Chuguang tightened the plastic bag and continued speaking.
"You should consider yourselves fortunate for not venturing further inside. These mushrooms typically grow near the nests of mutated leeches."
Ye Shi paused for a moment.
"Mutated leeches?"
Chuguang casually replied.
"Mm, juvenile mutated leeches are only about the size of a palm. Apart from their specialized mouthparts, they don't appear much different from regular leeches."
"However, once they mature, their size rapidly increases to over a meter, and they can even reach lengths of three meters. Their feeding habits also change. I've heard they can swallow a live human whole… of course, that's just hearsay."
Upon hearing the manager's account, Ye Shi felt a chill run through him.
He had sensed something was off when they were foraging for mushrooms, though he couldn't quite place what it was. Now it seemed that he had narrowly escaped a close call with death.
"Are they inedible?" Kuangfeng's face showed a trace of disappointment as he glanced at the mushrooms that Chuguang had put away, muttering, "I thought they might give a buff."
"Don't think too much of it."
There are no buffs.
There was something Chuguang chose not to mention.
Though the mushrooms were inedible, they were a primary ingredient in creating radiation antidotes.
Chuguang didn't fully understand the process either. He'd only heard about it from Old Charlie on Beta Street.
The blue umbrella mushrooms contained a special peptide substance that could effectively alleviate and heal non-lethal damage caused by gamma radiation.
Merchant caravans from Giant Stone City often bought them, and the prices weren't low. Typically, they were transported to the city and sold to the local factories.
However, obtaining them was no easy task. Few scavengers were willing to risk their lives to search for mutated leech nests in the swamps, subways, or sewers.
It wasn't just about how hard they were to find.
Even if you did find them, returning with your life was another matter.
No one, not even the most desperate, would willingly deal with these man-eating monsters…
It was surprising to find a mutated leech nest so close by.
Chuguang's emotions were mixed.
The blue umbrella mushrooms could bring in quite a sum of money, but mutated leeches were a dangerous foe.
Salt?
Where would he get several hundred kilograms of salt? If he had that much salt, it would be better to sell it outright.
Fire?
These creatures typically inhabited damp areas, so starting a fire wasn't exactly easy.
"Do you remember the exact location of the subway entrance?"
At Chuguang's question, Kuangfeng quickly pulled out the map and marked the spot he was referring to.
"It's right here."
Chuguang glanced at the marked spot on the map and silently memorized it.
"Got it."
…
The blue umbrella mushrooms that Kuangfeng and Ye Shi brought back weighed around two kilograms, and the going rate was about 50 grams for one token.
2000 grams meant 40 tokens!
This was nearly the entirety of Chuguang's savings over the past five months.
And this was the price offered by Beta Street's recycling station.
In reality, the mushrooms were worth at least twice that amount!
Chuguang planned to sell the mushrooms and use the tokens to purchase urgently needed supplies for the outpost.
"The outpost needs replenishment. I'll head out for a bit. You two stay here, and don't wander off."
"By 5 PM, Xiao Qi will open the elevator for you to return to the shelter."
"While I'm away, Xiao Qi will keep track of your work progress. If you have any questions, feel free to ask it."
As for the two kilograms of blue umbrella mushrooms, Chuguang assigned them a total of 220 contribution points.
200 points for discovering the mutated leech nest, and an additional 20 for the mushrooms.
He wasn't being stingy, but rather cautious. He feared giving them too many points would encourage the players to risk their lives harvesting the mushrooms, only to end up dying inside.
Until he found a generator to power the "Active Material Extractor," he figured it was better to err on the side of caution.
For lunch, they had green barley porridge.
Though it was called porridge, Chuguang thought it resembled unsweetened mung bean soup more than anything.
It didn't have much flavor—purely meant to fill the stomach.
However, to Chuguang's surprise, the four players devoured it as if it were a feast, eating as if starving.
Was it really that delicious?
Chuguang began to doubt his cooking skills.
Could it be that I'm actually a good cook?
That shouldn't be the case…
After a hasty meal, Chuguang cleaned up, extinguished the fire, and set off alone. Only the four players remained in the sanatorium, along with an AI robot stationed upstairs.
Fang Chang stared at the task board posted outside the sanatorium, deep in thought.
Ye Shi, noticing his silence, asked.
"What are you looking at?"
Fang Chang replied.
"According to the manager's words, the blue umbrella mushrooms can be used as an ingredient for making radiation antidotes, yet the reward for your task is only 20 contribution points, which is about the same as cutting down two trees… Do you think that's fair?"
Ye Shi blinked.
"What's wrong with that?"
Fang Chang said.
"Of course, there's a problem. Normally, the rewards players receive from tasks should be directly proportional to their difficulty. Not only did you unlock a new instance, but you also gathered high-value resources. Logically, the reward shouldn't be so low."
Kuangfeng pondered.
"Then why do you think that is?"
Fang Chang snapped his fingers.
"Priority!"
"Priority?" Ye Shi asked, confused.
"Exactly." Fang Chang nodded. "Do you remember what the manager said before? The top priority is survival!"
Did he?
Ye Shi seemed to recall something.
Fang Chang continued.
"…So, I suspect that the tasks on the task board aren't the only tasks. This game gives us a lot of autonomy, and tasks can be both issued by NPCs and triggered by us directly."
Kuangfeng frowned.
"Why do you think so?"
"Didn't you already get a reward?" Fang Chang said. "You didn't find the generator, but you discovered a mutant nest and gathered valuable resources."
"So, I believe that as long as our actions align with the current needs of Shelter 404, we'll earn contribution points. And the reward amounts should be directly proportional to the value we create!"
"For example, building latrines and toilets was a task that the manager issued after considering our suggestions. Both Lao Bai and I received 200 contribution points for that."
Lao Bai nodded.
"Seems like that's right."
"I think I get what you mean," Kuangfeng stroked his chin. "But isn't completing the tasks on the task board still a way to earn contribution points?"
And the points weren't insignificant.
Fang Chang smiled mysteriously.
"That's my second point," he said. "Do you remember what the planner said about the affinity system?"
A moment of realization crossed Kuangfeng's face.
"Ah, I see… Now I understand."
Ye Shi and Lao Bai were still confused.
"What exactly did you understand?"
"Can you explain clearly?"
Fang Chang calmly explained.
"To put it simply, following the fixed tasks on the task board will give you guaranteed rewards, but it won't showcase our true abilities. On the other hand, triggering tasks ourselves shows more of what we can do! In theory, this should improve the manager's evaluation of us."
Of course, this assumption was based on the idea that *Wasteland OL* was a "completely realistic" immersive virtual reality game, and the manager's behavior was driven by program logic, not human design.
If the manager's intelligence wasn't as high as he thought, this assumption might not hold true.
However, based on current interactions, the manager's intelligence seemed quite advanced, and normal communication posed no issues. He even began to wonder if this character might be a real person.
Having understood Fang Chang's explanation, Lao Bai rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded.
"That's an interesting perspective. It's worth trying. So, what do you think we should do next?"
"I'm still figuring out the details, but my intuition tells me that accumulating NPC favorability before the second round of closed testing is more important than contribution points. That'll ensure we have a higher 'score' than other players when the second round begins."
Pausing, Fang Chang snapped his fingers.
"I suggest forming a team!"
"Form a team?" Ye Shi asked, puzzled.
Lao Bai nodded.
"I have no objections."
Kuangfeng also nodded.
"I agree."
Ye Shi hesitated.
"I don't mind either, but could you explain the details of the team formation?"
Fang Chang patiently explained.
"Simply put, from now on, we're a team. We'll share information and help each other. Our goal is to leverage each person's strengths."
Fang Chang looked at Kuangfeng and Ye Shi and continued.
"Kuangfeng, Ye Shi, you'll scout along the Wetland Park shoreline. Pay close attention to the distribution of mutants and their movement patterns. If you find any suspected nest areas, mark them. But remember, don't get too close, especially avoid engaging in combat. We need a safe water source."
Kuangfeng nodded.
"Got it."
Next, Fang Chang turned to Lao Bai.
"As for us, our task now is to gather more wood."
"Once we're offline later, I'll look up some information online. Tomorrow, we'll