While Chu Guang was busy taking stock of his spoils, the official forum of Wasteland OL was abuzz with excitement.
After a whole winter of silence, chaos from the north had continually encroached upon the southern borders of River Valley Province.
Yet today, a hearty, epic victory instantly swept all the dark clouds away!
[Server-Wide Announcement: Operation "Spring Thunder" Concluded in Victory]
[The battle report has been published and dispatched simultaneously to players' personal mailboxes as well as their in-game VMs.]
[Due to large quantities of supplies captured in battle, food rations have returned to normal. The Wartime Regulations have ended ahead of schedule, and previously restricted resource purchases are available once more. In addition to contribution points and regional reputation, all players who participated in the battle receive a +5 favorability bonus with NPCs including Guo Niu, Guo Ma, Luka, and Wrench.]
[Changjiu Farm New Facility: Two 100mm howitzers.]
[Guang: Thank you all for your active participation. This campaign provided us with invaluable data. Development of Alpha 1.0 has entered its final stages and will be released alongside the new expansion. Stay tuned!]
Tail: "Whoa!!"
Jieyan: "Mosquito is awesome! And of course, the planner is awesome too!"
Fang Chang: "Too strong! Wait, no, I should say too criminally good!"
Ye Shi: "Mosquito sheds tears and says: Eight versions! From Bloodhand to Bone Chewers, I'm finally the MVP once! (funny)"
WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Goblin Technology proudly presents our new arrivals! The 88mm mortar! Plus the 'Hell's Breath' wood-powered motorcycle! Consumes only 15 kilos of wood per 100 kilometers—runs like a dream!"
Elaina: "Mods, please ban this guy for advertising. (funny)"
Ya'er I Wanna Go to the Restroom: "Dammit, am I not awesome? I blew up seven vehicles! I even scared one to death!"
Edge Water Paddler: "Our team blew up a tank. (smirking)"
Escaped Mole in the Canyon: "Our team took down the thousand-man commander!"
Midnight Chicken Slayer: "I got twenty kills."
Commander Spring: "What good is that? Kill points aren't even that high! Do the two of you combined even score as high as our team?"
Teng Teng: "Everyone did great! Don't fight, guys. QAQ"
Ye Shi: "You don't get it—this is just how they brag. (funny)"
Yaya: "Once I save up enough for a suit of power armor, I'll charge the front line with you guys!"
I'm the Darkest: "You play it even safer than Spring. (shocked)"
Commander Spring: "Who the hell are you calling a camper?! (angry)"
It wasn't just the active players who were ecstatic; the tens of thousands of spectator fans waiting in queue were thrilled as well.
A two-minute video, plus twenty pieces of concept art and in-game cutscenes.
And it was filmed entirely in actual gameplay demonstration!
Wasn't this infinitely tastier than the empty promises EA baked?!
Riding a Donkey to the Fair: "Sigh. If the actual gameplay looks even half as good as the promotional PV, I can die with no regrets."
Elaina: "As a closed beta tester, I can responsibly assure you that the promotional PV only shows half of what the actual graphics look like. (funny)"
Only Morgana Won't Do: "I beg you guys, stop testing already! It's already complete! I want to play the unfinished build! On my knees begging for a chance to be a tool!"
Silver Hand: "Is the dev team short on cash? Have you considered crowdfunding?"
Silver Sword: "Need venture capital?"
Lightning King Professor Yang: "With tech this badass, I suggest taking the company public immediately."
How Many Floors Can a Bag of Rice Carry: "Speaking of which, won't graphics this intense cause health problems?"
Siberian Potato: "Exactly! What if someone has a heart condition?"
Kuang Feng: "I heard the helmet seems to use dream-rendering technology, completely detached from traditional visual display tech. Simply put, what you see in the game is roughly like what you dream when you sleep. Any sensations beyond your tolerance threshold won't trigger overly sharp sensory shock. That includes pain and various physiological responses... Although I spent ages searching without finding any literature on it, they actually pulled it off."
Ye Shi: "Vault-Tec is terrifying indeed. (funny)"
Lightning King Professor Yang: "Stupid question: can you do bad things in the game?"
Lao Bai: "Right now, only the lawful faction is open to players, so it's a standard MMORPG. But the gameplay and freedom blow those mass-produced, copy-paste fast-food games completely out of the water. You can truly feel that the NPCs are alive. They have their own distinct moral compasses, likes, and dislikes. You can do anything you want, as long as it doesn't ruin the experience for other players."
Ye Ao Nai Wo He: "Hilarious. What's the point of that? I like imperial city PKs and hacking servers. Trash game, not even a dog would preregister!"
Kuang Feng: "Here's a hot fact: there isn't a game in this world that all seven billion people love, not even Dou Dizhu. (side-eye)"
Ye Shi: "*Pats Brother Ye Ao's dog head.* Come back soon, bro. Without you, the group loses half its laughs. (funny)"
Brother Ye Ao hadn't delivered any good material this time, and the others mocked his weak fighting spirit before his comment was quickly buried under the flood of replies.
Still, it was only natural.
Even the board mascot couldn't stay in peak form every single day.
***
After cataloging the loot, Chu Guang skimmed through the forum and found that ninety percent of the chatter in the general section revolved around that two-minute PV.
From the rocket salvos to the charge at the sound of the whistle, the camera cut between drone angles and the players' first-person perspectives, with earth-shaking lighting effects that felt like a genuine battlefield.
Xiao Qi had even directed the drone to capture close-up shots of the most spectacular moments.
For instance, an Awakened Strength-type player wading out through billowing smoke like Rambo, mowing down foes with a machine gun held in both hands.
Or the charging tracked vehicles, their autocannons chewing through the marauders' armored pickups in controlled bursts.
Incidentally, Xiao Qi had edited the video to mimic the style Chu Guang used for the previous promotional PV.
As for the background music, the bot had ripped it from the radio.
Although Voice of Boulder City spent twenty out of twenty-four hours every day spouting nonsense, it occasionally slipped useful information and great music between the rambling.
The BGM had already been added to the official OST, available for online streaming and download. It had drawn rave reviews from countless netizens, many of whom asked who the composer was.
However...
What did that have to do with the game planner?
Ah Guang was merely a humble planner making a game. If they had questions, they ought to go bug the music director.
***
The following morning.
Before the sky had completely brightened, a long line of more than two hundred prisoners of war formed at the gates of Changjiu Farm.
Dressed in filthy, worn-out animal furs with shackles clinking around their ankles, their faces were etched with dismay or terror.
Or simply numbness and despair.
Two tracked trucks with fixed machine guns welded to their roofs rolled alongside the column.
In addition, twenty guards armed with Arbiter rifles on their backs and PU-9 submachine guns strapped to their waists stood vigil around the formation.
At the head of the column, a mature-looking guard with a full beard scanned the captives before speaking in a resonant voice.
"The crimes you committed across River Valley Province are enough to hang every one of you ten times over."
"However, our benevolent Administrator believes that massacring prisoners of war is unjust, and that your blood would only defile this land. Therefore, he has spared your miserable lives."
"You will be taken to a labor camp, where you will undergo reform through hard labor: clearing the wasteland north of Ling Lake, digging irrigation canals, and performing any other useful service for this society... until you repay the debts of your crimes with your sweat."
"A fifty-year sentence is long, but good behavior can earn you a reduction."
"Now, move out."
Fifty years.
The vast majority of them would never live that long.
In the wasteland, reaching forty was already considered a long life.
Only residents living in vaults or affluent survivor settlements could hope to live a bit longer.
Even so, the phrase "good behavior can earn you a reduction" offered a sliver of solace—or perhaps a reason to keep living—to many who had already fallen into despair.
Even if no one told them what the criteria were for a sentence reduction, or how much time could be shaved off.
The column set off down the road.
They needed to chop enough lumber before dusk to construct the POW camp.
Otherwise, they would be sleeping in the snow tonight.
Vides and Kevin stood by the roadside, gazing blankly at the departing column.
Having been placed in the group earlier, neither of them had held any hope for their future.
Yet unexpectedly, moments after being integrated, they had been driven back out at gunpoint by a guard.
Kevin asked nervously in a low voice, "What do they want to do with us?"
"No idea..." Just as Vides spoke, he spotted a familiar face walking toward them.
The moment Vides saw the man, he froze in surprise before his expression turned to shock.
"Vannus?"
A touch of emotion showed on Vannus's face.
"I didn't expect to run into you here."
The two had graduated from the same military academy and known each other since their student days.
Upon graduation, Vannus had been posted directly to the front line as a decurion to serve as a junior officer thanks to his outstanding grades and stellar performance. Vides, on the other hand, had joined a youth cohort and begun his military career as a fresh recruit.
With the Legion's eastward push, both men had joined the expeditionary force under General Klaas to fight the people of the Great Rift Valley. Later, Vides's unit had suffered a catastrophic defeat and vanished without a trace; Vannus had assumed the man was dead, never imagining he was still breathing.
What caught him even more off guard was that their reunion would take place under such dramatic circumstances.
After hearing about Vannus's experiences over the past few months, Vides offered a bitter smile.
"No wonder... So you were on this side. It seems that idiot Black Snake didn't lose unfairly after all."
Not only had these people successfully predicted their plans on a strategic level, but they had also neatly avoided their vanguard on a tactical level, setting an ambush against their rear in an unexpected location and producing an unbelievable victory.
Even in defeat, Vides couldn't help but admire the sheer brilliance of it.
Still, seeing Vannus brought a sense of relief.
They had graduated from the same classroom, taught by the exact same instructors.
Every tactic Vides knew, Vannus knew as well; anything Vides could think of, Vannus would have anticipated. It was truly an impossible battle to fight.
Vannus said, "I wasn't the one who commanded this battle, nor was I the one who defeated you. At most, I offered a few suggestions during deployment. But you're right about one thing: you truly didn't lose unfairly. Throwing six centuries out front to scout, having the supply convoy trail right behind the armored unit, and stretching your battle line so ridiculously thin... What on earth were you guys thinking?"
Seeing Vannus stare at him with a bewildered expression, Vides replied with indignant grief.
"Do you think I wanted it that way?"
"At the risk of being thrown into a boiling vat of oil, I warned that idiot more than once that a winter march was a terrible idea. But nobody listened to me!"
Standing beside him, Kevin nodded as well, his face twisted in frustration.
"The absurdity didn't stop there. We only learned about the plan to advance on Qingquan City in the early morning of the first, and before we could even ask what the plan entailed, the vanguard had already set off. We didn't hold a single war council throughout the entire ordeal. It was as if Black Snake just slapped his forehead and decided to go all-in with every chip he had. They didn't even decide which route to take until after the supplies were packed!"
The main force had set off at noon on the first, the battle had ended by dusk on the second, construction of the labor camp had begun on the third, and they would probably have a shed up by this evening.
Kevin had never fought such a suffocating battle in his life.
He would rather have died on the northern front.
At least losing to a worthy opponent would have granted him a dignified death.
After listening to their account, Vannus couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.
He put himself in their shoes and realized the battle was indeed unwinnable.
Stuck with such an idiotic commander, even if he had been the staff officer himself, the final outcome wouldn't have been any different.
"I have the general picture now... But how did the two of you end up joining a marauder tribe?"
Vides and Kevin exchanged a look and shook their heads.
"We don't know either. We ran into those marauders while retreating south. Our commanding officer decided to join them, so we just followed along."
Kevin added, "I heard... they seem to be planning to establish a marauder nation in River Valley Province. Aside from that, we don't know much."
A marauder nation?
What kind of nonsense was that?
A giant tribe?
Vannus couldn't fathom what kind of bizarre picture that would be, let alone imagine how they planned to realize an idea that sounded utterly preposterous.
"Speaking of which, what about you?" Vides looked at Vannus and asked, "Are you their staff officer now? Or...?"
Vannus paused before replying, "Me? I'm their prisoner too. But they allow me to train their recruits instead of paying a ransom."
Vides looked at him eagerly. "A ransom? How much?"
Vannus wore an ambiguous expression. "One million dinars. And that was last year's rate—who knows what it is now. I suggest you give up on that idea."
Both men sucked in a sharp breath.
One million!
Even if they liquidated every possession they owned, they could never scrape together that kind of money!
"...Is that recruit training job still hiring?"
"Brother, help us out!"
Meeting the two pleading gazes, Vannus said awkwardly, "I'll ask around for you... but I can't make any promises. All I can do is try my best."
Vides said excitedly, "Thank you!"
Vannus warned them in an advisory tone, "The blue coats didn't send you to the labor camp, which means they probably want to interrogate you. Cooperate properly, tell them everything you know, don't hide anything, and don't make things up. They won't make things too hard on you."
The two replied immediately.
"Don't worry!"
"We'll tell them everything without holding back!"
Vannus nodded, reassured. "That's good."
Cooperating fully, showing a good attitude, and repenting sincerely meant that even if they still had to undergo labor reform, they would end up somewhere better.
After all, while both involved hard labor, playing with mud in a brick kiln offered vastly different odds of survival compared to digging for potatoes in a snowy wasteland.
Perform well in the former, and there was even a chance to eat meat.
The latter was truly backbreaking, deadly work...
***
The following morning.
A dense crowd of players had gathered outside the weapons shop.
Looking at the bare shelves, the crowd erupted into groans, laments, and wails of despair.
"Holy crap, I was just one step too late!"
"Damn it! Sold out already!"
In yesterday's battle, not only had thirty-two players reached Level 10, but fifty-seven players had finally accumulated over ten thousand contribution points, gloriously promoting to Intermediate Citizens.
Furthermore, players earned an average of over four hundred silver coins, with the top earners netting as much as six hundred!
For people whose daily income had been a mere ten silver coins a few months ago, this was an absolute fortune!
The requirements to purchase the Miner I exoskeleton were Level 10 and Intermediate Citizen status. The price hadn't changed, honorably remaining at two thousand silver coins.
Yet there were only eight sets of the gear on the shelves in total.
Almost the moment the campaign rewards were settled, all eight exoskeletons were snatched up in an instant.
At this moment, everyone finally realized that getting too many quest rewards wasn't entirely a good thing.
As one could foresee, tonight's ramen was definitely going to see a price hike...
Watching the frustrated crowd, Battlefield Atmosphere Group chuckled. He had already slipped into the orange-painted exoskeleton, clenching his fists and stretching his limbs.
"Is this the power of technology? Truly marvelous."
When he heard everyone discussing it yesterday, he had anticipated this very scenario.
So he had logged on before dawn in the game, standing in line before the weapons shop even opened its doors.
The moment the campaign rewards cleared, factoring in his nearly six-hundred-silver reward, his savings crossed the two-thousand-silver mark. He decisively pulled the trigger and bought that Miner I exoskeleton.
As it turned out, it was a brilliantly wise decision.
Looking at the newer players kicking themselves for not arriving sooner, he finally tasted the glorious feeling Commander Spring often enjoyed.
This sensation was simply wonderful!
Edge Water Paddler glanced at him. "Tch, I wouldn't even touch that junk."
Battlefield Atmosphere Group grinned. "Bro, if you're jealous, just say it straight. No need to beat around the bush. Want to try it? I can let you wear it for a bit."
Edge Water Paddler scoffed, "Jealous of what? You put that thing on, and your respawn cost shoots straight to two thousand. If your gear drops once, you're thrown right back to the Stone Age."
Even with an exoskeleton equipped with steel plates, it only let you tank a few extra bursts of gunfire.
Why bother?
Wasn't it better to just avoid getting shot?
Wearing this gear made you a magnet for focused fire, and no matter how thick the attached armor plates were, it couldn't shrug off an anti-tank rocket with over a hundred millimeters of penetration like power armor could.
Cheap, reliable equipment was the only good equipment. He couldn't care less about such flashy gimmicks.
Naturally, part of the reason was that he hadn't managed to buy one.
"Holy crap..."
After hearing Brother Edge's words, Battlefield Atmosphere Group paused.
Looking down at the suit, he suddenly felt it wasn't quite as sweet anymore.
How was he supposed to charge recklessly while wearing this?
Dying once would tear his heart out from the financial pain!
Although plenty of buyers experienced buyer's remorse, to the players who hadn't managed to snag one, those quick-handed brothers were still objects of immense envy.
Unfortunately, the gear was account-bound and couldn't be bought from other players.
Then again, even if it were tradeable, nobody would sell.
Those who could afford it had roughly similar amounts of silver coins, and barring a few deep-pocketed tycoons, nobody could offer an outrageous price.
As for real-money trading outside the game...
Setting aside the fact that the developers explicitly warned they wouldn't guarantee transaction security and that players traded at their own risk, even with third-party escrow, there was no way to price the item.
How should one price equipment during a closed beta?
One hundred thousand? A million?
What if an open beta launch turned legendary gear into worthless starter whites overnight? That would cause an instant meltdown.
Why was it called a closed beta? Wasn't it precisely because the game rules weren't finalized yet?
No microtransactions and no server wipes—compared to those games that took players' money and treated them like fools, this game was already exceptionally generous!
Still, that didn't stop the players who missed out from cursing up a storm.
"Motherfucker, can the devs fix the bug where NPC shops don't restock? When is this bug getting patched?!"
"When will the caravan show up again? The blizzard has already stopped!"
"I secretly asked the dev, and he told me to screw off and go farm the gear myself if I wanted it."
"I can vouch for that—Brother Guang definitely didn't say that. With his high EQ, he'd never tell you to screw off; at most he'd play dumb and pass the buck to art or engineering."
"I finally understand the pain of having money with nowhere to spend it."
"Wait, looks like there's another exoskeleton over there!"
"Type 5 'Light Cavalry' Exoskeleton... Holy shit, that looks sick!"
"Price tag... twenty thousand?! Never mind, let's bounce."
"Damn! It requires Senior Citizen status! Fifty thousand contribution points?! I just barely hit Intermediate!"
"At this rate, power armor will probably require one hundred thousand contribution points and the 'Knight' rank. Makes total sense, manual funny."
Wasteland OL gear had no level requirements; as long as your stats could handle it, you could equip it—and even if you couldn't, you could still force it on.
However, certain rare pieces that restocked randomly required specific contribution thresholds to purchase.
According to the game's lore, these were crucial vault assets that couldn't be obtained reliably and were extremely scarce, so they were prioritized for residents who made outstanding contributions to the collective.
Behind the counter.
Xia Yan crossed her arms, watching the downcast players with a deadpan expression, patiently repeating her line over and over again.
"Sold out, sold out. Stop asking."
"Wait for the next caravan."
The only thing that brought players any comfort was that Boss Xia's Mandarin was sounding more and more standard.
Right then, Heya, with her long silver hair, approached from the direction of the sanatorium carrying a wooden crate.
Setting the crate onto the weapons shop counter, Heya murmured something to Boss Xia.
Boss Xia nodded with partial comprehension, pulled a pen from the desk, grabbed a wooden board, scribbled a line across it, and hung it onto the display rack.
["Torch" Mind Interferometer]
Next, Boss Xia picked out an item resembling a pair of headphones from the wooden crate and casually placed it on the shelf.
At the same time, the encyclopedia page on the players' VMs updated with the description for the item.
[Effect: Through simple surgery, makes low-intelligence mutants obey commands. Applicable targets include Deathclaws, mutated brown bears, etc. Cannot be used on non-sentient life forms (such as slime mold-type mutants).]
[Requirements: Citizen contribution rank, Intelligence attribute greater than 10.]
[Price: 2,000 silver coins (surgery fee not included).]
Upon finishing the description...
The atmosphere around the weapons shop instantly erupted.
Chapter 235