nucmednet Chapter 318 Giants Resurrected - Nightmare Difficulty
Chapter 318 Giants Resurrected - Nightmare Difficulty
The young man gasped sharply, his voice dry and grating, like the wheezing of a broken bellows. His chapped lips moved unconsciously, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he couldn't utter a sound. The way he looked at Ye Rui was as if he were looking at a seriously ill patient who had climbed over the wall of a mental hospital. The numbness and morbid excitement he had felt earlier had been completely washed away, leaving only pure, unbelievable horror.
"You...you..." His finger trembled as he pointed at the screen, then suddenly at the TPC uniform that Nori was wearing, which seemed completely out of place with its surroundings. His voice rose sharply from extreme shock and prolonged dehydration, then ripped and cracked at its highest point, like sandpaper scraping against frosted glass. "You actually chose Ultraman's side?! And you fucking chose the GUTS team?!"
He leaned closer abruptly, lowering his voice, but couldn't suppress the near-collapse of urgency and absurdity: "Bro, are you really a 'newbie' who just entered here? No... no, you're fucking asking for death! Do you even know what the win rate is right now in all servers and all dungeons if you choose the human faction, choose TPC, choose the winning team, and fight those 'monsters'?!"
He didn't need Ye Rui's answer. He stretched out a trembling finger, almost poking at the lonely, newly lit Victory Team badge on the screen, his voice filled with a despair and anxiety as if witnessing someone voluntarily jump into the incinerator:
"It's zero! It's fucking zero! An infinite number of zeros after the decimal point! Even that so-called 'theoretical possibility' is just bait drawn up by the 'official'—if there really is an official in this godforsaken place—to trick us idiots stuck here into continuing to waste time and provide 'data'! It's a carrot dangling in front of a donkey! Choosing this is like choosing a one-way ticket straight to the 'defeat settlement screen'! And then, like us, we're stuck here, watching ourselves die over and over again!"
His excitement and sudden increase in volume finally tore through the thick, viscous sound of keyboard typing and machine hum that filled the space. Several eyes that had been glued to the screen were drawn by this abrupt "noise," and their necks turned, producing an extremely slight but teeth-grinding "click" sound, like rusty gears being forcibly turned.
Pairs of eyes—empty, bloodshot, with dilated and unfocused pupils, or burning with some inhuman obsession—silently turned and focused on Ye Rui, the newcomer and "outcast" who had made a "foolish" choice.
"stare--"
There were no words, no expressions, only a pure, cold gaze. It didn't feel like being watched by a living person, but more like being watched by a group of wax figures in a museum, or being simultaneously locked onto by countless cameras. A chill ran down Ye Rui's spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
But his right hand, resting on the mouse, his long, slender fingers pressed firmly against the cool keys, without the slightest tremor. Even his heartbeat was forcibly calmed by his powerful willpower. Fear was present, but the composure and investigative instincts of the TPC Victory Team's technical staff held absolute sway at this moment.
On the screen, as the faction was locked, the loading progress bar began to flow. The red and silver Victory Team winged emblem clearly appeared, and below it, the list of selectable units unfolded like an arsenal—Victory Swallow I and II, the underground Pippa Tank, and even the massive, air fortress-like Yagdis were listed. And that wasn't all; as the list continued to scroll down, many experimental aircraft numbers appeared that even Ye Rui had only vaguely heard of, or only seen in top-secret blueprints: the "Dragon's Roar" high-altitude high-speed interceptor prototype, the "Black Tortoise" heavy defense platform demonstrator, the "Bifang" special energy projection vehicle (concept stage)...
Each item revealed incredibly detailed data parameters: the engine's precise thrust curve was strikingly similar to the test reports he remembered, but with subtle exaggerations in the peak values.
The weapon system's ammunition load and rate of fire have some parameters that are even more "idealized" than the latest upgraded version.
The idea of composite layer structure and equivalent thickness of armor is highly consistent with the latest research direction of TPC Materials Laboratory.
Some of them even seemed far-fetched to him.
For example, one of them is called the Mobile Fortress, which has similar capabilities to the Yagdis, but its performance far surpasses that of the Yagdis.
It's not that TPC lacks such ideas, but rather that the corresponding materials are lacking in the real world.
However, even so, this kind of foresight is something other games cannot possess.
This is no database that any game on the market, or even any known military power, could simulate. The equipment database, so detailed as to be outrageous, and clearly a mixture of real core data and future projections, shattered Ye Rui's last shred of hope that "this is just some kind of high-end virtual reality game."
It's definitely more than just a game.
A name flashed through his mind.
Karen, are you really a biological computer?
Was the girl I was chatting with an AI?
If it really is her… Ye Rui’s thoughts even drifted for a brief moment, with the instinctive regret of a technician: If only this ability could be absorbed into TPC and used for good purposes…
The young man watched Ye Rui staring intently at the screen, lost in thought. The tense, agitated expression on his face softened slightly, replaced by a complex mix of pity and shared sorrow. He swallowed hard, as if swallowing nothing at all, his voice hoarse and gentle, attempting to comfort this newcomer who was "about to fall into the abyss":
"See...seeing your outfit, I should have known." He pointed to the crisp uniform on Nori's body, a fleeting look of distant longing for a certain "normal world" and self-mockery in his eyes. "Cosplaying so seriously...you really like GUTS, don't you?"
He sighed, a sigh as heavy as lead: "Well, it's too late to say anything now. But... you don't need to regret it too much. Choosing the Victory Team... well, there are 'advantages' to it too."
He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, his gaze drifting to those who had chosen the "monster" side and were currently engrossed in battling virtual Ultraman or the GUTS team. His voice lowered further, carrying an eerie, secret-sharing tone:
"At least... there are more ways to 'die' here, it's not so... monotonous."
Moreover, it's said... just said, that if you can create some particularly outrageous data here, data that even the system finds 'unexpected'... even if you ultimately 'defeat,' the final evaluation will be different. Sometimes... you can 'sober up' for a little while, like I was able to talk to you just now."
It was unclear whether his words were meant to comfort him or to state another cruel reality. After speaking, as if he had exhausted all his strength, or as if he had fulfilled some kind of "senior" duty, he stopped looking at Ye Rui, found a chair, sat down, and leaned on the table.
On Ye Rui's screen, loading was complete.
The cold, impersonal system notification sounded like a death knell in his ears, or rather, directly in his consciousness:
[Simulated battle scenario loading: Giants Resurrected - Nightmare Difficulty]
The mission is about to begin.