Chapter 22

No matter what, this meat is definitely inedible now.

Chu Guang sighed and reluctantly threw the meat to the side.

"If only we had a fridge."

The blue umbrella mushrooms in the mutated leech nest...

He had to get his hands on them for the generator.

However, it was only the second week of September, and Lister's caravan wouldn't arrive in this area until the end of the month. Thinking about these things now was useless.

He couldn't wait until the end of the month to start stockpiling food.

Moreover, with the current economic conditions of the shelter, a luxury item like a fridge was simply unaffordable...

Over the next three days, Chu Guang basically went out hunting in the early morning, returned at noon or in the afternoon, cooked a pot of meat for the players, and then squatted in a corner of the sanatorium, continuing to ponder the techniques of food smoking.

This fixed routine was as regular as an NPC.

Although the progress in researching smoked meat was still not very smooth, the good news was that the players' performance over these few days had been excellent.

Chu Guang did some calculations.

Over these three days, he had accumulated a total of 7 reward points.

Although he was close to 10 points, after some consideration, he ultimately decided to bet all his chips on the初级盲盒 (beginner blind box).

Fortunately, this time it wasn't just a lollipop; he also opened a bottle of soy sauce.

He didn't know the brand, but it would at least improve the players' diet.

Chu Guang treasured the soy sauce and put it away.

However...

Although he said that, his cooking skills were really nothing to brag about, just enough to cook the food.

The players found it quite novel the first time they ate it, enjoying the original flavor, pure and natural, and it had a unique taste compared to takeout and fast food. But eating it every meal, anyone would find it unbearable.

"Every day it's stewed dishes, I'm about to throw up..." Night Ten sat on the ground with a bowl in his hand, looking gloomy.

At first, he was quite excited to find that the game had food, but now he gradually realized how painful eating could be.

Every meal was stewed meat, or porridge made from green wheat.

Even if his mouth could tolerate it, his butt was about to give out...

Fang Chang took a bite of the greasy front leg meat, furrowed his brow, and said thoughtfully.

"Probably the taste system isn't fully developed yet. Otherwise, even with less salt... this flavor shouldn't be like this."

Neither salty nor bland, just greasy!

And it had a bitter taste.

Even the green wheat porridge was better...

"The game is too gamey. It needs to be blanched with cooking wine, scallions, ginger, and garlic to remove the gamey flavor. It would be better," Old Bai comforted, "Just make do for now. This is the wasteland; where are you going to get those things? There will definitely be better food in the future!"

Fang Chang gave him a look and didn't say anything.

Since being appointed as the "construction captain," this guy had become more and more adept at thinking from the game developer's perspective, even helping to paint a rosy picture.

But it was true...

Since the game's selling point was realism, positioning seasonings as luxury items made sense, and they might even have to pay for them in the future.

Night Ten sighed and muttered.

"I hope the next update will include seasonings... I can spend real money on them."

Crazy Wind chewed his meat slowly and didn't join in the conversation.

He wasn't too concerned about the taste but was thinking about how to improve the fish traps.

Seeing the sudden silence, Night Ten looked at Old Bai and asked casually.

"How's the cement coming along?"

Old Bai drank his soup and replied.

"The quality still needs improvement, but I feel we're getting closer to success."

"Really?"

"Absolutely, no kidding! And not just cement, Fang Chang and I have also been researching brick-making. The only problem is the lack of molds, so the shapes aren't very good... but they should still be usable."

Night Ten hesitated and asked.

"Can't you use wood for molds?"

"Heh, you think it's that simple!"

Fang Chang shook his head and continued, "This isn't like chopping trees. Making them square is a real skill."

Fang Chang hadn't expected it.

As a hardcore survival master in "The Forest," he could build a house in half an hour, but in this game, he was stumped by such a basic problem.

Of course, this was also due to the overly hardcore setting of "Wasteland OL"...

Night Ten and Crazy Wind exchanged glances, looking at Old Bai and Fang Chang with helpless eyes.

They were also theorists, and their practical skills weren't much better.

These days, they had caught many mutated leech larvae and made several traps inspired by survival videos, but they hadn't caught a single fish.

It made sense.

The lake was full of fish-eating birds, and the dumb fish had long been picked off. The remaining fish were too smart to fall for the traps, eating the bait and then escaping.

Crazy Wind could only console himself that the fish in the lake needed to be fattened up, and maybe when they relaxed their guard, he could catch them...

At that moment, there was movement from the direction of the sanatorium.

The Administrator was leading two dazed new players toward them.

No need to ask.

The stunned expressions on their faces were undoubtedly those of new players who had just put on their helmets and entered the game world.

Night Ten sighed inwardly again.

Why two more guys...

"Let me introduce you, these two are our new members... Tomato and Egg, and WC Really Has Mosquitoes."

What kind of names are these?

Chu Guang resisted the urge to comment, after all, his role in the game was an NPC.

"Clap... clap..."

Sparse applause echoed.

The closed beta players sitting by the pot put down their bowls and clapped, welcoming the new players, but their attitude was clearly not very enthusiastic.

The two new players didn't seem to mind.

They were still in shock.

Following Chu Guang's instructions, they sat by the fire with the pot, staring blankly at the white steam rising from it.

The humid heat and the smell of meat...

It was too damn realistic!

Seeing the new players still in a daze, Old Bai took the initiative to start the conversation.

"What are your attributes?"

The one called [WC Really Has Mosquitoes] was the first to recover.

"I'm agility-based."

Then [Tomato and Egg] also came to his senses.

"My constitution... you guys are already eating?"

"The Administrator planned a welcome ceremony, but it seems to have failed... so he let us eat first," Night Ten said with a helpless expression, "You just woke up, right? Want some?"

Mosquito swallowed hard.

Taking a bowl filled with bones and soup, he took a sip, and his pupils widened in shock.

"The taste... amazing, this game really has food!"

Damn!

This is too amazing!

"Not only can you eat, but not eating will cause low blood sugar," Fang Chang sighed, "I think it's unnecessary to be so realistic. It could be a bit tastier."

Egg stared at the bowl, hesitated for a long time, and then asked.

"What... is this stewed?"

"Meat," Old Bai said.

"Meat? What kind of meat?"

"Mutated hyenas... we're not sure if they're wolves or dogs, but they're all mutants."

Hearing this, Mosquito instinctively moved his bowl away, almost spilling the soup.

Egg, however, was different.

Not only did he not back away, but he leaned in and took a taste. However, this taste made his frown deepen.

"Why is it so gamey... did you not bleed it?"

The players exchanged glances.

"We don't know."

"The prey is brought by NPCs."

Old Bai suggested.

"If you know how to cook, you can talk to the Administrator. Anyone with a special skill will be valued."

Egg's expression brightened.

"Really? I'll try later."

"Can you do carpentry? I can do carpentry!" Mosquito asked eagerly.

"Carpentry?" Old Bai's eyes lit up, staring at him, "You can do carpentry??"

Mosquito was taken aback and smiled sheepishly.

"I can... my family sells furniture, all handcrafted. If you're interested, you can add my QQ number, I can give you a discount—"

"Great!" Old Bai stood up excitedly, "I need someone to make molds, you can help me!"

"?"

Not only did Old Bai stand up, but Fang Chang also stood up.

[WC Really Has Mosquitoes] hadn't reacted yet when he was grabbed by the arms by the two.

"Wait, I haven't finished my soup—"

Seeing himself being dragged to the construction site, Mosquito was bewildered and wanted to protest, but he was cut off by Old Bai.

"Forget the soup, wouldn't it be better to have the chef make another pot in the afternoon?"

Fang Chang added.

"Exactly! Good buddy, listen to me, that stuff really isn't tasty! Let's show you how the game works."

Mosquito: "……%*&#!"

Tomato and Egg watched his new brother being dragged into the woods, swallowed hard.

"Is this game... serious?"

Night Ten and Crazy Wind exchanged glances.

"It's okay."

"Sort of?"

Tomato and Egg: "……"

Why is it a question!