This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 59: These Players Are Getting More and More Hardcore

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: These Players Are Getting More and More Hardcore

Yesterday’s snow seemed to be just an accident.

The early morning sun of the next day still carried strands of autumn warmth.

Stepping out of the refuge, Trash-Kun cautiously peered outside, and after realizing it wasn’t as cold as he had imagined, finally heaved a sigh of relief and happily scampered off, wagging his tail.

It was too cold at night.

His online time had to be adjusted back.

Apart from Chu Guang and Trash-Kun, it seemed that no one was in a hurry; on the contrary, there was a bit of anticipation for the coming winter.

Especially for players from the south, the chance to see heavy snow wasn’t common.

Now on the Wasteland, the snowflakes had started falling before September was over, and it was likely that in another ten days or half a month, one could enjoy a thorough and refreshing snowfall.

Passing through the Enclosing Wall of Outpost Base.

Chu Guang patrolled his territory, meanwhile silently pondering which piece of land to enclose next.

North or south?

This was a question worth considering.

At this time, as he reached the gate, he noticed two young players busy in front of the north gate, constructing a door-shaped frame out of wood.

Looking at the shape...

Was it kind of like the gallows at the entrance of Brown Farm?

"...What are you guys doing?"

Seeing the illustrious Manager, the two players immediately stopped their work and looked over, their faces brimming with excitement.

I Gotta Go Pee Sir: "Respected Manager, we are making a gallows!"

Chu Guang: "...A gallows? What do you need that for?"

Feet Stench Who Levin: "It’s more Wasteland style! And more punk!"

I Gotta Go Pee Sir: "That’s right, and it’s very practical! Anyone who breaks the laws of the refuge, we’ll hang them up! Heh heh."

Chu Guang: "..."

It’s possible.

But not necessary.

Apart from these two Sand Sculptures, the other players in the refuge all seemed pretty normal. If they weren’t busy doing missions, they were chopping wood or moving bricks.

Outpost Base was in its early stages of development; everything was needed except for work—no need to worry about players not finding things to do.

The occasional slacker didn’t matter either; just let them be.

The art of management lies not in micromanaging but in controlling the general direction—it’s good as long as the overall player base remains diligent.

Unless someone consistently didn’t log on, he might check-in, and if he confirmed they were AFK, he’d give the closed beta slot to someone else.

As for how the System would retrieve helmets and arrange for delivery, or whether it would cause any disturbances, that wasn’t his concern.

If it could be done, there had to be a reason why; in due time, he would know when he had enough clues.

Baseless "infinite doubt theory" made no sense; although scientific thinking emphasizes "doubt, including doubt of oneself," it also stresses the importance of evidence and not to treat conjectures as Truth.

So why bother with matters of a "Parallel World"?

It’s not like there’s a return ticket.

Arriving at the woodworking cabin, Chu Guang checked the equipment on the shelves.

Up until now, Brother Mosquito had already made 15 Wooden Bows and over a hundred arrows, his motions in crafting and processing becoming more proficient.

Not only that, Chu Guang found this guy was quite talented; he was not only innovative in his thinking but also capable of reasoning by analogy during his Work.

Just take these arrows, for instance; he had designed two different types of arrowheads.

One type involved setting the arrowhead into a wooden strip with a fixed groove and hammering it a few times after heating, allowing this type of arrow to be reused many times until the arrowhead was completely worn out.

The other type used a mixture of pine resin and animal fat to directly adhere rust flakes onto the arrow shaft.

While these arrows were disposable and had slightly poorer penetrative power, as long as a shot hit effectively, it was almost certain to leave the rust-coated arrowhead in the target’s body, causing sustained damage.

Even if it didn’t incapacitate the victim immediately, they were likely to die from tetanus or other infections after a few days.

"Manager, I was just about to look for you."

Seeing Chu Guang at the entrance, WC Mosquito’s eyes lit up and he stood up from his chair, putting down his tools.

Chu Guang looked at him and said,

"I’m just having a look around, do you have something to report to me?"

"The Black Powder you asked me to make, I’ve managed to produce it!"

With that, Mosquito took out a jar of Black Powder in a glass bottle from the shelf and excitedly handed it to Chu Guang, who couldn’t help but step back half a step, almost using his privileges to kick this guy offline.

"It’s alright, there’s no open flame here, it’s safe! Hehe."

Mosquito chuckled and then continued,

"I made it using a formula I found online, with 74.6% potassium nitrate. With this proportion, the powder can burn most completely!"

Like before, Chu Guang ignored the content mentioned by the players that pertained outside of the Game, took the glass bottle to examine it carefully, and nodded.

"Well done... Have you tested it?"

"I can demonstrate it for you right now! Please, follow me!"

Saying so, Mosquito led the Manager outside the woodworking cabin and took out a small 150ml glass bottle from his pocket.

The bottle was filled with powder, the mouth stuffed with a cotton wick and sealed with animal fat.

He dashed out some distance, placed the glass bottle beside a tree, lit the wick with a match, and then took off running.

With the cotton thread burning to its end, there was a thunderous explosion as the glass bottle violently burst, fissuring the surface of the tree trunk and leaving it teetering on the verge of collapse.

Many players nearby, who had been chopping trees, were startled by the noise and ran over to see what was happening.

"Holy shit! Bro, you’ve got some skills!"

"Did you just make TNT?"

"What TNT? All you know is TNT. Look at the smoke—it’s obviously black powder. But still, it’s pretty powerful! Everyone knows the recipe; it’s just the materials that are hard to get."

"Big boss is incredible!!"

It was clear that he heard the other players singing his praises.

Mosquito looked excitedly at the Manager beside him, his face flush with the thrill of it.

"How’s that?"

Amazement was etched all over Chu Guang’s face as well.

This...

This player was too intense, no?

A woodworker knows so much, what is he planning to do?

"...Excellent, your performance was beyond my expectations. Although the smoke produced was a bit much, and the power of the explosion could be improved, these aren’t problems. I will report your merits to the organization, and you will receive 500 Contribution Points as a reward."

"Additionally, you can try making smokeless powder, like guncotton. If you succeed, the shelter will grant you a reward of 1000 Contribution Points, and I will also have new work for you."

New work?

The expression on Mosquito’s face turned instantly excited.

Could this be a hint at a hidden quest?

Actually, it didn’t matter if there was a hidden quest, the reward of 1000 Contribution Points was tempting enough.

Since the alpha 0.3 version, the earnings from Contribution Points had been slashed, and even if you completed all the daily active quests, you’d only get about 160 contribution points, with work yielding a similar amount. 1000 points were already very substantial.

Although he was already a Citizen, who would mind having more Contribution Points? The difficulty of obtaining them was only going to increase in the future.

He remembered that the planners had flaunted the idea on the official website that above the Citizen Identity Level, more levels would open up and at that point, you could buy more land.

Full of joy, Mosquito said,

"No problem, esteemed Manager! Wait until I get nitric and sulfuric acid, then I’ll give it a try!"

Chu Guang nodded and directed him to get back to his work, then continued his tour around to the side of the blast furnace.

For convenience in transportation, charcoal kilns and cement kilns for burning charcoal and making cement had been built nearby, forming a makeshift industrial zone.

The ceaseless operation of the furnace kept the temperature of the area a couple of degrees higher than elsewhere.

Ever since "Levin Ward’s Athlete’s Foot" and "Yar, I Need The Loo" had improved the primitive method of smelting, separating the carbon chamber and iron melting chamber, and used incomplete combustion of carbon monoxide to reduce iron oxide instead of using charcoal directly.

Now, steel scrap used as raw materials wouldn’t have carbon content rise too much during smelting, and it wasn’t necessary to repeatedly forge and quench to remove carbon to produce steel like before.

Although returning the materials to the state they were in 200 years ago was unlikely, their overall strength was surely much better than that obtained by smelting raw ores.

After all, the rare metals that were mixed in the steel wouldn’t just disappear; some would remain.

Experience always came through trial and error.

Watching the bustling work of the players, a sense of emotion filled Chu Guang’s heart.

Not long ago, the tools for the Outpost Base had to import from the nearby Brown Farmstead, which required trading animal fur.

Today, not only had the players learned to recycle the collected metal waste, but they were even making the tools they needed by themselves.

The woodwork cabin met immediate needs.

And this place would indeed be where miracles could happen.

"These homemade kilns are still a bit inefficient for production; expanding the facilities will require more materials and tools. To achieve this, we must allow some players to directly or indirectly control the means of production—only then can we tap into the players’ initiative and creativity, allowing them to improve production unrestrained."

"Let me think...the next version could designate this area as an industrial zone, define the land use, and allow players who’ve reached the Citizen Identity Level to rent land here to set up workshops for light industrial processing, thereby directly controlling some means of production."

"For heavy industries like steel smelting and cement production, which have large outputs, substantial initial investment, and unstable returns, we could establish a ’public’ steel plant and cement plant. We might appoint standout craft profession players to manage these facilities through ’hidden quests,’ so they would indirectly control production."

"As for balancing...we’ll solve it using taxes and land rent."

"After all, this was all conceived by the players."

Chu Guang stroked his chin, pondering in his mind.

As a competent planner, the first task is to understand what the current version needs.

For example, if everyone is struggling to play ADC, then boost ADC. If everyone runs off to be a sniper, then nerf the sniper on the head, or strengthen the jungler.

The biggest difference between games and reality is that changing laws and adjusting policies in reality has costs.

But, balancing a game, at most people would curse at the "dog planners", and as long as the game is still playable, everyone would continue as usual.

"Manager!"

Hearing someone calling him, Chu Guang stopped in his tracks and turned around, only to see a player, carrying a bow and arrow, rushing towards him breathlessly.

"What is it?"

"At the north side of Outpost Base, near the overpass, two people have arrived, leading a cow with two heads! The one in front looks familiar; he resembles the person who visited us before!"

The player reported the situation in fits and starts, leaning on his knees.

A cow with two heads?

Could it be that merchant from Red River Town?

Already?

There was a slight surge of surprise in Chu Guang’s heart, but his face remained composed as he instructed the player.

"Lead the way."

"Yes!"