This Game Is Too Real -
Chapter 689: Don’t Splatter Blood on Me
Chapter 689: Chapter 689: Don’t Splatter Blood on Me
After disembarking from the submarine, Muda led his two subordinates back to the fast boat and set sail towards Ring Island.
They had stayed at Potato Harbor for too long, and not returning to change shifts might arouse others’ suspicions.
Moreover, before changing shifts, he needed to have a talk with the brothers from the next shift to make some appropriate adjustments to the patrol area.
Such a big matter couldn’t be settled in one day; he needed enough time to ideologically persuade his subordinates.
Recalling the conversation just had on board the submarine, the subordinate standing beside him hesitated for a long time before he finally couldn’t help but speak up.
"Captain..."
"What is it?"
"Are we... betraying our people?"
This wasn’t only his concern.
The brother in the cockpit, who was standing there, also looked towards the deck, waiting for the captain’s answer.
Gazing at the distant rolling waves with a complex expression, Muda pondered for a long time, then shook his head, saying with a resolute look,
"No, we are not."
"But..." The sailor’s face still showed some hesitation, but this time, Muda’s gaze, as he turned back to look at him, was much more determined.
"The real enemies are those who drag us into an abyss of doom for their own ambitions, not those who would gamble their own lives to pull us out of that abyss. They are different from those believers who come from Haiye Province; they genuinely intend to end the wasteland on this planet. Maybe that’s why Mr. Sun Yuechi wrote them that letter."
"We have never betrayed the survivors living in these seas. Not now, and never in the future."
The two sailors exchanged glances, and although their eyes still carried confusion and a haze of uncertainty about the future, they felt a bit more at ease in their hearts.
Whether this was betrayal or not, they were already on this pirate ship.
And had no choice but to keep sailing it...
Someone first changed the subject, and the other person tacitly picked up the thread, chatting about something else to lighten the mood.
"Speaking of which, what do they eat on the beach? It smelled oddly good."
"I saw barbecue and beer... and that golden thing looked like the fries they mentioned?"
"Damn... they eat better than old me." The sailor steering the boat licked his lips enviously, feeling the hunger pangs stirring.
After all the trouble, he had worked through the night and was now just feeling hungry and tired.
Leaning against the ship’s rail, Muda yawned and said offhandedly,
"If you’re so curious, we’ll have to make a trip to their port someday."
"Boss, do you have their silver coins?"
"They plan to trade with the settlements on Ring Island, right? We can just exchange Federation Currency with them when the time comes."
"Good idea!"
Unknowingly, the Southern Islands Federation’s patrol boat moved further and further away toward the sunrise in the east.
No one noticed that the Islands Federation, forged from conspiracy, had already begun to show a slight fracture, silent and unnoticed...
...
Elsewhere, on the "Wasteland OL" official website.
The players who had visited the submarine brought the news back to the forum as soon as possible, sharing it with those sand sculptures who had never seen the world.
Killer Dagger, "Let me tell you guys! That submarine is badass! Over two hundred meters long; it’s practically an underwater aircraft carrier."
Debt Giant Eye, "Holy shit?! Really?!"
Hard Hat Youth with Brick, "The sun rises from the west; Ah Wei is not bragging?!"
Tail, "Giao! Don’t add random settings for me; when have I ever liked to brag? (ノ`Д)ノ"
Night Ten, "Shocked, Brother Guang has become so generous!"
No internet connection was available temporarily at Potato Harbor, and photos captured there couldn’t be immediately sent back to the shelter or uploaded to the official website.
Fortunately, with advanced technology, some enthusiastic people used the few words described by those worldly players to fine-tune the key points and uploaded them to AI drawing software. After continuous training, they really managed to produce a CG image that looked somewhat close to the real thing.
Seeing those imitation CG images generated by AI, people had their eye-candy advance. However, soon new debates arose.
Shipyard Master Zhang, "Wait a minute, you’re saying this thing can dive?!"
Foot Washing Liquor Drinker, "Nonsense!"
Fish Seller from Hulu Island, "I’m really curious how they produced such a large-diameter pressure hull?! And what about the welding technology?! If that thing could submerge 100 meters in reality, I’d eat it!"
Midnight With Umbrella Not Knife, "Brother, you’ve gone crazy. This is just a game!"
Hungry Force, "Man, you accept a 500-meter-long iron airship, why can’t you accept a 200-meter-long submarine?"
Bow to Hungry Force, "Exactly! They can weld thousands of kilometers of starships, but can’t they weld a 200-meter-long submarine?"
Who’s Levin with Ward’s Athlete’s Foot, "Sss... There’s a point there; maybe there’s a possibility! Isn’t Tiangong not far from the entrance to Shelter No. 70? Maybe their welding technology came from the recycled Tiangong Space Station!"
Ah, Er, I Need to Use the Restroom, "Damn... Thinking about it, Shelter No. 70 really has an amazing start!"
Lower The Voice I’m Bluron, "How can you play such good cards so bad?!"
Thinking of how other shelters were primed with research points and population the moment they opened their doors, compared to them getting hammered by Looters and Mutants right off the bat, a round of players from the alpha testing wept en masse, filled with envy.
Back then, even a fire stick could be flaunted as a Divine Artifact; unlike now when even Gauss sniper rifles could actually be bought with money.
Truth be told, it wasn’t just these Alpha test players that were filled with sighs; even Chu Guang, who was watching from inside the refuge, was engulfed in a wave of emotions.
In the strictest sense, these Alpha test players were the newcomers; he was actually the first to crawl out from Shelter No. 404.
Back then, you couldn’t even talk about a fire stick; at the start, you only had a dog by your side, and it was the kind that had two heads and chased after his tail, trying to bite it.
He was lucky that the survivors of Bet Street were relatively good to him, especially Little Fish’s family, who took particular care of him. Otherwise, it’s hard to say whether there would have been so much "work" afterward.
"To be able to misplay such a good hand so badly, it truly takes ’talent.’" Looking at the map of the Southern sea area, Chu Guang also felt a surge of emotions.
Although he wasn’t on the scene, based on the casual chats of players on the forum, as well as the summary binder Xiao Qi helped compile, he had a rough understanding of the whole situation.
Although Sun Yuechi was reluctant to admit it, Shelter No. 70 in the Southern sea area had effectively become the "Inner City Nobles."
Their merits were probably that they weren’t as decadent as the nobles of Jushi Inner City, and most of them were highly educated engineers and experts, with knowledge, experience, and lofty ideals and foresight far beyond that of the average Waste Land Wanderer.
The downside was that they might have been even more detached from the people than the Inner City Nobles themselves, given that the former often mingled in and out among the latter.
Even now, Huang Guangwei and Captain Chen believed that the development of this situation was due to the stupidity of the survivors in the Southern sea area, not because they lacked real communication.
If, in the past century, they had condescended to drop their enlightened arrogance and shared a little power with the ordinary survivors who had grown up, they might not have faced the emergence of a "Federation" that completely excluded the refuge.
Coral City, cultivated by the residents of Shelter No. 70, was the first to split in this conflict.
Their embarrassment stemmed not only from their dependence on ocean current power stations but also because they were caught between two separating groups.
Gazing at the stretch of blue sea, the more Chu Guang looked, the more he felt it was a pity.
Perched leisurely on the corner of the desk, swinging her small legs, Xiao Qi rested her chin on her hands, watching the side of Chu Guang’s face, and suddenly asked out of curiosity.
"Master."
Shifting his gaze from the forum, Chu Guang looked towards Xiao Qi.
"What is it?"
Xiao Qi blinked and said,
"If the Southern sea area is so important, why don’t you just take over directly, instead of letting players handle it themselves?"
Chu Guang smiled faintly.
"They’re right there on location, their understanding of the place is so much stronger than mine, confined here. Leaving it to them is the best choice."
"Moreover, I want them to initiate change in this wasteland on their own, to maximize the players’ creativity and passion. If they can use their own strength to resolve the crisis in the Southern sea area and unite its survivors, that would be more effective than any content pack I could release."
"And all we need to do is give them enough support at the critical moments."
Of course, he hadn’t left all the "work" to the players.
As the Manager of the Alliance, he had his own duties as well.
Not only the ongoing Sticky Community meeting but also a series of collaborations the Alliance is currently embarking on with the Camel Hump Kingdom.
A railway from Falling Leaves City to Petra Fortress had begun construction, which, once completed, would integrate the Camel Hump Kingdom into the Alliance’s terrestrial trade network.
The negotiations at the embassy in Silver Moon Bay had concluded, and embassy staff along with a batch of player-specific Sleep Cabins were already en route to Oasis No.4.
As save points extend outward along the Alliance’s railway, an increasing number of players will appear on the shipping route from the City of Dawn to Potato Harbor.
The majority of these players’ in-game activities will have a positive impact on the development of Potato Harbor.
And all of this was the invisible backstage work he did as a regular player...
...
Just as players were buzzing with speculation over the Dolphin Nuclear Submarine and the suspected upcoming new version, the distant Silver Moon Bay was also bustling with activity.
The morning bells had just rung, and the seagulls were already circling early around the steam sails’ chimneys and masts.
The boiler operators carrying shovels yawned as they walked onto the deck, and dock workers with towels over their shoulders were unloading crates of goods from the diverse barge ships, handing them over to ground staff who transported them to the harbor warehouses or the trade market a kilometer away.
Here one could find everything, precious timber and gorgeous silk, exotic spices with a strange aroma, boxes and bundles of gold and silver treasures, or the secret relics left from the Era of Prosperity.
The vessels docked in the port varied as well, from fishing boats you could circle in a dozen steps to oil tankers that’d take a minute to run from bow to stern.
As the largest port in the entire Luo Xia Province and the eastern region of the Central Continent, not only ships from the East and West Coasts often appeared here, but occasionally vessels from another continent also unloaded cargo here.
As such, the bustle here would usually commence from the moment the sun rose and continue until sunset.
Whether it was the dockworkers, the passersby on the adjacent streets, or the hawkers shouting in the street markets, everyone was working hard to make the jingling sound in their pockets louder.
However, in this port where wealth myths were born every day, the stories of overnight fortunes often had nothing to do with the busy majority.
Take Mogavi, who had recently struck it rich and was already passed out drunk in a tavern early in the morning, bragging loudly to other drunks who had also been hungover all night.
"You landlubbers who’ve never been to sea could never imagine the astonishing sights! Boxes and bundles of gold are strewn across the sand waiting to be picked up; a stash of assault rifles could be traded for a piece of mink fur worth a fortune!"
Hearing that withered, hoarse voice, a drunk at the next table downed a swig of watered-down alcohol and chuckled with mockery.
"Pal, we don’t need to go to sea."
"That’s right!"
Another drunk took up the thread, also laughing as he spoke.
"I’ve got five shops at Silvermoon Port all rented to Alliance Merchants. They pay me a sackful of rent money every month. I could sit here drinking all day long and not worry about being broke."
"Just like you, buddy, I’ve got a thousand dairy cows and ten thousand pigs at Farm No.9 in Oasis. The more those Blue Jackets eat, the more I earn."
Mogavi stared blankly at those guys.
Well, I’ll be damned!
They can boast even more than me!
The tavern owner, sitting behind the bar, couldn’t bear it any longer. He slammed the polished glass onto the table and couldn’t help but say.
"Since you’re all so wealthy now, you might as well settle the tab before I close in two hours."
The drunkard, who kept ten thousand pigs, waved his hand.
"We’re so familiar with each other, let’s stick to the old rules — put it on my tab first—"
His words had barely finished when the owner glared at him, interrupting him.
"Don’t even think about it! You already owe me 1147 Gold Camels, and if you don’t pay today, I’ll sell you to the dock to work off the debt as a laborer!"
The drunkard’s face immediately twisted into a bitter gourd, pleading.
"Oh please, don’t send me there! I’ll definitely pay it off in a couple of days!"
Watching those wailing drunks, Mogavi pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and then slammed his fist down on the table with force.
"Damn... that is really bad luck!"
These poor wretches!
Bickering with them is just a waste of time!
He had been sitting here all night, boasting all night long, inflating Potato Harbor — not much bigger than a fishing village — into a gold mine brimming with gold.
The reason he was advertising so hard to those folks was not out of any charitable heart or to repay the kindness of those generous people; it was purely to drum up investment for his next deal.
The port was right next to the Baiyue Strait; even if he didn’t disclose its location, someone would eventually discover it.
Moreover, there were so many sailors and mercenaries on the deck at that time; he didn’t expect these money-driven guys to keep any secrets for him, especially since he hadn’t shared his earnings with them.
Maybe over a drink, those bastards would sell his secret to wealth clean.
Since Potato Harbor was bound to be discovered sooner or later, exploiting the time and information gap to expand the business as much as possible was the smart move before others trampled down the threshold of that port.
To do this, the funds he had on hand were obviously not enough; he needed to bring in some rich, foolish folks.
It would be best if some royal aristocrat took a fancy to his trade, threw a large sum of money at him to buy a fleet outright, or even let him transport goods using the royal family’s fleet.
That way, at least, he wouldn’t have to be at the mercy of those captains’ whims.
Unfortunately, his business had just started. Although the goods he had could please the royal aristocrats, he, with no status to speak of, was not yet qualified to appear at their banquets and could only come to the small taverns near the port to try his luck.
Just as Mogavi was shaking his head and about to settle his bill and leave, two men in black robes walked in from outside the tavern.
The tavern owner looked toward the door, thinking they had come for a drink, and politely said.
"Sorry, guests, we’re already closed, and we’re cleaning up now."
The man in the lead didn’t speak but just glanced at the drunks sitting here drinking, then his gaze settled on Mogavi’s face.
The two exchanged a glance, one of them walked to the door, while the leader went to the bar, took out a hundred paper currency, and tossed it on the table.
"I’ll pay for his tab."
The tavern owner was startled, quickly took the money, and placed the change on a metal tray.
However, the man didn’t even glance at the change, but walked straight towards Mogavi.
From the moment those two had entered, Mogavi had been quietly observing them.
Especially when he saw the man out a hundred and paid his tab so easily, not even looking at the change before walking over to him, his heart thumped wildly, nearly leaping to his throat.
Goodness gracious!
What fortuitousness!
He had finally found the wealthy patron he had been waiting for!
Looking at the black-robed man who stopped in front of him, Mogavi cleared his throat, pushed his chair back, and rose, extending his hand in a friendly gesture.
"May I know how to address this gentleman?"
The man in the black robe looked at him expressionlessly, shook his extended hand, and then let go, saying.
"Singer, someone is interested in your business. I wonder if Mr. Mogavi would honor us with his presence."
Mogavi was taken aback.
He hadn’t expected the man before him to be just an employee hired by someone. But it was precisely after realizing this that the eagerness in his eyes became even more intense.
"May I ask who your employer is?"
The man called Singer continued in an even tone.
"He is lodging nearby; please follow me."
Watching the man turn and walk toward the door, Mogavi didn’t feel there was any issue and followed hot on his heels, full of eagerness.
The group left the tavern, walking south along the bustling street for a while, passing several luxurious hotels where Mogavi thought they had arrived, only to see the two men showed no sign of stopping.
Especially since one of them slowed down and fell behind him, injecting a faint sense of alertness into Mogavi’s heart.
But he still suppressed the questions in his heart.
After all, this was Silver Moon City’s turf, and while the security here couldn’t be called excellent, abductions on the street were rare.
Moreover, the two men’s demeanor didn’t suggest bandits; they seemed more like noble retainers, and he, often dealing with royal servants, was confident in his ability to judge people.
After a good half hour’s walk, they moved from the bustling market to a corner of the port area.
Two warships flying the Double Knife Flag were docked beside the quay, and about a dozen muscular men, with Ripper Rifles strapped to their backs, stood ashore.
This entire dock seemed to have been exclusively taken over by these two warships. Other ships stayed far away, and even the dock workers and patrol officers kept their distance.
At this moment, Mogavi finally panicked.
He glanced at the person closely following behind him, then looked at Singer walking in front, and asked with a trembling voice tinged with a trace of fear,
"Who, who exactly is your boss?"
Singer smiled faintly, stopped in his tracks, and gestured with his chin towards the ship ahead.
"Lord Archim is on that ship up ahead, go on up and have a talk."
Hearing this, Mogavi felt his heart plummet from his throat down to the abyss, bemoaning his fate, only regretting that he had been blinded by greed.
The man in the black robe stood motionless behind him, clearly having no intention of letting him go.
Not just that, the dozen or so soldiers carrying rifles near the dock were also staring unwaveringly at his face.
Seeing their formidable posture, Mogavi feared that if he even dared to step back, those guys would rush up without hesitation and tear him to pieces.
Seeing him standing still and not moving, the man called Singer politely reminded him with an impatient tone,
"Mr. Mogavi, please board the ship."
"Yes..."
Under the piercing gaze, Mogavi could only force a bitter smile, and with legs heavy as lead, he trekked towards the direction of the flagship’s gangway.
These people were from the West Winds Empire.
Their notorious unreasonableness was well-known throughout Silver Moon Bay; even the governor of Silvermoon Port and the lord of Silver Moon City had no way to deal with them, only hoping the protection of the Alliance would make them restrain themselves.
Mogavi never imagined that honest trading would provoke this scourge, and even less so did he expect that they would break the rules so blatantly by abducting people straight from the bustling district!
Of course.
He also admitted that part of the reason was his own fault. If not for his greed, if not for his brain numbed by alcohol, he surely would not have fallen for such an obvious trap.
After some dawdling, Mogavi finally boarded the deck and met Captain Archim in a lavishly decorated captain’s quarters.
He saw the bearded man slightly lift his nose, eyeing him as if interrogating a prisoner, and casually spoke,
"Have you been to Potato Harbor?"
Mogavi didn’t dare hide anything, nodding nervously.
"Yes, my lord, I have just come back from there."
Hearing this response, Captain Archim slightly narrowed his eyes, which glinted like the flickering tongue of a venomous snake.
Mogavi felt a chill down his spine, just about to ask what instructions this lord before him had, when Captain Archim slowly began to speak.
"I need you to do something for me."
It was the tone of a command.
Clearly, there was no room for negotiation.
With his mind racing on how to escape from here, Mogavi quickly nodded.
"Please do tell."
Pleased with the merchant’s attitude before him, Captain Archim methodically continued,
"I will give you two cargo ships, take them to Potato Harbor, it’ll suffice as long as you get them to dock successfully at the port. Leave the rest to us, the matter is that simple."
Mogavi asked tentatively,
"What goods... are those two ships carrying?"
Archim looked at him expressionlessly and said,
"You don’t need to know."
Guessing what might be on the ships, Mogavi swallowed hard, forced out a cooperative smile, and obligingly nodded,
"Of course! No problem, my lord! I’m well acquainted with those guys at Potato Harbor, whatever goods you wish to transport there... But, the journey isn’t short, may I go back to pack my bags before we set off?"
He swore to himself.
If they let him back to the bustling area, he would definitely run without a second word, and he figured the Alliance’s embassy would be very interested in this information. Perhaps they’d even provide him two bodyguards.
However, Archim merely glanced at him dispassionately and said with a sardonic half-smile,
"Do you think I’d let you go down?"
Chilling under that cold smirk, Mogavi immediately squeezed out a smile that was barely better looking than a cry.
"I... I won’t go down then. So, respected lord, when do we depart?"
"Right now will do; two ships are already waiting in the Poluo Sea. I’ll personally see you off," Archim said as he pulled out a diamond-studded pocket watch, took a glance at it, and casually tossed it into a drawer.
Suddenly noticing the small merchant’s more appalling than tearful smile, Archim’s gaze softened slightly, and with a friendly appearance, he reassuringly patted his shoulder,
"Relax, we’re only going there to reclaim what belongs to us. Do a good job following me, and once it’s done, I’ll be sure not to let you down."
Mogavi watched this confident individual before him with a forced smile of gratitude while internally he was already cursing up a storm.
These damn short lifers!
Not content with throwing away their own lives, they were dragging him along!
All he hoped now was that these people would keep their distance when they died and that their blood wouldn’t splatter on him...
—
(Thank you "Yan Xia ycl" for the chieftain reward!!!)
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