065. Cross-Dimensional Firefight
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Deadly explosives roared continuously indoors, completely shattering the silence of the small town. The player army had already infiltrated the town, breaking into smaller units, occupying high ground, moving in groups of three. They fully exploited the physical advantages of being players, rushing into rooms at the fastest speed to clear out threats inside the buildings.
The sudden attack completely disrupted the Frost-Plated soldiers who were still resting. Several powerful agents barely survived thanks to military-grade cybernetic implants. After rushing out of the buildings, they were immediately met with concentrated fire from snipers on the high ground and soldiers hiding throughout the town.
"Damn it!"
A Law IV agent immediately activated her implants. [Peak Hour Military] was the most cost-effective choice. She instantly created a series of shifting afterimages in mid-air, breaking into a soldier player's position, lifting a heavy handgun, and blasting the entire top of their skull apart. Then, like a tiger in a flock of sheep, she extended her implanted cybernetic blades and wantonly gutted the attackers around her.
However, she quickly realized something was wrong.
These people—weren't afraid to die at all.
Energy injected into the blades could easily slice a person in half, but these ordinary humans, with no protective gear, wielding standard rifles, dared to engage her up close. They threw flashbangs at her, coldly and ruthlessly used their bodies to block her path so their comrades could focus fire.
Ratatatatatat—clang thud!
Despite the bullets continuously hitting the same spot, even a cybernetically enhanced [Warrior] couldn't withstand the damage. Since she had rushed out without time to put on armor, her body was soon riddled with holes, but relying on the [Warrior]'s strong physique, she managed to endure the assault.
But the female agent quickly sensed something eerie.
"No way—why are there still so many of them?"
She had clearly just killed seven riflemen in one go, but when she turned her head, the corpses had already been dragged away. Not long after, she saw the same people, covered in blood, who she had gutted, stand up again, rifles at the ready, pouring fire at her once more.
"Shit, what the hell?! Are they undead or something?!"
The female agent was utterly horrified. While the enemy was weak in terms of strength, their battle skills and firearms were a very real threat.
Without reaching Alpha-tier strength, no superhuman had the guts to fight against this kind of army.
She immediately felt the urge to retreat, fighting as she withdrew and calling for support—but the communication channels were filled with screams and chaos. Stepping over her comrades' intestines and severed limbs as she fled, she still couldn't escape the relentless pursuit of these undead-like enemies.
A soldier player took a shortcut, holding a riot shield, and slammed into her. Despite having his heart and lungs pierced by her blades, he acted like a killing machine, leveling his submachine gun at her eyes and pulling the trigger.
Her cybernetic eyes went offline instantly, plunging her vision into utter darkness.
Half an hour later, on the Frost-Plated–Granat conflict simulation map, a nondescript town called Domat slowly raised the Granat volcanic flag.
No one cared about this small town on the outskirts of the city; aside from producing milk and cheese, it had no real value.
Even fewer noticed that this was the first encounter between player soldiers and Frost-Plated irregular forces. After losing fifteen players, each dying three times in succession, they successfully wiped out the stationed troops and won their first battle on the Azure Star battlefield.
After the battle, the soldiers from Yanxia returned to their base in an abandoned factory and immediately organized a review. They realized that the victory had been a close one.
Despite having significant advantages in intelligence, military training, and the element of surprise, the player soldiers still had to pay a heavy price to wipe out so many Frost-Plated irregulars.
Out of fifty well-trained soldier players, including the combat commander, forty-four were near death once, and fifteen had their characters killed three times in a row, awaiting redeployment.
In reality, these weren't Frost-Plated regular forces. The Law IV agents, riot police, and members of the Ducal Party were all just armed forces with no real battlefield experience.
The lopsided results forced them to take things seriously.
"Warriors, we must now recognize a harsh reality."
Combat Commander Major Liu Wenzhong said in a grave tone:
"We need better equipment and to level up. In this world, individual strength holds significant advantages, enough to offset some of the organizational advantages—but only some. If we had more powerful artillery, we could make up for these shortcomings. No matter how strong someone is, they still fear heavy artillery."
Some soldiers agreed, but others raised concerns:
"…Those irregular superhumans can close the distance quickly in combat and cause us serious damage. Firearms are still the main weapon, but their stopping power against superhumans is too weak. We need to switch to larger-caliber weapons, like 12.7mm rifle rounds, armor-piercing incendiary rounds, or mercury-filled heavy rounds. Plus, our reaction time and individual skills are clearly lacking. After this battle, each of us earned between 1,400 and 1,800 experience points on average, but it's still not enough to close the gap with the Frost-Plated forces."
Thus, a significant issue was brought to the forefront—not just for the Yanxia military but for armies across all nations.
National militaries could quickly adapt to the environment through intelligence provided by the Qiqiao Network and even purchase some military-grade weapons with government funds.
But character levels could only be raised through personal efforts.
"Does anyone have any ideas on how we can level up quickly? Any suggestions?"
"Should we try completing some mainline quests?"
"No, we're soldiers. We can't compete with civilians for quest resources, and it takes too long."
"Then how about hunting beasts in the wilderness? I mean, according to the data, those monsters are so mutated that they seem impossible to completely exterminate."
"Unfortunately, our resources aren't enough to support long-distance hunting."
The group of soldiers found themselves at a bit of a loss. They were good at warfare and combat, but when it came to matters like this, they were no better than regular players.
Just as the soldier players were feeling stuck, a Qiqiao Network tester passing by gave them an idea.
"Why don't you go find Li Aozi?" The tester casually suggested. "He's a [Domination] class trainer and just happens to be here in the Granat Republic fighting against the Frost-Plated forces. You could collaborate with him."
"Li Aozi?"
The soldiers, especially their leader Liu Wenzhong, expressed doubt:
"He's just an NPC. Is he really reliable? He could get killed by a stray bullet in the middle of battle at any moment."
"Looks like you haven't seen the press conference video." The tester shrugged. "Anyway, I think he's reliable. As a class trainer, he's probably quite powerful, and since you're all willing to fight against the Frost-Plated forces, he might agree to help."
"I saw the trailer." A young soldier recalled the press conference video, where a [Mutant] controlled unpredictable Omega Energy, slaughtering freely with ease. He felt tempted. "Liu, why don't we try to find him?"
Liu Wenzhong didn't know much about this aspect, and his instincts made him skeptical of the native inhabitants of the game world. They seemed too lifelike, which made Liu secretly doubt their reliability. But out loud, he made an excuse:
"Won't this involve competing with players for resources…?"
"I support the idea."
Vice-captain Zhao Xingzhe suggested:
"Liu, we need to interact with the locals eventually. The military and civilians are like fish and water; you need the villagers to like you for them to support you—so why don't we send a few people to contact Li Aozi first? We don't need to see if we can gain any benefits from him, just test his strength and intentions. If he can help us, that would be great."
"Alright, let's do that."
Liu Wenzhong lacked enthusiasm for the idea. He still believed that what the soldiers needed most were equipment, organization, and combat readiness. As for the differences in individual character strength—in battle, it typically takes hundreds of thousands of bullets to kill one person, so surviving a few extra bullets doesn't seem like such a big deal. The gap in individual strength might not be that exaggerated.
He wasn't the only one who thought this way; many soldiers shared this belief.
For now, it seemed like waiting for better equipment and leveling up would prevent such intense fights. Rather than wasting time on leveling, they believed focusing on improving their equipment would be more effective.
Weapons decide wars, and even the strength of individual soldier weapons doesn't determine victory. A few cannons would be far more cost-effective than leveling up characters.
Just as they were thinking this, someone checked the terminal and discovered that the Frost-Plated weapons embargo included all calibers of artillery and anti-vehicle missiles.
"Tch, what bad luck."
Learning that they couldn't obtain artillery support, the soldiers' outlook on the situation in Granat darkened. According to their traditional combat thinking, firepower coverage was the main means of battle. Without ensuring swift and powerful firepower support, all talk of individual combat skills was pointless.
"Can we make our own weapons?"
"We don't understand the local scientific formulas or chemical materials, and their armored vehicles clearly can't be penetrated by makeshift weapons."
With limited beta test slots, there obviously weren't enough soldiers.
After some discussion, even Liu Wenzhong had to admit that their hopes of improving combat effectiveness would have to rely on the locals.
However, he still preferred working with the official Bermudes group, sending his subordinates to apply for an armed security company license and see if they could secure mercenary slots, hoping to get as much official support as possible.
As for the few sent to make contact with Li Aozi… Liu Wenzhong remained unimpressed by the title of "class trainer."
From his perspective, even the strongest superhuman was at most equivalent to a tank, and what use could one tank be in a war?