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Published at 19th of May 2023 06:00:57 AM


Chapter 2

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Lucius, male, 26 years old, his parents divorced when he was young, and he grew up with his grandfather when he was young.

In the second year after he was admitted to the university, his grandfather passed away, and he became a loner.

Fortunately, I was born in a peaceful era, so I finished my studies while working and studying, and found a job in sales after graduation. Because of his excellent work performance, he was appreciated by his boss, and he was promoted from a newcomer to a supervisor not long after.

He survived the hardest days, and when Lucius optimistically thought that he could finally live a few days of ease, God just didn't play his cards according to the routine. And this time, fate played a big joke with him.

About five months ago.

Lucius still remembers that when he was negotiating a contract of 120,000 dollars with a client, the boss happened to be having a good time, so he organized a little party for all workers in order to celebrate and there was a bit too much drinking on the wine table, so he fell down inadvertently.

When he came back to his senses, he was already lying in the wilderness. Moreover, this is no ordinary wilderness. After walking for two miles in a row, he didn't see a single figure. Instead, he was almost bitten by a big dog with two heads.

Thanks also to that two-headed animal. Lucius was in a cold sweat when he was nervous, but as the sweat drained from his body, the effects of the alcohol and dizziness subsided, causing him to wake up from his daydream, then he turn around, and ran away with hesitation. Perhaps it was because the two heads were too heavy, and the running was uncoordinated. The dog chased him for a while but failed to catch up, and gave up after two wailings.

Not seeing the beast, Lucius didn't dare to go back, and he didn't know where to go. Only then did he realize that his wallet and mobile phone were gone, and even his clothes had been changed into a blue coat he picked up from nowhere.

I found a small puddle and looked down under the moonlight. My good guy, not only did I change my outfit, but I even changed my head! I don't know which guy with the wrong brain fainted himself, and even changed his face, and threw him in this ghostly place with nowhere in front of the village or behind the store.

Just as Lucius was wandering in the wilderness, the smoke from the kitchen in the distance attracted his attention. Looking back now, Lucius was still a little scared.

At that time, he was only thinking about calling the police and ran towards the wisp of smoke recklessly. Thinking about it afterward, it was fortunate that he encountered a serious survivor settlement. If it were those murderous predators, or cannibals, mutant tribes, etc., I am afraid that others are already stewing in the pot.

After contacting the survivors living here, Lucius learned from fragmentary clues that this place is no longer on the earth he is familiar with!

In this parallel world, the war two hundred years ago destroyed all achievements of civilization, leaving only a devastated wasteland and survivors lingering on the wasteland. And now, it's 2340. It is also the 211th year since the beginning of 2129, when human civilization entered the Wasteland Era!

Stupid.

Shock.

Unspeakable horror.

Fortunately, Lucius's ability to accept is quite strong. After the initial days, he gradually began to adapt to life here. Living in the wasteland for five months, he ate every meal and had to fight wits and wits with mutant creatures and predators with malicious intentions. Just when Lucius thought pessimistically that this was the end of his life, everything turned around a few hours ago.

In the wreckage of an abandoned nursing home, he found the entrance to 'Shelter No.404'. To be precise, it was not Lucius who found it, but this facility named 'Shelter No.404' who found Lucius. The voice from his mind guided him to come here. And when Lucius approached the sanatorium, he suddenly discovered that this was the place where he had just woken up in this world!

If I hadn't been running around, or if the sky had been a little brighter, I might have found this place already! In any case, the 'Plug-in', which was five months late, finally arrived. At the same time, a brand new job was also placed in front of him. This refuge seems to have been prepared for him, and it has been waiting for a long time.

From the moment he stepped into the gate of the shelter, his identity changed from a scavenger to the only resident and manager of 'Shelter No.404'. And his job is just one thing. That is to use the Internet on the earth to guide—or fool a group of creatures called 'Players' to come to this world to work for him.

Yes, the black technology in this shelter can not only connect to the Internet of the parallel world Earth but even has its own 'Official Website! Players who pre-order the game will automatically get a number and register it in the 【 Refuge Resident Directory 】of the manager system. As a manager, Lucius can choose a specific number to issue 'Game qualifications'. The system will send the game helmet to the player's hands in a special way. Players only need to put on the helmet to connect with the training cabin in the shelter and wake up as a clone.

Very personal.

Also very convenient!

Although there would be no punishment for going on strike, Lucius could not refuse the reward for completing the task. Like that body armor. After five months of struggling to survive in the wasteland, he knew too well how important such a life-saving thing was. In addition, the points rewarded by the task are also good things, which can be exchanged for a reward called 'Blind Box' on the【 Manager Allowance 】 page. You need 1 reward point to buy a 'Primary Blind Box', 10 points for an 'Intermediate Blind Box', and 100 points for an 'Advanced Blind Box'.

According to the explanation of the【 Manager Allowance 】function of the 'Shelter No.404 Manager System,' the types and quantities of things drawn by the blind box are variable, but there will be a little bit, that is to say, there is no such thing as 'thank you for your patronage.' Different levels of blind boxes determine the guaranteed rewards.

For example, the primary blind box can also dispense food and supplies at the last time, the intermediate blind box can obtain medicines at a minimum, and the advanced blind box can dispense weapons. As for whether the primary blind box can issue prizes for the intermediate blind box, it is not mentioned in the system description, but even if there is, the probability is estimated to be low.

Just when Lucius was thinking about whether to use all the 5 points in his hand to open the primary blind box or to save up to 100 points to use a weapon, the wastebasket squatting in the corner spoke again.

"Master, the new task has been updated on your manager's log, please check it in time."

"Understood," Lucius replied impatiently.

Shit, Who is the master! This little guy is really too much, Rolling his eyes towards the corner, Lucius put aside the matter of drawing the blind box for the time being, and thought about the manager system silently.

Soon, a light blue holographic screen was projected on his retina.

——Administrator Log——

【 Task: The activation conditions for Shelter 404 have been met, and the delivery of the first batch of 'Containers' is confirmed, and at least one player is required to log in to the game.】

【 Type: Mainline. 】

【 Reward: Active Matter Extractor. 】

【 Task: Prepare a generator with a power greater than 10kw.】

【 Type: Branch. 】

【 Reward: Reward point +100. 】

WHAT!!! 100 bonus points? After reading the task updated in the manager's log, Lucius's eyes straightened. Even though 100 points is really quite tempting, but what he cared more about was the reward for the first main task.

"Active substance extractor...what the hell is this thing for?" Just as Lucius asked the question.

Popo who is standing behind him replied obediently, "Active substances are the raw materials for making clones. As for how to use them, there should be instructions or something like that?"

As an AI assistant who just woke up, Popo actually doesn't know much information.

At present, Lucius's authority can only reach the B1 floor of the shelter, and the authority of other floors needs to be unlocked through the main task. By the way, if you forcibly destroy the wall structure of the shelter and try to illegally invade other floors, the power facilities and air exchange facilities of the shelter will be interrupted.

When he first entered the shelter, the 'Shelter System' loaded into his brain had already informed him. But even without this reminder, Lucius felt that he probably wouldn't be able to do the stupid thing of tearing down his own house.

What a joke. After demolishing this place, where will he live in the future? Moreover, it may not be so easy to dismantle this kind of shelter that "integrates the Mahayana of pre-war technology and is designed to withstand strategic nuclear strikes". Let alone nuclear bombs, he doesn't even have a gun.

"Okay, I understand."

So In other words, active substances are similar to 'Resurrection Coins', which are resources that players need to consume to resynthesize clones. At present, there are 100 training cabins stored on the B1 floor, all of which are in an activatable state. Presumably, there should be 1 unit of active substance built into it, which can supply the consumption of the initial synthesis of clones.

According to the setting of the system 'one machine, one number', Lucius can now summon up to 100 'Players' to come to this world in the form of clones. Of course, Lucius knew in his heart that things were not as simple as they seemed.

First of all, the official website of 'Wasteland OL' has no traffic. After the vast majority of people hear the propaganda of '100% Real Immersive Virtual Reality Games', their first reaction is either This is a lie or a fraud. After all, this kind of technology does not exist in reality, and even the self-media cannot make up such nonsense.

Secondly, even if 11 players were coaxed and tricked into making an appointment by him, he couldn't be sure that all 11 players would listen to him. The initiative to enter and log out of the game is in the hands of the players themselves. And my own power can only 'Force Kick Out', 'Ban Login Permissions', and 'Confuse Game Qualifications' for troublesome players, but it cannot force them to wear helmets and go online to work for themselves.

Therefore, the candidates for issuing game qualifications—especially the candidates for the first batch of 'Closed Beta' players must be cautious. It would be better to have less than mess up. Otherwise, you will be asking for trouble for yourself!

Then, and most importantly. The conditions on the wasteland side have also been determined. At this time, the more people the better. One more person means one more mouth. He is as poor as a ghost now, and he can barely support himself, let alone a hundred more mouths. Even if he has the conditions now, if he opens up all the one hundred training cabins, he will also give rations to the aliens and predators. Other than that, it doesn't make any sense.

Lucius returned to the computer and sat down again.

After calmly thinking about the screen for a long time, his thoughts gradually became clear.

After re-boarding his 'Penguin App', Lucius then opened the game group called 'Cowboy Club' and created a discussion group for the group owner and the three managers. Then, pick words in the group.

[ When you reserve the game, send me the refreshed number on the official website. ]

[ There are only four beta test qualifications, so I will apply to the company to see if I can send you the beta test qualifications and game helmets directly. ]

They are all teammates who used to chat with him for some time, so it doesn't seem obtrusive to take care of them.

The most important thing is that Lucius can't think of which acquaintances he can rely on in reality, and the only ones he can rely on are those netizens who have never met him in reality but have a little friendship.

Relative? After Grandpa left, he didn't move around for many years. If the police hadn't notified him, he might not have known that he was gone.

Landlord? At this moment, I'm afraid that the whole world is looking for me to ask for rent.

Classmate? I haven't been in touch since graduation.

Colleague? Ha ha. Probably feeling unlucky, Lucius found out that they had already deleted him. Besides, even if they didn't delete it, it was impossible for Lucius to send them a message, after all, he was resting at the wine table. And a dead person sending a message to a living person is scary enough to think about.

In contrast, these pro-netizens are undoubtedly the best choice. They don't know themselves in reality, even if they haven't been online for five months, they won't think too much about that.

Badass Bunny: [ Big bro is awesome! ]

8th Level Gale: [ Yesh, I can't wait to play it! ]

Tomorrow Seeker: [ Me too! ]

Get Up Ten Times A Night: [ Sure! Brother is invincible! Waiting for your gaming helmet! (。^‿^。) ]

Lucius continued typing instructions.

[ However, I have to make a statement. The equipment can only be regarded as loaned to you for use. Don't lose it, let alone dismantle it, or I won't be able to explain it to the company. ]

[ In addition, the device will be bound to the user's identity information. In principle, a device can only be registered with one account, and can only be used by one person. ]

In fact, he said it was an order, but he wasn't worried that the players would not follow it. According to the system, the helmet will identify the player's identity information, and non-players can't use it at all. As for the equipment, he doesn't worry about that. Since the system can send the helmet to the player, there must be a way to solve the problem of 'after-sales service', which is not what he needs to care about.

Get Up Ten Times A Night: [ Is there a fee? ]

Light: [ There is no fee for the beta testing stage, but because of the tight budget, there is no salary either. ]

Tomorrow Seeker: [ 6666, I sent you my number privately, send me a copy. ]

Badass Bunny: [ Hahaha, Bro you are really incredible, give me one copy too, if you really mean fully immersive virtual reality, I'll live broadcast handstand diarrhea! ヘ( ^o^)ノ ]

8th Level Gale: [ Haha, we also support a wave. ]

Get Up Ten Times A Night: [ ( ლ⁠(⁠^⁠o⁠^⁠ლ⁠) ]

Although these four gamer brothers obviously don't believe what he said, let alone that there is such a fully immersive virtual reality game in this world, they still put their numbers together with the mentality of 'Playing with him'. Sent over.

It's just a number generated by the official website. It is not a bank card number and password. Besides, they are also very curious, about what kind of medicine is sold in this guy's gourd...

After receiving the number, Lucius did not hesitate and immediately called out the manager system, found the 【 Refuge Resident List 】, and checked 'Issuing Game Qualification' after the four numbers.

It takes three days to synthesize clones in the culture cabin. During these three days, the system will use special means to deliver the game helmet to the player... You don't even need to fill in the delivery address.

As for the specific means used, whether it will attract the attention of modern society, or whether it is involved in illegal operations, Lucius is too lazy to worry about these troublesome issues. He really hoped that more people would pay attention to his official website, and it would be best if it could cause a sensation. This way he has more options.

"Master, haven't 11 players already made reservations on our official website? Why do you only give out 4 places?"

Perhaps because he noticed the activated training cabin in the next room, Popo, who was squatting in the corner, expressed doubts.

"Because I don't need that much for the time being," Lucius said casually and turn off the 【 Refuge Resident Directory 】.

Lucius then opened the 【 Management Sub-Subsidy 】 page in the system, and spent all five reward points on the 'Primary Blind Box'.

It doesn't make sense to save up to buy high-end blind boxes. The reward for task 2 is directly 100 points, not less than these 5 points.

Fluorescence flickered on the light blue holographic screen, and the wall on one side of the room vibrated slightly again. With a light click, the alloy door of the "export" opened. Looking at the things lying on the platform, Lucius was slightly taken aback.

"This... is the blind box?"

Popo replied.

"Probably."

Lucius settled down and said, "I thought the prizes would at least come in boxes."

Popo tried to explain, "Maybe the blind box is just a setting?"

But what's the point of a blind box that doesn't need to be unpacked? Why not just call it a lottery? Staring at the reward in front of the conveyor belt, Lucius was silent for a while.

"I understand the truth. But why did I exchange five, but only four came up?"





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