Chapter 18

"Whine, whine, whine, Master, you finally came to find me."

The preceding whines were the sound of wheels rolling over the concrete floor.

After returning to the surface, Chu Guang first went to the third floor of the sanatorium.

He had intended to find Xiao Qi to understand the situation, but before he even reached the window, he saw the wastebasket robot pitifully moving toward him.

Chu Guang looked at it in confusion, not knowing what was wrong with it.

"What's the matter?"

"Xiao Qi only has one bar of battery left."

Pfft.

He thought it was something serious.

Wait a moment...

Chu Guang: "Where am I supposed to find a place to charge you?"

Xiao Qi: "I have a wireless charging port. Just stay in the shelter for a while!"

Chu Guang: "..."

No wonder he hadn't seen a single outlet in the shelter, and the computer on the table, which had no main unit, never ran out of power. It turned out it was all high-tech.

Although wireless charging wasn't exactly high-tech.

Lifting the wastebasket-shaped robot, Chu Guang headed downstairs.

Xiao Qi, who had neatly retracted its wheels, suddenly spoke.

"By the way, Master."

"What now?"

"I just remembered that the shelter's power system seems to be powered by a fusion reactor."

"Fusion reactor?"

"Yep, so the power can last for a very, very long time."

"Oh, that's a good thing." Chu Guang was already starting to think about how to steal the power.

Xiao Qi continued.

"But, this might not be a good thing."

His train of thought was interrupted, and Chu Guang, who was descending the stairs, stopped in his tracks.

"What do you mean?"

"It's already the year 2340. Compared to when the shelter was built, it's been a very, very long time..."

What?!

Chu Guang urgently asked.

"What happens if the power runs out?"

Xiao Qi's response almost made him spit out a mouthful of blood.

"I don't know."

"You don't know???"

How could you not know about such an important issue!

Is there no emergency plan at all???

Xiao Qi cautiously said.

"According to the plan... the shelter was supposed to be opened a hundred years ago, but for some reason, it was delayed by a whole century."

Chu Guang: "..."

Seeing that Chu Guang wasn't speaking, Xiao Qi continued to whisper in a comforting tone.

"You don't need to be too pessimistic. The power room of Shelter 404 should be on the third floor. As long as you unlock that level, you can replace the fuel rods in time."

Chu Guang almost couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Where am I supposed to get fusion fuel rods from!"

It was already the 211th year of the Wasteland Era.

Xiao Qi: "Uh, there must be a way, right?"

Chu Guang: "..."

No matter what, he couldn't take his frustration out on electronic devices.

That would be too low.

Chu Guang placed Xiao Qi by the elevator and watched the wastebasket robot roll back.

He felt a bit irritable.

But Chu Guang also knew that panicking wouldn't help. Problems had to be solved one by one.

The power should not be a major issue in the short term. Even if the shelter was delayed by a century, it hadn't been operational for the past century and was likely in energy-saving mode. The remaining power might last for several decades.

Compared to that, the approaching winter was more pressing.

He didn't have much time left to prepare...

Leaving the sanatorium.

Chu Guang arrived at the cement kiln and found the players working enthusiastically, already starting the second kiln.

Eight neat mounds for carbonizing were also built nearby.

This was a direct leap into industrialization, skipping the agricultural era!

Chu Guang was delighted.

Thanks to his skill in managing people and governing the village!

Seeing the approaching manager, Lao Bai wiped the mud off his face, excited like a child, and stood up to say.

"Manager, you're here!"

"Yep, I just came down... were these your ideas?" Chu Guang asked, looking at the earthen cement kiln behind him.

"It's everyone's effort!"

"No need to be modest. I've seen it all, and the organization will remember your contributions!"

Lao Bai was thrilled.

Wasn't this exactly what he was waiting for!

Especially the latter part.

"Additionally, I will represent the organization to award each of you 1000 contribution points as a reward for unlocking cement materials. From now on, you will be the construction captain of the 404 Shelter Outpost!"

"You can freely use your creativity to design and build our outpost within the planned area."

If there could be a "ding" sound from the system at this moment, it would be cool.

Or, if there could be a reward notification popup in the players' eyes, that would be nice too.

But unfortunately, there was none.

However, even such verbal promises and praise made Lao Bai's face glow with excitement.

Merit!

Position!

And, goodwill!

It seemed the hidden systems in this game were even richer than he imagined!

"Respected Manager! I will do my utmost to build our home!"

The other three players looked at him enviously.

Although everyone had contribution points, it was clear that Lao Bai, who had the "construction captain" position, was the real winner.

Being able to freely design and build facilities, this wasn't just a construction captain; it was the head of the planning office in Wasteland Online!

Awesome!

Seeing the spirited Lao Bai, Chu Guang nodded in approval and said.

"Very good. Now, I need you to tell me your plan."

"Yes!"

Lao Bai straightened his back and began to report.

According to Lao Bai, after logging out yesterday, he conducted a field survey of a real cement factory and consulted with the factory's master, learning that adding iron powder to cement could produce a stronger and more durable product.

In the game, discussing content outside the game seemed to be ignored by NPCs. Seeing that the manager didn't react, Lao Bai got straight to the point.

Considering that the wasteland was full of rusted steel, he collected rust and mixed it with charcoal, using the latter as a reducing agent to smelt iron through calcination. He then mixed the iron slag with wood ash cement and calcined it.

Although this seemed to increase the production cost of cement, the cement produced this way could be used to build more durable, heat-resistant, and higher-yield cement kilns.

"It's impossible to produce large quantities of cement with just these few earthen kilns, so I plan to use all the initial cement production to build more production facilities, further increasing cement output!"

Chu Guang nodded in approval.

"That's a good idea, but... how much cement can be produced with just tree bark?"

Chu Guang had already noticed that not only the logs on the ground but also the trees around the sanatorium had been stripped of their bark by the survivors.

Even the stumps weren't spared!

Lao Bai had clearly considered this issue and answered confidently.

"Because of this, we need more professional cement kilns... ones that can reach 1450 degrees! This way, we can produce calcium carbonate cement by calcining limestone and clay, completely replacing the wood ash raw materials!"

Potassium and sodium-containing wood ash cement was not the ideal building material, just a substitute when conditions didn't allow.

After being appointed as the construction captain, Lao Bai suddenly had greater ambitions.

His vision was no longer limited to a single wall or the sanatorium.

It was the entire wasteland.

He wanted to transform this world into his ideal form!

"You've thought it through. Go ahead with your plan."

Chu Guang nodded and then looked at the other three players.

"Two new players will soon end their hibernation and join our advance team. I plan to hold a small banquet to welcome them, so we need to get some game... we can't just serve them porridge."

Pausing, Chu Guang continued.

"Who wants to go hunting with me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, four hands shot up.

Chu Guang was taken aback.

Good grief, even his newly appointed construction captain raised his hand!

"Cough, cough, we don't need that many... Ye Shi, you come. You're a perception-type."

"遵命！管理者大人！"

Ye Shi saluted excitedly and, under the envious gazes of the other three players, proudly stood beside the manager.

Chu Guang looked at the other three players and said seriously.

"Your task is also crucial. Cement is the top priority for the outpost's development. We have enough wood for now, so you can stop logging. I need you to focus on producing cement. Can you do that?"

Although they were disappointed at not being able to go hunting with the manager, the three players obediently followed his instructions.

"Guaranteed to complete the task!"

Very good.

They truly lived up to being my chosen players!

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction and, with Ye Shi, who was beaming with joy, headed toward the forest south of the sanatorium...