Chapter 336.1: The Damn Devs Are Exploiting Players Again!

"... We have met the individuals from Shelter 404." In the center of a pure white room, Horn wore a serious expression as he spoke.

"Oh?" As if drifting from the void, a gentle voice resonated near his ear. "What kind of people are they?"

Horn respectfully replied, "They are a group of very unique people. My experience cannot help me make a more specific judgment. They've extended an invitation, so I am thinking of sending a few people to visit them."

"That's a good idea. You need to maintain communication with other survivors. Have you decided on the team?" The voice carried a hint of approval.

Horn's aged countenance revealed a trace of delight as he continued respectfully, "Not yet, but we intend to select a student and 2 engineers."

The voice that seemed to come from beyond the ether fell into contemplation.

After perhaps a few minutes, it continued, "Let Pai go."

Upon hearing this suggestion from the mentor, Horn felt a hint of surprise but didn't have any objections.

"I will abide by your teachings." The elderly man said respectfully, pausing for a moment before continuing with his thoughts. "The New Alliance's capital is more than 100 kilometers away from us. For safety concerns, I wish to request a bodyguard."

"Approved. Gate will open at dawn tomorrow." The voice from the void readily responded.

Horn nodded slightly. "Thank you."

"No need for thanks. Go get ready," the voice continued, "I also have to pick an appropriate gift for our neighbor."

The communication ended.

After the departure of that voice, Horn slowly raised his hands, his index finger feeling around his temple area before removing the VR glasses he wore.

The pure white light faded from his surroundings.

The next moment, he returned to the management center of the camp.

The gate of the shelter wouldn't open easily. Whenever there was something important to discuss, he would sit in the office like this, communicating with the administrator through VR equipment.

After some contemplation, Horn reached out and pressed the touch screen on the table.

Observing the communication icon, he slowly spoke, "Ask Evan to come to the management center. I have something important to discuss with him."

...

Wasteland Online official website.

The settlement of the Blade Unsheathed expansion was in full swing.

This battle had been going on for 2 months. Almost all players had earned quite a bit and were waiting to spend their accumulated points.

Before the settlement began, many players on the website had already posted screenshots, flaunting their point balances.

Ice and Fire: Wow, 100,000 points?!

Team Effort: Did you use cheat?!

Falling Feather: Jealous? I earned it with my life. (Proud)

100,000 points were not the most exaggerated. A certain fat rat even scored 120,000.

The most striking might be the Burning Corps, with an average score close to 80,000.

Even less noticeable third-line corps like the Silver Corps had average scores of over 30,000.

It could only be said that the corps system was truly awesome, and individual players had to be as creative as Make Me to obtain high scores.

But generally, as long as a group had a leader, if the rest didn't act too far out of line or disobey commands to the extent of being kicked out of the group, their earnings wouldn't differ much.

Though points couldn't be directly converted into silver coins, missions that awarded points usually rewarded silver coins or contributions.

It was evident how much profit they made from this war.

Quit Bullshit: This time, the average score might reach 20,000.

Mosquito: Be more confident; I reckon at least 40,000. (Proud)

Escaping Mole: Suddenly feeling a bit anxious...

Makka Pakka: Anxious? Isn't more points better?

Escaping Mole: It's not... you shouldn't just look at the surface of the issue; more points mean more people participating in the lottery. According to the game's lottery system design, what's fixed is not the drop rate but the rewards in the reward pool...

Quit Bullshit: Hold on, can you speak in simple terms?

Escaping Mole: In simple terms, it means the reward pool might get diluted.

Construction Boy: What?!

Eye Owe Money: Will they really be that shameless?!

Ample Time: You're looking surprised as if it's your first day playing this game. (Sly smile)

While players were discussing, Light's ID suddenly appeared on the forum.

Seeing the ID of the developer, not only did players perk up, but cloud gamers, spies from various countries and businesses, and even shitposters all sat up straight.

- Hello, everyone! I'm your most beloved Dev, Light. First, allow me, on behalf of the development team, to wish you all a Happy Children's Day!

- To celebrate the festival and to relieve our ape programmers’ anxiety, our lion developers designed an automatic banana-feeding machine... but unfortunately, we're out of No. 5 batteries. There's no supermarket nearby, so we had to solve the problem ourselves.

- Fortunately, our lion developers were reliable enough. Not only did they succeed in making batteries but also incidentally solved some interesting problems. Hint: It is a film. We all agreed that it would be a waste not to use it to earn some money for snacks. Therefore, we decided to sell it to the highest bidder!

- That's right, the auction starts in three days with a starting price of 1 million silver coins!

- Back to the point, with June coming, the Wasteland Online closed beta server is about to enter the hot summer. Rainfall will be more frequent; the city and forests will become more dangerous. Reptiles and arthropods will be strong in this season... I don't think any players have explored the southern hemisphere yet, so good luck.

- Moreover, thank you all for your continuous support. With the successful conclusion of the expansion pack, we have obtained valuable experimental data! Thanks to this data, we have taken another big step towards the open beta!

- Our boss said that we've won big. I believe it's not just us; it's the same for all of you! Seeing all those zeroes in your account, aren't you excited? Happy? Haha, I'm as happy as you!

- To give back to everyone for your continuous support, we've prepared generous prizes! Starting now, the points draw and achievement redemption activities are officially open!

- Let's celebrate this victory!

At the same time this post was released, the official website unlocked the lottery system, and the forum instantly erupted into a frenzy.

100 points for one draw, 10,000 points for 100 consecutive draws!

Though the game didn't offer the option of 100 consecutive draws for 20 free draws, with an average of 40,000 points accumulated by most players, spending all the points on a consecutive draw was also satisfying!

While players were busy scratching off their lottery tickets and cloud gamers were joyfully watching, intelligence systems from various countries weren't idle. They were peering into screens, convening meetings, and experiencing a moment of chaos.

After not posting a single post for over 2 months, Light reentered their sight.

For them, who had been busy for months without any progress, there was nothing more exciting than this!

Out of stock of No. 5 batteries... An organization with mature quantum computing technology, and they're out of No. 5 batteries?

- Isn't this absurd?!

- Maybe there's a hidden clue here... What is Light hinting at?

- Lock down all areas without supermarkets within a 5-kilometer radius!

- Is it globally? That would be very difficult...