Either way, this meat was definitely inedible now.
Chu Guang sighed and reluctantly tossed the meat aside.
"If only I had a refrigerator."
The Blue Parasol mushrooms in the mutant leech nest...
For the generator, he had to get his hands on them no matter what.
However, it was only the second week of September right now. Liszt's caravan wouldn't arrive in this area until the end of the month, so thinking about these things now was pointless anyway.
It wasn't like he could wait until the end of the month to start stockpiling food.
What was more, a luxury like a refrigerator was something the shelter's current economic condition couldn't afford no matter how you looked at it...
Over the past three days, Chu Guang basically went out hunting early in the morning and returned at noon or in the afternoon, stewed a pot of meat for the players, and then squatted in a corner of the sanatorium by himself to keep studying food-smoking techniques.
This fixed daily routine was as regular as an NPC's.
Although his progress in researching smoked meat was still not going very smoothly, the good news was that the players had performed exceptionally well over the past few days.
Chu Guang did the math.
Over these three days, he had accumulated a total of seven reward points.
Although saving up a bit more would soon bring him to ten points, after careful consideration, Chu Guang ultimately put all his chips on the basic blind boxes.
Fortunately, it wasn't just lollipops this time; he also managed to draw a bottle of soy sauce.
He didn't know what brand it was, but at least it could improve the players' meals a bit.
Chu Guang stored the soy sauce away as if it were a treasure.
However...
That said, his cooking skills were truly nothing to write home about—just enough to get the food cooked through.
The first time the players ate it, it felt quite novel: authentic, all-natural, pollution-free, with a distinct flavor compared to takeout fast food. But having to eat this every single meal was more than anyone could bear.
"Eating stew every single day, I'm about to throw up..." Holding his bowl and sitting on the ground, Ye Shi had a miserable look on his face.
When he first discovered that you could eat food in this game, he was pretty thrilled. But now, he had gradually begun to realize what an agonizing chore eating could be.
Every meal was stewed meat, or else mush made of boiled green wheat.
Even if his mouth could take it, his ass was on the verge of giving out...
Fang Chang took a bite of greasy foreleg meat, furrowed his brows in thought, and said,
"The taste system probably isn't fully developed yet. Otherwise, even if there's little salt... it shouldn't taste like this."
Neither salty nor bland, just pure grease!
And it even had a bit of a bitter tang.
It wasn't even as good as green wheat porridge...
"The gamey taste is too strong. It probably needs to be blanched with cooking wine, scallions, ginger, and garlic to get rid of the odor; that would make it a lot better," Fleeting White Horse comforted them. "Just make do with it. This is the wasteland, after all—where would we get that stuff? There'll definitely be delicious food in the future!"
Fang Chang rolled his eyes at him and said nothing.
Ever since being appointed "construction captain," this guy had increasingly adopted the game developers' perspective, even proactively helping them draw pies in the sky.
Then again, it was true...
Since realism was the selling point, positioning condiments as luxury goods made total sense. They might even have to pay real money to enjoy them in the future.
Ye Shi sighed and muttered under his breath, "I hope the next update adds seasonings... I'd pay RMB for that."
Gale Force 8 chewed his meat slowly, not participating in the trio's conversation.
He didn't really mind the taste; he was thinking about how to improve the fish traps.
Seeing the conversation stall, Ye Shi looked toward Fleeting White Horse and asked offhandedly, "How's the cement burning going?"
Fleeting White Horse sipped his soup and replied, "The quality still needs improvement, but I feel we're getting closer and closer to success."
"For real?"
"Dead serious, no joke! And not just cement—Fang Chang and I have also been researching brick firing recently. It's just really annoying not having molds; the shapes that come out don't look very nice... but they should still be usable."
Ye Shi hesitated before asking, "Can't you make molds out of wood?"
"Heh, you think it's that simple?"
Fang Chang shook his head and continued, "This isn't like chopping down trees. Making something squarely shaped is entirely a matter of craftsmanship."
Fang Chang hadn't expected it either.
A high-level player like him, a hardcore survival master who could throw up a whole building in The Forest in just half an hour, was actually stumped by such an elementary problem in this game.
Of course, that also had to do with Wasteland OL's excessively hardcore setting...
Ye Shi and Gale Force 8 exchanged glances, then looked at Fleeting White Horse and Fang Chang with helpless eyes that said they couldn't be of any help.
Those two were theoreticians as well; their practical hands-on skills couldn't be called zero, but they weren't much better either.
Over these past few days, although they had caught quite a few mutant leech larvae and copied wilderness survival masters from short videos to make numerous traps, they hadn't caught a single fish.
Come to think of it, it made sense.
The lakeside was full of fish-eating birds; any stupid fish had long been snatched up and eaten. The remaining fish were all cunning as ghosts, refusing to be fooled at all, slipping away the moment they finished the bait.
Gale Force 8 could only comfort himself by thinking that he was fattening up the lake's fish first; maybe once the fish let their guard down, he'd be able to catch them next time...
Right at that moment, noise came from the direction of the sanatorium.
The dear Manager was walking over, leading two bewildered-looking fellows.
No need to ask.
That stunned look, as if their minds had been blown for an entire year, definitely belonged to new players putting on the helmets and entering the game world for the first time.
Ye Shi silently sighed in his heart again.
Why the hell are there two more guys...
"Allow me to introduce our new members... Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes, and WC Really Has Mosquitoes."
What kind of crap names are these?
Chu Guang suppressed the urge to complain; after all, his identity in the game was an NPC.
*Clap clap clap...*
A sparse scattering of applause broke out.
The closed-beta players sitting around the cauldron set down their bowls and clapped to welcome them, though their attitude was visibly far from enthusiastic.
The two newcomers didn't mind, however.
At this moment, they had not yet recovered from the shock before their eyes.
Under Chu Guang's instructions, they sat down before the campfire with the cauldron, staring blankly at the white steam drifting from the pot.
The humid heat and meaty aroma washing over their faces...
This was too f*cking realistic!
Seeing the two newcomers sitting motionless for so long, Fleeting White Horse took the initiative to break the ice.
"What build are you guys?"
The one named [WC Really Has Mosquitoes] was the first to snap back to reality.
"I'm Agility type."
Then [Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes] also recovered his senses.
"I'm Constitution... You guys are eating already?"
"The Manager originally planned to hold a welcome ceremony, but it looks like that fell through... so he told us to eat first," Ye Shi said with a helpless shrug. "You two just woke up, right? Want some?"
Mosquito swallowed hard.
Taking the bowl filled with big bones and broth, he took a sip, and his pupils dilated in immense shock.
"Taste perception... Holy shit, you can actually eat food in this game!"
F*ck!
This is way too badass!
"Not only can you eat, but if you don't eat, you get hypoglycemia," Fang Chang sighed. "Personally, I feel like they really didn't need to make it this realistic, or at least they could make it taste a little better."
Scrambled Eggs stared at his bowl without taking a bite. After hesitating for a long while, he asked, "What... kind of stew is this?"
Fleeting White Horse answered, "Meat."
"Meat? What kind of meat?"
"Mutant hyena... Well, to be honest, we don't know whether that thing counts as a wolf or a dog. Either way, it's a mutant."
Hearing this, Mosquito reflexively pulled the bowl away, nearly spilling the broth.
Scrambled Eggs was different, though.
Not only did he not shy away, he actually leaned in with great interest and took a taste. However, upon tasting it, his brow furrowed even tighter.
"Why does this taste so gamey... Did you guys not drain the blood?"
The players exchanged glances.
"No idea."
"The game was all brought back by the NPC."
Fleeting White Horse suggested, "If you know how to cook, you can talk it over with the Manager. As long as you have a useful skill, you'll be put to good use."
Scrambled Eggs looked eager to give it a shot. "Really? Then I'll try it later."
"Does carpentry count? I know carpentry!" Mosquito hurriedly asked.
"Carpentry?" Fleeting White Horse's eyes lit up, staring at him. "You know carpentry?!"
Mosquito was taken aback, then gave an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah... My family sells furniture, the handcrafted, solid wood kind. If you guys are interested, you can add my QQ, I'll give you a discount—"
"Fantastic!" Fleeting White Horse stood up excitedly. "I happen to need someone to make molds right now. Come give me a hand!"
"?"
Not only Fleeting White Horse stood up, but Fang Chang also stood up with him.
Before [WC Really Has Mosquitoes] could process what was happening, the two of them each grabbed an arm.
"Wait, I haven't finished my soup yet—"
Watching the two drag him toward the construction site, Mosquito was utterly dumbfounded. He was just about to protest, but before he could finish, Fleeting White Horse cut him off.
"Eat what? Screw that, wouldn't it be way better to have our chef cook a fresh pot this afternoon?!"
Fang Chang chimed in as well. "Exactly! Bro, take my advice, that stuff really tastes awful! Come on, we'll help you get familiar with the game mechanics first."
Mosquito: "...%*&#!"
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes watched with a bewildered expression as his fellow newcomer was dragged into the small woods, swallowing hard.
"Is this game... legit?"
Ye Shi and Gale Force 8 exchanged glances.
"Pretty much."
"Probably?"
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: "..."
*Why is that a question?!*
Chapter 23