This Game Is Too Real-Chapter 790 "No One Understands Ah Guang Better Than I Do

Death Coast, floating docks made of steel, a group of construction workers dressed in work clothes were disembarking ashore, carrying shovels and toolboxes in succession.

They were soldiers of the Empire’s Expeditionary Army, previously stationed at Fried Dough Stick Port.

Although the Alliance occasionally pulled them out for target practice, it was clear from the start that the players had never intended to throw them into the front lines.

Thankfully so.

As they reached the shore, many vomited on the spot, their faces pale and their limbs numb.

The cause was naturally seasickness, but half of it was due to the horrific sight on the beach.

There lay swollen, mutilated bodies haphazardly scattered across the sands—blue, green, and even human ones. Though those bodies in the trenches had been moved by the players, some mutants that died in the sea were continuously washed up on the sand by the waves.

Not only bodies, but also variants attracted by the smell were roaming around.

Some unusually large sea crabs, having caught the scent of decay, were energetically feasting on the bodies, indulging in a buffet style.

The crowd, swallowing their saliva and stomach acid, stiffly made their way onto the shore.

However, just then, a gunshot suddenly rang out on the shore.

"Bang—!"

The sudden gunshot startled everyone, and their muscle memory from training made them instinctively lie flat on the ground until they saw Blue Jacket in an exoskeleton approaching.

"Don’t be nervous, it’s me."

Carrying a shotgun, Half a year’s wasted time walked over to the dock, waved his hand, and then pointed near the row of floating docks at the feet of the crowd.

There lay a mutated sea crab, over a meter tall, collapsed in a waterlogged sandpit, its half head completely blown off by the shotgun.

Because its shell was too similar in color to the sand, everyone who had been focusing on the bodies on the shore hadn’t noticed it.

Watching these panic-stricken soldiers of the Expeditionary Army, Half a year’s wasted time said with a smile,

"Watch your feet, the pinchers of these creatures are quite powerful, just one snap could break your legs... We’ve spent enough money on you, don’t want to pay for prosthetic legs as well."

Seeing no one spoke, Half a year’s wasted time no longer wasted words and got straight to the point.

"Your task is simple, clear the bodies from the beach, drag them about five kilometers from the shoreline, and then burn them with the fuel we provided..."

"The Torch Church’s military power in this area has been neutralized by us, so there shouldn’t be any danger. Of course, I can only say ’should’, as anything can happen on the battlefield, so you need to keep your eyes wide open and be prepared for any possible dangers."

"That’s the situation, if you have any questions, ask now; if not, you can start working."

After dropping these words, Half a year’s wasted time waited a moment, and when no one spoke up, he was about to turn and leave.

However, just then, a young man timidly raised his hand.

"I... have a question."

His voice was timid, as was common when most Mouse Tribe people communicated with them.

Half a year’s wasted time didn’t mind and waved his right hand.

"Then ask quickly."

The young man swallowed and quickly said,

"Why not just let the crabs eat them..."

As far as he was concerned, there was no need to bother with this, as the crabs would clean them up anyway if left alone.

Hearing this outlandish idea, Half a year’s wasted time laughed, his tone mocking,

"Wait until you’ve fed them, guess how much their numbers will grow?"

These NPCs are acting more like NPCs than I am!

As he was about to turn away, the young man spoke again in a low voice.

"What if we take them farther away from the dock? Dig a pool there and bury the bodies... it might even attract the mutated sea crabs there."

He wasn’t bothered by moving the bodies; he just thought it was a pity to drive away the edible crabs.

When they first arrived at Fried Dough Stick Port, they often picked up the crabs killed by the Alliance soldiers and even grilled and ate them together.

Half a year’s wasted time looked at the young man in surprise.

Good lord.

These game NPCs are that realistic?!

But fair is fair, after carefully thinking it over in his head, he actually liked the idea.

Of course, he mainly wanted to improve the food situation, so he walked up smiling, patted the young man on the shoulder.

"Brother, what’s your name?"

The young man said timidly,

"Dan..."

"Then I’ll call you Ah Dan, haha, the future Crab Tycoon, Ah Dan."

Having said this, Half a year’s wasted time threw a bunch of keys with a car registration tag into his hand, then handed over the tool he was holding, and continued laughing while speaking.

"The truck is loaned to you, these people are under your command... and here’s a shotgun and a walkie-talkie. I hope your crab farm is at least five kilometers away from here, and if you’re attacked, call us."

The young man named Dan was momentarily stunned, then nodded enthusiastically, his face alight with joy.

"Don’t worry, sir, leave it to me, I’ll make sure you’re satisfied!"

From the smile on that Alliance Soldier’s face, he seemed to see an opportunity to change his fate!

If things went well, maybe he could stay...

Half a year’s wasted time didn’t mind it and laughed, making a ’get busy’ gesture, then walked back to the shore.

Standing at the shore and waiting, Step Into the Sky asked him as he approached.

"Isn’t this problematic?"

Half a year’s wasted time responded with a laugh,

"What problems could there be? It’s good to make use of the mutant’s remains. Don’t be so serious, haha."

Perhaps after the battle, the mutant crabs would become a local specialty.

Seeing his playful grin, Step Into the Sky made a helpless expression.

"Alright then."

He didn’t really care, as long as it didn’t affect the supply of materials.

...

The dusk that hung in the sky gradually fell.

As the Expeditionary Army successively landed at Fried Dough Stick Port, Duke Nihak, who was stubbornly refusing to exit the South Sea Alliance Fleet ship, finally hesitantly followed onto the shore after seeing General Li Minghui head to the shore.

After all, he was a duke of the Empire, he couldn’t let people underestimate him.

Not just for that reason.

As a duke of the Empire, now that the Expeditionary Army had finally landed on Torch Church territory, he felt compelled to make his presence felt.

However, what he didn’t expect was that the situation on shore was much more gruesome than he had imagined, with the pungent smell of blood not dissipating even after a full day of sea breeze.

Standing on those uneven steel plates, Duke Nilac felt as if his nostrils were soaked in blood, his legs growing weak.

This is the frontline...

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, his pupils filled with uncontrollable fear.

Although he had seen the true capabilities of the Alliance through holographic screens, the death witnessed through a screen was far less profound than what he felt now.

These guys aren’t human...

Whether it’s those lying on the beach or those camping on the shore...

They’re all devils!

Pushing away the guard who came to assist him, he moved with stiff steps toward the shore.

Not far away was the Alliance camp, with tents arranged along the edge of the beach, lights shining on the watchtowers.

He harbored a faint hope, hoping that the camp was filled with wounded, that the battle would weaken both the Torch and the Alliance, hoping the Empire would thereafter stand atop the world, but the moment he walked into the camp, all his hopes were dashed.

The soldiers sat on their battle positions where enemies had fallen, lighting bonfires.

They didn’t care about the bullet marks or blood on the ground, sitting in front of those bonfires, even laughing and singing as they roasted meat.

Not just Alliance Soldiers.

He watched as several Expeditionary Army Soldiers were also pulled to sit with them, some of whom played short flutes from Poluo Province and drums made of beast skin and bones, accompanying the hoarse and robust singing.

"...Heaven’s gears fall into the smelter."

"Boiling steel splashes out from the furnace."

"The undying Heaven disaster never stops."

"We’ll rebuild the kingdom of mortals!"

"..."

"The chaotic hound’s head has been severed."

"The flames of punishment are the destiny of lies."

"If turning right and wrong is the path to Heaven..."

"Then we topple it first!"

He didn’t understand what they were singing, yet he felt the blood in his veins surge with the melody.

A sudden fear sprouted in his heart, especially when he saw the Expeditionary Army Soldiers humming along softly.

Those lyrics seemed to contain some kind of heretical curse...

Someone noticed him, pointed smilingly at him, and before he knew it, he was pulled to sit by the bonfire.

The two guards who followed him were also pulled to the fire.

"...cheer up a bit, don’t look so sad, the war is almost over!"

"Although you all still have a ton of issues to worry about, at least now we can celebrate a shared victory," Kill Dagger said, patting Duke Nihak on the shoulder with a laugh, "This is a victory for all of humanity, not just for us, but for you as well."

"...Stop, stop spouting nonsense!"

Duke Nihak glared, his eyes wide like a very, very old mouse whose tail had been stepped on.

"We don’t have any problems; we’re just fine! The ones with issues are you, bringing all that stink... bringing Wasteland to Poluo Province! Before you came there, we were just fine!"

His beard trembled with rage, his lips turning blue, not even realizing the contradiction in his words—earlier stating they’re fine now, but then saying they were truly fine before the Alliance arrived.

Watching this living clown, the players burst into laughter, while Brother Shabi laughed and patted him on the shoulder again.

"Of course, you’re doing just fine, the buried don’t talk."

He vaguely remembered when they had captured this guy; he was in bed having a great time.

Before the bearded duke could rebut, Brother Shabi poured him a glass of wine.

"Come on now, let’s eat and drink, today is a day worth celebrating; let’s not ruin the mood over a small matter."

Looking at the leg of meat handed to him, Nihak couldn’t help but think of the bodies scattered everywhere, paling slightly as he asked with a quivering voice.

"What meat is this?"

Seeing his terrified expression, Kill Dagger immediately realized he misunderstood and laughingly said,

"Monster meat, just hunted, tastes a bit like bear... want to taste?"

Seeing the challenging look in Nihak’s eyes, the Duke, not wanting to be looked down upon, darkened his face and took a bite.

The aroma of the roasted meat spread through his lips and teeth, the greasy taste lighting up his eyes.

Hmm...

This tastes surprisingly good?

Although the people of the Alliance were a bit rough, he had to admit, they did have some serious cooking skills.

Seeing the Duke quiet down, the players continued the feast with laughter and talk.

While Kill Dagger was laughing and chatting with his teammates, a pale blue icon suddenly popped up on his VM.

"Old White needs me for something, probably a new mission; you guys keep eating, I’ll leave first."

He greeted his teammates with a cheerful goodbye and picked up his helmet, walking toward the command tent deep within the camp.

As he lifted the tent flap and entered, he saw Old White and Fang Chang standing next to the command table, staring meticulously at the laid-out map.

Seldom seeing such a serious expression on both of them, Kill Dagger immediately guessed it was a big job, his face lighting up with excitement.

"A big job coming?"

"Yeah, and it’s a big one..." Fang Chang, pinching his chin, nodded and summarized the information he had just heard from the Guards Corps.

In short, there was a traitor among the higher-ups of the Torch Church who, not appearing on the "evacuation list," hoped to surrender to the Alliance for leniency.

Kill Dagger thought this guy was really unlucky.

Generally, if you know about the list, you’d expect to be on it.

But this guy, interestingly enough, knew about the list and wasn’t on it.

Setting aside how he ended up in this position, what confused Kill Dagger more was another matter.

The top brass of the Torch Church planning to run?

These guys were already surrounded; where the hell could they run to?

Was there even a place on this Earth where they could hide?

Wait, perhaps—

Seeing the look of astonishment on Kill Dagger’s face, Fang Chang lightly smiled and said.

"It seems you’ve realized it too."

Kill Dagger nodded, his expression grave.

"The Torch Church has a spaceship..."

Fang Chang said nothing.

Old White cleared his throat.

"What do they need a spaceship for... think about it some more."

Kill Dagger was baffled for a moment.

"Ah? Where else could they run?"

"It’s not entirely impossible," Fang Chang suddenly spoke up, "It might be a spaceship, or it could be a space station, or even a satellite from this hard drive... But it’s unlikely that they would directly flee using the spaceship. I think they’re planning to use a high-powered transmitter to relay signals to a device in outer space."

With nuclear fusion technology extensively used, many devices left from the Human Alliance Era in outer space—like still functioning satellites or even automated weapons—are calculated to last for centuries.

He paused, then continued,

"If that’s the case, I believe they have already completed the data transfer during our discussion. Don’t forget, those guys don’t exist physically; they’ve already uploaded their data to the so-called ’Holy Land.’"

Killer Dagger was stunned and said dumbfoundedly,

"So... there’s no point in chasing them now?"

"Not exactly," Fang Chang continued, fixated on the map, "While intercepting the data migration might not be feasible, at least we can figure out where their data was sent to, and..."

"where our enemies really are."

"Enemies..." Killer Dagger repeated the word, confused and not understanding.

Old White explained to him,

"Both Fang Chang and I believe that there might be other supporters behind the Torch."

"Other supporters are..." Killer Dagger said, still clueless.

Fang Chang cut straight to the point,

"Do you remember the third update of the Beta0.6 version, South Gate Two star system and Gaia World?"

"Holy shit, you mean... the plan that was drawn up?" Killer Dagger looked at him baffled, "But that was just for fun, right?"

Fang Chang smiled faintly,

"You’re underestimating Ah Guang."

When everyone thought it was just a joke, it most likely wasn’t.

He was certain that the map five light-years away had already been created and had been affecting the Game world since the Beta0.6 version, only most people hadn’t realized it.

He couldn’t be completely sure yet that the Torch was supported by the "Gaia Forces", but he could be certain that the current mission was definitely the first link between players and the new world’s quest chain! 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

He might even assert that such opportunities had appeared before, just that no one had triggered them.

This was also why the mission had come directly to them, like a fastball.

Most events in this game seemed isolated, but if you dug deeper, ultimately, they all interlinked!

He confidently stated that nobody understood Ah Guang better than him.

After listening to Fang Chang’s analysis, Killer Dagger also felt it made sense, his eyes brightening,

"So, does this mean that our chance to establish a connection with the world five light-years away lies in this mission? Wait, damn! If we fail, wouldn’t we miss the opportunity to open a new map?"

Fang Chang shook his head,

"Not necessarily. Since the game team has created the map, they will definitely give players a chance to go there. However, many missions in this game are unique, and each player only gets limited opportunities. If we miss this one, it will likely be triggered by other players next time."

"Discussing this now is pointless, let’s get back to the mission itself."

Old White coughed lightly, shifting away from the tangent and continued while looking at the map spread out on the table.

"According to information from the Guards Corps, top Torch officials are currently hiding in an underground facility called Shelter No.20. The entrance to this shelter is located in an abandoned old era industrial park, and like Shelter No.182, it belongs to a shelter that was abandoned for years but has recently been reopened. Therefore, breaking through the security system shouldn’t be too difficult for us."

"The NPC who provided us with the information is named Karen. We now have her biometric identification, including fingerprints, iris patterns, and three-dimensional... cough, in short, she might have important information, including the whereabouts of Torch Church’s top brass, their supporters behind the scenes, and data on the Perfect Life Form research project. Therefore, our primary mission is to ensure her safety, and secondly to suppress the entire research facility and take control of Shelter No.20."

"The guards provided the coordinates; the shelter is about 100 kilometers from our landing site. One third of that distance is hills, and the road conditions are poor, so it will be difficult for us to deploy much heavy equipment," Fang Chang nodded.

"A speedy deployment using Viper transport planes would be a better option... after all, that area belongs to the Heavenly Domain, and a swift and decisive battle would be preferable."

"I was thinking the same thing," Old White twisted his lips into a grimace and continued sternly, "Also, the Guards Corps warned us to be cautious of friendly forces... The research facility is only about fifty kilometers away from the army’s thirty-first ten-thousand troops. If we make too much noise and they realize there’s something valuable there, it’s hard to say whether they’ll interfere and mess things up. We absolutely cannot let Torch’s scientists fall into their hands."

The Weilante People also possess Perfect Life Form technology; the eight-times growth rate clones are a product of this project.

In fact, it’s not just the army we need to be wary of; we should also be cautious of the Academy.

The former at least operates openly, but the latter mostly operates in secret, and it’s hard to say whether they already know something.

Although the Alliance has been consistently clashing with the Torch, the ones who truly know the Torch might not necessarily be the Alliance.

Long before the birth of the Alliance, the Academy had already noticed the emerging crisis in Haiya Province. They were the ones who "encouraged" the Alliance to move into the area around Brocade River City.

"So no air support is available?" Killer Dagger said gravely.

"There’s no problem with air support," Fang Chang responded, "A few strikes shouldn’t be an issue, but we need to be cautious about saturation bombardment as it would signal to the army that we have major operations in that area... If we can resolve the matter discreetly it would be best, or save it until we’re retreating or wrapping things up."

"Essentially, that’s the plan," Old White nodded, looking at Killer Dagger, "Also, based on information from our inside source, stationed near the facility is a Ruling Group from the Torch’s judiciary and a unit loyal to Sanctuary No.1 of the Holy Light Knights. The former has no more than a company in size, but the latter has about a battalion and is equipped with a lot of high-tech weapons."

"Additionally, our drones discovered a force of over a thousand Mutants not far from the facility in an abandoned urban district... likely the Mutant tribe that retreated from Ten Peaks Mountain. If the key facilities of the Torch Church are attacked, they have no reason not to rush over to support."

"As a result, I plan to split our troops into two parts; one as a feint deployed near the abandoned urban district using Overlord Transport Aircraft to carry light equipment and launch a surprise attack on the Mutant troops there to try to draw Torch’s attention. The other group will use Viper transport planes to directly breach the entrance of Shelter No.20, working with insiders to take down the entire facility!"

"That’s a great idea!" Killer Dagger nodded with a brightened expression, then saw both men staring intently at him, and he hesitated, "Uh... why are you guys looking at me like that."

It turns out it was just him at such an important combat meeting.

Where were the other brothers?

Old White and Fang Chang exchanged glances, and it was Fang Chang who finally approached Killer Dagger, placing his hands solemnly on his shoulders.

"The challenging yet honorable task of the feint attack... we plan to assign it to your battalion!"

Killer Dagger: "..."

Damn!