Chapter 51: Economic system of Wasteland OL

The first day of the alpha 0.3 version launch.

The test results of the new version were quite pleasing.

With the cooperation of the gamers, the walls around the outpost were finally completely built.

The three-meter-high concrete fortification not only brought a sense of security but also created possibilities for the gamers' nighttime activities.

Previously, as soon as it was six o'clock in the evening, Light Chu would lead the gamers back to the sanctuary to prevent them from being attacked by mutant creatures while they were out searching for food.

But now, with the protection of the walls, as long as the gamers were willing, they could stay on the surface until their in-game characters started to feel tired (exhausted).

Of course, for safety reasons, Light Chu still prohibited the gamers from using facilities with open flames during the night.

It was fine to smelt steel and make cement during the day because the forest blocked a lot of smoke, and the daylight didn't make the fire too conspicuous. But it would be different at night.

The humanoid mutant tribe on Street 76 was like a thorn stuck in the throat of the outpost. Light Chu couldn't feel at ease until he got rid of that thorn.

In addition to the walls, the armory and bathhouse were also completed with the efforts of the gamers. Although they weren't luxurious, still they were usable.

Especially the partitioned bathhouse, Light Chu was extremely satisfied with it.

Previously, whether it was him or the gamers, they had to go to the lakeside to wash up. But now, with the bathhouse, they could directly take care of their hygiene within the base.

Of course, the wooden water tank on top of the bathhouse could only store 5 cubic meters of water, and if it was used for a long time, there might be water shortages.

At such times, someone would need to manually transport water from the lakeside to the tank so that the people inside could continue to wash. It was a bit troublesome indeed.

Therefore, the wise and great Governor was considering turning the bathhouse from a public facility into a fee-based facility, charging 5 copper coins for every cubic meter of water used. At the same time, an additional Cloud Water Worker position would be created to be in charge of filling the water tank on top of the bathhouse.

This was reasonable.

On the other hand, besides the construction aspect, the performance of the gamers in production, gathering, hunting, and crafting also surprised Light Chu.

The introduction of currency greatly stimulated the gamers' enthusiasm for production (in-game activities).

Just the sound of clinking coins in their money pouch was enough to dispel the fatigue and weariness from their limbs, making them work with high spirits in their respective positions.

Among them, the most outstanding performance came from the Shachuko Squad.

The four experienced veterans showed their expertise. Their quadrilateral combat strategy combined scouting, frontline defense, damage output, and support, and they achieved remarkable results in their first cooperation.

By evening, as they explored southward along the elevated road, they had killed a total of eight mutated hyenas and one mutated reindeer.

The sales of the hunted animals amounted to 55 silver coins, with 43 coins from the hyenas and 12 coins from the reindeer.

Although the meat yield from the mutated hyenas and reindeer was not high, usually only slightly above 40% and not exceeding 50%, Tomato_scrambled_eggs, who temporarily acted as the butcher, still managed to obtain over 100 kilograms of hyena meat and over 100 kilograms of deer meat from these animals.

The meat would be processed into smoked jerky and stored. Before being processed, players could also spend money to buy fresh raw meat for their dinner.

It's worth mentioning that previously, everyone at the outpost shared communal meals, with Tomato, the designated cook, arranging the menu for two meals a day based on his mood and the game brought back by the Governor that day.

But now, things were completely different.

The base's granary was open to all gamers, with fair and affordable prices, without any deception. One silver coin could be exchanged for 1 kilogram of green wheat, or 300 grams of raw meat, or 200 grams of smoked jerky.

What did one silver coin mean?

According to Light Chu's designed rules, 1 silver coin was equivalent to 10 copper coins, roughly the median income of gamers in an hour.

In other words, as long as most gamers worked earnestly for 1-2 hours or patiently completed tasks, they could buy enough food to fill their stomachs.

As for whether gamers would directly eat the purchased food, cook it with condiments to make wheat porridge or wheat cakes, eat together with others or even trade, it was up to the gamers to decide.

When Light Chu designed this simple economic system, he once did some calculations.

A mutated hyena weighing a little over 30 kilograms could provide around 12 kilograms of meat after removing the inedible organs and head.

Based on the base price of 5 silver coins for purchasing game from hunters, with an average cost of 2 silver coins to hire a butcher to slaughter, debone, and skin, the total cost would only be 7 silver coins.

Assuming 12 kilograms of meat, at the price of 1 silver coin for 300 grams of raw meat, 12 kilograms would be worth 40 silver coins!

A production value of 40 silver coins, production cost of 7 silver coins, and negligible circulation costs. Thus, in this simple economic chain, a surplus value of 33 silver coins would be generated for the granary of the outpost each time it operated.

This number was meaningless to the gamers since they were playing a game. But for Light Chu as the Governor, it was of great significance.

As long as this "from game to raw meat" economic chain could continue to operate, each operation would provide the granary of the outpost with "raw meat worth 33 silver coins" and "fur worth several silver coins."

Of course, it was impossible for gamers to consume all the raw meat. Even if they emptied their pockets, they couldn't buy everything they produced. It wouldn't be appropriate to overeat.

Therefore, apart from a small portion of meat that gamers purchased with the silver coins Light Chu distributed, more raw meat would be left behind as "raw materials" to flow into a new economic chain. It would be stored in the grain warehouse in the form of dried meat, serving as a food reserve for the shelter.

In addition to the "from game to dried meat" industry, the economic models for logging, scavenging, cement production, bricklaying, gathering, and fishing were also similar.

By using the levers of prices and task rewards, the inventory of various resources and the current focus of gamers' work could be easily adjusted.

For example, now that the walls were already built, the demand for plastering and bricklaying decreased. Instead, there was a need for more food and weapons to feed and arm more gamers.

So Light Chu would appropriately lower the weapon prices at the carpenter's workshop, encouraging gamers to order weapons and upgrade their equipment. At the same time, the purchase price of game would be increased to urge capable gamers to use the purchased weapons to hunt and improve their proficiency.

As a result, gamers had money, equipment, and accumulated combat experience. And Light Chu not only obtained a large food reserve but also gained a group of well-trained soldiers.

It was simply a win-win situation!

No, it should be a triple win!

Because Light Chu, as the governor, could win twice!

Those few coins were like catalysts. They didn't create any value, but they activated the entire outpost's economy.

Light Chu felt like a genius.

The only small problem that arose was that no one was cooking today.

Tomato hadn't saved enough money, and the restaurant hadn't opened yet.

To save money, almost everyone went to the warehouse to live on basic provisions, buying one kilogram of horn yuccas for one silver coin. Several teammates rented a large pot and started a fire, simply cooking yuccas and then sharing them. After finishing, they would rent it to the next person.

It didn't really matter if they weren't fully cooked. Horn yuccas could be eaten raw anyway, it was just a matter of hygiene and taste.

In an instant, the group of people who now had goals to strive for suddenly stopped caring about the taste of the food. They embraced the style of hard work to the extreme, with only one requirement: to eat their fill!

Only Raven_raven was different.

While everyone was happily eating yuccas, she couldn't afford even a single one.

Because the governor forgot to give her basic provisions, coupled with her late login without finding any teammates, she sat in the corner, gnawing on sour berries and mushrooms with a resentful expression.

In the end, Vine_vine couldn't bear it and walked over, sharing half a bowl of mashed potatoes with her.

Watching Rara gobble it up, VV couldn't bring herself to mock her and sighed.

"Starting tomorrow, you better do tasks and earn money properly. I can't support you forever."

Rara held VV tightly, moved.

"Vine_vine, are you an angel?"

Seeing Rara's teary eyes, Vine_vine, whose face was squished, sighed and blushed, sliding out from under her arm.

"...What nonsense are you talking about?"

The sky gradually darkened.

Light Chu strolled through the base, inspecting his territory and checking on the gamers' conditions.

Although most wanted to stay a little longer, it was already getting late, and in two hours, the real world would be dawn, and the working class would have to get up, freshen up, and head out for work.

Light Chu thought that it was getting late and was about to call them to gather. However, at that moment, there was a knocking sound at the north gate of the base.

Gamers looked toward the door, and Light Chu instinctively gripped the handgun in his pocket, but quickly let go.

By checking the gamer list, Light Chu confirmed that the person outside should be Trash-kun.

Looking at the two gamers closest to him, Light Chu gave an order.

"Tomorrow and White, go and open the door."

"Yes!"

Tomorrow and White jogged forward and lifted the latch that was wedged on the door. Together, they pulled the wooden door open slightly.

When they saw Trash-kun squeezing in through the door crack, they were startled.

"What the hell?"

"Brother, what happened to you?!"

Blood!

Covered all over!

Although some wounds had already healed, there were still visible bite marks and gunshot wounds.

Seeing Trash-kun's appearance, Light Chu's eyebrows slightly furrowed. He probably guessed what had happened to this guy.

Fortunately, if the other side mistook it for a mutant, and a not-so-tasty one at that, the likelihood of pursuit was low.

Ignoring his own injuries, Trash-kun quickly walked up to the governor, panting heavily.

"Raiders' camp! It's about 2 kilometers north of the abandoned construction site, around 3 to 4 kilometers away from here! It's a tire factory!"

Nighten couldn't help but ask, "Did you have a fight with them?"

"No, no, I swear I didn't provoke them!"

Trash-kun quickly waved his hands to clarify and stole a glance at the governor before continuing, "At that time, I was planning to retreat, but I happened to come across their patrol... and there were three of them."

Nighten asked, "And then you still fought with them?"

Trash-kun looked embarrassed and averted his gaze.

"Well... I was seen, there was no other way."

It seemed that this guy had probably lost the fight.

But it wasn't surprising. A patrol team of three people would likely have a dog with them, and the bite marks on Trash-kun were probably from it.

Although this guy had an absolute advantage in the attributes, when it came to fighting experienced raiders, it might not end well for him.

It was lucky that he managed to run back.

"So, it's the tire factory in the north. I got it," Light Chu nodded, looking at Trash-kun. "You should go back to the cultivation chamber and rest."

The cultivation chamber had the function of accelerated tissue cell repair for the self-synthesized clones. Combined with Trash-kun's physical attributes, it shouldn't take long for him to recover.

"Yes, my governor," Trash-kun said, then he limped and wagged his tail, heading in the direction of the recuperation ward.

On the way, many gamers noticed his condition and whispered to each other.

"This guy is seriously injured!"

"I heard he discovered the raiders' camp."

"The raiders' camp?! Are we opening a new instance?"

"Awesome!"

"Damn, I need to quickly save money and buy a gun!"

"Ah, it's a dilemma. Should I buy land first or a gun?"

"Don't be silly, let's start working."

Clearly, these gamers were not aware of the seriousness of the situation and were instead excitedly discussing it.

And that was understandable.

After all, for them, it was just a game.

Only Light Chu, as the sanctuary governor, felt a sense of urgency.

The north was the raiders' camp, the east was the lair of mutants, to the west was Diamond Lake, and to the south was the area where the survivors of Bette Street and Brown's farm were active.

The outpost's location was indeed not very good, with limited development space.

"Whether it's the raiders or the mutants..."

"To change the situation, we can only fight against them..."

Light Chu had already figured out the content of the next expansion pack.