My soldiers are all Fourth Calamities!

09. I said this game requires strength, does anyone understand?

Earth time, 1 p.m.

Jiangdu.

"This game is powerful!" Guo Ruhe exclaimed in admiration.

Guo Ruhe looked at his phone screen. On the game's official website forum, Guo Ruhe posted the first message. Currently, there were only eleven people on the forum—all of them were players that Rochester had first summoned.

At the very top of the list was a special ID: "Rochester Commander".

Accounts are deeply tied to the game; those who haven't registered for the game aren't even qualified to enter the forum.

"That's really powerful. I haven't played such a realistic game in a long time."

A line of text appeared below Guo Ruhe's message, with the ID "Qitu Ge" (meaning "Going Astray"). Judging from the name, you could tell it was an old acquaintance.

Immediately afterwards, a user named "AIR" appeared: "I just want to know how to take screenshots in this crappy game. I've been bragging to my friend about it for ages, but he insists I'm dreaming. I'm at my wit's end."

Like AIR, Guo Ruhe's social media groups were in an uproar. Unsurprisingly, he was met with a barrage of questions.

In Guo Ruhe's game chat group.

Potato who loves potatoes: "Brother Guo, you didn't dig up some 'Gou Shi' game again, and you're trying to trick the brothers into eating stones, did you?"

Chicken You're So Beautiful: "Really? The game pod can run this kind of graphics now? A few months ago, those industry insiders were still predicting its failure, saying that the hardware and technology simply couldn't reach it. This is just too big a promise."

Belial Milk Dragon: "@Guo Ruhe, send me your game name. Whether it's a stone or rice, I'll make my own judgment."

Guo Ruhe didn't explain much and simply sent the game's name to the group chat. The developer's column listed "Intel Network"—a leading company with an absolute monopoly in the game pod manufacturing industry.

"I swear, this time it really wasn't Gou Shi." Guo Ruhe typed a line and specifically tagged someone, "@Tang Wanghu, this game is simply tailor-made for you."

It's normal for group members not to believe Guo Ruhe. With the rise of the "stone-moving culture" in the group chat, Guo Ruhe, as the vanguard of the group, throws all kinds of chat logs and unbelievable games into the group. Group members are happy to be deceived every time, after all, Guo Ruhe's eye for games can indeed expand the lower limit of human cognition.

The person Guo Ruhe just tagged, named "Tang Wanghu," is also quite remarkable. Although his name contains the character "Tang," his abilities are anything but Tang-like.

With the hard skills of a professional player, he was a hunter in Apex Legends for several seasons, a top player in the FPS community, and his military experience also made him quite capable in games like Hell on Earth. He was the recognized "authority" in the group and also the most picky man.

Tang Wang Hu was also the first to show himself.

Tang Wanghu: What's his background? What's his gameplay?

Guo Ruhe's fingers flew across the keyboard as he unleashed a barrage of prepared intelligence reports:

"An alternate history, around 1919, with a dieselpunk theme. A standard battleground game, with a guide-like NPC who seems to be a long-term character. For now, just follow him in battle; we're still figuring out the other mechanics."

"The game seems to be in closed beta, but it's not data wiped, which is quite strange. There's no main storyline yet, but there are many side stories, somewhat like Genshin Impact (Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2) and Red Dead Redemption 2."

"Most importantly—realism. The NPCs are indistinguishable from real people, and the physics engine is absolutely number one, flawlessly number one."

"No exaggeration, this game's realism is top-notch. With this level of technology, no one in China will be able to surpass it within five years. The only game that can compete is 'Earth Online'. Oh, and by the way, you can even eat in this game, and you can even feel the texture and taste. I didn't know a gaming pod could have this feature."

"If I had to nitpick, the player seems to have higher damage resistance and natural health regeneration, and the pain perception has also been adjusted so that it doesn't hurt as much, but rather feels a bit itchy."

"The NPCs are extremely intelligent. The micro-expressions of those NPCs who were stunned when they saw I wasn't dead were exactly the same as those of real people."

"Then there's the freedom. You can interact with everything, but you can't attack NPCs, which are your teammates. Aside from that drawback, it's practically invincible!"

"Then, there are personal attributes and such."

"There are a few generals in there who look like the 'Astartes.' If you didn't tell me this was a battlefield, I would have thought it was a Soviet Warhammer 40K."

"Then, there are quite a few restrictions on equipment and character customization, probably to prevent creating something that won't pass censorship. You also can't change the gender, probably to match this extreme realism. Anyway, these minor details don't matter."

......

The group members were naturally stunned.

Is Guo Ruhe really serious this time?

He rarely uses such lengthy analyses to dissect a game; his words reveal an unprecedented level of seriousness.

With such a long and detailed introduction, many newcomers to the group start by scrolling through the top part.

After a half-minute silence in the group chat, it erupted into a frenzy.

"Is Guo Ruhe really that amazing?"

"Holy crap, I found it in Curry! What?! This icon... Could the intelligence be true?"

"Why do you need qualifications? They said they'd release a few every now and then, I don't believe I can't play."

"???!!!"

Sure enough, the group members found this game, which had appeared out of nowhere, in their game library. Naturally, they pointed the finger at the game's developer, Intel.

After all, these gaming platforms are all based on the internet, so it's normal to secretly add a few games.

"Since it was made by Intel, the technology is definitely top-notch. But for it to be that realistic is still a bit outrageous."

"Brothers, I've already clicked to join the queue. When I receive the qualification, I'll tell you all about it."

...

at the same time.

Inside the command post, Rochester awaited the troop assembly.

During this lull, the forum system that was initially unlocked unfolded before his eyes.

He could see the exchanges between players on the forum, and what surprised him even more was that his input box was lit up.

He can send messages too?!

Rochester was overjoyed when he saw this, as it meant that he could still communicate with players even when they were offline.

If he encounters a particularly serious attack, he can also post a message on the forum and offer some rewards to attract people to his side.

This is a real plan!

Without hesitation, Rochester's mind raced, and a line of text appeared in the input box.

Within the forum.

Rochester: Soldiers, welcome to the Ren no Army radio channel.

Guo Ruhe: Holy crap! The NPC spoke!

Going Astray Bro: Wow! The NPC spoke! (+1)

From the fries dock on the hour: Wow! The NPC spoke! (+1)

AIR: ....

......

Rochester instinctively wanted to click "+" to join the discussion, but reason prevailed—he needed to maintain his dignity. Behaving too much like a modern internet user would only arouse unnecessary suspicion.

He adopted a slightly colder and harder tone.

And he painted a big picture – a merit store.

Rochester: The Army of Benevolence will be mobilizing this morning to go north to support our brother units. Please make sure everyone arrives on time.

Main Mission: Support the Northern Brotherhood

[Completion Reward: Unlocks the Merit Shop]

[Mission A: Head north.]

[Rewards: Numerous Merits]

Guo Ruhe: Huh?! You can post tasks on a forum? Is that even allowed?!

AIR: Are we finally getting into the main story?!

Rochester didn't reply after that. He closed the forum interface, since staring blankly at one spot for so long would look rather strange to the other people in the command post.