"Eat."
Inside Shelter No. 404, in the room adjacent to the residents' hall, Chu Guang handed a bowl and spoon to Xia Yan, who was sitting against the wall.
Looking at the green barley porridge topped with deer meat and fern leaves, Xia Yan could not help swallowing her saliva and, ignoring the possibility of poison, buried her head and gulped it down greedily.
Being able to eat it meant her recovery was almost complete.
Watching the female mercenary devour the meal, Chu Guang casually glanced at her right leg. Although the limb couldn't be regenerated, the wound had mostly healed and the scabbed parts were even starting to fall off, revealing new flesh.
It seemed that the treatment injection really was something special.
If only he could inject another.
Once Xia Yan had almost finished eating, Chu Guang spoke up.
"How's the back?"
Xia Yan put down the bowl and nervously nodded her head.
Honestly, she wasn't confident.
But she was afraid to say no, fearing she might be sold to the neighboring farm as a serf.
This ruthless man had torn apart a Crawler with his bare hands and could shoot his own people without even blinking an eye; who knows what more inhuman things he could do.
"Very good," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "You can rest tomorrow, and the day after you'll start working."
Xia Yan anxiously asked,
"What exactly does the owner of the weapon shop do?"
Chu Guang looked at her and said,
"It's your role. Haven't you memorized all the lines yet?"
Xia Yan looked puzzled, clearly not understanding the nature of her job.
Chu Guang sighed.
"Never mind, if you don't understand, it's okay. My assistant, Xiao Qi, will train you on the job. Just do the tasks as I instruct."
"Also, I don't mind about other places, but in front of others, you must address me as the Manager. Understand?"
Xia Yan nodded.
"Understood…"
Chu Guang instructed,
"Now say it once."
"Manager, sir," Xia Yan said, her head bowed in submission.
Hmm?
She's a quick learner.
Pleased by her attitude, Chu Guang nodded, handing her a chocolate-flavored lollipop.
"Very good."
"This is dessert after the meal, take it."
Xia Yan, looking bewildered, took the lollipop from his hand and stared blankly at it, her mind obviously wandering.
Chu Guang didn't want to hear her thoughts nor was he curious about what she was thinking.
Leaving the room without lingering, he closed the door behind him, returned to the surface, first carried Xiao Qi down from upstairs, and then like an old peasant, he herded the released players back to Shelter No. 404, settling them back into their cultivation chambers.
Login access was locked to prevent anyone from getting out of bed in the middle of the night.
Except for one player scavenging outdoors, all 28 players had returned to the nest.
Sitting down in front of the computer in the residents' hall, Chu Guang opened the Forum.
As he expected, the first thing the small players did upon waking up, instead of brushing their teeth, was unanimously to pick up their mobile phones or computers and log onto the Wasteland OL official website.
Just after the players had logged off, the forum on the official website was at its liveliest for the day.
Especially since just three hours ago, Wasteland OL's official site had dropped such big news!
Just under three days after the launch of Alpha 0.2 version, they had updated to 0.3 version. And looking at the content of this update, it wasn't even a bit less remarkable than the previous version!
Absolutely no need for highlights.
The post that Chu Guang had made on the forum as a planner, unsurprisingly, replaced "Long Days Ahead" analysis post and became the current number one hot post on the entire forum!
Old White: [??? The most diligent official ever! A major update every three days, and a minor one daily, love it!]
Spare People Under the Knife: [Moved to tears, finally getting paid for quests! T.T]
Night Ten: [What are you saying? Haven't they been paying all this time? Don't contribution points and goodwill count as payment? (facetious)]
Fang Chang: [Wait a second, I have a question! Does this mean, from now on, daily tasks will no longer yield contribution points?]
Wild Wind: [Damn!]
Spare People Under the Knife: [Damn damn!]
Night Ten: [No, man! You can't do this! (panic)]
Future Kakarot: [Actually, there's another small detail, 2000 contribution points can upgrade to citizen, what if some tasks are only available to citizens, and residents can't take them?]
Canyon Fugitive Mole: [Wuwuwu, I want to build a house! Don't stop me from building a house! What happens if you build a house without buying land?]
Elena: [That would probably be considered an illegal construction. (facetious)]
Makabazi: "Building a house? That's pointless, I want to farm! Darn, what can I possibly grow on just 5 square meters! (Angry)"
These players always focus on the weirdest things.
Chu Guang just wanted to express that in the future, doing quests and work would earn money. Yet, what the players focused on was that it would be even harder to earn Contribution Points!
Moreover, regarding the Identity System and Private Land System in this update, they seemed to have misunderstood some things.
But this was also his own fault, as he hadn't explained this part clearly.
Guang: "Everyone, remain calm, I just finished a long shift and hadn't even managed to shut my eyes when I heard from the Forum moderator that you all have a lot of questions about the new version! So here, let me clarify what this Private Land System is all about!"
"First off, those who have already obtained the closed beta access should have felt that the map of the Wasteland OL game is an open world, where the actual map size is quite vast, almost infinite. However, compared to that, the available safe zones at the surface outpost of Shelter No. 404 are limited!"
"These 5 square meters of private land can be regarded as a personal space within the Enclosing Wall provided to players by the Outpost Base. Players are free to build their houses on their own land as long as the height doesn't exceed the center of the base where the sanatorium's ruins are located!"
"If you want to increase the size of your private territory, aside from striving to earn Contribution Points to upgrade your identity level, you can also cooperate with friends to jointly develop and share the use!"
"Of course, some players might wonder if they can build houses outside the Enclosing Wall of the Outpost Base if they don't have their own land?"
"The answer is definitely yes, we promised that players could freely unleash their creativity to remodel the world, and the server will preserve these alterations, which is indeed one of the core gameplay elements of this game!"
"However, note that free construction is just a server-supported feature! Players are allowed to exercise this function but must also abide by the rules set by NPCs within the game. After all, in terms of settings, players are residents of Shelter No. 404."
"The territory of the Outpost Base is not only the Wall but also includes the defense buffer zone outside the wall, agricultural zones, and so forth. As long as they don't occupy these lands and don't pose a threat to public safety or the facilities of the Outpost Base, players can explore their creativity and build freely."
"But take note, these facilities outside the territory are not protected by the shelter."
"Also, since the scale of the Outpost will constantly change as development progresses, the nearby land may be included in the new territory any time. Therefore, for the sake of your gaming experience, you should be creative and it's best to choose a location a bit far from the Outpost Base."
"If your building accidentally falls within the Outpost's territorial scope, there's no need to worry too much. The merciful Manager will not immediately demolish buildings inside the territory but will give the owner 30 days."
"Within this 30-day period, you will have the right of first refusal for the land, whether it's by upgrading your identity level or cooperating with other players. As long as the land under your building becomes your private land, you can keep the unauthorized building, which is very humane."
"Of course, if during these 30 days the player does not exercise the right of first refusal, the Manager will have to follow the shelter's management regulations, reclaim the land, and confiscate the unauthorized buildings, proceeding with asset disposition."
"During the asset disposition process, the Manager will decide whether to demolish the building, list it as a public facility, or auction it off based on its purpose and quality. Depending on how the building is dealt with, the Manager may also provide some compensation to the displaced player."
"Additionally, I have to mention, the current money is only a temporary currency during the closed beta and even the internal testing phases! This is crucial!"
"By the end of the game testing, we're considering adopting digital currency and electronic accounting to integrate the money system with the Attribute Panel, presenting it right in front of the players through a visual interface, just like those traditional PC games you play! Attributes, properties, everything will be there for you to check any time!"
"However, implementing this function is not easy, involving many complex technical issues. Please be patient and give our development team some time!"
"By the way, this update has added 20 more closed beta qualifications, and I believe the lucky folks should have received the notification emails by now. Please check them in time."
"After working all night, I need to catch some sleep. If you have any more questions, leave a comment under this post, and I'll get back to them once I wake up!"
Of course, Chu Guang didn't sleep.
Over in Wasteland, it had just turned dark, not even 6:30 PM yet. Sleeping this early would mean waking up in the middle of the night, and he didn't have a Game Helmet to help him sleep.
Might as well sneak a peek on the forum and watch this bunch of Sand Sculptures chat.
As Chu Guang expected, less than two minutes after his post was updated, the comments section exploded again.
Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Awesome! The planner actually replied!"
Human Outline Chef: "Brother Guang!!! Just like you!"
Sweat Falling On Soil: "I beg for a closed beta qualification, please just give me a chance!"
Grandpa Ao: "Keep talking smack—I'm not buying it anymore. I'll say it again, a completely immersive virtual reality game simply doesn't exist in this world. Those accounts above are all robots! Live people in the forum, don't let the Dog Management of the herd fool you! They're no good!"
Elena: "Are there still real people on this forum? Aren't they all my alts? (joking)"
Quit smoking: "What? The 20 spots are already taken? Why didn't I receive anything in my email?!"
Debt Giant Eye: "Hahahaha, I got it!"
That Touch of Remembrance: "+1, Haha!"
Huh?
This ID of Grandpa Ao looks a bit familiar.
Seems like it's from the herd!
But what Chu Guang didn't expect was that this Grandpa Ao kid actually followed them to the forum.
Hadn't this guy always been saying that this official website was a shady site hung up by a horse?
Why is he bowing down to reality now?
Chu Guang clicked on the account to see, and laughed even harder.
Good fellow, he's actually a pre-registered player, and had answered ten questions after Chu Guang had raised the registration threshold.
Chu Guang chuckled to himself and didn't take the guy's ridiculous comments seriously.
In the forum, he wasn't the only one who didn't believe the game really existed.
All Chu Guang had to do was to sift through those three hundred "reservists" and pick 20 reliable players to let in.
His methods included, but were not limited to, analyzing user profiles based on forum posting history, quiz scores, activity levels, and login times—with his sales background, he was exceptionally good at this.
Those puffers who refuse this and that, thinking you're the smartest—don't bother. So many rebars on construction sites to carry, yet choosing to be a smart aleck in the game, that's just inappropriate.
Can't get a reservation?
Furious?
Haha.
Chu Guang couldn't care less.
As a dog planner who was an expert in human nature, Chu Guang just needed to figure out how to let players willingly carry bricks for him all day long with the least amount of dialogue.