This Game is Too Real

   In Hope Town, gatekeeping is an easy job.

  Although there is only one door between this place and the wasteland, and if you walk two steps forward, you will be a **** where you die and no one cares, but after all, it is not in the wasteland, so you can get a handsome salary without taking too much risk.

   And the job is decent enough.

  Whether it is a serious business or an informal business, when it comes to the vicinity of the settlement, it will take some time to relax.

   Even looters need such a safe place to exchange loot for other things they need.

  Otherwise, the things they grab are worthless garbage, which can only be thrown on the ground for the scavengers to pick up, or become the spoils of other wastelanders.

   Especially now, most of the wastelanders in this area are using automatic rifles produced in the southern part of the River Valley Province.

  It is difficult to live on the iron-barreled rifles rubbed by their hands. They also need to keep pace with the times and hide themselves in the place where they should hide...

  Mark, who was standing at the west gate, yawned, took out his rusty pocket watch and glanced at it, calculating how many hours it was until he got off work.

   This job is to pass the time.

   This is especially true in the west gate where wastelanders rarely come.

   Just when he was thinking about where to drink after get off work, the guard standing next to him suddenly looked up to the west, frowned and muttered.

"what sound?"

   "What sound?" Closing the brass-colored lid, Mark put away the pocket watch and looked at the new guy.

   This young man joined the town guard a few months ago. He used to be the son of the hunter in the town. He had a little impression of his father and drank together.

   "Didn't you hear?" The young man looked at him and said, "Something exploded."

   Hearing this, Mark couldn't help laughing.

   "Haha, that's not too normal. If you take two steps outside, it's a wasteland. The sound of gunshots and explosions is not too common... Just get used to it."

   Honestly, it’s actually not that common.

  In the wasteland, loneliness and cold are more common than death.

   In an uninhabited wilderness, there may be no living creatures for many years, and only swaying grass can be seen for decades.

   If there is a wolf howling suddenly there one day, maybe it is time to be alert.

   But Mark didn't want to think so.

   Compared to what happened in the wasteland that was so close at hand, he preferred that what happened was an accident that had nothing to do with them.

  Marrying his own business is the way to survive. He knows very well why he can be a guard, precisely because he will not take care of things that have nothing to do with him.

   The young man was lying on the ground, putting his ear to the ground, still muttering to himself.

   "The sound of gunshots and the sound of running. There must be at least thirty or forty kilometers away. Whoever is fighting with whoever is thumping."

  Mark couldn't help but went up and kicked his ass.

   "Don't worry so much, get up and stand guard."

   was kicked on the butt, the young man stood up awkwardly, and honestly closed his mouth and did not speak.

   Being mixed up by him like this, Mark's mood, which was fine until noon, was also messed up.

   Once a person knows what is going on next to him, but he doesn’t know what it is, he will involuntarily think wildly, and then start to become anxious.

   Especially when you have nothing to do.

  Mark was no exception. The young man seemed to let it go, but he couldn't help thinking over and over again in his heart.

   Who is fighting with whom?

   Speaking of which, going west, is there a larger settlement?

   At this moment, there was a sudden rustling in the forest not far away, followed by a 'whoosh' sound.

   Before Mark came back to his senses, an arrow flew past his hat and nailed it to the wooden post behind him with a clang.

   was taken aback, he hurriedly picked up the rifle in his hand and loaded it, opened the safety and pointed to the direction the arrow flew from.

   "Who's there!"

   No one answered.

  Mark swallowed his saliva, his eyes flickering (this chapter is not over, click on the next page to continue)

   Confused and nervous, the muzzle of the gun was pointed straight at the invisible forest, but he did not dare to go up to see the situation.

   At this time, the guy next to him ran behind him, pulled the arrow off the post, and called at him.

   "Sir! Something is tied to the arrow!"

   "What is it?" Not daring to look away from the crosshair, Mark stared at the woods and called out with his back to him.

   "It's a roll of animal skin! It seems to have something written on it." He opened the roll of animal skin and barely recognized what was written on it. The young man was suddenly speechless.

   Animal hides?

  Mark was stunned for a moment, eager to know the content above, but he didn't dare to let his guard down.

   So he maintained his aiming stance, stepped back beside the young man, and pulled the animal skin over with his left hand.

   There are really two lines of scribbled characters written in animal blood.

   and it was spelled wrong.

   Lian Meng recognized the content above, and Mark's face lost its blood in an instant, as pale as if it had been painted with white paint.

"Oh shit…"

   cursed in his mouth, he quickly looked at the young man beside him who was also dumbfounded, and stared at him with warning eyes.

   "You stay here, I'll go back and report... Don't tell anyone about this!"

   The young man nodded in a daze.

  Mark glanced at the forest, gritted his teeth, put the gun on his back, took the arrow and the roll of animal skin, and ran towards the town without looking back.

  In the forest, a pair of green pupils hidden under the hood stared at the back running towards the town. He didn't disappear from the shadows of the forest until the guard disappeared behind the gate

  …

  The office in the center of Hope Town.

  The round table in the conference room was filled with prominent people in the town.

   There is the owner of the grizzly bear and the street lamp tavern, the aged carpenter, the owner of the tanning workshop, the landlord who holds thousands of acres of land, and the mayor who manages thousands of households.

   They are not the kind of people who are very idle, but at the moment they are all sitting here in silence, smoking first-hand or second-hand cigarettes.

  Even though the pungent smell of smoke can choke people to tears, the people sitting here still cover their doors and windows tightly, and have no intention of opening a window for ventilation.

   Likewise, no one spoke.

   An arrow lay on the round table in front of them now.

  It was about noon when someone shot the arrow at the west gate of the town and was picked up by the guards standing there.

Before   , a roll of animal skin was tied to it, and two lines of characters were written in animal blood.

  【Ogg, you want to eat people. 】

  【Run! 】

   "If it's a joke, it's definitely the worst, most vicious joke of the year!"

   It was the mayor here who broke the silence first.

   His name is Ma Hechang. Although he is fifty years old, his body is still strong and he is quite prestigious in the town.

   The owner of the Grizzly Bear and Street Lamp Tavern, who was sitting not far from him, hugged his head and muttered to himself with a face of pain.

   "Why does this happen."

   There were noisy complaints and discussions in the conference room, and the expressions on everyone's faces were filled with panic and anxiety.

   They don't know what an og is, but seeing the words "cannibals and" run quickly, it's not hard to guess what it means.

   Ordinary predator tribes would not dare to take action against a settlement with thousands of families like Hope Town, and they could only be those unreasonable mutants.

   But people still can't believe it's true.

"The Qi tribe didn't come to Jinhe City for the first time. I heard that it was there a century and a half ago. Those green-skinned baboons are indeed too strong, and the number is terrifying, but they and other mutants are actually there. It's not the same, and it rarely takes action against the surrounding survivor settlements."

   Rumor has it that they keep some slaves in captivity in the tribe, so there is no need for frequent looting.

   There are also rumors that their ancestors were actually humans, but it turned out to be like this by accident, so the descendants would be restrained and not take action on those villages and farmlands.

   But these are just rumors.

  Most of the letters (this chapter is not over, click on the next page to continue)

   These people actually don’t know why things are like this, they just put a reason to convince themselves and others for things that cannot be explained, and seek peace of mind in their panic.

The   chi tribe has existed for over a century, and they have lived here for over a century, and no one knows why they didn't eat them, let alone why they changed their minds now.

   Suddenly someone said.

   "Could it be just a joke?"

   No one paid any attention to him.

  Because this is a piece of crap.

   Even if most people think so, no one dares to joke about the lives of themselves and their families.

   Ma Hechang looked at the director of the town guard who was sitting beside him, and lowered his voice.

   "Have the sentinels been sent out?"

   The director of the town guard nodded and said nervously.

   "It has been dispatched... There is no news yet."

  Mayor Ma was a little relieved, at least at this moment there is no need to worry, the group of greenskins suddenly broke in when the meeting was halfway through.

   Then he looked around at everyone present, and he said in a serious tone.

   "The first thing we have to figure out now is who is warning us! If that person really has solid news, why did he use it in this way, instead of telling us face-to-face!"

   "I think so too! If the news is true, why didn't he tell him in person? All of us will thank him and even give him a sum of money." The owner of the glassware complained.

   Suddenly thought of something, Mayor Ma looked at the blacksmith sitting at the round table.

   "Do you know this arrow?"

"...I recognize that this arrow is indeed sold by me." After staring at the arrow cluster for a long time, the blacksmith in the town frowned and said, "But the hunters in the town use arrows made by me. It doesn't explain anything."

   For experienced hunters, hunting with rifles is not cost-effective, traps and bows will be more economical.

   Mayor Ma's face showed a hint of disappointment.

   At this time, a man wearing a long gown made of devil silk, who looked a little rich, suddenly opened his mouth.

   "Ahem, listen to me, there are so many anomalies in this thing that I'm more inclined to have someone trying to kick us out of here to rob our property."

  His name is Xiao Zhixue. He is in the beer business. He has a brewing workshop in the town and employs about 20 workers. The drinks consumed by the wastelanders in the past are basically from him.

   A shopkeeper asked rhetorically.

   "But what if what the letter says is true?"

   The wine merchant surnamed Xiao stared.

   "Really? How is that possible! The Chi never raids settlements, they only catch those who roam the wasteland!"

   "Not before, doesn't mean they won't in the future, maybe they changed their minds on a whim."

   "But that doesn't make sense! Aren't they allies of the Torch Church? We've converted to the church, and we even have a church pastor in our town!"

   A pair of eyes looked at the priest in front of the round table, and the middle-aged men who were caught on fire couldn't help wiping away his sweat and said nervously.

   "I don't know that since a few days ago, I have been unable to contact the Apostle. Ah, could it have something to do with this?"

   "West... There seems to be a small place called Dust Town there." The blacksmith said, rubbing his chin.

  The priest nodded hastily.

   "It's the name! I remember that the apostle said before he disappeared that he would take the believers to preach there!"

   At this moment, the shopkeeper of the Tan Leather Factory suddenly said.

   "Could it be that the mutants went to Dust Town to search for the whereabouts of the apostles, but they didn't find them, and then the green-skinned baboons went crazy and killed people everywhere?"

   This seems to be the most plausible explanation.

   Although this is also something that everyone is reluctant to face.

   Mayor Ma rapped on the table with his fist and said loudly.

   "Enough, these things are not important, what matters is what should we do now? Do we stay and fight them, or move to other places to avoid-"

   Before he finished speaking, the wine merchant exclaimed in surprise.

   (This chapter is not over, click on the next page to continue)

   "Move somewhere else? Are you kidding? Where can we go? There's nowhere near here that can take so many people!"

   Others pat their butts and leave.

   His winery can't be moved!

  If those mutants didn't kill anyone, they would definitely set a torch and burn it down! By then, all his property here will be ruined!

   Most of the others are the same.

   Sitting here are the most famous and big names in town, whose homes and possessions are here. It's not just a town for them, it's their roots.

  Although no one wants to face those green-skinned monsters, no one wants to run away just like that.

   "If you don't leave, you will have to fight with them," Mayor Ma said with a gloomy look, "To be honest, I don't have the confidence to be the opponent of those guys."

  Tens of thousands of mutant tribes…

   Even the pinecone farm in the southeast, the big landowner who raised nearly 50,000 people, could not be the opponent of the mutant tribe.

   The volumes of the two sides are not in one dimension at all.

   At this time, the head of the guard suddenly got up from the conference table and walked towards the door.

   Mayor Ma looked at him.

"where did you go?"

   The director stopped.

   "Go and mobilize the residents of the town and give them guns. If we continue this discussion, we won't be able to walk away, and we won't be able to fight in time, so we can only sit here and wait to die."

   As soon as his voice fell, the wine merchant who was sitting not far away stood up.

   "Wait a minute, you can't do that! Just fire the gun now, everyone knows it's going to happen!"

   The head of the town guard frowned.

   "What time is it, is it useful to cover it now?"

   The wine merchant lowered his voice and said.

"There are some wastelanders in town. They are better at fighting than us. The big deal is that we give them some money! But if we let them get the news in advance and know that their opponents are mutants, I bet they will run faster than rabbits! "

The director of the   Guardian looked at him blankly, thinking about it in his heart, it seemed to make some sense.

  Those wastelanders are no better than the militias in the town. It's better to mobilize those guys than to mobilize a bunch of guys who haven't fought at all to give away their heads.

   The people sitting at the conference table exchanged glances, most of them with expressions of approval. Mayor Ma pondered for a long time and nodded slowly.

   "I think so too, but we can't pin all our hopes on those outsiders, we have to prepare both hands."

   After saying that, he looked at the head of the guardhouse.

"Send the weapons in the inventory to the fence, then block the four gates in the south, east, north and west with obstacles, and dig some fortifications out. As for the wastelanders, we will tell them that we have received news that a group of looters have fled here. In this area, the town needs to reinforce fortifications, and vehicles and goods are temporarily prohibited from entering and leaving. After three days, if the alarm is lifted, we will remove the fortifications, and they can come and go freely at that time.”

   "During this period, Hope Town will provide its guests with free lodging and food."

   If you keep the goods, you keep the merchants in the town, and if you keep those merchants, you keep their private soldiers.

   If it was only delayed for three days, those businessmen should not have done anything too outrageous and rashly offended this town.

  While this may take a toll on Hope's reputation, it is clear that the existential crisis is more urgent now.

   As for those mercenaries, although it is difficult to forcibly keep them, they can be hired under the pretext of dealing with looters who have wandered into this area.

   paused for a moment, Mayor Ma said with a hint of luck.

   "Actually...it may not be as bad as we think."

   "The sentinels haven't brought the news back, at least that means those mutants haven't been near us yet. Maybe it's just a trick to scare us away, as Mr. Shaw said."

   The people sitting in the room looked at each other in dismay.

   If only it were that simple...

  …

   A forest dozens of kilometers away.

  The mutants who have finished the banquet will be the prey (this chapter is not over, click on the next page to continue)

   Blood and grease smeared on his face, humming rude shouts and songs, and embarking on a journey to the next feast.

  Ogg died more than 200 brothers, including a centurion and a big man.

   He had to chop off four hundred heads to relieve his anger.

   As for whether the Torch Church is angry, what does it have to do with Oger?

   It's not just the old priests in the clan who care about this and that, but he also doesn't like the rambunctious humans...

   At this moment, most of the residents of Hope Town have not realized that the danger has quietly approached their heads.

   And the few in the know are still fantasizing that things might not be so bad and that the hide-bound arrow was just a botched hoax.

   On the other side, Luo Yu, who had lunch at the hotel, learned from Wu Wenzhou, the leader of the caravan, that there were looters fleeing nearby and the town was blocked.

   "Marauders?!"

   After hearing the news, Luo Yu's face showed a surprised expression, and he quickly remembered the group of people he met at the border of the province.

   "…could it be the people we met?"

   On the way here, they encountered a group of looters who robbed the road, and they also seized a Maxim from the hands of those looters.

   But if it was those people, he couldn't think of any need for fortifications.

   "I don't know." Wu Wenzhou shook his head with a wry smile, "Anyway, the four exits of the town are blocked now. Although people can enter and exit, but the goods cannot pass through, we can't let them remove the roadblocks and bunkers."

   Although this is a safe area, it is also in the wasteland. He didn't dare to leave the goods here, and people ran out.

   When the goods are lost, there is no place to make sense.

   But in fact, there is no need to go out.

  It is not the exception of the Bonebiter tribe. Most of the looters are hammered by the head in the settlement. Only some small villages may have accidents.

   There are so many mercenaries and caravans here, so there is no need to worry about security issues.

   "Are we just waiting here?" Luo Yu couldn't help frowning when he remembered the advice given to him by the guy named White Shark.

   If he delays one more day on the road, his 100,000 silver coins will increase the risk of going to waste for a day.

   Seeing that he was about to reach his destination, he was really reluctant to drop the chain at this juncture.

   Wu Wenzhou sighed helplessly.

   "At present, there is no better way... Anyway, three days, just wait."

   "Of course, although their reasons are justifiable, we can't just let them fool around for no reason. I'll discuss with other dealers later, and they have to give us an explanation."

   After a pause, he continued.

   If the roadblock is still not removed after three days, they can unite to put pressure on the local residents and the town hall.

   Of course, this is the last resort.

  If he could, he really didn't want to conflict with the locals, and hoped that the town was already one of the few relatively safe and reliable settlements on this trade route.

   In some small settlements overnight, he usually hides his pistol under the pillow to sleep, but here, he can sleep soundly by locking the door.

   "...I'm going to go around, maybe there are clues."

   said, Luo Yu pushed the chair away and stood up.

   The thought of wasting three days in this small town made him feel uncomfortable for a while, so he might as well go out and look for it now to see if there is anything to do to pass the time.

   Wu Wenzhou nodded.

   "Go, remember to come back before dark."

   Luo Yu, who walked out of the hotel, stood on the street, glanced left and right, and found that the town was surprisingly large, completely different from his first impression last night, fearing that there were no less than a thousand people living there.

   There are a lot of merchants and mercenaries stranded here like them, and they are all gathered near the hotel at this moment to exchange the situation they heard.

   It might be a good idea to talk to them.

   However, just when Luo Yu was about to walk over, he suddenly realized embarrassingly that he was not a particularly good communication person.

   Forget about NPCs.

   (This chapter is not over, click on the next page to continue)

   In fact, the player has less contact with him.

   He has been playing this game for a while, but he is only familiar with Brother Mosquito and his teammates in the Ground Corps, and then got to know some acquaintances of Brother Mosquito.

  Before raising Xiaoyu, he was often solo.

   Just as he was pondering how to approach the topic nonchalantly, and then obtain information from the mouths of those old fritters, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side.

   "Luoyu?!"

   I didn’t expect that there are acquaintances in this broken place.

   Hearing someone calling her name in Mandarin, Luo Yu turned her head subconsciously, and then saw a familiar face, her eyes widened in surprise.

   "I blanch?"

   "Why are you here?!"

  (PS: I have been coughing for two weeks, and my throat is almost dead. Now I speak like spitting bubbles.