Chapter 29 Life in the Wasteland Begins with Brick Moving

From the moment he started speaking, all the players shut their mouths, holding their breath and watching him intently, afraid to miss any detail.

Chu Guang was quite pleased with the players' reaction, as he lifted his head and glanced around the hall.

However, when he saw the Lizard man standing in the corner, his expression froze for two seconds, and his hand almost reached for the gun on his back.

What the heck are Variants doing here???

But...

Looking at that dumbface, the player must be underneath the skin.

Nothing to worry about then.

Whether in terms of combat experience or character stats, these noobs were completely outmatched by himself. Chu Guang might have been concerned about survivors lurking in the shadows, but he really wasn't too worried about these players causing trouble.

Kick, ban, revoke qualifications—all under a second, and what can one do in just one second?

Deciding to figure out what the deal was with this Lizard man later, Chu Guang moved his gaze away from it and looked squarely at the players in the hall, continuing to speak.

"First of all, I have to tell you some good news, the war is over."

"But the bad news is, our world has been turned upside down, and if you're hoping to grab your luggage and immediately go home to find mom, obviously that's not very likely."

"Today marks two hundred years after the apocalypse, and luckily, we have made it through the most difficult times. You standing here are already luckier than 12 billion people, and now I need you to quickly come to terms with the situation and fulfill your declaration under the United Human banner—rebuild our homeland!"

"This here is my assistant, its name is Xiao Qi. Any questions about the refuge, or things you don't understand, you can ask it."

The routine introduction he had said once before, word for word.

If a new batch of players arrived, he would say it again, and unless there was a severe BUG or plot hole, he didn't plan on making changes.

After all, it was not easy to come up with.

Pausing for a moment, Chu Guang continued.

"In addition, the Residents of the refuge handbook has been updated to version 2.0, which includes the Resident's Covenant, code of conduct, and requirements for public order and good customs, as well as prohibitions. Please make sure all residents check it in a timely manner."

"For those who violate the rules, the penalties range from enforced suspension, solitary confinement for lighter offenses, to being sent back underground, and permanent expulsion for severe violations. I hope everyone will strictly comply."

A murmur spread among the players.

Isn't this NPC's power a bit too much?

Still, there wasn't much of a reaction from everyone.

Since they chose to pre-register, it means they'd accepted the Game's settings.

And before logging into the Game, they had already seen the "Residents' Handbook" on the official website, which didn't set out too harsh content.

The new clauses simply regulated actions like "player-to-player PK," "harassing other players," "illegitimate transactions," "maliciously destroying Game world facilities," and more.

These clauses are in line with the interests of the vast majority of "normal" players, and some were even discussed by the players themselves on the forum, which the Dog planners took note of and then implemented.

Like the "malicious destruction of Game world facilities" proposed by Long Days Ahead and Old White, and the "prohibition of coercive acts" mentioned by a player who had not yet obtained a reservation in a discussion thread.

All good suggestions.

After all, this is a brick-laying Game, not a nuclear bomb simulator, and certainly not some adult game.

Even Games that tout freedom and sandbox concepts can't allow a player to wantonly ruin the game experience for others.

Not only did Chu Guang adopt these suggestions, but he also made more detailed regulations for these rules.

Such as treating malicious destruction of facilities with "compulsory labor", and depending on the severity, some behaviors might be met with "permanent confiscation of tools used in the offense" up to a "permanent ban".

Very much in the style of those planners.

What?

Can't accept it?

Hurry back and play CF, leave the helmet for someone who needs it.

After briefing on the important matters, Chu Guang took the 24 players out of the refuge and, in two groups, they took the elevator to the surface.

The visual shock that hit them upon arrival left these new players speechless.

And it wasn't just the visuals.

Hearing, smell, touch, and even taste—every single cell in their bodies was telling them that this was a completely real world!

"Awesome..."

"Is this... really the Game world?"

"Oh man, I'm freaking blown away!"

"Amazing!!!"

Watching the players dancing with excitement, a smile curved on the corners of Chu Guang's mouth.

He really wanted to tell them that it was too early to be happy.

After familiarizing these newbie players with the Outpost's facilities, especially emphasizing the prohibition against urinating and defecating near the Outpost, Chu Guang then took them all back to the sanitorium and handed them over to the eagerly waiting Old White and the others.

The construction site at the Outpost was in desperate need of manpower; there was no need to worry about these players having nothing to do, as the veteran players would tell them what work needed to be done.

A portion of the people were rounded up to haul bricks and repair walls.

Another group was taken by Fang Chang to move raw materials for making cement to the construction site northeast of the Wetland Park.

As for the payment.

It was ten Contribution Points per hour.

Even though they were unaware of what exactly Contribution Points were used for, every player was enthusiastic, wishing they could start working right away.

Why worry so much in the closed beta test phase.

The developer had already said there wouldn't be a server reset, just work and get it done!

The enthusiasm of these players made even Chu Guang feel a bit embarrassed.

Of course, not all players were assigned to the construction site; tasks such as making smoked meat, tanning fur, fishing, hunting, gathering needed to be done too.

For instance, a female player as tall as 1.8 meters, with the ID name "Crow," was assigned to the gathering job.

Her Gene Sequence was from the Perception Attributes. Although her main attribute (Perception) was 1 point less than Night Ten's, being only 6, she had one more initial Talent in her talent slot—"Toxin Intuition."

According to the System's explanation on the player list, a player with this Talent can intuitively sense poisons purely through biological instincts, independent of knowledge and experience.

On the flip side, before obtaining "Poison Resistance," the "Poisoning Effect" itself would have a more significant negative impact on her.

Additionally, the positive effects of this Talent were influenced by the Perception attribute.

Having her as the gatherer couldn't be more perfect.

Then there was the Lizard man.

After arranging the gatherer's work, Chu Guang called this player aside.

"You're 'Pick up trash 99 level'?"

What a Sand Sculpture name!

Seeing the Manager address him directly, Garbage Lord thought he had triggered a hidden plot and quickly stood at attention, nodding excitedly.

"Indeed, it is I!"

Chu Guang nodded and was about to assign him some work when he saw Garbage Lord suddenly seemed to think of something and proactively handed over a note.

"Respected Manager, when I awoke, I found this note, but I can't understand the text. Could you please tell me what it says?"

"Let me see."

Chu Guang took the note from his hand.

The note was slightly damp, as if it had been soaked in water, but it didn't soak through – it appeared to be made of waterproof material.

The handwriting was very familiar, and since it was written in the language of this world, Chu Guang immediately guessed who had left it.

"Where did you get this?"

"My butt."

Chu Guang's hand shook, and he almost dropped it.

Seeing the Manager's exasperation, Garbage Lord immediately guessed something and hurried to explain with a mix of laughter and tears.

"I mean, it was stuck there in the Cultivation Chamber when I woke up."

"It's fine, I was just asking."

Chu Guang continued to read the content on the note.

"Congratulations, you've hit the jackpot! This is the easter egg I've left for you! The Genetic Sequences stored in the gene bank are not all human; some are special Genetic Sequences. To be honest, it was my doing, although there were some accidents involved, but I'm not planning to admit to any mistakes. How can I put it? Don't you think this is also part of natural selection?"

"By the way, should we call it a Variant or a different species? Never mind, it doesn't matter what you call it, decide for yourself."

"—First Generation Manager."

This guy must have gone mad.

Chu Guang was speechless.

He didn't bother to criticize the deceased but opened the System interface to check this Lizard Man's five-dimensional data and talents through the player list.

Just as his imposing stature suggested, both his Strength and Constitution were off the charts. If it weren't for Chu Guang's intervention, his Strength could have even caught up with Chu Guang's own Level 5.

Plus, he had the talents of Physical Regeneration and Cold-blooded, making him a weapon in actual combat!

Although he had debuffs such as difficulty leveling up, intolerance to low temperatures, and difficulty operating complex machinery, these weren't fatal flaws.

In a word, no big deal.

Chu Guang was already considering whether to outfit this fellow with knuckledusters or steel claws.

Or maybe turn him into a tin can to take the front line? That didn't seem too bad either.

Being scrutinized by the Manager, Garbage Lord felt somewhat anxious.

However, the NPC didn't stare at him for too long and soon gave him a different task from other players.

"Starting today, you'll hunt with me."

Chu Guang decided to not worry about weapons anymore.

The players might not be dumber than himself; better to let them figure out the gameplay on their own.

Garbage Lord clenched his fists excitedly, voicing his excitement in an elated tone,

"I am at your service, respected Manager!"

"Very good, quite spirited."

Chu Guang nodded in approval and continued,

"Go wait for me at the entrance of the sanatorium."

"I have some things to arrange and will come over later."

"Understood!"

Garbage Lord scurried away.

Chu Guang turned his attention to another female player who was waiting nervously nearby.

Her ID was Teng Teng, and her Genetic Sequence belonged to the Intelligence System. She appeared quite petite, standing about one-five meters tall.

The expression of genes was inherently unstable; even if designed perfectly, there could still be oversights, and Chu Guang could not help with that.

However, what happened to her wasn't entirely a bad thing.

Like that Crow, she also had a very special initial talent, "Skillful Hands and Minds," in her talent column.

"Talent: Skillful Hands and Minds (Stronger muscle memory, can accumulate proficiency faster in repetitive tasks.)"

If he remembered correctly, her profession in reality was a clothing designer, right?

If so, this talent was tailor-made for her.

"Can you make clothes?"

Faced with the Manager's question, Teng Teng nodded anxiously.

"I can! Given materials and tools... I could try."

Although her main job was design, mainly working with a computer, she wasn't completely devoid of manual abilities and was stronger than the average person.

"Materials aren't an issue, tools might require some thought... but come with me first."

Saying that, Chu Guang led her to the back of the sanatorium, pointing at the rows of raw fur pelts drying on the wooden racks.

"Is this enough?"

Gazing at the rows of fur on the racks, Teng Teng's eyes went wide.

Although she wasn't sure what animals the furs came from, she could tell at a glance that the texture and sheen of the fur were not cheap.

"All of this... for me?" Teng Teng's eyes shone brightly.

Chu Guang nodded and spoke,

"Yes, if possible, you could also take on the processing of the fur. The leather on these racks was processed by our chef, who actually doesn't know much about it."

"Mhm! Don't worry! Leave it to me," Teng Teng said energetically, nodding vigorously, "Do you have any requirements? In terms of design?"

Chu Guang, "Design isn't really a requirement, as long as it's warm... Do you need any particular tools? It might be difficult to get something like a sewing machine, but we do have some basic tools like needles and scissors."

Teng Teng, "Although a sewing machine would be better, if it's just for warmth... these are enough!"

Great!

He liked players who were diligent and required little attention.

Chu Guang nodded approvingly.

"Then, I'll leave it to you."

"I should be able to snag some game in the next few days... I plan to head north along the elevated road out of the city to check out the migrating deer herd."

"If we're lucky, we should have a good haul!"