Chapter 57: First Snowfall In The Wasteland

The antibiotics produced by the shelter had a really good effect. Not long after taking the pill, Yu Xiong not only stopped having a fever, but even the swelling wasn’t as intense. He even managed to get to his feet to limp around twice.

The two brothers from the Yu Family were grateful for Chu Guang and vowed to repay his kindness in the future. Seeing that it was getting late, Yu Hu bid Chu Guang goodbye and walked to the door while supporting his older brother.

When passing by Ample Time, Yu Hu stopped, took out a finely crafted knife from his backpack, which looked like something that wasn’t made in the Wasteland Era, and handed it over.

It was a treasure he obtained when scavenging.

In a deep voice that was of a different vibe from how he looked, he mumbled, "You are strong and can dodge my arrows. But if it's one-on-one, I won't lose. Keep this knife for me, don't lose it. In the coming year, we will have a fair fight again. If I win, I will take it back."

Ample Time didn't understand what he was talking about, but he figured out that the young man probably wanted to give him the knife.

Is this thanking me for saving his relative indirectly?

Ample Time pointed at the knife, then pointed at himself, seeing the NPC nodding, he happily took it. While accepting the knife, he sighed, "There's really no need for you to do this!"

Yu Hu also didn't understand what he was talking about, but when he saw that he had taken the knife, he bobbed his head in recognition and helped his brother away.

Watching the two disappear past the gate, Ample Time played with the knife in his hand. He suddenly looked at Gale beside him and sighed emotionally, "This game is too detailed. Look at the NPC’s expression! Every frame is so well animated! I just can't praise enough how good it is."

Gale raised an eyebrow and asked, "...Do you understand what he said?"

Ample Time shook his head in response. "Nope. But does it matter?"

Night Ten leaned in and said with a smile, "Maybe he wants to marry one of his sisters to you, and this knife is a token of marriage contract."

"Fuck off!"

...

After helping his brother out of the outpost, Yu Hu turned back slightly and mumbled, “Brother, I told you he's not an ordinary person. Back then, I persuaded you and Dad to marry Xiaoyu to him. You disagreed. I bet you’re regretting it now.”

Yu Xiong was in a complicated mood and replied in a soft grumble, "Why would I regret it? He is our benefactor, so don't think about these unrealistic things... Also, I didn't disagree with it, I just didn't say anything about it. Dad didn’t oppose it either."

Yu Hu frowned. "Why didn't it work out then?"

Yu Xiong stretched out his hand weakly and rubbed the head of his foolish brother. "You are too optimistic. Have you ever thought about whether he wants it or not? Have you seen the girls among those people around him? Which one of them is not better than our Xiaoyu?"

Yu Hu became very defensive in response, "But... They’re not Xiaoyu! Moreover, Xiaoyu was also very cute when she was a kid. She's just a little bit skinny now, but what does it matter? When we go back, let's coax her to eat more meat. I will give her my share too. Once she gains enough weight, she will not be worse than them."

Yu Xiong almost burst out laughing. He glanced at Yu Hu and growled, "Why are you in such a hurry to find a man for our little sister?"

Yu Hu smiled foolishly, but what he said next wasn't stupid at all. "Whether I'm in a hurry or not, our younger sister will be old enough to get married next year. According to the rules on Baker Street, she will be counted as a single household when the time comes. If you look at our harvest this year, we can barely manage to meet the requirements, so how can we afford to pay for one more household next year?"

According to Baker Street's regulations, once a kid reached 16 years of age, they would be counted as a single household. During the mobilization order every fall, no matter whether they were married or not, they needed to prepare enough resources.

It was a type of tax.

It would be fine for the males. Generally, they could go out hunting and scavenging with their elders from the age of 13 or 14 and could become qualified scavengers or hunters in two or three years, which would turn them into a labor force. It was a lot more difficult to be a girl in such difficult times. Few could make a living by themselves at that age, so they tend to get married early.

The reason why Xiaoyu would stay at home while being so carefree was because their father could still work, her sister-in-law hadn't had a child yet, and her second brother hadn’t gotten a family. The three men barely managed to support this big family.

The moment Yu Hu got married, or Yu Xiong had a kid, even if they didn't want to, they had to find Xiaoyu a man.

Survival was a heavy topic.

"... She will marry someone eventually. So it's better to find a good family for her earlier, lest she lives a hard life with us." Yu Xiong glanced at the sky and squinted his eyes slightly while speaking.

"The third son of the Wang Family is also old enough now, and their family is also pretty good. It just so happens that his youngest daughter can also be your wife."

Yu Hu shook his head quickly. "That won't work. I don't like Wang Defu. He pushed Xiaoyu last time! If Xiaoyu marries him, he will definitely beat her at home."

"The Li Family..."

"Uh, is it appropriate? Our mom came from the Li family."

There were only a hundred households on Baker Street. So there weren't many choices.

Yu Xiong was speechless and only gave his younger brother a meaningful look.

"Then you have to think about it carefully. If she marries anyone outside, you will have to find a wife yourself."

"It's okay. Are you worried that I won't be able to get a wife?" Yu Hu smiled, and after a while, he muttered again, "I just don't want you to worry about me all the time! I can find one by myself... I don't want to sell my little sister."

...

As dusk fell, the players who went out returned to the outpost one after another.

Just like the day before, many players set up stalls in the open space inside the north gate of the outpost. They started yelling about the stuff they were selling, and the noise of bargaining was endless. It was just like a bazaar.

"Raw meat! Fresh squirrel meat! Whether you want to fry it, roast it, or boil it, it will always taste delicious! 1 silver coin each! It’s affordable and it’s of great quality!”

"Who’s going to buy something like that?! How much meat would there be on a squirrel?"

"There is a lot of meat. A mutant squirrel weighs two kilograms! If you go to the granary to buy meat, you can only buy two hundred and forty grams for 1 silver coin. Think about it!"

"I don't have money."

"Scram if you don’t!”

"..."

"Mutant hyena's teeth! You can make accessories with it! Only one copper coin each. We only have ten pieces in stock. If you want to buy them, get one as soon as possible!”

"Who would use this thing to make accessories? It's so ugly!"

"You are so dumb. What if there's an accessory system in the future? The price of accessories that can provide buff will definitely increase a lot!"

"Really?"

"Really! Believe me!"

"Then... Give me two."

"Okay, here you go."

In addition to players who were selling hunting materials, there was also trash picked up from the wasteland.

Although it was now the 211th year of the Wasteland Era, if they searched carefully, one could occasionally find some good stuff that others missed.

Especially in some locked doors and cabinets, or stuff that were buried under the ruins.

Some alloy products with a good anti-oxidation effect could be an excellent weapon after a little modification. For example, Chu Guang saw that a fire ax with anti-rust paint was still intact and had been marked with a price of 7 silver coins.

It was really worth the price, but not many people could afford it.

"Does anyone want gold? I found a gold chain when I searched the townhouses! It's only 3 silver coins, it can't be cheaper!"

"It's too expensive. You can buy a lot of food for 3 silver coins! But what's the use of this gold chain? I can't make a weapon with it or use it!"

"Give me one. Fuck it, I can't afford it in reality! At least I’ll gain some satisfaction in game..."

"... Sigh. What a prodigal mess! If we don't complete the initial accumulation of capital, how can we rank among the elite players in the future?"

"Brother, don't get addicted. This is just a game!"

Actually, Yaya still had the most popular stall.

Every time she performed her unique skill of eating a big mushroom in one bite, everyone would applaud her.

Of course these players also wouldn't just watch, and the mushrooms in front of the booth were quickly sold out.

The day before, it was still three copper coins for six hundred grams of mushrooms. She raised the price to four copper coins, but there were still people coming around to buy them.

In addition, she also used picked berries to make a bottle of Yaya secret jam, which was priced at 1 silver coin.

However, it was a pity that no one seemed to want to buy the bottle of jam.

After all, it was green. It looked pretty disgusting.

Then there was Xia Yan's weapon shop. Although all the weapons on the shelf were priced at hundreds of silver coins, that did not stop everyone from coming to see her.

"Owner, can you say that you are Kiri from

Empyrean

? Just say it, please!"

"She’s too cold. She ignores us! It must be because we are too poor! Damn it, why is this game so real?"

"Have you noticed? The expression in her eyes is obviously different when she looks at the Administrator!"

"Did this NPC already fall in love with our Administrator?"

"Fall in love with my ass! The handsome Brother Dawn is obviously my husband, no one is allowed to snatch him away from me!"

"Are you daydreaming? What's your favorability level now? You just came online a few days ago, but you are already thinking about starting a relationship with NPCs?"

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"What do you think the NPCs will do after we go offline?"

"...Wait for us to go online?"

"Psycho!"

Coincidentally, someone else was also thinking the same.

Although Xia Yan didn't understand what those players were saying, she couldn’t help but think that they were crazy.

"This group of psychos..." Muttering something under her breath, she glanced in the direction of the nursing home and then at Chu Guang.

So hungry.

When can I go back to the shelter? I wonder if there will be dessert tonight too. That chocolate, it's quite delicious...

...

Perhaps because there were twenty newcomers, the market was more lively.

Standing in front of the nursing home, Chu Guang couldn't help but start to imagine how lively it would be when all hundred players gathered.

"Life has started to get better." As Chu Guang thought about it, a contented smile blossomed on his face.

He was happier than anyone there.

After all, they were only playing a game, but that was how he was going to spend the rest of his life!

A slight sensation of coolness suddenly touched the bridge of his nose.

Chu Guang raised his head and saw a small piece of silver falling drifting slowly towards him.

Reaching out and touching the tip of his nose, he wiped off the cold water. Chu Guang stared at his fingertips and mumbled thoughtfully.

"... Snow? Could it be hail?"

It wasn’t zero degrees yet. To be precise, the temperature should be between ten degrees and fifteen degrees.

There were no cumulonimbus clouds in the sky or even thicker clouds, and sunlight was faintly visible from the horizon.

Preliminary speculation was that it was probably the strong blast of cold air passing through the border. When it came into contact with the hot and humid updraft, it condensed at low altitudes to form ice crystals...

Whatever it was, his thoughts were pretty much full of shit.

What he felt probably wasn’t snow or hail. It should be some unique climate specific to the wasteland.

In any case, that was not a good sign.

Chu Guang sighed softly in his heart after flicking the water droplets from his fingertips.

"... It seems that Old Charlie is right. Winter will arrive earlier than in previous years."

Food, fuel, materials, and weapons!

Ugh! There are so many considerations...

Well, some people were annoyed while others would be celebrating. He could vaguely hear the players' heartless cheers and the joyful twittering in the distance

That was a female player who had just joined the game and was looking up in the skies.

"It's snowing!"