Chapter 90

Bang! Bang! Bang! At close range, the scavenger pulled the trigger three times in quick succession, instantly killing the mutant. Before the other mutants could react, the scavenger stepped on the gas, and the pickup truck charged forward.

Crash! The scavenger rammed through the barrier, but there were two more rows of spikes ahead. The scavenger's face turned serious as he began to transform the pickup into a mech. As the rear wheels of the mech turned into the legs of a werewolf mech, and the truck bed was about to transform as well,

the scavenger used the jump skill and immediately stopped the transformation. The two legs of the werewolf mech jumped out. The truck's hood, already raised due to the transformation, was still in mid-air, allowing the pickup to leap over the spikes. While in the air, the legs of the werewolf mech transformed back into the rear wheels of the truck.

Crash! The pickup landed, the entire body shaking, and then it sped forward.

Rattle, rumble... As the scavenger drove the pickup to escape, Kanto and Leigong, who had been knocked off by the jump and the landing, began their counterattack.

The mutants, seeing their companion killed and the pickup transforming into a half-truck, half-mech and leaping over the spikes, were stunned as if they were watching a sci-fi movie. Leigong and Kanto's attack eliminated six or seven people on both sides.

"Counterattack, counterattack..." The stunned road bandits reacted, rolling to the side to avoid the attack while shouting. A few mech warriors quickly jumped into their mechs and pursued the fleeing pickup.

After the mechs crossed the spikes, they transformed back into pickups. The players who had been lying on the ground to avoid the attack got into the vehicles. The mutants stood in the back of the pickups, while gunners mounted machine guns in the front, and engineers released their mechanical puppets, all red-eyed and shouting as they chased after.

"Be careful." By the time the road bandits organized their pursuit, the scavenger had already driven a distance. However, instead of accelerating, he stopped and let Leigong and Kanto off.

"Just go with peace of mind, but I doubt you'll be able to use this road again." Leigong smiled. The reason he said it wouldn't be usable wasn't because he was afraid of being blocked, but because he would have to use grenades and landmines during the ambush. If these exploded on the road, it would be riddled with craters, and unless it was repaired, the road would be unusable.

"Try to control it and don't destroy the road too much, or other players will curse." The scavenger understood what Leigong meant and gave him a reminder.

After all, there were still over a dozen vehicles following the scavenger, and more were coming from the front. Although these vehicles were mechs, many were carrying cargo like the scavenger's. If Leigong destroyed the road too much, the players behind would curse the scavenger for helping them deal with the road bandits.

"I'll be careful." Leigong nodded, knowing he couldn't make the road too bad, or no one would be able to use it, and the players would definitely curse.

After dropping off the two, the scavenger continued driving. He didn't require Leigong and Kanto to eliminate all the pursuers, just to slow them down so they couldn't catch up. Since they were just ordinary players, though in larger numbers, Leigong and Kanto could handle them without worry.

"Do you think the city will ignore this?" The scavenger asked while driving. Clearly, he was referring to the players charging tolls on the road.

"How can they ignore it? Hope City is expanding, and the safety base is under construction everywhere. With more and more players driving in the safety base, the traffic police are already overwhelmed with managing the base's traffic. How can they possibly come out here to manage this? Even if someone reports it and the police come to investigate, as long as there's someone at the city gate to warn them, the road bandits will scatter, and there will be no one to find."

"Although it's a game where PK is allowed, if ordinary players are bullied too much, they will be very resentful. In the long run, no one will want to play. After all, even though the game is free, people play for enjoyment, not to be frustrated."

The scavenger really liked the game "Fate" because the survival environment suited him. However, not everyone likes adventure. Some players just want to quietly kill monsters and enjoy the game, while others like to do business in the game, such as the many restaurants that have opened in the safety base to solve players' hunger. These people are the foundation of the game. If they are bullied and stop playing, the game will be over.

"There will definitely be restrictions in the future. The safety base is currently hiring, probably to prepare for the expansion. As players participate in the city's construction and management, everything will gradually become more organized."

"How much do you think they make from one toll booth per day?" The scavenger asked out of curiosity. He had seen the job postings for the safety base, which offered 3000 points (30 yuan) per day, which seemed low, but remember that one day in the real world is two days in the game.

In the game, 3000 points for 8 hours of work is equivalent to 4 hours in the real world. Bored players can sign up for this stable job, working 4 hours a day without danger, enjoying the game while earning money. Many players have responded to this.

After work, they can continue to play and kill monsters, making this job quite attractive, especially for those who have no job in the real world. Working 4 hours to earn 30 yuan covers their daily food expenses, reducing social security pressure and providing welfare, a win-win situation.

"Although this is not a main road, with 3 million players in the safety base, at least 50,000 players use this road daily. If each player pays 50 points, that's 2.5 million points, or 25,000 yuan. That's a significant income."

"Really that much?" The scavenger was surprised. 50 points is just 50 cents, which people might hesitate to pick up from the ground. But accumulating 25,000 yuan a day is a lot of money.

"50 cents per person is little, but the numbers add up. You'll see, families and groups will set up toll booths to take advantage of this. It will be a busy time."

"Twenty players standing by the road can earn 25,000 yuan a day. With 3 million players in the safety base, that's 150 million yuan. This is a huge amount. I bet it will attract a lot of attention. I think there will be conflicts between the toll collectors and ordinary players, and the power dynamics in the safety base will change. With 150 million yuan a day, I'd want to set up a toll booth too if I had a group."

Recently, the scavenger has been trying to earn points in the game to exchange for money to pay for Leigong's and his daughter Duo's medical expenses and to support his life after refusing state assistance. After deducting the expenses and investments in the game, the scavenger and Leigong could exchange about 200,000 points (2,000 yuan) a day.

This is already a lot. Leigong earns about 3,000 yuan a month as a vendor, while the scavenger now earns over 30,000 yuan a month, which is a decent income in the real world. However, compared to 150 million yuan, it's insignificant. The scavenger was surprised by how profitable the game is.

"Do you think with so many points being earned daily, if players exchange them for real money, the game will collapse in a few days?"

"Ha, that's your concern. You only see the free aspect of the game. You don't see how it makes money. For example, by reducing social security pressure and saving welfare costs by bringing in idle people. Or the advertising revenue from the safety base's expansion. With 3 million players in the safety base, the total number of players in 'Fate' is astronomical. What a huge advertising market!

I don't know about other places, but I saw some data from the system. Do you know how much the advertisement on the main screen in the central square of the safety base was auctioned for?

15 million yuan, 15 million yuan for one year in the game, which is six months in the real world. That's just for a 30-second ad. How many such ads can be played in a day? Even the lowest price is in the millions.

How many places in the city can be used for advertising? It's a gold mine, an endless gold mine. Making money from players' points is nothing compared to this. So don't think 'Fate' is noble. It's all about making money, not doing charity."

"Are the companies that invest in advertising not afraid of losing money?" A 30-second ad costs 15 million yuan for six months, leaving the scavenger speechless. Thinking about his own struggle to earn money for surgery, he felt the world was unfair. However, instead of complaining, he planted a seed of ambition in his heart, though he didn't realize it at the time.

"Money comes from the players. If they invest, they will make money. With 3 million players, their average annual spending in the real world is at least 10,000 yuan. That's a minimum. In big cities, 10,000 yuan a month is not enough, let alone a year. So, 3 million people spending 10,000 yuan a year is 30 billion yuan. If a small nudge in the game leads to real-world spending, that's billions in revenue. They only spend 30 million yuan on ads a year. Who makes the most money? So, players killing monsters and earning points is small change. The real money is unimaginable."