第１１９３堀：二回戦その２ (Part1)
Chapter 1193: Second Round, Part 2
Side: Steve
"Looks like things have calmed down for now."
"Seems so. The gunfire stopped."
"Well, the sounds are distant. A light alert should be enough."
As we chatted, we continued to efficiently scavenge for weapons and gear.
We’d hit a decent streak; after checking just three houses, we had gathered most of the equipment and tools we needed.
"The supplies are coming together nicely, but how should we move from here?"
"Honestly, I’m too conspicuous to walk through the forest, so I have no choice but to move through buildings whenever possible."
"You’re two meters tall, after all. You should try shrinking down."
The weakness of our team is, without a doubt, our physical builds.
Mino-chan is incredibly tall.
Conversely, I am quite diminutive.
And John... he’s just wide. Why is that? He eats nothing but vegetables.
"Well, it can't be helped. It’s just a racial trait."
"Still, indoors is too cramped for me to move properly."
"But that also means you can scout further than anyone else, right? You should look at the bright side."
"True enough, I suppose."
"No use lamenting our builds. On the flip side, if I hide in the brush, I’m practically invisible. That’s how Princess Aslin and her team won earlier, after all."
"That was impressive. A victory for their stature, truly."
"Even if there was some luck involved, they had the skill to properly utilize it, incorporate it into their strategy, and execute it. They’ve really grown tough."
"“Mm-hmm.”"
As John said, it wasn’t just luck that allowed Princess Aslin’s team to defeat the Generals.
Sure, stumbling into that depression in the ground was a stroke of fortune, but they won because they had the competence to capitalize on it, formulate a plan, and carry it through to the end.
It was proof that they had been properly learning from the Generals and us, absorbing everything and making it their own.
That said...
"Having a team as small as Steve’s with that kind of skill is, in a sense, a threat."
"Indeed. Since the target is so small, it’s not easy to land a hit."
"That’s for sure. Oh, found an assault rifle here. And a scope to go with it."
"Oh, nice find."
"Though, it’s a bit worrying to gather too much gear this early on."
"True. When you get convenient tools right at the start, you get tempted to use them too much. That’s how you end up giving away your position and getting eliminated halfway through."
Exactly. It’s surprisingly common: you find good weapons early, use them to take down other combatants, but then keep that momentum going into the late game, only to have your position compromised and get wiped out.
It’s just a case of being too greedy.
As I was thinking about that...
"Oh, I found another scope."
"We’re really getting kitted out now. Still, it’s far better than having nothing."
"Usually, when you find gear like that, you’re short on ammo."
"We haven’t even finished gathering weapons yet. A scope is useless on a handgun or a shotgun."
Right, the scopes we’ve found so far are dead weight. In other words, useless items.
"Oh, I found an assault rifle here, too. And I see another one in the next room. Steve, I’ll secure these."
"Roger. I just hope we find some ammo to go with them..."
I said that and went to explore the second floor.
"Oh, found magazines for the assault rifle. Four of them."
"That’ll let us fire for a while."
"Even so, you can burn through a magazine in a heartbeat on full-auto. We really want four per person."
"Regardless, let’s search the remaining houses and then rendezvous."
And so, without encountering any life-threatening danger, we finished gathering our weapons and supplies and successfully met up.
"Alright, let’s divide the gear and decide on our next destination."
"Sounds good."
"Well, fortunately, we’re near the next shrinking zone. First, let’s confirm. We’re currently here, just west of the central town."
As Mino-chan said, we were in one of the scattered houses located slightly west of the town center.
And regarding being near the shrinking zone...
"We’re right in the middle of the current range. And all around us is nothing but wheat fields and grassland."
"Easy to scout, but if the next zone shifts elsewhere, we’ll be sitting ducks."
"Since it’s just wide-open space, there’s no cover, so we’d be prime targets."
Exactly. It’s the best position for the current zone, but geographically, it’s a bit precarious.
"My suggestion is to move to that house over there with the forest at its back."
The spot John pointed out on the monitor had two houses, with grassland and wheat fields in front and a dense forest behind.
It would certainly be easier to monitor, and we’d have the forest for an escape route.
There aren’t any other good spots nearby, so...
"I’m in favor."
"Me too. But if this spot ends up outside the next shrinking zone, we’ll have wasted our energy moving. Shouldn’t we wait until the next zone is determined?"
"I considered that, but we also need to scavenge for more weapons and gear. I think it’s better to head there now and loot the place. I heard gunfire earlier, too."
Hmm. That’s a valid point.
"Roger. I said moving might be a waste, but if that happens, we can just move again. Let’s prioritize scavenging for weapons and gear."
In this game, being limited by a lack of supplies is worse than the risk of wasting time on movement.
If we lose because of that, then it’s just bad luck.
"Alright, I’d like to say let’s go, but I want to detour slightly to the right. There’s a ridge in the field, so I want to pass along one of the sides."
Mino-chan had already looked away from the map toward the direction of the next building. As he said, the terrain directly in front of us was raised.
A hill. If we went straight over it, we’d risk being targeted from both sides.
Especially with Mino-chan being so large.
"Mino-chan’s right, it’s better to pass along the side. And honestly, I’d prefer the west side with fewer buildings over the east side where the town is."
"I agree with that. Even if we do get shot at, it’ll be easier to pinpoint the enemy’s position."
"Understood. Route decided, let’s move."
*Rustle, rustle...*
Actually, doing this kind of movement in reality, you really start to notice...
"Man, I feel it especially this time. Honestly, walking through nothing but open grassland or wheat fields is surprisingly hard labor."
"No kidding. The plants are a nuisance. They really slow you down."
"Though, with the growth this thick, it’s incredibly convenient for hiding."
It’s true—when it’s this overgrown, it’s perfect for staying out of sight.