Chapter 378 Murder in the Dark
Chapter 378 Murder in the Dark
”Sir… I’m just a businessman. Is there any misunderstanding between us?”
Looking at the black muzzle of the gun in front of him, Jepp, who was sitting on the ground, didn’t dare to breathe, and begged tremblingly.
However, the man standing in front of him at this moment, with a stern look, was
playing with the Pu-9 submachine gun he picked up in his hand indifferently. The man said in an interrogative tone.
”Where did this gun come from?”
Hearing this question, Jepp groaned in his heart, but he didn’t dare to hide it, so he could only tell the truth honestly.
He had guessed the identity of these people.
They were the same as the group of black-clothed men in the morning. They all came from that ridiculously large airship, and they all came from that damn legion!
”I, I picked it up.”
”Where did you pick it up?”
”To the east, five or six kilometers to the east, along the edge of the forest, there is a place called Katin Post… In the morning, there was a group of people dressed similarly to you. They had a conflict with some people and then started fighting… By the way, I heard from other mercenaries that they seemed to be from the Alliance.”
Jepp said tremblingly, and the face of the stern-looking man standing in front of him gradually darkened.
”…Alliance.”
He had never heard of this name when he first came to the Valley Province. He thought it should be a local tyrant that has risen in the nearby area in recent years.
This kind of thing is not uncommon.
People are animals that like to huddle together for warmth.
However, no matter what the alliance is, now they have not only provoked the Legion, but also killed the crew of the Iron Heart.
The last survivor settlement that did this not only had the leader of the settlement hung on the pitot tube of the Iron Heart, but the men, women, old and young in the settlement were also captured by them and taken to the airship as slaves.
Finally, the airship docked at the port. Only one in ten of the prisoners sold to the mines survived, and most of the others died on the way, and the causes of death were varied.
There might be officers who would discipline their men to treat prisoners well, but it was definitely not General McLennan, whom they respected. There were only two outcomes for the barbarians standing in front of them, either surrender or perish.
A cruel smile appeared on Vito’s cold face.
He didn’t care about Herik. A weakling who couldn’t even beat a few natives didn’t deserve sympathy. What made him happy was that there was new fun to find.
Frightened by the perverted expression, Jep said tremblingly.
”I, I don’t know those people, I just happened to pass by…”
”How many of them are there?
” “Three, three…”
”Three?”
”Also, there is a talking bear! And a non-talking one… They drove an armored truck, and it seemed that they were going to Luoxia Province, but after that incident, they did not continue to go west, but turned back… Yes! I remember! They went east! You will definitely find them if you go east along the edge of the forest!”
As if grabbing a life-saving straw, Jepp spoke incoherently, pouring out all the information he knew.
Vito thought quietly.
A talking bear…
He had never heard of such a strange thing, but this is a wasteland after all, and anything can happen. I think it was that bear that got rid of Herik and his brothers.
Standing behind Vito, a muscular man stepped forward half a step and said in a dull voice.
”Maybe it was a trap set by those guys that damaged our airship.”
He had two bloody hatchets hanging on his waist and a shotgun with a sawed-off barrel on his back.
Although he could have ended his opponent’s life with bullets, he enjoyed the pleasure of splitting his opponent’s head with an axe.
”It’s not ruled out.” Vito thought calmly for a moment, and said slowly and softly, “We must make them pay the price.”
Another thin man said.
”What do you mean?”
”Report the news to Lord Rachel first, and then continue to track eastward… The wounded of the enterprise may also be in their hands.”
After a pause, Vito continued.
”If we can catch the culprit who damaged our airship and the employee of the enterprise at the same time, General McLennan may personally reward us.”
Just as the three legionnaires in black cloaks were discussing, Japp looked at the scattered goods and the bleeding two-headed cow next to him, and felt a pang of pain in his heart.
Today is really a bloody day for eight lifetimes.
He was first kicked out of his tent by a group of crooked-nosed legionnaires, and then a group of them started a gunfight next to his goods.
Before he could react, a truck with a machine gun welded on it rushed over and blew up his tent.
Those people were reasonable and compensated him with three dinars.
Although this amount of money was not enough to compensate for his losses, it made him feel better.
Years of experience walking in the wasteland told him that it was not a good place to stay for a long time. So he packed up his luggage without thinking too much and left the troubled place.
However, he picked up their weapons and belongings from the bodies.
It was these things that brought him death.
Three black-cloaked men in cloaks caught up with him, first shooting the head of the mercenary he hired, and then a muscular weirdo rushed up and chopped down the remaining two guards with two axes.
He even had a feeling.
The three men in front of him were more powerful than the twenty or so people he had seen in the camp before.
Not only were these people awakened, but most of them had also undergone body modification surgery or something similar. He clearly remembered that the muscular man was shot, but now he was like nothing happened, and he didn’t even need a bandage!
The three seemed to have reached an agreement and were ready to leave.
Jepp breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he was finally saved.
However, just as he was thinking this, the man with a stern look pointed the Pu-9 submachine gun in his hand at him.
”Sir?”
Jepp’s heart suddenly rose to his throat, and he begged for mercy in panic, but before he could finish his words, the sound of gunfire shot him into a sieve.
Looking at the wastelander lying in a pool of blood, Vito threw the submachine gun he had picked up aside.
The muscular man glanced at the scattered goods and the fallen two-headed cow, and smacked his lips with some regret.
“What a waste.”
”Don’t waste time, the mission is important.”
Without saying anything more,
Vito led his team members and rushed eastward.
…
”Deflector shield?!”
Camp 101.
Looking at the photos on the screen, Pai opened her mouth in surprise after hearing Chu Guang’s description, blurting out this word that was unfamiliar to Chu Guang.
After a long time to digest the shock in her heart, she whispered.
”How did you provoke that kind of monster…”
Chu Guang sighed and said with a headache.
”It’s not that we provoked them, but they came straight to us. This is a wasteland. Even if we do nothing, trouble will come to us.”
Thirty W-2 attack aircraft.
No one survived!
The fifteen rockets were the last stubbornness of the pilots.
Although the airship was not damaged in the end, thanks to the sacrifice of those players, the shelter has obtained valuable intelligence.
If you find that your weapons cannot break the opponent’s defense when all the chips are on the table, it will be really finished.
Now, at least, he has time to think about countermeasures.
However, having said that, shields are beyond Chu Guang’s cognition and the knowledge of players.
Mosquito is still shouting that it is unscientific, and he is crazy about tagging him on the forum, asking for the new version of the BOSS to be cut.
Chu Guang wants to do it.
But he is not a real planner after all, and this world is not a real game. There is no console for him to use.
Most of the prizes drawn from the shelter are “non-lethal weapons”. Occasionally, one or two pieces of equipment that look powerful are only suitable for personal self-defense. In large-scale wars, they are not even as good as the weapons DIY by players themselves.
After thinking about it, he can only ask for help from his friends in Camp 101.
Hearing Pai use the word “monster”, Chu Guang’s expression gradually became solemn.
”Is that deflector shield difficult to deal with?”
”Hmm…where should I start?”
Pai thought seriously for a while and continued.
”Deflector shields are standard equipment for every starship in the Human Alliance era, mainly used to defend against meteorite impacts, as well as kinetic weapons and chemical-powered missiles launched by some illegally modified armed transport ships. The principle of the shield is based on the gravitational field-related effects, and the efficiency of deflection is mainly related to the momentum and direction of the flying object.”
”…What does that mean?” Chu Guang asked with a headache.
Pai continued.
”In simple terms, the faster the speed and the smaller the angle of incidence of the object, the greater the deflection force obtained in the horizontal direction of the shield, and the more obvious the change in the vector direction of the deflector shield.”
Chu Guang asked directly.
”Is there a way to crack it?”
Pai nodded on the screen.
”Of course there are. Deflector shields are not omnipotent. For example, deflector shields are almost ineffective against particle weapons, including but not limited to neutron bombs or optical weapons!”
”For example, some large mass and low-speed objects can also effectively break through the shield’s defense… but the actual combat effect of such weapons is often very poor. After all, most ships are equipped with at least one point defense artillery or electromagnetic gun to supplement the shield system.”
”However, the simplest and most brutal method is actually kinetic weapons.”
”Kinetic weapons?” Chu Guang was stunned and hesitated, “Didn’t you just say… that the shield will have a great deflection effect on high-speed objects?”
Pai blinked and continued as a matter of course.
”Yes, but energy is conserved.”
”The interference of the deflector shield on the flying object will consume a lot of energy. The cost of launching a mass bomb with an electromagnetic accelerator is much cheaper than the cost of deflecting a mass bomb.”
”Undergoing intensive firepower for a short period of time may not only cause the shield capacitor to be exhausted, but also cause the shield generator to overheat, thereby physically breaking through the shield’s defense… Oh, by the way, this idea does not seem to have any reference value for you.”
As if she remembered something, she changed the subject.
”If the airship is powered by a fusion reactor, your shells will probably be drained before the shield capacitor… I remember you seem to be using chemical energy shells?”
Chu Guang: “…”
Then what the hell are you talking about.
After taking a deep breath, Chu Guang looked at Pai on the screen and said.
”Thank you for the information you provided. At least now we have figured out what we need to face.”
This thank you seemed to be very useful. Pai raised the corners of his lips proudly and said generously.
”You’re welcome! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!”
Seeing Pai, who was happy because she had helped, Chu Guang couldn’t help but be infected by her optimistic mood, and a smile appeared on his face.
”Well, I will.”
After the call ended.
Chu Guang thought for a moment, called Shu Yu who was far away in Boulder City, and said straight to the point.
”Tomorrow’s “Survivor Daily”, I hope to see the Legion’s airship occupy the entire page of the headline panel.”
Hearing the administrator’s order, Shu Yu was stunned, his eyes were blank.
”The Legion… The Legion’s airship?”
Although the photo of the Iron Heart has been uploaded to the official website of “Wasteland OL”, few residents of the New Alliance know about it.
After all, “NPC” cannot access the official website, and only Chu Guang can log in to the official website in the game.
Therefore, when he heard the words of the administrator, he was not so much shocked as confused as completely confused about the situation.
Chu Guang knew that he probably didn’t understand the situation at this time, so he didn’t wait for him to ask, and continued directly.
”I will explain the specifics to you later, including photos of the airship, the weapons on it, and so on…”
”But these are not the key points.”
”The key point is that we must make the survivors of Boulder City realize that barbarians more dangerous than the Bone-Chewers are advancing towards Qingquan City. The giant wall can block the waves, but it can’t stop the 400mm mortar.”
”If they don’t plan to do anything, they can just wash their necks and wait to die when the airship arrives at their doorstep.”
”Of course, the most important thing is that we need to let their city hall, banks, factories, etc. as well as the nobles and city lords in the inner city know.”
”The neighbor who borrowed 200 million chips from them, the one who was making their life better, is in trouble now!”
…
It was late at night.
In the eastern suburbs of Ruigu City, about 20 kilometers away from the “Heart of Steel”, there was a “Electric Mule” loaded with goods.
The airship was almost invisible here, and naturally it would not be seen by the other party. It was an excellent place to camp.
The relatively rugged terrain and dense vegetation could also cover the campfire well.
The White Bear Knights chose to camp here, while Kaliman took his guards on the road to Qingquan City for help.
Sis finally did not agree to his request to go with him. After all, she had no way to verify his identity, not to mention that there was no plan to return to the northern suburbs.
They had to wait here to meet up with the Storm Corps, build an operations base, and then decide on the next plan – whether to deal with the legion that came out halfway, or find an opportunity to enter Shelter No. 79 first.
In fact, Sis preferred the latter.
What if there was a secret weapon hidden inside that could deal with the airship?
Although this possibility is not high, it is worth looking forward to.
As a professional planner, A Guang would not put two unrelated things in the same version.
No matter how real it is, it is a game after all.
Sitting next to the bonfire surrounded by stones, Zhimahu fiddled with the silver card in his hand, and his face reflected by the firelight was obviously confused.
”What is this thing used for?”
After handing the card to her, Luo Hua fainted again, not giving her time to ask clearly.
”Could it be a key or something?”
Rourou, who was sitting in front of the bonfire, tilted her head and muttered in a simple voice.
”I remember… the Pioneer seemed to be going to the desert to find Shelter No. 0. This is what the official website’s setting set says.”
”But why did he give us such a valuable thing?” Zhimahu was confused.
”Maybe because we are their friends?” Rourou said in an uncertain tone, “It’s better to keep it with us than to let the legion get it.”
”…I have a different opinion.”
Sisi, who was flipping through the notebook in his hand and sorting out the information, suddenly interrupted the topic and said.
”Maybe the company just wants to drag us into the conflict between them and the Legion. Anyway, even if we have the key, we won’t have a chance to use it. And if they ask for it back, our managers will definitely give it back to them.”
The campfire made a crackling sound.
Zhimahu and Rourou looked at each other and whispered.
”I don’t think it’s that serious… He may just have no one to rely on, so he chose us, the only one he can trust.”
She was more inclined to think that this matter was not that complicated.
Rourou, who was sitting next to her, nodded her furry head in agreement.
”I think so too… Those people give me a good feeling.”
As for Teddy, he didn’t understand what the owners were discussing at all, and just licked his paw stupidly.
Sisi did not refute the opinions of his teammates, and his eyes never left the notebook in his hand from beginning to end.
”Emmm… Maybe, I’m just proposing a hypothesis.”
People are complex things, and there can be many kinds of motivations. People with simple minds are rare.
What’s more, it’s not certain whether the card is a key.
The only clue they had was that the Pioneer had found something incredible in the desert, and it was probably the legendary Shelter 0 that could end all suffering and restart the era of prosperity.
However, she still had doubts about it.
Not doubting whether they had really found it.
But doubting whether such a convenient thing really existed?
Even in the game…
Looking at the notebook in Sis’s hand, Rourou asked curiously.
”By the way, what do you write in your notebook?”
She often saw Sis writing something on it.
”Some collected intelligence.”
”Including the guy who called himself a prince, who mentioned the setting of Luoxia Province, and the rumors I heard from mercenaries and merchants… I will organize them in the post later.”
These news are definitely more shocking than a few photos of airships.
Maybe there is a chance to be included in the official website’s setting collection like those big guys who often write guides.
”I admire the big guys who can write guides. I can’t even make a good travel guide…” Zhimahu looked at Sis with envy.
Rourou also nodded in agreement and said with emotion.
”+1, I feel that Sisi in real life must be a very reliable type.”
Sisi was a little embarrassed by the praise, and she coughed lightly and said.
”That’s not the case at all. I’m actually quite troublesome in real life.”
Zhimahu looked at her in surprise.
”Eh? Really?”
Rourou also showed a surprised expression.
”I can’t imagine it at all!”
”It’s normal, for example, Awei, don’t look at her not very smart in the game, but in real life…”
At this point, Sisi paused.
Seeing her gradually subtle expression, Rourou, who smelled the gossip, immediately asked curiously.
”In real life?”
Sisi unconsciously moved her eyes away.
”Emm… Although she is not very smart, at least she is quite quiet.”
Zhimahu couldn’t help but burst out laughing, and Rourou touched her head blankly.
She could imagine what she looked like when she was not smart.
But what she looked like when she was quiet…
I can’t imagine it at all.
Sisi flipped a page of the notes in her hand and continued to speak thoughtfully.
”Actually, I personally feel that rather than saying that the image in the virtual world is a projection of the real personality, it is more like the kind of person I want to be in my mind… Maybe it is because I am not that reliable in real life that I want to change my way of life in ‘Second Life’.”
”Well, now that you mention it, I feel like I have some of the same problems. In real life… I am actually a little bit socially anxious, but it’s okay in the game.”
With a slightly shy smile on her face, the cat ears on her head swayed gently, and Zhimahu sat under the tree with her knees hugged, hiding her chin in her arms a little embarrassedly.
Every time she talked about things in the real world, she always felt embarrassed, so she quickly changed the subject.
”By the way, speaking of it… Where’s Weiwei? Why hasn’t she come back yet?”
”She went to recover the VM dropped by the pilot, she should be here soon…”
Sisi closed the notebook in her hand, opened the VM screen, and was about to take a look at how far Wei was from here.
However, at this moment, a strong sense of crisis suddenly climbed into her heart.
It felt like being stared at by some dangerous beast.
Obviously, she was not the only one who noticed it.
The cat ears that were swaying gently before stood up, and Zhimahu, who was sitting opposite the campfire, had already clenched the Pu-9 submachine gun and dagger placed beside him in both hands.
”I seemed to hear something just now…” She said in a low voice, her pupils focused, scanning the dark forest.
Without any hesitation, Sisi reached out and put the iron pot on the campfire, quickly extinguishing it.
At the same time,
six projectiles bound by magnetism were suspended beside her hand, alerting the approaching murderous intent.
”Be more confident…”
”It seems that it can be removed.”
(End of this chapter)
