Chapter 75: The Warehouse Manager Who Knows How To Farm

"Dude, your electric blast furnace doesn't work well."

"... It may be that the power is not enough. I will see if I can use these copper wires to build a larger generator."

"... You are really a genius!"

When leaving the Woodworking Cabin, Chu Guang passed by the industrial area and saw several players in front of the steel-making blast furnace, wondering how to improve the steel-making technology.

The electric furnace improved from scraps seemed to have failed, and the problem seemed to be the power. The two players were discussing how to make a more powerful generator.

It would be great if they succeeded.

Muttering silently in his heart, Chu Guang, carrying a hammer, walked to the side of the brick kiln and found Sword Execution, who was instructing other players to burn bricks.

Since Old White switched to hunter class, the post of construction team leader has fallen onto the Civil Engineer's shoulder.

"The three-meter-high wall is still too short. The marauders’ second round of attack will come sooner or later. I plan to strengthen the defense of the outpost. Do you have any good suggestions?"

Unexpectedly, the administrator looked for him to discuss such an important issue.

Sword Execution was surprised at first, and immediately thought about it seriously.

"Looking at the marauder's weapons, we can see that they use Molotov Cocktails, projectiles, and light weapons. Although the wall can prevent them from breaking through our defenses recklessly, the advantages it provides in the actual fight are actually not that great!"

"My suggestion is that we can gather building materials to build 3 to 4 meters high bunkers outside the wall, and then use Z-shaped trenches to connect these bunkers!"

Hearing this little player's suggestion, Chu Guang's eyes lit up.

His idea was actually amazing.

The marauders were very similar to goblins in fantasy movies. Neither their firepower nor melee combat ability was very strong, and their advantage mainly lay in intimidation and harassment.

Intimidation was of no use to players; it would only make those lunatics more excited. The only thing that needed to be paid attention to was their ability to harass the enemy.

A bunker would provide a frontal suppression effect, and the flanking trenches could perfectly limit the maneuverability of marauders.

Could marauders that have lost their mobility still be called marauders?

They would all be mobile experience points!

Even if they gritted their teeth, broke through the defensive gap, and jumped into the trenches, what awaited them would be an even more cruel and bloody storm.

The only problem left was the players’ inability to hit a target with a gun.

However... There was no need to worry about accuracy in the trenches when they fought with bayonets!

In the minds of these players, there was no concept of retreat. Once they get excited, they wouldn't even mind blowing themselves up to get a few more kills.

Thinking of this, Chu Guang made a decision immediately. "Let's do it your way, how much manpower do you need?"

Sword Execution summed up in his mind and said, "If you give me twenty men, I can do it in three days! If you give me thirty men, I can do it in two days at most!"

Digging trenches was not that difficult. With tools such as shovels and a few strength type players, it was estimated that the trench could actually be dug in a day.

The main structure could be dug out first, and then the structure could be slowly reinforced with wood.

As for the bunkers, players could pull some cement blocks from the construction site and use wood and discarded steel bars to make beams, so building a rudimentary bunker shouldn't be a problem.

Chu Guang nodded. "I'll send you forty men."

"Forty? Will it be too many?" Sword Execution was stunned.

Chu Guang shook his head.

"What we lack is not people, but time. A batch of reinforcements will arrive tomorrow. I will let you deploy all of them to dig trenches."

There were 40 players who obtained the qualifications to enter Wasteland Online in the next batch. The number had already broken their last record!

With so many newcomers pouring into the game, he had to find something for them to do, lest they run around like headless flies in the base.

While working for Sword Execution, they could also get acquainted with the work culture of Shelter 404.

In order to make Sword Execution pay enough attention to the task he had been given, Chu Guang paused for a while and then continued to speak in a serious tone, "This task is very important. I hope you will take it seriously. In addition, your contribution points and rewards will be determined by the quality of the fortifications."

"If the fortifications you design perform well in the next battle, there will be additional rewards."

Although the administrator didn't tell him how much reward he would be given, seeing how serious the administrator was, Sword Execution regarded it as a hidden task.

He straightened his back excitedly, pressed his right fist to his left chest, and roared, "I'll definitely complete the task!"

"Very good." Chu Guang nodded in satisfaction.

"For the rest of the day, you can create a detailed plan and start making markings outside the wall. Then you can start work immediately tomorrow morning. Go."

...

A scout was caught last night, but no movement came from the marauders all day. It made Chu Guang wonder what the Bloodhand Clan was thinking.

Were they waiting for Shelter 404 to make the first move?

Neither the plundering team nor the investigating scout returned. No matter how dumb the other party was, they should have realized that those people would never return.

The hunter squads scattered on the north and east sides of the wetland park were not only hunting mutants, but also hunting marauder scouts in coordination with the secret observation points.

It was still quite troublesome to wear an exoskeleton, especially with a large hammer weighing twenty to thirty kilograms hanging on his back.

Chu Guang walked to the generator and took off the equipment. He found a cable to connect the KV-1 Exoskeleton and started charging it. When he was done, he began to patrol the outpost.

At this time, he suddenly noticed that two players were squatting on the corner of the granary, discussing something in a whisper, so he walked closer and took a look.

"What are you doing?"

The two players squatting on the ground got up.

"Dear Administrator, we think those things look familiar, a bit like the green wheat we ate before."

As he said, the player stretched out his index finger and pointed at a few turquoise wheat ears swaying by the side of the granary.

Actually, they were more like green foxtails than wheat ears. On top of the thin stem was a handful of immature shoots with tiny seeds at the edge, each bigger than a sesame seed.

Chu Guang had never planted stuff like that. He had only planted shofar potatoes before, and he failed to grow them.

Although he had imported a lot of green wheat before, he had never seen where the green wheat came from, so he couldn't figure out what they were for a while.

Thinking that there was a savvy person in the outpost, Chu Guang went to the warehouse and called Old Luca who was standing there. The old man was trying to familiarize himself with his new job when Chu Guang brought him to the granary.

Luca gave a cursory glance without squatting down to confirm anything, then nodded and confirmed, "Master, those are indeed green wheat, and it looks like they’ve been growing for half a month. But since those seedlings were not planted at the right time, it looks like they are dying. In addition to the frost this morning, it will snow in two days at the latest. Those plants won’t be able to live for more than a few days."

Seriously? That’s actually green wheat ready to be harvested?

Staring at the crumbling seedlings on the ground for a while, Chu Guang guessed that some of them were sprinkled around when he moved the grains.

"You know how to grow this stuff?"

"Master, you must be kidding. I have been doing farm work for decades... Besides, green wheat is not actually wheat. This crop originated from green foxtails, so it is not difficult to grow them. Like shofar potatoes, you have to wait for them to sprout to be cut into pieces for planting. For green wheat, you don’t even need to spread the seeds properly. You just need to find a piece of land and sprinkle it on. After two or three months, a bunch will grow like weeds,” Luca said.

"Really?" Chu Guang said in a daze.

"Yes, it's mainly because... This isn’t good food at all. It’s usually only for people like us to eat. If you have seen what it looks like when it is just cut, you will know why I said that. It really smells like weeds, it only gets better after being dried under the sun."

"..."

Luca glanced at Chu Guang cautiously, then continued, "But this thing also has its advantages. It grows fast, takes deep roots, can absorb water, can withstand drought, and can live with bad temperatures. It doesn't require much care. The only disadvantage is that you can't get much from one crop, and the yield is not good."

"The shoots can be cut down to fill the stomach and feed the animals. The stems can be burnt to ashes and used as potash fertilizer when they are sprayed into the soil, or they can be used for composting and fermentation. This kind of crop, we normally grow it in rotations with other crops."

"If there is some surplus fertilizer in the soil, for example, just after planting other crops, you can try to grow something like this. It is not a problem to produce two to three hundred kilograms per six hundred square meters. If you want to grow it alone, the harvest will be average. They are about the same height as this one when they are matured, so its yield is not very high."

"... In my impression, the merchant from the north will buy some of this kind of crop along with the nearby survivor stronghold, while those from the south will rarely buy it."

Before, Chu Guang had been curious about what variant of this green wheat was, and now he had solved the case.

As it turned out, it was a type of mutated foxtail.

No wonder the survivors of Baker Street grind this stuff into pancakes or boil them into a paste. It was presumably to volatilize more oxalic acid.

So this means that I have been feeding the players weed?

Chu Guang's face twitched.

In short, there was no damn way he would upload information about it on the official website.

"Then what kind of crops did you usually grow in the past?" Chu Guang changed the topic.

"Many different types. Green wheat and shofar potatoes are the cheapest as they can grow in all seasons. Fruits and vegetables will be more expensive, and they are grown in the greenhouse. Red Rib Leaves are the most profitable crops, which can be used as tobacco leaves when they are dried. Both scavengers and merchants can afford to consume it. I think some people use it as a substitute for spices to cover up part of the smell of their meat. In addition to this, there is also a crop called the Camu Tree, which produces a kind of yellow-green fruit."

"What is that?" Chu Guang asked immediately.

Luca shook his head and sighed, "Master, my old master wouldn't tell us what it is. I only know that the merchants from Boulder Town would come over and buy them by the box. Seriously, that thing is not tasty, it tastes like a used tire. But you can get a lot of oil when you cut open the bark. That is what burns in the generator. It can be used after a little purification."

Chu Guang thought for a moment and mumbled to himself, "Maybe the Camu fruit is not food."

With Luca's knowledge level, of course he couldn't understand what Chu Guang meant, but he didn't say anything. He waited obediently, only answering the questions asked by his master.

Chu Guang took out a small notebook and wrote a few notes on it.

[1. Tips for Wastelanders:

Brown Farm has an economic crop called Camu Tree. The fruit is suspected to be able to produce rubber, and tree oil can be used as fuel.

]

[2. Force intelligence:

Brown Farm has close business dealings with the outside world. They have slaves and a certain number of weapons, but they deliberately hide their strength. Its real economic status and combat effectiveness may be slightly stronger than it appears on the surface. The threat level is appropriately raised from C- to C, and the favorability level remains neutral.

]

[3. Faction intelligence:

Shelter 404 has a harmonious relationship with the scavengers on Baker Street. The threat level remains unchanged at E-, and favorability has been increased from neutral to friendly.

]

[4. Newly added NPC in the outpost:

Warehouse Clerk Luca. Old Luca was a slave who had a miserable life. After being rescued by the administrator, he swore allegiance to the shelter. His ambition is to make hunger disappear from the wasteland.

He suffers from severe arthritis in his legs and can't do too much work. Helping him move things may be a good way to increase his favorability. At the same time, please note that acts such as stealing will reduce his evaluation of you. In addition, his experience with various plants on the waste soil is a valuable asset, and may be of great use during the spring plowing season.

]

That was updated into the official website for the day.

That's all for now!