The Last Commander of the Red Alert

"I have it."

Su Chen's casual response left the man stunned.

The beautiful woman glanced at Su Chen. After all, encountering a player with the qualifications to enter the game zone on the main street was rare.

To the others, Su Chen looked just like an ordinary young man. If he were to appear here in his true form, the entire street would probably go chaotic.

"Care for a match? As someone ranked within the top ten thousand players, I'll show you what real strength is!"

Having failed to show off in front of the beautiful woman, he couldn't believe he wouldn't be able to impress in front of a newbie!

"No problem."

Su Chen's prompt agreement surprised the man. Had he not heard him? He was a god-tier player within the top ten thousand!

He couldn't believe that Su Chen might be another player ranked above him.

"Fine, let's head to the internet cafe."

The internet cafes of today were quite different from the past. While nominally cafes, they had been remodeled into individual small rooms, specifically to provide a safe space for those without a place to access Red Alert World.

"Uh, I don't need an internet cafe," Su Chen said.

The man's face changed slightly, "Are you a Fifth Order Transcendent?"

Everyone knew that only Transcendents of the Fifth Order and above didn't need a secure location to access the game. They could multitask, playing the game while going about their business.

"Something like that."

Even knowing Su Chen's status, the man still felt confident. In-game strength mattered more than real-world prowess.

The man walked straight into the internet cafe and logged into the game. Su Chen also logged in. To Su Chen's surprise, the woman who had been approached earlier also logged in, her strength exceeding the Fifth Order.

Soon after, a notification for a one-on-one battle appeared in front of Su Chen.

Naturally, Su Chen accepted, and he and the man were transported to a location where they could choose a map from "Camps or Factions" and the mode of battle.

In-game, Su Chen appeared just as he did outside, under the alias "Star Dust."

"As a top player, I won't be accused of bullying you. Choose: Commander mode or solo combat mode?"

The former was the standard game mode where both sides acted as Commanders, constructing a base with the ultimate objective of destroying the opponent's base.

The latter transformed them into a single unit from "Camps or Factions," navigating a complex battlefield to eliminate the opponent. This mode was significantly more challenging.

If the Commander mode aimed to nurture outstanding Commanders, the solo combat mode aimed to train exceptional warriors.

"Commander mode," Su Chen replied calmly, his specialty.

"Heh, you're asking for trouble. For Camps or Factions, I choose Yuri," the man sneered.

"Camps or Factions choice: ZG."

Upon seeing Su Chen's choice, the man nearly laughed out loud. Based on what he knew, there were significant differences between Camps or Factions.

They were divided into major and minor factions. The major ones were comprehensive and more powerful, while the minor ones were less so.

"Map choice: Su City!"

In the game, the map references many real-world locations. Essentially, it's a one-to-one scale reproduction. In addition to maps of Earth, there are maps of many other planets, though none are currently available.

The next moment, Su Chen found himself standing beside a massive Mobile Construction Vehicle (MCV). Not far from him were eight spirited ZGSoldiers and two War God Tanks.

While it sounded impressive, in reality, the tank was just a basic model.

"This starting location is quite good. Let's set up our base here." Su Chen surveyed his surroundings. He was in a corner of Su City, giving him a strategic advantage.

One must understand that in the Red AlertWorld, the map has boundaries. No unit can cross these limits. Therefore, choosing a spot near the border to build a base is the optimal choice.

Su Chen was very familiar with Su City. At a glance, he knew he was near the boundary and promptly began to deploy the MCV.

Deploying the MCV required no manual input – a simple verbal command would do. The MCV came equipped with basic artificial intelligence.

After deploying the MCV, the next logical step was to build structures like the power plant and, most importantly, the ore refinery to gather minerals.

"Go check over there for any exposed ores," Su Chen ordered one of the soldiers, also lighting up a portion of the map. Only in the Command Room could one see the entire map layout.

Most of the map was shrouded in darkness, with only the location of their base being illuminated.

Building structures took time, and here he didn't have a system to expedite the construction process. After a while, he managed to construct some essential buildings, and the mining vehicle began its steady search for ores.

Typically, the early game focused on development. Few would attack at this stage.

However, the opponent Su Chen faced this time seemed keen on teaching him a lesson. Shockingly, right from the start, he abandoned his MCV and sent his eight Yuri Recruits and two Hurricane Tanks scouring the map for Su Chen's base.

It was a rogue tactic some players favored: striking unexpectedly. This approach often had a high success rate, leading to swift game conclusions: it was either kill or be killed.

However, this method was highly unpredictable. If you didn't know the enemy's location, more often than not, you'd end up losing. By the time you found the enemy, they might have already amassed an army of tanks. How could one compete with that?

Unlike the original game, in this World, the map was vast. For a single soldier to make a full round, it would take hours.

The reason this man dared to take such a gamble was his familiarity with the map. He had battled many opponents on this terrain and had studied their drop locations. After analyzing, he realized that drop points were generally in certain areas, providing a rough range.

He just needed to search within these probable drop zones, and he was sure to locate his opponent.

"Hehe, I bet that guy is still leisurely building his base. To protect his mining vehicle, he'd need to send at least one or two soldiers as escorts. Add one to light up the map, and that's one less soldier. With such a disparity in strength, I'd love to see how you fare!"

Just then, both the man and Su Chen heard a female voice: "Player Phoenix Dance requests to spectate. Do you agree?"

Hearing this, the man was elated and immediately agreed.

Su Chen, indifferent, also accepted.

The next moment, the figure of Phoenix Dance appeared mid-air, observing the situation below from a god-like perspective. (To be continued...)

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