This game is too real.

Chapter 361 This is a valuable mission item
The east gate of Boulder City.

Beside the unloading point of the trading post, crates and bundles of goods piled up into a hill.

Standing next to a pile of grain, the bare-chested stevedore threw the dirty rag over his shoulders, stretched out his hand and pushed the sturdy sack, with surprise in his eyes.

"Is this the shipment from yesterday?"

Henry still remembers it clearly.

Yesterday morning, he had just unloaded the cargo from the back of the two-headed ox, and he did not expect to put it back again so soon.

The worker on the side bared his teeth and said.

"Yeah, the millet from the farm in the south smells as good as freshly dried clothes."

After entering June, the weather here is getting hotter and hotter. It would be nice to have a bottle of ice-cold Nuka-Cola.

But with their income, they can't afford that kind of luxury.

"Where are these goods going?" A tanned teenager approached and asked curiously.

Henry remembered his name, it seemed to be Hang, and he lived in a nearby slum. He didn't know if he was thirteen or twelve, but he was still young.

The trading post is different from other places. Many employees here come from the slums beyond the wall.

I heard that these people want less salary than them, and it is enough to give one chip and two spoonfuls of sticky nutrient cream every day.

To be honest, Henry doesn't like these slum kids very much, because there are always some people who are willing to endure a lower standard of living, causing their wages to drop again and again.

One chip may be enough for him to live alone, but he has to support a large family!
"Send it to our neighbor." Henry said in a cold tone.

The stevedore on the side couldn't help complaining.

"Damn... so much food, why are those profiteers just not willing to sell it to us at a lower price?"

If a kilogram of bread cost only one chip, they could still afford it, but usually, it was only enough to buy a green wheat cake that was as hard as a rock.

At this time, the manager of the trading station came from the side, and happened to hear the complaints of these poor ghosts, and rolled his eyes without thinking.

"Fucking your fucking daydream!"

"Do you expect the food grown in the field to be as cheap as the nutrient cream? Stop talking nonsense and go to work quickly. If you don't work hard, you won't even be able to afford the nutrient cream!"

Under the urging of the steward, the stevedores who gathered together and complained quickly dispersed and buried themselves in their work, not daring to speak any more.

Although full of resentment and dissatisfaction, it is hard to find a job these days.If he was fired, the whole family would have to starve...

……

It's not just food that needs to be moved.

There are also bales of cotton cloth, parts and utensils needed for construction, as well as lighting equipment and generators.

The total value of these goods is as high as 50 chips, and the weight is a full 450 tons.

If such 10 trips can be made in a month, the trade volume will be 500 million, which will be 6000 million in a year.

If shipping costs are also included, 2 million chips is actually not that expensive...

At the same time, not far from the trading post, several heavily armed players also assembled.

Lao Bai, who was wearing an exoskeleton and carried a rifle, glanced in the direction of the slums.

It was calm there.

The faces with blank eyes are normal, and it is completely impossible to tell that there was a murder here a few days ago.

I can't feel at all that someone is casting a malicious look at this side.

Lao Bai heaved a sigh of relief.

As he expected, that dagger gang didn't dare to trouble them at all.

Their alliance is very young, not as big as Boulder City, which has been leading the way for 200 years, nor can it compare to the military giants and city lords riding on the top of the giant wall.

But they were still elephants in the face of mere gangs of marauders.

The two sides do not exist in the same dimension at all.

The other party is naturally aware of this, and it is impossible to make trouble for a little brother's life.

Of course, it's also possible that I thought too much, maybe it's just that the game program didn't have a follow-up to that episode.

Just as Lao Bai was thinking wildly, a guard NPC from the office came over, stopped in front of him and said.

"The trading post is loading the goods, we have to wait a while."

Lao Bai is not very good at Renlian language, so he just nodded and answered concisely.

"It's okay, it's okay to wait a while."

The trading post not far away is busy at the moment.

The bare-chested stevedores shuttle back and forth between the stockpile and the camel team, carrying the goods onto the backs of the two-headed oxen and tying them up.

This kind of cow with two heads has a docile temperament and a strong physique. Each head weighs five to six hundred kilograms, and the mutant can even reach an astonishing one ton, which is as huge as a hippopotamus.

The most important thing is that these animals are not picky eaters, have iron stomachs comparable to mutated hyenas, and develop relatively fast, so they are widely used as vehicles in the wasteland.

Where neither tires nor tracks can go, they can walk on flat ground.

Although the speed is not fast, the victory is stable enough, and it can even be used as a bunker when fighting.

Players are no strangers to creatures like two-headed cows. The Frostspear Ranch in the northern suburbs is raising them.

However, to the surprise of the players, the two-headed bull they saw this time was different from the previous ones. Not only was it bigger, but it was also covered with a metal utensil.

It looks like an exoskeleton.

"Damn...even the cows have exoskeletons?" Killing Dagger asked in surprise, looking at the camel caravan not far away.

Brother Gou standing aside followed his line of sight, stared at the cows for a while and said.

"That's an unpowered exoskeleton."

"What is an unpowered exoskeleton?" Killing Dagger asked curiously.

The kidney fighter on the side explained.

"There is no power supply and no motor. It is equivalent to a cart with wheels, which allows you to unload part of the weight of the goods on the ground."

"Then why not just make a mechanical cow?"

Brother Gou rolled his eyes.

"It can be transported directly with rockets."

Kidney Fighter said casually: "Because the transportation cost of the mechanical cow is not a hundred kilometers, and the worn parts have to be replaced, and the engine oil is regularly oiled... I guess."

This statement can be accepted by Killing Dagger.

However, equipping the two-headed cow with an unpowered exoskeleton can be regarded as the ultimate interpretation of the word "make the best use of everything".

Loading didn't take long.

Lao Bai raised his arm and glanced, only to see a line of pop-up windows appear on the VM screen.

Escort mission begins.

They need to deliver the goods to the northern suburbs within 48 hours and ensure the safety of personnel and materials.

"The goods have been loaded."

"Where's Fang Chang?" Killing Dagger glanced left and right, and found that there was someone missing.

Lao Bai said casually: "He has something to do, he needs to stay here for a while, let's go on the road first."

Brother Dog let out a howl.

"Damn, this guy is eating solo food again!"

"Exactly! Acting alone every day these days, you must be doing something bad!"

Hearing the complaints from his teammates, Lao Bai smiled heartily.

"Don't care about him, he has his own affairs to deal with, and he will come back naturally after he has dealt with it."

Looking at the camel team behind him, he waved his hands forward neatly.

"set off!"

The team started to move.

Escorting more than [-] two-headed cows and hundreds of tons of supplies, the group embarked on a grand journey to the northern suburbs under the watchful eyes of the wastelanders.

The people escorting the caravan were not only a few players from the Burning Corps, but also two local mercenary groups from Boulder City, totaling more than a hundred people.

For such a caravan, the general predators would hide away when they saw it.

Not to mention leaning over to try, these bullying guys don't even dare to take a look here.

I heard that the new alliance also plans to renovate the subway tunnel from Boulder City to the northern suburbs and seal off all forks, so that the original two-day journey can be shortened to one day.

If cables are laid and a few trams are arranged to go back and forth in the tunnel, maybe two or three hours will be enough to go there!

Originally, the straight-line distance from Boulder City to Beit Street was only ten kilometers, and the extension to Linghu Wetland Park was only [-] to [-] kilometers.

However, this project has not yet been negotiated.

The Boulder City City Hall was not very willing to pay the money, and Dulong gave a very good reason. They could not spend the tax money of the people in the outer city outside the giant wall.

Although the new alliance stated that it could build the tunnel itself and be responsible for its operation, the cost of such a huge project would be astronomical.

With the current financial situation of the new alliance, it can't afford it at all, so it can only borrow from the Boulder City Bank.

Although the president of Malvern said that he was eager for the new alliance to borrow another [-] million points, but the [-] million has just been thrown out and has not seen the effect.

Chu Guang did not urge.

Sweeping wool is a tricky thing.

The most perfect situation is that after the first chips he borrowed are spent, Boulder City just ushers in the first round of inflation, and the prices of "commodities" priced with chips start to soar.

But if the capacity of the other party is excessively overdrawn, it will not be his debt that will shrink, but the money he just borrowed...

……

To the northwest of Dawn City, here is the granary in the northern suburbs.

Standing beside the towering mill, Chu Guang was inspecting the field, accompanied by old Charlie.

After a series of reforms and personnel changes, Charlie has resigned from the Merchant Union and has been transferred to the Ministry of Economics of the Union as the minister.

The vacant position of president of the Merchant Guild will be filled by the former head of the trade station.

That was the advice of old Charlie himself.

The staff of the trading station often deal with the merchants in the wasteland, especially the management personnel promoted from the grassroots. Not only are they familiar with the nature and transaction process of those wasteland merchants, but also the relationship with those wasteland merchants will be even more difficult. Handy.

It would be perfect for the leader of the trading station to manage the Merchant Guild!

The Merchant Guild mainly serves players, but not only players.

This organization is more like a service department, acting as a bridge between players and NPCs in the trade field.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs is more responsible for the formulation of macro strategies and serves the entire alliance, which is of greater significance.

Although there is currently only one office, and all the staff can be counted on one hand, the position of this department in the league will become more and more important in the future.

The reform of the league's management team has finally been completed, and Chu Guang has rarely been free recently.

When he is not too busy, he likes to come around the farm to relax and see how the crops are growing in the fields.

Sometimes he came alone, and occasionally he brought others with him.

The most spectacular is probably the paddy field, the crops in the field are growing very gratifyingly, and a little bit of bright yellow has been drilled on the thick dark green seedlings.

With the improved seeds cultivated by the CNC planting tower, together with the chemical fertilizers produced by the chemical factory, coupled with the hardworking little players and survivors, the harvest in the field this year must be quite gratifying.

Maybe the yield per mu in the first year can break a thousand catties!
At present, the area of ​​arable land in the new alliance has increased from 3 mu to 4 mu, more than half of which is high-yield corn and rice.

Wait another two months.

By August, the food produced from this fertile soil will fill the Alliance's granaries!

Looking at the endless farmland, Chu Guang couldn't help but have an old father's smile on his face.

that's nice!

but……

Only these are obviously not enough.

"...I originally thought that the original plan of 3 mu would be enough, but I didn't expect that the plan could not keep up with the changes."

Ideally, 1-2 acres of land can support a survivor, and 3 acres of land can support a player.

With the population of Shuguang City, the 3 mu planned by Chuguang in the early stage is enough.

What's more, in the "Forging Swords into Plows" expansion pack, the players actually reclaimed 5000 acres more land than he actually planned.

In Chu Guang's vision, the food produced by these lands can not only fill the stomachs of the residents of the new alliance, but also make a lot of people rich.

However, at the beginning of the year, how could he have imagined that by the middle of the year, the permanent population of the new alliance had doubled, from [-] to nearly [-]...

This is not counting the super-eating players and the more than [-] slaves in the prisoner-of-war camp.

Due to the violent fluctuations in the population, the granary of the new alliance is like Schrödinger's cat, switching back and forth between enough and not enough.

"Our population growth is indeed a bit faster...the growth rate far exceeds our arable land area." Following Chu Guang, old Charlie also had a bit of worry in his eyes.

A large number of people is of course a good thing. In the wasteland, the population itself is a valuable asset.

However, this is also a double-edged sword.

People can work hard only when they are full, know shame when they have clothes to wear, are loyal when they have a house to sleep in, and think about the future of the next generation only when they form a family.

If the rapidly growing demand cannot be filled, the excess population will become a burden instead.

"No way, we can't leave those people alone." Looking at the survivors working in the fields in the distance, Chu Guang replied succinctly and casually.

He had lived for some time in Beit Street.

For him, the survivors are living people, not just numbers.

It is precisely because of this that so many people are willing to offer their loyalty to the alliance from the bottom of their hearts.

In fact, if you think about it optimistically, there are still many ways.

He has a lot of cards in his hand that he can use.

"... 10 mu of arable land is far from enough. We need to reclaim more farmland. Before the sowing of winter wheat begins, we must ensure that the arable land area expands to [-] mu, and it will reach [-] mu before spring plowing next year."

After thinking for a moment, Chu Guang continued.

"In addition, we have to mobilize prisoners of war to reclaim the land from the east of Xizhou Lake to the south bank of Tianshui. Although the terrain there is a bit rough, the soil is fertile. When the embankment on the east bank of Xizhou Lake is completed, we will collect 10 It shouldn’t be a big problem to get the arable land out.”

"Before we fully achieve food self-sufficiency, we can only import as much as possible from farmers in the south. Regarding trade issues, you, the Ministry of Trade, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs need to pay more attention."

Old Charlie nodded seriously.

"I'll keep an eye out."

Fortunately, the industrial products of the New Alliance are quite popular in the south.

Especially the LD-47 series rifles and various large-caliber weapons are perfect for dealing with mutants active in Jinchuan province.

Those green-skinned muscular guys have strong resilience and fierce melee combat capabilities, and they are as if they are okay after being shot a few times, but even so, they cannot stand up to the 7mm full-power bullets and the 20mm high-explosive bullets fired by the "riding gun".

Recently, many farmers have sent their servants over to buy some propeller planes to go back.

However, flying this kind of aircraft requires certain skills.

The plan of those farmers is to send a group of loyal servants to study and learn to fly the plane back directly.

Of course, they will pay their school fees with food.

The profit of selling airplanes is much higher than that of selling rifles. Although it is a propeller airplane, it can still fly anyway.

It is not a problem at all to exchange a plane for the rations of one or two thousand people.

After talking about his plans for the future, Chu Guang looked at old Charlie and continued with a smile on his face.

"Tell me something happy."

"This morning, Luka and I talked on the phone and said that the materials we imported at a cost of 50 chips have already departed. This includes the food we need, cotton cloth, equipment needed to build the power grid, and tools for construction, etc."

"Two days later, he will arrive in the northern suburbs together with the 450 tons of supplies, and after that, a large batch of new supplies will be sent to us every three days."

"With these goods, our construction site in Dawn City will get twice the result with half the effort. It may not take two years, before the end of this year, our new settlement will be on the right track!"

Looking at the manager with a face full of joy, although old Charlie squeezed a smile out of his face, the smile was somewhat dumbfounding.

Can this be considered good news?

50 chips...

In just one day, they spent the life savings of the five old leeches.

All the money has to be paid back...

……

boulder city.

Mansions close to the inner city.

Sitting on a luxurious chair, Alisa stretched out her pale index finger, gently teasing the black short-haired cat lying in her arms.

Listening to the coquettish purring of the cat in her arms, the slightly curly eyelashes bent into a soft crescent.

Beside her chair stood two bodyguards and a servant.

In the eye sockets of one of the bodyguards, electronic eyes full of metal texture were turning, and he was staring intently at the strange guest in the room.

Although he was stared at by three pairs of eyes, Fang Chang didn't care.

NPCs.

When the plot is triggered, isn't it normal to pay attention to the player?

What made him more concerned was the girl sitting on the chair.

She was wearing a long dress that looked expensive at first glance, and her dark brown hair was neatly tied, revealing her fair neck.

Unlike Dolly, she has an indescribable aura about her, as if she doesn't belong to this world.

It's not surprising when you think about it.

After all, standing in this mansion, no matter which window you look out from, you can't see a bit of wasteland.

Looking at the girl sitting on the chair, Fang Chang couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the game production team really should add two more chicken legs to the modeler's lunch box.

Incorporating three completely different art styles into the same map, the scene switching brings strong visual contrast without any violation.

What is the Ninth Art?

This is called the Ninth Art, okay?
"Thank you, Mr. Mercenary."

"I thought I'd never see my little black again."

The melodious voice brought Fang Chang back to reality, and when he came back to his senses, he looked away and replied politely.

"You're welcome. It's my pleasure to make you worry."

Recently, his human connection language has become more and more proficient. Based on the principle of speaking as much as he can, he said a few more sentences.

however--

It may be that your expression is not accurate enough, or your grammar is wrong.

The bodyguards and servants beside the NPC named Alisa stared at him dumbfounded.

Alisa was visibly stunned.

But the girl who came back to her senses just couldn't help smiling, then blinked and said in that pleasant voice.

"Maybe you mean something else."

"Anyway, thanks to your help, I can get Xiao Hei back."

When the little-known small newspaper found her two days ago, Alisa didn't have much hope.

But what she didn't expect was that they actually found the lost Xiao Hei.

Out of curiosity, she asked her servant to bring the mercenary to her.

It's not the same as imagined.

She thought that the mercenaries were all rough people with beards and more scars than wrinkles, but she didn't expect that a young man who looked gentle came in.

After staring at Fang Chang for a while, Alisa asked with interest.

"Can you tell me how you did it?"

Fang Chang's expression was a little subtle.

Of course he couldn't tell, he spent 200 silver coins to ask a certain fat mouse for help, and found this stupid cat jumping up and down halfway up the huge wall.

Of course, it's not all due to the strong brother, Dolly also helped him a lot in the past two days.

The little black briquette kitten was somehow afraid of him, but not so much afraid of Dolly.

Could it be the smell of motor oil?
In any case, the entrustment that the head of the alliance office personally entrusted to him was finally completed.

The total reward is 25 chips.

Regardless of contribution points and regional prestige, he still lost a little from the perspective of money alone.

"That's a long story..."

"...It seems to be a secret that is inconvenient to reveal, so I won't ask about it."

Alisa didn't ask any further questions, and comforted the cat in her arms for a while, then gently put it aside.

Looking back at the man standing in front of her, she suddenly blinked playfully.

"In exchange, can you tell me about the world beyond the giant wall?"

"Beyond the giant wall..."

Fang Chang felt a little troubled, showing a troubled expression, "This scope is too big, where should I start?"

Alyssa said.

"Just tell me your story. Like... where are you from?"

"Northern Suburb." Fang Chang said truthfully.

Hearing this answer, Alisa had a look of surprise in her eyes.

"Are you a resident of the northern suburbs?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Well, it's nothing, it's just that I've been hearing about that place from my father recently."

Shaking her head slightly, Alisa's eyes were obviously curious, "Can you tell me what kind of place it is?"

"It's hard to describe. If you let me evaluate it, it's not rich, but it's a place full of hope..."

Fang Chang sorted out his thoughts for a moment, and briefly described the situation there with a limited vocabulary.

He thought this girl wouldn't be interested, but he didn't expect her to listen seriously.

After about ten minutes, Alisa closed her eyes and thought for a while, then a smile suddenly appeared on her face.

"Thank you for talking with me for so long."

"You're welcome...By the way, can I trouble you to write a thank you letter?" Suddenly remembering the NPC named Hal begging me, Fang Chang quickly added.

so close.

Almost forgot about business.

"No problem, I've already written it." Alisa smiled and nodded to the servant beside her.

The slightly old servant stepped forward, took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Fang Chang.

Fang Chang took the letter from him, politely declined the afternoon tea invitation, thanked him, and left the luxurious mansion under the "escort" of two guards.

After turning two streets, he saw Dolly with her arms folded under a street lamp.

This little girl with short green hair is kicking the bottle caps on the ground with her toes to pass the boring time.

Seeing Fang Chang coming from the corner of the street, she immediately stopped and went up to ask.

"You gave Xiao Hei to her?"

"Well, it took only half a day to develop feelings?" Fang Chang looked at her and said teasingly.

Dolly raised an eyebrow.

"How is it possible, I... just asked casually."

Fang Chang said with a chuckle.

"I believe it."

He could feel that this little girl actually liked that clingy little black.

But she also knew in her heart that it was someone else's pet after all.Not to mention that she couldn't even take care of herself well, that kind of picky eater would only suffer if she followed her.

"Hey."

"What's wrong."

"Is the bank president's daughter beautiful?" Dolly asked curiously.

Fang Chang replied casually.

"It's pretty, a dignified and elegant girl."

Dolly moved the tip of her nose. It seemed that her curiosity was satisfied, but her expression was quite intriguing.

"...By the way, are you also interested in entrusting 25 chips?"

"The chip is not my goal, what I need is this letter." Fang Chang gently shook the envelope under his fingertips and put it back in his pocket.

The 25 chips are only part of the mission rewards.

If it was only for money, he would not accept this commission at all.

But it's too troublesome to explain this to NPC.

It's not that no one has tried it, it's just that they don't even understand what a game is, and it would be too impolite to say that your world is just a "game".

Maybe that's part of the setting too.

"letter?"

"Well, valuable mission props."

"...?"

Without explaining to the confused Dolly, Fang Chang took her straight to the newspaper office.

Hand this letter to the NPC Hal of the newspaper office, and the task will be considered complete.

Although I don't know what the new NPC named Hal is useful for, but there is nothing wrong with brushing up the favorability.

Looking at Fang Chang who was in a happy mood, Dolly who followed behind him had complicated expressions on his face.

She still doesn't understand why the man in front of her who can casually take out more than 5 chips is interested in entrusting only 25 chips.

Do you like cats?

But it's not like that.

Or……

He wanted to use Xiao Hei to get close to the daughter of the president of the Boulder City Bank, and to become Mr. Malvern's son-in-law, so that he could jump into a wealthy family.

Thinking of this, the expression on Dolly's face was no longer complicated, but contemptuous.

She hummed and sneered.

"...I really can dream."

"Huh? What did you just say?"

"It's nothing."

Throwing down these words, Dolly turned her face to one side, and this time it was Fang Chang's turn to be confused.

The two came to the newspaper office.

The room was noisy, and there were dark circles on every face, but everyone was motivated.

Even hyperactive.

After hearing Hal's plan, the top executives of the league immediately approved their monthly budget of 20 chips.

20 chips!
And it's monthly!

The editors who had worked under Mr. House almost took their breath away when they heard the news.

"The Voice of Boulder" can't make that much money in a year!
And their boss is actually willing to spend such a huge sum of money every month, and continue to sponsor their cause without seeing any return.

With this money, it is enough for them to do many things!

Just as the people in the newspaper office were discussing the next step, the door of the office opened.

Looking at Fang Chang who came back with a thank-you letter in his hand, Hal immediately showed an overjoyed expression on his face, and took the letter over.

"Great, you're finally back, my friend! We're discussing the layout of the next issue, and it's just in time!"

"Actually, I don't really understand. Does finding the cat of the bank president's daughter... have anything to do with your newspaper?" Looking at Hal who was holding the envelope like a treasure, Fang Chang couldn't help asking curiously.

Before Hal could speak, the editor beside him happily spoke for him.

"We plan to set aside a special page in the newspaper for publishing commissions. How can we attract those in need to write to us? The best way is of course to let them see the effect."

Another balding editor also came over and said.

"That's right, and I'm sure those mercenaries who have never been interested in reading newspapers will start buying our newspapers from now on!"

"Why don't we start a "Mercenary Newspaper?" an editor interjected.

Hal's eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers.

"That's a good idea!"

Fang Chang coughed dryly.

"Let me tell you... why don't you serialize novels in newspapers, update five hundred words in three days, and stop at the most critical places every day. I can guarantee that your newspapers will sell out."

Hearing this sentence, Hal was slightly stunned for a few seconds.

Suddenly, he reacted suddenly, and an ecstatic expression appeared on his face.

"That's a great idea! My friend, why don't you work for the newspaper?"

"I don't need to..." Fang Chang coughed dryly, and he suddenly felt as if he had come up with a bad idea.

but……

He was actually quite curious about what the novels serialized by NPCs would look like.

At this moment, Fang Chang's eyes suddenly fell on the advertisement for recruiting reporters, and he couldn't help but feel a slight movement.

"Are you short of people here?"

Hal, who showed a disappointed expression just now, saw that Fang Chang wanted to change his mind, and immediately nodded excitedly.

"Of course, we're short of reporters, we're short of editors, we're short of everything... It would be great if you would help us!"

"Ahem, I'm not expected to do this, but I can recommend an expert to you. There is nothing she doesn't know in the entire Boulder City, and even if she doesn't know, I believe she must have a way to know..."

Having said that, Fang Chang looked at the door of the office, the girl with short hair who folded her arms and looked idle.

"What do you think of her?"
-
(Thanks to the leader of "orz meow" for the reward!!!)
(End of this chapter)