Chapter 50 – Disparity Between Camps

Like Xiao Wuwang, nine others were also making their choices.

Among these nine, eight chose the Terminator Camp without hesitation.

Thus, including Xiao Wuwang, the number of players in the Human Camp was only two!

The disparity in numbers was evident.

The train stopped in the wilderness.

Suddenly, a beam of light enveloped Xiao Wuwang, followed by a wave of dizziness. He felt the scene shift, and he found himself on a dimly lit street.

The Confrontation Platform didn’t require the train to pull into the station; instead, it teleported players directly.

This was Los Angeles in 1984.

The plot of Terminator 1 was simple: it told the story of a future world ruled by machines, where the human Connor became the key to overthrowing the machines’ rule. The Terminator T-800 and the human soldier Kyle Reese both traveled back from the future to 1984. Centered around slaying or rescuing Sarah Connor, the two sides engaged in a life-and-death chase across Los Angeles.

As soon as the teleportation ended, Xiao Wuwang received a system message.

[Ding!]

[The Camp Confrontation Mission has officially begun.]

[Number of players in the Terminator Camp: 8.]

[Number of players in the Human Camp: 2.]

[Sarah Connor’s current coordinates: .. Please proceed to the destination as soon as possible to protect the key person.]

As he had anticipated, the Terminator Camp clearly held an overwhelming advantage in numbers.

Of course, players in the same camp weren’t necessarily trustworthy.

Given the Terminator Camp’s significant advantage, those who still chose the Human Camp were either aiming for enemy player kills or, like him, targeting the Terminator.

Regardless of their choice, such players undoubtedly had immense confidence in their own abilities, and such individuals tended to be rather “solitary.”

It couldn’t be ruled out that the other player might worry about him stealing their spoils and try to eliminate him first!

However, Xiao Wuwang was unafraid, because he harbored the same thought!

Xiao Wuwang immediately opened the virtual map. His current location was a full five or six kilometers from the destination!

Looking more closely, the target was located in a hotel called “Dickie’s Motel.”

It suddenly occurred to him: Could this be the later part of the movie, where Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor, after a period of fleeing together, had developed mutual affection and were already in that intimate phase?

If it truly was this stage, and considering the current time in the scene—it was already evening—the T-800 would arrive in another hour or two.

And this hour or two was the preparation time given to the Human Camp players.

By then, enemy players would most likely be accompanying the Terminator T-800.

With human players intervening, the protagonists wouldn’t be as lucky as in the movie, escaping danger every time, and the T-800 wouldn’t be so easily destroyed.

After memorizing the route, Xiao Wuwang closed the panel and quickly headed to a nearby shopping mall. There, he found a blonde wig, a pair of sunglasses, and a set of locally popular clothing.

After a round of disguise, he confirmed he looked no different from the locals before leaving the mall.

As for being stopped on his way out and asked to pay, he responded in a very American fashion by pulling out a handgun.

After that, no one tried to stop him again.

Just as he stepped out of the mall, another car happened to park in the adjacent open-air parking lot. Xiao Wuwang thought to himself that his luck was holding up.

He quickly walked up, waiting until a middle-aged man with a large belly stepped out from the driver’s seat, then directly approached and pointed the gun at him.

The man immediately raised his hands in a conditioned reflex.

Xiao Wuwang didn’t bother with pleasantries, grabbing the car keys from his hand and saying, “Take out all the money you have!”

After entering the Platform, the system automatically handled translation, so no matter which world he entered, there was no language barrier.

The middle-aged man was terrified by the sudden turn of events, his face pale as he tremblingly pulled out a stack of bills from his pocket and handed them over fearfully. “Buddy, that’s all I have, take it. Please don’t hurt me.”

Xiao Wuwang took the money, glanced at it—the amount was decent—and pocketed it. Then he added, “I’m commandeering the car. You’d better not call the police, or you’ll regret it when I come back.”

With that, Xiao Wuwang waved the gun in his hand. “Get lost!”

The middle-aged man scrambled away as if granted a pardon.

Watching his pathetic retreat, Xiao Wuwang’s lips curled slightly. He quickly got into the car, triggered the engine, and sped off toward the Dicky Inn.

——————

Dicky Inn.

Xiao Wuwang parked the car and approached the front desk.

A middle-aged woman was at the counter. Seeing someone approach, she looked up and asked, “Are you checking in?”

Xiao Wuwang glanced around, noticing nothing suspicious, then slapped a stack of bills onto the counter.

The woman’s eyes were instantly glued to the money, her expression shifting from indifference to enthusiasm, a wide grin spreading across her face. “Sir, we have three tiers of rooms here. I’m sure only the most luxurious suite would suit someone of your stature.”

Xiao Wuwang didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he leaned closer and whispered, “Did a young man and woman check in here yesterday? The woman’s name is Sarah Connor.”

The woman fell silent for a moment, lowering her voice. “Sir, may I ask why you’re inquiring? We value our guests’ privacy here.”

Xiao Wuwang had no patience for her evasiveness. He pulled out a handgun, its dark muzzle aimed at her. “Answer my question. Get it right, the money is yours. Get it wrong, the bullet is yours!”

The woman’s face instantly paled. She stared in terror at the gun in Xiao Wuwang’s hand, stammering, “Only one young couple checked in yesterday, but they didn’t give their names. I don’t know if they’re the ones you’re looking for.”

Xiao Wuwang asked, “Which room?”

The woman replied, “The room at the very end of the second floor.”

Xiao Wuwang holstered the gun and headed straight for the second floor.

Bang!

Xiao Wuwang kicked the door open.

Before the two inside could react, he pointed his gun at them as they worked on explosives. “Don’t move. I mean no harm. I was also sent by John Connor to protect Sarah Connor.”

Kyle looked at him suspiciously. “Then why haven’t I seen you before?”

Xiao Wuwang said, “You don’t know me, but I know you, Kyle Reese. Orphaned after Judgment Day, rescued and later joining the Human Resistance, eventually becoming one of John Connor’s most trusted soldiers. Your mission here is to return and protect Sarah Connor. If I’m not mistaken, you two must have mated last night, and John Connor is likely already growing inside her womb. Soon, another group will join the hunt for Sarah Connor. They aren’t like the T-800—machines that only know brute force. They are not only powerful but also skilled in strategy and coordination. You’re about to face even greater danger. Just now, Sarah gave her ‘mother’ the phone number of your motel, but the one who answered wasn’t Sarah’s mother—it was the T-800. Her parents are already dead, and once the T-800 gets the motel address, it’ll find this place quickly. We’re no longer safe here; we need to move now. And hiding and running won’t work forever. Before they find us, we should find a place to set up traps and take them all out!”

Xiao Wuwang laid out the general situation in one breath.

He deliberately kept his own identity vague, hoping to make it easier for the two to accept.