This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 194: Another Batch of Fresh Leeks Has Arrived

Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Another Batch of Fresh Leeks Has Arrived

North of Rhombus Lake Wetland Park.

Situated in the ruins, an abandoned tire factory.

This place once served as the den of the Blood Hand Clan, and with their downfall, it had been occupied by cockroaches and rats.

Recently, due to the expansion of activity areas by the residents of Shelter No. 404, this well-structured factory has been put back into use.

Through the relentless efforts of countless novice players, the Variants nesting here were completely expelled, and NPCs set up sentry posts in the surrounding high-rise buildings. Now, it has become the Northern Industrial Zone of the Outpost Base, and all the light and heavy industries, formerly cramped on the south side of the sanatorium, have been relocated here.

This includes the classically trained No. 81 Steel Factory.

As well as the self-made Goblin Technology.

Despite Mosquito Brother’s persistent soft whisper and hard sell, the generously magnanimous manager finally agreed to keep his cabin on the southern side of the Outpost Base. However, any production activities involving chemicals, and flammable and explosive goods, must now be moved away from the respawn point and relocated here.

It wasn’t that Chu Guang was targeting him, but there were just too many complaints.

This guy was testing weapons recklessly in the forests outside the base, either scaring away the fish in the lake or accidentally setting fire to the pine and cypress trees outside. In the past month, more than once people had approached Chu Guang, hoping he could somewhat curb Mosquito’s behaviors.

Chu Guang believed that Mosquito Brother didn’t do it on purpose, but to let him continue like this, frankly, even Chu Guang himself felt somewhat uneasy.

There were no such issues at the old site of the tire factory. Firstly, it was a good 5 kilometers away from the Outpost Base, surrounded by an abandoned and uninhabited urban area on all sides.

There were enough Variants there to test the weapons’ power.

From now on, Brother Mosquito wouldn’t have to risk being thrown into the lake by angry fishermen as he secretly placed bombs and rockets on the lake surface!

In summary, under the wise and valiant planning of the Manager, the Northern Industrial Zone will focus on steel and coal as pillar industries, producing seamless steel pipes of various calibers, bullets, stamping machines, and other manufacturing products, and encouraging players to exercise their creativity on this basis to create more affordable and practical items.

There are usually no Scavengers near the Looter’s den, and this area is rich in recyclable resources. Even in the occasional event of inventory shortages, Scavengers can be hired to gather materials on-site.

Most critically, this place is near the city’s elevated roads, and by simply clearing the obstacles on the road and the vegetation along the way and slightly repairing the road, trucks can even drive directly to the factory entrance along the auxiliary road below the elevated roads!

Whether in terms of transportation or resource advantages, this area is much better than the Outpost Base located in the Wetland Park.

It’s truly a boon for industrial flow players!

The factory, formerly adorned with dried meat of unknown origin and "Trucks Enter," has now been transformed into the new site for No. 81 Steel Factory.

A circular hole was carved out on top of the factory, from which a tall, red-brick chimney emerged.

It stood like a torch.

On these ruins of civilization, it ignited a small but steadfast light.

...

Inside the No. 81 Steel Factory.

The blast furnace was filled with hot molten iron.

Sweat covered his neck, and Niu Li unbuttoned his jacket completely, fanning his palm inside his collar.

"Does today’s furnace fire feel twice as lively as yesterday, or is it my imagination?"

If not for those two foremen wearing VMs who forbade it, he’d even want to take off the steel helmet lined with fur padding on his head.

Standing next to him was a fellow townsman from the same village, Wu Dahe from the neighboring Wu family. Their family worked as blacksmiths, but business was rare in winter, and opportunities to open for business were scarce.

Before hiring, both sons of Old Wu’s family entered the factory. The elder did the furnace front work like his father and handled some miscellaneous work, while the younger was chosen to do the rod tying work, operating the rolling mill under the guidance of Blue Jacket. Occasionally, he had to hammer some small items, but that didn’t happen often.

"The foreman said the factory had received a new batch of funds, and the factory manager planned to add boron to the blast furnace to experiment with making 50B steel... it’s said to be used for making cannon barrels."

Niu Li looked curious.

"What is boron?"

Wu Dahe pulled out a small black stone from his pocket, waved it in front of him, and then put it away.

"It’s this black stone. They say just adding a tiny bit can significantly increase the steel’s strength, but you must control the amount perfectly, not a bit more... I don’t fully understand it either. Anyway, those complex matters are for the Blue Jackets to handle, we just do as they say."

Niu Li nodded, half-understanding, then soon continued to ask.

"What is 50B steel?"

Wu Dahe shook his head like a tam-tam drum and repeated what he had just said.

"Don’t know, just do as they tell us."

Niu Li was speechless.

Though he hadn’t received the answer he wanted, he noted this information as an experience in his mind.

Adding boron makes steel more durable, but only a little can be added, not too much.

But soon, other confusions arose in his mind.

But specifically, how much is added?

And, does this apply to all steel?

Or just certain types?

After all, the factory had a strange way of steel-making; sometimes adding tungsten, sometimes adding chromium and nickel, and sometimes even silicon. Depending on the materials used, the steel also had different uses. Some were sent to make gun barrels, some to make machine cases, and others were used to make bicycle frames.

The blacksmiths on Bet Street didn’t have all these complications; they just mixed in some carbon to forge tools that were also effective, sturdy, and durable.

It is said that a clever blacksmith would specifically recover steel from scrapped bike frames, especially those parked indoors.

The steel reforged from those materials would be much more durable than ordinary steel.

Niu Li was not a blacksmith, before coming here, he was just a scavenger living on Bet Street, occasionally going hunting with the second son of the Yu family, Yu Hu, because he always managed to find wild boar dens... although he himself couldn’t explain why.

As for why he was here.

That’s a long story.

A week ago, the Industrial Zone of the Outpost Base relocated, and Old Charlie posted a notice in the square to recruit 5 to 10 robust workers between the ages of 16 and 35 to help, not only providing two meals a day but also 1 silver coin in daily wages.

At the street office store on Bet Street, 1 silver coin could be exchanged for 1 kg of wheat or horns potato, or 50 grams of salt.

Where else would you encounter such a good deal?

In such cold weather, there wasn’t much else to do anyway, and hearing that he could save some food for his family, Niu Li signed up without a second thought.

Whether they paid in chips or silver coins didn’t matter much to anyone lately.

Since the beginning of winter, the trade caravan from Stone City hadn’t come here again; for the survivors here, anything that could be exchanged for food and necessities was as good as money.

The factory relocation work wasn’t very strenuous; all they needed to do was load various items big and small onto a trailer, transport them out of the forest to the north gate of the park, load them onto trucks, and then, under the supervision of the foreman, unload them at an abandoned tire factory in the north.

This abandoned tire factory was once a stronghold of the Blood Hand Clan, and many residents of Bet Street were afraid to go near it. However, Niu Li was not.

The Blood Hand Clan had been annihilated, and the flag that fluttered atop the factory now belonged to Shelter No. 404.

Having frequently visited the Outpost Base with Yu Hu, Niu Li knew well that those in Blue Jackets were good people.

Indeed, the relocation work took a full three days, not only was there meat at every meal, but there was also enough to eat to their fill.

Had the work not been completed, Niu Li would have liked to stay there indefinitely.

It was during this time that the foreman of the steel mill came out and offered them an opportunity.

Steel Mill No. 81 was looking to hire some contract workers, offering a monthly salary of 60 silver coins with room and board provided. Each worker was entitled to four days off per month, which they could schedule as they wished, with bonuses available for good performance.

Aside from age, there were only two hiring requirements: physical strength and literacy—those who could read more had an advantage.

According to the foreman, the factory would establish a night school illiteracy class to teach workers how to write, perform arithmetic, and draw. However, as contracts needed to be signed, one must at least know how to write their own name to enroll, and they were not allowed to have someone else write it for them.

For the first time in his life, Niu Li realized how wonderful it was to be literate.

He had attended literacy classes organized by Old Charlie before. Although he hadn’t attended many, he managed at least to learn how to write his name.

Those with three-character names found themselves at a disadvantage, able to write only two, or struggling to barely churn out a family name.

In the end, fifteen people were kept on. The foreman issued them safety helmets and warm fur jackets, arranged for their boarding in dormitories, and informed them that they were now employees of Steel Mill No. 81.

As long as they worked well, they could later bring their families to settle here.

Niu Li didn’t think about such distant matters; his current life was enough to fill him with immense happiness.

Wearing the fur jacket issued by the factory, he even felt a bit warm standing inside the building and would go out to catch a cold breeze every shift change.

Such wonderful life circumstances were beyond his previous imaginings!

Looking at the hot molten iron in the blast furnace, Niu Li contemplated in his heart.

"Yu Hu, that kid, never focuses on his studies. I need to find a way to persuade him..."

Time for a break ended.

As the molten iron in the blast furnace reached the anticipated temperature,

under the foreman’s direction, Niu Li, along with another worker, coordinated using the control joysticks, positioning the suspended blast furnace to pour and mold the molten metal into rod-shaped steel billets.

The motor started.

The rollers beneath the steel billets began operating,

transporting the rod-shaped steel billets via a series of rollers to a piercing machine where specialty high-temperature drill bits carried out drilling and stamping.

"The temperature of the billets is dropping too quickly."

"Indeed... we need to figure out a way to develop hot stamping technology to conduct stamping inside the mold and preserve the quenching condition."

"Can we make this barrel thinner? If it’s too heavy, it lacks all maneuverability and uses too much material."

"We’ll try. With such a large caliber, I’m afraid making it too thin might cause the chamber to explode."

Brother Ciso and Brother Levin, standing in front of the production equipment, pointed at the actively running machines and conversed in muttered exchanges.

Why were they so energized?

Because just this morning, as they had just logged in, they suddenly received a research and development grant of 5500 silver coins!

Perhaps the Manager had been moved by their diligence. From now on, whenever new equipment development was needed, as long as the drawings and budget were submitted correctly, they could receive special funding, eliminating the need to fund their own research efforts!

Besides solving their immediate urgent needs, the respected Manager also allocated two sleep cabins to them as a reward for their hard work.

Those sleep cabins were a great asset!

Now, they would not need to leave for the refuge; they could go online and offline right in the factory.

If other players knew about this, they’d be crazily jealous!

Happiness arrived so abruptly.

However, Brother Ciso and Brother Levin were not overwhelmed by this sudden happiness.

They were all too aware of the envy on the forums. If others knew how many benefits they had received, they would surely clamor for a cut.

Therefore, the two kept a low profile, quietly making a fortune while hiring scavengers to recover good steel materials from the wasteland, renting machining tools from the shelter to cut the necessary parts, and going all out to increase the production capacity of the steel mill, secretly escalating the steel industry.

They decided to demonstrate their real skills, showing those who only knew how to complain, "If I were in charge, I could also do it," what a real war machine looked like.

What a job they actually might not be able to handle!

...

[Worldwide Announcement: The Northern Industrial Zone of the Outpost Base is now fully operational; besides the completion of facility upgrades, a total of 37 Waste Land Wanderers have chosen to become workers, joining our great venture. (Industrial Index +100, Prosperity +50)]

[

Location Name: Outpost Base

Location Level: Village (LV1)

Prosperity: 100→150

Industrial Index: 250→350

Commercial Index: 150

Needs: Food, weapons, building materials

Tendencies: Exploration (Scavenging task benefits +10%), Industrialization (Factory orders and production task benefits +10%)

]

On the fourth day after the new version launched, production in the Northern Industrial Zone of the Outpost Base was booming.

At this very moment, on Level B3 of the refuge beneath the base, the place was bustling with activity.

The helmets were finally activated, and three hundred players simultaneously entered the game. Guided by the broadcast, they steadily gathered at the central plaza on the floor, blocking the hall in front of the B3 elevator tower.

"There are so many newcomers this time!"

"Plus, the quality looks pretty good. There seems to be a bit fewer bizarre creatures than last time!"

"Good, it looks like the threshold for scheduling the quiz has gone up."

"Speaking of which, have you seen any Exalted players who drew Variants?"

"Not yet, the Manager hasn’t started speaking, so it seems like not everyone has arrived. They are probably still dawdling in their rooms."

Standing at the corner of the plaza, the Spring Water Commander scanned the crowd, looking for new players with potential, ready to ’pass the torch’ as soon as the Manager finished speaking.

Although he didn’t want to start with newbies, he had no choice as his two teammates were just terrible!

One named "I Max Black" and the other "Battlefield Atmosphere Group," both hopeless at handling monsters and always leaving him, the Intelligence system player, to take the front, all while coveting his equipment.

For his grand plan of advancing to the T0 ladder team, the Spring Water Commander decided he needed a few obedient and useful newcomers to stand in the front lines.

Preferably those hardy Strength Types, or the resilient Constitution Types.

Even better if it’s a Variants player like a Meat mountain big steamed bun!

After all, having someone up front would give him a perfect environment to output while wearing his "Fake Power Armor."

At that moment, a commotion spread through the crowd.

A small player who had just entered the hall was seen clumsily fiddling above her head with her hands.

Her nickname was Oh Oh Sesame Paste.

For some reason, her game character looked a little different from everyone else.

A pair of furry beast ears popped out from her hair, replacing human ears, making them look like some kind of headgear.

"Yikes, yikes, yikes? Why are my ears on top of my head?"

"Didn’t you notice it while you were in your room?"

"I, I, I didn’t know! There was no mirror in the room. I thought my hair was just sticking up." That expression was a mix of amusement and surprise or shock.

Is this what an SSSR is?

Though it doesn’t seem to come with any attribute bonuses...

The surrounding players, however, looked excited.

Are they testing the pay-to-win skins?

That could work.

It looks like the public test might be hopeful!!

Tail’s eyes sparkled, "Cat ears! Damn, there are more and more Exalted players!"

Si Si exclaimed, "Oh wow, our Variant friends are increasing."

Tail declared, "Si Si! Time to pass the torch!"

Si Si, "Oh, charge!"

Another wave of commotion arose, quickly spreading through the crowd.

But this time, it was not surprise but alarm.

"Ya, ya, ya! Variants!"

"Damn! Why is there a mouse here!"

"Call the guard!"

"Get my Lance quick!"

The first to be startled were the players on the edge of the plaza, and the commotion soon spread through the crowd.

"I’m not a mouse... Damn! I’m a player, okay?"

As people hurried away from his side, the central figure in the crowd—a player or, rather, a Mouse-man—couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

Does this count as an SSSR?

Probably.

But the cost seems a bit harsh, instantly losing any mating rights.

Though he was quite pleased with his own appearance, other players—especially female players—did not seem to share that sentiment.

After a long while, not a single one had approached to ’rua’ him.

Damn!

These superficial folks!

Is it really that realistic?

Chu Guang, standing in front of the elevator tower, also looked puzzled.

The Cat ears could slide...

Probably just a quirky taste of the First Generation Manager.

And what the heck is this meter-high mouse?

Before opening the cultivation chamber, he couldn’t see the clone’s specific data, so these kinds of "summoning accidents" did happen from time to time.

ID: Difficult for the strong

Gene Sequence: Different species · Mouse man

Level: LV.0

—Basic Attributes—

Strength: 3

Agility: 3

Constitution: 3

Perception: 5

Intelligence: 3

Talent:

Fast Synthesis: The active material consumption for cloning synthesis is reduced to 50% of the standard value. The synthesis time is shortened to 24 hours.

Iron Stomach: A robust digestive system capable of adapting to rotten food.

Chu Guang opened the system and entered the player list.

Observing the recent scan data of this player’s cultivation chamber, a look of interest appeared on Chu Guang’s face.

"There are no debuffs like ’hand-and-foot-syndrome’ or difficulties in increasing sequence level."

However, the Rat-man’s panel data was weak, except for Perception, which was 5, other attributes were only 3, equivalent to 60% of a normal adult male.

"The main attribute should be Perception."

Chu Guang had initially thought that at least the Agility attribute would be higher, but it was not so.

The only advantage of this gene sequence seemed to be the buffs provided by "Fast Synthesis" and "Iron Stomach."

"0.5 units of active material for revival costs, and a 24-hour synthesis time... that’s a bit amazing."

"And this Iron Stomach talent... if one can overcome the psychological barrier, it should be very resource-saving on food."

Moreover, another advantage was probably its smaller body size, allowing one to move freely among the ruins.

As for the deficiencies in panel attributes... if the first awakening didn’t cover this gap, it probably would only rely on mechanical modifications.

Or perhaps follow a bioenhancement or medication enhancement path?

For some reason, Chu Guang thought of the Skaven from Warhammer.

The plague army swarming all over was a nightmare for the human empire.

However, regrettably,

this Rat-man is an orphan...

Chu Guang thought to himself, maybe he should give this guy a "hidden profession quest," level him up to three and give him a cultivation chamber to let him go out and "grind" in the wild.

As for that little player who grew cat ears, what surprised Chu Guang was that her gene sequence didn’t have the prefix of Different Species, just a regular Agile System player.

The only difference was in the Talent section—

[Beast Ears: I originally intended to create a Leopard person, the expressive dominance of only the ear parts was accidental. Besides making phone calls a bit inconvenient, there doesn’t seem to be any downside, use it or not depends on you—First Generation Manager.]

Chu Guang: ...

This line doesn’t quite fit in the player’s attribute column, I should change it later.

Standing beside Chu Guang, Yin Fang stared intently at the talking mouse, struggling for a while, finally unable to hold back and said,

"Before the war, whether it was implanting animal DNA fragments in human embryos or transplanting human DNA fragments into animals, it was the most taboo of all. How did the inventor of this technology manage to research these things without being discovered and without any external funding support?"

Yes,

how did he manage it?

Chu Guang was also curious about this question.

Including that Morphogenesis Field that even someone with "Former Academy Level D Prospector" title had not heard of.

"Perhaps he figured it out in the shelter."

Yin Fang looked strangely at Chu Guang.

"Are you joking? In the shelter? With that mediocre medical lab?"

Chu Guang’s eyes lit up, thoughtfully stroking his chin.

"That’s an interesting thought. It might really be possible."

To be honest, he didn’t find the creation of species strange.

Aren’t Mutants an example?

To use the words of a corporate employee with poor tolerance to alcohol, uncontrollable technology is rampant on these lands, and anything bizarre happening isn’t surprising.

Yin Fang: "..."

Unlike Yin Fang, who was surprised by the background of this technology’s development, Heya stood on the other side of Chu Guang, shocked at the fact that "a mouse can actually talk."

Although she completely did not understand its language, she was certain it was speaking!

That was too unbelievable!

"A bear, a lizard, and a mouse with human intelligence... how did they manage that?"

Suddenly, Heya eagerly turned to Chu Guang, clasped her hands together in a praying gesture, and asked,

"Can you give me a sample? No need for tissue slices, a little blood will suffice!"

"I’ve already given you access to the DNA data of the shelter’s residents, you can view it on the medical room terminal."

Although Chu Guang didn’t expect her to crack the secrets hidden in the gene sequence, having it as a project parallel to the research on Different Species wasn’t a bad idea.

After all, the Different Species active in the North Suburb were just those few, and his players couldn’t always obtain new samples.

Heya said excitedly,

"You’ve already collected them? That’s great!"

If it weren’t for the crowd blocking the way, she’d have dashed into the laboratory right now.

Standing on the side, Yin Fang pinched his brows.

Is it an illusion?

He always felt that, apart from himself, there wasn’t a single normal person in the entire shelter...

-

(The next Chapter should be around 11 o’clock!)

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