"When did a settlement of survivors suddenly appear in the northern suburbs?"
"I don't know. I haven't heard the Voice of the Stone City mention this place for a month. I thought the country bumpkins in the northern suburbs didn't survive this winter."
"I remember there was a forest here last year? I remember there was a predator base in the north, and the mutants' territory in the east."
"Have you been here?"
"Only once."
The south gate of the outpost.
Several mercenaries carrying rifles looked at this small town hidden in the woods curiously, and passed the time by guessing how many people lived here.
Some said one hundred, some said one thousand, and no one reached a consensus.
Not far from them, two men in formal suits stood. Although they didn't make a fuss like these mercenaries, they still had some surprise on their faces.
Of course, this little surprise could not completely cover up the arrogance under their eyebrows.
Even if the formal suits on the two men were washed white and the buttons were sewn again and again, they were still more noble than these fur-wearing wastelanders.
But the blue coats are another story.
Those shelter residents who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths are an exception.
Even the people living in the great wall have to admit that those blue coats who live in iron cages are superior people who can sit on the same level as them.
"Have you seen blue coats build houses on the surface?"
"No, but they actually allow wastelanders to live on their heads, which is already very rare."
The two engineers whispered a few words.
Considering the 1,200 chips per month and free food and accommodation, they lowered their voices and communicated in a low voice that only they could hear.
The financial sponsor who pays the salary must not be offended.
On the other side, Qian Lai walked up to Lister and said respectfully.
"Boss, I have brought what you want!"
The two engineers, the full set of equipment needed to produce solid hydrogen batteries, have been carried to the south gate of the outpost by ten two-headed cows.
Although the transportation method is a bit crude, it is the best choice. The situation in the city is much worse than in the suburbs. The raised road surface and the deep pits often form a sudden cliff in some areas. Coupled with some collapsed elevated roads and building debris, most of the roads marked on the map are simply impassable.
And those slightly easier roads are difficult for vehicles with four tires to pass, and are not as good as livestock that eat grass every ten kilometers.
However, although there are many difficulties on the road, they are lucky on the way back.
Except for encountering a cave beast and a few birds of unknown species on the road, there are basically no other situations, and no predators.
But even so, this round trip, including the three days of stay in the middle, still took a full week.
Not far away, the workers in the warehouse have gone up to unload the goods.
"Good job."
Liszt patted Qian Lai on the shoulder, gave him an encouraging look, and then continued.
"Now I need you to go back again and deliver one ton of spirit leaves to our warehouse in Boulder City, and then go to the bar at the Pirate Ship Tavern. You can negotiate the price up to 60 chips per kilogram. Don't be polite to him, he will definitely be interested in this batch of goods. If he is not interested, just keep it and wait for me to deal with it personally after I go back."
"In addition, I need 10 Iron Horse 60-type pot-carrying machines. Remember to go to my old friend to get the goods. Our order volume is large, and their inventory is high. You know how to bargain with him. Try to deliver these goods here within a week, don't let our friends wait too long."
One ton of spirit leaves? !
Winter?
Qian Lai's face was full of surprise, but he didn't ask much, just nodded seriously.
"Okay, boss, do you have any other instructions?"
"Yes," Liszt nodded, looked at the young man next to him, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "Hey, there are some residents of the shelter who will go with you."
"My name is Shuyu." The expression on the young man's face looked a little nervous, not because he was afraid of strangers, but a little like he was trying too hard.
Qian Lai looked him up and down.
The first impression was that he was young, and the second impression was that his family conditions should be good. Although it can be seen that he has been tortured by life, his temperament is still obviously different from other wastelanders.
From the accent, it seems that he is from the north of the Valley Province, and he should have dealt with merchants, but he is not very familiar with them.
Probably guessing something, Qian Lai smiled and stretched out his right hand and shook hands with him.
"Qian Lai."
"We should get along very well!"
...
In order to give players a better gaming experience, and to prevent those players who go to the new map from running around in other people's homes like headless flies and causing trouble, Chu Guang plans to set up an office in Boulder City to pick up players who go there from the shelter.
At the same time, collect information about Boulder City.
In fact, his original idea was to set up an embassy or something similar, but after reading Brother Fang's post, he gave up the idea.
One is meaningless, and the other is asking for trouble.
The mayor is indifferent to the affairs of the city, and the autonomous city hall does not have much real power. Instead of doing a confusing diplomacy, it is far better to bribe a few powerful local natives.
They may be more effective than the masters of the city hall, and many industries are controlled by the big men in the inner city.
The young man named Shuyu was selected by Chu Guang from the logistics department.
Initially, his job was to be responsible for the sanitation of Changjiu Farm. Later, he was responsible for literacy, teaching literacy and arithmetic to the refugees. Finally, he returned to Changjiu Farm to assist the warehouse in issuing tasks related to the Elm District. He was considered a rare educated person among the refugees, and he also understood the language and behavior of the "players".
After learning from Jiuli that the young man's family had run a trading post in the north, Chu Guang thought about it and decided to let him serve as the first civil servant of the 404th Office in Boulder City.
Although the young man looked a little nervous and not very skilled in business, Chu Guang thought it was worth training.
No one is born to be competent for their work. Since his previous work resume is pretty good, it shows that he still has some ability.
Although Luca is skeptical about the refugees from the north and thinks that these people are not trustworthy, Chu Guang does not think so.
Standing on the third floor of the sanatorium and looking at the south gate, after listening to the advice of old Luca, Chu Guang thought for a while and said in a relaxed tone.
"They are a group of homeless people, and they are more eager to be recognized than anyone else. We need to promote some capable people from among them and let them see the example of promotion, which will not only inspire their enthusiasm for work, but also gain their loyalty."
"I don't doubt your decision, sir. It's just that even if you don't consider his identity, he is too young. I am worried that his mind is not firm, and the Stone City will corrupt his loyalty," said old Luca cautiously, "Maybe you should choose a more stable person."
This sounds like a good idea.
Stable personality, outstanding ability, good education, and rich experience in management.
If there is such a person, Chu Guang would have entrusted him with an important task long ago.
Just like old Charlie on Beth Street.
Don't think that he is only in charge of a village of 100 households, it is a pilot of the street office, and the work is very important.
The old man is not only responsible for literacy for local residents, but also has to train civil servants for himself.
As for the residents of the shelter-that is, the players, that is not very realistic.
Even if we understand the word "player" literally, it is difficult to associate it with the word "stable".
Instability is the nature of players. They are born adventurers and inventors. Such long-term, highly repetitive and stable positions are destined to be held by NPCs. This is the experience Chu Guang gained from practice in the early version.
Few players can be competent for positions such as guards and warehouse managers that require standing or sitting for a day for a long time. In most cases, frequent rotation is required to keep the positions always occupied.
Not to mention, letting some players issue tasks to other players is a matter that affects the game experience for both sides.
Of course, this does not mean that players are completely unsuitable for management work, but they just need to change the form.
For example, the guild system that exists in most MMORPGs is more flexible in rules and functions. It can not only strengthen social attributes, improve user stickiness, but also stimulate krypton gold, and increase "daily activity". It is a good helper for operators and is worth learning from.
He doesn't ask for much.
There is no need to worry about stickiness for epoch-making games. People who cannot accept it will not choose it from the beginning, and those who choose it will accept it.
Being able to increase "daily activity" and stimulate consumption is enough for him.
Looking at the worried old Luca, Chu Guang smiled faintly and said.
"A coin falling on the ground may have both positive and negative sides, let alone a person? Even a coin tossing master cannot have positive sides 10,000 times in a row."
"What we have to do is not to ensure that the positive side is up every time, but to pick up the coin and toss it again when the negative side is up."
"It's better to try more than to do nothing."
On the other side.
Just as Lister introduced the young man full of potential to Qian Lai, Fang Chang finally met his friends.
As soon as they met, Ye Shi grabbed Fang Chang's arm and said excitedly.
"Good brother, you are finally back!"
Quitting, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but sigh.
"It's too hard to help newbies level up!"
Lao Bai: "..."
Kuang Feng: "..."
"Miss your dad so much? I'm so embarrassed."
Fang Chang chuckled, and suddenly noticed a strange player next to him, and said with a look of realization.
"This is the one in the end of the world..."
"Lone Wolf! I'm Lone Wolf!" Fearing that he would read his full name, Lone Wolf took the initiative to speak, and changed the subject, "Boss, I've read your strategy, it's so awesome!"
Fang Chang said with a chuckle.
"Don't dare, brother, you are the boss. I heard that after using your design, the efficiency of our brick factory has doubled."
Although he has been out of the game and has not come back, it does not prevent him from playing in the group.
Kuang Feng had pulled this brother into the group before. They had known each other online for a long time, but it was just the first time they met in the game.
Lone Wolf smiled embarrassedly.
"No, no, it's just a slight improvement. It's not as exaggerated as doubling. It's about 70% to 80%."
He couldn't help but sigh.
"Unfortunately, the foundation of our industrial zone is still too weak. Otherwise, we can build a large rotary kiln, where the brick embryos can pass through the door furnace directly from the track. The bricks in the back have just entered the furnace, and the bricks in the front have been fired. Control the temperature of the furnace and the speed of passing through the door, and adjust the production capacity. If it is fast, it can produce millions of bricks a day. If the speed is reduced, it can produce 20,000 to 30,000 a day. Only two operators are needed, and the efficiency is much higher than this!"
Quit smoking: "Awesome!"
Unfortunately, he has no special skills, so he can only say awesome at this time.
Business brags for a while.
Fang Chang looked at his friends and started to talk about business.
"The new map has a lot of content. I have been exploring for three days and the exploration degree has only reached 60%. We will go again soon."
"If nothing unexpected happens, this time it should be a test of the new version of the business system... By the way, have you received the task?"
Lao Bai said with a smile.
"I received it, early in the morning, and now even the things are ready."
Ye Shi couldn't wait any longer and urged.
"When do we leave? Hurry up."
Fang Chang cast his eyes towards the door, where the warehouse staff were unloading the precious goods from the cow's back, and then loading the large and small packages of goods taken from the warehouse.
Those should be spirit leaves.
The food of the devil moth and its larvae in the greenhouse ruins, it is said that a certain ingredient in it has the effect of weakening pain and improving concentration, but it is not very meaningful for players.
The pain in this game is already blocked, and it is completely unnecessary to weaken it again with drugs.
"Look at the NPC... By the way, what did you bring? Why are you so fast? Let me take a break."
Ye Shi chuckled and said.
"Not much, not much, there are clothes made by Miss Teng Teng, mushrooms from Boss Ya, Big Bird Vodka brewed with potatoes by Brother Chaodan, small gadgets from the No. 81 Steel Plant, peripherals from Goblin Technology, and... some random things."
Fang Chang was shocked.
"Damn, so many?"
Kuangfeng said.
"We only brought a little of each. In the words of the manager, we are going to expand the market this time."
Quitting had an envious expression on his face.
"Oh, I'm crying with envy."
"If you level up faster, you can go with us."
Lao Bai patted Quitting's shoulder and said with a smile, "Come on, brother, you should level up well during this period. Although there are only two levels from LV8 to LV10, it still takes some time to level up."
Although you can go without accepting the mission, you can't do any mission after you go there. At most, you can spend a few days to take a look at the things that have been made on the CG, and it is not certain whether there will be bugs... These are the original words of a certain dog planner.
Even if continuous bugs are the norm in closed beta testing, the young players who have experienced bugs in the last expansion pack really don't want to experience it again.
Quitting sighed to the sky.
"Practice again and again."
The mission requirements for going to Boulder City this time are to reach LV10 and the contribution level to reach the intermediate citizen.
After all, it is a test of a new system. Maybe the planner also thinks it is more appropriate to arrange more reliable players, so the threshold is set very high and the number of recipients is limited.
The task process is very simple. Escort the goods to Boulder City, and serve as the NPC's guard after the goods are delivered to ensure that the office of Shelter No. 404 in Boulder City is successfully established.
During the period, you can move freely, and there will be an NPC following you, acting as a translator and responsible for communicating with the locals.
By the way, in addition to the office in Boulder City, the Chamber of Commerce of the outpost base is also under construction. A piece of land was circled at the north gate early in the morning, just waiting for the planner to fulfill the contents of the new folder.
If nothing unexpected happens, these facilities should be the prototype of the "commercial guild" of Shelter No. 404 in the future.
According to A Guang himself, they plan to set up an "interface" in the game to make it easier for players to find NPC employees in a form that is more in line with the game style and settings.
After the function is realized, all operations can be completed through VM.
Thinking of the lights that Brother Bing drew for him, Quitting looked at the NPCs at the door who were busy loading and unloading goods, and his heart was full of motivation.
Work harder and try to get your level to LV10 or above before the new version is released.
In this way, you can experience more game content in the new version!
"Brother Lone Wolf, are you going to level up on the Fifth Ring Road later?" Quitting looked at the newcomer next to him with a motivated smile on his face.
Lone Wolf was slightly stunned.
"Me? I don't need it. I have completed the task of passing on the torch and got the VM."
Looking at this listless guy, Quitting said seriously.
"You have just reached LV3, how can you be so lazy! The game officially starts after you get the VM! Don't you want to go to a higher level world? Don't you want the newbies to hold your legs and call you boss?"
To be honest, Lone Wolf really didn't have this idea. Compared with pretending in the game, he enjoyed the process of the game itself more.
Besides, in reality, there are many people who call him "big brother"...
"Uh, no need for that," Lone Wolf smiled embarrassedly, "I am an intelligence type, there are many ways to gain experience, you don't have to kill monsters to level up. I plan to go to the industrial area later, or you can find someone else?"
Quit smoking: "Fuck!"
Damn!
This guy!
He abandoned him as soon as he got the VM.
What about friendship?
Fang Chang and Lao Bai discussed whether they should bring some more specialties over, those chips might be very important mission props.
At this time, a burly figure wrapped in a cotton coat and green skin swaggered out from the south gate and howled happily.
"Hahaha, spring! Spring is here! I finally made it!"
Hiss——
It's still a bit cold!
But now that his level has increased, his metabolism has also increased, and with the cotton coat, it's not as hard as before.
Garbage-kun was happy, but the people at the door were terrified.
Especially the mercenaries next to the caravan, who were so frightened that they even took out their weapons.
Fortunately, the nearby guards quickly stopped them and prevented a bloody conflict.
"Damn it, where did you get such a big-headed lizard? Is this a cub of the Deathclaw?!"
"He can speak human language!"
Looking at the two frightened mercenaries, Xu Shun coughed and explained.
"This is the pet of our manager... He has a special training method."
The two mercenaries looked at each other and saw the capital incomprehension in each other's eyes.
Blue Coat has this ability? !
Never heard of it!
They have seen the nobles in the inner city put clothes on their dogs, but this is the first time they have seen someone put clothes on the Deathclaw.
Is it really okay not to tie a rope?
"... I have never seen such an outrageous thing."
Hearing his companion's speech, another mercenary also swallowed his saliva.
"I bet the lazy fellows in the tavern have never seen it either."
...
The loading and unloading of the goods did not take too long.
Before noon, a caravan composed of players and NPCs set off again towards the direction of Boulder City, carrying spirit leaves worth tens of thousands of chips, radio stations for communication, goods for market development, and the hopes of countless small players.
The scale of this caravan is much larger than the last time, with both the number of people and the amount of goods multiplied several times.
I hope they can bring back good news in a week.
Whether Shelter No. 404, which has already embarked on the fast track of development, can step on the accelerator again depends on whether his small players and NPCs can give it a try.
"May good luck be with you!"
"Warriors who are pioneering the future."
Chu Guang, who was standing upstairs, watched them disappear at the end of the cement road outside the south gate, sent a blessing to their backs, and then turned and went downstairs.
Lister, who finally got the equipment, couldn't wait to take the personnel and equipment to the industrial zone.
30 workers are ready.
According to Lister himself, the equipment can be installed within a week, and the engineers will complete the workers' on-the-job training within three weeks and start guiding production.
Efficiency cannot be guaranteed for the time being.
After all, the educated workers promised by Chu Guang are actually just literate and numerate.
But Lister is full of confidence.
Because he has almost no cost.
Silver coins?
Those are lent to the company by the bank of the shelter. Whether it is to pay wages or buy raw materials, it is not his chips to spend. For him, it is just a number on the account.
Chu Guang promised him that the factory's debt will not affect their transactions. Even if it goes bankrupt, at most the "factory's assets" will be liquidated, and the insufficient part will not be counted on him.
In Chu Guang's own words, it is a limited liability system, and the legal person only bears limited liability.
This is a new word in Boulder City, but maybe it was common in the pre-war era?
In any case, this deal is not a loss for him.
Lister is now thinking about only one thing, that is, as fast as possible!
The sooner he starts working, the sooner he can turn those garbage into chips.
He can also be one step closer to his dream of being promoted to the upper class.
...
That night.
After a busy day in the industrial zone and the outpost, Chu Guang returned to the shelter, turned on the computer and started planning.
Today's official website is as lively as ever.
Brother Mole, who went to Honghe Town, finally released the strategy belatedly.
In fact, he did not miss the forum these days, but he was fighting monsters all the way, which was not special. The heat of the entire forum was absorbed by Brother Fang alone.
Now that the strategy for Boulder City has been updated, Mole, who saw the opportunity, immediately posted the strategy post, attracting those players who were still not satisfied.
"...MMP, we are so unlucky on this journey. Those alien species are like taking drugs, each one is more powerful than the other. I finally know why there are so few people in this area. Most of them were taken away by those monsters!"
"Monster nest! I have marked it on the map, but it is beyond the communication range and has not been updated to the big map yet. On the way, we passed a survivor settlement. It seems to be a small trading post. Two caravans are resting there."
"According to the leaders of the two caravans, the Snake Clan is expanding eastward, and the Bone Chewing Tribe is getting bigger and bigger. It has completely cut off the trade route in the north, and business here is getting harder and harder. But if you want to go from the eastern provinces to the western provinces, the River Valley Province is still the best one among a bunch of bad ideas... This may be good news for us."
"By the way, today I finally reached Red River Town! To put it in one word, this place is so damn desolate!"
"The soil is probably polluted. There are basically no tall trees. The flowers, grasses, shrubs and mushrooms that grow out of the ground are basically poisonous! But relatively speaking, there are many arthropods here, and there are groups of two-headed cows. They seem to be able to decompose these toxins, and the survivors here eat them or make them into nutritional paste!"
"The people we trade with are the Horseshoe Chamber of Commerce, the ones who bought the captives from us before. There are a few soilless cultivation boxes in their base, but the amount is probably not enough for everyone. It is probably for the rich to consume."
"When I took out the dry food, many people's eyes glowed green. It should be possible to sell a lot of money by transporting the uneaten food here."
"Oh, by the way, I almost forgot to say! People here don't use chips, gold or CR, but tickets issued by the local mining guild."
"Most merchants won't stay here for long anyway, so the locals simply put slaves and minerals on the banknotes and marked them with numbers. Red notes are for buying slaves, blue notes are for buying minerals, and the numbers correspond to the mining areas. They can be redeemed at the mining guild or directly at the mining area... Rather than a guild, I feel more like a place where several big slave owners make money."
"In addition, although this place is desolate, there are quite a few people, basically scattered in the settlements of various guilds. They are mainly bounty hunters, mercenaries, cowboys who raise two-headed cattle, and their families or purchased slaves."
"Maybe because there is no mother nest here, I didn't see slime mold aliens like gnawers. But this doesn't mean it's safe here. This group of people has an unclear relationship with the surrounding predators. The NPC named Qian Duo said that they can't be trusted completely, but they can't do business with them. This may be the largest slave market in the southern suburbs. Whether it's a captive or a clone, they will be sent here. We even met a bounty hunter who came from the East Coast to help the employer find lost relatives!"
"However, the slave owners have not had a good time recently. The rise of the Bone Chewing Tribe made them rich some time ago, and the major mining areas were full, but now those barbarians who drink blood like hair have gnawed the bones in the central province and stretched their toes to the south."
"The leader of the Snake Clan seems to be planning to do this profitable business himself, but those slave owners don't intend to hand over the treasures in their hands. Those garbage mountains are said to be able to be mined for centuries, which is much more valuable than gold mines!"
"In a word, weapons, tools to improve the efficiency of slaves, and food are needed here! The priorities are in descending order, and weapons are the first priority! I drew the picture myself. I was outside the service area, so I could only take off my helmet and draw it by hand. Just take a look at it."
"(Picture), (Picture), (Picture). "
Unlike Brother Fang Chang, Brother Mole's writing is rather sloppy.
But probably inspired by Fang Chang, he did describe the situation there in full.
Not only that, this guy has good hand-drawing skills, and he also added a few illustrations to the post.
Maybe it's because of these illustrations that this belated guide has been delayed for so long.
Quit Smoking: "Brother Mole is awesome!"
Elf King Fugui: "Make some other illustrations! I want to see Heya!! I want to see Xiaoyu! (Going crazy)"
Night Ten: "Boss Xia is very angry. (Funny)"
Lightning King Professor Yang: "I feel that Boulder City is like the Beggar's version of the City That Never Sleeps, and Red River Town is a bit like the deluxe version of Red Dead Redemption… (Sweating)"
Midnight Killing Chicken: "Although I feel that you are forcing a connection, uh, but it seems to be true? "
Roller shampoo machine: "I never thought that such a small river valley province could gather so many Feng Shui treasures!"
Lao Bai: "It's not small, this is only in the game. In reality, which provincial administrative region can include two large plains and a mountain? There are two city clusters on these two large plains. "
Irena: "Morning Wind Province smiled but said nothing. (Funny)"
Ye Shi: "Do you play mods? It may not work without playing mods. (Funny)"
Chu Guang read the post, tapped the mouse with his index finger, and thought for a while.
"The specialties of Honghe Town are population and mines, and the demand is weapons and food."
"There are a small number of production facilities there that can process iron pipe weapons and even export special revolver rifles. However, the slave owners there have no motivation for industrialization, and even do not have a stable currency, but use bills for transactions. "
In fact, bills cannot be regarded as currency, but more like a kind of transaction voucher.
Redemption means destruction, production means issuance, and issuance can be made even without production. In terms of properties, it is a bit like futures.
The mining guild is more like a guarantee agency under convention. For example, if A's bill cannot be redeemed today, B will redeem it for him first, so that this idiot will not affect everyone's credit because of a small matter, resulting in no one recognizing the checks issued by everyone.
And the reason why the area code of the mining area is marked on the bill is also for this reason.
B, who received the bill, will use it as a debt voucher to collect the debt from A.
If A fails to pay it back, he will use civilized or uncivilized ways to take it away.
Counterfeit money?
It does not exist.
Few outsiders will leave bills in their pockets. When they leave, they are basically redeemed, and the bills are handed over and the goods are delivered.
The local Chamber of Commerce often does business with miners and slave owners, so they do have some red and blue tickets, but they all know each other well, and no one will break the rules for a little profit.
"Interesting."
Chu Guang raised his eyebrows with interest, first added a featured post, and then copied the content of the strategy post into a text document.
He plans to make some minor changes in a few days and update the setting set on the official website for other players to refer to.
I think that little player will be very excited to find that his imagination has accidentally guessed the next version.
Predicted the version.
Isn't this sense of accomplishment much better than entering the Hall of Fame?
Of course, these are all trivial matters.
"...If the trade route to here can be opened, it should be able to meet the growing demand for raw materials in the industrial zone. "
Food is not suitable for trading for the time being. The demand for this stuff is also great. An awakener would like to eat the rations of three people a day, not to mention the refugees from the north. Only when they are fed can they be sent to the factory.
In addition, more food can recruit more players, and a little processing of the food can also empty the wallets of passing merchants.
Weapons are a good choice.
The wasteland is not ancient times. If others don't buy from you, they will buy from others.
If you buy from others, you have to find a way to intercept the supply line when the war breaks out. It is much easier to buy from yourself. Once the neck of the export is stuck, you can only stare at the inventory. The remaining bullets and shells can be used up when they can be used. If you can't stand it, you can find a way to rub them with your hands.
This is also why Chu Guang stopped importing weapons and made weapons research and development and production as a key support project.
Even if it is something that Mosquito has made with his imagination, he is willing to pay for it.
No matter whether it is good or not, you must use your own.
"...The only problem is that Honghe Town is too far from here. There are alien nests all over the road, and there are also guerrilla raiders. If it's fast, it can be reached in two or three days, and if it's slow, it may take a week."
"However, with the awakened as a guard, it shouldn't be a big problem!"
"And the target is outside the city, trucks and tracked vehicles can be arranged, and the difficulty of expanding the scale of the transaction is much lower than doing business with the survivors' base in the city."
"This trade route can be arranged after the spring plowing!"
Chu Guang glanced at the calendar, and his heart suddenly moved.
"Speaking of which, it's been almost three months."
"The corn in the greenhouse ruins seems to be ripe?"