This Game Is Too Realistic-Chapter 485.2: The Desperate Griffin

Some fragments from the shell that almost sent him to the afterlife the previous time by the lucky bastards of the New Alliance were still lodged in his body.

Penny couldn’t help but feel her cheeks twitching, but she quickly realized laughing might be cruel and forced herself to stop. “Sorry... I don’t mean to laugh, but...”

Seeing her struggling to hold it in, Battlefield Cheerleader sighed, “It’s fine. If you want to laugh, laugh.”

They had talked a fair bit on the run. It wasn’t to the point of sharing everything, but enough that they were friends who could exchange a few words.

Of course, to keep up his ‘stoic expert’ persona, most of the time Battlefield Cheerleader just listened while she spoke, only occasionally chiming in.

As for whether she was in love with him or if he was in love with her... It was basically whatever the fools wrote on the forum. No one was sure of anything. Anyway, no one would check. As long as those fools didn’t expose him, he could say whatever he wanted.

“No, I won’t laugh,” Penny stifled a little laugh, looked at him seriously. She took a deep breath and said, “My father wants me to go back.”

“Your father?” Battlefield Cheerleader raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Although they’d talked a few times on the road, it was the first time she had mentioned her family.

Penny nodded earnestly. “Yes. He said I must leave this place.”

“Congratulations, you can leave this troubled land...” Battlefield Cheerleader smiled faintly.

Unexpectedly, Penny suddenly made a proposal that caught him off guard. “Can you come with me?”

He froze for a moment at the words. Seeing she didn’t look like she was joking, he furrowed his brow and asked, “What do you mean...?”

Penny’s eyes flickered evasively. “Nothing much... it’s just that I can’t return to such a distant place by myself. Headquarters promised to send a 100-man escort, but those people don’t make me feel as safe as you do. So... I want you to escort me back.”

What kind of reason is that?!

Battlefield Cheerleader felt both amused and exasperated.

He could clearly tell she wasn’t telling the truth, so he looked her in the eye and said seriously, “I swore I would fight for the Marshal to the last moment. To realize that man’s ideals, I will go nowhere.”

A flicker of anxiety crossed Penny’s face and she panicked. “Your loyalty is admirable, but this isn’t a war ordered by the Marshal... Do you think we still have any hope of winning this war?”

Battlefield Cheerleader shot her a serious gaze as he spoke with conviction, “We haven’t lost yet! Once the weapons arrive, we can immediately launch a counterattack!”

“I know you’re brave, but... A single person cannot change the outcome of a war, and you’re already wounded. Please... Wake up!”

When the man before her remained stubborn, Penny bit her lip, glanced around, came close to him, and lowered her voice. “I’ll tell you something. Don’t tell anyone... Not even your superiors.”

Battlefield Cheerleader’s heart started to thump, but he kept his face impassive. “Speak.”

Penny stared at him without blinking. “You have to swear first.”

“I swear by the name Pangolin, by faith in the Great Stag God, and by my loyalty to the Marshal... I absolutely will not tell a second person about today’s conversation.” He raised a finger and pressed it to his temple, solemnly looking into her eyes.

A blush rose on Penny’s cheeks. She shyly averted his hot gaze and looked away.

Her blush was especially bright in the moonlight, making even Battlefield Cheerleader, who was dead serious while spouting nonsense, feel a little guilty about continuing the lie.

After gathering her thoughts, Penny spoke in a low voice. “Triumphant City sent a governor-general.”

Battlefield Cheerleader was momentarily stunned. “A governor-general?”

Penny nodded. “Yes. The governor-general has arrived to take charge of the Falcon Kingdom. He brought orders from the Marshal’s office... Orders issued directly from the Marshal, bypassing the commander of the Eastern Army.”

Battlefield Cheerleader swallowed hard without realizing it. “... What orders?”

Penny gave a bitter little shake of her head. “I don’t know... All I know is it may be related to ceasefire negotiations.”

The moment the words reached him, Battlefield Cheerleader froze. “A ceasefire... Can the Marshal accept such losses?”

Penny sighed softly, “That’s not for me to guess, and it’s not whether he can accept it or not. The Army’s core interests weren’t in the East to begin with. Starting this war was the decision of the frontline commander and the indulgence of the expansionist faction... The Eastern Army Commander, Saren could not accept the failure of the expedition to the Great Rift Valley, so he plans to incite the province’s marauder tribes and the vassals in Sunset Province to prepare a second expedition.”

Battlefield Cheerleader looked at her in disbelief.

If that was true, it would be huge news, potentially affecting the New Alliance’s next strategic moves.

To confirm, he asked cautiously, “... Did you make this up?”

Penny shook her head.

“My father is a civil official in Triumphant City. He’s not a high-ranking official... It was thanks to his help that I came here. But after I arrived I found that the reports sent from the frontlines to the rear were all doctored, and they were censored before being published in the Triumphant Reports. Things aren’t as smooth as Griffin claims.”

“Triumphant City can accept Griffin and McClennanholding the line in Sunset Province. The Army’s core interests aren’t in the distant East, but whether they’re part of the expansionist faction or not, no one can accept the Enterprise taking away our vassals.”

“We aren’t the only ones. The Academy can’t accept Sunset Province falling entirely into the hands of the Enterprise either... If it got to that point, with the New Alliance backed by the Enterprise occupying the Falcon Kingdom, do you know what this place would become?”

Seeing Penny so serious, Battlefield Cheerleader gulped as he asked cautiously, “... What would it become?”

Penny continued earnestly.

“Triumphant City would declare war on the Enterprise! It would be a full-scale war across the Central Continent, a reckoning for events from 150 years ago... The Academy dislikes us, but they will permit us to go through with it, because they also hate those on the East Coast.”

A spark of realization flashed through Battlefield Cheerleader’s mind. “Wait... So that’s why Griffin contracted the defensive line...”

Thinking back, he’d already wondered about that. Retreating to Oasis No.2 was wise, but Griffin’s abandonment had been too decisive. It was too quick and it felt off.

Penny shook her head. “I don’t know... Maybe he didn’t plan this at first, but he’s clearly been forced into it. From his perspective, even the best outcome is the worst for him.”

“One extreme option would be to sacrifice these 10 Divisions together with the Falcon Kingdom, so that the Wislanders officers can be captured or executed by a joint New Alliance-Enterprise force. Only then might he rally their families and the factions behind them to reach consensus on the controversial second expedition.”

A faint fear and unease surfaced in her eyes. “I don’t want to think that way, but those are the facts...”

“That man has gone mad.”

...

At the same time...

Back on the Heart of Steel.

Chu Guang, who was handling official business, suddenly received a communication request from the direction of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

On the holo-screen, a middle-aged man in a silver-gray robe with blue trim nodded politely and introduced himself in a gentle tone. “Hello, honored administrator. I’m Li Ke, a B-class Researcher from the Academy’s Foreign Affairs Department Special Projects Unit.”

Chu Guang’s eyes betrayed a bit of surprise. A few days earlier, they’d given the Academy a nasty setback, yet the man’s face showed no ripple of emotion at all.

It was as if nothing had happened.

Seeing the other party didn’t intend to bring up the incident with the Signal Squad, Chu Guang likewise let the lie go through and smiled as if nothing were wrong. “What’s the matter?”

“Of course, if it weren’t urgent, I wouldn’t have dared disturb you,” Li Ke smiled faintly, but his next sentence surprised Chu Guang. “We’re here to save you.”

Chu Guang blinked and then let out a short laugh. “Save us?”

“That’s right,” Li Ke nodded. “Not just you. Survivors throughout Sunset Province and even the southern part of the River Valley Province are facing existential danger. If this regional conflict finally evolves into the Army’s second expedition, all the years of your work could be reduced to ashes.”

Chu Guang narrowed his eyes slightly. “Is this a threat?”

The man on the holo shook his head softly. “No. This is for the sake of peace. I hope you can sit down and talk.”

Chu Guang smiled and joked, “Interesting. I’d like to ask you... Where were you when some big-nosed idiot brought a nuke to Lost Valley?”

As if expecting him to mention that nuclear device, Li Ke sighed softly, “We were surprised they used a nuke too, but the fact remains. What we can prevent now is the arrival of a second or third nuclear device.”

“The Sunset Province is one of the few inheritances left from the Prosperity Era. This dying civilization can’t afford more losses.”

“This war wasn’t started by us. We stand as a third party and hope you’ll consider the bigger picture and stop while you’re ahead.”

“Of course, we won’t ask you to give up your gains without compensation.”

Chu Guang said nothing and waited quietly for him to continue.

Li Ke paused, then went on. “I’ve heard you have a fusion reactor, but your output has been kept at the minimum... From that, we infer your Helium-3 reserves must be low, right?”

Chu Guang wanted to say it was because they didn’t need more power, but he didn’t want to reveal his hand.

Seeing Chu Guang remain silent, Li Ke assumed he’d guessed right and smiled faintly. “1,000 cubic meters of liquid helium.”

Chu Guang dismissed it. “What would I do with that?”

“I meant Helium-3.”

At that instant, Chu Guang’s pupils tightened.

He didn’t know the exact weight of 1,000 cubic meters of liquid Helium-3, but he knew that 1,000 cubic meters of liquid helium was at least 127 tons!

What did 127 tons of Helium-3 mean?

If used entirely for fusion, even accounting for conversion efficiency, that enormous energy could power a city that houses only several million people, like Singapore, for 127 years!

Globally, it would be enough to fuel 7,000,000,000 people for an entire year!

Such terrifying energy would tempt not only him but probably Ideal City as well.

After the suspension of space flights, fusion fuel had become essentially nonrenewable.

Although the New Alliance might not have an immediate need for such energy, Chu Guang happened to possess a black box capable of producing fusion batteries!

Whether for heavy aircraft or exoframes... If they could secure enough nuclear fuel, the New Alliance could immediately start production!

What puzzled Chu Guang was why the Academy would give such an almost-irreplaceable strategic resource to the New Alliance.

Didn’t those people hate wasting resources? 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Seeming to read his confusion, Li Ke continued, “... Of course, we won’t hand over the energy directly. But we will give you coordinates to find then.”

Ah... Bitch, so it’s a blind box!

At the thought that he still had to go and fetch it himself, Chu Guang’s interest waned. He leaned back in his chair. “It’s been 200 years. How do I know if it’s still there?”

Li Ke answered with certainty, “It’s definitely there. We have a way to confirm that the facility’s security systems are still functioning. Recovering it is somewhat difficult for the Academy... It’s a bit far from the Wandering Swamp.”

“A bit distant...”

So, south of the River Valley Province?

Chu Guang had suspected there might be some leftover nuclear reserves in the wastelands, but he didn’t expect so much.

He watched Li Ke without showing his thoughts.

“Is the Sunset Province worth 127 tons of Helium-3 to you?”

Li Ke spoke in a light tone. “Whether it’s worth it is our business.”

Chu Guang tapped his desk with a finger but didn’t give an immediate answer.

This concerned the New Alliance’s future strategic direction and Sunset Province’s situation. He needed to consult others before deciding.

“I’ll consider it.”

Seeing the young leader not reject him outright, Li Ke relaxed and smiled more affably. “Please do.”