This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 360: This is a Precious Mission Prop

Chapter 360: Chapter 360: This is a Precious Mission Prop

Giant Stone City’s East Gate.

Next to the trade station’s unloading point, crates and bales of goods piled up like small hills.

Standing next to a stack of grain, a topless laborer with a filthy rag slung over his shoulder reached out to push the solid sacks, a look of surprise in his eyes.

"Is this the batch from yesterday?"

Henry remembered it clearly.

Yesterday morning, he had just unloaded this batch from the back of a double-headed cow, not expecting to have to load it back on so soon.

A fellow worker next to him, grinning through his teeth, said,

"Yeah, it’s grain from the farms to the south, smells as good as freshly aired clothes."

After June began, the weather here just kept getting hotter, and a bottle of ice-cold nuclear cola would be perfect.

But with their income, they couldn’t afford such luxuries.

"Where are these goods going?" a dark-skinned young boy curiously asked as he approached.

Henry remembered his name, which seemed to be Hang, living in the nearby slums, not sure if he was thirteen or twelve but definitely young.

The trade station was different from other places, many of its employees came from the slums beyond the giant city walls.

It was said these people demanded less salary, satisfied with a token and two scoops of sticky nutrient paste a day.

Honestly, Henry didn’t like these slum kids, for there were always people willing to endure a lower standard of living, causing their wages to keep dropping.

One token might be enough for him alone, but he had a whole family to feed!

"Send it to our neighbors," Henry said coldly.

An unloading worker nearby couldn’t help but complain.

"Damn it... With all this grain, why won’t those profiteers sell it to us a bit cheaper?"

If a kilogram of bread cost one token, they could afford it, but usually, it only bought a piece of rock-hard green barley cake.

Just then, the steward of the trade station walked over, overhearing the complaints of these paupers and rolled his eyes without thinking.

"Keep dreaming!"

"You expect the grain grown in the fields to be cheap like nutrient paste? Stop your yammering and get back to work, or you won’t even afford the nutrient paste!"

Prompted by the steward, the cluster of complaining unloaders quickly dispersed and got back to work, not daring to say another word.

Despite their bellyful of grievances and dissatisfaction, jobs were hard to come by these days. If they were fired, their whole family would go hungry...

...

Not only food needed transport.

There were also bundles of cotton, parts and tools needed for construction, as well as lighting equipment and generators.

The total value of these goods reached 500,000 tokens, and they weighed a staggering 450 tons.

With 10 such trips a month, the trade volume would reach 5 million, amounting to 60 million a year.

If the shipping costs were also considered, spending 200 million tokens wasn’t that extravagant...

Meanwhile, not far from the trade station, several fully armed players also assembled.

Old White, wearing an exoskeleton and carrying a rifle, glanced in the direction of the slums.

It was calm there.

Faces expressionless, common and unremarkable, showing no signs of the murder that had occurred a few days ago.

Nor could one feel that someone was casting a malevolent gaze this way.

Old White breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Just as he expected, that so-called Dagger Gang didn’t dare come to trouble them.

Their alliance was young, not comparable in scale to Giant Stone City, which had led for two hundred years, nor to the military industrial giants and lords sitting atop the giant walls.

But in front of a few Looter gangs, they were still considered a giant elephant.

The two parties were not even of the same dimension.

Naturally, the other side was aware of this and wouldn’t trouble him just for the life of one of their lesser members.

Of course, it was also possible that he was overthinking it, perhaps there just wasn’t a continuation of that storyline in the Game’s program.

As Old White was lost in his thoughts, a Guard NPC from the Office approached him and stopped in front of him, saying,

"The trading station is loading the goods onto the vehicles; we need to wait a bit."

Old White was not very proficient in United Human language, so he simply nodded and replied concisely,

"No problem, waiting a bit won’t hurt."

Meanwhile, the nearby trading station was bustling with activity.

Bare-chested loaders shuttled between piles of supplies and the caravan, heaving cargo onto the backs of Double-headed Cows and securing it.

These cows, with two heads each, were docile and physically robust, a single one weighing five to six hundred kilograms, and mutants could even reach an astonishing one ton, as massive as a hippopotamus.

Most importantly, these animals were not picky eaters and had an "Iron Stomach" as tough as that of mutated hyenas, and they grew relatively fast, which made them widely used as a means of transport in the Wasteland.

Where tires and treads could not go, these cows could walk with ease.

Although slow, they were stable, and during a fight, they could even serve as a barricade.

Players were no longer surprised by these creatures; Frost Pike Ranch in the "North Suburb" raised them.

However, what surprised the players this time was that these Double-headed Cows were not only larger but also wore metallic devices.

They looked like exoskeletons.

"Damn, even cows have exoskeletons now?" Kill dagger said in surprise as he looked at the caravan not too far away.

Standing nearby, Dog Brother followed his gaze and watched the cows for a while before saying,

"That’s a Non-powered exoskeleton, right?"

"What’s a Non-powered exoskeleton?" Kill dagger asked curiously.

Kidney Fighter, standing nearby, explained,

"It’s one without a power source or motors, kind of like a cart with wheels, allowing you to offload some of the cargo’s weight onto the ground."

"Why not just go for mechanical cows?"

Dog Brother rolled his eyes,

"Might as well transport by rocket."

Kidney Fighter casually said, "Because the transport cost for a mechanical cow isn’t just a bunch of grass for a hundred kilometers, it would need spare parts replacement and regular oiling... that’s my guess."

This explanation seemed acceptable to Kill dagger.

But to equip Double-headed Cows with Non-powered exoskeletons was indeed taking the expression "make the best use of everything" to the extreme.

It didn’t take too long to load the goods.

Old White raised his arm to look at it, and a popup window appeared on the VM screen.

The escort mission has started.

They needed to deliver the goods to the "North Suburb" within 48 hours and ensure the safety of personnel and materials.

"The goods are all loaded up."

"Where’s Fang Chang?" Kill dagger looked around and noticed someone was missing.

Old White casually said, "He’s got some things to take care of and needs to stay here for a while. Let’s hit the road."

Dog Brother howled,

"Damn, that guy’s hogging all the good stuff again!"

"Exactly! He’s been acting solo these days, he must be up to no good!"

Hearing his teammates’ complaints, Old White laughed heartily.

"Never mind him, he has his own matters to handle; he’ll be back once he’s done."

Looking at the caravan behind him, he made a swift forward gesture with his hand.

"Let’s set off!"

The team started moving.

Escorting over two hundred double-headed cows and several hundred tons of supplies, the group embarked on their grand journey to North Suburb under the gaze of the Waste Land Wanderers.

The escort team comprised not only a few players from the Burning Corps but also two local mercenary groups from Giant Stone City, totaling over a hundred people.

Such a commercial team usually made the Looters steer well clear.

They wouldn’t even dare to glance over here, let alone approach and probe.

It was said that the New Alliance also planned to renovate the subway tunnel from Giant Stone City to the North Suburb, sealing all side passages and reducing a journey that previously took two days to less than one.

If they laid cables and arranged a few electric trains to run through the tunnel, it might only take two to three hours for a round trip!

Normally, the straight-line distance from Giant Stone City to Bet Street was only about ten kilometers, and extending it to Linghu Wetland Park was only about fourteen or fifteen kilometers.

However, this project had not yet been negotiated.

The Stone City Hall was not very willing to spend the money. Duron gave a substantial reason: they couldn’t spend the civilian taxes from the outer city beyond the huge walls.

Although the New Alliance indicated they could repair the tunnel themselves and manage its operation, such a massive project would cost a fortune.

With the current financial status of the New Alliance, they couldn’t afford it and would have to get a loan from the Giant Stone City Bank.

Even though Mr. Melvin, the bank president, claimed to look forward to the New Alliance borrowing another billion, he was nervous about the two billion he had just loaned out without seeing any results yet. He planned to wait and see the outcomes first.

Chu Guang didn’t urge him.

Fleecing such a venture had to be done slowly and steadily.

The ideal scenario would be that after his first borrowed sum was spent, Giant Stone City would happen to face its first round of inflation, causing the prices of "bulk commodities" whose prices were set in that currency to start skyrocketing.

But if he overextended their production capacity, it wouldn’t be his debt shrinking—it would be the newly borrowed money...

...

On the northwest side of Dawn City, stood the granary of North Suburb.

Standing beside the soaring mill, Chu Guang inspected the condition of the fields, accompanied by Old Charlie.

After a series of reforms and personnel changes, Charlie had stepped down from the Merchant Guild and was appointed as the Minister of the Economic Department in the Alliance.

The vacated role of president of the Merchant Guild was then occupied by the former head of the trading station.

This was also Old Charlie’s own suggestion.

The staff at the trade station often dealt with merchants from the wasteland; especially those managers promoted from the grassroots were not only familiar with the temperaments and trading processes of those Waste Land Wanderers, managing relations with them almost effortlessly.

Having the head of the trade station manage the Merchant Guild was more than appropriate!

The Merchant Guild primarily served players but was not solely for players.

This agency was more like a service-oriented department, acting as a bridge between players and NPCs in the trade sector.

Meanwhile, the Economic Department was more responsible for devising macroeconomic strategies, serving the entire Alliance, making it significantly more crucial.

Although it only had one office with staff so few they could be counted on one hand, this department’s role within the Alliance was set to become increasingly important.

The reform of the administrative layers of the Alliance was finally complete, and lately, Chu Guang had some rare spare time.

When not too busy, he liked to stroll near the farm, relax, and check the growth of the crops in the fields.

Sometimes he would come alone, and other times he would bring others along.

The most spectacular sight was the rice paddy; the crops in the field were thriving, with thick green stalks already sprouting tender yellow shoots.

With improved seeds cultivated by CNC planting towers, coupled with fertilizers produced by chemical plants, and the hard work of the small players and survivors, this year’s harvest was expected to be very successful.

They might even break a thousand kilograms per mu in the first year!

Currently, the cultivable land of the New Alliance had grown from 30,000 to 40,000 mu, more than half of which was the high-yielding corn and rice.

Just two more months.

By August, the grains harvested from this fertile land will fill the Alliance’s granaries to the brim!

Looking at the endless farmland, a smile that resembled his father’s appeared on Chu Guang’s face.

How wonderful!

However...

These alone are clearly not enough.

"I originally thought that the initial plan of 30,000 mu was completely sufficient, but I didn’t expect that plans couldn’t keep up with changes."

Ideally, 1-2 mu of land could sustain one survivor, and 3 mu could sustain one player.

According to the population of Dawn City, the initial 30,000 mu planned by Chu Guang should have been enough.

Moreover, in the "To Forge Swords into Ploughshares" expansion, players actually reclaimed 5,000 mu more land than he had originally planned.

In Chu Guang’s vision, the crops harvested from these lands would not only sate the stomachs of the New Alliance’s residents but would also leave a surplus.

However, earlier this year, he couldn’t have anticipated that by mid-year, the permanent population of the New Alliance had increased several-fold, from three thousand to nearly thirty thousand...

This didn’t even count the food-consuming players and the over twenty thousand slaves in the POW Camp.

Due to the dramatic population fluctuations, the New Alliance’s granaries oscillated between being sufficient and insufficient, just like Schrödinger’s cat.

"Our population growth has indeed been rapid... The rate far exceeds our arable land area," Old Charlie remarked with a hint of worry as he walked beside Chu Guang.

Having more people is certainly good; in the Wasteland, population itself is a precious asset.

But this is also a double-edged sword.

People can only work when they are fed, understand decency when clothed, remain loyal when they have a house to sleep in, and only when they form families they begin to think about the future of the next generation.

If the needs of rapid population growth aren’t met, the excess population could instead become a burden.

"There’s no way around it; we can’t just ignore those people," Chu Guang said concisely and casually as he looked at the survivors laboring in the distant fields.

He had once lived on Bet Street for no short time.

To him, those survivors were living beings, not just numbers.

That was why so many people were willing to offer their loyalty to the Alliance from the bottom of their hearts.

Actually, if you look on the bright side, there are still many solutions.

He had many cards to play.

"...35,000 mu of arable land is far from enough, we need to cultivate more fields. Before the sowing of the winter wheat begins, we must ensure that the arable land area is expanded to 50,000 mu, and reach 100,000 mu before next spring’s plowing," Chu Guang continued after a moment of thought.

"Besides that, we must also mobilize the POWs to cultivate the land from the east of Western Lake to the south bank of Tianshui. The terrain there is a bit rugged, but the soil is fertile. Once the dike on the east bank of Western Lake is completed, getting together 100,000 mu of arable land should not be a problem."

"Until we achieve complete self-sufficiency in food, we can only try to import as much as possible from the southern farmers. As for trade-related issues, you and the Trade and Foreign Affairs Departments need to pay more attention."

Old Charlie nodded seriously.

"I’ll keep an eye on it."

Fortunately, the industrial products of the New Alliance were quite popular in the south.

Especially the LD-47 rifles and various large-caliber weapons, which were perfect for dealing with the mutants active in the Brocade River Province.

Those green-skinned muscle-bound brutes had strong recovery abilities and ferocious close-combat capabilities; they seemed unaffected even after taking several shots, but even so, they couldn’t withstand the gunfire from the 7mm full-power bullets and the 20mm high-explosive rounds fired from "cavalry guns."

Recently, many farmers had sent their servants to purchase some propeller planes to take back.

But piloting those planes required certain skills.

The farmers’ plan was to send a group of loyal servants over to learn, and once they mastered it, to fly the planes back themselves.

Of course, they would pay tuition with grains.

The profit from selling planes was much higher than from selling rifles, even though they were just propeller planes, they could still fly.

One plane could exchange for the food for a thousand or two thousand people without any problems.

Having finished discussing future plans, Chu Guang looked at Old Charlie and continued with a smile.

"Let’s talk about something happy."

"Today in the morning, Luka called me to say that the supplies we imported for 500,000 chips have already shipped. This includes the food and cotton fabric we need, the devices for building electrical grids, and construction tools, among other things."

"Two days from now, he will arrive at the ’North Suburb’ with these 450 tons of supplies, and thereafter, every three days, a large batch of new supplies will be delivered to us."

"With these goods, our construction site in Dawn City will be twice as effective. Maybe in less than two years, even before the end of this year, our new settlement will be on the right track!"

Watching the clearly delighted Manager, Old Charlie squeezed out a smile on his face too, but his smile was somewhat bitter.

Is this really good news?

500,000 chips...

In just one day, they had spent the lifetime savings of five Old Leeches.

And all this money has to be repaid...

Giant Stone City.

A mansion close to the Inner City.

Sitting on a luxurious chair, Alyssa was idly playing with a black shorthair cat in her lap with her slender index finger.

Listening to the purring of the cat in her arms, her slightly curled eyelashes formed a gentle crescent moon.

Standing next to her chair were two bodyguards and a servant.

One of the bodyguards, whose eye sockets contained metallic-looking electronic eyes, was staring intently at the stranger in the room.

Despite being intently watched by three pairs of eyes, Fang Chang didn’t mind.

NPCs, after all.

It was a perfectly normal thing for them to gaze intently at players when triggering a scenario, wasn’t it?

What he was more concerned about was the girl sitting in the chair.

She was wearing an expensive-looking dress, her deep brown hair neatly tied back exposing her fair neck.

Unlike Dolly, she had an indescribable quality about her, as if she didn’t belong to this world.

It wasn’t strange when you think about it.

After all, no matter which window you looked out from within this mansion, you couldn’t see a trace of the wasteland.

Looking at the young girl sitting on the chair, Fang Chang thought to himself that the game development team really should add a couple more chicken legs to the modeler’s lunch box.

To integrate three completely different artistic styles on the same map, and to achieve such a seamless transition of scenes without any sense of discord.

What is the ninth art?

This is what the ninth art should be!

"Thank you, Mr. Mercenary."

"I thought I’d never see my little Black again."

Her melodious voice brought Fang Chang back to the present. He turned his eyes back and politely responded,

"Not at all. It’s my honor to ease your worries."

Lately, his proficiency in United Human language had grown, and abiding by the principle of speaking more if capable, he added a few more words.

However—

Perhaps his expression wasn’t clear enough, or there was a problem with his grammar.

Both the bodyguards and the servant next to NPC Alyssa were staring at him, dumbfounded.

Alyssa visibly paused too.

After regaining her composure, she couldn’t help but smile and then, with her melodious voice, she suggested,

"Maybe you meant to say something else."

"Anyway, thanks to your help, I was able to find little Black."

When that obscure little newspaper approached her two days ago, Alyssa had not been very hopeful.

However, to her surprise, they had actually found her lost little Black.

Out of curiosity, she had her servant bring this mercenary before her.

Not quite what she expected.

She had imagined that mercenaries were usually rough men with beards and more scars than wrinkles, but the person who came in was a neatly presented young man.

After staring at Fang Chang for a while, Alyssa asked with interest,

"Could you tell me how you did it?"

Fang Chang’s expression was a bit peculiar.

Of course, he couldn’t say that he spent 200 silver coins to get some fat Rat Gang member to help find this silly cat that had jumped halfway up a giant wall.

Of course, it wasn’t all the merciless brother’s merit; Dolly had also helped him a lot in these past two days.

The little black cat, black as a coal, for some reason was somewhat afraid of him but not so much of Dolly.

Was it the smell of motor oil that was too strong?

Regardless, this task, personally entrusted to him by the director of the Alliance office, was finally completed.

The total reward was 25 chips.

Without considering Contribution Points and regional reputation, just from a monetary perspective, he was at a loss.

"It’s a long story..."

"... Seeing as it’s not convenient to share the secret, I won’t press further."

Alyssa didn’t persist. After soothing the cat in her arms for a while, she gently placed it aside.

Turning her gaze back to the man standing in front of her, she suddenly blinked mischievously.

"As an exchange, could you tell me about the world beyond the great wall?"

"The world beyond the wall..."

Fang Chang found himself puzzled, showing a troubled expression, "That’s quite a broad topic, where should I even start?"

Alyssa suggested,

"Why don’t you start with your own story? For example... where are you from?"

"North Suburb," Fang Chang answered truthfully.

On hearing this response, a hint of surprise appeared in Alyssa’s eyes.

"You are a resident of the North Suburb?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"Hmm, nothing, it’s just that I’ve heard my father mention that place a lot recently."

Alyssa lightly shook her head, her eyes filled with clear curiosity, "Can you tell me what that place is like?"

"It’s hard to describe, but if I had to, it’s not wealthy, but it is a place full of hope..."

Fang Chang organized his thoughts briefly and described the situation there with his limited vocabulary.

He thought that the girl wouldn’t be interested, but to his surprise, she listened very earnestly.

After about fifteen minutes, Alyssa closed her eyes, pondered for a while, and then a smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you for talking with me for so long."

"Not at all... Oh, by the way, could you please write a thank-you letter?" Suddenly remembering that NPC named Hal had asked him to do something, Fang Chang quickly added another line.

That was close.

He had almost forgotten the main task.

"No problem, I’ve already written it," Alyssa smiled and nodded to a servant beside her.

The slightly aged servant stepped forward and handed a letter to Fang Chang from his breast pocket.

Fang Chang accepted the letter from his hand, politely declined the invitation for afternoon tea, thanked him, and then left the luxurious mansion under the "escort" of two bodyguards.

Turning two streets, he met Dolly who was embracing her arms under a streetlamp.

The green-haired girl was kicking a bottle cap on the ground to pass the boring time.

Seeing Fang Chang approach from around the corner, she immediately stopped and approached him, asking,

"Did you give Little Black to her?"

"Yes, did you grow attached to it in just half a day?" Fang Chang teased as he looked at her.

Dolly raised an eyebrow.

"How could that be, I... just asked casually."

Fang Chang laughed and said,

"I believe you."

He could feel that the young girl actually quite liked the clingy Little Black.

But she also knew well that it was someone else’s pet. Not to mention, she couldn’t even take care of herself, so a picky eater like that animal would only suffer with her.

"Hey."

"What is it?"

"That daughter of the bank manager, is she pretty?" asked Dolly curiously.

Fang Chang casually replied,

"Quite pretty, she’s a dignified and elegant girl."

Dolly gave a little sniffle, seeming satisfied with her curiosity, though her expression was somewhat intriguing.

"...Speaking of which, are you also interested in a commission for 25 chips?"

"Chips aren’t my goal, I need this letter." Fang Chang lightly shook the envelope clutched in his fingers and tucked it back into his pocket.

chips were only part of the task reward.

If it were just for money, he wouldn’t have accepted the commission.

But explaining this to NPCs was too troublesome.

It wasn’t like no one had tried, but they couldn’t even comprehend what the Game was, and outright saying that your world is just a "game" seemed too rude.

Maybe that was part of the setting too.

"A letter?"

"Yes, a valuable quest prop."

"...?"

Without explaining to the confused Dolly, Fang Chang led her straight to the newspaper office.

Handing this letter to NPC Hal at the newspaper would mean the task was complete.

Although he didn’t know what use this new NPC named Hal had, building a good rapport always made sense.

Watching Fang Chang in a good mood, Dolly, who followed behind him, displayed a complex expression.

She still didn’t understand why this man, who could casually dish out over 50,000 chips, was interested in a mere commission of 25 chips.

Was it because he liked cats?

That seemed unlikely.

Or maybe...

He was hoping to use Little Black to get close to the daughter of the Giant Stone City bank manager, aiming to become Mr. Melvin’s son-in-law and thus leap into the world of the wealthy.

At that thought, Dolly’s expression turned from complex to contemptuous.

She snorted coldly,

"...Dream on."

"Hm? What did you just say?"

"Nothing."

Dropping that remark, Dolly turned her face to one side, now leaving Fang Chang completely baffled.

Both arrived at the newspaper office.

The room was noisy, every face bore dark circles, but everyone was enthusiastic.

Even excited.

After hearing Hal’s plan, the higher-ups of the Alliance immediately granted them a monthly budget of 200,000 chips.

200,000 chips—every month!

When the editors who had once worked under Mr. Hauser heard the news, they were so excited they almost forgot to breathe.

Voice of Giant Stone City couldn’t make that much money in a year!

And yet their boss was willing to disburse such a vast sum every month to sponsor their ventures without seeing any return.

With that money, there was so much they could do!

While the people inside the newspaper office were discussing their next steps, the office door opened.

Seeing Fang Chang returning with the thank-you letter, Hal’s face instantly lit up, and he quickly took the letter.

"Great, you’re back, my friend! We were just discussing the layout for the next issue, and you’ve come at just the right time!"

"I don’t quite understand, finding the bank manager’s daughter’s cat... what does that have to do with your paper?" asked Fang Chang, observing Hal holding the envelope like a treasured possession.

Before Hal could respond, an editor nearby animatedly spoke for him,

"We plan to set aside a page in the paper specifically for commissions. What better way to attract those in need than to let them see the results?"

Another balding editor leaned in and added,

"Exactly, and I’m sure those mercenaries who never cared about news will start buying our paper from now on!"

"Why don’t we start a ’Mercenary Paper’?" another editor chimed in.

Hal’s eyes brightened, and he snapped his fingers.

"That’s a great idea!"

Fang Chang coughed.

"If I may suggest... why not serialize a novel in the paper? Update it with 500 words every three days, breaking off at the most critical part each time. I guarantee your paper will sell out."

Hearing this, Hal was briefly stunned.

Then, he suddenly realized, his face immediately showing ecstatic joy.

"That’s an excellent idea! Friend, why don’t you come work at the newspaper?"

"I’d rather not..." Fang Chang coughed, suddenly feeling like he had perhaps given a bad suggestion.

But...

He was actually quite curious to see what kind of novel NPCs would serialize.

Just then, his gaze fell on a help-wanted ad nearby, and an idea sparked in his mind.

"Are you short-staffed here?"

Seeing Fang Chang showing signs of changing his mind, an exhilarated Hal immediately nodded.

"Of course, we need reporters, editors, we’re short of everything... it would be great if you could help us!"

"Ahem, I’m not really cut out for this line of work, but I can recommend an expert to you. There’s nothing in the Giant Stone City she doesn’t know, and even if she doesn’t know, I believe she’d find a way..."

Saying this, Fang Chang looked toward the office door, where the short-haired girl stood with her arms crossed, looking utterly unoccupied.

"What do you think of her?"