This Game Is Too Realistic

The night enveloped the desert.

Two people lay on the gently rising sand dunes, covered in desert-colored cloaks, each with a pair of binoculars. They were watching the valley on the eastern horizon where tufts of sand reed grass gently swayed beside their arms.

Not far behind them, down the slope, lay an electric motorcycle designed by Goblin Technology.

...

Going back several hours when dusk hadn't fallen...

After deciding on a treasure-hunting plan, Sisi suggested first exploring near the entrance of the ruins. She bid farewell to Roshan and Sesame Paste, riding the group's only motorcycle with Tail towards the direction of Lost Valley.

According to the plan, they were to arrive around 8:00 at night, check the condition of the ruins' entrance, and return before 9:00 at night to switch shifts and keep watch with Roshan and Sesame Paste.

However, in reality, their journey took much longer than anticipated.

The electric motorcycle, although powerful enough to reach speeds over 150 mph, required a smooth road surface.

The nearby Highway 7 was broken into several sections.

They had to off-road along the highway's edge, reducing their speed to around 40 to 50 mph. Any faster and they risked flying off at the slightest steep slope.

Covering a distance of nearly 150 kilometers, it took them a grueling three and a half hours before they even glimpsed the valley.

Just then, as if by coincidence, a sandstorm arrived, drastically reducing visibility to 100 meters and making it difficult to move with the howling wind.

Left with no choice, they stopped the motorcycle temporarily and took shelter behind a dune, waiting for the sandstorm to pass.

Fortunately, the sandstorm didn't last long.

Just as they were about to continue, Sisi suddenly noticed faint lights flickering in the distance where the sandstorm had swept through.

There were people in the Lost Valley!

There weren't just a few of them either!

Out of caution, she laid the motorcycle on the ground and went to a higher vantage point with Tail, pulling out her binoculars for a closer look.

The moment she saw what was happening, her jaws nearly dropped in disbelief.

"...Thjere's a patrol team." Clutching the binoculars, Sisi's gaze followed the distant horizon, her brow furrowing slightly. "And they're from the Army!"

Although she didn't see any black robes, she recognized the bulletproof armor and the rifles in their hands, having encountered them up close many times before.

A tricycle had broken down on the sand dune, likely due to the recent sandstorm.

Several soldiers were gathered around it, fiddling with tools from a repair kit, trying to fix it.

Another patrol team arrived in the distance, A total of 10 soldiers ran over, apparently to assess the situation.

Their patrols were frequent and alert.

It was clear... The valley behind them had to be hiding some significant secrets.

Sisi changed the direction of her binoculars to look towards a camp enclosed by sandbag walls in the distance.

To the north, people were working as if they were digging a hole, and the entrance to the south was piled with earth, likely excavated from inside the valley.

What are they planning?

Sisi frowned. "Tail, lend me your thermal imager... Tail?"

There was no response for a while. Turning her head, Sisi saw Tail motionless on the sand pile, unresponsive.

She paused, then chuckled and shook her head. She could guess what Tail was up to.

Removing the thermal imager from Tail's head, she put it on her own and continued observing east.

The moment she put it on, the world turned black and white. In the distance, on the faintly white sand, bright white dots swayed.

Looking at the open space north of the camp, a look of surprise appeared on Sisi's face. "Oh... it's so bright!"

...

Back in the other world.

On the official forum of Wasteland Online, a thread suddenly popped up in the player discussion section where only closed Beta players could post.

Tail: Oh oh oh! Big discovery!! (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

Quit Smoking: What happened???

Night Ten: What did you find? ( ˶°ㅁ°)

Irene: Is it tasty? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Tail: Uh, you probably can't eat it! It's people from the Army! We saw a lot of their soldiers!

Old White: ???

Hearing it was the Army, the thread suddenly became lively.

Compared to encountering a wild Deathclaw or getting knocked by a multi-legged beast's tentacle, the presence of these elite mobs in groups was obviously more topical.

Sideline Slacking: Are you in the Golden Lizard Kingdom? There could indeed be Army activity there... Previously, the resistance army's guerrillas moved 50 tanks and a large number of trucks and supplies over. Now, north of Oasis No.9 is crawling with Army patrols. We almost bumped into them.

Eye Owe Money: +1, Tail, be careful not to get caught by the Army. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Construction Boy: +10086, be careful of Escaping Mole, that guy can draw comics. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Escaping Mole: Get lost! Only a dog would draw that stuff, I've washed my hands clean of it! Haha, just you wait, once my game sells out in Ideal City, all of you will call me daddy! (◔_◔)

Since being banned by Light on the forums for drawing hent–, the dude hadn't been drawing weird comics on the forum for a while.

But that made people worry more.

A rejected painter... In the River Valley Province with highly motivated people... It was basically a maxed-out buff!

Elf King Fugui: Haha, my good brother, you gotta push harder! I've given you all the money I saved from eating mantis! >ᵥ_ᵥ<

Irene: No worries, if he loses money, he can pay us back by selling his butt, he said it himself. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Makka Pakka: Hahaha.

Tail: Oh! Don't worry, Brother Sideline, we're no longer in the Golden Lizard Kingdom! We heard that Oasis No.4 is close to the sea so we turned south two weeks ago! (@~v@)

Night Ten: (ᗒᗣᗕ)

Tail: Annnnyway, we discovered an Army base in a place called Lost Valley, 150 kilometers from the Tzobar Mountains! There must be at least a 10,000-man strong battalion there!

Sideline Slacking: South?! Wait, how could there be Army people in the south?

Spring Water Commander: I'm more interested in knowing how many people the Army has... From the map, their forces seem too dispersed. If they're not planning a simultaneous attack on three kingdoms, I've got a bad feeling.

Battlefield Cheerleader: Did you see what they were doing there?

Tail: Of course, treasure hunting!

Sideline Slacking: Treasure hunting?!

Tail: Yeah! There's a big camp there, about the size of the previous Falling Leaf Camp! On the north side of the camp, many people with shovels and carts are digging around on the ground! Tail saw it with a thermal imager! Hehe...

Gale: About the size of the Falling Leaf Camp... That could definitely hold an entire battalion. Even two to three of them...

Spring Water Commander: Battlefield...

Battlefield Cheerleader: Don't ask me, the administrator told me to keep undercover, I really don't know anything, I would have told you if I did. (｡﹏｡")

Kakarot: Damn, are you really that weak?!

Darkest: Exactly! Not even a marshal yet, you're slacking off too much!

Battlefield Cheerleader: FUCK!

....

At the same time, in the wasteland.

In the headquarters of Dawn City, the operation room was filled with people. Although it was late at night, there was no sign of the meeting adjourning.

Sitting at the conference table, the commander of the First Corps, Wrench, suddenly spoke up. "I've been thinking about something."

Everyone in the room turned their attention to him, except for Chu Guang who was focused on the map.

"What?" Chu Guang responded without taking his eyes off the map, his expressionless face seemed to be thinking about something.

Wrench organized his thoughts and cautiously voiced his opinion. "I'm wondering... What's the benefit for the Army to use this nuclear bomb on the City of Abundance? The Levee is not just an irrigation tool in the eyes of the residents of Sunset Province, but also a blessing from the gods. They might not mind losing a piece of fertile land... But aren't they worried about making the entire desert their enemy?"

Chu Guang nodded. He was pleased that his subordinate had grown up and started considering more issues in decision-making, including thinking from the enemy's perspective about what tactics they might use.

"That's one of the issues I'm pondering... Vanus, tell him why."

Sitting at the conference table, Vanus nodded and turned to the commander of the First Corps, speaking in a gentle tone. "There are many benefits, although the cost is increased suppression from the locals, the benefit is that it can destroy the royal family's will to resist, potentially ending the war early."

"Clearly, the Army isn't ready for a full-scale war with the Enterprise, whether it's deploying airships to intercept fleeing Enterprise employees, launching surprise blitz attacks, or... Using nuclear weapons like that. Rather than saying they had been planning for this, it's more like a bet they're making."

"They're betting on the fact that they can control the Sunset Province earlier than the Enterprise. Once they do, they will be able to start negotiations, talking about the possession of Shelter 0 or other regions."

Chu Guang nodded in agreement.

Whatever it was, he had the key to Shelter 0.