This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 202: Battle Settlement! Manager Authority of Shelter No.117

Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Battle Settlement! Manager Authority of Shelter No.117

[Mission: Broken Sword Operation (Completed!)]

[Settlement of Mission:

Base Score: 100

Loot Score: 82

Personal Score: ...

]

After the battle ended, the mission reward settlement interface and the entire battlefield report were sent to every player’s VM.

Although the battlefield report had no direct connection with the players’ rewards, Chu Guang still had Xiao Qi send them to the players and set up titles like "Best Team of the Game," "Highest K/D Ratio Team," and "Top Individual Kill Score," for the players to show off with.

Of course, in Chu Guang’s words, it wasn’t about showing off; it was about sharing the joy of victory.

The A group, which acted as a feint team, had the highest average score of 300, which translated to 300 silver coins and 300 contribution points.

The B group, assigned to the assault tasks, had an average score of 280, but their potential was much higher.

The team led by Spring Water Commander not only seized 8 points at the forefront but also was the first to capture Building No. 3, achieving a remarkable total score of 455 points!

The squad which completed a side mission, Battlefield Atmosphere Group, secured the highest individual reward of the game, 505 silver coins, thanks to a 50 silver coin side mission reward.

Of course, the B group’s scores were unlimited at the top and bottom.

For example, the Midnight Chicken Killing squad was too preoccupied with fighting, and all efforts of coordination fell apart. Later, some realized they were following the wrong team and decided to just roll with the mistake. Ultimately, despite wiping out two entire teams, they only managed to capture 2 points, totaling only 242 points.

After this battle, these "veteran" young players should now have a good understanding of the new gameplay and their strongest positions.

Next time a similar situation arises, they’re likely to know better how to play to their strengths and stand where they excel.

On the other hand, the support group that acted as assistance had more variable scores.

For instance, Fang Chang’s reconnaissance team didn’t play much of a role because B group advanced too quickly and Night Ten ended up firing only twice before relegating to an observer role. It was only later through scouting missions and disrupting Looter reinforcements that they were able to make themselves somewhat useful.

Mosquito’s score wasn’t particularly outstanding either.

Even though Chu Guang had set up a sufficiently large bombardment radius for him, only 12 out of 20 rockets reached their target area.

Only 2 of those met the "precision strike" criteria, each earning 10 points. The rest just barely passed, earning 5 points each.

With base and loot scores added, the total was 252 points.

However, Mosquito was quite satisfied with this outcome.

He wasn’t a combat professional player; scoring high or low wasn’t his priority.

Before the battle even started, as a primary life-profession player, he had already made a profit of 20 silver coins from each rocket order.

Now, with the Outpost Base’s rocket inventory depleted, the Manager was highly pleased with his "Storm 1.0"’s performance in battle, raising the armory’s rocket reserve limit from 20 to 100 missiles.

He had plenty of orders to keep him busy for a good while now!

...

Official forum.

Belated offline peak.

As the front-line players brought back first-hand battle reports to the official website, the forum, which was just a moment ago discussing philosophy and art, suddenly became lively.

Tail: "Damn, my ass hurts from falling, gotta get a seat cushion on Meat Meat next time! (`-д-;)ゞ"

Meat Mountain Big Steamed Bun: "Stay away, don’t come over. QAQ"

Si Si: "Oh, Meat Meat did great this time, keep it up next time."

Edge Shoveling: "Done! Damn, that was intense!"

Mole on the Run from Canyon: "+1, damn, how did Spring Water run so fast!"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Him? Bullshit, it was me leading in the front! He was the weakest in our squad, just dragging behind in power armor, might as well give it to me."

Spring Water Commander: "Damn! I’m an Intelligence System, and also the captain. Was there a problem with my commands? Also, that’s an exoskeleton! Exoskeleton! Not power armor! It can’t handle much! (angry)"

I Max Black: "Too weak, too weak, how could you possibly be T0! Better give it to me."

Spring Water Commander: "Get lost! (｀Д´)"

Although he took some flak from his teammates, fair’s fair, Spring Water Commander’s real-time command ability was decent.

Without radio communications, coordinating his teammates to unite around him, focusing their strength on infiltrating behind enemy lines, and when other squads were still dawdling at the 3rd and 4th points, leading his squad quickly to the 6th attack point helped the other teams break through, demonstrating at least a B to possibly Level A organizational skill.

Even the fastest charging Brother Battlefield acknowledged this.

The battle concluded so quickly partly because of their team’s standout performance. The only regret was that they didn’t catch the Looters as they retreated into the underground ecology park in Building No. 3, inadvertently allowing the hostages to nab the opposing commander.

Such a hundred-person scale team battle not only exhilarated the participating players but also those who listened from the sidelines, igniting their excitement.

Especially those newbies still busy mining, donating, leveling up, and grinding skill proficiency in Novice Village, they were all incredibly envious.

Kakarot: "300 silver coins, holy shit!"

Magic Girl Bald Strong: "Newbies are crying, huh? Does the game planner know how long I’ve farmed just for 10 silver coins? Isn’t that a bit too profitable?"

Gnome King Riches: "Jealous, huh? Earned it with my life. (stares at the sky)"

Elena: "I can ’testify’, Riches, dear brother, had it rough. When I went to collect his body, I looked for his VM for ages, only to find it had rolled down the mountain with his arm. (funny face)"

Gnome King Riches: "I suspect you’re mocking me, but I have no evidence."

A Bag of Rice to Hoist Up: "Wait a second, why is ’Difficult for the strong’ ranking up as well? Isn’t that rat also a newbie?"

I Max Black: "!! The scandal is confirmed!"

The Soldier profession differs from others; even its entry barrier is higher than that of the Hunter profession.

The latter only needs to meet the skill proficiency requirements or pass an exam to qualify, but the former has clear requirements regarding character level and contribution.

Specifically, one must reach the status of Citizen and obtain a VM to become a qualified Blue Jacket.

Moreover, the character level must also reach LV3.

According to Chu Guang’s observations, most players at LV3 tend to allocate 1 attribute point outside of their main attribute—for instance, Strength Types often add 1 point to Constitution and Agile Types usually add 1 point to Strength—which enhances their survival ability on the battlefield.

If the requirements aren’t met, players can only join the guard squad as recruits, carrying out simple patrol tasks, with almost no chance of being sent to the front lines unless it’s a top-level mobilization.

Seeing someone actually boasting about downgrading themselves to a newbie, Difficult for the Strong couldn’t hold back and typed fiercely, full of sorrow and anger.

"I didn’t even go to the front lines, damn it! I just lit a fire for Brother Mosquito. Damn! I’m so envious of their task rewards, starting tomorrow I’m gonna grind contribution!"

WC’s Very Own Mosquito: "Come on bro, isn’t testing weapons with me fun? (funny face)"

Difficult for the Strong: "You only gave me 2 silver coins! Do you think that’s fair?! (angry)"

Scrambled Eggs with Tomato: "I don’t know why, but hearing that number doesn’t surprise me at all. (side-eye)"

Elena: "+1, after all, it’s Brother Mosquito. (funny face)"

If the newbies are just enviously weeping, the cloud players who had reservations but couldn’t get a slot could only be described as silently dried up.

Many had been queuing since the trailer of the "Landcraft" expansion first released, marking time daily on the forums. Yet, having queued until now without success, they could only squat at the forums calling the pros amazing or bitterly say, "I could do that too."

"Damn! Doesn’t the operator want to make money anymore? It’s been over two months of closed beta! Hurry up and move to open beta!"

"200 vs. 150? Wouldn’t the total number of people exceed 300 then, can the server handle that?"

"We strongly demand new servers for the public beta! The first kills have all been snatched away by these closed beta players!"

As the official website was bustling, suddenly, a post signed "Light" popped up on the forum.

"Hello everyone, I am your dearest planner, Ah Guang. I’ve been overtime recently and finally just finished."

"Although I’m not bringing a new version today, I can share some progress from our planning team!"

"Many young players might have noticed that as the number of players continuously rises and the situation in the Wasteland remains volatile, the scale and difficulty of battles are also gradually increasing. Initially, we could easily win battles with a single trench and fearless charges, but now our opponents have evolved from a disorganized mob to a trained disorganized mob. Winning isn’t just about individual performance; it also requires coordination with teammates."

"In Wasteland OL, there’s a piece of hot knowledge: people die when they are killed. Even Awakeners and Mutants can’t completely ignore the barrage of bullets. Attribute bonuses can make you a step ahead always, but it’s not enough to single-handedly flip Darwin and Newton’s coffins."

"Our opponents are getting stronger, and this strength is reflected in various ways. How to adapt the rules to fit the game content is a significant challenge for our planning team."

"So, in this update for Alpha0.9, after referencing some ’open-world’ and ’RPG-element’ FPS games, we’ve further strengthened the battle system within the game. While enriching the task system, we’ve also expanded tactical options available to players. How you and your teammates claim victory in a battle depends on your choices on the battlefield."

"Under the current version, we are trying to let players take on the role of squad leader, commanding small-scale engagements like a building or an alley under the orders of the commander."

"In future versions, we plan to allow players to take command of battles themselves, leading battles on a scale of hundreds."

"At the same time, Guild System and Mercenary System are also in our follow-up development plans, so stay tuned for the epic Version 1.0!"

...

After returning from the front lines last night, it was already past 1 AM.

On the way back, Chu Guang took the opportunity to paint a rosy picture for the players, and upon returning, he didn’t go to see Brown at the neighboring farm or the representatives from the North Suburb Survivor Settlement. Instead, he had them rest overnight in the guest room on the second floor of the infirmary.

Moving isn’t a minor issue.

Regarding the things he had Old Luka and the others relay, they also needed some time to consider.

Chu Guang completely understood their feelings at the moment.

It felt like choosing the lesser of two evils.

Tonight, many would inevitably be unable to sleep...

He had brought the fuel rods hijacked from the ecological park to the power room of Shelter No. 117.

Following the previous Manager’s VM to unlock the door, according to the manual’s instructions, Chu Guang inserted the fuel rods thick as his forearm into the circular interface.

After leaving the power room, Chu Guang hit the ignition switch.

There was no earth-shattering reaction as imagined. As the temperature and plasma density reached the threshold values, the reactor started operating smoothly.

Everything was as natural as breathing.

"Remaining energy: 36%. Estimated maintenance time: 115 years."

"36% energy can last that long?"

Looking at the text displayed on the console, Chu Guang’s expression was slightly surprised.

Of course, the reason it could last so long might also be that the energy consumption at Shelter No. 117 is currently very low.

If there were more people living there, it might be a different story.

Shelter No. 117’s planting area has 50 soilless cultivation units, theoretically covering the same 50 acres as Shelter No. 404. These planting facilities here could be put to good use.

Moreover, Shelter No. 117 could also serve as a save point for players conquering the underground world.

Chu Guang planned to deploy 10 exclusive dormancy pods for clones here initially, and decide later whether to increase the number based on the situation.

Once players had opened up the subway line from Floor B3 of Shelter No. 404 to here, they could also transfer some of the new cultivation chambers or the black boxes that produce cultivation chambers to other floors here.

"...Treating this place as the Novice Village for combat professional players seems like a good choice; stepping out the door leads right to the subway tunnel, a few steps away from a fight."

"However, we need to prepare some novice-specific weapons."

A few guards and veteran players must also be arranged to act as novice instructors!

The subway, compared to the surface, still poses a higher difficulty; even in teams, it could be dangerous for newcomers.

Especially if they encounter Crawlers, they might all be wiped out.

Even for veteran players, without equipment protection and teamwork, dealing with Crawlers would not be an easy task.

The reactor continued to operate for a while.

Soon, a light blue pop-up window announcing the completion of the task appeared in Chu Guang’s view.

"Congratulations on completing the task!"

"Authority as manager of Shelter No. 117 acquired."

"Did I just gain authority over Shelter No. 117?"

Chu Guang looked at his right hand and then around him, feeling as if nothing much had changed.

It was not until he tried saying "turn off the lights," plunging the entire corridor into darkness, and then saying "turn on the lights," bringing light back to the world, that he truly understood the rights he held in his hands.

Just as it was in Shelter No. 404.

Here, being able to control all facilities, he was a god omnipotent!

"But then again, it’s surprising that Shelter No. 404’s system could issue a task to take over Shelter No. 117."

And with such badass "managerial authority," how exactly did the former manager of Shelter No. 117 get overthrown by mere residents of the shelter?

Chu Guang pondered, figuring it wouldn’t have happened under his watch.

He wouldn’t be softhearted.

Any hint of trouble would be nipped in the bud.

Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged humans are plenty.

Overthrow me?

Plan to run off with resources?

You won’t make it out the door if I can help it, I’ll pull your oxygen tubes!

What a pity, what a pity indeed, had I crossed over 200 years earlier, they should’ve chosen me as the manager.

Of course, Chu Guang was just grumbling to himself and didn’t mean to belittle anyone. He knew that personal joys and sorrows are not interconnected, and the situation back then might not be as simple as he imagined, possibly even more complex than what he had heard from Heya.

He had heard from Luo Hua that no two shelters in the world were exactly the same; thus, by inference, it was understandable that there would be differences in the authorities among managers.

What happened twenty years ago is best known by the dead.

Living people can say whatever they want.

After playing with the air conditioning switch for a while, Chu Guang thought for a moment and then spoke.

"Xiao Qi."

An enthusiastic voice promptly came from a speaker on the side of the corridor.

"Present, Master."

Chu Guang continued.

"If I share the authority with you, could you manage the shelter?"

Hearing that the master planned to entrust her with the new shelter, Xiao Qi was as happy as a child.

"Of course, Master, please rest assured and leave it to Xiao Qi! Hehe, Xiao Qi will definitely take good care of your new house!"

Those words were truly comforting.

Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

"Yes, then I’ll leave it in your hands."

Having a secretary is comfortable; you just toss the troublesome matters their way.

Chu Guang posted a fetch quest through VM, asking the novice players of Floor B3 to go to the planting area and retrieve the cotton seeds he had left there.

Eating wasn’t the only priority; clothing was just as important.

By now, the server had 800 players, yet Chu Guang’s novice players had only a few blue jackets and beast skin coats in their closets, with only a few able to afford silk and fancy clothes. Even some veteran players looked like wild men when they went out hunting.

This couldn’t go on.

Civilized people needed at least to look the part, lest they be mistaken for looters when venturing further afield.

After finishing editing the quest, he quickly posted it on the public screen, and couldn’t believe someone claimed it within a second.

"Quest has been claimed."

"Claimant: Makabazi."

When he saw this ID, Chu Guang was momentarily stunned.

Well, damn.

Was this person glued to VM 24/7 just to pick up tasks?

It was just a fetch quest for 5 silver coins and 10 contributions...

That’s way too cutthroat!

...

By the time he returned from Shelter No.117, it was already two or three in the morning.

Yawning, Chu Guang went back to his room and fell asleep without a word, sleeping until eight the next morning.

That night, he had a bizarre dream where an SSSR card, wielding a large blood-drawing syringe, chased after him, screaming "Lend me a bit."

Originally, Chu Guang hadn’t planned on running, but somehow, during the chase, he turned into a mutant, which woke him up in fright.

Otherwise, he could have slept a bit longer.

He opened his heavy eyelids.

Chu Guang hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet when he already felt the dampness around him and a throbbing pain mixed with relief in his skin.

No need to think, he had definitely leveled up!

ID: Chu Guang

Gene Sequence: Manager (Stage 2)

Level: LV.12→LV.14

—Basic Attributes—

Strength: 17

Agility: 11

Constitution: 14→15

Perception: 12

Intelligence: 13→14

"I actually leveled up twice."

In the Manager’s Office of the residents’ hall.

After conducting a self-examination using the medical equipment, Chu Guang, looking at the examination chart on the computer screen, was filled with surprise.

With 15 points in constitution, in terms of recovery ability, he was now barely comparable to half a mutant.

Except for slightly weaker agility and perception, he was now a complete hexagon warrior.

The only downside was that he couldn’t revive, so no matter how strong, he still had to play it safe when needed.

"It seems I’ve got enough reward points for a draw."

After confirming the attribute panel, Chu Guang casually opened the Administrator System and switched to the manager subsidy page.

There, the reward points had accumulated to 132.

Without any hesitation, Chu Guang spent these 132 reward points on one advanced blind box, three intermediate blind boxes, and two basic blind boxes.

"System,"

"For all the hard work I put in,"

"It wouldn’t be too much to ask for a set of power armor, right?"

-

(Last month I updated 270,000 words at the cost of a somewhat chaotic schedule. Got up at midnight yesterday, originally wrote 7K words, then revised it down to just under 6K. I’ll adjust my schedule and continue my daily 10K word challenge, only one update today, dare not ask for votes, just don’t hit me too hard... QAQ)