Chapter 50: Hardworking gamers

How long would it take to gather 100 kilograms of mushrooms?

Light Chu himself wasn't sure either. He generally avoided touching those things.

He always prepared his own food and would never choose fungi unless absolutely necessary.

Meanwhile, Raven_raven walked out of the sanctuary with a downcast expression. As soon as she stepped onto the open space in front of the sanatorium, she was shocked by the scene before her.

"The map has been updated?!"

It was a completely unfamiliar setting!

Surrounding the sanatorium building was a three-meter-high concrete wall. Cement blocks and rubble formed a slope on the inner side of the wall.

At the top of the wall, makeshift cover was made using engine hoods taken from scrapped cars and aluminum alloy bars found on the wasteland.

It looked quite cyberpunk.

Not only the wall, but there were also two small brick and wood structures standing in front of the sanatorium.

Signs hung at the entrances of the buildings, one reading "Armory" and the other "Bathhouse."

Three days offline felt like a century had passed.

The changes in this version update were too significant.

Rara was completely bewildered.

After a while, she found the gate in the wall. As she approached, she saw two gamers standing next to it, using hammers and nails to secure sharpened wooden stakes in a row.

"What are you doing?" Rara approached curiously.

Without raising their heads, the two gamers busily worked, completely absorbed in their task.

[Toilet_diving_Yasuo_player]: "Making fences and cover. We received the task at the carpenter's hut! It requires two people, and you're late!"

[Beriberi_fetish_Draven]:"Right! Reinforcing a cover can earn you 5 silver coins and 50 contribution points! If someone attacks, we can push the fence to the gate. Even if they break through the wooden door, we can surround them with the cover and then shoot at them from a distance! Very effective!"

"Is it necessary to make it so complicated? According to the task board, wouldn't two wooden stakes placed horizontally be enough?"

"You know nothing! I'm copying the wooden anti-tank obstacles used during World War II! Once we have the conditions, we can wrap it in barbed wire. Even if a few scavengers come, or even those green-skinned muscled mutant men, they'll be trapped inside and slaughtered by us."

"Stop bragging nonsense. It's just a damn fence. I almost believed you."

As they spoke, the two gamers seemed to argue about the practicality of this defensive structure.

Rara watched with a puzzled expression, full of question marks in her mind.

Silver coins?

Is that the currency from the recent update?

And what is this task received at the carpenter's hut? Weren't tasks always displayed on plastic cards?

Rara pondered to herself.

It seems that this update brought quite significant changes...

In any case, she decided to quickly complete the punishment task and restore her citizen status. She didn't want to miss out on this version and have another one come out.

With that in mind, Rara decided to find a container to hold the mushrooms.

However, as she went to pick up a plastic barrel, she noticed that the piles of garbage inside the sanatorium had already been collected and stored in a wooden shed.

As she approached, she saw a gamer sitting with his legs crossed in front of a wooden table, a notebook placed on the table, and an oily pen hanging next to it.

Seeing Rara approaching, the gamer raised his eyes and exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh? You're alive?"

Rara was taken aback.

"Do you know me?"

The gamer grinned.

"Of course, how can I not know? Since the server started, you've the first one who fed the first blood for free."

Rara felt the urge to hit him, but she didn't think she could win, so she gave him a stern look.

"Move aside, I need a barrel."

"Small barrel, 1 copper coin. Large barrel, 2 copper coins."

"What?" Rara widened her eyes. "You have to pay for this garbage?"

"Why don't you go and rob!"

"Miss, I didn't make the rules here. I'm just working here," the gamer made a helpless expression and twirled the oily pen in his hand. "If you have any objections, go complain to an NPC."

"But I just revived, where am I supposed to get money?" Rara said helplessly. "Can you make an exception and I'll return it when I'm done?"

"No, breaking the rules will result in punishment. I can only sell those steel tools. These garbage items are for sale only, not for rent," the gamer was quite stubborn, shaking his head like a wave drum. "Didn't everyone receive 5 copper coins from the recent version update? It's not expensive. Just buy one directly."

Rara was stunned.

"What? They gave out money? How come I didn't receive it?"

The gamer seemed unaware as well, scratching the back of his head.

"Um... could it be because of the favorability rating?"

"Did you offend an NPC?"

Rara felt even more upset as she heard that her favorability had decreased.

Damn it!

She had already received the punishment, and now her favorability was dropping too?

Just at that moment, a voice as melodious as a heavenly tune came from behind.

"I'll pay for her."

Rara suddenly turned around and saw a petite person who was about 1.5 meters tall. They were holding a stack of thick fur coats and walked up to the table in the warehouse, placing the goods heavily on the wooden table.

"Hey, it's 2 pieces. You remember that!"

"Just a moment, please."

The gamer opened the notebook in their hand and wrote a line with an oily pen.

[...Day...Time, 'Tailor' Vine_vine completes 2 fur coats made from hyena hyde.]

After becoming a tailor, as long as VV completed a certain number of orders each day, they would receive a basic salary, and for each high-quality finished coat, they would receive a bonus of 2 silver coins.

Of course, gamers could also buy materials such as fur and fibers from the warehouse and make the coats themselves, then sell them to other gamers or back to the warehouse.

It was like being a self-employed worker.

The profit from making such coats ranged from about 1 to 5 silver coins. And if they were made exceptionally well, when everyone had money, there might be gamers willing to pay a high price for them.

VV planned to improve her skills and save some money to buy a piece of land and open a clothing store near the main entrance of the sanatorium.

Running their own store would be more profitable than working for an NPC, right?

"Vine_vine..."

Rara, who had come back to her senses, grabbed VV's arm, her eyes filled with touched tears.

She never expected that the only person who would lend her a helping hand after she came out was Vine_vine, whom she had argued with before.

Feeling a bit embarrassed by Rara's gaze, VV blushed and pulled their hand back.

"...Don't look at me like that. It's just a copper coin, it's not much money. Besides, you can pay me back later!"

"I'm sorry, I was wrong before. You're really kind!"

"Well, I didn't hold it against you anyway. Just work hard, that's all. I still have to make clothes, so I'll be going now."

Leaving a copper coin on the table, VV held the basket full of fur and turned to leave. However, Rara quickly took it from them and said eagerly,

"Let me help you!"

"No need, no need. You go about your business. I can handle it myself."

VV looked a bit overwhelmed and reached out to take the basket back, but due to the height difference, she couldn't reach it, and Rara skillfully dodged them with a quick move.

Holding the basket high, the helpful Rara smiled and said, "No way! You're so small, how can I let you carry so much? Where is your work station? I'll help you deliver it."

"..."

Why does this person talk like they're asking to be beaten up?

VV's forehead twitched, and their shoulders trembled slightly.

Fists, clenched!

...

Carpentry Hut.

Mosquito Bro sat on a stool, with a piece of grass in his mouth, skillfully fastening two pieces of wood together with tools, sandwiching an aluminum alloy sheet he had picked up from the wasteland in between.

He then strung a bowstring made from the tendons of a mutated hyena onto it, completing a simple wooden bow.

"Done."

Another order completed, earning him 2 silver coins.

Mosquito Bro hung the finished wooden bow on a nearby shelf, waiting for other gamers to come and choose.

Strictly speaking, these simple procedures were far from enough to create a true hunting bow. Mosquito Bro had heard that even the humidity of the wood used for the bow handle was important for crafting a good hunting bow.

But all things considered, for gamers without firearms, this was already pretty good. Within thirty steps, it would be no problem to shoot down a mutated hyena.

Of course, assuming you hit your target.

He himself wasn't skilled enough for that.

"Twenty wooden bows, capable of penetrating the skull of a mutated hyenas within twenty meters... I'll probably need until the day after tomorrow to complete this order."

Muttering to himself, Mosquito Bro glanced at the bottles and jars he had placed on the corner of the table. They contained saltpeter extracted from nitrate soil, gypsum powder with calcium sulfate, and a bucket of black charcoal.

Originally, he had planned to make black powder today, but the rewards from the governor's order were just too tempting. By making five wooden bows a day, he would receive a basic salary, and each bow would also earn him a bonus of 2 silver coins.

"Forget it, let's earn money first..."

It wasn't good to keep conducting chemical experiments in the carpentry hut.

He planned to save some money, buy a piece of land, and then purchase cement and bricks to build a small house where he could exclusively sell the weapons he designed.

That would be much more interesting than being a carpenter!

At that moment, the door of the carpentry hut was pushed open, and Tomorrow, the gamerwho had previously bought a bow from him, strode in.

"Give me another 20 arrows!"

"You ran out so fast?" Mosquito Bro looked at Tomorrow, who was covered in blood, and said in surprise, "You didn't forget that you can retrieve those arrows, did you?"

"I know, but are you sure these things can still be used?" Tomorrow placed his quiver full of broken arrows and loose arrowheads on the table with a frustrated expression.

Taking a seat on a nearby stool, he sighed and complained, "The quality of these things is just terrible!"

Mosquito Bro picked up the quiver, took out an arrow, and examined it while stroking his chin.

"Well... objectively speaking, the fact that the arrowheads stay inside the animal can be considered an advantage. But as you said, when it comes to hunting... the loss is a bit high. I'll think about how to improve it."

These arrowheads were made of sharpened metal pieces fixed to wooden shafts with resin, and their quality was indeed lacking.

"I'm counting on you!"

"No problem, it's my job after all."

Mosquito Bro counted out 20 arrows from a nearby shelf and handed them to Tomorrow.

The price for one arrow was 2 copper coins, so 20 arrows amounted to 4 silver coins. Without hesitation, Tomorrow took out four silver coins from his pocket and placed them on the table.

He had obtained them in exchange for the game he had hunted.

"Thanks, buddy."

"You're welcome. I wish you a pleasant hunt," Mosquito Bro grinned and waved his hand at Tomorrow, who was walking out the door. "By the way, do you want to try my new weapon? I guarantee it works great."

Upon hearing this, Tomorrow, who had just reached the doorway, almost tripped on the door frame.

"Cough, cough, next time for sure!"

Testing it out would be risking his life!

Thinking back to the "Shower from Hell" that this guy had designed before, Tomorrow propped himself against the door frame, didn't even dare to turn his head, and quickly fled with the quiver of arrows.

Mosquito Bro rubbed his nose, looking puzzled.

"That exaggerated?"

He had originally planned to attach a bayonet for melee combat to his "Hellfire 0.1" for him.