This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 688: I am now a person of the Alliance, try to touch me and see what happens?

Chapter 688: Chapter 688: I am now a person of the Alliance, try to touch me and see what happens?

Before setting foot on that dock, Chen Jianhong had never felt so profoundly that life was truly beautiful.

Especially after he had just shown off a plate of barbecued meat, followed by downing a big glass of chilled beer, the tears... or rather the headache-inducing kind, were almost spilling out of his eyes.

Indeed, this is what it means to be alive!

Those miserable days were finally over!

And at that moment, Chen Jianhong finally understood why that guy Sun Yuechi didn’t want to be the Manager anymore.

If he had known life in the Alliance was this comfortable, he would have given up being the Captain too!

But understanding was understanding.

When he had the chance to meet him again, he was still going to punch that guy hard in the face.

To avenge these two and a half months of hardship!

Although it was now morning, for the night-shift crew of the Dolphin, it felt just like dinner time.

A plate of barbecued meat had just been shown off, and the waitress in her uniform brought over another.

Gazing at the oily grilled meat, Chen Jianhong couldn’t help but ask curiously.

"What kind of meat is this?"

A player at the same table chuckled and said,

"The tail of a ’Garbage King’!"

Chen Jianhong was taken aback.

"?What’s that?"

Another player at the table slapped the back of the head of the talkative one.

"Don’t tell him that, he won’t understand, cough... it’s just an ordinary lizard tail."

"Oh oh..."

Listening to the explanation from the Residents of the refuge, Chen Jianhong nodded in bewilderment, then reached out for another skewer of meat and brought it close to his mouth for a swipe.

Although it sounded a bit strange, it was normal compared to their diet in the past while...

The whole beach was filled with the aroma of barbecued meat, all sorts of exotic ingredients, along with mushrooms and berries harvested from the rainforest, and some leaves giving off a strange fragrance.

The survivors and crew from the Dolphin caught hold of the barbecue and beer and made quite a show of it, gobbling it down as if they were reincarnated from starving ghosts; it was heart-wrenching to watch.

"Thank you all so much!" A middle-aged woman with a haggard face, holding back tears, grasped Si Si’s hand, her voice choked with sincere gratitude, "Until yesterday, we thought we were done for. If we hadn’t met you, I really don’t know how much longer I could have held on..."

"It’s okay, it’s all over now," Si Si said softly, patting the back of her hand.

In fact, judging by their threshold for suffering, the survivors from the Southern Islands Federation weren’t exaggerating.

Before the war, they had indeed ended the Wasteland to a certain extent, living a prosperous and civilized life in a relatively closed environment.

By contrast, the Waste Land Wanderers from other regions in the Central Continent had much grimmer lives.

Take Qingquan City for example.

Before the Alliance arrived, most of the survivors there had rarely eaten proper Food in their lives; nutritional paste and boiled green wheat were the daily norm for most people, with only Slave Owners, crooked merchants, Mercenaries, and scoundrels living a few days worth living.

But she wouldn’t accuse them of being melodramatic.

Every kind of suffering was real, though the severity could vary, there was no distinction between noble and lowly suffering.

At least that’s how she saw it.

Watching a group of devouring survivors, Si Si raised her Right Hand near her eyes in a gesture of gazing far away, a satisfied smile on her face.

This food live streaming was so stress-relieving.

"Whoa! Everyone eat up, don’t be shy! It’s on Elder Fang, after all!"

Elder Fang just happened to walk by and gave them a sidelong glance, kindly reminding,

"Indeed, don’t be shy. After all, it’s the money of the Baiyue Strait Development Company that’s being spent."

"Giao?!" Si Si looked at him in shock, "I thought you were treating us!"

Elder Fang smiled lightly.

"How could that be? Do I look like the kind of person who would spend his own money to do good?"

Si Si stared in astonishment at the man who could say such a thing without blushing.

"Yikes! Heartless man, I wonder what Miss Dolly saw in you!"

Elder Fang thought seriously for half a second.

"Maybe... she has good taste?"

Si Si stared at him with surprise, her mouth agape, but she couldn’t utter a word.

What a tough guy!

Is this what it means to boast so naturally?

...

In a matter of minutes, most of the barbecued meat piled on the long Table had been shown off.

As for the clams, snails, and oysters, they were left untouched, heaped to the side – no one even bothered with them.

It wasn’t surprising.

These past two months, what they had eaten the most was stuff from the sea, and now they probably felt like vomiting at the sight of seafood.

With full bellies and satisfied hearts, people sat on the beach, some singing while gazing at the sea, some spread-eagled lying down, and others simply dozing off on the sand.

The owner of Yiren Tavern, having been busy for a while, finally managed to bring up her signature dish—fried chips—just before the guests fell asleep.

He was carrying two baskets woven from rattan in his hands, grinning as he ran toward the beach and dumped the chips onto the long Table like feeding pigs, right where a stack of meat had just been cut.

"Here come the fries!"

Inhaling the enticing aroma of carbs, everyone’s eyes turned toward the small mountain of golden yellow, their curious gazes tinged with a hint of yearning.

"This stuff smells even better than grilled meat!"

Regrettably, they were too full to eat any more, with many sitting on the ground unable to even move their legs.

The only one still maintaining some semblance of restraint, Captain Chen Jianhong, also cast a curious look at the pile of golden-yellow, stick-like food.

"What’s that?"

Fang Chang, walking up beside him, said with a smile,

"Fries, a special delicacy here, want to try?"

As he was speaking, Captain Chen Jianhong already stretched out his hand, took one, and put it in his mouth, his eyes instantly lighting up.

After a long while, he wiped his greasy hands on a napkin and looked at Fang Chang with a face full of emotion,

"I can’t believe it... How did you come up with so many different kinds of food?"

Fang Chang said with a laugh,

"This is just a little bit, wait until you get to the City of Dawn, I guarantee you can have three meals a day for 365 days without repeating a single one."

Captain Chen Jianhong wore a skeptical expression.

But seeing the unwavering look in the other man’s eyes and thinking about someone who was happily forgetting home in the City of Dawn, he found himself half-believing.

Just then, a commotion suddenly came from the direction of the distant beach, followed by an exclamation.

"A boat!"

"It’s coming from the east!"

"A Federal patrol boat! Damn it!"

At the sound of the exclamation, people who were relaxed just a second ago panicked, scrambling up from the beach. Without even time to grab their shoes, they hobbled toward the dunes above the beach.

It was clear that the Navy of the Southern Islands Federation had been torturing them lately, so much so that even a speedboat could scare them to this extent.

As Captain Chen Jianhong reflexively reached for his gun, Fang Chang quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and patted it.

"Leave it to us."

With that, he gave a hand signal to Right Hand and then stood up to walk toward the direction of the pier.

...

The speedboat quickly docked at the pier, appearing like a light leaf beside the Dolphin-class submarine.

Like a leaf fallen at the foot of an elephant.

As Muda boarded the pier, he noticed that the people on the shore were panicking and standing up, fleeing in the opposite direction from him.

Among them were both the drunk rebels of the Dolphin and those Coral City residents who had been taken hostage by the rebels.

Recognizing the identities of those people, the sailor following behind Muda was taken aback for a moment, then shouted towards the shore,

"Quick, get away from those rebels, we’re here to rescue you—"

If they could rally those survivors, maybe they could subdue the crew of rebels!

However, before he could finish his sentence, a hand landed on his shoulder.

"That’s enough, it’s useless."

Faced with the astonished look from his comrade, Muda shook his head and withdrew his hand.

"Do you think they are running away from someone? From those rebels they were sitting with?"

The sailor was at a loss for words.

And just then, a shout came from the shore responding to his earlier words.

"Who asked you to rescue us!"

"Wasn’t it you who cut off the power supply to Coral City! Stop pretending to be innocent!"

"You murderers!"

"Get off the land of the Alliance!"

Realizing that there were only three federal soldiers who landed on the beach, the people who were running away a second ago all stopped in their tracks, casting unfriendly looks toward them on the pier.

"Stay calm."

Muda gave his subordinates a look and then turned to face the line of people approaching the pier, getting straight to the point,

"Someone entrusted us to deliver an item—"

He had barely started speaking when he suddenly stopped, staring dumbfounded.

He saw the two girls who had disappeared near the ruins of the electric station, now walking toward them from the nearby beach. The one with short hair even waved her arms and greeted them.

"Oh! Long time no see!"

Not just Muda, but the two sailors behind him also wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

As the group approached, Muda stared blankly at the two for a while before swallowing and asking,

"What... what happened to you?"

Right Hand laughed with a hee-hee.

"We were almost goners, but luckily we caught a ride... By the way, where’s the item?"

After staring blankly at this guy for quite some time, he looked back at the speedboat.

"...It’s down below on the speedboat, we’re hanging it with a fishing net."

"Oh! Thank you so much!"

Mission accomplished!

Right Hand excitedly ran in the direction of the speedboat, already eager to complete the mission.

Without stopping her, Muda turned to look at Fang Chang and Captain Chen Jianhong, who were standing in front of him, as well as Si Si and other players who had come to watch the commotion, and after a pause, he said.

"We had agreed that the vessels from Shelter No. 70 are not to get supplies from you... I need an explanation, what’s going on with this submarine, and these people?"

"We haven’t broken the agreement," Fang Chang continued with a smile, "Mr. Chen, and those people on the beach, they are now citizens of the Alliance."

Muda was stunned.

"What?"

Before Fang Chang could speak, Chen Jianhong, standing to the side, glared provocatively at the man in front of him and said with an air of arrogance.

"That’s right, I’m a citizen of the Alliance now. Try laying a finger on me."

Muda didn’t look at him but stared intently at Fang Chang and said word by word,

"They’re criminals. Does your motto of ’suffering survivors uniting’ mean you’re shielding these criminals to help them escape trial?"

Fang Chang looked at him and asked,

"So, what crimes have they committed?"

Muda stared unblinkingly at him.

"War crimes; they must pay for the sinking and looting of those twelve merchant ships and for the crew who lie buried at sea—"

"Stop slandering us!"

An angry roar interrupted his words, and Chen Jianhong stepped forward, staring into his eyes with grinding teeth.

"Sinking twelve merchant ships? With this submarine? Tell me, how are we supposed to have sunk those twelve ships? Ram them with the bow?"

Before Muda had a chance to respond, a sailor beside them pulled out a wanted poster.

"Here’s the evidence—"

"That’s not evidence; it’s just a piece of rubbish with some nonsense on it and a steel stamp."

Fang Chang glanced at the paper and continued to speak to the sailor holding the wanted poster.

"Occasionally, Waste Land Wanderers flee to our place to live incognito, and then their enemies come looking for revenge. For fairness, we allow both parties to make their case in court; it’s better than settling things with a street brawl."

"If the plaintiff’s evidence can indeed prove that a citizen of the Alliance had committed serious crimes against humanity on distant lands before obtaining citizenship, we would give them two choices: serve a sentence in redemption as an Alliance citizen, or strip them of their Alliance citizenship and order them to leave within a fixed period... However, the precondition is that we are talking about evidence."

"What weapons were used to sink those twelve ships? Where are the coordinates of the attacks, and what are the times and dates of each attack... You need to submit at least this evidence to us and ensure its authenticity, instead of blustering with empty rhetoric."

The sailor wanted to say something but was held back by Muda’s hand.

"He’s right, we do need those things."

Initially, he hadn’t thought it mattered, but now he had changed his mind.

Not only because of the sea monsters appearing beneath the ocean current power station and the signal from the Mind Interference Device, but also due to the unusual reaction of the officer who interrogated him...

All this made it hard not to suspect some conspiracy behind the scenes.

The sailor looked blankly at his superior, then at the people in front of him, and could only grudgingly stuff the wanted poster back into his chest.

Fang Chang looked unexpectedly at this NPC named Muda.

It seemed there were sensible people here, not all headstrong fools. He then turned to look at Captain Chen Jianhong.

"To appease our neighbors, would you be willing to take them on a tour of the submarine? We will serve as an impartial witness, photographing and taking evidence of the ’weapons’ they allege. Of course, you can refuse since you are under no obligation to prove your innocence."

"No problem," said Chen Jianhong with a mocking glint in his eye, looking at the three before him, "Browse to your heart’s content. And I’m also curious to see if it was our toilet plunger that flipped over your ships or if your eyes are in the back of your head."

The two sailors stared at him with rage-filled eyes.

Ignoring the provocation, Muda gave Fang Chang a serious nod.

"Thank you."

Standing to the side, Si Si unfolded her arms and raised her right hand.

"Let me be the witness."

In addition to her, several other players eager for entertainment also raised their hands with interest.

"Take me along!"

"Me, me, me!"

"Let’s stick together, brothers!"

In an instant, over sixty witnesses gathered, outnumbering the crew aboard the Dolphin.

Although indifferent to the dispute between the Federation and Shelter No. 70, they were interested in visiting this ’freeloaded’ nuclear submarine.

Among them were semi-professional experts, ready to observe with a learning mindset.

Fang Chang was not stingy and briskly waved his hand.

"It’s all yours."

So, the captain of the Federal patrol team and the captain of the Dolphin-class submarine returned to the submarine with a swarm of players.

The task did not take long.

After all, as Captain Chen Jianhong had shown, it was merely a cargo submarine, its power system being the most advanced feature, without any offensive weapons installed.

Following behind Chen Jianhong, the deeper Muda looked, the heavier his heart felt; by the end, he lapsed into silence.

Not just him.

The two subordinates who had been following him were also subdued.

Especially the sailor with the wanted poster, who, after seeing the places where the survivors cultivated seaweed and synthesized nutrient paste, wore a look of astonishment.

Is this the so-called Underwater Ghost of the Federal Navy?

They found no weapons inside, no loot from robberies, just a group of Coral City residents and traces of a struggle for survival in a harsh environment...

Who has made these poor people live such a miserable existence...

Muda clenched his fists involuntarily, his eyes now filled with uncontrollable anger.

Anyone with a shred of conscience could see there were none of the crimes the Federal Navy accused them of. Instead, there was ample evidence of wrongdoing by another group.

He took these photos, then took a deep breath and turned to Captain Chen Jianhong beside him, his tone grave.

"I apologize for the things my subordinate and I previously said," Fang Chang began, "You are victims of this war, not war criminals, at least I can’t see any... evidence that could prove the so-called ’crimes’ stated on that wanted poster."

"I can apologize for myself, you don’t have to speak for me, sir..." the Sailor murmured, stepping forward with reluctance yet a sincere look in his eyes as he faced Captain Chen, "I’m sorry, but there was nothing I could do, I just followed orders from above... those goddamned guys, I really don’t get what they were thinking."

"Let the past be past; I’m now a citizen of the Alliance," said Chen Jianhong with a shrug, no longer looking down on them with sarcasm.

In fact, he could understand that these people before him were not the warmongers, but like him, ordinary people innocently drawn into the fray.

Watching Muda, deep in thought, and the Sailor, confused and looking down, Si Si lowered her crossed arms and began to speak slowly.

"It’s not difficult to understand. Some people want this war to go on; they always need a reason to continue. Like an escaped attack submarine, a Death Ghost lurking under the sea... Its existence is enough to send most who are in the dark into a panic, and in their induced fear, they become silent accomplices in this war while conveniently covering up certain things that they don’t want known."

At this point, she paused, then continued in a half-joking tone.

"Actually, before you came here, I’ve been thinking whether you’d hand over that detector to the Federal Navy... I bet that if you did, we probably wouldn’t see you again, and you wouldn’t have had the chance to see these things."

Muda remained silent for a moment, speaking with a complex expression.

"If it were yesterday, I might have argued with you, but now I really don’t have the confidence... Perhaps you are right, we indeed have some problems within our ranks."

To be honest, he had indeed had similar feelings before.

Especially when he realized that there might be a traitor in the navy, he vaguely sensed that he and his two subordinates could be silenced for knowing too much.

That’s why he had colluded with the two men behind him, concealed part of the clues, and delivered the detector here at the first opportunity.

Watching Muda’s complex expression, Si Si spoke again.

"Shall we strike a deal?"

Muda looked at her.

"What sort of deal?"

Si Si continued.

"This is the sea area under your patrol, and the Sailors executing tasks here are your men; they listen to you more than to the Federal Navy headquarters, right?"

"Of course, they’re all lads from Ring Island; we all come from the same community," Muda answered without hesitation, then looked at her quizzically, "Is there a problem with that?"

Si Si curved the corners of her mouth and continued.

"Since the existing evidence is already enough to prove these crew members are innocent, why don’t you turn a blind eye to the existence of this submarine and the crew members who’ve come ashore? Just pretend you haven’t seen them."

Muda was taken aback for two seconds, looking at her with disbelief and amusement.

"How can we turn a blind eye to such a large submarine, nearly six hundred people, how do you expect us to overlook them?"

"Very simple," said Si Si with a slight smile, "usually we’ll keep the Dolphin submerged at the bottom of the sea, and there’s no need to surface unless absolutely necessary. Ah, and if the Federal Navy happens to come by, remember to give us a heads-up; we’ll move it farther away, and also let the Residents of the refuge be aware."

According to current intelligence, although the Southern Islands Federation might not have a decent army, they still have at least a dozen warships prowling the Southern sea area.

At present, the Alliance’s foundation in the Baiyue Strait is not stable; despite having a strong army, they lack reliable anti-ship weapons. If a real battle were to happen, winning could end up being a pyrrhic victory, possibly pushing the survivors in this sea area completely to the side of the Torch Church.

Compared to that, there are better options, like redirecting the guns that were initially aimed at Shelter No. 70 towards the Torch Church believers in Haiye Province.

In fact, just from the way those shamans treat the local survivors, it’s evident that the strength of the Southern Islands Federation is not weak, and they are even capable of threatening the Torch.

Otherwise, they would have stretched their hands in openly like they did with the survivors around Brocade River City, instead of resorting to infiltration tactics.

Muda stared at Si Si without blinking and frowned slightly as he spoke.

"I don’t understand... Why won’t you let me take this opportunity to clear their names?"

In his view, it was a good opportunity.

If they could let more people know about the ordeal of the over five hundred survivors on the Dolphin, they could at least garner the support of the thirty thousand survivors from Coral City scattered across the various islands.

At that time, even the President would have to respond.

However, upon hearing his words, Si Si just smiled faintly.

"So, how do you plan to clear their names? By plastering these photos onto the newspapers or throwing them onto the desk of the Federal Navy headquarters? That won’t help at all. Even if you could prove the Dolphin was a misunderstanding, you can’t prove that the incident with the ocean current power station is unrelated to Shelter No. 70, nor can you get those who plan to lean toward the Torch Church to stand with us."

The latter was critical.

The Southern Islands Federation was not without people who saw the truth, but this didn’t mean they would necessarily stand on the side of fact.

Haiye Province had the technology, resources, land, and everything else that the Southern sea area needed.

Attracting the survivors from the Southern sea area required more than just evidence; they also needed to make the Baiyue Strait an acceptable alternative.

Whether it was on economic issues or the management of "slime mold," if the Alliance could do better than the Torch Church, most people would realign their allegiance out of self-interest.

That was the entirety of the plan.

Muda looked at her, stunned, and took a deep breath.

"Then what are you going to do?"

Si Si said,

"We’ll take it step by step. Before revealing the evidence, we need to pull as many people as possible onto our chariot."

Muda asked earnestly,

"Like?"

Si Si replied, "Like the places closest to us, like your hometown... the water-troubled Ring Island. We had previously promised the governor there to solve the freshwater supply problem, and now it’s time to give him an answer."

Muda looked at her with an odd expression.

"You’ve solved it? That’s a settlement of one hundred thousand people... do you know how much freshwater they need?"

Si Si said with a smile,

"I know, but so what? We are now standing on a piece of land that you once abandoned and thought impossible to conquer. Not to mention one hundred thousand people, even ten million, a hundred million... we have a way to supply them."

Muda swallowed.

"Then how do you plan to deliver the freshwater? By ship?"

Si Si shook her head and said leisurely,

"That would be too cumbersome. We prefer to lay a two-hundred-nautical-mile long water pipe... It’s true that before we didn’t have a good solution, but now things are different. We have the Dolphin and we also have over five hundred experts skilled in underwater construction, who have abundant construction experience."

She patted the solid hull beside her, her face beaming with a radiant smile as she continued,

"All you need to do is turn a blind eye to them and help us keep an eye on the Federal fleet."