Chapter 42: Please Respect Yourself...

"Water... water..."

Not knowing how long she had been in a coma, Xia Yan woke up eventually, and she felt terribly hungry. Her throat also felt as dry as a soldering iron. Her arms felt as heavy as lead.

Her dim vision seemed to be separated by a layer of fog. She tried to get up from the ground, but she gave up after making a single attempt.

That was until her eyes fell on the plastic bottle and a small bag not far away.

Pouncing on them violently, Xia Yan grabbed the plastic bottle. Not caring what liquid was in it, she tipped her head back and poured it into her mouth.

Her thirst was instantly relieved.

Pouring the last drop of water into her mouth, Xia Yan threw away the bottle, and like a starving ghost, picked up the plastic wrap from the ground and tore it open.

Instinct told her that there was food in it!

However, when she saw the black things inside, her hungry expression became stiff for a moment.

What is this...

Sniffing it slowly, she could tell that it didn’t stink.

After some hesitation, Xia Yan finally made up her mind and took a careful bite.

The moment her lips and teeth touched the strange black thing, her expression froze, and then her pupils shook violently.

This... What is this taste?!

She stuffed whatever was contained in the packaging into her mouth and licked her lips after devouring it. She didn't even let the plastic packaging go, turning it inside out and licking it vigorously.

The next moment, the alloy door in front of her opened.

Xia Yan looked up and saw the man standing at the door.

“Are you finally awake?”

Instinctively shrinking back in fear, Xia Yan hurriedly glanced at her clothes and bit her teeth and nodded.

"Mhm."

Chu Guang continued, "Is it delicious?"

Although she didn't want to answer, her mouth refused to listen to her brain and the words came out instantly. "Yes......"

Chu Guang smiled faintly. "Do you want more?"

"Yes." Xia Yan nodded sharply.

Satisfied with her answer, Chu Guang nodded and explained, "What you just ate was called chocolate."

"From now on, you work for me, and you need to do whatever I ask you to do. In exchange, I can provide you with safe shelter and food. In addition, if your performance satisfies me, I will give you another piece of chocolate."

Xia Yan had never eaten chocolate before. She only heard that it was a popular food before the war, and it was also a pleasure for the upper class members of Boulder City.

"... Is this the taste of chocolate?"

Her index finger subconsciously touched her lips. Xia Yan looked surprised, and regret gradually imprinted in her eyes.

Huh... I should have eaten it slowly!

Of course, Chu Guang couldn't guess what she was thinking.

If he knew, he would probably roll his eyes.

It was just a piece of chocolate... Is this really necessary?

"Yes," Chu Guang continued looking at Xia Yan sitting on the ground, "So what's your answer?"

"Okay," Xia Yan answered without hesitation, and she didn't even ask what Chu Guang was going to ask her to do.

After all, she had no choice.

Having lost half of her leg, even if she returned to Boulder City, her final outcome would be nothing more than remaining in the stinking and rotting alleys of the slums.

She would end up like a rotten orange peel! No one would care about her at all.

Of course... If there was a way to live, no one wanted to die. At the very least, she didn’t wish to go just yet.

Xia Yan turned her head, closed her eyes as if accepting her fate, and whispered, "Although I haven't done it before, I-I know what you want... but please be gentle."

"Huh?" Chu Guang was taken aback.

No matter what, he was someone who had experience. He could guess that she had misunderstood his intentions from her expression and he straightened his face and said solemnly, "Madam, please respect yourself. I am now discussing work issues with you very seriously."

If you do this again, I can’t act serious any longer!

Xia Yan was also stunned when she heard what he said.

What the hell? Didn’t he bring me back because he wanted to have a baby?!

Her pupils shook violently, and it seemed that she was finally able to distinguish between her imagination and reality, and Xia Yan's face gradually turned red.

Turning her head in shame, she stared at the crack in the corner and growled, “... Kill me now!”

"???"

What the fuck?

...

After spending some time, Chu Guang briefly explained the situation to Xia Yan who was lying on the ground.

Games were not popular in the wasteland. Explaining the concept of players would only make things even more complicated. Chu Guang was too lazy to talk to a brick wall and simply threw out an explanation she could understand.

"In short, my men and I plan to build a survivor settlement on the surface. We wish to expel mutants, take in refugees, and restore order in this area."

Xia Yan shot him a look of disapproval after hearing what he said.

How foolish did he have to be to say something so unrealistic?

Restore order?

Countless people had tried stuff like that in the past two centuries, but no one succeeded. Instead, more and more mutants were popping up in the cities and the living spaces of survivors were constantly being pushed back. The situation was getting worse with each year.

"Do you think restoring order is as simple as building a wall?" Xia Yan, whose soul was hurt, snorted sarcastically, "You should go to Boulder City. There are countless people stronger than you. Even so, they can only linger on the edge of the third-ring. You think you can do better?"

"I naturally have my plan," Chu Guang, who had never thought about stuff like that, looked at her calmly and continued, "I don't plan to spend a few months to achieve this goal. I know it will take a long time, but I am determined to pay the price of sacrificing several generations to complete it."

Why the hell does she have so many questions? You’re just an NPC... Just listen to me!

Of course, Chu Guang knew that restoring order could not be done just because he said so, and he never arrogantly thought that he was invincible just because he killed a few poor marauders living in the outer suburbs.

Whatever it was, that was the game setting anyway.

At least it had to make the players feel that the new NPC was really acting like an NPC.

However, the woman in front of him apparently only heard the second half of his sentence.

Generations?

Xia Yan shrank back nervously.

Sure enough, he still wanted her to have a baby.

"Back to the main topic," Chu Guang coughed slightly, and continued, "You can assemble firearms, right? And do maintenance for the parts?"

Xia Yan nodded. "Yes, this is a basic skill."

"Very good," Chu Guang nodded and continued, "From now on, you will be the owner of the weapon shop."

"Huh?" Xia Yan looked dumbfounded and didn't understand what he was talking about.

Because when Chu Guang said a certain word, he didn't use the language of the wasteland. Instead, he used a word from the players’ world.

"The owner of the weapon shop," Chu Guang stared at her, repeating it one word at a time, and then continued, "This is your job. In short, it is to sell and maintain firearms. Whenever people ask you what you do, just give them that answer.”

"Sell guns?" Xia Yan asked in a daze, "Who do I sell them to?"

"Shelter residents."

"Huh?" Xia Yan was even more confused, "Aren't those people your subordinates?"

"Yes, but it's a bit different from the subordinates you’re thinking of." Chu Guang paused and continued, "In short, we have just come to the surface. We need to concentrate our efforts on doing big things, but supplies are scarce. Therefore, a planned economy will be implemented temporarily, and everyone will work together and eat together."

"When the survival crisis is resolved and we have surplus resources, they will have to step up their enthusiasm for production. They should consciously step out of their comfort zone and forge ahead. During that time, the rules of our settlements will change. Resources such as food, medicine, weapons, and others will not be free anymore."

"Since you come from Boulder City, you should be aware of stuff like money chips. The concept is actually the same.”

Obviously the woman did not understand what he was talking about.

For survivors in the wasteland, as long as they had received a little education, the worst job they could take was to be the lackey of a rich man, just like Old Charlie on Baker Street. If they learned a skill, they would be able to get a job in a factory to help powerful people produce metals, dispense medicines, and repair powered exoskeletons.

Only the poor would do business that traded their lives for money.

Which was like Xia Yan who used to be a mercenary.

In the wasteland, mercenaries had never been a glamorous profession. They were just a group of cheap cannon fodder who were given a pittance to throw their lives away.

But Chu Guang didn't care. All he needed was a tool that could execute his commands.

Knowledge? Experience? Quality?

Those could be learned!

After a pause, Chu Guang looked at her and said, "The language of our people is a bit different from that of people on the surface. However, it shouldn’t be a big problem at all. I will teach you a few simple lines for daily communication. You just need to do what I say."