This Game Is Too Realistic-Chapter 550.2: Rats Hiding In The Shadows...
Quit Smoking: Hahaha! ‘Designated Taste Tester’ is wild!
Yaya: I’m gonna explode from eating so much! QAQ
Makka Pakka: Hahahaha! Fat Yaya confirmed!
Yaya: Get lost! I’m not fat! Go die! (╯°Д°)╯︵┻━┻
Teng Teng: Damn it, this scandalous fellow... Dev-senpai please nerf her, she’s too hateful! T.T
Yaya: ???
Tail: Waaa, Sisi! I miss home! (；д；)
Sisi: Don’t cry, Tail. I’ll ask Roro to catch a fish for you to make soup.
Roshan: This is the ocean, okay?!
Tail: Ooh! Last time Sisi pulled up a huge tentacle monster!
Sisi: Ugh... That’s something I’d rather forget. (facepalm)
Sesame Paste: Ahaha... pats head.
Eye Owe Money: Tentacle monster?! Details, please. (≖⩊≖)
Construction Boy: What the hell, bro. Are humans not enough for you anymore?
Eye Owe Money: Screw you! I’m not that kind of guy! (ᗒᗣᗕ)
Drumhead Washing Machine: Bro’s playing real kinky. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Elf King Wang: Irena: Damn, bro. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Irene: Just curious about the taste. Why aren’t you calling out Falling Feather? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Falling Feather: ???
Ample Time: This game is too realistic! (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)
...
After the official announcement, a large number of players poured into Boulder Town from Dawn City. The plaza at the gates bustled with people.
It was basically a festival.
"Team up for mutant hunts! Send me a message if you’re interested!"
"Found a Crackleclaw Crab nest near the Water Treatment Plant on the south side! Need a player to be bait!"
"Damn, does anyone know what kind of meat this is? I got it from a marauder’s nest... Any traders need jerky?"
"Hahaha! Toss it, bro. You don’t want to know what it is." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂
"Shit! That homeless girl I helped yesterday stole my wallet! I’m done with love!"
"Chill. At least you managed to keep your VM."
"Wait... Are you sure she stole it? Or... Did you pay her?"
"...?"
Though the New Year’s event could be joined from any settlement, Boulder Town, now under player control, offered an exclusive extra reward.
Unless tied up with work, mosLifestyle Profession players preferred to head over to join in the fun.
After all, that special prize would be judged by the administrator himself, an excellent opportunity to grind faction favor with the faction boss!
Players aiming for the ‘Wasteland Gourmet’ title weren’t going to miss it.
"These newbies are so weak! They need a party to hunt Crackleclaw Crabs? Heh! They’re soft as hell..."
In a corner of the market... Watching the chirping beta newbies, Peepo planted both fists on the ground like a gorilla and grinned. He wasn’t striking a pose to show off, it was to save energy.
Just days ago, he had undergone Boulder Town Arms Industry’s cybernetic enhancement. His spine to shoulders became a T-shaped alloy frame.
Even more extreme were his fists. They were massive iron lumps that could double as an excavator’s scoop.
Thinking of those fists made Peepo feel puzzled.
He clearly asked for stewpot sized fists, like Vi’s from Piltover, but that NPC named Eberts had apparently gone rogue and gave him ones the size of actual cooking pots.
Oh well.
He had them installed anyway.
Now, he felt his arms brimming with endless power. He thought that one slap could kill a strength type player, and the shockwave alone might blow away an intelligence type!
Granted, only if they stood still.
Dog Good Names stared at him in shock, finally blurting, "Holy crap?! Where did you get 500,000 silver coins?"
If he remembered right, that was how much the modification cost.
Back then, he laughed at the guy for dreaming too big, but Peepo actually went ahead and got it!
Seeing his friend’s dumbfounded face, Peepo scratched his head sheepishly and confessed, "Wasn’t that pricey... I talked to the NPC and removed the Dove-class missile launcher from the fists. It instantly got discounted to 50,000 silver coins."
In exchange, he had to submit regular usage data to Boulder Town Arms Industry to help them improve the product.
But that didn’t matter.
Privacy? Whatever. Take it. He didn’t expect to have an in-game sex life anyway.
Dog Good Names stared blankly, at a loss for words. Only after some time did he mumble, "... Didn’t you pick the agility type so you can go stealth mode?"
"You don’t get it." Peepo smirked. He almost patted his good brother’s shoulder but stopped himself. "If you kill everyone, no one’s left to know you were there. That’s stealth too... Besides, we already have a real stealth user in the squad, right? Look, Kidney Warrior got modded too."
He jerked his chin toward someone. Dog Good Names followed the direction he was looking in, puzzled, and saw Kidney Warrior strolling over, grinning. The fool was clad in alloy chest armor and an open jacket.
"Hahaha! Dog Bro, you here too? Lemme tell you, Their modifications are frickin’ awesome!"
"... What did you mod?" With that alloy chestplate and open coat, Dog Good Names had a very bad feeling.
Kidney Warrior grinned. "Heh heh... Check this out."
He grabbed his shirt, tossed it skyward like some deranged maniac, revealing his full chest armor and two bare arms.
Only then did Dog Good Names realize that the guy’s alloy breastplate wasn’t worn, it was actually welded directly onto his body.
"Are you dumb?" Dog Good Names stared at him blankly. "What’s the point of that..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the jet-black chestplate began to fade, like ink diluted in water, and eventually disappeared completely.
Dog Good Names’s eyes bulged like lightbulbs, nearly popping out of his sockets. "Holy crap!? Optical camouflage?!"
"Correct!" Kidney Warrior, now left with only limbs and a floating head, chuckled and patted his head that was suspended in mid-air. "Too bad I couldn’t afford the full set. But making the belly invisible is good enough. At least I’m a smaller target."
Just like Peepo’s nonsense, the price was also 50,000 silver coins, equivalent to half a Heavy Cavalry exoskeleton. Normally, optical camouflage wouldn’t be that cheap, but the one he got was a salvaged piece of scrap metal, so it came with a discount.
If it hadn’t been such a rare opportunity, he, being a strength type character, wouldn’t have installed it. Honestly, he was just being cheap.
Dog Good Names couldn’t help giving him a thumbs-up. "You’re a damn genius!"
Whether it actually worked for stealth was another matter, but in the dark, it would probably scare someone half to death.
He looked carefully and noticed that this optical camouflage wasn’t without its flaws.
Even slight vibrations caused its outline to become visible, only when completely still was it undetectable.
Seeing Dog Good Names utterly speechless, Peepo grinned and nudged him. "Bro, you should get a set too. It’s real handy."
"Handy, my ass!"
"Aaah!"
Just as the two were chatting, a scream suddenly rang out beside them. A little girl carrying a basket had just come out from the marketplace, only to fall flat on the snow in fright.
Her face turned ghostly pale as she stared at the floating head and limbs of Kidney Warrior. Ignoring the snow up to her knees, she scrambled backward on all fours, trembling. "A-a-a monster..."
Even in the wasteland where bizarre things weren’t rare, a floating head smiling at you was hardly common.
"Don’t be afraid, miss. This is just... a rather special type of prosthetic."
Kidney Warrior tried his best to put on a friendly smile and was about to explain in his broken language, but before he could even take half a step forward, the girl fainted from fright.
Dog Good Names sighed and slapped his forehead. "You’re definitely getting kicked."
Peepo whistled, used his hands to scoot his body a bit, turned his face the other way. He pretended not to know the guy.
Looking at his two so-called brothers, Kidney Warrior didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Seriously! You guys..."
Before he could finish, New Alliance guards were already rushing over, while nearby players began shouting in excitement.
"Holy crap, bro! How’d you make your stomach disappear?!"
"What kind of new bug is this?!"
"Calling counter-terror unit! Cyber psycho on the loose!"
"Cyber psycho?! Where?!"
"Hold up! Don’t shut it down yet! Let me take a photo!"
...
