Chapter 564.2: Ah... We're Here To Die

Residents who had come out to gawk followed suit, prostrating themselves and praying devoutly toward the aircraft as 20 players in exoskeletons jumped from the bays.

They wore uniform Iron Wall heavy exoskeletons, each cradling a rifle like an overlong brick which were absurdly sized.

The thick caliber looked like a shortened 20mm Lance, but compared with the heavy exoskeletons on their bodies, it didn’t seem out of place.

Staring at the residents prostrate in the street, Midnight Pubg, froze, bewildered by the grand rite of three kneelings and nine prostrations.

What is this?

Just as he was at a loss, a familiar voice called from not far away.

"Holy shit?! Brother G?!"

Spotting them, Midnight Pubg, Night Ten widened his eyes in surprise, stepped up to clap his shoulder, and grinned. "Long time no see. Not chopping trees anymore?"

They did bump into each other on the forum now and then, but it was true they hadn’t met in-game for a while.

During the entire campaign in the Sunset Province, the Jungle Corps had barely been committed to the front lines. They were active along the New Alliance’s northern border, hunting Mutant Human tribes nesting near Daybreak City and tracking the remnants of the Bloodhand Clan roaming the border between the River Valley Province and the Sunset Province.

Those places were surrounded by high mountains, with no roads in sight. Where people could pass, supplies could not. However, that was clearly no issue for Midnight Pubg.

A band of strength-specialist bruisers, each with a logging axe, had hacked a road through the jungle by brute force.

Along the way, they found many survivors hiding in the forests to escape the chaos of the Bonechewer Clan and incorporated those unexpected populations into the New Alliance. It was a territorial expansion in a sense.

Among the many playstyles of Wasteland Online, tree-chopping as represented by Midnight Pubg was a singular approach.

It was a bit dull, and few players stuck with it, but as a long-term way to temper the body, it was a fine path of advancement for strength types. It was hardly worse than grinding on the battlefield or the worksite.

He was currently LV34, only two levels behind Old White.

If not for his overly reckless combat style and slightly higher casualty rate, he might already have topped the strength rankings.

Seeing Night Ten for the first time in ages, Midnight Pubg gave a guileless smile. "I still need to chop those trees. We always need to chop. But the administrator told us to chop somewhere else, so we swapped posts with Spring Water Commander!"

Eyeing the big piece in his hands, Night Ten asked curiously, "What’s that thing? I’ve never seen it in the shop."

"XB-1 Howler Cannon Guns! Fires 19mm explosive bolt rounds!" Seeing the envy in the others’ eyes, Midnight Pubg patted the weapon, beaming. "This is probably the largest-caliber light weapon the New Alliance has right now... It’s still in testing, and that’s what we’re here for."

"Holy crap?! A Cannon Gun?"

At the description, Me Quiet’s eyes went glassy with obsession, practically wearing a look of desire on his face.

Make Me was just as envious, but one look at his own scrawny frame made him give up with a sigh.

That gun was nearly as big as his whole mousey self. In the end, Goblin Technology gear suited him better.

If only their good brother Mosquito didn’t go off the rails so often...

"Good grief... 19mm?! You call this thing a rifle?!" Standing next to Midnight Pubg, Piltover Paratrooper chuckled.

"This thing really packed a punch. We tested it! It could blast through steel plates as thick as a thumb! The only downside was the low ammo capacity. A mag only holds 20 rounds, and even a dual-drum holds fifty. Even wearing an exoskeleton, you can only carry three drums."

Night Ten reached out to touch it with open envy. "Brother, let me have some fun."

Smiling, Little Bookworm patted his shoulder with a laugh. "You’re a perception type. Forget it. This thing required at least 30 strength points, or you had to wear a heavy exoskeleton."

Night Ten couldn’t help but snap, "Damn! What if I throw on an exoframe?"

Midnight Pubg glanced at Night Ten curiously. "Oh right, where is your exoframe?"

Word had it that during his days in Boulder Town, that guy had been showing off too much. He didn’t care about power consumption and practically welded the suit onto himself.

Night Ten scratched his head and said awkwardly, "... Well... It was damaged and I sent it back for a major overhaul."

Little Bookworm roared with laughter, "Hahaha! My condolences!"

Having already been roasted once on the forum, Night Ten sighed, "Dammit... Next time I should switch to lighter gear."

They already brought his exoframe back the night before on the resupply plane, but the repair bill ran up to 100,000 silver coins. It was enough to buy a Type 6 Heavy Cavalry Exoskeleton.

Learning from the last battle, he planned to follow Ample Time’s advice. He would get a lighter exoskeleton, then install customizations like optical camouflage and nitro thrusters.

That would suit his playstyle better.

"Enough nonsense! Where’s Old White? I need to talk to him." As he spoke, Midnight Pubg looked past Night Ten’s shoulder and happened to see Old White and Gale walking over from the town gate.

"I’m here. Long time no see." After greeting Midnight Pubg, Old White looked at him and continued seriously, "Sorry to bring bad news. You came at the wrong time. We have to move."

Little Bookworm froze.

"We’re moving?"

"

Mm

." Gale, beside Old White, nodded and explained, "I just saw from the air that the tribe in the city is showing new movements. Large numbers of Mutant Human soldiers have already assembled and are advancing in our direction."

At that, everyone revealed a face full of shock.

Garbage, Make Me, and Me Quiet were especially stunned.

Gulping, Quiet asked in a trembling voice, "... How many?"

Gale replied, "At least 500."

Night Ten sucked in a breath. "

Hiss...

That was more than what we ran into last night."

Make Me slapped his forehead, wearing a pained expression. "We’re screwed."

Before anyone recovered from Gale’s words, Quit Smoking asked blankly, "Wait, how did they know we were here?"

Gale shook his head, about to explain, when Night Ten rolled his eyes and cut in, "Isn’t it obvious? Those green-skinned meatheads are hot-tempered, not blind. In the whole of Brocade Lake Municipality, this was the only place not converted by those Torch Church lunatics. Not to mention we made them eat dirt a few days ago... That prophet named Zhang Zhengyang is still locked up by us!"

Ample Time raised his eyebrows as he looked at Night Ten.

Well well well.

The kid has improved.

"In short, that’s the situation. We needed to start organizing the residents for evacuation immediately. They have about half an hour to pack. We need to take the comms gear and clone cabins, and bring as much food as possible..."

After issuing orders to the members of the Burning Corps and Jungle Corps, Old White turned to the silent Garbage and said earnestly, "Garbage, please explain the situation to that NPC... We’re counting on you."

Although he could speak the local language, his prestige clearly didn’t match that of a certain talking lizard. Also, it was a race against time, there was no room for delay.

"Okay." Even with mixed feelings, Garbage knew this wasn’t the time to be willful. He nodded lightly.

He went to the confused Mayor Qin and succinctly explained the situation, urging an evacuation.

At first, the elder didn’t dare believe it. He asked several times whether it was true. But seeing that the god they worshipped didn’t look like he was joking, he finally abandoned unrealistic hopes and hurried off to alert everyone.

Thanks to the two planes earlier, many people were already outside watching the commotion, and the news quickly spread across the town.

Even so, when they heard that the murderous Mutant Humans were coming, everyone’s faces changed in fright.

A chorus of clangs rose from one house after another. Men and women quarreling, children started crying. The peace of the day before felt like a dream.

Watching the chaotic street, Me Quiet, who had held it in for a long time, finally couldn’t help speaking. "Can’t we... hold the line?"

He knew the defenses here were weak. A one-meter-high low wall and a few dozen rifles couldn’t stop Mutant Humans.

But the thought of abandoning the place still pained him.

Ample Time took one look at the newcomer and could guess what he was thinking, but he still spoke plainly. "It’s almost impossible."

"The time left for preparation is too short. This place is only 50 kilometers from them. They’ll arrive quickly, and our main force and logistics are still en route. Even if we force their first wave back, we’ll soon be overwhelmed by a second and third."

"This place is pretty much flat ground without sufficient fortifications or stockpiles of weapons and ammunition. The most realistic plan now is to move 50 kilometers north and reestablish an operating base in higher terrain."

"Sorry for dragging you down with us." Old White patted the newbie’s shoulder and sighed softly, "All we can do is get the residents out."

Me Quiet lifted his head, a bitter look on his face, and shook it gently. "Please don’t say that... Even without last night, the Torch Church would never have spared this place. Without you, we wouldn’t have made it through day one."

Even no matter how strong Garbage was, he would haven be in deep trouble against hundreds of lunatics with automatic rifles...

Half an hour passed quickly.

The townsfolk had packed. They stood at the gate with big bags and small bundles, whole families standing together. The adults bore yokes, the elderly held their children’s hands. Fear, helplessness, and confusion were written in their eyes.

Leaving the land they depended on... They didn’t know where they would go next, much less how they would live the following year. With Mutant Humans coming, they had no choice but to flee.

Marauders could sometimes be bargained with, but Mutant Humans pretty much treated them as livestock.

Men would be killed on the spot and dried into jerky. Women, regardless of their age, would be locked in cages.

Casting a complicated look back at the town and the residents at the gate, Garbage suddenly made up his mind and walked up to Old White.

"I plan to stay."

As if he had thought of the same, Make Me stood beside him, resting a paw on his tail with a sigh.

"Rare that I agree with a dumb lizard... I’d stay too."

Me Quiet also stepped forward. "Count me in."

Old White glanced at the three in surprise, his expression growing solemn. "Think it through... This is no different from throwing your lives away."

Me Quiet gave an embarrassed smile, scratching the back of his head.

"It’s fine... I already used your gear to save. Three days is three days. And if someone covered the retreat, it could buy you more time."

Before, he hadn’t really understood the extraordinary sentiment Alpha testers had for the New Alliance.

It was clearly just a game, yet they stood completely on the New Alliance’s side, putting themselves against every enemy of the New Alliance, even risking being unable to save to do things with no end in sight.

Now, he suddenly understood.

Though they weren’t native to this virtual world and had no blood ties with the NPCs, this was the home they had built brick by brick with their own hands.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Like in

Minecraft

, the items in one’s backpack were never the true goal. The home they built together was.

In this moment, his feelings were the same.

Whether it was the stone bricks paving the road or the windmill, every blade of grass held his memories of the past half year.

He still remembered clearly that when he, Garbage, and Make Me first arrived, there had been only a crooked blockhouse and a few thatch huts that didn’t even count as shacks, a pack of man-eating marauders, and a swarm of starving people who were barely skin and bones.

Now they finally managed to help everyone live a normal life.

If someone wanted to destroy that place...

They can try...!

Even if he was just a newbie, he would stake this life to hold them off for at least two seconds!

Old White stared at him for a moment, saw the resolve in his eyes, and nodded. He took a 20mm Lance, its receiver and magazine modified, from a brother beside him and shoved it into Me Quiet’s hands.

Instinctively taking the massive gun, Me Quiet felt his arm dip and looked up at Old White in surprise.

Old White said, "The LD-47 isn’t very effective against Mutant Humans. Use this."

Clutching the big gun, Me Quiet’s voice trembled, "Thank you..."

Old White smiled. "Don’t mention it. You’re buying us time to withdraw. We should be thanking you."

"Sheesh, cut the mushy crap, you’re making me embarrassed!" Garbage slapped Old White’s shoulder and grinned. "Killing marauders isn’t satisfying. Mutant Humans are where the excitement is! Wait for my post on the official site. If I don’t kill 20 or 30 today, I’ll write my name backward!"

As the three said their farewells, Midnight Pubg, who had been silent, suddenly let out a bold laugh. "Haha! How can we miss out on something this fun?!"

Garbage shot him a look. "What kind of fit are you throwing now?"

Grinning at everyone’s surprise, Midnight Pubg said, "Almost forgot to tell you."

"We came here to die!"