"Wuuu-wuuu... Master, you finally came for me!"
The "wuuu-wuuu" was the sound of caster wheels rolling across the concrete floor.
After returning to the surface, Chu Guang first headed up to the third floor of the sanatorium.
He had planned to check in with Xiao Qi to get a status update, but before he even reached the window, he saw the wastebasket trundling pitifully toward him.
Chu Guang stared at it, utterly bewildered, having no idea what was wrong with it this time.
"What happened to you?"
"Xiao Qi only has one bar of battery left."
*Sigh.*
And here he thought it was something serious.
Wait...
Chu Guang asked, "Where on earth am I supposed to find a place to charge you?"
Xiao Qi said, "I have a wireless charging interface on my body. I just need to stay in the shelter for a little while!"
Chu Guang: "..."
No wonder he hadn't seen a single electrical outlet in the shelter, and the computer on the desk without a tower never ran out of power. Turns out it was all high-tech.
Though wireless charging wasn't really all that high-tech either.
Hoisting the wastebasket-shaped robot onto his shoulder, Chu Guang headed downstairs.
Neatly retracting its casters underneath, Xiao Qi suddenly spoke up.
"By the way, Master."
"What now?"
"I just remembered that the shelter's power system seems to run on a nuclear fusion core."
"Nuclear fusion?"
"Mm. So the power inside will last for a very, very long time."
"Oh, that's a good thing, then." Chu Guang was already pondering in his mind how to siphon some of that electricity out.
Xiao Qi continued, "That being said, however, it might not actually be a good thing."
His train of thought interrupted by those words, Chu Guang stopped on the stairs.
"What do you mean?"
"Because it's already the year 2340. Compared to the year the shelter was built, that's already a very, very long time..."
What?!
Chu Guang asked hurriedly, "What happens if the power runs out?"
Yet Xiao Qi's reply nearly made him cough up a mouthful of blood.
"I don't know."
"You don't know?!"
For a question this critical, you actually have the nerve to say you don't know?!
Wasn't there an emergency contingency plan?!
Xiao Qi spoke cautiously, "Because according to the plan... this shelter should have opened a hundred years ago. But for some reason, it was delayed by an entire century."
Chu Guang: "..."
Seeing Chu Guang remain silent, Xiao Qi quietly offered consolation: "Actually, you don't need to be too pessimistic, Master. Shelter 404's power room should be on the third floor of the shelter. As long as you unlock that level and replace the fuel rods in time, it will be totally fine."
Chu Guang nearly spat out in exasperation.
"Where the hell am I supposed to get nuclear fusion fuel rods?!"
This was already Year 211 of the Wasteland Era.
Xiao Qi: "Uh... there will always be a way, right?"
Chu Guang: "..."
In any case, he couldn't take his anger out on an electronic appliance.
That would be too undignified.
Chu Guang set Xiao Qi down beside the elevator and watched as the wastebasket robot rolled back inside with a rumble.
He felt somewhat irritable.
Still, Chu Guang knew panicking now was pointless. Problems had to be solved one by one.
In the short term, power probably wouldn't be a major issue. Even if the shelter's opening had been delayed by a century, it hadn't been in active operation during that past century. It must have been running in power-saving mode, so the remaining energy might even last several more decades for all he knew.
By comparison, the impending winter was far more urgent and worthy of his anxiety.
The time left for him to prepare was running out...
Leaving the sanatorium, Chu Guang arrived before the cement kiln and found the players working with tremendous drive, having already begun constructing a second cement kiln.
Beside it, eight earthen mounds for charring charcoal had been neatly erected as well.
They were skipping the agricultural era and leaping straight into industrialization!
Chu Guang was overjoyed.
All thanks to his masterful knack for handling people and governing his village!
Seeing the manager walking toward him, Fleeting White Horse wiped the grime off his face. His excitement was nothing like that of a grown man in his twenties or thirties, resembling a child instead as he stood up and spoke.
"Lord Manager, you're here!"
"Mm. I went downstairs just now... Was all of this your idea?" Chu Guang asked, looking at the crude earthen cement kiln behind him.
"It was everyone's credit!"
"No need to be modest. I saw everything with my own eyes. The organization will remember your contributions!"
Fleeting White Horse looked thrilled.
Wasn't that exact line what he had been waiting for?!
Especially the latter half.
"...In addition, on behalf of the organization, I award each of you a reward of 1,000 contribution points in recognition of unlocking cement building materials. Furthermore, from this moment on, you are the construction captain of Shelter 404's outpost!"
"Within the designated boundaries, you may give free rein to your creativity to design and construct our outpost base."
It would have been wonderful if a system chime could ring out with a "Ding!" at this moment.
That would have been so cool.
Or if a pop-up window showing the reward notification could appear before the players' eyes, that would have been great too.
Sadly, there was neither.
Even so, merely these verbal promises and commendations flushed Fleeting White Horse's face with excitement.
Merit!
A title!
And favorability!
It seemed the hidden systems of this game were even richer than he had imagined!
"Respected Lord Manager! I will spare no effort and do everything in my power to build our home!"
The other three players looked at him with sheer envy.
Although everyone received contribution points, Fleeting White Horse, who had earned the title of "construction captain," had clearly hit the real jackpot.
With the freedom to design and construct facilities, this wasn't just some construction captain—he was practically the Director of Urban Planning for Wasteland OL!
Utterly awesome!
Watching the spirited Fleeting White Horse, Chu Guang nodded in approval and said, "Very good. Now, I need you to tell me your plan."
"Yes, sir!"
Fleeting White Horse straightened his back ramrod-straight and began to report.
According to Fleeting White Horse, after logging off yesterday, he had conducted field research at a real-world cement plant. He asked a veteran worker there and learned that blending iron powder into cement could yield higher strength and greater durability.
Discussing out-of-game matters within the game seemed to be automatically ignored by NPCs. Seeing no reaction from the manager, Fleeting White Horse cut straight to the point.
Taking into account that rusted steel was scattered everywhere across the wasteland, he mixed collected rust with charcoal, using the charcoal as a reducing agent to smelt iron through calcination, and then calcined the resulting iron slag together with wood ash cement.
Though this appeared to increase the production cost of the cement, the cement produced this way could be used to construct more durable, heat-resistant kilns with much higher output.
"It's impossible to produce large quantities of cement relying solely on these crude earthen kilns, so I plan to invest all of our early cement output into constructing production facilities to ramp up our yield even further!"
Chu Guang nodded approvingly.
"The idea is sound, but... if you only use tree bark, how much cement can you actually produce?"
Just moments ago, Chu Guang had noticed that it wasn't only the logs felled on the ground; almost all the trees in the vicinity of the sanatorium had been stripped bare of their bark by these survivors.
They hadn't even spared the stumps!
Fleeting White Horse had evidently anticipated this issue, answering with absolute confidence: "That's precisely why we need a more professional cement kiln... the kind that can generate high temperatures of 1,450 degrees! That way, we can fire limestone and clay to produce calcium carbonate cement, completely replacing wood ash raw materials!"
Wood ash cement containing potassium and sodium was hardly the ideal building material; it was merely a makeshift substitute when conditions didn't permit better.
After being appointed construction captain, Fleeting White Horse suddenly developed greater ambitions.
His eyes were no longer set merely on a single wall or a particular building of the sanatorium.
Instead, he looked upon the entire wasteland.
He was going to reshape this world into the vision in his heart!
"You've thought this through thoroughly. Go ahead and do as you have planned."
Chu Guang nodded, then turned his gaze toward the other three players.
"Soon, two newcomers will awaken from dormancy and join our advance team. I plan to hold a small banquet to welcome them, so we need to bring back some wild game... We can hardly treat them to porridge."
Pausing briefly, Chu Guang continued, "Who is willing to go hunting with me?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than four hands shot into the air in unison.
Chu Guang was taken aback.
Good grief, even the construction captain he had just appointed had raised his hand!
"Ahem, we don't need that many people... Ye Shi, you come. You're Perception-type."
"At your command, Lord Manager!"
Ye Shi excitedly gave a salute, and under the envious glares of the other three players, strode proudly over to stand beside the manager.
Chu Guang looked at the other three players and said sternly, "Your task is equally critical. Cement is the top priority for the outpost's development. We have enough timber for now, so you can pause the logging work. I need you to put all your efforts into producing cement. Can you do that?"
Although disappointed that they couldn't accompany the manager on the hunt, the three players obediently followed his arrangement.
"We guarantee we will accomplish the mission!"
Very good.
As expected of the players I handpicked!
Chu Guang nodded with satisfaction and, leading the grinning Ye Shi, who couldn't close his mouth from sheer joy, headed toward the woods south of the sanatorium...
Chapter 19