After much contemplation, Chu Guang could not arrive at any conclusion.
Although the principle behind a generator is simple—something any middle school student could understand, essentially "a conductor moving through a magnetic field"—transforming that simple concept into a 10kw generator was far from straightforward.
When he turned to Baidu, all that came back were purchase links.
Ha.
If I could just buy it online, would I really need you to tell me where to get it?
Useless!
After some considerable effort, Chu Guang finally found a few reliable tutorials. However, given the scarcity of resources, none of the materials were truly useful.
Time swiftly passed, and it was six o'clock.
With the sound of the hatch opening, the four players stirred awake.
"We'll research this later."
Chu Guang lowered his leg from the table, adjusted his appearance in the mirror he had scavenged, and walked calmly to the next room.
As he entered, the four players were already examining their attributes on the cultivation pod's display screen.
"Indeed, my genetic sequence is strength-based... my starting value for strength is 7, but my intelligence is only 3? But I don't feel dumb."
"That sounds a bit... unintelligent," remarked one player. "And your beard is growing way too fast."
Old Bai's beard was indeed quite exaggerated.
Yesterday it was just stubble, and today it had already grown to the length of a fingernail.
"I don't know what's going on. By the way, do you have a razor here?"
"Obviously not. How about trying an axe?" came the sarcastic reply.
"Get lost."
"As for me, I turned out to be agility-based. I thought I was intelligence-based," Fang Chang mused, stroking his chin.
"I'm intelligence-based," Kuang Feng chuckled wryly and raised his hand. "Isn't 3 points in strength a bit low? But 7 points in intelligence... I don't feel any smarter."
"I'm perception-based," Night Ten remarked, a hint of frustration in his voice. "What use is perception? Can I predict the future?"
Compared to these vague attributes, he would have preferred to excel in strength or agility. If not that, at least constitution, so he could serve as a tank.
"It's likely a kind of intuition for danger," Fang Chang mused, "Remember how we dodged that mutant's ambush yesterday? If you use this attribute well, it might be ridiculously overpowered… such a waste on you."
"Shut up."
"Ahem."
Chu Guang cleared his throat as he entered the room, interrupting the conversation.
Perhaps due to his earlier conversation with them as the planner, where they discussed their affinity, the four players looked at him differently now.
To maintain their immersion, Chu Guang decided to keep up his authoritative image and spoke sternly.
"We're short on time, so I'll be brief."
"We have a mountain of tasks to complete, but very little time. In order not to delay our plans, we must establish our surface base before winter arrives."
"We need to stockpile food, water, and fuel... and build defenses and surface shelters."
"I've already organized the tasks into a plan, and you can find the details on the bulletin board outside the sanatorium."
The players' eyes lit up, their faces eager.
Has the task system been improved?
"That's the general situation. Any questions? If not, we'll head out."
"Wait, wait, Manager!"
"Speak."
Night Ten blushed and raised his hand.
"Where… where is the toilet?"
...
The toilet.
That was indeed an issue.
The B1 floor of Shelter 404 was more of a reception area. While there were compartments for cultivation pods, it lacked any basic living facilities.
As he watched the players rush out of the sanatorium, Chu Guang suddenly realized that with the influx of players, not only would food and water become a problem, but soon, finding a place to relieve oneself would also become a significant issue.
In Bet Street, there were public toilets, and both human and animal waste were collected and, it was said, sold to the nearby Brown Farm.
Since arriving at the Wetland Park sanatorium, Chu Guang had been handling such matters in the forest, without giving much thought to the hundred or so people needing to relieve themselves.
When the four players returned, they were all limping.
"It's so damn uncomfortable without a latrine."
"No paper either. I had to use leaves... nearly scraped myself raw."
"+1."
"Ugh, it feels burning... do you guys feel that?"
"No."
"Did you use nettles to wipe?"
"What... what's nettles?"
"Never mind, just endure it. It'll pass."
"???"
Chu Guang, standing awkwardly on the side, realized he had forgotten to mention to them that moss could be used for such purposes—a little trick he'd learned from the survivors in Bet Street.
But they didn't seem to give him a chance to speak.
Well, they'll have to bear with it for now.
Everyone has to go through this.
"Manager," Fang Chang limped up to Chu Guang and spoke respectfully. "I propose that we build a toilet."
Night Ten: "Seconded!"
Old Bai: "I also agree. And once we have a toilet, we can dig a large pit to collect the waste, mix it with wood ash and sawdust, and use aerobic bacteria and fungi to decompose the organic matter, heating it up and killing the harmful microbes and pathogens to make fertilizer."
Fang Chang: "Exactly. And not only can we make fertilizer, but we could also mix some of the waste and organic materials together, seal them up, and let anaerobic bacteria convert it into methane! The biogas in my hometown works this way. We could use it for lighting and even power generation."
"This is a good idea. Let's go with it." Chu Guang nodded approvingly.
Biogas.
He had been so preoccupied with survival issues that he had forgotten about this possibility.
As far as he remembered, although Bet Street didn't have a biogas plant, the Brown Farm next door did.
Seeing Chu Guang's approving expression, the four players grew even more energized, bouncing ideas off each other.
Building a toilet wasn't difficult. Even a biogas pit wasn't a huge challenge; the only tricky part was sealing and storing the gas.
Fortunately, the wasteland was lacking in many things, but not plastic.
Especially plastic bottles and garbage bags.
Because burning plastic produces toxic gases, very few survivors used it for fire. Most simply used it as kindling.
With a little searching, they should be able to find plenty in the nearby suburbs.
Thus, another task was added to the bulletin board: collecting plastic bags and bottles.
"Manager, I have an idea about the generator." Kuang Feng, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.
Chu Guang turned to look at him.
"Go ahead."
Kuang Feng continued, "Most cars have onboard generators. I was wondering if there are any roads nearby, or a parking lot. If we find a car, this issue should be easy to solve."
Chu Guang considered it.
"There are cars around. The Wetland Park area has a parking lot, but I've already checked the vehicles there, and none of them have anything worth salvaging."
"I still want to give it a try," Kuang Feng persisted. "If we can find a usable generator, we'll have power for our surface base!"
"Then go ahead, but I won't let you go alone," Chu Guang glanced over at the players and fixed his gaze on Night Ten. "You two, go check out the parking lot."
Night Ten, full of energy, responded immediately.
"Yes, sir!"
Night Ten's genetic sequence was perception-based, so his intuition for danger would come in handy.
Before they left, Chu Guang made sure they took two short knives, better suited for use against mutants than the bulky axes.
He also reminded them once more: avoid fighting mutants if possible. If they were spotted and showed clear hostility, never turn your back on them.
Doing so was a death sentence.
With the Wetland Park map and a simple guide in hand, Kuang Feng and Night Ten left the sanatorium.
Old Bai and Fang Chang looked to Chu Guang for guidance.
"Manager, should we keep chopping trees, or…?"
Chu Guang surveyed the area and counted the unprocessed logs lying on the ground.
"Let's take a break from tree-cutting today. We need to solve the toilet issue first… How about you go get some shovels and axes, and I'll show you what to do?"
...
The parking lot was located southeast of the sanatorium.
For two hundred years, it had been abandoned.
Nature had completely overtaken it.
Tree roots had pierced through the hard concrete, and shrubs and wild grass had grown knee-high.
Rusting vehicles were covered in vines, and through broken windows, one could see moss crawling over the seats and air vents.
Seeing this, Kuang Feng finally understood Chu Guang's words.
There was truly nothing left worth salvaging here.
Night Ten's expression mirrored his discomfort.
In this state, there was no way they'd find a usable generator.
"Should we go back?"
After a long silence, Kuang Feng, unwilling to give up, moved forward.
"We've come this far."
Night Ten shrugged and followed.
Having known each other for years, the one thing he knew best about Kuang Feng was his stubbornness, and still, he had no idea what the man did for a living.
Many of the cars in the parking lot had engine hoods rusted shut and couldn't be opened. Kuang Feng searched the lot thoroughly and eventually found one that could be pried open.
But when he lifted the hood, he froze.
This... an engine?
"What's