Chapter 58 This man is unfathomable!

Official Site:

[Update: Testing the weather system, added "Snowy Weather".]

[Announcement: It's snowing unexpectedly in Wasteland OL today. The team kindly reminds all players to dress warmly and be careful not to catch a cold.]

Comments under the announcement:

"The official site released another announcement?!"

"Well, I thought there was an update."

"The planner said there was an update, but it's not complete. We're just testing the snow today, and rain will be tested tomorrow. Another day of slacking if we meet the KPI. (Amused)"

"Where is this planner from? It's still twenty degrees here; it's too early for temperature drops!"

"Snow is nothing special. I once biked fifty kilometers up a mountain in minus thirty degrees winter just in a down jacket to see the snow. I was sweating hot without any frostbite when I came back, and was totally fine. (laugh)"

"Are you also Gaia? (Amused)"

Chu Guang glanced briefly at the comments under the announcement, found nothing particularly insightful, and closed the announcement page to open the forum.

As expected,

the forum was bustling, almost a continuation of the flea market at the Outpost Base from earlier.

Twenty newcomers who had just entered the game couldn't wait to rush to the official site and share their gaming experiences on the forum after logging off.

Gnome King Riches: "First day for new players, I won't mince words—the graphics, the effects, the lighting! I'm absolutely blown away by this game!"

Grandpa Ao: "Let me throw a wet blanket, the person above is a shill hired by the development team. Don't be fooled! I repeat, this game doesn't even exist."

Gnome King Riches: "Annoying, huh? Catching someone to rant at once or twice is enough, not every day. (Rolling eyes)"

WC Real Mosquito: "You must be new. This guy was the pet of the bull and horse group. Got banned for cursing at the manager and left the group, now he's here on the forum showing off. Just treat it as a joke. (Grinning)"

Gnome King Riches: "0.0"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "Damn! Does anyone care about the rights of the Lizard man? Damn... right before logging off, I felt an icy chill behind me, stiff as if possessed. T.T"

Spare people under the knife: "I don't care about you, you're just one Lizard. (Evil smile)"

Fang Chang: "That's normal, lizards are cold-blooded animals. Don't panic, your dominant period will come in the summer!"

Pick Up Trash 99 Level: "%￥&@!"

Apart from players sharing their gaming experiences and tips, there were also many enthusiastic players offering their advice.

Reading these posts always gave Chu Guang the feeling of reviewing memorials to the throne.

Valley Escape Mole: "Raise hand! I suggest the development team consider setting up a trading area in the game. Most games have consignment and stall functions, and even if we can't hire NPCs to watch the shop for now, at least open a shelf with consignment functions, right? It would be more efficient than everyone crowding together and calling out their wares, especially since the trading time before logging off is just too short!"

Light: "This suggestion is indeed good, I will mention it at the next planning department meeting. We will map out an area in the game for players to freely trade at flea markets. Also, we will set up rentable containers in the shelter's buffer zone for players to consign goods."

Valley Escape Mole: "Awesome! ╰(*°▽°*)╯"

Night Ten: "It feels like being in the game lobby itself, why not add a task board too, allowing players to assign missions to other players. (Amused)"

Light: "Don't rush, we need to test the systems step by step. As the game content becomes richer, we will consider setting up a player mission board."

At this stage, there aren't that many tasks for players to undertake, nor are there that many players.

When there are more things for players to do and more content to explore in the future, we can consider opening this feature.

Through the players' commissions, Chu Guang could also more conveniently understand and supervise what the players were up to outside.

Night Ten: "Damn? Brother Guang replied to me!"

Light: "..."

Wasn't he always there?

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Planner, are you there? Good, I also have a suggestion. The pricing of food is unreasonable. How can 200g of dried meat cost 1 Silver Coin, the same price as 300g of raw meat! Isn't that too unreasonable? Suggest changing it to 150g dried meat, 350g raw meat!"

Light: "From a setting perspective, there isn't a fixed price for goods in the game. Trading prices are influenced by various factors. Additionally, the NPC's warehouse is set up only as a reserve for materials, prices are primarily influenced by strategic needs and secondarily by supply and demand."

Light: "Wasteland OL encourages trades between players. The price you negotiate with other players represents the 'market price' that truly reflects the supply and demand."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "What if I hoard all the food?"

Night Ten: "Damn, bro, how much money do you have? I can't even afford a gun!"

Light: "Not sure, why don't you try?"

Light: "We're also curious what measures an NPC with full intelligence and account-control authority would take to maintain order in the game, which will provide valuable experience for closed and open testing."

Elena: "A scalper popping and locking in front of the planner, is that like turning himself in? (Amused)"

Night Ten: "Brother, no offense, but you should have bought it quietly, hidden it in the rented storage locker while the NPC wasn't looking. Then when everyone's hungry, voila, open it and dazzle everyone. (Amused)"

Macabazi: "Hahaha, kudos to the expert."

Thunder Mage Professor Yang: "Er, I haven't even won the closed testing qualification yet, let's talk after I win that, haha. (Awkward)"

Damn, turns out he's just fantasizing.

Chu Guang felt that only a naive question like that could come from such a person.

Light: "… Then let's talk after you get it."

Not getting chosen doesn't mean you should lose heart. Closed and open testing will have more spots, richer content, and better rules.

These bizarre ideas are now useless, but they will be useful later.

Thunder Law King, Professor Yang: "I think I'm still okay, I have a feeling it's going to be my turn next. T.T"

That optimistic?

Guang: "Keep it up."

Just like yesterday, Chu Guang gathered some useful tips and posted them on the document.

For example, some players suggested that "trading should be taxed, it's unrealistic without tax." Chu Guang admitted this was indeed an oversight, but it seemed too early to start insisting on this now.

What would he do with so much money when everything in this shelter was already his?

By now, he had only distributed about 1,200 game currency coins, the consumption from his stock wasn't even one-fortieth, let alone waiting a couple more days for that merchant surnamed Sun to bring him another batch.

Tax collection was possible.

It would be feasible to recoup some money in circulation and keep the income of players with living jobs within a reasonable range, avoiding player purchasing power spillover causing inflation within the game.

But it should still wait until the players had saved enough money, were equipped, could afford to open stores, and were qualified to start making a snowball before discussing this.

While Chu Guang was browsing the forum, Xia Yan, who was sitting in a corner reading a book, couldn't help but peek at him occasionally.

It wasn't because there was something especially attractive about him, but rather that this man always seemed somewhat terrifying to her.

For the past hour, he had been staring at the screen and "smirking" evilly, and she had no idea what sinister plan he was concocting.

Thinking that she was in the same room as a devil, Xia Yan decided to say something to divert his attention, hoping he wouldn't get any bad ideas about her.

"...What are you looking at?"

Chu Guang replied casually, without even turning his head.

"It's none of your business."

Xia Yan kept quiet for a while, then spoke again.

"…Can I ask you a question?"

Chu Guang: "Ask."

Xia Yan asked doubtfully, "Why do you guys have to go outside? I mean, it's so safe in the shelter, why bother fixing that enclosing wall on the surface? Isn't staying underground good enough?"

Chu Guang: "For survival."

Xia Yan: "Can't you survive here? The shelter has clean air, it's not only rainproof but also frost-proof and theft-proof... Speaking of which, where is your water purifier? I've never seen it. And what about facilities like soil-less cultivation rooms? I heard shelters are supposed to have those."

Chu Guang listened with an embarrassed expression.

He didn't know how to explain this question, surely he couldn't say although he was the Manager here, he hadn't fully obtained all the permissions for this shelter?

That would sound too absurd!

Chu Guang closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, then said.

"Maybe you are right, hiding underground is indeed a good choice. What do the things above have to do with us? It's not like we caused it to be this way. Let the outside world flood massively, even if a nuclear war happens again, we can still stay here safely."

Xia Yan: "Then why—"

Chu Guang looked at her.

"But maybe, some shelters are destined to be different from others, people born there are not meant to escape something but are meant to create and change."

Leaving that thought-provoking statement behind, Chu Guang no longer paid attention to her and continued browsing his forum.

His little players were wonderful.

Each one had talent, spoke appealingly, and importantly, their imagination was outrageously large, even more so than his own planning.

Truly.

Without borrowing these geniuses' ideas, Chu Guang felt he would be doing them a disservice.

"…Is there any creature more suitable to be trimmed as leeks than players in this world?"

Chu Guang finally understood why the First Generation Manager had written those words on that note.

As Chu Guang's last words echoed in her ears, Xia Yan, sitting by the wall, was baffled yet felt it was rather impressive.

It seemed...

The man's silhouette suddenly seemed taller.

However, this feeling only lasted less than two seconds in her heart before it vanished entirely as her eyes fell on her notebook.

This guy was undoubtedly a devil, having her memorize such incomprehensible stuff.

Not only to her, but he was also relentless with his companions.

Not only did he make them engage in strenuous physical labor, but he also commanded them to go hunting, charge into battle as cannon fodder, and fooled them with some utterly useless metal pieces, making them treasure them as if precious, and even thanking him profusely in return.

Feeling for a moment that he was a good person had to be because this guy was subtly brainwashing her!

Brainwashing…

Thinking about those folk tales and strange stories circulating in Giant Stone City, Xia Yan couldn't help shivering, shrugging her shoulders, and her fear and wariness towards Chu Guang's silhouette grew.

To manipulate the human heart to such an exquisite degree.

This man...

Was unfathomable!