Chapter 21: Rewarding Players with Players' Resources
"We got it! We got it!"
"They kill people without looting the bodies?"
"This merchant caravan storyline is giving us free loot!"
After losing two mutant hyenas, the three happily collected 4 raider corpses.
Looking at the gradually departing merchant caravan, as if looking at a charity organization,
Lin Tang sighed: "I really shouldn't have had thoughts of getting things for free. This caravan is even more benevolent than those on Twitter."
"Let's go! We're done here, hurry back home to open the loot!"
Before leaving, African Thin Dog took a glance at the raiders' camp. There were probably less than 20 raiders inside, among which 3 raiders' height and skin color were very different from the others.
They looked very strong.
"There are elite monsters in the camp, not easy to fight. Let's wait for them to come out and scatter, then we'll take them down one by one."
"Let's go home first, we've already gained a lot from this trip."
The 3 people dragged and carried the 4 raider corpses back to the Disaster Base step by step.
On the way, they encountered a mutant blood deer, but when they charged towards it, it ran away immediately, its four legs moving incredibly fast.
Only then did the three realize that without ranged weapons, it would be difficult to capture such agile mutant creatures.
A journey that usually took only half an hour took them a full hour and a half.
"Phew~~~ We finally made it."
"The stamina system in this game is too realistic, I feel like I'm actually moving things myself."
Lin Tang: "But it's good that the game reduced the pain and fatigue values, I feel it's only about 10%, enough to give a sense of experience without negatively affecting the body. Just right, thumbs up to the game designers."
African Thin Dog: "True dat. Otherwise, I'd just want to lie down right now."
Ghost Face Fox carried a box full of broken electronic items to Cheng Shaofeng.
"Lord Commander, can these types of electronic components be used?"
The voice calling him pulled Cheng Shaofeng back from his electronic surfing.
He looked closely and saw a large box filled to the brim placed in front of him.
He called out in his mind: "Zero, scan this box and see how many electronic components it's worth."
The scan was completed in seconds.
Zero: "Master, if placed in the [Clone Production Warehouse], 5 sets of electronic components can be extracted."
Good grief!
These players managed to get so many resources right off the bat?
Cheng Shaofeng was extremely surprised. Theoretically, resources in the wasteland were very scarce. He thought this task would keep the players busy for a few days, but before the first day was even half over, the players had already collected 3 sets of biological materials and 5 sets of electronic components.
It was far beyond his expectations!
'Indeed, many hands make light work. The next batch of players needs to enter the game soon.'
Looking at Ghost Face Fox's expectant face, Cheng Shaofeng cleared his throat.
"Ahem! Soldiers! You've done very well! You've obtained 5 sets of electronic components, which can be used as raw materials to create 5 clones for the base. Because you've turned in 2 extra electronic components beyond the mission requirements, making an outstanding contribution to summoning new soldiers in the base's early stages, you'll receive an extra reward."
Cheng Shaofeng's gaze shifted, landing on a large bag of beans he had brought back from Salt Well Town.
"As an extra reward, each of you will receive 2 jin of beans."
Ghost Face Fox raised his left hand to his chest in a military salute.
"It's my honor to serve you and the base, sir!"
Cheng Shaofeng: "..."
"Go on, soldier. You're just one energy source away from completing the mission. New challenges await you ahead!"
"I obey your orders!"
Ghost Face Fox earnestly turned and walked back to his teammates with the beans.
African Thin Dog and Lin Tang: (;д)
"Thin Dog bro, I remember yesterday there was someone among us three who said they wouldn't suck up to NPCs and couldn't lower their face to do so. I forgot who it was, can you remind me?"
African Thin Dog pursed his lips: "It wasn't me for sure."
Lin Tang: "It wasn't me either. Hey! Fox bro, can you tell us who it was?"
The usually calm Ghost Face Fox's face turned slightly red.
"Who's sucking up? Can things in the game be called sucking up? This is strategic flattery, yes! That's what it is!"
Then, he started talking about things like favorability, information volume, and role-playing that the others couldn't understand, making African Thin Dog and Lin Tang laugh heartily. The Disaster Base was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
After laughing at Ghost Face Fox,
African Thin Dog quickly asked: "How many electronic components did we get? Is it enough for 3 sets?"
Ghost Face Fox's lips curled into a smile, and he snapped his fingers with his left hand.
"I admit there was an element of gambling, but I won! That box of scrap had a full 5 sets of electronic components! Not only can we complete the mission, but the NPC also rewarded us with 6 jin of beans to eat. Don't tell me, I'm actually hungry now."
"I'm hungry too. Let's boil some water to cook the beans."
"Eh? This extra reward came just in time. The NPC is quite intelligent, seeing that we had nothing to eat and giving us a reward. How nice of them."
The three already found it reasonable for the base to sell food to soldiers.
Meanwhile, Cheng Shaofeng also breathed a sigh of relief.
6 jin of beans only cost 7.2 yuan to buy in Salt Well Town, and the extra 2 electronic components could be exchanged for at least 30 yuan.
"However, for such fragmented electronic components, the merchant caravans from Wanxiang City would probably only give junk collection prices. This whole box would get at most 30 yuan, not even enough to buy one mutant hyena... Giving them 6 jin of beans is already quite generous of me."
At this point, Cheng Shaofeng once again realized a problem.
He had too few rewards to give to the players.
Merit points were a temporary strategy and couldn't be given indefinitely. Without corresponding functions for merit points, players would lose motivation to do missions if they didn't receive positive feedback for a long time.
He recalled the few uses for merit points that Lin Tang had mentioned the other day, and some calculations formed in his mind.
"I can first use merit point missions to exchange for resources from the players' hands, then use those resources to purchase goods from Salt Well Town, and finally take out a portion of the goods as rewards for the players."
He had already noticed that the players all spoke Chinese and knew nothing about the language of this world, making it difficult for them to trade with people here. He could fully assume the role of the base merchant, buying low and selling high, using the players' money to buy new resources and then reward them to the players.
"This way, the more resources the players produce, the wealthier I become!"
Isn't this much safer than scavenging?
With the plan set, Cheng Shaofeng picked up a box of electronic components, preparing to pour them into the [Clone Production Warehouse] for extraction.
He asked in his mind: "Zero, I actually have a question... Our base's nanotechnology is so advanced, why do we still need to collect electronic components to make clones? Can't I just get some raw materials like zinc, iron, nickel, and let the nanomachines make the electronic components themselves?"
Zero: "Master, our base's technology can indeed manufacture electronic components, but... Currently, the base lacks sufficient power. Many high-precision nanomachines are still in hibernation and need increased base power to gradually unlock new robot functions. When you unlock nanomachines capable of independently manufacturing electronic components, you'll be able to create electronic chips with different functions for the players' clones, providing more initial attributes for the clones."
"Tsk~ So does that mean they can break free from the constraints of the flesh and directly ascend to mechanical beings?"
Zero: "Uh, that would depend on your future branch choices, Master. More base information will be available when your energy increases."
"Alright."
Cheng Shaofeng poured the box of electronic waste into the [Clone Production Warehouse].
His eyes suddenly caught a silicone product among them. He grabbed it out and pressed a certain part, emitting a sound that would make one die of embarrassment.
"Mmm~ mmm~ ah~ ah!"
It was like when a certain dog-like group member deliberately sends a normal video to lull the group into a false sense of security, but the background sound is that kind of sultry noise from those films, making group members instantly die of embarrassment in public!
The three bean-eating players looked over curiously.
But Cheng Shaofeng didn't die of embarrassment. Instead, he furrowed his brows.
"This belongs to Wu Jie."
More to come...
(End of Chapter)