Goods from Ideal City Are Expensive for a Reason

[7. Fixed minor bugs...] Ye Wei finished reading the update announcement. He roughly distilled the contents: simply put, more bionic prostheses had been released. Some were imported from Boulder City. Others were imported from Ideal City. Aside from that, a new higher rank was introduced: "Probationary Knight." Knowing Brother Guang's usual style, without even thinking, Ye Wei was certain that "Intermediate Knight" and "Senior Knight" would definitely follow. Wait, was this an attempt to cosplay the Brotherhood of Steel? Still, titles didn't really matter; it was just a gimmick like Penguin's VIP membership levels. Even if one earned the title of "Duke" or "Emperor" in the game, so what? It wasn't like one was a real emperor. The key was what perks Brother Guang offered. "1,000 square meters of land, and purchasing authority for power armor... Holy shit!" "When did Dog Guang get so generous!?" After reading the privileges of the new contribution tier, Ye Wei, sitting in front of his computer, was completely dumbfounded. He wanted nothing more than to leap up on the spot, scramble back into his bedroom, put on his helmet, and log into the game to see what the power armor added to the NPC shop looked like. However, upon seeing the requirement of 100,000 contribution points, he deflated like a punctured ball and slumped back into his computer chair. 100,000... That was double the threshold for "Senior Citizen"! How long would he have to grind for this shit? Ye Wei remembered his contribution points were around 80,000-plus, which was already top-tier across the whole server. Lao Bai might be slightly higher than him, but not by much. This meant that to reach the threshold for Knight, he'd have to grind out another two Intermediate Citizens' worth of points (10,000 contribution points each). [Begging Brother Guang to add a feature to exchange silver coins for contribution points! QAQ] Though he knew such a game-breaking feature could never appear in *Wasteland OL*, Ye Wei still typed the line on his screen and posted it in the comment section below the update announcement. Yet to his surprise, it instantly racked up a hundred upvotes. Ye Wei was stunned. Good grief. I was just venting. Do you guys have that many silver coins too? Right then, a shout drifted in from the living room outside the study. "Big brother, it's noon! Time to order takeout!" "Right away, right away." "What are you looking at?" Sneaking into the study and walking up behind her brother, Ye Jiu leaned in curiously to look at the screen, but didn't see anything she shouldn't. It seemed to be just an ordinary web page. "Beta 0.3 just dropped... By the way, don't you follow the forum?" Ye Wei said casually. "What's there to follow?" Ye Jiu asked, puzzled. "...Forget it, it's fine if you don't." Although he wanted to say the forum was the true essence of *Wasteland OL*, thinking about those weird discussions, he suddenly felt it was good his little sister had no interest in it. "Big brother." "What?" "Say, why can't we log in during the day?" Talking about the game suddenly stirred the craving in Ye Jiu, who had finally resolved not to think about it, and she whined pitifully. "Because game characters have to sleep too." That setting made sense. Even as an adult, Ye Wei felt limiting online hours was a good thing. After all, if everyone could stay online twenty-four hours a day, the game would turn into an endurance contest between hardcore grinders. "Curse it..." Ye Wei gave his sister an odd look. "Wait, didn't you say you don't play games?" Ye Jiu blinked. "Huh? Did I ever say that?" Looking at his sister playing dumb, Ye Wei rolled his eyes. "...Fine, you never said it." He wasn't in the mood to bicker with his sister right now; he just wanted to wait for Brother Fang Chang's take on the new version. Speaking of which, Fang Chang had been acting rather mysterious lately, only logging on at high noon every day. Who knew what he was up to in the game. Ye Wei picked up his phone and opened the Cow and Horse group to check. Just in time. As soon as he entered, messages from Fang Chang popped up. Two in a row, no less. "Beta 0.3 is out! I just saw the update!" "Holy shit! Power armor! Brother Guang is awesome!" Ye Wei wasn't the only one lurking in the group. However, what everyone else focused on didn't seem to be the game. Gale: "Twelve o'clock." Jieyan: "Wasn't it eleven thirty yesterday?" Lao Bai: "Rare. Usually whenever there's a version update, this guy is the first to pop up. Today he's the last to know. (Smirk)" Dagger of Murder: "Brother Fang Chang, how fares the battle at Reach?" WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "When are you planning to get married? (Funny)" All Good Names Taken by Dogs: "Have you picked out a name for the kid yet? (Funny)" Fang Chang: "???" "Fuck off, I'm just doing quests in Boulder City. What are you guys imagining?" Quests, sure. With a knowing maternal grin, Ye Wei sent a funny meme over. "I almost believed that!" Fang Chang didn't seem inclined to keep dwelling on the topic and quickly shifted gears. "I just glanced at the posts on the forum... To cut straight to the conclusion, the focus of this update will likely be on communication and exchange between the Alliance and various factions." Jieyan: "Exchange?" Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes: "Is this exchange you speak of the wholesome kind? (Smirk)" WC Really Has Mosquitoes: "Is it in-depth? (Funny)" Fang Chang: "Get out of here, you perverts! I'm talking about serious stuff, what's wrong with your heads? Anyway, with the 'Northern Expedition' over and the main regional threats eliminated, the Alliance shouldn't be waging foreign wars in the short term. Life-profession players and trade competition will become the mainstream gameplay." Lao Bai: "Combat players become the underdogs again? (Curious)" Fang Chang: "Can't say that either. While they've stepped away from center stage, combat players still received significant buffs in the new version. Not only did the NPC shop release a ton of bionic prostheses, but even power armor is available." "Correspondingly, there are new maps with higher danger ratings. For instance, the downtown area we explored before—the evolved organisms there are hard to defeat relying solely on Awakened abilities, but equipped with bionic prostheses and high-tier exoskeletons, the situation will be completely different." "However, compared to the large-scale raid battles of the last version, the new version will probably emphasize small-team cooperation and individual adventuring. Players who rely too much on gear and usually neglect leveling up might struggle and need considerable time to adapt to the new patch." "Right now, I'm still about 20,000 contribution points short of 100,000. My advice is to find high-contribution quests and rush your rank to Probationary Knight as soon as possible. The contribution rank only qualifies you to buy; whether the shop has stock is another question entirely." "Don't forget the Type 5 exoskeleton. There are plenty of players who met the purchase requirements but couldn't buy one because it was out of stock..." Propped up on his bed, tapping the screen with his finger, Fang Chang drafted his thoughts while typing out his analysis of the new version on his phone. He wrote one or two thousand words in flowing detail. Seeing that the group members' attention had finally shifted from him to the new version, Fang Chang breathed a sigh of relief and tossed his phone aside. Every time he logged off, he had to spend a few minutes adjusting to the difference between offline and online. Especially recently. His "withdrawal symptoms" seemed to have worsened. His gaze drifted unconsciously to the helmet on his bedside table, and a strange thought suddenly arose in Fang Chang's mind. If that unnamed operator was willing to strip out the game's AI and sell it separately, that would be amazing. It might even be more popular than the game... "A bionic companion?" "While somewhat useless in-game, in reality... buying a robot to take care of daily chores would actually be pretty nice." Not only could it help with housework, but it would also be pleasing to the eye. Still, in his lifetime, he probably wouldn't see it happen. With a laugh and a shake of his head, Fang Chang dismissed the unrealistic notion and decided to forget about the game for a while. Sitting up from the bed, he glanced at the midday sunlight outside the window and muttered softly. "Dawn won't break over the wasteland until six in the evening." "Might as well go out for a walk..." ... Wasteland world, Shelter Floor B4. Sitting before his computer, Chu Guang browsed the players' replies below the update announcement, a pleasant smile on his face. Regarding the bionic modification feature introduced in the new version, many players showed keen interest. Some planned to get themselves mantis blades, some planned to mount grenade launchers on their arms, and others even planned to install rocket pods on their shoulders. It had to be said, these players had no lack of wild imagination—it was just somewhat hard on their resurrection coins. Beyond that, there were some rather indecent bad ideas, which Chu Guang selectively ignored, pretending he hadn't seen them. Just then, a communication request pop-up suddenly flashed on his VM. Seeing that the call was from Boss Xia, Chu Guang pressed the accept button, and that fiery red hair soon filled the screen. Unlike her usual mercenary attire, Xia Yan was currently wearing a breezy T-shirt and lying on soft bedding. The VM itself didn't have video calling capabilities and required an external peripheral; the camera was probably placed near her pillow. Since it was her first time using this feature, Xia Yan wasn't very adept with the controls, leaning her face so close to the camera that she nearly filled the entire screen. "Are you planning on showing me your nostrils?" Chu Guang joked while casually snapping a screenshot, intending to tease her with it later. Xia Yan blushed and immediately backed away from the camera. Once she pulled her face back, Chu Guang could finally see her living quarters clearly. On the screen was a double dorm room, about twenty square meters in size—neither too big nor too small, compactly laid out, even featuring a private bathroom. Xiao Yu's clothes hung from the coat rack; the two were likely roommates. This clearly wasn't the container-style housing produced by the New Alliance. Chu Guang deduced it was probably Camp 101's own barracks. It was evident that Camp 101 attached great importance to the students sent by the Alliance; though conditions in Xizhou City were harsh, they still provided their best accommodations. Seeing this, Chu Guang felt somewhat relieved. It seemed the annual tuition of ten thousand hadn't gone to waste, nor had his aid to them been in vain. "How do you like the new environment? Getting used to life over there?" "It's all right. Definitely can't compare to the shelter, but not too bad either. I'm not picky about living quarters anyway. It's just that there's so little food... and it's much quieter than Dawn City." Seeing Xia Yan's dispirited look, Chu Guang couldn't help but smile and say: "It'll get better. In a while, we'll open a few shops in Camp 101, and then you'll have places to spend the living expenses in your pocket." "Really?" Xia Yan's eyes lit up, and she swallowed greedily, asking excitedly, "Can you set up barbecue stalls too?" "There will be... but don't just think about eating; you didn't go there for a picnic," Chu Guang said with a laugh. "By the way, what courses did you choose?" "Mechanical engineering!" Xia Yan, lying before the pillow, curled her lips proudly. "My specialty is modifying machinery, and I plan to develop in this direction in the future!" "Can you understand it?" Chu Guang asked curiously. "Classes only start tomorrow! I just picked up the textbooks today... But honestly, those things look really hard. I stared at them forever and didn't understand a thing." As she spoke, a trace of vexation crept onto Xia Yan's face. Although determined to become stronger, she actually lacked confidence in whether she could master such complex material. After all, she neither possessed Xiao Yu's talent nor that child's youth. Her practical skills were only slightly better because she had handled firearms and various mechanical parts from a young age. Yet before higher-level knowledge, that bit of hands-on ability and practical experience amounted to very little. "...Professional knowledge and experience gained through practice are naturally different. It's normal to find it difficult, but I believe you can master it." "You say that like you know all about it." Xia Yan couldn't help rolling her eyes, but the trust in his eyes and his encouraging words still made her heart feel warm. "If I knew all about it, why would I need you to learn it?" Chu Guang said with a smile. "Speaking of which, where's Xiao Yu? Why don't I see her?" "Her? She's already asleep. That little girl was just talking about you, wanting to call, but afraid of disturbing your work," Xia Yan said teasingly. "Then why do you still have the light on?" Chu Guang subconsciously lowered his voice, but soon noticed she was wearing earphones. "It's fine. We usually sleep with the lights on in the shelter anyway," Xia Yan said nonchalantly. "..." This girl really acts like electricity is free. Still, thinking of the incubation pods' power consumption, Chu Guang didn't care about that tiny bit of energy. Seeing that Chu Guang didn't speak, Xia Yan continued: "She chose mathematics and economic management. Those two courses seem pretty niche, so Pai's master plans to teach her personally." At this point, Xia Yan suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, almost forgot! Pai asked me to tell you some good news." Hearing this, Chu Guang's spirits lifted immediately. "There's news about the VMs?" Xia Yan nodded. "Yeah, the Administrator of Shelter 101 readily agreed, but the other party proposed a condition." Chu Guang asked immediately: "What condition?" Xia Yan said: "That person said he wants to meet with you." ... Outside the entrance of Shelter 101. Only a handful of the barracks originally stationed here remained. Apart from production and research facilities that still required a bit of time to relocate, most people had eagerly returned to the surface. As the archivist, Aiwen would likely be the last to leave. Before returning to the surface, he needed to catalog and organize the materials in the archives, ensuring they wouldn't fall into disarray upon arriving in the new environment. Fortunately, he had recently taken on a young apprentice who should be of great help. Of course, before that, there was another important matter... Inside the archives. The white-haired old man sat before his desk, quietly flipping through the "Observation Diary" written by his apprentice. Since it was interspersed with many abstract doodles, it took some time to fully comprehend. Seemingly aware of this issue, Pai, standing to the side, was not idle either, vividly describing what she had seen and heard in Dawn City. Including how the people there refined trash into steel, carved wood into furniture, and extracted fuel from plants... Talking until her mouth was dry, she made her final summary: "All in all, although it's very backward, it's a very interesting place! Unlike other wastelanders, they don't just adapt to the wasteland; they're also transforming the land beneath their feet!" "I heard that a year ago it was still a wasteland, and now it has not only endless farmland, but also a huge station and trains... Xiao Yu showed me old photos, and it was simply incredible!" Watching his apprentice gesturing with both hands, Aiwen teased with a smile: "You got bribed by a single bowl of shaved ice?" "No way! But, but, the shaved ice drizzled with jam really was super delicious! The taste was absolutely heavenly! And not just shaved ice—there were so, so many things I'd never seen before!" Pai said, her eyes shining brightly. She was still at a playful age after all. Yet thanks to this, through her perspective, he had managed to see things ordinary people wouldn't notice. Perhaps this was why the pioneers intended to send her there. Aiwen smiled and put down the difficult-to-decipher "Observation Diary" in his hand. "Is that so? I'll go taste it myself another day." "Great! I'll take you!" Pai said enthusiastically, already eager to share the hidden gems she had discovered with her master. "In a while. I have to finish the work at hand first..." Pausing for a moment, Aiwen continued, "Can you tell me about their Administrator? What kind of person is he?" "Hmm..." Hearing the question, Pai rubbed her chin in thought, seemingly struggling with how to describe him. Just then, her eyes lit up, and she spoke: "Although it's hard to explain in a few words... I feel he's very easy to get along with." "Very easy to get along with?" "Yeah!" Pai nodded and said happily, "Even though he's an Administrator, he's completely different from ours... How should I put it? There's no distant feeling about him." No distant feeling... Aiwen froze slightly, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face. Though it was an abstract description, he could understand what his student meant. The blue jackets of Shelter 101 often referred to themselves as "mentors," yet the residents of Camp 101 rarely called themselves students. Instead, they mostly regarded themselves as "the sheltered," looking upon the residents of Shelter 101 as "pioneers," "lords," and the like. The emotions contained within were not merely gratitude for enlightenment and shelter, but also an attitude of worship. Not only reverence for knowledge, but reverence for status... Such near-religious faith and awe inevitably created a sense of distance. Even though he could feel the pioneers were trying hard to avoid this, and even though he himself recognized where the problem lay, it remained difficult to break the mold. "...No wonder the Pioneer wants to talk with him," Aiwen remarked softly. He suddenly felt increasingly curious about that man. He would pay a visit another day. ... The next day. Having returned from Boulder City, Luka delivered his inaugural speech at Changjiu Farm, swearing loyalty to the Alliance and officially assuming the position of castellan of Dawn City. To the residents of Dawn City, this was hardly news; they had been familiar with Old Luka for a long time. To traveling merchants and mercenaries from elsewhere, however, this was major news. After all, Old Luka's background was no secret; many had heard that he used to be a serf at Brown Farm. That evening. In a tavern on North Street. A group of merchants from Boulder City gathered around a wooden table, drinking and loudly debating today's news. "I heard the new castellan of Dawn City is a serf." "A serf? Can he manage such a large settlement?" "Who knows? But I don't fancy his chances. What does a farmer know? Can he even read an account ledger?" "Still, he was appointed by those blue jackets... Surely those smart folks wouldn't make a mistake?" "Haha, smart folks? Would smart folks end up living like mole rats? Wrecking this place into such a godforsaken state—don't think too highly of them. They're just a bunch of cowards hiding in a burrow," a bearded merchant said with a drunken burp. "Shh... keep it down. This isn't Boulder City." Noticing several people nearby glaring in their direction, a young merchant sitting beside him hurriedly tugged at his drunken companion, telling him to shut his mouth. They came here to do business, not to make trouble. In a corner of the tavern, Sun Shiqi listened to the group's discussion, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. Noticing his expression, Zhou Nan, sitting opposite him, laughed and said: "Haven't heard about this?" "Yeah... I just got back from the south," Sun Shiqi nodded. Half a month ago, he took a truckload of cheap arms to Jinchuan Province and traded them with farm owners there for a hundred tons of grain. He had only arrived in Dawn City this afternoon, missing the Dawn City castellan's inauguration speech. However, he did know of that Luka. It seemed that a long time ago, the old man had been working for the Administrator of Shelter 404. First managing the warehouse, then operating Changjiu Farm, and later seemingly overseeing the integration of Brown Farm. His resume was solid. What he hadn't expected was that the Administrator possessed such boldness to actually place a "lower-class" person who had once been a serf into the position of castellan. And of Dawn City—the capital of the New Alliance—no less. Sun Shiqi had no prejudice in his heart; rather, he felt a bit of admiration. After all, he himself was a survivor of humble origins who had still been hawking scrap last autumn. Even if it was just for show, they certainly put on a splendid show. At least it was far more sincere than that Red River Alliance cooked up by mine owners and merchant guild bosses. Watching the group of Boulder City merchants pay their bill and leave, Sun Shiqi suddenly remembered something and spoke up: "Speaking of which, there seem to be quite a few more merchants from Boulder City lately." Not just here. He had seen plenty at the trading post earlier as well. Though merchants from Boulder City had come here in the past, they weren't many, certainly not like now, where in any tavern you sat down in, you could see those guys with their noses stuck in the air. "Because of that two-hundred-million-chip loan—you probably haven't heard... A few days ago, the Boulder City Bank lent the New Alliance a huge sum of money as compensation for the Alliance relinquishing Qingquan City's airspace," Zhou Nan said with a smile. He heard there were other hidden details. But that was all he knew. "Two hundred million?!" Sun Shiqi's eyes widened in shock. "Has Boulder City Bank gone mad?" "Whether they've gone mad I don't know, but that's the fact," Zhou Nan chugged a mouthful of cold beer and remarked teasingly, "Yesterday, House on the *Voice of Boulder City* was mocking on the radio, saying that all the factories in Boulder City are now serving Daybreak City, willingly acting as servants to a bunch of bumpkins... Although they look down on their poor neighbors to the north, their bodies are quite honest." Sun Shiqi couldn't help laughing out loud. "Understandable. Who'd hold a grudge against silver coins?" Zhou Nan sighed with emotion: "Yeah... The market here is unimaginably vast, especially with the Enterprise people arriving these past two days. Even though no one knows what they're up to, the fine goods they brought from Ideal City have made all the inner city nobles turn green with envy." Hearing this, Sun Shiqi couldn't help feeling tempted. "Do you have a way to get your hands on those goods?" Zhou Nan shook his head with regret. "If only I had the connections. I tried, but those Enterprise people won't do business with us at all... Who knows what perks those blue jackets gave them; that batch of goods was completely monopolized by the shelter." "Can they be bought from the shelter then?" Sun Shiqi asked eagerly. "Yes, but the price isn't cheap," Zhou Nan nodded. "From what I've learned, a bionic kidney costs 600,000 silver coins." "600,000 silver coins?!" Sun Shiqi's eyes bulged in shock. "Are they crazy?!" "After all, it's from Ideal City; there's a reason it's expensive. Think about those inner city nobles who have more chips than they know what to do with, and you won't think it's expensive anymore. A perfect liver or kidney can give you another twenty years of life without worrying about your body being drained by wine and women... Even I'd like to get one swapped in." As he spoke, Zhou Nan's face was full of envy. More than a hundred percent profit in a single trip. That business was simply too lucrative! "...I'm more interested in knowing what the Enterprise actually got from the New Alliance." Sun Shiqi's face was equally full of envy, but even more so of curiosity. Even under the banner of "friendly partners," these people from the Enterprise were treating the New Alliance a little too well. Zhou Nan shrugged. "Who knows? Probably either some incredible weapon or a priceless black box?" "My imagination isn't big enough; that's all I can come up with."