Chapter 101: Three Men, a Woman, and a Dog
"Ah! A rescue dog! So the dog is our companion?"
About two or three seconds after the screen went black, a bark emanated from the game. Accompanied by barking and the crunching of masonry, the German rescue dog seen earlier rescued Emile.
After being rescued by the dog, Emile also saved a German soldier, from whom he learned that Karl had escaped with Baron von Dorf in an airship. So the man and the dog were fighting for their lives. The gameplay was not much different from before. However, what impressed Lily most was the large ladle in Emile's hand.
"Like the nuclear flashlight from horror games, this large ladle in Emile's hand is no simple thing!" Lily exclaimed as she controlled Emile, using the ladle to forcefully dig a tunnel.
Here, the dog in the game indicated where collectibles were. However, the collected items had no relation to the story; they were simply unlocked achievements. Moving forward, Lily died two or three times from hidden projectiles.
While these projectiles were not to be guessed at, but shown directly, the narrow underground passage and projectiles were extremely sensitive, activating instantly with the slightest touch. Additionally, using a ladle to clear the way made the control mode a bit complicated, which made it a little difficult.
After two or three stumbles, Lily finally managed to break through the tunnel with her ladle. Meanwhile, the dog beside her suddenly became excited.
A split screen showed two German soldiers repairing a truck in the distance. A nearby toolbox contained two German sausages and a pretzel stick. The dog recklessly ran towards the sausages, but, without looking where it was going, got tangled in barbed wire.
Emile immediately ran to help the dog free itself from the wire, but just then, the truck the German soldiers were repairing began to slide down the slope behind it.
'It's over, it's over! Is this dog going to die? It's willing to give its life just to see food! It's like a man who dies for money, like a bird who dies for money... No, it's like a dog who dies for food!'
Seeing this reminded Lily of the moment underground, when she saw a glittering cross and, without a word, extended a ladle to dig, only to lose sight of the cannonball in front of her and die accidentally. Although she knew the dog wouldn't die there, she was still a little nervous. What if Nebula didn't stick to its rules?
Just as the vehicle was about to slide down, the screen went black, with a subtitle in the middle: [Before that, on the other side of the battlefield...].
The scene shifted to a temporary position. The British army had decided to continue their attack on Neuf-Chapelle, and Freddy was among them. However, due to a shortage of troops, the British could only recruit soldiers from colonies like India. So, Freddy rushed to the front with a group of Indian soldiers.
The level was not much different from Freddy's previous one, but the difficulty was noticeably higher. Finally, at the critical moment, Freddy rescued Emile and the German search dog, and with pliers, cut the barbed wire and Emile's shackles. They held hands tightly. Neither of them imagined they would meet again on the rapidly changing battlefield.
After a brief conversation, Freddy learned about Emile's story about Karl. They also discovered they shared a common goal: Baron von Dorf's army. Freddy expressed his willingness to accompany Emile on his journey.
Upon reaching Ypres, they discovered traces of Baron von Dorf's troops. On the battlefield, the Germans used chlorine gas for the first time.
Here, the short dog had to close the chlorine gas valve. This level was slightly more complex than the previous puzzles. However, compared to other puzzle-solving games, these were understandable with a little thought. Even if you don't understand, you can press the hint button to get instructions from the system, which is quite intuitive.
Controlling Emile and the dog, they easily destroyed the underground chlorine production machine. Finally, the chlorine on the ground stopped interfering. Freddy and Emile followed the soldiers to launch an attack. But at that moment, Baron von Dorf's Zeppelin airship began to bomb with poisonous gas again.
In the midst of the chaos, Emile and the dog hid underground, while Freddy remained above. Just as Freddy had saved them before, this time it was their turn. Using a bone as a lever, they opened the elevator mechanism, allowing Freddy to jump down. Looking at Emile and the dog beside him, Freddy waved and uttered an uncommon line from the game:
"Thank you, friend!"
"You're welcome, we're all friends, why thank me?"
Seeing this, Lily, the game player, smiled, but she didn't have time to sigh. The chlorine gas, which had been produced later in the game, was rapidly approaching, and now they could only dig the tunnel with Emile's ladle. Finally, they emerged from the tunnel and ran frantically forward, apparently on the verge of death from the gas.
At that moment, a car horn was heard, and a blonde woman driving a car in the distance shouted at them.
The next instant, the game showed a cinematic scene. Her name is Anna, a Belgian student residing in Paris, who has always been determined to find her missing father. Finally, one day, fate smiled upon them: they were heading in the same direction. But on the road near Nevers-Saint-Vaast, they were discovered by a German troop.
With this, all the game's main characters appeared: Emile, a French soldier captive as a cook; Karl, a German soldier; Freddy, seeking revenge; Anna, looking for her father; and a rescued dog.
Three men, a woman, and a dog: these are the game's main characters.
"Wow! This game even has a driving level! This Anna feels just like me!"
Lily, sitting in front of her computer, saw this level and her eyes lit up. Driving... she knows what she's doing! The frantic advance of the taxi under the moonlight, accompanied by the background music of "Hungarian Dance No. 5," added a touch of humor to the game. Even more fascinating was the artillery and machine gun fire from the planes, a constant frantic scramble.
But the struggle was a constant struggle, and this was reflected in the game, as Lily was still a little nervous about the bombs fighting for control. The car had been perfectly intact at the beginning, but now, after being riddled with artillery shells and machine guns, the roof had rotted, the engine was smoking, and the original license plate was bent. Luckily, they had finally gotten through the phase without incident.
"What are you talking about, pilot? I assure you, I'm a fantastic pilot! I passed the second test just two days ago! The instructor said I have talent!" Lily joked, looking at the comments.
This was the game's funniest scene so far. Inspired by the humorous scene at that moment, the live stream was filled with comments.
"Instructor: Who said that? Not me!"
"To be honest, Lily is a talented pilot. She passed the second test in six tries."
"In comparison, I wonder what this phase would be like if you replaced Hungarian Dance No. 5 with Flight of the Bumblebee."
"Are you a demon?"
However, the joy was short-lived. At the last moment, a projectile hit them, throwing Freddy away from the car.
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