This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 125: A New Order!

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: A New Order!

Bet Street’s northern gate.

Old Walter tut-tutted as he watched the convoy of covered wagons carry away weapons and ammunition, his mind a mix of complex emotions.

"If that guy had distributed the guns earlier, maybe we wouldn’t have lost."

The survivors of Bet Street had never even touched a gun because their respected town mayor had never intended to let them afford one.

As for the reason, he could see it clearly.

Compared to the Looters, who could be appeased with wealth, it was the Scavengers beneath his feet, constantly hungry, who truly scared him.

Old Charlie, who had just returned from pacifying the survivors, happened to hear this and cracked a thin smile before casually responding,

"The result would have been the same."

"Why?"

"Do you have faith?"

Old Walter was taken aback.

"Faith?"

Charlie glanced meaningfully at the Blue Jackets, full of spirit and steadfast at their posts.

"They do."

The reason this world had become a Wasteland was never due to some terrible weapon, but the despair from witnessing the collapse of paradise.

Before he was sold here, he had seen a landlord farming with bionic robots, witnessed war maniacs mounting fusion engines on airships, and even a madman who transformed himself into an octopus with eight prosthetic limbs.

Many of his brethren from the same shelter had seemed entirely sane before the doors opened, only to descend into madness shortly after stepping out.

And numerous others chose suicide, unable to face the cruel reality.

Yet these Blue Jackets seemed to be the total opposite.

How should he put it...

They seemed unhealthily optimistic, maybe?

Old Charlie himself couldn’t figure out how to describe their state of mind.

But one thing was for sure, if even the despair of paradise collapsing couldn’t destroy them, then they must have some powerful belief sustaining them in their hearts.

Unaware of what Old Charlie was pondering, the two young players standing guard at the gate were killing time with idle chatter.

"I have the following six opinions on the situation in Afghanistan..."

"You’re right, but the Vatican has a permanent population of 800, and Australia alone has 47 million kangaroos. If the kangaroos decided to invade the Vatican, then every Vatican citizen would have to fight 58,750 kangaroos."

"Did you say that old man seems to be watching us?"

"Does he have a quest for us?"

"Doesn’t look like it, there’s no exclamation mark on the map and he’s not wearing a VM."

"Then forget about the old guy... Oh right, where was I?"

...

The power generator supplying electricity to the castle was located on the first floor, the same model Chu Guang had bought from List, a combination of a wood gasifier and a gas-fired generator.

However, this wood-powered generator had a much higher output than the one Chu Guang had previously purchased, with four feed ports connected to four giant cylinders, it could actually reach a maximum output power of 150KW!

To place this generator inside the castle was simply a waste.

Chu Guang planned to take it back with him.

Currently, the power output of the "electric grid" at Outpost Base was only 10KW, which was barely enough to power a single Active Substance Extractor.

150KW, that could do quite a lot!

But before moving it back, Chu Guang needed to use it.

The players efficiently stuffed wood into the feed ports and pulled the electrical switch. As the generator started up again, the castle’s lighting was restored.

Chu Guang, carrying a large hammer, entered the castle and took the elevator straight to the top floor.

According to the players’ reports, this was the old mayor’s study.

Chu Guang instructed them not to rummage through the things here, to wait until he arrived.

The players obediently did as told, though they had practically stripped everywhere else, short of gnawing the paint off the walls.

The elevator came to a stop.

Looking at the fireplace directly ahead and the neatly stacked firewood inside, Chu Guang couldn’t help but click his tongue.

"Damn, corrupt to the core."

Even the hallways have heating!

This old leech doesn’t wear clothes at home, does he?

The mental image was somewhat eye-searing, and Chu Guang decided it was better not to imagine it.

Passing through the carpeted hallway, Chu Guang headed straight for the study which he had marked with a special symbol on the VM map.

Rather than a study, this place was more like a collector’s room.

On the shelf, apart from novels, poetry collections, and cooking recipes from before the war, there were also some quirky gadgets and ornaments.

Chu Guang reached for a small brass-colored pistol on the shelf, examined it in his hand for a while, and then aimed at the wall next to him and pulled the trigger, only to see a small flame burst from the muzzle.

"Lighter?"

Apart from the lighter shaped like a pistol, there was also a Beetle Clock made of gold gears and springs, which looked quite valuable.

Chu Guang even found several gold bars in a rusty iron box.

It seemed that in Qingquan City area, gold was not such a rare thing, at least not worth as much as those colorful chips.

Otherwise, it would not have been discarded here.

"Tsk, this iron rooster."

"Really didn’t leave a single chip for me!"

After admiring his spoils for a while,

Chu Guang set these flashy but impractical things to one side, his eyes landing on the radio on the desk.

Stepping forward, he reached out and pressed the switch.

After a brief pause, melodious and soothing music mixed with the noise of electrical currents soon wafted from the old speaker.

Chu Guang was surprised.

"There’s a signal?"

From Giant Stone City?

Or another survivor settlement...

Chu Guang was about to tune it to see if there were other channels.

However, just as his hand touched the black knob, the soothing music abruptly stopped, replaced by a slick DJ.

"... And now for a news break. To our north, in the "North Suburb" of Qingquan City, there has been a large-scale melee involving a hundred people. A group suspected to come from the north, armed with rifles made from water pipes, charged the local survivor settlement. Their most advanced weapon was a ridiculous smoothbore cannon?"

"Tsk tsk, how cruel. We saw those migrants using black powder to blow open the local residents’ doors, smashing their skulls with rifle butts. They hung the men at the gates, tied the women up, and dragged them off into dark alleys, from one-year-old children to fifty-year-old women... tsk tsk tsk, these beasts are truly savage."

Chu Guang: "...?"

Is this DJ on drugs?

What nonsense he’s spouting.

The study window faced the ring roads of the northern part of Qingquan City.

Looking out, Chu Guang could only make out the uneven and twisted silhouettes of high-rise ruins and the remnants of overpasses.

Further off, the downtown area was either obscured or blurred by winter fog.

"...Can Giant Stone City really see all the way here?"

Or was it that they had set up observation posts along the ring road or atop some tall building, using large telescopes to covertly observe?

Chu Guang’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

Interesting.

The radio continued broadcasting.

After sensationalizing the brutality of the northern migrants, the DJ smoothly transitioned to pushing advertisements in the news.

"The ongoing turmoil in the northern part of River Valley Province is threatening the safety of the southern area. Huge Rock Military Industry reminds you that guns are the foundation of life. For your safety, we proudly recommend our latest products—the Fire Lizard Assault Rifle, the Fire Dragon Fruit Grenade Launcher, and the crowbar-branded bread supplied by Cafeteria No. 1."

"If even these cannot keep your neighbors calm, we also offer a range of military outsourcing services, including mediation and dispute resolution."

"As long as your pocket is filled with enough chips, the mercenaries of Giant Stone City will never disappoint you!"

...

[Mission: Liberate Bet Street (completed)]

[Description: The flag of Shelter No. 404 flutters atop the castle on Bet Street. Our enemies have fled in panic, abandoning their weapons and surrendering. While the whereabouts of Old Leech are unknown, that is irrelevant. The people of Bet Street will thank us, and they will embrace a better tomorrow.]

[Reward: 50 Silver Coins, 100 Contribution Points, a chance to draw a lottery, a bottle of 330ml wine, and the gratitude of Little Fish.]

At noon.

Almost simultaneously receiving the task completion notification, the players standing in front of the castle revealed surprised expressions on their faces.

"Eh?! Am I seeing things? What’s this lottery chance?"

"Well, well, the internal test hasn’t even started, and they’ve already created the lottery feature!"

"I’m blindly guessing the next feature will be a card draw!"

"Operator: ’Testing the money-making system is also part of the closed test. If you’re not cool with it, just don’t play. Manual funny face.’"

"I’ll draw! Hey, I actually got a Brass Pistol Lighter?!"

"Holy shit, it’s my turn... Darn it! How the hell did I draw a goat horn potato?!"

"Hahahaha, confirmed African!"

Of course.

Not everyone was busy with the lottery.

Like a certain girl with short hair.

"Little Fish’s gratitude! Wah wah wah, how will Little Fish thank Tail? Will Tail get a hug? Can Tail be hugged and nibbled on?"

Standing beside her, Si Si sighed and poked Tail’s arm with the butt of her gun.

"Don’t say I didn’t warn you, being too perverted could get you kicked offline, you know."

The lottery feature was something Chu Guang had asked Xiao Qi to develop last night, but hadn’t found the opportunity to use, so he first tested the waters by putting it in the mission rewards.

From the looks of it, the player feedback seemed pretty good?

Although the prizes in the pool were just little trinkets that didn’t affect game balance, the occasional excitement from one or two lucky players always pushed the atmosphere to a climax.

To Chu Guang’s surprise, from the players’ reactions, the universally acknowledged SSSR was not a 150 Silver Coin iron pipe rifle, but that utterly useless "Brass Pistol."

The brass appearance gave off a "Golden Legend" vibe, and its cool design made it look really stylish.

The only downside was that it couldn’t fire bullets, only light cigarettes, since it was, after all, a lighter.

But that didn’t matter!

Anyone who played "Disconnect Territory" knew that a named weapon wasn’t necessarily more effective than those generic orange gear, but people still kept them as collectibles to flex in forums and trick noobs.

Wasteland OL was no different.

"Legendary" weapons did not provide any damage boosts to bullets at all, whether it was a chia submachine gun or a bear’s hunting gun - they were no more effective than those iron pipe rifles bought from Giant Stone City, apart from coming with a unique story.

Of course, saying Old Leech’s lighter was completely useless wasn’t entirely true, especially since players at Outpost Base mainly relied on matches for fire.

This kind of lighter with piezoelectric ceramics was relatively "high-tech."

Brother Mosquito, who had drawn a goat horn potato, ranted furiously in the square.

"Poor review! Why didn’t they hold an auction this time! I want that Old Leech’s lighter!"

The surrounding players just laughed at him.

So you blindly bid, huh? No G-group rules this time, feeling dumbfounded now, aren’t you?

Makabazi, who had drawn the lighter, was grinning from ear to ear, as if he wished he could wear his VM around his neck to show off.

"1000 Silver Coins, you in? One-time chance."

"Darn! A lighter for 1000! Are you freaking robbing me?!"

Who the heck can fork out a four-digit sum?!

Brother Ba looked smug and arched his eyebrows.

He had no intention of selling; the price was of course made up on the spot.

"1000 Silver once, 1000 Silver twice... Anyone else raising a bid? No? Good, going for 1500 now."

Mosquito: "%￥#@!"

After completing the task, the reward of Silver Coins and Contribution Points would be credited immediately.

As for the prizes drawn and the grape wine rewarded with the task, they needed to be claimed at the NPC’s warehouse after returning to Outpost Base.

It was better to keep the wine for the victory celebration dinner.

If they gave the wine to players now, Chu Guang was indeed worried these little fools would drink themselves offline right there and then, and he’d have to arrange for someone to carry them back.

That would be pure trouble.

Apart from the rewards that everyone could receive, there was also an extra reward for players who performed additional tasks, mainly consisting of Silver Coins and Copper Coins, which would not affect balance or trigger OCD in those who didn’t receive them.

Actually, Chu Guang had been considering recently developing a military honors system outside the Contribution system, to create a range of electronic medals and ranks and further differentiate the growth paths of players with life skills and those with combat roles.

But, that would lead to other complications.

After all, it would be better to wait until more players joined and needed to go out and expand territories to enrich this part of the gameplay.

At the castle entrance.

Chu Guang found Old Charlie and had him do a simple inventory of the supplies on Bet Street.

Old Charlie was experienced with this task, quickly finding the account book left in the warehouse and taking Chu Guang to the grain storage to check.

"The grain storage on Bet Street has a total reserve of 8000 kg of sweet potatoes, 12000 kg of green wheat, 5000 kg of cabbage, 800 kg of dried meat, as well as 30 kg of coarse salt, and two sacks of pepper and Sichuan pepper... All the supplies are recorded in this account book, and there’s a record for every withdrawal of supplies, please have a look."

Saying this, Old Charlie respectfully handed the crumpled account book to Chu Guang.

After taking the account book, Chu Guang quickly glanced over it.

To his surprise, besides those food reserves, there were actually two packets of 500 g of fine salt and 20 jin of white sugar in the warehouse.

Even soy sauce and vinegar were available!

That Old Leech certainly had quite the luxurious diet.

"What about the reserves of supplies other than food and arms?"

Old Charlie answered respectfully.

"The main stock in the warehouse is fur for trading, which can be found later in this account book. However, after List’s commercial team visited last time, the people from the Blood Hand Clan had extorted us again, so there wasn’t much left in the storage room."

"In addition, there are 173 chips and the skin of a baby hyena at the general store. It’s not in the account book, but I’ve already prepared it for you, it’s on the table at the entrance to the warehouse."

Chu Guang nodded.

chips, that was a significant amount.

As for the batch of fur that Old Leech presented to Blood Hand, it was now lying in his warehouse, part of which seemed to have been bought by Teng Teng to make clothes, worn by many of the players.

Just as he was about to ask Old Charlie to take him for a round in the warehouse, a dirt-covered little player came over from the direction of the castle.

"Manager, Sir!"

Seeing the lone Midnight Chicken Killing returning, Chu Guang roughly guessed the outcome but still looked at him and asked,

"How is the situation?"

Midnight Chicken Killing said with a look of shame,

"...When we went down, there was already the sound of an explosion in the passage, and sewage soon flooded up to our shoes. We continued forward and quickly encountered some frightened large rats and mutant cockroaches... After dealing with them, we tried to clear the collapsed rocks with shovels, but the wooden beams of the passage had broken. As we dug, more collapses occurred in the front, so we could only retreat."

Sewage?

It seemed that the underground passage of the wine cellar must connect to the sewage system of Qingquan City. When that Old Leech lit the dynamite, he probably blew up the water pipes buried nearby.

After listening to Midnight Chicken Killing’s report, Chu Guang didn’t blame him but merely nodded.

"I understand, you’ve done well enough, there’s no need to blame yourself."

If it was lost, then let it be.

The survivors of Bet Street already knew of the old Leech’s crimes. Regardless of whether he was dead or not, the people here would never allow him to return.

After saying this, Chu Guang swiped his index finger on the VM screen, marking the little player’s task as "Confirmed Complete."

Watching Midnight Chicken Killing leave with a delighted expression, Chu Guang then turned to Old Charlie and tossed the account book into his hands.

"I will take away all the supplies in the warehouse. As for the food, I will take half, and the rest will stay here for the residents of Bet Street to purchase. Keep the account book safe; I will have someone regularly check it."

"Furthermore, the official currency of Bet Street will now be Silver Coins and Copper Coins. The previous chips can still be used, but they will no longer be actively circulated in the market. If villagers come to exchange game for money in the future, you pay them directly with Silver Coins and Copper Coins."

The implementation of new currency might be difficult at first, but Chu Guang was planning to leverage price controls to subtly influence people’s choices.

The same commodity, when bought with silver coins, would be cheaper, so survivors would naturally prefer to deal in the new currency.

Hearing Chu Guang’s orders, Charlie immediately understood his intentions and nodded comprehensively,

"I understand what you mean."

Chu Guang nodded.

Just then, Chu Guang suddenly remembered that there was another important matter he hadn’t mentioned. So, he looked at Old Charlie, cleared his throat, raised his voice, and continued with a serious expression,

"Oppression has been overthrown, and the survivors of Bet Street will welcome a new order."

"Starting now, you are the new mayor."

"I will pay you a salary of 400 Silver Coins per month, and your first task is to draft a clear set of written rules to serve as a preliminary step for Bet Street’s first laws. Everything here will be governed according to what is written in the law."

Charlie looked surprised.

Although he had suspected that Chu Guang might have him help clean up the mess, the salary and the laws honestly exceeded his expectations.

Did this great man still believe that this world could be saved?

Despite being filled with doubts, Old Charlie didn’t say anything. He simply bowed respectfully and gladly accepted the appointment.

"I will follow your orders, Sir."

-

(Brothers, it’s the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I took half a day off to gather with my family and to gather material. There’s only one update today, but it’s still quite substantial. Could you perhaps compliment me? I will continue to work hard tomorrow!)