Chapter 53: Tool Player Online
Players who have reached level one, regardless of whether they have completed the job change or not, can teleport to the Desolate Stronghold through a resurrection point with the teleport function enabled (the teleportation cost is approximately equal to the cost of placing a set of rune skills). Therefore, in the early morning when players are online at the peak time, Exile Town is a lot quieter than usual... Not only are there all-night monster-killing groups, but even brick-moving party members have come to see the "new map".
Of course, the characteristic of this group of players is that there are all kinds of people. There are players who don’t like to follow the trend, ignore official activities, and do their own thing at all times. There is no shortage of them in any game.
The player with the ID Ou Yan, real name Lin Rulong, is such an outlier.
After successfully changing his job to a wizard, Ouyang shared his experience without reservation with "acquaintances" who had worked with him to gain Lord Yang's reputation. He also posted an experience thread on the forum, but this does not mean that he will fight with other players.
After Ji Tang activated the large-scale dynamic story mission, Ou Yan ignored the people who came to recruit him to form a team, and just focused on... brushing up his reputation as a life career mentor.
That’s right, Beluga is actually a casual person... and he’s very free-spirited.
He could stay offline for two days because his job transfer was stuck. He didn't care at all that the halo of the person with the most potential was snatched away by Ji Tang, who came later than him. He was even less interested in large-scale dynamic story missions, first kills in new maps...
He only wants to play by himself and is only keen on entertainment projects that can be played by one person. He is not interested in any team activities. This is the gaming mentality of the European sturgeon.
It is 3:00 a.m. on October 21st, Earth time, and 5:00 a.m. in-game time.
The European sturgeon, who had never logged off, was squatting alone on the construction site of the butcher Manan, moving bricks silently.
As long as you don't take the quest items out of the quest area, you don't have to rush to hand in the quest when the high-level NPC is "off work". The hours you earn can also be settled after the high-level NPC is "on duty". Players have discovered this hidden setting a long time ago.
Ouyang is very organized in doing things. He is not the type who wants to switch to other tasks after completing a task for a while. In addition, no one has been improving the reputation of the butcher Manan. It all depends on Ouyang's interest to build Manan's workshop. This kind of thing that can be done by one person has always been Ouyang's favorite.
“That’s pretty much it for the wall.”
After laying the bricks at hand, Beluga admired the fruits of his labor with satisfaction.
The life professions in this game are different from those in traditional games. They can be cultivated as cost professions. If some players really don't like fighting and killing, they can still have fun by only playing the life professions.
For example, the workshops of the pharmacists and gathering masters, which are the most popular among casual players at present, can even allocate a part of their capital to players who have completed their job transfer. They can also provide players with job ratings and recycle players' manufacturing products, so that the income obtained by these casual players who only play life professions is no less than that of players who kill monsters.
The professional skills of the Butcher are a bit similar to those of the Gathering Master, but the application scenarios of the Butcher's skills are not as wide as those of the Gathering Master, and the items and materials that can be obtained through skills are not as comprehensive as those of the Gathering Master. This is the biggest reason why the Butcher's profession is unpopular... But it is just right for Beluga. He would be happier if he could monopolize this profession.
"If I choose my own workbench, I'll choose the one at the back. It's quiet and I won't be disturbed by others. The back door is also here, so I don't have to go through the front door when I go in and out."
After walking around the built wall and confirming the area he wanted to circle, Ou Yan began to assemble the door frame - actually, it was an alloy door frame with screws. The difficulty of assembly was the same as that of furniture purchased online. A middle school student could complete it independently according to the drawings.
The game characters will not get tired, and if you can adapt to it, the brick-moving tasks in the game are indeed similar to playing with large building blocks... After all, anyone who has attended junior high school can understand the blueprints, and there are ready-made building materials and tools to use. Building a small bungalow is really not difficult for the Chinese people who have basically received compulsory education.
When Ouyang was happily planning his own personal venue... he suddenly noticed several figures appearing at the other end of the street.
"Could it be that someone wants to change his job to a butcher?" Ou Yan paused and looked over.
Other players all hope that as many people as possible can improve the reputation of the same NPC to reduce the difficulty of hard work, but Ouyang is just the opposite... He doesn't welcome others to disturb his alone time at all.
Fortunately, these people didn't go to the butcher's site at all, but were standing across the street talking to a zombie NPC.
"It's a mission." Seeing this scene, Ou Yan felt relieved.
You should know that zombie NPCs are different from human NPCs. They will not run around at all. They will just squat in one place and wait for players to come and interact with them.
When the zombie NPC moves, it usually means there is a mission.
If other players see someone activating a hidden task, they will definitely go over to watch the fun and try to blend in... But Ouyang is different. He is not interested in how other players play the game. When he sees that they are just completing tasks and not competing with him for space, he feels relieved and happily plays his own game again...
It was eight o'clock in the morning in the game, and the senior NPC Manan came out of the tent to "go to work". After being online for nearly ten hours in a row, Beluga was already starving. After handing in the task, he prepared to log off and have breakfast.
He came out of Manan's construction site and found... there were some more building materials and several piles of steel plates that looked like container materials on the open space diagonally across the street. Three players were standing among the steel plates, pointing at the ground, gesticulating, and whispering about something.
It seems that these people also triggered the brick-moving type of tasks, but that is not the point - the point is that two of the skeletons are naked, and the green IDs above their heads are also unfamiliar. They are new players!
Ou Yan couldn't help but stop and looked at the three people with sharp eyes.
The only veteran player among the three was wearing a somewhat torn novice outfit, but he was also wearing leather armor inlaid with steel plates, which was standard for veteran players, and had a steel knife stuck on his waist.
The player's ID is Qingkongwanli. Ou Yan has an impression of this ID and can be sure that this guy is definitely not an "uncle party" - because this player who likes to hang out on forums, talks a lot, and has a strong desire to show off has never boasted about "I know someone from the official side".
People who are expressive and talkative cannot keep secrets.
Ou Yan looked at the two newcomers suspiciously.
These two new guys, who are naked and don’t even have two sets of beginner’s uniforms, have an ID called “Master Liu” and another one called “Lao Geng”.
Just by looking at the ID, I can feel the heavy and casual atmosphere of a middle-aged person coming towards me...
"Are these two the uncle's party?" Ou Yan couldn't help but have such a suspicion.
No one knows how bad the crappy planner is better than the players themselves - they said many days ago that new accounts would be released, but it turns out that Ji Tang, who is suspected to be a member of the uncle party, has even achieved a job change, but the crappy planner has not yet released the channel for issuing new accounts.
The two newcomers who were arguing with each other noticed the European sturgeon standing on the street looking over here. The newcomer with the ID "Master Liu" said to "Clear Sky": "Xiao Zhong, your friend?"
"No, but I know him." Qingkong Wanli said, "Good morning, Boss Ouyang, are you going offline?"
"Yes." Ou Yan nodded and asked, "What are you doing? A new brick-moving mission?"
"Uh... sort of." Qingkong Wanli scratched his head and said, "Master Liu has a mission to build a restaurant here."
"——Restaurant?!" The beluga tiger's body trembled.
"Yeah." Qingkong Wanli, a young man who is not very careful with his words, blurted out everything he could and couldn't say. "My dad's company got a group of accounts that are different from ordinary players like us. They want to be half NPCs in the game or something. My dad asked me to help Master Liu and Uncle Geng get used to how to play this game."
"..." Stunned European sturgeon.
"..."Master Liu and Lao Geng, who were standing casually discussing where to build the kitchen, looked stiffly at the young man Qingkongwanli.
“——Ah!” Qingkong Wanli finally reacted, sweat pouring down his face, “Damn it! It seems like this can’t be said! Boss Ouyang, can you just pretend you didn’t hear it?”
European sturgeon: “…”
"You little bastard, just shut up first." Lao Geng said helplessly.
Master Liu's voice is just a little bit of a smoker's voice, but Lao Geng's voice is a standard middle-aged male voice, and it is obvious that he is different from ordinary players...
The senior NPCs in the Exile Town got up to go to work. In the desolate stronghold more than a hundred kilometers away, the civilians who had slept soundly all night under the protection of the soundproofing array preset by Yang Qiu also got up and started moving around.
The Earth Factory China has rich experience in disaster relief. The tents and sleeping bags provided to Yang Qiu free of charge were directly exchanged from the warehouse of the armed logistics department of the Southwest Military Region. They are undoubtedly rare and good items for these civilians; the civilians who crawled out of the sleeping bags were all very fond of their own sleeping bags...
In the tent shared by eight people, a male civilian with gray hair and wrinkled face supported his body with his elbows and climbed out of his sleeping bag clumsily.
Afterwards, the male civilian turned his upper body around, bent his injured leg awkwardly and managed to sit up straight. As if treating something precious, he carefully rolled up the still warm sleeping bag and tied it up with the thin rope that came with the sleeping bag...
Collins Carter, 42 years old, was a cotton farmer who had worked on the plantation for more than 20 years. He broke his leg while repairing the roof of a warehouse and became unable to work. His housekeeper ordered him to return to his home in the civilian area of Camor to fend for himself.
Collins' wife had passed away, but he was not without relatives. One of his two sons worked on a plantation, and the other worked in the Weavers' Union. His two daughters-in-law were also excellent textile workers. It was reasonable to say that it was not a big problem for the Carter family to support Collins, who had worked for the family for more than 20 years...
Unfortunately, his sons also already had children.
Whether limited family income should be used to provide for the next generation first, or to support the older generation who have lost their labor force and become a complete burden on the family, is an easy question to choose.
Not to mention that Collins spent most of his life on the plantation. He was almost transparent during the growth of his sons, and there was no question of any deep family ties... When there was no choice, it would be ok to just hold the nose and give him two meals and not let him starve to death at home. But when there was a choice, it was natural to throw him out as a burden that could no longer bring income to the family.
During the days when Collins left Camor with a group of similar people with bleak future and followed the black magician, he was desperate and helpless, and thought of death countless times.
But he couldn't even choose to "seek death"... because his injured leg had not received any treatment and he couldn't walk like a normal person; long-term malnutrition made his body functions gradually weakened, and it was difficult for him to even crawl ten meters with his own hands.
Plus…Collins really didn’t want to die.
Who would want to die?
Even though the black magician probably wouldn't keep them for too long... Collins hoped to eat every last meal and breathe every last moment.
This feeling of despair, of counting the number of meals before waiting for death, was swept away last night when I was assigned a sleeping bag with smooth and soft fabric, and the lining seemed to be filled with material that was lighter and warmer than cotton.
Collins had experienced firsthand how cold the nights in the wilderness were.
The black magician and his undead were willing to give them sleeping bags that were warmer and more comfortable than their beds at home. This was enough to prove... at least in the short term, they would not die.
Who would give such a good thing to a dying person !
Collins rolled up his sleeping bag and shook off the dust on it, then heard someone outside the tent shouting, "Everyone who can move, get out!"
The eight people in the tent who were able to move started moving immediately.
Collins hesitated, not knowing whether he should climb out...
A girl with an ugly birthmark on her face came back to help Collins and said, "Uncle Carter, let me help you."
"Thank you so much, Mia. It's all thanks to you." Collins said gratefully.
Mia smiled, put Collins' arm on her shoulders, and half-carried Collins out of the tent.
Mia's family and Collins' family are neighbors. Although Collins can only go home a few times a year because he works on the plantation, he is not a stranger to Mia.
The reason is very simple... Mia, who had a large birthmark on her face since she was born, was predicted to be unmarried in their neighborhood.
Although Mia was also very hardworking and could help her mother weave cloth at the age of six, weaving was only the most basic survival skill for the lower-class women in Kamor. No matter how hardworking and capable she was, it could not offset her ugly face that was difficult to look at.
Collins was abandoned by his family because of his disabled legs and feet. Mia, who was still unmarried at the age of 26, was the same as him.
