Just as Chu Guang had anticipated, after finishing his first day on the road and logging off, his little player immediately brought firsthand intelligence to the official forum.
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Brothers, I'm back! Damn it! The road to Red River Town is ridiculously hard to walk. My shoes are almost completely ruined! (grinning teeth)"
Makka Pakka: "Cut the chatter. Who the hell cares about your shoes? Did your ass make it there or not?"
Jieyan: "Hurry and tell us! What's the new map looking like?"
Tail: "Hurry up!"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Damn! How could it be that fast? It's nearly a hundred kilometers! Not to mention all the trouble on the road. According to the captain of the caravan guards, a round trip will take at least a week. Holy crap, no saving for an entire week. I'm freaking out here."
Cut the Crap: "Holy shit, why do you talk so much crap?"
Jieyan: "Quit the humblebrag! If you don't wanna go, let me take your place! (pulling hair)"
More and more people gathered in the thread, the entire comment section filled with calls urging him to update.
Not daring to waste any more time, Brother Mole promptly got down to business.
"Ahem, no more nonsense, let's talk about the real deal! We've been heading east the whole way, and the journey has been full of bumps and twists. At first, we could still follow the provincial highway, but later it turned entirely into rural dirt trails, twisting and turning endlessly. The travel conditions are truly beyond words. Especially in some dangerous areas, even the caravan guards with cybernetic modifications didn't dare approach and had to take detours."
"On top of that, the snow hasn't melted completely, so our pace isn't very fast. In an entire day, we only covered about a third of the distance. According to the guard captain with the bionic arm and cybernetic eye, if we're lucky, we should arrive around noon on the third day. If we're unlucky, we might have to wait until the fourth!"
Last year, the slave traders from Red River Town had rushed over during the tail end of winter to gather people from the northern suburbs of Qingquan City, taking only two days.
However, another itinerant merchant named Sun had taken a full five days to travel here in order to bypass the roaming grounds of the marauders.
From this, it was obvious how treacherous the routes in that direction were.
Construction Site Youth and Brick: "You can actually understand what they're saying? (shocked)"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "There's a guard escorting me, are you stupid? The guard traveling with me is named Lü Bei. If there's anything I don't understand, I just ask him. Besides, the VM for the quest unlocked a subtitle function, though the damn thing is hit-or-miss. Don't count on it working all the time. From my testing, it only really works when we set up camp or stop for a rest. Even then, some sentences are translated very weirdly, and you have to rely on your own interpretation and experience to make sense of them."
Elven King Fugui: "Awesome!"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Let me keep going. This trip has actually been pretty thrilling. Even though the guard captain said we took a relatively safe route, we still ran into three waves of mutant attacks. The first was while passing through a forest, where we were targeted by a pack of starving hyenas. That wasn't a big deal, though; we quickly gunned down the first five charging at us, and the rest scattered."
"The second wave was way more intense. A hideous, many-legged monstrosity that practically drained your sanity just looking at it suddenly lunged out from the roadside, scaring the crap out of me. I'd never seen such a creature in the northern suburbs. After asking around, I learned it's called a multiped beast, a mutant that dwells in damp, dark environments. Its danger level falls somewhere between a Crawler and a Tyrant, boasting formidable speed and strength. Just looking at its appearance, you can't tell what the hell it mutated from."
Kakarot: "A new monster on top of a new map???"
Jieyan: "Badass! What about the third wave?"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "A Yokai! That's what the wastelanders call it. It was mentioned in the lore on the official website before, but there was never an entry in the bestiary. This thing is bigger than a bear, with a hunched back and a head sunk deep between its shoulders. Its teeth protrude outside its lips, and its pale, rotting skin looks like it's been soaked in water for weeks, dotted with sparse patches of hair. Its roar sounds like thunder!"
"It truly lives up to its name, looking like an actual demon. Its strength is ridiculous too—one swipe of its arm snapped an entire tree in half! In terms of raw power, even a Deathclaw might fall short! But its weakness is obvious: it's very slow, far less agile than a Deathclaw."
"The caravan guards opened fire on it the moment they saw it, but after emptying an entire magazine, it was completely unfazed! I suspect its regenerative ability is even stronger than a mutant's. It completely shattered my understanding of carbon-based lifeforms' toughness. It wasn't until a guard pulled out a steel tube rocket launcher and blasted it right in the chest that they finally put the beast down."
Jieyan: "Badass!"
Construction Site Youth and Brick: "Man, I'm crying from envy!"
I'm the Darkest: "Rigged! It's all rigged! (pulling hair)"
Getting early access to a new map was one thing.
To encounter brand-new monsters too?
There was no justice in the world!
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Damn! The way you describe it makes me want to go so bad! Can I just walk over myself?"
Commander Spring: "In theory, yes. The game doesn't have invisible walls anyway. The problem is there are no save points or quests over there. Bringing gear means guaranteed losses if you die, but without gear, you definitely won't get far. (smirking)"
Ye Shi: "+1. Remember five days ago or so, before the new patch dropped? Some unlucky bastard saw the snow melting and tried looking for Boulder City, but he vanished right by the Fourth Ring Road. Not only did he lose all his gear, he had to buy a new VM. (funny)"
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Fuck that, never mind then."
Elaina: "Can't be helped, the roads in the ruins are a nightmare. Who the hell would expect a split-claw crab lying flat inside a puddle? The damn thing has built-in camouflage too, with a huge heap of trash stuck to its back. Lying there, it looks just like a garbage pile. Without a Perception-type player, it's brutal. (funny)"
Elven King Fugui: "Holy shit, Lao Na, fess up—were you that unlucky bastard?"
Elaina: "Guess. (rolling eyes)"
Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Speaking of which, where's Fang Chang? Has anyone seen him?"
Ye Shi: "No idea, probably writing a guide. That guy takes forever."
Barely a minute after Ye Shi posted his reply, the handle Lai Ri Fang Chang popped up on the forum.
"Journey to Boulder City Day 1: Ruins, Death, and Dystopian Culture"
"Distance on paper is merely a pale number, but beneath our feet, it is an insurmountable chasm. On the map, the straight-line distance between us and Boulder City is no more than twenty kilometers. Even moving at a single meter per second, it would take just over five hours. Yet, the moment we crossed the edge of the Fifth Ring Road and stepped into this graveyard where civilization lies buried, every second stretched on indefinitely."
"Towering skyscrapers pierce into the clouds and plunge into unfathomable depths, like a forest of tombstones standing tall for two centuries, likely remaining upright for two more. With vigilance and wariness, we wove through shattered alleys. The dead storefronts and battered billboards offered scattered fragments chronicling the prosperity of the pre-war era."
"The caravan guards told us that this place is a paradise of chaos and death. We must not only beware of mutants, but also remain vigilant against marauders lurking inside the high-rises. They don't need advanced technology—a single stone dropped from the twentieth floor is enough to crack our skulls open, a trick even some intelligent mutants have picked up. Beyond that, there are landmines buried in the rubble, remote-detonated explosives, and snipers concealed behind dark windows."
"We must choose our route with utmost caution, especially after entering the Fifth Ring Road. If you don't keep your eyes peeled, surviving to see tomorrow's sun is a luxury..."
The prologue alone spanned five or six paragraphs, and the main text stretched across an entire page.
In the post, Fang Chang detailed his impressions upon entering the urban ruins of Qingquan City.
Before discovering Shelter 404, Chu Guang had visited the area several times, though he had never ventured deep inside. Thus, he could easily empathize with the awe Brother Fang Chang was feeling right now.
If the northern suburbs resembled the style of Los Santos, then the urban core of Qingquan City was Night City loaded with a wasteland overhaul mod and bug-fix patches.
"If this post isn't exaggerated, the situation inside the Fifth Ring Road is probably even more complicated than I expected."
"The good news, however, is that the marauders active in that area haven't formed a unified faction, with the largest squads numbering no more than ten... which roughly matches Boss Xia's intelligence."
Stroking his chin, Chu Guang pondered for a moment.
"It seems doing business in the wasteland truly isn't something just anyone can pull off."
Since he was still within signal range, Brother Fang Chang had also snapped several photos. Xiao Qi had approved a few of them and synced them to the post.
As the moderator, Xiao Qi evaluated them under PG-12 guidelines in principle. As long as there were no gory or violent elements, applying a filter similar to the player's perspective allowed them to be uploaded to the official website.
Looking at the thread, Chu Guang, who was lurking before the computer screen, had a face full of surprise.
Well, well.
Judging by the "Day 1" in the title...
It looked like this guy was planning to run an ongoing travelogue.
Chu Guang immediately glanced toward the wastebasket recharging in the corner.
"Xiao Qi."
The indicator light brightened slightly, and the camera turned curiously in his direction.
"Here, Master."
Chu Guang instructed, "Help me grab a drink from the fridge... A glass of milk will do."
Xiao Qi: "Eh? But Xiao Qi doesn't have hands."
"Then go find Boss Xia. She should be off the clock by now. Have her bring it over," Chu Guang added after a moment's thought. "Oh, remember to tell her to warm it up."
Brother Fang Chang's post was exceptionally well-written and deserved careful study. After reviewing this imperial memorial, Chu Guang intended to launch a round of Stellaris to gather ideas. When sitting back to spectate the galaxy, he liked having a beverage in hand.
He had already quit alcohol.
Unfortunately, there was no cola.
Otherwise, it would have been perfect.
Wheeling along with a whir and its camera drooping, Xiao Qi reluctantly rolled out of the office.
A moment later, Boss Xia walked in holding a bottle of warm milk, pushing the door open with an annoyed expression.
"Couldn't you just ask a player to do it?"
What happened to her after-hours time belonging to herself?
This guy was getting more and more fond of bossing people around.
Chu Guang shot her an odd glance and replied matter-of-factly, "How could I bother a player with something like this? Just set it on the desk. Thanks."
Xia Yan rolled her eyes, walked over, and set the milk down.
"You're welcome!"
Just then, she caught sight of the computer screen and asked curiously, "What's that?"
Chu Guang said, "This is the forum I told you about."
Staring at the screen with furrowed brows, Xia Yan scrutinized it for a moment before muttering, "What are all these squiggles drawn on here?"
Chu Guang said casually, "Another writing system. If you had paid attention to what I taught you, you wouldn't be unable to even recognize what it is."
The moment studying was mentioned, Boss Xia's nature as an academic slacker was exposed, and her face instantly flushed red.
"Hmph, who cares!"
Watching Boss Xia turn on her heel and march out the door, Chu Guang gave a faint smile and returned his attention to the screen.
Xiaoyu was still the one who gave him peace of mind.
In less than six months, she had already learned over a thousand characters.
The girl's memory was truly extraordinary. Chu Guang had noticed it before and had even begun wondering if she possessed the potential for Awakening.
Awakening was not exclusive to players; it was not entirely uncommon across the wasteland.
The consensus among most wastelanders was that Awakening required surviving a life-or-death crisis, but that rule of thumb was not absolute.
Several Intelligence-type and Strength-type players had already proven that through steady accumulation and rigorous training, selective gene expression could be prompted to adjust more favorably to the wasteland environment.
Tapping his index finger lightly on the mouse as he stared at the screen, Chu Guang pondered silently.
*This situation is indeed worth paying attention to.*
*I'll have Heya examine her another day.*
***
The following morning.
A flurry of noisy squeaking broke out early near the north gate of Changjiu Farm.
A plump giant rat was currently perched atop a bizarrely shaped motorcycle, gazing northward with high ambition.
A crowd of rat subordinates noisily milled around the bike. Intrigued yet afraid to draw too near, they could only squeak frantically at him.
Qiangren Suonan automatically translated those sounds in his head into "Awesome!" and "Badass!"
After all, putting himself in the shoes of those little rodents, he realized he truly was quite badass.
As everyone knew, machines were creations of the former rulers of the world—humanity.
Was mastering human intellect not enough to prove the divine prowess of the Great Horned Rat?
He was simply invincible!
Standing beside the motorcycle, Mosquito finished inspecting the equipment, casually wiped some motor oil onto the bike's rear, and looked up at the fat rat in the saddle.
"...The hibernation pod, radio, and generator assembly parts are all strapped onto the top of the locomobile. Do you want to climb down and double-check?"
Qiangren Suonan: "No need, I can't wait any longer! Hahaha!"
Mosquito rolled his eyes and continued, "Shifting gears regulates the speed. The shifter is on the left handlebar. By the way, can your arms even turn it?"
Qiangren Suonan replied indignantly, "Damn it, I'm at least level five, okay? How could I not be able to turn a gear shift?"
Mosquito gave him a sideways glance and chuckled. "Come off it. Don't you know what your own stat panel looks like?"
Aside from Perception starting at 5, the Ratman sequence had all its other base attributes set to 3. Worse still, his level-up points had been allocated completely at random, scattered here and there without any coherence. As a result, his stat panel looked like it had been gnawed on by rats, falling short even of a novice Intelligence-type player fresh to the game.
Aside from the Fast Synthesis buff, he seemed to possess no other real advantages.
Oh right, there was also Rat Kinship.
Mosquito instinctively glanced at the spirited little rodents crouching beside the motorcycle.
He had to admit, when gathered in a swarm, these rats were remarkably bold, showing no fear even when locking eyes with humans.
Qiangren Suonan said, "Doesn't matter! We summoners don't care about stat panels."
"Heh, just be careful out there. If you die, it's fine, but don't wreck the motorcycle. This thing isn't easy to repair."
Shoving a piece of firewood into the locomobile's feed hatch, Mosquito patted the frame and smiled.
"Safe travels."
"I won't walk you out. Take care of yourself!"
He had designed this motorcycle overnight for Qiangren Suonan, modifying it from Hell's Breath.
Because the saddle on Hell's Breath was too high for a rat to handle, and traveling north required crossing extensive forests and hills, he had redesigned the bike's layout, shifting the two side wheels to the front and rear.
The U-shaped seat rested between the locomobile engine and the front wheel. To improve off-road handling, the front wheel had been enlarged to roughly reach Qiangren Suonan's chest.
With no rear seat and a need to maintain the center of gravity, the luggage bound for the north could only be strapped atop the locomobile.
The total production cost was around one thousand silver coins, making a retail price of two thousand silver coins fairly reasonable.
Having only recently shed his novice status, Qiangren Suonan naturally could not afford such a fortune.
However, in consideration of their master-apprentice bond, Mosquito allowed him to buy it on credit: a four-hundred-silver-coin down payment, with the remaining sixteen hundred paid back gradually.
If he lost the motorcycle, Qiangren Suonan would probably go bankrupt on the spot.
Yet sitting atop this goblin trike, Qiangren Suonan felt no fear of bankruptcy; his heart was brimming with hope.
Last night on the official forum, he had stumbled upon Brother Fang Chang's magnificent essay. Reading it had left him tossing and turning with excitement, thoroughly igniting his desire to explore new maps.
*Xizhou City, was it?*
*Splendid.*
*Listen up, marauders over there—your Grandfather Horned Rat has arrived!*
With the combustion chamber preheated, the locomobile roared to life.
Rhythmic chugging clattered across the northern gate, producing a tractor-like bellow.
Behind him, the swarm of small rodents chattered and squeaked, their faces a mix of terror, excitement, and bewildered scurrying in circles.
It moved! It moved!
Watching the massive front tire begin to roll, Qiangren Suonan shouted excitedly at the top of his lungs:
"Minions, stay close!"
"Target: Xizhou City!"
"Forward, march!"
Seeing their cheap boss heading north, some timid rats oiled their soles and bolted, but others leaped onto the vehicle, choosing to follow him on his expedition.
Among them was the beaten-into-submission marmot.
Along with several female rats whose eyes shone with admiration.
Standing by the gate of Changjiu Farm with hoes and pickaxes in hand, two players happened to witness the spectacle.
"What the hell is that?"
"A Skaven Doomwheel?"
"I knew with one look that Brother Mosquito built that thing."
"Holy crap, that contraption actually runs!"
"Awesome!"
Chapter 245