The Building Captain's Ambition

"Boohoo, Master, you finally came to find me."

The "boohoo" sounds preceding were the wheels grinding against the concrete floor.

After returning to the surface, Chu Guang first went up to the third floor of the sanatorium.

He had planned to find Xiao Qi to understand the situation, but before he even reached the window, he saw the wastepaper basket pitifully rolling towards him.

Chu Guang looked at it blankly, not knowing what was wrong with it this time.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Xiao Qi only has one bar of battery left."

Oh.

He thought it was something serious.

Wait...

Chu Guang: "Where am I supposed to find a place to charge you?"

Xiao Qi: "I have a wireless charging interface on me. I just need to stay in the shelter for a while!"

Chu Guang: "..."

No wonder he hadn't seen a single outlet in the shelter, and the computer on the desk without a tower never seemed to run out of power. Turns out it was all high-tech.

Although wireless charging wasn't exactly cutting-edge technology.

Carrying the wastepaper basket-shaped robot, Chu Guang walked downstairs.

Neatly retracting the wheels underneath, Xiao Qi suddenly spoke.

"Oh, right, Master."

"Now what?"

"I suddenly remembered, the shelter's power system seems to be supplied by a nuclear fusion core."

"Nuclear fusion?"

"Yes, so the electricity inside can be used for a very, very long time."

"Oh, that's a good thing." Chu Guang was already starting to think about how to steal the electricity from inside.

Xiao Qi continued.

"However, this might not be a good thing."

His train of thought was interrupted by that sentence. Chu Guang, who was going downstairs, stopped.

"What do you mean?"

"Because it's already the year 2340. Compared to the year the shelter was built, it's already a very, very long time later..."

What?!

Chu Guang quickly asked.

"What happens if the power runs out?"

However, Xiao Qi's answer almost made him spit out a mouthful of old blood.

"I don't know."

"You don't know???"

You're telling me you don't know such an important question?!

Isn't there a contingency plan???

Xiao Qi said cautiously.

"Because according to the plan... this shelter should have opened a hundred years ago, but for some reason, it was delayed by a whole century."

Chu Guang: "..."

Seeing that Chu Guang wasn't speaking, Xiao Qi continued to comfort him in a low voice.

"Actually, you don't need to be too pessimistic. Shelter 404's power room should be on the third level of the shelter. As long as you unlock that level, replacing the fuel rods in time will be OK."

Chu Guang almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Where the hell am I supposed to get nuclear fusion fuel rods from!"

It was already the 211th year of the Wasteland Era.

Xiao Qi: "Uh, there must be a way, right?"

Chu Guang: "..."

In any case, he couldn't take his anger out on an electronic product.

That would be too low-class.

Chu Guang placed Xiao Qi next to the elevator and watched the wastepaper basket robot roll back with a gururu sound.

He felt a bit annoyed.

However, Chu Guang also knew that there was no point in rushing now; problems had to be solved one by one.

In the short term, power shouldn't be a major issue. Even if the shelter opened a century late, it hadn't been operating for the past century and should have been running in energy-saving mode. It was quite possible that the remaining power could last for several decades.

In contrast, the approaching cold winter was what made him more anxious.

He didn't have much time left to prepare...

Leaving the Sanatorium.

Chu Guang arrived in front of the cement kiln and found the Players busy working with great enthusiasm, already starting to build the second kiln.

Beside it, eight neatly arranged mounds for Charcoal Burning had also been set up.

This was skipping the agricultural age and leaping directly into Industrialization!

Chu Guang was overjoyed.

It was all thanks to his skill in managing people and governing the village!

Seeing the Manager walking towards him, Old Bai wiped the mud and ash from his face. He was so excited that he didn't look like a twenty or thirty-year-old adult at all, but more like a child. He stood up and said,

"Manager, you're here!"

"Yes, I just went down for a bit... Was this your idea?" Chu Guang asked, looking at the earthen cement kiln behind him.

"It's everyone's effort!"

"No need to be modest, I've seen it all. The organization will remember your contributions!"

Old Bai was beaming with excitement.

Wasn't this exactly what he was waiting for?

Especially the latter part of the sentence.

"...Additionally, on behalf of the organization, I will award each of you 1000 Contribution Points as recognition for unlocking cement building materials. And from now on, you are the Building Captain of Shelter 404's Outpost!"

"You can freely use your creativity to design and build our outpost within the planned scope."

It would be great if a "ding" sound from the System could ring out at this moment.

That would be really cool.

Or, it would be nice if a reward notification pop-up appeared in the Players' eyes.

But unfortunately, neither happened.

Nevertheless, even just this verbal promise and praise made Old Bai's face flush with excitement.

Merit!

Position!

And, Affection!

It seemed the hidden system of this game was even richer than he had imagined!

"Respected Manager! I will do my utmost and give my all to build our home!"

The other three Players looked at him with envy.

Although everyone received Contribution Points, it was clear that Old Bai, who received the "Building Captain" position, was the one who truly struck it rich.

Being able to freely design and build facilities, what kind of Building Captain was this? This was clearly the Planning Office Director of Wasteland Online!

Absolutely amazing!

Looking at the energetic Old Bai, Chu Guang nodded approvingly and said,

"Very good, now I need you to tell me your plan."

"Yes!"

Old Bai straightened his back and began to report.

According to Old Bai, after going offline yesterday, he conducted on-site research at a real-life cement factory and asked the masters there. He learned that adding iron powder to cement can result in stronger and more durable cement.

Discussing content outside the game seemed to be automatically ignored by NPCs in the game. Seeing that the Manager had no reaction, Old Bai went straight to the point.

Considering that the Wasteland was full of rusted steel, he mixed the collected rust with charcoal, using the latter as a reducing agent, to produce iron through calcination. Then, he calcined the refined iron slag together with Plant Ash Cement.

While this seemingly increased the production cost of cement, the cement produced this way could be used to make more durable, high-temperature resistant, and higher-yield cement kilns.

"It's impossible to produce large quantities of cement with just these few earthen kilns, so I plan to invest all the early production of cement into the construction of production facilities to further increase cement output!"

Chu Guang nodded in approval.

"That's a good idea, but... how much cement can be produced using just bark?"

Just now, Chu Guang had noticed that not only the pile of logs already cut down on the ground, but also the trees around the Sanatorium had almost all their bark stripped by these survivors.

They didn't even spare the tree stumps!

Old Bai had clearly considered this issue and answered confidently.

"That's precisely why we need more professional cement kilns... the kind that can generate temperatures of 1450 degrees Celsius! This way, we can make Calcium Carbonate Cement by calcining limestone and clay, completely replacing the plant ash raw material!"

Plant Ash Cement containing potassium and sodium was not the ideal building material, but merely a substitute when conditions did not allow.

After being appointed Building Captain, Old Bai suddenly had greater ambitions.

He no longer saw just a single wall or a specific sanatorium.

Instead, he saw the entire wasteland.

He wanted to transform this world into the way he envisioned it!

"You've thought it through thoroughly. Go ahead and do as you planned."

Chu Guang nodded, then looked at the other three Players.

"Soon, two new people will finish their hibernation and join our Vanguard Team. I plan to hold a small banquet to welcome them, so we need to get some wild game... We can't just serve them porridge."

Pausing, Chu Guang continued.

"Who wants to go hunting with me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, four hands shot up.

Chu Guang was taken aback.

Well, well, even the Building Captain he had just appointed raised his hand!

"Ahem, we don't need that many people... Night Ten, you come. You're Perception-based."

"Yes, Manager!"

Night Ten saluted excitedly and, under the envious glares of the other three Players, strutted proudly to the Manager's side.

Chu Guang looked at the other three Players and said seriously.

"Your task is also critical. Cement is the top priority for the outpost's development. We have enough wood for now, so the logging work can stop for a bit. I need you to focus all your efforts on producing cement. Can you do it?"

Although they were disappointed they couldn't go hunting with the Manager, the three Players obediently followed his arrangements.

"We guarantee we'll complete the task!"

Very good.

As expected of the Players I personally selected!

Chu Guang nodded with satisfaction and, taking Night Ten, who was grinning from ear to ear, walked towards the woods south of the sanatorium