Chu Guang and the Lollipop

Two hundred years ago.

To be precise, in the year 2125, a war broke out on this prosperous planet.

Both sides in the war were determined to completely destroy the other, using almost every means available.

The war only lasted for three years.

But it only took three years to destroy everything on the surface.

The long Nuclear Winter almost extinguished the sparks of civilization. Both sides successfully sent the other to hell and successfully buried themselves.

From then on, the Wasteland Era began, even more desolate than the Great Depression.

Although two centuries have passed since that doomsday war, and the Nuclear Winter basically ended over a century ago, humanity has not returned to the top of the food chain.

The proliferation of nuclear weapons, biological weapons, and even genetic weapons caused the entire planet's ecosystem to evolve in extreme directions.

And those mutants, known as "Mutants," were the main threat faced by the survivors struggling in the ruins.

For example, the two-headed wolf-dog that Chu Guang encountered when he first arrived in this world was one of them.

However, even Mutants have strengths and weaknesses.

"Deformed" creatures like the two-headed hyena, caused by gamma rays, usually have low combat power. Except for a few lucky exceptions, their combat power is even lower than before the mutation.

In contrast, Gnawers, Crawlers, and other Mutants caused by biological weapons and mutated to the point where their ancestors cannot be traced are truly monsters born for slaughter.

Their nervous systems are eroded by mutated fungi. They usually hide in facilities without light during the day, such as ruins, sewers, or subways, and only come out to forage on the streets when night falls.

The situation in the suburbs is much better than in the city.

Especially the far suburbs.

In the past five months, the most dangerous Mutant Chu Guang encountered was just a mutated brown bear. Although that guy was powerful, its reaction was relatively slow.

Chu Guang carefully avoided it before it discovered him.

The faint morning light passed through the damaged concrete wall and the shadows of steel scraps, falling on the street full of car wrecks and rubble.

It was now eight o'clock in the morning.

The time here was about a twelve-hour difference from the East Eight Zone in the present world.

Looking at the two mutated hyenas wandering on the street, Chu Guang tightened his grip on the pointed pipe in his hand and carefully circled behind the ruins.

Although he was confident he could kill them, there was no need to cause unnecessary trouble.

Besides, these beasts were very clever, even knowing how to use their own kind as bait. No one knew how many more were hidden in the shadows of the nearby ruins.

He walked along the small path through the dilapidated block.

When he saw the sign for Bett Street Children's Park, Chu Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ahead was "Bett Street" - a relatively large survivor settlement in the vicinity, home to over a hundred households of survivors.

Before the war, this place was a children's park with a large number of amusement facilities and a wide lawn.

After the war, it was designated as a temporary shelter by the military, housing a large number of citizens who had fled from the city of Clearwater City.

What happened to those refugees later is unknown, but today, two hundred years later, it has developed into a "small town."

People used discarded plastic sheets, tarps, wood, and metal frames to haphazardly build simple shacks on the bare muddy ground.

It was very much like the kind seen in the "Villainous People Era."

The park's walls were a natural barrier, and after rough repairs, they were reinforced with barbed wire and wooden boards with nails.

In the center of the park was a five-story classical castle, which had a fairy-tale feel. However, the paint on its surface had long peeled off, and the wall facing the city center had largely collapsed, leaving only the northern half and a precarious lone tower.

Even if it was a fairy tale, it was definitely a dark one.

But even though this building was so broken, it was still the "most luxurious" building on Bett Street.

At the same time, it was also the mayor's home.

Although he had lived here for five months, Chu Guang had not met the mayor. That adult was very mysterious and rarely showed his face.

"Yo, back so early."

Looking at Chu Guang coming from the corner of the street, Old Walter, who was smoking a dry pipe, narrowed his eyes and let out a wisp of cloudy white smoke from his nostrils.

In his hand, he held a double-barreled shotgun.

Although it looked a bit old, no one doubted its power.

Chu Guang had seen with his own eyes how this old man took down a mutated brown bear that was charging towards the gate of Bett Street with just two shots.

Since then, he had always longed to own one as well.

"Got delayed outside for a night."

"Outside?"

The old man glanced at the pointed pipe Chu Guang was carrying on his back, and his eyebrows raised slightly in surprise.

No one knew better than him how dangerous the night was.

Every time he was on night duty, his index finger never dared to leave the trigger. Any slight disturbance would make his nerves tense up.

Even though the mutants in the distant suburbs aren't as dangerous as those in the city, there are too many Marauders eyeing this place covetously.

Falling into their hands wouldn't be much better than dying at the hands of mutants.

Old Walter found it hard to believe that this guy had actually survived a night in the Wasteland with just a steel pipe.

"Had a bit of an accident."

Chu Guang didn't explain, just gave Old Walter a tired look to let him figure it out, and then walked straight through the settlement's gate.

There was only one scrap recycling station on Bett Street, and it was easy to find, right next to the settlement's main entrance.

Under the roller shutter door sat an old electronic scale that was always inaccurate, and beside it stood an archway with the words "Fair Prices, No Deception."

This shop was the Town Chief's property and the only place on Bett Street that bought scrap parts and mutated mole rat hides.

To monopolize the scavenging business, this dictator had even arbitrarily enacted a law.

Namely, no one was allowed to privately sell captured prey or scavenged junk to passing caravans.

The reason given was to ensure that Bett Street's goods could be sold at a reasonable price, rather than being shamelessly squeezed on price by "cunning merchants."

The reason such a tyrannical and unreasonable rule could pass was, to some extent, related to the ignorance of the survivors here.

And general caravans wouldn't risk offending this dictator to buy that pitifully small amount of supplies from the scavengers.

They only did big business.

And only did business with people they trusted.

"Selling? Or buying?"

The shopkeeper was a fifty-year-old man named Charlie. It was said he was formerly a resident of a Shelter in another province, later captured and made a slave, until the Town Chief bought him from a slave owner and assigned him the job of dealing with the scavengers.

Most of the residents here were native "Wastelanders," uneducated, terrible at math, to the extent that they might even miscalculate addition and subtraction within a hundred.

But Charlie was different.

He came from a Shelter.

Although no two Shelters in this Wasteland were exactly the same, one thing was largely similar.

Everyone who lived there was an elite from the pre-war society. Their children not only inherited intelligent minds from their parents but also received a good education from the time of enlightenment.

If this world hadn't gone to hell, he probably would have become an engineer, doctor, or scholar, like his parents.

Instead of keeping accounts here.

"Selling."

Without any unnecessary words, Chu Guang took out 6 scrap batteries and 5 tubes of adhesive from his backpack and threw them onto the electronic scale's tray.

He had scavenged these from nearby building ruins before discovering Shelter 404.

Old Charlie picked up the scrap batteries from the table, casually checked their model and for swelling or damage, then tossed them onto the scale beside him.

These things were definitely scrap, no doubt about it, but the materials inside could still be recycled.

"The quality is decent. The junk around here must have been picked clean. Where did you get these good things?"

These can be called good things?

"Good luck."

"Heh, I just asked casually. Hmm, the batteries are good, but the quality of the adhesive is average. The seal has been broken, so the contents are probably a mess inside. I can only give you half price... Everything together is 3 chips."

Chu Guang didn't haggle with him and took the 3 white chips from his hand.

These plastic coins with a metallic feel were the "currency" issued by Boulder City, the largest survivor settlement in Clearwater City, and could be exchanged for food and supplies in most survivor settlements in Clearwater City.

The front of the chip was printed with the denomination, and the back had special anti-counterfeiting codes and patterns, which would show a special luster under sunlight.

These chips had many advantages, such as being heat-resistant, durable, easy to store, and highly recognizable. The most crucial point was that they were basically impossible to counterfeit with post-war technology.

Small and medium-sized survivor settlements like Bett Street, with small populations and no industrial capacity, mainly did business with Boulder City's caravans, exchanging agricultural products, prey, and scavenged junk for necessary daily supplies and even weapons.

Naturally, this currency also circulated on Bett Street.

Of course, it wasn't always useful. If the caravan didn't come for a month, the prices throughout the settlement would go haywire.

The Town Chief had also tried to promote Bett Street's own currency—an account-based voucher—but no one would recognize it.

Even the survivors of Bett Street knew that those paper scraps were useless even for wiping one's backside, no different from waste paper.

"Want to buy something? The shop just received a batch of new goods from Boulder City."

Chu Guang, who was about to leave, stopped and turned back to ask.

"Do you have guns?"

"No, and even if I did, you couldn't afford one."

Old Charlie grinned and continued, looking at Chu Guang who was about to leave.

"But there is some food and fuel. If I were you, I'd buy more before the price goes up."

Guns, even the cheapest kind, were hard to buy in a place like Bett Street.

Because even if a caravan selling firearms occasionally passed through here, those weapons usually went into the Town Chief's own warehouse and wouldn't be displayed on the shelves here for anyone to choose from.

Besides, as Old Charlie said, even if there were such things, scavengers like them couldn't afford them.

Chu Guang understood exactly why he said that.

As a well-educated Shelter resident, Charlie would surely see that all the survivors living on Bett Street, whether scavengers or hunters, had their surplus value completely exploited by the mayor's family.

Even though the esteemed mayor never personally reached into their pockets and directly took even a single chip.

"Food and fuel are going to get more expensive?"

Looking at Chu Guang, whose face showed surprise, Charlie smiled faintly and said,

"Didn't you notice? It's getting colder recently, and the Mutants outside are starting to become more active."

Chu Guang frowned in thought for a moment, then suddenly remembered something and spoke.

"Winter is coming?"

"I remember you only came here five months ago, so you might not have experienced it. In previous years, it would start getting cold around this time. This year... winter will probably come earlier. It might even snow in October."

At this point, Charlie paused for a moment and said meaningfully,

"Winter is coming."

"Both humans and Mutants need to prepare in advance."

When Chu Guang first arrived on Bett Street, he was wearing a blue jacket. Charlie subconsciously took him for someone from the Shelter, so he was quite considerate towards him.

Although this consideration was never reflected in the transaction prices, the old man did help Chu Guang with some experience.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have adapted to life in the Wasteland so quickly.

Chu Guang nodded seriously.

"I understand. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Charlie smiled faintly, "Just don't die."

It was already early September. If it really snowed in October, Chu Guang only had a little over a month to prepare.

For the survivors living in this area, snowfall was definitely not something to be happy about. It meant that in addition to food, they would have to add fuel expenses.

Most people here made a living by scavenging and hunting. The nearby farms only needed people during the busy farming season.

In winter, scavenging would become exponentially more difficult. No one could predict whether the snow hid parts that could be recycled or the fangs of mutated rats.

And animals that could provide meat, like wild deer and rabbits, would also reduce their activity time or even hide in their dens for the winter.

The most crucial thing was that once winter set in, the caravans wouldn't come here. Even if they found good things, they could only pile them up at home and wait until spring of the following year to sell them.

Or, they could risk traveling to Boulder City, ten kilometers away.

That was the largest survivor settlement in the Clearwater City area. Even in winter, the market there wouldn't close.

However, its location was on the edge of Clearwater City's Third Ring Road, right next to Clearwater City's North District, and there were countless dangers along the way.

For an average person to walk there on two legs, especially in winter when the lowest temperature could reach minus ten degrees Celsius, was tantamount to suicide!

After leaving the recycling station, Chu Guang first returned to his residence.

In fact, it was less a residence and more a makeshift shed that could barely keep out the rain, without even a proper window or door.

Until yesterday, he had been thinking of saving up some cement, PVC boards, and other materials to seal the drafty walls before winter arrived.

But now, it seemed unnecessary.

He rummaged through his moldy sleeping bag and pulled out a rusty aluminum box. Chu Guang struggled to pry it open and poured the plastic coins hidden inside onto the瘸腿 wooden table with a clatter.

A total of 47 white chips with a face value of 1 point.

Adding the 3 chips he had on him, it was exactly 50 points!

He had saved this money bit by bit, by being frugal, all for the sake of one day leaving this godforsaken place and moving to Boulder City, which had better conditions.

But now...

He had a new plan for this "asset."

Why live under someone else's roof when he could establish his own?

"The ruins of the sanatorium above the Shelter can be utilized, and the walls around the building are all concrete structures... If I have players to command, collecting some materials nearby and repairing it shouldn't be too difficult."

"The sanatorium is near the Wetland Park, which isn't convenient for collecting metal scrap, but the surrounding vegetation is quite lush, so there shouldn't be a shortage of fuel for heating. Besides, wood can be used for repairing buildings and making furniture... Axes! Right, I also need to buy four axes."

Leveling up by fighting monsters?

Doesn't exist!

I already said it's a 100% realistic hardcore game. Since it's a hardcore game, naturally, we have to start with the most basic work!

"Tools like shovels and saws are also essential!" Even before the players logged in, Chu Guang had already planned how to arrange them.

Of course, in addition to tools for work, there was the most crucial thing: rations.

Once a culture pod was activated, it would immediately consume the active substances pre-stored in the pod to synthesize clones for the players to use.

And these clones needed to eat!

While players are offline, the clones can lie in the nutrient pods, hibernating at a low metabolic rate, but they can't just lie there forever.

People have to eat to live, that's an eternal truth!

"At least enough food for five adults for a week... If we calculate two meals a day, one flatbread per meal, that's 70 flatbreads."

Flatbread is the most common food on Bett Street, and you can get one for 1 chip.

This stuff is usually about the size of a palm. It might be mixed with bark or other fibers, making it very hard and rough to chew, like dirt mixed with sand, but it can fill your stomach and supplement a little salt.

If you boil it in a pot, you can even make a paste.

70 flatbreads, if you buy them, would cost 70 chips. Even if you haggle, it would be at least 60 chips. That way, his budget wouldn't be enough.

Chu Guang's brow furrowed, but it quickly relaxed.

He had just overcomplicated the problem.

Actually, there was no need to feed those players too well.

If he swapped the flatbread for the raw material used to make it—that is, the green wheat produced by the nearby farms—he could buy a full kilogram for only 3 chips!

Stocking up 5 kilograms would be enough for a few days!

If worst came to worst, he could even learn from the survivors on Bett Street and mix in bark or plant roots.

As for other things, he would figure them out later.

"For now, I'll just prepare these things..."

Sweeping the allocated chips into his backpack, Chu Guang put the backpack back on.

Although he hadn't slept all night, he was extremely energetic now, as if he had found the meaning of life again, and he wasn't sleepy at all.

When he pushed open the door and came outside, he saw the little girl from the neighbor's house crouching at the entrance of the adjacent shack, looking at him curiously.

Chu Guang recognized her name, Yu Xiaoyu, the youngest daughter of the Yu family.

Most survivors in the Wasteland were sallow and thin, and the Yu family's youngest daughter was no exception. Her little arms and legs, like reed poles, made it hard to imagine that she was already of marriageable age.

Seeing that Chu Guang had noticed her, she didn't shy away and walked out of the house.

"I heard movement in your house, so I came to see."

Every morning, the men on Bett Street would go out scavenging or hunting, while the old, weak, women, and children generally stayed at home to watch the house or do work that could earn money.

Although everyone was dirt poor, living hand to mouth, unable to save money, and there was nothing to steal at home, no one wanted someone to take advantage of them while they were out.

This man named Chu Guang was from outside. He usually left early and returned late, rarely interacting with the neighbors in the settlement.

She didn't know much about him, only that he didn't look like someone who could endure hardship.

At first, everyone was wary of him, and her mother also told her to keep a close eye on this stranger from outside.

However, Xiaoyu didn't think he was a bad person, because once when he was stewing soup at the door, he gave her a bowl.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I can help you watch the house when you're out." She blinked and added cheerfully, "Anyway, I'm just sitting around."

Poor child.

If she were in that world, she would probably still be in school at her age now.

Not wanting to seem offensive, Chu Guang hid the trace of pity in his eyes, took out a lollipop from his pocket with a straight face, and put it in the little girl's hand.

"Here, eat this."

"Don't tell anyone I gave it to you."

"Otherwise, there won't be any more."

She had never seen this kind of food before.

Yu Xiaoyu first bit the wrapper, found she couldn't bite through it, and only then realized that the outer packaging needed to be torn open.

Her big, round eyes stared at the red fruit ball on the plastic stick. She carefully stuck out her tongue and gently licked it.

What, what kind of taste was this?!

So sweet!

With little stars twinkling in her eyes, she happily looked up, wanting to say thank you.

However, the person who gave her the candy had already walked away.