Chapter 122: Mission: Liberation of Baker Street

On the third floor the nursing home.

Seeing that the Bull and Horse Squad had changed into long ranged weapons and hunter equipment and set off again, a satisfied smile appeared on Chu Guang's face.

Great. These players are getting better and better.

Thanks to them being so obedient, Chu Guang was able to save a lot of time and used the time he used to micro-manipulate them to do what he should do as a game designer.

For example, he could play two more games to get some inspiration.

"... Speaking of which, the new players will also come online tomorrow."

There were so many raw materials in the outpost that they almost couldn’t fit into the Warehouse. He felt that the Lifestyle Profession players really needed to step up their game to catch up with Combat Profession players.

Especially Devil Moth's cocoons, there were several piles of them next to the Warehouse. When the Bull and Horse Squads cleared the first floor of the Greenhouse Ruins, there would probably be another pile of them.

The guaranteed return of 200 silver coins seemed to be a bit too much now that he thought about it.

But it didn't matter. Things like silver coins were just a number to Chu Guang, and he could give players as much as he wanted after he had the electronic banking system.

The key was to enrich the products on the shelves of the stores so that players could buy more items. That was the only way the money he gave out would have any meaning.

Otherwise, even if he rewarded players one billion silver coins after they cleared the dungeon, it would be useless.

One billion for one player today, and two billion for another player tomorrow... Would everyone be happy to buy potatoes with a dozen zeros in the future?

Maybe when that happened, those players would miss the good old times when a shofar potato only cost a few copper coins.

But fortunately, Chu Guang’s mind was clear. Therefore there was a high probability things like that wouldn’t happen.

In order to increase the production capacity of the outpost, more than half of the fifty new players recruited in this update were randomly selected from the user pool he labeled under Lifestyle Profession players.

As for how he labeled them... It was naturally based on the questionnaires filled out then they applied for the test qualification.

For example, when answering the question about which single-player game they loved the most, if they chose stuff like

Stardew Valley, Eurotruck Simulator, Rimworld, Don’t Starve, The Sims,

or any other leisure simulation games, they were more likely to be a Lifestyle Profession player after entering Wasteland Online.

They would be more inclined to do things such as production, transportation, farming, building houses, and the such.

Chu Guang believed that these players who liked to create things should be able to use those raw materials to create more value..

Mhm.

By the way, the players of version 0.4 had completely different playing styles, because Chu Guang stole them from the player pool of

Paradox Interactive

.

Those people were not only proficient in the manufacturing process of seamless steel pipes, but also had in-depth research on the formula of gunpowder. They would use the natural disaster DLC in

Cities: Skylines

to accurately clean up the elderly population, and used aliens to make canned food in

Stellaris

.

It could be said that every one of them was a potential war criminal.

"Two hundred and fifty players is far from enough. We still have two hundred and fifty more nurturing cabinets left!”

"It would be great if I could get more food."

After the Bloodhand Clan's stronghold was captured, the outpost's food reserve was theoretically enough to support three hundred people through the winter.

However, there was a problem where the actual consumption rate of food was often far faster than expected.

If it weren't for the expensive seasonings and limited cooking conditions, Chu Guang would bet that those players would eat five meals a day, and they would eat their fill every meal.

There were also nomads who came to seek refuge, and the survivors who worked in the brick factory, so Chu Guang didn't dare to take too much risk.

Two hundred and fifty players were already a little risky, and it was safer to keep the food reserve more than twice the actual consumption amount.

"Speaking of... Should I go to Brown Farm to ask for something in return?"

Based on how the marauders’ warehouse looked, it seemed as though Brown Farm paid a lot of protection fees.

Now that he had solved such a huge trouble for all the survivors in the northern suburbs of Clearspring City, wasn’t it justified for them to give him a thank you gift?

Of course, it was not very good to reach out to them directly. After all, it was not suitable for civilized people to do the work of bandits. He had to find a way to make them take the initiative to give him the gift.

Chu Guang stroked his chin and began to think of a plan.

The next moment, Little Seven, who was squatting and playing with the drone, suddenly raised its camera. "Master, there are guests."

...

Outside the South Gate.

Braving the wind and snow all the way, Yu Hu rushed towards the outpost in a hurry.

When he arrived at the south gate, he happened to see Chu Guang standing at the gate, his eyes quickly lit up.

"Big Brother Chu!" He waved an envelope in his hand and shouted loudly from a distance.

Looking at Yu Hu who was running over with a worried expression, Chu Guang asked, "What's the matter? Why are you so anxious?"

Did something happen back home?

Yu Hu said breathlessly with his hands on his knees. "Old Charlie... the old butler that runs the grocery store. He asked me to bring you a letter!"

To be honest, when Charlie handed him the letter and instructed it to be delivered to Chu Guang, Yu Hu was so terrified that his heart almost stopped.

After all, Baker Street had rules that they couldn't do business with outside caravans without permission. If found, they would be severely punished!

Therefore, Yu Hu had been very careful all the time, hiding from Old Charlie. But he didn’t expect that he would still be exposed!

Whether Chu Guang was an outsider or not was another matter, what Yu Hu couldn't understand was that Old Charlie neither punished him nor reported him to the town mayor or the guards. Instead, he handed an envelope with a bloody handprint to him.

Yu Hu was illiterate and didn't know what was written on the envelope, but looking at the bloody handprint, he had an ominous premonition.

He didn't dare to delay, and immediately rushed over from Baker Street with the letter.

"Let’s talk inside."

Taking Yu Hu to the reception room on the 1st floor of the nursing home, Chu Guang lit the brazier and sat down on the chair next to it. He opened the envelope with a bloody handprint and glanced through it.

There were two letters inside.

One of them was written by the old town mayor... Oh no, Chu Guang remembered that he had been calling the mayor the old leech and that he should stick to it.

The content was roughly to tell the marauders of Bloodhand Clan that there was a group of survivors in Linghu Wetland Park. Skipping their high and mighty reasons and respectful wording, everything could be summed up in just a simple sentence. The old leech wanted to make use of other people to get rid of his enemy.

The other contained the handwriting of Old Charlie.

The ink marks on it indicated that it should have been written not long ago.

[Dear administrator, my name is Charlie, a survivor living on Baker Street.]

[I believe you have read the other letter in the envelope and must be furious at the contents of the letter at the moment.]

[I don’t mean to offend you, and I understand how you feel. In fact, like you, I could hardly believe my ears and eyes when I heard that our town mayor had colluded with the marauders and tried to encourage them to attack our neighbors.]

[I have tried to persuade him and tell him that it wasn’t a good choice, but he still insisted on sending the letter to the marauders.]

[This kind of behavior has crossed the bottom line of morality. No matter what the conflict is, I don't think it can, at least shouldn't, be arbitrated by a group of ruthless cannibals.]

[We've had enough of this outrageous oppression and the people of Baker Street crave liberation! If you want, we will do everything we can to cooperate with your actions and drive that vampire from his castle! Every hunter on Baker Street will be grateful for your kindness!]

My goodness.

He’s basically handing me a knife!

The charcoal in the brazier sparked.

Chu Guang lowered the letters in his hand slightly. He looked at Yu Hu who was sitting on the chair opposite, thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know what the old butler wrote?"

Yu Hu was dazed for a moment and then shook his head. "The old butler didn't tell me... He just said it was a very important thing, and it was related to your safety."

Hehe... Our safety...

Chu Guang chuckled.

The old leech definitely didn't know that the Bloodhand Clan was already gone. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come up with such a stupid idea to send a letter to the dead people.

In fact, that was very understandable. Baker Street was far away from the abandoned tire factory. Those scavengers would not explore north along the elevated highway unless they had to. After all, they all knew that it was not safe there. Who would take the initiative to approach those marauders’ camp?

The only question now was how much truth was in the letter written by Old Charlie.

There were two possibilities.

One possibility was that Old Charlie first sent someone to deliver the letter, and only after he found out that Bloodhand Clan's stronghold had been taken down did he send the old town mayor's letter to him.

Another possibility was exactly as Old Charlie had written in the letter, because the town mayor's actions had violated his bottom line, he decided to stand on the side of justice and fight with the survivors of Baker Street against the old leech.

In fact, it didn't matter which version of the story was true, the reason was never important, and anyone could make up a story after everything was over.

Chu Guang was very tempted to act, but he suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Not only could he justifiably include Baker Street into his sphere of influence, but he could also let the people of Brown Farm take the initiative to send tributes to him.

"... Your town mayor is really despicable."

Seeing Chu Guang suddenly turning serious, Yu Hu, who was sitting opposite, was slightly taken aback, and he started to become nervous. "The town... mayor? Isn't this letter written by old Charlie?"

"There are two letters in there, one was written by Old Charlie, and the other one... which is one that was originally stuffed in it, was written by your town mayor himself to the Bloodhand Clan."

"Written to the Bloodhand Clan?!" Yu Hu's eyes widened in shock, he was stunned for a while.

He remembered Chu Guang seemed to have said before that those marauders would not bother them again. Moreover, he also met Zhao Rat who was kidnapped by marauders in the outpost, and he heard that Yang Seconddog was also alive.

Why did the town mayor write to the dead people?

Wait, the town mayor actually had contact with those marauders?!

Each question was more shocking than the other.

Looking at Yu Hu who was confused, Chu Guang continued calmly. "That's right. And judging from the content of the letter, your town mayor also intended to instigate the marauders of the Bloodhand Clan to come and attack us."

"Get them to attack you?! Why did he want to do this?"

Chu Guang nodded. "As a matter of fact, we did find some interesting things in the Bloodhand Clan's stronghold after we captured their stronghold. All indications show that your town mayor seems to have made some kind of secret pact with them. He was not simply paying tribute to those marauders because they were extorting him, but actively cooperating with those marauders to exploit you... Do you understand what I mean?"

After hearing what Chu Guang said, Yu Hu's face was filled with shock.

Now matter how dumb he was, how was he not able to understand it now after Chu Guang explained it so clearly?

What he just couldn't understand was the reason behind the mayor’s actions!

"I'm going back and telling everyone in the town!" Standing up suddenly from the chair, Yu Hu's face was full of anger, his fists clenched. "That bastard, he lied to us all!"

"Don't be impulsive," Chu Guang stood up with him, "I'm glad you're on my side, but you're Xiaoyu's brother, I can't watch you die in vain."

"... Die?"

"Do you think if you go back and shout around, the other survivors on Baker Street will immediately believe what you say?"

Yu Hu said stubbornly, "I... I can convince them!"

Chu Guang shook his head. "The persuasion of words is meaningless, your town mayor will persuade them with guns."

Yu Hu was eager to argue but couldn't express himself coherently, only lamenting his own lack of eloquence.

Chu Guang was not surprised by his reaction.

After all, if he were a more astute person, he wouldn't have been chosen by Old Charlie to deliver the letter.

"Am I supposed to pretend that I didn’t know this and not tell anyone?!"

"Of course not." Chu Guang put his hand on Yu Hu's shoulder and gave him a firm look.

"This matter doesn’t just concern you. The oppression and tyranny of that old leech has crossed the bottom line of our tolerance. I will go with you!"

At the same time, all the players with VMs near the outpost received a pop-up task window

[Mission:

Liberation of Baker Street

]