Chapter 21: Opposing Camp Revealed, New Information
Around three in the afternoon, Chu Guang brought Night Ten and the creatures they hunted back to Shelter 404. The results of their exploration were quite satisfactory. Although the two mutant hyenas they killed looked on the thin side, they each weighed twenty to twenty-five kilograms.
As one of the main sources of meat for survivors on the Wasteland, mutant hyenas were the most efficient prey. The meat they provided was more than ten times that of mutant rats, and there were a lot of them. They also often appear in groups of three to five. The most important reason they were hunted was because the risk of food poisoning from hyena meat was relatively low.
It was just that in the absence of guns, it was difficult for the average scavenger to defeat mutants that moved in groups when they only had cold weapons.
"Two mutant hyenas, and... I’ve got good news and bad news," Chu Guang said, dropping the creatures he hunted at the entrance of the nursing home and watching the incoming players.
Old White took the lead and asked, "What's the good news?"
Chu Guang replied, "The good news is that there’s an unfinished construction site in the northeast of the park near the viaduct. We found a large amount of limestone for construction there, which should have been desulfurized. There are also some abandoned trolleys. We should be able to use them after some minor repairs."
An expression of joy appeared on Old White's face, and he clenched his fists in excitement. "That’s great!"
He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to find the raw materials for refining calcium carbonate cement. He hadn’t expected that his problem would be solved so quickly. Those were materials he could use without processing!
However, Ample Time, standing next to him, felt that things weren’t that simple. "What about the bad news?"
Chu Guang continued, "Going out of the east gate and down 76th Street, there’s a camp of mutant humans. My rough estimate is that there are more than twenty of them."
The three players looked at each other and didn’t understand what he meant. Seeing the looks of confusion on their faces, Night Ten hurriedly explained, "Mutant humans are hostile forces! They’re strong and most importantly, they’re cannibals! We need to be careful around them!”
Chu Guang nodded, "Yes, he’s right."
Even after hearing the introduction, the three players weren’t afraid. Instead, they all had eager expressions, but Chu Guang quickly poured a cold bucket of water over them. "Mutant humans are not something we can deal with right now. They are at least level ten or higher. Rushing into contact with them will not only get yourself killed, but will also expose our position. From now on, everyone is prohibited from approaching 76th Street or leaving from the east gate until the threat is resolved!"
...
The players were surprisingly obedient. Even though they were curious about what the mutant humans looked like, they wouldn’t dare disobey the orders of the Administrator, who had GM authority. Being kicked out of the game was nothing, what if his Favorability towards them dropped… That wouldn’t be good.
After briefly inspecting the results of the morning's labor, Chu Guang concentrated on how to deal with the game that he had just caught. He’d eaten it before, but he only bought it at the barbecue stall on Bett Street. He’d never done this kind of thing himself before.
Chu Guang heard that the newly captured game needed to be bled immediately, otherwise their meat would become fishy and smelly.
As for how to bleed them, and what to do after bleeding… he had no idea.
In the last five months, most of the chips he earned came from picking up trash. He didn’t have much experience hunting. After all, hunting was too dangerous for solo travelers like himself.
After killing the hyenas, he’d cut open their main arteries, but somehow he felt that the blood still had not drained completely.
While Chu Guang was thinking of what to do, Gale approached him. "Dear administrator…"
"Is there a problem?"
"Can you give me some of their blood?"
"Blood? What do you want that for?" Chu Guang asked.
Gale explained, "I want to verify some theories I have.”
Chu Guang didn't think too much about it. Holding a short knife, he chopped off a front leg from the mutant hyena in front of him, and threw it over to Gale. "Take it."
"Thank you!" After Gale thanked him, he mysteriously left. Chu Guang was curious, but he didn't ask about it.
By evening, the players returned to the nursing home one after another.. Looking at the expression on Old White's face, Chu Guang knew that they probably did a lot. He wanted to ask, but before he could, Old White spoke anxiously.
"Dear administrator, under your wise guidance, the cement kiln at the outpost has been completed. When the cement has air-dried tomorrow, we can start producing the first batch!"
"Very good." Chu Guang nodded approvingly as he continued to encourage, "Thanks to you, we are one step closer to the great goal of rejuvenating the Federation of People! I hope you continue to work hard; the organization will remember your contributions." Chu Guang felt that he was getting better and better at handing out empty promises like that.
The players didn't seem to care whether or not he was genuine with his praise. They seemed to have found new pleasure in the labor of rebuilding a home. Wasn’t this what open world games were supposed to be about? Part of the fun was watching their home come together bit by bit, and they were lucky to be able to experience the epoch-making immersive virtual reality technology first. Chu Guang was happy that these players could enjoy it.
Their shelter was too poor right now, and he really couldn't give them anything substantial for rewards. He could only give them empty promises for the time being.
...
After going offline, the Bull and Horse Club once again became noisy. The many night owls in the group seemed to have changed up their active hours. Headed by Quit Smoking, some people who used to only be active at night were now up at five in the morning just to read the feedback from the group administrators.
Night Ten: Mutant humans! New forces update! The administrator has encountered a mutant human colony on 76th Street! The mutant humans are hostile forces! Confirmed!
Night Ten, who was the first to go offline, couldn't wait to chat to the group first, setting the enthusiasm of the members alight.
- Mutant humans?! What do they look like?
- Why hasn’t the official website been updated yet?
- Noice! Since there is a hostile force, the open beta shouldn’t be far away!
- God damn it, I really want to play!
A series of messages exploded in the group, but Night Ten continued typing.
- I don’t know what they look like, I haven’t seen them either! But don't be so impatient, the official website will definitely be updated with information about mutant humans. I’m also waiting on the news!
Quit_smoking: What about the other three? Why are you the only one online today?
Night Ten: I don’t know! It seems that Teeny Weenie has gone to study cement. Gale should have a class in the morning. I don’t know about Ample Time, he’s always mysterious…
- Girls_public_enemy_ten_times_a_night has been muted by the group owner for 1 hour.
Old White: I told you to stop calling me Teeny Weenie! (Anger)
Hold_the_sword_execution: Hahaha, he’s asking for it!
WC_really_has_mosquitoes: I’m so excited... I just need to wait for two more days, then this granddaddy here will be able to participate in the test!
Tomato_scrambled_eggs: +1 (funny.jpg)
Quit_smoking: Admin, please mute these two show-off fuckers too! It's such nonsense! I obviously applied first! QQ
This_lord_is_arrogant_what_can_you_do: You guys are hopeless.
Even now, This_lord_is_arrogant_what_can_you_do didn't believe in a completely immersive virtual reality online game, and thought it was nonsense. Nevermind the claim that it was 100% real. He and his fans were convinced that this was just the administrators pulling a prank.
Ample Time didn’t join the group chat today, but on the official forum, he updated his in-game experience for the day.
- Today is the third day of the closed test. The charcoal kiln provided us with a large amount of coal, and with the successful production of wood ash cement, we built a larger cement kiln under the leadership of Teeny Weenie. If the trial production is successful tomorrow, we will obtain more reliable building materials to build our home.
- I have to give a round of applause to the production team. The experiences this game brings me are something that no game sold on the market so far can offer. When each cement kiln is completed, the sense of accomplishment that comes with it is overwhelming and simply irresistible!
- There wasn’t much content we tried testing today, mainly just the open world system, but it is worth noting that today, the administrator revealed to us that there is a group of mutant humans at the end of 76th Street, which has been determined to be a hostile force. All players need to be careful to avoid it. However, the administrator did not disclose more information about them. As of now, the official website hasn’t updated photos of mutant humans either. Maybe it hasn’t been developed yet.
- If there is any new information, I’ll update all you Wasteland Survivors here as soon as possible. Please continue to keep an eye on this post!
Wasteland Survivors was what the alpha players had decided to call themselves. There were only about forty people, but they were all active… avid users, even. Soon, there were dozens of replies.
Chu Guang quietly watched everything play out and didn’t participate in the players’ discussion. He still took note of any good ideas, and marked some players with special thoughts down onto the website’s backend server.
If there was going to be a new player recruitment plan, these highly loyal users were the top priority, and those who complained and liked to make a fuss would be thrown to the back of the list. Rather than let them enter the wasteland and cause trouble, it was much better to let them hype up the atmosphere within the group.
Why should he give these online Karens access? Just so they could leave bad reviews?
At the testing stage, Wasteland Online was more like a private server. By gradually increasing the requirements for applicants, players who had access to the game would cherish the opportunity even more.
The open beta phase would be even easier to explain: The open beta would naturally be conducted a different way. When he released it, he would enclose a plot of land to serve as a novice village without a specific level or an honorary title. They won’t even be able to see him.
Chu Guang discovered that he was becoming more and more scheming... He wondered when it started…
Nevermind… There’s no point in thinking about things like these now.
Turning off the computer, Chu Guang turned on the system menu and confirmed the rewards for the daily mission.
[Mission: Cut ten trees]
[Reward: +1 reward point]
[Mission: Kill a mutant]
[Reward: +3 reward points]
"We completed less tasks today…” Chu Guang mumbled to himself as he saw that he only managed to gain four points.
Chu Guang struggled with his thoughts, and finally couldn't keep them together. He opened the Administrator Menu and used all four bonus points on a basic loot box.
The alloy door opened, and the conveyor belt started to roll.
Looking at the four lollipops lying at the end of the conveyor belt, Chu Guang almost couldn't resist the urge to curse. However, a semi-transparent holographic interface appeared above one of the lollipops that had a pale-gold outer packaging. It looked just like a label…
[Item: Enhanced Chocolate Lollipop]
[Effect: Strength increases +10% for 10 hours.]
Chu Guang’s eyebrows shot up in shock.
"?!"
Whaaaat the fuuuuck?
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