CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 18: NEW PLAYERS LOGGING IN_3

Pandora was the only one who kept her eyes on the drone in the lobby after stepping out.

A completely hidden IP address, an impenetrable server, not even able to copy videos and pictures from the official website. More outrageous was that under a pile of surveillance cameras, it was delivered to her villa doorstep, with no delivery man to be found and security claiming ignorance. It’s beyond absurd.

Unfortunately, Pandora was too short to reach the hovering W, even if she jumped with her hands raised. She could only twirl around the ground with her long sleeves.

"Alright," Lin Miao summoned W back to his side. This little thing cost over two thousand; if it got damaged, the current players couldn’t afford it.

"Everyone, your task today is to build watchtowers and simple walls within the areas I’ve designated, to continue bolstering our stronghold and prevent it from being overrun by enemies."

"If the remaining resources in the town aren’t enough, you can head up the road; there are several abandoned resource points up there. But always stay vigilant because Night Wanderers might attack us anytime, and don’t go too far, or you could get disconnected."

[Side Mission: Last Line of Defense]

[Mission Objective: Complete the construction of watchtowers and defense walls around the perimeter of the office. It will be the first and last line of defense, with the office behind us, there’s no retreat.]

[Mission Reward: 500 Euchen/200 GP points]

Frankly, with this pay, not only players, even those still in Night City would jump at the chance to work. Those homeless people dare to take Zeta Technology’s highly hazardous 5-Euchen-per-piece garbage scavenging jobs, and they certainly do it better than these system-leeching guys.

The issue is, Lin Miao hiring a professional construction team would cost real money, be it bank transfers or cash.

But players are different; Lin Miao can make empty promises. If he installs neural connectors and external slots on them, the cost is just a string of code. Even their LAN system interfaces are provided by Lin Miao.

Even if players want to trade with external shops, the payer in essence is still Lin Miao, not them. As long as he controls the import-export balance, theoretically, Lin Miao can pay infinitely, since no NPC shop or bank in the players’ eyes has higher credit than the in-game mall itself.

Of course, reckless currency distribution leads to skyrocketing prices and hyperinflation. To avoid needing a backpack full of money for soy sauce, Lin Miao must maintain balance.

In other words, the interface they install is the chain Lin Miao ties around their necks.

While taking on the mission, Wildman eagerly asked,

"Boss, what about prosthetics and weapons? Can we purchase them now?"

He wanted to ask this question before logging off yesterday, but time was up, and he didn’t have enough money, so he didn’t. Lin Miao even reclaimed all the guns they had, so you can imagine his disappointment.

"Of course."

Lin Miao made another sacrifice to enhance the office’s structure, buying a second-hand laptop for several hundred.

Yesterday, those four broke guys were stripped of everything except their guns and trash prosthetics, managing to scrape together only two or three hundred Euchen. Dirt poor, while the only valuable modified car could only be sold for a thousand with the old captain.

Buying black-market vehicles was brutally discounted, and getting even a quarter of the selling price was considered fair. The more desperate you are, the less you get; other sellers can harshly cut prices down to a tenth. Take it or leave it.

Lin Miao walked to the counter and opened the laptop, immediately drawing a crowd of players.

"All prosthetics will appear on the interface upon storage, and the system will automatically tag prices. Currently, W acts as the shopkeeper. Once you select a prosthetic and pay, W will guide you to fetch and install it yourself, but keep in mind that installation takes time, so choose wisely."

As he spoke, Lin Miao placed the laptop on the counter and turned the screen around to show the price list to the players.

"Only gray and white-tier gear, huh?"

"That’s how it is in the early game. How could high-end equipment be available in the shop right off the bat?"

"You don’t know, do you? Most of these items dropped yesterday."

Brother Dao was surprised to hear this from Potato.

"Isn’t the gear from drops supposed to be yours? Why is it being sold in the shop?"

"Ah, well..."

Potato was puzzled by the question. Yeah, why were the dungeon gears supposed to be the players’, yet sold in the shop?

But Leader had a face of rightful understanding.

"Hey, you don’t get it, do you? Huang Xudong, do you remember where you got your gun? From the NPC. The tactics came from the NPC too, so the dropped gear obviously has nothing to do with you. Besides, we have mission rewards and leveled up."

The group thought about it and realized it made some sense.

Even Lin Miao nodded privately; this is what self-reliant thinking looks like for the players. He didn’t even need to explain, and the players filled in the gaps themselves.

It’s all thanks to you, Ms. Xu, the innovator of the player plant theory.

"Damn chicken, you make a good point, Sun Yifeng. Seems your 3 intelligence has some merit."

"But it seems expensive. A gray-tier pistol costs 400, white tier 600, rifles are 200 more expensive. Even after completing the mission, I can’t afford it."

"And don’t forget the bullets, one Euchen each. Didn’t we waste dozens of Euchen-worth of ammo during training yesterday? What a racket."

No one bothered to question why the dungeon dropped no gear yesterday. While an ammo clip at weapon shops generally cost 2 Euchen, Lin Miao has plenty of ammo, courtesy of the old captain.

Wildman opened the prosthetic interface and was surprised at the prices: "Gray-tier prosthetic for 600, isn’t that affordable right away?"

"Let’s get to work, man!"

The crowd instantly dispersed, while outdoors by the office door, someone marveled at the air, the sun, and the chaotic, wrecked town ruined by those four slackers.

This time joined by a soul forever bound to construction, Elder Civil Engineer and three other players, the efficiency and accuracy of construction exceeded yesterday’s numbers. As for Pandora, she just needed to avoid stumbling while carrying screws.