Chapter 103: What Kind of Healing? This is Just Depressing!
Lily, sitting in front of the computer, now felt great regret.
From the cheerful humor at the beginning, to the mixture of cruelty and humor in the middle, now all that remained was the most brutal depiction of war.
Three men, a woman, and a dog: this is the complete cast of game protagonists.
As a game that reflects the cruelty of war, it adopts a 2D graffiti-style cartoon style. The graffiti-style humor forms a stark contrast with the brutality of war. Additionally, there are many collectible items in the game, each of which records actual historical events.
This makes the game seem to tell a true historical story.
Unlike most anti-war games, this one does not aim to portray the superficial aspects of war, but to reveal its inner workings. It does not represent war from a macro perspective. None of the characters had any connection to the war; they were all forced into this world war, precipitated by politics. Karl, Emile, Freddy, and Anna were more concerned about the well-being of their families.
No one expressed a desire to contribute to the war effort. For them, this was a war forged by pathetic arrogance, cruel misunderstandings, failed diplomatic deceptions, senseless nationalism, persistent distrust, and mutual hatred.
These things, apart from the destruction of their humble happiness, had nothing to do with them.
Freddy sought revenge for his wife, Anna sought her father, and Emile and Karl were forced to enlist in the army. On the battlefield, they did not care about victory, but about the safety of their families.
The game allows players to experience the pain of war through the eyes of these small individuals.
As insignificant individuals on the battlefield, the protagonists experience the rain of bullets, the muddy trenches, the freezing cold, and the threat posed by the various weapons of war.
They all share a common desire: a quick end to the war so they can return to their families.
It is undeniable that Lily now feels the emotions the game aims to convey. She, somewhat dazed, manipulates Karl to escape from the prisoner-of-war camp, but her heart still mourns for the uncertain fate of Freddy, her dog, and Emile, who were still trapped outside the fortress.
But the next instant, the game's plot deeply relieved her.
Freddy wasn't dead; he was still a dog.
Just as she had saved Emile, the dog pulled Freddy from the rubble. Freddy's memories confirmed Lily's suspicions about his past.
Why did Freddy hate war so much? Because it had claimed his wife's life.
On Freddy's part, Anna's father, the old professor, had also survived. The two men repaired the damaged tank. Driving the tank, they pushed their way out of the castle, while Emile managed to escape.
Although the mission had failed, the French army was delighted to have brought back the old professor and captured a tank.
They took a photo together and Emile wrote a letter to Anna.
But their time together was brief. Emile and Freddy soon parted ways. Freddy headed to the Somme, while Emile was sent to the Volva mountains to face the Germans in the mine tunnel war.
There, both sides dug tunnels and the atmosphere was filled with gunfire. Here, the enemy and our army may be separated by just a layer of dirt, so even the stethoscope used for medical treatments and to save lives has become an indispensable tool in war.
"It's really heavy and depressing," Lily sighed, sitting in front of the computer, as she looked at the game screen.
There were canaries in cages used to detect the level of underground poison gas, and soldiers were constantly dying in the mines. Although it was still a cartoon graffiti style, it only caused depression.
At that moment, a cry for help came from the right of the screen, and Lily controlled Emile in the game to dig to the right.
Compared to Emile, who had previously held a ladle, he had now improved his skills and had successfully evolved from a cook to a miner. The ladle in his hand was replaced by a military shovel.
"Ah, this is a German officer, not one of us."
After digging a tunnel, Lily saw a German officer hanging from a wire after accidentally touching it, waving his hands and asking for help.
"Oh, they're all miserable warriors! Wait a minute, I'll go rescue them," Lily sighed as he and his dog used the nearby wheel to lower the German officer.
The officer, seeing Emile run towards him, sheathed his weapon and offered a friendly hand.
"Did I just make a German friend?" Lily asked, sitting in front of the computer, delighted.
The left passage of the game was blocked, so Emile had to find a new way out with the German officer. Working together, both managed to escape.
When Emile was about to leave, a group of German soldiers saw them. But the officer took the initiative to explain the situation to Emile and helped him return to his unit.
Seeing the two men shake hands and express their friendship, Lily smiled.
"Great! This part of the story is so heartwarming! In such a brutal war, such touching scenes are so rare." Lily sighed. "I wonder if you've read the novel 'War Horse.' There's a similar scene. It's wonderful... I feel so healed."
"So Alex wasn't wrong to call himself a love warrior! This story is so touching." Lily smiled, sitting in front of the computer.
The game's heavy atmosphere had always made her feel a little uncomfortable. But now, this touching scene, like a sudden ray of warm sunshine in winter, warmed her entire body.
But... this warmth didn't last long.
Emile, upon returning to the game's command center, received a new mission: to deliver a box. After delivering the box to its destination, the soldiers discovered the white cloth, revealing that it was full of explosives.
More importantly, the game showed a close-up of the area above where the explosives were placed.
A familiar face appeared before Lily's eyes.
"No way! Isn't that my friend? No way!"
Seeing this, Lily had a bad feeling.
What happened next confirmed her premonition. The explosives detonated, inflicting serious damage on the German army, including the German officer who had saved Emil.
[The French officer gloated over the heavy losses inflicted on the enemy.]
[Emile, outraged and believing it was an act of cowardice, rejected the medal.]
Emile threw the medal into the flames, and at that moment, Anna dealt him an even more devastating blow. Karl, who had tried to escape from the prisoner-of-war camp, was executed.
Just like Emile in the game, Lily and the other players were stunned. At that moment, Lily remembered her previous praise for Alex, and now she only wanted to say: "Can I rewind? Where is the touching moment? What kind of healing? This is simply depressing!"
The warmth at the beginning only served to deepen the pain. First, they were friends, then, I didn't kill the person, and he died because of me. Despite knowing it, this is war. It could even be said that real war is even more brutal. But emotionally, it is still difficult to bear.
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