Chapter 77

In front of the sanatorium, the square was bustling with people, a scene of lively commotion.

The newbies who had just entered the game, like the previous batch, gazed at the vivid world before them, repeatedly rubbing their eyes, wishing they could kneel down and kiss the sand and soil beneath their feet.

"This, this, this!"

"Damn, it's really virtual reality!? Wait, where's the logout button? I'll look for it, I don't want to get stuck here."

"Haha, no need to bother, just hit your head with a brick and you'll log out."

"Ugh, can I take a screenshot? This is too amazing."

"Amazing enough to shock my dad for a whole year!"

"It's so big."

The square was filled with the noisy chatter of the newbies, but the old players of Wasteland OL were already used to it, finding nothing strange about it.

After all, their first time logging in, they had pretty much the same reaction.

With their feet on the virtual soil, the wind felt incredibly real, and the impact on their worldview and cognition was indescribable.

Chu Guang, appearing as the manager of Shelter 404, held a plastic bag and walked up to these newbies, gesturing for them to quiet down. He then distributed the newbie starter packs to each of them.

"This is 5 copper coins."

"You can use them to rent tools from the warehouse, buy food from the granary, or trade with other players."

Despite the noise, the newbies showed great respect to the manager who held their "life and death" in his hands.

"Manager, are you really an NPC? I mean, are you really AI? Not a human in disguise? Sorry to be forward, but you look... too real!"

"Manager, you're so handsome, want to be CP?"

"NPC, how do I check my favorability? Where can I see it? Is there no player interface in this game?"

"Where's my health bar? And my mana bar?"

"Ugh, how do I play this game? Can someone guide me?"

"What's the point of giving us money? Can you give me a newbie sword?"

Hey.

A newbie sword?

Chu Guang found it amusing but didn't respond.

Don't worry, you won't need that thing.

As a serious and responsible NPC, Chu Guang didn't say a word, skillfully finishing the distribution of the newbie rewards.

Confirming that no one was left out, Chu Guang then turned to Dao Xiong, who was standing by, rubbing his hands in anticipation. With his hands behind his back, he said in a businesslike tone.

"The safety of the outpost is in your hands."

Dao Xiong, excited, clasped his hands together.

"Understood! Manager!"

Before the newbies could kneel and kiss the soil, they were dragged outside by the enthusiastic old foreman to dig trenches.

Believe it or not, once the trenches are dug and they see the fruits of their labor, they will have a deeper understanding of the game.

Don't worry.

Other players have gone through the same process.

Watching these newbies marching toward the north gate, Chu Guang suddenly thought of an RTS game he played a long time ago.

Its English name is Kingdom Fantasy. Due to its obscurity and the poor sequel, many people probably haven't heard of it.

The gameplay of this game is very interesting, different from mainstream RTS games that emphasize micro-management. Players ruling the kingdom cannot "directly control every unit."

What does that mean?

In simple terms, if a monster appears in your territory, you can't micro-manage the various heroes in your kingdom to attack it, but you can put a bounty on the monster and scatter some gold coins.

The heroes will naturally form teams to hunt it down, and the hero who kills the monster will gain experience and gold. With the reward money, they will spend it in the kingdom's tavern, buy weapons and supplies from the item shop, or learn skills and magic.

If the monster is too strong, the heroes will be afraid and run away... unless you increase the bounty. With enough incentive, even if the opponent is a dragon, adventurers with rusty weapons will bravely charge forward.

Sometimes, Chu Guang feels that what he is doing is similar.

Although he can't put a health bar above the heads of the raiders, he can scatter silver coins above their heads.

At the outpost's warehouse, a group of "veteran players" level 2 and above were gathered.

Since most tasks involve resource collection, this place has become the de facto task board.

"Damn! 20 silver and 200 contribution points for a raider?! And it can stack with the original 5 silver coin captive reward?"

"Ten-man squad leader reward doubled!"

"Does anyone know how many people are in the Blood Hand Clan? Online, urgent!"

"Brothers, a chance to get rich overnight! Whether you join or not, I'm in! Anyone want to team up? I have strength, need perception and agility, let's go guerrilla style! Share the rewards!"

"I need 1000 contribution points to become a citizen, it would take a week of grinding, but 5 captives are enough? Damn, this reward is good! Does anyone with a pulse count?"

"Even those without a pulse are fine! 10 silver coins! I have to carry bricks all day, ugh."

Seeing the rewards, the players went crazy, even suspecting that the manager had made a mistake with the bounty.

However, they didn't know that a certain "NPC" had done this on purpose.

Despite the high bounty, this task isn't something one person can solo. Teams of three or four are the norm, and the reward is reasonable when divided among them.

According to intelligence, the Blood Hand Clan has about 60 to 70 people, including a few ten-man squad leaders. Keeping the budget within 2000 silver coins is no problem.

Moreover, exceeding the budget isn't an issue.

Is it a bad thing for players to have money?

Of course not!

Everything in this shelter is his, after all.

The forty newbies who just entered are enough to fill the basic labor positions at the outpost.

The more experienced players can use the money to buy guns, land, stimulate the economy, and develop new gameplay.

Chu Guang feels that designing this system makes him even more brilliant than the first manager who "packaged this world into a game."

Simply perfect!

At this moment, someone finally noticed the level requirement on the task description.

"Damn! There's a level requirement for the task? I'm only level 1, what gives?"

"Strength users go chop trees, perception and agility users join a team... wait, this only says you need to be level 2 to accept the task, no restriction on teaming up with level 2 and other levels?"

"Big bro! Take me with you!"

"What class are you?"

"Intelligence!"

"Get lost."

"Damn!"

The new warehouse manager, Luca, sat in a chair in front of the door, guarding the ledger on the wooden table, ignoring the noisy chatter at the door.

Yesterday evening, the new owner briefed him on his duties.

Starting today, he no longer needs to do farm work. He just needs to move the items brought by the residents in blue coats into the warehouse, record them with a few not-too-difficult symbols in the ledger, and give them "rewards."

They were strange metal coins.

Luca didn't understand their value, as he had never heard of any survivor settlement using such things for trade.

However, the blue-coated residents treated these coins as treasures, suggesting they must be important to them.

Luca didn't want to think about these issues.

Years of experience told him that knowing too much might not be a good thing.

Seeing Chu Guang approaching, he immediately stood up, clenched his right fist over his left chest, and bowed respectfully.

"Sir, what do you need?"

Ignoring the curious looks from the surrounding players, Chu Guang placed the wooden basket on the table.

"I have a few items here. Sell them for me. Follow the old rules: when someone comes to buy, just indicate they should pay the price on the label."

Yesterday, Chu Guang used his 6 reward points to open blind boxes, but perhaps because he had used up his luck last time, he ended up with 6 lollipops.

However, 2 of them had attribute bonuses, so it wasn't a total loss.

Thinking the drawer was almost full, he grabbed a handful and brought them to the warehouse.

Each lollipop was priced at 1 silver coin, with the attribute-boosting ones costing double.

The high price might deter buyers, but it was better to put them on display than to let them sit unused.

"Sure, sir."

Old Luca placed the items from the basket on a nearby shelf and attached the labels Chu Guang had written.

At this moment, Chu Guang suddenly remembered something and asked.

"By the way, does Brown Farm grow sugarcane?"

"Sugarcane?" Old Luca looked puzzled, seemingly unfamiliar with it.

Chu Guang explained.

"A crop that produces sugar."

Hearing "sugar," Old Luca finally understood and replied.

"Sir, I've been at Brown Farm for twenty years and haven't heard of a crop called sugarcane... but I do know a bit about sugar. The farm grows a crop called red beet, which looks like a carrot when pulled from the ground. It can be squeezed to produce red sugar juice, and after boiling, small granules can be scooped out, which is probably the sugar you're talking about."

Growing sugar beets for sugar production?

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"Is it popular?"

"Popular... I'm not sure, but both merchants from the south and the north buy a little, though not much. I've heard it's not as valuable as salt."

In a place that produces sugar, sugar is naturally less valuable than salt.

In the wasteland, the cost of transporting goods can be much higher than the cost of producing them, which is no surprise.

However, sugar is a good thing.

It can be eaten, used to make alcohol, and even used as a weapon.

Next spring, he needs to find some seeds.

Chu Guang immediately thought of Boulder City.

It's the most likely place nearby to find what he needs.

"Sir, do you need anything else?"

"No, continue with your work."

"Yes, sir."

Old Luca watched Chu Guang leave, then returned to his chair.

At this moment, many players were interested in the new items on the shelf and gathered around.

Luca was extremely nervous, afraid someone might steal them.

However, the players were well-behaved, just excitedly discussing the items without touching them.

"These lollipops boost attributes?! For real?"

"Chocolate flavor boosts strength by 10%... lasts 10 hours. Damn, strength users will love this."

"Strawberry flavor boosts perception, apple flavor boosts intelligence... currently, these three flavors boost attributes and cost twice as much!"

"What? Only twice as much? That's a steal! Here are two silver coins, old man, I'll take one!"

"Me too!"

"Damn! Only the intelligence-boosting one left! Never mind, I'll buy it for Teng Teng."

In no time, the three attribute-boosting lollipops were sold out, leaving twelve non-attribute-boosting ones untouched.

"...Really sold them?"

Staring at the six silver coins on the table, Old Luca muttered to himself.

He didn't understand, but he was deeply impressed.