Artillery Fire and Casualties

Boom!! The blast wave rippled outward, kicking up billowing clouds of dust right in the center of the display. The combat command center erupted into a cacophony of noise. "Artillery shell!" "Fuck—they have artillery!" "Enemy firing positions locked... Fixed-wing drone is en route... Encountering enemy anti-air interception." "Was it hit?" "No... Imagery is being gathered. It seems likely to be cluster munitions with proximity fuses, likely fired from some kind of man-portable rocket launcher. Their firing altitude was insufficient to pose a threat to us... They have likely realized this and already ceased fire." "You used 'likely' three times." "Because I'm not certain. The attacks came from multiple directions and were scattered across the forest. They probably used some material to mask their heat signatures... Target neutralized. Both artillery pieces have been destroyed. Suspected large number of enemy targets nearby. Requesting authorization to deploy a tactical nuclear warhead." "Request denied. It's not time yet." "Understood... Conventional munitions depleted, returning to base." The light fixed-wing drone circling in the sky began its return flight toward the Pioneer. This small aircraft did not have a high payload capacity; its primary purpose was reconnaissance, and it could not pour out firepower with reckless abandon like a gunship. Besides, they needed to conserve some ammo for the operation tonight. Lu Yang's expression was grim. Staring at the command center's main screen, he clenched his fists. "What's our casualty status?" "They fired twenty shells. Only two were projected to hit our location, and both were intercepted by our point-defense fire." Hearing this, Lu Yang breathed a slight sigh of relief. For the Pioneer to rampage across the wasteland, it had to possess real strength to have made it this far. They had five light rapid-fire close-in weapon systems based on electromagnetic acceleration. Four were mounted on the outer waists of four steel platforms, providing coverage across four quadrants with an elevation of plus-sixty degrees and a depression of minus-five degrees. The fifth was vertically deployed on top of one of the steel platforms in a modular setup. In reality, this "point-defense system" had blind spots; the closer an object got, the larger the dead zone became. However, beyond the CIWS, they also had reactive armor to handle impacts. As long as they did not face saturated fire, there was no need to worry excessively. Their allies, however, were not so fortunate... "What about the other eighteen rounds?" The operator sitting before the console answered awkwardly, "Aside from four that missed by a full kilometer, the other fourteen were aimed straight at the bluecoats' camp. Due to poor interception efficiency at oblique angles, we only managed to shoot down twelve..." Those shells had all been aimed directly at the bluecoats' camp, leading him to wonder if the attackers had been targeting the smoke rising from it. It happened to be noon right now. Weren't those bluecoats cooking lunch? Perhaps the Legion had mistaken that smoke for emissions from steel mills or other production facilities. They clearly did not realize that many of the modular production units were zero-emission... Li De cursed, "Dammit! Those fucking bastards—bullying the weak and fearing the strong!" Lu Yang clenched his fists tightly. Though he longed to avenge their allies, reason kept the upper hand. The enemy was deliberately provoking them into launching an attack. Now was not the time! Squeezing out three words through gritted teeth, he turned and strode out the door. "Wait for nightfall!" ... Ten kilometers away. The artillery positions were engulfed in a sea of flames. The fixed-wing drone circling overhead had launched a surgical strike against the two artillery pieces simultaneously. Two high-explosive missiles plummeted from the sky, instantly forcing the physical cessation of fire from the two cannons Vannus had hidden in the woods. Poured alongside them were six hundred medium-caliber electromagnetically accelerated projectiles, which slaughtered some thirty clone soldiers nearby in what seemed like an act of pure spite. Yet this was meaningless. Vannus had as much of that cannon fodder as he could ever want. If anything, he felt a twinge of regret that he hadn't baited out the enemy's tactical nukes. Looked at from another angle, however, this confirmed his suspicion: the Pioneer's armaments were not nearly as overwhelming as imagined. It made sense upon reflection. After all, these people weren't even professional soldiers. What did they call themselves again? Professional security guards? Still, losing two cannons in exchange for forcing out two conventional missiles was a slight net loss. In particular, the fact that their anti-air rockets hadn't even scratched the drone's optics was a dangerous signal. Gazing at the burning wreckage of his position, Vannus showed no discouragement. Instead, a flash of greed gleamed in his eyes. "...Is this the power of metallic hydrogen?" With just a one-kilogram charge—a volume equivalent to one liter of water—it packed thirty-five times the destructive force of TNT, and more than twice the detonation velocity. Vannus did not understand the profound science behind it, but the tangible power within arm's reach was unmistakable. If the Legion could master these weapons, Vannus felt he could lead his forces all the way to the East Coast and forge an empire far grander than the one from two centuries ago. Of that, there was no doubt! At that moment, his adjutant approached him. "Commander, the enemy made no further moves." Vannus narrowed his eyes slightly and looked toward the south. "It seems they intend to save the main event for tonight." The adjutant responded respectfully, "Just as you predicted." "Naturally." Vannus lifted his chin slightly and gave his orders. "Distribute the rocket launchers, grenade launchers, cluster grenades, and explosives... every anti-armor weapon at our disposal. Have the brothers on the front lines get ready, and tell them that the day to prove their loyalty has arrived!" The adjutant nodded excitedly. "Understood!" ... The operational camp. Standing in the swirling smoke, Chu Guang held his war hammer level before him. A nitrogen wall formed by high-pressure airflow intercepted every single shard of shrapnel, blasting them all away. Clutching Tengteng, Yaya wore a dazed expression as she stared through the rolling dust at the Administrator's towering back. Little stars gradually sparkled in her eyes. *So cool!* Because she was staring so intently, she accidentally forgot about a certain someone... "Mmh-mmh!!" Chu Guang glanced at Tengteng struggling in Yaya's embrace—and at the wooden crate lying on the ground—and breathed a slow sigh of relief. Out of habit, he asked, "Are you alright?" Nearly suffocated, Tengteng finally broke free. With disheveled hair and a flushed face, she glared furiously at Yaya, who had almost sent her to the grave. "What was that for?! I—I—I almost died, you know!" The latter, however, had zero self-awareness. At this moment, Yaya's attention was completely captivated by that handsome profile and silhouette. She nodded vigorously like a chick pecking at rice, her stammering voice pitching high. "I-I'm fine! Lord Administrator, Yaya won't die! But what about you? Um... you aren't hurt, are you?" Chu Guang offered a faint smile. *What a joke.* *If this could hurt me...* *I wouldn't have stepped in to help in the first place.* With his 12 points of Perception and 11 points of Agility, coupled with the speed boost from his exoskeleton, running away would have been effortless. In fact, when the first shell landed next to the Cow and Horse Squad, Chu Guang had already made a preliminary assessment of the blast's power. The warhead was likely filled with conventional explosives, with a charge estimated at two to three kilograms and a lethal radius of around ten meters. Of course, shrapnel was another story—if one was unlucky enough to be grazed, death or maiming was virtually guaranteed. So when he sensed the second shell hurtling in their direction, Chu Guang hadn't even bothered diving for cover. He had simply drawn the hammer from his back, pointed it forward, and activated "Shield Wall." The point of impact was twelve meters away. The high-pressure burst of air perfectly blocked the explosion's shockwave and shrapnel. Not only had he protected the clothes Tengteng had painstakingly crafted, but he had also saved Victor, who was standing nearby. This favor would come in handy eventually. "Cough! *Cough, cough*... Thank you. You saved my life." When the shell fell, Victor felt his heart freeze. It wasn't until a violent gust blew sand into his mouth, choking him, that he snapped back to his senses. "You're welcome." Looking at the two craters in the camp and the young players lying sprawled on the ground, Chu Guang gazed at him with a somber expression and pressed, "I want to know what on earth is going on." Victor swallowed hard and said nervously, "I don't know. I'm trying to reach the Logistics Department, but my colleagues haven't responded yet... They're probably in chaos right now too. Could you give me some time?" Chu Guang nodded. "No rush on that. Treating the wounded comes first." Victor's heart sank, and he quickly said, "I'll help you!" Chu Guang quickly stopped him. "Get in touch with your colleagues first. We can handle things here." Startled by the refusal, Victor blinked, but nodded nonetheless. "Alright..." Beside the other crater. The burly Meat Mountain Steamed Bun released Tail and Sisi from her embrace, her face pale with lingering dread. "You guys have to be more careful!" Though she had been terrified herself, she had instinctively wrapped her arms around the two of them, using her broad, sturdy back and fur to shield them from incoming shrapnel. Her white bear fur was soaked in blood, but it didn't hurt much. Mutant players had fast recovery rates, and her wounds would likely heal in no time. Speaking of which, this was the first time she had been wounded since joining the game. "I think your worry is unwarranted. Tail was clearly planning to dive straight into the crater," Sisi said, rubbing her cheeks as she demurely smoothed down her disheveled bangs and hair. "And for the record, Sisi thinks your action was redundant, too." Sure enough, no sooner had the words left her mouth than Tail's furious shouting erupted beside them: "Fuck! I didn't die! Spawn another round, come on!" Sisi sighed and caught Tail's arm as she shook her fist at the sky. "Stop it, Tail. You're being too obvious." Meat Mountain Steamed Bun: QAQ The attack had come out of nowhere. Although sirens had sounded two hours earlier, no one expected that nothing would happen when the alarms blared, only for artillery shells to rain down two hours later. Two shells had struck inside the camp, wounding over a dozen players and killing two on the spot. Wrench and his group had been standing farther away, fortunately escaping unharmed. On the Pioneer's side, Victor was the only one in the camp, and Chu Guang had saved him. Achievement unlocked: A world where only players get hurt. Surprisingly, the Cow and Horse Squad, who had been close to where a shell struck, suffered only light injuries. Then again, it made sense. The player with the highest Perception on the entire server was in their squad, and the four of them had tacit synergy. Almost the instant Ye Shi shouted a warning, the other three scattered and hit the dirt alongside him. The unluckiest one was Jieyan... The poor kid was only five meters from the blast center, and he had dived in the wrong direction—flinging himself straight toward the impact point. With a roar, not even his corpse could be found. Beside the crater, looking at half a charred leg, Ye Shi clicked his tongue. "...I suspect Brother Guang is targeting him." Gale Force 8 dusted off his clothes. After a glance at the gruesome sight, he couldn't help but look away. "This is way too tragic... He just entered the game and poof, he's gone." Old Bai sighed. "Though a hundred silver coins in compensation isn't a bad deal. The brother doesn't even need to haul bricks now; he can buy a rifle right off the bat... Wait, why did we dodge?" Ye Shi was dumbfounded. "Yeah... why did we dodge?" *We almost scored the compensation!* Fang Chang patted him on the shoulder. "Dodging was the right move. If we couldn't respawn within four days, wouldn't our priority exploration right get auctioned off to someone else?" Hearing this, Ye Shi, who was full of regret a second earlier, snapped out of it. "*Hiss*... Putting it that way, that makes sense. Thank fuck we didn't die." Gale Force 8 nodded. "If we're not sure when the bug will be patched, the compensation is great for rookies, but just so-so for us." Old Bai: "Indeed." In the middle of the camp. A crowd of players rolled on the ground, wailing. The scene was utterly pitiful—enough to bring tears to anyone watching. "I think I'm done for!" "My head! My head hurts so bad! It's shell shock! Someone put me out of my misery!" "Can you at least act convincingly?! Does this game even have headaches?!" "Giao! Daddy forgot!" "Take my VM... bring it back for me!" "Fuck! You only sprained your ankle, is all this necessary?! Even I can't bear to watch!" "By the way, what the hell blew up?! Where's the enemy? Brothers, grab your gear and let's go fuck 'em up!" Chu Guang couldn't bear to watch any longer. He kicked a few of the players who were blatantly clowning around offline for two seconds to let them cool off. Once they logged back in, they behaved. At this time, Lu Yang, clad in power armor, approached from the direction of the Pioneer. Seeing the shelter residents lying strewn across the camp, his chest tightened with self-reproach. These people had come here to support them. Yet they had been dragged into a conflict that was not their own. It was obvious that the Legion was after his own people. "The wounded and the dead... I've already arranged for people to send them back to the shelter. Regarding what happened today, I need an explanation." Looking at Chu Guang, who had walked over, Lu Yang was silent for a moment. "It's the Legion." Chu Guang paused slightly. "...The Legion?" "Yes," Lu Yang nodded. "They are an organized syndicate of marauders, mainly active in the west. Lately, however, they seem to have sent an expeditionary force toward the Great Rift Valley in the northern part of River Valley Province, where they are fighting local survivor factions." Recalling the news brought by the merchant from Red River Town, the nomads wandering in from the north, and the broadcast heard in the old mayor's mansion, Chu Guang felt various clues connecting together. He gave a slight nod. "I've heard some of it... but I only knew there was fighting up north, not what they're fighting over." Lu Yang: "I happen to know some inside information, though it likely has little to do with what happened today, and you probably wouldn't be interested." "I want to know," Chu Guang said, fixing his gaze on Lu Yang. "If it's convenient, please tell me. This is very important to me and my residents." Lu Yang was silent for a moment, then spoke slowly: "Then let me start from what happened up north." Chu Guang waited quietly for him to continue. "Actually, it's not just the Legion; many within the Enterprise are deeply interested in the Great Rift Valley as well. That place was once a national geological park of the Human Alliance, as well as the site of the Pangu Energy Storage Center." Hearing an unexpected term, Chu Guang was slightly startled. "Pangu Energy Storage Center?" Lu Yang nodded. "Yes. In the pre-war era, mankind constructed many magnificent wonders, and the Pangu Energy Storage Center was one of them. Because the diurnal power grid load variance in the central region was too vast, it was primarily used to store excess grid surplus, while also utilizing that surplus energy to improve atmospheric conditions." Chu Guang frowned. "Storing the energy of nuclear fusion? How was that achieved?" Lu Yang: "Supposedly by electrolyzing seawater." Chu Guang: "How much would that even take..." Lu Yang: "No idea. I only heard it was an immense amount. The chlorine produced as a byproduct could even serve as raw industrial material supplying the surrounding industrial zones. As a result, massive amounts of solid hydrogen and other materials are stored beneath the Pangu Energy Storage Center." "In the early years, the 111th Orbital Airborne Division was stationed there. After the Wasteland Era began, martial law reportedly continued for some time, taking in large numbers of refugees fleeing from other regions. What happened after that isn't clear... In any case, it has now grown into a massive survivor settlement. Their industrial capacity isn't strong, but they inherited a substantial amount of pre-war equipment, some of which is still operational today." "I'm sure you can guess that a high-threat strategic installation like that would usually be designed with rigorous defenses. And one claim I've heard is that those defenses are still active." Chu Guang nodded. Though he had never seen it, by analogy to the Three Gorges Project, he could imagine the extent to which pre-war society had fortified it. If even his hammer could deploy a nitrogen shield, was it too much to imagine the Great Rift Valley having a plasma shield or a specialized field shield? Whether such things existed, he didn't know. Regardless, with even cold fusion already existing, there was no harm in guessing boldly. Even if he guessed wrong, no harm done. Lu Yang continued, "Previously, the Enterprise sent an expeditionary force to the Great Rift Valley, but it likely ended in failure. According to intelligence we gathered during our journey, the Legion also sent an expeditionary force to the Great Rift Valley roughly a year ago, but it seems they suffered heavy losses." Chu Guang: "Then why are they here? From the northernmost part of River Valley Province to this place is at least five hundred kilometers, isn't it? The actual marching distance might well be over a thousand." Marching across the wasteland wasn't like crossing open plains; even if large ruins could be bypassed, smaller rubble had to be navigated on foot step by step. Unless one could crush straight through like the Pioneer. Lu Yang said in a deep voice, "They are likely here for us." Chu Guang: "...For you?" "Yes," Lu Yang nodded. "It's obvious. There are only two east-west corridors cutting across River Valley Province: one across the central plains, and one in the south. Although the Pioneer allows us to traverse the wasteland while carrying massive amounts of production assets, it also has a glaring drawback: we can only travel across plains." Chu Guang frowned. "But why would they—" Lu Yang shook his head. "There is no 'why'—it's a rule of survival. Strictly speaking, as I told you before, the Legion is just an organized gang of marauders. They drive cheap clone fodder into battle and enslave captured survivors as forced labor. When plotting our route, we deliberately chose the path farther away from them, yet we were targeted nonetheless." Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully. Makes sense. When such a fat sheep passed right through their territory, anyone would want to shear some wool. It was merely a question of how to shear it. Then again, the people of Boulder City were remarkably composed. Two of the wasteland's largest factions were throwing down right at their doorstep, yet tucked away near the edge of the Third Ring Road, they remained completely calm, making not the slightest move. If Chu Guang remembered correctly, their combat strength seemed quite formidable. Didn't they claim to offer defense outsourcing services? How come no salesman had shown up yet? Lu Yang: "That's all the intelligence we have. They probably hope to seize something good from us to help them win a war that was doomed from the start." Chu Guang: "How many of them are there?" Lu Yang: "Two thousand." Chu Guang: "???" *Say what now?*