Chapter 53:

It hadn’t even been five minutes since Ah Yuen posted his thread before it became the hot topic of the day. All the players who were offline or hadn’t logged on yet were going crazy discussing the “Affinity Formula” that Ah Yuen had summarized in the post. They had no issues with the ways Ah Yuen listed to increase affinity with other NPCs, but they did take issue with him omitting “Lord Murphy.” MeowKing: 【You didn’t list Lord Murphy’s preferences? Quick, add another ten credits worth, I’m waiting to see it.】 LuminaYanghen: 【Ah Yuen must want Lord Murphy’s affection all to himself, wow what a sly young rascal.】 AhYuen: 【You guys shouldn’t talk nonsense. It’s not that I didn’t want to write it, it’s that up until now Lord Murphy hasn’t shown any particular fondness for certain things. If I had to say, he does seem quite interested in some of the customs from our side. Whenever some of our buddies say something strange, he’ll question them back, making it really awkward. I guess this is because he’s using some kind of unique AI?】 LedMoreThanThreeToFivePecks: 【Wrong! Lord Murphy does have things he likes, you just haven’t noticed!】 AhYuen: 【???Impossible! I’ve been secretly observing him the whole time, there’s no way I’d miss such a big oversight. Tell me, what does Lord Murphy like?】 LedMoreThanThreeToFivePecks: 【Heheh, this is simple? He likes Lady Tris, doesn’t he! Haven’t you seen how Lord Murphy is as obedient as a baby when those two NPCs are together? So I guess their personal reputations must be linked. Or perhaps after Lady Tris’ affinity reaches a certain level, an option to gift Lord Murphy will be unlocked. At the very least, we could probe Lady Tris for information since Lord Murphy is her blood descendant. Who could know a child better than their own mother?】 AhYuen: 【!!!Right, I did overlook that point. The NPCs in this game are quite intelligent, so increasing affinity with Lady Tris may really let us get some key information. But one thing is for sure, no matter which NPC route the players plan to take later, we’ll definitely need to grind Lord Murphy’s reputation to the max. He’s the main storyline NPC! Without him, we can’t progress the story at all.】 DumpTruckIaido: 【@all members, we found a new skill book! It’s in the Survivor’s Camp, unlocked as the final reward after starting Miss Miriam’s Camp quest line, called ‘Blood Vulture Sword Arts: From Proficient to Master.’ But the requirement is completing at least 30 side quests in the camp, with a final completion rate of at least 70%. Are any brothers able to get online? Come help us do quests, there are way too many here for just the three of us to handle.】 MeowKing: 【Can’t get on brother, I used up my game time for today. You guys go on ahead and explore the path for us.】 BulldozerManCharging: 【What exploring, these quests are one-time only! Aside from the main story quests that can be shared and a few dailies, we do them and you guys won’t be able to do them again. But there are more and more NPCs in the camp now, me and Dump Truck just tried it, basically every NPC can trigger dialogue. A lot of people have quests, mostly going to the city ruins to find people or find things. We only took a portion, the rest are left for you guys.】 LeadingPigeon: 【Got it brother! I’ll log on tomorrow and go be a laborer in the camp. But I remember you two were always acting as a pair, how’d you suddenly get a third person?】 DumpTruckIaido: 【Ah, I brought my old partner in too. coolguywithshades.jpg】 KonoMaomaoShark: 【So this is the game world of middle-aged men? So terrifying.】 At this time, in the Survivor’s Camp safe zone outside of Kadman City, the evening glow of sunset shone upon the land. Brother Dump Truck closed the forum, stretched lazily, turned to look at the newbie looking around behind him, grinned and said: “How’s that? Didn’t swindle you this time, did I? Didn’t expect it to actually be real, right? This is really a game that current cutting-edge technology can make? The effects are way too realistic!” The newbie “Half Off With Full Coverage” jumped up and down on the spot, but couldn’t take off flying. Clearly in this game world, even Mother Nature was afraid her child would get seriously injured, so she bound him with gravity. While feeling the various sensations from his body, the newcomer said to his old partner: “To be honest, my understanding of games was still stuck in the WOW Sunwell era. Technology has advanced way too fast now!” “Hey, I think this game is a pretty nice place to just kick back and retire leisurely.” Dump Truck patted Half Off’s shoulder and said: “There’s a river not far from these city ruins, it’s a tributary of the main river in the Transia region. I heard there are lots of amazing, delicious fish there. You can get yourself a fishing rod and sit there all day, no one will bother you. Saves you from your wife nagging at you too.” “Who wants to argue with her, it’s so annoying. I’m not neglecting providing for the family, I’ve been busy my whole life, can’t I just enjoy myself a bit?” Half Off With Full Coverage grumbled, then followed Dump Truck as he pushed a cart loaded with wood towards the nearby Survivor’s Camp. These logs as thick as arms were just chopped down by the two of them, part of Miss Miriam’s camp construction quests. In theory, with the monster clearing in Kadman City progressing smoothly, a new player like Half Off With Full Coverage should be going to grind levels. However, he, Dump Truck, and Bulldozer were all over forty years old, not really interested in fighting and killing. They were playing this game with the intention of a leisurely retirement. Compared to the ferocious monsters and mysterious storylines, they preferred scenes like this that had a living atmosphere without being dull. All three of them were “industrialists” in the machining trade for the first half of their lives, far more passionate about manufacturing and construction than destruction. “Hurry up you two!” As soon as they entered the camp, they heard Bulldozer urging them: “How long does it take to just chop some wood? It’s not like I told you two to actually go cut down trees. Quick, get these fences set up, I found some NPCs to help. After this we still need to set up their tents, there’s a lot to do today.” “We don’t need to speak to her directly!” Half Off shook his head, pointing at the teenagers assigned to assist them, saying: “They can handle translating. We just need to list out the rules and regulations, just a few sentences. Whether she adopts them or not is up to that NPC herself. Besides, I really want to see just how realistic this game can get? If her intelligence level is truly high, then after we submit these suggestions, she’ll definitely provide us feedback. We might even get item rewards. Although we don’t hunt monsters, since we’re playing a game, having decent equipment is an important part of the experience too, right? I heard they’re organizing dungeon runs, shall we try joining them tomorrow?” “That makes sense!” Dump Truck’s eyes lit up. The three middle-aged men immediately huddled together, whispering furtively. Using Bulldozer’s note-taking function, they listed out a 500 word outline. Finding a literate young girl, they had her copy it down to deliver to Camp Manager Miriam. After settling this, the three friends cheerfully continued helping the NPCs set up fences. Bulldozer even planned to make a simple barbecue pit to grill some rabbits for tasting. This game had a complete food and excretion system – not eating for long periods would weaken the character. This gave Bulldozer the insightful realization that running a catering business in-game also had great prospects. Speaking of which, becoming a barbecue chef was actually one of his childhood “career plans.” Who could have imagined this little wish would come true under these circumstances? Meanwhile, in the main tent of the camp, Miss Miriam was gloomily staring at some red strands of hair in her hand due to lack of sleep and the increasing difficulty of managing the growing camp population causing intense stress. It had only been two or three days, but the pressure had already caused her to start losing her hair. She now understood why graduates from the administration program tended to go bald, this line of work really did cause hair loss! Moreover, she clearly felt the professional knowledge she learned at Shaldor University’s administration program had obvious limitations when applied practically. It felt like everything in the camp was a mess, leaving her unsure of where to even begin addressing it, like an impossibly tangled knot. Most importantly, she lacked qualified assistants. The few under Lord Murphy were scattered in the city, with no time to help her manage the camp. That unlucky vampire had even become an absentee proprietor, handing management of the Survivor’s Camp to her. If she failed, it would mean the last shred of dignity she had worked hard to maintain would shatter. She might even get mocked behind her back by that despicable Maxim! Then knowledge and reason would truly be defeated by superstition and blind loyalty! Could she accept that? Just as Miriam felt her head might explode, the three middle-aged men’s suggestions arrived before her. Putting it mildly, it was like a desert traveler seeing a spring of clear water. These three were Lord Murphy’s warriors, right? Then their loyalty was undoubted. Moreover, their written suggestions were concise and clear, with a logical structure and strong feasibility. This showed they definitely had prior management experience. Wasn’t this exactly what she needed? Miriam’s eyes lit up. Suddenly recalling Lord Murphy’s previous advice to fully tap into the courage and wisdom possessed by his warriors. Ah, so that was what the vampire meant? Miriam felt like the fog had lifted in an instant! Looking at these suggestions, her eyes grew brighter. She immediately stood up, straightening her appearance and striding out of the tent. A few minutes later, the three middle-aged men stared dumbfoundedly at their player interface displaying the quest the earnest-looking Miss Miriam had just issued them: 【Quest Name: Desperately Seeking Talent! Quest Details: Camp Manager Miriam has seen your astounding talents. Extremely lacking in assistants, she has decided to grant you the privilege of “Survivor’s Camp Administrators” to help her improve and manage the entire camp, living up to Lord Murphy’s expectations of her. Quest Objectives: Formulate rules and regulations for the Survivor’s Camp, assist in completing the town construction. Rewards: Temporary Commander Authority – 100-150 Manpower / Camp Planning Rights / Law Establishment Rights / Imprisonment & Punishment Rights (limited to survivors only)】 “Holy crap!” Half Off couldn’t help swearing. He turned to his old partner, quietly asking: “Are we...holding office now? Does this game really have a construction mode? Just how much stuff did they stitch into this? Isn’t this going way too far?”