Hostile Faction! New Intel Unlocked!

Around three in the afternoon, Chu Guang returned to Shelter 404's surface outpost with Ye Shi and the spoils of their hunt. The harvest from this scouting expedition was quite pleasing. Though the two mutant hyenas looked a bit gaunt, each still weighed forty to fifty kilograms. As one of the primary sources of meat for wasteland survivors, mutant hyenas offered the highest value for effort. The meat they provided was more than ten times that of a mutant rat, their numbers were plentiful, often roaming in packs of three to five, and most importantly, the risk of food poisoning was relatively low. On the other hand, without firearms, ordinary scavengers stood little chance of overcoming such pack-hunting mutants with cold weapons alone. "Two mutant hyenas, and... one piece of good news and one piece of bad news," Chu Guang said to the players walking toward him as he dropped the game at the sanatorium entrance. Fleeting White Horse was the first to ask. "What's the good news?" Chu Guang replied, "The good news is, heading north along the elevated highway northeast of Wetland Park, there's an unfinished construction site. We found a large quantity of industrial limestone there, likely the desulfurized kind. There are also some abandoned wheelbarrows—a little repair work should get them running." Joy spread across Fleeting White Horse's face, his fists clenching with excitement. "Awesome!" He had been fretting over where to find raw materials for calcium carbonate cement, never expecting the problem to be solved so quickly. And ready-made materials, no less! Yet Fang Chang, standing beside him, sensed things weren't that simple. "And the bad news?" Chu Guang continued, "Past the east gate of Wetland Park and further down 76th Street lies a mutant camp. Roughly estimated, there are upwards of twenty of them." The three players exchanged glances, failing to grasp the significance of his words. Sensing his companions' confusion, Ye Shi quickly chimed in to explain, "Mutants are a hostile faction! They're formidable fighters, and above all, they eat people! We have to be careful!" Chu Guang nodded. "Pretty much." Hearing this, the three players showed no fear; instead, eager anticipation showed on their faces. However, Chu Guang promptly poured cold water over their excitement. "Those mutants aren't something we can handle right now. Their level is at least 10 or higher. Rushing in blindly won't just get you killed for nothing—it will expose our location. Starting now, everyone is forbidden from approaching 76th Street and from exiting through Wetland Park's east gate until the threat is neutralized!" ... The players proved quite obedient. Although they were curious about what the mutants looked like, with the Administrator wielding GM authority, none dared disobey his orders. Being thrown into solitary confinement was a minor matter; losing the favorability they had worked so hard to build up would truly hurt. It seemed he didn't need to worry too much about the players. After a brief inspection of the morning's labor, Chu Guang focused his attention on figuring out how to dress the fresh game. Though he had eaten this stuff before, it had always been bought from the barbecue stalls on Bet Street; he had never processed a carcass himself. Chu Guang had only heard that freshly caught game needed to be bled immediately, or the meat would turn gamey and foul. As for how to bleed it properly and what to do afterward, he was rather clueless. Over the past five months, he had earned chips mainly by scavenging junk; his hunting experience was minimal. After all, hunting was far too dangerous for a lone scavenger. At any rate, after killing the prey, he had severed the main arteries, but he still felt the blood hadn't drained completely. While Chu Guang was still pondering, Gale Force 8 walked up to him. "Respected Administrator." "Is something the matter?" "Could you spare me some of the prey's blood?" "Blood? What do you want that for?" Chu Guang asked. Gale Force 8 explained, "I need it to test a few hypotheses." Chu Guang didn't think much of it. Drawing his short knife, he chopped off a front leg from the mutant hyena before him and tossed it to Gale Force 8. "Take it." "Thank you!" After thanking him, Gale Force 8 walked away mysteriously. Though curious, Chu Guang didn't press the matter. Around dusk, every single player returned to the sanatorium. Seeing the look on Fleeting White Horse's face, Chu Guang knew today's harvest had been substantial. Chu Guang was about to inquire, but before he could speak, Fleeting White Horse burst out eagerly: "Respected Administrator, under your brilliant guidance, the outpost's cement kiln is essentially complete! Once the mortar dries tomorrow, we can conduct a test firing of our first batch of cement!" "Very good." Chu Guang nodded approvingly and offered encouragement. "Thanks to your efforts, we have taken another step toward the great goal of reviving the Human Alliance! Keep up the good work. The organization will remember your contributions." Chu Guang felt he was getting better and better at painting pie in the sky. Yet the players hardly seemed to care whether his promises were empty pies; it looked as if they had discovered fresh fun in the labor of rebuilding their home. Truth be told, wasn't that the whole point of a sandbox game? Watching their settlement improve bit by bit was part of the thrill. Being able to experience this epoch-making, immersive virtual reality tech ahead of everyone else was already a stroke of immense luck. Chu Guang was naturally glad they were enjoying themselves. The shelter was dirt poor at the moment, and he truly couldn't provide any tangible rewards, leaving him with no choice but to spin big dreams and hand out worthless air tokens. ... After logging off, the Ox and Horse Club was buzzing with activity once more. Lately, quite a few night owls had fixed their sleep schedules to civilized hours. Led by brother "Quitting Smoking," people who used to never shut their eyes before dawn were now going to bed promptly at 10:00 PM and dragging themselves out of bed at 5:00 AM, all just to watch the damn admins pull off their stunts. Ye Shi: [Mutants! New faction update! The Administrator encountered a mutant settlement on 76th Street! Confirmed that mutants are a hostile faction!] Being the first to log off, Ye Shi couldn't wait to pipe up, instantly igniting the chat group's gossip fever. [Mutants?! What do they look like?] [Why isn't it updated on the official website yet?] [Badass! Now that there's a hostile faction, the closed beta must be coming soon!] [Fuck, I want to play so bad!] A barrage of messages exploded in the chat. Ye Shi typed back: [I don't know what they look like either, didn't see 'em! But don't panic, guys, the website will definitely post intel on mutants. I'm waiting for news too!] Quitting Smoking: [Where are the other three? How come you're the only one online today?] Ye Shi: [No idea! Lao Xi seems to have gone off to research cement, Gale Force 8 probably has class this morning, and Fang Chang, who knows? That guy is always mysterious.] (Enemy of Young Girls Ye Ten Times has been muted for 1 hour by the group owner.) Fleeting White Horse: [Call me Lao Xi one more fucking time, I dare you! (Rage)] Spare the Life Under the Blade: [Hahaha, good mute!] WC Really Has Mosquitoes: [So pumped... Two more days and I get to join the test!] Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: [+1 (Funny.jpg)] Quitting Smoking: [Fuck! Mute these two flexers too! Despicable! I was the one who pre-registered first! T.T] Proud Grandpa What Can You Do: [Sigh, hopeless. Completely hopeless.] Even now, this "Proud Grandpa What Can You Do" fellow still refused to buy into the nonsense of a "fully immersive virtual reality online game," let alone anything about "one hundred percent realism." He and his followers remained steadfastly convinced that this was all an elaborate hoax cooked up by the damn admins to spread rumors. Ample Time Ahead didn't show up in the group today; instead, he was updating his playtest log on the official website forums—or rather, a written play-by-play of the game. [Today marks the third day of the closed test. The charcoal kilns have provided us with ample charcoal, and following the successful firing of wood ash cement, under Lao Xi's leadership, we constructed a larger cement kiln. If tomorrow's test firing succeeds, we will have more reliable building materials to construct our home.] [I have to give huge props to the dev team. The experience this game delivers is something no title on the market has ever matched. Especially the moment the cement kiln was completed—the sheer sense of accomplishment that followed was utterly intoxicating and impossible to tear away from!] [The testing content today wasn't extensive, focusing primarily on the game's sandbox mechanics. However, it's worth noting that the Administrator revealed to us today that a mutant tribe resides at the end of 76th Street, confirmed as a hostile faction. All players must steer clear. The Administrator didn't share further intel on mutants, and as of now, the official site hasn't posted any photos either—perhaps the story hasn't reached that point yet. If there's new intel, I'll update this thread right away. To all my fellow Wasteland friends looking forward to the open beta, please stay tuned!] "Wasteland friends" was the moniker the pre-registered players had adopted for themselves. Although there were only about forty of them so far, they were all active—even fanatical—users, and within moments they had stacked dozens of replies under the thread. Chu Guang silently lurked in the background, not joining in the players' discussion. Still, adhering to his usual routine, he jotted down good suggestions in his notes and flagged exceptionally creative players in the backend. When the next player recruitment rolled around, these loyal users would get top priority. As for those who loved to pick arguments and stir up trouble, they could wait. Better to leave them online as hype men than let them in to wreck things. Put simply: if you're coming to cause trouble, why on earth would I let you in? Just because you have a big face and an underdeveloped brain? In its current closed beta stage, Wasteland OL was essentially more like a private server—and an invite-only server run by a power-tripping admin at that—giving no one any leeway to stir up trouble. Moreover, by gradually raising the barrier to pre-registration, players who secured access would treasure their opportunity all the more. As for the open beta phase, that would be even simpler. The open beta naturally had its own way of playing. When the time came, he would cordon off a piece of land as a starter village; without a certain level or honorary title, players wouldn't even get to see his face. Chu Guang realized he was unwittingly becoming more and more scheming. When had that started? Whatever. Pondering such things was pointless anyway. Shutting down the computer, Chu Guang brought up the system interface and checked the rewards for today's daily missions: [Mission: Chop down ten trees. Reward: 1 reward point.] [Mission: Kill one mutant. Reward: 3 reward points.] "I completed pretty few missions today." Added together, it was only four points. After an internal struggle, Chu Guang ultimately couldn't resist. He opened the Administrator Allowance and dumped all four reward points into basic blind boxes. The alloy door slid open. The conveyor belt rolled forward. Looking at the four lollipops lying at the end of the belt, Chu Guang almost couldn't hold back a heartfelt string of curses. Yet right then, above one of the lollipops in light golden packaging, a translucent holographic prompt suddenly drifted into view. Like a floating tag— [Enhanced Chocolate-Flavored Lollipop: Strength +10%, Duration: 10 hours.] Chu Guang: "?" What?