This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 286: You are already a mature little player, it’s time to learn how to protect the Crystal Tower yourself.

Chapter 286: Chapter 286: You are already a mature little player, it’s time to learn how to protect the Crystal Tower yourself.

Brother Chu found it surprising that though he had guessed the ending, he hadn’t predicted the beginning.

There wasn’t even the need for two versions; as soon as the Beta0.1 version launched, the Sleep Cabin was listed on the NPC store.

Once a player reached the "Intermediate Citizen" contribution level, they could reserve a purchase in the VM and even have it delivered to their doorstep.

Yes.

To buy a Sleep Cabin, you first needed a piece of land.

Since all land within the Restoration Zone was collectively owned by the New Alliance, it was obviously not feasible to simply encircle a piece of land and claim it as your own.

However, for Intermediate Citizens, this was easy. Most players, upon reaching Intermediate Citizen status, would buy a 50-square-meter plot to manage their small home or store.

Some players registered with business units engaged in life professions could also place Sleep Cabins on commercial or industrial land.

There were still plenty of choices.

Less than half an hour after the announcement of the new version, players had already begun to marvel at the change in the square.

"Sleep Cabin... fuck! 2000 silver coins!?"

"That’s like a Miner Type I Exoskeleton!"

"Purchase requires reaching medium citizen contribution level... hiss, ten thousand contribution points! I’m out, I’ll just use the public save point."

"Damn... how long would it take to save up that much money?"

"If there are no server activities or faction wars, the average daily income for a Level 10 under normal gameplay can reach 100 silver, though there are those who can grind up to 200, 300+... but those are the pros."

"No worries, just grind it out!"

silver coins might sound like a lot, but for players who genuinely reached Level 10, it wasn’t unacceptable.

With the establishment of the Hunter Guild, the proportion of task earnings in players’ total income had gradually reduced from the initial 90% to 66%.

Many commissions published by non-core NPCs for the hunting of Variants or building sweeps could even generate a one-time income of 1000+.

These NPCs usually belonged to production units like Didivei Food Processing Factory, List Factory, and Bachi Factory, or they were farmers from farms or traveling merchants.

However, as compared to the former, the latter, with limited economic strength of their own, provided fewer silver coins, mainly offering regional prestige or tangible rewards.

The purpose of the Hunter Guild was probably to audit the content and prizes of commissions and to centralize their publication to players, which was far more efficient than players using clumsy United Human language to individually harass NPCs.

After announcing the start of the celebration, Chu Guang did not immediately descend the stairs but stood by the window on the third floor like an NPC, smiling while watching the players below.

Xiao Qi, trailing beside his calf, quietly raised the camera.

"Master."

The cheerful Chu Guang smiled.

"What’s up?"

Xiao Qi spoke softly.

"I hear a lot of players complaining about the Sleep Cabins being too expensive."

Chu Guang spoke calmly.

"Good, they should be expensive."

There were only two Black Boxes manufacturing Sleep Cabins, with a maximum daily capacity of 40 to 48. It was impossible for everyone to own their own Sleep Cabin.

His first priority was ensuring the collective benefit, which meant providing enough Sleep Cabins for public save points to satisfy the needs of most players, especially newcomers for regular saving.

The income from the Sleep Cabins sold could be used to subsidize the production of Cultivation Chambers, recruiting more new players.

In fact, not just the Sleep Cabins, even the Cultivation Chambers, serving as respawn points, were also listed in the NPC store.

However, unlike Sleep Cabins, as tools for synthesizing clones, each game account could only hold one.

Therefore, the so-called purchase wasn’t about providing players with a new one, but rather allowing players to take their own Cultivation Chamber out of Shelter No. 404.

At the same time, the Cultivation Chamber was akin to the "Base Crystal" in MOBA games; if destroyed, no matter how strong the game character, they would be done for.

Whether to take the respawn point out of the safe zone.

The choice is yours!

Looking at the price of the Cultivation Chamber in the VM, Mole Old Brother gasped sharply.

"Ten thousand silver coins..."

That’s outrageously high!

It’s worth a Light Cavalry Exoskeleton!

A Miner Type I could buy five, or a KV-1 twelve and a half!

Zhang Hai leaned over to peek at Mole Old Brother’s VM, then looked at his own, his eyes widening immediately: "Wait, why can’t I see it on my VM?"

Gnome King Riches scratched his head: "I can see it here too, seems like it only displays for Intermediate Citizens and above... although only High Citizens can buy."

Elena: "Isn’t ten thousand silver coins the key point? Ghosts would buy that... manually silly."

Zhang Hai stayed silent, calculating with his fingers.

A bowl of noodles for 6 silver, he earns merely 4 silver, meaning ... 2500 bowls?!

Fuck!

A now more wide-eyed Zhang Hai crunched the numbers.

This would rub his rolling pin bald!

Mole Old Brother stroked his chin, analyzing.

"It’s not just about the ten thousand silver coins, there’s also maintenance costs. Cultivation Chambers and Sleep Cabins are different, needing to be operational 24 hours a day, 1KW in standby mode and 10KW in operational mode... This electricity isn’t necessary within the shelters, but if you take the Cultivation Chamber outside, you’d probably bear the cost yourself."

The battery of the Cultivation Chamber could only store up to seventy-two hours of power.

Elena curiously asked, "What happens if the power goes out?"

"[]

Compared to the profits from clearing new areas, are ten thousand silver coins and a 10KW generator a big deal?

Mole felt he had already guessed the planner’s intent.

If it was just for the convenience of saving progress, there was absolutely no need to put a Cultivation Chamber at home, buying a Sleep Cabin to use as a bed would be enough.

This Cultivation Chamber, worth ten thousand, was mainly for those players who planned to go to the New Map to clear new areas, even those planning to station there long-term!

Zhang Hai shook his head and left.

"Ah! Can’t provoke, can’t afford to provoke!"

It appears this ramen was still priced too cheaply.

Gnome King Riches studied the VM for a while and suddenly noticed the plate in Elena’s hand, curiously peeking inside.

"What yummy thing are you eating?"

Snail meat?

It looks oddly fragrant.

Unexpectedly, Old Na occasionally ate some normal food.

"Want a taste?" Elena offered generously with a toothpick.

Gnome King Riches took it, pinched the toothpick, and picked the meat out from the shell, curiously bringing it close for a look.

The milky white flesh looked quite appetizing, sprinkled with some bizarre seasonings, but it still smelled strangely good.

"It tastes a bit weird."

After chewing on the snail meat for a while, Brother Rich pondered with a frown, and gave a fair comment.

"But it’s okay."

Elena smiled happily.

"Naturally, would I ever deceive you, bro?"

Gnome King Riches curiously asked, "So what exactly is this thing? It doesn’t quite feel like snail meat."

Elena coughed dryly.

"I didn’t say it was snail... Don’t mind these details."

Gnome King Riches: "No, no, no, I think it’s necessary to know."

"Do you really want to know?"

"Hurry up, no more nonsense!"

Seeing Rich’s insistence, Elena sheepishly smiled.

"Strictly speaking, it should count as a snail."

Gnome King Riches: "???"

...

The festival continued until after midnight.

And the highlight of the entire festival, apart from the talent show, was the old traditional food competition!

This time, not only players could participate, indigenous people could also sign up for the competition, but compared to the players’ wild ideas, indigenous participants who had just had their meal were mostly just there to make up the numbers, with very few daring to sign up.

The top three winners of this food competition were announced, the "Most Popular Dish Among Players" still went to Egg Fry Brother.

200g of Black Ring Snake meat was boiled to remove the stench, then after draining, salt, pepper, and minced garlic were added and sautéed, then simmered with half a liter of water on low heat for half an hour, finally sprinkled with 50g of crushed Deer Tail Grass for enhanced flavor.

Just like his previous Monster Rib dish, Egg Fry Brother didn’t keep any secrets and generously shared the recipe, even posting a tutorial on the official website.

As for the food most popular among the indigenous people, it was still the Finger Biscuits made by Crow Boss.

She coated the flour with handmade butter and white sugar, baked it into the shape of bullets, and sprinkled chocolate bought from the Manager at the tip of the "bullet".

Although criticized by many players as "too greasy, not as good as mushroom soup," it was greatly loved by the female NPCs such as Little Fish, Boss Xia, Autumn Grass Autumn Leaf and other girls, as well as the Variant NPC Bachi.

Stuffing the biscuit under his helmet, undying muffled sounds of emotion emerged.

"This is the only time I feel alive!"

And when drunk!

Without any hesitation, he gave it a perfect score of ten!

Heya glanced at this "living specimen."

"Have you ever considered that it might not be you who wants the sweets, but the slime molds living on you?"

The blissful muffled sounds abruptly stopped.

The tin can’s silence was heartbreaking.

Sitting nearby, Yin Fang couldn’t stand it and sighed helplessly.

"Don’t be like this... Brother Ba barely finds a bit of feeling alive."

"Am I the only one who thinks this is too sweet? Feel like my blood’s turning syrupy..." Heya muttered, shaking her head. She only had a piece before not touching it again.

She was probably the only NPC who couldn’t quite stomach sweets, especially carbohydrates wrapped in fat and sprinkled with thick chocolate sauce.

Chu Guang looked at her strangely.

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

Heya helplessly stated.

"Maybe I’m just more sensitive to sugar; I prefer food with lower metabolic load, higher vitamin content, healthier ingredients."

Chu Guang: "Like what?"

Heya: "Animal organs."

Chu Guang: "..."

Don’t cholesterol and protein need metabolizing?

How exactly is that healthier?

Sitting in the judges’ seats, Little Fish gazed longingly at the biscuits in front of Heya, too shy to ask for them.

Brother Chu had told her to eat less sugar, mentioning it might affect height growth, and she was already close to her sugar limit for the day, couldn’t eat anymore.

Xia Yan, on the other hand, didn’t hesitate and happily swapped plates with Heya, blissfully stuffing the biscuits into her mouth.

She had no such mental burdens.

After all, she hardly gained weight no matter what she ate, she was used to it over the years.

As for the food most loved by the Manager, it came as a surprise to all players.

It was just a simple bottle of carbonated water with a bit of sugar, and probably a "unique formula" as well.

Joyful Fat Man’s soda?

What’s good about this drink anyway!

The indigenous people weren’t too surprised, just curious about the magic of the beverage the Manager was holding that had won his favor.

The Manager, clad in azure power armor, stood before them all, pointing at the glass bottle from which he had taken only one sip and said,

"Nuclear Cola!"

"This is the best drink I’ve ever had!"

Since players and NPCs were present, Chu Guang deliberately raised his voice and repeated it in United Human language.

Only then did the players at the scene suddenly realize it.

Goodness gracious!

The Manager himself promoting products?!

But is the advertisement this aggressive?

Night Ten’s eyes widened in the square.

"Can NPCs also win prizes?"

Mosquito wore a regretful expression.

"I should have thought of this sooner... In the Wasteland, anything cheap that brings happiness will sell like hotcakes!"

There were already sugar factories in the industrial zone. By importing red beets from Brown’s farm, after simple processes like boiling and drying, white sugar could be extracted at a very low cost.

The cost of this soda was no more than 0.5 silver coins!

If he were to sell it, he could make at least 3 silver coins!

Wild Wind, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"By the way, who won this prize?"

The people from the cattle and horse group looked at each other.

"I don’t know."

"Should we ask on the Forum later?"

It seemed like nobody had already announced plans to bring "fatty’s delight" to the Wasteland, and nobody had come forward to claim the prize.

Could it be an easter egg left by the officials?

If it wasn’t devised by a player, that was the only explanation.

The celebration continued until the early hours of the morning. After collecting all the event points, players gradually returned to Shelter No. 404 or the save points above ground to log off.

No matter how exciting the game was, the bodies in reality also needed to eat.

As for the indigenous people, they seemed prepared to stay up all night.

Even after all the festivities had ended, many people still spontaneously celebrated this significant day until dawn began to break.

From today onward, the New Alliance was officially established!

The first Restoration Zone stretched from Far Creek Town in the north to the fifth ring of Qingquan City in the south, the edge of Elm District in the west, and the old site of Highway Town in the east.

Covering nearly a thousand square kilometers of land!

At the same time, a new city-state was being built under the name "Dawn" in this savage wasteland. And just like its name, this rising sun was radiating the light of dawn.

"North Suburb" had never been as lively as it was today.

People living here had never felt as excited and thrilled as they did today.

"Let’s toast to the establishment of the New Alliance!"

"To the great Manager!"

"Cheers!"

In the northern district of City of Dawn, people staying at Long Endurance Farm were up all night.

In the Highway Town inn, it was noisy with mingling, clinking glasses, and the sound of beer foam almost flipping the ceiling.

To celebrate this great day, Old Hooke generously announced that beer would be free all night and barbecue would be offered at a 20% discount.

Until dawn!

For inn guests only!

Of course, no one was shy about taking advantage of this great deal, and this establishment had made quite a profit from these Wasteland Wanderers.

Many guests, even after joining the festivities, hurried back from the park just for the free beer.

A room full of traders and mercenaries, each completely drunk, lay scattered across the lobby floor.

With so many people drunk, the staff couldn’t manage them all, so they simply locked the main door, left someone behind the counter, and let them sleep off their drunkenness in the lobby until they woke up naturally.

The next afternoon.

Sun Shiqi shook his head, which felt as heavy as a chunk of iron, and rose from the table.

It might have been just his imagination, but he felt the beer was easier to get drunk on today than usual; he couldn’t hold up after only two trips to the restroom.

"I’ll bet... he’s mixed something else in the drinks." Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who thought so; a customer at the next table muttered.

Sun Shiqi took the bill from the waiter, glanced over it, and his face immediately turned green.

"Weren’t the drinks free?"

The waiter said softly,

"Yes, sir, but you ate 6 skewers of grilled squirrel meat and 12 skewers of double-headed cow meat... and a monster rib rack."

Sun Shiqi squinted, confirming the small print on the back of the bill, and slowly came to his senses.

He had indeed ordered those dishes.

Especially that monster rib rack, he had never heard that monster meat was edible.

But to his surprise, that dish alone cost 30 silver coins! With the current exchange rate to chips, that would mean 15 coins!

This is daylight robbery!

He had never eaten such expensive food before!

But perhaps due to a small fortune made from a previous deal, his mindset had seen a slight change, and he wasn’t as hurt by the cost as he would have been in the past.

He had had enough of hard days.

When he first started trading, to save money, he had subsisted entirely on nutrient paste, even the mercenary he hired ate better than he did.

Now he finally had money.

It was time to treat himself better.

"Put it on my tab."

The waiter’s face sported a pleased smile.

"Alright, please sign here, sir."

Sun Shiqi picked up the pen and casually signed his name before throwing a silver coin as a tip.

Under the gratitude and blessings of the waiter, Sun Shiqi, squinting his eyes, walked out of the inn with his head held high and a brilliant sunshine illuminating his path.

The day to pick up the goods had been postponed time and again, but it finally arrived.

The trade station compensated him with a storage space of 100 square meters right next to the station for two months.

Sun Shiqi was quite satisfied with this compensation.

These people were quite reasonable, at least far more so than the factories in Giant Stone City, which offered no compensation in the event of failing to deliver goods due to unforeseen circumstances.

Tide-like incidents were beyond anyone’s control.

It was understandable.

Looking at the young man who was processing the goods delivery with him, Sun Shiqi curiously asked,

"How come there’s a different person at the booth today?"

"Frost River is off today; we have one day off each week and can decide which day to take," the young man replied with a smile.

"Alright, wish her a happy holiday for me. I envy you guys, we work all year round." Sun Shiqi casually complimented and then suddenly noticed the trade station was under construction outside.

A group of raggedly dressed people, under the watchful eyes of the guards, worked in pairs to lay heavy steel on the wood and pounded around it.

Those people were probably prisoners of war.

Sun Shiqi clicked his tongue and casually asked,

"What are they doing over there?"

The young man glanced in that direction and said with a smile,

"You mean there? It seems to be called a railway! Recently it has been extended from the industrial area to here. They say all goods will be transported by this thing in the future."

A railway?!

A look of surprise crossed Sun Shiqi’s face.

There were plenty of abandoned vehicles on the Wasteland, and steel bars and beams were common, but these rusty scraps obviously couldn’t be reused directly; they first needed to be thrown into a furnace for remelting, then go through a series of processes to be turned into useful materials.

This might sound simple, but in truth, it tested the overall industrial capability of a survivor settlement.

If he remembered correctly, a kilometer of railway would require at least a hundred tons of steel.

Had their steel production reached a surplus sufficient for railway construction?

He hadn’t noticed this in the past few days!

The young man in front of him seemed to think he was overreacting; back when the industrial area was just relocated, the steel mill had already started producing those tracks.

Although he still didn’t know what they were used for, he trusted that the Manager’s decision was undoubtedly right.

"Did you gather all this steel from the ruins?"

"About half and half," the young man said, pointing to a booth not far away.

In front of the booth, over twenty double-headed cows crowded. Facing the sales pitch from the staff, the person in charge of the Commercial Team seemed to enter deep thought, clearly tempted.

"An electric donkey for only fifty thousand silver coins, with a 10% discount now. By owning a more advanced and useful vehicle, you can travel faster between Red River Town and the City of Dawn. Today, the demand for steel materials is very strong; why not consider it?"

Sun Shiqi did not respond; his eyes caught the brand on the back of the double-headed cows and a trace of alertness appeared in his gaze.

Horseshoe Iron Commerce Association!

He recognized the symbol.

Red River Town’s commerce controlled one-third of the iron ore and one-fifth of the slave trade. Although they didn’t own their own mines, their ability to provide a steady "labor force" had fostered good relationships with many slave owners, and salespeople were spread all over the southern part of the River Valley Province.

Thinking this, Sun Shiqi’s previously somewhat relaxed mood suddenly gained a sense of urgency.

Nearly a month and a half had passed since the restoration of the trade routes, and clearly, he was not the only one eyeing the lucrative "North Suburb."

More and more people would definitely come here to do business in the future!

He must hurry!

...

Counting the holiday on the second day, the celebration lasted for a full two days.

According to the report organized by Xiao Qi, the total expenditure for the celebration reached 61,231 silver coins. This included, aside from the purchase of food and beverages, the lottery gifts distributed to the players.

Additionally, since some of the prizes were drawn using Chu Guang’s own points, they were not counted in the total cost.

However, it would be a grave mistake to think he had made a loss.

The over 60,000 silver coins, although spent, went towards the players and NPCs, who were all his people, so the coins had merely changed form while staying by his side.

Moreover, the advertisement he made at the end almost caused the warehouse doors to be broken by merchants who came after the celebration seeking the "Nuclear Cola" soda.

The only twenty cases in stock were snapped up.

After tasting one bottle, many immediately paid a deposit without a second word. In just one morning, orders were backlogged for a month!

As for whose brilliant idea was this?

Naturally, it was Chu Guang himself.

Long ago, he had made soda himself, but it was only recently, vexed by budget issues, that he thought of using this good for foreign exchange.

Currently, the product was being manufactured by the "Nuclear" soda factory, exclusively owned by the shelter. If not for recalling a certain arrogant riddler, Chu Guang could hardly resist praising himself as a genius.

Of course, these were all minor details.

To truly solve the "budget issue" fundamentally, relying on one or two best-selling products was not enough.

A scientific research team managed by Yin Fang had already locked down a shelter located in the eastern city district.

According to recorded information, that shelter, codenamed 401, had opened fifty years ago.

Considering he had never heard any news about that shelter, Chu Guang had every reason to believe it was abandoned, and the fate of its occupants was unknown.

But being abandoned was not a problem.

As long as the controllable fusion reactor was still operational, and he could find the matching model of fuel rods, he would be able to reuse the site!

Perhaps by sending a few hundred cultivation chambers over.

It also conveniently boosted Shelter No. 404’s presence in the eastern part of Qingquan City, preparing for the expansion of the restoration zone.

Besides solving the players’ problems, the issues of the indigenous people also needed addressing.

Establishing a new alliance wasn’t just a slogan, but a promise.

Currently, the New Alliance’s laws were only implemented in the City of Dawn. Besides this city, in the "North Suburb" of Qingquan City and the vast Wasteland outside the city, many small to medium-sized survivor settlements still suffered from Variant and Looter harassment.

In addition, inside the restoration zone, there were some stubborn feudalists who needed to recognize the situation and choose between voluntary and forced compliance.

Chu Guang planned to deal with these historical leftover problems within a month.

However, what Chu Guang did not expect was that the first person to recognize the situation and change was actually his old neighbor, Brown...

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