"Thirsty... need water..."
Xia Yan, gradually regaining consciousness, was primarily aware of an intense hunger and a throat as dry as if it had been seared with a hot iron.
Her arms felt as heavy as if they were filled with lead.
Her blurred vision was like looking through a fog, and though she tried to get up from the ground, after a slight attempt, she gave up.
Then her gaze fell on a plastic bottle and a wrapper not far away.
She pounced on it, grabbed the plastic bottle without considering what liquid it might contain, and tipped her head back to gulp it down.
The thirst was instantly soothed.
After emptying the last drop of water into her mouth, Xia Yan tossed the bottle aside, then tore into the plastic wrapper like a starving ghost.
Her instinct told her there was food inside!
However, when she saw the dark lump inside, her famished expression paused for a moment.
What is this...
She sniffed it—it didn't smell bad.
After hesitating, Xia Yan finally decided to take a cautious bite.
The moment the substance touched her lips, her expression froze and her pupils dilated with shock.
This!
What is this flavor!
She stuffed the dark lumps into her mouth, and after finishing them, Xia Yan licked her lips unsatisfied, well, she didn't even spare the plastic wrapper, licking it around as well.
At that moment, the alloy door in front of her opened.
Xia Yan raised her head to see a man standing in the doorway.
"Awake?"
She instinctively shrank back slightly, hurriedly glancing at her clothes before stiffly nodding.
"Yeah."
"Tastes good?"
She wanted to act a bit tougher, but her mouth wasn't cooperating.
"Tasty..."
Chu Guang gave a slight smile.
"Want more?"
"Yes," Xia Yan nodded vigorously.
Pleased with her response, Chu Guang nodded.
"What you just ate is called chocolate."
"From today, you work for me, doing whatever I ask of you."
"In exchange, I can provide you with a safe place to stay and food. Additionally, if your performance pleases me, I can give you another piece of that thing you just ate."
Xia Yan had never tasted chocolate before, only hearing that it was a popular pre-war food item and a luxury in Giant Stone City's high society.
"...That's what chocolate tastes like?"
Her index finger touched her lips subconsciously, and a perplexed Xia Yan's eyes gradually filled with regret.
Dammit!
I should have eaten it slower!
Of course, Chu Guang could not guess what she was thinking.
If he knew, he would undoubtedly roll his eyes.
It's just a piece of chocolate…
Is it worth it?
"Yes," Chu Guang continued, looking at Xia Yan sitting on the ground, "so what's your answer?"
"I'm willing."
Xia Yan replied without hesitation, not even questioning what Chu Guang intended for her to do.
After all, there wasn't a choice.
She, having lost half a leg, would end up rotting in the alleys of the slums of Giant Stone City if she were to return.
Just like a decaying orange peel.
No one would care.
Who would choose death when they could live?
At least she wasn't at that level of awareness yet.
Xia Yan turned her head, resignedly closed her eyes, and said softly,
"Although I haven't tried, it should be fine. I know what you want... please, be gentle."
"Huh?"
Chu Guang was taken aback for a moment, but as someone who had driven for many years, he read her expression and guessed she had misunderstood. He straightened his face and said earnestly,
"Madam, please have some self-respect. I am discussing work matters with you seriously right now."
If you keep this up,
I just won't be able to act serious anymore.
Hearing Chu Guang's words, Xia Yan was also stunned.
What the hell?
Wasn't this guy planning to force her to have children when he took her captive???
Pupils shaking violently, as if finally distinguishing between her imagination and reality, Xia Yan's face gradually turned the color of a pig's liver.
Ashamed, she turned her head away and glared at a crack in the corner of the wall, saying fiercely,
"Then kill me..."
Chu Guang: "???"
What the hell?
...
After some time, Chu Guang and Xia Yan, who lay on the ground, briefly explained the situation here.
The concept of the Game wasn't popular in the Wasteland, and using the concept of players would only confuse the other person, Chu Guang couldn't be bothered to cast pearls before swine and simply used terms she could understand.
"To put it simply, my subordinates and I plan to establish a Survivor Settlement on the surface, drive out the Variants, shelter refugees, and restore order to this area."
After hearing Chu Guang's statement, Xia Yan wore an incredulous expression.
How confident do you have to be to churn out such an unrealistic statement?
Restore order?
Countless people had tried that over the past two hundred years, but not one had succeeded. Instead, the number of Variants and Mutants holed up in the city kept growing, and the living space for survivors was continually shrinking, with things getting worse every year.
"Do you think restoring order is as easy as just building an Enclosing Wall?"
Mentally wounded, Xia Yan's tone was slightly sarcastic, "You should really take a look at Giant Stone City, where there are countless people stronger than you all, and even they can only hover on the edges of the third ring. What do you think you can achieve?"
"I naturally have my plans," Chu Guang, who had never considered such things, calmly looked at her and continued, "I'm not planning to achieve this goal in a few months. I'm fully aware it's going to be a protracted Battle, and I am prepared to make sacrifices over several generations to complete it."
How annoying.
It's just a setting, can't you let me finish speaking?
Chu Guang, of course, knew that restoring order wasn't something that could be fixed with just a few words, nor had he ever become arrogant enough to believe he's invincible just because he wiped out a few raiding Looter beggars on the outskirts.
But that was his character set.
Or rather, the game setting.
At least it had to make the players feel like this NPC was the real deal.
However, the person in front of him clearly only heard the latter half of the dialogue.
Several generations?
Xia Yan tensed up and shrank back a bit.
So, was it really about having children after all?
"Back to the real issue," Chu Guang coughed lightly and continued, "You can assemble Firearms and perform maintenance on parts, right?"
Xia Yan nodded her head.
"Yes, that's the deal."
"Good," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "From now on, you are the owner of the weapon shop."
"What?" Xia Yan was totally confused, not understanding what he was saying.
It was because when Chu Guang used a particular word, he wasn't speaking the language of this world but Mandarin from a Parallel World.
"The owner of the weapon shop," Chu Guang stared at her and repeated each word deliberately, then continued, "That's your position. To put it simply, it's about selling Firearms and maintaining them. If someone asks what you do, that's what you respond with."
"Sell guns?" Xia Yan asked, puzzled, "Sell to whom?"
"The residents of the shelter."
"Ah???" Xia Yan was even more baffled, "Aren't those your subordinates?"
"Yes, but they're a bit different from subordinates as you understand them," Chu Guang paused, then continued, "Simply put, we've just crawled out from underground, and we need to focus our Strength on big tasks. Also, resources are scarce, so we are temporarily operating under a planned economy—everyone works together and eats from the same big pot."
"Once the survival crisis is resolved and resources start to become surplus, they'll need to take the initiative to work hard and step out of their comfort zone to pioneer and make progress. That's when our Settlement will switch to a different set of rules. Things like Food, medicine, weapons, and other resources won't be free anymore."
"Since you mentioned Giant Stone City, you should be aware of chips, right? It's essentially the same concept."
Clearly, this woman hadn't understood the words he was speaking.
Residents in the Wasteland who had at least some education could even mix in as lackeys for the local tycoons, like Old Charlie who idled away on Bet Street. If someone had a technical skill, they could land a job in a factory, stoking boilers, mixing medicines, repairing power armor.
Only the poor would trade their lives for money.
Like Ms. Xia in front of him.
In the Wasteland, being a Mercenary was never a prestigious job but rather a group of cheap Cannon Fodder without welfare or subsidies.
But Chu Guang didn't mind.
All he needed was a tool that could carry out his orders.
Knowledge? Experience? Qualities?
All could be learned.
After a pause, Chu Guang looked at her and said,
"The language our people use is a bit different from that of those on the surface. But it's not a big issue, I will teach you a few simple phrases for daily communication."
"You just have to do as I say."