitting annoying sounds.

However, just as they bared their canine teeth, a series of orange-red lights suddenly rose into the sky, lighting up the streets near position No. 3 as if it were daylight.

Three Fungal Death Claws and several dozen Fungal Goblins were instantly exposed under the flares, and at the same time, two horizontal 20mm Quadruple Anti-aircraft Guns had already targeted them.

Seeing that group of sneaky creatures approaching, "Kakarot" lying at the window of an abandoned building shouted excitedly.

"Fire!"

Rows of tracer bullets swept through like flying willows, carrying a devastating hurricane toward the dozens of Variants standing on the street.

Before they could react, the three Fungal Death Claws let out pained roars in the barrage and tried to flee from the street, shaking their tails.

However, the Storm Corps, having waited for a long time, certainly would not let them succeed.

The players hiding in the building’s windows had already set up 37mm Heavy Cavalry Guns, pulling the triggers at the same moment the anti-aircraft cannons fired.

"Boom—!"

A Fungal Death Claw’s head was instantly blown off by a shot, while the chests and shoulders of two other Fungal Death Claws burst into a cloud of blood mist.

Although the new type of spores had a strong fire-extinguishing effect, the Alliance had, based on the recommendations of the Biological Institute, already replaced the cores of the armor-piercing incendiary rounds with a burning agent primarily composed of magnesium materials.

The high concentrations of carbon dioxide not only failed to serve as a fire retardant, but acted like an oxidizing agent instead, making the white light stuck in the bodies of the Fungal Death Claws burn even brighter!

Pain-induced howls echoed in the gunfire-boiling streets, as Xiya’s leading squad of elite monsters was instantly wiped out by the concentrated fire of the Storm Corps.

"The micro-management skills of this mother entity don’t seem to be very good, huh."

Watching the smoking gun barrel, Gui Gui, who was lying behind a window, chuckled and reloaded his 37mm Heavy Cavalry Gun with a new magazine.

The voice of "Kakarot" came through the communication channel.

"Don’t let your guard down, this is just the beginning, there’s a bunch more waiting behind!"

Gui Gui laughed and casually replied,

"Don’t worry, it’s as steady as they come!"

The instantaneous annihilation of dozens of elite monsters completely disoriented the vanguard of the Tide that was surging towards the Alliance’s position.

On a crimson-colored fungal mat, Xiya, unable to perceive those assimilated entities anymore, stood frozen in place.

The progeny formed by slime mold assimilation were different from ordinary progeny; those little ones couldn’t be produced in the hatchery and could only be captured by its progeny from the Wasteland and personally modified by it.

And with the Death Claws nearly at the top of the food chain, the difficulty of capturing them was ten or even dozens of times higher than that of the Monsters and Multilegged Beasts!

It had intended to tear a gap in the Alliance’s defense line and then send a large force to overwhelm those humans.

However, those cunning humans had seen through its plan!

After a brief moment of shock, Xiya, who was in a daze on the fungal mat, let out a piercing howl as every cell in its body trembled with rage.

But it was alright—

The reaction of those humans had confirmed its speculation!

There indeed existed some kind of lair directing their consciousness.

And that "mother nest" was indeed crucial to them!

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have deployed so many defenses in front of that noisy concrete block while their own kind were under such a fierce attack.

It opened its mouth, and the restless spores carried that silent fury.

At the same time, under the pull of that anger, the progeny lurking near Alliance Zone 06 also ignited with boiling battle intent.

The Eaters surged out from the metro station entrances, while at the edge of the North Second Ring Road, an increasing number of higher entities began to gather.

Among them were Crawlers scaling the walls of the buildings, and Tyrants clad in thick keratin armor.

The previously placid North suburb of Qingquan city boiled over with the emergence of these dense progeny.

At the same time, not only the fungal mat of Qingquan City was boiling, but the radio channels of the Alliance were also buzzing.

"A massive number of progeny is pouring out from the underground tunnels!"

"Estimated numbers are over a million!"

"Holy shit... have all the Variants in the city come out?!"

"Haha, perfect timing!"

"Progeny near Defense Zone 06 are forming a dense formation; Outposts 1, 2, and 3 have engaged!"

"Order the Death Legion to turn around immediately! Follow the plan!"

"Roger that!"

At the same time, at Outpost 4 of Defense Zone 06, watching the progeny continuously emerge on the street, Gui Gui who had been mocking their simplicity just a second ago suddenly changed his expression.

Seeing a Tyrant charging forward, about to smash their barricade on the street, he immediately pulled the trigger and fired a 37mm armor-piercing incendiary.

White sparks instantly pierced the Tyrant’s body, yet it did not stop its charge.

Only after two more shots did the ferocious body fall into the black mud.

However, that Tyrant was just an inconsequential part of the Tide.

Countless progeny, like waves, surged over its body towards his defenses below, facing the cacophony of tracer fire.

Gui Gui’s index finger was almost glued to the trigger, with no spare moment to let go.

A magazine emptied, he immediately slapped in another; the barrel was glowing red with heat.

Watching more and more progeny swarm the street, he couldn’t help but curse.

"Damn it... are these guys getting desperate or what?"

Chunks of flesh trailing green smoke landed near the position, and soon a radiative acid fog rose.

Gui Gui quickly donned his Gas Mask, cursing as he endured the itchy constriction around his neck, and continued to fire with the 37mm Heavy Cavalry Gun.

In fact, he had guessed right.

Xiya was indeed getting desperate.

On one hand, it was certain that the lair behind the defenses was the vulnerability of the humans to the north; on the other hand, the firepower of the Alliance had truly caught it off guard.

Those dark windows sprayed tongues of flame non-stop, and the bombs falling from the sky harvested its children.

While its abilities could extinguish fires, they couldn’t stop those bombs from exploding.

More than that—

The humans seemed to have figured out its abilities, cleverly adopting an alternating fire strategy.

That is, they would first use artillery to create a spore-free zone, then launch incendiary bombs, and cover the advancement of the fire with more artillery.

Even though it could eventually extinguish the flames, it couldn’t stop a large number of progeny and their carcasses from being charred by the flames.

Live lives were swiftly extinguished among the dancing and leaping sparks, yet the Alliance’s defensive line showed no sign of weakening—

In the midst of that endless death, it could feel the children’s pity!

Seemingly discerning its hesitation in the face of death, the mother watching from behind issued a commanding call.

"Do not hesitate—"

"That will only lead to more death!"

"As long as we can make them a part of our bodies, this little sacrifice is nothing."

"This is our destiny!"

Compared with the offspring that had perished in the Tide in years past, these casualties really were inconsequential.

Feeling the authority of the mother, Xiya’s momentary hesitation was swept away, replaced again by frenzy and bloodlust.

At its beckoning and urging, the surging Tide breached the blockade of gunfire in almost an instant.

A mass of Eaters flooded to the base of the Building, engaging in close combat with the players squatting on the first floor.

Seeing its children charge the Alliance’s position, the cloud of spores floating next to Xiya finally revealed a frequency of relief as if a burden had been lifted.

However, this sense of relief didn’t last long.

Those humans didn’t run away with their tails between their legs; instead, they erupted with even stronger fighting spirit in the hand-to-hand combat.

It was then that it suddenly remembered it should have realized these people were different from those living within the Wall.

Under the command of the beehive consciousness, they were fearless of death and careless of the onrushing Tide.

It was as if the flesh-eating monsters charging at them were not threats but walking bags of experience—

"Brothers! Grab your weapons!"

"Let’s fight them!!"

"Aoaoao!"

Led by a squad leader, a dozen Strength-type players in exoskeletons charged the mucous fungi surging up the stairs, forming a moving wall with the steel strapped to their chests.

A particularly fierce player holding a whirring chainsaw charged into the surging Tide, swinging wildly, each swing splattering a spray of blood and carnage.

Drenched in black blood and standing atop a pile of bodies, the guy let out a weird laugh.

"Ga ga ga, this Game is just too damn cathartic—"

Before he finished speaking, a Tyrant charged at him, hitting him with a leaden roar.

Startled, he swung his chainsaw, but the speeding blade merely whizzed and slipped off the Tyrant’s horny Armor.

The pained Tyrant reached out with both arms, grabbed his shoulders, and tore violently.

With a ripping sound, that unfortunate player caught by the Tyrant was torn in half on the spot, turning into a mist of blood that sprayed the ceiling.

The Tyrant flung the bisected corpse to the Eaters at its back for sharing, continued its meteor-like stride forward, the blood painting its dark Armor a ferocious crimson.

An ordinary mercenary witnessing this might have been scared soulless.

But what stood before it were not normal humans; they were a bunch of fearless players.

They were like warriors who relished cruelty.

This bloody scene did not extinguish their fighting spirit; instead, it incited the players to even greater frenzy.

At the same time, the dignified voice of the Manager came over the speakers playing bgm.

"The enemy’s main forces are launching an attack on our positions, these foolish creatures have not realized that they have dived headlong into our trap!"

"Hold firm! The ultimate victory will surely be ours!"

Responding to that voice was a chorus of fervent war cries.

"Aoaoao!"

...

Gunshots and the clamor of cannons shattered the night in Qingquan City, and the battle against the Tide officially began.

At the very moment when the 10 positions in Zone 06 became complete meat grinders, the Death Legion who was rushing to support Giant Stone City received a turnaround order and immediately headed towards the direction of the North Second Ring Road.

Three thousand high-spirited players sat in trucks mounted with machine guns.

Although their gear could not be called top-notch, every one of them was tougher than the Variants.

Because their fighting style was excessively fierce, they almost never purchased expensive gear to spare their limited logistics points; the 200-silver-coin LD series rifle was their most expensive equipment.

Followed by bayonets, entrenching tools, and grenades!

Originally, they were supposed to rush to Zone 06 to support the Storm Corps.

But at that moment, the Biological Institute of the Alliance, using the observation stations scattered in the battle area and drones, had determined the likely area where "Xiya" might be lurking based on the concentration differences and movement tracks of the spore clouds.

Hence, the Death Legion had a new mission—

With the support of the Goblin Corps, they would launch an attack on the Tide’s headquarters!

Holding the walkie-talkie, Edge Shoveling shouted loudly in the Army’s comms channel.

"... The Storm Corps is under attack by the Tide, and our brother from the Springs is cornered by the mucous offsprings!"

"Our mission is to give them a hand, but not to relieve their siege, but to exterminate those disgusting creatures!"

"They will soon pay a heavy price for their stupidity and arrogance!"

"Advance!!"

At this moment, the entire Qingquan City was enveloped in dense spores, and Xiya, empowered on the mycelium carpet, could not possibly have missed this magnificent procession.

Its emotions suddenly betrayed a hint of panic.

Although it possessed higher intelligence than its siblings, it had not anticipated these humans would bypass the vulnerable Lair to come straight for it.

Its children were mostly on the front line, with some pouring toward those living within the walls and others toward the Lair of the "North People." Not many protectors remained at its side.

Right...

How did they come to find out that it was here?

"Mother... they’ve found me," Xiya called out to the Lair at the city center, "I need your help."

The Lair at the city center had evidently noticed too, observing the group of human soldiers who suddenly changed direction and headed straight for the North Second Ring Road.

After a brief moment of contemplation, it responded in a gentle voice.

"Don’t panic, I’ve already dispatched reinforcements in your direction, they won’t be able to hurt you."

Those were Its elite troops, and also one of Its most reliable guards.

Not the group from 200 years ago, nor these degenerate beings of 200 years later, could match that individual.

Its previous children were not worth Its intervention, but Xiya was an exception.

It was quite satisfied with it.

In every sense, it was the best choice to expand the territory of their kind.

Comforted by its mother’s words, Xiya’s emotions stabilized somewhat, refocusing its attention on the two fronts located to the north and west of Qingquan City.

It could feel signs of collapse at those two desperately defended fronts.

Especially those guarding the walls.

Under the onslaught of the Tide, the continual casualties had led them to emit cries indicative of an imminent breakdown.

Its mother was right.

As long as they were determined to pay any price, they would indeed manage to drown those ugly organic beings with sheer numbers; their fragile civilization stood no chance against higher beings.

However, there was still a flicker of unease in its heart.

Those beings had fought with its mother for a full two centuries, could it really be so simple...

...

On the rooftop of a building at the edge of the Second Ring Road, two Viper transport planes slowly descended, releasing twenty fully-armed players.

They were all clad in uniform Type Five Exoskeletons and carried mostly light weaponry.

Twenty pre-assembled gliders were stacked next to the stairwell.

Old White pulled one out, gripped it firmly in his hand, and handed it over to Night Ten.

Night Ten was about to take it when he saw that Old White hadn’t let go but instead grinned at him.

"You sure about this, lad? Your gear isn’t cheap."

The mission’s objective was the city center of Qingquan City, a location the Post-War Reconstruction Committee had failed to conquer.

For two centuries, the survivors of Qingquan City had not attempted another assault there.

It was a "Hell-level difficulty" mission that had existed since the Game’s launch, and even the fearless players only skirted its edges, never delving into the depths of that hell.

Now was the best and probably the only chance.

Most of Qingquan City’s sub-entities were tied up on the defenses arranged by the Alliance.

But even if their mission succeeded, there was a high probability they wouldn’t return.

Ignoring Old White’s advice, Night Ten rolled his eyes and snatched the glider away.

"Pfft, it’s no big deal."

Equipment, no matter how expensive, had a price, but a mission that "concerned the future of the Alliance and the trajectory of the Game’s main storyline" was one-of-a-kind.

Missing out on such an exciting event would be a lifelong regret.

Seeing Night Ten’s dead-serious expression, Old White laughed heartily and patted his shoulder.

"Indeed, it’s just a piece of equipment... Oh, and if my axe falls, remember to pick it up for me."

Fang Chang also laughed, patting his Mechanical composite bow, casually slinging it over his shoulder.

"And my Dawn, I’ve had it for a while now and wouldn’t want to lose it."

Wild Wind touched his nose.

"My mechanical hand too... It was left to me by a friend from the Pioneer."

Night Ten helplessly looked at these detrimental friends.

"Why are you all so sure I’ll survive?"

Fang Chang shifted his gaze away with a complex expression.

"I don’t know... maybe it’s instinct?"

Night Ten was about to say something more when Quit Smoking suddenly couldn’t help but quip.

"You guys have planted enough death flags on his head that even if he does make it back, he probably won’t."

Old White laughed, "Haha, no worries, if we survive, we’ll bring back his ashes too!"

Hearing this, Night Ten suddenly realized and inwardly exclaimed, damn it.

Good lord.

These bastards really didn’t want to see him do well!

Just then, a streak of light trailed across the sky, flying straight toward the city center.

It was the Lingyun fighter flown by the Luoyu Brothers, which also signaled the attack for them.

With laughter subsiding, Old White, holding the glider, walked to the south side of the building and lightly tapped on his Tactical helmet with his index finger, turning off the pitch-black goggles.

"Our ace pilots have taken off."

"We should follow suit!"