"Crow can be sure, this bottle of milk isn’t poisoned!"
Staring at the plastic bottle for quite so ti, Crow stroked her chin with a look of cunning intelligence and ca to a firm conclusion.
Chu Guang nodded, taking back the bottle.
"Thanks."
Crow asked curiously.
"By the way, what kind of milk is this? Does it taste good?"
Chu Guang responded offhandedly.
"Probably cow’s milk, want to try so?"
"Yes!"
As she spoke, Crow kept sneaking glances at the VM on her arm. She had heard from Teng Teng that there would be a prompt if she triggered a mission.
Strange, why isn’t there any reaction?
Chu Guang, however, didn’t notice her little sche and simply poured so milk into the cap, handing it to Crow.
After carefully taking it, Crow brought it close to her nose and sniffed. Her face imdiately took on an indescribable expression.
"This slls weird—is this really milk?"
"Maybe it’s cal milk."
"?"
"What do you an maybe?!"
Regardless, for the sake of affinity and hidden missions, Crow still pinched her nose and drank. It might very well be cal milk; the taste was hard to describe and certainly not delicious.
It felt familiar, but she couldn’t rember when she might have had it before.
Seeing that she had no adverse reactions, Chu Guang walked away with relief.
Watching the Manager’s figure leave, Crow stood still for a long while, not blinking until the figure disappeared at the gate.
Wait a minute, what about my mission reward?
Did he forget to give it again?
The surrounding players had been watching for so ti, and as the Manager walked away, they imdiately started making a commotion.
"Oh oh oh, what did I just see?"
"Spread the word, the Manager fed Crow milk!"
"It’s being passed around, Crow fed the Manager milk!"
"What?! Crow Boss was by the Manager—"
"Are you dying?!"
With her anger level through the roof, Crow picked up a big mushroom and hurled it, and the player who got hit by the mushroom scooped it up and ran away.
...
Official website announcent:
"In recent days, our Outpost Base has welcod a group of nomads from the Wasteland who, in admiration of civilization, have settled nearby. Please treat them kindly, as this will encourage more NPCs to join us. Rember, your every word and action will influence the world’s opinion of you."
"Updated NPC settlent: Nomads"
Forum:
Debt Giant Eye: "666!"
WC There are mosquitoes: "The planners are aweso! (voice breaking)"
Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "Where is Alpha0.6? We need Alpha0.6!!"
Elena: "Careful, at this rate, they’ll slap a version number on you, and the next thing you know, the warm reminders you see now will beco update announcents. (playful)"
Tomato and Egg Stir-fry: "A person can’t, or at least shouldn’t."
Gno King Riches: "Bro, what was the situation when you went down to the dungeon yesterday, did you find anything in the departnt store?"
Elena: "Find anything, my ass. There was actually a Crawler in there, but thank goodness I reacted quickly. Fang Chang said there might be a shelter hidden there. We plan to spend so ti and gnaw our way in."
Canyon Escaping Mole: "A shelter?!"
Elena: "Not one of those large-scale shelters, probably just a small survival facility or sothing, and it’s very likely there was so kind of accident. Hard to say if anything’s left inside, let’s see."
Construction Kid with Bricks: "Occupying a supermarket at the beginning of the apocalypse makes sense."
Teng Teng: "Is there anyone who knows about textiles? My eyes are about to go blind. (dizzy)"
Night Ten: "The old guys on the forum only study intense stuff. Asking them to ponder this really puts them in a tough spot. (playful)"
...
Milk was placed in the fridge.
Returning to Shelter No. 404, Chu Guang first took a shower on Level B2, then went back to the residential hall on Level B1, sat in front of the computer, and began the work that a planner should do.
Today, the official website was as lively as ever.
The hottest post was still Brother Long Days Ahead’s.
But this ti it wasn’t because of a guide; it was about a piece of equipnt.
In a ti when the average bank balance hasn’t reached a hundred, bidding 200 silver coins for a bow was downright extravagant.
After all, in the early days, everyone was spending their money on weapons, bullets, and supplies; who could save up that much.
Fang Chang didn’t let down the expectations of the forum bros, sharing his experience with using the chanical composite bow and even giving his bow a saucy na—"Dawn."
"This ’Dawn’ is all good, but the draw weight is just too heavy!"
"Especially the charged shots, ordinary wooden arrows can’t handle it. When fully drawn, holding the switch on the bow body activates a motor that gears up the limbs, making it not too difficult to maintain. But the mont you release, I feel it’s at least a hundred pounds! Fully charged, I reckon it could be two hundred! One arrow shot out and the Eaters’ heads explode!"
WC There are mosquitoes: "Are you firing cannonballs or what?"
Gno King Riches: "I’m crying with envy!"
Grandpa Ao: "Lol, 200 pounds and you make it sound like what. My ancestors were from the great steppes, a bow of 500 pounds was the standard, less than a thousand and you’d be ashad to call yourself a man."
Elena: "Exactly, since bragging doesn’t get taxed. (playful)"
Xiao Xiaosha Chong: "This equipnt is too unbalanced, even fiercer than guns, shouldn’t it be nerfed?!"
Seeing soone clamoring for a nerf, Fang Chang imdiately panicked and explained.
"What’s so unreasonable about this? The setting is the near future, is 200 pounds too much? Not at all! Ever played ’Graphics Card Crisis’? The compound bow in there even has electromagnetic acceleration!"
"And this thing really devours arrows, one quiver has only twenty, and the arrows launched with full charge can hardly be recovered. Unless I encounter tough big creatures, I usually don’t dare use this move!"
Canyon Escaping Mole: "I suspect you are bloody showing off at Versailles! (flips table)"
Gno King Riches: "Exactly! Versailles!"
Fang Chang: "..."
In the long run, spending 200 silver coins on this bow was definitely worth it because inflation would occur, but the equipnt in Wasteland OL wouldn’t.
The equipnt officially produced by Shelter No. 404 would always be top-tier; aweso weapons would remain aweso even until the server shutdown.
Of course, this assus that the weapon doesn’t break and the equipnt isn’t lost.
The death penalty in this ga was not as simple as just losing so contribution points; as everyone’s equipnt beca more expensive, the cost of death increased with the potential loss of equipnt.
This was particularly unfriendly to solo players.
Levels and experience could be saved, but not equipnt.
If you’re unfortunate enough to die without good pals to help recover your gear and VM, you’d have to turn to the forum for assistance or put a bounty out.
Aside from Brother Fang Chang showing off at Versailles, there were plenty of other discussions on the forum about internal combustion engines, steam engines, etc.
As for the cause, it was a help-seeking post made by Miss Teng Teng.
These old n didn’t understand anything about textiles, nor did they care about the original poster’s issue, they simply wanted a place to show off.
The topic quickly shifted from the Jenny spinning machine to the most advanced non-woven fabric and lt-blown technology.
It was tough for them, researching while trying to boast.
However, the thread occasionally still saw one or two real experts.
Given the current conditions at Outpost Base, building an internal combustion engine seed rather difficult, especially since the steel mill was still working on seamless steel tubes.
To craft an internal combustion engine casing that could withstand continuous high-temperature and high-pressure gases, they’d at least need to unlock the cold rolling process.
But then again, who uses an internal combustion engine for weaving?
Sheer madness.
On the other hand, a steam engine was a rather good idea.
A continuously burning boiler would release energy more gently, demand less from material strength, and most importantly, wasn’t picky about fuel.
Whether for generating electricity or for industrial production, it was a splendid idea.
Teng Teng diligently took notes and engaged in the forum, trying to get the derailed conversation back on track.
It seed she was planning to replicate the ancient Jenny machine with a steam-powered spinning machine.
The players on the forum, whether they were combat professional players or lifestyle players, were all so excellent.
Looking at these thriving little plants, Chu Guang’s heart filled with a father’s joy.
Just wonderful.
...
Last night, snow had fallen all night long.
By the next morning, the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow.
Three elderly people, all in their forties or fifties and dressed in beast skin, hesitated at the east gate of Outpost Base, as if they wanted to co in but dared not approach too closely.
Sensing they had so matters to discuss, Chu Guang called them over.
"What are you doing here?"
Fearing they might offend the ruler, the old n timidly bowed their heads and said,
"My lord, we an no harm, just wondering if there might be sothing we could help you with."
"We’re looking for so work."
"We are old, unable to keep up with hunting, but we can still handle tasks like moving stuff, repairing houses, and darning things."
Looking for work, eh.
Chu Guang’s heart stirred slightly, and he responded,
"The snow on the roads of Outpost needs clearing; I’ll pay 2 silver coins a day for each person. If you want the job, go find Luka."
The warehouse and granary were handed over to newly trained warehouse managers, and Old Luka was their foreman, responsible for communication with other NPCs, including trade with the survivors on Bet Street, as well as conveying the "wills" of Outpost Base to the refugees.
His role was sowhat akin to a butler.
Upon hearing Chu Guang’s words, the eyes of the three old n lit up instantly.
Two silver coins could be exchanged for two kilograms of tubers.
For three people together, that would be six kilograms of tubers!
Such low wages definitely wouldn’t attract players who would rather have an "hourly wage" of at least 1 silver coin; anything less wouldn’t be worth their efforts.
But to the refugees, these wages were already quite high.
"Thank you, my lord!"
"Thank you for your generosity!"
"Leave it to us!"
The warehouse had brooms made of wooden branches, as well as snow shovels and pushcarts for carting away the snow from the Outpost Base.
However, aside from wheelbarrows, these refugee workers didn’t use the tools from the warehouse; instead, they brought their own from the village and started working energetically within the camp.
Chu Guang instructed Xiao Qi to keep an eye on them, then he walked off to the industrial area by himself.
When Chu Guang entered the industrial area, he noticed "WC There are mosquitoes" and "Ga I need to use the bathroom" two young players, standing at the door of the Vine Cottage asuring with a ruler and gesturing to each other about sothing.
Out of curiosity, Chu Guang walked over and asked,
"What are you up to?"
Hearing the Manager’s voice, they imdiately stopped their work and excitedly explained,
"Respected Manager, we’re designing a steam boiler!"
"That’s right! It’s new work we got for our steel factory!"
"It’s also new work for Goblin Technology!"
Steam engines, huh.
It seed like just a few hours ago, they were discussing this on the forum, and now they were already putting it to use.
Pretty efficient.
"How are you planning to do it? Burn wood?"
Player "Ga I need to use the bathroom" replied, "Wood isn’t powerful enough, we’re planning to imitate the generator you bought and make a wood gasifier! While burning the boiler, the heat generated can be perfectly used to gasify the wood!"
"WC There are mosquitoes" added, "Actually, I initially planned to use biogas since our septic tank is filled with waste, but it’s a bit hard to collect, and it seems the heat from the waste isn’t enough during winter. We can only wait until next spring to research it further."
Chu Guang responded, "Hmm, think it over."
Spinning yarn and weaving by hand was too slow.
The Outpost Base didn’t have enough manpower, and piles of Devil Moth’s Cocoons were already turning into small hills outside the warehouse. If nothing went awry, another hill would soon accumulate.
If they could develop the textile industry before spring, not only would the players’ defenses greatly improve, but the Outpost Base could also earn a substantial amount of "foreign exchange" from the trade of Devil Silk Cloth and use the earnings to develop more advanced industries.
Perfectly, the camp of refugees could provide female workers. Once the textile factory was set up at the east gate, that area could beco the light industrial district.
Passing by the steel factory, Chu Guang saw "Brother Levin who suffers from foot odor."
This guy was not pondering steam engines with his best buddy but was instead rushing out of the factory with a red-hot "big iron pot" on a wheelbarrow and rolled it into a pile of snow.
With a "hiss," a cloud of white steam rose.
The red-hot iron pot cooled down instantly, and a large portion of the snow lted, turning into water steaming delicately.
"What’s this?" Chu Guang curiously asked, watching Brother Levin scoop up snow and pour it over the big iron pot.
Laughing, Brother Levin turned around and said,
"107mm howitzer, sir!"
What?
Chu Guang stared at the object for a mont before he couldn’t resist asking,
"...you’re calling that a cannon?"
"It’s sort of, even though it’s only a barrel," Brother Levin chuckled and continued, "Pressing technology still needs a bit more ti. We’ve nearly spent our budget, so we had to take on so new work to make do."
"Perfectly, Goblin Technology placed an order. Brother Mosquito said that bigger is better, and better ans explosive. He asked us to make a cannon barrel big enough and thick enough. Even a cast iron barrel would do; he’ll figure out how to file the rifling himself. If he can’t, no big deal. I figured the job wasn’t too hard, so I made one for him... hehe, it’s a big order worth 200 Silver Coins."
Chu Guang didn’t quite know how to comnt at the mont.
But...
This thing should be more reliable than rockets, right?
Probably.
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