"Huh? Is it already 30 reward points?"
Recently, players have been quite diligent.
Chu Guang, who had just shut down his computer to go to sleep, checked the Manager's allowance right before bed and suddenly discovered he had accumulated thirty points. Without a second thought, he allocated 20 points to the intermediate blind box and the remaining 10 to the basic blind box.
However, the rewards that came out were not ideal.
At least they weren't what he wanted.
"One box of oral antibiotic capsules, about 12 capsules. One box of hemostatic bandages, containing two packs, usable twice... Unfortunately, no muscle strengthening needle."
"Even a healing needle would have been nice."
Picking up the supplies from the conveyor belt, Chu Guang sighed.
Not that they were entirely useless.
Just mediocre.
Out of the ten basic blind boxes, besides a bunch of colorful lollipops, the only useful items were a 500ml bottle of soy sauce and a 500g bag of salt.
But this bag of salt was somewhat interesting.
"… A single intake of more than 10g can increase immunity and metabolism by 1~5%. Wow, did I just unbox a legend?"
What would happen if someone consumed the entire bag?
Just as the thought of stacking buffs appeared in Chu Guang's mind, he quickly realized how stupid that idea was.
Eating an entire bag of salt.
That would probably be overly flavored.
"Anyway, let's wait and put them on the shelf tomorrow."
500g could be divided into five individual packages of 100g each, selling each for 3~5 silver coins isn't too unreasonable, right?
Honestly speaking, that's not too greedy! After all, it's pure salt without sulfates or organic impurities, the sparkling kind, and it even comes with buffs.
Consider it a benefit for the players.
The soy sauce is hard to divide; 100ml sealed containers are hard to find, so just slap a 20 silver coins price tag on it and put it up on the shelf.
Since I'm not planning on opening a restaurant, I doubt any player would buy it.
"That's it then, let's sleep... Xiao Qi, wake me up at six in the morning."
Xiao Qi, who was crouched in the corner acting idle, lit up its signal light.
"Okay, Master."
Chu Guang soon fell asleep.
However, Xia Yan, crouching in the next room, just couldn't fall asleep.
It's not because of someone's snoring—this room's soundproofing is quite good. As soon as the door is shut, everything gets quiet.
What really kept her tossing and turning was that tomorrow would be her first official day at work.
Is this job as "the weapon shop owner's wife" even proper?
Chu Guang had been pampering her with good food these past few days, leaving her feeling uneasy.
After all, captives usually get nutrition paste devoid of actual nutrients, or even wood shavings mixed with tree bark, maybe something else entirely.
Talking about meat and porridge be out of line—it would already be a blessing to have regular food.
Yet, over these days, she felt like she was actually gaining weight...
Dwelling too long on such thoughts can make one sleepy; clutching her script, Xia Yan eventually dozed off. When she woke up from her drowsy state, it was already eight in the morning.
"Get up."
Looking at the man standing at the door, Xia Yan rubbed her eyes and started to get up from the floor with the help of the wall, only to find two crutches laid out before her.
"Are these… for me?"
Chu Guang chuckled.
"Who else needs them here but you?"
Might consider giving her a bionic prosthesis when there's a chance; watching her like this is rather pitiful.
"..."
This guy!
Why does he have to be so annoying!
Xia Yan gritted her teeth, each arm grabbing a crutch, and struggled to stand up.
Watching her complete the task by herself, Chu Guang nodded approvingly, quite pleased with her strong demeanor.
"Not bad, seems quite suitable for you."
With a cold expression, Xia Yan stiffly said,
"Say whatever you want… after all, I'm your captive, even if you ask me—"
"Alright, stop talking," not wanting to delve into this person's crazy ideas, Chu Guang swiftly cut her off and continued coughing slightly, "I'll assign you some work later. For now, come with me."
The last time she breathed fresh air was three days ago.
Following Chu Guang, she took the elevator straight to the surface.
Seeing the sunlight scattered in front of the sanatorium's entrance, Xia Yan subconsciously raised her left arm, the one clenching the crutch, squinting her long lashes as she found the light a bit dazzling.
"The wall outside, did you all build it?"
Chu Guang casually said.
"Give it a review."
Xia Yan pursed her lips,
"Mediocre I guess—enough to fend off a few country-side Looters. But if it's Mutants, they could probably climb over with just a small boost, not to mention facing a Tide."
Hearing a term she'd never heard before, Chu Guang took a longer look at her.
"Tide?"
With an indifferent tone, Xia Yan explained,
"It happens often along the third ring line; you probably can't feel it here. Packs of Eaters migrate from near the second ring towards the third ring area, mingling with quite a few Crawlers— and even stronger mutants than Crawlers... Even if I tell you this, you probably can't imagine."
Since Giant Stone City is enormously vast, if any Variants migrate north from within the city, they invariably pass through this survivors' fortress.
And naturally, the inevitable war between humans and Variants ensues.
Although Xia Yan's mercenary squad was just a fringe squad, they had also participated in several missions to handle the Tide.
Moving with the main force, the danger was relatively lower, and the money from such missions was generally good.
In order to restore trade and production ASAP, the bigwigs of the city often spared no expense to hire them, providing plenty of ammunition generously.
All they had to do was pull the trigger and brace the gun with their shoulders.
Many of the poor living in slums took the irreversible path of becoming mercenaries during the "Tide."
"Indeed," Chu Guang nodded, "I've only seen the Eaters a few times… they seem to dislike light, right?"
That was back when he first arrived in the Wasteland.
He nearly didn't make it…
Xia Yan nodded.
"Yes, not only light, but mutated hyenas, jackals, moles, and other Variants like bats and rats don't take kindly to them either; they'd even hunt them down when starving… so these creatures often squeeze into subways or sewers."
"Generally speaking, if you see one, it means there's a group nearby; encountering them in narrow places is very dangerous."
Silently noting these clues, Chu Guang decided to later update the word "Tide" in the official website's database.
But now was not the time for that.
"… From now on, this house will be your workshop. When conditions allow, I'll find someone to build you a new one."
"For now, just make do with this one."
Leading Xia Yan to the door of the weapon shop, Chu Guang hung the sign, which he had placed by the door, on a hook by the doorframe.
"I've engraved the prices on the sign, and I've taught you the corresponding sales talk. If you have any questions, ask Xiao Qi… but it's on the third floor, so it's not easy for you to get up there. My players are very friendly, so if you don't understand what they're saying, just stare at them expressionlessly."
For a socially awkward shut-in, staring expressionlessly was already quite impactful.
"Players?"
Xia Yan hadn't understood the meaning of the word "players" as Chu Guang had used it in Chinese.
"It translates to 'residents of the refuge,'" Chu Guang casually explained, "You don't need to remember their names or deeply understand the meaning of the word; just use it to address them."
It somehow felt impolite to address residents of the refuge as "residents of the refuge"…
But since Chu Guang had said so, Xia Yan had no objections.
Being a slave, having a decent job was already the greatest kindness for her.
"Remember, you need to record every sale, and I will check the ledger and inventory daily. But even the cheapest steel pipe rifle costs hundreds of Silver Coins, and the players can't afford it yet, so your job shouldn't be too busy. In your free time, help me repair that assault rifle and, within your capabilities, help me make some bullets and weapons."
Xia Yan glanced at the sparse room, which, apart from a table and a chair, contained only a wooden board nailed to the wall.
Some inferior metal pipe weapons hung from the nails, and it seemed she was worried she might forget the prices, as there were wooden tags with prices hanging below them.
With a somewhat dazed gaze, Xia Yan looked at Chu Guang, unable to help but ask,
"Are you planning on having me carve out a gun with my fingernails?"
Chu Guang: "Can you manage it?"
Xia Yan: "Can I manage a ghost! Even if there isn't an electric lathe, shouldn't there at least be a manually operated worktable?!"
Mercenaries often, due to using DIY weapons, couldn't find the necessary bullets and accessories in store shelves. In such cases, they usually went to small or medium workshops that customized machine parts or precision instruments to rent their workbenches and process what they needed.
Because of poverty, Xia Yan did have experience making weapons and bullets; though she couldn't afford the high-end, smart automatic lathes that could "input and form," making these items with some affordable electric lathes wasn't difficult and didn't take much time.
But the situation in front of her was beyond her imagination.
Don't even mention motorized machine tools, this place has neither electricity nor beds. Not to mention various types of cutters, they don't even have the most basic lathe tools, boring tools, or milling cutters.
What kind of weapons can you make with this!
Chu Guang didn't care about her complaints and continued indifferently.
"So, if you need something, just say it, don't make me guess."
"Now I need you to make a list of everything you need, write them down, and it's best to simple sketch what they look like. If they can be found, I'll have the players try to help you look for them. If they really can't be found, I will think of a way to buy them... Oh, remember to write down their prices, I don't want to waste money unnecessarily."
Xia Yan, "Lathe tools, boring tools, milling tools, as well as pliers and hammers, these are the most basic. Besides, I also need a grooved bar with a thread and scale... forget it, I will just draw it."
"Having a drawing is best. You can draw as detailed as possible. Maybe my players can make it."
Chu Guang took out paper and pen, along with a wooden ruler, and handed them to Xia Yan.
After receiving them, she frowned, relying on her memory, and began to write and draw on the paper.
Chu Guang didn't rush her.
Drawing these items in a way that makes them understandable to others is not an easy task, especially for a mercenary who is not professional.
But isn't everything started from the first time?
After Xia Yan finished her drawing, Chu Guang took the blueprint, added two lines of text, and then head to the warehouse, finding a player sitting at a wooden table on duty.
Handing over the paper, Chu Guang spoke concisely.
"I need the items on this paper."
"If anyone comes here selling goods, let them know to keep an eye out for these during their scavenging."
"When you have free time, trace this blueprint, help me draw a few more copies, post them at our entrance, and also send one to the steelmaking blast furnace area."
The Warehouse Manager's job also included handling the collection and issuance of production tasks, after all, assigning tasks one by one was too bothersome.
The player who received the paper was shocked.
[Task: Forge or collect a lathe tool (with drawing)]
[Reward: 10 Silver Coins, 100 Contribution Points]
10 Silver Coins!
Damn!
That's equivalent to a day's wage for burning cement!
What a fortune if you find one!
There are more tasks like this, including other tools like boring tools and milling tools.
Regardless of how envious the player sitting at the Warehouse Manager's position was, after Chu Guang gave his instructions, he turned around and left the place.
Although the task includes forging or collecting, to be honest, he didn't have much hope for the players picking up such good items from the Wasteland.
Not to mention it was already the year 211 of the Wasteland Era; even the society before the nuclear war might not have used such "primitive" tools for processing, they probably had already popularized more advanced production methods.
Like 3D printing, for instance.
Although this technology was not mature on Earth in the 21st century, who can say about the future?
What Chu Guang truly hoped for was that his lovely players, with their limited tools and materials, could solve this problem.
For example, those big guys often discussing metallurgical technology on the forum were on the list of players from the third batch of closed beta, and the fourth batch had even added a few more.
Besides the armchair strategists, he believed that among these players, there were surely one or two who could genuinely solve the issue.