Chapter 18: I Clearly Applied First...
Since his players were such hard workers, Chu Guang felt he shouldn’t worry too much about them. It would be better to let them enjoy some freedom when playing.
After stacking the supplies next to the elevator, Chu Guang returned to the shelter and called for his Administrator Menu. The interface showing the mission completion notice soon appeared in front of him.
[Congratulations on completing the daily mission: Hoarding wood]
[Reward: Reward Points +2]
[Congratulations on completing the daily mission: Producing cement]
[Reward: Reward Points +5]
After completing his daily missions, he gained a total of 7 points. It wasn’t enough for an intermediate loot box, but Chu Guang didn't mind. His players had already started making cement, and he had more than ten kilograms of food stored. Soon, he would be able to recruit a few more players to join them and provide free labor…
"System, use all points to buy basic loot boxes!”
His points were instantly cleared out as the alloy door at the side of the wall opened. The conveyor belt began to roll as rewards from basic loot boxes were delivered. There were five lollipops, a piece of chocolate that was two hundred grams in weight, and a five hundred grams bag of salt. Like before, there were no expiration or production dates.
How much did the first administrator like candy?!
Looking at the lollipops and chocolate, Chu Guang was stunned speechless. Salt was great though. Reaching out to pick it up, Chu Guang stared at it in shock. All the salt he could buy back then on Baker Street was coarse salt shipped from Boulder Town. It was a pale yellow in color, expensive, and of poor quality. It was more bitter than it was salty. Refined salt like what he received from the loot box was usually expensive, and the average survivor simply couldn’t afford it.
"It would be nice if I could have more!"
He barely had enough to cook! It would be a huge waste if he tried to salt his meat to store bacon or sausage. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to trade it for coarse salt either. He could easily trade it for ten… No, twenty… No! Probably thirty times its weight in coarse salt!
There were other risks, though. River Valley was a landlocked province, and salt could generate huge profits second only to the arms trade. Without enough backup, it would be a bit difficult to engage with this business safely.
After receiving his rewards, Chu Guang opened the Shelter Resident Directory to see when his players left the day before. To his surprise, Old White actually leveled up!
"Players can level up just by chopping trees?" Chu Guang gasped in shock. The progress of the players’ genetic sequence development started from zero, but Old White managed to raise it to a mighty 1% which allowed him to level up!
After thinking for some time, Chu Guang finally understood the reason and heaved a sigh of relief. Cutting trees required a lot of effort and it was a type of exercise in itself. Moreover, Old White’s genetic sequence seemed to be of the strength type and there was nothing surprising about his process. It seemed as though players didn’t actually have to fight to gain levels! Though… That might just be a shortcut for their development.
Turning off the interface, Chu Guang sat in front of his computer again as he logged on to the backend of Wasteland Online’s official website.
Earlier, he had set up an application requirement. Players needed to register an account while providing their delivery address and phone number in order to apply for testing qualifications.
Chu Guang was already prepared for a slow-to-nothing increase in the number of applications and he sure as hell didn’t expect the original thirty five applicants to increase to a whopping forty five.
Good lord. Are there really that many people lurking in the Bull and Horse Club?
Surprised, Chu Guang logged into Penguin Chat and opened the Bull and Horse Club. After sorting through the chat records, he found some clues. Apparently, a slew of newcomers were added the day before and the number of members soared from slightly over a hundred to over two hundred in total! Most of the newcomers had been invited by friends who were already members of the Bull and Horse Club, and many of them were hopping from one group to another as they were active in all major gaming groups throughout the year.
There was now an urban legend about a completely immersive virtual reality game that had begun to circulate in the gaming community. Even though most people would laugh it off, there would always be a person or two who believed the rumors and found a way to join the Bull and Horse Club.
Many weren’t sure if the administrators were also in on the joke, but they did have a decent website.
[Chat History]
Quit_smoking: Why are there suddenly so many new people in the group? (Confused.jpg)
Garbage_pickup_level_99: Hey bossmen! How do I join the test? Do I need to pay?
Quit_smoking: Damn? Are you all here for Wasteland Online? (Surprised.jpg)
Girls_public_enemy_ten_times_a_night: The group name should be changed to Wasteland Online Player Group. (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
This_lord_is_arrogant_what_can_you_do: You don’t have to spend money during the testing phase, but no one knows if that will change in the future. You can register an account and fill out a form to join the queue. As for when you’ll get in, it depends on how good-looking you are... Smh, there are people who actually believe that?
Quit_smoking: Brother Night Ten! Did you go online last night?? Any new updates? (Excited)
Girls_public_enemy_ten_times_a_night: Yep, we made cement all night, haha. You can ask Ample Time, I'm going to class. Bye.
Quit_smoking: Cement?!
Garbage_pickup_level_99: What’s the difference between that and picking up garbage?!
The group members then chatted for a while.
Chu Guang skipped the long list of nonsense and checked for Ample Time’s messages.
There_will_be_ample_time: To be honest, the realism of this game went beyond my expectations! Unlike most open world building games, in Wasteland Online, logs will not turn into timbers by themselves. We can’t just make charcoal by burning wood with a single click of a mouse. We had to build a kiln from scratch to start burning charcoal! The system’s setup is basically the same as in reality. The same is true for making cement. There is no one-click workbench. We started by making wood ash…
Quit_smoking: Holy shit? Is it really that realistic?!
There_will_be_ample_time: Yep! The combat system hasn’t been tested yet, but as far as the open world concept is concerned, Old White and I haven’t even found the game’s limits, yet!
There_will_be_ample_time: Theoretically speaking, all the materials we’ve been exposed to can be modified according to their realistic physical and chemical properties, and any modifications to the map environment are permanent! The map won’t return to its original state! That’s what I was most surprised by!
He was reminded of Death Stranding, a pseudo-open world game that was about building roads. However, Wasteland Online wasn’t about roads, and it was far better than Minecraft with its pixelated style. Its graphics were even more realistic than the photorealistic racing game Forza Horizon 4. He had never seen anything like it before, especially the immersive experience. He was completely blown away!
This_lord_is_arrogant_what_can_you_do: LMAO. If it’s that realistic, this lord can definitely build Jinling City on the wasteland!
Hold_the_sword_execution: I don't believe it! It’s too unrealistic!
White_horse_passing_a_crevice: Enough hating, you'll know when you enter the game. This game is the most realistic I have ever seen. You’ll need to collect materials yourself, and it doesn’t support any AFK farming bots. In other games, you can turn on farming bots and leave your characters in the game through the night to farm monsters, but you have to do everything yourself in Wasteland Online! You’ll be exhausted from chopping trees.
Level_8_Gale: It’s true.
Quit_smoking: Damn it. Now I really want to play this game after hearing you talk about it! Oh, Brother Light, I know you’re watching, so I’m begging you. Please give me a chance!
Chu Guang continued to scroll through the chat history.
…
The administrators and the group owner who obtained testing qualifications were practically praising the game non-stop, saying that it was the best game of the year. There were also some impatient players interrupting from time to time with bullshit like, "Hundred thousand yuan for a qualification account," or, "One hundred thousand is too little, I’ll give you one hundred million (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)". It was a mess.
Eventually, the topic of discussion turned into Man vs. Wild, a popular show on television. They seemed to be interested in the gameplay Ample Time described, but most players who didn’t believe the game existed also took part in the discussion. Some of them even gave suggestions.
Among them, Chu Guang was most interested in a group member whose ID was WC_really_has_mosquitoes. Looking at the date he joined, he was truly a newcomer. The others talked about every aspect of the game, but he very seriously talked about the eighteen uses of wood.
Burning charcoal and making furniture were the most basic uses he mentioned, but he also mentioned dry distillation of wood. The idea was that in the process of baking wood to make carbon in a closed container, a large amount of combustible gas and flue gas rich in various organic chemical components would be released. Those complex mixtures were collectively referred to as ‘scorched wood’ and were the chemical ancestors of many products until coal tar and petroleum found wider use.
According to his description, by filtering the collected condensate, a water-like solution composed of acetic acid, acetone, and methanol could be obtained alongside a thick tar-like residue. Both were complex mixtures, but both could be fractionated to extract different organic chemical components. Besides acetic acid and methanol, acetone was also a precious treasure that could be obtained. Not only could it be used as an organic solvent, but it could also be used to make smokeless gunpowder!
Chu Guang was shocked
Is this guy in the chemical industry?!
He quickly clicked into the guy’s online profile to learn more. As it wasn’t a private account, it was pretty easy to run through what Chu Guang wanted to find out. There seemed to be nothing related to chemicals, but he had advertisements for furniture and construction materials.
Alright… this guy seems to be a furniture dealer.
He probably knew so much about wood as a result of it being an object of interest, but his knowledge may come in handy. Chu Guang thought for a while, and suddenly an idea came to mind. He decided to privately message the guy, "Hi, are you interested in joining the closed alpha?"
It was nine o'clock in the morning in the wasteland, which meant it should be nine in the evening in the parallel world.
Sure enough, WC_really_has_mosquitoes sent a question mark.
WC_really_has_mosquitoes: ? Who are you?
Light: I’m the game designer of Wasteland Online.
WC_really_has_mosquitoes: Holy shit! You’re the game designer?
WC_really_has_mosquitoes: Brother, how can I get in? Do you need money? I have no money.
Light: There’s no need to spend money, just fill in a form and I will send you the link.
Though full of doubts, WC_really_has_mosquitoes still clicked on the link and filled in his address and phone number on the website’s application page. He exercised caution while filling in the necessary details. Instead of his flat number, he wrote the address of his community’s reception.
WC_really_has_mosquitoes: What now? What else do I need to do?
Light: Send me the application number, I’ll mark it out on the system and I’ll notify you when it goes online in three days.
It would take three days to make a clone and he wasn’t able to give them immediate access.
Just when Chu Guang started thinking about what other talents he needed for the outpost, the group exploded with messages.
As it turned out, WC_really_has_mosquitoes went to show off in the group right after he filled out the form.
WC_really_has_mosquitoes: Hahahaha, brothers, I got in for the alpha test!
Quit_smoking: WTF?!
Quit_smoking: Why?! I clearly applied first! Q.Q
The group was bombarded with messages in an instant. What also exploded at the same time was Chu Guang’s inbox. Looking at the long series of small red dots, Chu Guang’s hair stood on end. Knowing that he couldn't hide himself any longer, he quickly appeared to make an explanation.
Light: Everyone, please be patient. The closed alpha is also for your future gaming experience. At this stage, we need to test whether the various systems in the game are complete, so we need some players with special knowledge to act as guinea pigs.
Quit_smoking: I can also be a guinea pig! I’ve been driving for seven years! Q.Q
Hold_the_sword_execution: Tsk, so what if you have seven years of driving experience, I can even drive an excavator!
This_lord_is_arrogant_what_can_you_do: Don’t fight, don’t you see that the mosquito guy only joined the group yesterday? Maybe it's the administrator's alt account! A totally immersive virtual reality game… It's all fake!
No_one_understands_love: The online profile doesn’t look like an alt account...
Quit_smoking: Brother Light! I'm begging you! Give me a chance!
Light: Wait a few more days, a hundred slots will be released soon. Believe me, everyone has a chance!
His revelation brought widespread excitement to the group.
Chu Guang tried to calm the emotions of the group members, but found that it was useless. The other administrators were still in the game, and he couldn't control the situation at all.
I can’t let this go on. Maybe I should release more slots?
Chu Guang touched his chin and started thinking. He had more than ten kilograms of food stored and now that he had a gun, he would be able to start hunting. Having a few more people might not be a problem.
That’s right, food!
Chu Guang's eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly typed something.
Light: By the way, we still don’t have a chef to test the cooking system.
What Chu Guang didn't expect was that after he sent his last message, the group blew up again. Not everyone knew woodwork, but the requirement for being a chef was too damn low! Was there anyone who didn’t know how to make a dish or two? Anyone who had two hands would be able to cook!
Regardless if they knew how to or not, everyone started bragging to gain a spot.
- I can fry a plate of Kung Pao chicken with my eyes closed!
- Even my dog can do that
There were even those who started calling themselves the reincarnation of the God of Cookery.
In order to qualify, everyone tried their best to impress Chu Guang. He really didn’t know what to do.
How should I choose?
The argument lasted for half an hour until a member posted his chef certificate. It was a lot more convincing than the rest who were yelling about their skills.
Chu Guang immediately announced the ownership of the sixth qualification. After asking for the application number in a private message, he went offline at the speed of light.
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