Chapter 53: Tool Players Online
Players that had reached level 1 but had yet to complete their advancement could use the newly built spawn point to teleport to Desolate Outpost, so in the wee hours of the morning during peak online activity, Exile Town became much more lively as compared to the last few days.
It wasn't just all-night monster hunting parties; even the regular manual laboring bunch took a break from their usual routine to explore the "new map."
Of course, as with any group, among the players, there were always those that didn't like to follow the crowd, didn't care for official events, and played the game on their own terms.
Ou Huang, real name Lin Rulong, was one such player.
After being the first to successfully complete the mage job advancement, Ou Huang generously shared his experience with fellow acquaintances that had been grinding Lord Yang's reputation alongside him. He even posted an experience guide on the forum, but that didn't mean he would team up with other players.
When the large-scale dynamic quest was triggered by Ji Tang, Ou Huang simply ignored those who wanted to form a team with him and focused on grinding his reputation… with a lifestyle class mentor.
That's right. Ou Huang was more of a casual player and cherished his freedom above all else.
When he got stuck during the job advancement, he went offline for two days without a care. Even when the halo of being the player with the highest Potential was snatched away by Ji Tang, Ou Huang wasn't the least bit bothered.
Large-scale dynamic quests, first clears in new maps—such things didn't interest him.
He only wanted to play his own way, indulging in his own entertainment. He had no interest in team activities; that was Ou Huang's gaming mentality.
At 3 A.M. October 21 Earth time, 5 P.M. in-game time, Ou Huang remained logged in, alone at Butcher Manan's site, silently going about manual labor.
As long as quest tools weren't taken outside the quest area, players didn't have to rush to submit the quest before the advanced NPCs "knocked off." The accumulated work hours could be settled after the advanced NPCs "clocked in." This hidden setting had been discovered by players some time ago.
Ou Huang was someone with a rather systematic approach, and he wasn't the type to do a few quests before switching to something else. Grinding reputation with Butcher Manan had also been largely ignored by everyone, while Ou Huang was interested in seeing how Manan's worksite would end up. Moreover, these sorts of tasks that could be done on his own were always his favorite.
"The wall looks about right." Ou Huang finished arranging the bricks and admired his handiwork with satisfaction.
Unlike traditional games, the lifestyle classes in this game could be pursued as full-time careers. There were players that genuinely disliked combat and only found joy in playing with lifestyle classes.
For instance, the most popular lifestyle classes amongst casual players were the apothecary and master gatherer. The workshops of these two lifestyle classes even allocated a portion of their facilities to advanced players, offering class ratings and a collection of crafted products which ensured that these casual players who focused solely on lifestyle classes earned no less than their monster-hunting counterparts.
The skills of the butcher class were somewhat similar to those of the master gatherer, though the former's skills had a more limited application compared to the wider range of skills possessed by the master gatherer. Materials obtainable through butcher skills weren't as comprehensive as the ones that a master gatherer could gather.
This was the main reason why the butcher lifestyle class wasn't popular. But for Ou Huang, it was just right. He would be even happier if he got the opportunity to monopolize this lifestyle class.
"If it's for my workstation, I'll choose the spot in the back. It's quiet and others can't disturb me. The backdoor is near too, so I won't need to use the main entrance to come and go."
After inspecting the walls he had built, Ou Huang began assembling the door frame. It was a simple alloy door frame that could be easily assembled, much like the furniture one would buy online. Even a middle school student alone could complete it with the help of the blueprint.
Game characters never got tired, and if one got used to it, the manual labor tasks in the game were just like playing with large building blocks. After all, anyone who had completed high school could read blueprints, and there were ready-made building materials and tools to assist.
Most educated Chinese people would probably be able to build a small hut if they put their heart into it.
Ou Huang was happily planning his personal space when he suddenly noticed a couple of figures appearing on the street.
"Don't tell me there are others looking to play the butcher class?" Ou Huang paused what he was doing to observe.
While other players hoped for more people to grind the same NPC's reputation to reduce the difficulty of manual labor quests, Ou Huang was the opposite. He didn't welcome anyone disturbing his moments of solitude.
Fortunately, the few on the street didn't head toward the Butcher's site; instead, they stood across the street, engaged in conversation with a zombie NPC.
"Oh, it's a quest." Ou Huang relaxed when he saw this.
It was known that zombie NPCs were different from human NPCs; they didn't roam around but stayed in one place, waiting for players to come and interact with them. When a zombie NPC moved, it usually meant there was a quest available.
When most players saw someone triggering a hidden quest, they would definitely gather around to watch and try to join in. However, Ou Huang was different. He had no interest in how others played the game. As long as others were just doing his quests and not trying to take his spot, he would be at ease and happily continue with his own activities.
As the in-game time reached 8 A.M., advanced NPC Manan emerged from his tent "to start work." Ou Huang, who had been online for almost ten hours, was already starving. After submitting his quest, he prepared to log out and have breakfast.
He left Manan's side and noticed that there were some building materials and several piles of steel plates that seemed like the sort used to make shipping containers… on the vacant lot across the street. Three players stood amid the steel plates, gesturing and apparently discussing something.
It appeared that this bunch had triggered a manual labor quest as well, but that wasn't the main point—what really stood out was that two of the three were unadorned skeletons with unfamiliar names in green above their heads.
New players!
Ou Huang stopped in his tracks and took measure of the trio.
There was one veteran player in slightly worn beginner gear, with the standard steel-plated leather armor and a steel-bladed knife on his waist. This player's ID was "Clear Skies." Ou Huang recognized this ID and was certain this guy definitely wasn't a "nepo"—Clear Skies was well known for being active on the forum, posting a lot, and having a strong desire to show off. However, Clear Skies had never once boasted of knowing anyone from the official game development team. Someone who liked boasting definitely wouldn't keep his connections a secret if he had any.
Ou Huang looked at the two newcomers skeptically.
These two bare skeletons, not even equipped with the set of beginner gear, had the IDs "Master Liu" and "Old Geng." Their IDs alone gave off the casual vibe of a middle-aged man.
Are these two "nepos"?! A thought crept into Ou Huang's mind.
Players knew better than anyone else just how questionable the game development team was. The game devs had announced the release of new accounts some days ago, but in the end, the "nepo" Ji Tang had already done a job advancement while new accounts were still nowhere to be seen.
Amid their fervent discussion, the two newcomers noticed Ou Huang standing on the street staring in their direction. The newcomer, Master Liu, asked Clear Skies, "Xiao Zhong, a friend of yours?"
"Not exactly, but we know each other," Clear Skies replied. "Morning, Boss Ou Huang. Going to log out?"
"Yes." Ou Huang nodded and took the opportunity to inquire, "What are you guys doing? A new manual labor quest?"
"Um… kinda." Clear Skies scratched his head. "Master Liu has a quest to build a restaurant here."
"R-restaurant?!" Ou Huang exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes," Clear Skies, the young man with an unfiltered mouth, blurted out everything. "My dad's workplace obtained a batch of accounts that are different from us ordinary players. They are supposed to play as semi-NPCs in the game or something like that. My dad asked me to help Prof. Liu and Uncle Geng get used to how the game is played."
"…" Ou Huang stood rooted on the spot, utterly dumbfounded.
"…" The casual conversation between Master Liu and Old Geng on where to build the kitchen came to an awkward halt as they stared at the young Clear Skies.
"Ahhh!" Clear Skies finally realized his mistake and began sweating profusely. "F*ck! This isn't something I can say! Boss Ou Huang, please pretend you didn't hear, okay?"
Ou Huang: "…"
"Little brat, can't you just shut up for once?" Old Geng muttered exasperatedly.
Master Liu's voice had a slight hoarseness, but Old Geng's voice was the standard middle-aged man's voice, which was clearly different from ordinary players…
While the advanced NPCs of Exile Town woke up for work, over a hundred kilometers away at Desolate Outpost, the commoners who had spent the night sleeping soundly, protected by Yang Qiu's soundproofing magic array, were also starting to get up.
The world's factory, China, had abundant experience when it came to disaster relief. Thus, tents and sleeping bags were provided to Yang Qiu at no cost.
The items were directly gotten from the Southwest Military Region's logistics department. For the Camore commoners, these were rare and precious items. After they crawled out of their sleeping bags, each and every one of them clung to their own sleeping bags, reluctant to let go…
In a tent shared by eight people, a middle-aged man with graying hair and a face full of wrinkles propped himself on his elbows as he awkwardly crawled out of his sleeping bag. He then carefully rolled up the sleeping bag, treating it like a precious treasure, and tied it securely with the attached rope.
This man's name was Collins Carter, a 42-year-old cotton farmer who had worked on a plantation for over 20 years until he lost his ability to work when he fell and broke his leg while repairing the warehouse roof. As a result, he was sent back to his home in Camore's civilian district, where he had to fend for himself.
Collins' wife had already passed, but he did have a family. He had two married sons: one who worked on the plantation, while the other at the weaver union. His two daughters-in-law were skilled textile workers too. In theory, it shouldn't have been too difficult for the Carter family to support Collins, who had worked for the family for over 20 years.
Unfortunately, his sons already had families of their own.
Given their limited family income, it wasn't difficult to make a choice between prioritizing the next generation or taking care of the previous, who had lost his ability to work and become a burden on the family.
Moreover, Collins had spent most of his life on the plantation and was largely invisible when his sons were growing up.
When they didn't have a choice, they could tolerate supporting him with two meals a day and ensuring he didn't starve at home. However, with a choice at hand, it was only natural to cast off the burden of someone who could no longer contribute.
In the days following the departure from Camore with a group of equally hopeless companions, Collins felt desperate and helpless, and contemplated dying countless times.
However, he couldn't even make the choice to end his life because he never received treatment for his injured leg, rendering him unable to walk like a normal person. Prolonged malnutrition weakened his body, making it difficult for him to crawl even ten meters using his hands.
Furthermore… Collins didn't truly want to die. Who would willingly choose death if they had the choice?
Even though the black mage very likely wouldn't take care of them for too long, Collins hoped to have more meals and breathe more moments.
This despair of counting meals and awaiting death was swept away last night when the Camore commoners were issued with sleeping bags made of smooth and soft fabric and filled with materials even lighter and warmer than cotton.
Collins had experienced just how cold the nights in the wilderness could be.
The fact that the black mage and his undead were willing to provide them with sleeping bags more comfortable than the beds they had at home proved that, at least for the short term, they wouldn't die.
Who would give such good things to dying people!
Collins rolled up his sleeping bag, brushed off the dust, and then heard someone shouting outside the tent, "Everyone who can move, come out!"
Those in their eight-man tent that could move immediately sprang into action.
Collins hesitated, unsure if he should crawl out…
Seeing the situation, a lady with an ugly birthmark on her face turned back and helped support Collins. "Uncle Carter, let me help you."
"Thank you so much, Mia. I owe you everything for this journey," Collins expressed his gratitude.
Mia smiled and placed Collins' arm over her shoulder, half-carrying him out of the tent.
Mia's family and Collins' family were neighbors, so even though Collins could only return home a few times a year due to his work at the plantation, he knew Mia.
The reason was simple. Mia had a large birthmark on her face since birth, which, in their district, meant she was deemed unfit for marriage. Although she was hardworking and able to help her mother with weaving since the age of six, in the eyes of the underprivileged women of Camore where weaving was merely a basic survival skill, regardless of how hardworking and capable she was, nothing made up for her repulsively disfigured face.
Just like Collins, who had been abandoned by his family due to his disability, Mia, who at 26 years of age and still couldn't be married off, faced a similar fate.
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