This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 691: The "Melee" By Some Mistake

Chapter 691: Chapter 691: The "Melee" By Some Mistake

"Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Right at the peak of player log-ins and log-offs, a post that sparked a hot topic was bumped to the top of the forum’s homepage.

Night Ten, "Big news! There’s an event at Potato Harbor the day after tomorrow! (funny)"

Ever since Qingquan City was cleared, that damn "Dog plan" hasn’t rolled out any new events for a long time.

Once everyone heard there was an event, they didn’t care where it was or how far it was from them; they all got excited in an instant.

Edge Shoveling, "What event?"

Spring Water Commander, "Wait, weren’t you just in City of Dawn?"

Debt Giant Eye, "Exactly! I saw you yesterday, with that NPC from the Academy!"

Night Ten, "Not important! My brother is at Potato Harbor, so that means I’m there too. (funny)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group, "Damn it, stop beating around the bush and tell us what the actual situation is?"

Fang Chang, "According to clues provided by the South Island Federation’s Maritime Patrol Team, it seems someone lured them away from their patrol area."

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Finally, someone with something substantial to say. (sidelong glance)"

Spring Water Commander, "Interesting, so they’re moving the annoying people out of the way first?"

Fang Chang, "Yes, if the identity of the incoming attackers makes the South Island Federation’s Maritime Patrol Team uncomfortable, then there’s only one possibility."

Spring Water Commander, "The Torch?"

Fang Chang, "Eighty percent sure. Only this way can it explain why the federal authorities would arrange such a drill and leave such an obvious loophole."

"After all, if it were forces like the Army or the West Winds Empire which have nothing to do with the South Islands Federation, even if they suddenly attacked Potato Harbor, it shouldn’t really matter to the South Islands Federation, right?"

"Furthermore, I can even infer that the ones who are going to strike Potato Harbor might be the same group or at least used the same weapons as those who sunk the ’Golden Coast’ survey ship... And that’s one of the reasons why they are so sensitive."

Gnome King Riches, "What do you think it’ll be? Those winged mutants we ran into in Brocade River City before? (curious)"

Fang Chang, "Why can’t it be the ones swimming in the sea? Hasn’t that NPC named Huang Guangwei and the submarine he brought already hinted at the presence of Aquatic Variant Humans along the coasts of the Southern sea area?"

Si Si, "Makes sense, although I feel like the possibility of aquatic Variants isn’t small, seems like mobility might be an issue for those big guys."

Spring Water Commander, "Damn, I thought it was going to be some major event. I’m outta here."

Canyon Fleeing Mole, "Guess that’s everything out in the open. (funny)"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level, "F*ck, you must have a tight bro-ship with Brother Guang?"

Elena, "The script’s been seen, confirmed. (funny)"

Tail, "Whoa! Pass it on! Dolly got cucked by the damn "Dog plan"!

Fang Chang, "?"

The thread quickly veered off topic.

However, most players had no objections to Brother Fang Chang’s analysis.

Up until now, updates in "Wasteland OL" were rather logical; there hadn’t been any bad events where popular NPCs turn evil and then suddenly get redeemed in rotation.

In other words, players could also use the intel within the Game to analyze the next version’s main storyline, and even predict in advance the traps set by the "Dog plan."

Based on the available information, it was almost 90% certain that the event in two days would be a mutant attack, and from beneath the sea no less!

At this moment, Chu Guang, sitting in the shelter and peeking at the screen, had read through the discussion from beginning to end and felt a surge of admiration.

Though the analysis was a bit far-fetched, there really wasn’t anything wrong with it from the perspective of the Game.

From the player’s point of view, the tactical layer was pretty much all that they could analyze.

As for Chu Guang himself, the only manager and planner, of course, he was more focused on the strategic level.

"...If the Torch Church really pulls out the mutant card, it seems they don’t have many other cards to play from the sea."

Looking at Chu Guang, who had a slight smile on his face, Xiao Qi sitting on the corner of the table tilted her head in confusion.

"Is there a connection between the two things?"

Chu Guang slowly spoke as he sipped his milk tea.

"Moving people out of the way because they’re afraid of being seen implies that they’ve probably used this card more than once. Given the choice, I don’t think they would risk using the same card over and over again unnecessarily."

If that were indeed the case, it wasn’t hard to understand why that group of crazy people with no bottom line was so unusually cautious towards the Survivor Forces of the Southern sea area.

The Survivor Forces of the Southern sea area were the only key for them to extend their tentacles into the sea and break out of their strategic predicament.

They needed the research base at Coral City, and even more so, the Lair at Tiangong Space Station.

The issue was that their forces in the ocean were too weak.

Bullying a few civilian ships might be nothing, but as soon as they faced the military vessels of the South Islands Federation, those Variants controlled by Mind Interference Devices would be a joke.

That was a force that had developed for two centuries among Survivor Forces, even if their strength was not comparable to the "Degenerate Empire," at least it was a strong start.

Certainly stronger than the Federation that developed entirely based on "picking up trash."

That’s why the Torch Church adopted a gradual infiltration approach to the Survivors of the Southern sea area, even using the precious Mind Interference Device as bait.

However, just as the Torch was investing heavily for the annexation of the Survivors of the Southern sea area, the sudden intervention of the Federation introduced a bit of uncertainty into their plans.

It seems that the players’ actions in the Baiyue Strait indeed made the Bishop in charge of the region anxious.

The corners of Chu Guang’s eyebrows couldn’t help but raise with an amusing arc, and his fingers intertwined on the table.

This feeling was quite interesting.

Although he had not yet faced the opponent, he could roughly guess which cards the opponent held, as well as their strategic goals and weaknesses.

The only suspense now was "how accurate the players’ predictions about the Dog plan" really were.

If they actually guessed right, that the impending offensive was indeed orchestrated by the Torch Church, and the attackers were the Aquatic Variant Humans bred by the Torch around the Death Coast...

Then the battle hadn’t even started yet, and they would have already won a third of it.

Thinking of this, the smile on Chu Guang’s face grew even more pleased, and he took another sip of his tea.

"Too interesting."

Sitting on the pen holder, dangling her legs, Xiao Qi stealthily watched Chu Guang without speaking, her eyes gleaming with admiration.

Though she didn’t know what had happened, she felt as though her master, who hadn’t seemed to do anything, had won again...

...

The flagship on the vast blue sea rose and fell with the waves, like a lone leaf on the water.

A merchant dressed in fine clothes stood at the railing, watching the white foam split by the bow and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

Looking back on his busy life, Mogavi thought it had been quite exciting.

As an unnoticed little figure, he first witnessed the army’s grand expedition across the continent against the Grand Canyon, then personally experienced the Falcon Kingdom’s war of annihilation against the desert kings.

During that time, the far-off River Valley Province also erupted into the tumultuous Bone Chewing Chaos, the united survivor forces formed an impregnable alliance, and the Giant Stone City residents overthrew the mountainous burden on them. The land of a Thousand Tribes and Thousand Gods, Poluo Province, had undergone yet another change of dynasties...

Quite a lot had happened over the years.

All those events seemed isolated, yet they also seemed to be invisibly linked by cause and effect.

And perhaps he stood here now because of some invisible cause and effect.

He should never have been greedy for that big score.

If he hadn’t lingered in the port of Silver Moon Bay for so long, attracting the attention of the West Winds Empire, and had instead taken the money he made from selling furs and begged that sour-faced captain for another trip, he might not have made the fortune of his dreams, but it would have been better than his current situation.

Looking at the two merchant ships drawing closer, Mogavi’s face wore an expression of doom, as if he were about to step onto the scaffold.

Captain Archim patted his shoulder and gave him a beaming smile.

"Think bigger, don’t frown like that. Once our soldiers land at the port, you can pick whatever you want from there, whether it’s people, goods, or money. It won’t be less than if you had made a single good trade."

"Yes... respected sir."

Mogavi forced a smile uglier than crying but thinking of the miserable end that might await him, couldn’t maintain even that small amount of cheer.

Deep down, he couldn’t reconcile that his years of hard work would culminate in such a suffocating death.

He gritted his teeth and finally couldn’t help speaking up, trying to persuade the captain to reconsider.

"The humble me has no doubt that you can crush your enemies like crickets, but have you considered one thing... how do you plan to withstand the fury of the Alliance?"

"Fury? Who cares about the fury of some ground squirrels?" Archim picked at his ear, nonchalantly flicking the earwax into the sea, "The moment they refused Duke Garava’s request, they should have realized they would pay for their arrogance and stupidity. Besides, we’re only taking back what’s ours and collecting a little interest along the way."

The Empire’s reach was vast, with fertile lands under the blessing of a thousand gods and a brotherly alliance with the army.

A mere alliance posed no threat.

Although the corporation behind the alliance posed a threat, even the army found those guys troublesome, he didn’t think Ideal City would risk their relationship with the Empire over something so trivial.

After all, they had the army’s support, and a battle-hardened Ten Thousand Leader with two stars had already arrived at the Empire’s Tiandu to meet with the Emperor, accompanied by sufficient artillery, tanks, and rifles to arm several ten thousand troops.

He admitted that the blue ground squirrels were skilled at scavenging trash, but they lacked in strategy and scope, and were no match for the Empire.

No one would know that this operation was initiated under the direction of the Empire’s upper echelons.

Once those two ships from Jinga Lun Port docked at Potato Harbor, over a thousand elite soldiers disguised as pirates would swarm out, quickly landing and taking control of the entire port.

They would loot the encampment on the shore, take away all the slaves stolen by the Alliance, and then pin the blame on the pirates. If the Alliance insisted on an explanation, they would chop off this Merchant’s head and send it to them.

Thus, it would both demonstrate the Empire’s magnanimity and prove to the Army the Empire’s stance and determination, retrieve the face that those despicable and lowly Moon people had lost, and severely undermine the Alliance’s prestige at the Sticky Community meeting, killing four birds with one stone.

As they spoke, one of the cargo ships had already moved close to the side of the warship.

Mogavi secretly sized up the cargo ship, its long and narrow deck was covered with a tightly sealed shed; undoubtedly, this was an ordinary civilian bulk carrier, and one that transported livestock, at that.

Typically, Merchants from Poluo Province would use such cargo ships to transport Double-headed Cows, which were prohibited from consumption in Poluo Province, selling them at the ports of Silver Moon Bay.

To transport an Army with a civilian cargo ship...

These guys really had the nerve to do it.

A man resembling an officer stood at the bow, giving Captain Archim a military salute.

"The Grey Wolf Army’s first thousand team is in position, awaiting orders, sir!"

Looking at the muscular, eagle-eyed officer whose whole body exuded an aura of grim determination, Captain Archim nodded his proud head in approval.

The Grey Wolf Army, composed entirely of the valiant and battle-skilled Wolf clan, was the elite land combat force of the West Winds Empire, stationed in the east of Poluo Province.

He hadn’t expected the Empire’s higher echelons to mobilize them; it seemed they valued this operation more than he had thought.

He could already envision the grey smoke wafting above Potato Harbor and the charred ruins of burnt-down buildings, as well as the skeletal remains.

Dispensing with his approving smile, Captain Archim straightened his expression and solemnly regarded the officer.

"Centurion Di Rang, your superiors should have already briefed you on the mission, so I will not go into details here."

"From now on, your identity is no longer that of soldiers of the Empire, but ghosts who rule these waters, bringing death and destruction to the enemies of the Empire."

"I understand this might dishonor your honor, but it is all for the Empire! Your fathers and children, your tribesmen, will all be proud of you!"

The Centurion named Di Rang’s eyes glinted as he straightened his back and pledged with grave solemnity.

"For the Empire! For His Majesty!"

His fierce demeanor starkly contrasted with the trembling Mogavi.

Catching a glimpse of the timid merchant beside him, Captain Archim’s lips twisted into a sardonic smile tinged with mockery.

Patting the wretch’s shoulder, he left him in the care of his most loyal subordinate, Singer, then returned to his cabin.

As they watched their superior depart, the reticent Guard took a step forward, positioned himself behind Mogavi, and murmured.

"Mr. Mogavi, it’s time to depart."

With a grimace, Mogavi nodded, and under the watchful eye of the Guard named Singer, he shakily climbed the plank stretched from the deck of the warship to the cargo ship.

Following him onto the cargo ship, Singer gestured to the Sailors on the warship to retract the plank.

After retracting the plank, the warship slowly pulled up its anchor chain, then sounded the farewell steam whistle.

The two cargo ships, having resumed their journey, responded with their whistles in turn, before continuing in the direction of the Baiyue Strait.

Watching the Green Dual Sword Flag-draped warship slowly receding into the distance, Mogavi completely abandoned the last thread of hope that these fools would stop short of the edge.

At this point, the Centurion named Di Rang moved beside him and said expressionlessly.

"Mr. Mogavi, I’ve already heard about your situation through the telegram; you just need to assist us in boarding the dock," they said. "We will allow you to pick ten slaves first and take away goods worth 100,000 dinar."

Mogavi barely listened to the second half of the sentence. He glanced at the heavily closed door of the ship’s hold, then at the officer and a few soldiers disguised as sailors, and couldn’t help but ask,

"Do you have any plans, or are we just going to sail over like this?"

Di Rang concisely replied,

"Just sail straight over."

Mogavi continued to ask,

"And then? What’s your plan for capturing it? Just charge directly from the dock?"

"There’s no need for you to worry about what comes next." To be honest, Di Rang looked down on this coward from the bottom of his heart, so he didn’t bother to waste words with him.

Not to mention that they were the Empire’s elite, the two cargo ships were packed with a thousand-strong force—a spit from each of them was enough to flood the port. He couldn’t understand what this person was so afraid of.

Not to mention, the battle might not even need to be fought; chances were, once they stood on the shore, those people would be so shocked that they would obediently raise their hands and surrender.

Looking at these incomprehensible fellows, Mogavi wore an expression of bitter frustration.

He knew that nothing he said would be of any use now; he simply didn’t know what to say to convince them.

If these people truly had the Empire’s best interests at heart, they should at least use a bit of their brains when considering problems.

But clearly, they were not.

These people had gone mad.

Completely mad...

...

After two days and one night of sailing, the two cargo ships finally entered the western entrance of the Baiyue Strait.

They were less than 500 kilometers away from Potato Harbor, and if all went well, they should arrive before eight o’clock that evening.

Gazing at the lush green jungle along the shore, Mogavi’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he said,

"...Do you know why no one lives here?"

The singer standing behind him didn’t speak; he simply couldn’t be bothered with him.

Di Rang, who had changed into casual clothes, glanced at him and casually asked,

"Why?"

"Because no one can conquer this land, not the Camel Hump Kingdom, nor the Southern Islands Federation that fled from here... Faced with wave after wave of Variants, the resolve and bravery of mortals are in vain."

Watching Di Rang, who was staring intently at him, Mogavi swallowed and continued,

"But some have succeeded. They not only stood firm on this land but also built a settlement... You might not find this impressive, but as someone from the Camel Hump Kingdom, I know how astonishing this is. They possess not only courage and resolve but scientific methods and some other things I can’t quite understand."

Di Rang said expressionlessly,

"So what?"

Mogavi sighed softly,

"Nothing... never mind, as if I never said anything."

Among the rustling chirps along the coast, the two cargo ships full of soldiers continued to move forward.

Time dragged slowly. Under the scorching sun, this brief half-day stretched on as if it were a century.

Unlike Mogavi, who was enduring the agony, all others on board, whether officers or soldiers disguised as sailors, were in high spirits.

He even saw a few soldiers whispering with wicked smiles. They hadn’t even seen the silhouette of the docks, yet they were already fantasizing about how to divide the spoils of war that were not yet in hand.

"When we go ashore, I’m going to pick one with a large ass."

"Ha ha, we know you have a unique taste, don’t worry no one will compete with you."

"Couldn’t you aim higher? Aren’t the women from the refuge much better than those filthy folks from the Moon Clan?"

"Why don’t we try both? Anyway, we have three days. The officer said that as long as it doesn’t interfere with the main task, we can play however we want."

"Damn... it’d be good if this rusty ship could go any faster."

"I’m going to the toilet first."

"Embarrassing thing, just hurry up and go."

"Ha ha ha!"

Perhaps in answer to their anticipation, the sun finally sunk into the twilight.

The sea engulfed in the night was silent, as if sensing the prelude to a storm, even the waves washing against the bow turned cautious.

It seemed about time.

Di Rang, patrolling on the gangway, patted Mogavi’s shoulder and then turned to enter the cargo hold.

Soon, the leaky door echoed with provocative nonsense and answered with a chorus of fervent shouts.

That guy seemed to be delivering the final war rally.

However, to Mogavi’s ears, it sounded no different than deathbed confessions.

They had no understanding of what kind of monster they were up against, even imagining that it would be all fine and dandy the moment they set foot on the dock, that the meek Blue Ground Squirrels would scurry hopelessly into their burrows at the sound of gunfire.

Touching the silver pendant on his chest, he silently prayed to the Silver Moon Goddess in his heart, just hoping that when he fell into the water, he wouldn’t be eaten by the roaming Variants nearby.

After tucking the pendant back into his collar, Mogavi took a deep breath and walked to the bow of the ship.

As usual, Singer followed closely behind, showing no intention of giving him any chance to be alone.

Mogavi didn’t mind in his heart; it wasn’t time yet anyway. If he was going to take the risk and jump off the ship, he would wait until they were close to the harbor, not here.

Looking at the increasingly familiar coastline, his heart was pounding fiercely.

But at that moment, he suddenly frowned, involuntarily letting out a slight gasp of surprise.

"Strange..."

His voice did not escape Singer’s ears, who asked expressionlessly.

"What’s wrong?"

Mogavi swallowed hard and glanced at him, speaking in a low voice about his confusion.

"I didn’t see the patrol team’s speedboat."

Singer frowned.

"The patrol team?"

Mogavi explained.

"It’s the South Island Federation’s Marine Patrol Team."

Relaxing his furrowed brow, Singer resumed his indifferent expression.

"What do we care about those people for."

Mogavi was stunned for a moment, withdrew his gaze from Singer’s face, and turned his head back towards the distant sea, muttering quietly.

"Indeed, it’s none of their business... but this is abnormal. Whenever a ship passed by here before, they would board and check for smuggling."

Could the Alliance have forbidden them from patrolling here?

Surely not...

For some reason, Mogavi couldn’t shake this uneasy feeling in his heart, as if he were being watched by a wild beast.

Instinctively protecting himself, he let go of the railing he was holding and returned to the side of the cabin.

Almost at the very moment he returned, a violent tremor suddenly accompanied by a loud bang came from below his feet, nearly flipping him over.

The cargo ship seemed to have hit something.

However, Mogavi was certain that this stretch of water was very safe and that there weren’t any hidden reefs that lurk beneath the waves and trip people up.

Caught off guard by this blow, Singer and the soldiers who followed behind him were not as lucky.

Not being professional sailors, they fell haphazardly, and a few unlucky ones who were leaning on the side of the ship even fell into the sea with screams.

Those screams, blending with the sound of the tide, quickly disappeared as if something had grabbed them.

Faced with this sudden change, Mogavi was so terrified he lost his wits, hugging his head and crouching on the deck shivering.

Not far away, the cabin door flew open with a bang.

Di Rang, clutching his forehead and armed, cursed as he rushed out of the cabin.

"Fuck, what the hell happened?!"

Mogavi, looking beyond his calves, finally saw the so-called "ghost that dominated the Poluo Sea" inside the cabin.

It was a group of soldiers with Ripper Rifles on their backs, and a few carried submachine guns and automatic rifles on their chests.

But now none of that mattered.

Those guys too had been knocked to the deck, though they were not panicking, they looked around blankly, unsure how to respond to the current situation.

Singer, also cursing as he got up from the deck, reached out and yanked Mogavi to his feet, glaring at him and yelling in accusation.

"Damn it, did you signal the Alliance?!"

Mogavi looked defeated as he replied.

"Are you joking, my lord? When have I ever left your sight?"

Singer appeared to realize that this was indeed the case and let go of Mogavi’s collar.

Staggering back two steps, Mogavi supported himself against the cabin without falling and tried to calm his chaotic breathing, attempting to soothe his panicked self.

He slowly figured out what had happened.

It was likely a torpedo that had hit them.

Through the vibrations traveling along the deck and hull, he could clearly sense the sound of seawater pouring into the ship’s body; the fully loaded cargo ship was slowly sinking.

However, he didn’t rush to abandon the ship and escape, because he hadn’t figured out what had hit them yet.

The Alliance?

Impossible...

Those people had standards; they wouldn’t attack civilian ships.

The South Island Federation?

Even more unlikely, unless they planned to live off their own land from now on.

Damn, what the hell was it?!

Surely a sea mine didn’t just evolve!

While he was still shocked and frightened, the rest of the people on the ship finally realized the issue of the ship taking on water.

At the same time, the other cargo ship following theirs also seemed to have been hit by a torpedo, sinking slowly amidst violent tremors and the agonizing sound of rending steel.

There was no time to hesitate anymore.

Seeing that if they waited any longer, his men might drown in the cabin, the officer named Di Rang gritted his teeth and decisively bellowed his orders.

"Abandon ship! Everyone convene on the north shore!"

Upon receiving the command, everyone rushed out of the cabins and jumped into the sea.

Fortunately, they were not far from shore, and a quick swim of less than fifty meters would get them there.

As everyone was too preoccupied to pay attention to him, Mogavi was about to take the opportunity to leap into the sea.

However, just as he had reached the tilting ship’s side, a scene he would never forget in his life came into view.

Looking at the hellish scene, Mogavi’s face turned pale in an instant; his legs gave out, and he collapsed on the deck, uttering nonsense and shouting words like "monster" and "devil."

Centurion Di Rang, who had just ordered the soldiers to abandon ship, wasn’t faring much better.

He gripped the cold railing with both hands, staring wide-eyed at the sea, his bloodshot pupils filled with profound fear and despair.

And it was a despair that could be seen with the naked eye...