This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 554: The Taste of Blood

Chapter 554: Chapter 554: The Taste of Blood

Shelter 101...

It felt like so long ago since the last visit to Dr. Method.

An inexplicable sentiment of nostalgia arose in Chu Guang’s heart, and after pondering for a moment, he said,

"It’s a place that’s hard to describe."

Alyssa looked slightly startled.

"Hard to describe as in..."

Seeing that hint of longing and yearning in her eyes, Chu Guang guessed Pai must have boasted something impressive to her, so after thinking for a bit, he continued,

"Other shelters preserve survivors, certain technologies, some plan... But that place preserves memories of the Prosperity Epoch."

Alyssa’s eyes indeed lit up, and she couldn’t help but clench her small fists tightly.

"The Prosperity Epoch!"

That legendary great era!

She had only seen snippets about that era in some books and picture books!

With that look of longing in her eyes, Chu Guang had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking, although it was somewhat heart-wrenching, he still poured a bucket of cold water on her.

"It’s just memories of the Prosperity Epoch, and the place might not be as wonderful as you imagine. The prerequisite for entering Shelter 101 is to abandon the physical body, otherwise, you can only glimpse it briefly, as if riding in a tour bus."

"Abandon the physical body..."

"It means to die physically."

Alyssa held her breath involuntarily.

After a long time, she said somewhat stiffly,

"That sounds... like a grave."

Chu Guang nodded in agreement,

"Indeed, for those outside, it’s no different from a grave, but for them, it might not be the case."

Chu Guang didn’t quite understand what Dr. Method had said before, but after interacting with so many different AIs, he somewhat got the idea.

For the AIs, one second and a century hardly make much difference. They undoubtedly knew Shelter 101 was doomed to fall into a deep slumber one day, a foreseeable end, but they didn’t seem to care much.

Even the sun has a lifespan.

What’s to say of a human or a civilization turned into a fleeting shadow?

They had already lived a life more beautiful and lengthy than anyone in their never-ending dreams, without a single remembrance for the outside world.

From an individual perspective, even if it’s virtual, there’s nothing to regret. Their task was to live well according to their own thoughts.

For the shelter itself, its purpose was to record all memories, thoughts, relationships, lifestyles, and everything else about that era, leaving it as a sort of enlightenment for the future.

Chu Guang seldom told anyone about such a wonderful place within the Alliance. Indulging in the land of the departed was not a good idea for the living.

In a sense, it was a more potent poison than the ideal of the Ideal City, even he had once thought of staying there.

Although it was only for a moment...

Alyssa fell silent for a while.

"Actually, I never thought about living there; sometimes, I just wish... I could take a peek into that era."

She felt a bit embarrassed about her somewhat childish thoughts and laughed sheepishly, continuing in a quieter voice,

"In that case, we know where we need to go."

Not just her.

Sometimes the folks at the Workers’ Association would feel lost.

They had overthrown those feudal landlords, gained a bright future, but where to go next, nobody could tell them.

Though everyone agreed that concentrating on the present was essential, it was impossible not to consider the future at all.

If only they could take a peek into that era.

She had fantasized about it more than once.

Seeing the bewilderment in Alyssa’s eyes, Chu Guang thought for a moment.

"I don’t think that place necessarily holds the answers, nor should we necessarily head to some past era, but there is indeed a lot of knowledge and experience there that’s worth referring to."

"So, I’ve talked with the Manager of Shelter 101, planning to turn their surface encampment into a university."

Alyssa looked at him with a blank expression.

"... A university?"

Chu Guang nodded.

"Yes, think of it as a school. But unlike other full-time schools in the Alliance, it’s not just about learning what we’ve already mastered. It also includes exploration of the future and the past."

Seeing her baffled expression slowly turn to one of semi-understanding, Chu Guang continued in a gentle tone,

"It’s normal for you to feel confused. You’re at an age where curiosity is at its peak, and you have the courage to chase dreams recklessly, but that alone isn’t enough. You need to see more, understand the world, the natural sciences, and then summarize your own experiences and methods to find answers... In this process of exploration, you’ll naturally figure out where you need to go."

The calendar came from being sowed in the fields, not from lying on a straw mat and imagining out of thin air. At least in his view, the process of exploration was more important than the answers.

Alyssa looked down.

A moment later, as if she had made some kind of determination, she nodded vigorously and looked up at Chu Guang again,

"That Little Fish... She became so impressive after studying at the school established in Shelter 101, didn’t she?"

"If possible, I want to go there too!"

The work she needed to work overtime on for a week or two was completed by that girl around her age in just three days, meticulously pointing out the areas Alyssa hadn’t done well.

That also included the time to understand the job.

This was simply unbelievable to Alyssa.

But after seeing those magical mathematical tools and methods, all disbelief turned into admiration.

She would never learn that knowledge spending her whole life in Giant Stone City.

She hoped to bring that knowledge back and help the folks here.

Perhaps just as the Manager said,

In the process, she might gradually find her own future path.

"Little Fish... She’s an exception. She happened to be good at mathematics, but indeed, she grew into what she is now after studying at Camp 101."

Watching those eyes rekindle with hope and desire, Chu Guang said earnestly,

"As for going to Camp 101 to study, you should discuss it with your father."

"Actually, I’ve already asked Dad. My father said I’m already an adult with my own opinions and told me to consider things on my own from now on, and if I don’t understand something, to come and ask you... He won’t give me any more life advice."

As she spoke, Alyssa glanced at him somewhat embarrassedly, then continued in a low voice,

"... can I come to you for advice when I’m uncertain about something?"

Though Chu Guang didn’t think he could be of much help, he couldn’t quite bring himself to say those unkind words, faced with the flickering hope in those eyes.

"Yes, but all I can offer are my suggestions. Ultimately, you must make the decisions yourself."

The eyes filled with hope instantly bloomed into a smile.

Alyssa nodded vigorously and said happily,

"Mm! Thank you!"

Chu Guang smiled at the polite young girl and said,

"You’re welcome."

Thinking about the next day’s events, he picked up a document from the table.

"Since you’re here, there’s something I might need to trouble you with—"

"No problem! Just leave it to me!"

Watching Alyssa brimming with enthusiasm, Chu Guang smiled and handed her the document.

Taking the document, Alyssa briefly skimmed through it.

"What is this?"

"The New Year’s Eve event. Every year, we select the most popular recipes. This is... a tradition of our refuge. To promote exchange between the residents of the refuge and the survivors outside, last year we added the ’Most Popular Delicacy among the Waste Land Wanderers’ category, so we need a few judges."

This year’s judges were chosen by a public vote on the official website, with several judges selected from each settlement by players active in that area.

Chu Guang didn’t want to embarrass her by mentioning how she had received a lot of votes on the official forum.

But Alyssa didn’t ask him why she was chosen as a judge, taking it as a sign of trust. After she understood the content of the event, her eyes suddenly shone brightly.

"Mm! I’ll fast for an entire day beforehand to make room in my stomach!"

Confronted with that ’resolute unto death’ gaze, Chu Guang coughed lightly.

"You don’t need to go to that extent..."

...

Alyssa wasn’t the only one selected as a judge for the New Year’s Eve event—someone else had received even more votes than she had.

And a lot more at that!

In a single-family house by Rhombus Lake.

Dolly, who had just gotten off work, showed a surprised expression when she heard Fang Chang’s explanation.

"Eh? They want me to be a judge?"

"Mm... Of course, this is just an invitation. If you’re not interested, it’s okay to turn it down."

After telling Dolly the complete details of the New Year’s Eve event, Fang Chang appeared slightly embarrassed.

This year, the judges were selected by the players themselves, and he never expected his good buddies to cast their votes for his wife.

Those who were familiar with him knew that he wasn’t one to flaunt his love life.

Rather than showing off everywhere, he preferred a quiet life, just him and his partner; but he couldn’t help the group of mischief-makers who were constantly prying into his private life.

Those damn bastards.

Always interested in others’ wives!

If they’re so curious, they should go find one for themselves!

"Oho... This sounds too interesting to miss, how could Miss Reporter from the Survivor’s Daily pass it up?"

After hanging her handbag on the coat rack at the entrance, Dolly poked Fang Chang’s arm with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Surely Mr. Fang Chang wouldn’t let me go alone, would he?"

Seeing that she appeared to have no intention of turning down the offer, instead looking absolutely thrilled, Fang Chang made a helpless expression and said,

"...Of course not, how could I let my dear Miss Reporter go to such a far place by herself."

Watching that scoundrel’s face show a rare sense of embarrassment, Dolly tilted her lips up in triumph, feeling as sweet as honey in her heart.

Suddenly remembering the talk amongst her colleagues these past few days, she said with some emotion,

"However, speaking of which, a lot seems to have happened in Giant Stone City lately."

Whether inside or outside the great wall.

The Alliance sending out troops to wipe out slum gangs was something even she, a reporter, hadn’t expected.

Fang Chang nodded.

"Yeah, a lot has happened, it’s still called Giant Stone City, but it’s probably completely different from the one you know."

"Perfect, let’s go back and take a look!" Dolly couldn’t help but feel a glint of anticipation.

The Inner City was completely gone.

What would it become?

Fang Chang could feel her emotions as he looked at those sparkling eyes. He reached out and touched her fluffy emerald hair.

"Mm."

"Let’s go together when we get back."

...

In Giant Stone City.

At a kitchen of the Alliance Army base, Feng Qing looked at a table covered with indescribably strange dishes and said guiltily,

"So you still failed?"

After returning that day, the market was closed off, and she went to City of Dawn, but still couldn’t find the items on the list.

Although Mosquito didn’t blame her, she felt quite embarrassed and stayed in City of Dawn until today before returning to Giant Stone City.

Then she received a new task—to clear out the kitchen rented by the Goblin Corps.

She received the task together with her best friend, Gui Gui.

For some reason, this simple errand task offered a whopping reward of 200 silver coins! And it even had a risk tag attached.

But she wasn’t panicked at all.

It was just about moving things out of the kitchen, and that was much safer than testing out a new model’s flight!

She accepted the task without hesitation.

Standing aside, Gui Gui helplessly spread her hands.

"We had no choice since we couldn’t get those spices; we had to substitute them with something else."

"I’m sorry!"

Seeing Feng Qing bowing her head in apology, Gui Gui quickly consoled her.

"Ah, no need to apologize! I actually think that not being able to buy them reduced our losses. I told you ages ago that cooking with multilegged beasts was definitely not going to work!"

Feng Qing hesitated before speaking.

"But... what about the New Year’s Eve event?"

Gui Gui scratched the back of her head.

"We’ll have to think of another solution. If all else fails, we can just wing it with whatever we have; after all, everyone who participates gets a mystery gift."

Feng Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, cooking wasn’t something these combat professional players excelled in, especially since she was completely clueless about it.

Taking on multilegged beasts, such challenging ingredients from the get-go, was indeed asking too much.

Her gaze fell upon the piles of items in the kitchen corner. Looking at those chunks of black mass, Feng Qing couldn’t help but ask curiously.

"What are those? Are they edible?"

She walked over and picked up a chunk, about to try a bite when Gui Gui, seeing this, hurriedly stopped her with a quick hand.

"Wait! You can’t eat that; that’s charcoal!"

Feng Qing was stunned.

"Ch-charcoal?"

"Yeah! The captain initially planned to use charcoal for grilling. Someone told him the fragrance of burning wood could mask the gamey smell of the food, but that plan failed too."

From Gui Gui’s expression, Feng Qing could almost imagine the situation at the time. Her eyes then moved to a sack filled with yellow chunks.

"And... what about those?"

Egg yolks?

Following her line of sight, Gui Gui hastily explained.

"Ah, that’s sulfur over there, and there’s also saltpeter and stuff."

Silently putting down the piece of sulfur in her hand, Feng Qing gave Gui Gui a meaningful look.

"Are you sure... he was actually planning to cook?"

"Err, maybe?"

With an equally ambiguous expression, Gui Gui averted her eyes, suddenly unsure, "In any case, thankfully... he probably gave up."

She felt it might actually be a good thing.

The worst Old Na’s creations got was a bit strange, but Bos Mosquito’s concoctions could send someone packing, and then it was back into the punishment room.

But it was rare for him to show such an interest in food.

Feng Qing looked towards the bucket with the white crystalline substance.

"And that?"

"Ah, that’s sugar! Boss Mosquito’s last attempt! He planned to mask the meat’s stench with sweetness, but everyone ended up in the bathroom eventually."

It was another memory Gui Gui did not want to recall, and her face bore a look of regret.

However, that bucket of sugar was probably the only thing in the whole kitchen that could be eaten outright.

Staring at the sugar, Feng Qing said with a pained expression.

"Such a waste of sugar; it’s such a shame."

"Isn’t it?" Gui Gui sighed, folding her arms, "I’ve been wanting to complain. That guy is simply wasting food."

Using spices to cover the gamey smell of multilegged beasts.

The spices used were probably more expensive than the meat itself!

Staring at the bucket of sugar, Feng Qing’s eyes suddenly lit up.

"How about... we just use this sugar to make some simple food!"

Gui Gui was taken aback.

"Just with granulated sugar? What... can we make with it?"

Candy?

That seemed a bit bland in flavor.

Seeing her puzzled best friend, Feng Qing’s lips curled up proudly.

"Cotton candy!"

Although she had never made it, she heard the principle was straightforward.

Just heat the sugar to make syrup, keep spinning the heating chamber, and with the centrifugal force, the syrup will be jetted out through tiny holes and solidify into sweet strands in the air.

At the mention of "cotton candy," Gui Gui’s eyes immediately lit up.

"Great idea! It’s much better than multilegged beast stew with cellophane noodles!"

"Uhh... what strange food is that?"

"The inspiration came from snail noodle soup... anyway, it’s decided! I’ll go find Boss Mosquito to set up a cotton candy machine!"

The more she thought about it, the more fantastic the idea seemed. Gui Gui clenched her fists in excitement.

Boss Mosquito would surely cry from happiness!

His crafting skills would finally come in handy for something normal!

Cheer, brothers!

Seeing that his suggestion seemed to come in handy, Feng Qing smiled shyly.

"Hehe, I wanted to make some extra, and also take some over to Citrus and the others."

"Citrus?"

"Yeah! A very cute kid, very well-behaved, and very sensible! I promised her I’d visit her when I have time," Feng Qing said, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Gui Gui tilting his head, "I’ll introduce you tomorrow!"

"Hmm! Looking forward to it!"

Together, they focused on moving the most dangerous sacks and barrels out first.

Soon, the kitchen was left with only some beakers, Erlenmeyer flasks, and other glassware, as well as some jars on the shelves.

Feng Qing took a glass bottle from the shelf, opened the cap, and sniffed, frowning.

"The smell of kerosene."

What was kerosene doing in cooking?

Besides kerosene, the bottle also contained some white particles the size of fingernails.

The bottle wasn’t labeled, and she couldn’t decide exactly what was inside.

"Do we still need this stuff? If not, I’m going to dump it," Feng Qing gently shook the glass bottle in her hand and called out to Gui Gui, who was busy cleaning up not far away.

"Ah, just dump it all," Gui Gui said offhandedly without turning his head, "Mosquito said we don’t need the kitchen ingredients anymore and told us to dispose of them while we empty the kitchen."

"What a waste, that dumb team leader."

Feng Qing shook her head, unscrewed the cap, poured the contents of the bottle into the sink, and turned on the tap, intending to flush them away.

However, almost the moment she turned on the tap, the pale yellow liquid suddenly threw out a flame with a hiss.

Good thing the reflexes of the Agile system were well-developed.

Seeing that something was wrong, she quickly ducked; the explosion flew over her head by a hair’s breadth.

"What happened?!"

Gui Gui’s face changed dramatically as he saw the bottle rolling on the ground.

"Sodium! Damn... I forgot!"

The explosion inevitably ignited the kerosene, and the flames that splashed out of the basin set the nearby shelf with jars on fire.

Under the influence of high heat, the jars and bottles began to undergo strange changes.

Watching the chain reaction begin on the shelf, Feng Qing swallowed hard and instinctively stepped back.

"That...?"

"That sodium! Metallic sodium!"

"??? What’s he doing with that stuff in the kitchen?!"

"Who knows, yikes!!"

From the explosion of the first glass bottle, it seemed that what would happen next was already predetermined.

Suddenly, loud blasts and smoke burst from the kitchen windows of the calm player station.

Fortunately, the power wasn’t especially big, and it didn’t bring down the building.

Thinking it was retaliation from a gang, the barracks immediately sounded the alarm, and a large number of fully armed soldiers rushed over.

In the end, it turned out to be a false alarm.

Learning that the disturbance was caused by the Goblin Corps, the logistics officer did not ask further, just scowled and had his subordinates send a fine to a certain corps commander.

This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

Looking at the glaring string of zeros, Mosquito tearfully signed the fine.

But fortunately, no one was hurt.

The charcoal and sugar had already been moved out earlier, and the two little players affected by the explosion only suffered minor injuries.

It would be a great loss to miss the New Year’s Eve event over such a trifle for three days...

[Mission: Evacuate the kitchen used by the Goblin Corps (Failed)]

...

The turmoil at the players’ station was just a minor incident, while most players’ preparations for food were of a more normal variety, and only a minority of fierce people risked their lives to develop new recipes.

Besides those real-world chefs who would make something like tomato scrambled eggs, ordinary people didn’t expect to come out on top with off-the-wall ideas.

Such a holiday event was just for some liveliness, and although there were plenty teaming up to grind monsters and materials, most of them were participating just for fun.

Thanks to the players’ activity, the once deserted Giant Stone City had regained some of its former bustle due to the approaching holiday.

In this way, the time finally came to New Year’s Eve.

The decorated streets were lit up with lights, the survivors all walked out onto the streets, and many of the shops that had been closed for half a month were reopening.

Starting last week, the construction crew had begun paying some wages daily at the Alliance’s minimum wage, and the factories had started paying with silver coins even earlier.

Commodities were "growing" back on the shelves again, and while people’s wallets weren’t exactly bulging, they could afford to buy some things.

Everything was starting to look up.

The night sky was lit up with fireworks of all colors.

Not just the Steel Heart Moored at City of Dawn, but also the anti-aircraft cannons on the giant wall began to discharge celebratory flares.

Yibers, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of Boulder Military Industrial Building, watched the colorful flames in the night sky and clapped his hands with a smile.

"Not bad, not bad... It’s rare to see such an inventive performance."

Under the guise of hunting Variants, he insidiously wiped out the Looter Tribes around Stone City, and then swiftly purged the gang presence in the slums.

So far, the performance of this new shareholder had surpassed his expectations; it had been a long time since he had been so surprised by an organism.

He had thought the chaos in Giant Stone City could destabilize Qingquan City for five or six years, but now it seemed that this drama had ended in just a month.

The time bombs buried in the giant wall seemed to have been disarmed quietly before even starting the countdown.

Now that the slums were orderly and the city’s factories were mostly back in production, the emergency state might be lifted before long.

Perhaps this celebration was the turning point.

But Yibers was not disappointed; he was even more excited.

Beneath the surface of peace and tranquility, he had already faintly sensed the scent of blood...

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