This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 678 "Art" is the Primary Productive Force

Chapter 678: Chapter 678 "Art" is the Primary Productive Force

Shelter No. 404, Floor B4.

Sun Yuechi walked through the activity door into the viewing room, looking confusedly at Chu Guang who was sitting on the sofa.

"What’s the matter, so late at night?"

Since arriving in the City of Dawn, he had completely adapted to life here, working nine to five on weekdays, and spending his days off wandering the streets of the City of Dawn.

In his own words, the prosperity of the City of Dawn was in no way inferior to North Island in the southern sea area, even though the richness of natural resources was far less than those along the equatorial belt. Yet, the people here managed to create wonders with limited materials.

Especially in terms of cuisine.

After eating pig trotter rice once, he wished he could enjoy it three times a day and lamented that what he had eaten in the past thirty years was simply swill.

In his view, the only shortcoming of this settlement was its weak foundation. Perhaps because of its rapid expansion, many of the supporting infrastructures had not kept up.

Since he himself was an expert in the field of communications engineering, he simply found a job at a local telecommunication company as a technical advisor, working on the deployment of communication base station sites and channel planning, thereby contributing his part to the rebuilding of civilization.

As for Chu Guang, he had been busy planning the "Mucor Research Community" lately, dealing with enterprises, academies, armies, and a crowd of small-time players who clamored for support from the big shots. He didn’t have time to care about the distant southern sea area, and had little to do with the former Manager of Shelter No. 70.

Watching Sun Yuechi sitting down confusedly opposite on the sofa, Chu Guang took out a holographic computer pen, placed it on the table, and activated a deep blue holographic image.

It was a bust of Xiao Qi, drawn based on clues reported by players.

It had to be said that it did resemble the real person somewhat.

"Do you recognize this person?"

After staring at the image for a while, Sun Yuechi furrowed his brows, suddenly looking at Chu Guang in astonishment.

"Huang Guangwei?"

Indeed, he knew him.

Chu Guang looked at the former Manager of Shelter No. 70 in front of him and his expression became subtly complex.

Unable to comprehend Chu Guang’s expression, Sun Yuechi asked with a puzzled face.

"What’s wrong with him?"

Chu Guang thought for a moment before speaking.

"He... found our settlement in the Baiyue Strait area and told us some things about the southern sea area, then he asked to meet you."

Sun Yuechi stared at him blankly.

"What does he want to see me for..."

After briefly scrutinizing his expression, Chu Guang suddenly said.

"Do you know about the war between Shelter No. 70 and the Southern Islands Federation?"

"Ah?!" The moment he heard this, Sun Yuechi was stunned, his mouth agape, seemingly at a loss for words.

His bewildered expression didn’t seem feigned.

But it was understandable.

Chu Guang figured that if he heard that Shelter No. 404 had started fighting with the Alliance, he would probably be thunderstruck too, unable to understand how those two sides started fighting.

Moreover, with over 2000 kilometers separating the southern sea area from the City of Dawn, it was normal for news not to reach here. "Survivor’s Daily" only reported on Potato Harbor and didn’t provide detailed coverage of the southern sea area.

"Anyway, that’s the situation," Chu Guang lightly tapped the computer pen, retracting the pale blue light hovering above the tip, "but our people feel there might be some doubts behind this war, and more clues need further investigation."

"Wait, how did they start fighting?!" Like suddenly snapping back to reality, Sun Yuechi looked stunned, his face turning from ruddy to pale. "I, I didn’t authorize weapon depot access when I left, why would—"

"It might just be because of that," Chu Guang interrupted him, gazing at him and continuing, "According to Mr. Huang Guangwei, when they were attacked by the Southern Islands Federation, they were completely suppressed. Apart from a few scattered submersibles still resisting on their own in the vast sea, most of the shelter’s staff had completely withdrawn into Shelter No. 70."

"Where is he now?!"

Sun Yuechi abruptly sat upright on the sofa, staring unwaveringly at Chu Guang.

Chu Guang continued, looking into his eyes.

"He will depart from Potato Harbor early tomorrow morning, and you will be able to meet him in two days."

For some reason, Sun Yuechi, who had been eager to meet his compatriot a second ago, became uneasy upon hearing that he would meet him in two days.

Guessing what he was anxious about, Chu Guang sighed softly and said.

"After all, he is your compatriot, and I think it would be better to meet him. Moreover, I’ve heard from my people that when they picked him up on the beach, he was barely alive."

Sun Yuechi’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, unable to utter a word.

His pupils were filled with complex emotions.

After a moment, he slowly said.

"The ones who attacked him... were they from the Southern Islands Federation?"

"I don’t think so," Chu Guang said quietly, looking at those eyes flickering with a glimmer of hope, "according to his description, those who pursued him were a group of blue-skinned amphibious mutants active in the northern area of the southern sea area—"

"It must be the Torch!" Sun Yuechi’s eyes widened, his fists clenched on his knees, his voice trembling with anger, "Only they unscrupulously cooperate with the mutants! They must be the ones behind this war!"

Chu Guang nodded.

"I think so too, but persuading the warring parties to cease fire is not easy, especially when one side has a clear advantage."

Sun Yuechi pleaded at Chu Guang.

"Please, help us! I’ve already transferred the shelter’s authority to you—"

Chu Guang looked at him sharply, unapologetically cutting off his words.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I actually would have preferred that you didn’t do it. The chaos in the southern sea area is partially due to your abrupt departure and the early abdication of the responsibilities that were rightfully yours."

Hearing the latter part of the statement, a pained expression crossed Sun Yuechi’s face as he clasped his hands together in front of his nose.

Chu Guang didn’t continue to press him but instead spoke in a more soothing tone.

"Now, issues must be resolved one by one. The war’s trigger was the bombing of the Ocean Current Power Station. Currently, both sides have their own explanations. We first need to determine if this was an act orchestrated by the Federation itself or instigated by the Torch Church. Are there any trustworthy people amongst the high-ranking officials of the Federation that you know of? We’re hoping to initiate an investigation into the real cause behind the destruction of the power station."

Sun Yuechi said with a wry smile.

"There was no Federation when I left... I heard about it from you, that a Federation was established by several survivor settlements."

Seeing his clueless demeanor, Chu Guang couldn’t help but hold his forehead.

He really couldn’t resist wanting to criticize him. What exactly was the Manager’s job?

The Federation couldn’t have just sprung up out of nowhere, right?

Since before this guy left, the survivors in the southern sea area were already divided into two camps over whether to introduce Nago. Surely, he should know which camp was the loudest?

Just as Chu Guang was feeling frustrated, Sun Yuechi suddenly brightened as if he had remembered something and spoke up.

"Wait, there’s someone... who might be able to help you guys."

Chu Guang immediately asked.

"Who?"

"Muda! I’ll write it for you!"

Saying this, Sun Yuechi picked up a pen and notepad from the coffee table and hurriedly wrote down a line.

Not just the name.

He also wrote a brief letter of introduction, outlining the situation and expressing the hope for assistance in investigating the destroyed Ocean Current Power Station.

Chu Guang took the note Sun Yuechi handed him and looked at it for a moment, then hesitantly asked.

"This person is?"

Facing Chu Guang’s inquiring gaze, Sun Yuechi replied earnestly.

"Before I left, he was the captain of the Marine Patrol Team in the southern sea area, a pretty decent young man. Regarding the Torch Church, his stance is centrist, or rather, he’s not particularly interested in whether to introduce Nago."

"I’m not sure what he’s doing now... But if he is still with the patrol team, he should be able to help you!"

...

Early morning.

The harbor on Ring Island.

The portly Director Stacey, yawning widely like a hippopotamus, fumbled around his belt for a while before finding his keys, and with a clatter, he unlocked the port office door.

He had just sat down at his desk when the sound of a ship’s horn from outside interrupted the dream he hadn’t yet finished.

He looked out the window in a daze.

When he saw the cargo ship flying the White Bear flag starting to retract its anchor chains, Director Stacey was momentarily stunned, then his mouth dropped open in surprise, and he sprang joyously from his chair.

Unbelievable!

That taffy that wouldn’t leave the harbor was actually pulling up its anchor?!

Without a second thought, he grabbed his hat from the desk and hurriedly crossed the door, which had only been closed for half a minute, rushing down the stairs outside the port office to the harbor.

There were quite a few people standing around the harbor, most of them dockworkers, with some passersby among them.

Watching the departing Meat Meat, many young men displayed regretful expressions.

What a pity.

They hadn’t even had time to ask the name of the beauty in their dreams, and now they had to say goodbye to this ship.

Not far away, a short-haired girl stood at the ship’s rail, waving vigorously towards the harbor.

"Oh! Goodbye! Friends of Ring Island! Thanks for your hospitality during this time; we’ve troubled you a lot. We, the Meat Meat, will remember this favor!"

Meat Meat, leaning on the railing, quickly turned her head towards her.

"Giao! Why is it me who will remember!"

Tail playfully winked.

"Eh heh, don’t sweat the small stuff."

"Eh heh your ghost!"

Although Stacey really didn’t want to see this fellow again, he still put on a friendly face and waved his hat, calling out insincerely.

"Bon voyage, come back anytime!"

But please don’t ever come back!

Oblivious to the unwelcome tone in his voice, Tail, who had escaped from under Meat Meat’s bear paw, raised her voice excitedly.

"Oh! Definitely, definitely!"

The cheerful voice, along with the prolonged blast of the ship’s horn, faded into the distance.

Watching the departing ship, Director Stacey contentedly placed the hat on his head.

Thank heavens!

Finally sent that plague of gods away!

Just after Meat Meat ship left the harbor, Mogavi, who was on the deck of the Northwestern Wind cargo ship, turned to Captain Song Haining with a smile and said,

"Captain, we should also set sail!"

Song Haining didn’t say much but shouted towards the back of the deck.

"Raise anchor!"

The Northwestern Wind, docked at the pier, also sounded its steam whistle.

It had been three days since this cargo ship had arrived at this port.

During these three days, the Moon tribeswomen on the Meat Meat ship not only dealt with more than a thousand pieces of fur for him but also cleaned the entire Northwestern Wind inside and out. The deck was so clean and shiny it seemed as if it had been waxed!

Now, there was not even a hint of rotting meat odor on the ship, and instead, a faint fragrance of young women wafted through the air.

It might just be psychological!

Faced with the rejuvenated Northwestern Wind, Captain Song Haining could no longer find any faults.

Thanks to this, the relationship between Mogavi and the old captain had also eased; it was no longer as tense as it had been three days earlier.

And the old captain was no longer clamoring to throw him and his goods off the ship; he simply reiterated not to throw unpacked perishables on the deck again.

The cargo on the Northwestern Wind had now changed from iron ore and coal to several stacks of valuable furs and dozens of boxes of pearls, shells, coral, and other seafood, as well as some industrial products that the Camel Hump Kingdom was in dire need of.

Once the ship docked at Silver Moon Bay, this journey would be complete.

However, the trip wasn’t over yet, and he had already started planning the next one.

That prime spot called Potato Harbor sat right at the eastern exit of the Baiyue Strait and would soon be discovered by other passing merchant ships.

Once stable trade routes were established and competitors became involved, making a fortune like last time would be tough!

With Mogavi gazing towards the western sea, standing at the ship’s rail, Captain Song Haining suddenly said,

"It would be good if that port could be built sooner."

Mogavi looked at Captain Song Haining standing beside him with surprise and glee.

"My friend, have you finally changed your opinion of them?"

"My impression of them was never bad, just initial caution upon meeting them. What I truly dislike are people who don’t keep their promises," said Song Haining with poignant meaning in his gaze.

"All right, my friend, I’ve cleaned up everything for you; let’s consider this matter settled," Mogavi said with a sheepish smile, awkwardly touching his nose.

Song Haining looked away from him and gazed back towards the direction of the Baiyue Strait.

"To be honest, they did their jobs quite diligently. If they’re still there in the future, I might consider going to them again for a ship wash."

Starting a ship washing company, perhaps?

This idea suddenly sprang into his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Continuing as a sailor at his age was becoming difficult; he even had to place a chair in the cockpit and sit down from time to time.

Having spent so many years at sea, he knew quite a few captains, both young and old, and he had good relationships with them.

If he really started a ship washing company, he figured he wouldn’t need to worry about finding clients...

...

Thus, under the morning sunlight, Meat Meat and Northwestern Wind, accompanied by the Marine Patrol Team’s speedboats, cautiously bypassed minefields, heading one after another towards the eastern entrance of the Baiyue Strait.

Meanwhile, to the south of Potato Harbor, a group of strength-type players clad in exoskeletons was carrying trunks of nearly ten-meter-long tropical teak, pruned of branches, toward the coastline.

Teak, known for its minimal warping and exceptional bending strength, is very durable and resistant to humid conditions due to growing in rainforests, making it an excellent substitute when large amounts of steel and concrete are unavailable.

The only negligible downside was probably its weight.

Among these trunks, even the lightest weighed close to a ton, and despite wearing miner’s exoskeletons to carry them, the burden on their bodies was not negligible.

However, this was merely the case for ordinary people.

For strength-type players, this amount of load was just moderate.

The sand on the beach couldn’t withstand their feet, often sinking past their calves with each step.

Repeated treks left rows of footprints on the beach, resembling fields plowed by old oxen.

At the end of these footprints, neatly arranged and fixed on the beach, were wooden stakes.

These stakes were the foundation of the dock.

Vertical poles were erected and horizontal planks laid on top, forming a simple pier.

Although the shareholders of Potato Harbor had decided to hire a construction team from Ideal City to build the pier, a project worth millions of Cr couldn’t be finalized in just a day or two.

From soliciting bids to designing and starting construction, there was a long process to be followed, but in the meantime, Potato Harbor couldn’t just watch ships pass by.

Thus, it was unanimously decided to build a few wooden piers extending to the deepwater area on the southern beach to use provisionally before the formal construction of the port could begin.

Once the concrete cargo port was constructed in the future, this wooden pier wouldn’t go to waste; it would be directly converted into a yacht docking area and a passenger port for tourists to embark and disembark.

Although the port was nowhere in sight yet, the small players of Potato Harbor had already planned the future tourism industry.

Now, after nearly three days of construction, the contour of the pier extending into the deepwater area had been outlined by the constructing players.

Although there were some difficulties with loading and unloading cargo, walking carefully was basically not a problem.

In a situation where there were neither engineering ships nor professional port construction equipment, the speed of construction was already ridiculously fast.

But this construction team of all Awakeners, if placed in Wasteland, would probably be in a class of its own.

Afterward, they planned to grab some large stones from the nearby hills and pile them next to the port’s base to reinforce it further.

By then, not only people getting on and off but also loading and unloading goods wouldn’t pose any problems.

Wearing an exoskeleton, Spare people under the knife shouldered an iron hammer for pile driving, lifted his arm to wipe the seawater on his face, and shouted to his brothers who were working hard.

"Let’s all push harder! Let’s try to finish the port today!"

"Ooooh!" The players swinging hammers on the beach responded in a scattered chorus, their enthusiasm not quite matching what it was when the first pile was driven three days before.

It was inevitable, though.

The novelty for players always followed a parabolic curve.

Although the construction team paid well, continuously doing the same repetitive work would subjectively affect their enthusiasm for production.

Usually, lost morale could be compensated for in other ways.

Including material rewards and psychological satisfaction.

For example, while working in the City of Dawn, the reward wasn’t just proportional to the labor, but also the admiration of the spectators, shouting "Awesome."

However, working here, surrounded only by their own people, it got a bit dreary over time.

"Brother Dao! When can we expect NPC to pop up in our port?"

"Could it be that they won’t spawn anymore?"

"It seems the Dog plan never mentioned that building houses would guarantee people coming over, right?"

"Damn!"

Listening to everyone’s complaints, Spare people under the knife coughed and made a promising statement.

"Guys, don’t panic! Maybe when the port is completed, NPCs will spawn!"

Coincidentally, just as he finished speaking, there was a stir in the distant sea.

A sharp-eyed Strength-type player looked up and glanced toward the southeast, suddenly shouting as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Brother Dao! There’s a ship coming from the east... Oh no, looks like two!"

Before Brother Dao could react, the surrounding group of players, already intrigued, stopped their tasks and looked in the direction pointed out by their brother.

"What the hell?"

"Is that for real?"

Spare people under the knife also looked up and saw the increasingly clear silhouette of the ships.

Seeing the flag, he first stared, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately shouted.

"It’s Tail and her crew!"

Hearing this, the previously slightly fatigued group of animals suddenly perked up.

Not because of Tail.

But because of the more than a thousand pretty girls dressed in maid outfits on Tail’s ship!

Why were they working so vigorously?

Wasn’t it to make Potato Harbor lively sooner?

"Goodness, NPCs are finally going to spawn!"

"Let’s push a bit harder, brothers! Our port is almost ready!"

"Art!!"

"Ao ao ao!"

"Damn, you guys are too real!"

This time, Spare people under the knife didn’t even need to shout; the group of Strength-type beasts, as if injected with adrenaline, became overly excited.

With everyone’s desperate efforts, the port, which still looked like a construction site, rapidly spread toward the shore at a visible pace.

Not only did Spare people under the knife watch in astonishment, but even Si Si, standing on the deck holding binoculars, was dumbfounded.

Watching that group of howling lunatics, her lips unconsciously opened and closed as she mumbled in astonishment.

"What are they... excited about?"

While speaking, she instinctively turned to look at Ah Wei beside her, her intuition telling her this guy might know something.

Aware of why Si Si was looking at him, Tail awkwardly looked aside, trying to whistle nonchalantly, but after much effort, failed to produce a sound.

"Ah hahaha... haha..." Watching the distant beach, Sesame Paste chuckled distressfully.

Her hearing was extraordinary, and against the blowing sea breeze, she could hear what those friends were cheering about.

But...

It’s probably better to pretend not to have heard anything.

——

(Thanks for the rewards from "South Wave and North Drift", "Long Night Ashes of the Snowy Wilderness" Alliance Master!!!)

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