Chapter 807: Chapter 807: Isn’t Eating Three Meals a Day a Reward?
"...The life support device is okay."
Looking at the report submitted by a certain player, Chu Guang had a wry smile on his face.
What a pity.
Though he had the power to decide which people would get the Game Helmet, he didn’t have the authority to "add new product production lines."
Besides...
Isn’t eating three meals a day an "award"?
From what he understood, many players were quite happy about becoming gluttons. Especially a group of drunks led by Old White, who loved nothing more than getting drunk online and then continuing their binge offline.
Actually, it’s not just about eating.
The fun and enjoyment the "Second Life" brought to players was not limited to wolfing down food; it also included, but was not limited to, online relaxing baths till your skin grew wrinkly, then logging off to do it all over again.
Personal taste is something Chu Guang really couldn’t manage, after all, Wasteland OL wasn’t a custom-made single-player game.
The personal issue of "being full online leading to no appetite offline" had to be dealt with on one’s own.
But speaking of, why did this guy write about it in a report to the Manager?
Could it be that his side account had been blown?
A bit of suspicion surged in Chu Guang’s heart, but after pondering for a while, he dismissed it.
The possibility was very low.
Following normal thinking, the little player should consider that during the closed beta phase, the planners would definitely be peeking at the screens, especially for "evaluation opinions" personally penned by players, they’d definitely sneak a glance.
And actually, even if he guessed, it wouldn’t matter.
A truth one occasionally learns or guesses is like dreaming about an expired lottery ticket number—it’s neither acknowledged nor redeemable.
Just knowing about this doesn’t mean anything.
Just when Chu Guang was about to close the report, Xiao Qi, sitting on the pen holder, suddenly came over enthusiastically with an idea.
"Actually, from a technical standpoint, it’s not hard. Master just needs to outsource this part of the device production to a parallel world enterprise with relevant qualifications!"
Based on its observations, many players and Backseat Drivers ran game-related businesses in reality, some profiting from information gaps, others from technical differences, and some exchanged currencies or sold peripherals.
Especially that guy who exchanged currencies, his business was the largest, not only roping in top-ranked players on the servers, but also expanding his business into AI and precision mechanics manufacturing fields using his advantage in silver coin reserves.
Considering that player’s capabilities, producing a not-so-technical cultivation chamber in reality shouldn’t be a big issue!
Following Xiao Qi’s words, Chu Guang merely smiled faintly.
"The method you’re speaking of, I actually considered it a long time ago."
"Ah?"
Xiao Qi tilted its head in confusion, asking.
"Then why doesn’t Master do it?"
Chu Guang pondered for a moment, then spoke.
"Because... I don’t particularly want to weaken their real-world social relations. What they obtain from Wasteland OL shouldn’t just be money and status in the real world; it should also include knowledge, skills, experience, methods, and principles."
"They should use them to bring some positive change to their hometown, create their own Prosperity Epoch, and explore their own future."
"Though I can’t go back anymore, it was ultimately also my hometown."
Whether they chose gradual reform or radical change, Chu Guang believed they would eventually embark on a path different from the Waste World’s.
Even though most players hadn’t realized it yet, they were already united in fact.
And indeed, they possessed the power to change the world.
...
The following morning.
In her hotel room, Si Si opened her eyes, got up and walked to the door to check a few markers left at the entrance. After confirming everything was normal, she walked into the bathroom for a quick wash before heading out to the hotel’s lobby.
This was a habit she had developed during her travels, a common habit among many players when camping outside.
After all, once offline, their game characters couldn’t be controlled anymore.
Although the VM had "online life monitoring and offline message alert" functions, it didn’t guarantee absolute safety, only preventing fatal dangers.
When Si Si came downstairs, the four guides and bodyguards arranged by the Mammoth State Authority were already waiting for her in the lobby.
Their leader was named Bella, a young lady. She was dressed in a crisp military uniform, carrying an LD-47 assault rifle on her back, with neat, ear-length short hair, and sharp eyes like someone who had seen battle.
Judging from her epaulettes, her rank was sergeant, but as for her specific position, Ashi hadn’t mentioned. However, she was likely a squad leader, equivalent to a Centurion in the old Imperial military system.
As for the others, their ranks were all privates. But there were no signs of training marks on them, nor did they look like they’d been to battle, probably new recruits who recently enlisted, doing chores or desk jobs usually.
Upon seeing Si Si, Bella placed her right fist on her chest in a military salute, politely saying.
"Honored guest from the Alliance, good morning, did you rest well last night?"
"Good morning, I rested quite well..." Si Si replied with a relaxed smile, then said, "No need to be so formal, just call me Si Si."
Bella showed a troubled expression but still nodded indulgently.
"Alright, Miss Si Si."
The task assigned to her by her superiors was to do her best to meet all reasonable demands from these honored guests from the Alliance and leave them with a positive impression.
The Mammoth State Authority knew well that to survive this perilous wasteland, they must win the support of at least one major power on the wasteland.
She was acutely aware of how important her task was.
Looking at the overly serious Bella, Si Si made a helpless face but said nothing.
Seeing Si Si was silent, Bella continued to ask politely.
"Do you have any plans today?"
"Hmm," Si Si thought for a moment, looking towards the stairs, "I’m waiting for my companions to wake up, and then we plan to walk around the area to check out the surroundings and such. Oh right, is there any place nearby to eat? You know, places where the locals usually go; we’re planning to have breakfast."
Bella immediately responded to this.
"A place to eat? I see, just let me know when you’re ready to leave."
While the two were talking, a large white bear and a short-haired girl came down from the stairs.
Not long after, Sesame Paste also came down rubbing her sleepy eyes, yawning.
Accompanied by four bodyguards cum guides, the three people and one bear left the inn and soon arrived at a street full of a lively atmosphere.
Standing at the entrance of the street, Bella looked at Si Si’s group and said somewhat nervously.
"This is the district’s snack street, managed by vendors all coming from Silver Moon Bay residents, and only they typically have the habit of eating breakfast... I’m not sure if it suits your taste."
Si Si smiled gently at these words.
"You’re worrying too much."
The tail energetically chimed in.
"Oh! That’s right! The eating habits of Silver Moon Bay residents were actually learned from us!"
Bella was taken aback for a moment.
"Huh? Is... that so? That’s wonderful, I was always worried you might not be used to it."
She really didn’t know there was such a connection.
Sesame Paste said with a big smile.
"You’re being too polite, it’s not necessary, everyone here is pretty easy-going."
"Speaking of which, the noodle shops have opened here too, this has spread so far..." Meat Meat glanced down the street, surprisingly finding it almost like a replica of the North Street of Dawn City.
Not just noodle shops, there were also places selling buns and shumai, soy milk and fried dough sticks, and even fish powder and hot dry noodles.
The enticing aroma made her stomach growl, she couldn’t help but swallow several times.
The tail standing next to her felt the same way, nodding with satisfaction.
"Not bad, not bad, Hai Ji’s successors are doing well... Old Zhang would probably be pleased."
Meat Meat couldn’t help but make a snarky comment.
"What’s with Hai Ji’s successors, and you’re just assuming he’s an old man now?"
The tail boasted.
"Isn’t it obvious? Which young person would use their real name as their username?"
"By the way, aren’t you guys having breakfast?" Sesame Paste curiously asked Bella.
Bella shook her head, her hair tips gently swaying by her ears.
"That’s too luxurious for us, we used to eat only one meal, and occasionally had to make do with eating dirt... it’s only recently we started eating two meals."
"I’m sorry." Realizing she had asked an inappropriate question, Sesame Paste’s voice carried a hint of apology.
However, Bella simply smiled, nonchalantly saying.
"It’s nothing, that was all in the past."
The group sat down at a noodle shop, and Bella intended to pay, but Si Si stopped her.
"We exchanged money when we got off the ship, let me pay."
With that, she left two hundred denomination Mammoth coin bills on the table, continuing to speak to the owner.
"Eight bowls of noodles, please."
Seeing this honored guest treating them to noodles, Bella and the other three guides were somewhat surprised.
"This... doesn’t seem right."
Looking at the embarrassed expression on Bella’s face, Si Si smiled as she spoke.
"It’s just a bowl of noodles, it’s not like it’s a bribe."
Bella quickly waved her hands.
"That’s not what I meant..."
Si Si pulled out a chair in front of the table, smiling as she said.
"Then sit down and eat with us."
Although they didn’t have the habit of eating breakfast, Bella ultimately couldn’t bring herself to refuse the hospitality of those honored guests and sat down at the dining table with the other three guide sisters.
Si Si secretly observed the four, their reserved demeanor didn’t seem to be an act, showing that they likely didn’t come to such "luxurious" eateries often.
Although unfamiliar with the living standards of the upper levels of Mammoth State Authorities, its grassroots style remained relatively modest for the time being.
Additionally, she noted specifically that the Mammoth coin had an official exchange rate of 10:1 with the silver coin, similar to that with Gallon, but with slightly higher purchasing power locally than the latter.
A bowl of noodles here cost about 15 Mammoth coins, whereas in Jinjaron Harbor, it would be 20 Gallons.
This might be because the Mammoth coin was launched not long ago, so it isn’t widely circulated in the market.
However, whether it was 15 Mammoth coins or 20 Gallons, compared to Dawn City’s 3-4 silver coins per bowl of beef noodles, it’s still much cheaper, although the former’s portion is slightly lesser than the latter’s.
Additionally, since the Mammoth State is relatively poor with limited foreign exchange reserves, the Mammoth coin can’t be freely exchanged like Gallon, locals can only use it as "vouchers," and only foreign merchants can exchange according to their quota limits at designated exchange offices.
Of course, there’s no limit to exchanging silver coins for Mammoth coins, large exchanges could even get a few points’ discount.
The authorities seemed to have learned from the lessons of Tiger and Leopard States, adopting stricter foreign exchange controls rather than blindly copying Jinjaron Harbor’s wealth creation methods.
While waiting for the noodles to arrive, she had already grasped around seventy to eighty percent of the local purchasing power and living standards.
However, since this was the district where Silver Moon Bay residents lived, the cost of living was evidently higher compared to other districts of Mammoth City.
After all, to understand the true situation of the locals, one still had to go to where the locals lived to see.
Si Si was pondering over what kind of excuse she could use to have Bella take her to see where the locals lived when that familiar slippery voice drifted in from the doorway.
"Hey! Si! And Tail, Sesame Paste, and Miss Meat Meat... Haha, what a coincidence, we meet again!"
Upon hearing that familiar voice, Tail looked up from his bowl of noodles and greeted with a smile.
"Oh! The Fur Seller! Good morning!"
"Cough... can you stop calling me the fur seller? I do other businesses, okay!" Hearing that impolite nickname, Mogavi glared at Tail, looking embarrassed, but ultimately didn’t get angry.
Even if not for the sake of the goddess, for the sake of money, he had to restrain himself a little.
With the titles of a White Bear Knights Bank shareholder and a Baiyue Corporation shareholder, either one was too weighty for a guy in the shipping business like him.
Seeing those fiery eyes looking at her, Si Si sighed. Although not interested in this slick-talking guy, she still greeted him out of courtesy.
"Morning."
Sitting at the table next to theirs, Mogavi spoke with a look of helplessness.
"You’re still so indifferent."
Tasting a small sip of noodle soup, she casually replied.
"Why be so enthusiastic in the morning; do you have something in mind?"
"No, I just came here for breakfast and plan to check out the nearby market later."
Seeing the bodyguard with a gun staring at him intently, Mogavi spread his hands to show he meant no harm and then handed a bill to the nearby server.
"Get me a bowl of noodles too... same as the lady next to me."
"Alright, sir."
Not wanting to get involved in these bigwigs’ private affairs, the server hurried back behind the counter after taking the bill.
Si Si’s eyes flickered slightly. She glanced at Mogavi, who was pulling out his chopsticks to eat noodles, and asked with interest.
"You know the local market well?"
Seeing the interest in her eyes, Mogavi immediately showed a joyful smile and talked at length.
"Of course! Before you guys came here, I’d already been doing business here for two months. No one knows the market here better than I do... Speaking of which, what business are you doing here?"
Si Si didn’t hide anything and said straightforwardly.
"We imported a batch of food from Silver Moon Bay, along with some anti-inflammatory and malaria prevention medicines."
"Anti-inflammatory drugs, that’s a good thing. I hear there’s a big demand at the front line... But food, the profit margin is still too low. The flood happened after the autumn harvest. There’s not much shortage of food here, especially for those consuming its grain." Mogavi shook his head, his expression suggesting he found it a bit unfortunate.
Si Si continued to ask with interest.
"So, what business is good here?"
"You asked the right person! I wouldn’t tell just anyone, but for you... I can share it for free," Mogavi said with a mysterious wink and lowered his voice, "Priceless jewelry, handicrafts from Ideal City, and luxurious furs... Especially those favored by the desert tycoons, they can fetch a high price here!"
Upon hearing this, Tail and Sesame Paste looked at each other in confusion. Sitting nearby, Meat Meat was quite candid and asked directly, looking puzzled.
"Furs favored by the desert tycoons... why don’t you sell directly to those tycoons in the desert?"
Sesame Paste also asked in confusion.
"Yeah... do the prices people offer here exceed those at Silver Moon Bay?"
Mogavi smiled mysteriously and continued speaking eloquently.
"You don’t understand. Even in the poorest places, there are wealthy people. They buy these luxury goods not just for personal use but also as a means of storing value. Thus, they can even offer higher premiums than the desert tycoons."
Si Si asked thoughtfully.
"Are there many rich people here?"
Mogavi laughed heartily and said.
"Far more than you imagine! Especially the old aristocrats, though the new authorities bought out their land, it was with money... using Mammoth coins."
Upon hearing this, Si Si’s eyes immediately gleamed with insight, grasping the trick at once.
"I see, you’re running a money laundering business..."
Mogavi gave a thumbs up and chuckled.
"As expected from you, nothing escapes your sight."
Meat Meat looked bewildered at Si Si and quietly asked in Mandarin.
"What does it mean... how did it become money laundering?"
Si Si explained patiently, in a soft voice.
"It’s quite simple to understand. The Laxi authorities issued a large amount of Mammoth coins to buy out flood-damaged lands from the old aristocrats. However, Mammoth coins can’t be freely exchanged, so the old aristocrats use the money to buy relatively valuable luxury goods. These goods are easier to transport than currency just by transferring to Silver Moon Bay rather than exchanging for a heap of silver coins."
Baiyue Province, known for producing furs, also displays a range in rarity. Cheaper ones are even less than cotton textiles, while the expensive ones are ridiculously pricey.
From what she knew, a high-quality mink fur could sell for up to a million silver coins.
On the Forum, there was a newcomer who became rich overnight by catching a mink by chance.
After hearing this, a look of amazement appeared on Meat Meat’s face.
"These nobles are really shameless..."
Sesame Paste still couldn’t understand and asked Si Si with confusion.
"But... why would Laxi give them money? Couldn’t they just seize the land from them?"
Si Si patiently explained.
"There are benefits to buying rather than seizing. A regime can’t rely solely on fear to dominate a region, let alone the Moon Clan Resistance being an external force. To achieve control and emancipate productive forces, they must engage in some form of cooperation with local native forces."
"Of course, it’s also possible that Laxi didn’t think things through too much; he might simply be referencing the Burning Corps’ approach in Jinjaron Harbor."
Back when the Burning Corps took over Jinjaron Harbor, it was similar.
Other than imprisoning a few war criminals like Nihark, Brother Fang Chang and the others didn’t take anything from the other local residents, whether noble or civilian.
Although quite a few old aristocrats were abandoned by the times due to their inability to adapt to the new era, the entire process of class mobility took place in a relatively gentle state, at least not provoking a large-scale backlash from conservative forces.
On this basis, Laxi made some improvements, especially regarding the issue of land.
After all, the Alliance does not rely on land to make money, nor does Jinjaron Harbor, but since Mammoth State’s economy is mainly agricultural with zero industrial foundation, their focus can only be on land and population.
After a pause, Si Si continued thoughtfully.
"Besides winning people’s hearts, I suspect he also hopes that those old aristocrats will take the money to invest in industry. Even if they hire people to build some houses in Mammoth City, it would still help Mammoth State’s economy..."
"However, those old aristocrats clearly don’t all have faith in him. Some may indeed have invested in industries, but it’s obvious that some are just thinking about how to convert their Mammoth coins or bulk commodities into silver coins and cash out to leave."
Seeing Si Si and the companion next to her communicating in a language he couldn’t understand, those soldiers gave Mogavi murderous looks, making him feel incredibly uneasy, as if the chair beneath him were on fire.
Of course, he wasn’t worried about a few soldiers reporting him.
Not to mention he was from Silver Moon Bay and inherently enjoyed some "immunity" there.
His ability to engage in such shadowy business clearly indicated that he had his own backing locally.
The most crucial point was that the authorities hadn’t established related laws to forbid what he was doing, right?
Even if it was indeed unethical.
"Ahem... I have something to do, I’ll leave first. If you’re interested in the market here, we can talk alone next time." Mogavi quickly finished his meal, dropped his chopsticks, gave a sly wink to Si Si sitting at the next table, and then got up to leave.
As she watched that figure disappear at the door, a female soldier sitting at the table couldn’t help but curse softly.
"These parasites..."
Mammoth State’s foreign exchange was all earned by those overseas workers one brick at a time, yet those scoundrels always tried to take the little money they had in their pockets.
Bella glanced at the girl, who immediately realized she shouldn’t have spoken carelessly and quickly shut her mouth.
But the person sitting beside them, Tail, heard her mutter and nodded in agreement.
"Exactly, exactly, Tail thinks so too... Even stealing poor people’s money, that’s utterly unscrupulous!"
Bella stayed silent for a moment, gaze complicated as she looked at the door, finally sighing.
"Although that’s true, we still need these people... Relying on ourselves alone, surviving might prove difficult."
Meat Meat looked at her, puzzled.
"Can’t we just let the good people in and drive the bad ones out?"
Bella shook her head.
"Lord Laxi said, Mammoth State is like an old, moldy house. We can’t just move in and leave it be; we need to not only clean it but also find a way to open a window for ventilation. Inevitably, some flies and mosquitoes will come in, but that can’t stop us from opening the window for fear of flies crawling or mosquito bites."
Startled, Tail widened his eyes and murmured softly in the "secret slang" used in Shelter No. 404.
"I giao... is that really something that Laxi could say?"
Si Si also showed a surprised expression on her face, feeling this wasn’t something that bandit-like guy could say.
Gathering herself, she cautiously suggested.
"Actually... what your Mr. Laxi said isn’t wrong. But why not install a screen on the window?"
Bella was startled.
"...Install a screen?"
Si Si nodded, continuing.
"Even within the Alliance, we don’t have no regulation over silver coins, and even now, we’re continually improving our legislation. As you’re just starting, I wouldn’t recommend copying our methods outright, but you could consider establishing a central bank to formulate monetary policies, guiding funds towards the areas society needs rather than relying on merchants’ consciences, as they do not have any concept of conscience."
When Mogavi was at Potato Harbor, he wouldn’t dare engage in money laundering, as a single penalty would bankrupt him.
The guy wasn’t really a bad person, he had done some good deeds, but he was simply greedy.
Bella hesitantly looked at Si Si.
"But... Mr. Lister is quite nice, we all have a good impression of him."
When she said this, she suddenly seemed to think of something and added softly.
"Ah, and of course, you guys... we also think you’re good people, not like that guy, always trying to exploit us."
Hearing this naive statement, Si Si couldn’t help but palm her face, saying helplessly.
"He was trained by our Manager, and... with his asset scale and status, he doesn’t need to take risks. For someone else, it could be a different story."
For instance, Mosquito Brother.
That guy, to make a move, might not even focus on making money to a certain extent.
Although this dude isn’t bad, who knows if he might accidentally do something bad.
Considering this seemed to make some sense, Bella’s expression gradually became serious, looking at her sincerely and saying.
"I see... thank you for your advice, I’ll do my best to report it to my superiors."
Seeing her full of humility and eagerness to learn, Si Si couldn’t help but smile softly, taking the opportunity to propose the idea she had been pondering for a long time.
"We happen to be planning on expanding the banking operations of the White Bear Knights here, maybe we could provide some reference suggestions for you then."
Bella’s eyes lit up, looking at her excitedly, almost standing up from the table.
"Really? Thank you so much!"
The look in her eyes was really too familiar.
It was exactly like the eyes of those Waste Land Wanderers looking up to the Pioneer back when it first arrived in the outskirts of Qingquan City.
Si Si felt a lot of emotions for a moment, looking at her and continuing.
"It’s true... but before that, I’d like to learn more about the local situation. If possible, could you take us on a tour of the districts where the locals live nearby?"
Hearing this request, a trace of hesitation appeared on Bella’s face, but she eventually nodded.
"No problem... although there isn’t much to see there, you might be disappointed."