Lately, dusk was settling earlier and earlier.
In the Wasteland, just past 6 p.m., vast expanses of urban areas and forests had already darkened.
To guard against ambushes, players set up torches outside the base’s enclosing wall and laid tripwires in the woods, hanging bells as an early warning system.
In a while, it would be dawn in the real world, and many had to go to work during the day. Only 20 players remained at the base, while the other 30 chose to log off.
However, half of the players who logged off said they would be free in the afternoon and would return after noon.
It was a good ti to switch players.
After temporarily taking Xiao Qi back to Shelter No. 404 to recharge and seeing off a group of players, Chu Guang sat in the hall’s chair and opened the System panel to check his points.
Including the 100 points rewarded for completing the power generator side mission, he now had 122 points, just enough to buy one advanced blind box, two interdiate blind boxes, and two lollipops.
Furthermore, as Chu Guang had predicted, with the completion of the last side mission, he indeed triggered a new task—to open the B2 level of the shelter:
[Mission: Eradicate the Blood Hand Clan entrenched in the abandoned tire factory in the north part of Shelter No. 404.
Type: Side mission
Reward: Access to B2 level of Shelter No. 404]
"...Addressing external threats before unlocking the next level of the shelter, is that the idea?"
It was fairly reasonable.
He hoped to find so good stuff on the next level, at least not as bare as Level B1, which aside from 100 cultivation chambers and a computer, had nothing.
"System, open the Manager’s allowance!"
A pale blue holographic screen materialized out of thin air in front of Chu Guang, presenting him with three options.
Without any hesitation, Chu Guang chose one advanced blind box, two interdiate blind boxes, and spent the remaining two reward points on a basic blind box.
Accompanied by a slight shake, the alloy door embedded in the wall slid open.
When he saw the big item on the conveyor belt, Chu Guang was stunned.
This...
Was it a weapon?
He saw a square-headed, long-handled warhamr standing upright on the conveyor belt.
The silver handle, made out of alloy and roughly as tall as a man, topped with a tallic arc that was as large as a human face at its head.
The shaft was inlaid with two sets of recessed tal grooves, front and back, with steeply carved lines connecting the two rings, giving off a rather sci-fi feel.
However, even trying to understand the taste of the First Generation Manager through empathy, Chu Guang found it difficult to associate this object with a weapon.
Was he expected to engage in lee combat swinging this hamr?
An axe or javelin would have been fine, but swinging around such a cumberso thing, he’d surely be shot to pieces if he weren’t hit by bullets!
Walking forward, Chu Guang, with an odd expression on his face, grasped the hamr’s handle. He braced for a heavy weight, but to his surprise, he lifted it with just a raise of the hand.
"Huh?"
The weight was not light but was not as heavy as imagined, perhaps only between twenty to thirty kilograms.
Tapping the surface with his finger, Chu Guang didn’t feel it was hollow inside.
Could it be made of aluminum alloy?
Or titanium alloy... or so kind of specialty material that he wasn’t familiar with.
At that mont, Chu Guang noticed three touch-sensitive buttons on the handle.
Out of curiosity, he extended his index finger and pressed one of the buttons.
There was a soft hum, and before Chu Guang could react to what was happening, a high-intensity stream of air burst out without warning from four sides of the hamr, gushing backward.
A large thrust propelled the hamr forward.
Chu Guang, holding the hamr with both hands, almost lost his grip and nearly hamred the alloy door, quickly lifting his finger off the button in fright.
"Fuck?!"
Was this hamr seriously boosted with nitrogen?
Pretty impressive!
As Chu Guang was caught in his astonishnt, a semi-transparent, pale blue holographic window popped up in his field of vision, floating beside the hamr like a label.
[Item: Nitrogen-Powered Hamr]
[Description: By manipulating the flow of nitrogen on the armor surface via a special force field, defense, offense, and mobility functionalities can be achieved.
In A mode, it can create a vortex of nitrogen flow at the top of the Power Hamr, thereby covering a defensive surface with a maximum radius of 1 ter, deflecting and reducing the kinetic energy of flying objects, providing considerable defense against light weapons.
In B mode, it can compress nitrogen at the front part of the Power Hamr, forming a 2-3mm thick nitrogen armor, which then detonates upon contact with the target.
In C mode, it can eject high-pressure nitrogen streams from the back of the Power Hamr, providing directional acceleration.
This product is recomnded to be used with Assault Power Armor, where B mode can have strong destructive effects on light armored targets, obstacles, and cover.]
[Note: Due to the lack of an internal nitrogen storage system, it cannot be used in nitrogen-free environnts such as vacuum or underwater.]
Following the instruction manual provided by the System, Chu Guang tried it out simply and finally understood how to use it.
In short, so kind of device built into the hamr could interfere with nearby nitrogen molecules.
A mode was essentially defensive, creating a shield in front of the hamr.
B mode was like charging up, releasing the compressed nitrogen on the armor surface instantly upon striking a target, resulting in an explosive shockwave?
C mode was basically like attaching a propulsion device to the back of the hamr, which was effective whether for running with it or swinging it at soone.
Furthermore, a mini cold fusion battery powered the Nitrogen-Powered Hamr, located right in front where the handle t the head.
According to glowing markers at the end of the handle, the current charge was full, suggesting that theoretically, as long as it wasn’t continuously running, it should last until the equipnt was no longer usable.
However, it could not actually be kept running indefinitely.
According to the instruction manual provided by the System, continuous use would cause the internal circuit components to overheat, while a blinking warning light for three seconds would trigger a protective shutdown.
Holding the Nitrogen-Powered Hamr in his hand and playing with it for a while, Chu Guang couldn’t help but feel emotional.
The technology that surpassed his understanding was indeed no different from magic.
Let alone how this thing controlled nitrogen molecules, the miniature cold fusion cell at the end of the handle was already in the realm of sci-fi movies for him.
At least Chu Guang couldn’t imagine the principle behind it at all.
Take it apart for study?
It wasn’t that he couldn’t dismantle it, but what was the point?
If its material was helium-3, then he’d have to go to the Moon to mine it, and if it used so sort of unknown process for a certain material, then the speed of reverse-engineering would probably be slower than starting research from scratch.
After all, scientific research wasn’t about brute force miracles, nor was it about opening blind boxes. Maybe in the future, if he could gather so talents from other shelters, there would be hope of restoring so pre-war technology.
As for now?
Of course, as long as it worked, that was enough.
Apart from the Nitrogen-Powered Hamr, the two interdiate blind boxes also yielded a box of antibiotics and a healing injection.
However, what surprised Chu Guang the most were the two basic blind boxes, which contained a bottle of soy sauce and a bag of salt.
Well, that was sothing.
He was ntally prepared to get a couple more lollipops, and sohow his luck exploded in the strangest of ways?
Chu Guang didn’t even know if he should consider himself lucky or at a loss...
In Wasteland ti, six in the evening was actually six in the morning in reality.
Although many people were still lazing in bed at this ti, it was the exact opposite for the players of Wasteland OL.
Playing the ga all night not only didn’t make them feel tired at all, but they also felt refreshed after nearly 12 hours of sleep.
Especially that battle with the Looters, it was just incredibly exhilarating!
Almost as soon as they logged off, the official website beca lively, with the forum threads refreshing non-stop and water-cooler talks starting up in the chat zones.
Spare people under the knife, "Damn, the killing spree this afternoon was too aweso! Hahaha, I’ve got to swing by the construction site in the morning, fellas wait for to return."
Quit smoking, "Afternoon?!"
Spare people under the knife, "Cough, I ant the afternoon in the ga! This ga is too realistic; it made forget the real ti. It must be the wee hours of the morning in reality now, right? Damn, dude, you’re already watching the official website this early?"
Quit smoking, "T.T"
Old White, "My heart aches for you, Smoking Quitting Brother. I’m almost tempted to lend you my account to play."
Quit smoking, "Really?!!! (Excited)"
Night Ten, "A hamr’s chance, buddy. Put on whatever you want, you won’t see a thing, and then you’d be the butt of the jokes. I don’t even bother explaining anymore; too many explanations and they’ll think I’m insane. Those who understand will understand. Just wait for the public test to slap them in the face. (Amused)"
Lord Arrogant Brother, "I’m dying laughing here, you talking about slapping faces! You might as well swell up your face to look like a pig’s head!"
Night Ten, "You just wait, I’m gonna apply to be a moderator right now."
Elena, "Grandpa Ao is here too? Did you guys buy houses on the official website? (Amused)"
Tomato Scrambled Eggs, "Knew you all would be in the forum! Let blow my own trumpet too; the battlefield environnt made in this ga is just so damn realistic! Unlike those orphan gas that look like light pollution when it gets down to fighting, a real battlefield should have bullets whizzing by in disorder, not even sure if they hit the target, don’t even see the people, but whatever, it’s just so thrilling!"
Old White, "Hahahaha, the battlefield atmosphere is spot on."
Night Ten, "Case closed, so it was you, the cook, wasting the bullets, huh? No wonder the Manager’s face was so dark in the end. (Amused)"
Tomato Scrambled Eggs, "What’s wrong with being a cook? And you know what, I charged with my axe and actually knocked soone down! Only realized after everything that I had been shot in the leg, and it didn’t hurt one bit."
Fang Chang, "Scrambled eggs must be of the Body Constitution System, right? How does it feel?"
Compared to others, Long Days Ahead, always focused on ga intelligence.
Tomato Scrambled Eggs, "Recovery is very fast! Didn’t notice anything else. Ah, if only I had the Perception System, the Strength System would also be fine."
Fang Chang, "I see...got it."
Pick up trash 99 level, "Be content, man, I got a gun only to find my finger wouldn’t fit in the trigger. QAQ"
Night Ten, "Hahahahaha!"
Fang Chang, "Uh, that is indeed a problem. Why don’t you just snap off the fra in front of the trigger?"
Pick up trash 99 level, "I’ll wait until I can buy my own gun, damn, and I still have to pay back Brother Mosquito. T.T"
Brother Mosquito, "No worries, good brother, why not try crossbows? I’ll make you one for cheap once the shop is up! (Amused)"
Pick up trash 99 level, "I’ll stick with javelins then!"
Elena, "(Amused)"
The forum was filled with a jovial atmosphere.
After teasing Trash Guy, everyone continued on to another thread where they discussed strategies for dealing with the Looters in a hodgepodge.
So cloud players who hadn’t gotten access to the ga also joined in, throwing out so stinky ideas every now and then, which left certain peeping ga designers dumbfounded.
Let alone using fire attacks.
Even water attacks had co out of the woodwork.
Was there even a reservoir nearby? Where were they supposed to get that much water from?
Of course, not all suggestions were impractical; for instance, a clever little player had co up with the sa idea he had.
The player’s ID was imposing, called "Spring Water Commander," reserved as number 661 in the sequence. From checking the post history, it looked like this was a blowhard who had been brought over from other forums by fellow users.
"...If you guys don’t have an advantage in equipnt and can’t win street battles, the best thod is to delay, delay until everything is icebound, delay until the snow blocks the roads. Then it’s not just a fight over equipnt and tactics—it’s about supplies, logistics, and morale...if Wasteland OL has that setting."
"Just assuming, I an hypothetically. Listening to you guys, these Looters don’t produce anything, the whole nation under arms, living off plundering, where do they get their food, supplies, clothing, and entertainnt from? If it’s just an occasional looting or extorting traveling rchants, that’s certainly not stable, nor necessarily enough. Spring, sumr, and fall might be fine, but in winter, are there going to be any rchants passing by?"
"So there are only three possibilities, either they live frugally, knowing to tighten their belts and get by, or they have a stable and long-term al ticket feeding them."
"The forr is very unlikely; we’re talking about Bandits. If they really had that discipline and knew how to live, why would they bother being carefree and happy bandit chiefs? Even without farming, they would have amassed enough to beco a local military faction!"
"If it’s the latter, then it’s easy to deal with. It’s unrealistic to scorch the earth at their doorstep, so we cut off their supply lines! Winter is still long, and the fortress’s supplies will eventually run out. Without the support of a al ticket, how long can a group of ragtag forces hold out?"
"The other possibility is that the system spawns them like many gas do, where AI keeps churning out units even after all their resources are depleted."
"If that’s the case, please ignore everything I’ve said!"
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