066. Frost-Plated's Shame
Liu Wenzhong and the soldiers settled into the abandoned factory, reporting their situation to headquarters and also notifying the Andre Mercenary Security Group.
Like other countries on Terra, Yanxia used professional mercenaries provided by security companies for tasks like this one. Since missions could last for over a decade, it was far more cost-effective to use contract soldiers than conscripted ones who would be missed if something went wrong.
As contract soldiers, Liu Wenzhong and his men had signed a 15-year contract for military service with Yanxia. They could bring their own weapons or choose those provided by the Yanxia military, but the contract did not specify any particular deployment location.
As professional contract soldiers, Liu Wenzhong felt a bit uneasy about the current situation. Although they were technically performing tasks in a game, the amount of time and effort they were putting in made him feel like they were being taken advantage of.
While his soldiers modified the facility, Liu Wenzhong gathered some of the army's administrative personnel to discuss real-life matters.
"Don't you all think it's strange? Qiqiao Network, Yanxia... No, in fact, all the member nations of the Federation seem to be acting oddly?"
Liu Wenzhong pointed this out, looking at the expressions of those around him before continuing:
"It's just a game world, yet the Federation is being extremely cautious. Even the official entities that control the game data are only providing limited weaponry and making the testers pay for most of it themselves—like they're afraid of harming the local civilization."
"Well, it's electronic migration, isn't it? Would you drop a nuke on your own territory?" Staff Officer Chris Ann said dismissively. "That's not something we need to worry about—the higher-ups will handle that."
"No, I'm talking about a more practical issue." Liu Wenzhong knocked on the table. "Shouldn't the time we spend working in the game be counted as work hours?"
"Oh?" Deputy Zhao Xingzhe raised an eyebrow. "You're trying to drag it out so the Federation has to pay for extra days, right?"
"The company takes the biggest cut anyway, and we're doing the work, fighting directly on the battlefield. It's only fair."
This wasn't a controversial issue. Everyone was just trying to make a living, and the company could handle the arguments with the Federation. However, the next topic was more serious.
"We still don't have enough people." Liu Wenzhong rubbed his temples. "Even though our combat training and tactical level give us an absolute advantage over the Frost-Plated forces, right now, we're just acting like firefighters—remember, each of us can only die three times. After that, we can't log in for the day, which translates to a month of in-game time. By then, the pizza in the oven will be cold."
"We need people on the frontlines, but don't forget, the characters we're controlling have their own lives and families." A soldier player rubbed his eyes. "According to orders, we should still keep in touch with our 'families' to maintain relationships. This way, when the time comes, we might not have enough people for the battle."
"That's why we need the mercenary license. We should recruit some local Granat boys for logistics work."
"Earlier, you said you didn't trust Li Aozi. Now, suddenly, you trust the Granat locals?"
"That's different." Liu Wenzhong knocked on the table again. "Haven't you read the intel? Li Aozi is a Frost-Plated native. He's only supporting Granat's independence because he opposes the Frost-Plated government."
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't seen the trailer, but you can think about it logically." Liu Wenzhong reminded them: "The intel shows that Li Aozi was persecuted and falsely accused by the Frost-Plated government, forcing him to flee the country. After he destroyed the Abyss Humanitarian Organization, Tianhuan immediately requested a GTB investigation, Red Arrow decided to raise interest rates, and Zhengxu provided military aid to Granat—don't you think that's too much of a coincidence?"
The soldiers immediately caught on.
"Granat's independence might really have the support of other nations." The deputy pondered for a moment. "Is that why you want to keep your distance from Li Aozi?"
"The game's officials are concerned about the players, but we can't be. Our primary task is to ensure the safety of the electronic migration zone while maintaining friendly relations with the virtual world's natives."
Liu Wenzhong said seriously:
"Stability is the most important thing. The migrants won't engage in endless fighting. Li Aozi seems odd to me—someone with only a vocational school education should not know how to create a persona, market himself, and still support a colony's independence while being globally wanted."
Li Aozi's personal charisma was undeniable, but charisma mainly came from first impressions.
Liu Wenzhong deliberately avoided watching the game company's promotional video to maintain objective, independent thinking.
In fact, he had correctly deduced part of the situation. His reasoning was logical: Li Aozi did indeed receive support and aid from other nations, though he had earned it himself.
Liu Wenzhong's calm analysis made some of the soldiers who had seen the trailer start rethinking the issue.
"You're right. Until we confirm Li Aozi's background, it's best to keep our distance." Chris Ann thought for a moment and then added: "But we do need to level up. The soldiers don't have main classes, implants, skills, or specialties. In combat, we're at a big disadvantage. If we could gain the supernatural powers Li Aozi offers, it might greatly enhance our combat capabilities."
Though opinions varied, they agreed on this point.
Liu Wenzhong said:
"We still have to make contact. I've already sent people to find Li Aozi… But for now, we haven't seen any real display of Li Aozi's strength. Humans are humans, limited by individual capacity. Let's not get our hopes too high."
Every organization requires those at the top to make decisions while those below do the legwork.
Valianke, Yakos, and Mohad Lin were sent to find Li Aozi. They had the coordinates of the NPC's last known locations provided by the tester, so they should have found him quickly, right?
—Indeed, each time they reached where Li Aozi had last appeared, he had suddenly jumped dozens of kilometers away. By the time they caught up, they saw that Li Aozi's next target had appeared 1,200 kilometers away at the border, leaving them stunned.
The three unlucky men, driven out of the factory by Liu Wenzhong's orders, ended up running, cycling, and braving minefields, even encountering a Frost-Plated security force along the way.
Finally, after hours of arduous travel, battered and bruised, they arrived at the new location in a captured truck.
They jumped out of the truck and immediately saw a burning military helicopter crash into a mountain valley. A crowd of Granat civilians had already gathered, carrying baskets and pushing carts.
The three men exchanged glances. Valianke stepped forward, activated stealth mode, and casually asked one of the nearby farmers:
"Hey, old man, what's going on here? Aren't you afraid of a helicopter falling from the sky?"
"Afraid of what?" The farmer asked in confusion. "Frost-Plated planes fall from the sky all the time. We're just here to collect some parts. The government pays a high price for them."
"Planes fall often?"
The three men tiptoed to peek into the valley, and what they saw immediately shattered their previous understanding:
Silver-gray wreckage piled up like corpses, forming a mountain.
It was a graveyard for aircraft!
Mighty, terrifying heavy fighter jets were now like fallen princesses of a dead kingdom, reduced to shackled prisoners and decayed skeletons, their once-proud Frost-Plated snowflake insignia now covered in white frost, standing out starkly.
Heavy strategic bombers, once majestic like white swans, lay shattered, discarded like trash, half a dozen of them strewn carelessly in the ditches, waiting to be buried by the wind and snow.
Flames, once fierce, had been extinguished by the blizzard, but the wrecked transport planes, like giant dead men, remained frozen in place. The bodies of several female agents were burned to skeletons, slowly freezing in the snowy winds of the wilderness.
White frost plated the bones.
None of these planes had appeared in Granat's airspace. Without a doubt, they had been shot down before even reaching Granat. Many of the aircraft looked like they had been smashed apart by rocks. The instruments hadn't been destroyed by explosions and were still intact, making them highly valuable—no wonder the local farmers were camping out here.
Amid this stunning visual shock, a shared question arose in the hearts of the three soldiers:
"How were these planes shot down?"
They quickly got their answer.
A series of sonic booms echoed through the sky. Moments later, another large transport plane was brought down, joining the others buried by snow, dying in the mountains and valleys of Granat like all the other invaders, in the ugliest possible way.
"Hooray!"
"Kill those Frost-Plated bastards!"
"Thank you! Bahamut!"
The Granat farmers cheered enthusiastically. The three soldier players followed their gaze—and there, high in the sky, they saw a red-and-black armored figure hovering. He slowly descended, and the crowd surged forward to greet him, but the tall figure in red-black armor raised a hand, and the people obediently stopped in place to avoid overcrowding. However, nothing could diminish the fervor and admiration in their eyes.
The figure's helmet opened, revealing the handsome face that the three soldier players recognized—although they'd seen Li Aozi's appearance in the trailers, seeing him in person was deeply shocking.
"I never imagined a man could be this beautiful, beautiful enough to make you forget his gender or identity." Yakos marveled.
"So that's Li Aozi. He's even more handsome without the filters." Mohad rubbed his chin. "He gives off a good vibe, doesn't seem like a bad guy at all. Very approachable."
"Let's try talking to him first," Valianke suggested.
---------------------------------
A big thank you to [rowgran] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.