"Our enemies will not wait until the end of winter and then march to our trenches in a swagger."
"They are predators, and they are best at sneak attacks. If they are fast, maybe when this blizzard is over, their army will march to the northern suburbs of Qingquan City."
"My guess is... early January, or even on New Year's Day."
After reviewing the new recruits of the guard, Chu Guang took Liu Ding, Wrench and Vanus back to the guard's base at Changjiu Farm.
There is a temporary bunker-style command post here, with a thick layer of snow on it, and only one tunnel can be entered.
Among the supplies seized from the predators last time, there were a full 100 100mm howitzers.
These shells weigh 11 kilograms in total, including a two-kilogram warhead, and the charge is a mixture of T-En-T and RDX.
The power of this shot will probably be quite amazing.
Although it is unknown how many howitzers they have, these shells alone are enough to make Chu Guang alert.
These predators are not easy to deal with!
At present, Shelter No. 404 has lit up the production process of RDX with the information obtained by the old brothers on the forum and the continuous exploration of 30 life professional players with chemical-related experience, but unfortunately the output is not very high.
It is still too difficult to develop reliable heavy support firepower before New Year's Day. It is not only the problem of the barrel that needs to be solved, but also many problems including ballistics, and these require more experience in actual combat than theoretical knowledge.
It may be more practical to rely on the unscrupulous rockets of mosquitoes than to rely on heavy artillery in the war with the Bone Chewing Tribe.
Wrench and Liu Ding subconsciously looked at each other, their expressions slightly confused.
What is New Year's Day?
Although Vanus also didn't understand what Yuan Nian was, his focus was not on such trivial issues, but on Chu Guang's prediction of the next round of raiders' offensive.
Staring at the paper map hanging on the wall of the temporary command post, Vanus pondered for a long time and spoke.
"If it were me, I would choose to launch an offensive in mid-January."
Chu Guang looked at him and asked.
"Reason?"
Vanus said.
"This is out of careful consideration. The snow on the road will make it difficult for trucks to move, and the pressure on logistics will be greater than expected. As the commander of the front line, I must first assume that you have evacuated all the survivor settlements that can be plundered in the northern suburbs in advance, and built good enough fortifications, and fought us to the end with the determination to fight to the death."
"And at that time, our troops will not be able to obtain any resources locally, and can only rely on their own supplies to fight a tough battle that may be delayed for a long time."
His eyes were fixed on an abandoned urban area in the northeast, and Vanus continued.
"I will first build an operational base, deploy artillery, and then send out mobile forces to harass your positions using the advantages of vehicles, guide artillery bombardment, weaken your defenses with multiple raids, and finally concentrate forces to launch attacks from multiple directions at the same time."
Liu Ding and Wrench held their breath involuntarily.
If those predators really did this, this battle would undoubtedly be more difficult than expected.
Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.
"That sounds like a good idea."
He certainly didn't expect the people of the Bone Chewing Tribe to be like the Blood Hand Clan, stupidly launching a suicidal charge towards his position, and then being harvested like wheat by the players squatting in the trenches with automatic weapons.
Those goblin-like creatures are very cunning, especially now that they have learned the tactics of the Legion - even if they have only learned a small part of it.
But...
It's a pity that they ran into themselves.
This continuous offensive consumption method may be useful for others, but it is simply a pipe dream to use it against players who have a life of three days.
He only needs to defend the new industrial zone located in the abandoned city and ensure the supply of weapons and equipment. Those predators will soon experience the nightmare of being dominated by the undead.
When necessary, he can even abandon the large factory, break up the production equipment into pieces, retreat into the endless ruins, and then the players will play the advantages of individual combat power and fight the predators in the city.
Noticing the not-so-heavy expression on Chu Guang's face, Vanus raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.
"It seems that you already have an idea?"
"I think so."
"I'm a little curious. Can you let me know if it's convenient?"
Chu Guang smiled faintly.
"Anyway, there won't be many days left. You will know it naturally when the time comes."
He thought of many methods, but the situation on the battlefield changed rapidly, and he couldn't say which plan would be adopted in the end.
After all, it depends on which card the opponent plays.
Vanus didn't ask, but shrugged his shoulders.
His identity was just a prisoner of war after all.
If Chu Guang asked for his opinion, he would tell us what he thought and provide suggestions for reference. But if Chu Guang didn't intend to let him know, he really shouldn't ask more questions from his position.
But Vanus was still very curious, what was this man going to do?
The other side had 100mm howitzers, and it was unknown how many there were.
In addition, the number of those predators was more than 1,000, and the number of vehicles was unknown, so they had an absolute advantage in both equipment and manpower.
They were not ordinary predators, and after the previous two encounters, the man in front of him was obviously clear about it.
The chances of winning were actually not high.
But his expression of being unmoved was really unpredictable.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door of the temporary command post.
After getting permission, a guard in a black coat walked in from outside the door, put his right fist on his chest and saluted.
"Report!"
Chu Guang said concisely.
"Speak."
The guard said.
"The scouts we sent to explore the north found a patrol of looters in Yuanxi Town, just north of Changjiu Farm. They are suspected to be from the Bone Chewing Tribe!"
After hearing the report, Chu Guang was slightly surprised and immediately looked at the map on the wall.
Yuanxi Town is about 20 kilometers away from Changjiu Farm, adjacent to the north side of Yumu District. It is the southernmost township under the jurisdiction of Xizhou City in terms of administrative divisions, close to Xicheng District of Tianshui City.
This distance is not very close, but it is definitely not far.
However, what puzzled Chu Guang was why those looters appeared in Yuanxi Town?
According to the marching route of those looters, it is obvious that their station should be in the northeast of Qingquan City and the south of Tianshui City.
Could it be...
They moved?
Vanus, staring at the map, gradually became solemn.
"Mr. Administrator, although I don't want to say this... but I'm afraid we have to prepare for the worst."
In the temporary command post, four pairs of eyes looked at him in unison.
Chu Guang had already guessed something, but he didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.
Vanus paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled a breath of white air from his mouth.
"The troops to our north are obviously not the same group as the predators in the southern suburbs of Tianshui City."
"You will probably face more than just a thousand-man team..."
"But two."
...
[Wartime Regulations Day 14]
After confirming the information on the VM, Lao Bai wiped off the mucus on the steel arm guard and the cilia dropped from the moth's wings.
"The difficulty of the B9 floor strategy is unexpectedly small."
"After all, this is where the reactor is placed, there is no incubator, and the area is not very large." Fang Chang put away the mechanical compound bow in his hand and said casually.
4 days ago, his level reached LV10, becoming the first agility awakener in the entire server.
Just as Lao Bai guessed, his main attribute increased by 5 attribute points, and the other 4 secondary attributes increased by one point each.
With an agility of up to 17 points, he almost has three times the reaction speed of ordinary people, as well as dynamic vision.
And the skills he obtained are also very satisfying to him - similar to the bullet time in Max Payne!
This does not mean that he can become faster, but based on the bonus of the agility attribute, he can make everything around him play in slow motion when he is highly focused.
Perhaps as long as the agility attribute is high enough, maybe one day he can see the trajectory of the bullet clearly.
In any case, this can be called a magical skill for a shooter.
Praise the planner!
Since unlocking the bullet time, although his teammates don't have much intuitive feeling, Fang Chang feels that he is invincible.
The mission has entered the final stage.
Carefully searching the blind spots on the B9 floor, Lao Bai uses a melee dagger to clean up the devil moths that are still completely dead.
Seeing that there was no chance to shoot, Ye Shi, who was walking behind, spoke in a casual tone.
"What do you think will be on the B10 floor?"
Kuang Feng, who was walking beside him, thought for a while and said.
"I don't know, but what is certain is that the mother nest of the devil moth is there."
Ye Shi: "Will there be moths as big as mutants?"
Kuang Feng: "From the perspective of evolution, it is not very realistic. The super-sized size is not suitable for arthropods to survive... at least with the oxygen content and gravity environment on Earth. However, this is not absolute. The wasteland is not a normal natural selection environment, not to mention that this is a game."
At this point, Kuang Feng suddenly paused and looked up to the front.
"But... this game is too real."
The group stopped, and in front of them was a closed door.
Judging from the sign on the door that is similar to the power room on the B3 floor and the mark on the VM map, this should be the reactor.
Through a long and narrow transparent window, Kuang Feng can see the cylindrical reactor in the room.
A reactor that has been running for two centuries and is still working.
Even in the game, this is quite unbelievable.
It seems that it should not be boiling water.
"Is this a tokamak or a stellarator?" Ye Shi asked curiously.
Kuangfeng thought for a while and shook his head.
"Neither of them... It looks unremarkable from the outside, even smaller than a nuclear fission reactor."
And much smaller!
Ye Shi laughed.
"Maybe the operator simply doesn't want to edit it... I thought it would be designed to be cooler."
"This design is actually reasonable. After all, in the pre-war society depicted in the game background, the popularity of controlled nuclear fusion has continuously replaced fossil fuels, and even replaced chemical batteries in some areas. Their understanding of energy technology is like a black box to us. It is more reasonable to present it in a simpler way than we imagined."
Kuangfeng was very curious about what kind of brain hole the operator used. After all, this involved a field he was familiar with.
However, he was a rational person and would not risk the lives of his teammates.
Moreover, he didn't have the ability to demolish it.
To destroy the first wall that could block the neutron rays, at least several hundred kilograms of explosives would be needed.
This thing is not made of tofu.
The alloy door leading to the reactor room alone is at least half a meter thick, not to mention the wall, which is even made into a part of the load-bearing structure.
If this layer is blown down, it may not be possible to scrape off a layer of the reactor.
At this moment, Kuangfeng suddenly felt a slight tingling in his eyebrows, and then a burning feeling spread throughout his body, causing him to frown.
Ye Shi, who was standing aside, seemed to have the same reaction, and screamed exaggeratedly and held his right arm.
"My giao, my king's power! That boiling feeling... is coming!"
Fang Chang looked at him speechlessly.
"Can you be a little more normal?"
Reaching out to support Ye Shi, Lao Bai also noticed the state of Kuang Feng, was slightly stunned, and his expression instantly became happy.
"Good guy, we awakened two today!"
The first intelligence and perception players in the entire server were born at the same time!
All members of the Niu Ma team landed in the Hall of Fame!
This achievement is simply invincible!
Fang Chang's face was also full of excitement, but now they are in a moth nest, obviously not the time to be distracted and happy.
"Exciting! Anyway, let's go back and save the game first."
It can be predicted that the forum will be lively for a while today.
At Fang Chang's suggestion, the Niu Ma team touched the door of the next floor, and then left the greenhouse ruins and returned to the direction of the outpost.
After escorting his teammates to the gate of the outpost, Lao Bai, standing under the concrete wall, suddenly stopped.
"I plan to go to the industrial area before going offline, you go back and save the game first."
Ye Shi asked curiously.
"Industrial zone? What are we going there for?"
Lao Bai said with a smile.
"I've used the LD-47 for a while, but I always feel that it can't bring out the strength of the power system. I plan to go to the steel plant to see if I can order two pieces of equipment suitable for the power system to improve the firepower of our team."
Ye Shi and Kuang Feng looked at each other.
Fang Chang understood what he meant and immediately became interested.
"I'll go with you! Anyway, I won't have anything to do after I go offline."
Lao Bai said with a hearty smile.
"Okay, let's go!"
...
New Industrial Zone.
At the gate of the No. 81 Steel Plant, Lao Bai and Fang Chang saw Midnight Killing Chicken discussing something with Brother Ce Suo as soon as they entered the door.
"I want an electric saw, can you do it?"
"I can do it, where can I get you a battery?"
Facing Brother Ce Suo's white eyes, Midnight Killing Chicken still didn't give up.
"Oil-burning ones are fine."
Hearing these light words, Brother Ce Suo almost burst out laughing and continued to ask soul-searching questions.
"Do you have a diesel engine? Do you have diesel?"
It's outrageous that there is no diesel engine in the entire wasteland.
He has been troubled by this matter these days.
Midnight Killer was slightly stunned. He didn't expect it to be so troublesome. He scratched the back of his head.
"Then... I'd better buy an axe."
"..."
Brother Ce Suo looked helpless.
A short axe with a wooden handle is only 10 silver coins, and this is after the price increase.
After deducting the cost of raw materials, labor, electricity, etc., the profit margin is only 10%, and only 1 silver coin is earned.
It's better to sell more bullets than selling axes!
"I sincerely suggest that you consider more modern equipment."
Just when he was about to find a reason to send the Killer away, he suddenly saw Lao Bai and Fang Chang at the door.
His eyes lit up immediately, and Brother Ce Suo immediately left the property and killed the chicken, and went to meet the two.
"Hey, Brother Bai and Brother Fang, how come you have time to come here?"
These two are big customers!
Recently, the progress of the greenhouse ruins seems to have been pushed to the 8th floor underground? Or the 9th floor?
Although the cattle and horse teams have never made public the specific amount of rewards, it can be guessed based on the difficulty of the maze that the rewards are at least four digits.
Seeing Brother Ce Suo decisively abandoning himself, Midnight Killing Chicken was stunned.
Good guy.
Is it so real?
Looking at the old acquaintance coming towards him, Lao Bai smiled and said.
"I'm planning to make a piece of equipment. Is there any with greater power?"
"Powerful... what do you mean? We have grenades and imitation Panzerfaust rocket launchers here, which are quite powerful!"
"I'm not talking about the kind of disposable explosives. What I mean is," Lao Bai tried to gesture with his hands, "is there any gun with a larger caliber?"
As he was talking, Lao Bai's eyes suddenly fell on the unassembled quadruple-mounted machine gun in the factory behind Brother Ce Suo.
After seeing this, Lao Bai's eyes could not be moved away. He immediately walked over and reached out to touch the thick and long barrel.
"Wow, this must be 20mm, right?!"
Seeing that someone was interested in his work, Brother Ce Suo smiled and said confidently.
"20mm quadruple-mounted anti-aircraft gun! Three types of warheads can be selected. We call it an aerial cloth tearing machine, or 'tearer' for short!"
The name sounds quite domineering.
Lao Bai continued to ask happily.
"How much!"
Brother Ce Suo was stunned and said with a dry cough.
"That's an NPC order... The price is 3,000 silver for a machine gun and 20 silver for an armor-piercing bullet. Take a look."
"What the hell?! 3,000 silver?" Lao Bai's eyes widened.
Just a machine gun, the price is equivalent to 1.5 sets of Miner I exoskeleton!
And the price of the armor-piercing bullet is even more outrageous. One bullet is equivalent to 20 7mm rounds. Three rounds can buy a Panzerfaust!
Although they have pushed the progress of 4 layers in the past few days and took down the most critical B9 layer, the money they earned cannot be wasted like this.
After learning the price, Lao Bai immediately gave up the idea of buying one, and was too embarrassed to ask if it could be cheaper.
Seeing the expression on Lao Bai's face, Fang Chang's heart moved slightly. He walked forward and stared at the receiver for a while, and suddenly spoke.
"Why is this machine gun so expensive?"
Just at this time, another factory manager, Brother Levin, came out of the workshop next to him.
Hearing Fang Chang's question, he answered casually.
"It's already called a cannon, so why ask? The receiver in front of you alone is at least 2,000 silver, not to mention the barrel and other parts in front."
Fang Chang said thoughtfully.
"What if we need a... single-shot machine gun? It doesn't need such a complicated receiver, and it can even be changed to a rotating bolt lock and manual loading of bullets."
Brother Ce Suo and Brother Levin were stunned at the same time.
"Change to a rotating bolt lock... bolt?"
"Manual loading?"
Seeing that the two didn't seem to understand what he meant, Fang Chang continued.
"What I just described may not be quite accurate. To put it simply, it is to remove the fully automatic mode of this machine gun and make a weapon similar to a bolt-action rifle, which can be easily held in hand and placed on the ground-"
"I understand what you mean. Omit the buffer and the continuous-fire receiver, right?"
Brother Levin interrupted Fang Chang and touched his chin with interest.
"But that kind of gun will be very heavy, right? And the recoil is probably not small, and it will probably need a fixed tripod... Are you sure it can be used?"
This thing is a cannon, not a gun after all.
If the shock absorber and buffer device are cut off and made into a weapon that can be carried on the shoulder and fired, I am afraid that the shooter's shoulder will be disabled after firing a shot.
Unless the length of the shell is shortened and made into the size of that bullet.
But in that case, the caliber of 20mm will be a bit redundant and it will have to be changed to 12mm.
However, after hearing Brother Levin's concerns, Fang Chang and Lao Bai looked at each other and smiled meaningfully.
It would be difficult for ordinary people.
But are they ordinary people?
"You can help me install a bipod and a buttstock, but I don't need a fixed tripod."
Lao Bai knocked on the welded chest armor of the exoskeleton with his fist, and a smile full of security appeared on his face.
"Don't worry, I can handle it!"