Chapter 4 Chu Guang and Lollipop

   Two hundred years ago.

   To be precise, in 2125, a war broke out on this prosperous planet.

   Both sides in the war are determined to completely destroy each other, and almost use all available means.

   The war lasted only three years.

   But it only took three years to destroy everything on the surface.

  The long nuclear winter almost extinguished the fire of civilization, and both sides successfully sent the other to hell, and also successfully buried themselves.

  Since then, the era of the wasteland, which is even more depressed than the Great Depression, has begun.

  Although two centuries have passed since the doomsday war, and the nuclear winter has basically ended more than a century ago, human beings have not yet returned to the top of the food chain.

  The proliferation of nuclear weapons, biological weapons, and even genetic weapons has caused the ecosystem of the entire planet to evolve in an extreme direction.

   And those mutants known as "heterogeneous" are also the main threats faced by the survivors struggling in the ruins.

  For example, when Chu Guang first came to this world, the two-headed wolfhound he met was one of them.

  However, even if they are different species, there are strengths and weaknesses.

   The "deformities" caused by gamma rays, like the two-headed hyena, usually have low combat effectiveness. Except for a few lucky exceptions, the combat effectiveness is not even as good as before the mutation.

  In contrast, gnawers, crawlers, etc., which are caused by biological weapons and have mutated to the point where their ancestors cannot be traced, are monsters that are really born to kill.

   Their nervous systems are eroded by mutated fungi, and they usually hide in ruins, sewers, or subways during the day, and only go out to the streets for food when night falls.

  The situation in the suburbs will be much better than in the city.

  Especially in the outer suburbs.

  In the past five months, the most dangerous alien that Chu Guang encountered was nothing but a mutant brown bear. Although that guy is powerful, his reaction is relatively slow.

   Before being discovered by it, Chu Guang avoided it very carefully.

  The twilight of the morning sun passed through the broken concrete wall, and together with the shadow of the scrap steel, fell on the street full of car wrecks and gravel.

  The time now is eight o'clock in the morning.

  There is a time difference of about 12 hours between the time here and the East Eight time zone in this world.

  Looking at the two mutated hyenas wandering the street, Chu Guang tightly grasped the pointed water pipe in his hand, and carefully walked around behind the ruins.

  Although he has the confidence to kill them both, there is no need for extra complications.

  Besides, these beasts are very smart, and even know how to use their own kind as bait. No one knows how many are hiding in the shadow of the nearby ruins.

   Follow the path through the run-down neighborhood.

   When he saw the sign of Beit Street Children's Paradise, Chu Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

   In front of it is "Better Street" - a relatively large survivor settlement in the vicinity, with more than 100 survivors living in it.

  Before the outbreak of the war, it used to be a children's playground with a lot of amusement facilities and a wide lawn.

  After the war, it was designated as a temporary refuge by the army, and accommodated a large number of citizens who fled from the urban area of ​​Qingquan City.

   It is unknown what happened to those refugees, but today, more than two hundred years later, this place has developed into a "small town".

  People used discarded plastic boards, canopies, wood and metal brackets, and mixed and built simple shacks on the bare muddy ground.

   It's very much like the one in "The Times of Troubles".

  The walls of the amusement park are natural barriers, and after rough repairs, iron wires and wooden boards with nails are attached.

   In the center of the amusement park is a five-story classical castle, which feels like a fairy tale. It's just that the paint on the surface has long since fallen off, and more than half of the wall facing the city center has collapsed, leaving only the northern half and a crumbling lonely tower.

   Even if it is a fairy tale, it is definitely a dark fairy tale.

  But even if the building is broken like this, it is still the "most luxurious" building on Beit Street.

   At the same time, it is also the home of the mayor.

  Although he has lived here for five months, Chu Guang has never met the mayor. That adult is very mysterious and rarely shows his face in public.

   "Yo, I'm back so early."

  Looking at Chu Guang coming from the corner of the street, Old Walter, who was hanging a pipe, squinted his eyes, and a cloud of turbid white smoke emerged from his nostrils.

   He held a double-barreled shotgun in his hand.

  Although it looks old, no one will doubt its power.

  Chu Guang once saw with his own eyes that the old man only fired two shots before knocking down a mutant brown bear that was madly rushing towards the gate of Beit Street.

  Ever since then, he's been wanting to own one.

   "Stayed out all night."

"Outside?"

  The old man glanced at the pointed water pipe on Chu Guang's back, and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

  No one knows better than him how dangerous the night is.

   Every time he was on night shift, he dared not remove his index finger from the trigger, as any slight disturbance would make his whole body tense up.

  Although the alien species in the outer suburbs are not as dangerous as in the urban area, there are too many predators eyeing this place.

   Falling into their hands, the end will not be much better than dying in the hands of alien species.

  Old Walter didn't quite believe that this guy spent the night safely on the wasteland with only a steel pipe.

   "Something happened."

  Chu Guang didn't explain, just gave old Walter a tired look for him to experience, and then went straight through the gate of the settlement.

  There is only one waste recycling station on Beit Street, and the location is easy to find, next to the main entrance of the settlement.

  There is an old-fashioned electronic scale that is never accurate under the rolling shutter door, and beside it stands the archway that says "fair price, no deception".

   This store is the property of the mayor, and it is also the only place on Beit Street to buy used parts and mutated moleskin.

   In order to monopolize the business of picking up garbage, the dictator even issued a law arbitrarily.

   That is, everyone is not allowed to privately sell the captured prey and picked up garbage to the caravan passing through this place.

  The reason is to ensure that the goods on Beit Street can be sold at a reasonable price, instead of being shamelessly squeezed by "cunning merchants" in terms of price.

  The reason why this outrageous and unreasonable rule can be passed is also related to the ignorance of the survivors here to a certain extent.

  And ordinary caravans would not take the risk of offending the dictator to buy the few pitiful supplies from the scavengers.

   They only do big deals.

   And only do business with people you can trust.

   "Sell? Buy?"

The owner of the inn is a fifty-year-old man named Charlie. It is said that he used to be a resident of a refuge in the provinces. The job of dealing with the scavengers was given to him.

  Most of the residents here are native "wastelanders", without any education, and their mathematics is very bad, and it is so bad that addition and subtraction within one hundred may be wrong.

   But Charlie is different.

  He came out of the shelter.

  Although no shelter in this wasteland is exactly the same, there is one thing that is similar.

  The people who can live there are all the elites of the pre-war society. Their children not only inherited smart minds from their parents, but also received good education from the Enlightenment Age.

  If the world wasn't so bad, he would probably become an engineer, doctor or scholar just like his parents.

   instead of bookkeeping here.

"Sell."

   No nonsense, Chu Guang took out 6 used batteries from his backpack and threw 5 tubes of adhesive on the tray of the electronic scale.

   This is what he found in the wreckage of nearby buildings before he discovered shelter 404.

  Old Charlie picked up the waste battery on the table, casually checked the model and whether it was flattened or damaged, and then threw it on the scale beside him.

   This thing is definitely scrapped, don’t think about it, but it’s still possible to recycle the materials inside.

   "The quality is not bad. The garbage in this area should be cleaned up. Where did you get the good stuff?"

   Can this be called a good thing?

"lucky."

"Hehe, I'm just asking casually. Well, the battery is good, but the quality of the adhesive is mediocre. The seal has been removed, and the situation inside is probably a mess. I can only give you a 50% discount...all add up to a total of 3 chips .”

  Chu Guang did not counter-offer with him, and took 3 white chips from him.

  This metal-like plastic coin is the "currency" issued by Jushi City, the largest survivor settlement in Qingquan City, and can be exchanged for food and supplies in most survivor settlements in Qingquan City.

  The face value of the chip is printed on the front, and the back has a special anti-counterfeiting code and printing, which will show a special luster under sunlight.

  This chip has many advantages such as heat resistance, easy storage, and high recognition. Especially the most critical point is that it is basically impossible to imitate with post-war technology.

  Small and medium-sized survivor settlements with a small population and no industrial capacity like Beit Street mainly do business with the caravans of Boulder City, exchanging agricultural products, prey, and picked up garbage for necessary living supplies and even weapons.

   Naturally, this currency also circulated on Beit Street.

  Of course, it doesn’t work all the time. If the caravan doesn’t come any month, the price of the entire settlement will be messed up.

  It is not that the mayor has not tried to promote Beit Street's own currency-a kind of bookkeeping ticket, but no one admits it at all.

  Even the survivors of Beit Street know that that kind of paper is in the way of wiping buttocks, no different from waste paper.

   "Do you want to buy something? A batch of new products from Boulder City just arrived in the store."

   Chu Guang, who was about to leave, stopped and asked back.

   "Is there a gun?"

   "That's not true, you can't afford it."

  Old Charlie grinned, looked at Chu Guang who turned to leave and continued.

   "However, there is some food and fuel. If I were you, I would definitely buy more before the price increases."

  Guns, even the cheapest ones, are hard to come by in places like Beit Street.

  Because even if there is an occasional caravan selling arms passing by here, those weapons usually enter the mayor's own warehouse, and they will not be placed on the shelves here for anyone to choose.

  Besides, as old Charlie said, even if there was such a thing, they, scavengers, would not be able to afford it.

  Chu Guang knew why he said that.

As a well-educated shelter resident, Charlie must not fail to see that all the survivors living in Beit Street, whether they are scavengers or hunters, have been exploited by the mayor's family to wipe out their surplus value .

  Even though the mayor never personally reached out and took even a single chip from their pockets.

   "Food and fuel going up?"

  Looking at Chu Guang with surprise written on his face, Charlie smiled lightly and said.

   "Didn't you notice, the temperature has been cooling down recently, but the alien species outside have become active."

   Chu Guang frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly thought of something, and said.

   "Winter is coming?"

"I remember that you came here five months ago. You may not have experienced it. In previous years, the temperature will start to drop slowly at this time. This year... winter will come earlier, maybe it will snow in October. .”

   Speaking of this, Charlie paused for a moment and said meaningfully.

   "Winter is coming."

   "Whether it's human or alien, you have to prepare in advance."

  When Chu Guang first came to Beit Street, he was wearing a blue coat. Charlie subconsciously regarded him as someone from the shelter, so he took good care of him.

  Although this care has never been reflected in the transaction price, the old man did help Chu Guang in terms of experience.

   Otherwise, he wouldn't have adapted to life on the wasteland so quickly.

  Chu Guang nodded seriously.

   "I see, thanks."

   "You're welcome," Charlie smiled lightly, "don't die."

  It is already the beginning of September. If it really snows in October, there is only more than one month left for Chu Guang to prepare.

   For the survivors living in this area, snow is definitely not something to be happy about. This means that in addition to food, there is an added fuel expense.

  The vast majority of people here make a living by picking up garbage and hunting, and the nearby farms only need people during busy farming periods.

  In winter, the difficulty of picking up garbage will increase exponentially. No one can predict whether the buried parts in the snow are reusable parts or the fangs of mutant mice.

  And animals that can provide meat, such as wild deer and rabbits, will also reduce their activity time, and even simply hide in their dens for the winter.

  The most terrible thing is that once winter comes, the caravans will not come here. Even if you find something good, you can only pile it up at home and wait until next spring to sell it.

   Or, venture to Boulder, ten kilometers away.

   That is the largest survivor settlement in this area of ​​Qingquan City, and the market there will not close even in winter.

  However, its location is on the edge of the third ring road in Qingquan City, next to the Beicheng District of Qingquan City, and there are countless dangers hidden along the way.

  Most people want to walk across on two legs, and it is still in winter when the lowest temperature can reach minus ten degrees, which is tantamount to suicide!

  …

  After leaving the recycle bin, Chu Guang first went back to his residence.

  In fact, it is not so much a residence as a shack that can barely keep out the rain, without even a decent window or door.

  Until yesterday, he was still thinking of saving some materials such as cement and PVC boards, so as to seal the leaky wall before winter came.

   But now it seems that this is no longer necessary.

   A rusty aluminum box was found from the moldy sleeping bag. Chu Guang struggled to open it, and dumped the plastic coins hidden inside on the lame wooden table.

  A total of 47 white chips with a face value of 1 point.

  Counting the 3 pieces on my body, it adds up to exactly 50 points!

   This money was saved by him in a little bit of frugality, so that one day he could leave this ghostly place and move to Boulder City with better conditions.

  But now...

  He already has a new plan for this "property".

  If you can stand on your own, why send yourself under the fence?

   "The ruins of the sanitarium above the shelter can be used, and the walls around the building are all concrete structures... If there are players who can use it, collect some materials nearby, and the repair should not be too difficult."

"Near the sanatorium is a wetland park. It is not convenient to collect metal waste, but the surrounding vegetation is fairly lush, and there should be no shortage of heating fuel. In addition, wood can also be used as a material for repairing buildings and making furniture... an axe! Yes , and have to buy four axes.”

   Fighting monsters and leveling up?

nonexistent!

   It is said that it is a 100% real **** game. Since it is a **** game, it is natural to start from the most basic work!

   "Tools such as shovels and saws are indispensable!" Before the players logged in, Chu Guang had already figured out how to arrange them.

  Of course, in addition to the tools for work, there is also the most critical ration.

  Once the training cabin is activated, it will immediately consume the active substances pre-stored in the training cabin to synthesize clones for players to use.

   And these clones need to eat!

  Although the clone can lie in the cultivation cabin and sleep at a low metabolic level when the player is not online, it is impossible to lie down all the time.

   It is an eternal truth that people must eat when they are alive!

   "At least enough food for five adults to consume for a week... If calculated as two meals a day, one wheat cake for each meal will cost 70."

  Oatmeal is the most common food on Beit Street, and you can change it for 1 chip.

This thing is usually as big as a palm, and it may be mixed with bark or other fibers. It tastes very hard and rough, like soil mixed with sand, but it can fill your stomach and add a little salt. .

   Throw it in a pot and cook it, and it can still make a paste.

  70 cakes, if you buy it, you get 70 chips. Even if you bargain, 60 chips are indispensable. In this way, your own budget will not be enough.

  Chu Guang frowned, but soon relaxed again.

   It was he who made the problem complicated.

   In fact, there is no need to let those players eat too well.

  If you replace the wheat cake with the raw material for making wheat cake—that is, the green wheat produced by a nearby farm, you only need 3 chips to buy a full kilogram!

   Stock up on 5 kg, enough for a few days!

   If it’s really impossible, you can learn from the survivors on Beit Street and mix it with bark or plant roots.

   As for the others, we will figure out a solution at that time.

   "Let's prepare these things for now..."

   Sweeping the allocated chips into the backpack, Chu Guang put the backpack back on his back.

  Although he didn't sleep all night, he is very excited now, as if he has found the meaning of life again, and he doesn't feel sleepy at all.

  When he opened the door and went outside, he saw the little girl from the neighbor's house cat at the door of the next shack, looking at him curiously.

  Chu Guang recognized her by name, Yu Xiaoyu, the youngest daughter of the Yu family.

  Most of the survivors in the wasteland were yellow and thin, and the youngest daughter of the Yu family was no exception. Her arms and legs were as small as a reed stick, making it hard to imagine that she was old enough to marry.

  Seeing that Chu Guang noticed her, she was not shy and walked out of the room.

   "I heard movement in your house, so I came to take a look."

  Every day at dawn, the men on Beit Street would go out to pick up waste or hunt, while the old and weak women and children usually stayed at home to watch the house or do some profitable work.

  Although we are all poor and poor, we can’t save money, and we have nothing to steal at home, but no one wants someone to come to take advantage of their home when they go out.

   This man named Chu Guang came from outside. He usually leaves early and returns late, and rarely communicates with the neighbors in the settlement.

  She didn't know much about him, but she didn't think he looked like he could endure hardship.

  In the beginning, everyone was wary of him, and my mother asked her to keep an eye on this stranger from outside.

  However, Xiaoyu didn't think he was a bad person, because once he made soup at the door and shared a bowl with her.

"Thanks."

   "You're welcome, when you go out, I can help you watch the house." She blinked and added happily, "Anyway, I'm idle."

poor child.

  If it was in that world, she should still be studying at her current age.

   Not wanting to offend others, Chu Guang hid the pity in his eyes, took out a lollipop from his pocket expressionlessly, and stuffed it into the little girl's hand.

   "Take it and eat."

   "Don't tell anyone I gave it."

   "Otherwise it will be gone later."

   Never seen this kind of food.

  Yu Xiaoyu first took a bite of the wrapping paper, but found that she couldn't bite it open, and then realized that the outer wrapping was about to be torn off.

   Wu Liu's big eyes stared at the red fruit ball stuck on the plastic stick, she cautiously stuck out her tongue and licked it lightly.

  Here, what is this smell? !

  So sweet!

   With little stars shining in her eyes, she raised her head happily, wanting to say thank you.

  However, the person who gave her candy has gone away.

  (end of this chapter)