"A hundred thousand CR..."
Sitting in front of the computer in Shelter 404's resident hall and staring at the user manual for the plasma CNC machine tool, Chu Guang couldn't help sighing.
It was definitely high-quality gear.
It was just so damn expensive!
If only it were priced at a hundred thousand silver coins, he would have bought it without a second thought.
Even a loan or installment plan would have worked.
According to Luo Hua, Ideal City had a stock exchange. Chu Guang wondered if he could take Shelter 404 public. He couldn't guarantee anything else, but investing in them was definitely far more reliable than sending out some expeditionary force.
His eyes drifted back to the manual.
Although the specialized technical content was well beyond his knowledge, Chu Guang had grasped roughly seventy to eighty percent of it thanks to the key points Xiao Qi had compiled for him.
First of all, this machine tool truly qualified as black technology.
High-precision plasma cutting technology had existed since the late twentieth century, and people had long combined it with CNC systems for machining applications requiring tight tolerances. However, due to the inherent physical limitations of plasma, CNC plasma cutters were generally restricted to cutting shapes and parts out of flat steel plates using only two axes of movement.
A primary reason was that the kerf left by a plasma torch was simply too wide; at its core, it still relied on thermal energy to melt and cut through material.
Even if a manufacturer produced smaller nozzles and constricted arcs, its precision could at best approach the lower limit of laser cutting.
The machine tool Li De had shown him, however, was fundamentally different.
At the most basic mechanical level, the plasma used by this machine was nothing like the crude "flamethrowers" from his old world; it was a derivative of a magnetically confined controlled nuclear fusion reactor.
Not only could it heat an inert working gas to hundreds of millions of degrees to generate ultra-high-energy plasma, but it could also use its internal magnetic field to confine and shape it.
It was like a fusion reactor that didn't generate electricity.
The plasma jet, packed with terrifying energy, was compressed into a cutting line only a single atom wide.
Through precise control over the jet's ejection velocity and volume, it could not only perform nanoscale slicing on solid materials, but also meticulously control cutting depth—leaving virtually no noticeable burrs or scorch marks on the finished surface!
Compared to conventional mechanical cutting tools, this "gaseous monoatomic blade" formed under magnetic confinement had practically zero "machining principle error."
With just a set of preset parameters entered, it could execute simple cuts and welds to produce complex geometries that would require multiple stages on conventional machinery—all without altering the underlying properties of the material.
To the Pioneer, this "antique" might not be terribly significant. After all, such a machine tool wasn't suited for mass production; it was only good for high-precision finishing on already-formed solid materials, essentially serving as a final-step process. In contrast, they possessed more advanced, safer cold gaseous monoatomic blade cutting technologies, and their mass-manufacturing capabilities were much closer to pre-war society.
Yet for Shelter 404, which lacked even basic tools, it was nothing short of an industrial mother machine!
No matter what, he had to get his hands on it!
Chu Guang pondered.
While it might sound a bit unscrupulous, it was all to give his little players a better gaming experience.
"I need to find a way to fleece some more sheep!"
...
Official website.
Forum.
Makka Pakka: "??? Why was I disconnected? The screen just went black as soon as I opened the cabinet! Is this a bug? Game dev daddy, come take a look!"
Elven King Fugui: "Bro, you didn't disconnect. You died on the spot."
Midnight Chicken Slaughter: "+1. I saw it with my own eyes. You were blown to smithereens, straight into plasmolysis. The Administrator stared at your remains in silence for ages."
Elaina: "Stop pretending, bro. It's not your first time dying. Other people might not know what a black screen means, but do you seriously not know? (Funny)"
Makka Pakka: "???"
Yaya: "Hahahahaha! Total noob! Hahahahaha! Weakling! (*≧▽≦)ツ┏━┓"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "I think the official site should add a special achievement: record for the monster's first kill. (Funny)"
Ye Shi: "Supported. (Funny)"
Makka Pakka: "#@%!"
The thread was filled with cheerful banter.
Just as everyone was cracking jokes about how Makka Pakka would manage to die next time, a sudden announcement popped up on the official site.
[Announcement: Temporary Adjustments to the Expansion Event]
[1. To test the texture and cooking effects of newly added ingredients in the new version, a series of production occupation quests is now live. Luka at the operational camp seems to be troubled by something, and a yellow exclamation mark has appeared on the map. Players skilled in cooking, please log in quickly to accept it.]
[2. Due to data anomalies with newly added monsters in the expansion, a stubborn technical bug has arisen. Players who die from expansion content will temporarily be unable to respawn. Our technical staff is currently troubleshooting the bug at full capacity and has worked overtime for 24 consecutive hours. Our boss has purchased additional insurance for every employee, and no one is leaving until the bug is resolved!]
[Because this bug is extraordinarily persistent and cannot be fixed in the short term, we will issue 100 silver coins and one gacha roll with a guaranteed weapon attachment to affected accounts as compensation for closed beta players who may miss out on the expansion. This compensation will be distributed within three days after the expansion concludes.]
[At the same time, exploiting this bug through intentional suicide to fraudulently claim compensation is strictly forbidden. If an account is judged to have acted maliciously, severe cases will incur an additional 300% death penalty, while minor cases will receive zero compensation for the death.]
Tail: "Sisi!!! Hit me with a hammer as soon as we log in!!!! ∑(°Д°ノ)ノ"
Sisi: "Are you trying to get me banned?!"
Makka Pakka: "Holy shit?! What the hell? You mean I can't play for the next few days??? (Horrified)"
Elven King Fugui: "Holy crap, bro, finish reading the announcement! You're rich!"
Midnight Chicken Slaughter: "Damn it! Why wasn't I the one opening that cabinet?! Is it too late to go now? T.T"
Big Eye in Debt: "Understood! The meta answer for this patch is becoming a corpse!"
Elaina: "Anyone want to form a party to become corpses? (Funny)"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Hold on, don't rush to die just yet! A hundred silver coins looks like a lot, but dying right now is an absolute loss! Expansion event points can already be used to draw prizes once the expansion ends, and the compensation gacha only guarantees a weapon attachment! Keep in mind that besides scopes, hammer grips, bipods, and bayonets count as attachments too!"
Fang Chang: "True. More importantly, there's no set end date for the expansion. If it ends half a month from now, getting only 100 silver coins and a single gacha roll would be a massive rip-off. I really don't recommend throwing your lives away for that little compensation."
Makka Pakka: "Damn it! Now that you put it that way, I feel like I got scammed! I was only happy for five minutes! QAQ"
Lightning King Professor Yang: "Objection! What if you trigger the no-respawn bug on the very last day of the expansion? You'd get to experience all the expansion content AND grab the compensation. Wouldn't that be pure profit?"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "..."
Fang Chang: "..."
Ye Shi: "Fuck, look at you being a smartass! Can't you keep your mouth shut?!"
Lightning King Professor Yang: "?"
Several familiar IDs vanished from the forum in an instant.
The players with closed beta access had either scurried off to private group chats or rushed online to grab the "Old Luka's Troubles" quest. The veteran players especially knew that Ah Guang was a chronic lurker; you never knew when he might pop up, making him even creepier than a homeroom teacher peering through the window during evening self-study.
Only the spectator players and cute newbies remained on the thread, chattering about how to die realistically without being flagged by game dev daddy for abusing the system.
After all, malicious fraud meant no compensation, and poor acting came with a triple fine, which was definitely not worth the risk.
Looking at it from another angle, though, as long as your acting was on point, it was pure profit!
Besides, as long as you didn't overdo it and write "gimme compensation" across your forehead, even if you failed, the odds of an extra penalty were slim—at worst, it would just fall under "no compensation for minor cases."
It was a game, after all!
How could people not die?
Furthermore, the punishment wasn't even that harsh. Just a deduction of in-game currency without an account ban hardly counted as a punishment in their eyes.
Still, there was one risk: you had to monitor the official site around the clock.
If the official site suddenly dropped an announcement saying the bug had been patched, you'd be left out in the cold.
No one was willing to sit on the forum spectating for three days just to take a loss.
Watching his little players scheme right under his nose about how to pull off a coordinated compensation scam the day before the bug was patched, Chu Guang found them utterly adorable.
Please, by all means, keep scheming!
With the smile of a benevolent father, Chu Guang had already opened a new document.
If the terrible ideas you come up with turn out better than mine, I'll go along with your plans when the time comes.
...
Late at night.
Li De sat in his office sipping coffee, gazing out the window at the endless snowfall as his thoughts drifted toward his distant homeland.
To the wasteland's survivors, this heavy blizzard was undeniably a disaster.
To those living aboard the Pioneer, however, these flurries were less impressive than the immersive dynamic display walls in the crew's private quarters.
If they wished, they could even "sleep atop the spires of Ideal City," dozing off while overlooking the glittering nightscape of their home.
Yet if they couldn't find fresh fuel rods soon, they would have to slash non-essential energy consumption for the crew by next month at the latest.
It was infuriating.
Every time the crew had to sacrifice personal comfort, morale plummeted, leaving everyone gloomy and crying about how homesick they were.
Did they think he didn't miss home too?
Ever since meeting that man, however, Li De had suddenly developed an interest in the old world's classical management arts and related sociological studies.
Particularly when it came to boosting morale.
Those bluecoats clearly earned far lower wages and used the crudest equipment, yet their spirits remained sky-high, overflowing with hope for tomorrow.
It was truly baffling.
He had seen slave city-states before; even when the slaves were fitted with bionic prosthetics, their work efficiency never improved, falling well short of non-industrial companion androids.
Piecing all these observations together, Li De deduced that Shelter 404 was likely housing some pre-war sociological research initiative. They probably hadn't received much funding before the war, which explained why they lacked even the most rudimentary production modules for steel and cement.
If possible, Li De wanted to study their management techniques and morale-raising methods.
Even if he couldn't roll them out across the entire corps, applying them within the Logistics Division would be well worth it.
"Chief!"
Seeing a young man burst in without knocking, Li De set down his coffee and looked at him.
"What is it?"
The young man said nervously, "A massive plume of white smoke is rising from our allies' camp! It might be on fire!"
A fire in the middle of a snowstorm?
Li De froze for a moment, then stood up quickly. He followed the young logistics officer out of the room, hurrying down the corridor to the side facing the bluecoats' camp.
Looking out through the viewport, a dense white mist was rising into the wind and snow right in the middle of their camp, too thick for even the howling northern wind to disperse.
The communal bathhouse happened to block the view, hiding the exact scene.
Something had likely caught fire, though no open flames were visible.
Seeing that the fire wasn't raging out of control, Li De let out a sigh of relief and waved his hand dismissively.
"Send a water truck over to help them."
He only hoped it wouldn't disrupt tomorrow's scavenging run.
That directly determined when they could resume their journey.
"Yes, sir!"
The young man nodded immediately and sprinted off to make the arrangements.
Soon, a water tanker rolled out of the mobile garage deployed beside the Pioneer's tread assembly, rumbling toward the adjacent operational camp.
However...
When the logistics driver arrived at his destination, the scene before his eyes left him completely dumbfounded.
A crowd of people had set up a wooden shed, busily boiling water, kneading dough, and chopping minced meat, having the time of their lives.
And that immense plume of white smoke was nothing more than steam pouring from the boiling pots...
Old Luka was already familiar with the driver, remembering that the young fellow was named Yuan Hao. Seeing him approach, Luka immediately broke into a smile.
"Working overtime again? You came at the perfect time. Care to try a steamed bun?"
Yuan Hao was completely baffled.
"A steamed bun?"
"That's right, the ones in the steamer baskets over there! It's a delicacy invented by our Administrator!"
Whether the Administrator had actually invented it didn't matter. Old Luka had never seen it before, so he instinctively credited the honor to his master.
The driver peeked over and saw the bluecoats rolling white dough into flat circles, stuffing them with minced meat, and pinching them into a gathered ball with a little topknot... dough balls?
They were having a blast!
Yuan Hao had eaten meat pies before.
The Pioneer's cafeteria didn't just serve healthy, nutritious meals; it also offered pastries with meat floss, caramel, and mixed nuts as snacks, which could be eaten once heated.
"What kind of meat is inside?"
"Bear meat! Fresh game delivered straight from our outpost!"
Hearing that it was wild game, Yuan Hao's eyes lit up instantly. He quickly asked, "How much?"
Wild game from other survivor settlements tasted like garbage, but these bluecoats clearly had a much better palate than the wasteland locals. He had witnessed that firsthand.
Following the Administrator's instructions, Old Luka smiled and said, "We haven't officially opened for business today, so it's free. Just help us taste-test and tell us which one you like best."
Hearing that it was free, the driver immediately snatched a freshly steamed bun, popped it into his mouth, and took a bite.
Beneath the soft, fluffy texture, a burst of savory meat flavor exploded across his taste buds.
His eyes widened at once.
Wolfing down the entire bun, Yuan Hao gave a firm thumbs-up while working hard to swallow, mumbling indistinctly, "This! Delicious! Way better than those pies!"
Old Luka's face beamed with joy as he quickly brought over another plate of new treats.
"We also have dumplings here. The skin is thinner—try one of these too!"
Before he had even swallowed the bun, another delicacy was thrust before him. With his mouth stuffed full, Yuan Hao couldn't help marveling, "It's so good... Do you guys eat this every day?"
Old Luka flattered him with a polite smile. "We only started eating like this recently, all thanks to your generous patronage of our business."
Yuan Hao chuckled. Hearing those words didn't make him feel taken advantage of at all; instead, it left him feeling remarkably gratified.
What was the point of earning such high wages? What good was a field deployment allowance?
They were so far from home, with nowhere to spend the money!
Here, he could not only enjoy great food and drinks, but also lend a hand to these poor, struggling people. He felt not just physically satisfied, but spiritually elevated.
Compared to searching for some elusive Shelter 0, this was what truly felt like being a savior!
This was infinitely more rewarding than throwing money onto a bar's dance floor!
Yuan Hao adopted a righteous expression and said, "I can't eat your food for free... How much are these buns? I want to buy fifty of them to take back! These snacks are too good—I have to bring some back for my colleagues to try!"
"Fifty? Wouldn't that be too many?" Old Luka advised gently. "We also have dumplings, shaomai, soup dumplings... Those are sold by the jin. Why not get a little of everything? If you can't finish them, you can freeze them so nothing goes to waste."
Yuan Hao waved his hand magnanimously. "Then give me fifty buns first, and ten jin of everything sold by the jin!"
"!"
Fifty steamed buns at 2 CR each came to 100 CR!
As for the dumplings, soup dumplings, and spring rolls, priced at 10 CR per jin, ten jin of each came to another 300 CR!
The Pioneer's crew were truly filthy rich. Dropping enough to cover four weeks of living expenses for a bottom-tier Enterprise employee without batting an eye was no small feat.
Old Luka stopped trying to dissuade him and briskly packed everything up, stuffing the steamed food into plastic bags and tying them tight. He repeatedly reminded him to eat them while they were hot, or freeze them if he couldn't finish them, urging him not to waste a single scrap of food.
Yuan Hao nodded repeatedly, then generously slapped down four hundred-credit bills. Hauling a massive bag of piping hot delicacies, he climbed back into the water truck and drove off the way he had come.
Before leaving, he even took the water meant for firefighting and dumped it into the rooftop storage tank above their bathhouse.
Staring at the four 100-CR bills in his hands, Old Luka was overwhelmed with excitement.
As expected of the master!
Over the course of a single day, they stood to make an absolute fortune!
The surrounding players buzzed with conversation, joking about the water tanker vanishing into the heavy snow.
"How many buns did that guy buy? How can one dude eat that much?!"
"Who cares? Just keep wrapping them! You get one copper coin for every bun you make! This is way easier than chopping down trees!"
"Wrapping a hundred portions gives ten reward points too! This is awesome!"
"I'm gonna wrap until my hands fall off!"
Chapter 147