Chapter 25: Manpower shortage

The cheers came from the cement kiln.

Light Chu walked over to take a look and saw Tomorrow and White piling up a heap of light gray powder on the ground. They mixed it with water and sand to form a paste-like mud.

A rough estimate would put this batch of cement at around 20 kilograms.

Since it was a trial firing, they didn't produce a large quantity. Judging by the volume of the cement kiln's filling opening, processing half a ton a day shouldn't be a problem.

Although it couldn't compare to professional production equipment, it could still be used.

"Respected Governor!"

Noticing Light Chu approaching, the two gamers dropped their tools and excitedly came forward to greet him.

"Cement!"

"We finally made the silicate cement!"

Indeed, it was not easy at all.

In order to raise the temperature inside the cement kiln to above 1450 degrees, the two of them had worked tirelessly, pumping the bellows and adding charcoal one shovel at a time. They were almost exhausted.

Especially White, with his genetic sequence focused on strength, he had almost leveled up in these three days!

"You've done a great job."

Light Chu looked at them approvingly and nodded.

"With this cement, we have taken a big step forward in our Phase One plan. The sanctuary will remember your contributions, and each of you will receive a reward of 1000 contribution points!"

The two gamers had delighted expressions on their faces.

Their hard work over the past few days had paid off!

However, what they didn't know was that the NPC standing in front of them, who was also the dog planner, was already contemplating how to recover the excess "currency" in their hands.

Inflation at such a fast pace wouldn't do, as it would affect the lifespan of the game.

What if...

They introduced a capsule toy feature?

One draw for 1000 contribution points?

It might work.

While Light Chu was thinking about the most appropriate solution, Tomorrow and White exchanged a glance and respectfully said to him, "My Governor, there is something we must report to you."

"Speak."

"Now that the cement has been successfully fired, we need more manpower to begin the construction of the outpost!"

Light Chu looked at the two of them.

"How many people do you need?"

White spoke eagerly, "At least ten people! Of course, the more, the better! We need two people to manually operate the bellows for the cement kiln. We will soon build a second kiln, which will require four people! We need at least four people to transport the stone materials, and the rest, eight or more, will be needed for wall construction and building houses."

Light Chu calculated in his mind.

So they needed sixteen people?

The current food reserves in the outpost were only enough for seven people, including himself, for one week. With the sudden tripling of the population, he wasn't sure if the logistics could handle it.

After much hesitation, Light Chu finally made up his mind and decided to take a gamble.

It was already the 9th.

Nearly one-third of September had passed, and if they didn't put in more effort, it would be difficult to complete the outpost before winter.

"Good! I understand."

Nodding his head, Light Chu looked at the two gamers and continued, "I will request support from higher-ups. Three days from now, a group of new members will awaken from hibernation and join us on the surface in our cause."

Upon hearing this, joy appeared on the faces of White and Tomorrow.

With the addition of new members, their infrastructure plans would be much easier!

Not only that, Tomorrow's speculation was also confirmed.

This NPC's authority was indeed more than just a simple NPC. It could even influence the progress of the game's closed beta testing.

This made Tomorrow can't help but think of the fantasy settings in early online novels, where the game ran on an infinitely powerful supercomputer, and the game company only established the framework while the content was completely generated by AI.

Maybe Wasteland OL was something like that!

The more Tomorrow thought about it, the more excited he became.

He felt like he knew more about this game, again.

...

With the carpenter and the chef, the gamers' working conditions and quality of life have visibly improved.

With the help of Mosquito, White and Tomorrow's construction team obtained molds for making mud bricks, and they also helped Hurricane and Nighten improve their fishing traps.

They even made a wooden toilet seat that didn't cut their buttocks using tree stumps.

Now they could finally sit on the toilet.

However, not everyone liked this kind of seated toilet.

Like Hurricane.

He seemed to have some cleanliness obsession and couldn't accept using a toilet that someone else had used, even in the game. So he stubbornly dug a hole next to the original toilet and placed wooden boards for cover.

Thanks to this, the outpost now had a second toilet.

But compared to these trivial matters, the most exciting thing was the fishing plan of Hurricane and Nighten.

With the improved traps, the two of them finally caught their first fish before evening.

And it was a giant fish!

Judging by its appearance, it should be a catfish.

The reason why it said "should be" was because its broad lips and unusually large head, scattered with white spots among deep blue patterns, and its tentacles adorned with coral-like red whiskers made it look like a mutated variant.

Looking at the struggling "big dude" in the trap, Hurricane and Nighten were so excited they could cry. They didn't mind how ugly it looked.

Three days!

Exactly for three days!

Finally, they caught one!

Taking advantage of the circling birds in the sky and the creatures by the lake not noticing, the two of them quickly dragged the giant fish, still trapped, from the lake to the shore. They cruelly beat it to death with steel bars and sticks until it stopped twitching. Then, they tied its head and tail to the steel bars with ropes, carrying the still convulsing dead fish back to the outpost.

"Brother Tomato, take a look. Can we eat this thing?"

"What the fuck is this thing?"

Staring at the catfish that Hurricane and Nighten threw on the ground, Tomato, who was making a fish smoker, widened his eyes.

He had been cooking for half his life, but this was the first time he had seen such a gigantic catfish.

Its head alone could fill a basin.

By the way, if they threw this thing back into the lake, would the other fish survive???

Catfishes are predators!

"It should be a catfish," Hurricane said.

"No shit, of course I know it's a catfish," Tomato squatted down, opened its lip, pulled it, and smacked his tongue, saying, "Damn... it's probably over a hundred pounds!"

Nighten quickly asked, "Can we smoke it?"

"Who the fuck smokes a catfish..." Tomato shook his head with a speechless expression and continued, "This thing has thick fat, and its surface has a moisturizing mucus. It's quite troublesome to handle. I don't know if we can dehydrate it."

"Then what should we do?" Hurricane asked.

"I haven't tried it either. Let's give it a try..." Tomato looked at the fish smoker he had been working on for half a day and fell into silence.

A fish weighing over a hundred pounds would definitely crush it.

They had to start over...

...

At dusk.

Instead of the governor, Tomato took charge of cooking and stewed a pot of fish head soup for the gamers, proving that this thing was indeed edible.

And the taste was unexpectedly good.

Although there were no tofu as a side dish, no scallions, ginger, garlic, or cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, Tomato, with his superb cooking skills, seasoned it with just salt and soy sauce, making a pot of fish head soup that was both fresh and not greasy.

The gamers ate it with tears streaming down their faces.

Tomato and Mosquito were surprised that the game actually had taste, while the other four gamers were moved because they finally ate a mouthful of normal food.

Sob sob sob, it wasn't easy at all...

That day, the server went offline at 6 p.m., which was exactly 6 a.m. in the real world.

The closed beta gamers had just exited the game, and before they could log onto the Penguin platform, the chat in the Shachuko Club group exploded.

[Quit_smoking]: "What the fuck! Look at the official website!"

[Who_dares_challenging_me]: "You haven't given up yet..."

[Mercy_my_life]: "What happened to the official website?"

[Quit_smoking]: "Alpha 0.2 version major update! The official website will release 24 more closed beta slots! The number of gamers in the closed beta will expand to 30!!!"

[Mercy_my_life]: "Damn!"

[Who_dares_challenging_me]: "Hehe, the cabbage is sprouting. So, how much money? I'll see if it's enough to file a case at the police station downstairs. picking nose"

[Quit_smoking]: "It shouldn't cost money. I didn't see anything about fees in the announcement! Haha, I don't believe it. This time, I'll definitely get in!!!"

[Level_99_trashpicker]: "You're dreaming too much. The number of reservations has already exceeded a hundred. The chance of getting one of the 24 additional slots is probably between one-fourth and one-fifth."

[Quit_smoking]: "Over a hundred?! What the hell is going on? How can our group have so many active members???"

[Level_99_trashpicker]: "Uh, not all of them are from our group... I saw many gaming groups discussing this game last night."

[Mercy_my_life]: "So it's gaining popularity outside the group. (Surprised)"

[No_OnE_kNoWs_LoVe]: "Yeah, I just checked. The number of reservations has already reached 111."

[Quit_smoking]: "What the hell!"