Early Morning.

Li Niu walked out of the worker’s dormitory while yawning.

As usual, he first took the aluminum basin to the public washing area to wash up, then went to the factory gate to pick up 2 buns, intending to finish his breakfast standing before going in to work.

It has been 2 or 3 months since Li Niu joined Steel Plant 81 and became an honorable worker.

Caught up with the crisis of the Bonechewer Clan’s invasion, the steel factory expanded its production. With his hard work, smartness, and eagerness to learn, he was quickly promoted by the factory manager.

He now changed from a handyman to a foreman in charge of 5 to 6 people, and knew the operating instructions and safety manuals issued by the factory by heart. Not only had his monthly salary doubled, but those residents of the shelter even gave him a VM.

He knew that only the most core employees of the factory were eligible to be equipped with VMs and communicate directly with those omnipotent shelter residents.

For the wastelanders living in this area, the VM worn on the arm was not only a communication tool, but also a status symbol.

It meant that he had been recognized!

If there was no accident, he might be sitting in the position of workshop director the next year.

Actually, Li Niu wasn’t the only example. More and more Baker Street residents came to work in the factory. Few people were still doing the work of scavenging and hunting.

He even heard that Yu Hu seemed to have become the president of the Hunters’ Guild…

But Li Niu was not envious.

After all, Yu Hu was indeed really good at hunting. Besides, he was also quite satisfied with his current life. No matter what job they were doing, they all had a bright future!

After eating the buns, Li Hu clapped his hands and was about to walk towards the factory. It was at this moment, he saw some commotion at the corner of the street.

It seemed to be where Goblin Technology’s workshop was.

Compared to Steel Plant 81 with a wide gate, Goblin Technology could only be regarded as a small workshop in terms of its facade and scale.

"What happened there?" Li Niu stopped a passing fellow and asked curiously, "Why is it so lively?"

The fellow replied. "It seems that Goblin Technology has opened a new factory and is recruiting people. I just went to take a look. They offered 10 silver coins a day, and they pay by the month!"

10 silver coins could buy 2 kilograms of potatoes, or 3 kilograms of corn… Or 2 bowls of ramen…

Most of the factories would provide food and accommodation, so the wages of 10 silver coins a day could be said to be very good.

However…

That was Goblin Technology.

Most of the survivors didn’t have a good impression of it because deafening noises could always be heard from the workshop.

Strange rumors often emerge about some sort of monstrous weapon of mass destruction being researched there.

Li Niu found that many people surrounded the factory gate, but few people went up to apply for the job.

But he was not surprised that Goblin Technology couldn’t recruit people...

...

"What the fuck?! Why is there no one applying!"

Only 8 people were recruited even after the morning had passed. Looking at the employee roster in his hand, Mosquito couldn’t help but swear.

Obviously, he offered the same amount. However, Steel Plant 81’s gate was always crowded with applicants when they were recruiting, and no one approached whenever he tried to hire workers! 𝘳𝘈Ｎ𝐨฿Ëṣ

Is this reasonable?!

Obviously not!

After much deliberation, Mosquito could only think of one reason.

There was no doubt about it… He was nerfed by the developers…

A newbie, who was standing aside, couldn’t help but interject, "Have you ever thought that you’re paying too little?"

The other three players also echoed, "That’s right, 10 silver coins a day… You even have the audacity to recruit people this way?"

"Yeah, I won’t do it for this little money. I got 10 silver coins and 10 contribution points just by sending ammunition yesterday!"

"Damn those capitalists! I hope they get hanged on the street lamp!"

Those who spoke were new employees recruited by Mosquito, and they were all newcomers to the game. Their IDs were also pretty neat. Taking Lives, Chasing Souls, Killing Gods, and Stopping Fights.

Just based on those IDs, it was easy to tell that all of them were young souls.

However, all 4 of them said that they had already graduated, and even showed their graduation certificates.

"You newbies don’t know shit!" Mosquito blushed and glared at the newcomers, defending his behavior of exploitation, "The salary for an NPC... 10 silver coins is already a lot, okay? Our neighbor, Steel Plant 81, is also giving this much!"

Honestly speaking, is 10 silver coins too little?

In the previous versions, the daily salary of those NPCs was less than 2 silver coins a day, so I already paid a lot, okay?

It’s all because the administrator is too generous in giving money, and the mission rewards are too much, which has caused severe inflation in the past few months.

In the early days, newbies would only earn 10 silver coins after a day of hard work, and there were even people scrambling to do jobs with just 5 copper coins. They would be extremely happy to just get 1 silver coin! Now, these newbies would even complain that a job with an hourly salary of 10 silver coins was too little.

They would also be able to use grand-sounding words to justify their laziness…

Similar missions given by the shelter would not only award 10 silver coins but also contribution points. Once the contribution points were enough, one could buy land and high-tech equipment.

Even running errands for Longevity Town could gain regional prestige. With a high prestige, one could not only open a shop, but also work in a municipal agency.

That was much more interesting than getting silver coins!

Whenever he heard those arguments, Mosquito couldn’t help feeling sad for a while.

The newbies nowadays really have no spirit of dedication at all!

How can they reach the level of the tier 0 players if they don’t work hard?

And how can Goblin Technology become bigger and stronger?

If it weren’t for the fact that the newcomers knew how to repair engines and would be of great help to him, Mosquito probably wouldn’t have hired them.

Taking Lives didn’t believe this guy’s nonsense, and rolled his eyes without a care in the world. "Can it be the same? Steel Plant 81 is an enterprise the shelter invests in, and they also give out vouchers in addition to salary.

Chasing Souls added, "That’s right, and I heard that the employment of the businesses, which are controlled by the shelter, is not only permanent, but they also occasionally give away pots, pans, soap, oil, salt, and so on. People work for the shelter for the first half of their lives, and for the second half of their lives, the shelter will continue to support them."

Killing Gods mumbled softly at the side, "Sigh, in such a comparison, Goblin Technology is simply too stingy!"

Stopping Fights nodded. "I can’t agree more, capitalists are too hateful!"

Mosquito completely lost his cool when he heard what they said. "Are you dumb?! How much are those vouchers worth?! Also, how can you take those game settings seriously?"

The 4 of them rolled their eyes at the same time.

If vouchers were not worth a lot, why didn’t he give away any?

Ignoring these annoying newbies who were disagreeing with him, Mosquito took out a pen and a small notebook and quietly calculated.

After thinking for a while, he bit his pen and muttered, "The salary of an NPC should be increased to 12 silver coins… I won’t be able to make any money if it’s more than that!"

If the daily salary was 12 silver coins, the monthly salary would be 360 silver, 20 people would be 7,200 silver coins.

Thinking of the cost, Mosquito felt a pain in his heart.

Hateful! Why can’t we engage in slavery?

It’s already a post-apocalyptic world, so is it too much to buy two slaves to do some work?!

It’s not like I won’t provide them food!

In the end, Mosquito still raised the wages.

And the facts indeed proved that it was still useful to give more money.

The temporary workers who were still rubbernecking in the morning also came up to sign up after seeing the daily salary increase of 2 silver coins.

It was scary to work in Goblin Technology, but as long as they would be paid, no one cared so much.

And…

They hadn’t heard of anyone being killed while working for Goblin Technology.

Before the evening, Mosquito finally breathed a sigh of relief after recruiting enough people and immediately started to arrange the production of his new toy.

As for the reason for the sudden recruitment, the main reason was that Goblin Technology recently opened a new factory.

And the reason for the new factory was that Mosquito learned on the forum the day before that gas masks in Boulder Town are very expensive and in high demand!

Even civilians with only 2 or 3 chips in wages would buy a mask for themselves and their family.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Mosquito, with a keen sense of business, immediately smelled opportunities to make a fortune.

What do the people in the wasteland need the most? It has to be something that can keep them alive!

With the arrival of the Tide, Clearspring City was shrouded in a cloud of spores.

Those Slime Molds and spores couldn’t be killed with muscles and bullets.

Even ability users cannot withstand the continuous inhalation of harmful substances.

Whether it was a businessman who went to Boulder Town to do business or a local who lived there, he needed at least a gas mask to ensure their safety.

After discovering this business opportunity, Mosquito was delighted. His grin was so wide it stretched from ear to ear.

Without any delay, he immediately went online, went to the administrator’s assistant overnight to register a branch company whose main business was the production of military equipment. He instantly applied for a new factory building.

How technical was it to build gas masks?!

It could be done easily by opening 3 holes in a piece of rubber, stuffing a plastic bottle with activated carbon to make a filter, and clapping 2 round glass between 4 aluminium rings!

Because their neighbor Brown Farm had planted a lot of Camu Trees, the rubber in the shelter was very cheap, just a little more expensive than grain.

Plastic for filters was also very easy to get. The most common garbage on the wasteland was plastic bottles. And even without the garbage picked up, the chemical factories in the industrial zone could use biomass oil to synthesize polyethylene independently, and its price was a little cheaper than wood.

Mosquito had studied it carefully. Including the cost of labor and purchasing raw materials, the cost of a mask was only 2 silver coins at most.

If the scale of production increased, the cost could even be lowered!

Even if a mask could only be sold for 10 chips, it was more than double the profit for him!

If the earned chips were exchanged for local specialties in Boulder Town and shipped back, the profits would be even more terrifying.

Looking at the busy workers sitting in front of the workstations in the brand-new factory building, Mosquito had a smug smile on his face. He couldn’t help boasting, "I’m simply a genius!"

Taking Lives, who was following behind him, couldn’t help but honestly complained, “Didn’t Escaping Mole come up with this?"

Mosquito said nonchalantly, "It doesn’t matter! I was the first to do it!"

"..."

Jesus. This guy is too damn shameless!

...