Chapter 28

From the moment he opened his mouth, all the players fell silent, holding their breath and staring at him, afraid of missing any detail.

Chuguang was very satisfied with the players' reaction. He raised his head and glanced around the hall.

However, when he saw the lizardman standing in the corner, his expression froze for two seconds, and his hand almost reached for the gun on his back.

Why is there still a mutant here???

But...

Looking at this silly expression, the person inside this body should be a player.

There's nothing to worry about then.

In terms of combat experience and stats, these little newbies are completely outclassed by him. Chuguang might be concerned about survivors lurking in the shadows, but he's not really afraid of these players causing trouble.

Kicking them out, banning their accounts, or revoking their qualifications—all of these can be done in less than a second. What can you do in a second?

Deciding to investigate the lizardman later, Chuguang shifted his gaze from it and looked at the players in the hall, continuing to speak.

"First, I have some good news to tell you: the war is over."

"But the bad news is, our world has been completely transformed. If you're hoping to grab your luggage and go home to your mom right away, that's clearly not possible."

"It's the 200th year after the apocalypse. Fortunately, we have survived the toughest years. You are already luckier than 12 billion people just by standing here. Now, I need you to quickly recognize the current situation and fulfill your declaration under the Human Union flag—rebuild our home!"

"The one over there is my assistant, its name is Xiaoqi. If you have any questions about the shelter or anything you don't understand, you can ask it."

He had given this standard opening speech once before, word for word.

When the next batch of players arrives, he will say it again. Unless there are serious bugs or plot holes, he doesn't plan to change it.

After all, it took a lot of effort to come up with it.

Pausing for a moment, Chuguang continued.

"Additionally, the Shelter Resident Handbook has been updated to version 2.0, including the Residents' Covenant, Code of Conduct, and requirements for public order and prohibited actions. Please check it out promptly."

"For residents who violate the rules, minor offenses will result in forced sleep or confinement, while major offenses will result in being sent back underground or permanent expulsion. I hope everyone strictly adheres to the rules."

A wave of unrest spread through the player group.

Isn't this NPC's authority a bit too great?

However, they didn't react too strongly to this.

Since they chose to reserve a spot, it means they have already accepted the game's setting.

Before logging in, they had already seen the Resident Handbook on the official website, and it didn't contain overly harsh rules.

The new clauses merely imposed restrictions on "player vs. player combat," "harassing other players," "unfair trading," and "malicious destruction of in-game facilities."

These rules align with the interests of the vast majority of "normal" players, and some of the clauses were even discussed and proposed by players on the forum, which were then adopted by the developers.

For example, the rule against "malicious destruction of in-game facilities" was proposed by Lai Rifangchang and Laobai, and the rule against "forced sexual behavior" was proposed by a female player who hadn't yet secured a reservation.

These suggestions were all good.

After all, this is a brick-laying game, not a nuclear simulation or a pornographic game.

Even in a game that emphasizes freedom and sandbox concepts, it's impossible to allow a player to recklessly ruin the experience of others.

Not only did Chuguang adopt these suggestions, but he also made the rules more detailed.

For example, malicious destruction of facilities would result in "forced labor," and forced sexual behavior would result in "permanent confiscation of the offending tool."

Very ginkgo-like.

What?

Can't accept it?

Go back to playing CF and let someone else wear the helmet.

After explaining the necessary matters, Chuguang led the 24 players out of the shelter, dividing them into two groups to take the elevator to the surface.

The visual impact that greeted them left these new players speechless.

It wasn't just visual.

Their hearing, smell, touch, and even taste, every cell in their bodies told them that this was a completely real world!

"Too strong..."

"Is this... really a game world?"

"Wow, I'm blown away!"

"Awesome!!!"

Seeing the players excitedly jumping around, a smile crept onto Chuguang's lips.

He really wanted to tell them that it's too early to be happy.

...

After familiarizing the new players with the outpost facilities, especially emphasizing the prohibition against defecating or urinating near the outpost, Chuguang led them back to the sanatorium and handed them over to Laobai and the others, who were eagerly waiting.

The construction site at the outpost was in dire need of manpower, so there was no need to worry about the players having nothing to do. The veteran players would tell them what to do.

Some were called to move bricks and repair walls.

Others were led by Fang Chang to the construction site northeast of the wetland park to transport raw materials for cement production.

As for the rewards.

It was 10 contribution points per hour.

Although they didn't know what contribution points were for, the players were all eager to start working.

Why be so picky during the beta test?

The developers have said they won't delete the data, so just do it!

The enthusiasm of these players made Chuguang a bit embarrassed.

Of course, not all players were assigned to the construction site. Tasks like making smoked meat, tanning hides, fishing, hunting, and gathering also needed to be done.

For example, the female player who was 1.8 meters tall and had the ID "Yaya" was assigned to gather.

Her gene sequence was of the Perception type. Although her main attribute (Perception) was 1 point lower than Ye Shi's, at only 6, she had an additional initial talent—Toxin Intuition.

According to the system's explanation in the player list, players with this talent can sense toxicity purely through biological instinct, independent of knowledge and experience.

However, before gaining "Toxin Resistance," the "Poison Effect" would have a more negative impact on her.

Additionally, the positive effects of this talent are influenced by the Perception attribute.

Assigning her as a gatherer was the perfect fit.

In addition, there was the lizardman.

After assigning the gatherer's task, Chuguang called this player aside.

"Are you Trash Collector 99?"

What a ridiculous name!

Seeing the administrator talking to him, Trash Collector thought he had triggered a hidden plot and quickly stood at attention, nodding excitedly.

"Indeed, it's me!"

Chuguang nodded and was about to assign his task when Trash Collector suddenly seemed to remember something and handed him a piece of paper.

"Respected Administrator, I found this note when I woke up. I can't understand the writing. Could you tell me what it says?"

"Let me see."

Chuguang took the note from him.

The note was a bit damp, as if it had been in water, but it wasn't soaked through. It appeared to be made of waterproof material.

The handwriting was very familiar, and it was written in the language of this world. Chuguang immediately guessed who had left it.

"Where did you get this?"

"On my butt."

Chuguang's hand trembled, almost dropping the note.

Seeing the administrator's black line, Trash Collector quickly guessed something and explained with a mix of laughter and tears.

"I mean, it was in the incubation pod. When I woke up, it was stuck there."

"It's fine, I was just asking."

Chuguang continued to read the content of the note.

[Congratulations, you've won! This is an Easter egg I left for you! The gene sequences stored in the gene bank are not all human. There are a few special gene sequences. To be honest, it was me. Although it was partly accidental, I don't intend to apologize. How about it? Don't you think this is also a part of natural selection?]

[By the way, should we call it a mutant or a different species? Never mind, call it whatever you want, you decide.]

[—First Generation Administrator.]

This guy must be crazy.

Chuguang was speechless.

He didn't bother to criticize the dead and opened the system interface, checking the five-dimensional data and talents of the lizardman through the player list.

As expected from his tall and robust physique, his Strength and Constitution were incredibly high. If not for the injection he had given himself, the lizardman's Strength would have rivaled his own Level 5.

Moreover, he had the talents of Flesh Regeneration and Cold Blood, making him a formidable combat tool!

Although he had debuffs like difficulty leveling up, discomfort in low temperatures, and difficulty operating complex machinery, they weren't fatal flaws.

In short, no big deal.

Chuguang was already thinking about whether to give this guy a pair of gloves or steel claws.

Or maybe making him into a tank for the front line would be good?

Feeling the administrator's scrutinizing gaze, Trash Collector 99 felt a bit uneasy.

However, the NPC didn't stare at him for long and soon gave him a task different from the others.

"Starting today, you will hunt with me."

Chuguang decided not to worry about the weapons for now.

These players aren't necessarily dumber than him; it might be better to let them figure out their own playstyle.

Trash Collector clenched his fists excitedly and said in a high-pitched voice.

"I am honored to serve you, Respected Administrator!"

"Very good, you have spirit."

Chuguang nodded approvingly and continued.

"Go wait for me at the sanatorium entrance."

"I have some things to arrange, I'll be there in a moment."

"Yes, sir!"

Trash Collector walked away eagerly.

Chuguang then turned to another female player who was waiting anxiously.

Her ID was Teng Teng, and her gene sequence was of the Intelligence type. She looked petite, standing at about 1.5 meters tall.

Gene expression is inherently unstable, and even the most perfect design can have flaws. Chuguang couldn't do much about her current form.

However, what happened to her wasn't entirely bad.

Like Yaya, she had a very special initial talent in her talent list—Dexterous Hands.

[Talent: Dexterous Hands (Enhanced muscle memory, faster accumulation of proficiency in repetitive tasks)]

If he remembered correctly, her real-life profession was a fashion designer?

If true, this talent was tailor-made for her.

"Can you make clothes?"

Facing the administrator's question, Teng Teng nodded nervously.

"Yes! If I have the materials and tools... I can give it a try."

Although her main job was design, primarily using a computer, her manual skills were still better than most people's.

"Materials are not a problem, but we might need to think about the tools... Follow me."

Chuguang led her to the back of the sanatorium and pointed to the rows of raw hides hanging on wooden racks.

"Are these enough?"

Looking at the rows of hides, Teng Teng's eyes widened.

Although she wasn't sure what animals these hides came from, the texture and luster clearly indicated they were of high quality.

"These... are all mine?" Teng Teng's eyes sparkled.

Chuguang nodded and said, "Yes, if you can, you can also take charge of processing the hides. The chef handled these, but he's not very skilled at it."

"Okay! Leave it to me!" Teng Teng nodded enthusiastically, "Do you have any specific requirements? In terms of design?"

Chuguang: "There are no specific design requirements, just make sure they are warm... Do you need any tools? A sewing machine might be hard to get, but we have some basic tools like needles, thread, and scissors."

Teng Teng: "A sewing machine would be better, but if the requirement is just warmth... these are enough!"

Great!

He liked diligent players who didn't cause trouble.

Chuguang nodded approvingly.

"Then I'll leave it to you."

"I should be able to get more game in the next few days... I plan to explore further north along the elevated road. I heard there are migrating deer herds there."

"If we're lucky, we should have a good harvest!"