Bet Street's First Legal Code!

Boss Xia was thoroughly wasted. The moment Chu Guang stopped paying attention, the woman had emptied all the money from her pockets to buy booze, chugging it down in her chair gulp after gulp without touching a single bite of food. She never gave a damn about tomorrow when spending money—it was a miracle she'd survived this long. Then again... That was probably the truest reflection of a wasteland wanderer. Even if tomorrow was hell, today they would still live optimistically for themselves. "*Hic*... I can still drink!" With her long red hair tumbling messily over her shoulders and smelling of alcohol from head to toe, Xia Yan brandished her cup and slurred loudly. "No one's stopping you." Chu Guang gently nudged the head slumping against his shoulder over to rest on the armrest instead. Sitting on the bench by the north gate, Chu Guang took a tiny sip of the wine, savored its slightly tart sweetness, and didn't drink any more. Given the psychological trauma from his past life, he exercised strict restraint. After all, if he got completely smashed again and drank himself to death a second time, he lacked the confidence that he'd reincarnate into such a good situation next time around. Temperance was a far nobler virtue than mercy. It certainly wasn't because he was afraid. In the distance, the nomads had joined the players' celebration. Skilled at singing and dancing, the women quickly won rounds of applause and cheers from the players. "My Lord... I hate to spoil your mood, but today's food consumption might be a bit high. The raw meat at the discount stall is almost sold out, and not much grain is left," Old Luka said, walking over to Chu Guang's side, bowing slightly, and speaking with extreme caution. "Those nomads used all the silver coins you rewarded them with to buy ram horn potatoes, and they didn't even eat them at the celebration—they carried them all back to their tribe." There was another thing he didn't dare say: these bluecoats could eat way too much, practically devouring two meals' worth in one sitting. Yet the vault residents outranked him. With hierarchy ingrained into the very marrow of his bones, Luka dared not overstep in the slightest, so he could only find fault with the nomads. "It doesn't matter. We can't hold a banquet every day anyway," Chu Guang said with a faint smile. "I brought all these provisions out precisely so everyone could have a good time. Rest assured, I have everything under control." It was a game, after all; having fun was what mattered. Since it happened to fall on such a momentous day worth celebrating, bringing out some supplies to host an event for the players would also help boost morale and improve the server environment. People on the forum were always whining that his *Wasteland OL* wasn't casual at all. Well, wasn't this casual content? Looking at the players, they seemed to be having a blast. Seeing his master put it that way, Luka held his tongue, bowed respectfully, and withdrew. ... "Uuugh, I can't drink anymore..." "Then don't." "Water..." "Keep your hands to yourself, behave." Having hauled the thoroughly plastered Xia Yan back to the shelter, Chu Guang dumped her onto the bed and leaned her crutch against the bedside. Her pupils were dilated, her eyes glazed, and her cheeks were even redder than her crimson hair, flushed all the way to her earlobes. A button on her collar had come undone, likely snagged during the walk, revealing her collarbone and a glimpse of creamy fair skin. Chu Guang pulled the blanket over her. Honestly, this woman had zero tolerance for alcohol. Did the taverns in Boulder City sell nothing but plain tap water? Chu Guang had heard her brag more than once about how well she could hold her liquor, but now it was obvious that she had just been blowing hot air. Sitting in the room, Xiaoyu blinked her curious eyes, watching them. "Did she drink alcohol?" She had tasted alcohol once before, and only once. That was when her eldest brother got married, brought over by her sister-in-law from her home. She still remembered that taste—tart and bitter, not good at all. Her dad had also said that when she married in the future, he'd prepare a bottle for her to bring to her husband's family. But she didn't want to drink it at all; she wished it could be swapped for candy instead. "Yeah, she had too much," Chu Guang placed a bottle of milk on the table. "If she wakes up later asking for water, give her this... I'll leave her in your care." Xiaoyu nodded vigorously and said earnestly, "Mm! Leave it to Xiaoyu, you don't need to worry!" How wonderful. If only everyone in the shelter were as well-behaved and sensible as Xiaoyu. Then he'd be able to gather material every single day. Resisting the urge to pat her head, Chu Guang rewarded her with a chocolate-flavored lollipop, told her to save it for tomorrow, and turned to head back to the resident hall, where he booted up the computer. As usual, check the forum first. By now, the vast majority of players had logged off, leaving only a few newbies doing clean-up quests and production players grinding order tasks. Chu Guang glanced through the posts on the forum. Unsurprisingly, during the few minutes it took him to carry Xia Yan back to the shelter, those clowns had started gossiping about him again. Tail: "Breaking news! Tail saw the Administrator carrying the Boss Lady back to the shelter! (｀▽′)Ψ" WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Shocking! The weapon shop boss is actually the Administrator!" Elven King Fugui: "I even saw the two of them enter the same room!" Stop Bullshitting: "Didn't come out for ten whole minutes!" Ye Shi: "! Lord Administrator only lasts ten minutes?!" Elaina: "Your discussion makes me feel like I missed an entire version update. Just tell me how old the kid is already. (Funny face)" Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Any talented writers out there who can fill in the spicy details? WC Really Has Mosquitoes said he's willing to pay for it." WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "No money, no money, went bankrupt today. QAQ" Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Sigh, what good are you... looks like I'll have to take matters into my own hands after all?" Ye Shi: "Brother Mole is the GOAT! (Voice cracks)" Seeing these goofballs about to fill in non-existent details, Chu Guang, who was lurking on the screen, couldn't take it anymore and typed out a reply. Guang: "Hold on right there. Just like that kind of picture, that kind of text isn't allowed either." Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Damn it! I'm taking it off-site! Let's go, brothers!" Ye Shi: "Awooo! Charge!" Tail: "Oligé! (｀▽′)Ψ" Chu Guang: "..." Aside from these irreverent posts, there were also serious discussions on the forum. For example, a newbie named [Fountain Commander] used an entire post to share his experience of drinking until he disconnected, along with a brainstormed idea. "Holy crap, the drunkenness mechanics in this game are way too realistic. Turns out blacking out actually disconnects you! Here's a rational take: whenever you need an emergency logout in the game, you can literally just chug a whole bottle of vodka." It sounded like a decent idea on the surface, but this little player clearly forgot to consider how he was going to get back online. Chugging until you blacked out meant waking up wasn't up to you, and even when you did wake up, you'd be stuck with a dizzy, splitting-headache debuff. Sure enough, people were roasting him in the comments below. Construction Site Youth and Bricks: "Don't listen to this guy, the Blackout debuff lasts for over two hours! You can forget about logging in during those two hours. And worst of all... blacking out might freaking make you wet your pants! If you want to commit social suicide, feel free to try it. Personally, I'm never doing that again T.T" Ye Shi: "Logging out by chugging hard liquor, huh? Bro, you'd be better off asking Boss Yaya for a mushroom. That's way faster. (Funny face)" Yaya: "Shut up! That's slander! When have I ever sold poisonous mushrooms! (`Д′＊)9" Elaina: "Terrified. (Funny face)" Even though drinking caused a series of debuffs and the progression from being drunk to blacking out wasn't quite as realistic as real life, everyone still showered high praise on the fact that you could actually drink alcohol in *Wasteland OL*. In particular, some players who were allergic to alcohol and never touched a drop in real life finally got to experience the feeling of being drunk in the game. Though most agreed that experiencing it once was more than enough. That sensation of struggling against network connectivity was truly agonizing. Aside from the discussions about the evening banquet, topics on the forum were mainly centered around the daytime quest to "Liberate Bet Street." Those intelligent little players, having observed the NPCs closely, discovered some very interesting things. The NPCs were so intelligent that they seemed just like living, breathing people, each possessing their own unique life trajectory. And unlike in *Red Dead Redemption*, these trajectories didn't seem pre-scripted, but rather calculated in real time by an algorithm. If there weren't so many impossible aspects to it, they would have suspected that these NPCs were all played by customer service staff—like actors in an escape room or DMs in murder mystery games... Big Eye in Debt: "This game is way too realistic! Sure, it's a selling point, but sometimes being overly realistic is a pain. This is the first time I've ever seen a game where even the starter village has to be built by the players themselves. And not just the houses—we even have to find the village NPCs from the outside world." Lao Bai: "Haha, isn't that fun? Watching the game world change bit by bit because of us is way more interesting than just grinding mobs, isn't it?" At the very beginning, the outpost had had nothing—just a dilapidated sanatorium surrounded by trees. Now, not only did they have perimeter walls and trenches, but also full granaries and warehouses, Shelter Floor B2 had opened, and the Lord Administrator had upgraded to "god-tier gear." Just thinking about how he'd contributed to all of this filled Lao Bai with an overflowing sense of accomplishment and pride. A fully realistic virtual reality game was simply amazing! Proud Grandpa What Can You Do: "Lol, what's so great about that? I suggest you play a few more games to broaden your horizons so you don't sound so ignorant. Ever played Skyrim? You elementary school brats probably haven't even heard of it. I slaughtered every single NPC and player in the entire province of Morrowind all by myself. In the end, the GM had to DM me begging for mercy, not only clearing my red name but even gifting me a one-year VIP pass." Gale: "Bro, your bait is way too obvious. I'm almost starting to wonder if you're trolling ironically." Lao Bai: "Hahaha! Indeed, people's joys and sorrows are not the same, understood! (Grin)" Elven King Fugui: "Sigh, I suddenly feel like an open beta might be a bad idea. If a bunch of 'Proud Grandpas' get let in, the game's gonna be unplayable. T.T" Ye Shi: "You're overthinking it. Is this a game kids can even play? (Funny face)" Fang Chang: "Releasing activation codes slowly right now is pretty good. But the game company needs to make money too, so an open beta is bound to happen sooner or later. It just depends on how the operators handle it when the time comes." Lightning King Professor Yang: "No way! You lucky European bastards, you're literally asking 'why don't they eat meat'! I haven't even gotten my pre-registration spot yet! T.T" Ye Shi: "There are tons of people waiting in line, take your time waiting. (Funny face)" ... The next day. The envoy from Brown Farm delivered the promised "thank-you gift." A total of fifteen tons of grain filled four covered wagons, pulled by two-headed oxen, and arrived right outside the outpost's warehouse entrance. Who knew Brown Farm actually raised cattle? Chu Guang stroked his chin thoughtfully. Whether the envoy sensed something predatory from the Administrator's gaze or not, he was frightened enough that he didn't dare linger for another second. After securing a promise of friendly relations and mutual trade, he immediately rounded up his servants and drove the ox carts back onto the road. By the time Chu Guang saw off the envoy from Brown Farm, it was already noon. Yu Hu arrived at the outpost from Bet Street carrying a handwritten letter from Old Charlie. Inside the envelope was the draft of the legal code Charlie had stayed up all night to write. Chu Guang looked it over, confirmed there were no major issues, and signed his name and the date, making the document effective as of that day. Having laws to abide by was the first step toward establishing order. The first legal code didn't need to be overly complicated; ideally, it should be simple enough that even illiterate scavengers could understand it. As for detailed regulations governing specific sectors and industries, along with clause-by-clause interpretations, those could be further codified during subsequent implementation. Just like the *Player Handbook*, which had already been updated to version 4.0, clearly stating what could not be done and the consequences of doing so, while the earliest version 1.0 had only been a few short lines. For now, Bet Street was only a small settlement of just over a hundred households. Old Charlie had plenty of time to explore what rules were best suited for wasteland survivors. With Old Charlie serving as Bet Street's mayor, Chu Guang felt relatively at ease. This former butler understood the situation in Bet Street well enough and had the capability to handle this not-too-demanding job. Apart from the mayor, there was the choice of guard captain. The original guard captain was a direct confidant of the old mayor, so retaining him was out of the question; not having his home confiscated and him driven out was already merciful enough. Chu Guang pondered over it and ultimately decided to give the job to the eldest son of the Yu family, Yu Xiong. Compared to his younger brother Yu Hu, his mind was a bit sharper, and he was more meticulous in handling affairs. Most importantly, he was married and soon to have a child. A man with a family was almost always steadier than a bachelor. Bet Street's original guard squad had been disbanded, leaving an almost complete defensive vacuum. To prevent chaos, a new guard squad had to be established as quickly as possible. Considering Bet Street was too far from the players' revival point, guard members could only be chosen from the locals. Moving forward, the guard captain would not only need to maintain public security in Bet Street, but also organize patrol teams to eliminate high-threat mutants in the vicinity. The patrol teams, on the other hand, could be mixed squads of players and NPCs, which could be implemented in the form of quests. Chu Guang planned to repair Bet Street's walls once surplus construction materials became available, allowing it to accommodate more survivors. Naturally, the top priority for now was still developing the stronghold at Ling Lake Wetland Park. Though the broadcast he'd heard at Old Leech's home was mostly nonsense, it had still divulged some useful intel. The unrest in northern River Valley Province seemed to be worsening, and more refugees were migrating south from the north. If that information was accurate, then Ling Lake Wetland Park, situated at the gateway to Qingquan City's northern suburbs, would soon welcome a massive wave of new refugees. For an outpost still in its infancy, this would undoubtedly be a severe test!