Chapter 33

Post Body:

【I admit! I really did have itchy fingers! But there's no help for it; if you blame anyone, blame that 'Toxin Intuition' ability. Anything toxic just glows green in my eyes, it's like a death sentence for my OCD!】

What the heck?

Chu Guang was first taken aback, then he was completely surprised.

"Can you really identify toxins with the naked eye? That's amazing."

But what exactly is the criterion for 'toxic'? Is there a dosage limit? And what triggers this ability?

I can't figure it out…

Chu Guang decided to put the things he couldn't understand aside and continue reading.

The post continued:

【…Following the manager's instructions, I started by picking mushrooms and raspberries in the forest. Thanks to my character's ability, I could identify most of the toxic berries and mushrooms, so the efficiency was quite high. I picked several plastic buckets in no time.】

【I thought I had picked everything around the sanatorium, so I decided to go a bit further. As I walked, I ended up at a place that looked like a parking lot. There were quite a few mushrooms there, and I picked a lot. Just as I was about to leave, I saw a large concrete pipe, like a sewer entrance, emitting a huge green glow!】

【I didn't think much about it and figured there were so many mushrooms inside, I might as well go in and check. After all, I can identify anything toxic, so as long as I don't touch it, I'll be fine.】

【Plus, I didn't see any dangerous monsters around, so I walked over and stuck my head in to take a look… I swear, I only took a glance!】

【Then something terrifying happened!】

【A lump of meat… I don't know what kind of meat, but it hit my face directly. I couldn't breathe, couldn't open my eyes, and soon couldn't move at all. It felt like I was being swallowed by something.】

【Although I didn't feel any pain, the experience was truly awful! Just as I was about to lose consciousness, I suddenly woke up in reality. Everything that happened felt like a nightmare.】

【At first, I thought I had disconnected, so I quickly put on the helmet to reconnect. But I saw the words 'Connection Interrupted' on the helmet, which then changed to 'Login Restricted.' No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't log in. Sob.】

Amazing!

You really did it for free…

After reading the post, Chu Guang was dumbfounded.

This player was really brave, sticking his face into the grass like that. He definitely wouldn't dare to do something like that.

The comments below were not very friendly.

Some people who had already obtained the beta test资格 were just there for the fun, but more were those who couldn't get the beta test资格, and they all condemned this wasteful behavior.

After all, the resurrection cooldown is at least three days!

By doing this, he wasted three days of game time!

What could you do with that time?

Night Ten: 【No head, huh? Headless senpai? (Funny)】

Quit Smoking: 【What the heck? Is that it? If you can't play well, please donate your game资格 to someone who needs it! Damn! T.T】

Debt Big Eyes: 【You really did have itchy fingers. This is just a waste, isn't it? I could do it better!】

Irena: 【Keep updating! Tell us in detail what it felt like to be eaten? (Funny)】

Good Names Are All Taken by Dogs: 【Now you mention it, I'm thinking of something else. Brother, can we talk privately? (Funny)】

The thread started to go off-topic from here.

What was originally a help post ended up with no one caring about the problem at all.

In the end, the poster might have seen that the officials weren't responding and the comments were too harsh, so the thread turned into a one-sided argument, with the poster getting angry and engaging with the commenters.

This little player had a sharp tongue, clearly a seasoned troll.

Chu Guang couldn't stand it anymore, so he locked the post and sent a private message.

"Hello, I am the game designer of Wasteland OL. We have received your feedback. According to the game's death penalty, you need to wait 72 hours to respawn. Please wait for the cooldown to end before logging back in."

Crow: "What? Three days… Can't it be one day? I can pay, just tell me how much."

Chu Guang: "This isn't about money."

Crow: "Can't you make an exception? Please, designer bro, I really didn't mean to, just help me out. By the way, what's your QQ number? I can add you. It's so troublesome to type here, let's chat on QQ. (Pitiful)"

Chu Guang: "Rules are rules, and I can't help you with this."

Crow: "Can't you make an exception? (Pitiful)"

Chu Guang was unmoved and continued typing.

"I wasn't finished. Besides the respawn cooldown, the game also deducts 500 contribution points for the first death."

Crow: "Deduct contribution points too?! But, but I don't have that much…"

Chu Guang: "That's the problem. You currently have only 30 contribution points from the gathering mission, which is not enough to cover the death penalty."

Crow: "What happens if I don't have enough? (Nervous)"

Chu Guang: "The current setting is that it will affect the NPC's evaluation of the player, in other words, it will lower their favorability."

Crow: "Lower favorability?! No! QAQ"

Now you're scared?

What were you doing earlier?

"Clearly, you didn't realize the severity of the situation. Imagine, the character you play is tasked with saving civilization. As a human elite sent to the surface to support construction, you not only failed to create any value but also caused everyone so much trouble. Don't you feel guilty?"

You didn't even earn 500 freebie points, yet you wasted a whole can of active substance.

How can you be so shameless?

Crow: "But, but this is a game…"

"That's right, it's a game, but it's not just your game," Chu Guang typed with a sense of righteousness. "Have you played murder mystery games before?"

Crow: "Yes, I have…"

Chu Guang: "This is like a 30-player game where 29 people are playing seriously, but one person is messing around and has a special role. You should understand how bad this behavior is for the other players."

Actually, it's not that exaggerated. A new player, after all, is just a new player. But Chu Guang felt that if he didn't react, these players wouldn't learn their lesson.

He had to educate them!

But maybe he was too harsh, and this little player had a thin skin, or maybe she had been坑ed in real-life murder mystery games before.

Crow, sitting in front of the computer, was almost in tears, frantically typing apologies.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was wrong! It's my fault! QAQ"

A series of messages flooded the chat window, and Chu Guang, who was about to continue typing, felt a bit embarrassed.

It felt like he was gaslighting her.

Forget it…

It doesn't matter.

Chu Guang: "You don't need to apologize to me. I'm just explaining the game's penalty system and the reasoning behind it. You can also explain this to the other players in your post, and I'll unlock it for you."

Chu Guang: "Additionally, I need to emphasize that Wasteland OL is designed as a hardcore game. There won't be many casual elements in the early stages, which is a decision we made when designing the game. If you can't accept this, I suggest you switch to another game or wait for the public beta, which will have more content."

Crow: "No, I want to play! I need the helmet! QAQ"

Crow: "Hey, designer bro, I have no objections to the death penalty. How can I regain the lost favorability? Will apologizing after respawning help? QAQ"

Chu Guang: "Maybe, but it won't make much of a difference. The manager's AI personality and behavior are neutral and orderly. His evaluation is based on whether the player's actions benefit the shelter as a whole. To make up for it, show him your efforts and avoid doing foolish things."

Crow: "I understand, can I make a small suggestion?"

Chu Guang: "Go ahead."

Crow: "Can you add some pay-to-win items in the future? Something that can increase favorability. I see other games have this, like Big Nose Mole's Estate… I can pay for it!"

Chu Guang, with a black line on his face, typed.

"Friend, don't always think about solving problems with money. We are a serious company!"

What's the point of money if you're not there anymore?

Can you burn it and use it here?

Crow, sitting in front of the computer, was stunned, her hands paused on the keyboard, her mind not processing the situation.

A serious company…

Isn't it just about making money?

A company that doesn't make money isn't serious…

Chu Guang closed the webpage, put the little player's issue aside, and logged into his QQ account.

Interestingly, the Niu Ma Club group was discussing the post on the official website.

It seems everyone is quite concerned about the game's death penalty.

Spare the Blade: 【I've played it, and I have to say, this game is amazing. I take back what I said, I'm impressed!】

What Can You Do to Me: 【What the heck, you big-eyed guy, did the dog manager buy you off?】

(What Can You Do to Me was muted by the admin for 1 hour.)

Night Ten: 【Is the dog barking again?】

Old Bai: 【No nonsense, have you seen the post on the official website? The one who died today.】

Night Ten: 【I saw it, the ID is Crow, the 180 cm tall long legs! Admin, find a way to add her to the group. (Funny)】

Old Bai: 【Go away, do it yourself.】

Fang Chang: 【I finished reading the post and summarized three points: 1. Losing consciousness or dying in the game will force a disconnection. 2. Excessive pain has indeed been removed, just like in my previous tests. The game developers are very smart! No pain is unrealistic, too much pain is discouraging, this is just right! But I still think it would be better if we could adjust it ourselves. (Grinning)】

Night Ten: 【What's the third point?】

Mad Wind: 【I'll add, don't be reckless, and you won't die.】

Fang Chang: 【Exactly.】

Quit Smoking: 【I'm so frustrated, I can't even get the beta test资格, I really want to play! T.T】

Old Bai: 【Hey, why don't you try to charm Guang?】

Quit Smoking: 【I tried, he told me to wait. T.T】

Night Ten: 【RIP.】

Old Bai: 【That's strange, did you secretly badmouth him? This guy has a grudge, and he's a Scorpio.】

Quit Smoking: 【No way, I would never badmouth him! I'm his most loyal fan! T.T】

Old Bai: 【That's odd, I'll ask him later.】

Fang Chang: 【By the way, is Trash Picker 99 online?】

Night Ten: 【I don't know, should I tag him?】

Old Bai: 【@Trash Picker 99.】

Trash Picker 99: 【Cough, what's up? I'm here.】

Chatting in the group is more interesting than lurking.

Especially in a group of familiar people, it's hard for a new player to join in the conversation.

Fang Chang: 【I see your character is a lizard, did you feel any discomfort when you took off the helmet and returned to reality? Like any inconsistencies?】

Chu Guang, who was also lurking, became interested.

He was also curious about how it felt to be a lizard in the game.

Especially with a missing small tail and an added big tail, he wondered if the player was used to it.

Trash Picker 99: 【Hmm… not really? It feels pretty good. The movement and reaction in the game are very strong, and there's nothing wrong after logging out. But there is one thing I'm not used to: I always want to eat raw meat and feel restless when I see blood, but it goes away as soon as I take off the helmet. It's very strange.】

Fang Chang: 【Damn! Why can you even choose non-human characters, but not create a female character?】

Mad Wind: 【Calm down, bro.】

Old Bai: 【You're scaring me.】

Fang Chang: 【Get lost! I just want to try it out, pure curiosity, you know.】

Night Ten: 【No, we don't.】

Mad Wind: 【Speaking of which, Night Ten and Trash Picker, did you encounter raiders when you went hunting with the manager today?】

Trash Picker 99: 【Yes! There were two raiders and a tamed mutated hyena. They were executing a scavenger when we found them, and the scavenger was already dead by the time we arrived. We killed the raiders and took their equipment.】

Fang Chang: 【Tamed? So mutants can be tamed. I wonder if players can have pets in the future… I think this is a hint from the developers. (Chin stroking)】

Mad Wind: 【You killed the NPC?】

Trash Picker 99: 【Yes, the manager ordered the attack… I don't think it violates the resident handbook, which only prohibits attacking neutral and friendly NPCs.】

Night Ten: 【Hmm, I think those were just random enemies, not NPCs. But the blood effect was… very realistic, I almost thought someone really died.】

Chu Guang, reading this, fell into deep thought.

He had previously guessed that what players saw might be filtered, and now it seems this might be true.

However, this filter isn't necessarily like the filters in beauty cameras, but more like a conceptual blurring.

Similar to how the device handles pain, excessive sensory impacts are likely "emotionally dulled" to prevent the brain's "circuit breaker" from being triggered, which would interrupt the connection.

Clearly, these details have been considered by the device's designers.

Thinking about this, Chu Guang suddenly felt a bit envious.

When he first came to the wasteland, it took him a long time to overcome these psychological barriers.

Mad Wind: 【Did they speak Mandarin?】

Trash Picker 99: 【Their language was strange, sounded a bit like Chinese but wasn't. I couldn't understand it, so it's probably randomly generated.】

In depicting alien planets or other worlds, many films and games use similar settings, creating a "foreign language" by scrambling the normal order of sounds or just making it up.

Like the gibberish in The Sims.

Trash Picker 99 thought Wasteland OL used a similar design.

In this regard, the game is quite realistic.

Fang Chang: 【The plot setup is actually quite interesting. I think it's meant to remind us of the hidden dangers in the wasteland. Just like the mutant tribe we discovered earlier, it's probably to create a sense of crisis.】

Night Ten: 【Hmm, isn't it just randomly generated?】

Fang Chang: 【Everything you see is part of the designed program, there's no true randomness.】

Old Bai: 【I think Fang Chang has a point. The fact that this happened on the day new players joined seems a bit deliberate.】

Fang Chang: 【It's just a hypothesis! I think we can interpret this plot as a sign that as the outpost grows and players become stronger, conflicts with other factions and mutants in the wasteland will intensify. The struggle for survival resources and space might be the main theme of the next stage.】

Fang Chang: 【We can start preparing for war now! I estimate that after the 'Harsh Winter' update, the next one will be about outpost conflicts.】

Mad Wind: 【Amazing…】

Trash Picker 99: 【6666, this analysis is spot on.】

Night Ten: 【Amazing, Fang Chang is on another level!】

Quit Smoking: 【Damn! I really want to play! T.T】

The group members then started discussing techniques for smelting steel and making gunpowder, leaving Chu Guang, who was watching, speechless.

Wow, this guy even considered things that even I, the designer, didn't think about.

He's a genius!

Chu Guang was impressed and copied the guy's analysis into a document for future reference.

You're all right.

You're all experts.

If someone asks in the future, Chu Guang decided to just explain it this way.