Chapter 35: Please, Please, Please... Let Me Go Do Physical Labor

The number of players has increased from the single digits to double digits. Productivity wasn’t the only thing that increased, but a lot of new problems were also caused.

For example, the time they spent online.

Chu Guang discovered that he overlooked something. Not everyone needed to go to work or school during the day.

It was especially so in the single player gaming community.

There were many members in the group who had been chatting 24 hours a day, and it was unclear what they were actually up to.

As he watched them chat into the dead of night, Chu Guang fell asleep and forgot to turn off his computer.

When he was dozing off in a chair, he was woken up by the sound of a private chat.

Damn it. Who the hell came to disturb me when I’m sleeping?

Rubbing his eyes, Chu Guang got up groggily. He squinted at the screen and noticed that there was a message from Garbage.

Garbage: Brother Light! When is the earliest time players can log into the game?!

- I can’t wait, please, let me log into the game to move bricks!

What the heck? Are there even people like that?!

Chu Guang hadn't fully woken up yet, and he had been stewing for quite some time before typing a reply.

Light: I was just taking a nap... Do you not have to go to work during the day?!

Garbage: Hey hey. What is work? Players can definitely make a lot of money in this game in the future! So it's better to seize the time to level up!

Light: ...

Is it really okay to say such words in front of the game designer? Forget it. I’ll just pretend I didn’t see that.

Light: You should just take it easy, the date of the open beta has not been decided. The first phase may last for one or two years, and then it may take another three to five years for the next phase...

Garbage: That’s fine! If your company isn’t afraid of going bankrupt, why should I worry about it?! Hahahaha.

His line of thinking was clear. It was even clearer than most players who qualified for the first phase of testing. After all, other games on the market weren't close to comparable to Wasteland Online!

Just the technology of liberating sleeping time alone was enough to make the game invincible.

Who would refuse to have eight extra hours of life in a day?

So what if the testing phase was tiresome? It was not like it would be tiresome until the game came to an end. Only idiots would regard the content of a game in the testing phase as everything the game could offer.

Garbage truly looked much further than other players.

Although he didn’t know when the open beta would be available, as long as it was accessible, it would definitely be popular.

Playing early already gave him enough of an advantage. Starting a day earlier than others meant another day's advantage over others, not to mention that the game itself was enough to make him addicted.

Light: ... You do you.

Garbage: So, is that yes? Please let me log into the game. I promise I will do anything you say!

Light: I can't control what you are doing, just follow the rules. But... Even if you can log into the game, you won’t have anything to do in the game at this time, right? The game time and the real time are synchronized, and it should be late at night right now...

That was also the reason Chu Guang didn’t allow the survivors to work at night.

Even he didn’t dare to spend a night in the wild!

Garbage: It’s exactly because it is late at night! You may not know, but my genetic sequence in the game is that of a mutant! Strictly speaking, night is where I operate the best. I should sleep during the day... Please, let me log in!

Light: Let me talk to my superior first.

Garbage: Thanks Brother Light! <3

Chu Guang sighed, got up from the chair, and adjusted his collar and buttons that were a bit messy.

He had never seen such an active player.

However, what Garbage said also seemed to make sense.

Strictly speaking, it was true that mutants worked the best at night.

For the lizardman, darkness did not necessarily mean danger but may become a cover for them.

With an idea in his mind, Chu Guang opened the player list and enabled Garbage’s device.

As soon as he did it, the sound of a hatch opening in the next room rang in his ears.

My goodness. That’s fast!

Looking at the lizardman coming out, Chu Guang suppressed his shock. He put his hands behind his back and said with a serious expression, "You are awake? That’s great. I happen to have a task for you."

A mission was triggered?!

Garbage stood upright and yelled, "Please tell me, dear Administrator."

Chu Guang didn't talk nonsense, and went straight to the point.

"There is a mutant human tribe on 76th Street directly opposite the east gate of the Wetland Park. During the day, we found traces of marauder activities in the blocks along the viaduct in the north. I suspect that there are marauder strongholds in the north."

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I need you to scout northward along the viaduct and search for all traces of survivor activities within a straight-line radius of 3 kilometers. If you find a suspected survivor stronghold, mark it on the map and report back immediately.

“Remember to hide yourself and avoid all unnecessary fights.”

"In addition, if you find suitable prey, you may hunt some along the way, and the reward will be effective."

After hearing Chu Guang's order, the two-meter-tall lizardman immediately bowed his head respectfully. "Yes! Dear Administrator!"

After finally getting permission to go online, Garbage did not delay for a moment. After leaving the shelter, he quickly disappeared into the night outside the nursing home.

Chu Guang could sense the approximate location and distance of each player.

After confirming that Garbage did not run randomly, but followed his order to go north, Chu Guang returned to the shelter, closed the door, and continued to doze off in a chair.

...

The next day, before six o'clock in the morning.

Except for Yaya who was fed to mutant leeches the day before and was still waiting for her clone to be created, other players crawled out of the nurturing cabins one after another.

As for Garbage who went out the night before, he still hadn't come back.

However, Chu Guang could confirm through the player list that he was still alive, and he was not too far away from the wetland park.

"Administrator, are there any arrangements today?" Old White stepped forward first and asked respectfully.

Although it was pointless, he would say it every day, hoping to trigger some hidden mission.

It didn't matter even if it couldn’t trigger anything. He just needed to show up in front of the Administrator.

Chu Guang also fulfilled his duties as an NPC as always, and answered routinely.

"Just like yesterday, the tasks are all written on the bulletin board. In addition to that, you can move about freely. The outpost is now in short supply of food and building materials... and fortifications."

One side of the wall of the outpost had been repaired. The remaining three sides should be completed in the next two days.

What Chu Guang was more worried about was that the noise they produced was getting louder and louder, which may alarm the mutant tribe on 76th Street,

The entire outpost now had three guns in total, two of which were made from 5mm small water pipes. It could be said that not only couldn't they win against those green-skinned muscular men, but he was sure that they would be destroyed. When that happened, he could only run away.

If he was caught by those animals, he would suffer a fate worse than death. Under normal circumstances, people’s minds would be broken before their bodies...

Of course, if players were really captured, they would most likely be forcibly disconnected. Even if they were curious, they would not be able to feel what happened later.

A group of players came to the surface in batches, preparing to start a new day of work.

"Where is Garbage? Why didn't we see him?" Night Ten looked around and found that there was no big lizard among the crowd.

Chu Guang glanced at him and said. "He set off early, and I had a special task for him."

Envy was evident on the faces of nearby players.

Sure enough, special classes were different.

They were still moving bricks, but that guy had already triggered an exclusive mission!

Damn that lucky guy!

"Night Ten, you will go out with me later... and Ample Time, you too." Chu Guang thought for a long time and finally decided to bring someone who was smarter.

Ample Time looked flattered and decisively abandoned Old White, who had a sorrowful look in his eyes and trotted over.

Although he had talked to Old White before going online saying that they were going to research blast furnaces together, it wasn’t as fun as following the Administrator around!

Not to mention the generous rewards...

The first-hand information alone was enough for him to get excited!

"Good brother, wait for me to come back!"

"Fuck off, don't come back!" Old White roared.

Without paying attention to the communication between the two players, Chu Guang took out the 5mm iron barrel rifles and threw them into the hands of Ample Time and Night Ten respectively.

At the same time, 20 bullets were given to the players.

He didn’t hold out much hope that these two newbies would hit anyone with their shit gun, but he hoped that they would be able to create an opportunity by scaring their enemy or escape. Whatever it was, they might be able to create an opening for him.

Maybe if they were lucky, they would hit the opponent.

Even if they hit their opponent once, they would gain a huge advantage!

Of course, it was best if there was no fighting.

"The safety is on the right side of the trigger. You should familiarize yourself with its position, but don't touch it unless I ask you to release the safety catch."

Looking at the players who were playing with the guns in their hands with excitement, Chu Guang paused and continued, "In a moment, we’ll head over to a nearby survivor settlement to exchange some supplies with the locals. No matter what happens, you must listen to my command, and remember not to recklessly open fire, or make hostile behavior without authorization.

Chu Guang stared them both in the eye and growled, “Remember, we represent the entirety of Shelter 404. Do you understand?"

"Understood! Dear Administrator," Ample Time stood upright excitedly and gave a lame and non-standard military salute, "I will absolutely obey your command!"

Night Ten's reaction was a little slower, but his mind turned fairly fast, and he hurriedly followed Ample Time's movements.

"Yes, sir!"

"..."

Where did they learn those lines? Did they not feel embarrassed saying it?

However, as an Administrator, he certainly would not say such things. His dominance over the players was, in a sense, positively related to the players' enthusiasm.

The more players identified themselves as shelter residents, the more they would obey his orders instead of creating trouble.

"... Very good, you guys look sharp and ready to go!" Chu Guang coughed slightly and looked outside the nursing home.

"We need to carry 50 kilograms of dried smoked meat, 20 kilograms of smoked fish, 10 sets of mutant hyena fur... and a cart. Go make your preparations. We’ll set off in ten minutes!”