Given the proactive behavior of these players, Chu Guang decided it would be best not to micromanage them, allowing them the freedom to explore and act on their own.
After stacking the supplies next to the elevator, Chu Guang returned to the shelter, called up the administrator system, and soon a completion window for his tasks popped up before him.
[Congratulations, host, for completing the daily task: Stockpile Wood, Reward: 2 Reward Points]
[Congratulations, host, for completing the daily task: Produce Cement, Reward: 5 Reward Points]
With a total of seven reward points from the completed tasks, it was still not enough for even a basic mystery box.
However, Chu Guang was unconcerned.
His players had already taken care of the cement, and the food reserves had surpassed ten kilograms. Soon, he would be able to recruit a few more players to serve as free labor.
"System, exchange all reward points for a beginner's mystery box!"
The reward points in the administrator's allowance were immediately reset to zero.
The alloy door on the wall opened, and the conveyor belt began to move, delivering the rewards from the mystery box.
Five lollipops, a 200g block of chocolate, and a 500g bag of salt. As before, there were no expiration dates or labels.
Just how much does this cursed first-generation administrator love candy?
Looking at the five lollipops and chocolate, Chu Guang found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
But the white salt, now that was a good find.
He picked it up with a smile of pleasant surprise.
The salt sold on Better Street was coarse salt imported from Giant Stone City—yellowish in color, overpriced, and of poor quality, with a bitter taste that even overshadowed the saltiness.
This fine white salt, on the other hand, was typically quite expensive and generally unaffordable for most survivors.
"If only there were more of this!"
This amount was decent for cooking, but a bit wasteful for making cured meats or sausages.
Of course, trading it might be a good option, as this fine salt could easily be exchanged for ten to even thirty times its weight in coarse salt.
However, there were other risks involved.
The River Valley Province was an inland province.
Salt was second only to weapons in terms of profitability. Without sufficient strength, it was unwise to engage in such a business.
After confirming the rewards, Chu Guang opened the player list to check the offline times from yesterday and the online times for today.
To his surprise, Lao Bai had leveled up?
"Cutting trees can level you up?"
Chu Guang was astonished.
Previously, the genetic development progress for these players was at zero, but Lao Bai's progress had already risen to 1%.
Corresponding to this was a level of LV1.
However, after a moment's thought, Chu Guang understood.
Chopping trees was physically demanding, and in a sense, it served as a form of exercise. Considering Lao Bai's strength-oriented genetic sequence, it wasn't too surprising to see the progress go up.
Experience didn't always have to come from combat.
Though, the latter was generally the quicker path...
Turning off the system interface, Chu Guang sat down in front of the computer in the resident hall and logged into the backend of the Wasteland OL website.
He had previously set a reservation threshold that required a shipping address and phone number along with account registration to make a reservation. Chu Guang had braced himself for a slowdown in reservations or even a complete standstill. But to his surprise, when he checked today, the number of reservations had grown from 35 to 45.
Goodness.
Were there really this many live players in the Cowhorse Club?
Amidst his surprise, Chu Guang logged into his QQ account and opened the game group for the Cowhorse Club, skimming through the chat records before piecing together some clues.
It turned out that just yesterday, a large number of new members had flooded the group, pushing the member count from just over 100 to more than 200.
Most of these newcomers had been invited by group members to observe, many of them were regulars in various game groups.
In the current PC gaming circle, an urban legend had begun to circulate about a "fully immersive virtual reality MMORPG."
Though most people scoffed at the idea, there were always a few who believed it and went to great lengths to find and join the "Cowhorse Club."
It was still unclear whether the moderators were collaborating to stir up hype, but the official website certainly seemed convincing.
—Historical Chat Records—
Jie Yan: [Why are there so many new members all of a sudden? (Confused.jpg)]
Pick Up Trash Level 99: [Hey, big shots! How do you reserve this game? Does it cost money?]
Jie Yan: [What the heck? Are they all here for Wasteland OL? (Surprised.jpg)]
Enemy of the Night Ten Times: [We should change the group name to Wasteland OL Players Group. (Funny)]
Proud and Unyielding: [During the closed beta, you don't have to pay. After that, I'm not sure. Just register an account and fill out a form to get in line. As for when you'll be able to play... it's all about luck... sigh, seriously, someone actually believes this.]
Jie Yan: [Night Ten, did you guys log in last night?? Any new content tested? (Excited)]
Enemy of the Night Ten Times: [We did, tested it all night. We managed to get cement, haha. You should ask Fang Chang, I have to go to class now, talk later.]
Jie Yan: [Cement???]
Pick Up Trash Level 99: [Wasn't it just picking up trash???]
The group chat erupted into a flurry of comments.
Chu Guang skipped over the long exchange of trivialities and quickly found Fang Chang's message.
Fang Chang: [Honestly, the realism in this game exceeded my expectations! Unlike most sandbox building games, in Wasteland OL, raw wood doesn't just magically turn into planks, and making charcoal isn't as simple as throwing wood into a furnace. You first need to build a charcoal kiln, and the process is almost identical to how it's done in real life. Making cement is the same—there's no one-click crafting workbench, you have to start by burning wood ash.]
Jie Yan: [What?! It's that realistic?!]
Fang Chang: [Yep, that realistic! The combat system hasn't been tested yet, but as far as sandbox gameplay goes, Lao Bai and I haven't even discovered the limits of this game yet!]
Fang Chang: [Theoretically, all the materials we've encountered so far can be modified according to the physical and chemical rules of the real world, and the changes we make to the map environment are permanent! They won't be reset! That's what has me the most excited!]
This reminded him of the "pseudo-sandbox" game Death Stranding, where players built roads across the world.
But this game was more than just road building; its interactive content was far richer than pixelated Minecraft, and the graphics were even more lifelike, rivaling those of photo-realistic racing games like Forza Horizon 4.
Especially the immersive experience—it was something Chu Guang had never seen before.
Simply put, he was blown away by this game!
Proud and Unyielding: [Ha, that's funny. If this game is that amazing, I could build a Jinling City in the wasteland.]
Leave People Alive: [I don't believe it! This is too far-fetched.]
White Horse Through the Gap: [Stop boasting, you'll see when you get in the game. This game is the most grindy one I've ever seen. All the materials have to be gathered by hand, and no AFK grinding is allowed. In other games, you can leave your computer running all night to farm mobs, but in this game, chopping a few trees will make your arms sore!]
Level 8 Gale: [I can confirm, I've experienced it myself.]
Jie Yan: [Damn, hearing you guys talk about it makes me want to play so badly!!! Ahh, Guang Ge, I know you're watching, I'm begging you, please give me a chance!!!]
Chu Guang kept scrolling through the chat records.
The moderators and group admins who had obtained the closed beta keys were all singing the praises of Wasteland OL, calling it "sandbox gameplay forever" and "the game of the year" and so on.
There were also a few envious players commenting, "Willing to pay 100,000 for an early access key" and "100,000 is too little, I'll offer 10 million (Funny)".
After that, the group started discussing survival in the wild.
Maybe it was the gameplay description from Fang Chang that piqued their interest, but even players who didn't believe in a "fully immersive virtual reality MMORPG" started participating in the discussion, some even offering suggestions.
The message that caught Chu Guang's attention the most came from an ID called [cReallyMosquito]:
[Wait, you're the planner?]
[And what else? Is there any more information?]
Chu Guang: [Nothing else. Just send me your reservation number and I'll mark it for you in the backend. I'll notify you when it's time to log in, in three days.]
Creating clones would take three days.
Just as Chu Guang was considering what other talent was needed for the outpost, the group chat suddenly exploded.
Opening the chat, he saw that [wcReallyMosquito] had just filled out the form and was already bragging in