This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 130: The Guard’s Exclusive Weapon

Chapter 130: Chapter 130: The Guard’s Exclusive Weapon

"Damn! Not losing a fucking thing here! I took a huge loss on that one!"

Official forum.

When he saw Brother Edge and a bunch of Backseat Drivers forcefully explaining that the "extreme 1-for-1 trade" was not a loss at all, Neighbor Old Wang couldn’t hold back any longer and jumped into the conversation.

Seizing the opportunity, a forum favorite initiated a group mock.

Grandpa Ao: "LOL! 10 against 1, and you guys still ended with one dead and one injured. Do you even know how to play? If I were you, I’d smash the helmet, wash up, and go to sleep. You suck this bad and still play? Of course, this game doesn’t even exist, just keep making stuff up, I’ll treat it as a joke."

Elena: "Here’s a fun fact: the beta test helmets are lent by the game company, and since you didn’t even pay for the shipping or charge up a card, smashing it might just earn you a lawyer’s letter. (Funny)"

Edge Shoveling: "Cough cough, sorry Old Wang. I admit, there were some mistakes in the command, didn’t expect those mutants to pull a sneaky one on us, even had trip wire mines, completely against the warrior’s spirit! But don’t worry, I’ve figured out their tricks now, next time it’s a sure win!"

Neighbor Old Wang: "I believe in you my ass! If I get on your dark ride again, I’m a dog!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Definitely a loss, a total mess. One goblin rocket costs 5 silver coins, basic mission income 10 silver coins. Killing a mutant nets a 5 silver coin reward which is actually a team bonus pool, each person just gets 5 copper coins."

Edge Shoveling: "Didn’t you get those 5 silver coins as a reward? I hit one shot too!"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "No, I just wanted to complain, those rockets were useless, didn’t even kill and I had to rush in with an axe to finish the job."

WC There are mosquitoes: "Damn! You used it to blow up mutants, why didn’t you use it on a Crack Claw Crab? The official info database even says mutants have a Constitution score above 30, limit unknown. What’s the meaning of 30 Constitution?! Even a player who specializes in Constitution might not have such high attributes at level 20! Be reasonable bro, wasn’t it my rocket that crippeld it so you could finish it off?"

Midnight Chicken Killing: "Weakling!"

WC There are mosquitoes: "Fuck! Wait, next time include me on this mission! (Angry)"

Elena: "Forget it, I’m a bit scared, was thinking of checking it out after reviving tomorrow... I won’t go. (Funny)"

Night Ten: "Don’t be a coward, Old Na, I remember you being super brave. (Funny)"

Elena: "Call me Old Na again, and I’ll hold a grudge! (#`皿´)"

At 7 PM, Residents of Shelter No. 404 Hall.

After dinner, Chu Guang sat in front of his computer, browsing the forum as usual, seeing what his little players were chatting about.

To facilitate his more efficient screen stalking, or rather, reviewing memorials, Chu Guang had Xiao Qi help make a spreadsheet to track the hottest topics on the forum between six and seven each evening.

This time was basically when the beta test players were most active on the official website.

Unsurprisingly, "Mutant Tribe of Street No.76" topped the topic heat chart, firmly in the first place.

This was the first clash between the Outpost Base and the Street No.76 mutant tribe.

Previously, most players’ impressions of mutants were based on pictures and text settings from the official info database, and secondary creations brainstormed by netizens based on official data.

Although on the surface, having 10 against 1 and still ending up like this was indeed a bit embarrassing, Chu Guang was very clear in his heart that achieving this battle record was actually not bad.

Firstly, the average level of the players who participated in the battle was LV5, which in the Outpost Base could only be considered the second echelon; neither their levels nor their combat experience could be counted among the top-tier, so taking some losses was normal.

Moreover, those green-skinned brutes were notoriously tough.

Their extraordinary healing abilities and resistance, nearly immune to all poisons, and on top of that, they had a digestive system comparable to mutated hyenas, able to eat even the rotting flesh on Eaters when starving.

To put it strongly, they were even better adapted to the environment of the Wasteland Planet than the Variants. At least in the earlier years, both Variants and survivors had a hard time during the harsh winters, but only these green-skinned brutes, whose origins were unknown, were found all over the Wasteland Planet.

Some said they were victims of biological weapons, others claimed they embraced evolution willingly, and still, others said they were biological weapons themselves.

The more reliable rumor was that their ancestors hailed from an unidentified shelter, forced to adopt still-underdeveloped genetic modification technologies due to the unbearable early, devastating winters.

In fact, apart from being a bit ugly, the genetics of these green-skinned brutes were quite strong. Not only were they highly adaptable to the Wasteland environment, able to live in a radioactive environment for a long time and maintain genetic stability, but they also possessed an "Iron Stomach" capable of digesting almost anything.

Given a few thousand years to develop, it’s quite possible they could indeed replace Old Humans as the new masters of this planet as New Humans.

However, mutants were not without weaknesses.

Their gigantic stature required them to live in larger houses, and their utilization of remnants from pre-war civilizations was far lower than humans. Thick fingers and underdeveloped cerebellums made it difficult for them to use their joints as flexibly and harmoniously as humans. Crafting precision instruments required much more effort, which was almost impossible given their tribal culture.

Even some Looters could craft homemade pipe guns, but for mutants, stuffing black powder into a can to make a tripwire landmine was about the peak of their technological achievements.

If they had guns, they were certainly stolen from other humans. Most of the time, firearms in their hands wore out as quickly as their ammunition. Preferring raw violence and cold weapons, they tended to shred their opponents with axes, saws, and butchery knives, hanging the entrails on their armor to intimidate their living enemies.

This was the most time-efficient method of killing for them.

Additionally, although they possessed almost perverted regenerative powers, their heads remained a vulnerability.

Even if their chests could withstand continuous shots from 7mm rifles and rely on "unscientific" healing powers and tenacity to rapidly repair damaged muscle tissue, organs, and bones, it was difficult to put back spilled brains.

Therefore, many mutants, even bare-chested, would wear a heavy helmet on their heads and, if conditions allowed, attach things like car doors, billboards, or chariot armor plates to their chests to protect the more difficult to repair heart and lungs.

Chu Guang noticed that Brother Fang Chang had written a summary post, compiling the content discussed by the players who participated in today’s fight, and analytically summarized the weaknesses and strengths of the mutants, providing a relatively reliable reference for players planning to challenge the mutant tribe on Street No.76.

"First, the conclusion, this mission is quite difficult for players below level 5! According to the official data provided, these mutants, if placed in other MMORPGs, would be at least equivalent to level 20 monsters. A group of level 5 players challenging level 20 monsters is obviously level-skipping, and casualties are to be expected."

"However, Wasteland OL is somewhat different from other MMORPGs. The influence of attributes is not as direct as in other games but is more akin to DND rules. That is, as long as you continuously roll high enough numbers, slaying a dragon with a goblin is not impossible."

"I guess the developers placed the mutant tribe near the Novice Village at Outpost Base to test whether asymmetrical warfare would affect the gaming experience, considering that a real wasteland won’t keep dangers away from the weak. If my analysis is correct, congratulations everyone, we have advanced a big step towards the public beta—our players have proven through actual practice that level suppression is not absolute, and higher level monsters are not unbeatable! Even if we can’t see their health bars!"

"Of course, though I say this, if you are not confident enough in your strength, it’s better to cautiously choose whether to take on this mission."

"However, opportunities always come with risks, and if you can take down the mutant tribe, the rewards should be quite substantial."

"This game has many hidden mechanics, it is recommended to delve more into them if interested!"

...

The next day.

After lying in the cultivation chamber overnight, Edge Shoveling’s leg injury was almost healed. He made a homemade bandage for his thigh and energetically pulled a group of teammates to set off again.

The teammates were still the ones from yesterday, but this time, Neighbor Old Wang, who was waiting for the resurrection cooldown, was replaced by "WC There are mosquitoes."

To redeem himself, Brother Mosquito went all out this time, bringing along a half-human-tall large box and having a Strength Type player carry it for him.

The team headed out from the east gate with great momentum, marching toward Street No.76.

Although Chu Guang had appropriately increased the rewards for the raid mission considering the strength of the mutants, could they really recoup their investment with so much gear?

Other players were also commenting.

"Has Mosquito gone mad?"

"Wow, that’s a huge box. Does he think gunpowder is free?"

"So hardcore!"

Night Ten glanced around at his teammates.

"Not to lie, I’m kind of curious to see."

Wild Wind and Old White didn’t pay him any attention, but Fang Chang gave him a glance and said realistically,

"Not to lie, we better get ’Greenhouse Ruins’ done first, we’ve delayed it for so long."

Though they were curious about what was in Mosquito’s box, clearly focusing on the task at hand was more important.

After changing into "moth equipment," Fang Chang and his group also set off from the east gate.

The Greenhouse Ruins were right at the entrance to Street No.76, so the two groups happened to be on the same path.

Chu Guang quickly glanced down through a drone in the sky, then returned control of the drone to Xiao Qi and went to Boss Xia’s weapon shop.

Since he had changed to a new workbench, Boss Xia no longer needed to handcraft bullet casings. Placing the roughly shaped material into the mold and activating the stamping module with a push downward, a brand new bullet casing was formed.

However, pressing bullet casings was only the first step in bullet production. To obtain a bullet with sufficient power and stable performance without jamming, a series of tedious processes were still necessary.

To increase work efficiency, Xia Yan employed two female workers from the Nomads’ camp, paying each two silver coins per day, including meals but not accommodation.

One of them was responsible for using professional tools to load the propellant and primer into the casing. The other took care of adding the lead bullet into the casing filled with propellant.

Xia Yan himself operated the professional equipment on the workbench, processing bullets and casings, crimping the base of the loaded bullets, and roll crimping the bullets embedded in the casings to ensure an absolute seal between the bullet and casing.

After all these steps, the bullets still needed to be water-washed to rinse off the metal debris from the surface of the casings.

These invisible metal debris significantly increased the chances of jamming and could affect shooting accuracy.

Despite going through so many processes, the bullets produced still couldn’t compare with those made on professional assembly lines.

But for the players, these stamped bullets were much more comfortable to use than the slower "low-speed stamped" rolled bullets previously made by Boss Xia with a small awl.

At least, on these bullet casings, there were no visible pitted indentations. There was no longer a need to worry about having to squat down to deal with jammed casings while shooting.

"Is there something you need?"

Watching Chu Guang approaching, Xia Yan placed a full basket of processed casings on the wooden table beside him.

These bullet components would keep the two still inexperienced workers in the next room busy for a while.

Chu Guang looked at her and asked,

"How much ammunition do we have in storage now?"

Xia Yan responded,

"There are still 3,500 rolled bullets left, and for the stamped bullets, including what you brought back from Bet Street and what I’ve made this week, together there are about ten thousand in total."

Chu Guang looked slightly surprised.

"That many?"

Brushing the bangs off her forehead, Xia Yan’s lips curled up in a slight arc, seemingly quite proud,

"That many? It’s alright. The processing efficiency of this workbench is decent. Once you get the hang of it, the speed is much faster than before. Besides making bullets, I’ve fabricated four 7mm iron pipe rifles using other materials. Although they are not as good as the ones you bought from the merchants in Giant Stone City, they work quite well. However, I have to remind you that at this rate of consumption, we might run out of copper by the end of next month."

Though this reminder was serious, Chu Guang didn’t take it too seriously.

Bet Street was already under the control of Shelter No. 404.

If needed, he could easily increase the resource collection by raising the resource recovery prices and sending the scavengers from Bet Street deep into the urban area inside the Fifth Ring for resource gathering.

Additionally, he could mobilize the local survivors through Old Charlie to form a scavenger team, escorted by the players to scavenge dangerous areas they normally wouldn’t approach.

"Don’t worry about that, I’ll arrange to increase the collection efforts."

After pausing for a moment, Chu Guang continued,

"Besides, I plan to train a batch of guards to maintain the security at Outpost Base, about 15 iron pipe rifles... preferably completed within a week. If the schedule is too tight, it’s okay to slow down the bullet production."

"Guards?" Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang oddly, making a teasing remark, "Who can fight better than your ’players’?"

"It’s not the same."

Chu Guang shook his head, not really sure how to explain the difference between NPC guards and player guards, and simply didn’t.

"After all, having players do the same job all the time isn’t workable; they work for us not for money but for fun."

The guards standing at the main gate and patrolling outside, those jobs were usually taken by the newcomers, as old players weren’t interested in such small profits.

With the new version releasing rather quickly, there were constantly newcomers coming in, so there was no need to worry about these basic positions going unfilled.

But if the influx of refugees continued, security would soon become a major issue.

Relying solely on players to maintain order was clearly impractical; law enforcement was not their forte.

Chu Guang planned to reassign some of the survivors from the brick factory, forming a regular, fixed personnel guard to maintain security around Outpost Base.

Their weapons did not need to be too good; deterrence would suffice.

Moreover, these NPCs also served as a restraint for the players.

After all, even though Xiao Qi had excellent vision, it could only serve as a tool for supervision and adjudication and could not intimidate as much as a group of guards with rifles and armbands.

Once the number of players increased, these guards would definitely be useful.

"Fun??" Xia Yan’s eyes widened as she murmured, "What could be fun about that?"

Someone actually finding joy in their work was preposterous!

"You don’t understand, just do as I say."

You don’t say, how could I understand?

Xia Yan silently complained in her heart, but it was not appropriate to confront the boss face-to-face, so she nodded obediently.

"Okay, 15 guns, right? It won’t even take a week; we could get it done in three or four days if we stop the bullet-making work. What caliber do you want? Bolt action or revolver? Will those 7mm pipe rifles hanging on the wall do?"

"7mm caliber, bolt-action is fine, but I have some requirements for the appearance."

Saying this, Chu Guang raised his arm and lightly swiped his finger on the VM, transferring a blueprint he had downloaded from the internet to Xia Yan’s VM.

Looking at the drawing on the screen, Xia Yan slightly stunned, her expression filled with bemusement.

The thick barrel, heavy receiver and ammo chamber, and all-wood stock.

Though the design was indeed more aesthetically pleasing than the pipe rifles hanging on the wall and possessed a rough sense of power, she really didn’t see the sense in designing a gun this shape.

Was it designed so heavy to make it easier to use as a club?

"I don’t really understand... I won’t comment on the barrel, but does the receiver need to be designed so wide?"

Chu Guang replied nonchalantly.

"It just looks thick. Think of those superficial parts as a kind of ’skin designed for deterrence.’ The difficulty in processing isn’t large, nor does it consume much material. As for the effective structures, including the barrel, receiver, spring, and firing pin, just replicate them from the rifles we’ve bought from the merchants at Giant Stone City."

"Okay..."

Xia Yan reluctantly nodded.

Were the words under the image meant to be engraved on the stock as the name of the weapon?

Arbiter I?

Sounds odd...

"Alright, I leave it to you."

After giving his instructions, Chu Guang was ready to leave; however, just then, the VM screen on his arm suddenly lit up, showing a message.

The message was undoubtedly sent by Xiao Qi.

"Master, your players seem to be in trouble!"

-

(Another Chapter coming in ten minutes, please wait a moment!)