Even without Kevin's reminder, Gangya knew that bunch was not to be trifled with.
Two battles in a single day, two consecutive defeats. He had lost nearly forty men, a quarter of his ammunition, and an armored light pickup truck had been blown up.
If they didn't leave now, he feared the rest of his men would end up dead right here!
Just as Gangya led his remaining troops to flee the northern outskirts of Qingquan City under the cover of dusk, the players who had just logged off were still buzzing about the "Medal System" introduced in the latest soft update.
In truth, medals had existed before; after every completed campaign, outstanding squads or individuals were awarded one.
However, those medals lacked physical form. On their personal profile pages, they were displayed merely as a number, without even an icon or pattern.
Having a distinct medal design and being able to claim a physical medal in-game like this was a first for *Wasteland OL*!
A victor's proof from an epic-difficulty campaign!
This carried vastly more prestige than any pay-to-win skin!
At this time, many players were surprised to discover that following the server announcement, all the medals they had previously earned had been upgraded on the spot into gear-shaped icons.
Looking closely, the total number of cogs along the inner and outer rims added up to exactly 404 teeth.
Selecting the medal revealed a line of description:
[We march from here!]
A massive overhaul to the medal system!
Yet this basic medal seemed only to have gained an icon and collectible elements, with a version number appended to it; it still lacked physical form and remained strictly digital.
The change seemed intended merely to distinguish it from special medals.
Even so, for the vast majority of combat-class players, it was a pleasant surprise.
What if?
What if the developers filled in that gap in some future update? Say, retroactively issuing physical in-game medals for previously awarded ones, or unlocking a hidden achievement once a player collected a certain number of medals?
It wasn't out of the question!
Commander Spring: "I get it! The 'Gear' medal for ordinary campaigns is just a plain base medal, so it only has a digital version, not a physical one!"
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Let me add: the unlock condition for the 'Shield' medal is achieving ultimate victory in an epic-difficulty defense mission!"
Jieyan: "Wait, does that mean assault, support, or raid missions have similar achievements? (Delighted)"
Who Levin My Athlete's Foot: "Blind guess: if there's a silver medal, there should be bronze, gold, and diamond medals too."
Ya'er I Wanna Go to the Restroom: "Throw in a Master tier as well, or it'll feel weirdly unfamiliar."
Debt-ridden Big Eyes: "Do you guys think they'll add a military rank system in the future? (Grinning)"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Doubtful. Maybe when player numbers swell, but with so few of us, there's not much point. Besides, we already have the identity system. If they opened a separate rank ladder exclusively for soldier classes, wouldn't all the players flock to register as soldiers? Still, I suggest the devs add a 'Command' skill to skill proficiencies so it can level up just like Shooting and Unarmed Combat. That'd lure out the top dogs who actually like leading teams. Otherwise, once the server gets crowded, people who can't command will fight over the squad leader spot only to lead a full squad out on a picnic. (Sighs)"
Elaina: "I suspect you're throwing shade at Brother Chicken Slayer. (Funny)"
Midnight Chicken Slayer: "(Confused Nick Young meme.jpg)"
Construction Site Youth and Brick: "Hahaha, makes sense! Guys like me who dread taking the blame hate squad leading; it's way cozier just following along. They really do need to give the squad-leading MVPs a little incentive. Just don't overdo it—ruining game balance would suck. (Smirks)"
Ye Shi: "Devs: 'Copying it down already, copying it down already.' (Funny)"
...
That evening, after the peak log-off rush.
Having returned to the shelter, Chu Guang skimmed through the forum threads discussing the medal system.
When he scrolled to his little brother Ye Shi's reply, Chu Guang chuckled softly.
Copying?
Can't you have a little more vision?
The game developer listening to player feedback—isn't that something you ought to be grateful for? If I didn't read a single post, you guys would still be spending contribution points as pocket money!
"A large portion of contribution points and regional reputation already originates from military merits; establishing an additional military rank system would indeed be redundant," Chu Guang murmured, rubbing his chin in deep thought. "...However, adding proficiency for a Command skill is indeed necessary."
Casually copying and pasting Brother Mole's post into a document, Chu Guang added a note at the end:
[Change: Add 'Command' to skill proficiencies. Calculate the 'Command' skill proficiency gained by players in an engagement based on campaign difficulty level, scale, casualties, and war score.]
Later, he would have Xiao Qi help formulate an algorithm, which would enhance the gameplay experience for squad leaders.
After all, as many forum players had pointed out, squad leading was a hassle. If things went well, everyone shared the credit; if things went south, the squad leader took the blame on the spot.
Command skill proficiency would intuitively reflect a player's organizational capability.
Top players would always have people fighting to join their squads, while sloppy leaders would often fail to fill a team and end up automatically merged by the system to elect a captain by vote.
In the future, players with high Command proficiency and numerous medals would become prized assets coveted by major guilds, or guild leaders themselves.
This could be considered an implicit perk.
Having finished reviewing the "memorials," Chu Guang navigated to the forum's fan-creation section, planning to see how the open-solicitation design submissions were coming along.
To his surprise, several master artists had already submitted their work!
"Done already?"
Chu Guang intended to admire his little players' creativity, but the moment he opened a thread at random, he nearly spat out his drink.
This genius had actually drawn Chu Guang's own face onto the silver coin!
And not even a side profile—a full frontal portrait!
Objectively speaking, the resemblance was uncanny, instantly elevating the aesthetic value of the coin by a wide margin.
Yet by the same token, because it was so accurate, Chu Guang felt anyone holding the coin could easily match it to his real face.
"Good grief, do you think I've lived too long?"
Standing out too much in the wasteland was never a good thing.
After all, this world harbored far more madmen than sane people.
A great drawing!
Don't ever do it again.
Chu Guang mused that whenever the People's Federation was revived and the wasteland era came to an end, he could claim this honor without issue.
For now, taking it easy was the wiser path.
Aside from the design featuring his head, there were other bizarre submissions. Some featured Xiao Yu, others depicted Yaya and Tengteng... These were still on the normal side; the abnormal ones made Chu Guang want to lock the threads altogether.
After browsing around, Chu Guang found that the most reliable contributor was indeed Brother Mole.
Ever since he had been muted last time, he had turned over a new leaf, swearing off adult doujinshi to draw serious, thought-provoking art instead.
Like this silver coin design, for instance.
In his design, the obverse of the silver coin featured a stylized artistic "N" that looked just like the numeral "1" in the game.
The reverse featured the claw of a split-claw crab, curving along the rim to outline an "F", its orderly ridges simultaneously resembling a branching olive twig.
The edge of the coin incorporated anti-counterfeiting reeding, with 202 thick serrations and 202 thin serrations, totaling exactly 404 notches set at extremely narrow intervals to heighten the difficulty of replication.
Since each coin weighed 10 grams, 100 silver coins equaled one kilogram. Even if someone solved the material and craft challenges to successfully counterfeit the coins, they would quickly be caught in circulation.
Sentry guards would inspect the silver coins carried by every person entering the survivor settlement, and inspectors would be deployed to oversee the market. Carrying large quantities of counterfeit silver coins into survivor settlements under Shelter 404's jurisdiction would be next to impossible.
"404, Not Found, river crab... Not bad at all." Chu Guang's eyes lit up after reading the post, and he promptly bookmarked Brother Mole's thread.
The overall design was tasteful and dignified, rich in symbolism without clutter, and possessed a tangible manufacturing barrier.
If no superior design emerged before he woke up tomorrow morning, he would go with this one!
...
The next morning.
Basking in the morning sun, players from Shelter 404 poured out of the sanatorium in steady streams.
Almost the moment the first batch reached the surface, everyone on the server received a pop-up prompt.
[Server Announcement: Congratulations to player "Mole on the Run from the Canyon" whose second-generation currency design has been officially adopted by the Shelter 404 Official Bank!]
[As this player chose to make the achievement public, it will be recorded into the Hall of Fame!]
Seeing these two notifications, the players who had just stepped onto the plaza turned green with envy.
"Holy crap! Rigged!"
"Seriously! Total inside job! I drew the Administrator's face on mine, and it still got rejected!"
"Damn it, that stinking rat snagged Xiao Yu's mystery grand prize!"
Freshly emerged from the sanatorium, the genuine rat [Qiangren Suonan] heard the surrounding players cursing and looked up in utter bewilderment.
"Huh? Who's calling me?"
All Good Names Taken by Dogs: "Not you! We're talking about that Mole!"
Qiangren Suonan: "???"
Unable to take the griping any longer, Brother Mole shouted back, "Fuck, can you guys show some conscience? My design ticked every single box—why shouldn't they use mine?"
Human Contour Tracer Cai: "I don't care! If mine wasn't picked, it's rigged!"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "@#%!"
...
Accusations of foul play aside, and jealous though everyone was of this lucky bastard, they remained deeply curious about the mystery grand prize.
Crowded by the mob, Brother Mole arrived at the bank entrance to claim the fabled reward from Xiao Yu.
"Fank you! Thank you so much for your contribution to everyone in the shelter!"
Rising from behind the counter, Xiao Yu bowed and expressed her gratitude with solemn sincerity.
The sudden bow caught Brother Mole off guard, flustering him slightly.
Only someone on the receiving end of such gratitude truly knew how warm it felt.
"No, no need, it was nothing..."
Naturally, the mystery prize was more than just words of thanks.
Next, Xiao Yu fetched a golden coin from a drawer and handed it to him.
The coin bore a distinct design: the obverse displayed the Greek letter "α" accompanied by the numeral "1"—evidently commemorating the soon-to-conclude Alpha version.
The reverse featured the blast door of the shelter, its pattern identical to the recently updated "Gear" medal.
"We march from here!"
A sudden realization dawned upon Mole.
Perhaps this was the second-generation currency the developers had originally planned to introduce.
The thought stirred an indescribable warmth within him.
His actions had changed the game.
Even if only by a fraction...
The onlookers gathered around lacked such profound reflections. Seeing no further rewards, they dispersed in disappointment.
"Sigh, and here I wondered what kind of mystery grand prize it'd be. Just a commemorative coin."
"No stat bonuses. Disperse, disperse."
Hearing their short-sighted remarks, Mole rolled his eyes at them.
"What do you lot know!"
Could an out-of-print commemorative coin with only one copy issued across the entire server be compared to ordinary souvenirs?
Once open beta arrived and player numbers exploded, provided the devs didn't pull any "re-release" nonsense, this coin would easily be worth a roomful of silver coins!
How could mere words like "commemorative coin" encompass its collector's value?
Carefully tucking the coin into his pocket, Mole planned to store it safely in the warehouse shortly and take out insurance on it while he was at it.
From now on, this was his lucky coin.
No matter how much money it was worth, he wouldn't part with it!
...
A new day began with the requisition lists and daily active quests posted by the warehouse manager.
Accepting their tasks, players hoisted their weapons or tools and set out across the wasteland under the morning sun.
However...
That was only a fraction of the players.
While some had already begun their work, another group was currently jammed deep in the sanatorium's basement.
Before the elevator leading to the surface, a sprawling queue stretched from the elevator shaft all the way past the blast door of the shelter!
Staring at the sea of people before the elevator, Yaya couldn't help sighing, "There are way too many people."
Her cat ears twitching atop her head, Ao'ao Sesame Paste, who was also waiting in line nearby, let out a soft breath. "My social anxiety is already acting up."
Not far away, Tail stared at the cat ears for a long while and reached out to grab them, only to be held back by Sisi.
Wearing an exoskeleton, Commander Spring craned his neck forward. Growing impatient from the wait, he shouted, "Can you guys up front hurry up! I need to get up there and recharge!"
The people queuing ahead originally had no intention of paying attention, but seeing it was the lucky dog, they fired back without hesitation.
Zhang Hai: "Rush, rush, rush—what the hell are you rushing for? You think I don't want to move faster?"
Elven King Fugui: "Exactly! You think the elevator's slow, I think it's slow too! We can only grind sixteen hours a day, and nearly half an hour is wasted waiting in line!"
Shouldering fishing gear, Cut the Crap was immediately dumbfounded upon hearing that.
"Holy shit, grinding the full sixteen hours? Are you a demon?!"
Who plays a fishing simulator for sixteen straight hours?!
Elven King Fugui gave him a strange look. "What else? Isn't maxing out daily quests before grinding warehouse requisitions basic procedure? If you don't grind, where do you get money for guns? If you don't grind, how do you raise your sequence level? If you don't grind, how do you get stronger? Sixteen hours feels too short to me; they should remove the fatigue limit altogether!"
Standing beside them, I'm the Darkest shook his head. "Too competitive, way too competitive!"
Was it really worth it?
It's just a game!
Though, truth be told, he had also logged sixteen hours a day for the past few days...
...
Standing on the third floor of the sanatorium, Chu Guang and Xiao Qi looked down together at the bustling plaza.
Though he couldn't hear the players complaining down below, the stretching queue already gave Chu Guang a keen sense of the strain caused by the growing server population.
Fortunately, he had reserved some room and hadn't opened the remaining three hundred cans.
Otherwise, with 1,100 people, the sheer chaos was terrifying to contemplate!
Xiao Qi tilted her camera, gazing at Chu Guang beside her. "Master, Xiao Qi feels the elevator's capacity isn't enough anymore."
Chu Guang nodded in deep agreement. "Indeed. We need to find a solution."
Although the maze on Floor B3 diverted some of the players, during peak log-on and log-off hours, four to five hundred people still crowded before the single elevator leading underground.
At its worst, the line stretched from the elevator shaft all the way to the airlock entrance.
When one thought about it, even if the elevator could hold twenty people per trip, it would take more than twenty round trips to ferry all the queuing players to the surface.
In reality, when players carried gear, the limit per trip was closer to twelve to fifteen people.
If not for saving their progress, many players would have preferred to simply live outdoors.
Chu Guang currently had two concepts: one was to demolish the sanatorium, sink a shaft right on the spot, and build a larger freight lift capable of transporting over a hundred people at once.
The other concept was to abandon the elevator entirely and dig a sloped ramp several hundred meters long, angling straight from the surface down to the shelter entrance.
However, both options had high barriers. Demolishing the sanatorium to sink a shaft twenty to thirty meters deep, or excavating a several-hundred-meter "underground ramp," were neither simple tasks.
At present, the only viable workaround seemed to be manufacturing more hibernation pods and moving them to the surface, turning the shelter strictly into a respawn point while moving save points aboveground.
So far, 67 hibernation pods had been produced. Aside from 30 allocated to the industrial zone, the rest had all been dispatched to Changjiu Farm.
Chu Guang intended to increase Changjiu Farm's allocation of hibernation pods to 100 before the next version, serving as a communal save point for players.
As for whether there was a more convenient save method...
Truth be told, Chu Guang wished there were, but unfortunately, no better solution existed.
Scanning and recording the developmental progress of a gene sequence was easy to say in a sentence, but in reality, it was an immensely intricate process involving a prominent and cutting-edge field of DNA research: epigenetics.
Mainstream science held that humans possessed 20,000 to 30,000 genes, but not all of them were expressed; the vast majority were like commented-out lines of code in a computer program.
Inducing specific genes to selectively express and produce desired traits was far more complex than merely modifying a specific sequence of DNA.
Although the genes preserved in the shelter were elite strains screened from pre-war civilization's genetic repositories, it was evident that even the first-generation manager had not mastered a way to achieve full gene expression.
Achieving that would likely require technology on par with a "singularity."
Yet while the first-generation manager hadn't accomplished that feat, before his passing, he had provided his successor with a fairly reliable "workaround":
Namely, allowing clone bodies to actively evolve under natural selection, recording their DNA's selective expression through scientific methods, and replicating that process in subsequent clone synthesis—gradually approaching the ultimate 100% through repeated cycles of growth.
The scanning mechanism of the hibernation pod was identical to that of an incubation pod, requiring a comprehensive scan of somatic cells throughout the body, which took roughly three to five hours—fitting neatly into the period when the clone was asleep.
Saving anytime, anywhere remained out of reach for now.
Fortunately, compared to clone synthesis, the scanning process was not energy-intensive, so a hibernation pod's rated power consumption was far lower than an incubation pod's.
A single 100 kW generator could easily support the operation of 100 hibernation pods, making it remarkably economical.
"The generators are nearing their limit as well, and the industrial zone is a massive power hog. We have to solve the energy problem."
Building a nuclear fusion generator was unrealistic. Fusion cores were far too costly and non-rechargeable, depleted with each use. Fuel rods lasted long enough, but they were hard to find, and electricity from inside the shelter couldn't be siphoned out.
Presently, the best option remained wood-fired generators.
The wasteland lacked everything except timber.
Earlier, Mosquito and the others had built steam engines; with a bit more effort to produce locomobile engines, Chu Guang felt it shouldn't be too difficult.
In fact, the Legion's light trucks ran on locomobile engines—powered simply by burning wood, exceedingly practical. The production-class players in the new industrial zone were already studying how to replicate them, and word was they had made initial headway.
"Hopefully, we can finish before the Bone Chewer tribe's next invasion."
Chu Guang intended to set two short-term goals for the players:
First, construct a 1 MW thermal power station each in the new industrial zone, the outpost, and Changjiu Farm, taking the initial step into the electrical age.
Second, resolve the engine problem to manufacture their own vehicles.
Even if raising a motorized unit immediately was out of reach, having a few more trucks would make a huge difference.
Across four transport routes, there were only nine trucks available. Projecting forces further out required freeing up trucks from the industrial zone in advance.
The logistical transport capacity was far too constrained.
Sitting on the third floor of the sanatorium, Chu Guang monitored his little players through the Hummingbird drone.
Among them, the Ox and Horse Squad had begun a new run in the greenhouse ruins, having reached Floor B5—already quite close to Floor B9.
Brother Mole's squad had also entered the greenhouse ruins, though their exploration headed upward rather than downward; their current progress was on the third floor, with two floors remaining.
On the edge of the industrial zone, Mosquito was testing an improved rocket, attempting to make its payload bigger and more destructive, accompanied by a plump rat beside him.
At No. 81 Steel Mill, Brother Toilet Cable and Brother Levin had abandoned their dream of an 88 mm large-caliber anti-aircraft gun altogether, pivoting instead to develop a 20 mm small-caliber anti-aircraft cannon—much like Mosquito had abandoned small-caliber Fliegerfaust rockets.
Though 20 mm was small, as long as there were enough barrels, the firepower would be formidable nonetheless!
If a quad-mount wasn't enough, then make it a twelve-barrel mount!
Light up the entire sky with a hail of fire!
Watching his little players work with such diligence filled Chu Guang with gratification. As more and more talent flooded the server, the chores requiring his personal intervention grew fewer and fewer.
Thinking back to the beginning, he had to fetch groceries from the neighbors in person.
Now, whenever he needed something fetched, players ran his errands for him.
...
Time slipped past noon.
The snow outside fell heavier and heavier, visibility dropping with each passing minute.
At first, one could see ten meters ahead; now, standing on the third floor, he couldn't even see the ground below clearly.
For safety's sake, Chu Guang issued a server announcement warning players about the blizzard conditions, and instructed Xiao Qi to recall the drone.
The little machine was too small and underpowered; Chu Guang worried that if the wind picked up any further, it would be swept straight into the lake.
With her camera pointed at the raging blizzard outside the window, Xiao Qi said worriedly, "Master, the snow outside seems to be getting heavier."
"I can see that."
Gazing at the swirling snow, Chu Guang felt an uneasy premonition.
Over six hundred survivors were currently gathered at the New Union Gas Station, and according to the schedule, the survivors from Winter Willow Camp were slated to reach Changjiu Farm around noon today.
If the impact of this blizzard exceeded expectations, the subsequent evacuation plan would undoubtedly face severe disruption.
Right then, a notification suddenly popped up on Chu Guang's VM.
The message came from Luka.
Glancing at the screen, Chu Guang's expression shifted slightly. He rose immediately and walked toward the power armor parked nearby.
Xiao Qi swiveled her camera to look at him. "Master?"
"I need to go to Changjiu Farm."
Entering from the rear of the power armor and locking himself in, Chu Guang added tersely, "I leave things here in your hands."
Chapter 210