This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 730: Where are my people? They were just here!

Chapter 730: Chapter 730: Where are my people? They were just here!

North line.

Above the endless clear sky, an imposing iron airship burst through the clouds, revealing the suspension bridge hanging below the prow.

Looking down at the sunken wasteland and the layered mountains, Lucien, seated in the bridge, slightly curved the corners of his mouth upwards.

He threw the ice cream stick to a servant standing by, pushed himself up from the armrests of his chair, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the bridge, squinting at the closely looming Ten Peaks Mountain.

Eighty Miles of Bone Road?

Ridiculous.

In their territory, such foes were merely a matter of a bombing round followed by a charge.

If that was not enough, then the process would simply be repeated.

Perhaps this strategy wouldn’t work well against increasingly numerous sticky organisms, but it was more than enough for mutants.

"... Too slow. Waiting for these snails to advance bit by bit, this battle might drag into next year. I think we should simply bypass the Ten Peaks Mountain and wipe out that nest of cult members in one fell swoop."

Hearing the commander’s statement, the deputy behind Lucien coughed lightly and quickly reminded him.

"General, sir, it’s better not to stray from the main force."

Lucien chuckled.

"Do you think these mutants can take down our airship?"

This was not a reckless decision.

Regardless of what high-tech the Torch uses, the mutants on the mountain need food and ammunition, all of which must come from Haiya Province.

As long as we can cut off these guys’ logistical support, hunger alone could kill most of them.

The deputy understood his meaning but still cautiously reminded him.

"The Alliance previously encountered a group of flying mutants in Brocade River City, which they called ’Batwing People.’ Even under the protection of planes, they managed to board the airship and even forced them into a hard battle."

"Heh, don’t those fools know how to use radar?" Lucien sneered, his face showing disdain but his mind slightly on alert, no longer mentioning the idea of flying directly over the Ten Peaks Mountain.

He knew the Alliance would definitely use radar, but in this world, for every spear, there is a shield.

There are many ways to lock onto a target, and equally, many ways to counter radar.

People from the Torch had come from Shelter No.117, and they had developed for quite a long time. They are skilled in biotechnology, but not limited to it.

Returning to his chair, Lucien turned to his deputy and ordered.

"Notify General Modlin of the Ten Thousand Troops, tell him we’ve arrived, and to gather his men in the gondola."

The deputy stiffened his expression and gave a military salute.

"Yes, sir!"

...

On the north side of the military base, the anchor chains thrown down from the Loyalty airship heavily smashed onto the ground, kicking up rolling clouds of dust.

Following that, the belly of the airship lowered a gondola, which gently descended like a swing from the sky and touched the ground.

Around a hundred tall Weilante soldiers in uniform gray-black military uniforms, matte-colored steel helmets on their heads, and uniform automatic weapons on their backs, some even equipped with full-protective exoskeletons including ammo boxes and machine guns, filed out from the sizable gondola which resembled a heavy-duty truck.

Compared to those they had previously seen in the desert, these soldiers were undoubtedly more elite!

Nearby the military base, Debt Giant Eye and the Construction youth watched these individuals from a distance.

On seeing the exoskeletons of Weilante people, the Construction youth and his friend widened their eyes in astonishment.

"These Weilante people have exoskeletons, too?"

Debt Giant Eye felt surprised too but figured it was somewhat ridiculous to be as dramatic as the strength-type livestock beside him, so he analytically reasoned,

"It’s not that strange, right? Giant Stone City has those things too, they even have their own prosthetics development. The Army, being one of the top three forces in the Wasteland, surely can make exoskeletons."

The Construction youth and his friend scratched their heads.

"I’m just wondering... why didn’t we see them before?"

Debt Giant Eye: "Ummm... maybe they used them all up fighting the Grand Canyon?"

Of course, the support level of the faction and the efficiency of local logistics were also issues.

At that time, the Army’s expansion faction was nearly exhausted, the frontline had to be handed over to the Servant Army and the Clone Troops, and they were even struggling to gather ammunition. Exoskeletons, under those circumstances, were naturally considered a luxury.

Had they not faced the issue of supply interruption, they would not have been so desperate to advance into the River Valley Province in search of Decisive Settlement Locations like Giant Stone City that could solve their logistical and equipment issues.

Of course, a more reasonable explanation is that most players had just left Novice Village.

Under those circumstances, unleashing dozens of airships and a group of fully-equipped elites might seem a bit inhumane by Dog Plan.

While Big Eyes and Construction Dude were eyeing this legendary Regular Army from the Eastern Legion, another train was approaching from the distant north.

This train had thirty-two carriages, and the people inside were a mixed bag, quite unusual.

There were people from the Academy, corporate personnel, and even the Expeditionary Army of the West Winds Empire.

Particularly the latter, out of the thirty-two carriages, thirty were filled with them.

Although West Winds had fought a recent undeclared battle with the Alliance, not even a ceasefire agreement was signed, yet as a member of the Sticky Community, the Emperor of West Winds grandly dispatched thirty thousand people.

Of course, this grand gesture wasn’t out of generosity for the common fate of human civilization, but rather out of respect for the face of Weilante people. After all, compared to the death of some insignificant lower classes, that immortal friendship was far more important.logs.

In the last carriage of the train, the front half carried a group in exoskeletons, wearing tactical helmets and gas masks.

They emitted an aura of keeping strangers at a distance, sitting motionlessly in the carriage.

The occupants of the latter half were from the Corporate Air Force No.7.

Their carriage, originally ahead, was forcibly squeezed here by those coming from Poluo Province.

It’s unknown whether the officer of the West Winds Empire’s Expeditionary Army had taken the wrong medication, insisting on squeezing 200 individuals into a carriage with a full load capacity of 118 people.

It had turned out this way.

Chewing gum, a pilot sitting in the back row glanced at his comrade beside him and lowered his voice to make a quiet remark,

"I guess they are bionic people... and not the smart ones."

As everyone knew, the bionic people from the Academy were the most uninteresting folks in the Wasteland, just as boring as their researchers.

His comrade smiled, about to make a teasing comment, when the officer sitting nearby with his eyes closed glanced at the two restless fellows and slowly spoke after closing his eyes.

"Alpha Special Mobile Force, they are not bionic people. They are genuine special forces, hunters in the swamp. The Academy has installed almost all imaginable prosthetic bodies on them, with an individual rate of prosthetic body integration reaching over 30%. Not only that, but they are also almost all Awakeners, although it’s drug-induced... but don’t underestimate them."

Hearing this, the pilots showed a look of surprise on their faces, but it was not because of their prosthetic body integration or their special forces status.

"Drug-induced Awakening?"

"Why would anyone use that stuff?"

At least in Ideal City, awakening wasn’t considered a good thing; instead, it meant losing a lot of life’s pleasures.

Random expressions of non-coding genes could not only potentially cause genetic diseases, but more importantly, they reduced the likelihood of producing offspring.

Although most residents of Ideal City weren’t interested in having offspring, wanting and being able to were two different matters.

Life comes only once, and awakening is irreversible. Most people didn’t dare to gamble with their lives.

After all, if one truly pursued strength, using prosthetic bodies or exoskeletons was sufficient; there was absolutely no need to maximize the organic aspect.

Opening his eyes and folding his arms, the officer glanced at the rows of backs turned towards them and said with a complex expression,

"The Science Committee is a place entirely different from Ideal City. Those guys have proven with their actions that high technology doesn’t necessarily mean a better life, and as long as scientific management methods are applied, it’s feasible to maintain a lower standard of living for most people without hindering their ability to build spaceships or even allow limited resources to be used in crucial areas..."

"For ordinary people who can’t become researchers or prospectors, joining the Alpha Special Mobile Force isn’t a bad alternative, at least the equipment and drugs are free while also improving their family’s living conditions."

The pilot sitting next to him couldn’t help but click his tongue, unable to imagine that kind of life.

At least, he joined the Air Force No.7 because he loved flying planes.

"What a terrifying bunch..."

The officer continued to rest with his eyes closed.

Conducting bombings in mountainous terrain and transport missions, honestly, he had no experience in it, even though the air force base, right next to The Tributary of Tianshui, was located in the mountains.

However, more than his own safety, what he was more concerned about was the Mechanized Mountain Division No.100 from Ideal City that had supposedly arrived today.

It seemed those guys had also arrived today.

He and his subordinates had fighter planes at least. He heard that many of those lads were on the battlefield for the first time...

Would it really be okay?

...

The pilots had no idea; those dudes wearing gas masks weren’t unintelligent, they just turned off unnecessary plugins and prosthetic bodies during the march to save energy.

Some bionic prosthetic bodies required bioelectricity to activate, and the computing power needed to drive these prosthetics imposed a burden on the brain and the chip within it.

Some Wasteland Wanderers, unable to control themselves, often fainted or even went mad due to exceeding their computational limits, but this never happened to the soldiers of Alpha Special Mobile Force.

If not necessary, they could even maintain only the basic functioning of their bodies and the communication module implanted in their chips, reducing metabolism and neural activity to the minimum.

Just as the corporation’s pilots were pointing at the backs of their heads, they listened meticulously to the captain’s speech on the communication channel.

"Sitting behind you is Air Force No.7 of the corporation, although they are not Awakeners, they have undergone rigorous training and selection, chosen from tens of millions as elites."

"Since the War Construction Committee disbanded, Ideal City has been controlled by the leading conglomerates like Ideal Group, and ordinary people must continuously refine their skills to survive. That hardship is no less than digging potatoes in the Wandering Swamp, they, like you, are all honed veterans... never underestimate them! Buck up!"

A majestic voice echoed silently, everyone sat upright with their gas masks on, silently responding in their minds.

"Yes!"

...

Simultaneously, as the Army, corporation, and Academy’s troops arrived at the front, the shouts and gunfires rattled deafeningly on Ten Peaks Mountain.

Before dawn, a group of Goblins had stealthily reached the defense position at Fu Mountain, launching a surprise attack on the sleeping players.

Had this been just after the server started, this tactic might have actually worked, as many players were part-time gamers who had to go to work after waking up in the morning.

But now, not to mention the Death Legion, even some freelance players were focusing more on the game.

Typically, mobile phones and helmets were always at hand; once an "@all members" notification popped up, everyone hurriedly put on their helmets and returned online.

The player patrolling with Claw of Death was the first to spot the attack, and in less than a minute, two hundred players stationed on the mountain quickly logged on and led by Edge Shoveling, they turned the tables on the attacking Goblin troops.

In just one hour.

The two-thousand-strong Goblin Army had more than half either dead or injured, with the remaining soldier-less Goblins scattering in retreat.

Because the battle went so smoothly, Edge Shoveling didn’t even call for the brothers resting at the mountain’s base; he took care of these scraps himself.

What surprised the players the most was that "Goblin" was originally a nickname they gave these green-skinned dwarves, but now these creatures had started calling themselves "Goblin, Goblin."

Wiping the blood off his engineering shovel, Drum Roller Washing Machine muttered with regret.

"That was hasty, if only Dog Planner had let us name them, we should’ve named them ’good-for-nothings.’"

Laplace, startled by his words, hurried over without even wiping the blood on his hands to cover his mouth.

"F*ck, are you trying to get killed calling out Dog Planner here!"

Midnight Umbrella, No Knife scratched his head.

"But the mutants don’t look like Ogres either."

Madam, You Wouldn’t Think, rubbing his chin in thought for a moment: "The eating people part is quite similar though."

Midnight Umbrella, No Knife: "Uh, that’s true."

He wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he felt like today’s Goblins were a bit stronger than yesterday’s.

Not only were their fighting methods more brutal, but they were also more troublesome to deal with, and even carried dynamite barrels on their backs.

Most incomprehensibly, these creatures, who previously fought individually, had now unexpectedly banded together.

I’m not sure if those lunatics used some crazy black technology again.

If they continue to act crazy like this, I’m afraid the "Battle of Paradise" will turn into "Chaos Invasion"...

"Hey, it seems pretty lively down the mountain," a player exclaimed excitedly as he looked down the mountain.

During the brief moment they had been fighting, the Weilante aircraft had already arrived at the battlefield.

And those big-nosed guys even brought something that looked very much like an "AT-AT Imperial Mule"!

It was called the "Wild Bull," right?

It’s not just the army.

Academies and corporations had also arrived at the military base, including their personnel and vehicles!

Seeing everyone’s curious expressions, Edge Shoveling knew what they were expecting and replied with a smile.

"Everyone, hold out a little longer, it’s almost time for rotations!"

Laplace pointed at the scattered corpses nearby and asked, "What about these bodies? Bury them?"

The soil on this mountain is not easy to dig; the ground under their feet is as hard as iron.

Though their Constitution ensures they don’t catch the plague, no one likes to stand next to a bacterial Petri dish.

Not to mention, they had teammates down the hill, and even if they don’t consider themselves, they should consider their comrades.

However, this problem wasn’t too difficult to solve, as Midnight knife quickly came up with an idea.

"Let Big Eyes feed them to his wives, they can eat a lot."

"Hahahaha fuck!" The washing machine man couldn’t help but laugh out loud as he was wiping the dirty blood off his face.

The crowd burst into laughter, even Edge Shoveling couldn’t help but chuckle and gave a thumbs up.

"You’re really talented!"

...

Yesterday, the military base at Fu Mountain was empty, but today it was filled with people.

A total of eight Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft were parked on the tarmac, their imposing bodies resembling whales in the sea.

Next to them, twenty Cloud Dragonfly Flapping Machines stood, their blade-like flexible wings shimmering with a chilling light under the sun.

In addition to that, nearly a hundred silver-white heavy trucks were neatly parked in the wilderness, looking like distinct blocks!

The Ideal Group’s logo was boldly printed on the bumper below the front of the trucks.

That was the corporation’s 100th Mechanized Mountain Division.

They flew over the mountains of the eastern part of Brocade River Province directly using the Tiger Whale Transport Aircraft, landing in batches in the eastern plains and then all headed here together.

This was probably the first time the corporation dispatched troops to such a remote battlefield.

And it wasn’t just the corporation that was showing off its toys.

The academy was the same.

Besides the Alpha Special Mobile Force that arrived by train, nearly twenty long, shuttle-shaped flying vehicles about twenty meters in length landed on the eastern side of the military base.

Although those aircraft utilized plasma engines, their slow landing indicated that their lift wasn’t entirely provided by the plasma engines but likely included anti-gravity devices similar to those used on research ships and army airships.

The heavily armed Alpha Mobile Special Force exited the aircraft in sync.

Seemingly to show off, they purposely walked around to the north side of the camp, passing through the middle of the corporation’s 100th Mountain Division and the army...

As for the "Hounds" special forces of Bugra Free State, they looked more low-key, waiting quietly behind the army with dozens of military trucks.

Unaware of the others’ ulterior motives, Debt Giant Eye and Construction Worker, standing beside the military base and watching the action, were gobsmacked with mouths agape.

Army, corporation, academy, Free State, Empire...

And a whole bunch of other survivor forces he’d never even heard of were all gathering here.

The entire camp was as lively as a large military expo and looked like a parade, with all sorts of odd and varied equipment dazzling to the eyes.

Debt Giant Eye swallowed.

"Construction Worker..."

The young worker with the brick: "What’s up?"

Debt Giant Eye: "Nothing much, just wondering... does it feel like a parade?"

The young worker with the brick, surprised for a moment, then exclaimed, "Damn! Now that you mention it, it kinda does!"

Wasteland Alliance, so it seems...

Though this leader seems a bit unconvincing.

But no worries, as long as their Manager isn’t weak, all is good.

At this moment, he just wanted to shout out that the Manager is awesome!

Just then, the two, still marveling, suddenly caught sight of a familiar face in the crowd.

"Su Ming?!"

Hearing someone call his name, Su Ming, walking toward the center of the camp, stopped and looked puzzled at the two calling him, not recognizing who they were.

"...Do we know each other?"

"We’ve met, hehe, we briefly crossed paths back in Luo Xia Province," Debt Giant Eye said cheerfully as he walked forward, patting his friend beside him, and introduced, "This is Construction, and I’m Big Eyes."

"Oh! Comrades from that time!" Su Ming suddenly realized and nodded, about to comment on their unusual names but thought better of it, holding back his words and instead smilingly said, "Long time no see, has it been a year?"

"Yeah, a year just flew by!"

Not waiting for the NPC to comment on his name, Debt Giant Eye continued with a smile.

"By the way, weren’t you part of the 26th Assault Squad?"

"Yes," Su Ming nodded and looked at him with confusion, "Is there a problem?"

The young man at the construction site stared straight at him, "Did you get a promotion?"

The young man responded with a hearty laugh.

"Promotion? I’m a non-commissioned officer, a professional sniper. If transitioning to an instructor is considered a promotion, then maybe I was promoted."

Debt Giant Eye scratched his head and asked.

"But... weren’t you part of that assault team before? Is the corporate security department and the regular army the same system?"

It wasn’t that he wanted to gather intelligence.

It was just too strange.

It was like a security guard had switched to becoming part of the regular army, and an instructor at that.

Seeing the confusion in his eyes, Su Ming explained with a smile.

"We don’t use that kind of terminology over there. The 100th Mountain Division actually evolved from the 26th Assault Team... Don’t laugh, but we actually don’t have a standing army. The council pulled them out just to have us train with them in preparation for the future. There are quite a few rookies among them, and we might just need your help coaching them."

After all, they were allies, so he spoke without much concealment.

The young man at the construction site and Brick were stunned, their heads still not wrapping around the concept, obsessively fussing over the details for a long while.

"But... aren’t you the 100th Mountain Division? If there’s a 100, naturally there’s a 99, right? How can there be no standing army?"

Su Ming scratched the back of his head and chuckled as he replied.

"Cough... Actually, when we first mobilized, we were called 001. Later, our Cloud Team felt that was inappropriate, so they proposed a change to the council, and it was then changed to 100. It sounds more imposing that way."

Suddenly remembering something, a regretful expression appeared on his face. He glanced quickly at a nearby airship and lowered his voice as he added something to his previous statement.

"By the way, don’t go spreading this around, okay... and if it accidentally slips out, don’t say it came from me."

Watching this guy, Debt Giant Eye and the young man at the construction site and Brick were completely taken aback.

"Holy shit!"

"Badass!"

This works?!

But, to be fair, they were pretty intimidated when they first heard that number...

...

As the two were astounded by the accidental leak of the secret, the train station beside the camp was bustling and noisy.

Soldiers from the West Winds Empire crowded around the station, seemingly encountering some kind of problem.

Upon hearing the report from his subordinates, Li Jinrong, who had just finished entertaining guests from the corporation, hurried over non-stop.

Considering the diverse cultural backgrounds and customs formed by the survivor forces from different parts of Wasteland over two hundred years, friction was inevitable.

Although the Manager had specifically cautioned him to keep an eye on those folks from Poluo Province, he hadn’t expected trouble on the very first day.

Upon arriving at the scene, he quickly located the man who was shouting loudly for the train conductor.

"I am the person in charge here, the leader of the Southern Construction Corps, Li Jinrong. May I know who you are?"

The tall man flared his nostrils and extended his right hand.

"Babita from the Horse Clan, Baron, and the Ten Thousand Leader of the West Winds Expeditionary Army!"

Ignoring the string of titles, Li Jinrong focused and asked seriously.

"So, General Babita, what seems to be the problem?"

"What’s the problem?" Babita roared angrily, "I can’t find my subordinates! And you ask me what’s the problem!"

"Can’t... find your subordinates?"

Li Jinrong paused momentarily, then glanced over the swarming soldiers behind him and commented with a bizarre expression, "Aren’t they right here?"

Seeing him feign ignorance, Babita grew even more enraged and furiously said.

"Not just these! There are supposed to be thirty thousand! Several trains have arrived, and I’ve counted again and again, but there are only two ten-thousand troops! You’ve lost our people!"

Li Jinrong almost spat out blood in frustration.

"How could we possibly lose them?"

"God knows! They were on your trains! You were in charge of logistics! And now people are missing, aren’t you responsible at all?"

Feeling that his words lacked intensity, Babita yelled even louder.

"We paid money for this!"

His point wasn’t wrong.

The Alliance didn’t pay for their logistics out of their own pockets; they just sold transportation capacity and resources converted into money at a cheap price to them.

Losing a whole ten thousand people...

That was certainly a big deal.

If ten thousand militarily-trained refugees suddenly appeared within the bounds of the Alliance, even if they were unarmed on the train, that would still be a major issue.

Realizing the severity of the problem, Li Jinrong’s expression darkened. Not wanting to delay, he asked the man to wait a moment while he went to the communication room at the train station.

Before investigating where those people were lost, he needed to find out the numbers of the trains that transported the soldiers, as well as where they had stopped...

Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away.

In front of the picturesque Potato Harbor, several cargo ships floated on the ocean. A group of soldiers, sweating from their foreheads, looked bewildered at the shore.

The officer at the stern swallowed.

After glancing at the people on shore ready for action, he turned to his bewildered adjutant beside him and swallowed again before asking.

"Did we..."

"Get on the wrong ship?"