This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 100: Players with High Enthusiasm for Exploration and the Commercial Team Facing the Snowstorm

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Players with High Enthusiasm for Exploration and the Commercial Team Facing the Snowstorm

"Alright, stop wasting water in there, everyone out."

Chu Guang walked into the public bath on Level B1 and knocked on each door, chasing the players out like herding ducks.

"Wait, wait, wait, I just got in!"

"Put your clothes on and get out."

"Okay, okay, don’t open the door yet."

"You have one minute."

"!!!"

As he chased these young players out, Chu Guang suddenly felt like the landlady from "Kung Fu."

But there’s no other choice, he had to do it.

Expecting voluntary compliance from the players was impossible; the queue outside the public bath had turned into a long dragon.

Almost every player in Shelter No. 404 had come here to line up, and there was hardly anyone working on the surface. It was absolutely crazy.

Chu Guang herded the players crowded in the public bath in Zone A to the hall and surveyed them with authority. With a solemn tone, he said,

"I have good news to share. Just half a day ago, our impressive performance led our organization to increase its investment in us."

"From now on, the underground Level Two area of the shelter is open to our advance team. Your sleep cabins will be relocated to Area B here, along with the next batch of reinforcements."

"This area has nearly complete living facilities, much better than Level B1. However, I hope you don’t get too comfortable with the favorable living environment here and keep your eyes on the long-term goal."

"Rebuilding Utopia in the human world is our ideal and pledge."

"To conserve the shelter’s valuable energy and water resources, starting now, the drinking fountains, showers, and public restrooms will require a fee to use."

"Restroom usage will consume 1 Copper Coin per use, with an additional 1 Copper Coin for every 10 minutes beyond half an hour. The shower will consume 3 Copper Coins per use, with an additional 3 Copper Coins for every 10 minutes beyond half an hour. The drinking fountain will charge 1 Copper Coin for every 200ml of purified water, no limits on hot or cold."

"You must prepay the fees at the Manager’s assistant place before using the facilities. Permissions will be bound to the VM device. The camera will record the user’s identity and usage time. No more than one person is allowed to use a device at the same time. Irregular usage will cause the device to lock, and violators will be penalized. Additionally, if there are overdue fees, they must be settled within 24 hours, or it will affect future usage."

Control of the cameras had already been given to Xiao Qi.

It could accurately identify the usage time of each player’s device, directly operating in the background to deduct the prepaid fees in accordance with the rules.

AI management was far more efficient than manual management.

Overdue fees?

Then don’t use it.

In his territory, hardworking players wouldn’t run out of money.

Upon hearing the manager’s announcement, the players expressed some regretful expressions but were not unable to accept it.

It’s well known that VIP value-added services require payment, and bathing in the shelter is indeed more comfortable than outside. You don’t have to worry about running out of water halfway through.

At least the generous manager didn’t implement some hellish membership service like the Emperor Penguin, charging a fee for entering and another fee for turning on the faucet, with priority given to those who pay extra.

"Damn! I was just halfway through my bath and got chased out. Huge loss, boo-hoo."

"What loss? At least you got to experience it. I didn’t even get to the front of the line!"

"Bathing costs 3 Copper Coins? That’s three times the price outside. I’ll still head to the lake to bathe."

"You’re crazy. It’s almost freezing outside. You want to bathe at the lake? I think you’ll just sink there."

"Wait a minute, you guys can bathe in half an hour?! Speaking of which, it’s really unreasonable that after half an hour, every 10 minutes costs 3 Copper Coins."

"You can also come out and go back in. But if there are a lot of people, you’ll probably have to queue again."

"I also think it’s unreasonable. I finish in 10 minutes. Why do I have to pay 3 Copper Coins? Can I just pay 1 Copper Coin?"

Seeing the noisy players, Chu Guang clapped his hands and shooed them to the elevator.

"Now, go upstairs and drag down your cultivation chambers."

"Underground Level Two Area B currently has rooms numbered 1-100 available. The players with the highest Contribution Points will select their rooms first. Everyone can have one room as their respawn point."

"Go on now, don’t just stand there stupidly. If you’re late, you’ll get a random allocation."

Under the manager’s urging, the players finally dispersed, ran upstairs, and started working, dragging their cultivation chambers down.

Soon, the hall on the underground Level Two was packed with cultivation chambers.

Including the 10 new players who just joined the Game, nearly all 81 players without tasks gathered here.

Every cultivation chamber had a unique identifier corresponding to the player’s U ID, ensuring they wouldn’t be mixed up.

Next was the seat selection process.

As the most advanced players in the Game, the four members of the Bull and Horse small team undoubtedly had the highest Contribution Points, securing rooms 001-004.

Then it was Mosquito and Teng Teng, taking rooms 6 and 8, respectively.

Following them were Egg Fry, who had cooked for two versions and worked as the butcher for one version, and Crow, who made a fortune from the Leech Nest.

Seeing the prime room numbers taken, they swiftly grabbed rooms 66 and 88.

The numbers might be high, but the digits were impressive.

As for the rest, they didn’t really matter!

In less than half an hour, almost all rooms were assigned. Players stationed at the Outpost Base and the abandoned tire factory got their rooms through random distribution.

Players happily dragged their cultivation chambers to their allotted rooms to set up their beds.

Chu Guang ordered the players to send the freed beds upstairs.

From now on, Level B1 would be reserved for himself and core NPCs who needed to visit the surface frequently.

The remaining 100 rooms in Area B of Level Two could be considered for accommodating some technical personnel or special talents collected from the Wasteland in the future.

It would be best if they came over from cryosleep, so the "bloodline" would be relatively pure, and the knowledge system would be more complete.

After settling the players, Chu Guang went to the surface and found Hain pacing back and forth in front of the open space of the sanatorium.

Seeing Chu Guang, the merchant from Red River Town’s eyes lit up instantly, and he immediately approached with a broad smile.

"My friend, you’ve finally adjusted to the schedule. I almost went down to look for you."

Chu Guang smiled faintly.

"You probably can’t use that elevator."

"I know, so I didn’t even try," Hain chuckled and continued, "Just now, my most capable assistant Wen brought good news. The commercial team from Red River City has already set off and is expected to arrive within three days. We plan to complete the transaction at the tire factory!"

Chu Guang didn’t ask how Hain got the news.

Radio communication wasn’t high-end technology, and besides radio, there were clearly many other communication methods in this world that he had never heard of.

For example, the signal transmission between the players’ helmets, clones, and cultivation chambers clearly didn’t use radio as a medium.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible to achieve zero delay.

"I hope you brought what I wanted," Chu Guang said as he looked at him.

"Of course. It’s what we agreed upon." Hain removed his hat and bowed, his face full of sincere reverence and respect, "Honesty and trustworthiness are my mottos."

Having experienced his acting many times, Chu Guang just smiled faintly without commenting.

Believe your lies?

The grass on your grave is two meters high!

If you’re unlucky, you wouldn’t even have a grave.

...

With the downfall of the Blood Hand Clan, the largest looter group in the North Suburb has completely perished.

The flag of 404 was planted on the roof of the abandoned tire factory, and Blue Jackets armed with iron pipe rifles stood guard on the enclosing wall.

Until new looter forces set their sights on this piece of meat, the survivors in this area could enjoy a brief period of peace.

In terms of the game’s terminology, thanks to the players’ brave fighting, the "Looting Level" of the local area dropped by three levels, and the prosperity increased by one level.

Meanwhile, the regional reputation of Shelter No. 404 increased by 100, relations with neutral survivor forces increased by 10, the frequency of commercial team appearances increased by 10%, and the probability of neutral NPCs joining increased by 10%...

These were all updates Chu Guang posted on the official website, just for players and backseat drivers to brag and feel proud.

He had also noticed that not everyone on the forum believed this game truly existed. Many simply thought they were playing a "concept game."

But even so, watching so many people "bragging" seriously was quite interesting, much like the early MUD games where over ninety percent of the content relied on a group of people using their imagination.

However, as one of the most widespread urban legends in the current gaming circle, even if the reservation account required filling in substantial personal information, many new players still signed up enthusiastically.

Their motivation was quite simple.

Beta test qualification meant having a player identifier on the forum account, which made their bragging more credible than those without the identifier.

When the helmet appeared at their door, their expressions would undoubtedly be spectacular.

Regardless of the parallel world’s affairs, with the introduction of the "VM" equipment, players’ enthusiasm for exploration had reached a peak.

Even though the snowfall outside grew heavier, it couldn’t stop them from wanting to explore the map. Watching the map’s shadows gradually disappear from the screen was quite a stress-relief.

The key was that it was quite convenient to operate, as long as one walked close to the wall.

If Chu Guang hadn’t set limits on the exploration areas, prohibiting them from venturing north into the wilderness or deep into the city, they might have dared to reach Giant Stone City by relying on their legs and hands.

Of course, it was more likely they would die halfway there.

There were almost no main roads to follow from here to Giant Stone City, either circling west along the high-rise loop remains, or finding a way through large ruins and collapsed buildings.

And the cold winter would make all this even more dangerous.

Death was a small matter; the trouble was having to issue corpse-running tasks and finding ways to retrieve their bodies and VM equipment.

Especially the VM equipment, which was much more valuable than the players’ bodies, costing 40 silver coins to buy!

Besides the players, the only two indigenous people "NPCs" at the Outpost Base, a female weapon shop owner and a warehouse manager, also used the NPC version of the VM under Chu Guang’s arrangement.

With the prompter’s help, their work efficiency had significantly increased. At least, when buying and selling stuff, they didn’t need to ask the players to repeat themselves because they didn’t understand them the first time.

"The snow is getting heavier."

On the enclosing wall of the abandoned tire factory.

Looking at the street, streetlights, vehicle remains, and buildings covered in silver frost, the fully armed Chu Guang suddenly sighed softly.

Such heavy snow would definitely impact the industry at the Outpost Base.

Even if the players weren’t afraid of the cold, couldn’t feel pain, and could overcome the cold with a worker’s will, they would still suffer from frostbite, cold stupor, or even shock.

There was no way they could smelt steel in the shelter.

Hain, who stood beside him, couldn’t guess Chu Guang’s thoughts and offered his compliments with a smile.

"This year will probably be colder than last year. The surrounding survivors’ days will be tough. But you shouldn’t worry; the shelter is like spring all year round."

Chu Guang didn’t respond to him, just kept looking north.

The cold northern wind howled, swirling with snow like blades.

Behind that hazy snow mist, figures suddenly appeared.

Hain reacted faster than Chu Guang, eyes filled with joy, and excitedly pointed to the snow mist ahead.

"Sir! Our commercial team has arrived!"

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