After a heated debate, the task of playing prisoner ultimately fell upon Medical Miracle.
As for the reason, it wasn't because his voice was louder, but mainly because capturing a corps commander was simply too absurd.
Besides, Talan had already leveled up to over level forty. By NPC standards, that made him a "Fifth Stage" Awakened. Even if stat panels were only a reference, capturing a powerhouse of that tier would be quite a stretch.
The same went for Desert Eagle, as well as his good buddy Xiao Jiang.
By contrast, Medical Miracle's cost-effectiveness shone through.
Compared to other rookies, his head was relatively screwed on right, and his combat power was respectable enough.
Especially the "normal" part.
Finding a normal person among players was harder than finding an expert who could fight.
Watching the overjoyed Medical Miracle, Desert Eagle grimaced and cursed.
"Son of a bitch! First time I've ever heard of a quest having a level cap."
"Isn't that completely normal? You're level forty and still want to poach a level-teens quest?" Medical Miracle chuckled, then cupped his fists toward the brothers. "Take care, fellas!"
Talan Raider couldn't be bothered with his smug posturing and waved a hand dismissively.
"Get lost."
And just like that, the choice of prisoner was settled.
Desert Corps took away the real captain of the Desert Scorpions, Malik, leaving the player Medical Miracle behind with Zhuang Lan of the Watchers.
Next, Talan Raider needed to head to the Ravanka Industrial Zone, taking the prisoner and spoils back while transmitting the data copied from the hard drive to the esteemed Administrator via the cables laid by the Alliance.
Unless something unexpected happened, the next quest would likely be exploring the ruins of Shelter 68.
Watching the retreating backs of his teammates, Medical Miracle wore a brilliant, sunny smile.
Standing to the side, Zhuang Lan didn't know what to say. After a moment of silence, she cleared her throat softly.
"Um..."
"Don't be polite, tie me up!" Medical Miracle turned around, spreading his arms wide with a beaming smile. "Do you think rope or duct tape works better? I'm good with either."
Even though it sounded a bit bizarre, he figured that speaking frankly and directly was better than risking a misunderstanding due to his clumsy Human Alliance language skills.
Zhuang Lan stared at him blankly, completely thrown off balance by his words. It took her a good while to recover her wits.
"...There's no need to tie you up right now."
"Really? Well, you call the shots." Awkwardly lowering his outstretched arms, Medical Miracle changed the subject. "By the way, how do you plan to disguise yourself as Malik?"
Zhuang Lan answered concisely, "I have his powered armor."
"What about his face?"
"Just swap in another one."
"Then what about his..."
Halfway through the sentence, Medical Miracle suddenly turned bashful, stammering for a long moment without getting the words out.
One look at his face and Zhuang Lan knew exactly what he was thinking. Shrugging, she said, "Just install one. It's not difficult."
"In—install one?!"
Medical Miracle stood dumbfounded for several seconds before giving a thumbs-up in sheer admiration.
"Badass..."
Talk about a medical miracle...
*This* was a real fucking medical miracle, alright?
Zhuang Lan fixed her gaze on him and spoke in a solemn tone.
"DNA, fingerprints, irises, including other biometric data... all of these can be spoofed through technical means. I used to work for the Enlightenment Society. I know what methods they possess and how to counter them. My only concern is you—you might slip up."
Medical Miracle grinned.
"No need to worry about that. I wouldn't sell you out even if I died."
"I believe your resolve, especially since you people claim... that memory extraction device doesn't work on you."
Zhuang Lan nodded, then turned around.
"Follow me. We need to recover the powered armor first."
"Then, I'll take you to the Watchers' temporary sanctuary..."
"There are comrades there who fought alongside me. They're all people I can trust."
***
Wasteland Online official forum.
Medical Miracle: "Bros, the Enlightenment Society is insane!"
Medical Miracle: "Ptooey, I mean the tech of an ex-Enlightenment agent... damn it, basically the same thing anyway."
Jieyan: "What the hell? [Baffled]"
Medical Miracle: "No explanation needed! @Ye Shi"
Ye Shi: "? Who the heck are you, why are you @ing me?"
Medical Miracle: "Heh heh, buy one get the second one half off—look into it. [Eyebrow Wiggle]"
Ye Shi: "Fuck off! [Rage]"
In Debt God: "Hahahahaha!"
Medical Miracle: "Damn! Speak politely, why start swearing! [Rage]"
Ye Shi: "@#%$!"
***
On the outskirts of Avent City, at the Alliance military base, a silver-gray research vessel sat parked on the landing pad.
Its roughly twenty-meter-long hull resembled an oversized yacht, looking almost like a toy beside the "Overlord" transport plane mounted with four plasma engines.
Yet despite its modest size, the former possessed an ability the latter lacked: traveling back and forth between the surface and outer space.
Inside the research vessel's passenger cabin, rows of powered armor occupied the seats along both walls.
Their sharp, angular steel plating and lethal-looking automatic weapons seemed completely out of place amidst the surrounding Academy-style interior, yet somehow felt unexpectedly harmonious.
"Damn it..."
Logging back in, Ye Shi rolled his neck and grumbled under his breath.
"Rookies lately are getting more and more boring."
Beside him, Jieyan stifled a laugh without saying a word.
He had been present on the forum when Ye Shi was duking it out with the rookie just now, watching with his own eyes as the two of them built a thread over three hundred posts deep.
"I think you're pretty bored too, getting into a fight over such stupid nonsense." Fang Chang gave him a sidelong glance. "Seriously, why don't you just go fess up to Jiang Xuezhou and have her install one for you?"
For all they knew, she might have just overlooked that component. After all, she didn't have one herself, so it was completely normal that it hadn't crossed her mind at the time.
Or maybe she remembered later but was too embarrassed to bring it up, so the matter had just been left hanging.
Fang Chang felt this was extremely likely.
Their personalities were surprisingly similar in certain respects—both were the stubbornly tight-lipped type.
"We'll talk about it later... how the hell am I supposed to bring that up?" Ye Shi scratched his head, quickly changing the subject just as Fang Chang expected, turning his attention to Kuang Feng sitting opposite them. "By the way, how come Kuang Feng's here too? Weren't you over in Dawn City?"
Kuang Feng touched the bridge of his nose and said calmly, "Such an interesting quest would be a real shame to miss."
Although players had previously strapped firecrackers to themselves to shoot up into the stratosphere, not a single one had properly traveled into outer space, let alone executed a mission in geosynchronous orbit.
Furthermore, he really wanted to know where the limits of this game truly lay.
Be it spatial limits, or limits in any other sense.
Glancing at Kuang Feng, Fang Chang teased, "Slacking off for so long, do you still have what it takes? We're not going on a pleasure trip."
Kuang Feng smiled faintly and said, "I know... though hearing that come out of your mouth always feels a bit weird."
"Haha, Old Brother Fang Chang is practically turning into an NPC," Killing Dagger joked with a chuckle.
"Maybe," Fang Chang didn't dispute it, speaking with a touch of wistfulness. "At least for me, this world already holds too many memories I can't let go of. There's even... a continuation of me here."
Including Laxi, including many, many people—some of whom he had never even met...
Ye Shi stared at him in shock. "Holy shit?! You have a kid?"
Fang Chang rolled his eyes at the guy.
"I can't explain it to you. Go play somewhere else."
This guy's EQ was rock-bottom, spouting nonsense regardless of the occasion. It served him right that he didn't have a girlfriend.
At that moment, the alloy door at the front of the passenger cabin opened, and Jiang Xuezhou, dressed in her silver-white Academy uniform, stepped out of the cockpit.
Looking at these heavily armed soldiers, she took a deep breath and spoke.
"The research vessel is about to take off. Have you all... fastened your seatbelts?"
Perhaps because she was about to leave Earth, or perhaps because it was her first time undertaking such a momentous mission, Jiang Xuezhou's voice was laced with tension, even trembling slightly.
"Fastened ages ago. Step on it." Ye Shi patted the harness across his chest with a grin, but a certain someone completely ignored him.
Lao Bai raised a hand with a smile, offering the young pilot lady a reassuring look.
"All set. Just fly the ship and get us close to the target. Leave the rest to us."
"Awoo! Once I get up there, I'm gonna beat those bastards to a pulp." Kidney Fighter cracked his knuckles, excitement plastered across his face.
"Haha, let's fuck 'em up!"
Laughter and cheerful chatter filled the cabin.
It wasn't just Kidney Fighter; Jieyan and Killing Dagger were the same way.
As the Alliance's ace elites, they had undertaken missions of comparable hardship countless times. Not a single person showed fear or trepidation on their face.
Watching their relaxed demeanor, Jiang Xuezhou held her forehead with a growing headache.
Even though the renowned Burning Corps was seated here, their utter lack of seriousness still left her somewhat anxious.
Nevertheless, seeing their lighthearted reactions did wash away quite a bit of her tension.
Perhaps...
this hurdle wasn't as insurmountable as she had feared.
Just as she turned to return to the cockpit, Fang Chang, seated in his chair, suddenly spoke up.
"Are there any spare seats in the cockpit?"
Jiang Xuezhou paused, nodding instinctively.
"Yes... why?"
Fang Chang looked at Ye Shi sitting beside him and jerked his chin toward him.
"You go in and stay there."
"Huh?" Ye Shi looked bewildered, staring at Fang Chang in confusion. "Why?"
Jiang Xuezhou's face also flushed involuntarily, her voice stammering.
"Th-that's not really appropriate, is it...?"
Mainly, there were too many people.
Pair after pair of eyes were locked onto her, making her feel intensely self-conscious.
Watching Jiang Xuezhou's face turn redder by the second, Fang Chang chuckled softly and said, "Don't overthink it. It's just having someone in the copilot's seat, primarily to facilitate communication. Of course, if you find it inappropriate, or if the Academy has regulations barring unauthorized personnel from entering the cockpit, just pretend I said nothing."
Players could exchange information via out-of-game forums and group chats, an ability completely immune to in-game communication jamming.
Therefore, when running dungeons or fighting team battles, they usually stationed a flesh-and-blood relay runner in the command vehicle. That player would stay offline, keep an eye on the group chat, and log back in to relay messages whenever needed.
Jiang Xuezhou, of course, had no idea about any of that, feeling embarrassed purely because of the crowd watching.
"W-well, that's not the case either..."
Seeing Jiang Xuezhou stammer without a clear answer, Ye Shi couldn't help feeling awkward on her behalf.
Sighing, he unbuckled his harness and stood up to bail her out.
"Aw, it's just swapping seats, why make such a fuss? It's not like I haven't sat there before."
Her fair, rosy face flushed so deeply it looked ready to drip blood. In flustered panic, Jiang Xuezhou glared and kicked his shin. But instead of hurting him, the impact hurt her foot so badly tears nearly sprang to her eyes.
"What kind of weird nonsense are you spouting?!"
Ye Shi couldn't help retorting, "Your reaction is the weird thing here, okay?! Just say yes or no and be done with it, why act like there's actually something going on?"
Jiang Xuezhou: "S-shut up!"
The alloy door slammed shut.
Their voices cut off from the passenger cabin, and the players, who had been holding back their laughter, burst out chuckling.
"Holy shit..."
"That dog Ye Shi actually has such an innocent side?"
"I'm gonna report this to Tengteng!"
"Come on, she's not interested in him anyway."
"Haha, go right ahead if you want Miss Tengteng chasing you down with a pair of shears."
Listening to everyone banter, Fang Chang smiled faintly. Raising his index finger, he tapped twice on the side of his helmet, switching to private chat.
"Brother, don't overthink it. I only did that as a precaution. Once we reach outer space, anything could happen. Your Perception might come in handy."
"Yeah, yeah, got it," Ye Shi replied impatiently, clearly still rankled about being made the butt of the joke.
However, the guy never held grudges.
Having known him for so many years, Fang Chang understood him inside and out.
Hearing his voice on the comm channel, Fang Chang made a joke with a grin.
"By the way, if she gets nervous later, just drop some cheeky banter to lighten the mood."
Ye Shi: "Copy that. What if she gets even more nervous?"
Fang Chang: "Figure it out yourself. Don't ask me for everything."
Ye Shi: "Damn it!"
The transmission ended.
Ye Shi tapped twice on the side of his helmet, then leaned the back of his head against the copilot's headrest.
To be fair, the Academy's tech really was impressive. The seat didn't look particularly sturdy, yet it could support gear as heavy and cumbersome as powered armor.
Jiang Xuezhou, sitting beside him, stole a glance in his direction. Clearing her throat in an attempt to seem indifferent, she asked, "What secret whispers were you two exchanging behind my back?"
Ye Shi didn't bother hiding it, answering bluntly, "That bastard Fang Chang told me that if you get nervous, I should tell you jokes."
Operating the control interface, Jiang Xuezhou looked at him in surprise. "You know how to tell jokes?"
Ye Shi: "You bet. Want to hear one?"
Jiang Xuezhou nodded, curiosity showing on her face.
Seeing that she wasn't joking, Ye Shi cleared his throat to build suspense, acting as if he were about to start, then suddenly flashed a "wicked smirk."
"Once the mission is done, I'll tell you."
She hadn't expected that after waiting all that time, she'd only get that line. Her nose flared in irritation. She raised a hand to rap his head, but couldn't find a spot to hit on his armored helmet.
"Go drop dead!"
In the end, she vented her temper on the control screen. A sudden surge of acceleration caused Jieyan, who was bending over in the passenger cabin to wipe dust off his boots, to nearly smash his front teeth against his knees.
"Hahahahaha!"
Watching Jiang Xuezhou grit her teeth in fury, Ye Shi couldn't help snorting with laughter.
Whether anyone else enjoyed it was none of his business—he had a blast!
Trailing a pale blue arc of light, the silver-gray research vessel soared into the sky from the outskirts of Avent City, tracing a high parabolic arc as it plunged into the clouds.
At a dusk known to no one, an expedition spanning thirty-six thousand kilometers thus silently began...
***
Meanwhile, far away in Dawn City of River Valley Province, the faint light of dawn had just crested the horizon.
By the doorway of the Administrator's office in the Alliance Building, Lyu Bei closed the door behind him and reported with a grave expression.
"...They've set off. According to the Academy, they should arrive within two days."
An exact time couldn't be estimated; conditions in outer space were far too complex.
Seated behind the desk, Chu Guang nodded, then turned his gaze toward the clear sky outside the window.
The Burning Corps had departed.
As the Alliance's Administrator, he had made every preparation he possibly could. Now, aside from praying for the warriors and waiting patiently, there was nothing more he could do.
However, it was worth noting that good news had arrived from the Great Desert: the Enlightenment Society appeared to be relocating personnel, equipment, and supplies toward Shelter 13.
It was rather moving, looking back.
The person who provided this intelligence was the very Enlightenment Society disciple he had let go back then.
Chu Guang had almost forgotten their original wager, never expecting that Zhuang Lan would still remember it.
In short, after learning the truth behind the fall of Shelter 68, the outcast once discarded by the Enlightenment Society had resolutely stood in opposition to them.
Beyond that, she had gathered a large number of former residents of Shelter 68, establishing an organization known as the "Watchers."
As it turned out, only those who had once belonged to the Enlightenment Society understood them best, and only they knew how to fight them.
This information was all recorded in the latter half of Shelter 68's administrator log, presumably appended by Zhuang Lan herself.
Chu Guang hadn't anticipated that a seed he had casually planted back then would grow into a towering tree while he wasn't looking.
She hadn't even asked the Alliance for help. Relying entirely on her own abilities, she had penetrated the sea of sand that neither the Eastern Empire's nor the Alliance's intelligence networks could pierce, planting eyes and ears in that barren no-man's-land.
Now, she was taking the Desert Corps' bait toward Shelter 13. If things went favorably, they might just wipe out the Enlightenment Society in one fell swoop.
Thinking of this, Chu Guang gently tapped his index finger on the armrest of his office chair.
"Xiao Qi, input new commands to the orbital weapon: terminate targeting on Avent City, redeploy the system to the western edge of the Great Desert on standby, and bring the central region of the Great Desert into the pre-targeting perimeter."
If possible, he didn't want to use the sword passed down to him by the Castellan of Boulder City against any human being.
Yet when the time came to use it, he wouldn't hesitate in the slightest.
A melodious voice drifted over from the side. Xiao Qi's response was as ever brimming with energy and dependability.
"Understood!"
Chapter 984