This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 71: Drew a Hammer?

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Drew a Hammer?

Lately, dusk was settling earlier and earlier.

In the Wasteland, just past 6 p.m., vast expanses of urban areas and forests had already darkened.

To guard against ambushes, players set up torches outside the base’s enclosing wall and laid tripwires in the woods, hanging bells as an early warning system.

In a while, it would be dawn in the real world, and many had to go to work during the day. Only 20 players remained at the base, while the other 30 chose to log off.

However, half of the players who logged off said they would be free in the afternoon and would return after noon.

It was a good time to switch players.

After temporarily taking Xiao Qi back to Shelter No. 404 to recharge and seeing off a group of players, Chu Guang sat in the hall’s chair and opened the System panel to check his points.

Including the 100 points rewarded for completing the power generator side mission, he now had 122 points, just enough to buy one advanced blind box, two intermediate blind boxes, and two lollipops.

Furthermore, as Chu Guang had predicted, with the completion of the last side mission, he indeed triggered a new task—to open the B2 level of the shelter:

[Mission: Eradicate the Blood Hand Clan entrenched in the abandoned tire factory in the north part of Shelter No. 404.

Type: Side mission

Reward: Access to B2 level of Shelter No. 404]

"...Addressing external threats before unlocking the next level of the shelter, is that the idea?"

It was fairly reasonable.

He hoped to find some good stuff on the next level, at least not as bare as Level B1, which aside from 100 cultivation chambers and a computer, had nothing.

"System, open the Manager’s allowance!"

A pale blue holographic screen materialized out of thin air in front of Chu Guang, presenting him with three options.

Without any hesitation, Chu Guang chose one advanced blind box, two intermediate blind boxes, and spent the remaining two reward points on a basic blind box.

Accompanied by a slight shake, the alloy door embedded in the wall slid open.

When he saw the big item on the conveyor belt, Chu Guang was stunned.

This...

Was it a weapon?

He saw a square-headed, long-handled warhammer standing upright on the conveyor belt.

The silver handle, made out of alloy and roughly as tall as a man, topped with a metallic arc that was as large as a human face at its head.

The shaft was inlaid with two sets of recessed metal grooves, front and back, with steeply carved lines connecting the two rings, giving off a rather sci-fi feel.

However, even trying to understand the taste of the First Generation Manager through empathy, Chu Guang found it difficult to associate this object with a weapon.

Was he expected to engage in melee combat swinging this hammer?

An axe or javelin would have been fine, but swinging around such a cumbersome thing, he’d surely be shot to pieces if he weren’t hit by bullets!

Walking forward, Chu Guang, with an odd expression on his face, grasped the hammer’s handle. He braced for a heavy weight, but to his surprise, he lifted it with just a raise of the hand.

"Huh?"

The weight was not light but was not as heavy as imagined, perhaps only between twenty to thirty kilograms.

Tapping the surface with his finger, Chu Guang didn’t feel it was hollow inside.

Could it be made of aluminum alloy?

Or titanium alloy... or some kind of specialty material that he wasn’t familiar with.

At that moment, Chu Guang noticed three touch-sensitive buttons on the handle.

Out of curiosity, he extended his index finger and pressed one of the buttons.

There was a soft hum, and before Chu Guang could react to what was happening, a high-intensity stream of air burst out without warning from four sides of the hammer, gushing backward.

A large thrust propelled the hammer forward.

Chu Guang, holding the hammer with both hands, almost lost his grip and nearly hammered the alloy door, quickly lifting his finger off the button in fright.

"Fuck?!"

Was this hammer seriously boosted with nitrogen?

Pretty impressive!

As Chu Guang was caught in his astonishment, a semi-transparent, pale blue holographic window popped up in his field of vision, floating beside the hammer like a label.

[Item: Nitrogen-Powered Hammer]

[Description: By manipulating the flow of nitrogen on the armor surface via a special force field, defense, offense, and mobility functionalities can be achieved.

In A mode, it can create a vortex of nitrogen flow at the top of the Power Hammer, thereby covering a defensive surface with a maximum radius of 1 meter, deflecting and reducing the kinetic energy of flying objects, providing considerable defense against light weapons.

In B mode, it can compress nitrogen at the front part of the Power Hammer, forming a 2-3mm thick nitrogen armor, which then detonates upon contact with the target.

In C mode, it can eject high-pressure nitrogen streams from the back of the Power Hammer, providing directional acceleration.

This product is recommended to be used with Assault Power Armor, where B mode can have strong destructive effects on light armored targets, obstacles, and cover.]

[Note: Due to the lack of an internal nitrogen storage system, it cannot be used in nitrogen-free environments such as vacuum or underwater.]

Following the instruction manual provided by the System, Chu Guang tried it out simply and finally understood how to use it.

In short, some kind of device built into the hammer could interfere with nearby nitrogen molecules.

A mode was essentially defensive, creating a shield in front of the hammer.

B mode was like charging up, releasing the compressed nitrogen on the armor surface instantly upon striking a target, resulting in an explosive shockwave?

C mode was basically like attaching a propulsion device to the back of the hammer, which was effective whether for running with it or swinging it at someone.

Furthermore, a mini cold fusion battery powered the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, located right in front where the handle met the head.

According to glowing markers at the end of the handle, the current charge was full, suggesting that theoretically, as long as it wasn’t continuously running, it should last until the equipment was no longer usable.

However, it could not actually be kept running indefinitely.

According to the instruction manual provided by the System, continuous use would cause the internal circuit components to overheat, while a blinking warning light for three seconds would trigger a protective shutdown.

Holding the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer in his hand and playing with it for a while, Chu Guang couldn’t help but feel emotional.

The technology that surpassed his understanding was indeed no different from magic.

Let alone how this thing controlled nitrogen molecules, the miniature cold fusion cell at the end of the handle was already in the realm of sci-fi movies for him.

At least Chu Guang couldn’t imagine the principle behind it at all.

Take it apart for study?

It wasn’t that he couldn’t dismantle it, but what was the point?

If its material was helium-3, then he’d have to go to the Moon to mine it, and if it used some sort of unknown process for a certain material, then the speed of reverse-engineering would probably be slower than starting research from scratch.

After all, scientific research wasn’t about brute force miracles, nor was it about opening blind boxes. Maybe in the future, if he could gather some talents from other shelters, there would be hope of restoring some pre-war technology.

As for now?

Of course, as long as it worked, that was enough.

Apart from the Nitrogen-Powered Hammer, the two intermediate blind boxes also yielded a box of antibiotics and a healing injection.

However, what surprised Chu Guang the most were the two basic blind boxes, which contained a bottle of soy sauce and a bag of salt.

Well, that was something.

He was mentally prepared to get a couple more lollipops, and somehow his luck exploded in the strangest of ways?

Chu Guang didn’t even know if he should consider himself lucky or at a loss...

In Wasteland time, six in the evening was actually six in the morning in reality.

Although many people were still lazing in bed at this time, it was the exact opposite for the players of Wasteland OL.

Playing the game all night not only didn’t make them feel tired at all, but they also felt refreshed after nearly 12 hours of sleep.

Especially that battle with the Looters, it was just incredibly exhilarating!

Almost as soon as they logged off, the official website became lively, with the forum threads refreshing non-stop and water-cooler talks starting up in the chat zones.

Spare people under the knife, "Damn, the killing spree this afternoon was too awesome! Hahaha, I’ve got to swing by the construction site in the morning, fellas wait for me to return."

Quit smoking, "Afternoon?!"

Spare people under the knife, "Cough, I meant the afternoon in the game! This game is too realistic; it made me forget the real time. It must be the wee hours of the morning in reality now, right? Damn, dude, you’re already watching the official website this early?"

Quit smoking, "T.T"

Old White, "My heart aches for you, Smoking Quitting Brother. I’m almost tempted to lend you my account to play."

Quit smoking, "Really?!!! (Excited)"

Night Ten, "A hammer’s chance, buddy. Put on whatever you want, you won’t see a thing, and then you’d be the butt of the jokes. I don’t even bother explaining anymore; too many explanations and they’ll think I’m insane. Those who understand will understand. Just wait for the public test to slap them in the face. (Amused)"

Lord Arrogant Brother, "I’m dying laughing here, you talking about slapping faces! You might as well swell up your face to look like a pig’s head!"

Night Ten, "You just wait, I’m gonna apply to be a moderator right now."

Elena, "Grandpa Ao is here too? Did you guys buy houses on the official website? (Amused)"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs, "Knew you all would be in the forum! Let me blow my own trumpet too; the battlefield environment made in this game is just so damn realistic! Unlike those orphan games that look like light pollution when it gets down to fighting, a real battlefield should have bullets whizzing by in disorder, not even sure if they hit the target, don’t even see the people, but whatever, it’s just so thrilling!"

Old White, "Hahahaha, the battlefield atmosphere is spot on."

Night Ten, "Case closed, so it was you, the cook, wasting the bullets, huh? No wonder the Manager’s face was so dark in the end. (Amused)"

Tomato Scrambled Eggs, "What’s wrong with being a cook? And you know what, I charged with my axe and actually knocked someone down! Only realized after everything that I had been shot in the leg, and it didn’t hurt one bit."

Fang Chang, "Scrambled eggs must be of the Body Constitution System, right? How does it feel?"

Compared to others, Long Days Ahead, always focused on game intelligence.

Tomato Scrambled Eggs, "Recovery is very fast! Didn’t notice anything else. Ah, if only I had the Perception System, the Strength System would also be fine."

Fang Chang, "I see...got it."

Pick up trash 99 level, "Be content, man, I got a gun only to find my finger wouldn’t fit in the trigger. QAQ"

Night Ten, "Hahahahaha!"

Fang Chang, "Uh, that is indeed a problem. Why don’t you just snap off the frame in front of the trigger?"

Pick up trash 99 level, "I’ll wait until I can buy my own gun, damn, and I still have to pay back Brother Mosquito. T.T"

Brother Mosquito, "No worries, good brother, why not try crossbows? I’ll make you one for cheap once the shop is up! (Amused)"

Pick up trash 99 level, "I’ll stick with javelins then!"

Elena, "(Amused)"

The forum was filled with a jovial atmosphere.

After teasing Trash Guy, everyone continued on to another thread where they discussed strategies for dealing with the Looters in a hodgepodge.

Some cloud players who hadn’t gotten access to the game also joined in, throwing out some stinky ideas every now and then, which left certain peeping game designers dumbfounded.

Let alone using fire attacks.

Even water attacks had come out of the woodwork.

Was there even a reservoir nearby? Where were they supposed to get that much water from?

Of course, not all suggestions were impractical; for instance, a clever little player had come up with the same idea he had.

The player’s ID was imposing, called "Spring Water Commander," reserved as number 661 in the sequence. From checking the post history, it looked like this was a blowhard who had been brought over from other forums by fellow users.

"...If you guys don’t have an advantage in equipment and can’t win street battles, the best method is to delay, delay until everything is icebound, delay until the snow blocks the roads. Then it’s not just a fight over equipment and tactics—it’s about supplies, logistics, and morale...if Wasteland OL has that setting."

"Just assuming, I mean hypothetically. Listening to you guys, these Looters don’t produce anything, the whole nation under arms, living off plundering, where do they get their food, supplies, clothing, and entertainment from? If it’s just an occasional looting or extorting traveling merchants, that’s certainly not stable, nor necessarily enough. Spring, summer, and fall might be fine, but in winter, are there going to be any merchants passing by?"

"So there are only three possibilities, either they live frugally, knowing to tighten their belts and get by, or they have a stable and long-term meal ticket feeding them."

"The former is very unlikely; we’re talking about Bandits. If they really had that discipline and knew how to live, why would they bother being carefree and happy bandit chiefs? Even without farming, they would have amassed enough to become a local military faction!"

"If it’s the latter, then it’s easy to deal with. It’s unrealistic to scorch the earth at their doorstep, so we cut off their supply lines! Winter is still long, and the fortress’s supplies will eventually run out. Without the support of a meal ticket, how long can a group of ragtag forces hold out?"

"The other possibility is that the system spawns them like many games do, where AI keeps churning out units even after all their resources are depleted."

"If that’s the case, please ignore everything I’ve said!"