This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 686: Switching from a Small Boat to a Big Boat

Chapter 686: Chapter 686: Switching from a Small Boat to a Big Boat

The submersible from Shelter No. 70 possessed considerable stealth capabilities, yet it wasn’t completely invisible.

Just as Muda had anticipated, after the Federation Navy’s destroyer arrived, it quickly located the submersible beneath the surface and salvaged it.

However, what Muda hadn’t expected was that there was not a single person aboard the submersible.

Various signs indicated that the two pilots had abandoned it after the power system was damaged.

Logically, they shouldn’t have been able to get far.

The Federal Navy’s destroyer immediately dispatched frogman troops to search the depths.

But to everyone’s confusion, despite an hour of searching, they found nothing.

The two pilots had disappeared into the sea as if dissolved by the water...

"I need to understand some situations from you."

Destroyer deck.

An officer walked up to Muda, pulled out a recording pen in front of him and switched it on, then tapped his index finger on the table in front of him.

"Routine procedure, please cooperate."

"Understood, ask away," Muda nodded, pulling out a chair to sit down.

The officer also pulled out a chair and sat opposite him, taking out a small booklet from his pocket and flipping it open before starting to ask.

"First off, I want to know, this area isn’t your patrol zone, why did you appear here?"

Having thought of a story in advance, Muda replied calmly and unhurriedly.

"At that time, I was on duty, following an abnormal sonar signal that I tracked to this area during a search patrol. On this matter, the brothers on duty in the nearby waters can testify for me; I had sought their permission to pass and reported the situation."

"We have looked into it, and it is indeed as you claim... However, there are still some doubts here."

The officer lifted a sharp gaze to survey him briefly and continued with meticulous care.

"In accessing the communication records, we noticed that the friendly ships patrolling nearby had proposed backup assistance in the communications with you; why did you refuse?"

Unruffled by the skepticism in that gaze, Muda simply shrugged nonchalantly, stating what seemed natural.

"Why even ask that? Because we weren’t certain what it was, what if it was just a piece of garbage swept over by the current? If you were me, would you call for backup before making sense of the situation?"

There seemed to be no issue with that explanation.

No one wanted to become the butt of the joke among allies because of a piece of trash.

Unable to fault his reasoning, the officer nodded and continued to ask.

"So you used two hundred-kilogram depth charges to confirm?"

"Yes."

"Quite extravagant... Why didn’t you report the situation to the nearby friendly ships before firing?"

Muda sighed, speaking with patience.

"If the enemy is right under your nose, would you shoot first or file a report? Could you please stop asking these nonsensical questions? If you suspect there’s an issue with me, point it out directly."

"No, no, no, I didn’t mean that, Lieutenant Muda, we have no suspicions about you, as you know, this is just a formality," the officer quickly waved his hands to smooth the atmosphere, smiling as he added, "So the last question... therefore, you had already confirmed that the submersible belonged to Shelter No. 70 at that time?"

Muda stared at him meticulously, speaking in a serious tone.

"I didn’t need to confirm; at this time, at this place, it appeared in our patrol zone, unauthorized, and refused our communication requests. So we dropped the bombs, until they completely stopped... Luckily, our luck was good, we only needed two bombs to anchor them, too bad you were a step too late, and let those above escape."

The officer sitting opposite nodded, then suddenly spoke.

"Do you know why they stopped?"

"I don’t know, nor am I interested," Muda looked at him expressionlessly, his tone adopting a hint of impatience, "Besides, didn’t you say that was the last question?"

"Of course... I’ve finished with the formal questions; that last question was just out of personal interest."

The officer packed away the recording pen and booklet, smiling as he stood up from the table and extended his right hand.

"Thank you for your cooperation."

Muda also stood up, shook his right hand, and then let go.

"You’re welcome, did my answers pass?"

"Pass? You misunderstand, Mr. Muda, we never had any doubt about you. Like I said from the beginning, this was only a formality..." Putting the recording pen away in his pocket, the officer tapped the booklet in his hand and said with a slight smile, "If there is new information, I will contact you again."

Muda nodded his head.

"Next time remember to bring my medal."

The officer laughed heartily and patted his shoulder.

"Of course! Also, congratulations, this is at least a second-class merit!"

After saying that, the officer turned and walked away.

Watching the man’s retreating back, Muda smacked his lips slightly in regret.

Just second class.

But—

Accolades and such actually don’t matter anymore.

He just hoped he wouldn’t be pinned to the pillar of historical disgrace.

Due to the uncertainty about who the traitor was and how deeply they had infiltrated the Federation authorities, he ultimately chose to conceal part of the truth and did not divulge the entire story.

Including the radio communication with the submersible.

Including the spherical detection device caught in a fishing net and hanging from the bottom of the speedboat, and so on.

He didn’t know whether his choice was correct; he just hoped that his future self wouldn’t regret today’s decision...

At the same time, on the destroyer’s deck, a black gyrocopter gently landed on the spacious helipad.

Flanked by two exoskeleton-clad bodyguards, Federation Navy Chief of Staff and President’s Chief of Staff Charles stepped down from the helicopter and walked with a grave expression towards the approaching destroyer Captain.

"Mr. Charles, what brings you here?" Seeing the President’s close confidant from afar, the Captain reached out his right hand with a smile as he greeted him.

"What else could it be? After such a big incident, why didn’t you notify me immediately?"

Seeing Charles’s displeased expression, the Captain awkwardly withdrew his hand and tried to explain.

"It’s just a scientific research submersible. Although we found some modified traces on it, the modifications were crude, nothing serious."

In his view, Mr. Chief of Staff was indeed making a mountain out of a molehill.

That was merely a submersible from Shelter No. 70, not some attack submarine; there was absolutely no need for such a panic.

Not to mention that the sea area where it appeared had no strategic facilities, only the ruins of a ocean current power station.

There was even less reason for alarm.

Charles narrowed his eyes slightly, staring at the Captain standing before him.

"Just a submersible?"

The Captain was slightly startled, looking back at him curiously, nodded, and said.

"Of course, we have found the submersible, and our people are planning to dismantle it... Would you like to see it in person?"

"Take me there." Charles’s expression shifted, he nodded, and then followed the Captain from beside the helipad towards the rear of the destroyer.

A cylindrical submersible was hooked and hoisted onto the deck.

Several exoskeleton-wearing sailors were holding welding torches, cutters, and a variety of tools, preparing to dismantle it.

Seeing the pensive expression on the Chief of Staff’s face, the Captain standing beside him asked curiously.

"What’s a submersible from Shelter No. 70 doing here?"

Charles didn’t look at him, but casually responded.

"Who knows... Maybe they’re here to cover up evidence, or perhaps to collect something they left behind."

"This seems strange," the Captain mused as he looked at the submersible, "If they were trying to cover up evidence... why make a show of destroying it in the first place, and what use would covering up evidence serve now? No one would believe them."

Logically, this indeed made little sense.

Even more peculiar was that they found the carcass of a giant sea creature near the submersible.

It was shaped more strangely than any Variant they had seen, like an enlarged starfish, but with more tentacles than an octopus.

Based on the assessment of the scars on the submersible’s hull, they had confirmed that these damages were caused by this sea creature.

Coincidentally, the deep-sea bomb the Federal patrol team dropped toward the submersible actually saved the lives of the pilots aboard.

The bomb did not hit the submersible; it struck the sea creature that was chasing it instead.

According to the patrol team leader and two additional sailors on the speedboat, they had no idea what their bomb had actually hit.

Currently, the Federal Navy could not determine whether the sea creature had appeared in that sea area by chance or was there due to some human intervention.

If the latter was the case, it would be rather intriguing.

As it is known, due to the partial operation of the damaged electric machinery, very few Variants were active near the ruins of the ocean current power station.

The only possibility to force a Variant to remain in that area was...

The Mind Interference Device.

Only it could accomplish that.

However, to confirm this, they would need to salvage and dissect the body of that Variant.

Charles glanced at the Captain coolly before turning his gaze back to the battered submersible.

"You’d have to ask Shelter No. 70. Maybe they thought they could win and realized halfway through they had overestimated themselves, so they tried to white-wash themselves and find a cheap scapegoat to take the blame. I do not care why our enemies choose to attack us; I only care about sending them to hell. And you, Captain, just need to do your job well."

The Captain watched Mr. Chief of Staff in stunned silence.

Although he didn’t understand why the Chief of Staff suddenly used such a serious tone, his intuition told him that the gentleman was not interested in the topic he had brought up, so he tactfully and quickly ended the discussion.

"Alright, I just thought it strange... Please don’t mind."

Charles gave the Captain a meaningful look, said nothing, and turned to walk back to the helicopter amid the bewildered gaze.

Two exoskeleton-clad bodyguards sat opposite him, silent.

"Return to North Island."

Dropping that comment to the pilot, Charles leaned back in his seat and appeared to close his eyes in repose.

No one knew.

The moment he closed his eyes, his consciousness instantly withdrew from his body and entered a milky-white space.

A gray-robed old man stood at the pristine center of that space.

Holy light bathed his shoulders, and a gentle force blurred the contours of his features, bestowing upon him an authority that kept others at bay while retaining an all-encompassing amiability.

Charles nodded slightly to this figure, who chose not to show his true face, offering a devotion that was anything but sincere.

He was no ignorant Waste Land Wanderer to be fooled by such trickery.

Strictly speaking, he trusted no one; he had always believed only in himself.

But he had to admit, the Torch had some good things in their grasp.

Like this "Hall."

With just a closing of his eyes, he could communicate with his allies in Haiye Province whenever and wherever, gaining access to crucial intelligence and other forms of support.

And most importantly, unlike the previous "Holy Land" that was reserved for the dead, this "Hall," being the second sanctuary, offered eternal life without the need to abandon the human flesh.

This meant that as long as he could secure his own Hall, he could achieve divine eternity without forsaking his human form!

Before the power of a god, the petty authority of mortals seemed utterly inconsequential.

He desired that power more than anyone, to hold eternal authority in an eternal form.

And so, lacking any real faith, he still became the most devout follower of the Torch Church in the southern sea area, offering loyal and steadfast support to all of the Torch Church’s grand schemes there.

"Respectable Pioneer... I have confirmed it was just a submersible from Shelter No. 70. Our ships have intercepted it; you can be at ease now."

He then stopped speaking, quietly waiting for the bishop to reply.

Staring at the old man in front of him, who was only a few years younger than himself, Alzu hesitated for a long moment before speaking slowly.

"The guard is dead."

Charles, having been informed of this by a subordinate, responded respectfully.

"You needn’t worry—we will dispose of the body. No one will discover its secrets."

Alzu slowly nodded, then spoke again.

"Shelter No. 70 is trifling. But be wary of the Alliance; they are not easy to deal with. I have seen a Pioneer fall at their hands... a true Pioneer, unlike me, who clings to the flesh."

The intangible Pioneers were unreliable, yet he had to acknowledge that unlike himself, these ethereal beings were nearly impossible to destroy in a physical sense.

He did not believe the Alliance could shake his ideals; he was not fickle.

But he also had to admit, the Alliance was indeed difficult to deal with, even more so than corporations and the Academy.

However, contrary to Alzu’s wariness, Charles, the Chief of Staff of the Federal President, merely smiled indifferently and said,

"Rest assured, I have been keeping a close eye on them. Their decision to camp in the Baiyue Strait means their downfall is almost certain, no matter what scheming they harbor."

"I hope so. We’ll inevitably clash with them, but the later, the better," Alzu, enshrouded in his gray robe, paused before continuing, "I need your men to continue searching for that submersible’s crew... Whether or not they find anything, make sure to leave them in the sea."

Charles bowed again and promised softly,

"As you command."

...

While the Federal Navy expanded its search area, conducting a carpet search within a ten-mile radius, in a deserted stretch of water about a hundred nautical miles from the current power station wreckage, a nuclear-powered submarine almost two hundred meters long was cruising slowly underwater.

Unlike the 21st-century nuclear submarines with boilers, this "Dolphin"-class submarine utilized second-generation controlled fusion technology, using Helium-3 and deuterium captured from the sea as fusion fuel for cruising power.

Although by the end of the Prosperity Epoch, this second-generation controllable nuclear fusion technology was nearly replaced by the simpler energy framework of pure Helium-3 fusion, it was still considered advanced in today’s world, two centuries later—far more so than the synthetic oil power systems commonly used by the Southern Islands Federation Fleet.

At this moment, neither Charles nor the hundred-plus sailors aboard the destroyer were aware that the person they were searching for had already made his escape.

And from right under their noses, at that...

The buffer chamber inside the Dolphin-class submarine.

The filling seawater gradually drained away.

Then the walls on both sides sprayed out misted detergent, and extending spray guns blew out high-pressure airflows, thoroughly rinsing algae and dust from the deep-sea suits of the two visitors.

Seeing the signal light above turn green, Si Si and the companion beside her, known as Tail, exchanged a glance before passing through the now open hatch.

Directly opposite the hatch was a narrow, less than ten square meter room. On the left, a long, rectangular window provided a view into the surprisingly spacious interior of the submarine.

Suspended stairways and walkways flanked the spacious area, while in the center stood a series of elongated cargo containers.

Above, under the dome, hung hooks connected to tracks, with workers in work clothes moving along the elevated corridors.

A hint of surprise appeared on Si Si’s face.

She had never seen a submarine so strange; it completely overturned her previous impression of a submarine as a constricted, narrow transport.

Nearby, two men clad in exoskeletons stood to either side of a door at the end of the room, holding assault rifles of the same model used by the Federal Navy.

But the bulky exoskeletal structure seemed more akin to those used by dock workers at the "Circular Island Port," not the military version. These two men seemed less like professional soldiers and more like temporarily recruited security forces.

And in between the two stood a man in a blue jacket, exuding a certain dignified presence.

As the two divers approached, he introduced himself matter-of-factly and extended his right hand.

"Welcome to the Dolphin. My name is Chen Jianhong, captain of this submarine."

Slipping off her helmet and tucking it under her arm, Si Si gave her tousled hair a light shake and took the hand offered to her with a brisk shake.

"Si Si, the guy beside me is Ah Wei, and we are both residents of Shelter No. 404."

"Oh! You can call me Ah Wei!" Ah Wei, who had also removed his helmet, looked around with a face full of wonder and couldn’t help but blurt out in surprise, "Giao! I thought you guys had no weapons... I had no idea you had such awesome big guns!"

Watching the two with their distinctive aura, the captain named Chen Jianhong was visibly stunned, but only for a moment.

"Are you referring to... this submarine? It’s indeed not a weapon, just an ordinary cargo submarine."

"A cargo submarine?!"

Ah Wei, who had never heard of such a peculiar concept, was surprised, his eyes widening, "Ah, why would you use a submarine to transport cargo? Isn’t that very troublesome?"

Chen Jianhong shrugged his shoulders, continuing.

"I feel the same way. Although this thing was originally built for the convenience of logistics between underwater and surface settlements, building a straight-up-and-down elevator is obviously much more hassle-free than using a submarine to transport stuff. But now, I’m just thankful that the original designers were so far-sighted; otherwise, the more than five hundred residents of Coral City and us aboard the submarine would have already been buried at sea... Speaking of which, before asking about us, shouldn’t you explain your situation first?"

Ah Wei looked at him confusedly.

"Explain?"

"Huang Guangwei," the captain focused on him unblinkingly, then glanced at the woman called Si Si, and said with a stern expression, "The biometric information registered on that submersible is by that name, but the people we found on it were you. I want to know where the original owner of the submersible is and... if he’s still alive?"

The atmosphere on the scene became tense for a moment.

But it was only for an instant.

"Of course, he’s still alive and doing well, otherwise we wouldn’t be the ones suffering here."

To prevent Ah Wei from saying anything superfluous, Si Si quickly took over the conversation before she spoke up, looking at the captain turning his gaze to her as she continued.

"He’s now at the Alliance, staying with the manager of your shelter, Sun Yuechi."

On hearing this, Chen Jianhong was stunned again, and in less than half a minute, his face showed an expression of surprise.

"...At the Alliance? Wait, the Alliance?! Our Manager is also there? But how is this possible! Didn’t he go to the Grand Canyon?"

At that moment, he finally realized the source of the dissonance he had felt when he heard Ah Wei utter those words.

Up until the entrance to Shelter No. 70 had been sealed off by the ships of the Southern Islands Federation, including the whereabouts of Manager Sun Yuechi and the locking of the weapons storage, all were Shelter No. 70’s greatest secrets, known only to a select few!

Yet these people seemed to know!

"His initial destination was indeed the Grand Canyon, but on his way through the City of Dawn, he changed his mind and handed over the manager’s authority to us..."

Watching Captain Chen and the two soldiers beside him, equally astonished, Si Si took nearly half an hour to patiently explain the whole story to him.

Included was how Sun Yuechi got to the City of Dawn and how he imposed the manager’s authority on their manager.

It also included how Huang Guangwei got stranded on the northern shore of the Baiyue Strait and how they coincidentally found him and brought him back to the City of Dawn...

After listening to her account, Chen Jianhong put his forefinger to his temple and felt a complex mix of emotions clogging his chest, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

He couldn’t accept it.

Their manager would rather place hope in a stranger he had never met than choose someone he knew well.

And what was even more unacceptable to him was that while they were hiding in the vast ocean, risking their lives playing hide-and-seek with the Federal Fleet, that guy had already started a new life in the City of Dawn?!

What a joke!

"So... that guy is now living it up over at your place?" he asked with a trembling voice, withdrawing his forefinger from his temple.

Not wishing to discourage the diligent captain before her, Si Si’s expression turned somewhat complicated, yet she still nodded truthfully.

"Yes... Including the owner of that submersible, Huang Guangwei, who before boarding the airship to the City of Dawn, gave us the submersible to deal with—"

"These bastards!"

A curse burst forth, interrupting her mid-sentence, and Chen Jianhong clenched his fists, unable to restrain his emotions any longer, and gritted his teeth as he said.

"We endure the torment of claustrophobia here, evading the pursuit of the Federal Fleet, living on meager supplies and counting every grain! Yet the prime culprit behind all these wrongs is enjoying his life on land! Does that guy have any remorse at all?"

What a joke!

This is too unfair!

Si Si cleared her throat softly.

"I think... your manager must feel remorseful, so he entrusted us with the investigation of the wreckage of the ocean current power station."

Chen Jianhong said indignantly.

"What’s the use of investigating that thing! Except for the fools on the island, everyone here can see clearly it was the work of the Torch Church! If he had any backbone, he should have come back to take control or at least opened the weapons storage!"

Watching this man blinded by rage, Si Si was at a loss for how to comfort him, her face revealing a sense of helplessness.

Turning tail 180 degrees immediately after making a fatal mistake isn’t necessarily the best way to remedy it and could lead to an even more catastrophic outcome.

The war against the Torch Church needed the support of survivors from the southern sea area, and watching the survivors here slaughter each other did not align with the interests of the Alliance.

What they needed to do now was to apply the brakes to a train that had gone off the rails, not let the scale of the war expand even further.

Therefore, she did not tell the captain before her that she was holding the key that could unlock the doors to the weapons storage.

The time to use it hadn’t arrived yet...

Just as Si Si was pondering her next move, Ah Wei, who had been quiet for quite some time beside her, suddenly spoke up.

"Oh! Since your manager is with us now anyway, why don’t you all come over to our place too!"

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