Chapter 150.2: Bombardment and Death
Although she was also very scared, she instinctively hugged the two people next to her and blocked the flying shrapnel with her generous sturdy back and fur.
There was blood on her white fur, but it didn’t hurt. Mutant players would recover quickly, and it was estimated that her wounds would heal very soon.
Speaking of which, that was the first time she got injured since she entered the game.
"I think your worries are not necessary, Tail was obviously planning to jump towards the artillery shell just now." Sisi rubbed her face, dignifiedly combed her messy bangs and hair. "By the way, I also feel that what you did is unnecessary."
Sure enough, as soon as her voice fell, Tail screamed angrily from the side. "What the heck! I’m not dead! C’mon! Do it again!"
Sisi sighed, grabbing Tail who was throwing her fist at the sky. "Stop Tail, this is too fake."
QAQ
The bombardment happened way too suddenly.Nothing happened after the alarm sounded, so nobody expected that artillery bombardment would arrive two hours later.
Two shells landed in the camp, wounding more than ten people, two of whom died on the spot.
Wrench and other guards stood farther away, so they were not affected. In terms of the people from Pioneer, only Wei Te was in the camp and was rescued by Chu Guang.
Only players were injured or killed.
Surprisingly, the Bull and Horse Squad, which was near where the shells landed, suffered only minor injuries.
But it was quite reasonable after thinking about it.
The player with the highest perception was in their team, and the four of them cooperated very well. Almost as soon as Night Ten gave a warning, the other three immediately spread out and got down.
The most unfortunate player was Quit Smoking...
He was only five meters away from the center of the explosion, and he flung himself in the wrong direction. He actually threw himself directly towards the shell’s landing point. So when the shell landed, his body was instantly blasted into pieces.
Next to the crater, looking at the charred half of a leg, Night Ten couldn’t help but click his tongue. "... I suspect he was targeted by Brother Light."
Gale patted off the ashes on his clothes, and after glancing at the horrible death of Quit Smoking, he couldn’t help but look away. "It’s so damn sad... He just entered the game, but he’s already dead."
Old White said with a sigh, "But the compensation of 100 silver coins is not a bad thing. This brother doesn’t even need to do manual labor. He can buy a rifle as soon as he respawns... Speaking of which, why do we need to dodge?"
Night Ten looked bewildered. "Yeah… Why are we dodging?"
He was almost eligible for the compensation as well!
Ample Time patted him on the shoulder and said, "It’s better to dodge. If we can’t respawn within four days, won’t our priority to explore the dungeon have to be taken away by others?"
Hearing this, Night Ten, who was still regretting it a second before, also reacted. "Gasp… now that you said it, it seems to make sense. Fortunately, I didn’t die."
Gale nodded. "If we’re not sure when the bug will be fixed, that compensation is more profitable for the new players, but it’s not that great for us."
Old White sighed, "Indeed."
In the center of the camp.
A group of players were rolling on the ground and wailing in pain. The scene was so miserable, it almost saddened those who heard it.
"I think I won’t be able to make it!"
"My head, my head, it hurts! It’s a shellshock! Hurry up and kill me!"
"Can you act more real? Can you even feel headaches in this game?!"
"Dammit! I forgot!"
"Take my VM… Bring it back for me!"
"What the heck. You only sprained your foot, is this really necessary? I can’t even stand your acting!"
"Can anybody tell me what is going on? Where is our enemy?!"
Chu Guang couldn’t stand it any longer. He kicked these few players, who were obviously trying to abuse the death glitch, offline. When they got back online again, they would definitely become obedient.
The next second, Lu Yang, wearing an exoframe, came from the direction of the Pioneer.
Looking at the shelter residents lying on the ground wailing in pain, his heart tightened, and he couldn’t help feeling remorse.
Those people came all the way out to help him. However, they suffered casualties from a battle that was not theirs to fight.
After all, the people of the Army were originally aiming the shells at members of the Pioneer.
"I have already arranged for someone to send the wounded and the dead back to the shelter. I need an explanation about what happened today," Chu Guang sighed.
Looking at Chu Guang who was coming, Lu Yang was silent for a while. "They’re from the Army."
Chu Guang was slightly stunned. "... The Army?"
"Mhm," said Lu Yang, nodding, "it’s a group of organized marauders, mainly active in the west. But recently they seem to have sent an expeditionary force towards the Great Rift Valley in the northern part of the River Valley Province. They seem to be fighting against the local survivor forces there."
Thinking of the news brought by the Red River Town merchant, the nomads who came from the north, and the broadcast heard in the old town mayor’s house, Chu Guang felt that all the clues seemed to be coming together.
He nodded slightly and said, "I heard some rumors about them… I only know that there is a war in the north, and I don’t know who is fighting."
Lu Yang eventually explained, "I do know some inside information, but I am afraid it has little to do with today’s events, and I guess you will not be interested."
"I want to know," Chu Guang said, staring at Lu Yang, "please let me know if it’s convenient. It’s important to me and my residents."
Lu Yang was silent for a while, then slowly said, "Then I’ll start from the north."
Chu Guang waited quietly for him to continue.
"Actually, it’s not just the Army. Many people in Enterprise are also interested in the Great Rift Valley. It used to be the National Geopark of the Federation of People, and it is also the site of the Pangu Energy Storage Center."
Hearing an unexpected name, Chu Guang was stunned for a moment. "Pangu Energy Storage Center?"
Lu Yang nodded. "Yes, in the pre-war era, people built many magnificent wonders, and the Pangu Energy Storage Center was one of them. Since the load difference between day and night in the central area is too large, it is mainly used to store the surplus electricity of the grid, and at the same time use the surplus electricity to improve the surrounding atmospheric condition."
Chu Guang frowned. "Storing the energy of nuclear fusion? How is this done?"
Lu Yang: "It is said to be by the electrolysis of seawater."
"How much seawater..."
Lu Yang interrupted him before he could complete his question. "I don’t know, I only heard that it was a lot. The chlorine gas produced as a by-product can even be used as an industrial raw material to supply the surrounding industrial areas, so a large amount of solid hydrogen is stored under the Pangu Energy Storage Center, among other things.”
"In the early years, it was stationed by the 111 Orbital Airborne Division. After the Wasteland Era started, it was said that military control continued for a period of time, and a large number of survivors who fled from other areas were taken in by them. But we don’t know what happened after that.... Anyway, now, it has developed into a large survivor stronghold. Their industrial capacity is not strong, but they have inherited a lot of pre-war equipment, and even some equipment that can still be used today.
"I think you should be able to guess that such high-threat strategic facilities are usually designed with strict defense measures, and I heard a statement that those facilities are still working."
Chu Guang nodded.
Although he had never seen it before, he could imagine the extent to which the pre-war society protected it by comparing it to the Three Gorges Project.
Even his hammer had a nitrogen shield.
It wouldn’t be too much to put a plasma shield on the Great Rift Valley or a special field shield, right?
As for whether it was really true, he didn’t know.
Anyway, there was even cold fusion in this world, so it would not be that strange to have stuff like that.
Besides, even if his guess was wrong, it wouldn’t matter.
Lu Yang continued, "The people from the Enterprise have sent an expeditionary force to the Great Rift Valley before, but they probably failed in the end. According to the information we collected during the trip, the people of the Army also sent an expeditionary force to the Great Rift Valley about a year ago, But it seems that they have suffered a big loss."
Chu Guang frowned. "Then why did they appear here? It is at least 500 kilometers from the northernmost point of the River Valley Province to here, right? The actual distance traveled may even be in thousands."
Traveling on the wasteland was not like traveling on a great plain. Even if the large ruins could be bypassed, they still had to cross smaller ruins step by step.
Unless they could crush everything all the way like the Pioneer.
Lu Yang said in a deep voice, "I’m afraid they’re coming for us."
“...They are coming for you?"
"Yes," Lu Yang nodded, "it is obvious that there are only two corridors running through the River Valley Province from east to west. One is the plain in the middle and the other is in the south. Although the Pioneer allows us to carry a large amount of production data while moving across the wilderness, there are obvious drawbacks. We can only travel on the plains."
Chu Guang frowned and said, "But why do they want to…"
Lu Yang shook his head and said, "There is no reason, it’s one of the laws of survival. Strictly speaking, as I told you earlier, the Army is an organized group of marauders who control cheap clone cannon fodder to fight and enslave the survivors of their captives as labor. When we were planning the route, we deliberately chose the road that was farther away from them, but we were still targeted."
Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.
It was understandable.
With such a big fat sheep passing by their land, everyone would want to get some wool.
It was just a matter of how they went about doing it.
That being said, the people in Boulder Town were really quiet…
The two biggest forces in the wasteland actually opened fire at their front porch, but they remained really calm. They didn’t seem to be planning to take part in the battle.
If Chu Guang remembered correctly, Boulder Town wasn’t weak.
Didn’t they also claim to provide defense contracts?
Why aren’t there any salesmen coming over to offer their products?
Lu Yang concluded, "That’s all the information we have. They’re probably thinking about getting something good from us to help them win the war that was doomed from the start."
"How many people do they have??"
Lu Yang replied frankly, "Two thousand."
"???"
What?