This Game Is Too Real
Chapter 679: A Familiar Dilemma

Chapter 679: Chapter 679: A Familiar Dilemma

The beach south of Potato Harbor.

Because the makeshift dock was so narrow, Si Si tried several times to steady the ship.

A long gangplank descended from the deck and leaned against the freshly laid planks of the dock.

Standing on the sandy shore where the waves splashed, pairs of expectant eyes gazed unwaveringly at the deck in the deep water area from afar.

Just then, a youthful face peeked out over the edge of the ship’s railing.

"Land!"

Vinegar Chestnut, standing on tiptoe, gripped the handrail, eagerly eyeing the golden sand not far away, curiosity and desire filling her timid eyes.

According to Sister Mi Sa, once they got ashore, they wouldn’t have to stay cooped up in the narrow cabin anymore.

Though she was thankful for the cargo ship that had carried them away from hell, she still preferred living under the sunshine, especially since the warmth made her feel better.

Meanwhile, as she looked at the people on the shore, they too were looking back at her.

She was pretty cute...

But where the hell was the promised maid outfit?!

In less than a minute, more and more Moon tribeswomen emerged on deck, excitedly gathering by the railing and gazing at the journey’s end close at hand and the people on the beach.

Underneath their metallic skeletons were shirts dampened by seawater, and looking at those muscular figures and handsome faces, many unmarried young maidens couldn’t help but blush, pretending to look away at the scenery.

On the other hand, the married women openly admired without shame, even whispering among themselves while ogling.

Shelter No. 404 preserved not only the knowledge and ideas of the pre-war era but also the outstanding genes of that time.

Not to mention, the clones made with DNA from Shelter No. 404 had been handpicked for superior genetics—if the human aesthetic didn’t drastically change, their appearance would naturally be impeccable.

Otherwise, when the Frost Spear Tribe first arrived by Rhombus Lake, they wouldn’t have taken a fancy to them, even making the outrageous request to borrow some "seeds."

In all honesty, it was hard to say who was taking advantage of whom in this situation.

"Ahaha, my apologies, everyone—"

With a sheepish smile and scratching the back of her head, Si Si walked down the gangplank.

But before she had even steadied herself on the dock, an angry outcry surrounded her from all sides, almost scaring her back into the sea.

"Damn! Where’s the maid outfit?!"

"Why the original skins?!"

"Geneva!"

"Refund!"

Looking at the fervent crowd, Si Si took a step back like a cat encountering a cucumber for the first time, but she still mustered up the courage to step forward and mumbled an apologetic explanation.

"This... this was an accident, giao! I mean, I can have Meat Meat wear it for you, that should be fine, right?"

The crowd: "#@#&!"

Watching the noisy beach, Mi Sa, standing by the railing, turned to ask Sesame Paste in confusion,

"What are they... talking about?"

"This is a special way the Alliance expresses welcome; don’t mind it..." Sesame Paste dodged the awkward topic with a vague laugh, "Let’s get everyone down quickly; it’s dangerous to all stand by the railing."

Still puzzled, Mi Sa nodded, then as if remembering something, grasped Sesame Paste’s hand, her face full of gratitude.

"Thank you... When I was brought to that camp, I thought I was done for. If it hadn’t been for you, we might have... already..."

"No problem at all."

Sesame Paste’s face broke into a soft smile as he squeezed her cold, slender hand back.

"I hope you can all start anew in this new world."

Mi Sa’s eyes shimmered with hope as she grasped his hand tighter and nodded vigorously.

"Yes! We definitely will!"

...

For the players who always had new adventures, the maid outfit controversy was merely a minor episode that couldn’t have been any smaller.

Although it was regrettable not to see the young ladies in maid outfits, most players of this game aren’t petty and wouldn’t take such a minor issue to heart.

As long as the apology was sincere, everyone was still willing to accept it.

In order to show sincerity in her repentance, and also as punishment for deceiving the feelings of the Strength Type beasts, Teng Teng chose the least embarrassing option from a long list of shame play that even Brother Guang shook his head at—wearing a maid outfit for three consecutive days.

Compared to the other explosive options, this less embarrassing choice was quite mild.

Besides, this broken beach didn’t have a branch of Vine Cottage, so there was nowhere to buy a maid outfit in the first place.

Therefore, when making this decision that defied her ancestors, Teng Teng was already calculating confidently that even if she chose it, it wouldn’t matter.

However, to her great surprise, the moment she ticked off this option, a mischievous smile appeared on everyone’s faces.

"I knew you’d choose this one!"

It wasn’t long before the Ground Model pushed out a rack full of maid outfits, chuckling and making a generous ’after you’ gesture.

"Take your pick; don’t be shy."

Seeing the range of different styles of these art pieces, Teng Teng, who was still smug a second ago, could no longer maintain her composure.

"Giao! Wait, wait a second, you really want me to wear this kind of thing? Here?!"

"What else then?" the Strength Type beast standing nearby rolled his eyes, "Am I supposed to wear it?"

Another player also chimed in.

"Exactly!"

"gkd!"

Seeing that this guy dared to play tricks right in front of them, everyone started to jeer more and more.

"Si!"

Teng Teng looked at Si Si with imploring eyes, her expression pitiful.

However, to her dismay, Si Si, who usually spoiled her the most, was acting out of character. Not only did he not stand by her side, but his lips also curled up with an interested smirk.

"Hmm... after all, you’ve made a promise to others, and it’s not good to benefit from breaking promises. It’s okay, Teng Teng, it’s just changing clothes, and you’ll be done in a moment... I can help you."

As he spoke, his smile turned wicked.

In a rare display of fear, Teng Teng shrank her neck, as if she had become smaller, and trembled as she whispered.

"Si, Si... your expression is so scary."

"Really?"

Si Si touched his own cheek with his index finger, unaware that the gesture made his smile look even more sinister.

Realizing that things were taking a wrong turn, Teng Teng quickly glanced through the gaps in the crowd, preparing to make a run for it.

Before she could find a way out, her dearest friend saw right through her.

"Meat Meat, catch Teng Teng!"

"Got it!"

Almost the moment the words were spoken, a pair of furry bear paws encircled Teng Teng from behind, lifting her off the ground like pulling up a radish.

"Giao! Meat Meat, stop it! Don’t do this~!"

"Oh! The fugitive is caught! Hehe, it’s no use, Teng Teng, get ready for your punishment!"

The flailing figure, along with the wide and furry silhouette, gradually receded toward the direction of the cargo ship.

Si Si leaned in to pick through the rack full of maid outfits for a while and suddenly his eyes lit up, choosing one that he liked the most.

He then caught up with Meat Meat, and they both went into the ship’s cabin.

After about ten minutes of commotion, the two and the bear returned to the beach.

Looking at the newly transformed Teng Teng, the people standing on the beach watching the excitement all wore looks of surprise.

"Good grief."

"Damn! Is that Teng Teng?!"

"It fits her perfectly!"

"I really thought I would feel the same as Mosquito in drag..."

Listening to those rude screams, Tail’s face flushed red like a monkey’s butt, and he instantly became angry with embarrassment as he glared with widened eyes.

"Damn! What do you mean by ’like Mosquito’?"

The Strength Type brutes who had been the loudest in heckling scratched their reddened cheeks and slipped away feeling somewhat embarrassed.

They hadn’t expected that this guy would actually look quite good in drag, so much so that the anticipated comedic effect was completely lost.

Well, let’s just give him a break this time.

I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything...

Dragging his skirt that tripped up his ankles, Tail jumped off the dock with a mournful look on his face, stomping his feet in self-derision and exclaimed.

"Damn it! Why would such a godforsaken place have a maid outfit!"

"Yeah, why the heck is there a maid outfit here?"

Meat Meat, who had almost laughed herself sick, suddenly also spotted the blind spot, her expression turning puzzled as she rubbed her chin with her bear paw, looking toward the Ground Model who had wheeled out the rack of clothes.

Seeing everyone’s strange looks directed at him, the Ground Model paused, then quickly began waving his hands in explanation.

"Don’t look at me, I wheeled it out from the storeroom behind Brother Yi Ren’s Pub... I saw it when I went to the storeroom to get beer a few days ago."

At the time, he had been curious about why there was a bunch of women’s clothes in the storeroom.

But because he was in a hurry to join the excitement, he only cared about moving the beer out, and didn’t ask about anything else. Afterwards, too many things happened, so he simply forgot about it.

Hearing this, a pair of eyes turned once again toward Yi Ren, who was cracking sunflower seeds while watching the fun.

Feeling a pair of eyes on him, Yi Ren, engrossed in his sunflower seeds, was completely befuddled.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Killer Dagger was the first to ask.

"Why do you have these clothes? And why so many?"

Yi Ren paused, and the sunflower seeds in his hand fell onto the sand as he stutteringly explained.

"They, they are the uniforms for the pub... for business purposes."

"Oh, I see."

Killer Dagger nodded, as if he understood, but still felt that something wasn’t quite right.

Why is this guy so nervous?

The Ground Model, scratching the back of his head, muttered.

"No, wait a minute..."

He remembered that the maid outfits from Vine Cottage had to be ordered, didn’t they?

How did this guy buy so many all at once...

...

With Meat Meat’s ship docking at Potato Harbor, the previously desolate settlement finally had some signs of life.

It was proven that a settlement without NPCs was incomplete, just like "Minicraft" without villagers; no matter how many houses you build, it still feels desolate.

With the arrival of these immigrants, regardless of the value they created, at least the players’ enthusiasm for production increased significantly.

After counting the population, Fang Chang drew a residential area for them on the east side of the camp, reserving commuting routes and fire lanes, and allocated to them some of the materials collected from reclaiming the wilderness.

These included mainly light wood, coconut shells, and banana leaves, etc., which were piled up and would be perfect for them to build thatched huts to shelter from the wind and rain.

Before their dormitories were finished, they needed to set up temporary lean-tos.

Initially, players like Spare people under the knife were worried about whether they could handle the work, but they quickly realized they had worried for nothing.

These Moon tribeswomen turned out to be even more capable than expected; they had built quite a few tents before the sun went down.

Actually, it made sense.

Poluo Province, just like River Valley Province, was part of the Wasteland, but of a different type. Even if some of them looked more delicate, they were not flowers raised in a greenhouse.

They might be much weaker than River Valley residents in terms of combat experience and will, but in the fields of planting, handicraft, odd jobs, and even DIY building, they were no less competent than the Waste Land Wanderers formed in River Valley.

Another virtue is their industriousness.

Their special faith has endowed them with the ability to endure hardship far beyond the ordinary.

Although this is not something to take pride in, it definitely can be considered an advantage in adversity.

After all, faced with the same level of difficulty, some might give up, but they keep going and always remain optimistic about tomorrow.

Those crowded tents may have been somewhat unsatisfactory, but they were, by all accounts, much better than when they were on the ship.

Life doesn’t start off wonderful.

But it always gets better, day by day...

Within the camp.

Looking at the bustling camp area in the distance, Chen Yutong, holding a tablet in her hands, asked with interest, "Are those girls from Poluo Province?"

"Yes," Old White nodded, looking in that direction with a smile, "With more people, this port finally looks like a real port."

Chen Yutong bent her lips into a smile.

"You guys really do enjoy a lively atmosphere."

Old White squinted his eyes and said with a smile, "Don’t you like it?"

"How could I not?"

Chen Yutong pushed a strand of hair that the sea breeze had blown onto her nose, and teased in a playful tone, "If I disliked lively scenes, I wouldn’t have slipped out of the Wandering Swamp."

Old White grinned, seeing the work tablet she was holding, and took the initiative to ask.

"Is there something you need?"

"Well," Chen Yutong nodded, and continued in a pleasant voice, "There are some clues that I need you guys to send back to the Alliance Biological Research Institute through the Shelter’s direct line... Can I entrust you with this?"

The so-called direct line was actually the "Wasteland OL" Official Website.

Exploration teams and important scientific research units like the Biological Institute probably knew about this special network in the Shelter, capable of transmitting messages in absolute secrecy at the fastest speed.

As for the technology behind that network, only the Manager of the Shelter would know.

Old White nodded, his expression growing serious as he pressed on the VM.

"Go ahead."

Chen Yutong took out the tablet, raised her index finger to tap twice on the screen, cleared her throat, and began to speak.

"There are two main aspects. One is the investigation of the ’Lair’ in Baiyue Province, and the other is the investigation on the local forest’s ’self-healing’ properties commissioned by the port area... Where’s your friend Fang Chang? Have him come listen as well."

As luck would have it, no sooner had she finished speaking, Fang Chang quickly approached, holding a map in his right hand, from the direction of the neighboring camp area.

"I’m here. Is there a result for that investigation yet?"

He had just finished finalizing the pathways in the eastern part of the camp, distributing food and a batch of fuel for fires, as well as daily necessities to the Moon people who had settled in the camp.

Next, there was the work of registration.

After some deep contemplation, he decided to temporarily grant them the identity of supervised residents and to introduce the management methods of the Home of the Refugees here.

Although he had ridiculed NPCs for copying others’ work when he was merely talking, once he started managing a settlement himself, he realized that Brother Guang from the game truly had a tough job.

Managing over a thousand people was much more difficult than slaying a thousand monsters, even if they were the docile and industrious Moon tribeswomen.

And his responsibilities were not merely to tend to the residents’ lives but also to solve the problems the settlement faced.

Such as the "self-healing" of this rainforest.

If they could not resolve this issue, the land they had painstakingly cleared might be reclaimed by this "living" rainforest when they least expected it...

"Let’s go over it one by one. First, about the ’Lair’ in Baiyue Province."

Seeing Fang Chang walking over, Chen Yutong nodded, then looked at Old White, who was opening the action recorder, and went straight to the point.

"The investigation in Baiyue Province has validated some of our previous conjectures about ’Gaia.’ Opening the channel for genetic communication between living organisms is the essence of Its power."

"This forest is a phenomenon that resulted from ’It’ merging with Earth’s ecosystem without human interference, or, more precisely, with minimal interference."

"And the series of problems that we are currently troubled by are almost identical to those faced by the early colonizers when they first set foot on Gaia Planet..."

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