Chapter 399.2: It's Time To Test Their Skills

[Server Announcement:

The expansion ‘A Thousand Miles of Yellow Sand’ will be activated after Open World Boss, Heart of Steel, is taken down.

]

- Wow?!

- Awesome!

Following the announcement, the official forum instantly boiled over.

Another expansion in less than two months!

Weren’t the updates a bit too fast?

...

In the western district of Lucky Valley Municipality.

Hidden on the rooftop, Spring Water Commander, holding a pair of binoculars, stared at the airship in the sky without blinking. He mumbled softly to himself, "... Something's not right."

Darkest, who was also stationed beside him, asked curiously, "What's not right?"

Spring Water Commander thought for a moment and said, "Look at that elevator, it was when it came down yesterday. It would be empty when it went back up. Today... It’s full when it’s going back up. Don't you find that strange?”

That wasn’t all.

Spring Water Commander had also noticed that several engineering devices previously deployed on the ground were gradually moving back into the airship.

Normally, constructing defensive works was a planned, continuous process. It didn’t make sense to remove their engineering equipment after just a month.

Unless...

The other side plans to move their position.

Spring Water Commander furrowed his brow, suddenly recalling the announcement posted on the official forum the night before.

The new expansion will be activated after the Heart of Steel is taken down.

If the other side plans to withdraw...

Will the expansion still be launched?

Putting down his binoculars, Spring Water Commander turned to Darkest and said, "Notify the rest to log off and start a strategy meeting.”

"Alright!" Nodding immediately, Darkest turned and rushed down the building.

While the Army could precisely locate radio signals within a 20 kilometer range, there were always more solutions than problems.

Previously, the Storm Corps had deployed a large number of manually activated one-time-use radios in the city, allowing the frontline troops to maintain radio silence while unilaterally delivering commands.

As for confirming whether commands were executed... It was simple. All they had to do was log off and check the group chat.

The Corps System in Wasteland Online was essentially a variant of the guild system. Naturally... All guilds had their chat groups.

To make their gameplay more efficient, Spring Water Commander had specifically created a dispatcher role, responsible for bringing messages from frontline players in the group chat into the game.

Guessing that everyone had probably logged off, Spring Water Commander placed his binoculars down and retreated into the building. He found a quiet corner to lie down before logging out of the game.

Picking up his phone, he glanced at the chat group.

Just as he was about to discuss his findings with his teammates, he saw that his spy in the enemy camp was eagerly reporting the Army's latest movements to their fellow comrades.

Battlefield Cheerleader: Latest news! Those big-nosed guys plan to withdraw!

Kakarot: Withdrawal?!

Ghostbuster: What's happening there?!

Battlefield Cheerleader: According to the sentries at the gate of the Fallen Leaf Camp, General Griffin has summoned them to head to Oasis No.9.

- They plan to withdraw within a week, though General McClennan seems reluctant to leave the outposts they've established in the southern part of the River Valley Province... He plans to leave part of the ground troops to hold the fort.

Darkest: Damn, they just plan to walk away?

Battlefield Cheerleader: I don't know about that, but I've heard those Marines discussing it. Apparently, last night, General McClennan flew into a fit of rage. Those big noses seem to have finally come to their senses, realizing they're not fighting the Enterprise, but the local wastelanders.

After nearly a month, they realized they were battling ghosts. The Enterprise’s reinforcements had already slipped into the desert under their noses.

Although he didn't witness it firsthand, Battlefield Cheerleader could probably imagine General McClennan furious.

Well, the other players weren’t concerned with that.

Darkest: Damn? They found out it was us?

Kakarot: Impossible, right? We didn't give ourselves away, did we?

Battlefield Cheerleader: Uh, they haven't realized it was us, the New Alliance's reputation is still too low. Those soldiers in exoskeletons... They seem to have mistaken us for Boulder Town.

Speaking of which, he also had a hand in that.

Battlefield Cheerleader remembered when Cowley came to him asking about the strongest local faction in the area, he replied instinctively that it was Boulder Town.

Not just that, he embellished his statement, mentioning how the nobles in Boulder Town were dogs of the Enterprise who replaced their organs with products from Ideal City.

He wasn’t lying.

Ever since Ample Time opened up the bionic prosthetics market in Boulder Town, many nobles inside the city have been using high-end goods from the East Coast.

Kakarot: ...

Spring Water Commander: So that's how it is, but that explains it.

Battlefield Cheerleader: Explains what?

Spring Water Commander: Since they've realized the Enterprise's reinforcements have already entered the desert, they must have been called back for defense. That General Griffin... I guess he's something like the Army's garrison commander in the Sunset Province. Otherwise, I don’t believe McClennan wouldn't try to strike a few blows at Boulder Town before leaving.

Although they had recently gained some advantage, he was well aware that their advantage was not nearly enough to force the Army to retreat and cut their losses.

The only reason they would leave was if the enemy changed their deployment.

It seemed that the friendly forces deep in the desert did play some role. Otherwise, the Heart of Steel wouldn't be rushing back for support.

He initially thought those 20 exoframes wouldn't be of much use. It seemed like he had underestimated the power of technology.

Battlefield Cheerleader: Speaking of which, if that Open World Boss slips away... Do we still get our new expansion?

Darkest: Damn?! I almost forgot if you didn’t mention it! Isn't the condition for the new expansion to destroy that airship?

The group chat instantly flooded with messages.

They had discussed the server announcement all day the day before. Less than 24 hours later, they were told the expansion might be canceled...

Spring Water Commander: That's what I'm most worried about. For now, let's not consider the scenario where the developers are playing us for fools. I see two possibilities. The first is that the expansion will be delayed. The second is that the Heart of Steel will become one of the new expansion's bosses.

Battlefield Cheerleader: If it's the latter, does that mean it won’t affect us?

Spring Water Commander: No, that’s the worst thing to happen.

Darkest: Ah?

Spring Water Commander: Think about it, one airship is already so difficult to deal with, once it returns and reunites with the main force, sorts out the trouble in the desert, and comes back... Won’t the difficulty jump straight to hell mode?

The troops on the Heart of Steel were mostly light infantry and light armored units. So far, they haven't encountered heavy equipment like the Conqueror series tanks.

Not to mention various support infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery, and light infantry clones skilled in human wave assaults...

Spring Water Commander never doubted that the Army had those things.

Once the Heart of Steel returns and regroups with the Army's main force, forming an integrated air-ground combat system, the enhancement of their combat power would not be as simple as a ‘1+1=2’. When the time comes, the New Alliance wouldn’t just be facing an airship! They would be fighting the Army!

Seeing no one speaking in the group, Spring Water Commander continued typing.

Spring Water Commander: The most critical thing is, if the joining of the Heart of Steel changes the situation on the western front, we might have to face a direct threat from the Army.

- This is the last chance, also the only chance. Before it leaves the River Valley Province, we must keep it here at all costs!

If they lost, the server would reset. Everything they have gained would also be taken back with the closure of the server.

Although most players were experiencing the game content with a light heart, their fates had long been tied to the wasteland.

Even if they joked about the game developers not being serious, most players wouldn't deny that they've obtained a lot from the game.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Whether it was friendship, love, money, knowledge, status, or something else...

With that, every player in the group became serious.

Battlefield Cheerleader: Do you have any good ideas?

Spring Water Commander was silent for a while before he replied.

Spring Water Commander: Yes. But it won’t be enough if we do it ourselves.’

- I need cooperation from other corps, not just players in the corps system, but also those solo players who haven't joined any. Even Lifestyle Profession players need to take part in this. We need at least 5,000 people to ensure our plan can proceed smoothly.

Kakarot: 5.000 people?! That’s all the players in Wasteland Online, right?!

Ghostbuster: Including the newbies, we can probably make up a little over that number. But the newbies who just joined the game struggle even to kill a cockroach... I think they won’t be of use.”

Battlefield Cheerleader: And we only have a week's time...

Watching the messages continuously pop up in the group, Spring Water Commander continued.

Spring Water Commander: Yes.

- The time to test our mobilization ability has arrived.