This Game Is Too Real

The street was shrouded in sand and dust, with only the sound of barking dogs in the pale red mist. The distant clamor of gunfire had already ceased.

Hiding in an abandoned storefront, Marik nervously watched the street outside the window, his heart pounding fiercely.

He was at least 500 meters away from the location where he encountered the sniper.

If nothing unexpected happened, the sniper hadn't followed him, not even noticing that he had quietly changed positions.

Nevertheless, Marik still didn't dare to let his guard down, continuing to cautiously observe the outside situation.

At this moment, the "restore communication" icon suddenly popped up on his helmet's visor, startling him.

"Damn it..."

Seeing the belated signal, Marik cursed under his breath, quickly turning off the signal interface and entering radio silence mode.

The signal disappeared after being restored for barely two seconds.

Looking at the gray icon, Marik finally breathed a sigh of relief, letting his anxious heart relax.

This way, even if the Alliance captured his teammates, they wouldn't be able to pinpoint his general location.

Thinking of the gruesome death of Warren, Marik couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.

No way.

The sight of the shattered brains filling a whole carriage was too impactful, making his stomach churn despite the time that had passed.

Judging that he had escaped, Marik took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

To be honest, he didn't expect the Alliance to send fighter planes over, and that signal jamming grenade was even more surprising.

There was only one explanation—

From the moment they entered this area, they had all been targeted.

Even before they started moving, the other party had already planned every step of the ambush.

Thinking about how they had quietly slipped under the enemy's nose into the traps laid in advance, Marik felt a wave of embarrassment.

This is just too stupid!

"...I need to find a way out of here."

Silently reciting this, he poked his head out of the window, confirming the escape direction.

However, at this moment, he noticed a mutant owl perched on the broken streetlamp across the street.

The owl was staring intently at him, its thick cheeks slightly moving.

Looking into those somewhat provocative eyes, Marik suddenly had a bad feeling.

Almost instinctively, he released the grip of his rifle and reached for the silenced handgun at his waist with his right hand.

To prevent alerting the Alliance while escaping, taking care of this potential threat in advance was the best solution!

But just as his right hand was about to reach his gun, a huge force silently chopped at the back of his knee.

"Clang!"

A dull thud resounded, accompanied by Marik's low howl of pain.

"Ah—"

His right leg was hit, instinctively bending his knee and kneeling on one knee.

Fortunately, he was wearing power armor, or this blow would have severed his lower leg.

Before he could recover from the intense pain, the sensation of the sharp weapon withdrawing from his knee made every nerve in Marik's body tense!

Almost instinctively, he swung his right fist backward, his arm hitting the short knife that was slashing at him.

"Clang—!"

The sound of metal colliding echoed in the abandoned shop, and turning around, Marik finally saw his assailant.

It was a cloaked woman.

Her weather-beaten face bore a deep scar, and her eyes held an even deeper hatred.

Meeting those eyes engraved with hatred, Marik's pupils involuntarily contracted.

"...Who are you?"

His intuition told him that she wasn't from the Alliance!

The woman didn't answer, instead taking a swift step forward to close the distance again.

"Courting death!"

Seeing her rushing with a knife, Marik sneered coldly, raising his rifle to fire.

However, the muzzle flash was barely out for a second before the flashing knife light sliced off half the receiver.

So fast!

Marik was shocked, instinctively pulling out his handgun to fire, but after just two shots, the woman closed in, disarming him so that the shots hit the ceiling.

Chunks of plaster dust rained down from the ceiling, coating Marik's face.

Furious and shocked, he lifted a leg to kick forward but found his foot caught on the cloak, which the woman easily dodged with a sidestep.

"Buzz—"

The spinning blade emitted a buzzing sound as it arced through the air, striking his left knee from the side with lightning speed.

Now both legs were injured.

Though the blade only left a shallow scratch on the power armor, Marik couldn't help but let out a pained groan.

The distance between them was too close!

Practically shoulder to shoulder, nose to nose!

Marik felt like an awkward elephant, while the cloaked woman was like a mouse darting around him, taking bites left and right.

Though the attacks were like mere scratches, not even denting his power armor, continuing like this was not a viable solution!

Just as he attempted to stabilize himself, the woman suddenly leapt backward, creating some distance between them.

Marik's intuition screamed at him, and a sense of foreboding climbed up the back of his head.

At that very instant, an explosion flared behind him.

The bomb seemed attached to his back, the erupting flames giving him no time to react, forcing him forward with the hot shockwave, sprawling him onto the ground.

[Warning! Severe damage to power components!]

The warning in yellow flashed on his helmet's visor, and Marik felt like every part of him was wrongly displaced.

Mechanical parts and flesh alike.

Shaking his groggy head, as he tried to push up with his hands, he felt something 'smack' like a brick on the back of his head.

Cold sweat instantly burst from his forehead, seeping down his neck between the helmet and armor.

Without a second thought, Marik gave up resisting, lying flat on the ground obediently.

He was thoroughly subdued.

After the encounter, he was certain he was no match for her, not even in power armor.

"I surrender..."

The woman didn't speak, only gazed at the streetlamp not far away, looking at the owl perched upon it.

The owl seemed to understand her gaze, flapping its wings as it flew up to the sky, circled once, and then headed north.

Watching the owl leave, the woman withdrew her gaze from the sky, then looked back at the Enlightenment Society disciple who was prostrated on the ground.

With a voice devoid of emotion, she slowly spoke.

"Take it off yourself."

…

Elsewhere, below a half-collapsed skyscraper, a "Xiaguang" power armor emerged from the shadows of the ruins.

Only to see the ceramic steel casting armor riddled with pockmarks of bullet holes, and disordered scratches almost covered the light gray coating. The pair of alloy-forged mantis knives were nearly blunted from hacking!

It looked all battered, as if it had just crawled out of Hell's Gate.

Only experienced veterans could tell that those damages were superficial, mostly concentrated on the detachable breastplate.

As for the mantis knives, they didn't need mentioning—consumables in any encounter with similarly armored opponents. Dulling was just a norm.

In fact, it's amazing those two mantis knives lasted this long!

This guy is an expert!

Watching the power armor emerge from the base of the building, the Tarlan Raider, who was putting on airs in front of the captured, grinned and opened his arms to welcome it.

"Nicely done, brother! How about considering joining our deser—"

The player grinned, tossed the pair of mantis knives to the ground, and decisively extended his right hand.

"You're welcome! Settle the payment, brother."

"Damn! So heartless, are you?"

The player chuckled.

"Not necessarily, mainly depends on the situation."

The Tarlan Raider: "…&￥#@!"

Damn!

Who the hell are you looking down on!

Despite the sharp tongue, the agreed payment would still be given.

Moreover, this money was already paid in advance to the Mercenary Guild of the Alliance; it didn't even require on-the-spot payment. Just confirm completion, and the money automatically goes to the account.

After receiving the bounty, the player did not hurry to leave, instead cheekily heading to the outer part of the city to stand guard.

The mission wasn't over yet.

The previous skirmish was a makeshift battle plan; his task from the Desert Army was to assist the latter in connecting with the critical NPC. He'd get the remaining payment based on the completion once the entire mission was done.

As a professional freelance player, he maintained this bit of professional ethics.

Looking at the Desert Army commander who seemed a tad defeated, Emichiru Junichiro, also on a part-time task, tossed the fighting knife in his hands, cheekily strolled over.

"Old Baldy, still seducing freelancers are we."

Upon hearing this presumptuous nickname, the Tarlan Raider nearly choked on his spit, turned and cursed.

"Screw your mom, my name's Tarlan! You're the bald one, you and your whole family are bald!"

The Comedian rolled his eyes, laughed mischievously.

"Tch, who memorizes proper names, sounds like some NPC when pronounced."

Tarlan Raider chuckled.

"And you, like a corpse?"

The Comedian rolled his eyes to the sky.

"Scram, scram."

Although that guy wasn't one of the Desert Army people, Tarlan was quite familiar with him, and the Sand Sculpture who often appeared alongside him together.

Due to frequently doing tasks together, Tarlan had repeatedly tried to entice the pair to outright join the Desert Army, but they never agreed, and he eventually resigned from further attempts.

Not everyone likes joining an organization.

Besides, after pondering, Tarlan realized that his Desert Army indeed had little appeal—no lucrative benefits, rarely at the wasteland's center stage, and merely handling side tasks might end in a mess.

Receiving a direct task from a Manager this time, truth be told, he was somewhat surprised.

Considering the previous operation at Evernight Harbor should count as botched...

After a casual chat with a few freelance players, Tarlan turned back to the open space where the captives were being guarded.

The brothers in the army should have completed the interrogation.

Just as he predicted, the one responsible for interrogation, a Medical Miracle, approached.

"It's done. They're people of the Scorpion of the Desert."

"Scorpion of the Desert?" The Tarlan Raider frowned, muttered a thought, "What's that?"

The Medical Miracle briefly reported.

"According to their account, supposedly a special forces unit of the Enlightenment Society, with key members being Residents of the refuge, some even Awakeners who have injected gene induction-expression agents."

The Tarlan Raider's eyes lit up, joyfully exclaimed.

"Brilliant! We wiped out a special forces unit!"

The Medical Miracle presented a subtle expression and said.

"As far as I recall... the Enlightenment Society doesn't have any regular army, theoretically all units are 'special forces.'"

The Tarlan Raider coughed.

"Not important! What's important is that we stood up!"

Looking at the overly optimistic commander, the Medical Miracle sighed and paused for a moment before continuing.

"From separate interrogation results, they, like us, were attracted by radio signals. At least it shows they don't know that 'Zhuang Lan' NPC."

"Besides, their commander is quite a talent, had a similar thought as yours, planned to use the signal base station inside the building ruins as bait to catch us off guard... but ended up right in our crossfire."

Honestly, when he first heard the commander's spontaneous plan, he felt quite pessimistic, even prepared for a month of sand-eating in the desert.

Given the Great Desert's communication conditions, the opponent might not necessarily receive the signal, even if they did, they might not care, let alone send a group over.

Yet, turned out, they actually received the clue and valued it, sending a whole company.

Just a worthy opponent.

"Hahaha, quite a talent, but still half a step behind me," The Tarlan Raider laughed exuberantly, nudging his chin, urged, "Where's this talent? Where is he?"

The Medical Miracle's expression immediately turned awkward at the words.

"Uh, not among the captives... Sand Sculpture said he saw someone in power armor, but he ran away, don't know if he's their leader."

The Tarlan Raider widened his eyes.

"Whoa, he ran!? What's that useless guy up to—"

"Who the hell are you calling useless!?"

Before Tarlan finished his words, a gruff voice rang from the side.

The two turned back, seeing [Desert Falcon] with a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder, approaching.

Behind him were two people.

One draped in a desert-colored cloak, and the other looked pathetically bound tightly with rope.

"People are here! That so-called commander of the Scorpion of the Desert."

Dragging the rope, Marik was pushed to the front, and Sand Sculpture cursed at Talan.

"MMP! All you do is boast all day, and I end up doing all the work, might as well make me the leader!"

Tarlan Raider's old face reddened, wanting to refute but couldn't, ultimately swallowing his words.

Medical Miracle looked at Sand Sculpture in surprise.

"Really, brother, did you catch him?"

Originally aggressive, Sand Sculpture, for some reason, also turned red-faced, coughed, and spoke quickly.

"Sort of, I picked him up... that's not important. Oh, and it's me who took out his adjutant, a headshot!"

The voice was so low that Medical Miracle couldn't help but wonder if his ears were malfunctioning.

At this moment, Talan suddenly noticed the stranger wearing a cloak and cast an inquisitive glance at him.

"And who might this be?"

Seeing the two across the way casting inquisitive glances his way, the guy in the cloak reached up to remove his hood.

Looking at the weathered face, Tarlan Raider's face showed a surprised expression.

"A woman?"

In the crisis-ridden Great Desert, it's rare to see solitary wanderers.

And solitary women are even rarer.

The person slightly nodded and introduced herself.

"My name is Zhuang Lan."

Medical Miracle and Tarlan Raider exchanged glances, their faces showing even more obvious surprise.

"You are Zhuang Lan?"

Zhuang Lan nodded slightly and began to speak slowly.

"Yes, a survivor of Shelter No. 68, organizer of the Watcher Organization... We've been fighting with forces related to the Enlightenment Society long before your touch extended into the Great Desert."

Pausing, she continued.

"... And by the way, the signal you received was sent by me."

Tarlan Raider furrowed his brow slightly, staring at her intently, trying to find a flaw on her face.

"I don't understand. If the signal was sent by you, why didn't you come out to meet us?"

Zhuang Lan kept silent for a moment, then glanced at the half-collapsed skyscraper nearby.

"Because... this is not the place to talk."

"You can receive the signal; those who shouldn't receive it might receive it as well. I was hoping to follow you when you left, but unexpectedly, you stayed here without moving."

The air was slightly awkward.

Thinking that it was his idea to ambush the Enlightenment Society people here, Talan couldn't help but touch his nose.

Seeing a silly guild leader still doubting the identity of the NPC beside him, Sand Sculpture hesitated for a moment but eventually coughed and spoke.

"I think there's no need to doubt her identity... Honestly, it was actually her who caught this guy."

As he spoke, he pointed to Marik, who was tied up like a zongzi.

The Medical Miracle standing nearby heard this and his eyes almost popped out in disbelief as he looked at the woman who didn't seem to be very capable of fighting.

"This person?"

Could actually take down an Awakener wearing power armor?

In fact, it's because he entered the game late and only got his helmet in the past year, so he doesn't quite understand what happened at No.0 Shelter.

However, Zhuang Lan was quite humble and did not emphasize that she caught the captive herself.

Seeing several pairs of eyes falling on the captive, she paused for a moment and also directed her gaze there.

"Although some accidents happened, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise; we caught a big fish unexpectedly."

Seeing the guy who was tied up, Tarlan slightly raised his eyebrows.

"You mean this guy?"

Zhuang Lan slowly nodded and said.

"Marik, the captain of the Scorpion of the Desert, a senior disciple of the Enlightenment Society... I had heard of his name before leaving the Enlightenment Society. He was already quite famous back then, but I didn't expect him to make no progress all these years."

"You truly are one of us..." Marik twisted his head, staring fiercely at Zhuang Lan, his face gloomy as he squeezed out a harsh word through his lips, "You're a traitor, you betrayed the shelter, betrayed everyone..."

Zhuang Lan's lips curled into a playful smile, but soon it turned into self-mockery.

Once thinking "burning for a new era," she found herself an incurable fool... Wasn't she just like that before?

At first, she didn't believe it either.

Until she found the lost Administrator's Log and personally dug out the bloody truth.

Sure enough, the manager knows the manager best.

What saved her from Hell was indeed the Enlightenment Society.

But it was them who lit the fire as well...

Facing Marik's hateful gaze, she spoke in an unemotional voice.

"If you're interested, I can tell you the story of Shelter No. 68. Once you understand the full history, you'll know who is the real traitor."

"However, I think it's meaningless, because even if you understand our ordeal, you might not sympathize with us. People only believe what they want to believe and only empathize when they're in pain, just like I was once like you. I don't know which shelter you're from, you need to find your own log... if you still have the chance."

Marik sneered softly and said.

"... What do you want to say? The lies the Waste Land Wanderers made up to frame us?"

Perhaps feeling the statement was too foolish, Zhuang Lan didn't answer his question or even look at him but instead directed her gaze towards the friend from the Alliance.

"To cut to the chase, sending you that signal was actually to tell your manager that I fulfilled the original bet, here is the Administrator's Log of Shelter No. 68. Besides the log, there's a map on the hard drive, you can use it to find its ruins, though there's not much left there."

As she spoke, she took out a thumb-sized card from her bosom and handed it to the person in front.

Tarlan Raider solemnly received the card, inserted it into the VM on his left arm, and completed the data read.

"Our manager told me to pass you a message, he's glad you kept your word, your freedom is no longer borrowed from him, it's yours from now on."

Pausing slightly, he continued.

"Of course, one thing at a time, the Eastern Empire is still after you, since you killed their people."

"Thank you... As for the Eastern Empire, I will seek redemption in my own way."

Zhuang Lan nodded slightly, lifted her head, and continued to speak.

"Also, there's one more thing I think is necessary to tell you."

Tarlan Raider immediately responded.

"Please go ahead!"

Zhuang Lan continued.

"Our Watcher organization in the Great Desert's intelligence network has found that recently, the Enlightenment Society has uncharacteristically stopped expanding its influence range in the Great Desert, instead shifting its dispersed personnel and resources towards the area near No.13 Shelter."

Medical Miracle paused for a moment and asked in confusion.

"Gathering personnel and resources? What are they planning?"

The Alliance can't do anything about the Enlightenment Society mainly because this group is just too good at hiding.

The factory of the Southern Legion at least has a coordinate, whereas this group creates weapons and ammo with Black Box technology, emphasizing flexible deployment; it's just too easy to relocate.

Now that they are gathering personnel and resources together, aren't they afraid of being taken down in one go?

"I don't know," Zhuang Lan shook her head, pondered for a moment, and continued, "Shelter No. 13 is located near the remnants of the orbital elevator base, with a depth reportedly of a thousand meters. According to unreliable information, it once served as a preparatory option for 'Handle'... If you don't know what 'Handle' is, please relay this message to your Manager."

The Taran Raider fixed his eyes on her, speaking quickly.

"I know the Torch Plan... Are you saying there it can withstand a strategic weapon strike at the neutron annihilation level?"

Zhuang Lan shook her head.

"In theory, all shelters can withstand such a strike. But due to its unique location, Shelter No. 13's characteristic should be its large area? Reportedly, it can accommodate over a million people? Of course, I don't know the specifics inside, as even the coordinates of this shelter were kept confidential... I believe Mr. Marik must have gone into that paradise."

Seeing several pairs of eyes turned towards him, Marik was panicking inside, but he still put on a cold face and laughed.

"Do you think I would tell you?"

"It's hard to say, but I believe that gentleman could change your mind."

Zhuang Lan gave Marik a meaningful look, then turned to the Alliance warrior in front of her.

"This guy is yours now. I hope you don't release him right away. At least make him disappear for a while."

"We will," Talan affirmed with a nod, continuing, "What about you? What's your plan next?"

Zhuang Lan responded without hesitation.

"I plan to use his identity to sneak into Shelter No. 13 and see if I can figure out what the Enlightenment Society is doing inside."

Hearing this crazy idea, Marik couldn't help but widen his eyes.

"Pretend to be me?! You, are you freaking kidding me! You can't possibly get in!"

He, who was fairly honest before, suddenly began to struggle, but the two Strength Type brutes holding him down wouldn't let him move a muscle, pinning him tightly.

Looking at Marik's face, which was full of panic, Zhuang Lan's lips curled up in a playful smile.

"How will I know if I don't try? I'm quite confident in my disguise skills."

Having long heard that the Enlightenment Society regarded Shelter No. 13 as their rear stronghold, she had wanted to sneak in to take a look, only she had never found the right opportunity or subject for a switch.

Luckily, as she was fretting about it, Marik came right to her.

Although he was a Disciple, he was a seasoned one, able to access things ordinary Disciples couldn't, yet not as conspicuous as a "Guide."

Crucially, having worked in the Enlightenment Society on intelligence gathering, she knew his resume and personal information. Mimicking others might expose her, but mimicking this guy wouldn't.

She was even confident she wouldn't be found out even lying next to his wife.

Medical Miracle suddenly raised his head.

"Ah... I have an idea."

Before Zhuang Lan could speak, the Taran Raider had already alertedly looked at him.

"What crooked idea have you thought of now?"

"What do you mean crooked idea? Can what I come up with be worse than your notions?" Medical Miracle glanced at him sideways, turned to Zhuang Lan, and continued with a smile, "I think, since your subordinates are either dead or captured, it's just you going back. If no one suspects that, then there's really something off."

Zhuang Lan cautiously said.

"They'll definitely suspect me, but that's actually not a big deal. I used to handle intelligence work, so I know well how they'll interrogate me and how to gain their trust."

Medical Miracle patiently said.

"That may be so, but achieving that is still quite difficult, isn't it? How about this, we pick someone here to be your captive, so you have something to report back."

Zhuang Lan looked at him, bewildered.

"Are you... serious? Being captured by the Enlightenment Society? This is no joke..."

Those guys won't hesitate in their methods.

To enemies, especially captives without use value, they directly use memory extraction devices to squeeze out every memory in their heads.

While speaking, she anxiously looked at the soldier's superior, but unexpectedly, after hearing the suggestion, the latter didn't find anything amiss; rather, he rubbed his chin, appearing somewhat contemplative.

A moment later, Talan, having finished thinking things over, raised his head and said with some delight.

"Wow... sometimes you can come up with useful ideas, huh."

Medical Miracle's face showed a hearty smile.

"Hah, if you'd listened to me earlier, our Army would have become T0 by now."

[Desert Falcon] sneered, curling his lips.

"Yeah, right. Just with your little wits and you'd think you can be T0? There would be T0 Strongmen on every street."

Zhuang Lan: "...?"

Although she didn't understand what they were communicating about, from their tone and expressions, she could tell it wasn't meant in a negative sense.

Are these guys serious?!

Zhuang Lan looked at them worriedly and said.

"I can't let you take such a risk."

Medical Miracle waved his hand, smiling.

"It's no big deal, we were in prison before at Evernight Harbor. So, since this idea is mine, just let Medical Miracle—"

"Just let me, this Colonel (Scattered Leader), be this captive!"

Before Medical Miracle finished speaking, the Taran Raider and [Desert Falcon] frantically shouted.

Such an interesting task, how could they let others take it?

And when they realized someone else was vying for the role, they glared at each other with wide, accusing eyes.

"You're not even part of our Army, why are you getting involved? How's it related to you?"

"Laugh, I'm also a member of the Alliance, how is it unrelated? And you, you're at least a Colonel, how dare you compete with us civilians?"

"What does this have to do with civilians?!"

"Don't fight over this, let Medical Miracle—"

"Buzz off, rookie, go play elsewhere."

"What the hell! I've been playing for over half a year, still a rookie?"

Watching the crowd arguing over "who'll go to die," Zhuang Lan was speechless but could not help feeling a deep respect.

Although she couldn't understand their language, she could feel they sincerely hoped the one surviving would be their comrade, while the one facing danger would be themselves.

Such loyalty...

Unlike Zhuang Lan, looking at the noisy crowd, Marik, bound and thrown aside like a package, had other thoughts.

Pretend to be captives, acceptable...

But this underestimated their interrogation methods.

Might as well pretend to be dead.

His face remained indifferent, but inside he was sneering.

"Hehe, seeking death!"