Chapter 7: 7: If You Want to be Rich, You Must First Cut Trees
Nothing can be accomplished without norms or standards.
Especially for players who were keen on trying out the things that they shouldn't do.
[Shelter Resident Handbook Version 1.0. ]
[1. The administrator's orders are above all else, and all residents of the shelter must obey them unconditionally. ]
[2. For residents who violate the regulations, the administrator will execute the final means of "forced dormancy" and "confinement". (Note: Forced sleep is equivalent to being kicked out of the game, and confinement means banning login permissions.)]
[3. The administrator has the final right to interpret all the above terms. ]
Violations would cause players to be kicked out of the game? This was no longer a power that ordinary NPCs had.
Seeing the footnote below Article 2 of the Shelter Resident Handbook, the players fully understood that the NPC in front of them was not only a NPC, but also had some rights of GM, which could "band" people and affect the game experience of other players.
Now that there were only a few people, there were only three rules for the time being. If there were more points to be added later, Chu Guang would consider launching version 2.0 or even version 20.0.
For example, regulating the rules between players, or players and "NPCs", as well as prohibited things in the game and so on.
This was also why a round of closed beta testing was done before the open beta test.
There was not much space in the shelter. Twenty or so rooms seemed to be quite a lot, but in fact, each of them was very small, four culture chambers taking up almost all the space in each room.
The last administrator seemed to be afraid that he would not do any work, so he cleared the entirety of B1 floor, leaving nothing for him.
Chu Guang did not stay in the shelter for too long. After telling the players the rules, he took the four people and Little Seven to the elevator leading to the outside world.
These four closed beta players were still obedient, but they were very curious.
From the moment their feet touched the ground, they touched everything they could see, seemingly wanting to check out everything in the game.
There was not a single cell in their whole body that could be idle!The elevator stopped steadily.
Looking at the sunlight shining through the broken window and in front of the elevator, the four players again exclaimed.
"Holy sh**..."
"This light! This wall! This, this, this..."
"This is incredible!"
"The sunlight passes through the cracks in the concrete ruins and shines on the newly sprouted grass. The dust visible to the naked eye drifts in the light... Every frame is art, and every second is the burning of development funds!"
"Damn, my Brother Ample Time is so poetic!"
Seeing their reaction, Chu Guang found it very amusing. But he could also understand it, so he pretended not to hear anything, fulfilled his responsibilities as an NPC, and took them outside the nursing home.
Looking at the tools on the ground, Chu Guang turned to face them.
"As you can see, the nuclear war has ended for two hundred years."
"We are now located in the northern outskirts of Qingquan City, far away from the nuclear crater. Unless it's 'Glowing Rain' or visible radioactive clouds, you don't need to worry too much about the problem of excessive gamma."
"Shelters cannot protect us forever, nor can our civilization hide under the ruins forever. Remember, we are the vanguard to return to the surface, and there are thousands of people behind us waiting for our good news, there is no time to delay."
"The first thing we need to do now is to repair the nursing home under our feet and build an outpost on this ruin."
"It will be the bridgehead for our people to return to the surface."
"I'm now giving you a task. Pick up the axe on the ground, go outside, and chop some wood to take back."
"Before winter comes, we have to store enough fuel and repair the broken walls around us at the same time."
"Remember not to go too far. When encountering mutants, don't act rashly and withdraw immediately."
"You may move out now!"
Chu Guang originally thought he needed a bit of talking.
But he didn't expect that these players were more obedient than he thought, and they simply picked up an axe and went out to work.
Their swift actions felt as if they wished him to finish speaking quickly, for fear of delaying their work.
"Master, are these guys really okay?" Little Seven who was following them expressed its concern. It always felt that these clones' heads were not normal.
"That's why I asked you to follow," Chu Guang looked up at the nursing home behind him, paused for a moment, and continued, "Go to the window on the third floor to the north, tell me immediately if they encounter a tricky situation or go too far."
As for himself, he must first check the rewards for completing the task.
The paper bin next to Chu Guang did not move.
After a while, Little Seven said.
"…Master."
"What's wrong?"
"I don't have legs."
The moving paper bin circled Chu Guang's legs to show how it moved. It wasn't until then that Chu Guang noticed that this guy had always been moving on four wheels.
"...All right, I will carry you up."
Sighing, Chu Guang knelt down and carried it on his shoulders.
‘Goodness, it's quite heavy.'
...
The tree as thick as a human thigh slowly fell, smashing to the ground and making a dull sound.
"Why do I feel like this place is not like a wasteland?"
"What does it look like to you?"
"It feels closer to a forest... I'm talking about the game ‘The Forest'. I don't know if you've played it before. It's about cutting down trees like this and then building a house."
"Of course I've played it before. Not only have I played it, but I've also built the house up to the sky. But building a house there is much simpler, it was easily done just by clicking the mouse, unlike here… dang, this axe is quite heavy. "
"When it comes to setting, I think it's quite realistic. I remember watching a documentary before, about returning to Chernobyl. For forty years, there has been no human disturbance, and it has evolved into a new ecology system. The buildings there are surrounded by vines, and the trees grow taller than a house... The setting of this game is two hundred years after the nuclear war, which is not impossible. I even feel that the situation in the city will be more drastic than it is here. "
Looking at the mess behind him, Old White wiped his sweat and smacked his lips.
Two hours later...
Although their efficiency was not high, and the tree trunks left behind looked as if they had gnawed on by dogs, they had still cut down a dozen pine trees the size of a human thigh and countless smaller ones.
It was just that the administrator didn't say how much he needed, and no one knew if what they got was enough.
"I have to admit that this game is too real... Whether it's the impact of the axe cutting a tree, or the flying sawdust and the sunlight filtering through the leaves, it reminds me of—"
"Alright, alright, stop talking about those things."
Interrupting Ample Time's emotional speech, Night Ten's hands rested on his axe hilt as he looked at the branches and autumn leaves scattered on the ground, panting.
"Since you can cut trees and build houses, farming shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Their physical abilities in the game were much stronger than their physical bodies in reality.
Night Ten's body in reality belonged to the weak scholar archetype, but he had some muscles in this world.
Of course, the one that was the most satisfied was White_horse_passing_a_crevice, which was, Old White.
Although this guy's character did not look good, he had stubble on his face. When he rolled up his sleeves, it revealed his arms that were full of muscles, and he looked very strong.
"If we want to farm, I suggest that we set a fire, burn the plants into ashes and then spread them into the soil. When the winter passes, it will become fertile soil... Of course, that is on the premise that the game is really that realistic, otherwise it is a waste of time."
"Speaking of, I've been wondering, but why are Old White's muscles so strong that it looks like he's trained before, while I'm struggling to even lift the axe?"
Gale was breathless.
His character was probably the closest to reality in terms of physical fitness among all of them. He became exhausted after just a bit of exercise.
"The attributes of each character must be different… Although I don't know how this thing is judged." Ample Time scratched the back of his head and thought for a moment. "But I have a guess."
"What guess?"
All three players were very interested in his discovery.
Anyone who had been in the Bull and Horse Club for a while knew that this guy was a member of the Clearing Group for several single player games, and also had the most games in his steam account in the group.
Whether it was FPS, RPG or SLG, there was no type he didn't play.
"You should have also noticed that we woke up in a silver-white chamber. Considering the theme of this game, there are two possibilities in the setting. First is, we have been sleeping before the war through cryo-sleep technology up until now. Second, we are all clones."
"Of course, I personally think that the latter setting will be more convenient. After all, the problem of resurrection can be easily explained by directly using the DNA stored in the culture chamber to re-synthesize a body."
Seeing that the players were looking at each other, Ample Time continued.
"I estimate that settings such as attribute panels and levels will be added later, and that the difference in our physical fitness is likely to be the foreshadowing of it!"
"I hope that the devs can develop a set of unique game mechanics, such as… combining DNA and class systems, distinguishing power players from agile players, and formulating different attribute growth curves. This not only guarantees the degree of freedom, but also enriches the gameplay."
"It's a pity that the characters are randomised. It would be nice if we could determine the initial attributes ourselves."
Feeling thirsty from talking, Ample Time finally stopped.
"Let's stop this meaningless chat, I'll talk to Brother Light when I log out later."
‘Brother Light once said that he is the game designer of this game, so discussing this issue with him directly is definitely better than discussing it here with them.'
At this moment, Night Ten, who was looking into the distance in a daze, suddenly spoke.
"Guys, how do you know how big this map is?"
"I have no idea."
"Say, if I keep going in one direction..."
Looking at Night Ten who was eager to try it, Gale rested with his axe on the side, hesitated, and said.
"There is most likely an invisible wall, or you will be killed by the game... But no matter what it is, I suggest you don't do this."
"Have you forgotten what the administrator said? He told us not to leave too far from the nursing home."
"He's just an NPC, do you listen to him?"
"But he can kick us out of the game, and even confiscate our qualifications for testing." Gale reminded.
Ample Time also reminded him from the side.
"Yes, and I suspect that with the intelligence of the NPC in this game, there may be a hidden setting such as favorability. You can actually notice that its attitude towards each player is not exactly the same. There must be some hidden algorithm."
"Fine, I won't try it."
Hearing these words, the most disobedient Night Ten also became obedient.
He had no other choice, these words were too lethal.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see the value behind this game.
Fully immersive virtual reality...
Once this technology came out, it would have a disruptive impact on the entertainment methods of modern society - even the lifestyle!
Even if people didn't want to play games, who would mind having 12 to 8 more hours a day than others?
According to Brother Light in the group, the time spent in the game world was equivalent to sleeping in the real world.
In other words, even if they stayed here all night, it would not affect their work the next day!
It was really hard to imagine that the testing of such a game that was destined to be a sensation in the world was actually carried out in such a "sloppy" and even silent manner.
Didn't this company need to make money?
But in any case, since they had this opportunity, no one was willing to give up easily.
Just when Night Ten dispelled the urge to explore the boundaries of the map and was about to continue cutting down trees obediently, a strong premonition of crisis suddenly enveloped his whole body.
He felt chills moving down his spine fast, cold sweat oozing from his back.
He didn't know where the sense of crisis came from, but he seemed to foresee the fate of his tragic death——
His legs softened and he staggered backward, but it was this stagger that made him escape the dark shadow that fell from the sky.
Pa!
Sawdust splashed everywhere.
A three and a half-foot wide claw mark was printed on the trunk beside him!
"Ka!" The thing howled like a ghost!
The swooping creature missed its attack, and with the reverse thrust of the hitting pine tree, it fluttered its wings to gain altitude again, and disappeared into the treetops.
Looking at the falling black feathers, Night Ten, who had fallen on the ground, was stunned and touched his head subconsciously.
‘What the heck?'
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