(Volume III: The Demon Lord is Bangboos Master!)
Ark, at the Officer Academy.
Several massive transport planes were currently parked in front of the students.
A stern instructor was giving a pre-battle pep talk to the cadets below.
And on the face of every new commander present was an expression of unspeakable terror and unease.
"Listen up, you maggots! I'm sure you know what day it is! That's right! Today is the day you useless whelps graduate! It's also the day you head to the front lines to fight!"
The gorilla-like instructor roared at the cadets, who were on the verge of wetting themselves.
"I know you bastards are scared enough to piss your pants! But it doesn't matter. No matter how terrifying the Raptures are, they are no match for us humans and our Nikkes! You must believe in the Ark, believe in the military! We will definitely drive those damn Raptures out of our land. This is why you've studied here for three years. Your one and only purpose! Believe in yourselves! You will definitely make it back alive!"
Although the instructor on the stage spoke with great passion and fervor, it was a pity that none of the students below were getting carried away by the hype.
Believe in the Ark? Believe in the military?
Anyone who believed those guys probably had their corpses torn to shreds by some passing Rapture long ago.
Anyone with a shred of understanding about the mess between the Ark and the Raptures wouldn't spout such nonsense about the Ark winning.
Besides, the place they were going was the front lines—a place rightly called a hellish meat grinder!
Commanders sent to that godforsaken place usually didn't survive the first week.
And this idiot was actually saying they could make it back alive?
"Did you hear? None of the seniors who went before are still alive. Even the top student from last year supposedly got half his body blown off after going."
"You mean that senior? He was so full of confidence before he left, saying he was going to save the Ark. But less than three days later, he was crippled by a Rapture that fell from the sky. I just went to his funeral a few days ago."
"I spit on them! These guys just want us to be cannon fodder! Not a single one of the rich kids came! They just want to send us to our deaths!"
"Ammunition resupplies are nonexistent, but they demand results and KPIs. They give us no resources. Even jungle farming in a game isn't this rigged!"
Hearing the instructor's bullshit, the group of commanders wished they could just rise up, chop off this guy's head, and shout "Long live freedom!"
But given that the guy was built like a gorilla and surrounded by Nikkes, the new commanders chose to back down.
"Hey, I'm just saying, you're being a little too loud. The instructor is already looking over here." Just then, the few students who were angrily complaining felt someone whisper a reminder in their ear.
Turning around, they found a pair of dead-fish eyes staring at them.
"You... you're Mo Wang?!"
The moment they saw Mo Wang, the new commanders froze, clearly not expecting to see him here.
"Shh~ Keep it down. The instructor is watching."
Mo Wang glanced at the instructor on the stage, who was now glaring in their direction with eyes that could eat someone alive, and reminded the group.
The moment they saw the gorilla, the students immediately shut their mouths, even putting on obedient expressions.
Who said the front lines were dangerous? They loved going to the front lines! They could shine and burn bright, and even work hard to make the lives of the higher-ups more comfortable.
Seeing how cowardly they were, Mo Wang just shrugged indifferently.
To be honest, he completely agreed with what they were saying.
After all, in the game's story, very few of the Ark's higher-ups acted like decent human beings.
Just how scummy could the people in the Ark be?
On one hand, they'd use moral blackmail to treat the Nikkes on the front lines like human batteries, while on the other, they'd weld a monument to themselves as the "Flame of Human Civilization." In the command room, their keyboard-clacking was louder than anyone's, but when a real ground-shaking crisis hit, they'd run faster than the ammunition withheld by the logistics department!
During the day, they'd shout "For the glory of the Ark!" in meetings. At night, they'd secretly recycle the casualty lists as scrap paper.
Nikkes shed blood and tears; they shed PowerPoint slides.
A loss on the front was a "tactical adjustment," but a win would have them immediately jumping in front of the camera for a propaganda photoshoot.
The best part was, every time a damage report came out, those well-dressed suits could always deflect blame 360 degrees: insufficient ammunition was the manufacturing department's fault, faulty intelligence was the reconnaissance team's fault, and if a Nikke went rampant, it was a "necessary sacrifice." They were masters of deflecting blame.
Mo Wang glanced at the new commanders here. As expected, there wasn't a single descendant of the higher-ups among them.
Because those people had already used various means to secure positions in logistics.
Go to the front lines? That was for people with no money and no status.
In the Ark's view, these people were wasting the Ark's air by living and wasting the Ark's land by dying. Using them as cannon fodder was just right.
"Mo Wang, what are you doing here?" a commander beside him whispered to Mo Wang after the instructor's gaze shifted.
"I'm a commander too. Isn't it normal for me to be in a place like this?" Mo Wang said calmly to his classmate.
"No, what I mean is... shouldn't someone like you have gone to logistics?" the new commander asked, looking at Mo Wang with confusion.
He had thought that everyone here was like him, an ordinary person with no connections, forced to go to the front lines.
"I'm sorry, but I really want to do my part to save the Ark. Although a place like the front lines is indeed dangerous, who's to say that's not the best place to save the Ark?"
As Mo Wang spoke, a holy light seemed to appear on his face.
"As expected of Mo Wang!" His classmates not only believed his words but even looked at him with admiration.
"Everyone, prepare to board! We're moving out!"
Mo Wang ignored the looks of admiration from those around him. Just then, the instructor was urging the commanders to board the transport planes.
"Is a transport plane like this really okay?"
Mo Wang looked at the transport plane, which resembled a big black box, and didn't know how to complain about it.
You're taking a bunch of new commanders to the most dangerous front lines of the war between Nikkes and Raptures, and you're using these completely unarmed transport planes to send them?
What's the difference between this and a coffin?
Even for cannon fodder, you at least have to get them to the front lines first.
Please don't tell me I'm about to reenact the Boss's plot... oh crap.
"Wait a minute, Mo Wang. Your plane is this special one."
Just as Mo Wang was about to board, the instructor stopped him.
"Huh?" Mo Wang stared blankly at the instructor. What did this mean?
"Don't misunderstand. The higher-ups are very grateful for your unhesitating decision to join the front lines and your contributions to humanity. Therefore, they have made other arrangements for you."
The instructor explained to Mo Wang.
"So, am I still going to the front lines?" Mo Wang asked curiously.
"Still the front lines, but... you'll probably take a different route," the instructor explained somewhat cautiously.
"That's fine then."
Mo Wang didn't listen to too many explanations. As long as he could get to the front lines, that was all that mattered.
It was better for him to fly alone anyway. It would be a disaster if a few unlucky people ended up with him.
After boarding the transport, Mo Wang saw that the pilot was a mass-produced Nikke.
She seemed a little nervous after he came aboard.
"I say, you should be fine, right?"
Mo Wang asked subconsciously, seeing her slightly trembling hands.
"N-no problem! I will definitely get you to the front lines safely!"
The Nikke, questioned by Mo Wang, answered hastily.
"No need to be so nervous. Even if you crash, nothing will happen to me."
Seeing her so nervous, Mo Wang couldn't help but try to comfort her.
But this only made her even more nervous.
"C-crash? N-no, that won't happen! As a Nikke specializing in transportation, I'm very confident I can deliver you safely."
"Very confident?" Mo Wang looked at the incredibly nervous Nikke and couldn't see where her confidence was coming from.
And could she really deliver him safely?
Mo Wang didn't have that confidence.
For some reason, he felt like the Boss was watching him from the heavens today.
Could it be because he hadn't burned any paper offerings for the Boss recently?
And his back felt heavy for some reason.
Could it be that he was already covered in death flags?
"Commander Mo Wang! Please hold on tight, we are taking off."
At the Nikke's urging, the transport plane soon headed in its designated direction.
And, as Mo Wang expected, the plane hadn't even been in the air for thirty minutes before it was shot down by a blast from a Rapture on the ground.
Mo Wang: Man! What can I say?