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'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
"Online Comments/Twitch comments/Narrator"
[Reading description of games]
[System]
(Word Count: 824)
~ In the Battlefield with Aiden ~
In the safety of the tank, with its heavy steel armour, most of the outside noise was muffled, and mostly only the sound of exploding shells and gunfire could penetrate. Bullets hitting the armour also posed no threat. However, stepping out onto the battlefield, Aiden was subjected to the raw brutality of war.
It was even more intense than the positional warfare in the prologue. Using the stationary tank as a makeshift cover, Aiden noticed Allied soldiers and German soldiers all around him. Stray bullets occasionally whizzed by, kicking up wet soil from the ground.
The German soldiers, undeterred by the attack, charged forward relentlessly. Thankfully, Micah was still manning the tank's machine gun, providing cover fire as they tried to work out what went wrong with the tank.
"Alright! It's just a loose drive wheel, not a big problem!" Finch exclaimed, inspecting the tank's fuel tank and gears amidst the ongoing battle.
Noticing that Aiden was getting fidgety and nervous, Finch spoke as he carried out the repairs. "You alright, Edward?"
"Yup, just hurry up!" Aiden replied, clutching a Mauser C96 in his hands as he kept an eye out for any German soldiers that came too close. Despite feeling safer inside the tank, holding his pistol offered little comfort out here.
"Don't you worry, I'll have this fixed in no time!" Finch reassured.
However, both Aiden and his viewers felt a wave of unease wash over them at Finch's words, almost as if they were a premonition of things to come.
"Why does Finch sound like a movie character that is about to die?"
"Yeah, it's like those soldiers who say they'll go home to their wife and family after the war!"
"Uh oh, my flag senses are tingling. . ."
"FINCH! WATCH OUT!"
Unfortunately, Finch was just an NPC soldier, and such would never know of the livestream chat's worries. In the next moment, an artillery projectile had landed beside them with a deafening explosion. Fire and black smoke engulfed Aiden's vision. The impact, combined with the sensations provided by the VR equipment, had left him stunned.
A ringing sound filled his ears as his vision blurred. Slowly, the scene cleared out, and he heard Micah's voice urgently calling from inside the tank. "What's the situation?! Edward?! Finch?!"
Aiden, slowly regaining his senses, looked around and found himself in a crater. Finch laid nearby, bloodied and barely unconscious as he was close to the impact than Aiden was. Finch raised a trembling hand, trying to speak, but a stray bullet hit him in the chest, silencing him forever.
Aiden stood in shock as he saw the light fade out from Finch's eyes, the reality of the war settling over him.
"Answer me, damn it! Edward, Finch, are you guys okay?! What's going on out there!"
Micah's voice broke him out of his momentary daze. "Fuck! Finch got hit! He's Dead!"
"Damn it! Edward, it's up to you! Fix the tank! You learned this in training!"
Aiden saw the glowing parts around the tank, indicating the areas where repairs were needed. Grabbing the wrench from Finch's lifeless body, he began fixing the tank under a barrage of stray bullets that struck the tank's armoured body, making him flinch with every hit.
Finally, the repairs were done. Aiden climbed back into the tank and pulled the engine's handle. The simulated smell of gasoline and the heat made him more anxious. The voice of the officer from the town came through the radio, "Bess, what are you doing?! Push forward! Help our soldiers take out those Germans!"
"We had a problem, but we've already fixed it, sir!" Aiden replied. The tank roared back to life as Aiden started the engines. Now with the support of the tank, the infantry troops managed to tear through the enemy's defences. The powerful tank gun made short work of machine gun nests and artillery positions.
"FUCK, YOU!!!" Aiden screamed, the adrenaline of the battle and watching Finch die in front of him accumulating to stress and anger at the German soldiers. Even the viewers of his livestream were just as furious as he was.
"This game is so realistic that it made me feel bad for an NPC. . ."
"Yeah, I've never seen anything like this. It's like being in a real war!"
"Make them pay for their sins, Aiden!"
"For Finch!"
"SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"
With each advancing step, the tanks and the soldiers captured trenches and strongholds, inching closer to their objective, to victory. However, as they approached the final artillery position, disaster struck once again. And the tank came to a sudden halt.
- End of Chapter 09 -
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