This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 367: Invitation from Manager of Shelter 101

Chapter 367: Chapter 367: Invitation from Manager of Shelter 101

"Just... this?"

Staring dumbfounded at the production equipment before him, confusion and bafflement were clearly written across He Ding’s face.

The flour was fed into the mixer in the proper ratios, going through a series of processes like maturation, pressing, cutting, steaming, chopping, and deep-frying, ultimately resulting in blocks of golden-brown noodles.

What surprised him wasn’t the efficiency of the production line or the magic of its production process, but the exact opposite...

That’s it?

"...These noodle cakes, the residents of the refuge rarely buy them, we usually sell them to the mercenaries of Giant Stone City, and their commercial teams. Especially the commercial teams, they often purchase in large quantities, buying twenty boxes at a time or something like that. Not only do they eat them on the road, but they also trade the leftovers to local merchants."

Standing next to He Ding, Wang Yan was introducing his factory while observing the expressions on the face of the man beside him.

He was the factory manager of the instant noodles factory.

It was the Manager who personally assigned him the task of showing this visitor from Ideal City around the Alliance’s instant noodles factory.

As a "star enterprise" on par with nuclear cola, this factory, held by the refuge, generated a substantial amount of foreign exchange income for the Alliance.

Wang Yan didn’t understand why the Manager would want to showcase the technology for producing instant noodles to others, but this wasn’t something he should worry about.

What he couldn’t understand was, why would a merchant from the legendary heaven-like Ideal City be interested in their factory?

Where was the aloof demeanor of "civilized people"?

It was truly baffling.

Staying stunned for a long time, He Ding finally came back to his senses and quickly turned his eyes to Factory Manager Wang standing by.

"Just deep-fried the flour? Haven’t you added anything else?"

Wang Yan was taken aback, nodded, and then shook his head.

"No, no, all the equipment is just this. Do salt and water count as adding something else?"

He Ding stared blankly at him.

He had thought that the miraculous noodle cake must be produced through some very complicated process, or may even have considered the possibility that it was made by a Black Box, but he never expected the production process and the raw materials used to be so simple.

But on further thought, there really seemed no necessity to add anything else.

Carbohydrates would dehydrate after being deep-fried, and the high osmotic pressure of heavy salt and oil made it nearly impossible for microbes to survive. Simply seal it in plastic to isolate it from the oxygen and moisture in the air, and it should be easy to prevent the food from spoiling...

However, what confounded He Ding was this.

It seemed such an obvious principle, so why hadn’t anyone thought of it?

It took a long time before he shifted his gaze from the factory manager and looked back at the production equipment before him.

"...How long can these produced noodle cakes be preserved?"

Wang Yan immediately said.

"If they’re plastic sealed, they can be preserved for six months, no problem! They can still be eaten after six months, but the taste won’t be as good."

In fact, he didn’t know if they could really be preserved for six months, since their production line had only been operating for two months.

They only really started selling out after the campaign to the North ended, and the "six-month shelf life" was something the Manager himself had mentioned.

However, He Ding didn’t doubt it.

Six months...

He Ding silently calculated in his heart.

Most merchants don’t spend more than this number on a single trip. After all, traveling for too long is costly in terms of both the economic and time investment.

A six-month shelf life was absolutely sufficient!

After all, this product wasn’t meant as a food reserve, but as a kind of pre-made food that was convenient to carry and cook, and cheap to buy.

It didn’t even need to be very healthy.

As long as it could keep the morale of the commercial teams and expeditions high, there would be plenty of commercial teams and mercenary groups willing to pay for it.

This was much tastier than those freeze-dried vegetables!

Or he could combine the two, packaging instant noodle cakes and freeze-dried vegetables together.

With this thought, He Ding looked at the blocks of golden-brown noodle cakes waiting to be plastic sealed, his eyes blazing with fervor.

In his eyes, those noodle cakes had already turned into stacks of cash!

He Ding could hardly wait.

He wished he could fly back to Province of Yúnjiānxíng right now, to embark on his grand business plan!

...

While He Ding was fantasizing about making a fortune in Province of Yúnjiānxíng with these instant noodles, Chu Guang was sitting on a train headed to West State City.

Last night, Xia Yan’s call told him that the Manager of Shelter 101 was willing to hand over the VM but wanted to meet with him in exchange.

This request wasn’t too excessive, and Chu Guang didn’t think the other party had any reason to harm him.

After all, it was his side that had made that presumptuous request.

For those 3500 beta test slots, he could only make a trip in person.

The dense forests whizzed by the window, and after rushing past a wilderness riddled with bomb craters, the sign for Qingstone County suddenly appeared, and the scene outside the window opened up.

The copper ore was piled into small mountains, and people bustled about the station front.

There were merchants from City of Dawn coming here to survey the market and purchase ores, as well as players with VMs and rifles heading into the forest.

Looking at the busy station, Chu Guang felt a bit lost in thought.

Two months ago, he stood on a broken bridge not too far away, and he could still vaguely hear the echoes of propeller vibrations and cannon fire in his ears.

And now, this place had become a renowned copper ore production base, and along with it, City of Dawn had also risen, becoming the largest copper and molybdenum ore trading center in the southern part of River Valley Province.

They had built a railway.

And they were planning to build another electrical grid.

Connecting the power systems of Dawn City and City of Dawn would create an even greater miracle on this extinguished land the moment the controlled fusion reactor ignited.

"There have been quite a few changes here."

Sitting opposite Chu Guang, Jiu Li said respectfully.

"After all, you have come here."

Chu Guang smiled and corrected him.

"Not me."

"Us."

Time changed not only things.

But also people.

A year ago, this burly man wasn’t called "Jiu Li" but went simply by the character "Li."

To evade the war calamity of the Chewing Bone Tribe, he led his people to flee all the way to the "North Suburb" of Qingquan City.

At the time, half jokingly and half considering the realistic needs of survival, the refuge had to unite all the Waste Land Wanderers it could, and so Chu Guang gave him a more powerful sounding name and appointed him as the Steward of the Refugee Camp, responsible for settling the refugees who came to the Alliance from other places.

And Jiu Li did not disappoint Chu Guang’s expectations. In cooperation with Luka, the person-in-charge of Changjiu Farm at that time, he managed the refugee camp with the limited supplies and balanced the contradictions between different tribes well.

Although minor frictions occasionally occurred, no major problems had arisen.

After more than half a year of hard work, the initial belligerence had faded from him, replaced by steadiness.

And this was also one of the aspects Chu Guang most appreciated about him.

The survivors of Dawn City needed a leader who could sympathize with the hardships of the refugees and had rich pioneering experience. He needed to consider the overall interests of the Alliance, but he could not neglect the demands of the local survivors, as unity was the foundation of the Alliance’s existence.

The original management of Town Of Hope was clearly not suitable, whether it was Wu Chengyi, who had once been the mayor, or Yang Duo, who was in charge of the warehouse, as they were better suited to carrying out specific tasks.

As for Ma Ban, who was parachuted into West State City, his appointment was more of an emergency takeover of Town Of Hope.

As for the construction work, there was still a lack of experience.

He himself also explicitly expressed in the work report that he felt incapable, finding the nearly thirty thousand survivors who needed to be settled a daunting task.

Chu Guang planned to transfer him back to the City of Dawn to take over Jiu Li’s job as the person-in-charge of the Refugee Camp, as a talent reserve for the third Survivor Settlement.

Looking at Jiu Li sitting opposite him, Chu Guang gave some earnest instructions.

"... You need to solidify our relationship with the local survivors, and I have only one requirement for you, which is to treat everyone equally."

"Perform the law of the Alliance as stipulated."

Jiu Li, with a solemn expression, replied firmly.

"Yes, sir!"

...

The train arrived at the station.

Unlike City of Dawn, Dawn City’s station had only a wooden board standing as a sign.

Apart from the piles of materials being stored, the area was surrounded by rain-sodden mud and uncompletely removed concrete rubble.

If you looked a bit further north, you could even see the trenches previously dug by players—now these trenches had turned into drainage tunnels.

Everything here was in disrepair.

However, it was commendable that on the east side of those trenches, a settlement outline could already be seen. Having completed the construction of the drainage system, survivors began to pour concrete into the foundations, preparing to build the streets and houses of Dawn City that would provide shelter from wind and rain.

Considering the limited land resources, the housing in Dawn City would mainly consist of medium-density five-story apartment buildings, complemented by standalone cottages.

In addition, there were also plots of land open for purchase by players, who could freely decide what kind of buildings to construct.

As long as it wasn’t too indecent or affected other players’ senses and gaming experience, the planners wouldn’t intervene too much.

"Respected Manager, Dawn City welcomes you!" Standing beside the wooden sign at the station, Ma Ban said with a respectful demeanor.

Standing by his side were Wu Chengyi, Yang Duo, and a group of former leaders of the resistance organization of West State City and Town Of Hope.

Of course, they had now joined and pledged loyalty to the Alliance, serving as civil affairs officers in departments such as civil affairs and storage management in Dawn City.

Chu Guang nodded slightly to indicate that everyone need not be overly formal.

"I’m here mainly to handle the related affairs of Camp 101. You can continue your work at your own pace; there’s no need for a grand reception for me."

With that, Chu Guang turned his gaze to Jiu Li, standing to the side, and after briefly introducing his identity and work, he left the place in his charge.

Chu Guang himself, however, went to the military camp directly opposite Dawn City.

The Second Corps of the Alliance was stationed there, led by Liuding, responsible for the security of the station, railway, and the nearby Dawn City.

At the same time, the fuel rod seized by the Alliance from Golden Tooth was preserved in this military camp, with Yin Fang in charge of the repair work.

Half a month had passed since that day.

Two days ago, Chu Guang had heard from Yin Fang over the phone that there had been progress, and he happened to be en route to check it out.

Following the soldiers of the Second Corps, Chu Guang arrived at the warehouse where the fuel rod was stored. This building was easy to recognize because it was the only concrete structure in the entire military camp.

All other tents were kept far away from it.

Even though controlled fusion was theoretically very safe, and helium-3 would not pose any safety risk even if it leaked, and a single fuel rod could not initiate the energy-consuming fusion reaction, people instinctively wanted to stay away from it.

Looking at the two soldiers beside him who were clearly nervous, Chu Guang chuckled and said,

"You don’t need to be so tense; maybe you should go back, just escorting me here is fine."

Hearing Chu Guang’s words, the pair clearly misunderstood his intentions. One of the soldiers straightened up and said solemnly,

"Sir, we’re not afraid of death; we’re just worried that thing might threaten your safety. Please allow us to stay by your side!"

His thoughts were simple.

If something unexpected happened, at least he had to get the Manager out.

"I’m not questioning your loyalty, but that thing isn’t as terrifying as you imagine," Chu Guang patted the soldier’s shoulder gently, "Wait for me at the door."

The soldier hesitated for a moment.

But after all, it was the Manager’s order, so he and his companion stood together and performed a neat military salute.

"Yes!"

Without lingering at the door, Chu Guang pushed it open and walked in.

He saw the completed fuel rod assembly standing in the center of the room cluttered with parts.

Standing beside the fuel rods, Yin Fang held a tablet with a data cable attached, his index finger rubbing his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

Hearing the noise at the door, he turned his face to look and immediately a touch of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"What kind of wind blew you here?"

"I just happened to be passing by and thought I’d check in on your progress," Chu Guang said with a smile, casting an appreciative glance at the fuel rods in the center of the room. "It looks like you’ve got it handled."

Yin Fang lifted his eyebrows proudly.

"That’s right, as you see. Even though that idiot nearly dismantled the fuel rods, luckily all the parts could still be found... You’ve come at just the right time, I reassembled all the parts yesterday, and today you show up."

From his exuberant expression, Chu Guang could tell that he was equally pleased with the masterpiece he had completed over the past half-month.

Tossing the VM-modified tablet computer onto the table, Yin Fang continued with pride.

"I checked it again today, and basically ruled out any hardware or software faults. Now, I’m just waiting to fix the reactor and can slot this thing in anytime... How is your communication with the engineers at Camp 101?"

Chu Guang smiled and nodded.

"They are already preparing for this task. Barring any unexpected issues, the reactor should be able to restart shortly after the power grid in Dawn City is completed."

Chu Guang had discussed this matter with the Mayor of Camp 101, Hoene, long ago.

As soon as the Alliance’s construction crew arrived at Camp 101, they had sent engineers and, with the help of players, found the emergency reactor buried deep in a subway tunnel.

Although the work schedule was uncertain, according to those engineers, it shouldn’t take long.

Neither the war two hundred years ago nor the one two months ago had caused any harm to the reactor. It was only outdated because some old parts needed replacing.

Chu Guang wasn’t too rushed about it.

After all, Dawn City lacked not only a power grid but even a few completed houses, and the factories that had been moved over were very few.

Completing the construction of the power grid and the industrial relocation plan by the end of the year, and integrating the repaired reactors into the grid, would be quite an achievement.

"It seems you already have a plan, so I won’t worry about it."

With a pause in his work, Yin Fang said with a contented expression.

"I plan to go back to the shelter tomorrow morning... By the way, are those samples brought back from the city center still there?"

As he said this, an unmistakable excitement gleamed in his eyes.

He had been interested in the "specimens" brought out of Qingquan City Center by the Cow and Horse Squad for a long time.

In Yin Fang’s eyes, those were the living fossils left by the pre-war civilization!

Invaluable treasures!

Not only were their structures well preserved, but even their "modes of operation" had been maintained in a biotic form by the slime mold.

To an "archaeologist" who had spent his life digging up pre-war civilization’s legacies, the attraction was self-explanatory!

Watching the fervent look in Yin Fang’s eyes, Chu Guang couldn’t help but laugh.

"They’re all still there. Heya just extracted the slime mold tissue from the evolutionary bodies; nothing else has been touched."

"But I bet when you get back to the shelter, you won’t be interested in that pile of scrap iron—"

"That’s impossible!" Yin Fang shook his head, speaking without hesitation, "Scrap iron? Do you know what those things mean?"

Looking at his firmly convinced face, Chu Guang simply smiled calmly and continued.

"Recently a group from ’North Suburb’ brought in a set of OD-10 ’Dragon Cavalry’ power armor. Aside from a significant crack in the left arm, the whole structure is well intact, and even the reactor and batteries are undamaged—"

"Where is it!?"

Before he could finish, Yin Fang interrupted him, his eagerness evident in his gaze.

The last time Chu Guang saw that expression on his face was when they found the holographic recording of Doctor Principle.

"It’s in the shelter..."

Before Chu Guang could finish, Yin Fang grabbed his coat from the table, throwing it over his shoulders as he hurriedly made for the warehouse door.

"Look after the fuel rod, get someone to... No, just lock the door, and don’t let those clumsy laypeople outside mess with it!"

"I can’t wait until tomorrow; I’m heading back to the shelter now!"

Watching that quickly disappearing figure at the door, Chu Guang was stunned for a long while before he regained his senses, a trace of amusement in his eyes.

Although he had anticipated that Yin Fang would be excessively excited to hear the news, such an exaggerated reaction was unexpected.

A repairable power armor is certainly valuable.

But...

Is it really that exaggerated?

Approaching the warehouse door, Chu Guang looked towards the distance and noticed the man had already run out of sight, most likely heading straight for the train station.

The two soldiers on duty at the door also gazed in the direction of the base, murmuring quietly.

"I told you, that thing has radiation..."

"Look at that guy; he must have gone mad."

The misunderstanding seemed to have deepened for some bizarre reason...

But no matter, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Chu Guang cleared his throat gently.

Seeing the Manager standing at the door, the two soldiers immediately shut their mouths and straightened up, pressing their hands tightly against the seams of their trousers.

Chu Guang did not scold them for slacking off but simply instructed,

"Find someone to lock this door."

"Without my order, no one is to come near."

Relieved, both men simultaneously gave a military salute.

"Yes!"

...

While Yin Fang took on the role of supervisor, urging the station’s workers to hurry up and unload, a long queue had formed outside the entrance of The First Hospital of Dawn City.

Most of those in the line were players.

To the residents of the New Alliance, this was an absolutely unusual sight.

It was common knowledge that residents of the refuge never went to the hospital; minor injuries and illnesses were cured after a stint in the Cultivation Chamber, and by the next day, they were generally healed.

As for severe injuries and terminal illnesses...

They seemed to recover after a couple of days as well.

And indeed, that was the case.

These queuing players were not there to seek medical treatment but to undergo cybernetic augmentation surgeries.

They couldn’t afford the high-end merchandise produced by Ideal City, but some wealthy players could still afford the bionics manufactured in Giant Stone City, valued at several thousand chips.

Although Yin Fang had been absent from the refuge for half a month, he was not the only one capable of performing augmentation surgeries.

Take, for example, this surgeon from Shelter No.117, working in the operating room.

Though a bit old and shaky, he had a background as a biologist, had dissected numerous animal specimens, and had received medical training.

After all, replacing arms and legs wasn’t the same as implanting chips into the brain; these "simple" surgeries were not difficult for him.

The surgical equipment purchased from Giant Stone City might not compare to the professional gear of Shelter No.117, but it was sufficient for use.

Looking at the stream of surgical requests refreshing in the VM, the old man in a surgical cap sighed and couldn’t help but complain.

"I don’t understand why you would want to remove your own healthy arm and replace it with... this thing?"

On the mobile stand beside the operating table lay a mechanical arm that was ninety percent new.

While it had all the joints a normal arm should have, the blades folded inside the forearm were indeed bizarre.

Even if it was to enhance combat power, this form of "self-mutilation" seemed too extreme.

Nevertheless, the refuge resident ignored him and, having already willingly climbed onto the operating table, lay down and looked at him with anticipation.

His expression was even slightly impatient.

Madness!

"I hope you would cherish your bodies a bit more; after all, they were given to you by your parents..."

Seeing that communication was impossible, the old man sighed, picked up a scalpel from the tray, and turned to the assistant helping him.

"Go and close the door."

...

Outside the hospital.

L Trash, wagging his tail, looked enviously at the long line of people and his brothers who had gotten new equipment.

"Damn it... why can’t I switch?"

Passing by, Elena heard his complaint and couldn’t help but stop and mockingly say,

"Maybe it’s because your Intelligence attribute isn’t high enough?"

L Trash immediately retorted,

"Damn it! My Intelligence... it isn’t low either!"

"Not low? Isn’t it just 3 points?"

"%￥#@!"

L Trash was fuming but powerless.

Posting a screenshot of his Attribute Panel on the Forum was the biggest mistake of his life.

Standing next to Old Na, a newbie named ’Giggle’ stared at the never-ending entrance to the hospital and suddenly had a strange thought.

"What about the parts they’ve replaced?"

L Trash sneered, seizing the opportunity for a quick comeback.

"Usually, we’d find a spot where Old Na can’t see and bury them."

"Get lost," Elena rolled her eyes. "I’ll admit my curiosity might be strong, but I’d never go as far as to eat that sort of thing!"

"What a waste..."

Giggle suddenly let out a sigh.

"According to game mechanics, once you reach Level 10, you’re considered one of the Awakeners, and Awakeners should be pretty Niubi, right?"

Elena glanced at him.

"What are you trying to do? You can’t roast that stuff—"

"Of course it’s for selling for money, what a shame to roast it," Giggle said regretfully, "After all, they are parts of an Awakener. Arms and hands aside... eyes, liver, kidneys, they must be worth something, right?"

L Trash was taken aback.

Elena was also taken aback, staring at the newbie in disbelief.

Holy shit!

Wasn’t that a bit too fucking extreme?!