Chapter 13: "The Blue Angel"

Light Chu tightly sealed the plastic bag and continued speaking.

"You should consider yourselves lucky for not venturing further inside. These mushrooms usually grow near the nests of mutated leeches."

Nighten was taken aback.

"Mutated leeches?"

Light Chu casually explained.

"Yeah, in their juvenile stage, mutated leeches are only as big as a palm. Apart from their unique mouthparts, they don't look much different from normal leeches."

"But once they reach adulthood, their size rapidly increases to over a meter, and some can even reach three meters long. Their feeding habits also change, and it is said that they can swallow a person whole... Of course, that's just hearsay."

After listening to the Governor's description, a chill ran down Nighten's spine.

He had felt something off when picking the mushrooms, but couldn't pinpoint what it was. It turns out he had taken a detour right in front of the gates of hell.

"We can't eat them?" Hurricane's expression showed a hint of regret as he looked at the mushrooms that Light Chu had put away. He muttered, "I thought they could give us a buff."

"Don't think too much about it."

There aren't that many buffs available.

Light Chu didn't mention one thing.

Although these mushrooms couldn't be eaten, they were the main ingredient for making Anti-rad.

Light Chu wasn't sure about the specific process, but he had heard about it from Old Charlie on Bette Street.

The Blue Umbrella Mushroom contains a special type of polypeptide substance that can effectively alleviate and heal non-lethal injuries caused by gamma radiation.

The merchant caravans from Boulder City would buy this stuff, and the prices they offered weren't low. They usually transported it to Boulder City and sold it to the factories there.

However, it was not easy to obtain. Very few scavengers were willing to risk their lives searching for the nests of mutated leeches in the swamp, underground tunnels, or sewers.

It's one thing to be hard to find.

But finding them and bringing them back alive is another story.

Even if life forced them to do it, nobody wanted to deal with these bone-devouring tentacles...

It's unexpected that there's a nest of mutated leeches so close by.

Light Chu's mood was mixed with joy and worry.

He was happy because the Blue Umbrella Mushrooms could fetch a good price, but worried because mutated leeches weren't easy to deal with.

Sprinkle salt?

Where would they find hundreds of kilograms of salt? It would be easier to just sell the salt.

Set it on fire?

These creatures usually live in damp areas, and it's not so easy to ignite them.

"Do you remember the exact location of the sewer entrance?"

Facing the Governor's question, Hurricane quickly pulled out a map and pointed to the marked location.

"It's right here."

Light Chu glanced at the location marked on the map and silently memorized it.

"I got it."

...

Hurricane and Nighten estimated that they brought back about 2 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms, which could be exchanged for a few chips at the market rate of one point for every 50 grams.

A few chips!

This was almost equivalent to all the savings Light Chu had accumulated in the past five months.

And this was the price offered by the recycling station on Bette Street.

The actual value of these mushrooms was at least twice that amount!

Light Chu planned to sell all these mushrooms and use the chips he obtained to purchase much-needed supplies for the outpost.

"The outpost needs supplies replenished. I'll go out for a bit, and you two stay here. Remember not to wander too far."

"At 5 p.m. this afternoon, Qi will open the elevator for you, and you can return to the sanctuary."

"When I'm not here, Qi will keep track of your progress, and you can ask it if you have any questions."

As for the 2 kilograms of Blue Umbrella Mushrooms, Light Chu calculated a total contribution of 220 points for Hurricane and Nighten.

Out of this, 200 points were awarded for discovering the nest of mutated leeches, and the remaining 20 points were for the mushrooms themselves.

Giving them so few points wasn't because he was stingy, but rather, he was afraid of giving them too much, which might tempt these gamers to risk their lives picking these mushrooms and accidentally end up dead.

Until he found a generator that could power the "Active Substance Extractor," he felt it was better to be cautious.

For lunch, they had boiled barley porridge.

It was called porridge, but Light Chu felt it tasted more like unsweetened mung bean soup.

It didn't have much flavor; it was purely to fill their stomachs.

However, to Light Chu's surprise, the four gamers devoured it as if they were starving ghosts.

Was it really that delicious?

Light Chu started to doubt his cooking skills.

Am I secretly good at cooking?

That shouldn't be...

After quickly finishing the meal, Light Chu put away the utensils, extinguished the fire, and set off alone. There were only four gamers left in the sanatorium along with an AI robot hanging around upstairs.

Tomorrow stared at the mission board placed at the entrance of the sanatorium, lost in thought.

Nighten asked from the side, "What are you looking at?"

Tomorrow replied, "According to what the Governor said, Blue Umbrella Mushrooms can be used as raw materials to make anti-rad, but the reward given to you for the mission is only 20 contribution points, equivalent to chopping down two trees... Do you think that's reasonable?"

Nighten was taken aback.

"Is there a problem?"

Tomorrow said, "Of course, there is. Normally, the benefits that gamers receive from missions should be directly proportional to the difficulty of the mission. You not only unlocked a new instance but also collected high-value resources. Logically speaking, the reward shouldn't be this meager."

Hurricane pondered and said, "Then why do you think it is?"

Tomorrow snapped his fingers.

"Priority!"

"Priority?" Nighten was puzzled.

"That's right." Tomorrow nodded. "Do you remember what the Governor said in the previous storyline? The current top priority is survival!"

Was that so?

It seemed like it.

Nighten didn't listen too carefully. He usually skipped through most game narratives by pressing Ctrl. Although he couldn't Ctrl in this game, it didn't make much difference if he spaced out for a few minutes.

Tomorrow continued speaking.

"...So I guess that not all the tasks are listed on the mission board. This game gives us a lot of autonomy. Tasks can be initiated not only by NPCs but also by ourselves."

Hurricane frowned and asked, "Why?"

"Didn't you already receive rewards?" Tomorrow said, "Although we didn't find the generator, we discovered the nest of mutated leeches and collected valuable resources."

"So, I assume that as long as our actions meet the current needs of Sanctuary 404, we can earn contribution points. And the value of the rewards is directly related to the value we create with our actions!"

"For example, building a latrine and toilet. After the governor adopted our suggestion and issued the task, both White and I received 200 contribution points as a reward."

White nodded. "It seems so."

"I think I understand what you mean," Hurricane rubbed his chin and said, "But completing the tasks on the mission board also earns contribution points, and the points are not low."

"That leads me to my second point," Tomorrow's face revealed a mysterious smile. "Do you remember the favourability setting the developers told us about?"

A realization dawned on Hurricane's face. "Ah, I see now. I understand what you mean."

Nighten and White were still confused.

"What exactly do you understand?"

"Please explain clearly!"

Tomorrow said leisurely, "Simply put, following the fixed tasks on the mission board can earn us guaranteed rewards. However, it doesn't showcase our abilities. On the other hand, initiating tasks ourselves can better demonstrate our skills! In theory, it should improve the governor's evaluation of us."

Of course, these speculations were based on the assumption that Wasteland OL is a "completely realistic" immersive virtual reality game, and the governor's behavior is governed by program logic, not predetermined by humans.

If the governor's intelligence wasn't as high as imagined, this inference might not hold true.

But for now, the governor displayed a high level of intelligence. There were no issues with normal communication. Tomorrow couldn't help but wonder if the governor might even be played by real people.

Having understood Tomorrow's explanation, White stroked his chin and nodded. "This approach is intriguing and worth a try... So, what do you suggest we do?"

"I'm still figuring out the specifics, but my intuition tells me that accumulating more NPC favourability before the second closed beta is more crucial than gaining contribution points. This will ensure that we have a higher 'starting point' than other players in the second closed beta."

Pausing for a moment, Tomorrow snapped his fingers.

"I propose forming a team!"

"What do you mean by forming a team?" Nighten asked, puzzled.

White nodded. "I don't mind."

Hurricane also nodded. "I agree."

Nighten was still puzzled. "I don't mind either, but can you explain the details of forming a team to me?"

Tomorrow patiently explained, "Simply put, from now on, we are a team. We share information and help each other. What we need to do next is to leverage our individual strengths."

Tomorrow looked at Hurricane and Nighten and continued, "Hurricane, Nighten, you will conduct reconnaissance along the lakeshore of the wetland park. Pay attention to the distribution and movement patterns of the mutants. If you find areas that may be nests, mark them... But remember, don't get too close, especially avoid getting into fights. We need a safe water source."

Hurricane nodded. "Got it."

Then, Tomorrow turned to White.

"As for us, what we need to do now is chop more wood."

"After logging off for a while, I'll search for some information online. Tomorrow, we'll find a way to make use of the wood we've stockpiled!"