Fatal Shot - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Veterans Tribe
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Veterans Tribe was one of the oldest powers in Silvermoon City. It had been established when the server first began. The catch was, due to stringent requirements to join, the increase in the number of members was slow, not even exceeding 5,000 to this day.
As for the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group, it was considered the newer and younger generation. It had not even been three months since their founding. However, since they did not have any limitations to new members, their numbers had overtaken the Veterans Tribe, and their main group’s membership number had already reached 10,000 members. They even set up several secondary subsidiary groups.
The two powers had been involved in several not-so-small-scale conflicts in the past month. Due to the number of members, the Veterans Tribe had gradually gone from being the stronger force to the one at the disadvantage. However, when it came to their reputation among the players, the Veterans Tribe was much better than the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group.
Based on the events at the main entrance of Battle Command, Dan Hen already knew that Feng Luo was in opposition to the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group, which was why he had exposed his identity as a member of the Veterans Tribe, stating that both of them were on the same side.
“I guessed as much,” Feng Luo said with a smile, then added, “Seeing your expression just now, it seems like you know Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star.”
“How do I put this…?” Dan Hen said and became quiet for a while. “He is considered one of the higher-ups in the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. In terms of strength, he’s actually average, but he is one of the people who’s been following Roaring Dragon Invincible and conquering places since the very beginning. So his voice has some authority in the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. As for his personality, I’ve heard he’s a bit arrogant and fairly narrow-minded. So hearing that you actually killed his people—and even hung up on him on the communicator—I kind of understood the reason for your bounty.” He laughed. “I am guessing this bounty on you was a decision he made. Roaring Dragon Invincible definitely does not know about it; with his personality, he wouldn’t make an enemy out of an advanced-level life profession player like you. At least, that’s how it appears on the surface.”
“Roaring Dragon Invincible?” said Feng Luo. The ID definitely sounded domineering. After all, ordinary people would not dare to name their IDs with words like Invincible or Dragon XX. 1
“He’s the Corp Leader of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group,” said Dan Hen. “He has a way of dealing with things, and he’s also very resolute when dealing with people. The only issue is that he is too ambitious!” As he said this, there was a tinge of admiration and respect in his tone.
“These sorts of people are the most aggressive!” Feng Luo said with a nod.
Feng Luo’s words were not spoken indiscriminately. Although he had mainly trained his life profession, as a player whose resurrection point was in Silvermoon City, he had also personally witnessed the step-by-step expansion and growth of the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group. It was well known that throughout their entire development process, the Roaring Dragon Invincible had continuously used all kinds of methods to either buy, devour, or divide the other powers. Only then had they been able to slowly grow to their current stage.
In Silvermoon City, the other old-school groups founded around the same time as the Veterans Tribe had almost all been devoured by them. Moreover, there were rumors that claimed that several financial conglomerates in the real world injected funds to support and back the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group, which was why they acted so arrogantly and without much concern for consequences. After all, in the virtual world, money was power. In a sense, this fact was even more pronounced in the game than in reality.
In truth, many companies and conglomerates in the real world had already established their own forces in War, since anyone with eyes could see that the game called War had endless potential! 1
In the technologically advanced Star Federation, machines and intelligent computers had already replaced most human labor, and the work available for humans to do was, in fact, very limited. Apart from some labor that required brain power, as well as tasks that could only be completed by humans, most citizens were unemployed. Due to the completeness and comprehensiveness of the social security system, no one was in danger of starving to death. However, the gap between the wealthy and the poor had become even larger, and inequality was becoming increasingly serious.
Wealthy people could take vacations through the stars in spaceships, eat all kinds of delicacies from Administrative Planets several light years away, raise various kinds of alien species as pets, and go through genetic modifications and organ cultivation surgeries to increase their lifespans. As for the poor, they could only live in old slums, eating the food distributed by the federal government—synthetic food without much flavor—and stare dumbly at the gray sky. 1
Only after War appeared had normal people finally been able to taste all kinds of delicacies, experience all sorts of interesting scenes, and live the life of the upper class in the game. Even though everything was virtual, for many people, it was attractive enough. 1
In addition, the federal government gave every legal citizen a lowest-level game helmet, which maximized the coverage of the game. On the 17th Administrative Planet alone, there were more than two billion players.
The large population base brought about endless business opportunities, and the prospect of monopolizing the benefits of a game city definitely attracted the attention of capitalists. That was why the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group actively put all their efforts into expansion. That also meant there was no possibility of them reconciling with the Veterans Tribe.
“The Veterans Tribe is different from Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group,” said Dan Hen. “Our guild was founded by several retired soldiers. Our main objective is to help comrades who were forced to retire due to injuries. It is also to make it more convenient for everyone to gather. As such, although the financial conglomerates backing the Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group announced several bids to buy us off, our guild leader could never agree to such a thing. Lately, it seems they have lost their patience. Perhaps we’ll have to give them a violent fight!”
As Dan Hen said this, he unconsciously clenched his hands, and a murderous aura emanated from his tone. After that, Dan Hen raised his head and looked at Feng Luo.
“Brother Feng, knowing Roaring Dragon Ruinous Star’s temper, I’m sure Roaring Dragon Mercenary Group’s bounty on you won’t be disappearing anytime soon. So if you face any problems in Silvermoon City, perhaps the Veterans Tribe can help you, since both of us are already their sworn enemies.”
“Then I will just say thanks to Brother Dan Hen!” Feng Luo said as he nodded. 1
Dan Hen’s words further increased Feng Luo’s opinion of him. Dan Hen had not started inviting him to join his guild after learning that he was an advanced-level Gun Mechanic, like most people would have done. Instead, he had spoken indirectly, leaving a good impression without allowing anything embarrassing to occur. A person like this probably also had an uncommon position in the Veterans Tribe.
Perhaps feeling that the topic was no longer appropriate to pursue, Dan Hen only laughed and turned around to look at the M110 beside Feng Luo, saying, “Hey, Brother Feng, how do you think they designed this game? How can they have such a huge backstory in the game, as well as a seemingly endless amount of new and interesting weapons and equipment? Moreover, the key is, these pieces of equipment do not seem to be entirely imaginary. I have a friend who assembled several guns in reality based on gun data and information and discovered that they were completely usable.”
As Dan Hen said this, his tone showed that he was genuinely puzzled and amazed. However, he then shook his head and added, “The only thing is, the weapons aren’t all that powerful since old-school gunpowder weapons like these have long been eliminated in the military nowadays. Even underground dealers in the black market would not use guns like these to fill up their inventories.”
I’ve actually been seeking the answer to this very question, Feng Luo thought.
Why did 20th- and 21st-century weapons appear in such large numbers in War? Were there more clues related to Earth? These were questions Feng Luo hoped to find answers for in the game.
However, obtaining the answers to these questions was not all that urgent to him, since his instincts told him that one day, the answer would reveal itself.
Feng Luo was not a person who would ignore a lifelong pursuit of answers. He decided that at the same time, he would thoroughly enjoy the process of playing the game. VR games, after all, had been one of his dreams when he’d still lived in his old world.
Throughout the conversation between the two players, the Guard soldiers separated into two teams and went down. They set up something on the road in the middle of the valley, probably something like a trap. And at their side, the second-generation wealthy Marauder Swordsman had already put down a sleeping bag from his backpack, staring lifelessly toward the sky—clearly idling and already sleeping.
The game allowed idling in the non-combat state for players to visit the forum or sleep, especially for players who used game capsules. This was because the nutrient solution was sufficient to support staying in the game continuously for an entire month. As such, many players chose to sleep in the game. Of course, one could set a timer for idling. When the time was up, the system would automatically wake the player, so it normally would not delay any missions.
However, Feng Luo and Dan Hen did not choose to idle.
Although the mission stated that the target would only pass by at dawn, any qualified soldier or mercenary knew that they had to reduce unexpected factors as much as possible during the mission. That was why both of them decided to stay awake and wait for the arrival of their target.