This Game Is Too Real

Although Night Ten said these words in a joking tone, his actions were anything but joking.

The fingertips of that bionic material sparked with blue arcs, flickering like ghostly shadows and accompanied by the crackling sound of dry twigs breaking.

Flynn could no longer speak.

After being shocked, he couldn't even beg for forgiveness, twitching like he was having a seizure.

If it had been Old White instead, being paralyzed in the power armor probably wouldn't have affected him much.

However, this guy is equipped quite niubi, but the body might just be a generally strong Awakener, perhaps with enhanced nerve reflexes.

But speaking of which, this discharge ability is pretty niubi!

Not only can he manually fire a railgun, but he can also release an electromagnetic pulse and overload circuits at close range, and finish it off with some electric therapy on his opponent.

The portable reactor provides enough energy, and he could even keep shocking all day long if he wanted to.

"Buddy, why aren't you talking?"

With his hand on the exoskeleton shoulder plate, Night Ten joked mischievously, while the person he was pressing down was already rolling his eyes in the exoskeleton, twitching.

At this time, urgent footsteps sounded from afar.

Finally catching up, Jiang Xuezhou, hands on knees and gasping for breath, shouted once.

"Night Ten! You... don't shock him into a coma! We need to ask questions... take him alive!"

Realizing he was having too much fun, Night Ten shivered with urgency, quickly pulling back his sparking hand.

With the electrode retreating from his body, that guy's shoulder stopped trembling, but he remained still, standing there blankly.

"Whoa, really knocked him out?!" Night Ten was a bit scared inside, mainly fearing he would have to give artificial respiration to this guy in the end.

Feng Qing, held by the neck in mid-air, coughed weakly and said.

"...Could you... put me down first?"

Since her feet weren't touching the ground, she wasn't getting shocked much, but she was about to reach her limit.

She felt if she was suspended any longer, she'd be headed for the Manager at City of Dawn.

"Ah! Hold on! I'll get you down!"

Seeing Feng Qing already about to roll her eyes, Night Ten quickly switched to the arc welder on his bionic arm, performing a circular cut on the "Iron Hand" that was gripping her neck.

Sparks flew outward, and just then, a weak cry came from not far around the corner.

"Medic! I need a medic! Cough... I'm going to die!"

Though he couldn't understand what the person was shouting, seeing another wounded soldier lying by the wall, Jiang Xuezhou hurriedly ran over.

"I'll help!"

...

Half her body wedged in between twisted metal pipes, the rebooted Gui Gui felt like her whole form was falling apart, with few parts following command.

That kick had at least the Strength of a level 50 horse? No—

It might even be level 60, her breastplate had collapsed inward in a "〈" shape.

Luckily, the exoskeleton offered protection, she only broke a few ribs, adding some bruises on her body.

With the help of a United Human Academy researcher, she finally escaped from the half-ruined exoskeleton.

Once a nanoscale therapeutic needle was injected into her leg, she felt warmth spreading throughout, reviving her senses; her sluggish body wasn't as sluggish anymore.

"Phew... saved! Ah, thank you... how much is this therapeutic needle? I'll transfer to you."

Hearing the heartfelt thanks, Jiang Xuezhou's face showed a hint of embarrassment, waving his hand, he said.

"No need, no need... our stuff is exchanged for G points, not for money."

At this moment, Feng Qing with Night Ten's help landed on both feet, breaking free from the exoskeleton.

Both arms were fractured, but the bones weren't broken, just displaced.

With Night Ten's aid, she reset her arms, binding them with bandages to stabilize the injuries.

As for complete treatment and swell reduction, she could only rely on the sleep cabin.

Although she'd need to lay in the sleep cabin for a day or two, it was better than returning to City of Dawn.

She hadn't explored the new map enough, and she planned with Gui Gui to afterward visit Triumph City.

Seeing the scattered framework wreckage and mechanical parts everywhere, Night Ten felt a pang of heartache.

Noticing his expression, Feng Qing nodded slightly to show apology.

"Thank you... also, sorry for damaging your loot."

"It's okay, it's okay, it's alright as long as you're fine," Night Ten gestured politely, smiling and saying, "I'll take it back to Giant Stone City for Yibers to look at, maybe it can be fixed and used... speaking of which, why did you all come to the sewers?"

Just recently, he and Jiang Xuezhou wandered the alleys for half a day, not finding Enlightenment Society folks, only stumbling upon two petty thugs.

Perhaps thinking they were easy targets, those two petty thugs simply approached demanding money, which of course led to Night Ten giving them a thrashing and tossing them into the street-side garbage bin.

Currently, Yavente City had plenty of job vacancies, drawing a surge in population; the complex mix included a few unscrupulous guys.

While they didn't catch Enlightenment Society agents, teaching those two petty thugs a lesson kind of contributed to Yavente City's security.

Shortly after finishing this matter, shots suddenly echoed from beneath a nearby manhole cover, giving Night Ten a bright idea that the area below hadn't been searched, so he dragged Jiang Xuezhou down.

His intuition proved correct.

And shortly after his descent, Gui Gui posted on the official site after being kicked offline.

Following explosion sounds, he soon found this spot, and with a surprise attack, ended the battle.

This guy's combat power was weaker than that of the Disciple he encountered at No.0 Shelter, still idling as Night Ten approached from behind.

Feng Qing caught her breath for a moment, briefly explaining her situation.

"We took a task from Mosquito, clearing the alien nest, but unexpected encounters included not just variants in the sewers."

She paused, surveying the surroundings, presenting a serious expression, she said.

"This guy is likely a Disciple of Enlightenment Society; there might be more around here... we should be cautious."

"Don't worry," supporting the injured Gui Gui, Jiang Xuezhou confidently smiled, interjecting, "I'll never be ambushed by anyone wearing optical camouflage again."

Optical camouflage can create an illusion of invisibility but cannot mask changes in electromagnetic fields.

Since the danger at No.0 Shelter, she installed magnetic-sensitive devices in her body, capable of continuously tracking all active electronic components and electromagnetic wave sources within a twenty-meter radius.

There is no method in this world capable of both shielding electronics and performing optical invisibility simultaneously.

Combined with Night Ten's quasi-scientific perceptive talents, she was one hundred percent confident to prevent any surprises!

However, strangely enough, though Night Ten was originally self-assured about not being ambushed, he suddenly lost his confidence upon hearing her words, coughing nervously, he said.

"Don't say that, I also thought the same... but raising this flag makes me anxious."

Seeing this guy dismantling her talk again, Jiang Xuezhou raised her eyebrow glaring at him.

"You are spouting odd stuff again, what 'Flagg', I'm discussing serious matters!"

"Yes, yes," Night Ten responded with partial sincerity, looking at Feng Qing with a shrug, "Anyway, the Academy has some high-tech able to detect optical camouflage, although not entirely reliable, combined with my sensory perceptual talents, it's passable."

Feng Qing and Gui Gui exchanged looks, collectively musing aloud.

"High-tech..."

"So good."

Unable to understand the exchange between Night Ten and other Residents of the refuge, Jiang Xuezhou frowned suspiciously.

"Are you secretly talking bad about me?"

"How could I? Am I that kind of person?" Night Ten chuckled awkwardly, yet Jiang Xuezhou's expression became even more skeptical, clearly not believing his explanation.

"Really? Then translate what you just said!"

"I said the Academy's science and technology is the best in the world!" Night Ten shamelessly replied without hesitation.

"Hmm, smart move..."

Feeling as sweet as having eaten Chocolate, Jiang Xuezhou proudly curled her lips.

However, her sense of pride lasted less than a second when she saw something in the expression of the girl named Gui Gui next to her. Her curled lips and raised eyebrows collapsed altogether.

"Wait, you're lying! You said the same thing last time! But the pronunciation was completely different!"

She hated liars the most in her life.

Realizing she had been tricked, Jiang Xuezhou turned red with anger, reached out to kick his calf, only to miss as he dodged swiftly.

"Hahaha! Sorry! I was joking haha! Didn't expect you to actually believe it!"

Even though he knew he was laughing disgracefully, Night Ten couldn't help but let out a pig-like squeal at Xiao Jiang's adorably furious demeanor.

Seeing this guy's arrogant attitude, Jiang Xuezhou, who was initially just generally upset, became more and more irritated, let go of Gui Gui's arm and chased after him.

"You... stop right there! I'll... knock your head crooked!"

"Yeah! Touch my head first and then we'll talk!"

Watching the two chasing and bickering in the sewer, Feng Qing rubbed her temple with a subtle expression.

Even though she thought she was already quite unconventional in playing games, compared to high-level players, she was still like a small witch before a big one.

At least this is a sewer.

Can't they flirt in a slightly more romantic place?

Gui Gui limped over to her side, pinching her nose with her index finger, feigning distress.

"Dammit... just when I got used to the sewer, it suddenly became even more rancid."

Had already eaten a mouthful of dog food on the surface in the morning, didn't expect to get forced fed again upon coming down.

Feng Qing sighed, giving her bestie a helpless look.

"Well, the least you can do is endure it; the guy did save you."

Rendered speechless by this, Gui Gui's face took on a pitiful look as if full of unexpressed grievance, ultimately pressing her right hand against her flat chest.

"Ugh... just kill me."

Feng Qing tilted her head, not quite understanding what this guy was joking about.

But that's not the point.

Glancing at the sculpture-like, bewildered-looking Disciple of Enlightened Society standing there, Feng Qing then looked at Night Ten already pinned down by Jiang Xuezhou and pointed to the side.

"Though I don't want to interrupt your game... mind telling me how to deal with this guy?"

Jiang Xuezhou stopped her actions begrudgingly, and Night Ten, finally able to catch his breath, swung his head laboriously and coughed as he spoke.

"Let's take him up first... if nothing unexpected happens, there should only be him in the vicinity. Instead of slowly searching, better let him lead us."

Just earlier while helping Feng Qing down from the Exoskeleton, he had checked the captive. That guy still had a heartbeat and might even have woken by now.

However, he had already removed the battery from the Exoskeleton the guy was wearing, locked the moving parts, and administered an injection.

Even waking, this guy couldn't move, could only stand dumbstruck, watching them helplessly.

"Good idea," Feng Qing gave a thumbs-up, "Then I'll go up with Gui Gui? You guys... continue?"

The latter half she used United Human language, which was to say, a language that Jiang Xuezhou could understand.

Detecting the subtle teasing, Jiang Xuezhou gave Night Ten a fierce glare before nonchalantly coughing and standing up, red-faced.

"Conti… Continue with what? I'm going up!"

Seeing that almost steaming red face, Feng Qing couldn't help but smile like an aunt.

Academy friends really are pure-hearted, aren't they?

Unconsciously, she thought of Boss Xia, who could argue with players all afternoon.

Speaking of which, the weapon shop in Linghu Wetland Park had gone through several NPCs, but she missed most the earliest red-haired lady.

"Then let's go up together, I'm worried it's just me and Gui Gui won't be able to control this guy."

As Feng Qing was about to leave, Gui Gui suddenly seemed to remember something and raised her head.

"By the way, what about the Alien nest task? Are we just going to let that little mouse we released earlier go?"

Feng Qing paused slightly, evidently just remembering about this herself, pondering briefly before replying.

"We're coming down later anyway."

"Wait and see what the little creature discovers then."

...

At the tavern by the talent market entrance, Fang Chang suddenly received a call from Old White while drinking coffee.

"Already caught someone?"

He widened his eyes in surprise, pushed the chair back and stood up.

"Alright... I'll be there right away."

Busy writing, Dolly paused her pen, casting a curious look at him.

"Already found? So quick."

She was just thinking about trying to use the newspaper's influence, didn't expect the person had already been caught.

"In the sewer on Street No. 17, there should be a fixed base hidden there, similar to the one below Evernight Harbor. Maybe we'll find the clues we want inside... But first, we need to pry open that disciple's mouth."

While speaking, Fang Chang reached out to pick up the coat draped over the chair's back, putting it over his shoulder and fastening the button, looking at Dolly as he spoke.

"I'll head over there first, should be back before evening, if you're hungry feel free to order food."

Dolly waved him off with a smile.

"Go go, take care on the road... Oh, and if there's any explosive news, remember to contact me!"

Seeing the playful expression, Fang Chang smiled gently.

"I will... Also, try to stick around the military base. Recently the security in this settlement isn't great, not just due to issues with the Enlightenment Society, but also Waste Land Wanderers from elsewhere."

Dolly lifted her eyebrows, replying in a playful tone.

"The security couldn't be worse than Giant Stone City back in the day, right? No worries, I'm not one to be easily bullied."

Fang Chang laughed, reaching out to ruffle that fluffy green hair.

"I believe you, see you when I get back."

——

(Thanks to "Little Dog Hollow Heart" for the lordly reward!!!)