The hotel was dimly lit.
A ray of morning light passed through the half-closed curtains.
When Lao Bai opened his eyes, he found that he was covered with a quilt. He shook his groggy head and woke up from his sleep.
"You slept so soundly."
Hearing the voice from the side, Lao Bai turned his head and saw Chen Yutong sitting on the sofa not far away.
Her knees were covered with a blanket, her calves were curled up in the blanket, and she was still wearing the clothes she wore yesterday.
It was already October, and the temperature in the River Valley Province had turned cooler. According to convention, this year should be a warm winter, but it would snow at the latest in early December.
Thinking that he had let her sleep on the sofa all night, Lao Bai was a little embarrassed and said with a light cough.
"Sorry, I drank too much last night..."
There was no way, not only the little girl named Lisa, but all the drinkers in the Highway Town Hotel were waiting for his story.
In order to make the story seem more realistic and to cover up Pangolin's true identity as a spy, he could only bite the bullet and attribute the stories of a group of players such as paddling on the edge to Pangolin.
So, the rookie killer who killed many people on the G537 position became a warrior who went in and out of the 330 high ground seven times.
If someone went to the Lion Kingdom hundreds of kilometers away, they would probably hear completely opposite rumors from the locals and couldn't figure out why the Pangolin was on the Alliance side and helped the Legion fight the Alliance.
But it doesn't matter.
This just fits the guy's identity as a double agent.
In the wasteland, anyone with a mouth can brag, and no one has the ability to verify which rumor is true.
Anyway, there will be people who are bored in the future who will make up a logically self-consistent version based on their own understanding.
However, what makes Lao Bai wonder is why he is here.
As we all know, this game can block some feelings that will cause discomfort to players. Although this improves the gameplay, it will also make it difficult for players to judge their own conditions through the early warning of the nervous system.
The most direct result is that once you get drunk, you basically lose your memory,
and you can't connect to the game no matter what.
In the past, when players got drunk, Old Hook or other players would tacitly help them move the game characters to the guest room to rest.
But this time, I don't know what happened.
They actually moved him to the NPC's room.
"It's okay. I'm not picky about where I sleep. I'm on business trips all year round and often sit in the car for a night. This sofa is quite comfortable to sleep on... Is the material made of alien fur?"
As she said, Chen Yutong pressed the soft armrest of the sofa.
Looking at her expression of no problem, Lao Bai suddenly remembered that she drank a lot last night and couldn't help asking.
"Maybe it's the skin of a monster... Come to think of it, don't you feel drunk?"
Chen Yutong was slightly stunned.
"Me? I don't feel anything. The bionic liver has enough alcohol dehydrogenase to metabolize alcohol. It doesn't activate the CYP2E1 enzyme to produce reactive oxygen, so basically I don't feel anything..."
Oops.
My head started to hurt again.
I should have chosen the physical system...
Looking at Lao Bai who was pressing his forehead, Chen Yutong couldn't help but smile and said jokingly.
"It's still hard to get me drunk."
Lao Bai coughed and explained.
"I haven't thought about it."
"It's just a joke, don't take it to heart," Chen Yutong curved her lips and continued, "By the way... that drink is really interesting. Although I didn't experience the feeling of being tipsy you said, it has another wonderful feeling for me. Thank you."
"You're welcome. I said I'd buy you a drink."
It's embarrassing to always lie on someone else's bed. Lao Bai sat up from the bed with his hands, shook his head, picked up the VM on the bedside table, and put it on his muscular arm.
After a short reading, a light blue fluorescence soon appeared on the screen.
However, what surprised Lao Bai was that a brand new red dot appeared on the icon of the taskbar when he started the computer.
[New task: Take the nearest flight to the front line to report. ]
His eyebrows raised slightly, and his eyes flashed with excitement.
Noticing the change in his expression, Chen Yutong asked curiously.
"What's wrong?"
"The vacation ended early, and the manager summoned me to the front line." Lao Bai grinned and continued, "It seems that I am needed there again."
The target of the next operation is the palace of Falcon City.
The Goblin Corps organized hundreds of W-2 attack aircraft to cooperate with them.
Cooperating with them are the Storm Corps, who will take the Iron Heart to break directly to the rear of the Corps' defense line of Oasis No. 2.
This will be a strategic adventure.
If you play well, it will be the Battle of Crete, and if you play badly, it will be the Garden Market Operation.
It seems that the headquarters is going to play a big game this time.
With a burning desire in his eyes, Lao Bai lifted the quilt and got out of bed, grabbing the coat hanging next to him and putting it on.
Guessing something from the expression on his face, Chen Yutong said nothing, not to mention worrying. She just curled her lips and said in a casual tone.
"Be safe, I'll treat you to a drink next time you come back."
Lao Bai stopped at the door and gestured with a smile.
"Then I'll remember it."
...
Shelter No. 404.
Medical laboratory on the B3 floor.
Luo Yu, sitting on a folding chair, was looking at Xiao Yu, who was lying on the scanning bed and unconscious, with a worried look on his face.
"Is it... okay?"
He Ya, who was standing next to the console, was busy recording the experimental data while taking the time to reply casually.
"It's very good, even stronger than before."
As the last inspection item was over, she pressed the blue button on the screen.
Several flexible metal pipes were pulled out from Xiaoyu's forehead, chest and skirt, and retracted into the silver-white experimental equipment on the ceiling.
The next job is to summarize the experimental data and analyze the conclusions.
The research on Xiaoyu is the top priority of the Alliance Biological Research Institute. This is not only related to the Alliance's understanding of the mutant slime mold, but also to whether she can successfully obtain the biological laboratory on the B6 floor.
After analyzing the conclusions, she also needs to organize the interim results into a report and send it to the busy manager.
Sometimes she really admires that guy.
That guy's brain is like a multi-core threaded CPU, which can handle things from multiple different fields such as economy, industry, military, scientific research, culture, diplomacy, etc. at the same time.
The secrets of that guy are even more fascinating to her than the mother nest in Qingquan City. It's a pity that whenever she talks about this topic, he always uses a sentence that he doesn't know it very well to evade it.
Suddenly noticing the worried expression on the face of a resident of the shelter nearby, Heya thought of what Chu Guang had told her before, and comforted him casually.
"Don't worry, today's research is just a routine check, your Xiaoyu will be fine."
Although he still had a worried expression on his face, after hearing the comfort from the "chief biologist of the alliance", Luoyu's tense nerves relaxed a little.
Looking at the relaxed Luoyu, Heya paused for a moment and continued.
"But... its DNA is entering an unstable stage, so it's better to take it to dangerous places as little as possible recently. Especially on the front line, without the protection of the fruiting body, the lone mother is quite fragile."
Luoyu nodded seriously.
But out of curiosity, he couldn't help asking.
"What exactly is that unstable stage?"
Can his Xiaoyu continue to evolve?
That's really awesome.
Looking at Luoyu who seemed to be optimistic, Heya shook her head.
"I don't know. The research data I have is not enough to explain this situation. I can only make a rough guess based on the limited clues."
Luo Yu swallowed his saliva and waited for her to continue.
After sorting out her thoughts in her mind for a moment, He Ya paused for a moment and then continued.
"The growth of the mother body has a cycle, which may be long or short. After reaching the cycle, they will become another form of life, and this is what we call the mother nest... Just like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon, it changes from a pupa to an adult."
Luo Yu immediately asked.
"What is the opportunity?"
He Ya shook her head.
"I don't know, but I guess it should be a choice of future path."
"Choice...?"
"Yes," Heya nodded, "Natural threats are no longer the main threat to it. Standing at the top of the food chain, it is no longer constrained by general natural conditions, which means that it needs to choose its own path for future evolution. This is the ability given to it by nature, and it is also its mission."
"Genetic information collected from nature, memories, experiences and knowledge stored in nerve tissue... these can all be used as references for evolution, and before that, it has accumulated these elements. In simple terms, it has to decide whether to become a cute mushroom or a deadly carnivorous plant next."
Looking blankly at Heya and Xiaoyu lying on the scanning bed beside him, Luoyu nodded as if he understood.
He didn't understand those complicated theories very well.
He only cared about one thing-
"Then when all this is over... will it still remember me?"
Heya said without hesitation.
"Of course I remember. I said that memory is a reference for its evolution to the next stage of life, and it is an important reference factor... But even so, you still have to be mentally prepared."
Luo Yu became nervous for a moment.
"What mental preparation?"
"If it becomes another life form, its blood connection with you may be cut off. Maybe it will no longer be as close to you as it is now, and it is even possible that it will regard you and other humans as prey. Even if memory is also part of inheritance, even if it still remembers things about you..."
He Ya described it in the most understandable terms possible.
After listening, Luo Yu fell into silence, and the thoughts in his mind were like a tangled ball of wool, rubbed together.
He remembered everything that happened before...
Including the first time he took it to the suburbs to level up, including the first time he taught it how to fight, including taking it to taste human food...
If these memories could be replaced by other things, he would rather it stay the way it is now and not continue to evolve.
In fact, he didn't particularly need a helper who could fight side by side.
He could fight alone.
At this time, Xiaoyu on the scanning bed had slowly woken up. The tentacles hanging on the scanning bed moved gently, and he uttered unconscious "Eh" sounds.
Perhaps he sensed his presence.
Xiaoyu, who was in a daze, slowly sat up from the scanning bed.
The moment he saw Luoyu, his abstract face instantly blossomed with joy and happiness, and he immediately dragged his heavy body down from the scanning bed.
"Eh!"
Perhaps because he had just been anesthetized and had not yet fully adapted to his awakened body, he fell down when he got off the bed.
Looking at the pitiful expression, Luoyu couldn't help laughing and stepped forward, reaching out to support Xiaoyu who seemed to be drunk.
"Be careful... I won't run away again."
"Eh!"
The tentacles entangled the arm that was close at hand, and Xiaoyu rubbed his chest with his head, and his aggrieved expression turned into satisfaction.
Looking at the naive appearance, Luo Yu felt that all the dark clouds and confusion in his heart were swept away.
Just like the birth and death of a person, the cycle of life will not change because of likes or dislikes, and what is coming will come one day.
No matter what the future will be like, at least now this little guy is extremely dependent on him.
Maybe...
I should also believe in it a little more.
With common memories, they can face the unknown future together.
"I know..." After touching Xiao Yu's slippery head, Luo Yu looked at He Ya standing next to him and said firmly, "Even if it turns into another form of life in the end, I will not regret it... I will take care of it until the end."
"I'm glad you think so."
He Ya smiled, looked at this brave boy, and patted him on the shoulder.
"Come on."
...
At the edge of Oasis No. 2, the town of Bicester, surrounded by concrete like an iron barrel.
Wedrel, standing next to the bunker, held a telescope in his hand and nervously looked at the endless sand dunes in the distance.
The soldiers standing by were also nervous.
In just three days, at least tens of thousands of soldiers from the legion had passed through here, but no one was willing to stay and stand with them.
The new line of defense was at the edge of Oasis No. 2. Compared with the concrete fortifications, General Griffin seemed to prefer to rely on the "river embankment" left over from the prosperous era.
However, this also meant that the fortress outside the oasis had lost its function.
What disappointed Wedrel was not only that no one helped them, but also that no one told him what to do next.
They were completely abandoned...
At this moment, a messenger trotted over.
"Report! Order from the headquarters--"
Hearing that voice, Wedrel's eyes instantly showed joy.
It was like a straw floating in front of a drowning man. Even though he knew that there was little hope of retreat, he still desperately reached out and grabbed the collar of the messenger.
"Quick! Tell me! What did Lord Griffin say?"
The messenger trembled and took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Wedelier.
Sensing a hint of trouble on the messenger's face, Wedelier quickly loosened his hand holding his collar and snatched the paper from his hand.
[…From now on, the defenders of Bicester Fortress will close all the checkpoints on the east side and must defend the fortress for more than 15 days, waiting for reinforcements to arrive! ]
[Note: In critical situations, the supplies and fuel in the warehouse must be burned, and centurions and above are allowed to surrender after the troops have lost 90% or more of their personnel. ]
After reading the last line on the telegram, Wedelier's face was like a layer of white paint, without a trace of blood.
No one will be withdrawn from the front line.
This has become the new front line.
Those Willant people have completely abandoned them...
Wedelier's face gradually turned from pale to despair, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably. At this moment, a strong bad premonition crept into his heart.
A messenger rushed from the southeast, and before he could salute, he shouted in a hurry.
"Tanks! Alliance tanks! They are advancing towards our position from the southeast!"
Wedelier asked subconsciously.
"How many?"
"I don't know... maybe fifty, maybe a hundred or more." The messenger stammered.
The sergeants and soldiers standing nearby took a breath of cold air and held their breath unconsciously.
One hundred tanks!
The last troop that withdrew from here took away almost all the Panzerfausts. Their anti-tank weapons probably didn't even have a hundred rounds of ammunition!
Wedrel felt his heartbeat go out for a moment, and stood there in a daze.
The entire Bicester Fortress had only 300 defenders.
Even if he counted the laborers who had not received military training, he could not even make up a thousand-man team!
Those anti-tank piles could not stop the steel torrent of the alliance.
Those people didn't even need to rush in, they would suffer heavy casualties if they stopped outside and bombarded them with tanks for a few rounds...
The adjutant standing by looked at Wedrel nervously.
"Sir... what should we do."
"What should we do... what should we do... I also want to ask what the hell should we do!"
Suddenly, Wedrel was like an oil drum with a cigarette butt thrown into it, and he suddenly exploded in the stunned eyes of everyone.
"These big-nosed beasts, cowards, and cowards! They only retreat at the critical moment, leaving us to the front!"
The more Wedler spoke, the angrier he became. His emotions became more and more excited, and his whole face flushed.
Up to now, all the experienced officers in this war have been transferred to the front line. It is said that even the followers have been given the rank of decapitation and centurion and thrown into the regular army.
A logistics captain like him who was brought up to make up the numbers has not even touched a gun a few times. What can he use to fight the people of the Alliance? !
"... And that Griffin! That liar who lies all the time. We have lived a hard life with them for more than ten years, and this is the result we get?! Where are the reinforcements from Triumph City? Where are the tens of thousands of Conqueror tanks? Is this what he calls invincible?!"
No longer hiding his anger, he cursed the Willant people who were absolutely not to be offended on weekdays under the stunned gaze of his followers.
From the Willant soldiers to the Griffin, he cursed everyone whose name he could call. If he hadn't had enough spit, he would have wanted to spit at everyone.
Seeing a pair of eyes staring at him, Wedelier took a deep breath and calmed down.
After a long time, he calmly issued the first order.
"Lower the flag of the legion."
The soldiers and sergeants looked at each other, no one dared to move, not even their legs.
Wedelier was embarrassed to find that no one listened to him here.
Fortunately, at this moment, dense muffled thunder suddenly came from the distance, followed by the sound of breaking through the air and the flames of the explosion blooming on the defense line in the southeast corner of Bicester Town.
Just as he expected.
Those concrete anti-tank piles and bunkers were not enough to resist the steel torrent of the Alliance. The Alliance would not send infantry to charge their bunkers, but chose to blow them up outside the range.
I don't know what they are carrying on the tracks.
I saw a blue arc flash on the forked gun barrel, and the half-meter thick concrete wall was blown away, leaving only half of the steel bars hanging on the stone.
The soldiers squatting behind the concrete head wall were directly stabbed into sieves by the broken concrete, not to mention the old machine guns mounted on the bunker.
Subconsciously lowering his head to avoid the flying sand, Wedler was like a hamster whose tail was stepped on, and screamed.
"What are you waiting for? The Weilants have abandoned us. Do you want to be buried with those cowards? For the sake of the spirit of the sea of sand, lower the flag quickly... Just find something white to hang it up! Quick!"
Faced with Wedler's roar, the sergeants and soldiers standing next to him finally moved, rushed to the highest point of the fortress in a hurry, and pulled down the legion flag hanging on it.
However, at this moment, the soldiers who lowered the flag suddenly found that there was nothing around that could serve as a white flag.
At this time, someone suddenly mentioned that Lord Wedler's shirt seemed to be white, so they rushed back to Wedler's side and stripped him naked despite his objections, finally completing the order of this lord.
The war supervisor of the Weilant people had already evacuated with the last evacuation of the troops, and no one stopped their betrayal.
The reason why they did not take action before was only because of the honor of the soldiers and their loyalty to the royal family...
As for now.
Even a noble like Wedler who "regards honor as life" has surrendered, so they naturally have no reason to continue to insist.
I just hope that the Alliance will treat the prisoners well as the rumors say, and not embarrass these little people who have no choice...
...
"Tsk, why did they surrender?"
The Mole, who was half exposed on the tank turret and holding a telescope in his hand, saw the white flag rising in the distance and smacked his lips unhappily.
The day before yesterday, the people of the Death Corps were still bragging on the forum, saying that they could take down a city in two hours.
After asking the battlefield brother about the strategic deployment of the town of Bicester, he originally planned to show his skills with his brothers, but the other side raised the white flag just after firing a round of artillery.
This is too unbearable!
Not far away, a disheveled man with several soldiers came out from behind the bombed outpost with his hands raised.
The waving gesture seemed to beg them not to shoot.
Not interested in slaughtering unarmed people, the Mole waved his hand.
Three armored trucks covered with steel plates drove over and stopped in front of the disheveled man.
Irena, holding a submachine gun, jumped off the truck first. Just as she was about to tease the officer-like man in front of her, the man suddenly knelt on the ground with a plop.
His forehead was pressed tightly against the ground, ignoring the sand and dust on the ground, and choked with snot and tears under the surprised gaze of everyone.
"...Spirit of the Sand Sea, you are finally here!"
Irena was stunned on the spot because she couldn't do it with his smooth movements.
He swallowed the teasing that was on his lips and looked at the Elf King Fugui next to him with a strange look.
"Fuck, what's going on?"
Brother Fugui also looked at him in confusion.
"I don't know..."
The players who got off the car were all confused.
This man cried so miserably, as if he had suffered a great injustice, and they were embarrassed to laugh at these guys.
Wedelil secretly glanced at the stunned soldiers, and was relieved to see that no one fired. His face was still full of grief and anger, and he kowtowed and complained with tears and snot.
"I am a baron of the Falcon Kingdom, named Wedelil. My ancestors have been running a farm in the nearby oasis for generations. I am an honest farmer, and I have always lived a peaceful life... until one day, the Weilants came here."
"Those big noses deceived us with sweet words, held our Majesty and his court hostage, occupied our shops and manors, forced us to work for them, and bleed for their ambition to conquer the world... Praise the great administrator, praise the great alliance, thank God you are finally here."
Irena's expression was indescribably weird, and she said with a dry cough.
"Anyway, you get up first."
Wedelier didn't get up, but pressed his head closer to the ground, mumbling non-stop, and even the translator couldn't translate what he was saying this time.
The Elf King Fugui standing next to him sighed, walked in front of him, kicked the guy's knee, and pointed to one side of the road.
"We are not interested in messing with you. We don't object if you like to kneel, but please go over there... Don't block our way."
Hearing the previous sentence, Wedelier finally burst into tears and smiled, showing a flattering smile on his face, and rolled back to the side of the road.
"Thank you for your mercy, sir! We'll go now! Please... come in!"
...
Bester Fortress fell.
The Skeleton Corps took this place without bloodshed, and the price paid was only dozens of 155mm shells and a few 60 kg mass shells.
In fact, they just opened fire a little faster.
If it was a few minutes later, maybe even the shells would have been saved.
The defenders stationed here walked out of the fortress one after another, leaned their rifles on both sides of the road, and then squatted outside the bunker with their hands on their heads.
It was really hard to hate him with his dusty face.
In the communication channel, Irena, who was holding the prisoners, complained to the Mole brother who was following behind.
"Good guy... We didn't catch up with the grand scene of welcoming the king's army in Oasis No. 3, but we caught up with it in Oasis No. 2."
"It means it's over."
Mole smiled and replied, waving forward.
The armored grenadiers' trucks moved forward and drove into the checkpoint at the main gate of the fortress.
After confirming that there was no ambush in the camp, Mole picked up the walkie-talkie and ordered the tank troops to follow closely and move forward.
When passing by the commander named Wedler, he signaled the driver to drive the tank to the side of the road and stop.
Looking down at the man who was crawling on the ground in a hurry, he searched inside the turret, took out a blank notebook and threw it on the ground in front of the man.
Hearing something slap in front of him, Wedelier subconsciously shrank his neck, and only looked at it tremblingly after finding that his head was not lost.
Without any nonsense, the mole looked down at him and ordered concisely.
"I'll give you a chance to atone for your sins."
"In the past week, all the troops that passed through here, their number, number, equipment, which road they took when they came, which door they left when they left, how much supplies they brought, whether they stepped out of the door with their left foot or their right foot first... Write everything you know in this notebook."
Wedelier nodded repeatedly.
"Yes! Good sir, I will do it!"
Seeing that this guy was about to kowtow again, the mole waved his hand impatiently.
"Stop talking nonsense, hurry up."