This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 242: Since it’s a win-win, then of course everything is needed.

Chapter 242: Chapter 242: Since it’s a win-win, then of course everything is needed.

Night fell.

Since the boss had gone to negotiate a deal and hadn’t returned, the caravan set up camp on the open space outside the south gate of Outpost Base.

Enticed by the fragrant aroma wafting from the front of the North Gate of Outpost Base, two caravan guards slipped out of the camp at mealtime, intending to exchange their chips for some food.

However, to their surprise, when they boldly slapped their chips onto the table, they were met not with the obsequiousness they expected from these country bumpkins.

Instead...

Contempt?

The two guards were momentarily stunned.

They must have seen it wrong.

"Damn it, not these plastic pieces again?"

Zhang Hai, with his back to the customers, cursed under his breath and raised his flour-dusted fist to tap the price board beside him, speaking in non-standard United Human language.

"Chips, ten."

Ten chips?!

The eyes of the two caravan guards bulged, suspecting they had misheard.

Their daily wage was only ten chips!

And that was on days when they showed up to work.

In Giant Stone City, a decent meal could be had for 5 chips, and in the surrounding survivor settlements, chips were worth even more—usually 3 chips could get you a very full meal.

Ten chips for a bowl of noodles was unheard of!

"Ten chips?! Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Damn, that’s way too much of a rip-off!"

"Are you picking on us because we’re from out of town?"

However, as the two men complained and protested, Zhang Hai, who stood in front of the stall, remained unmoved, his expression unchanged.

All players knew that those white plastic pieces could be exchanged for silver coins, two chips for one coin, so wasn’t it reasonable to sell 5-silver-coin noodles for ten chips?

That was perfectly reasonable!

He hadn’t even charged them a service fee, which was quite generous.

Of course, the main reason was that Zhang Hai couldn’t understand what these two were saying.

Otherwise, he definitely would have hurled insults back.

He laughed.

Who would he fear in terms of mouthing off?

The surrounding players were all watching the spectacle, discussing with curiosity.

"What are these two NPCs saying?"

"I bet they’re cursing Boss Zhang’s noodles for being too expensive."

"Hahaha, serves him right! Good on them for cursing him!"

"Wait, let me take note of their insults."

"Why the hell would you jot that down?"

"You use them in a fight, duh. Otherwise, you’ll just be saying ’fuck’, and if the opponent doesn’t understand, they’ll think you’re uneducated. Better to learn NPCs’ dialect—it sounds more imposing when you shout it!"

"Holy shit! Bro, you’ve got to teach me once you’ve learned it!"

On foreign territory, the two guards didn’t dare to make a fuss.

Especially with so many eyes on them.

The two men swore under their breath for a while, then moved on to other stalls.

To their dismay, the situation at the other stalls was the same; the prices were outrageously high. Only after they finally found someone they could communicate with, did they understand the reason for it.

"If you use chips, it’s double the price," said Autumn Grass, taking out a silver coin and waving it in front of them. "Those Blue Jacket guys, they all trade with these kind of coins."

Autumn Leaves crouched beside her sister, nodding vigorously.

"That’s right! This is their currency!"

The two caravan guards looked at each other, completely baffled.

What kind of coin was this?

They had traveled to so many places and had never seen it before.

"Can you sell me that silver coin for two chips?" the guard with the sideburns tentatively asked.

Autumn Grass shook her head, politely declining.

"These are useless to us."

Autumn Leaves nodded earnestly.

"Right! You should go exchange them with Little Fish!"

The two caravan guards: "..."

There’s actually a place in all of Qingquan City where chips aren’t circulated?

How peculiar!

And who is Little Fish?

Not far away, Zhang Hai, who was below, looked up and caught a glimpse of those two NPCs heading out of the market. He couldn’t help but scoff.

"These NPCs must be from some backwater place, how poor they are."

Can’t even afford a bowl of ramen.

They didn’t buy and instead babbled on for ages.

Made him think there was some hidden quest or something.

Holding his bowl and sipping the noodle soup, Canyon Escape Mole glanced at him and said,

"You’ve missed the good times. In the previous ’Land Vessel’ expansion, when the Company people first came here, those paper cards they gave out could be exchanged for 100 silver coins."

Zhang Hai clicked his tongue.

"100 silver coins? That doesn’t sound like much."

Gnome King Riches rolled his eyes.

"Cut the Versailles act, will you? We’re talking about silver coins from several updates ago. Can you compare? Back then, a whole day’s grind only got you 10 silver."

Construction Site Youth with Brick: "Ahh, I miss the days when a bowl of mushroom soup was 5 bronze coins."

Canyon Escape Mole gave him a sideways glance: "Oh please, back then you would flinch at firing a single shot, you sure you want to go back to the old version?"

Construction Site Youth with Brick scratched his head.

"Er, maybe not."

Thinking it over, the new version is more fun after all.

Rushing forward with a light machine gun going ’tat-tat-tat’ is just too thrilling.

Meanwhile, those two caravan guards who had sneaked off for a break had left the market and were heading straight back to the camp.

They had planned to sneak in unnoticed, but as luck would have it, their captain was standing right at the entrance to the camp.

The two guards’ expressions immediately turned awkward, but they had already made eye contact and couldn’t pretend not to have seen him, so they had no choice but to walk over, steeling themselves.

With his unnerving electronic eye focused on them, Han Long said expressionlessly,

"Where have you two been?"

The younger guard stumbled over his words, unable to speak, while the older one reacted quickly and hastily said,

"Reporting to the captain, we went to gather intelligence!"

Han Long looked at the two of them.

"What intelligence?"

"The prices! We were finding out about the local prices!" the older guard continued rapidly, "The cost of living here is outrageous, they charge ten chips for a bowl of noodles!"

The other guard caught on and quickly chimed in,

"That’s right, and they don’t use chips here, they trade with something called silver coins. It takes two chips to exchange for one silver coin, it’s just too expensive!"

Two chips for one silver coin?

Han Long slightly furrowed his brow.

That was indeed an interesting piece of information, perhaps worth telling the boss later.

However...

Rules are rules.

Staring at them emotionlessly, Han Long slowly stated,

"According to the commercial team’s rules, leaving the camp without permission at night results in a week’s wages deducted. A second time, you lose all your wages and get expelled from the team."

"If I catch you breaking the rules again, you should be well aware of what that means."

Being stared down by that electronic eye, the two guards involuntarily shivered and quickly bowed their heads, nervously saying,

"Yes..."

"We won’t dare again."

In Giant Stone City, finding a respectable job was not easy, a typical commercial team wouldn’t just recruit a couple of people with questionable backgrounds, let alone risk being set up by a competitor by taking in those who had been expelled from other teams.

Those expelled from a commercial team without any real skills had only two paths to choose from.

Either they went to the factory to tighten screws, living off a modest salary until the day they could no longer work and died in some desolate alley.

Or they became mercenaries, doing whatever the employer asked, exchanging their lives for chips.

This threat indeed carried weight!

The two men walked towards the camp, dejected.

Han Long did not watch them go but continued to look towards the direction of the south entrance.

It had been over two hours.

The boss still hadn’t returned.

As his brow furrowed lightly, just as he was pondering whether to have someone inquire about the boss’s whereabouts, his electronic eye suddenly twitched and locked onto something to the north.

Soon, a familiar figure came into his sight.

Seeing the boss returning from the north, Han Long finally breathed a sigh of relief and approached him.

"Boss, you’re finally back. I was about to send someone to look for you."

"Don’t be so nervous, I have a good relationship with the people here."

With an expression of excitement on his face, List continued to his capable assistant, "Call Qian Duo and Qian Lai for me. I’ll wait for them in the tent. I have important matters to entrust to them."

Although curious about the matter, Han Long didn’t ask further as the boss didn’t volunteer the information, and he simply nodded cleanly.

"Yes."

...

It wasn’t long before List was back in his tent.

Soon, the tent flap was pulled back, and two figures, one tall and one short, entered.

"Boss, did you want to see us?"

The tall one was Qian Duo, and the short one, Qian Lai. Both were List’s apprentices and had followed him since they were about eleven or twelve years old; now it had been seven or eight years.

List had always been grooming the two as his successors. Originally, he planned to gradually hand over the commercial team’s business to them in their tenth year, so he could move to Giant Stone City’s Inner City and live the high-society life he had dreamed of.

But now it seemed that day might come sooner.

"I’ve just acquired a batch of goods from Blue Jacket: 200 rifles and fifty thousand rounds of ammunition. In exchange, I plan to leave twenty sets of KV-1 Exoskeletons from our inventory with them."

One exoskeleton for 10 rifles?

Upon hearing this, both apprentices showed a look of surprise.

Qian Duo cautiously reminded him.

"But... Boss, weren’t you planning to transport these goods to Red River Town to trade with the slave traders there?"

The situation in River Valley Province was recently unstable, and the slave dealers in Red River Town had taken in a lot of stock. The mines couldn’t digest so many slaves, and the prices had been driven very low.

The slave owners in Red River Town needed exoskeletons to improve mining efficiency, as well as to enhance the combat power of their soldiers.

According to intelligence gathered from taverns, a KV-1 Exoskeleton powered by solid hydrogen was said to be exchangeable for four to five strong slaves.

In Giant Stone City, KV-1 Exoskeletons weren’t a rarity. Although List usually sold them for 800 to 1000 chips outside, the truth was the cost to acquire them was only about 400 to 500 chips, and the actual production cost was just over 300.

The battery accounted for half of the cost, the twelve motors distributed on the exoskeleton for the other half, and the rod-like connecting parts were practically giveaways.

Most people who bought a KV-1 Exoskeleton had to modify it before they could use it.

As for an assault rifle, it normally sold for about 150 to 200, and the actual cost may be just a third or even a quarter of that.

Trading one exoskeleton for 10 rifles, especially those produced by the survivor settlements outside, it was difficult to assess whether this trade was profitable or not.

The key question was whether they could sell these rifles at their next stop.

Nevertheless, compared to the worried apprentices, List’s expression was full of confidence.

"It’s no issue. Red River Town is currently preparing for war with the Chewing Bone Tribe of the Snake Clan, and they need not only exoskeletons but also a large amount of weapons. Rifles and ammunition can sell for a good price there too, and most importantly, if we can open up the market, this trade route will become a gold mine!"

"The second thing those Blue Jackets have promised me, as long as we can sell their weapons in Red River Town and then transport back the phosphorous ore, sulfur ore, rare metals, and aluminum they need, they can offer us even more goods... this entails a profit margin of at least double."

"The reason I called for you," List paused for a moment, looking at the two standing before him, "You’ve followed me for some time now, and I’ve witnessed your growth. Now, it’s time to put that to use! Do as I have told you. Lead the commercial team to Red River Town, then using our goods, purchase the batch of supplies according to the list I gave you."

Surprised expressions appeared on their faces.

Although they had contemplated the day the boss would hand over the commercial team to them, they had not expected it to come this quickly.

Qian Lai hurriedly asked.

"What about you, boss?"

List replied with a slight smile.

"Me? I naturally have more important matters to handle! I plan to open a factory here to produce solid hydrogen batteries and to assemble the motors needed for exoskeletons."

The two standing in the tent exchanged bewildered glances.

Open a factory?

Here?

And to produce solid hydrogen batteries and motors for exoskeletons?

That...

Sounded almost too far-fetched.

While there were some big shots who would set up simple industries outside of Giant Stone City, usually the saved taxes and land rent ultimately went back in another form.

In places outside of Giant Stone City, there was hardly any order to speak of. Not only did one need to hire lots of guards, but it also cost a fortune to persuade engineers and workers to leave the safety of Giant Stone City’s massive walls.

The produced goods also had to be handled with extreme caution, without any insurance company willing to cover them. One not only had to guard against Looters looking for an easy score but also be wary of malicious sabotage by competitors, and the dishonest behavior of the Waste Land Wanderers doing the work.

Where there was no order, not even seeds could germinate, let alone run a factory.

Yet...

Their boss seemed utterly confident at this moment.

Who knows what kind of spell he had been cast under.

"Qian Duo, do as I just said, follow Han Long to Red River Town and close the deal. You can slightly give up a small part of the profit, but you must convince our customers that this is a long-term trade! We will provide them with a steady stream of weapons, and we can continue this business indefinitely."

"Qian Lai, return to Giant Stone City and buy the relevant production equipment as I listed. Whether it’s outdated or stockpiled, just get what you can find. Also, remember to look for some engineers capable of operating that equipment for me, you should know where to find them."

Despite harboring some doubts, Qian Duo and Qian Lai both nodded in agreement.

"Alright, boss."

Having clearly delegated the tasks, List let the two individuals leave, then sat down on his sleeping bag, fetched an electric kettle from a bag next to him, and brewed himself a cup of hot cocoa.

This was a habit he had cultivated over his years of traveling.

Consuming something sweet and hot would help him fall asleep faster.

Warming his hands on the cup and watching the misty steam rise, an involuntary smirk of self-satisfaction crept onto List’s face.

"I’m a damn genius!"

This time.

I’m really going to strike it rich!

...

Earlier, when discussing potential collaboration, the Manager named Chu Guang, offered him two proposals.

The first proposal was to invest in setting up a factory.

Shelter No. 404 would provide labor, and they could even offer him a loan of 100,000 Silver Coins. He just needed to haul over the manufacturing equipment, and he could start work immediately.

Of the products manufactured, twenty percent would go to the shelter, while the remaining eighty percent he could sell wherever he pleased.

Whether it was for export to Giant Stone City or sold to the local workshops in the industrial area.

When List first heard this proposal, he was somewhat puzzled, so he asked at the time,

"If Silver Coins cannot be directly exchanged for chips here, then what’s the point of earning more Silver Coins?"

The Manager patiently explained to him,

"While Silver Coins can’t be directly exchanged for chips, you can use them to buy what you want, then bring it back to Giant Stone City and exchange it for your preferred plastic pieces... I mean, those colorful chips."

"Although, rather than doing that, I’d recommend you look further ahead, use the Silver Coins to build houses, start hotels, open taverns, or expand production."

"By next month at the latest, I will have a large caravan passing through here. I forgot to tell you, as we extended a helping hand to the Company’s Pioneers during the war, we are now their permanent strategic partners. You’re a Merchant, so you should know what that means. Every caravan coming from the East Coast will prefer to stop by our place. Just imagine the fine goods they carry, do you still think Silver Coins are useless?"

"Even if we completely set aside agriculture and industry, this place will quickly prosper from trade alone. Trust me, the Silver Coins in your pocket won’t let you down, you will earn more with them."

Feeling that it wasn’t persuasive enough, the Manager, after saying all this, then dangled an even larger carrot in front of him.

"Next year, we will plant at least 3,000 mu of Cam Trees, which will be 30 times the supply of the Brown farmstead!"

"We will export half of the raw materials and supply the other half to the local market; here, rubber and alkanes, among other industrial materials, will be very cheap. Whether you sell them to Giant Stone City or directly process them into goods here, you’re definitely going to make a huge profit."

After hearing all this, List quickly did some calculations in his head.

3,000 mu of Cam Trees.

If they really could plant that much, the rubber and biomass oil produced here could meet at least 13% of Giant Stone City’s consumption.

That was an intimidating percentage.

Compared to the planting area here, his southern plantation and several nearby small Survivor Settlements were merely playing at the fringes.

Regarding the first proposal suggested by the Manager, he immediately agreed to it.

Because he saw almost no downside to this plan.

Especially after he learned from Chu Guang that these Blue Jacket troops had not only defeated the Army’s thousand team, but also at a trivial cost had crushed two thousand teams sent by the Chewing Bone Tribe to the North suburb of Qingquan City, his confidence was further bolstered!

The corpse of the Black Snake was hanging from the gallows right outside the Frontline Base North entrance. It was easy to verify the truth of these words.

For an emerging Survivor Base, that was already a strong showing!

Even the Militia Groups of Giant Stone City would take some time and pay a cost to deal with so many Looters.

Being able to ensure the security of the industrial zone, to provide labor and raw materials.

Combined with the previous deal, the Manager’s credibility was also reliable.

List felt he could definitely give it a try.

What he needed to do wasn’t very hard, just needed to use chips to buy some equipment and then hire some unemployed Engineers to operate the devices and instruct those refugees, who were said to have received some education, to engage in production.

This would probably cost 100,000 or even 200,000 chips, and more advanced equipment maybe even 1 million.

Although this sum wasn’t small for him, he had good credit, and he had two pieces of real estate in the Inner City of Giant Stone City that could be used as collateral, so getting a loan from the bank wasn’t very difficult.

He chose the most reliable products.

Solid Hydrogen batteries and motors for Exoskeletons.

Even if the local market couldn’t digest these two items, he could haul them to Giant Stone City to sell or assemble them into simple Exoskeletons and sell them in places like Red River Town in exchange for Slaves or raw materials to bring back.

This business looked profitable no matter how you sliced it.

And it was solid!

The second proposal was similar.

However, this proposal focused on collaborative sales, requiring him to put in some effort to sell the locally produced goods to more distant locations.

For a Merchant like him, was that a problem?

It was exactly what he did for a living!

How to choose?

It took List almost just half a minute to make a decision.

Since both proposals were win-win.

Why not embrace them both?

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