Team Battle and the Auction!

The entire battle lasted less than twenty minutes, but cleaning up the battlefield took a full hour. As before, standard rules applied: captives, bounties, and loot produced from collective combat belonged collectively to all players who participated. Captives were valued at 5 silver coins each, and corpses at 5 copper coins each; these were tallied into the total post-battle earnings and split evenly among all participating players who had followed orders. As for the loot, it was gathered at the north gate for interested players to bid on and purchase. The bidding process was simple, much like an auction. First, the Administrator set a base price and a ceiling price. Interested players called out bids in turn, with each bid raising the price by at least 1 copper coin in principle, continuing until no one raised the bid further or someone called out the ceiling price. As for why a maximum ceiling price was set? It was mainly because Chu Guang was too kindhearted. He worried that these little players would get hotheaded and blow too many silver coins on trash that wasn't worth it. If someone were truly that keen, calling out the maximum price right off the bat to close the deal was also permitted. If an item received no bids—that is, went unsold—the shelter bought it back at ten percent of the base price, to be repriced and put up for sale in the weapons shop or warehouse. Malicious bidding would be penalized by deducting contribution points and ten percent of the bid amount. All proceeds generated from the auction, after a ten percent tax deduction, were added into the total post-battle pool and split evenly among all participating players. This was essentially a variant of the GKP system seen in many MMORPGs, especially handy when individual damage contribution was hard to measure. Chu Guang had tweaked it slightly and put it straight to use. In addition, for standout performers in combat, Chu Guang awarded bonus silver coins and contribution points. That said, the undisputed MVP of this battle was Chu Guang himself. With a single hammer strike, he had obliterated the decurion's head—a feat witnessed firsthand by all the little players around. Incidentally, with no suitable person for the job, Chu Guang had to serve as auctioneer himself. "This is a 16mm shotgun. Since it's a shotgun, it naturally lacks rifling. Its design is quite unique. What makes it unique is... there's a shovel mounted onto the barrel." "Well, I'm guessing it's to make digging foxholes easier? After all, even the best body armor can't compare to the dirt and sand around you. Starting bid is 35 silver, ceiling is 70 silver. Anyone interested, raise your hand and call out your bid." The moment his voice fell, hands shot up immediately. "I bid 35!" "35 silver plus 1 copper!" "Damn it! Another copper!" "You're something else! I bid 40 silver!" "40 silver plus 1 copper." "%#@!" In the end, this seemingly useless piece of junk with a smoothbore barrel actually sold for the "exorbitant" price of 47 silver and 5 copper coins. Since the weapons shop didn't stock 16mm ammunition, the buyer would probably have to figure out a solution on their own. Otherwise, it really could only serve as a shovel. Chu Guang then looked at the next weapon: a tape-wrapped 5mm Scorpion submachine gun. Unlike standardized weapons produced in Boulder City, this gun was clearly cobbled together from scavenged spare parts. The receiver looked somewhat like a pistol's semi-automatic receiver fitted with a piston, and saw marks were still visible at the muzzle end of the barrel. Its flaws were obvious: low magazine capacity, and though it had rifling, the barrel was stubby, meaning its bullet spread was predictably atrocious. However, its redeeming feature was an extremely high rate of fire—in full-auto mode, it could empty a magazine in 2.5 to 3 seconds... Wait, did that even count as an advantage? Maybe for a high roller it did! "This is a 5mm Scorpion submachine gun. Its original owner was a decurion of the Bloodhand Clan, and his name is carved on the grip—Cha." "Most marauders aren't educated and can't come up with complicated names. He met a grim end too, dying under the hammer of justice... While his crimes are too numerous to list, I must admit his weapon isn't bad. This gun embodies his lifetime of combat experience: modified to be light, fast, with minimal recoil. Unless your sequence is Intelligence-type, controlling it one-handed shouldn't be an issue. Starting price is 50 silver, ceiling is 100 silver." "I bid 70!" "100!" Chu Guang: "...?" The one who shouted the sky-high bid of 100 silver coins was Mosquito. Under the envious gazes of the players, this hidden millionaire carried away his trophy, looking as though he had struck gold. Intuition told Chu Guang that this guy wasn't the type to charge on the front lines, so his motive for buying the gun remained a mystery. Regardless, Chu Guang sincerely hoped this little player would direct his clever wits toward something useful to society. Even if that other world no longer concerned him. The auction moved at a brisk pace. Thanks to the price ceiling, each deal closed in roughly two minutes. Out of twelve firearms, ten were sold, with three hitting the ceiling price and only one going for the base opening bid. As for the two unsold guns, Chu Guang planned to hand them to Xia Yan for modifications; their receivers and barrels could probably be recycled, and if not, so be it. As for melee weapons and protective gear, they were all liquidated at clearance prices between 1 and 3 silver coins, sparing the need for any formal bidding. To Chu Guang's surprise, the loot auction raked in 631 silver coins—over a hundred more than he had anticipated. After deducting the ten percent transaction tax, 567.9 silver remained. Rounding off the change, Chu Guang generously distributed the 567 silver coins, along with the other rewards, to all 67 players who took part in the fight. From this single battle, everyone walked away with more than 10 silver coins, leaving everybody happy. Except, of course, for the captives hanging from the gallows. When they first saw the bluecoats, the marauders had harbored a sliver of false hope. After all, most bluecoats opposed the death penalty; perhaps surrendering meant they might live? Their past assumptions had clearly doomed them. So that they could be useful to society in death, Chu Guang would send their corpses into the active substance extractor to be refined, extracting the active substance needed to incubate clone bodies. To synthesize truly useful people. "...Alright, warriors of the shelter! You have successfully defended civilization's hope. I salute you!" "The loot auction has concluded. Those who need to rest, follow me back to the shelter. The rest of you may move freely, but do not step outside the outpost's walls... unless you have a special mission to carry out." "The base's north gate will close in five minutes. If you still have things to say, take it to the plaza; if you're done talking, go to sleep. Dismissed!" Chu Guang clapped his hands, herding the players gathered at the north gate back into the outpost like ducks. The battle had been so exhilarating that many of them were still riding high on adrenaline. However, seeing that it was already two in the morning, their in-game characters' fatigue levels would exceed the limit if they didn't log off soon. The players originally scheduled to log off at midnight had no choice but to reluctantly head back into the shelter and lie down in their hibernation pods for a normal logout. *** On the official forum. The players who had just logged off flooded in without missing a beat. Quitting Smoking: "Did the game dev post an update today? Any news about the closed beta?" Scavenger Lv99: "Nope! But today's team battle was insanely fun, hahahaha! I charged out of the trench, hit a slide tackle, and bit that marauder's leg right off! The guy was completely dumbfounded, haha!" Elaina: "Which leg? (funny face)" Scavenger Lv99: "?" Construction Boy and Bricks: "Man, I really wanted that full-auto pipe gun. I was still mulling over what to bid when someone snatched it instantly at the 80 silver ceiling. Absolutely ridiculous!" Xiao Xiao Xiao Bookworm: "Don't sweat it. When that bro fires it, he'll find out what ridiculous really means. With that barrel and receiver, I bet it jams every three rounds. (picks nose)" Yaya: "Umm, is anyone selling silver coins? I'll trade RMB for them! DM me if interested~" Ye Shi: "!!! Sugar mommy!" Elaina: "Are you trying to rave right under the dev bro's nose too? (funny face)" Fang Chang: "Damn! You're even buying in-game currency during the closed alpha? Got too much cash burning a hole in your pocket?" Someone wanted to do real-money trading? Although no MMORPG could escape real-money transactions, Chu Guang really hadn't expected someone to buy test currency during a closed alpha. What if numerical inflation hit the game the very next day? For instance, what if quests rewarded 100 silver after Lv10? It wasn't impossible. Chu Guang recalled that he had never promised silver coins would remain the currency until the servers shut down. Right now, only silver coins were in circulation. Later on, when power armor, aircraft, tanks, and artillery made their debuts, they might issue gold coins, platinum coins, amethyst coins, shitcoins, and cryptocurrency. When the closed beta or open beta rolled around, completely replacing the currency system wasn't out of the question either. A level 1 newbie and a max-level veteran couldn't possibly earn the exact same money doing the same task, could they? In game design, that would truly be ridiculous! Out of care for his little players, Chu Guang sat upright in his computer chair and typed on the keyboard. Guang: "A friendly reminder from the dev: Wasteland OL does not encourage or recognize real-money trading. Any forum posts offering to buy or sell in-game currency will be deleted. While the official platform cannot regulate third-party transactions, we will not acknowledge any chat logs or transfer records outside this forum, nor will we reallocate or compensate for in-game or out-of-game losses based on such evidence." Guang: "Many players on this forum were actually invited through mutual acquaintances. If you insist on trading, I won't stop you, but please weigh the risks carefully and do not trust strangers lightly. In future development, we will consider launching an official trading platform to safeguard players' assets. Until then, please focus on enjoying the fun of the game itself." Doing this was genuinely for the players' own good. At this stage, selling silver coins or gear for RMB was a guaranteed net loss—and a losing deal for both sides. Anyone using their head could foresee what a global sensation this game would cause once it hit open beta. As the developer, he had already promised this was a non-wipe closed alpha. If they didn't spend money on improving their own combat power right now, grind hard to reap the perks early, and climb into the top tier of powerhouses, when else would they? Were they really going to compete with newbies for odd jobs a few patches down the line? That would be pathetic. Ye Shi: "Damn! We baited Brother Guang out." Yaya: "Ah! Lord Dev, I didn't mean to! I won't ever do it again! QAQ" Quitting Smoking: "Ban her quickly! Haha, let me play instead! (sunglasses)" Yaya: "Get lost! (#`O′)" Proud Grandpa What Can You Do: "Heh, harvesting the leeks already? Planting a few shills to hype up the in-game currency, then conning folks into jumping in. Tsk tsk, those who know, know. (picks nose)" Lightning King Professor Yang: "If RMB trading isn't encouraged, can I use BTC? (curious)" Ye Shi: "While your train of thought is always unique, I'd suggest securing a closed alpha spot first. (funny face)" Lightning King Professor Yang: "Damn! My luck is absolute garbage, truly tragic. T.T" Quitting Smoking: "Piss off, you call that tragic? I look down on you!" Ye Shi: "I can vouch for that—Brother Quitting Smoking has it the worst. We all hit pre-register at the same time, yet here we are at Lv4 while he still hasn't even been picked. (funny face)" Elaina: "(funny face)" Quitting Smoking: "Don't rub it in, bro. T.T" Really? Ah... that really was pitiful. Chu Guang swore he hadn't targeted anyone intentionally. With so many pre-registered players, he couldn't possibly know everyone. At most, he filtered out people with eccentric thinking or antisocial personalities, weeded out minors under eighteen, and drew the rest at random. To fail to get picked for so long... he might as well go buy a lottery ticket. "Pre-registration count: 888. That's a good number." Auspicious! Taking one last glance at the official website, Chu Guang shut down the computer, stretched, and headed into the adjacent room to sleep.