A Huge Wave of Rookies Is Approaching!

Official Website Forum: "Big news! Shelter 404's Administrator 'Dawn' was making eyes at the female mercenary from Red River Town!" "Shocking! The Administrator slept with the female mercenary!" "Pass it on: they slept together for five days and five nights straight!" "The kid is already five months along!" "We're all adults who can game seven days a week, so act your age! Don't be so childish! Where's the cutscene, then? Where's the story CG? Skipped entirely? One-star review!" "Hahaha, are you guys bullying NPCs just because they can't browse the web and won't lose affection points? Hahaha." Not only were the players joining in the banter, but the armchair gamers chimed in as well. Just then, the forum's resident pro artist, [Mole on the Run from the Canyon], popped up and started a dedicated thread. "The line art is here! (Image) (Image) (Image)" Yaya: "!!!" Tengteng: "I-is this something we can look at without paying? (Nosebleed)" Ye Shi: "Mole is the GOAT!" Fang Chang: "Awesome!!!" Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Hehehe, don't panic, boys. This is just the line art. Wait till I color it!" [“Mole on the Run from the Canyon” has been banned for 12 hours by the moderator] Old Bai: "?!" Elaina: "Danger! (Funny)" Guang: "Don't post strange pictures. Explicit images are forbidden from now on. Even though our server complies with local laws and regulations, we are a respectable company and this is a respectable game. Everyone, please exercise restraint and do not post lewd images." Although game access was only granted to adults, anyone could visit the official website. People of all age groups were here, so graphic violence or explicit pictures were inappropriate after all. *Wasteland OL* was a cheerful game marketed around "lighthearted entertainment, casual development." Blood and violence didn't exist here. This game did not encourage grinding, nor did it encourage pay-to-win, and it certainly didn't encourage smut. Previously, when someone posted lewd images, the first offense was a mute warning, the second flagged the account as high-risk, and the third locked their IP and hardware ID. Ever since Chu Guang discovered that Xiao Qi could operate the computer on his behalf, he simply handed management of the forum over to Xiao Qi as well. After all, with manual moderation, he truly couldn't keep up with the tens of thousands of posts every day. Besides that, Chu Guang also had Xiao Qi pin interesting guide threads so he could browse them when he had free time. The hand-picked "memorials to the throne" were still worth reading. What if there was a great idea? Wouldn't that pave the way for Alpha 0.6? Ye Shi: "Damn, the lewd pics flushed out the lead developer!" Big Eye in Debt: "Pass it on: the dev shows up whenever he sees lewd pics!" All Good Names Taken by Dogs: "Pass it on: the dev looks at lewd pics during work hours!" Chu Guang: "..." Tsk. These knuckleheads! Fang Chang: "Alas! My heart aches for Brother Mole. He only just finished the line art and already got struck down by the banhammer. Brutal, brutal!" Tengteng: "Since you can't draw doujins of the Administrator and the female mercenary, why not... Brother Mole, how about replacing the pretty mercenary lady with a grateful young boy? (o°▽°)o" Ye Shi: "I propose drawing Tengteng and Yaya!" Gale: "Supported!!!" Elaina: "Withered vines, old trees, evening crows? (Funny)" WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "!! Goblin Industries sponsors one silver coin!" Yaya: "What the hell??? (。Д。；)" Tengteng: "(‵□′)×╰ひ╯" ... With the trade with the Horseshoe Trading Company concluded, time quickly moved into October. Just as most experienced survivors had predicted, this year's winter arrived earlier than usual. October had only just begun, yet the average daily temperature on the surface had already plummeted from single digits to below freezing. Howling gales and falling snow swept across the land; in just a single night, the snowpack on the surface could pile from ankle-deep to calf-deep, or even knee-deep. Fortunately, the snow did not fall nonstop. On this rarely sunny day, across this boundless stretch of ruins, a new batch of players arrived, brimming with energy and drive. They awoke from comfortable incubation pods. Gazing down at their astonishingly lifelike bodies and the surrounding environment, they were shocked, stunned, and even ecstatic to the point of breathlessness. Chu Guang locked the doors and gave them ten minutes to get dressed and compose themselves, sparing them from dying of embarrassment in public. Then, using the broadcast system, he instructed them to gather in the Floor B2 central lobby. "Wuwuwu, holy crap, holy crap! It really is virtual reality!" "This is mind-blowing! I'm not dreaming, am I?!" "Pinch me... Huh? Why doesn't it hurt at all?" "Idiot! You spent half a month lurking on the official site for nothing! It already said pain is filtered out! Pain filtering, got it?" "Hehehe, can I turn it on? I want to turn it on and try..." "...???" The veteran players were already used to these wide-eyed rookies making a fuss; after all, they had gone through the exact same thing back then. Moreover, since invitations for this game were released in batches, watching rookies experience collective social death had become one of the game's traditions—or rather, one of its greatest pleasures. "Tsk, that kid over there is pretty good. Barely reacted. Definitely looks like a hardcore gamer." "Hey, how do you know he isn't just scared witless? Look at his pupils, totally unfocused." "Sigh, this batch of rookies is pretty average. Mental resilience is kind of weak. Overreacting with shock, a bit theatrical." "Give me a break! Listen to you talking about others! I clearly remember it was you, bastard, who tried to strip off your pants the moment you logged in, until everyone around tackled you!" "All right, all right, you can shut up now." Chu Guang watched from the side as well. He was waiting for everyone to gather. Just then, a few startled shrieks rang out from the back of the crowd. Chu Guang looked up and saw a white-furred bear, about two and a half meters tall, timidly clutching the doorframe and poking out an utterly cowardly bear face from the northern entrance of the plaza. "W-w-why am I covered in fur all over?!" Quite a few rookies nearby were startled and instinctively backed away. "Holy crap! A bear!" "Bare?! Where?!" "Damn it!" The veteran players, however, remained fairly calm. After all, they even had a lizardman; what was a bear? Every now and then, this game produced a few exceptionally lucky RNG gods, either blessed with special talents or endowed with entirely different gene sequences from ordinary players. As for Chu Guang? He was even calmer. The moment each player confirmed their login, their gene sequence updated in the system's [Player List]. He was always the first to see their stat panels. [ ID: Meat Mountain Steamed Bun Gene Sequence: Mutant · Bear Level: LV.0 —Basic Stats— Strength: 9 Agility: 6 Constitution: 7 Perception: 7 Intelligence: 3 ] [ Talents: Cold Resistance (High resistance to severe cold, ill-suited for hot environments, takes extra burn damage) Syndactyly (Greater endurance, difficulty operating complex machinery) Body Regeneration (Greater recovery, gene sequence level progression is difficult) ] Agility, Constitution, and Perception were each one point lower than Scavenger's, while Strength was one point higher, and Intelligence was one point higher as well. Of course, that was compared to LV0; Scavenger was now LV2. Although the initial stats of the "Mutant" sequence were generally stronger than the five mainstream sequences, the growth-retarding debuff inherent to Mutants was a severe flaw. Take Scavenger, for example. Even though he was a veteran who joined in the early batches, his level was stuck in the second tier and couldn't climb; it had been over half a month, yet he was only LV2, which was honestly a bit embarrassing. Furthermore, the "Syndactyly" trait inclined them toward primitive activities, making it difficult to operate machinery as easily as normal humans. Using Scavenger as an example again, even after modifications were made to triggers and grips, it was still very difficult for him to handle and fire small arms. In any case, Chu Guang's impression was that the guy had completely given up on firearms and fully committed to the path of physical evolution. If he could get up close to brawl, he brawled; if he couldn't close the distance, he threw javelins. Most players were very happy to team up with him. After all, who wouldn't love a tank? If he couldn't charge in, he was a bullet sponge, but once he broke through, it was pure slaughter! When the rookies first saw the bear, they panicked, but upon realizing how thoroughly cowardly this fellow was, their curiosity took over and they edged closer. Right then, a short-haired female player named [Tail] swiftly circled behind and curiously reached out to tug at [Meat Mountain Steamed Bun]'s tail, startling the bear into bounding forward. "W-w-what are you doing?!" Tail grinned cheekily. "Bro, you're awesome! How much did you pay for this account?" "I-I just drew it normally! It took me forever to win an invite. By the way, how do you spend money in this game? There isn't even a top-up option." Another long-haired female player named [Sisi] sidled up, curiously tugging at the fluffy tail as well, startling the bear so much that she backed flush against the wall. "Speaking of which, why do you have such a weird name? Steamed Bun?" "I-I originally wanted to call myself Meat Mountain Demon King, but I made a typo! God, you can't even change your name in this game, it sucks so much!" Sisi suddenly flashed a wicked smile. "Got it. Heading to the forum right now to register an alt named Meat Mountain Demon King." "Don't! I'm gonna cry!" Tail rubbed her chin in thought, then smacked her right fist into her palm. "Decided! From now on, your name is Rou Rou! You'll be this lord's mount. Wait, let me take a peek first to see if you have *that*." Rou Rou was on the verge of tears. "Cut it out! I'm a girl!" Tail chuckled even more delightfully. "Doesn't matter, so am I! Come on, lemme see!" Sisi: "Eww! What's wrong with you, are you a pervert?" "Zip it!" After some ruckus, Tail finally released the big bear in disappointment and clicked her tongue. "Tsk, nothing at all." It had to be said that fluffy animals held quite an appeal for female players. Of course, it was mainly because this creature was far too timid, lacking any trace of intimidation. If it were one of the mutated brown bears out in the wasteland, the stronger ones could swat a Crawler to death with a single paw. Then again, players in the Mutant sequence lacked those organs entirely, so did Rou Rou count as a male bear or a female bear? Emmm... Whatever. That question was too hard for him. He'd just go with the player's gender. When the slowest of the players finally took their places in the plaza, Chu Guang cleared his throat loudly at the rowdy crowd, gesturing for silence. Then, in a solemn voice, Chu Guang declared: "The war has ended." "However, the bad news is that our world is altered beyond recognition." "This is the two-hundredth year after the apocalypse. Fortunately, we have survived the hardest years. The fact that you stand here makes you more fortunate than twelve billion people. Now, I need you to recognize our reality as quickly as possible, and fulfill the pledge you made under the banner of the Human Alliance—to rebuild our home!" "Beside me is my assistant; its name is Xiao Qi. If you have any questions about the shelter or anything you don't understand, you may ask it." Just as he had done many times before, Chu Guang, as Administrator of the shelter, announced the rules and regulations to these hundred new players who had just crawled out of their incubation pods—along with the lines he had painstakingly composed. The "introductory cutscene" for each batch of rookies was mostly the same, but unlike previous versions, in "Alpha 0.5," Chu Guang added an extra special quest for veteran players who had attained the citizen rank. Namely: power-leveling rookies. All players who reached the citizen rank and collected a VM could accept the quest "Passing the Torch" in the quest system. The quest objectives were simple. A player who took the quest could select up to three rookies and become their "novice guide." As long as they leveled them from LV0 to LV1 within a week, they would receive a reward of 100 contribution points and 10 silver coins. A hundred contribution points wasn't particularly attractive to players who had already attained citizen rank, but the reward of ten silver coins was very enticing. For Strength-types, as long as they chopped wood non-stop until total exhaustion, two consecutive days of chopping were basically enough to reach LV1. Other types required some technique to level up. But generally, with the exception of Intelligence-types, leveling from LV0 to LV1 wasn't too difficult, requiring roughly three days of grinding. While guiding newcomers, they could also complete other quests to earn money, and they could take up to three underlings at once. The silver coins were essentially free money—why wouldn't they do it? Furthermore, newcomers with a gene sequence level of LV0 could also take the linked "Passing the Torch" quest via the lobby bulletin board: Select a "Shelter Veteran" equipped with a VM to serve as their "novice guide." Once they reached LV1, they would receive 80 contribution points and 8 silver coins, roughly equivalent to twelve hours of normal grinding for a new player. The reward scaling was designed very reasonably. The purpose of launching the "Passing the Torch" quest was, on one hand, to get the rookies up to speed quickly so they wouldn't run around like headless chickens, and on the other hand, to integrate them into the larger collective of Shelter 404. Especially the latter. In a class of a hundred students, just reshuffling seats could change the whole dynamic, let alone suddenly doubling the headcount. Chu Guang knew full well that the greatest challenge brought by the Alpha 0.5 update wasn't the server CPU, but the impact of new players on the community environment of *Wasteland OL*. After all, for this kind of game—with its barrier to entry, hardcore leaning, and emphasis on being a "virtual community"—gameplay inherently dictated that the server environment mattered above all else. It was just like a perfectly good online multiplayer game where everyone was having fun, only for a free-to-play weekend to let in a few buzzing flies that instantly made the game unplayable. Like a certain Squad. A single rookie could become a nightmare for an entire squad, especially when he grabbed the squad's only sniper rifle or heavy AT launcher, or snuck into the armor squad to drive a vehicle—that was when true nightmares began. Could you blame him? Not really. Everyone had been a rookie once. Aside from the entitled trolls who derived joy from ruining other people's experience, the vast majority were reasonable enough to communicate. As long as someone was willing to teach, they were more than happy to learn, and the server environment would naturally improve. In fact, strictly from a profit-driven perspective, standard logic would dictate driving away paid veteran players and letting those pests buzz around the server. It would foster toxicity while stimulating sales; then, just when the pests were having a blast, ban them, prompting them to buy multiple new accounts in anger to ruin servers again, sending sales skyrocketing. Like a certain blue hole. But was Chu Guang that kind of person? What was money? Pure garbage! *Wasteland OL* would rather operate at a loss to give players the highest quality gaming experience and protect the server environment to the bitter end! "Now that we have the VM, friend lists and party systems can be rolled out as soon as possible. Those features are absolute god-tier tools for maintaining an MMORPG's social ecosystem." "Later on, when the player count grows and gaps in levels, wealth, and combat power widen, we can gradually develop a guild system." "Powerful guilds can then be upgraded into legions, mobilized to pioneer new territories or wage war." "Hmm, guilds and legions can be tied into the citizenship tier system. Only players who have made sufficient contributions to the shelter can become lords of frontier territories, guild masters, or even legion commanders." "I'm a genius!" Looking at the players who were already shouting in the plaza to form parties, even Chu Guang's deadpan face couldn't help breaking into a satisfied smile. Very good. The tender young chives were thriving and growing strong.