Chapter 28: Armored Vehicles of the Black Eagle Empire

Seeing the unfamiliar ID, Andrei immediately realized this must be one of his newly recruited players. Compared to the veterans who already possessed some combat experience, these new players were much more naive—or perhaps, more "abstract." He couldn't fathom why, but it seemed every batch of new recruits contained one or two "pants-droppers," leaving Andrei to wonder: why was dropping pants so appealing?

However, when he saw the screenshot in the chat group, he was stunned. Resting in the clearing behind the village threshing floor were two multi-legged armored vehicles, similar to the one he had seen earlier! One was the smaller model he had encountered before, shaped like a tin can with two machine-gun turrets. The other, however, was something he had never seen: while its structure was also a large iron can, it was more humanoid, complete with limbs and wielding an oversized rifle.

Looking at the design, Andrei couldn't help but wonder: instead of attaching mechanical arms to an armored vehicle just to hold a rifle with a caliber of at least 75mm, why not just mount a 75mm cannon directly onto the vehicle? He wasn't the only one; other players in the chat group were also poking fun at the design, finding it entirely unscientific. Yet, complaints aside, it did nothing to dampen their excitement. To them, this was the second type of armored vehicle to make an official appearance in the game, and both possessed a compelling, diesel-punk aesthetic.

Just then, the player who had discovered the vehicles called out in the chat.

"King Jiji: Hey guys, anyone want to hop in these mechs with me? It looks like it takes two people to operate—we need a two-man crew!"

No sooner had the question been asked than a swarm of players eagerly signed up, sprinting toward the clearing. Seeing them bolt, the other Cambrian soldiers, assuming they had discovered enemy movement, rushed over in a panic. Andrei followed the crowd, arriving at the location of the two mechs. In such situations, operating a mech was first-come-first-served, so alongside King Jiji, three other players quickly clambered into the machines and automatically assigned their roles.

Watching the two mechs, Major Yuri was busy explaining their models to Andrei with visible excitement.

"...It’s truly beautiful. As expected of the superior military engineering of the Black Hawks. It’s a pity our Cambrian Empire’s military tech has never reached that top-tier level!"

"The shorter one, which relies primarily on machine guns, is the Black Hawk Empire’s anti-infantry mech, the Mark 2 'Pacifier.' The taller one is the Mark 3 'Dreadnought,' specifically designed for mech-to-mech combat..."

Just as Andrei was listening with interest, Major Yuri paused, glanced at him, and his expression shifted to one of sudden realization. "Oh, forgive me, I got carried away! I forgot you’re a military academy graduate—this is all required knowledge in your curriculum!"

Major Yuri found it amusing; surely Andrei had memorized these facts countless times in school, so how could he not recognize them? Andrei smiled awkwardly on the outside, while screaming on the inside: Keep talking! I have no memory of any of this—I truly have no idea what these things are!

Just then, Major Yuri noticed the players' actions. He watched, stunned and blank-faced, as they precisely opened the hatches, climbed in with practiced ease, and roared the engines to life. He turned to Andrei, looking utterly bewildered.

"Captain Vorontsov, if I’m not mistaken, the soldiers in your company seem to know how to operate these things right off the bat?"

"What is going on? Has knowing how to pilot a mech become a prerequisite for new recruits these days?"

Andrei could only offer a smile that was even more awkward yet polite. He had no idea how to answer. To the players, being able to operate any vehicle in the game without a tutorial was perfectly normal, wasn't it?

Although the players' individual skill levels varied—Andrei himself, in his past gaming experience, had driving skills that could only be described as catastrophic—every player possessed the inherent ability to operate vehicles as a baseline trait. On the surface, Andrei’s players looked like simple foot soldiers. In reality, hand them a tank and they were tankers; give them a plane and they were pilots. They were the most versatile troops imaginable.

In the end, Andrei could only shrug and feign composure. "Don't ask me, I'm not entirely sure either. Perhaps these Black Hawk armored vehicles are designed with such simple controls that even a common soldier can pick them up easily?"

As if to prove his point, the two player-controlled mechs collided with a massive thud. Whether it was because their chassis were exceptionally stable or because the game included an anti-rollover feature, the two iron cans merely staggered back a few steps without tipping over. Andrei breathed a sigh of relief; if these heavy beasts had tipped, he would have no way to right them.

Seeing the players' clumsy handling, Major Yuri somewhat reluctantly accepted Andrei's explanation. If these people truly knew how to operate them, they wouldn't have made such ridiculous mistakes. It must be that these Black Hawk vehicles were just easy to operate!

Seeing the two groups of players becoming addicted to the mechs, Andrei waved them down and shouted, "Hey, soldiers! Get out of those iron cans! Our fuel is limited. If you want to drive, save it for when we start marching tomorrow!"