3: Chapter 3 was supposed to be about mowing the lawn, but how did it turn into hell right from the start?

"I'm done! This is completely unplayable! I'm quitting!"

Jack screamed frantically within the game, attempting to call up the system menu.

However, Su Yun had long since blocked the force-logout function in the backend. Unless the mission was completed or a player was confirmed dead more than three times, there was no escaping.

"Logout failed? What the hell!" Jack grew desperate.

The bullet chat also erupted in chaos:

"Is this game's physics engine insane? The snowflakes kicked up by that explosion just now even had light refraction!"

"Is Jack scared shitless? You're a big-time streamer, for God's sake. Pick up your gun and do something!"

"Exactly! What's there to fear from American GIs? Just charge in and take them out one by one!"

Seeing the egging on from the bullet chat, Jack gnashed his teeth as his vanity once again took the upper hand.

"Dammit, it's just a game. I refuse to believe a top-tier pro player like me would fail here!"

He snatched an old-fashioned rifle off the ground, shouldered a heavy ammo crate, and poked his head out from the crater.

Five hundred meters ahead was the US military's fire blockade. Machine guns fired in crossfire, their muzzles dancing in the dark night like venomous snakes.

"Watch me slide-cancel into a headshot!"

Following his habits from playing major foreign titles, Jack performed a dash-slide and raised his gun to aim.

Rat-tat-tat-tat—!

He didn't even see a shadow of the enemy before several heavy machine gun rounds tore straight through his thighs and chest. The massive impact sent him flying like a tattered sack of grain.

[You have died. Cause of death: Exposure due to carelessness.]

First restart.

Jack learned his lesson. He crouched low, slowly crawling forward under the cover of night. With great effort, he managed to sneak up behind a US patrol soldier.

"Die!" He slammed the trigger.

Click.

There was no gunshot.

In the extreme cold of minus forty degrees, the bolt had frozen solid!

The US soldier turned around, smashed a rifle butt into his face, and then drew a pistol to empty the magazine into him.

[You have died. Cause of death: Failure to maintain weapon.]

Second restart.

Third restart.

Fifth restart.

Jack was beaten into a state of depression. The reaction speed he took such pride in was useless against this realistic web of fire; the 'one-man army' fantasy he worshipped couldn't even get him ten meters here.

This was simply not a game that could be cleared through individual heroism!

Sixth revival. Jack leaned against a freezing rock, his lips turned purple from the cold, and his stamina bar was nearly empty. The hunger and cold mechanics set by the system made it so he couldn't even hold his gun steady.

"I can't do this... it's too cold... is this a war meant for carbon-based lifeforms?" Jack said with a sob in his voice.

Just then, a small figure crawled over. It was a Young Soldier who looked to be only sixteen or seventeen.

The Young Soldier's eyebrows were covered in frost. He pulled something dark from his chest and handed it to Jack.

"Brother, have a bite. You'll have strength once you've eaten."

Jack took it and looked; it was a potato. But this potato was hard as a rock, its surface covered in ice crystals.

Jack was starving. Without a second thought, he bit down.

A crisp "crack" sounded, accompanied by sharp pain.

Half of Jack's front tooth snapped right off.

"Holy shit! Is this developer sick? They even included the detail of breaking a tooth on a frozen potato?!" Jack screamed, clutching his mouth.

Witnessing Jack's miserable state, the bullet chat was no longer full of mockery; instead, a hint of heaviness gradually emerged:

"Minus forty degrees, gnawing on potatoes frozen into rocks... our ancestors fought the war eating this?"

"The other side had hot coffee and turkey, while we had frozen potatoes that break teeth? This difficulty is too despairing."

Right then, a global announcement broadcast by Su Yun through the system echoed in the sky, cold and devoid of emotion:

[Global Announcement: Three-minute countdown. The supply train is about to pass through Funchilin Pass. Also, a friendly reminder: the current difficulty is only 'Easy Mode'.]

"You call this fucking Easy Mode?!" Jack broke down.

He turned his head to look at Funchilin Pass ahead. The bridge deck had been blown apart, and the Platoon Leader was leading the few remaining soldiers to lay tracks amidst a hail of bullets.

"Quick! Bring the bolt over! The train is almost here!" the Platoon Leader roared, his eyes bloodshot.

Jack dragged his wounded leg and desperately hauled the ammo crate over. When the crate opened, it contained massive steel bolts used for connecting rails.

The Platoon Leader grabbed a bolt to shove it into the hole, but just as he reached the last one, a stray bullet hit the bolt, shattering the end into iron fragments.

It couldn't be secured!

On the tracks not far away, the heavy roar of the train could already be heard. This train carried the ammunition and rations that tens of thousands of soldiers on the front line depended on for survival! If it derailed here, the entire defensive line would collapse!

"There's no other way..." The Platoon Leader glanced at the broken connection, then listened to the approaching train. His gaze instantly became extremely calm.

Without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed a large steel wrench used for bridge repairs and slammed it into the rail hole. Then, he turned his body and used his broad shoulder to firmly brace against the end of the wrench.

Between the rail and the wrench was his chest of flesh and blood.