Three whole days had passed since the developer had dangled the pie-in-the-sky "pet system" on the forum.
As of now, aside from hundreds of pet-raising guides popping up on the forums, not a single player had successfully tamed any wasteland mutant.
Still, it could not be said that their efforts were entirely fruitless.
At the very least, over the past few days, Chu Guang had seen many never-before-seen new species at the north gate marketplace...
In the square before the sanatorium.
Watching Commander Spring return from the wilderness, Spare the Blade, who was busy leading his construction team, called out with a teasing grin.
"Brother Spring, did you catch a deathclaw?"
Lately, large-scale construction had been booming across the outpost. The entire area north of the revival point had been transformed into a massive building site. On one hand, many players had reached intermediate citizen status, expanding their purchasable land allowance to fifty square meters; on the other hand, more and more NPCs were settling down nearby.
As the chief architect of Wasteland OL, Spare the Blade's building skill proficiency had already hit Level 6!
Rumor had it that reaching the max level of 10 would unlock an achievement, and becoming the first player to max out a skill's proficiency would earn entry into the Hall of Fame. But starting from Level 5, leveling up had grown increasingly difficult.
Before Commander Spring could answer, Battlefield Atmosphere Group cursed from beside him.
"Catch my ass! We wandered around all day, killed six dogs, smashed a bunch of roaches and blood-sucking flies, and didn't see a single trace of a deathclaw!"
Commander Spring sighed as well.
"It's too hard. We couldn't find one at all."
"I followed the official guide to the letter and swept through several landmarks on the map where deathclaws were supposed to spawn. In the end, I found a pile of weird junk, but not a single deathclaw!"
Take the water treatment station they had visited today, for instance. There was a collapsed structure twenty meters below ground where radiation lingered within the moderate threat zone, complete with an abandoned auxiliary reactor. By all logic, a deathclaw should have nested there.
Yet when they arrived, aside from basin-sized blood-sucking flies, cockroaches scurrying across the floor, and dull-witted gnawers, nothing was there.
Fortunately, because mutant activity was high, there were still some salvageable supplies. Clearing the mutants and reporting the resource point brought in a decent payout of silver coins and contribution points, earning them a modest profit.
Otherwise, they might not have even recouped their spent ammunition.
While Commander Spring and Old Battlefield looked thoroughly dejected, I'm the Darkest, walking beside them, beamed from ear to ear.
"Awesome! Hahaha! I finally hit Level 6!"
"Damn, leveling up in this game is way too hard!"
***
Meanwhile, in front of the marketplace at the north gate, a large crowd had gathered.
Sitting beside her sister, Qiu Ye glanced curiously toward the crowd.
A gigantic crab lay sprawled on the ground, its high, humped shell coated in filthy mud and tangled aquatic weeds.
Recognizing the behemoth at a glance, Qiu Ye practically drooled. She pointed excitedly.
"Sister! Look over there!"
Crab meat patties!
Mashed potatoes with crab meat!
And crab roe noodles!
Over the coming week, there would definitely be tons of delicious food at the market!
Looking in the direction her little sister pointed, Qiu Cao's face was equally filled with shock.
In her mind, the split-claw crab was an extremely dangerous mutant—one that even the bravest warriors and hunters in the tribe would never dream of hunting.
To add such a terrifying monster to their menu and hunt them one after another... these blue coats were truly formidable.
If only she could bring one back to the village.
As the two sisters marvelled inwardly, little did they know that the players had never intended to kill the thing in the first place.
They had set out to capture it as a pet.
Unfortunately, the crab was simply too tough to handle!
Like most arthropods, as long as it was conscious, it maintained a fierce fighting will until its life was fully extinguished.
Even after several legs were blown off and its shell was bound with devil silk, it had continued swinging its massive pincers, violently striking out at anyone who drew near.
In the end, to cut their losses, Edge Paddler had no choice but to finish off the hard-won beast with an anti-armor stick grenade.
Right now, standing beside the massive crab, Edge Paddler was haggling with Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes.
A split-claw crab carcass could be sold for four hundred silver coins—the procurement price at the NPC warehouse, which essentially served as the market benchmark or floor price.
At the north gate marketplace, if another player wanted to buy it, a markup of three to ten percent was standard.
Unless the prey was exceptionally sought-after, pushing past twenty percent was rare.
Incidentally, due to depleting inventory, the price of the Panzerfaust rocket launcher had recently risen to eighty silver coins, and looked poised to reach a hundred before stopping.
Thanks to Brother Mole's forum post detailing the split-claw crab's weak points, quite a few gamblers had emerged among the newbies.
Namely: save up eighty silver coins to buy a Panzerfaust, locate a split-claw crab hibernating in its burrow, and fire a rocket straight into its head.
If it struck dead center, or even clipped the side of the head, a single shot was more than enough to kill it while preserving the carcass's integrity.
It sounded like a golden path to riches.
On the flip side, if the shot missed, or accidentally woke the beast, there was a good chance several days of hard work would go down the drain...
"...Four hundred and ten silver. Not a coin more. Any pricier and I can't afford it," Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes said, shaking his head after hearing Edge Paddler's asking price of four hundred and fifty.
Hearing his price slashed by forty silver, Edge Paddler could not help but grumble.
"Damn it! Since when did an honest-looking guy like you become as stingy as Mosquito!"
Indebted Big Eye chimed in from the side.
"Exactly! A single crab meat patty sells for two silver coins! This crab weighs at least one or two tons. Yielding a hundred kilos of meat shouldn't be a problem, right? Making a thousand patties is totally reasonable, isn't it?"
Construction Site Youth and Brick gasped. "Holy crap, flip that and it's two thousand silver! That's a whole set of exoskeleton right there! Daylight robbery! Complete daylight robbery!"
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes rolled his eyes.
"Do you think green wheat comes free? Do seasoning and spices come free? Do you think whatever you cook instantly sells out?"
"Besides, don't exaggerate. Pulling ninety kilos of meat from this is already pushing it—it's not autumn right now."
Still, he was withholding part of the truth.
Crab meat patties actually sold quite well.
After all, not every player returned to base for meals. At lunchtime especially, most ate out in the field.
Novices with shallow pockets would typically pack a wheat cake or jerky before heading out, soaking it in water to soften it, though hard-core players just chewed on it raw.
Such fare possessed little flavor and even less texture, serving only to fill the belly and stave off hypoglycemia debuffs that drained combat capability.
Veterans with deeper pockets would spend an extra silver coin or two on steamed buns, plain mantou, or roujiamo meat sandwiches. These were convenient, delicious, and far more balanced in nutrition. Maintaining a healthy constitution over time could even grant a "Strong" buff that boosted attributes by one to five percent.
The crab meat patty, introduced during the celebration festival, was another excellent choice. Whether wedged inside bread or eaten plain, it packed substantial calories and tasted fantastic.
Even Awakened players, with their bottomless appetites, were generally full after two two-hundred-gram crab patties. Strength-type players might eat a bit more, but three patties usually did the trick.
In the end, the giant crab was sold for four hundred and twenty silver coins.
Split four ways among Edge Paddler's squad, each took home a hundred and five silver coins. Even after deducting the cost of spent ammunition, the return was considerable.
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes wasted no time. Grabbing pliers, a hammer, and steel spikes, he set to work on the crab's shell to extract the meat within.
A few lifestyle players and indigenous locals squatted nearby, watching curiously, hoping to pick out well-shaped shell fragments and buy them for a silver coin or two to use as armor plates.
A thumb-thick piece of crab shell could stop three rounds of 7mm bullets at a distance of a hundred meters.
If crushed, wrapped in devil silk, and inserted into clothing as small protective pads, it could even mimic the effect of composite ballistic plates!
This unique protective gear was a wasteland specialty.
Just then, Brother Mosquito wandered over, grabbing Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes mid-butchering to ask, "Brother, do you still need those crab shells?"
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes paused. "The shells? Not really... What do you want them for?"
Mosquito chuckled slyly. "I have my uses. How about selling them to me for ten silver?"
Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes rolled his eyes.
"Get lost. At least fifty silver, or don't even think about it."
Mosquito complained, "Damn it! You can't even use them!"
"I can sell them to someone else, can't I?" Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes retorted. "Go ask around and see if anyone wants them."
Failing to snag a bargain, Mosquito looked disappointed, but ended up coughing up the coin anyway.
Seeing this, the surrounding players realized Mosquito had poached their materials and dispersed with grumbled curses.
Only the locals lingered, bewildered by what had just occurred.
"Let's get this straight: don't damage the front carapace. These shells belong to me now."
Seeing Mosquito's pained expression, Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes grinned.
"Relax, you know my craftsmanship. But seriously, what do you need so many crab shells for? Even if this stuff is sturdy... it can't beat steel, right?"
"That's where you're wrong," Mosquito smirked. "Do you know how expensive steel is? A single ton runs thousands of silver coins! These crab shells aren't much weaker than steel. Their only drawback is the weight, but that's no big deal!"
"This natural composite material's defense against small arms has been combat-tested! I plan to mount an engine on it to drive a few mechanical legs, slap an artillery barrel on the front, and mount a machine gun on its back. Wouldn't that be a hundred times cooler than a living split-claw crab?"
Hearing this, Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes froze, staring at Mosquito in utter disbelief.
"Holy crap... That's practically a war crime waiting to happen!"
Mosquito chuckled, affecting a modest tone. "Keep it down, keep it down."
***
While the players brainstormed how to make the most of untamable mutants, their beloved developer was also racking his brain on their behalf.
At the Niuma Brick Factory.
Through the foreman, Yang Ergou, Chu Guang quickly found Gray Wolf, the previously captured marauder.
Having surrendered voluntarily and divulged intel regarding Lion Tooth's thousand-man cohort, Gray Wolf had earned leniency. Though he could not escape punishment and hard labor, playing with mud was relatively light duty.
When Chu Guang first summoned him, Gray Wolf had been terrified.
After all, Black Snake's corpse was still hanging by the north gate.
Even though he wasn't one of Black Snake's subordinates, he was scared out of his wits.
However, upon hearing Chu Guang's purpose, Gray Wolf breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
At least he was still useful to these people.
He probably wouldn't end up like Black Snake...
"For mutants like hyenas and wolves, conventional taming methods can hardly strip away their wild nature. If you want to truly tame them, you have to raise them from cubs."
Chu Guang pondered for a moment before asking, "How long does it take for a mutant hyena to mature?"
"A year and a half, or two years," Gray Wolf answered.
A year and a half at the fastest...
That was a bit quicker than the Legion's clones, but still far too long.
Besides, a single hyena could hardly provide meaningful combat power. It was barely stronger than mutant rats or cockroaches, only good for bullying mindless gnawers.
Mutant snow wolves were slightly stronger, but their average combat power hovered around Level 3. Only rare alpha specimens reached Level 5.
Spending two years and sinking vast amounts of food and effort into nurturing a Level 3 combat unit was simply not cost-effective.
A pet was truly just a pet.
Turning them into battle beasts would be quite difficult.
Chu Guang pressed further. "Is there any method to tame adult hyenas or wild wolves?"
A troubled look crossed Gray Wolf's face, but he gave a hesitant nod.
"There are ways, but it's not easy... And without eliminating their wildness, it's hard to make them useful."
"No matter, as long as there is a way."
With that, Chu Guang tossed him a VM. Its quest-issuing functions were locked, leaving only the audio recording feature enabled.
"Dictate your methods and experiences in taming and raising wild beasts. If they prove useful, your sentence can be reduced."
Gray Wolf's face lit up, and he replied at once, "Don't worry, my Lord! I'll tell you everything I know!"
Chu Guang nodded. "You had better."
Later, he would have Xiao Qi organize the recordings into notes and upload them to the official website's database, providing a helpful reference for his players.
In truth, rather than hyenas and wolves, he looked forward to his players taming far more formidable mutants.
Chu Guang believed that given enough time, their ingenuity and wild imaginations would surely find a way.
***
A week had passed since Operation Spring Thunder, and the clear skies over Qingquan City's northern suburbs persisted. The last heavy snowfall seemed to have occurred two weeks ago.
Snowdrifts that had reached knees yesterday only came up to mid-calf today.
Everyone could sense that the harsh winter was receding.
Frozen life was stirring awake.
Yet the threat from the north remained unresolved.
In preparation for the impending war, both players and survivors across the northern suburbs were busily ramping up their war efforts.
However, as the Administrator, military affairs were not Chu Guang's sole concern.
Next year's food production weighed just as heavily on his mind.
Mounting evidence proved that after Awakening, players possessed not only ferocious combat prowess, but also staggering appetites.
In fact, even before Awakening, players consumed 1.5 to 2 times as much food as the locals. As their levels climbed, that figure could reach an astonishing threefold increase once past Level 10.
Chu Guang didn't know whether to lament how frugally the locals lived, or how voraciously his players ate.
If Black Snake hadn't generously delivered a massive shipment of supplies, the meager rations left in the warehouse might not have lasted until next month's corn harvest at the greenhouse ruins.
To recruit more players into the game, reclaiming the wilderness north of Ling Lake had to be moved up the agenda immediately!
Inside the conference room at Changjiu Farm, Luka gave a meticulous report to Chu Guang, who had arrived to inspect their operations.
"My Lord, spring plowing is about to begin. While we have plenty of rifles, we cannot plow fields with bayonets and rifle butts."
"Those slaves... I mean, the prisoners of war—while they can shoulder the harshest reclamation work, digging with wooden sticks and bare hands is far too inefficient. Even if we work them to death in the fields, we won't meet production targets."
"We need at least twelve hundred sets of farming tools, including hoes, rakes, shovels, and a number of seed drills, as well as transport gear like wheelbarrows. Since we lack sufficient draft animals, we'll likely have to rely on human labor instead."
Chu Guang considered this for a moment and asked, "How much do we have in reserve?"
Luka smiled wryly. "My Lord, what reserves could we possibly have? The entire industrial zone's production capacity is tied up producing arms. The mere one hundred and twenty sets of tools we do have were brought over from settlements like Highway Town, and their quality is abysmal—less than half are even made of iron."
Detecting the helplessness in Luka's tone, Chu Guang felt a twinge of embarrassment.
With external existential threats looming, he had to admit that his recent policies had leaned rather heavily into militarism, though circumstance had forced his hand.
Besides, it wasn't an entirely bad thing.
The arms industry had driven up steel production; with steel output surging, forging a few farm tools would be child's play.
"I will find a solution for this," Chu Guang promised after some thought. "I'll do my best to gather three hundred sets of reclamation tools within a week, and aim to cover the entire deficit before the end of the month. What about our neighbors? Can we borrow any from them?"
Luka thought it over. "Brown Farm should have some, but likely not enough. If memory serves, even including their indoor farming areas, their cultivated land doesn't even reach four hundred mu."
Four hundred mu...
Chu Guang shook his head. "Far too little."
The wasteland stretching from north of Ling Lake to the forests of Yumu District spanned over a hundred square kilometers—equivalent to one hundred and fifty thousand mu.
Four hundred mu was barely enough to get between their teeth.
In Chu Guang's blueprint, the first phase planned for thirty thousand mu of arable land, ensuring enough sustenance for at least thirty thousand people, while producing cash crops to supply the industrial zone with raw materials like plant fibers, oil, and rubber.
Tool shortages were not the only hurdle.
Manpower was also a major issue.
Without automated machinery, they could only rely on raw human labor. A rough estimate suggested that clearing thirty thousand mu of land would require mobilizing between one and three thousand workers.
Currently, there were nearly seven hundred prisoners of war available for deployment.
The refugee camp housed over fifteen hundred people, but able-bodied young adults made up perhaps only half, and a portion had already been absorbed by the industrial zone.
The reason players could buy rifles and ammunition so cheaply was inseparable from these workers sweating on the assembly lines.
Children under twelve were unfit for the work. Even if able-bodied women and the elderly were mobilized into production, they could muster four to five hundred people at best.
After a moment's contemplation, Chu Guang mused aloud.
"We could assign part of the farming duties to players who enjoy agriculture, designing a unique farming career path for them."
"If it yields good results, they can apply for more land."
Still, farming was skilled labor.
And it required patience.
Farming in Wasteland OL was a far cry from casual farm simulators.
Planting and harvesting weren't matters of clicking a mouse twice. Beyond sowing the seeds, one had to regularly water, fertilize, weed, drive off the wasteland's unique mutants, and guard against extreme weather.
The wasteland's climate was hardly blessed with favorable wind and rain.
Even in the low-radiation suburbs, oddly colored clouds drifted overhead from time to time. When it didn't rain, things were manageable, but once precipitation fell, conditions turned foul...
Having heard Luka's report, Chu Guang turned his gaze to Wrench, who was waiting nearby. Judging by the expression on his face, he appeared to have good news.
Without waiting for the Administrator to ask, Wrench stepped forward the moment Luka finished speaking.
"My Lord, I also have an important matter to report!"
"Speak."
Stifling his joy, Wrench said with excitement, "The marauders stationed in Yuanxi Town have pulled out!"
Pulled out?
Chu Guang blinked in surprise, his expression shifting abruptly.
*Damn it!*
*Those bastards got away!*
Chapter 238