This Is Way Too Illegal

Chu Guang was a man of principle; naturally, he would not freeload on players' labor. Although the shelter was impoverished right now and contribution points could not buy anything other than "revival coins," he still set a wage for Tengteng. Fifty contribution points for every piece of clothing made. The standards were not high—it just had to be wearable and keep the cold out. Once the store system went live, he planned to price these clothes anywhere from 100 to 500 contribution points depending on quality and sell them to other players. Speaking of which, he would also need an NPC to act as a merchant. He had heard that neighboring Brown Farm sold off serfs with crippled legs and feet every winter to save on food and fuel, then bought a batch of cheap replacements from slave traders come next spring. Perhaps he should try his luck there. "Respected Manager, sir, when are we heading out?" Watching Chu Guang emerge from the sanatorium, Scavenger wagged his lizard tail and hurried forward, asking impatiently. "No rush. I need to find you a handy weapon first... Follow me." Outside the sanatorium's perimeter wall stood a small wooden cabin built by WC Really Has Mosquitoes, currently in use as a carpentry workshop. The outpost currently lacked tools, especially reliable steel ones, so many things had to be substituted with wood. Still, where there was a will, there was a way. By combining industrial junk scavenged from the wasteland with wood, this player skilled in woodworking had actually crafted quite a few post-apocalyptic style tools. The crossbow leaning against the wall, for instance, was one of them. A wooden stock and barrel combined with simple mechanical linkages and hinges cobbled together from stainless steel scrap; the bowstring was fashioned from the specially treated sinew of a mutant hyena. As for the bolt heads, they were sharpened scraps of sheet metal. His own pipe rifle did not have much ammunition left—only about twenty rounds—so he had to conserve them. Prey that could be brought down with a crossbow was best dealt with using a crossbow. Seeing the Manager pick up the crossbow, Scavenger thought he was giving him this treasure and hurriedly reached out to take it, only to have his hand slapped away. "Your weapon is that." Chu Guang pointed to several javelins in the corner tipped with sharpened metal plates, beside which hung a convenient carrying strap. "Your initial Strength is 8 points. As long as you master the throwing technique, within ten meters it's enough to kill prey in a single strike." Scavenger made a bitter face. "But Respected Manager, I still feel like... if I had a ranged weapon, my hunting efficiency would be a lot higher." Chu Guang eyed his two-meter-tall frame. With a massive build like that, instead of charging in front as a tank, what was the point of hiding in the back sniping? Was he a man or not! "The javelin is a fundamental hunting skill. Whether in close combat or medium-range encounters, it ensures you won't be caught on the back foot. "Today I'm only teaching you hunting techniques. As for what weapon you choose to fight with in the future, that's up to you." Oh, so it was a storyline requirement. Scavenger nodded half-comprehendingly and closed his mouth. As they were speaking, the player WC Really Has Mosquitoes pushed open the cabin door and stepped out carrying two glass bottles. Seeing Chu Guang, his eyes lit up. "Respected Manager, sir, I was just looking for you! This is the acetone I mentioned! Using it as a solvent, we can make smokeless powder." As he spoke, he shook the bottle in his right hand like an alchemist—a gesture that startled both Chu Guang and Scavenger, causing them to instinctively take a step back. "It's fine, heheh. As long as it doesn't meet an open flame, it's totally safe, hehehehe." Mosquito spoke with an ecstatic look on his face. This sort of thing he only dared to do in a game; in his small workshop back home, he would never dream of trying it. He just had not expected the game to be realistic to such an extent that he could actually produce the stuff. Just then, he suddenly noticed the lizardman beside the Manager, and his excited expression paused noticeably. "And this is...?" Chu Guang cleared his throat and said, "He's a newly arrived resident. ID: Scavenger Lv99." "Oh, oh! A newbie!" Mosquito looked at him with sheer envy. Starting off with a hidden class right from the get-go. How awesome was that! "Tell me about what you have there," Chu Guang said, glancing at the glass bottle in his hand. "This stuff... how did you make it?" "The method is actually quite simple—dry distillation of wood. You bake wood inside a sealed metal container, vent it through a pipe, and condense it through a cold-water bucket. The collected condensate can easily be separated into an aqueous solution and thick, tarry residue... just basic fractional distillation. "The aqueous portion is pyroligneous acid, mainly composed of acetic acid, acetone, and methanol. By utilizing their different boiling points, they can be further distilled. The acetic acid can react with alkali metal compounds to produce versatile salts, and the acetone is what's in my right hand... Its uses are incredible." At this point, Mosquito let out a wistful sigh. "Tsk, if only we could get some sulfuric acid. With sulfuric acid, we could make hydrogen peroxide, and mixing hydrogen peroxide with acetone produces triacetone triperoxide... that's TATP, commonly known as an entropic explosive." Scavenger stood by listening, jaw slack, and could not help gulping. What the hell did this guy do in real life? This was way too illegal! Chu Guang was equally stunned by this fellow. Subconsciously glancing at the little wooden cabin before him, there was simply no way he could associate that shed with a chemistry laboratory. Only players could pull off something this suicidal. Collecting his thoughts, Chu Guang looked at him and continued, "I'll keep an eye out for chemical plants around here, so... you mean we can't make explosives for now?" "Not high explosives, though black powder is fairly easy. Give me a bit more time; I'm working on other methods. But... sometimes you don't necessarily need explosives to deal lethal damage." Mosquito shook the glass bottle in his left hand, chuckled, and continued, "Inside this is a mixture of pine oil and acetone, and I added a bit of plant fiber. Light the cotton strip at the mouth of the bottle and throw it—it burns for a long time." A Molotov cocktail?! Now that was good stuff! Chu Guang's eyes lit up. He took the glass bottle from Mosquito's hands and weighed it in his palm. "Have you tested its power?" "Uh... there are trees everywhere nearby. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to put the fire out," Mosquito admitted sheepishly. Not bad. Seems this guy still had some common sense. "I'll test it outside for you later." Calmly stowing the glass bottle, Chu Guang looked at him and continued, "Conducting chemistry experiments under these conditions is still rather dangerous, and the shelter currently lacks the facilities to store hazardous materials like this. I will give you the reward you deserve, but I cannot encourage you to scale up production." Pausing for a moment, Chu Guang shifted the topic. "However... I'd suggest you try finding practical applications for these chemicals in the outpost's production and construction, creating the value we need." "Creating the value we need...?" Mosquito looked half-comprehending, quietly turning the phrase over in his mind as he sank into thought. "Yes, give it some thought," Chu Guang nodded, continuing, "Of course, I'd also suggest chatting with other shelter residents to see if they have any good ideas. "You might end up with some unexpected insights."