From the moment he spoke, all the players fell silent, their breath held as they watched him, fearing they might miss a single detail.
Chuguang was pleased with their response. He raised his head and surveyed the hall with a sweeping glance.
However, when his eyes landed on the lizardman in the corner, his expression froze for two seconds, his hand instinctively reaching toward the gun on his back.
What's this… an anomaly among us?
But…
Given the idiotic expression, this must be another player beneath that skin.
Nothing to worry about then.
Whether it's combat experience or stats, these fledgling newbies were easily outclassed by him. Chuguang might worry about survivors lurking in the shadows, but these players? He wasn't too concerned.
Kick them out, revoke their titles, confiscate their qualifications—none of it would take more than a second. What's one second in the grand scheme?
Deciding to investigate the lizardman later, Chuguang shifted his gaze away and addressed the players directly.
"First, I have some good news to share: the war is over."
"But the bad news is, our world has been irreparably altered. If you're hoping to grab your luggage and go home to your mothers, that's clearly not an option."
"We are now in the second century after the apocalypse. Fortunately, we've survived the hardest years. Being here already makes you luckier than the 12 billion others, and now, I need you to understand the situation and live up to your vows under the United Nations banner—to rebuild our home!"
"This," he gestured to his assistant beside him, "is Xiao Qi. If you have any questions about the shelter or anything else you don't understand, feel free to ask it."
It was a speech he had delivered verbatim once before.
When the next batch of players arrived, he would say it again. Unless there were major bugs or plot holes, he didn't plan to change it. After all, it was something he had crafted with great care.
After a brief pause, Chuguang continued.
"Additionally, the Resident Handbook has been updated to version 2.0. It now includes the Residents' Charter, Behavioral Guidelines, and the rules on public morality and prohibitions. Please review it at your earliest convenience."
"For those who break the rules, lighter offenses will be met with forced hibernation or confinement, while severe ones will result in exile to the underground and permanent expulsion. I trust everyone will comply."
A ripple of murmurs spread among the players.
Isn't this NPC's power a bit excessive?
Yet, there was no significant outcry. After all, by choosing to join, they had already accepted the game's terms.
They had all reviewed the "Resident Handbook" on the official site before logging in, and it didn't contain anything too draconian.
The new clauses mainly constrained "player vs. player combat," "harassment of other players," "unfair trading," and "malicious damage to game facilities." These were all in line with the interests of most "normal" players, with some even suggested on the forums and later adopted by the devs.
For example, the suggestions from "Lifelong" and "Old Bai" on "malicious damage" and the "no coercion" rule for a certain unqualified female player.
All these additions seemed reasonable.
After all, this was a brick-laying game, not a nuclear simulator, nor some softcore game.
Even a sandbox game that touted high freedom couldn't allow a player to ruin the experience of others with impunity.
Not only did Chuguang adopt these suggestions, but he also made more detailed provisions.
For instance, malicious damage to facilities would incur "forced labor," and coercion would result in "permanent confiscation of the tools used."
How very "Ginkgo-esque."
What? Can't accept it?
Then go back to playing CF and give your helmet to someone in need.
Having gone over the important details, Chuguang led the 24 players out of the shelter, taking them in two groups to the surface.
The visual impact that greeted them was enough to leave these new players speechless.
It wasn't just a visual shock.
Their hearing, sense of smell, touch, and even taste—all their senses screamed that this was a fully-realized world!
"This is amazing…"
"Is this… really a game world?"
"Oh my god, this is incredible!"
"Awesome!!!"
Seeing the players excitedly waving their arms, Chuguang couldn't help but smile slightly.
He wished he could tell them that it was far too early for celebration.
...
After familiarizing the new players with the outpost's facilities, especially emphasizing the ban on relieving oneself near the station, Chuguang took them all back to the infirmary, where Old Bai and the others eagerly awaited.
The outpost was in dire need of workers, so there was no worry about the players being left idle. The experienced players would show them the ropes.
Some were called to haul bricks and repair walls.
Others, led by Fang Chang, headed to the construction site northeast of the Wetland Park to transport materials for making cement.
As for payment…
It was ten contribution points per hour.
Although they didn't yet know what contribution points were for, the players were all full of energy, eager to get to work immediately.
In the closed beta phase, why bother with too many questions?
The devs had said there'd be no data wipes, so just get to work!
The enthusiasm of these players made Chuguang feel a little embarrassed.
Of course, not every player was sent to the construction site. There were also tasks like making jerky, tanning hides, fishing, hunting, and gathering—things that needed to be done.
For example, a female player named "Crow" who stood at around 1.8 meters tall was assigned gathering tasks.
Her genetic sequence was perceptive, with an initial perception stat only one point lower than Night Ten's at 6, but she had a unique starting talent: "Toxin Intuition."
According to the system's explanation in the player list, players with this talent could sense toxins purely through biological instinct, bypassing knowledge and experience.
The downside was that until she acquired "Toxin Resistance," poisoning would have a more significant negative effect on her.
The positive gain of this talent, however, was influenced by her perception stat.
She was perfectly suited for gathering.
Then there was the lizardman.
After assigning the gathering duties, Chuguang called the lizardman aside.
"Are you the 'Garbage Picker, Level 99'?"
What a ridiculous name!
When the NPC addressed him, "Garbage Picker" thought he had triggered a hidden storyline, straightened up and nodded enthusiastically.
"Indeed, that's me!"
Chuguang nodded, about to assign his task, when the "Garbage Picker" suddenly seemed to remember something and handed over a piece of paper.
"Honorable Manager, when I woke up, I found this note. The writing is unfamiliar to me. Could you tell me what it says?"
"Let me take a look."
Chuguang took the paper from his hands. It was a bit damp, like it had been soaked in water, but not entirely. The material seemed waterproof.
The notes were familiar and written in the world's language. Chuguang immediately recognized who had left it.
"Where did you find this?"
"On my butt."
Chuguang almost dropped it in surprise. Seeing his incredulous expression, the "Garbage Picker" quickly laughed awkwardly and explained.
"I mean, it was in the incubator with me when I woke up. It was stuck there."
"Never mind, just a casual question."
Chuguang continued to read the contents of the note.
[Congratulations, you've won! Here's a little Easter egg for you! The genetic sequence stored in the gene bank is not all human—it contains some special sequences too. Frankly, I did it, although there was some unexpected luck involved, but I'm not going to deny it. Well, don't you think this is part of natural selection?]
[Should we call it a special entity or an anomaly? I guess it doesn't matter. You decide.]
[—The First Manager]
This person must be out of their mind.
Chuguang felt speechless.
He didn't want to waste time on the deceased and opened the system interface to check the lizardman's stats and talents.
As expected from his tall and burly frame, his strength and constitution were extraordinary. If Chuguang hadn't taken an injection, the lizardman's strength would have almost surpassed his own at Level 5.
Not only that, but he also had the talents "Regenerative Flesh" and "Cold-Blooded"—a real combat advantage!
Though he suffered from debuffs like difficulty in leveling, discomfort in low temperatures, and trouble handling complex machinery, these weren't fatal flaws.
In short, nothing to worry about.
Chuguang was already thinking about whether to equip him with brass knuckles or steel claws.
Perhaps making him a frontliner in iron cans wouldn't be a bad idea?
Under Chuguang's scrutinizing gaze, the "Garbage Picker, Level 99" began to feel uneasy.
However, the NPC didn't linger on him too long and quickly assigned him a task.
"From now on, you'll be hunting with me."
Chuguang decided not to worry about weapons for now. The players were capable and might as well figure it out themselves.
The "Garbage Picker" clenched his fists, a gleam of excitement in his voice.
"I'm ready to serve you, Honorable Manager!"
"Good, you've got spirit."
Chuguang nodded approvingly and continued.
"Go wait by the