Quest: Liberate Bet Street

On the third floor of the sanatorium. Watching the Cow and Horse Squad set off once more, equipped with polearms and hunter gear, Chu Guang wore a satisfied smile. Not bad. These players were getting sharper and sharper. Thanks to them being so sensible and saving him plenty of effort, Chu Guang could take the time he would have spent on micromanagement and dedicate it to what a game planner was actually supposed to do. Like playing a couple more games for research. "...Speaking of which, the Alpha 0.6 players should be coming online tomorrow." A lot of raw materials at the outpost were piled up to bursting, urgently requiring production occupation players to step up their efforts and catch up with the combat players. Especially the devil moth cocoons—several small mountains were already piled beside the warehouse. Once the Cow and Horse Squad cleared the first floor of the greenhouse ruins, another mountain would probably have to be added next to them. A guaranteed baseline return of 200 silver coins seemed almost a bit too generous. Not that it mattered; silver coins were just numbers to Chu Guang. Now that electronic accounts existed, he could issue as many as he liked. The key was to stock the shop's shelves and expand the variety of goods players could buy. Only then would the money issued carry any meaning. Otherwise, what good was depositing a billion into your account for clearing a dungeon? If he gave you a billion today and someone else two billion tomorrow, would everyone be happy running around with a dozen zeros just to buy potatoes? When that time came, the little blowfish complaining about stingy quest rewards would surely look back fondly on the good old days when a single ram horn potato cost only a few copper coins. Fortunately, even if those folks weren't sober-minded, their planner was, so such a scenario was unlikely to happen. To boost the outpost's productivity, more than half of the fifty players recruited in this version update were randomly drawn from the user pool tagged with "production occupation." As for how that tag had been assigned, it was naturally based on the questionnaires these users filled out when preregistering for the game. For example, when answering the question "What is your favorite single-player game?", titles like Stardew Valley, Euro Truck Simulator, RimWorld, Don't Starve, The Sims, and other casual retirement-style games appeared frequently in their responses. This meant that upon entering Wasteland OL, they would be far more inclined toward production gameplay. Such as manufacturing, hauling, farming, building houses, and so forth. He believed these creative little players would be able to put those raw materials to use and craft something valuable. Yeah. By the way, the Alpha 0.4 users had an entirely different vibe, because Chu Guang had poached them from the Paradox game user pool. Not only were those guys well-versed in manufacturing seamless steel pipes and deeply knowledgeable about gunpowder formulas, but they had also used natural disaster DLCs in Cities: Skylines to precisely purge aging populations, and processed alien meat into canned rations in Stellaris. Virtually every single one of them was a war criminal. "250 players is still not enough; there are still 250 incubation pods left." "If only I could get my hands on more food." After taking down the Bloodhand Clan's stronghold, the outpost's grain reserves were theoretically enough for three hundred people to last until the end of winter. However, the problem was that actual food consumption often far exceeded expectations. If seasonings weren't expensive and cooking facilities limited, Chu Guang would bet this bunch of players would eat five meals a day, stuffing themselves until they burped every time. Add in the nomads who had come over to seek refuge and the survivors working over at the brick factory, and Chu Guang didn't dare set his plans in stone. Two hundred and fifty players was already a stretch; grain reserves would be safest at more than twice the actual consumption rate. "Speaking of which... should I go ask Brown Farm for some benefits?" Looking at those marauders' warehouses, Brown Farm had paid them plenty of protection money. After all, we resolved such a massive nuisance once and for all on behalf of the survivors in the northern suburbs of Qingquan City. Wouldn't it be unreasonable not to offer a token of gratitude? Asking for it outright wasn't great; after all, it wasn't fitting for civilized folk to do the work of bandits. He had to figure out a way to get them to offer it voluntarily. Stroking his chin, Chu Guang began to formulate a plan. Just then, Xiao Qi, who was squatting nearby playing with the drone, suddenly raised her camera. "Master, a guest has arrived!" ... Outside the south gate. Braving the wind and snow the entire way, Yu Hu rushed frantically toward the outpost. When he reached the south gate, he caught sight of Chu Guang standing there. His eyes lit up at once, and waving the fist clutching the envelope, he yelled from afar: "Brother Chu!" Seeing Yu Hu jogging over with an anxious look, Chu Guang asked, "What's the matter? Why the rush?" Did something happen at home? Yu Hu braced his hands on his knees, panting for breath as he said, "Charlie... the old manager of the grocery store, he told me to bring you a letter!" To be honest, when Charlie handed him this letter and instructed him to deliver it here, Yu Hu had been scared half to death, his heart nearly stopping. After all, Bet Street had rules forbidding unauthorized trading with outside caravans. If caught, one would face severe punishment! So Yu Hu had always been careful to avoid Old Charlie. Who knew he would still be found out! Setting aside whether Brother Chu counted as an outsider, what Yu Hu couldn't understand was that Old Charlie hadn't reprimanded him, nor had he reported him to the Mayor or the guards. Instead, he had placed this envelope stamped with a bloody handprint into his hands. Yu Hu was illiterate and didn't know what was written on the envelope, but seeing that bloody handprint gave him an ominous feeling. Thus, not daring to linger for a second, he had hurried over from Bet Street with the letter immediately to deliver it here. "Come inside and talk." Chu Guang brought Yu Hu to the reception room on the first floor of the sanatorium. He casually lit the brazier, sat down in a chair beside it, opened the envelope bearing the bloody handprint, and glanced through it. There were two letters inside. One was written by the old Mayor... or rather, Old Leech. The content roughly informed the Bloodhand Clan marauders that there was a survivor settlement in Linghu Wetland Park. Skipping past the high-sounding pretexts and deferential phrasing, the entire page of black and white could be summed up in four words: murder with a borrowed knife. The other letter was in Old Charlie's handwriting. And judging by the ink marks, it had been written not long ago. [ Respected Administrator, My name is Charlie, a survivor living in Bet Street. I believe you have already read the other letter in the envelope, and at this moment must be furious at its contents. No offense intended; I completely understand how you feel. In fact, I am just like you. When I learned that our respected Mayor was colluding with marauders and attempting to incite them to attack our neighbors, I could scarcely believe my ears and eyes. I tried to advise him, telling him this was not a wise choice, but my words carry little weight. He remained bent on having his way, insisting on sending this letter to the marauders. Such conduct has crossed the line of basic morality. Whatever conflicts may exist, I believe we cannot—or at the very least, should not—allow a band of merciless villains to arbitrate. We have had enough of unreasonable oppression; the people of Bet Street yearn for civilization! So long as you are willing, we are prepared to make every effort to cooperate with your actions and drive that leech from his castle! Every hunter in Bet Street will be grateful for your kindness! ] Well now. He's handing me a blade. A wisp of sparks drifted up from the charcoal in the brazier. Chu Guang slightly lowered the two letters in his hands, looked at Yu Hu sitting in the opposite chair, thought for a moment, and said, "Do you know what's written in this letter from the old manager?" Yu Hu blinked, then shook his head. "He didn't tell me... He only said it was a matter of great importance, concerning your safety." Concerning our safety, huh. Chu Guang gave a slight smile. It was certain that Old Leech didn't know the Bloodhand Clan had already been wiped out; otherwise, he wouldn't have come up with such a stupid idea as sending a letter to dead men. In fact, that was easy to understand. Bet Street was far from that abandoned tire factory to begin with, and scavengers wouldn't explore north along the elevated outbound highway unless absolutely necessary. Everyone knew it was unsafe; who would willingly approach the marauders' lair? Now, there was only one remaining question: how much truth was there in Old Charlie's letter? There were two possibilities. One possibility was that Old Charlie had sent someone to deliver the letter first, found out that the Bloodhand Clan's stronghold had already been cleared out, and only then delivered the old Mayor's letter here. The other possibility was that, just as Old Charlie wrote in his letter, because the Mayor's actions crossed his moral line, he decided to stand on the side of justice and join Bet Street's survivors in rebelling against the Mayor's tyranny. In truth, it didn't matter which version of the story one believed. Reasons were never important; one could even make one up after everything was over. Chu Guang's heart stirred slightly. He suddenly hit upon a brilliant idea. Not only could he legitimately bring Bet Street into his sphere of influence, but he could also get the people of Brown Farm to offer tributes voluntarily. "...Your Mayor is truly despicable." Seeing Chu Guang's suddenly grave expression, Yu Hu froze for a moment, his own expression growing tense. "The... the Mayor? Isn't this letter from Old Charlie?" "There are two letters inside. One was written by Old Charlie, and the other... the one originally stuffed inside, was personally written by your Mayor to the Bloodhand Clan." "Written to the Bloodhand Clan?!" Yu Hu's eyes went wide, his mind momentarily unable to process it. He remembered Brother Chu mentioning before that those marauders wouldn't come bother them anymore. Furthermore, he had seen Zhao Shu here—who had been abducted by the marauders—and heard that Yang Ergou was alive too. Why would the Mayor write a letter to dead men? Wait, the Mayor was in correspondence with those marauders?! Each revelation was more shocking than the last. Watching the bewildered Yu Hu, Chu Guang continued calmly, "That's right. And judging by the letter's contents, your Mayor intended to incite the Bloodhand Clan marauders to come raid us." "Incite marauders to raid you?! How could he dare—" Chu Guang nodded. "In fact, after we breached the Bloodhand Clan's stronghold, we did find some interesting things there. Various signs indicate that your Mayor seemed to have formed a secret pact with them. He wasn't simply being extorted by the marauders; he was actively coordinating with them to harvest property that rightfully belonged to you... Do you understand what I'm saying?" After hearing Chu Guang's words, Yu Hu's face was painted with disbelief and shock. Having it spelled out like this, even the dullest mind would understand. What he couldn't comprehend was: why would the Mayor do such a thing? "I'm going back to tell the folks in town!" Leaping up from his chair, Yu Hu's face burned with fury, his fists clenched tightly. "That bastard! He deceived every last one of us!" "Don't be rash," Chu Guang said, standing up alongside him. "I'm glad you're on my side, but you're Xiaoyu's brother. I can't let you throw your life away for nothing." "...Throw my life away?" "Do you think if you just run back and shout it out, the other survivors in Bet Street will immediately believe what you say?" Yu Hu's face flushed red, his neck stiffening as he retorted, "I... I can convince them!" Chu Guang shook his head. "Verbal persuasion is meaningless. Your Mayor will persuade them with guns." Yu Hu was eager to argue, but he couldn't put his thoughts in order, cursing himself for being so tongue-tied. Chu Guang wasn't surprised by his reaction. After all, if he had been a meticulous, calculating person, Old Charlie wouldn't have chosen him to deliver this letter. "Am I supposed to just watch him keep everyone in the dark?!" "Of course not." Chu Guang placed a hand on Yu Hu's shoulder, giving him a resolute look. "This isn't your battle alone. That Old Leech's stupidity and shamelessness have crossed the line of what we can tolerate." "I will go with you!" At the same time, every player near the outpost carrying a VM received a quest pop-up in unison— [Quest: Liberate Bet Street]