This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 694 Do You Call This a Counterattack?!

Chapter 694: Chapter 694 Do You Call This a Counterattack?!

Southern sea area, North Island, within a luxuriously decorated albeit small room, the impeccably dressed Charles was pacing back and forth.

His gaze kept returning to the digital clock on the wall, followed by a casual glance at the door, his expression of unease almost written on his face.

Just then, there came a gentle knock on the door three times.

As if he had received some signal, he immediately went to open the door, only to see a young military officer in uniform standing at the doorway.

"Come in and talk."

Without waiting for the officer to speak, he pulled him into the room, cautiously checked if anyone was following outside, and then slowly closed the door.

"How are things?"

Looking at the hopeful Mr. Charles, the officer said anxiously,

"Something happened."

Hearing this, Charles’s mood plummeted in an instant, his eyebrows furrowing deeply.

Before he could ask further, the officer hurriedly spoke with rapid speed.

"...Gunfire has been going on for over an hour, from the sea to the beach. There’s blood and bodies everywhere, both human and mutants."

Hearing there were bodies of both humans and mutants, Charles, clutching at a last hope, quickly asked,

"Are there more humans or mutants?"

The officer grimaced as he spoke.

"Humans... but those guys, they don’t seem to be from the Alliance."

Charles was stunned, blurting out,

"Not from the Alliance?! Then whose could they be?"

The officer shook his head.

"I don’t know. They had no clear identification on them; their identities are so far unconfirmed. According to the footage captured by our drones, they came through the Baiyue Strait on two cargo ships, colliding right with the Mutant Corps of the Torch Sect heading to Potato Harbor. Those fish-scaled beasts are blind; they just can’t help but confront upon seeing people. After fighting with those on the ships, they chased the humans ashore, and the landing spot ended up being a full five to six kilometers away from Potato Harbor!"

Charles’s eyes widened.

"What happened then?"

The officer said grimly,

"Then... they were all wiped out by the Alliance."

Charles: "..."

The room fell into silence.

Due to the absence of the Marine Patrol Team, the Federal Navy’s destroyer lingered in the nearby sea area for quite some time, and the drones they released watched the entire battle until their batteries ran out.

Watching Mr. Charles looking gravely concerned, the officer swallowed and lowered his voice,

"...The real issue is that those guys were utterly defeated; there were too many bodies, impossible to manage and indeed there was no way to handle them. By the time it gets light tomorrow morning, the Marine Patrol Team will be back in the patrol area, and they are bound to notice something unusual on the beach. My only worry now is that some people with ulterior motives might link those bodies to today’s exercise."

Unlike the navy which was completely loyal to the Southern Islands Federation, he was well aware that there were two factions within the Presidential Mansion. There were good people like Mr. Charles who stood for the Federation, and there were also cowards hesitant about Shelter No. 70.

If these weaklings realized that there was more to the war’s catalyst, their acquiescence could drag the dominant Federation down into the abyss.

Charles pondered silently for a long time and then slowly said,

"Even if they link it, it doesn’t matter; that’s not our territory."

Seeing Mr. Charles completely oblivious to the seriousness of the issue, the young officer became visibly anxious and quickly spoke,

"As you say... but what if someone links those mutants and the Southern sea area’s shipping accident? Everyone thought those fish-scaled creatures wouldn’t leave the Death Coast, but now they’ve swum over a thousand kilometers, popping up from our west, and they can even launch torpedoes! Using distance as an excuse won’t hold water anymore if they were to attack our ships."

He paused and continued in a hushed tone, "I’ve heard there’s an investigation into those wrecked ships, including the Golden Coast dispatched by the President to Haiya Province for inspection and the remnants of the Ocean Current Power Station... If those snooping folks uncover anything, that would spell trouble."

A grim fierceness crossed Charles’s eyes; his clenched fist’s index finger and thumb continuously rubbed against each other.

Watching the Chief of Staff’s facial expression, the officer solemnly continued,

"What I am most worried about now is what the President knows; we must be prepared for the worst-case scenario. If it comes down to it, we might as well come clean with the President—"

Regarding the current Federal system, the supreme commander of the Federal Navy is also the President, any military action requires his direct authorization.

Though all their actions were for the Federation, this was an unauthorized operation, which legally and morally wasn’t justifiable.

There would come a day when things would unravel.

Especially with the current trend, the risk of exposure was growing.

Rather than nurturing greater dangers in the future because of today’s concealment, it would be better to be honest and pull the President into their camp, to wage this war more thoroughly.

However, before he could finish speaking, Charles interrupted him without hesitation,

"Now is not the time. The President and his supporters still have illusions about Shelter No. 70; we need to give those compatriots who haven’t moved on from the past some time. Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on his side. You just keep a close watch on the Marine Patrol Team; I’m worried they might leak information and prepare the Alliance in advance."

"But..."

The officer hesitated, clearly wanting to say more, but Charles cut him off sharply.

"You go now; we’ve been meeting for too long. I’ll call you if there’s anything."

"Yes..."

Faced with that unquestionable gaze, the officer finally gave up, nodded, and left the room.

Watching the closed door, Charles sat down on the sofa, stretching a finger to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Come clean to the President?

A bunch of naïve people.

Mr. Mongo would never stand with them; he single-handedly founded the Southern Islands Federation.

If he found out that it was their own people who had sunk the Ocean Current Power Station, and that the sole purpose was to give the Federation an excuse to clear out Shelter No. 70, he would definitely kick him out of the Presidential Mansion, if not kill him.

Moreover, even if they backed down ten thousand steps, and that guy agreed to hide the truth about the war with them, how could he turn the Federation into his own possession?

He would undoubtedly confront Mr. President.

But not when the Presidential Mansion and the navy are currently so close...

Immersing his consciousness in a sacred realm shimmering with light, Charles slightly lowered his gaze, murmuring silently,

"Those gill-bearing creatures you’re keeping have caused trouble. You’d better keep them under the radar for a while."

"It’s not that I’m complaining... but you really should find some slightly more decent allies."

...

The next morning.

The dawn’s light spilled over the north shore of the Baiyue Strait, casting a golden layer over the tranquil beach.

Standing at the bow of the patrol boat, Muda stared intently towards Potato Harbor, furrowing his brow.

Just like his reaction, the sailor standing nearby whispered,

"There’s a strong scent of blood..."

After a pause, he added,

"It doesn’t seem like it’s from wild beasts."

Muda nodded and turned to shout towards the cabin behind him.

"Activate the active sonar."

"Yes!"

The sailor nodding in response pressed his hand on the console dashboard and flicked a red button.

Shortly after, he shouted with a look of surprise,

"There are two sunken ships, six to seven kilometers to the west. Based on the echo’s pattern, they look like civilian cargo ships."

Sunken ships?!

A sense of foreboding arose in Muda.

The sailor standing beside him looked at him anxiously.

"Sir, should we go and check?"

Muda pondered for a moment and said,

"Let’s check on our neighbors first!"

After all, more than five hundred residents of Coral City still lived in Potato Harbor.

Although those guys had claimed to have joined the Alliance, the bond of kinship still made him concerned for them.

Of course, this included other survivors in Potato Harbor.

Due to the frequent visits to the island for drinks, he had grown quite familiar with the people there. Although there had been many misunderstandings initially, after some time, he found that they were actually quite nice, very different from those selfish and cunning Wasteland Wanderers on the mainland; they rarely thought only of themselves and often considered others’ difficulties.

Including the water pipeline currently under construction, the survivors on Ring Island held a favorable view of those people. At least they did not dislike them.

He hoped they were all safe...

The speedboat soon approached the dock.

Seeing the unexpected quietness of the camp, Muda’s heart sank slightly. Once the boat had steadied, he quickly leaped onto the dock and walked towards the camp with two subordinates.

Just then, a resident of the refuge emerged, carrying a plastic bucket and a fishing rod, and happened to face him.

The two of them stared at each other in surprise.

However, the refuge resident recovered quicker, smacking his head and stumbling over his words in United Human language with a laugh.

"Oh, you’re the captain of the South Islands Federation’s Maritime Patrol Team, right? Muda?"

Seeing this unfamiliar fellow, Muda asked blankly,

"Do you know me?"

The man holding the fishing rod laughed and said,

"I do. Although it’s my first time here, I’ve heard about you on the Forum."

Muda: "...?"

Seeing the NPC’s somewhat unintelligent expression, the player scratched his head and said,

"Is there something you need? Are you looking for someone?"

"It’s nothing much... I just wanted to ask about the people here," Muda said while glancing around and then perplexedly at the man with the fishing rod. "Why is it so quiet today?"

The player replied with a smile,

"Oh, that’s normal. The population here isn’t large, and early this morning, more than five hundred people left, all following Brother Fang Chang to stir things up."

"Stir things up?" Muda was perplexed again, not understanding what that meant.

Seeing his confused expression, the player patiently explained again in awkward United Human language, detailing the events.

"Last night, a bunch of fools from Poluo Province came here. I don’t know what they were thinking, daring to fire at us. Then we and the fish kept by the Torch Church dealt with them together. After capturing them and interrogating them, it turns out they were from the West Winds Empire."

The mentions of the West Winds Empire, fish kept by the Torch Church, and other unfamiliar terms left Muda completely baffled. Seizing the moment while the other man paused, he quickly took over the conversation.

"Anyway, it’s good you’re all right... By the way, when is Brother Fang expected to return?"

The player said with a smile,

"Probably about a week. Is there something you need? I can pass the message to him."

Muda coughed and said,

"No need, I was just curious to ask... By the way, you mentioned that Torch is raising fish? What does that mean?"

The player smiled and continued,

"It’s those mutants! The blue-skinned type with fish scales on their body and gills on their chin, using all sorts of weapons from long spears and short cannons to even torpedoes. I heard they drifted here from the Death Coast of Haiye Province."

Death Coast?!

Muda stared at him, his face filled with surprise.

He had certainly heard of a group of blue-skinned mutants living near the Death Coast who made their living by fishing, but he was astonished to find that mutants could appear here?!

From here to the Death Coast, even in a straight line, it was nearly a thousand kilometers.

Could those mutants really swim that far?!

Especially when he heard that those mutants could also launch torpedoes, his face instantly changed.

"Can you take me to the scene to have a look?"

The player scratched the back of his head, looking somewhat reluctant.

"It’s not far. Just drive five or six kilometers west along the coastline, and you should see it. Our people should still be cleaning up the battlefield there... I still need to fish here. Wait a bit until that dumb-ass group comes up and feeds the fish, or should I find someone to take you?"

Hearing that the battlefield was just five or six kilometers to the west, Muda immediately thought of the two sunken ships he had detected using sonar earlier, his expression becoming a bit excited.

If those ships were sunk by the mutants, there might be some clues on them!

Seeing the resident of the refuge eager to end the conversation, he no longer delayed the man’s time and sincerely thanked him.

"Thanks! I can manage on my own!"

With that, he took his subordinates back to the speedboat and restarted the engine.

After continuing west for five kilometers, he indeed saw a group of people in exoskeletons on the nearby beach, dragging corpses washed ashore by the waves into pre-dug holes for burial.

The man standing on the speedboat, Muda, was also spotted by a Ground Model on the shore, who recognized him as someone he had drunk with before and greeted him with a smile.

"Yo, you’re back?"

Muda shouted back, "Just got back. I heard two ships sank here last night? If it’s convenient, I’d like to go down and have a look."

The Ground Model cheerfully waved his hand.

"No problem, Elder Fang told us before he left that if he was interested in those two sunken ships, we should take you to see them. By the way, do you need someone to help you locate those ships?"

Muda replied, "No need, we’ve already located their coordinates, thanks!"

The Ground Model laughed and said, "Don’t mention it! Just in case, I’ll still arrange for two ’Electric Eels’ to follow you."

After saying that, he contacted the engineering team via VM and arranged for two fully charged Electric Eels from Potato Harbor to come over and assist.

Those things could do more than just underwater welding—they could also drive away Variants by actively discharging electricity, a new use they had developed through practice.

Considering the limited power of the Mind Interference Device on the speedboat, Muda did not refuse.

Once the two Electric Eel unmanned boats arrived, he ordered the engine started and followed them to the area of the sunken ship.

Both cargo ships were in an extremely pitiful state.

Their hulls had gaping holes, and after seawater flooded in, they sank to the seabed, embedded in the rugged rocky ocean floor one after the other.

Bloated and mangled bodies floated around, some caught on the ship’s hull, others entangled in seaweed, left to be pecked by schools of fish, resembling hell itself.

Dressed in a deep-diving suit, Muda plunged into the water and was chilled to the scalp by the sight before him, his stomach churning.

The two unmanned Electric Eels, with sparks of electricity on their heads, slowly swam to the front of one of the cargo ships, the crackling electricity scattering the scavenging fish, clearing a path for him.

Following one of the Electric Eels forward.

Using a flashlight, Muda quickly found the inwardly crushed breach on one side near the bow after searching around.

At that moment, his pupils dilated drastically, his eyes involuntarily reflecting a look of disbelief and astonishment.

The breach from the explosion looked exactly like the damage on the hull of the "Golden Coast" survey ship reported in the newspapers!

Although determining whether it was caused by the same type of weapon required expert appraisal, he was still shocked by the discovery and involuntarily gaped.

Taking a photo of the explosion-formed breach, he used his flashlight to search the area once more and indeed found remnants of a torpedo near some rocks.

It was just a fragment the size of a palm.

The crudely made stainless steel casing was exactly like the one they had found near the "Golden Coast" survey ship.

First, the signal of the Mind Interference Device was detected near the ocean current power station, then on the "Dolphin," carrying the debt of twelve cargo ships, not a single weapon could be found.

Now, the aquatic variant humans, "who would never leave the Death Coast" according to those experts with consultant titles, not only appeared in a sea area 1000 kilometers away but even brought the weapon that sank the "Golden Coast"...

Do these guys ever tell the truth?

His pupils blazed with anger, his fists clenched involuntarily, and he couldn’t help but curse through clenched teeth.

"Damn it..."

...

While the South Island Federation’s Maritime Patrol Team was busy collecting evidence from the two shipwrecks, hundreds of kilometers away on the Poluo Sea, a nuclear fusion-powered submarine was speeding towards Jin Galun Port at nearly fifty knots.

A 2000-kilometer distance would require a week at sea for a diesel-powered cargo ship and a crew of unskilled sailors.

But for the Dolphin, less than a day sufficed, and good sea conditions meant only twenty-two hours were necessary.

Aside from a centurion named Di Rang and more than a hundred battered soldiers from the West Winds Empire, over five hundred players from the Burning Corps were also aboard the submarine.

More than half of them had arrived at Potato Harbor that morning on the Oxnard airship and had just disembarked when they, along with ammunition transported from the City of Dawn, boarded the submarine.

They were the elite of the Alliance, each with a Sequence Level of at least 25, equipped with Type 5 "Light Cavalry" and Type 6 "Heavy Cavalry" exoskeletons, including twenty brand-new DLZJ-1 "Xiaguang"!

In addition to basic infantry equipment, they also had comprehensive support gear such as 88mm mortars, Y-2 quadcopter attack drones, and "Dove" missiles.

For the purpose of making space for ammunition and loot, Fang Chang had Captain Chen Jianhong clear out the cargo hold overnight, transferring the containers to a newly built warehouse at Potato Harbor for the players interested in rummaging through junk.

Looking at the power armors and exoskeletons emitting a murderous aura in the submarine’s cargo hold, Captain Chen Jianhong felt uneasy and couldn’t help but turn to Fang Chang and say,

"I should have mentioned that the Dolphin is a cargo submarine, not a warship. We shouldn’t and won’t participate in any offensive military missions."

Fang Chang responded with a smile,

"I know, but every citizen of the Alliance has an obligation to uphold the Alliance’s constitution, and moreover, this isn’t an offensive attack. They initiated hostilities without declaration, forcing us to retaliate."

Rolling his eyes at that nonsense, Captain Chen Jianhong couldn’t help but retort,

"I’ve never heard of any sort of retaliation that extends two thousand kilometers away!"

"Now you have," replied Fang Chang in a joking tone, patting his shoulder soothingly, "Don’t worry, you won’t be involved in any combat. Just wait safely and pick us up after we finish our business."

Seeing Captain Chen still had concerns, Fang Chang added another line.

"If you really can’t accept it, just think of it as a humanitarian rescue."

Captain Chen was momentarily stunned.

"...Humanitarian rescue?"

"Yes," Fang Chang said seriously, "Based on information provided by residents of other shelters, we suspect that human trafficking and organ selling are happening at Jin Galun Port. Normally, we wouldn’t reach so far, but since they’ve provoked us, we plan to destroy their port and, incidentally, rescue some people."

Captain Chen: "..."

Did he just misspeak?

One moment he talked about humanitarian aid, the next he exposed his true intention.

Though, he wasn’t opposed to it.

He had heard about the events in Poluo Province, especially since many survivors had fled to Potato Harbor from there.

If he could help more people escape that hellish place, it wouldn’t be such a bad deed after all.

A calamity two centuries ago had turned the entire planet into Wasteland, not only causing systemic decline in civilization but also mutations during that decline.

In his view, the only place that still seemed somewhat normal was their Survivor Forces, led by residents of various shelters.

Almost every residents of the shelter harbored a savior’s spirit, including Captain Chen Jianhong.

In truth, they didn’t need any excuse about "passive retaliation."

Saving the suffering survivors.

To him, that was reason enough!

Meanwhile, thousands of leaders, Di Rang, who was blindfolded and had his hands tied behind his back, thrown into a ship cabin, had given up his futile struggles after several failed attempts.

The ropes were made of Devil Silk, and unless his arms turned into the mouth of a Devil Moth, he wouldn’t expect to cut through even a single thread.

Listening to the tide sounds from below the deck, even a fool would understand what the Blue Ground Squirrels intended—embarking on a civilian vessel to land at Jin Galun Port.

These shameless scoundrels!

Sly villains!

Why not have an actual fair fight?

Cursing in his mind, he didn’t realize he also included himself in the curses until he was too tired to continue his inner roaring, resting his face on the cold deck, his eyelids beginning to fight each other.

Time passed unknowingly.

At some moment, he had drifted off to sleep, waking only when hunger struck.

He then noticed a subtle difference in the tide sounds echoing around him compared to those heard on his way, a bit more muffled, like the murmuring whispers of ghosts.

A faint unease began to rise in his heart.

Particularly when he thought about being blindfolded in this secluded cabin for an entire week, that unease quickly morphed into fear.

"Hey!"

He couldn’t help but yell, stretching his chin across the deck, trying to get the guard’s attention.

"Can you at least take off my blindfold?"

No one responded.

As he anxiously waited, he suddenly heard footsteps and a slight noise at the lock.

With his eyes covered for so long, his hearing had become exceptionally sensitive, easily picking up the faint sounds.

Guessing it was someone coming to bring food, he seized the opportunity and shouted loudly.

"Can you take off my blindfold? Are you still afraid of a prisoner tied hand and foot?"

However, to his surprise, it seemed the person wasn’t there to bring food, as he couldn’t smell any scent of food from the doorway.

"Stop yelling, we’re at home now, get up and get out."

At...home?

Di Rang was startled, then a look of terror appeared on his twisted face.

He might have drifted into a drowsy sleep indeed, but it certainly hadn’t been a week; they probably hadn’t even left Poluo Sea yet. How could they possibly be "home"?

A horrifying thought entered his mind.

Were they planning to throw him into the sea as shark bait?!

"No! I’m not going down!"

Watching the man shouting madly, the player who came to pick him up felt helpless, wondering why he had to end up with the least interesting job.

Tired of listening to the prisoner’s rants, he went up and grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him up like a small chicken and shoving him out of the cabin.

"Behave."