Chapter 16

It was late at night.

Chu Guang slept very restlessly, waking up several times. Only by touching the gun hidden in his sleeping bag could he fall back asleep intermittently.

The shelter was too comfortable, and there was no need to worry about any danger. As a result, he found it hard to adapt to this unstable environment all of a sudden.

"I've become complacent."

Chu Guang sighed, and his hand unconsciously touched the gun hidden under the blanket. The thick and long barrel gave him a sense of security.

He wondered how the players were doing.

Although he had instructed Xiao Qi on what to do in his absence, he still couldn't put his mind at ease.

When he woke up at five in the morning, Chu Guang couldn't fall back asleep. So he just lay there with his eyes open, waiting quietly.

When the sky outside the window began to brighten, he got out of his sleeping bag, put on his clothes, and picked up the steel pipe and the newly bought gun.

This trip out would likely take a long time before he could return.

The mayor's urging to collect the fees forced him to move up his relocation plan, and all the preparations had to be completed by the end of the month.

If he couldn't stockpile enough supplies for a hundred people, he would have to wait until February or March next year to conduct the next round of tests.

The entire winter would be wasted.

He pushed open the door.

Chu Guang, who had packed his gear, was about to set off when he happened to meet the men from the Wang family.

Wang Defu, who had caused trouble at his door yesterday, glanced at him without saying a word, but his eyes were somewhat provocative.

Perhaps because his father and older brothers were nearby, and he was carrying hunting equipment, his courage was clearly greater than yesterday, as if he was showing off.

Chu Guang, of course, wouldn't stoop to the level of a brat.

A sixteen-year-old boy was already considered a capable man in Bet Street, but in his eyes, Wang Defu was just a kid who hadn't even grown his facial hair.

"Hey, don't die."

Chu Guang ignored him, not even glancing at him.

Wang Defu was furious, his face turning red with clenched teeth. The outsider's disregard made him feel humiliated.

Just as he was about to make an irrational move, his older brother suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.

Although still somewhat resentful, Wang Defu quickly calmed down.

It was clear that the boy listened to his brother.

Chu Guang glanced at the eldest son of the Wang family, who was a strong and powerful man, and who was also looking at him.

From that man, Chu Guang sensed a faint hint of danger, but it wasn't obvious.

Interestingly, while observing him, the man's face clearly showed a hint of surprise, though it was well hidden.

The hunter's intuition—

This guy is not easy to deal with!

After a brief moment of eye contact, both quickly looked away.

There was no need to invite unnecessary trouble.

The Wang family men walked away.

Chu Guang was also about to set off.

At that moment, a clear voice came from behind him.

"Be careful on the road."

Chu Guang stopped and turned around to see Xiao Yu peeking at him from behind the door.

He smiled and said lightly,

"Sure, thanks."

"No problem."

In a blink, the little girl had slipped back into the house and disappeared.

...

It was about six in the morning, and the sky was almost fully bright.

The gate of Bet Street slowly opened, and the survivors, carrying baskets, bows, short knives, crossbows, and other equipment, stepped on the cracked concrete and weeds sprouting from the cracks, heading in groups towards the desolate ruins.

However, after two hundred years, it wasn't easy to find good things in the wasteland. Even finding a shell left by mercenaries or raiders was considered a treasure.

Chu Guang didn't leave the settlement immediately but lingered at the gate for a while. When everyone had gone far, he went to Old Charlie's recycling station.

"I need 7 kilograms of green wheat. Here are 21 points. And I need tobacco leaves for curing meat... how much can I get for 4 points?" Chu Guang asked, as he had never bought them before.

"One point for two ounces."

"Then give me four ounces!"

Food was the key to development.

Only by preparing more food could he recruit more players to work for him.

The survivors couldn't drink porridge made from green wheat every day, even if they could endure it, he couldn't.

Now that he had a gun, hunting would be much easier.

Chu Guang planned to buy some tobacco leaves to cure the excess meat and store it for the winter.

Old Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"I remember you bought 5 kilograms of green wheat a few days ago."

"Is there a problem?" Chu Guang replied casually.

Old Charlie grinned.

"Nothing, it's good to save some money."

Chu Guang, who was planning for the future, suddenly became alert.

The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was intentional.

He suddenly realized a problem.

He hadn't brought back any useful garbage or other harvests for a while, yet he had purchased a large amount of supplies twice in a row.

The mayor might not notice him, a small figure, but others might wonder where he got so much money.

But Old Charlie didn't say anything, perhaps he didn't care. He weighed the food and smiled as he saw him off.

"Careless..."

After leaving the gate of Bet Street and turning a corner, Chu Guang let out a sigh of relief, stopped for a moment to observe, and then continued forward.

More than 10 points was already a significant "fortune" for scavengers, as they usually couldn't save money.

However, he had taken out more than 20 points twice to buy supplies that he wouldn't use up in a short time.

Old Charlie was still kind to him, after all, they were both from the shelter, but he was ultimately the mayor's servant.

Thinking about this, Chu Guang frowned.

Unfortunately, the merchant named List only accepted food and sold industrial products from Boulder City.

Perhaps, he should try his luck at Brown Farm.

...

The 7 kilograms of green wheat, 10 liters of drinking water, bullets, and equipment weighed over 20 kilograms, making his shoulders feel heavy.

Besides carrying the load, Chu Guang had to be careful to conserve his strength and be wary of the dangers lurking in the shadows.

Even with the extraordinary strength in his muscles, he could only walk for a while, stop to observe the road conditions, and then continue.

The road outside the settlement was not easy to navigate, sometimes requiring him to detour around collapsed roads and pass through fallen high-rise buildings.

Chu Guang suddenly envied the protagonists in "The Last of Us" and "Dying Light," who could parkour through the ruins with a heavy load, while he could only take one step at a time.

Perhaps...

Next time, he should buy a cow?

He just didn't know if List sold them.

Fortunately, the mutants he encountered on the way didn't notice him.

After crossing the ruins and walking along the road, Chu Guang finally arrived at the nursing home in the wetland park before 8:30 in the morning.

To his surprise, when he arrived, he found that all four of the beta players were already online.

Not only that.

Outside the nursing home's wall, there were four half-human-sized earthen furnaces and a hemispherical earthen kiln about the height of a person.

This...

What is this?

He didn't remember instructing them to build furnaces.

"Manager! You're finally back." Fang Chang, seeing the surprised manager, walked up with a smile.

"I was delayed outside last night," Chu Guang stared at the furnaces, forgetting to put down the load on his back. "How is everything here? Have you encountered any mutants or other survivors?"

"Everything is normal! No unexpected situations!"

Fang Chang reported their work with a radiant face.

The four half-human-sized furnaces were for making charcoal, and the furnace with a blower was for high-temperature calcination of raw materials for cement.

"We burned the tree bark into wood ash, mixed it with water, filtered out the potassium alkali water, and squeezed the remaining slurry to get calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate for making cement."

"Then, we calcined these materials in the high furnace to a reddish-orange color, mixed them with sand from the river, and added water to get wood ash cement!"

Wow?

To be honest, Chu Guang was amazed by the players' hands-on skills.

He had tried to make cement with wood ash and mud before, using a method he learned from Baidu, but the result was so fragile that it crumbled at the slightest touch and was useless.

Now, it seemed his method was wrong.

Was the key the high furnace and secondary calcination?

And the purity of the wood ash...

Fang Chang continued without stopping.

"... We plan to use the cement to repair the nursing home's wall! By the way, we also collected the potassium alkali water in containers, which can be used for tanning leather, very useful!"

"You... did a great job."

After thinking for a while, Chu Guang couldn't think of what to reward the players with, so he just said this as a compliment.

But hearing this, Fang Chang was extremely excited.

It increased!

Goodwill!

It definitely increased!

Not missing this opportunity, Fang Chang recited the lines he had thought about all night with a serious face.

"For the continuation of civilization!"

"To serve you is our honor!"

"..."

Chu Guang suddenly didn't know how to face him.

Compared to himself, these players were too noble.

"Good... for the continuation of civilization, and for the future of us all."

Coughing, Chu Guang maintained a stern expression and continued, "I'll go put the supplies down. Your plan is excellent... go ahead with confidence!"

Fang Chang stood straight and said with enthusiasm,

"Yes, Manager!"

"Take care not to overwork yourselves." Chu Guang advised.

It wasn't out of a guilty conscience, but out of concern that the players might overexert themselves and burn out too soon.

However, the player didn't seem to appreciate his well-intentioned advice and declared his loyalty with a straight back.

"To serve you is our mission, and this is my declaration under the Human Union flag!"

Chu Guang almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

Declaration is fine...

Have you even seen what the Human Union flag looks like?

"... Alright, very spirited, go ahead."

Watching the player run off, Chu Guang sighed inwardly.

In the end, his worries were unnecessary.