Chapter 99

A golden cruiser crossing the sky.

From the elevated captain’s seat, I look down at my surroundings.

“Commander, we will soon arrive at our destination.”

The deputy commander, Mr. Balder, who has been continuously checking the ship’s position, delivers the information to me.

“Alright, let’s go upwards.”

“Understood. Changing altitude, moving to a higher position.”

Balder summarizes my words and confirms.

As Balder returns through the soldiers, someone else approaches me to take his place.

With gray hair and shiny glasses.

He looks alright, but he’s one of the oddest classmates, Edward.

“Edu, now that we’ve come this far, can’t you tell us where we’re going?”

I slightly turn my head at his question.

Classmates are gathered behind Edward.

The eccentric Edward.

The sturdy Jack.

The unpredictable Jenny.

The strict class leader, Clarissa.

And my friend and protagonist, Nisia.

A scene I’ve never seen in AOE.

Well, AOE had a system limit of a maximum of three companions.

In any case, there’s a reason why I brought more friends than usual.

That’s because it’s an extension of the incident where Fangju 6 was attacked, ignoring the event activation conditions.

My power has grown significantly, but the growth of my major companions, excluding Nisia, has remained moderate.

So I volunteered to be the bus driver to ensure safe growth this time.

“Hmm, curious?”

“Isn’t it natural? Whenever you’re involved, something big happens.”

A calm response.

But I get slightly flustered at that remark.

“Don’t treat me as if I’m a plague.”

“What are you talking about, Edu? I don’t see you as a plague.”

Edward answers in a very serious tone.

“If I had to express it, you’re more like a natural disaster.”

“Ugh!”

I throw a punch at Edward.

A blow infused with all my strength!

But my short arms stop in mid-air before reaching Edward.

“…ugh!”

I stretch my trembling arm as far as I can.

That effort pays off, and my full-force blow reaches the wicked Edward.

Thump.

“Ah.”

After a satisfying hit, I pull my hand back and see Edward tilting his head.

“Um, Edu. Was that little performance just now meant to hit me?”

“That wasn’t a performance!”

“I see, I must have misinterpreted. My apologies.”

Edward sincerely apologizes.

Though I’m still not completely appeased, since I’m the older one than Edward, I should forgive him.

“Be careful next time!”

“Yeah.”

I huff and turn my head away.

Treating people as if they’re natural disasters.

Sure, the most that happened was some invaders intruding and a large armored unit fighting, right? That’s something anyone would probably experience at least once—

…Wait, is that not the case?

As I ponder this, the gazes of the soldiers are suddenly felt distinctly.

Turning my head again, I see soldiers looking at me with unusually warm eyes.

Even Mr. Balder wears a warm expression that can be called a dad smile, devoid of any pretense.

What’s this? Why are they acting like that?

“So, Edu, where is our destination?”

“To the Sealing City.”

“Sealing City…?”

Edward’s face suddenly changes.

With his face turning pale, Edward quickly turns his head.

“Jack, can you hit me hard… No, can you pinch me?”

“Huh? Why?”

“Maybe I drank some coolant from the invaders last night, but I think I’m hearing things.”

Edward denies reality.

…But why would he drink coolant?

“You heard correctly.”

“Eduuu!!”

Edward quickly approaches and grabs my leg.

“I can let the other stuff slide, but not the Sealing City, right? Even if it’s old, it’s a terrible place full of fully automated combat weapons?!”

“That’s why I brought the cruiser.”

“No, what I mean is—”

“It’s okay, I know what you’re saying.”

The Sealing City.

Originally named the Fortified Economic Special Zone.

It was armed with such powerful weaponry that even the boosted invaders would avoid a full-scale battle.

That weapon is the start-class super-large railgun – the Red Dragon.

With a caliber of 1000mm and a length of 50m, it boasts the largest artillery piece ever created by human civilization in the AOE universe.

It’s even larger than the famous Gustav railway gun used by Nazi Germany during World War II.

To avoid provoking surrounding countries, it was installed in a difficult-to-access valley, and due to its limited firing angle, it has a critical weakness of only being able to be operated under restricted conditions, yet it’s a fearsome monster that the enemies avoided engaging.

And when the city’s central system was hijacked, that monster became the gatekeeper of the Sealing City.

The iron judge that mercilessly destroys anything approaching the city from the ground.

“You’re talking about the Red Dragon.”

Surprised, Edward’s eyes widen at my response.

“You’re heading toward the Sealing City knowing that monster exists?”

“Yeah, there are ways.”

The Red Dragon is strong.

I had given up due to various realistic reasons, but it was the first thing that came to mind when I thought I had to fight the Megabase.

But, like every game, there are various gimmicks when dealing with strong foes.

The AOE veterans never confront the Red Dragon head-on.

If there’s an easier route, why bother going the hard way?

“???”

“It’s alright; you’ll find out soon enough.”

All games inherently have tricks.

I’ll show them the trick play that lets veterans take down the Red Dragon as easily as a slice of cake.

….

Rumble—

Saver rushes roughly across the ground.

Having confirmed my destination while checking the outside through holograms, I give instructions to Saver.

“Saver, could you stop here?”

[ Understood, I will halt operations. ]

A smooth stop.

Once I get off Saver with Nisia on my back, the refreshing scent of grass and mountains tickles my nose.

“Mmm—”

Maybe because I grew up in a mountainous country, it feels oddly familiar yet nostalgic.

After glancing around, I point to where we need to go.

“Nisia, can you go over there?”

“Yeah, to that cave, right?”

“Exactly.”

Nisia moves towards the small cave.

With good sense, Saver has moved its main unit with a portable terminal and is following us while casting the light.

Creep— screech!

Bats react to the strong light illuminating the darkness.

As we proceed along the stream where water flows gently into the cave, a coldness begins to settle in.

As the cold starts to feel like a chill, an oddly shaped structure appears before us.

A sturdy hatch connected to a concrete facility that abruptly protrudes in a cylindrical shape.

Next to it, a simple but strong spherical terminal resembling an old calculator is protected by a plastic cover.

The kanji written on the hatch and the red star tinged with yellow at the tip.

On either side, something that looks like yellow laurel leaves forms a circle, and an arrow sits prominently above something resembling the atomic symbol.

The emblem of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Strategic Support Unit.

“Wow….”

Nisia, unable to take her eyes off the remnants of the old era.

While doing so, she reaches out to remove the plastic cover and presses one of the buttons on the spherical terminal hard.

– Beep.

The device lights up.

After checking the keyboard, she inputs the correct answer.

1q2w3e4rCN.

Then she firmly presses the confirmation button.

– Beep beep.

The screen flashes red and displays ERROR.

That’s not it, next.

1q2w3e4rRD.

– Beep beep.

Again, the screen flashes red.

As the sharp noise continues, Nisia turns her head towards me.

“Edu? What are you doing?”

“Entering the password.”

“Huh, the password?”

“Yeah.”

As I respond, I start inputting each password from my memory and confirming them.

A simple puzzle that always exists in other RPG games.

Most games use a single, consistent password, but in cases like AOE, there are a few possibilities.

1q2w3e4rVV.

– Beep beep.

Usually, such random systems are measures to deter repeat players, but they also aim to introduce variations in gameplay and offer new experiences.

– Beep beep.

– Beep beep.

The failures continue.

But for me, who knows all the passwords, this type of puzzle is just a matter of time.

“Edu, just pressing random buttons won’t open it—”

“Hold on, I’m almost done.”

I cut off Nisia’s comment, who seems doubtful of my actions, and keep moving my hands.

I input the sixth password from memory and touch.

– Beep!

A bright beep resonates.

The dark screen lights up in blue, and the firmly closed hatch opens with a whoosh, releasing the air trapped inside for ages.

“Uh, huh?”

[ Impressive. ]

Nisia is perplexed while Saver marvels.

“Hmph, this is nothing. Let’s go right inside; we have to walk a bit.”

“Ah, okay.”

Nisia steps forward with a tense expression.

Continuing along the endless, giant throat-like cylindrical passage.

After some time, a structure appears up ahead.

It looks the same as the hatch we saw before entering this passage.

I lift the cover again and input the password.

– Beep!

The cheerful beep sounds and the hatch opens.

The stale air rushes in, and simultaneously, the lights inside the dark room illuminate, revealing the internal scenery.

A vast space populated by faded five-star red flags and settled dust.

In each subdivided block, numerous military mechanical devices are densely packed.

The skeletons of the Chinese army lie scattered at our feet.

Everything is just like the final area of the Sealing City seen in AOE.

“Wow….”

Nisia expresses her admiration.

[ This is an old military facility. It seems to be quite an important location. ]

“Yeah.”

Originally, it would be the final place reached by defeating countless gimmicks and foes through the Sealing City.

But we are here at the depths of the dungeon without taking any risks.

‘Guess it worked out well.’

The reason this is possible is that it counteracts the game’s system.

Every dungeon has at least one exit that takes you back to the beginning or out.

And while most of these exits are designed to prevent entrance from the reverse side, some are blocked by gimmicky elements like this facility’s password.

Because unless you’re a crazy perverted player or doing thorough research, there’s no way to figure out the backdoor password.

But dungeons with such systems are great food for veterans.

Password? Random assignment? Sure, just memorize them~

With that mindset, they can thank the heavens for easily penetrating through the back end of the dungeon to gather rewards or even proceed through the dungeon in reverse, overcoming hindrances much more easily.

If you go from the back, the layout is reversed, making it much easier than if you went front.

“Nisia, can you go over there?”

“Got it.”

Nisia moves to the robust-looking computer I pointed at.

Wiping the dust off the monitor screen, she flips the switch on the right to ON.

With a crackling sound, the blue screen turns on.

When she inputs the password that was checked earlier to the security system requiring it, the screen transitions.

——————————————————–

中国人民解放军 战略支援部队

——————————————————–

1. 赤龍制御 / Red Dragon Control.

2. 自動兵器制御 / Automated Weapon Control.

3. 運營體制確認 / Operation System Confirmation.

——————————————————–

为人民服务

——————————————————–

The same screen as seen in AOE.

Most people make the mistake of casually pressing 1 here, but veterans who have done this event multiple times never make such mistakes.

First, touch number 3 to completely reset the city’s and Red Dragon’s operating systems, and then proceed to enter number 1.

——————————————————–

87式 1000毫米 電磁砲 – 赤龍

——————————————————–

状态 – 自律操作

——————————————————–

1. 受動操作 / Manual Control.

2. 自律操作 / Autonomous Control.

3. 細部操作 / Detailed Control.

4. 起動停止 / Stop Operation.

5. 自爆發動 / Self-Destruct Activation.

——————————————————–

为人民服务

——————————————————–

The screen ascends.

As my hand approaches option 5, a sudden pang of regret strikes.

‘Just in case—’

I touch number 4, and the text turns red as the computer confirms the input, announcing in Chinese.

[ 87式 1000毫米 電磁砲 赤龍, 起動停止. 赤龍 起動停止. ]

At that moment, the text that indicated the status of the Red Dragon shifts from autonomous operation to stop operation.

A notification rings inside my head.

– Achievement unlocked, Storyteller.

– Cleared the high-difficulty area ‘Sealing City,’ and as a reward, you gain the trait ‘Eye of Truth.’

– Cleared the high-difficulty area ‘Sealing City,’ and you receive a +35 bonus to all stat growth.

– Cleared the event ‘Red Dragon of the Abandoned City,’ and as a reward, you receive a +40 bonus to all stat growth.

“Uh?”

“Edu? What’s wrong?”

“Something feels off.”

At first glance, it appears to be a normal notification.

But for some reason, a feeling of déjà vu arises.

Sure, the event should be complete since the Red Dragon has been neutralized, but why is there a region clear notification?