Chapter 49

How long does it take to pick 100 kilograms of mushrooms?

Chuguang actually had no clear idea; he generally wouldn’t touch those things.

His food was always something he prepared himself, and he would never choose fungi as food unless absolutely necessary.

Speaking of YaYa, she walked out of the shelter with a dejected look. As soon as she stepped onto the open ground in front of the sanatorium, she was stunned by the scene before her.

"Is this a map update?!"

A completely unfamiliar scene!

Surrounding the sanatorium was a three-meter-high concrete wall. On the inside of the wall, a slope was formed by concrete blocks and gravel.

The top of the wall was covered with engine hoods from scrapped cars and aluminum strips picked up from the wasteland, forming a simple shelter.

It looked quite cyberpunk.

Not only the wall, but in front of the sanatorium, there were two brick-and-wood houses, one large and one small.

Signs hung at the entrances of the houses, one reading "Weapon Shop" and the other "Bathhouse."

Three days without logging in felt like a century.

The changes in this update were too significant.

YaYa was completely baffled.

After a while, she found the gate in the wall. As she walked over, she saw two players hammering and nailing sharpened wooden stakes into a row.

"What are you doing?" YaYa asked curiously as she approached.

The two players didn’t even look up, busy and content with their work.

Yier Wanting to Go to the Toilet: "We’re making a fence and a shelter, the task is from the carpentry hut! It’s for two people, you’re late!"

Wode Foot Fungus Who Levin: "That’s right! Reinforcing a shelter gets you 5 silver coins and 50 contribution points! If someone attacks, we can push the fence to the door. Even if they break through the wooden door, we can use the shelter to surround them and shoot from a distance! It’s very useful!"

"Are we really making it this complicated? The task board just says to put two wooden stakes horizontally."

"You don’t know anything! This is a wooden anti-tank hedgehog from World War II! When we have the means, we’ll wrap it with barbed wire. Not just a few scavengers, even green-skinned muscle guys will be stuck at the door like chickens."

"Blow it, it’s just a damn fence. I almost believed you."

As they spoke, the two players seemed to argue about the practicality of the defensive works.

YaYa was completely baffled and full of questions.

Silver coins?

Is this the currency from the recent update?

What about the carpentry hut for tasks? Weren’t tasks always on plastic signs before?

YaYa thought to herself.

It seems this update has made significant changes...

Regardless, she needed to finish her punishment task and restore her citizenship as soon as possible. She didn’t want to miss out on this version and then have a new one come out.

Thinking about this, YaYa decided to find a container for the mushrooms.

However, just as she was about to pick up a plastic bucket, she noticed that the garbage inside the sanatorium had been collected and stored in a wooden shed.

As she approached, she saw a player sitting at a wooden table with his legs crossed, a notebook on the table, and a marker pen hanging nearby.

Seeing YaYa walk over, the player raised his eyes in surprise.

"Hey? You’re alive?"

YaYa was taken aback.

"Do you know me?"

The player grinned.

"Of course! Since the game started, you’re the only one who’s been a freebie."

YaYa was so angry she wanted to hit him, but she felt she might not win, so she glared at him.

"Move, I need a bucket."

"Small bucket 1 copper coin, large bucket 2 copper coins."

"What?" YaYa’s eyes widened. "You’re charging for this garbage?"

Why don’t you just rob us!

"Miss, these rules weren’t made by me. I’m just working here," the player made a helpless expression, twirling the marker pen, "If you have any complaints, go to the NPC."

"But I just revived, where would I get money?" YaYa said, half-laughing and half-crying, "Can you make an exception? I’ll return it after I use it."

"No way, no way. Breaking the rules will get you punished. These tools are only for sale, not for rent," the player shook his head like a metronome, "Didn’t everyone get 5 copper coins with the update? It’s not expensive, just buy one."

YaYa was stunned.

"What?! They gave out money? I didn’t receive it?"

The player clearly didn’t know, scratching the back of his head.

"Uh... could it be a matter of reputation?"

"Did you offend an NPC?"

Hearing about the reputation drop, YaYa was so sad she almost cried.

Damn!

I’ve already been punished, do I have to lose reputation too?

At that moment, a voice like a heavenly melody came from behind her.

"I’ll pay for her."

YaYa turned around sharply to see a small figure, about 1.5 meters tall, carrying a stack of thick fur coats, walking to the warehouse table and placing the goods heavily on the wooden table.

"Heave-ho, two pieces, note it down!"

"Wait a moment."

The player flipped open the notebook and wrote a line with the marker pen.

[...day...time, "Tailor" Teng Teng completed 2 hyena fur coats.]

After becoming a tailor, as long as a certain number of orders were completed each day, in addition to the basic salary, each quality coat completed would earn 2 silver coins as a reward.

Of course, players could also buy materials like fur and fibers from the warehouse, make coats themselves, and then sell them to other players or the warehouse.

It’s like being a small business owner.

Through this method, the profit from each coat is about 1 to 5 silver coins. If the quality is particularly good, once everyone has more money, some players might even pay a high price for them.

Teng Teng planned to wait until her skills were more proficient, save some money, buy a piece of land, and open a clothing store at the entrance of the sanatorium.

Running her own store would be more profitable than working for an NPC, right?

"Teng Teng..."

YaYa, coming to her senses, grabbed Teng Teng’s arm, her eyes brimming with grateful tears.

She didn’t expect that the first person to help her after she came out would be Teng Teng, with whom she had a verbal conflict before.

Feeling a bit embarrassed by her gaze, Teng Teng blushed and tried to pull her hand away.

"... Don’t look at me like that, it’s just one copper coin, not much money. Just pay me back later!"

"I’m sorry, I was wrong before, you’re really a good person!"

"... Well, I’m not holding it against you. Just work hard, I have to make clothes, I’m leaving."

Leaving a copper coin on the table, Teng Teng picked up the wooden basket full of fur, preparing to leave, but YaYa took it from her, offering to help.

"I’ll help you!"

"No, no, you go do your thing, I can manage on my own."

Teng Teng, looking exasperated, tried to take the basket back, but due to her height, she couldn’t reach it. YaYa nimbly dodged her.

Holding the wooden basket high, the enthusiastic YaYa smiled.

"How can I let you carry so much? Where’s your workstation? I’ll help you deliver it."

"..."

This guy is so annoying!

Teng Teng’s forehead was covered in black lines, her shoulders trembling.

Her fists clenched!

...

Carpentry Hut.

Mosquito, sitting on a stool, had a blade of grass in his mouth. He skillfully fixed two wooden strips together with tools, inserting aluminum sheets picked up from the wasteland in between.

Then, he strung a bowstring made from the sinews of a mutated hyena, completing a simple wooden bow.

"Done."

Another order completed, 2 silver coins earned.

Mosquito hung the finished wooden bow on a nearby shelf, waiting for other players to choose.

Strictly speaking, to make a true hunting bow, these simple procedures are far from enough.

Mosquito had only heard that a good hunting bow even requires the wood of the bow handle to have a specific moisture content.

However, for players without firearms, this thing is already quite good. Within thirty steps, it can kill a mutated hyena without any problem.

Of course, that’s assuming you hit.

He himself definitely doesn’t have that skill.

"20 wooden bows, required to pierce the skull of a mutated hyena within 20 meters... This order will probably take until the day after tomorrow."

Mosquito muttered, glancing at the bottles and jars on the corner of the table.

They contained saltpeter he had extracted from nitrate soil, gypsum powder containing calcium sulfate, and a bucket of black charcoal at the bottom of the shelf.

He originally planned to make black powder today, but the reward for the manager’s order was too tempting.

As long as he made 5 wooden bows a day, he would get a guaranteed salary, and each bow would earn him 2 silver coins.

"Whatever, let’s make money first..."

It’s not good to do chemical experiments in the carpentry hut all the time.

He planned to save some money, buy a piece of land, and some cement and bricks, and build a small house to sell the weapons he designed.

Isn’t that more interesting than being a carpenter?

At that moment, the door of the carpentry hut was pushed open, and Fang Chang, who had bought a bow from him earlier, walked in briskly.

"Give me 20 more arrows!"

"You used them up so quickly?" Seeing Fang Chang covered in blood, Mosquito was taken aback, "You didn’t forget that they can be recycled, did you?"

"I know, but are you sure they can still be used?" Fang Chang, looking depressed, placed the quiver on the table.

Inside were a stack of broken arrows and arrowheads that had fallen off the shafts.

Sitting on a stool, he sighed and complained, "The quality of these things is too poor!"

Mosquito picked up the quiver, pulled out an arrow, and examined it, stroking his chin.

"Hmm... Let’s analyze this rationally. Leaving the arrowhead in the prey’s body can be considered a good thing. But as you said, the loss is quite high when hunting. I’ll think about how to improve it."

The arrowheads were made from sharpened metal sheets, fixed to the wooden shafts with pine resin, and the quality was indeed poor.

"Please!"

"Don’t worry, it’s my job."

Mosquito counted out 20 arrows from a nearby shelf and handed them to Fang Chang.

One arrow costs 2 copper coins, so 20 arrows cost 4 silver coins. Fang Chang took out 4 silver coins from his pocket and placed them on the table without hesitation.

He had just traded them for the prey he had hunted.

"Thanks, brother."

"You’re welcome, good luck with your hunting," Mosquito chuckled, waving to Fang Chang as he left, "By the way, do you want to try my new weapon? I guarantee it’s very useful."

Hearing this, Fang Chang, who had just reached the door, almost tripped over the door frame.

"Cough, cough, next time for sure!"

That’s risking his life to test it!

Thinking about the "Hell Shower" this guy designed before, Fang Chang, steadying himself on the door frame, didn’t even dare to look back, and fled with the quiver.

Mosquito touched his nose, looking puzzled.

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

He had originally planned to add a bayonet for close combat to his "Hellfire 0.1."