Chapter 17: It Is an Honor for Us to Share Your Concerns!

Late at night.

Light Chu couldn't sleep peacefully and woke up several times. He kept his hand on the gun hidden in his sleeping bag and managed to fall asleep intermittently.

The sanctuary was too comfortable, and there was no need to worry about any danger. Returning to this unstable environment suddenly, he found it difficult to adapt.

"I have become complacent."

Light Chu sighed and unconsciously touched the gun hidden in the blanket. The thick and long barrel provided a sense of security.

I wonder how things are on the gamers' side.

Although he had instructed Qi on what to do in his absence, he couldn't help but worry when he wasn't there.

Unable to fall asleep again until five o'clock in the morning, Light Chu quietly waited with his eyes open.

He crawled out of the sleeping bag when it was slightly bright outside, dressed in his clothes, and strapped the steel pipe and the newly purchased gun on his back.

It was estimated that it would be a long time before he returned this time.

The pressure from the mayor forced him to advance his plan to move, and all the preparations had to be completed by the end of the month.

If they couldn't stockpile enough supplies for a hundred people, they would have to wait until the next round of testing in February or March of next year.

The whole winter would be wasted.

He pushed open the door.

Light Chu had prepared his equipment and was about to set off when he coincidentally encountered the men from the Wang family.

Wonderful Wang, who caused trouble in front of his door yesterday, glanced at him but didn't say anything. However, there was a hint of provocation in his eyes.

Perhaps it was because his father and older brothers were nearby, and Light Chu had a hunting weapon on his back. Wonderful's courage had clearly grown compared to yesterday, as if he was showing off.

Light Chu, of course, wouldn't bother with a little kid.

A sixteen-year-old teenager was already considered a capable man on Bette Street, but in his eyes, he was still an immature child.

"Hey, don't get yourself killed."

Light Chu ignored him and didn't even look at him.

The Wang family boy became angry, gritted his teeth, and his face turned red. He felt humiliated by the outsider's indifference.

However, just as he was about to act impulsively and provoke a fight, his older brother suddenly placed his hand on his shoulder.

Although still somewhat dissatisfied, Wonderful quickly calmed down.

It was evident that this kid listened to his older brother.

Light Chu glanced at the elder son of the Wang family, the strong and powerful man who was also looking at him.

From that person, Light Chu sensed a faint danger, although it wasn't obvious.

Interestingly, while observing him, the man's face also revealed a hint of surprise, although he concealed it well.

Hunter's instinct— This guy isn't easy to deal with!

After a brief eye contact, both sides quickly looked away.

There was no need to provoke unnecessary trouble.

The Wang family members walked away.

Light Chu also prepared to set off.

At this moment, a crisp voice came from behind.

"Be careful on the road."

Light Chu stopped and turned around, seeing Lil Fishie hiding behind the door, peeping at him.

He smiled and calmly replied, "Hmm, thank you."

"No need."

In the blink of an eye, the little girl slipped back into the house and disappeared.

...

In the early morning at around six o'clock, the sky was already getting bright.

The gate of Bette Street slowly opened, and the survivors, carrying backpacks, bows, arrows, short knives, crossbows, and various other tools, walked in groups over the cracked concrete road and through the weeds that grew from the crevices, heading towards the devastated ruins.

However, finding valuable things on the wasteland was no longer easy after two hundred years. Occasionally, picking up shell casings left by mercenaries or looters could be considered a treasure.

Light Chu didn't leave the settlement immediately. Instead, he spent some time at the entrance, waiting for everyone to go far away before heading to Old Charlie's recycling station.

"I need 7 kilograms of green wheat. Here are 21 chips. And how many chips can I get for preserved meat tobacco... 4 chips?" Light Chu asked since he had never bought it before.

"One chip per 50 grams."

"Then give me 200 grams of it!"

Food was crucial for development.

Only by preparing more food could he recruit more players to work for him.

The survivors couldn't eat thin gruel made from green wheat every day. Even if they could endure it, he couldn't.

With the gun now, hunting would be much easier than before.

Light Chu planned to buy some tobacco leaves and turn the unconsumed meat into preserved food for winter reserves.

Old Charlie raised an eyebrow.

"I remember you bought five kilograms of green wheat just a few days ago."

"Is there a problem?" Light Chu casually replied.

Old Charlie grinned.

"No problem. It's good to save some money."

Light Chu, who was planning for the future, suddenly became alert.

The speaker had no intention, but the listener had an ulterior motive.

He suddenly realized a problem.

He hadn't brought back any useful garbage or other gains for some time, but he had purchased a large amount of supplies twice in a row.

The mayor might not necessarily pay attention to a small figure like him, but others would inevitably be puzzled, wondering where he got so much money.

However, Old Charlie didn't say anything. Perhaps he didn't care at all. He weighed the grain for him, smiled, and sent him out the door.

"I've been careless..."

After leaving the gate of Bette Street, turning at a street corner, Light Chu breathed a sigh of relief. He stopped and observed for a while before continuing forward.

For scavengers, having more than ten chips was already a considerable "fortune" because they usually couldn't save money.

However, he had taken out more than 20 chips twice in a row to purchase supplies that he couldn't possibly consume in a short time.

Old Charlie was still relatively friendly to him, after all, they both came from the sanctuary. But he was ultimately the servant of the mayor.

Thinking of this, Light Chu couldn't help but frown.

It was a pity that the caravan leader named Lester only accepted grains and sold industrial products from Boulder City.

Perhaps he should try his luck at Brown's Farm.

...

Carrying seven kilograms of wheat and ten liters of drinking water, along with bullets and equipment, the weight on his shoulders was over twenty kilograms, pressing heavily.

Besides carrying things, Light Chu also had to carefully conserve his energy and be wary of the dangers lurking in the shadows.

Despite the hidden strength in his muscles, which was different from ordinary people, he could only walk for a while, then stop and observe the road conditions before continuing.

The road outside the settlement was not easy to traverse. Sometimes he had to bypass collapsed roads and pass through toppled high-rise buildings.

Light Chu suddenly envied the protagonists in "The Last of Us" and "Dying Light" who could parkour with a bunch of things on their backs in the ruins, while he could only walk step by step.

Perhaps...

Next time he should buy a cattle?

He just didn't know if Lester can sell to them.

Fortunately, none of the mutants he encountered on this journey noticed him.

Passing through the ruins.

He walked along the road for a while and finally arrived at the sanatorium located in the Wetland park just before 8:30 in the morning.

However, to Light Chu's surprise, when he arrived, he found that all four closed beta gamers were already online.

Not only that.

Outside the sanatorium's fence, there were four half-height earthen stoves and a hemisphere-shaped earthen kiln about the height of a person.

What is this?

He didn't remember assigning the task of building the stoves.

"My Governor, you finally came back." Seeing the surprised expression on Light Chu's face, Tomorrow walked up with a smile and said, "I was delayed outside overnight... How is the situation here? Have you encountered any mutants or other survivors?"

"Everything is normal! No unexpected situations!" Tomorrow reported their work to Light Chu with a flushed face.

The four half-height stoves were used for charcoal production, while the stove next to them with a wind inlet was used for high-temperature calcination of cement raw materials.

"We burn the tree bark into wood ash, then add it to water, filter out the potassium alkali water on the surface, squeeze out the remaining slurry and obtain the calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate for making cement."

"Then, we add these raw materials to the blast furnace and calcine them into orange-red color. After mixing them with sand soil we collected from the riverside and adding water, we get the wood ash cement!"

Damn!

Honestly, Light Chu was amazed by the gamers' practical abilities.

He had tried using wood ash mixed with slurry to make cement before, following the methods he had learned, but the resulting product would crumble when squeezed and was useless.

Now it seemed that his method was wrong.

Was the key the blast furnace and secondary calcination?

And the purity of the wood ash...

Tomorrow's mouth didn't stop, he continued, "We plan to use cement to repair the sanatorium's fence! By the way, we also collected the filtered potassium alkali water in containers. It can be used to tan leather, which is very useful!"

"You... have done well."

After thinking for a while, Light Chu couldn't come up with a reward for these gamers and could only offer words of praise.

But when Tomorrow heard this sentence, he became excited.

Increased!

The governor's favorability!

It must have increased!

Not missing this opportunity, Tomorrow, with a serious expression, recited the lines he had thought about all night.

"For the continuation of civilization!"

"It is an honor for us to share your concerns!"

"..."

Light Chu suddenly didn't know how to face him.

Compared to himself, these gamers were too noble.

"Well said... For the continuation of civilization, and for the future of all of us."

Coughing, Light Chu maintained a dignified expression and looked at the excited gamers, continuing, "I will put the supplies downstairs. Your plan is excellent... Go ahead with confidence!"

Tomorrow stood straight with enthusiasm.

"Yes, my governor!"

"Also, make sure to balance work and rest. Don't exhaust yourselves," Light Chu advised.

Not because of a sudden realization of conscience, but because he was worried that these gamers would exert themselves too much and prematurely deplete their enthusiasm.

However, it seemed that this gamer didn't appreciate his well-intentioned advice and proudly expressed his loyalty.

"Serving you is our mission, and it is our declaration under the banner of the Humanity Alliance!"

Upon hearing this, Light Chu almost couldn't hold back.

Declaration, huh...

Have you ever seen what a flag of Humanity Alliance looks like?

"...Alright, very spirited. You may go."

Watching the gamers leave, Light Chu sighed silently in his heart.

All in all, his concerns were unnecessary.