This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 671: The Vibrant Potato Harbor

Chapter 671: Chapter 671: The Vibrant Potato Harbor

Jungle, beach, and the sea!

The old man is back!

Inside the airship’s cabin, Fang Chang gazed through the glass window at the pleasant scenery of Potato Harbor, and couldn’t help but curl up the corners of his mouth in a sly, joyful smile.

"Not bad."

This time he would finally get to relish the thrill of being a lord.

But while that was the talk, in reality, Potato Harbor was not for him alone to call the shots.

The smaller development projects were mostly subcontracted to various specific units or organizations, while the larger development plans and project approvals were decided by the board of directors of "Baiyue Strait Development Co., Ltd."

This joint-stock limited company, established in City of Dawn, was currently held by several player organizations interested in developing the Baiyue Strait. They divided the shares according to the proportion of their investments and developed the Baiyue Strait coast under the framework of the Alliance law.

As for the Bull Horse Group, their primary responsibilities were the construction of infrastructure and logistics transportation.

And these were their strengths.

Two airships hovered above Potato Harbor, one after the other, and then slowly lowered the hanging gondolas.

Watching Fang Chang step down from the gondola, Spare People Under the Knife, who was acting as the construction project manager, stepped forward and glanced at the airship behind him.

"My good man, did you buy another one?!"

"What do you mean, ’bought another one’? That’s for the scientific expedition! From now on, the professionals will handle the work of recovering salvage. Our main focus is transport."

Fang Chang smiled and patted his brother on the shoulder, then led him over to the gondola. He pointed to boxes of cargo being unloaded and said,

"... These fine items here are what I bought, ten sets of Bumblebee Engineering Armor and twenty-five Cross Spider Robots, all yours!"

Hearing this, a surprised and delighted expression instantly spread across Spare People Under the Knife’s face.

The performance of the Bumblebee Engineering Armor in the Camp 101 and the Southern Urban District transformation project in West State City was well known.

The contraption could be called the quintessential creation in personal construction aiding equipment – the crystallization of two hundred years of construction experience from Shelter No. 100!

It was like an "SCV" that could freely navigate complex terrains, not only switching tools for the workers as per the construction task but also providing them with visual digital guidance.

If the K-10 "Iron Wall" exoskeleton was considered the pinnacle of battlefield-appropriate heavy exoskeletons, then the Bumblebee Engineering Armor was the K-10 "Iron Wall" designed specifically for the lads at the construction sites.

Combined with Cross Spider Robots capable of carrying materials up and down vertical walls, a team of ten engineers could achieve the work efficiency of a hundred-strong construction team, provided other construction units could keep up. Even he, a professional in the civil engineering industry for many years, was deeply shocked after an on-site inspection.

Also due to the excellent performance of this equipment in construction, its price had remained high. Not only were players competing to buy it, but NPCs were placing orders as well, even construction companies from Ideal City were showing great interest.

He hadn’t expected that the guy would bring over a full set of equipment!

Unable to wait any longer, Spare People Under the Knife walked up quickly and had the nearby workers help open one of the tall crates.

Watching the crab-like engineering armor, he couldn’t stop grinning, but his excitement barely lasted a moment before he quickly realized a new problem.

"Wait a minute, doesn’t this thing require training to use?"

Seemingly anticipating this question, Fang Chang smiled with an air of being well-prepared.

"Don’t worry, I’ve also hired workers who have undergone the training, and they’ll be coming down shortly. Remember to ensure their safety, and according to the contract, they only work within the safety zone."

"Of course! Can I let them out to work?" Spare People Under the Knife chuckled, "Just leave it to me!"

"With you here, I’m definitely reassured!" Fang Chang laughed and said.

Brother Dao and Fang Chang were both veteran players who had joined the Game early on, and had long been members of the Bull Horse Group chat.

However, this guy’s play style was a bit too hardcore or rather niche, with his Combat Power mainly showing on the construction sites, so he rarely caught the attention of other players.

If it were someone else, Fang Chang might not be so reassured, but in this guy’s hands, he was sure it’d be reliable.

The two of them headed towards the center of the camp.

On the way, Fang Chang suddenly noticed a pile of fur packs bound into tofu block shapes with hemp ropes not far from the beach.

Some had fur, some did not, and they came in all different shapes and sizes, with a wide variety of types and colors.

All together, there must’ve been at least a thousand pieces!

"...Goodness, have you guys hunted this many prey in just a few days?"

Seeing the surprised look on Fang Chang’s face, Spare people under the knife made a helpless gesture.

"It’s not that we actively went hunting; these prey delivered themselves to us."

They delivered themselves, huh...

Since when was Brother Guang so generous?

Fang Chang was shocked but soon remembered the rumors he had heard from the scientific expedition and, after pondering for a moment, said,

"...This rainforest is a bit strange. I’ve heard that the Variants here are related to the ’Mutated slime fungus,’ and there might even be a Lair not too far away from us. Be careful when you’re working on the construction, and always ensure safety."

"Don’t worry, I’m always cautious, Lair or no Lair!" Spare people under the knife patted Fang Chang’s arm and said with a smile, "But speaking of Lairs, if we can dig up one, we’ll make a fortune. Just for locating it, you get one million silver coins – the reward is just outrageously generous!"

"Indeed, even I am tempted."

Fang Chang chuckled, looking at the pile full of furs and noticing the bloodstains and mucus on them, a thought struck him, and he asked,

"So... are these all raw hides that haven’t been processed?"

Spare people under the knife nodded.

"I think so. Processing these raw hides will take quite some time. I’ve heard from those players in the fur trade business that the camp is almost out of salt, even though we are right by the sea."

Fang Chang was stunned.

"Is it that serious?"

"It really is," Spare people under the knife said resignedly. "I’ve seen two more salt pans open up recently, but manpower is still an issue. I’ve heard those in the fur trade are considering whether to send the raw hides back to the City of Dawn for processing."

Potato Harbor only had a little over three hundred players.

Although Bull Horse had brought in over two hundred more brothers eager to join, many of them were those who had died and respawned. These numbers weren’t even enough to go around for both the construction team and the scientific expedition.

Besides, hiring players to do detailed work like processing leather was a bit of an overkill and not very economical.

"If we send these back for processing, they’d probably rot on the way..." Fang Chang thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up as he turned to Spare people under the knife and said, "Wait a minute, aren’t there people from Tail’s group?"

Spare people under the knife: "You mean... those Moon Clan refugees?"

Fang Chang smiled faintly, saying,

"The workload for these tasks isn’t heavy, so handing them over to those people shouldn’t be a problem. And it’s not just about tanning leather; there’s also work involved in processing the prey. If we can get NPCs to do it, we could not only save money but also free up more valuable labor from these simple and repetitive tasks... you know what I’m saying."

Spare people under the knife looked oddly at Fang Chang.

When he heard this, he always had a kind of illusion, feeling that this guy’s way of thinking about problems was becoming more and more like a certain NPC he knew.

"Do I have something on my face?" Seeing Spare people under the knife staring at himself without speaking, Fang Chang reached out and touched his face, but didn’t feel anything.

Spare people under the knife, who had come back to his senses, coughed lightly and cleared his throat before saying,

"There’s nothing, I just think... your idea is quite good."

The idea was indeed good. The facilities at Potato Harbor might still be a bit rudimentary, but at least the enclosing wall had been built.

As long as they didn’t leave the camp, there was a guarantee of safety.

"I’ll go to the forum later to ask their opinion... Oh, and there’s one more thing." He suddenly remembered something halfway through his sentence.

Fang Chang looked at him with an inquiring glance.

"What is it?"

"It’s about the job of clearing the rainforest," he paused for a moment, then Spare people under the knife scratched his head and said with an uncertain tone, "According to the reports from some construction teams, they discovered that this forest has a peculiar ability to self-repair while they were clearing it."

Fang Chang frowned slightly.

"Self-repairing?"

Spare people under the knife nodded and continued,

"I don’t know if this is the right way to put it, but basically, the areas they had just cleared the previous day, when checked the next day, they found that some shrubs, grasses, and vines had sprouted up again. They seemed to have spread from the nearby forest. At first, I thought those construction teams taking the task were slacking, but similar situations occurred in various work areas... which is very strange."

In situations where rain and sunlight are abundant, most forests naturally expand towards areas with fertile soil, and this is not unusual in itself.

However, these events usually take place over the course of years, and it’s only by observing with years as the time scale that certain clues become noticeable.

But this tropical rainforest was different.

It was like it was alive, healing its "wounds" at a speed visible to the naked eye...

Looking at Fang Chang deep in thought, Spare people under the knife suggested,

"I suggest that next time you go back, you should mention this to the Alliance Biological Research Institute and see what their opinion is."

Fang Chang nodded solemnly and directed his gaze toward another flying vessel in the sky.

"There’s no need to wait until I go back, they came with the scientific expedition team."

"You can just report the situation here to them later."

...

At the same time that the two flying vessels arrived at Potato Harbor, a bulk cargo ship laden with goods was slowly leaving the billowing waves of the Poluo Sea, entering the tranquil Baiyue Strait from the west.

"... Watch this for me for a while."

Yawning as he came out of the pilothouse, the old man in the brown jacket gave way to a young man in a white shirt beside him, and then went to sit on the deck chair below the gangway. He picked up a bottle of beer from the plastic crate next to him, unfinished, and took a couple of swigs, squinting his eyes as he savored the sea breeze.

Usually, he would never allow anyone else to touch his ship, but entering the Baiyue Strait was an exception.

Compared to the open Poluo Sea and the southern sea area, this strait running through Baiyue Province could hardly be called a sea, more like a tranquil river.

Moreover, with reference points on both sides to determine the course, it would be somewhat difficult to steer off course and turn the ship back.

Because of this, he would hand over the task of steering to his young subordinates and take the time to come down and relax.

The old man’s name was Song Haining, a resident of Ring Island, but he had lived much longer at Silver Moon Bay than on the island itself.

Of course, his time spent in both places combined still couldn’t compare to the years he had drifted at sea.

The constant wind and sun had made his face look like a freshly dried rag, and not just any rag, one that had been blackened from wiping the bottom of a pot.

Since he could remember, he had been working aboard ships with his father until, at the age of thirty, he finally got his own merchant ship.

Now, the "Northwest Wind" had been with him for a good twenty years.

Whenever he saw the mottled rust on the deck, he couldn’t help but think that maybe it was time to seriously consider retiring.

At over fifty years old, one was definitely considered elderly in the Wasteland...

"This place is still so quiet."

Walking up beside Song Haining, a young man wearing a gray jacket draped his arm over the railing and smiled as he struck up a conversation.

His name was Mogavi, a merchant from the Humpback Kingdom of Silver Moon Bay. He was also the owner of five thousand tons of iron and coal on board the ship, as well as the employer of thirty mercenaries.

Recently, the Southern Islands Federation and Shelter No. 70 had been at each other’s throats, with the war causing many offshore Mining stations to shut down. Yet, production in factories across the various islands couldn’t stop, and the prices of all sorts of resources were soaring.

While there was no small risk involved in conducting business in these waters, there were still plenty of daredevils who decided to wade into the murky waters.

For instance, this man was one of them.

Song Haining didn’t know his background, but the likelihood of a deal going south introduced by the port was low, and the route was one he was familiar with.

Even if the fellow could seem a bit off-kilter at times, he didn’t mind—as long as the dinars were paid in full.

Hearing the voice beside him, the old captain narrowed his eyes, which had been gazing at the scenery, and smiled faintly, placing his empty beer bottle to the side.

"I truly hope it stays this quiet here."

"It will, for sure!"

The man’s face bore a confident smile as he continued, "Before setting sail, I specifically had our fortunes told! The soothsayer told me that if we just keep heading towards where The Sun rises, and keep going... the land paved with gold awaits us."

The land paved with gold...

Hearing this intriguing phrase, Song Haining couldn’t help but smile and glanced at the sparse sunlight before returning his gaze to the lush green shore in the distance.

He had been busy traversing these waters for most of his life and had never heard of any island being covered in gold.

As for the lands on both sides of the strait?

They were even less likely to hold treasures. Hidden within that dense rainforest was nothing but death, not treasure.

Even ships passing through this area would not consider going ashore to try their luck when their supplies ran out. Those forests were like the open mouth of a monster, ready to swallow up anyone who dared to venture too deeply.

"...You should have brought that soothsayer on board. Then we could have asked him just how far away that land paved with gold is from us."

Song Haining replied languidly.

However, just as his words had finished, two incredulous cries suddenly came from above the gangway.

"Look ahead! Quick, look up in the sky!"

"What is that?!"

In the sky?

Hearing the voice coming from the top of the gangway, both Song Haining and Mogavi on the deck were taken aback.

Mogavi was the first to regain his composure, exclaiming excitedly, "By the Silver Moon Goddess," before hurrying up the gangway.

Could the prophecy have come true?

Watching the overjoyed fellow, Song Haining had a strange look on his face.

Although he instinctively didn’t believe in the mysticism, he nevertheless got up from his lounge chair and followed the merchant from Silver Moon Bay up the ladder.

"What did you see? What’s that, up in the heaven—"

As he reached the railing of the crow’s nest, Song Haining was about to ask the shouting sailor for details about the discovery when he stopped mid-sentence.

Looking in the direction the sailor pointed, his gaze passed over rows of cargo boxes stacked with ore, and soon two white spheres floating below a layer of clouds caught his eye.

Because of the distance, they looked as small as balloons, but he wouldn’t believe they were just balloons.

Those were airships!

But why were airships here?

While Song Haining was lost in thought, Mogavi by his side suddenly cried out joyfully.

"Airships! They are airships!"

"I damn well know they’re airships... What I want to know is why the heck are there airships in this godforsaken place!"

Returning to his senses from the shock, Song Haining’s face showed not a trace of excitement, but rather a slowly growing concern or, perhaps more accurately, wariness.

The Southern sea area was not peaceful at the moment; the Southern Islands Federation and Shelter No. 70 had been fighting for over two months, both sides blinded with rage, long having abandoned any bottom line.

Before he set sail, he had heard the talk in a tavern near the docks of Silver Moon Bay Pier.

To cut off the supply line to the various islands of the Southern Islands Federation, the submarines from Shelter No. 70 were indiscriminately attacking vessels in the Southern sea area, and many ships had already met with disaster in the past month.

If that airship was a reconnaissance airship released by Shelter No. 70, they were probably already marked on the enemy’s maritime chart.

Stepping out of the cockpit door, the young man who had taken the helm for him hurried up from behind and asked.

"Captain, shall we continue moving forward?"

Without waiting for Song Haining to speak, Mogavi at his side excitedly suggested.

"I think we should go over and take a look! There might be a surprise waiting for us."

Casting a glance at this guy who hadn’t realized the gravity of the situation, Song Haining pondered for a moment before looking at the young man behind him.

"... Keep going forward."

It was too late to turn back now.

Besides, if they changed course at this point, they would have to detour around the southernmost tip of Baiyue Province, doubling the journey, not to mention the ship did not have enough supplies for such a detour.

The young man nodded nervously and ran back into the cockpit.

Song Haining pulled out his binoculars and stared intently at the two silvery-white airships, trying to discern something from them.

Unfortunately, there was no obvious identification on the airships.

The one relief that he had was that the two airships had wide cargo holds, clearly indicating they were cargo airships and not the reconnaissance airships he had imagined.

Furthermore—

Their rough design didn’t seem to come from Shelter No. 70; perhaps they were the work of the Southern Islands Federation.

But the question quickly followed.

What was the Southern Islands Federation doing launching balloons over the Baiyue Strait?

Song Haining was utterly puzzled.

As he stared intently at the two airships, the "Northwest Wind" cargo ship also continued forward, steadily closing the distance between them.

When the horizontal distance between them was less than three nautical miles, a sight he had never seen before suddenly emerged on the yellow-green coastline.

He wasn’t the only one who noticed something on the coastline.

The sailors and mercenaries standing at the rail, watching the excitement, almost simultaneously let out astonishment greater than before.

"Are there people there?"

"And not just a few!"

"By the Spirit of the Sand Sea... Have they lost their minds?!"

There were no ships on the shore.

Those people must have come down from the airships.

Staring blankly at the camp set up on the shore, Song Haining involuntarily opened his mouth wide, at a loss for words.

Mogavi standing next to him, on the other hand, shouted excitedly.

"A port! It’s a port!"

Calling that thing a port was definitely a stretch; the place lacked even a pier extending into the deep-water zone, and a stretch of golden sandy beach was completely in its pristine state.

However, the rows of tents and iron houses, as well as the earthen walls and watchtowers encircling them, certainly didn’t look like they’d just been built.

Long ago, a rumor had circulated in the taverns of Silver Moon Bay that demons exiled by the Spirit of the Sand Sea inhabited Baiyue Province, and no one could survive a full day and night on that land.

Song Haining didn’t believe in any Spirit of the Sand Sea, but he was certainly convinced about the latter half of the rumor.

The Camel Hump Kingdom had attempted to colonize this land a long time ago, but all attempts had ultimately ended in failure.

To speak of the survivor settlements in the Southern Urban District, many of their ancestors had fled from areas near Baiyue Province to the islands.

That someone was attempting to set up camp along the coast of the Baiyue Strait...

Had these guys lost their will to live?!

While everyone on the ship was still astonished, two fast boats bearing the flags of the Southern Islands Federation approached from the eastern sea.

From a distance, Song Haining spotted the man on the prow of the boat and waved toward the direction of the cockpit at the back, gesturing to stop the ship, and then shouted down at the sailors beneath the gangway.

"Drop the anchor!"

The anchor was thrown from the stern, heavily hitting the bottom of the sea, and, combined with the reversing propeller, it didn’t take long to bring the cargo ship to a halt.

The two fast boats split up, one kept watch from a distance, while the other approached.

Boarding the deck with two sailors, Muda spoke tersely to the approaching captain.

"Routine inspection, please cooperate."

Song Haining deftly took out his cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, and handed it over with a polite smile.

"Understood, go ahead."

Muda took the cigarette from him but didn’t bother to light it. Instead, he casually tucked it into the pocket under his collar and led two sailors toward the cargo boxes on the deck.

Seeing the slow movements of that bunch, Mogavi couldn’t help but come down from the gangway.

"Our ship is here to deliver iron and coal ores. It’s not like we’re doing business with Shelter No. 70, especially since they don’t even have a port to unload."

Muda snorted through his nose and replied indifferently,

"That’s not necessarily true. If you were planning to sell some hardcore goods to them, this is the perfect delivery point. Even if a box were tossed overboard here, who would notice, right? Plus, the sea bed isn’t too deep around here, and there are landmarks nearby, making salvage convenient."

Mogavi’s eyes widened.

"Are you joking? This huge ship of ours, making such petty deals?"

Fuck.

Can it really be done like that?

Had he known, he would have brought along some hardcore goods that Shelter No. 70 might be interested in!

Muda stopped in his tracks and gave him a long look.

Spooked by that gaze, Mogavi gave a sheepish smile, took a step back, and made a welcoming gesture.

"Please, go ahead."

Muda ignored him and continued to check each of the cargo boxes stacked on the deck with his men.

What he didn’t mention was that his recent assignments involved not only stopping passing ships from doing business with Shelter No. 70 but also intercepting refugees trying to reach the Southern sea area.

Recently, a cargo ship named "Meat Meat" was stuck in their port, unable to be repaired, and nobody could budge its crew of over a thousand who were eating and drinking at their expense.

Although those guys were paying for their stay, supplies on Ring Island weren’t abundant, especially now.

Partly out of concern of offending the Alliance and partly due to unrealistic fantasies about those people, the Governor’s Mansion on the island hadn’t taken a strong stance to push out the loitering cargo ship or cut off its supplies.

However, they couldn’t let those big-hearted meddlers keep throwing refugees into their home.

To avoid more refugees lingering in the ports of Ring Island, the local Governor’s Mansion had a brainwave and applied to the Marine Patrol Team of the Southern Islands Federation.

If they discovered any more survivors from Poluo Province on incoming ships, they were to force them to disembark near Potato Harbor in the territory of the Alliance.

Loved to meddle, didn’t they?

Well, let them handle it!

However, this ship seemed to be loaded with ores. After checking around and finding no stowaways, Muda said to the captain standing beside him,

"I’d like to have a look below deck."

"No problem."

Song Haining smiled, then suddenly, as if struck by a thought, looked toward the north shore and asked,

"Speaking of which, do you know those people?"

"Which people?"

Muda raised an eyebrow and instinctively followed his gaze towards the coast of the strait. Seeing the sloppy camp, he quickly averted his eyes.

"They’re from the Alliance."

"The Alliance?!"

Surprise spread across Song Haining’s face.

"You mean... the River Valley Province?"

Muda nodded, "Hmm."

Song Haining was befuddled and struggled to get out a question.

"...What are those guys doing here?"

We’re more than two thousand kilometers away from River Valley Province!

No wonder they came by airship...

Muda remarked impatiently,

"That’s something you’d have to ask them."

Back at the gangway, Song Haining suddenly spotted that restless merchant, beckoning his mercenary crew to haul an inflatable boat up on deck.

"What are you doing?"

Rising to his feet and dusting off his hands, Mogavi grinned towards the approaching captain.

"I plan to get close to the shore and see what those guys are up to. Remember that fortune-telling I mentioned before? The land covered with gold! Doesn’t that beach look just like it? I have a feeling! The opportunity to strike it rich is right here!"

Song Haining stared dumbfounded at him, listening to his nonsense.

"...Have you lost your mind?"

Mogavi shrugged off the concern.

"It’s a waste of time just sitting around here anyway. Might as well do something. Besides, I’m just going up to take a look, not planning to spend the night onshore."

Song Haining eyed him and said,

"The inspection will be over soon; there’s nothing to see below deck. It won’t hold you up for long, and we’ll be back on our way shortly."

"Perfect," Mogavi said with a hearty laugh. "I’ll only be down there for half an hour, just wait for me a bit."

As he spoke, he’d already ordered the inflatable boat, adorned with Black Iron Wood, to be thrown overboard, and hurriedly put on a life jacket himself.

Watching the daredevil, Song Haining’s brows twitched violently, but in the end, he held back his words.

"... Be back soon."

He swore to himself.

On the account of money, this was the last deal he’d ever make with this guy.

Grinning from ear to ear, Mogavi grabbed the ladder and chuckled,

"Roger that!"

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