This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 683: From One Man Bar to Yiren Tavern

Chapter 683: Chapter 683: From One Man Bar to Yiren Tavern

Vellante People’s Camp.

In the central tent of the camp,

Centurion Bennott sat before the long table, looking at the Survivor’s Daily in his hands, furrowing his brows in concern, and muttered softly after a moment of reflection.

"These Blue Ground Squirrels, what tricks are they playing now..."

Ever since arriving at the City of Dawn, the Survivor’s Daily had become his daily must-read newspaper.

Especially once he realized that the information he used to gather from various sources was all clearly written on those few pages, he changed his first activity after getting out of bed from brushing his teeth to reading the newspaper.

Lately, he was keeping an eye on the situation at Potato Harbor. The Survivor’s Daily would update with a few photos every three days or so, and he practically watched as the harbor transformed from a barren land into what now looked like a proper little fishing village.

To be honest, stringing those photos together to see the transformation was quite astonishing.

Although the Army often helped Indigenous People build their camps, both in terms of aesthetics and comfort, they couldn’t compare to the achievements the Blue Ground Squirrels had made in less than half a month.

And now, this village could no longer be considered small, especially with the influx of a new batch of immigrants, it has indeed grown to the scale of a thousand people.

Placed anywhere in the Wasteland, it could be considered a significant settlement of survivors.

However, it is precisely because of this that Bennott began to feel a hint of alertness.

At the recent Sticky Community meeting, the minimum threshold to attend was one thousand people.

Once reaching one thousand people, a Survivor Settlement could participate in voting on provincial matters and influence the decision-making of that province in the grander council meetings.

Different provinces had different voting weights, and some special provinces would even be counted separately, but even the least had a base of one vote.

As everyone knows, Variants don’t vote. As the sole settlement in Baiyue Province, Potato Harbor would monopolize this "precious vote representing the entire survivor resolution of Baiyue Province."

And this would only worsen the already difficult situation of the Army in the Sticky Community meetings.

Realizing this, Bennott couldn’t help but clench his fist.

Without a doubt, this was blatant cheating!

He had expended great effort and faced much opposition to bring the West Winds Empire into the Sticky Community, just to secure the Poluo Province’s votes for the Army.

If the Alliance planned to win votes for themselves with such underhanded tactics, he would never agree!

"We need to find a way to plug this loophole..."

As Bennott was deep in thought, footsteps suddenly approached the tent from outside.

A Guard jingled the doorbell, lifted the door curtain, and walked in, bowing to report.

"Sir, a Messenger from the West Winds Empire requests an audience."

Bennott replied impatiently.

"Let him come in."

"Yes."

The Guard nodded and withdrew.

In a moment, the signature goatee appeared, bringing a strong aroma of spices as it entered past the door curtain.

His face was adorned with an enthusiastic smile, the mustache below his nose quivering.

"Respected Centurion Bennott Sir, I’m sorry to disturb you at this time, but when I came here yesterday, you were already out, so I had to come early."

Yesterday?

Bennott remembered he had indeed dined with the Foreign Minister of the Free State and wasn’t at the camp, so it was normal not to have seen him.

But on the other hand, couldn’t this guy make an appointment before every visit?

"It’s all right, my friend, Duke ... Sir, you’re welcome to visit anytime," Bennott touched his nose, putting on a placating smile, "So, what wind brings you here today?"

He wasn’t really good at pleasantries. After all, the Army had never needed to sweet-talk anyone – if conversations didn’t go well, they’d simply resort to action.

If not for ongoing negotiations with the Mucor Research Community, he wouldn’t bother dealing with this pretentious man.

However, as fate would have it, the Duke, like him, had little expertise in his field and didn’t see through the insincerity masked by Bennott’s awkward smile. Instead, he took the greetings as a friendly gesture from the Army.

No wonder.

Most people in the Poluo Province, especially the Nobles, viewed the Vellante People through a deep filter, one that shielded from all unfriendly interpretations.

Seeing the warm smile on the face of the Centurion, Duke Garava was moved as if he had found a kindred spirit.

Without hesitation, upon hearing Bennott’s question, he immediately adopted an expression of righteous indignation and began airing his grievances.

"I didn’t want to bother you with such trivial matters, but the Alliance has gone too far! I have never seen such shameless people; they deny things that are plainly written in the newspaper, feigning ignorance... what’s the difference between them and Bandits!"

As if that needed to be said.

Bennott had no objection whatsoever.

The Steel Heart was floating above the outskirts of the City of Dawn, nothing more evident of these people’s shamelessness. He had requested its return from the Alliance more than once, but those folks never planned to return it, even flaunting it as spoils of war.

"Indeed," he nodded emphatically, unable to stop himself from cursing as well, "those uncultured Barbarians don’t know the first thing about politeness and humility... So, my friend, what exactly did they do to you?"

Duke Garava clenched his fists in raging anger.

"They’ve taken in Moon people!"

"...Moon, Moon people?" Bennott was caught off guard, asking subconsciously, "What is that?"

In his mind, there were only the Vellante People and others, at most including unintelligent rapidly growing clones.

Moon people? Were they survivors from the Moon?

Seeing the confusion on Centurion Bennott’s face, Duke Garava explained patiently.

"Moon people are criminals of the West Winds Empire; they worship the Moon God who, in our prophets’ visions, conspired to kill the Tuo Ri Shen Niu, causing the burning Sun to fall into the end of the Everflow River, from which light would languish on the lands of the Poluo Province... They’ve all accrued sins for the next life, which must be repaid with suffering in this life, only then can they enter reincarnation in the next life with a new identity."

"You must have seen those people, most of the slaves sold from Poluo Province to the West Coast are Moon people..."

The first part left Bennott utterly confused until he pieced it together after hearing the latter part and suddenly understood.

So it was those people.

Those slaves with the finely sculpted noses, he had seen them, in fact, he even kept a couple on his estate.

Although their frames were a size smaller than the people of Vellante, and their stature also left a lot to be desired, there was a unique flavor to driving them...

"Mr. Bennott?"

Seeing that Bennott seemed to have drifted off, Duke Garava kindly reminded him.

Bennott immediately realized the lapse in his expression and coughed as he quickly snapped back to reality and said,

"So... they stole your slaves? What a bunch of unreasonable bastards!"

"Exactly! These unreasonable bastards!"

Duke Garava’s eyes blazed as he clenched his fist and continued with righteous indignation.

"I must say, these self-proclaimed Alliance are simply a cancer on this planet, they rob everywhere, commit all manner of evil, yet have the gall to shout about uniting the survivors... We can’t just let them continue to make waves, we must join hands and do something about it! To utterly eradicate this cancer once and for all!"

Bennott’s face had been quite cheerful, but upon hearing the last sentence, he almost choked on his own saliva.

Some things were better said behind closed doors; taking action wasn’t a joke.

Although he had no doubt the Army had the strength to obliterate the Alliance from the map, it was hard to say how the Academy and the Company would react.

Aside from those expansionist lunatics, not many people were willing to fight a war that offered no visible benefits, especially a war that could drag them into an abyss.

Moreover, the Marshal had sent him here to seek cooperation, not to flip tables.

Watching the intense gaze of Duke Garava, Centurion Bennott, who was fanning the flames just a moment ago, suddenly felt that he might need to pour some cold water on this man.

Otherwise, this guy might get too riled up and forget his own surname.

"Mr. Garava, I’ll admit those Blue Jackets are undoubtedly a cancer on this planet, and if they were to drop dead one day, it would be an honor for all humankind... but now is not the time. Before we deal with minor conflicts, we must first address the main ones."

Watching Duke Garava’s face, which had been full of color, slowly turn to bewilderment, Bennott gently coughed and said,

"... and isn’t it just a few escaped slaves? Why stoop to their level? Just think of those slaves as having gone missing."

In his memory, the slaves of Poluo Province were very cheap, perhaps just 1000 Dinars, or even less than that.

Even if a thousand were stolen, it’s only a million Dinars; what’s that amount to?

Seeing that Mr. Centurion clearly didn’t understand the crux of the matter, Duke Garava suddenly became frantic, his two whiskers trembling with agitation.

"Wait, Mr. Bennott, it’s not just about a few slaves! Those bastards have lost the face of the Empire! And if we don’t give the escaping slaves the punishment they deserve, won’t everyone be emboldened to follow their example!"

Bennott looked at him with a mix of laughter and helplessness, saying,

"My friend... Duke friend, you’re known as the Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods, what’s losing one tribe?"

Watching Duke Garava, who still wanted to say something, he didn’t stop for a moment and continued,

"Of course, you’re right about losing face being an issue. If the gun is not straight, the spine cannot stand tall, but these things are manageable. They lack respect for you simply because you’re too weak... please forgive my bluntness, but as you know, those people are nothing but bandits, and the nature of bandits is to prey on the weak and fear the strong. If you want them to respect you, you have to be tougher than them!"

Hearing this, Duke Garava was immediately displeased.

What a joke!

The Xilan Empire, after all, possesses a whole province’s worth of territory. Is a mere alliance even worthy of comparison with them?

"Mr. Bennott, are you joking? I’ll admit that we’re sometimes restrained, but we’re far from weak. At the very least, we’re certainly not something an insignificant alliance can compare with!"

Seeing Duke Garava’s indignant expression, Centurion Bennott put a hand on his shoulder, speaking with a deep and meaningful tone.

"I know, and I acknowledge your bravery, but whether you believe it or not, the fact remains. However, this isn’t your fault. After all, they have the support of companies and the academy, while you have nothing. It isn’t really fair to compare the two of you."

Watching Duke Garava’s still displeased face, Bennott suddenly changed the topic and continued.

"But it doesn’t matter. In the past, you could only rely on yourselves. Now you have us standing behind you, the Army! The help that companies and the academy provide them, we can offer to you just the same. And I believe that with our help, you’ll soon be able to possess the strength to sit as equals with the alliance. It’s not that difficult."

Hearing this, Duke Garava’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he excitedly shook Bennott’s hand.

"Thank you so much... my friend, it is our honor to stand with you! I swear by the God of the White Elephant, we will cooperate with you to the fullest! So... how do you plan to help us?"

Seeing the gratitude on Duke Garava’s face, Bennott smiled pleasantly.

He’d actually thought this through long ago but had simply not found the right moment to present it.

Now, undoubtedly, was the golden opportunity.

"We can introduce someone to you, a Centurion from a distinguished family. His name is McCullen. Unlike a civil official like me, that guy is a genuine military officer, one who has come straight from the battlefield."

"That’s not all. Just like you, he has old scores to settle with the alliance. He despises those Blue Ground Squirrels more than anyone. Provided that you are inclined, I could bridge the connection for you, letting him go to Poluo Province as a military advisor. According to the standards of the Army, he’ll help you build a formidable, battle-ready force! He might even donate some equipment that we temporarily don’t have use for!"

After all, the expansionist faction couldn’t use those equipment anymore.

If those old scraps of metal could be put to good use, that wouldn’t be bad at all.

Moreover, Bennott was certain that McCullen wouldn’t refuse and might even volunteer to go to Poluo Province and become an instructor.

Overjoyed by these words, Duke Garava gripped Bennott’s hand tightly in excitement.

"Thank you! I’m truly grateful!"

Bennott smiled faintly, firmly gripping his hand in return.

"You’re welcome. You’re an important trade partner to us and a strategic cooperation partner as well. Your women—ahem, I mean, your spices, I quite like them! May our friendship endure forever!"

Duke Garava chuckled.

"Long may our friendship last! I’ll send some to your residence in a little while!"

After a round of pleasantries, Bennott finally saw off the pesky fellow, then turned and pulled a tissue from the table, wiping his hands with disdain.

It really was an ill-starred time.

He, a Centurion, had to shake hands with a goat that had sprung up from who knows where.

Just then, a soft sigh from behind made Bennott’s neck involuntarily stiffen. He turned around irritably, glaring in the direction of the door and spoke in displeasure.

"Even if you’re His Excellency the Marshal’s Imperial Guard... you shouldn’t eavesdrop on my conversation with the Empire’s messenger."

Kuike, who had appeared at the tent entrance at some unknown time, looked at the displeased Bennott indifferently, completely ignoring his mood.

As a member of the Imperial Guard, he was loyal only to the Marshal, responsible only to the Marshal. Regardless of military rank, he needed to bow to no one.

"The expansionist faction has finally calmed down a bit. The Marshal won’t be pleased with your actions."

Mr. Bennott’s expression was somewhat stiff. Although he didn’t want to waste words explaining, he thought of the deputy’s identity and still patiently said,

"McCullen isn’t a fool. He’s been with the Alliance for half a year and knows very well that those guys are not to be trifled with, as well as what to do and what not to do. I think he knows the limits... All we need to do is to arm our allies, not to actually send them to fight the Alliance. Don’t you want us to have more chips in our hands? Or would you rather see us being led by the nose by the Alliance?"

Kuike asked in a calm tone.

"And what if he doesn’t handle it properly?"

Bennott replied unapologetically.

"Then let him roll back here. What can he, a mere instructor, do? That fool isn’t Griffin, after all—an arrogant good-for-nothing. At most, he’ll sleep with a few girls in some emperor’s harem. Could he possibly turn Poluo Province upside down?"

Hearing the name Griffin, Kuike’s brow furrowed slightly, his eyes reflecting a complex emotion.

However, that flicker of complexity was just that—a fleeting moment.

He stared intently at Bennott, his serious tone laced with a hint of warning.

"His Majesty the Marshal highly values this meeting. I hope you’re clear about that, especially concerning the ’main contradiction’ issue. You better not screw it up."

Facing those turbid pupils, a twinge of panic rose in Bennott’s heart, which quickly turned into irritation.

Why should he fear a centurion?

"I am forever loyal to His Majesty the Marshal. You don’t need to remind me!"

Kuike simply shrugged his shoulders and made no comment, turning to walk toward the door.

However, just as he was about to lift the tent flap and leave, he paused and dropped a meaningful remark.

"Every one of you says that."

"I truly hope you mean it."

Bennott stood frozen in place.

By the time he regained his senses, that deputy named Kuike had already left...

...

On the northern shore of Baiyue Strait, the thriving Potato Harbor flourished, with the gentle sea breeze blowing the waves onto the sandy beach, split in two by a pier stretching into the deeper waters.

Not far from the pier, in the sea, Strength Type beasts on small wooden boats were working hard to drive aluminum alloy pipes, thick as arms, into the seabed.

These pipes, just brought from the City of Dawn by the Tuo Ri Shen Niu airship, were for constructing a fence separating the beach from the deeper water area.

Next, they were going to fill these aluminum alloy pipes with sand and string up nets made of Devil Silk between them, enclosing the waters near the harbor.

Seemingly sensing their living space being encroached upon, the Variants active in the sea began to stir, occasionally launching attacks on the boats floating on the surface, and every few days, someone fell into the water.

Nevertheless, this still didn’t deter the determination of these beasts.

"Brothers, push a little harder! For the bikinis under the sun!"

"Roar roar roar!"

Staring blankly at the distant sea, Meat Meat stood with her mouth agape, taking quite a while before she squeezed out a disjointed sentence.

"Are these guys crazy?"

Tail stood to the side, arms crossed, nodding her chin in deep agreement.

"Whoa! They must be out of their minds."

Forced to wear a maid outfit for three whole days, she nearly suffered heatstroke under that sheet-like long dress.

She finally got to change into a tank top and shorts these past few days, feeling as if she had come back to life.

Perhaps it was because the creatures in the sea had all been attracted to the small wooden boats of the Strength Type beasts, so that there were hardly any Variant shadows near the beach.

Not far away on the rocky beach, some Moon tribeswomen carrying baskets were collecting oysters attached to the rocks with daggers and awls, and some were crouched near faucets not far from the sand, washing clothes.

Time sure flies.

If it weren’t for the Tuo Ri Shen Niu airship that left and came back, she might not have even realized that a whole week had passed since the Meat Meat anchored at Potato Harbor!

It’s worth mentioning that, although Tail felt like the week had gone by in a blur, a lot had indeed happened in this rapidly changing Survivor Settlement.

Firstly, inside the camp.

The large piece of land that was originally empty on the east side had now become rows of wooden shacks.

These crudely constructed houses might be lacking in aesthetics, but they had no issues providing shelter from the wind and rain.

In addition, every household had smoked fish and drying pelts hanging at their doors.

Helping the players process their game and fish had become the main source of income for most Moon tribeswomen in Potato Harbor.

Some who were good at farming had, under the leadership of Grandma Sang Ru, taken over the agricultural land to the northwest of the South District.

The Baiyue Corporation was responsible for ensuring the safety of the farmland, clearing the rainforest, and providing high-yield crop seeds and some auxiliary farming devices.

The price they had to pay was just half of the produce from the farmlands and orchards.

For those who had never owned their own land, this was such a generous offer that many couldn’t believe it was true at first.

It was only after they learned that Tail, the one who had led them out of their cages, was also a member of Baiyue Corporation’s board, that they put aside their doubts and stamped their handprints on the contract.

Besides agriculture and handicrafts, some young and pretty girls with good figures entered the service industry, taking on the work that most players were unwilling to do.

Thanks to this, the previously deserted camp had become bustling and lively.

Not only had the save point, stalls, and shops increased the number of NPCs that could be interacted with, but the much-maligned "One Man Bar" had finally become "Yiren Tavern."

This place not only had a group of curvy, pleasant-looking waitresses but also completely freed up Manager Yi’s hands.

And as customers of the gods, the players finally didn’t have to double as tea servers, water pourers, or dishwashers anymore...

The Sun moved from the east to the west, and in the blink of an eye, another fulfilling day passed.

As usual, watching the setting sun slowly descend, Yiren called the girls of the tavern to set up tables and chairs on the beach, getting ready to start today’s business.

However, just as everyone had started to move the chairs out, they saw a speedboat flying the Federal flag docking at the pier.

Muda, the NPC, was the first to jump off the speedboat, walking towards the tavern with two sailors.

Having not seen the guy for a while, Yiren couldn’t help but feel curious, watching the trio approach and called out with a smile.

"Would you like anything?"

Muda didn’t beat around the bush. He reached into his coat, took out a telegram paper, glanced at it to confirm the location, and then turned to the man who looked like the owner in front of him and asked.

"Is there someone here called Si Si?"

Manager Yi was taken aback, having heard that name before.

"What do you need her for?"

Muda continued succinctly.

"She arranged to meet me here, and now I’m here. Please, tell her that—"

Before he could finish speaking, a rather unfamiliar voice came from not too far away.

"I’m here."

The three of them immediately looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a girl with a rifle and a rocket launcher slung over her back walking towards them from the direction of the camp.

The sea breeze brought with it a salty tang of blood, and her coat had a few clumps of animal fur and not-yet-dry blood stuck to it.

Not only did Muda look at her with a weird expression, but even the two sailors following him looked shocked.

Manager Yi, on the other hand, had seen it all before. Instead, he greeted her with a smile.

"Had a good haul today?"

"Not bad, didn’t expect to find mutant brown bears in this tropical rainforest," Si Si said nonchalantly, propping her rifle and rocket launcher against a table as if to save a spot. She then signaled four fingers to Manager Yi, "Two beers and two orange juices with ice. My teammate is off trading materials, he’ll be here shortly."

"You got it." Manager Yi gave an OK sign and turned to head towards the open-air bar.

Listening to the language he couldn’t understand, Muda was about to ask what the telegram actually meant when a clean envelope was handed to him.

Raising his eyebrows slightly, he took it.

"What’s this?"

Si Si said succinctly,

"Someone asked me to give you a letter."

"Who?"

"You’ll know once you read it."

Muda glanced at Si Si and hesitantly opened the envelope.

Almost the moment he looked at the content of the letter, his sun-peeled face immediately turned serious.

Clutching the letter in his hand, he stared at the woman in front of him and asked, word by word,

"Where is he?"

Si Si calmly replied,

"City of Dawn."

At that response, Muda was stunned.

"River Valley Province?!"

Watching the NPC in astonishment, Si Si nodded and continued in a very soft voice,

"Yes... At the behest of that gentleman, we plan to restart the investigation into the Southern sea area ocean current power station incident."

Hearing the words "ocean current power station," Muda wore a look of surprise, and took her aside, lowering his voice so that only the two of them could hear,

"...The ocean current power station? What’s the point of investigating that now? It’s been over two months, even if you find something, it won’t change the current situation."

Si Si smiled lightly.

"How would we know unless we try?"

Muda watched her for a while before he finally spoke slowly,

"What do you need me to do?"

"It’s simple, all you need to do is cover me as I approach. We’ll handle the rest."

Muda’s expression grew increasingly strange, glancing at the cargo ship docked at the wharf,

"Cover for you? How do you plan on getting there? That thing?"

"Of course not, come with me."

Si Si left with a mysterious smile, dropping that sentence before heading toward the camp not far off.

Muda glanced at the two sailors standing not too far away, motioned with his eyes for them to wait at the tavern entrance, and then followed her alone.

Arriving at the camp with the NPC, Si Si went straight to the warehouse area not far from the beach, to a shed made of tin sheets.

"It’s here."

Muda squinted his eyes and followed her into the warehouse.

When he clearly saw the drum-shaped submarine parked inside, his eyes suddenly narrowed dangerously.

"Have you had contact with the people from Shelter No. 70?"

Si Si, unconcerned with his right hand unconsciously touching the holster at his waist, said casually,

"So what? Have you changed your mind?"

Muda was silent for a long time before he moved his hand away from the holster and slowly spoke,

"...Tonight at ten, follow under my boat, I’ll take you there."

Hearing this promise, a pleased smile finally appeared on Si Si’s face,

"Thanks."

"Don’t mention it, that’s about all I can do."

As he spoke, Muda looked at the submarine in the warehouse again.

The scars and damage on the metal hull clearly did not look like they had been caused by the Federal Fleet’s deep-sea bombs or torpedoes.

Though he did not think the truth would be of any use, his instincts told him that this time, maybe they really would unearth something...

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