Chapter 344: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

With Nebula Games announcing the news, overseas players didn't feel much, only a flicker of surprise.

After all, game delays are common.

But a reverse delay, launching a game ahead of schedule, that's a rare sight.

Nevertheless, surprise gave way to delight.

Being able to play 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3' almost a week early was enough to make these players cheer with joy.

They certainly didn't want to experience the agony of waiting ten whole days again.

However, domestic players were well aware of the ins and outs between Nebula Games and the domestic Channel Alliance.

Furthermore, the domestic distribution of 'Storm Action' was also handled by the Channel Alliance.

Nebula Games' move was truly a psychological blow!

But players were also somewhat gleeful about it.

'Haha, I'm dying of laughter. The Channel Alliance thought they could give Nebula Games a warning shot, but it was all bark and no bite!'

'Bro upstairs, watch your words! It wasn't all bark and no bite, it was all thunder and no rain!'

'Honestly, without Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Storm Action might indeed have sold well, but the conflict in genre and theme is too severe.'

'Yeah! Aside from a few players who bought Zeus, I don't think any suckers would go buy Storm Action, right?'

Even Howard Warsaw at Atrai was in despair.

Who knew Nebula Games would suddenly appear out of nowhere?

As for this reverse delay strategy, Howard Warsaw was initially a bit angry.

But after understanding the core of the situation, Howard Warsaw only felt wronged.

Who did he provoke?

He was directly mocked.

The players were all smiles, but Chen Xu at Nebula Games was speechless.

Targeting the Channel Alliance?

Although, from a practical effect, this reverse delay move did give them a stern warning.

But this was completely outside Chen Xu's plan.

Why the reverse delay?

The answer was simple.

The game was already finished, with only the multiplayer content left to test.

And there was another crucial point: due to the deaths of Roach and Ghost, the players were indeed a little agitated.

Just as Captain Price said in the game, when a fire starts to burn, the best way is to ignite another massive explosion right beside it.

And 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3' launching ahead of schedule was clearly a massive explosion of news.

As for whether players would continue to riot over the content of the third installment after its launch?

That would be addressed when the time came.

………………

Zhang Yi continued to experience the storyline of 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3'.

This time, the player again took on a new role: Yuri. Zhang Yi wasn't too surprised by this, having experienced it in the second installment.

The game's level design and gameplay were still excellent, but what caught Zhang Yi's attention more now was the game's plot.

The story picked up right after the second installment, with the timeline not skipping several years as it did after the first. In the beginning of the third installment, Nikolai and Captain Price brought the severely wounded Soap to Himachal Pradesh in northern India for emergency treatment, successfully saving his life.

This was a sanctuary for a Russian army unit still resisting domestic rebel forces.

But Makarov had clearly been tracking Price and his team's movements. Seeing Shepherd, who had overshadowed him, perish, he immediately emerged from hiding.

He sent pursuers to wipe out Price and his depleted forces, even resorting to indiscriminate attacks on India, which was not involved in any faction, just to eliminate his greatest threat.

However, under the cover of Yuri and others, Price's group successfully escaped danger, once again going underground to seek an opportunity to strike back.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the tide of the war had begun to turn.

A Delta Force special operations team, designated Metal 0-1, successfully destroyed Russian radar jamming equipment on top of the Wall Street stock exchange, then hijacked an Oscar II-class submarine docked in New York Bay, forcing the enemy to withdraw from the East Coast.

At this point, anti-war factions within Russia also felt things couldn't continue. The Russian president planned to negotiate with the United States to end the war, which was sparked by a conspiracy. To show goodwill, he decided to personally travel to the U.S. homeland, even bringing his daughter.

However, this action was immediately thwarted by Makarov. Makarov personally led his subordinates to raid the president's plane, kidnapping his daughter to force him to hand over nuclear launch codes and authorization.

At the same time, Makarov was secretly transporting a shipment of goods to Europe. These goods were all nerve gas. Realizing that frontal warfare offered no chance of victory, the deranged Makarov resorted to extreme measures, launching gas attacks on major NATO cities.

Although various national forces, such as the SAS in London, made efforts, they couldn't prevent Makarov from dropping gas bombs on city centers. Not only London, but also India, Thames, Hamburg, and other European countries suffered biological attacks.

In an instant, all of Europe was engulfed in war.

On the other side, through a transporter who had provided Makarov with arms, Price and his team received intelligence that Makarov was expected to appear in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic.

Between these points, the levels remained incredibly thrilling.

Especially the mission called 'Iron Lady,' where the Eiffel Tower collapsed into the Seine River—that scene left Zhang Yi utterly shocked.

But besides the usual shock, war also came with sacrifice.

Kamarov, the Russian soldier who came to the rescue at the last moment in the first installment, sacrificed himself in a subsequent mission.

Here, Price and Soap had originally planned for Kamarov to infiltrate Makarov's hideout, then Price would launch an external assault, working with Kamarov from the inside out to draw out Makarov, allowing Yuri and Soap, from a distance, to snipe Makarov.

But after Kamarov infiltrated Makarov's hideout, he went silent for a long time. Price risked his life to enter the hideout, only to find Kamarov had been captured, tied to an electric chair, and showed no signs of life.

Kamarov was also strapped with explosives.

'Captain Price, hell awaits you!'

'Yuri, my friend, you shouldn't be here.'

Makarov had seen through Price's plan and had already placed bombs. The moment the words fell, the bombs detonated.

However, hearing Makarov's words, Soap also began to suspect Yuri's identity, but at that moment, an explosion echoed in the room.

With no time to hesitate, Soap instinctively pushed Yuri out the window first, then jumped out himself.

"Yuri knows Makarov! Am I a traitor!?" At this moment, Zhang Yi himself was a little bewildered.

But the next moment, enemy artillery fire interrupted his thoughts.

More critically, Soap was covered in blood. The explosion combined with injuries from falling from the building, and the re-opening of the wound from Shepherd's previous stab, meant Soap couldn't even move.

"No way! Could it be..." Carrying Soap, feeling his increasingly faint breaths, an ominous guess formed in Zhang Yi's mind.

From Zakhaev to Operation Kingfish, and then to Shepherd.

Soap had survived so many life-or-death crises along the way.

He had to make it through this time too!

This time, Soap should be able to pull through, right?

"Price... Yuri." Soap, lying on a table in a safe location, tried to say something to Price but was interrupted.

"No... Soap... don't talk, just rest!" Price anxiously tried to calm Soap. Price had always seemed so composed.

Facing dire straits against Zakhaev, or being rescued from the Gulag, he had only ever shown calm.

Only after learning of Ghost and Roach's deaths did Price momentarily show anger.

But now, for the first time, Price's face revealed panic.

He shouted, "Get a doctor! Come on, you're not dying, kid."

Struggling on the table, Soap shook his head: "No... you need to know... Makarov, he... knows... Yuri."

Using his last ounce of strength, Soap uttered this information, then closed his eyes forever.

"No! Soap, damn it! Open your eyes!" Watching the lifeless Soap, Price's emotions completely spiraled out of control.

The nearby resistance leader reminded Price that they needed to leave because the enemy was coming, but Price roughly pushed him away.

Price opened his mouth, his gaze returning to the deceased Soap. He pulled out the M1911 from his pocket and gently placed it on Soap's chest.

"I'm sorry..."

That apology, it was unclear if it was for not taking care of Soap, or for the resistance leader he had pushed away.

Then Price took Soap's diary, carefully putting it into his懷. On the battlefield, it was the only proof of Soap he could keep.

In the basement, Price pointed his gun at Yuri's head.

He asked the crucial question: why Makarov knew Yuri.

Facing Price, Yuri confessed his past.

He had indeed worked with Makarov under Zakhaev. After Zakhaev's downfall, he became Makarov's capable assistant.

But he wasn't as insane as his colleagues, and as Makarov's methods grew increasingly extreme and brutal, Yuri's buried conscience was awakened.

He risked his life to leak information about Makarov's planned attack on the Russian airport to the United States, which, however, brought him into mortal danger, as this had been a conspiracy jointly planned by Shepherd and Makarov.

After narrowly escaping, Yuri officially left the organization. Now, he only wished to atone for his past sins, which was why he joined Price and Soap.

Price reluctantly accepted Yuri's explanation, agreeing to continue their cooperation. After all, Yuri had indeed helped him and Soap before, and he still carried the stigma of an internationally wanted criminal, with no comrades left to support him.

Now that Soap had sacrificed himself, at a loss, Price risked exposure and contacted MacMillan, now the SAS Commander-in-Chief. MacMillan, trusting Price's character and their past camaraderie, extended a helping hand, providing intelligence and equipment to help them successfully infiltrate Makarov's base near Prague.

Unexpectedly, though they didn't find Makarov, they learned that the Russian president and his daughter were imprisoned in Germany. So, after their withdrawal, they immediately had Nikolai relay the intelligence to various countries, and elite teams were dispatched for the rescue.

Unfortunately, the rescue team was a step too late; upon arriving at the scene, they could only watch as the two hostages were taken onto a helicopter. Although the rescue failed, the allied forces tracked the hostages to a giant diamond mine in Siberia.

Price, a globally wanted man, Yuri, burdened by sin, the Metal 0-1 Delta Force squad, and Russian anti-war factions united for the rescue.

In this operation, Sandman, Tucker, and all of the Metal squad sacrificed themselves, with only Frost surviving.

This operation not only ended the war but also cleared Price's name. However, as nations busied themselves with cleaning up the aftermath and healing the scarred world, Price knew that as long as Makarov, the true culprit, was alive, his own war would never end.

Price watched the news report of the war's end on TV, while organizing all the mission data.

To him, nothing else mattered. Makarov was about to face his richly deserved reckoning.

Before departing, Price looked at the intelligence and made a call.

"Who is this?"

"Prisoner 627, Makarov. I'm coming for you," Price continued to organize his files.

"Didn't they tell you? The war is over!"

"My war ends with you!" Hanging up the phone, Price looked at the Task Force 141 group photo on the wall.

Soap, Ghost, Roach, Sandman...

He just stood there, silently watching, then turned and picked up the pistol from the table, walking out the door.

Zhang Yi, in the game, took a deep breath. Makarov had to die!

He knew that at this point, the entire story was reaching its conclusion.

But that wasn't important. What was important was that he had been through so much in this Modern Warfare trilogy.

SAS, Task Force 141, Ranger Regiment, Metal squad...

Comrades by his side had also sacrificed themselves in mission after mission.

Griggs, Gaz, Paul Jackson, Roach, Ghost, Soap...

Each one a comrade who had fought alongside Captain Price and the player.

All had died in successive operations.

And everything, including the target of this final operation, Makarov, was inextricably linked.

Just as Captain Price said: My war, Makarov, ends with you.

And Zhang Yi's game objective was also very simple: eliminate... Makarov!

Boarding the armed helicopter prepared by Nikolai, Price and Yuri, who equally hated Makarov, arrived at Makarov's Arab hotel.

Despite the enemy having already prepared, with UAVs, armored Jeeps, and countless guards standing by, Price and his team still easily gained the upper hand – after all, Makarov was now exhausted from trying to protect himself, having long lost the drive of his insane ambition.

Nikolai easily hacked into the hotel's surveillance system.

Price and Yuri, clad in heavy bulletproof vests, charged into the hotel like fearless gods of war.

This sequence gave Zhang Yi and all players a feeling of exhilaration and urgency.

Wearing heavy armor, frantically shooting everything in sight, unleashing the fury within them.

Watching the countdown as Makarov was about to escape, Zhang Yi and countless players who reached this point wished they had wings to fly directly to him.

Clearing all enemies in their path, but just as they were about to reach the top floor of the hotel,

Yuri suddenly shouted a warning: "RPG!"

An armed helicopter outside the window fired a rocket at Price and Yuri's position. Amidst burning flames, more than half of that floor's hotel attic collapsed.

But the armed helicopter dared not fire again.

Because Makarov on the top floor hadn't boarded his helicopter yet.

In the nick of time, Price grabbed a cable, preventing himself from falling off the high-rise.

Yuri, however, wasn't so lucky; a steel bar pierced directly through his chest.

"Don't mind me! Don't let Makarov escape!" Yuri looked at Price, enduring the intense pain, and said.

There was no time to hesitate. With Nikolai's reminder in his earpiece, Price immediately ran towards the top floor of the hotel.

What followed was Price fully demonstrating what it meant to be a god of war.

With a heroic leap, he jumped onto the helicopter that was about to take off, then used his dagger to directly kill the helicopter pilot.

The helicopter, now out of control, crashed.

The entire hotel rooftop was reduced to ruins, but miraculously, neither Price nor Makarov were dead, only severely wounded.

Both men staggered towards the pistol that had fallen in the center.

But Price, more severely injured, couldn't reach the pistol first.

Makarov picked up the pistol from the ground.

'Goodbye... Price.'

Makarov aimed the pistol at Price's head.

In the first-person view, Zhang Yi could clearly see the dark gun barrel.

At the same time, Zhang Yi felt his entire body tense up.

No way?

Is Captain Price going to die too?!?

Or is it going to be some kind of mutual destruction ending?

The moment this thought appeared, a gunshot rang out the next second.

But it wasn't Makarov who fired.

A spray of blood erupted from Makarov's shoulder.

Unbeknownst to Price, the severely wounded Yuri had made his way to the top floor and shot Makarov, wounding him.

But that had exhausted all of Yuri's strength, and his subsequent shots missed.

As soon as he was hit, Makarov turned and fired at Yuri.

The bullet pierced Yuri's chest, and another teammate, besides Price, was sacrificed.

Seizing this opportunity that Yuri bought with his life, Price used all his strength to tackle Makarov to the ground.

Punch after punch landed on Makarov's head.

Here, Zhang Yi frantically pressed the buttons, watching the relentless punching turn the screen blood red.

Then, in a QTE sequence, Price in the game wrapped a steel cable around Makarov's neck.

He violently slammed Makarov against the tempered glass on the hotel rooftop.

'CRACK!'

As the glass shattered, Price and Makarov plunged together from the rooftop.

Makarov's body, hanging by the cable, still swayed above.

Price merely struggled to sit up on the ground, leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.

Looking up at Makarov's corpse in the sky, images of Soap, Roach, Ghost, and Yuri appeared in Price's mind.

Then he leaned against the crumbling wall, fumbling in his pocket for a long time, pulling out a lighter and a cigar.

He flicked the lighter three times, put the lit cigar in his mouth, and slowly exhaled smoke.

Just as he did during the cargo ship mission, his first mission with Soap.

Except now, Task Force 141 consisted only of Price.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

It began with a cigar, and it ended with a cigar.

In the white cigar smoke, the game's BGM began to play.

The credits slowly rolled.

And the story of Modern Warfare concluded.

(End of Chapter) <>