This Game Is Too Real -
Chapter 281: Do You Even Have to Pay for Game Screenshots?!
Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Do You Even Have to Pay for Game Screenshots?!
Outpost Base, West Gate Entrance.
Within a wooden animal pen.
A massive creature lay on the ground, its huge tail coiled into a ball, and its amber pupils lazily drifting around.
Whether Awakeners or ordinary people, any Wasteland Wanderer born and raised on this continent would instinctively feel terror at the sight of this beast and respect from the depths of their heart for the powerhouse capable of overcoming and subjugating it.
As one of the apex predators in the wasteland, the Death Claw was an unequivocal T1 or even T0 level existence in terms of strength, speed, stealth, and size.
It was mighty impressive that a few iron chains and a collar could restrain this thing!
However...
This Death Claw seemed to have been fed into submission and lost much of its ferocity, now replaced by indolence, and its temper wasn’t as volatile as before its arrival here.
What good does ferocity do?
Most people here weren’t really afraid of it.
Especially that human encased in metal.
Whenever it was feeding time, the man exuded a powerful aura that instilled in it a very real sense of... fear?
While not the brightest, the Death Claw’s intelligence was decent by animal standards—smarter than hyenas, Hu wolves, or brown bears at least, its cognition level comparable to that of a young primate.
And because of this, it felt that fear all the more acutely.
Whenever it exhibited unfriendly behavior or even just an attitude, the chilling sensation in its brain froze it up, rendering its limbs stiff and its body trembling.
Conversely, if it behaved compliantly and obediently, the man would reward it with extra rats or hyenas to eat.
Over time, it had figured out a new approach to survival.
Lately, that human had come up with some new tricks; he’d call it "Nicole" each time he fed it. Although it didn’t understand the meaning of the call, it noticed that responding would always please the tin can and lead to treats.
Who cares?
Maybe that was the human’s name.
Nicole wasn’t too bothered about things it couldn’t comprehend. Being sated and taking naps had become its sole requirements, having forsaken its wild nature.
Sprawled on the ground, it closed its eyes, intending to sneak in a nap before lunch.
But just then, a noisy group disturbed its sleep.
Nicole opened its eyes to see several Blue Jackets following a little bug, heading towards it with a ruckus.
Garbage Lord, while moving forward, boasted to a few buddies from the Cattlehorse Group.
"...No joke, I feel freakishly strong now! Forget about a measly Death Claw, I could slap a lair to death no problem!"
Night Ten suddenly asked.
"When is the lizards’ mating season again?"
Old White thought for a moment and said,
"I think it’s in the spring."
Quit smoking asked curiously,
"Do you think the Death Claw might try to court Garbage Lord?"
Tomato & Eggs rubbed his chin pondering,
"It might, given that guy’s got hacks."
The group collectively rooted for this unlikely pair, while Garbage Lord clicked his tongue.
"You guys, always so filthy! Can’t you keep it classy, even in a game?"
Night Ten said with a smirk,
"Sure, sure, no dick makes a guy tough as nails."
Hit where it hurt, Garbage Lord glared at him angrily,
"Bugger off!"
Garbage Lord wasn’t here to mate, of course.
Despite his lizard body, he was still human at heart, and getting up close and personal with reptiles was a bit too exotic for him.
Besides, it wasn’t equipped for that.
The Alien sequence, whether for lizards or rats, lacked gender without exception. Perhaps the operators found it too bizarre and simply didn’t bother to model those parts.
But to Garbage Lord, this didn’t seem like a big deal.
It’s just a game.
Being strong was all that mattered, the rest was trivial!
How to prove one’s strength?
For a lizard, the most direct way was to earn recognition from one’s peers, especially from females of the same species.
The amber pupils looked out from the wooden pen.
Noticing it had caught the creature’s attention, Garbage Lord held his breath, staring it down and releasing his own "aura."
The two pairs of eyes, large and small, stared at each other for a good half a minute.
Nicole in the wooden pen wasn’t sure if it understood his intention or not, but it snorted a laugh and blew some straws on to Garbage Lord’s feet.
The large tail coiled in a different direction, its amber eyes closing indifferently; it was no longer interested.
"Pff—Hahahaha!"
Quit Smoking couldn’t hold back a burst of laughter.
While the others didn’t laugh, their faces gave away their amusement.
Trash King’s face turned red as he made a case for himself.
"It might just be tired."
"Alright alright, let it go Trash King," Fang Chang said, sympathetically patting his tail, "Let’s go to Far Creek Town to farm for materials. Be good."
With the help of taste tester Old Na, a way to handle monster meat in tomato and egg stir-fry was recently developed.
By sprinkling some buffalo grass powder during marination, it was possible to eliminate the unpleasant blood smell and make the monster meat less distasteful.
Frying until golden brown on both sides and sprinkling some pine nut wine and chopped goat’s horn potato stems not only created a delicacy for the human palate but also provided a "5% Metabolism, 7% Constitution" BUFF.
Because it tasted similar to beef and provided BUFF enhancements, the Hunters’ Guild lately saw a surge in the demand for monster hunting.
Wild Wind, who had been quiet until now, suddenly spoke up.
"I heard that female lizards raise their tails when courting."
Quit Smoking asked, "So you mean it wasn’t interested?"
Tomato and Egg Stir-fry asked with interest,
"And what about the male lizards?"
Wild Wind said, "I remember they wag their tails."
The most cultured here is definitely Professor Wind.
Night Ten suddenly grinned mischievously and looked at Trash King.
"Bro, why don’t we... give it a try?"
Trash King shouted, "Scram, scram, scram!"
Trying would be awkward.
Not trying would be even more awkward!
Although his attributes were only 3, he wasn’t stupid!
Holding his chin, Wild Wind pondered for a moment then suddenly spoke up.
"By the way, there’s something that’s been on my mind."
He had spent hours yesterday researching lizards and couldn’t figure this thing out.
Being the target of Professor Wind’s attention always gave Trash King an ominous feeling.
This guy seemed to be picking on him today...
"...What’s on your mind?"
"I remember before... didn’t you tell me you had four Intelligence points? You hadn’t awakened yet, right?" Wild Wind asked, puzzled, "So how come you ended up with less after awakening?"
Quit Smoking looked at Trash King in surprise.
"There’s such a thing?"
Trash King coughed awkwardly, subtly shifting his gaze away.
"Don’t worry about the details... Weren’t we going to Far Creek Town? Let’s go, or we’ll miss the ride."
"From Level 0 to Level 9 you gain 9 attribute points, and none of them went to Intelligence. I’d feel embarrassed to mention it too," Fang Chang patted Wild Wind’s shoulder, sighing, "Try to understand."
Trash King: "&@%¥!"
...
Three days had passed since the end of the Tide.
The spore cloud gathering in "North Suburb" was visibly dissipating, and the morale of the survivors there had reached an all-time high.
This morale boost wasn’t particularly noticeable among the players.
After all, in other games like Azeroth, Province of Skies, or the Hailaru Continent, they had saved the world countless times.
One city was just too small for them.
Lair?
Evolutionary body?
They’re just Level 10~20 main storyline BOSSes.
However, for the residents of Qingquan City—especially those in the "North Suburb"—overcoming the Tide held a completely different significance.
In the eyes of the majority of Qingquan City’s survivors, the Tide was something only Giant Rock City could handle.
When the gray-green mist spread, most people could only choose to avoid the dangerous city districts or reduce their outings, huddled at home praying for the Tide to end soon.
Those Blue Jackets from Shelter No. 404 did what they couldn’t even dream of doing, and they handled the Tide even more quickly than Giant Rock City!
Those arrogant folks living behind the Enclosing Wall?
Turns out they’re not so impressive after all!
...
Inside Outpost Base, it was as festive as a holiday, adorned with lights and bustling with activity.
With the Spring Festival and the new version of the Game just around the corner, not to mention the recent victory that had yet to be properly celebrated, Chu Guang decided to combine these three events into one celebration, scheduling the festivities for the first day the B-round test went online.
Cooking delicious food was a tradition of Shelter No. 404.
It was the same for this celebration.
Dishes that won approval from players, NPCs, and Managers not only gained entry for the chefs into the exclusive Hall of Fame but also allowed them to see their creations in the NPC stores and earn substantial Activity Points.
Many combat professional players set off to Changjiu Farm early in the morning, queuing for the shuttle to Far Creek Town, eager to bring back some exotic animals.
The lifestyle career players were also busy: some went fishing, others were picking mushrooms, and there were those catching toads in the fields. The entire Forum was filled with a rustic charm.
Especially now that the number of hook-on camera devices had gradually increased. Shelter No. 404 had a stock of 200 devices, and Chu Guang had already opened them up for purchase by players.
With a status of medium citizen and a payment of 500 silver coins, players could unlock the "game screenshot" + "instant communication" function with Xiao Qi, the Manager assistant.
With the headphones, players were not only able to communicate with friends on their VM friend list via long-distance voice chat, but they could also sync "compliant" photos to their Forum accounts.
Many Cloud Players on the Forum had been feasting their eyes as well, coming across a host of magical animals that simply didn’t exist in the real world.
Apart from players who hunted for ingredients themselves, some turned their attention to the trade station at Changjiu Farm and the passing merchants.
Exotic merchants would occasionally bring in specialties from nearby provinces, such as dried lizards, canned fruits, and sugar from Brocade River Province to the south, or sabertooth tiger meat, yak milk, and colorful rock salt from the north.
These merchants were quite satisfied with the commodities from Changjiu Farm, particularly the exquisitely made copper-cased bullets, which often cost only two or three magazines to trade for an entire box of goods weighing over a hundred kilograms.
And those bullets were merely mass-produced on assembly lines; the cost, if revealed, could scare the pants off these Wasteland Wanderers.
In addition to food, players hadn’t forgotten to freshen up their old homes with new year skins.
Life-profession players active around Outpost Base conscientiously adorned the buildings around Quality Square with new year’s paper cutouts that oozed holiday spirit.
Moreover, they even stuck creatively written couplets on the doors of various NPC office points such as the sanatorium, weapon shops, warehouses, banks, and Hunter Guilds.
Standing at the entrance of the weapon shop, Boss Xia’s face was a caricature of bewilderment as she looked at the red paper hanging on the door.
"What does this say?" she turned to Chu Guang and asked.
"Meat prices jump, mushroom prices hop, everything keeps rising nonstop. Thank heavens, thank Earth, at least weapon costs have not, Cross-stitch: Version Conscience... Haha, these folks are quite witty."
Reading it, Chu Guang couldn’t help but chuckle.
The rhyming was a little awkward,
but it definitely had the style of the players.
If these internet jokers had come up with proper couplets, Chu Guang would’ve actually been surprised.
"...?"
Xia Yan was utterly confused, but Chu Guang read aloud and figured out the players were implying that the game planner was recklessly dispensing silver coins.
But...
What did this have to do with her?
The shade thrown was at Ah Guang, what did that have to do with her, Xia Yan?
As everyone knows, to accommodate new players’ experiences, every online game has a catch-up mechanic, and "value inflation" is just one of many cards in the planners’ hands.
However, Chu Guang’s reason for minting currency was somewhat different from other game planners; he issued currency according to players’ and NPCs’ gross domestic product, keeping a balance between different groups’ incomes.
Thanks to the unknown computing power of the supercomputer buried beneath Shelter No. 404 and the unlimited VM devices produced by the Black Box,
If not for these two pieces of high-tech and Xiao Qi’s help, completing these tasks would have been impossible with just lip service.
Chu Guang had made rough estimates that it would take at least 10% or even 20% of the workforce to be converted to administrative staff to barely maintain the operation of this management system.
Translating to simulation game terminology, Shelter No. 404’s "future municipal" technology meant the Manager only needed fewer than 150 middle—or even primary—educated administrative personnel to maintain nearly 2000 residents and 1500 players’ "smiles."
Who dared say Shelter No. 404 was without high technology?
The only slight shortfall of this high tech, perhaps less flashy than controlled fusion, was that it was less conspicuously powerful and slightly less prestigious.
Standing beside him, Little Fish curiously studied the couplet.
Chu Guang turned to her and asked with a smile,
"Speaking of which, don’t you have Spring Festival?"
Little Fish shook her head vigorously like a small windmill.
"Nuh-uh!"
Chu Guang vaguely recalled a conversation he had with Little Fish before.
On Bet Street, only the former town mayor and his children’s birthdays were celebrated with a fair, and mostly it involved summoning the townspeople for unpaid labor while collecting gifts; therefore, no one liked festivals.
Being able to gather joyfully for the same happy occasion, as was the case now, seemed like a dream to Little Fish.
"...In previous years around this time, there’d be bangs and pops constantly from the south. Sometimes, it would last all night," Little Fish tilted her head thinking, then had a lightbulb moment and added, "Like thunder!"
The south... she must be talking about the West Third Ring area?
You couldn’t hear it from Linghu Wetland Park, but you should be able to hear the sounds of artillery from there if you were on Bet Street.
Chu Guang curiously continued to ask.
"How long does it usually last?"
"If it’s fast, it ends within a week; if it’s slow, maybe a month," Little Fish pondered seriously for a moment, then nodded vigorously, affirming, "This year should be late. Little Fish has never seen such a big fog in ’North Suburb’!"
She had been wearing a gas mask every time she left the shelter these past few days.
It had been terribly suffocating for her.
It had never been this severe before.
Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.
"It seems the spore spread is regional..."
...
Though the tide had receded early in the "North Suburb," there was still a heap of tasks waiting for Chu Guang.
Since "North Suburb" miraculously resolved the Tide crisis ahead of Giant Stone City, coupled with Chu Guang’s active deployments with Shu Yu in Giant Stone City, many of Stone City’s merchants were drawn over, leading their double-headed cows to the "North Suburb."
The northern gate of Qingquan City, facing the wilderness, had never been busier.
Especially when those merchants found out that the "art pieces" from the Night Queen Bar were produced right here, they went absolutely insane.
Aside from art pieces that satisfied the LSPs’ curiosity, Devil Silk, and Spirit Leaf—these three treasures—there were plenty of other great products available.
For instance, the Didivei nutrition paste was almost bought up by the merchants from Giant Stone City!
With a wholesale price of 299 silver coins per ton based on the current exchange rate—under 150 chips when converted—it was practically like getting it for free buying here compared to the 300 chips per ton factory price from Vijia Commerce.
And it wasn’t just the price that was cheap—the quality was none the worse either.
Factory supervisor Detwei initially planned to form his own Commercial Team and haul the goods to sell in Giant Stone City, but soon discovered that this move was entirely unnecessary.
His costs had been compressed to around 140 silver coins per ton, and the orders were backlogged three months in advance. All he had to do was to work at full force to production and he would see a profit of more than double—why fuss about anything else?
With those silver coins, it’d be better to invest in a few more hunting teams to sweep the buildings at the edges of the fifth-ring road. The income from scavenging would completely balance out the ammunition cost.
Just do it, and that would be the end of it!
Such a bountiful profit even had List yearning.
Indeed, Chu Guang’s KV-1 Exoskeletons and solid hydrogen batteries were profitable, but their gross profit margin really couldn’t compare to something as unassuming as nutrition paste.
Street gangs from the slums near Giant Stone City’s gate would buy this stuff, and so would the farmers to the south, in large quantities.
200g was enough to stop hunger, and twice that amount was enough to fill someone up—perfect for feeding slaves and livestock.
Besides art pieces and nutrition paste selling out, there were also Mosquito’s gas masks, steel bicycles and helmets from the No. 81 Steel Factory, disinfectants from the chemical plant, and some other cheap yet effective gadgets.
The LD-47 Sickle Assault Rifle wasn’t too popular with the merchants of Giant Stone City, but that didn’t stop the mercenaries from loving it.
Low failure rate, easy to maintain, and packing enough power.
With affordability as its biggest advantage, it was enough for them to open their wallets, turn chips into silver coins, and then head to Boss Xia’s place to spend it.
Besides those bigwigs that were getting fat off their factories, undoubtedly the happiest were those living profession players from North Street.
Previously, the mercenaries who followed List’s Commercial Team from Giant Stone City hardly spent anything at their stalls.
However, lately, these mercenaries who came from Giant Stone City suddenly seemed wealthy, flaunting their money in a way that surprised everyone.
Even though the price of noodles had risen from 5 to 6 silver coins, people still paid up.
Mushroom soup at 4 silver coins a bowl was even more popular, being fragrant, rich, satisfying, and delicious. The key was the beautiful proprietress who also had a sweet tongue, ensuring a never-ending queue.
These merchants and mercenaries from afar not only stimulated a wave of consumption but also brought in many fine products produced in Giant Stone City.
The goods these merchants peddled were diverse, ranging from weapons to household necessities.
In fact, as an old, large Survivor Settlement that had industrialized a long time ago, Giant Stone City’s industrial ability was significantly stronger than Shelter No. 404.
The development model there was greatly inspired by the Ideal City of enterprises, as could be seen by the "cargo worship" that permeated everything from culture to commodities in the upper echelons of Inner City society.
KV-1 Exoskeletons were designed in the image of the Miner series, and the Hornet X-2 type assault rifle was a copy of the Black Swan G9 assault rifle—they emulated the "legacy inheritors" of the East Coast in many fields.
While Giant Stone City’s factories couldn’t produce metallic hydrogen, they were capable of producing the next two levels of solid hydrogen; they couldn’t produce fusion engines to drive land fortresses but could make engines for boiling water compact and affordable.
Chu Guang admitted that whether in terms of population or industrial capability, the Survivor Settlement in the North Suburb and Giant Stone City had a significant gap. Once the exchange and understanding between the two sides reached a certain level, friction might be inevitable.
However, even if their relations deteriorated to the point of all-out war, it wouldn’t happen overnight.
Even if war broke out tomorrow, it wouldn’t stop him from shearing their wool today.
To protect local industries and increase exports, Chu Guang had already adjusted the silver coin-to-chip exchange rate from 1:2 to 2:1 when allowing List to set up his factory and had differentiated personal and corporate foreign exchange limits.
This way, players would find that buying KV-1 Exoskeletons from NPC stores was much cheaper than importing them from Giant Stone City.
Similarly, exporting products from North Suburb to Giant Stone City would be much more profitable than just dragging them to the market to be sold.
"I’ve never seen so many chips."
At the Outpost Base warehouse.
Looking at the pile of colorful chips in the box, Old Charlie let out a heartfelt sigh.
Although he was a Blue Jacket from another shelter, living in Qingquan City for so many years had made him accustomed to the local lifestyle.
Having such a valuable pile right in front of him, it would be impossible to say he wasn’t the slightest bit shocked.
Chu Guang smiled faintly and said,
"Doesn’t that Old Leech have any?"
Charlie knew who Chu Guang was talking about and replied softly,
"He’s just within the realm of being ordinarily wealthy."
Giant Stone City’s chips had many denominations, with white being the most common and also the currency that circulated the most outside of Giant Stone City.
Besides that, there were the larger red chips worth 5, the green worth 25, and black worth 100.
Larger denominations of chips were generally only seen in Inner City, but since people there mostly conducted transactions with cards, it was rare to see chips larger than 100 stuffed in someone’s pocket for showing off.
They were neither suitable for chump change nor was there anyone able to break them.
He had seen the former town mayor’s treasury—three of the same boxes, but mostly filled with cheap white chips.
Unlike this box, where even the black ones were visible.
Chu Guang smiled and asked,
"Is this money enough to be a tycoon in Giant Stone City?"
After considering it for a moment, Charlie gave a precise answer,
"...I’ve only been there a few times, but if it’s the kind of luxury life I’m thinking of, it should be more than enough."
Chu Guang smiled and said nothing.
After a brief pause, he cleared his throat.
"I’m planning to establish a Merchant Guild, organize some Commercial Teams to engage in trade with other Survivor Settlements, expand our influence and map while also finding something for my players...I mean, residents to do."
Old Charlie nodded his head,
"That’s a good idea."
Although the second half of the sentence sounded strange, he agreed with the first part.
North Suburb had developed to a stage where just expanding the territory on the map wasn’t enough; there simply weren’t enough people to cultivate that land.
Not only was it an economic issue but obtaining sufficient regional influence was necessary for North Suburb to attract more people and resources for further development.
Chu Guang looked at Old Charlie and continued,
"You’ve seen more and been to more places than anyone I know."
"This job, I plan to entrust to you."
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