Chapter 18: It was me who reserved at first

Since these gamers were so self-aware, Light Chu felt that it was better not to micromanage them and let them freely express themselves.

After stacking the supplies next to the elevator, Light Chu returned to the sanctuary and activated the Governor's System. Soon, a pop-up window appeared, indicating the completion of the daily tasks.

[Congratulations, host, for completing the daily task: Stockpiling Wood, Reward: +2 Reward Points]

[Congratulations, host, for completing the daily task: Cement Production, Reward: +5 Reward Points]

The completed daily tasks accumulated to 7 reward points, which wasn't even enough for an intermediate blind box.

However, Light Chu didn't mind.

His gamers had already taken care of the cement, and now the food reserves exceeded ten kilograms. Soon, he would be able to recruit a few more gamers to work as free labor.

"System, exchange all reward points for primary blind boxes!"

The reward points in the Governor's allowance instantly reset to zero.

The alloy door on the wall opened, and the conveyor belt started moving, delivering the rewards obtained from the blind boxes.

Five lollipops, a 200g net weight chocolate bar, and a bag of 500g net weight table salt. Just like before, none of them had an expiration date or a brand.

How much does this damn first-generation governor love candy?

Looking at the five lollipops and the chocolate bar, Light Chu didn't know how to comment for a moment.

However, the pure white table salt was a good thing.

Light Chu reached out and picked it up, pleasantly surprised.

The salt available in Bette Street was coarse salt transported from Boulder City. It had a waxy yellow appearance, was expensive, and had poor quality. The bitterness could even overpower the saltiness.

This kind of pure white refined salt usually had a high price and was generally unaffordable for ordinary survivors.

"If only there was more!"

This amount was sufficient for cooking, but it would be a bit wasteful for making preserved meat or sausages.

Of course, trading it might be a good option. This pure white refined salt could be exchanged for 10 times or even 20 or 30 times its weight in coarse salt.

However, there were other risks involved.

The River Valley Province was an inland province.

Salt, second only to weapons, brought immense profits. Without sufficient strength, it would be unwise to engage in this business.

After confirming the rewards, Light Chu proceeded to open the gamer list and checked the gamers' offline and online times from yesterday to today.

To his surprise, White had actually leveled up?

"You can level up from chopping trees?"

Light Chu was astonished.

Previously, the development progress of these gamers' genetic sequences was at 0, but White's genetic sequence development progress had already increased to 1%.

Correspondingly, he reached Level 1.

However, after thinking about it, Light Chu felt relieved.

Chopping trees was a physical activity in itself, and considering that White's genetic sequence belonged to the Strength category, it wasn't surprising that the development progress had increased.

Experience could be gained without necessarily engaging in combat.

Although the latter was a relatively faster route...

Closing the system interface, Light Chu sat in front of the computer in the residents' hall and logged into the back-end of the Wasteland OL official website.

He had set a threshold for reservations earlier, requiring the submission of a shipping address, phone number, and account registration to make a reservation. Light Chu had already prepared for the possibility of the growth rate of reservations slowing down or stagnating. However, when he opened it today, he found that the number of reservations had increased from 35 to 45.

Wow.

Does the Shachuko Club have so many living members?

Amidst his surprise, Light Chu logged into his Penguin account and opened the game group called Shachuko Club. After scrolling through the chat records for a while, he started to piece together some clues.

It turned out that a large group of newcomers had joined the group yesterday, and the number of group members had skyrocketed from just over a hundred to over two hundred.

Most of these newcomers had been invited by group members to come and observe. Many of them were regulars in various game groups.

In the gaming community, an urban legend about "fully immersive virtual reality online games" had begun circulating.

Although most people dismissed it, there were always one or two believers who went to great lengths to find and join the "Shachuko Club."

Nobody was sure whether it was a joint prank by the game managers, but one thing was certain—the official website was well-designed.

- Historical Chat Records -

[Quit_smoking]: "Why are there suddenly so many new members in the group? (bewildered.jpg)"

[Level_99_trashpicking]: "Hey, boss! How do we make a reservation for that game? Do we have to pay?"

[Quit_smoking]: "What? Are they all here for Wasteland OL? (surprised.jpg)"

[Bishojo's arch enemy_Nighten]: "We should change the group name to Wasteland OL Players Group. (witty)"

[Who_dares_challenging_me]: "During the closed beta phase, it doesn't cost anything, but I don't know about later. You just need to register an account and fill out a form to get in line. As for when you'll actually get in, it's all about luck... Sigh, can't believe some people actually believe it."

[Quit_smoking]: "Nighten Bro! Were you guys online last night??? Did you test any new content??? (excited)"

[Bishojo's arch enemy_Nighten]: "We did the testing. Tested all night and managed to produce cement, haha. Ask Tomorrow, I have to go to class now. Talk later."

[Quit_smoking]: "Cement???"

[Level_99_trashpicking]: "Wasn't it about picking up trash???"

The group was buzzing with discussion.

Light Chu skipped the long string of nonsense and scrolled to Tomorrow's post.

[See_you_tomorrow]: "To be honest, the realism of this game has exceeded my expectations! Unlike most sandbox construction games, in Wasteland OL, logs don't automatically turn into wood, and making charcoal isn't as simple as tossing wood into a furnace and pressing a button. You need to build a charcoal kiln first, and the process is similar to real life. The same goes for making cement. There's no instant crafting at a workbench; you have to start with burning plant ashes."

[Quit_smoking]: "What? It's that realistic?!"

[See_you_tomorrow]: "That's right, it's that realistic! We haven't tested the combat system yet, but in terms of sandbox gameplay, me and White haven't found the game's limit so far!"

[See_you_tomorrow]: "In theory, based on all the materials we've encountered, they can be transformed according to the rules of physics and chemistry in reality. And the changes made to the map environment are permanent! They won't be reset! That's what surprised me the most!"

This reminded him of the "pseudo-sandbox game" [Death Stranding], where you build roads everywhere.

But this game was more than just road building. It had more interactive content than pixel-style games like Minecraft, and the graphics were top-notch, even more realistic than the photorealistic racing game Horizon 4.

Especially the immersive experience.

It was something he had never seen before.

In simple terms, he loved this game!

[Who_dares_challenging_me]: "Haha, funny. If it's really that amazing, I could build a Nanjing City in the wasteland."

[Mercy_my_life]: "I don't believe it! Too exaggerated."

[White_horse_crossing_the_gap]: "Stop bragging. Wait until you get into the game, and you'll see. This game is the most grind-intensive game I've ever seen. You have to gather all the materials by hand, and it doesn't support AFK farming. In other games, you can leave your computer running all night to farm monsters, but in this game, you'll get exhausted just from chopping a few pieces of wood, and your hands won't even be able to move!"

[Level_8_Hurricane]: "Indeed, I deeply understand that."

[Quit_smoking]: "Damn, damn, damn, I really want to play after hearing you guys talk!!! Ohhh, Light Bro, I know you're peeking, I'm begging you, give me a chance!!!"

Light Chu continued scrolling through the chat records.

The dog admins and group owners who got access to the closed beta mostly praised Wasteland OL with colorful words like "sandbox gameplay is awesome" and "the anticipated supremacy of the year."

There were also some envious gamers throwing in comments from time to time, like "I'm willing to pay a hundred thousand for a closed beta spot" or "a hundred thousand is too little, I'll offer a billion (witty)."

Then, the group members started discussing survival in the wilderness.

Perhaps intrigued by the gameplay described by "[See_you_tomorrow]," many gamers who didn't believe in the existence of a "fully immersive virtual reality online game" enthusiastically joined the discussion, even offering ideas and strategies.

Among them, Light Chu was most interested in a group member with the ID [WC_really_has_mosquitoes].

Based on the time, this guy has recently joined and is a newcomer.

While everyone else was discussing the game excitedly, he was earnestly talking about the eighteen uses of wood.

Things like charcoal production and furniture making are the most basic uses.

In addition to that, he mentioned the "dry distillation" of wood.

The specific principle is that during the process of carbonizing wood by baking it in a closed container, a large amount of combustible gas and smoke containing various organic chemical compounds are released.

These complex mixtures are collectively called "wood tar" and were the chemical precursors of many chemical products before coal tar and petroleum became widely used.

According to the description from this group member, by filtering the collected condensate, you can obtain a water-like solution composed of acetic acid, acetone, and methanol, as well as a thick tar-like residue.

Both of them are complex mixtures, but different organic chemical components can be extracted from them using distillation methods.

As for acetic acid and methanol, there's no need to mention them. Acetone is a good thing too, as it can be used as an organic solvent and to make smokeless gunpowder!

When Light Chu reached this point, he was completely stunned.

"Is this guy into chemical engineering?"

He subconsciously clicked on the person's profile picture and then visited their profile.

The profile wasn't locked, so it was easy to enter. However, there was nothing related to chemical engineering inside, just advertisements for furniture and building materials.

Well...

Seems like he sells furniture.

He probably knows so much about wood out of personal interest.

However, his knowledge might come in handy here.

After contemplating for a moment, Light Chu had an idea and sent him a private message.

"Friend, are you interested in joining the closed beta?"

It was 9 a.m. in Wasteland, while it should be 9 p.m. in the parallel world of China. It was the perfect time to be active and not asleep.

As expected, the guy named [WC_really_has_mosquitoes] replied with a question mark.

"?"

"Who is this?"

Light Chu typed back.

"I am a designer for Wasteland OL."

[WC_really_has_mosquitoes]: "Holy shit?! You're the designer?"

[WC_really_has_mosquitoes]: "Bro, how do I join the test? Do I need money? I don't have any."

Light Chu patiently explained.

"No need to spend money, just fill out a form, and I'll send you the link."

Although filled with doubts, [WC_really_has_mosquitoes] still clicked on the link and filled out the address and phone number on the official website reservation page.

However, when filling out the address, he was cautious and wrote the address of the residential district's delivery station without the apartment number.

[WC_really_has_mosquitoes]: "What's next? Are there any other procedures?"

[Light]: "That's it, just send me the reservation number. I'll mark it in the background. I'll notify you when the game goes online in three days."

Creating a clone body takes three days.

Just as Light Chu was thinking about how they now had a carpenter but still needed someone for the outpost station, the group chat suddenly exploded.

Opening the group chat, he realized that [WC_really_has_mosquitoes] had just filled out the form and immediately showed off in the group.

"Hahaha, guys, I've got a spot in the closed beta!!!"

[Quit_smoking]: "Holy shit?! Holy shit holy shit!"

[Quit Smoking]: "Why? It was me who reserved at first! T.T"

The group chat messages instantly exploded.

Accompanying that, Light Chu's private messages were also filled with notifications.

Looking at the long string of red dots, Light Chu's scalp tingled. He knew he couldn't hide anymore and quickly explained.

[Light]: "Everyone, calm down. The closed beta is also for the sake of everyone's gaming experience. At this stage, we need to test if all the game systems are complete, so we need players with special knowledge to act as guinea pigs."

[Quit_smoking]: "I can be a guinea pig too! I've been driving for seven years! T.T"

[Mercy_my_life]: "Tch, what's the big deal about your seven years of driving? I can operate an excavator!"

[Who_dares_challenging_me]: "Stop arguing, didn't you notice that [WC_really_has_mosquitoes] joined the group just yesterday? Maybe it's a small account managed by the game developers! This completely immersive virtual reality game is garbage! It's all fake!"

[No_OnE_kNoWs_LoVe]: "Looking at his profile, it doesn't seem like a small account..."

[Quit_smoking]: "Light Bro! I'm begging you! Give me a chance!"

[Light]: "...Wait a few more days. I'll release a hundred more spots in a few days. Trust me, everyone will have a chance!"

The group members burst into excitement once again.

Light Chu tried to calm down the group members, but realized it was useless. At this moment, the other admins were all in the game and couldn't manage this side of things at all.

This won't work...

How about releasing a few more spots?

Light Chu rubbed his chin and began to ponder.

After all, they had already stockpiled about ten kilograms of food in the base, and with a gun, they could start hunting. It shouldn't be a problem to have a couple more people...

That's right, food!

Light Chu's eyes lit up, and he started typing on the keyboard.

[Light]: "By the way, we still need a chef."

[Light]: "To test the cooking system."

To Light Chu's surprise, after he sent this message, the arguments in the group became even more intense.

Not everyone can be a carpenter, but the threshold for a chef is quite low.

These days, who doesn't know how to cook a couple of dishes and a soup?

It's as simple as having hands!

Regardless of whether they truly knew or not, the guys in the group were boasting one after another. "Even if I close my eyes, I can stir-fry Kung Pao Chicken" and "Trash, even my dog can do it." They were all coming out, just stopping short of declaring themselves to be reincarnations of culinary gods.

In order to secure a spot in the closed beta, these internet users were going all out, which left Light Chu unable to make a decision.

How the hell do I choose?!

The debate lasted for half an hour, until one guy shared his New Oriental culinary certificate, finally calming things down.

This thing was indeed more convincing than bragging.

Light Chu immediately announced the allocation of the sixth closed beta spot and asked for the reservation number before going offline at lightning speed.