It Is a Miracle, My Lord

Mid-Continent Aerospace Experimental Base. With the surrender of the marauders in the underground ecological garden of Building No. 3, the last sputtering embers of resistance were thoroughly extinguished. When the captured marauder chieftain, Ka, heard that the ones who had defeated them were a bunch of blue coats, every inch of muscle on his face was etched with disbelief. Regardless of whether he could accept it, the outcome of the battle was already decided. From start to finish, the entire engagement had lasted one hour, fifteen minutes, and seven seconds. Over two hundred players had taken part. Twenty-eight died, and twenty-one were wounded. Aside from four critically injured players who could not be saved and chose to be mercy-killed to respawn, the rest had suffered non-debilitating light wounds. Five Constitution-type players had even begun scabbing over within half an hour of the battle's end, their conditions downgrading from severe to light, and from light to mere scrapes. At the same time, more than half of the casualties in this engagement were borne by the forty players of Group A, who had served as the feint. As the unit meeting the marauders head-on, they had miraculously pinned down over eighty percent of the enemy's fighting strength despite being at an absolute disadvantage in troop numbers, terrain, and firepower. They had repelled two consecutive marauder charges, creating a decisive tactical opportunity for the main force on the eastern front. To commend their bravery, Chu Guang awarded a medal of honor to all forty players. Although the closed-beta version of the medal had no physical form and was merely a small badge displayed on the VM's character page and personal forum profile, to players obsessed with unlocking and collecting in-game achievements, this reward was an unexpected delight! As for the marauders, ninety-four of their one hundred and fifty-two combatants were dead, and the remaining fifty-seven had all been captured, half of them heavily wounded. A complete and utter victory! ... "...If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed this battle report." Returning the VM to Chu Guang, Vannus—who had watched the entire battle unfold through the drone's cameras—still wore a look of utter incredulity. The gap in equipment between the two sides had not been significant. Although Shelter 404 had fired two barrages of supporting rockets, their morale-shattering effect had far outweighed their actual lethality. In contrast, the marauders holding the high ground had clearly received far more Legion gear. Through the aerial drone footage, Vannus had spotted at least five light machine guns. And that was without counting the mounted weapons on the four trucks! Terrain-wise, the marauders had commanded the high ground, utilizing existing buildings and perimeter walls for cover. Meanwhile, the shelter residents at the bottom of the slope had only pine roots and surrounding snowdrifts to rely on... Things that could hardly be considered reliable cover at all, serving as little more than better-than-nothing concealment. Vannus truly could not fathom how these shelter residents had managed to seize the entire high ground at the cost of only thirty-some casualties. Compared to Vannus's disbelief, Chu Guang wore an expression of calm expectation. Although the casualty figures in the report were somewhat lower than he had anticipated, they still largely aligned with his expectations. Taking back the VM and stowing it away, Chu Guang set aside the matter of their wager for the moment and looked at him. "What do you think of those marauders?" Vannus pondered for a moment before offering his appraisal. "They don't seem like ordinary marauders." However, Chu Guang was not satisfied with that answer. "That's stating the obvious. Of course I know they aren't ordinary marauders. What I want to know is whether you see any familiar shadows in them." Vannus blinked, frowning in thought for a brief second before replying. "...Now that you mention it, they really do. Although their tactics had noticeable flaws, it's clear they underwent professional training." And the person who trained them was very likely one of his former peers! Just then, footsteps came from outside the temporary command post. A guard stood at the entrance, snapping to attention with a salute. "Report! The interrogation results are in. We pried from the captives that they were only an advance unit; the main force is still behind them. Their leader told them to hold until dawn, claiming reinforcements would arrive before tomorrow morning." *Arriving before morning? Sure.* A strange look crossed Chu Guang's face. Just how overconfident did someone have to be to think this rabble could hold out until morning against his players? "How many are in their main force?" The guard shook his head. "We can only confirm it's a millennium. The exact head count is unknown." Chu Guang turned to Vannus. "What's the typical size of a Legion millennium?" Vannus thought for a moment. "Around two thousand on average. It could be as few as one thousand, or as many as five thousand, depending on the complement of its parent legion. For example, the millennium I used to command had a complement of two thousand, consisting primarily of light infantry supported by two howitzers. If they are confident that reinforcements can reach them before dawn, they must be equipped with wheeled vehicles or other rapid-mobility transports." Chu Guang ventured, "Do they have tanks?" "How could I possibly know that?" Vannus gave a wry chuckle. "I sincerely advise that you dispatch a reconnaissance team to scout north along their supply route." "I've already sent people." Chu Guang glanced at the map and saw that Fang Chang's three-man team had already left their previous observation post and moved into the experimental base. He had prepared some equipment for them there. It should prove useful. ... At the same time, at the Mid-Continent Aerospace Ecological Experimental Base. Amidst the chaotic battlefield, Fang Chang and his squad finally received the equipment provided by the Administrator—two bicycles. "The fuck? Just two bikes for us?" Staring at the crudely made, material-pinching bicycle in his hands, a completely dumbfounded Ye Shi didn't even know where to begin roasting it. There were three of them! Couldn't they have provided at least three?! Lao Bai, who had rendezvoused with them a few minutes earlier, smiled and patted his shoulder. "The trucks are all being diverted to haul supplies. You're lucky they could spare two bikes for you guys. Count your blessings! Plenty of people rode here in trucks and will have to walk back on their own two legs!" Unlike the picky Ye Shi, Kuang Feng had no complaints about the transport. After all, he rode one of these to class every day. "Lao Bai, you coming?" "Like hell I am! Look at me, I'm practically butchered." Lao Bai lifted his shirt, revealing the bandages across his abdomen. Two dark stains of blood were visible there. Even though they had dried, they still looked shocking! Seeing the injury, Ye Shi blurted out in shock, "Holy shit, are you all right?!" Lao Bai chuckled. "What can happen to me in a game? I'll lie in an incubation pod in a bit, and I'll probably be fully healed by tomorrow." Just then, Fang Chang recalled something and turned to him. "By the way, Lao Bai, I've been meaning to ask: how did you get that first kill?" Hearing that, Lao Bai's expression turned subtle, and he awkwardly looked away. "Uh... if I said I just stumbled across it, would you believe me?" Fang Chang rolled his eyes and tossed the question right back. "What do you think?" ... Inside the experimental base. Five trucks drove up the high ground. Together with the four trucks captured from the marauders, a total of nine vehicles lined up neatly on the open lot. Under the direction of the guard team's vice captain, players were carrying large and small bundles of war spoils, grunting as they loaded them into the trucks. Clearing the battlefield was also part of the campaign. Although captured supplies were considered quest items and belonged collectively to the shelter, these quest items yielded bonus War Score for all participating players during the reward tally at the end of the campaign. That was precisely why the players were hauling everything with such vigor. If the guards hadn't been watching them closely, these fellows might well have loaded the tables and chairs from the laboratories onto the trucks too! Battlefield Hype Group: "Wait, why don't corpses count as spoils of war? Can't they be used to produce revival coins?" I'm the Darkest: "This is totally unreasonable!" Construction Site Youth and Brick: "I can help drive! Let's do a few more runs—I guarantee we can scrape this experimental base clean right down to the bedrock!" The players beside the trucks chattered and bickered incessantly. Approaching from nearby, Lü Bei looked at the crate after crate of supplies loaded onto the trucks and couldn't help sighing in wonder. "We'll definitely have a bountiful New Year this year!" Nearly fifty thousand rounds of ammunition filled dozens of large crates. Bundles of winter padded coats and quilts were stacked high. Fifteen tons of green wheat and fifteen tons of ram horn potatoes packed several entire trucks to the brim! It was obvious that hauling all these supplies from the rear must have taken the marauders a considerable amount of time. In addition, there were more than thirty crates of dried rats, cockroach chips, mystery jerky, and a vast quantity of nutrient paste of unknown composition. However, the Administrator did not seem keen on keeping these suspicious foodstuffs of dubious origin. The nutrient paste was dumped down the hillside, while the dried rats, cockroach chips, and jerky were tossed into bonfires, burning as much as they could. The Administrator's orders were to evacuate before twelve o'clock, prioritizing whatever supplies could be put to use. As for the items that were unusable or inconvenient to carry, they were to be destroyed on the spot, ensuring that not even a single usable bullet would be left for the marauders! At that moment, Lü Bei noticed several odd crates. Prying open a lid, he gasped in surprise. They were artillery shells! "Why are there shells here?!" Lü Bei counted them. There were quite a few—over fifty rounds. The caliber looked substantial; measuring with his hands, it seemed to be around ten centimeters. Yet he hadn't seen any artillery pieces around here. Surely the marauders wouldn't be using these as makeshift bombs, right? Standing next to him, a slightly older guard said, "Maybe the guns are with the rear echelon. I heard the ones who arrived here first were just an advance unit." "Just an advance unit?!" Watching the shelter residents preparing to withdraw, Lü Bei asked nervously, "What if those marauders attack? Aren't we withdrawing a bit too early?" The older guard chuckled. "What's there to be afraid of? We yanked the fuel rods from their reactor and took all their supplies. Even if they take the high ground back, so what? Can they conjure food out of thin air?" ... Beside the supply-loading area. Clad in power armor, Chu Guang finally laid eyes on the four-meter-long giant lizard inside a filthy tent. Come to think of it, in all the time since transmigrating to the wasteland, this was the first time Chu Guang had seen a Deathclaw with his own eyes. And at such close range, no less! Scrutinizing the beast before him, Chu Guang fell into contemplation. Looking at it like this... Scavenger really bore an uncanny resemblance to this creature. "Xiao Qi." "Here, Master! Do you have any instructions?" "Take a picture of me and this Deathclaw." "..." Though completely mystified by her master's request, Xiao Qi lowered the drone and snapped a photograph of Chu Guang and the Deathclaw from the tent's entrance. The photo was transmitted to his helmet. Chu Guang admired his pose for a moment, nodding in satisfaction. Not bad. He would post this selfie on the official website later! At that moment, Chu Guang suddenly noticed that the Deathclaw had opened its eyes at some point, staring at him with a pair of amber pupils. Unfazed by the stare, Chu Guang silently drew the Nitrogen Power Hammer slung across his back, his index finger resting on the hilt's contact switch. Seeming to sense danger radiating from the hammer, the prone Deathclaw immediately settled down. Glancing at the metal collar around the Deathclaw's neck, Chu Guang turned his gaze toward the robed elderly man standing in the tent. Just as Lao Bai had described on the forum, this man's attire and demeanor were distinctly different from those of the marauders. In particular, the hooded gray robe lent him an aura of mystery. Wasting no words, Chu Guang got straight to the point. "What's that hanging around its neck?" The old man answered softly, "It is a miracle, my lord." Chu Guang paused, then glared at him. "Speak human." The old man remained unfazed. "The device's name is Miracle, my lord. If I must explain it, it allows us to establish a mental connection with mutants." Reading the absolute certainty in the old man's eyes, Chu Guang was now convinced that this fellow probably had no idea how to explain the device or its underlying principles either. No matter. The shelter happened to have two experts: one skilled in cybernetics and mechanical devices, and the other proficient in biology. Chu Guang was confident that at least one of them would be interested in this thing. Setting aside the matter of the Deathclaw for the time being, Chu Guang looked at the old man and asked, "Let me ask a different question. Who are you?" The old man replied softly, "An apostle of the Church of the Torch, my lord. You may consider me a neutral third party." *Torch?* *...Church?* Hearing the familiar word "Torch," a strange expression crept onto Chu Guang's face as he looked at the old man, who seemed completely oblivious to his situation. "You were captured by me in a marauder position, and you have the nerve to call yourself a neutral third party?" Looking at the bewildered old man, Chu Guang continued, "We'll settle accounts with Torch later. "Now, take your things and follow me. "I'll take you where prisoners belong." ... Dawn broke faintly across the horizon. Accompanied by the roar of engines, three steel-plated pickup trucks circled the perimeter of the experimental base. Ultimately failing to summon the courage to drive up the high ground, they departed toward the north. A few hours passed. Around midday. The three steel-plated pickup trucks returned once more. Aside from those three vehicles, more than two hundred marauders led by twenty decurions divided into twenty squads, advancing in echelons up the high ground simultaneously from both the east and west. Holding a pair of binoculars, a man with only a single tuft of hair on his head gazed toward the experimental base, a triumphant smirk curving on his lips. "Looks like they ran." His name was Gangya, a centurion of the Bone Chewer Tribe serving in the millennium under Black Snake, and a member of the main lineage of the Bone Chewer chieftain's clan. Standing beside him was a man wearing a thick navy-blue overcoat with an eyepatch over his left eye. His name was Kevin, a former Legion decurion from the expeditionary force. After General Klaas was defeated, Kevin had happened upon the Bone Chewer Tribe during his flight south. These marauders were quite intriguing. Upon seeing his navy-blue overcoat, they had uncharacteristically refrained from attacking him, welcoming him into their ranks instead. For a time, Kevin had been utterly baffled. Ordinarily, when marauders captured Legion personnel, they would excitedly skin them into human-leather couches or other gruesome trophies to flaunt. Yet these marauders proved remarkably pragmatic. The absorbed Legion deserters were transformed into staff officers, instructors, and similar roles within the Bone Chewer Tribe. Here, Kevin had met many fellow deserters who had also lost all hope of returning home. Realizing he had nowhere else to go and possessed no survival skills other than waging war, he chose to stay. Looking at the overexcited Gangya, Kevin felt compelled to caution him, clearing his throat lightly. "This is not a good sign... Choosing to withdraw means that in their eyes, this place has already lost its strategic value." Hearing those words, Gangya's excited expression instantly darkened. Just then, a subordinate jogged over, delivering a battle report from the front lines. Just as Kevin's jinx of a mouth had predicted, the worst had indeed come to pass. His men had reclaimed the experimental base with ease, but only an empty shell remained. The attackers had not only looted the supplies gathered for their army, but had also dismantled the fuel rods from the ecological garden beneath Building No. 3! The only thing left behind was a group of twenty-some critically injured marauders, dumped directly in the lobby of Building No. 3, currently groaning feebly on the floor. Those shameless thieves! Cowards afraid of real war! And those pig-headed comrades of theirs were just as stupid! Holding such a commanding height, yet they couldn't even last a single night! Gangya clenched his fists, glaring toward the experimental base with fury blazing in his eyes. Those supplies had been scraped together after raiding numerous survivor settlements, and even included a share of his own—all gathered to pave the way for the army marching to the front. Kevin had a rough idea of what was running through his mind, yet still cautiously offered his counsel. "Without supplies, even if we bring our main force here, they will only freeze and starve... This place has lost its strategic value. Let's withdraw." "We can't just let it go!" Gangya narrowed his eyes dangerously, hissing with venom. "They must be survivors from this area! We have to take those supplies back!" Kevin stared at him in utter shock. *Take them back?* *From the madmen who took this high ground in a single night?!* *Does this bastard have any idea what he's talking about?!*