When Yin Fang uttered the word "apology," the atmosphere in the office turned somewhat peculiar.
Chu Guang pondered for a good while, but couldn't think of anything this fellow could have done to wrong him.
After a brief silence, Chu Guang looked at him and asked, "Did you forget the passcode?"
"No, that's not it," Yin Fang coughed, caught off guard by the question. "My memory is actually quite good."
"Did you take Xiao Qi apart?"
"...?"
Apparently not that either.
Chu Guang sighed. "So what is it, then?"
Yin Fang looked troubled, hesitating for a long time before finally speaking up. "It's about what I said on the way... wanting to hand Dr. Principle's relics over to the Academy. I need to apologize to you. I didn't think things through."
*Is that all?*
Chu Guang breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt rather speechless.
This guy had worn such a grave, solemn expression that Chu Guang thought something catastrophic had happened. Turns out it was just this trivial nonsense.
"Oh, that... Don't worry about it. If you hadn't brought it up, I would've forgotten all about it."
Chu Guang was hardly a petty man. A minor detail that didn't hurt a thing wasn't enough to make him hold a grudge.
Seeing that Chu Guang didn't take it to heart, Yin Fang was relieved, yet he still pressed on earnestly.
"Regardless, I was indeed thoughtless... I thought it over carefully later. If I turned the relic over to the Academy, once they watched the full recording, they would definitely come here to track down that briefcase."
"Congratulations, you've realized what anyone with half a brain could figure out," Chu Guang replied, looking at him. "Furthermore, even if you handed that videotape over to the Academy, you wouldn't be redeeming yourself at all. At most, you'd just give them one more reason to kill you."
Yin Fang froze.
"Why...?"
"You mentioned that this contradicted the Academy history you learned. As one of the three founders, Dr. Principle had never been to River Valley Province, let alone Qingquan City at its southern tip. Have you considered why the Academy would conceal this clue?"
Yin Fang fell into thought.
It was clear that while this kid was somewhat naive, he was by no means stupid.
Taking a sip of warm water from his cup, Chu Guang paused for a moment before continuing.
"Reasonably speaking, there are two possibilities. The first: Dr. Principle met with an accident on his way to the Great Rift Valley or within the valley itself. But that's unlikely, because you said he made outstanding contributions to the founding of the Academy."
Yin Fang nodded earnestly.
"Yes... The foremost of the three branches was named after him, and even our laser rifles bear his name. Without him, the Academy couldn't have existed."
Chu Guang continued, "Then that leaves only the other possibility. After founding the Academy, your Dr. Principle believed that the worst-case Plan B might occur, so he concealed the existence of the holographic recording."
Yin Fang countered, "That doesn't make sense either. If the worst-case scenario he envisioned has already come to pass, shouldn't he be guiding his successors toward hope all the more?"
Chu Guang said, "Perhaps he felt he couldn't count on you."
Yin Fang blinked in surprise.
"...What do you mean?"
Chu Guang smiled faintly.
"Nothing. You said yourself that the Academy has two hundred years of history, and plenty of things must have happened along the way. Perhaps it is no longer the Academy of old."
Upon hearing those words, Yin Fang instinctively concluded it was mere baseless speculation. Yet he couldn't come up with a single solid argument to refute it.
In truth, over the past two centuries, the Academy's influence had waned tremendously. Once spanning the entire wasteland, it had now contracted into the depths of Hesitant Marsh, to the point where they even had to post bounties for bounty hunters just to hunt down a traitor.
Looking at the silent Yin Fang, Chu Guang offered a word of comfort.
"Actually, you don't need to feel too disheartened. Whether out of distrust or simply a desire not to put all his eggs in one basket, this holographic recording has ended up in our hands anyway. If you're perplexed by Dr. Principle's decision, shouldn't you be investigating what really happened two centuries ago?"
Hearing Chu Guang's final question, a spark of enlightenment suddenly flickered in Yin Fang's confused eyes, as if a switch had been flipped in his mind.
"Thank you... I think I understand now."
Chu Guang hadn't expected this fellow to be so easily swayed. A couple of casual comforting remarks had left him visibly shaken with awe.
Still, it saved Chu Guang a lot of trouble.
"Good that you understand. Then what do you—"
"Just as you said, there must be a hidden reason why Dr. Principle left that holographic recording behind instead of letting the Academy recover it. Perhaps that recording was left for us," Yin Fang said, his gaze growing resolute as he looked earnestly at Chu Guang. "I've decided. I will find out what happened two hundred years ago!"
Chu Guang was momentarily taken aback, then gave him a nod.
"Not a bad idea. However... it's unlikely I'll let you leave, at least not anytime soon."
Yin Fang shook his head. "I won't leave. Quite the contrary—I want to stay. This isn't a trade; it's a plea. I need your help."
Chu Guang asked, "...What do you need my help with?"
"I want to form a research expedition!"
Yin Fang looked at him with unwavering determination and continued, "When I served the Academy, I always worked on the front lines recovering data. I'm completely familiar with the entire workflow of research data recovery, and I can handle second-line data analysis as well! As long as you're willing to lend me some personnel, I can model it after the Academy and rebuild a research data recovery system right here in your shelter!"
"I see what you mean. Basically an independent branch of the Academy, right?"
Rising happily from his desk chair, Chu Guang walked over to Yin Fang, patted his shoulder, and gave him an encouraging look.
"I'm glad you have such an ambition. Go right ahead and do it! When mistakes are made, someone has to correct them. Shelter 404 will be your staunch backing. We have plenty of manpower. Wherever the Academy can't go, we can; whatever they can't do, we can.
"I'll grant you an ample budget. We'll start with Qingquan City, dig up every treasure here, and then move on to the next city. You'll become the Academy's fourth founder!"
Yin Fang was surprised—and moved—by Chu Guang's enthusiasm.
Though his objective wasn't to dig up treasure but to uncover the truth, the two pursuits didn't seem to conflict.
Glancing gratefully at Chu Guang, Yin Fang met his trust and support with a determined gaze.
"Thank you. Thank you for your support."
"Don't mention it!"
A brilliant smile spread across Chu Guang's face.
Yin Fang got the truth he wanted, Shelter 404's scientific research capability was finally no longer zero, and the players unlocked more quests—or rather, a richer variety of gameplay.
This move was nothing short of a win-win-win!
Could anything be more delightful than this?
Probably not.
***
Near the edge of the Fifth Ring Road in Qingquan City.
Near the Huayuan Street Subway Entrance, two gunshots echoing from underground shattered the street's tranquility. A nimble player darted out from the subway entrance, followed closely by dozens, if not hundreds, of gnawers pouring out in a swarm.
Their movements were neither swift nor agile, but they had incredible endurance, capable of pursuing their quarry for an entire day. Once they reached critical mass and individuals with anomalous speed and stamina emerged, even seasoned wasteland veterans would find them troublesome.
That, however, was only under normal circumstances.
What they were facing right now was not a band of dirt-poor wastelanders, but an organized, coordinated, well-supplied, and tireless squad of players.
The Agility-type player accelerated, dashing across a line drawn in the snow. The players lying in ambush by the roadside ignited the fuse.
Just as the gnawers surged roughly ten meters past the subway entrance, a gunpowder barrel sitting out in plain sight on the street detonated instantly.
*Boom—!*
Thick smoke engulfed half the street in an instant. Flames and shrapnel tore through the air, mowing down the vanguard of gnawers like wheat before a scythe.
"Damn it! You almost blew me up too!" A panting newbie, completely worn out, glared furiously at Mosquito.
To lure up more mobs, he had run around down there for ages and nearly failed to make it back.
"I was just worried you'd get caught," Mosquito chuckled, then raised his voice to yell toward the front, "Brothers, time to finish them off! Move, move!"
"Charge!"
"Awoo!"
"Wreck 'em!"
Having waited for ages, the players brandished their weapons and swarmed forward at the command.
Some carried spears, some had axes, and some had even copied the Administrator by crafting sledges, laying into the surviving mutants with all manner of melee weaponry.
The sturdier gnawers tended to run faster, and those in the lead had already been blasted into the sky. The remnants were mere rabble, hardly worth wasting bullets on when melee executions did the trick.
Watching from the side, Ye Shi couldn't help but marvel.
"This fight of yours must've cost a pretty penny."
Mosquito grinned cheekily. "Not that much, really. I made the bomb myself, so it basically cost nothing."
Not buying his nonsense for a second, Ye Shi rolled his eyes. "What about the gunpowder? And hiring all those extras? That still costs money, right?"
With quest rewards steadily increasing, difficulties ramping up, and the game's unique mechanics, players in Wasteland OL had developed a third distribution system alongside the original equal split and gold-bid raid formats.
Namely, the mercenary system.
The median hourly earnings for a new player sat around one silver coin and one contribution point. By paying just two silver coins, one could hire a fearless mercenary.
They didn't need high-end gear—they couldn't afford it anyway. When dealing with weaker individual mutants like gnawers or devil moths, a crowbar was actually more practical than a gun.
After all, a single bullet cost one silver coin, whereas crowbars could be scavenged all over the wasteland.
Ye Shi estimated they were paying these newbies around three to four copper coins per gnawer.
Any lower, and it wouldn't even be as lucrative as chopping wood.
"You don't need high-grade gunpowder for gnawers; ordinary black powder does the job. As for the extras, well, that costs a little bit, but not much..." Mosquito's expression twitched slightly as he quickly changed the subject. "By the way, aren't you guys running a dungeon today?"
A smug smile crept onto Ye Shi's face.
"We just cleared Floor B3. We decided to relax and split up for the day."
Old White and Kuang Feng had taken Jieyan to grind levels in Yumu District, while Fang Chang was off fooling around somewhere. Ye Shi hadn't known what to do on his own—Perception-types weren't suited for solo grinding—so he'd wandered over here to join the fun.
"Loaded bastards," Mosquito clicked his tongue in envy. "If you guys make it to the final floor, your total earnings might easily top ten thousand."
The greenhouse ruins were widely acknowledged as the fattest zone right now. Especially after solving the problem of weaving devil silk, the earnings from a single floor were easily over a thousand silver at the very least. That scoundrel Fang Chang was thoroughly shameless; from Floor B2 onward, he'd stopped disclosing their gains entirely, a truly petty move.
What was the point of keeping loot secret?
Just post it openly for everyone to see!
Without seeing the numbers, how could anyone know if there was shady business involved? What if some illicit backroom dealings were going on under the table?
"Heh, it's alright, it's alright," Ye Shi was just about to brag, but suddenly remembered Fang Chang and the others warning him that very morning to keep his mouth shut. He gave a dry cough and changed his tune. "Actually, it's not as exaggerated as you think. Factor in equipment wear, supplies, and all the miscellaneous expenses, and there's barely any profit left. Besides, that damn map gets harder the further down you go, and the loot has to be split four ways. Ah, we're broke."
This time, it was Mosquito's turn to roll his eyes.
"Can you say a single honest word for once? Exactly how much did you make?"
"Really not that much."
"Screw off!"
The skirmish nearby had already wrapped up.
With the wave cleared, the players began cleaning up the battlefield, tallying up their kills.
Brother Mole, who had been fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with the newbies, verified the tallies and distributed their rightful pay.
The street buzzed with chatter and laughter, showing no trace of the brutal clash that had taken place just moments before.
"This quest is too easy! I chopped down eleven of them myself!"
"Awesome! I got eight, haha! The ones with split skulls are all mine!"
"Five silver coins in the bag! Woohoo, I can go watch Xiaoyu count coins now!"
"Brother Mole, remember to call me next time there's good work like this!"
"Will do, will do! Thanks for the support, everyone."
Mole smiled as he handed out coins, but his heart was bleeding.
He had just counted a total of 136 gnawers on the ground. Subtracting the twenty killed outright by the gunpowder barrel and the fifteen he had dispatched himself, the newbies had eliminated 101. At five copper coins each, he had to pay out 50.5 silver coins in wages.
*Damn it!*
*That's almost enough to buy a Panzerfaust rocket launcher!*
Mole genuinely felt that he and Mosquito were like foremen working for the Administrator—the kind who received zero advance payment and had to front all the funds out of pocket. If they couldn't wrap up this quest within two days, he was terrified he'd be driven straight into bankruptcy.
*Dear developer daddies, I beg of you, please release the new patch already!*
Watching the overjoyed newbies collecting their pay, Mole wore a look of faint sorrow.
If the new patch didn't drop soon, once these little leeks leveled up, labor costs would get even steeper!
Just then, the nimble Agility-type player who had lured the mobs finished counting the bodies on the ground and trotted over to Mosquito.
"I just lured up 136 gnawers. You owe me 13 silver and 6 copper."
Mosquito wore the same melancholic look as Mole, but forced a genial smile onto his face nonetheless.
"No problem. Hey, can we round it off? I happen to be out of copper coins."
"You trying to give me 20?"
Ye Shi couldn't hold back a snort of laughter. Mosquito's brow twitched violently as he fished out several coins from his pocket and shoved them into the newbie's hands.
The newbie took the coins, counted them, and looked surprised.
"Exactly 13 silver and 6 copper... Huh? Didn't you say you were out of copper coins?"
Mosquito replied, "Suddenly had some again."
Newbie: "..."
Ye Shi chuckled and patted the newbie on the shoulder. "Not bad, kid. What's your IGN? Let's team up sometime."
To his surprise, the newbie didn't appreciate the gesture at all. He shot Ye Shi a glare. "Who are you calling kid? I'm already thirty. How old are you?"
Ye Shi froze awkwardly and pulled his hand back.
"Pfft, bwahaha!"
Seeing him get shot down, Mosquito laughed like a pig snorting, slapping Ye Shi's shoulder with a grin while winking at the newbie.
"Him? Just a little bro. Barely started college, if I recall."
Ye Shi's face flushed red as he argued, "Get lost! I'm a sophomore already!"
The newbie clicked his tongue. "Still just a little bro, then."
Mosquito chuckled. "Man, you're hilarious. What's your IGN anyway?"
"Zhang Hai."
"Uh, no, I asked for your game handle. Why are you giving your real name?"
"It is Zhang Hai. I don't change my name whether standing or sitting; I use this name in every game," Zhang Hai said with wide eyes.
Ye Shi asked, "What if someone took it first?"
Zhang Hai waved it off. "No big deal. I've got Zhang Hai 001, Zhang Hai 111, and Zhang Hai 000."
Ye Shi: "Pfft."
Easily amused, Mosquito laughed until his stomach hurt. Coughing, he asked, "Bro, with your style... why didn't you pick Strength or Constitution? Why go with Agility?"
Zhang Hai said with great animation, "You don't get it. In martial arts, speed reigns supreme. Fast means strong, and I am fast!"
Mosquito roared, "Hahahaha, holy shit!"
"Wait," Ye Shi suddenly frowned, glancing around vigilantly. "I feel like something's watching us."
"It's fine, it's fine, nothing to be embarrassed about," Mosquito laughed, patting his shoulder. "Once we wrap up here, want to grab a bite?"
Zhang Hai's eyes lit up. "Come eat at my stall! I'll pull noodles for you guys—totally authentic."
"..."
*An illusion?*
The feeling of being watched gradually receded, and Ye Shi suspiciously tore his gaze away from the distant street.
Meanwhile, atop a tall building hundreds of meters away.
A mercenary clutching a sniper rifle looked as if he had seen a ghost, his back pressed tightly against the wall.
He had merely intended to scout through his scope to see what was happening on that street. Yet before he could even count how many people were down there, one of them had suddenly looked around with sharp vigilance, then stared straight in his direction.
A coincidence?
That was far too coincidental!
Right then, his captain's voice came through the comm channel.
"Karl, what do you see?"
"A lot of people."
"How many?"
"I couldn't tell clearly... Give me a moment."
Swallowing hard, the mercenary named Karl continued nervously.
"Those people... might have an Awakened among them."
Chapter 177