We promised to develop a game called Candy Crush, what the hell is the Third Reich?

Chapter 135 [Battle of Stalingrad] Begins (6.7k words, 2-in-1)

Looking at the noisy audience below.

Zhao Ming spoke up to remind him:

"But let me make this clear from the start."

"This national war instance, the Battle of Stalingrad, is extremely difficult, so players who want to challenge the Order of Stalingrad must be well prepared."

"As for how difficult it is, it's probably as high as a few stories."

"Due to the difficulty, in this national war instance, the Battle of Stalingrad, players can either form their own teams of top-tier players or choose to add NPCs to their teams."

"If players can perform amazing maneuvers in such a highly difficult dungeon, they will surely receive a lot of likes and rewards."

"The core of this [dungeon] is the cruelty of war. Everyone thinks that previous battles were cruel, but after you experience the Battle of Stalingrad, you will know what true cruelty is."

"Based on a brutal experience, that's what sparked this."

offstage.

Fang Ming, Mo Xiaomo, Yu Feng, and other top streamers from Tiansha were all holding their devices and broadcasting the press conference live to Zhao Ming.

In Fang Ming’s live broadcast room.

Sitting below, Fang Ming, looking at Zhao Ming's reminder on stage, said to the live stream with some doubt:

"Is what Old Zhao is saying true or false?"

"How many floors high is that? What kind of difficulty is that?"

"It can't be harder than the Battle of Moscow, can it?"

Fang Ming thought for a moment and recalled that during the Moscow defense challenge mission, he fought against Imperial soldiers in the freezing cold and managed to break through the encirclement.

They were hunted down for a full fifteen days.

This level of difficulty is already top-tier, and he's already accomplished it.

The Battle of Stalingrad shouldn't be any harder than this, especially considering it's summer in the game, from a survival and combat perspective.

Summer is a bit more comfortable than winter.

At least you wouldn't have to jump into the river to escape while being chased in a cotton-padded coat, only to be chased like a dog.
Viewers in the live stream chat also flooded the screen with comments.

"That's right, they're all veterans, they've seen it all. Let's see how difficult it is."

[Intensity? I've experienced dying from taking a cannonball to my face, what haven't I seen?]

What if that old scoundrel Zhao is deliberately provoking us like this? What if he actually does something big?

[No way, is this guy really not going to live like a human being?]

[When did this guy ever talk like a human? Have you got your fruit ready? When everyone else is throwing them, you throw some too, and I'll send you starships.]

Upon seeing the starship, Fang Ming smiled.
"It's easy to talk about."

As he spoke, he reached out and took two oranges from the fruit plate in front of him.

Yu Feng, who was standing next to him, also took two. The two of them smiled at each other without prior arrangement.

Mo Xiaomo, who was standing next to her, shook her head, then reached out and took two as well.
However, Mo Xiaomo then spoke righteously and sternly to the live stream audience:

"I'm doing this all to avenge you guys."

"It might jeopardize the streamer's future!"

"Swipe for free little stars~"

"The press conference is about to end, and it'll be crowded and noisy soon, so I'll make my move quietly, hehe~"

On the stage.

With the announcements regarding the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Stalingrad completed, Polaris's press conference came to an end.

Next up was the fan photo session.

First, a group of streamers and players were asked to stand on the stage for a group photo. However, what was strange was that all of these streamers and players were holding various kinds of fruit.

Zhao Ming retreated far to the back, not giving the players a chance to make a move.

at this time.

Inside Duan Yu's live stream room.

Looking at the streamers and players taking photos on stage, Duan Yu and the viewers in the live stream all had expressions of amusement on their faces.
"It's about to begin, it's about to begin."

"At this distance, it should be able to hit it, right?"

With a 'click' during the live stream!
A flash of light, and the photo was taken.

The streamer and players taking a group photo on stage turned around and looked at Zhao Ming, who was dozens of meters away. Zhao Ming looked completely innocent and spread his hands.

Someone shouted, "Smash that bastard who dug the hole to death!"

The fruit rained down like a waterfall, heading straight for Zhao Ming. Zhao Ming remained calm and composed, chuckling and shaking his head.

Subsequently
Various fruits passed through Zhao Ming's body.

For an instant.

The streamer, the players, and the viewers were all stunned.

What the hell?

next second.

Zhao Ming waved his hand with a smile, then his figure became illusory and disappeared. Only then did everyone realize that this was a virtual projection!

When was this item replaced?
wrong!

Holy crap! Did this guy host the whole thing using a virtual projector from the very beginning?!
rough! ! !
Inside Duan Yu's live stream room.

Duan Yu and his viewers were stunned. After Zhao Ming disappeared, more than a dozen projections of Zhao Ming appeared on the stage, but in the same fixed pose.

Only then did he realize what was happening, and after a long pause, Duan Yu managed to stammer out:
"Niubi."

Using a virtual projection to host a press conference, this guy seems to have some self-awareness about his actions. Then, looking at the dozen or so Zhao Ming figures in fixed poses, Duan Yu's expression turned strange.
"It really is a 'group photo' session."

"There are all sorts of poses for taking photos, players can just gather around."

"That's awesome!"

Just saying.

A notification popped up in the game interface requesting a non-stop update.

"what?"

"The update has already started?"

Duan Yu immediately clicked the update button.

Meanwhile, the streamers and players at the press conference...

After being completely bewildered and realizing they couldn't do anything about Zhao Ming, they quickly turned their attention to the dozen or so Zhao Ming projections that were posing in fixed photo positions.

Soon, all sorts of funny group photos appeared online.

It also became a trending topic on Federal Headlines.

#Top-notch awareness, virtual projection hosts the press conference#
#Shameless old scoundrel Zhao!#
#I've never seen such a shameless person!#
Zhao Ming could only say that the players had to be allowed to vent their frustrations.

The press conference has ended.

The Polar Star app has also been launched on major application platforms, and the Polar Star platform, which integrates games, forums, and shopping, has also been promoted.

The 'Earth' IP series products are now available on the Polaris Mall, while 'Huaxia Series' restaurants across the Great Xia Federation have opened for business.

a few days later.

With the update to the Battle of Midway, players have been playing for several days now.

Many players chose to skip the story and go directly to the Battle of Midway in June, and then participate in the Battle of Midway.

Only a few streamers, such as Duan Yu and Huang Hao, are still maintaining a normal progress. The rest are some new players who are starting from scratch and are not in a hurry to participate in the Battle of Midway.

The [Battle of Midway] instance.

Since the game only lasted three days, most players finished it on the first day and kept starting new games to experience the novel naval and air battles.

The rest of the discussion revolved around the current state of the battle within the game.

The Axis powers, which had been on a strong offensive in the first half of the year, have now encountered their first setback.

The Battle of Midway shattered the myth of the invincibility of the Japanese Navy and directly thwarted Japan's offensive momentum.

In Fang Ming’s live broadcast room.

Having just finished the Battle of Midway, Fang Ming stretched and let out a long sigh of relief.

"This naval battle is fun."

"But I'm mainly here for the novelty, and I'm still a little unaccustomed to it."

As he spoke, Fang Ming glanced at the chat group. It wasn't time yet, but about half of the people were ready to get there.

"Let's play the [Multiplayer Co-op Mode] next."

"I've assembled a team with Yu Feng and his group. They're all top-tier FPS players. Of course, that's true for other games; there's no such thing as a 'top player' in this game."

"He might die at any time."

"After that, we started teaming up every day to practice our teamwork."

"The main reason is that it's only been a little over half a month since the Battle of Stalingrad was released."

"I'll challenge the Order of Stalingrad then and see if it's as difficult as that old scoundrel Zhao made it out to be."

The nickname "Old Thief Zhao" has become a common slang term among streamers ever since they were fooled by Zhao Ming's performance at the press conference. He's just too cunning!
Who would have thought that this guy was hosting using virtual projection for several hours?

Subsequently.

Fang Ming opened the 'Real-time Map' on the Polaris official website, and then opened the player forum on the Polaris platform, specifically the 'Battle Analysis' section.

There were quite a few players from Earth discussing the current battle situation on 'Earth'.

The most popular topic right now is still the Battle of Midway.

Players had differing opinions on the issue. Some thought that even if they suffered a temporary defeat, it wouldn't matter, as the strength of the Axis powers was still evident. Others believed that the Allies had already begun to retaliate, and the Axis powers would soon be unable to hold on.

Fang Ming scrolled through the forum discussions, and to be honest, every single one of them seemed to make sense.

However, he soon discovered some novel viewpoints, which Fang Ming shared with his viewers in the live stream:

"This viewpoint makes some sense, according to the analysis in this post."

"No matter what, Japan is still a small country with limited industrial potential. The United States, on the other hand, has a much stronger industrial capacity, which has helped to rebuild its aircraft carrier, which was severely damaged in the Battle of the Coral Sea."

"The fact that it was repaired in just three days and can still participate in the current Battle of Midway is a testament to its capabilities."

"Moreover, during the Battle of Midway, despite being bombed by Japanese forces and having its deck blown through, it was able to repair itself while fighting, a feat that the Japanese could not match."

"Unless Japan can destroy the United States in one fell swoop, it will eventually be worn down and killed, even if it doesn't lose the Battle of Midway."

"There is no solution."

"The Empire is facing the same dilemma; the Soviet Federation has too many soldiers."

"Japan's offensive in the Pacific has led to the continuous redeployment of Soviet troops from the Far East to the front lines in Moscow. Even though it is already summer, the Reich has not yet recovered."

"The empire's progress is difficult."

"If Japan had not lost the Battle of Midway, it would have been able to occupy Hawaii and directly threaten the territory of the United States Commonwealth."

"While pressuring the American Free Federation, we can free up our resources to launch an attack from the east and encircle and annihilate the Soviet Federation with the Empire."

"But now they have failed and are trapped in Southeast Asia by the American Free Federation."

"The Axis powers are being worn down by the Soviet Union, and Japan is being worn down by the American Free Federation and the unopened Asian theater. In addition, the British Commonwealth is causing trouble everywhere. The Axis powers are doomed to defeat."

Fang Ming read the post and nodded unconsciously:

"That makes a lot of sense."

As he spoke, he opened the 'real-time map', just as the post had said.

However, due to the defeat at the Battle of Midway, it is now trapped in Southeast Asia, its naval combat power has been halved, and it has lost four aircraft carriers.

Including the aircraft carrier lost in the Battle of the Coral Sea, there were a total of five aircraft carriers. This was an absolutely fatal blow to an island nation with limited resources.

However, Fang Ming couldn't be sure about the outcome of the battle either, and was just chatting with the live stream audience.

After all, a new battle is about to begin: the Battle of Stalingrad, which is described in the medal's description as the 'meat grinder' of World War II.

The battle resulted in more than 270 million casualties on both sides of the Reich and the Soviet Union.

We don't know who will win or lose yet; we'll only find out once we get involved.

Fang Ming looked around for a while, checked the time, and realized it was almost noon. The appointment was for 1 PM, so he immediately opened the Polaris app.

"Bros."

"Let's grab a bite to eat first. I recently discovered a restaurant."

"【Huaxia Delicacies】, this is a store of Polar Star Company, and it has a wide variety of dishes."

"The taste is also very good." The live stream chat was filled with question marks.

【What?! They keep calling him "Old Zhao the Thief," and they're even advertising for him?!】

[Xiao Mingzi, tell me honestly, how much money did you get paid to make it sound so casual?]

"That's right, we're all brothers, so just tell us the truth, and we won't tell anyone else."

Fang Ming looked at the comments and couldn't help but laugh and cry. He then said:
"It's really not true."

Then, the interface of the Polaris app was shown to the viewers in the live stream:

"This 'Huaxia Series' restaurant has nearly 10,000 dishes. Currently, it is only open in the major cities of the Great Xia Federation. It is said that they are all made with the highest grade synthetic ingredients."

"It is said to be a perfect replica of the delicacies from various dynasties in the 'Chinese History Series' games."

"However, I haven't played the 'Chinese History Series' yet, mainly because it hasn't been released. But the food I've been eating these past few days has been pretty good."

"Let me see what we should order today."

As he spoke, Fang Ming began flipping through the menu, his finger constantly tapping on the Polestar app:

"Give me 'Tai Chi Bear Paw,' 'Flying Dragon White Mushroom Soup,' and 'Mandarin Duck Shark Fin.' It's alright. Although they are all high-grade synthetic ingredients, they are not expensive."

"All done. Wait for it to be delivered, then we'll eat and start training."

"Let's practice our teamwork first, and see how difficult this Battle of Stalingrad really is."

half a month later.

With the initial excitement of the Battle of Midway fading, players are now looking forward to the upcoming Battle of Stalingrad.

There are still a few minutes until the update.

The team has already been formed in Fang Ming's live stream. As long as the update button pops up, click update, and you can immediately enter the game.

Meanwhile, on Tiansha Live, in the gaming section and other live streaming rooms...

Many live streams are labeled with titles like "Challenge the Hall of Fame, Order of Stalingrad," and many of the streamers are those who received the Order of the Moscow Patriotic War last time.

After all, it's a lifetime advertisement, which is attractive enough.

However, there are also many streamers like Mo Xiaomo, some of whom team up, and some of whom don't.

In Mo Xiaomo's live broadcast room.

While waiting for the game update, Mo Xiaomo opened the Polaris official website.

Let's see if there are any updates.

Lately, checking the "Chinese History Series" section on the Polaris official website has become a habit for players.

Because new information is added every few days, many players become addicted to it.

Mo Xiaomo was browsing through the "Chinese History Series" information on the Polar Star website. At this time, the "Chinese History Series" information area was divided into multiple dynasties.

[Warring States Period] [Seven Kingdoms Struggle for Hegemony] [Unification of the World] [Chu-Han Contention] [Republic]

From the Warring States period to the modern Republic, the data is divided according to different dynasties, and each section is updated with varying amounts of information, including that of emperors, famous ministers, and those that have been passed down through the ages.
It felt strangely like opening a blind box. Mo Xiaomo went through each section one by one:
"Hmm? The data for the [Great Tang Empire] has been updated today?"

"Let me see"

What caught Mo Xiaomo's eye was a picture, taken from an aerial perspective, showing countless soldiers wielding long swords and fighting each other below, looking like a meat grinder.

The image is captioned "Battle of Xiangji Temple," followed by a brief description.

The Battle of Xiangji Temple

This was a decisive turning point in the An Lushan Rebellion, known as one of the most brutal battles in the history of ancient Chinese cold weapon warfare. Its record of kills and casualties was unprecedented, earning it the nickname "cold weapon meat grinder."

The Tang army and the An Lushan rebels deployed a total of 25 troops in the narrow battlefield north of Xiangji Temple, all of whom were the most elite border troops in Asia at the time.

The battle was the most brutal in the history of ancient warfare.

The battle lasted only 8 hours, but the death toll on both sides reached 130,000, an average of 16,000 deaths per hour, with a soldier survival rate of less than 50%.

[Note: Survive for 8 hours and behead 20 enemies to unlock the hidden general: Li Siye (who can be replaced by another general)]

[Conditions for achievement: 0/8 (hours) survival, 0/20 (decapitation)]

[Hidden General: Li Siye]

[Origin: From Gaoling, Jingzhao Prefecture; a member of the Anxi Army; renowned in the Western Regions for his bravery and skill in battle.]

[Early Military Achievements: During the Tianbao era, he followed Gao Xianzhi in campaigns against Little Bolu and Shiguo, repeatedly defeating enemy forces as the vanguard of the Modao (陌刀) unit. The Anxi army was known for the saying, "Those who face Siye's sword will be shattered, both man and horse."]

[Peak Achievement: In the Battle of Xiangji Temple, he led his troops in a fierce battle against the elite rebel cavalry (Yeluo River) using the Mo Dao formation, buying time for the Tang army to reorganize its formation and coordinating with the Uyghur cavalry's flanking attack, thus securing the victory.]

[Later impact: Its Mo Dao (陌刀) tactics became a model for Tang infantry against cavalry, but after the An Lushan Rebellion, the Mo Dao technique was lost, and its tactics gradually became extinct.]

[Note: When the sword of the Heir Apparent is drawn, both man and horse are shattered! Players who unlock this template can be included in the "Records of Famous Generals of the Tang Dynasty" series.]

"hiss--"

"I don't understand why, but it seems really impressive!"

"This famous general."

The viewers in the live stream were completely bewildered.

【Wait, is this for real? Using a Mo Dao (陌刀) formation to directly confront the elite rebel cavalry? Is this a typo???】

[Infantry versus cavalry—am I crazy, or is the Chinese depicted here insane?]

[Elite troops, elite cavalry, is this some kind of random mess by the Photon supercomputer?]

[Fake, absolutely fake. Infantry fighting cavalry? Are you kidding me?]

Mo Xiaomo was also a little confused, wondering why the viewers were reacting so strongly. However, seeing the reactions, she still looked at them and said:
"This is... official history, right?"

"I see the label below: the above content is all part of the official history of China."

"Perhaps even Polaris thinks it's outrageous?"

"So this is the label you gave?"

"But is it really that difficult for infantry to fight against cavalry?"

Why are you reacting like this?

After a moment of silence in the live stream, a comment slowly floated across the screen:
What do infantry say to cavalry?

[You've played World War II: Rise of Empires too? You should know about charging tanks on horseback, right? Cavalry is the tank.]

Mo Xiaomo's eyes widened:

"So I'm the one riding the horse?"

"hiss--"

"The difference is quite significant."

Now that it was simple and easy to understand, Mo Xiaomo got it.

At this moment, the comments slowly drifted by:

No, you were the horse that got run over and killed by a tank.

Mo Xiaomo's eyes widened:

"what?!"

"You?! Hey! The game has been updated."

Mo Xiaomo's attention returned to the game.

After clicking the update button, the game installation and update were completed in a few seconds. Seeing the "Battle of Stalingrad" screen appear, Mo Xiaomo clicked "Start".

Since she doesn't need to challenge the Order of Stalingrad, she starts the game alone.

The screen flashed.

Like other nation war instances, a CG scene slowly appears.

A dark gray hue began to appear in the image.

What came into view was a city completely consumed by artillery fire, with ruins of buildings blackened by smoke everywhere. A few buildings that still stood were recognizable as Stalingrad.

The camera zooms out, offering a bird's-eye view of the entire city.

Emptiness, silence, death
Several large characters slowly emerged
This was one of the most brutal battles in the history of World War II.

Here, each soldier has an average survival time of only 24 hours.

The scene changes, showing the Imperial soldiers standing ready in the initial CG sequence, followed by Soviet soldiers covered in flames rushing out and charging fearlessly towards the Imperial soldiers.

The words slowly appeared
From the moment you set foot on the banks of the Volga River, your life is essentially reduced to just one day—a day that will be your entire future.

The scene changes to a building, where soldiers rush out, but are instantly riddled with bullets.

Several words slowly appeared
Here, every house, every water tower, even every crumbling wall that could be used as shelter, could be your final resting place.

The scene zooms out to a high altitude, where a ruined city billows thick black smoke under the blood-red sunset, resembling a real-life hell. Then, several large characters appear.

The Battle of Stalingrad

The screen ended, and the player entered the game.

After Mo Xiaomo entered the game, she was greeted by a broken house with shards of glass scattered all over the floor. Judging from the view outside the window, the house was at least four or five stories high.

There was no sound inside the room; it was eerily quiet.

Mo Xiaomo looked down at the rifle in her hand, breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly cocked the rifle.

'Click'!
No sooner had the gun been loaded than a noise came from downstairs.

But upon closer listening, there was still no sound. Mo Xiaomo swallowed hard, looked towards the stairwell, and quietly hid behind the sofa to peek at the stairwell, echoing the words from the live stream:

"This CG is so depressing."

"And is there something ghostly in this game?"

"You guys heard the noise just now, right?!"

"It's gone now?!"

"That's terrifying!!!"

the other side.

Fang Ming, Yu Feng, and their team also entered the game.

There were fifty people in total, all of whom were online at this moment, but not in-game; instead, each person's live stream screen was in another live stream room.

So if you look at the bottom right corner, you can see fifty small split screens, including your own.

The screen flashed, and the fifty people entered the game.

The moment you enter the game.

Fang Ming then analyzed their current location.

The view outside is of the first floor, in the kitchen. There are footsteps in the living room; I don't know if they are friend or foe. The teams I've joined aren't together, but they shouldn't be far.

Because if you scan the fifty small split screens in the live stream, the scenery outside is the same, but the floors are different.

Fang Ming looked down at the weapon in his hand: a submachine gun.

Without loading his gun, and unsure whether the footsteps outside were friend or foe, loading would give away his position, Fang Ming didn't load it immediately. Instead, he quietly made his way to the living room.

One step, two steps, until I reached the kitchen door.

I peeked out.

In an instant, a head wearing a steel helmet also peeked out from the side.

Fang Ming looked at the steel helmet on the opposite soldier's head, while the soldier opposite him looked at the red star on Fang Ming's hat. Fang Ming quickly raised his gun, and the soldier opposite him was startled and instinctively dodged.

But all they heard was the 'click-click' sound of the gun being cocked.

The gun wasn't loaded?

The Imperial soldier reacted suddenly and stopped, but it was too late.

Rat-a-tat-tat—!!!
Fang Ming's submachine gun bullets instantly struck the Imperial soldier, killing him instantly.

And just as the gunshot rang out...

Chaotic gunfire erupted from various locations upstairs, and one-fifth of the fifty small screens in the lower right corner of the live stream went black instantly, sending chills down Fang Ming's spine.

Damn? !
How many Imperial soldiers are in this building?!

The thought just crossed my mind.

The wheel is the wheel!

A grenade rolled out from behind the stairs and landed at Fang Ming's feet.

"rough?!!!"

Fang Ming's pupils contracted sharply, he gasped, and turned to rush into the kitchen.

boom--! ! !
(End of this chapter)