Chapter 81

The battle lasted less than twenty minutes, but cleaning up the battlefield took a full hour.

As before, the old rules still applied: all prisoners, bounties, and loot from the group battle belonged to all the participating players collectively.

Prisoners were valued at 5 silver coins each, and dead enemies at 5 copper coins each. These amounts were added to the total post-battle earnings and then evenly distributed among all participating players who followed orders.

As for the loot, it was gathered at the north gate for interested players to bid on.

The bidding process was simple, similar to an auction.

First, the administrator would set a base price and a maximum price. Interested players would then bid in sequence, with each bid increasing by at least 1 copper coin. Bidding would continue until no one raised the price or someone hit the maximum price.

Why was there a maximum price?

Chu Guang was simply too kind-hearted, worried that these young players might get carried away and spend too many silver coins on these items, which were not worth it.

If someone was really interested, they could directly bid the maximum price to secure the item.

If no one bid on an item, it would be considered unsold and the shelter would buy it back at 10% of the base price, then resell it at the weapon shop or store.

Malicious bidding would result in a penalty, deducting contribution points and 10% of the bid amount.

All proceeds from the auction, after a 10% tax, would be added to the total post-battle earnings and evenly distributed among all participating players.

This was a modified version of the GKP (Group Loot System) used in many MMORPGs, especially useful when it was difficult to determine the contribution ratio.

Chu Guang made some adjustments and implemented it directly.

Additionally, players who performed exceptionally well during the battle would receive extra silver coins and contribution points as rewards.

However, the MVP of this battle was undoubtedly Chu Guang himself, who had crushed the decurion's head with a single hammer blow, a feat witnessed by all the young players.

Incidentally, since there was no suitable auctioneer, Chu Guang had to take on the role himself.

"This is a 16mm gauge shotgun. Since it's a shotgun, it naturally has no rifling. Its design is very unique, particularly because... it has a shovel attached to the barrel."

"Hmm, I guess it's for digging foxholes? After all, no bulletproof vest can match the protection of dirt and sand around you. The starting price is 35 silver, with a maximum of 70 silver. If you're interested, please raise your hand and bid."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone raised their hand.

"I'll bid 35!"

"35 silver plus 1 copper!"

"Damn! I'll add another copper!"

"You're awesome! I'll bid 40 silver!"

"40 silver plus 1 copper."

"#$%!"

In the end, this seemingly useless gun, which didn't even have rifling, was sold for the "astronomical" price of 47 silver and 5 copper coins.

Since the weapon shop didn't have 16mm ammunition, the buyer would have to figure out how to solve that problem.

Otherwise, it would only be useful as a shovel.

Chu Guang then looked at the next weapon, a 5mm Scorpion submachine gun wrapped in tape.

Unlike the standardized weapons from Boulder City, this gun was clearly modified from parts taken from somewhere. The receiver looked like a semi-automatic pistol receiver with a piston added, and the front of the barrel showed signs of sawing.

The obvious drawbacks were low magazine capacity and a short barrel, which would result in poor accuracy.

However, the advantage was its extremely fast rate of fire, capable of emptying a magazine in 2.5 to 3 seconds in full-auto mode... but was that really an advantage?

Maybe for the rich, it was!

"This is a 5mm Scorpion submachine gun. Its original owner was a decurion from the Blood Hand clan, and his name, Cha, is engraved on the grip."

"Most raiders are uneducated and can't come up with complex names. His fate was tragic, dying to the righteous hammer... although his crimes were numerous, his weapon was indeed good. This gun embodies his lifetime of combat experience, modified to be light, fast, and with minimal recoil. Unless your attribute is Intelligence, it's easy to control with one hand. The starting price is 50 silver, with a maximum of 100 silver."

"I'll bid 70!"

"100!"

Chu Guang: "...?"

The one who bid 100 silver was Mosquito.

Under the envious gazes of the other players, this invisible tycoon took the loot, looking as if he had found a treasure.

Chu Guang's intuition told him that this guy didn't seem like the type to be on the front lines, and the reason for buying the gun was a mystery.

Regardless, Chu Guang sincerely hoped that this young player would use his intelligence for the betterment of society.

Even if that world no longer mattered to him.

The auction proceeded quickly.

With the maximum price limit, each item was sold within about two minutes.

Out of 12 guns, 10 were sold, with 3 reaching the maximum price and only 1 selling at the starting price.

The remaining 2 unsold guns, Chu Guang planned to hand over to Xia Yan for modification, as the receivers and barrels could still be recycled. If not, they would be discarded.

As for the melee weapons and defensive gear, they were all sold at a clearance price of 1 to 3 silver coins, with no need for an auction.

To Chu Guang's surprise, the loot auction raised 631 silver coins, 100 more than he had planned.

After deducting 10% in transaction fees, the final amount was 567.9 silver coins.

Chu Guang rounded it to 567 silver coins and generously distributed it along with other rewards to all 67 participating players.

Each player received over 10 silver coins as a reward, and everyone was happy.

Except for the prisoners on the gallows.

When they saw the blue coats, the raiders still harbored a glimmer of hope, as most blue coats opposed the death penalty, and surrendering might mean survival.

Their past experiences had misled them.

To ensure they could be useful after death, Chu Guang would send their bodies to the active substance machine to extract the active substances needed for cloning.

To create truly useful people.

"Alright, brave warriors of the shelter, you have successfully defended the hope of civilization. I salute you!"

"The auction is over. Those who need to rest, follow me back to the shelter. The rest are free to do as they please, but do not leave the perimeter of the outpost... unless you have a special mission."

"The north gate will close in 5 minutes. If you have more to say, go to the square. If you're done, go back to sleep. Dismissed."

Chu Guang clapped his hands and, like herding ducks, guided the players gathered at the north gate back into the outpost.

The battle had been too exciting, and many were still hyped up.

But it was already 2 AM, and their in-game fatigue values were about to exceed the limit.

Those who had planned to log out at 12 PM reluctantly returned to the shelter, lying in their hibernation pods to log out normally.

On the official forum.

As expected, the players who had just logged out rushed in.

NoSmoking: "Is there an update today? Any news about the beta?"

TrashCollector99: "No! But today's group battle was amazing! I charged out of the trench, slid, and bit off a raider's leg! He was so shocked, hahaha!"

Irena: "Which leg? (Funny)"

TrashCollector99: "?"

ConstructionWorkerAndBrick: "Man, I really wanted that full-auto pipe gun. I was thinking about how much to bid, but someone snatched it with the max bid of 80 silver. Ridiculous!"

XiaoXiaoShuChong: "No worries. When that guy fires it, he'll know what's ridiculous. With that barrel and receiver, I bet it jams after three shots. (Nose pick)"

Yaya: "Anyone have silver coins? I'll trade for real money! Interested? PM me~"

NightTen: "!!! Rich lady!"

Irena: "Do you want to dance under the planner's nose? (Funny)"

FangChang: "Damn! You're buying beta currency? Do you have too much money?"

Someone wanted to trade in real money?

While RMB transactions were inevitable in any MMORPG, Chu Guang hadn't expected that someone would even buy beta test currency.

What if the game's values inflated the next day?

For example, after level 10, a quest might reward 100 silver?

It wasn't impossible.

Chu Guang hadn't said he planned to use silver coins until the server closed.

Currently, only silver coins were issued, but in the future, with power armor, planes, tanks, and artillery, gold coins, platinum coins, purple crystal coins, air coins, and digital coins might be introduced.

Even during the beta and public beta, a new currency system might be implemented.

It wouldn't make sense for a level 1 newbie and a max-level veteran to earn the same amount from the same quest.

For the game, that would be ridiculous!

Out of concern for his young players, Chu Guang sat up straight in his chair and typed on the keyboard.

Light: "A friendly reminder from the planner: 'Wasteland OL' does not advocate or recognize off-site transactions. Posts on the forum requesting or offering to buy or sell in-game currency will be deleted. If you trade on third-party platforms, the official website cannot enforce rules, but it will not recognize any chat records or transfer information outside the forum. Similarly, it will not re-evaluate in-game or out-of-game losses based on such evidence."

Light: "Many players on the forum are recommended by friends. If you must trade, I won't stop you, but please consider the risks and don't easily trust strangers. In future development, we will consider launching an official trading platform to ensure player safety. For now, please focus on enjoying the game itself."

This was for the players' own good.

At this stage, whether selling silver coins for RMB or selling equipment for RMB, it would definitely be a loss for both parties.

Anyone with a bit of foresight could predict the impact the game would have globally after the public beta.

As the planner, Chu Guang had already promised that this was a non-erased beta test. This was the time to spend money on improving combat power, work hard, and gain advantages, aiming to become a top-tier player later.

Why wait to compete with newbies in future versions?

That would be too sad.

NightTen: "Damn! Light is here."

Yaya: "Ah! Planner, I didn't mean to! I won't do it again! QAQ"

NoSmoking: "Ban her! Let me play! (Sunglasses)"

Yaya: "Get lost! (#`O′)"

YeAoNaiWoHe: "Haha, starting to farm players? Arrange some actors to stir up the market and lure people in. Tsk tsk, you know the drill. (Nose pick)"

LeiDianFaWangYangProfessor: "If RMB transactions are not allowed, can I use BTC? (Curious)"

NightTen: "While your ideas are always unique, I suggest you get a beta test slot first. (Funny)"

LeiDianFaWangYangProfessor: "Damn! Bad luck. T.T"

NoSmoking: "Get lost, you call that bad luck? I look down on you!"

NightTen: "I can vouch, NoSmoking is the unluckiest. We all clicked the reservation button at the same time, but we're all level 4, and he hasn't even reserved a slot. (Funny)"

Irena: "(Funny)"

NoSmoking: "Don't talk about it, bro. T.T"

Really?

Oh...

That's too pitiful.

Chu Guang swore he hadn't targeted anyone. With so many reservation players, he couldn't possibly know everyone. He had only filtered out those with unusual thoughts, antisocial personalities, and those under 18. The rest were randomly selected.

Not getting a slot after so many tries...

Maybe he should buy a lottery ticket.

"888 reservations, a good number."

Lucky!

Taking one last look at the official website, Chu Guang shut down his computer, stretched, and went to sleep in the next room.