BXBX NOVEL Chapter 111: Hummingbird! And Auctions!
Uh. I almost made a fool of myself.
Watching the silver metal ball flying in front of him after the two pairs of propellers popped out above its head, Chu Guang poked it with interest.
It can even stabilise itself in the air?
"This is interesting."
If its propellers were changed to wings, its body was painted gold, and its size was made a little smaller, it would look like the golden snitch in Harry Potter.
The light blue label attached to this thing by the system read the words [Hummingbird drone] and was accompanied by a long list of instructions for use.
Simply put, this thing could be connected to any electronic device with imaging technology and information transmission functions. All it needed was a thumbnail-sized connector.
The connector on the VM just happened to be able to fit into its jack.
But is this thing a weapon?
Chu Guang looked back at Little Seven. "Why didn\'t you tell me earlier?"
Little Seven said pitifully. "But you didn\'t ask me, Master."
Emmm...
Seems so.
Chu Guang didn\'t reprimand it, and after playing with the toy for a while, he continued to ask. "What\'s the use of this thing? Can it shoot bullets or lasers?"
Could it be a self-destruction bomb?
If it was really a one-time consumable, it would be really wasteful.
Little Seven: "Its function is mainly for reconnaissance... It\'s already not easy for such a small device to be equipped with a long-life battery and a motor, so certainly, it can\'t carry combat parts."
"Reconnaissance?" Chu Guang stood next to the drone and observed it for a while, "Why didn\'t I see its camera?"
Little Seven continued to explain. "Its cameras have been integrated with its surface material, so they are invisible to the naked eye. But don\'t worry about performance. Although its cameras are small, they\'re very powerful! With a cluster of 60 cameras distributed on the surface of the device, it can capture 360-degree high-definition images without any blindspot. It can even be used at night.."
Does it mean that although I can\'t see its cameras, its whole body is full of cameras smaller than pinholes?
Speaking of which, since there are cameras, doesn\'t that mean I can take pictures with this thing?
Although Little Seven can also take pictures, it can only stand on top of the nursing home and take pictures of the players playing nearby because of its limited activity range.
With this thing, I should be able to take a lot of interesting photos. And with a little filter, I can even make a proper cinematic game trailer.
Chu Guang stroked his chin and continued to ask. "What about its flight altitude? Maximum distance, battery life, and… how to charge it?"
Little Seven answered quickly. "It\'s very easy to charge it. The drone has a built-in wireless charging interface. Like me, it can be automatically charged in the shelter, and my power can also be distributed to it."
"As for its flight altitude, it is recommended to be at a low altitude below 100m. Although it is not impossible to fly to an altitude of hundreds of meters above the ground in theory, it is recommended not to stay at a high altitude for too long. Working in a high altitude environment for a long time will not only cause load on the engine, but also bring safety hazards.”
"As for its maximum distance, if there are not many obstacles, it works well within three kilometers. However, it is also not recommended to fly it too far from the terminal. After all, this is a close-range reconnaissance drone; its advantages are its nearly 12 hours long battery life, and its ability to cross obstacles in complex environments… Remote detection is still a bit difficult for it."
When encountering many obstacles, the signal transmission of the drone would be affected.
However, the control chip of the "Hummingbird" UAV had an integrated automatic return program. Once the connection was lost, its AI would be automatically activated, controling the UAV to return to the starting coordinates or the preset rendezvous point according to the video images in the cached data and the estimated route.
After learning about the functions of this little device, Chu Guang reached out and picked up the drone. The more he looked at it, the more he liked it.
If this drone is deployed before fighting the enemy, it is almost equivalent to having a real eye above the enemy\'s head.
And through the video images received by the VM, I\'ll be able to capture every move of the enemy.
This is simply awesome!
"Master..."
"What\'s wrong?" Hearing Little Seven\'s voice, Chu Guang glanced at it curiously, "Is there any other function that hasn\'t been introduced?"
"Can… Can you give it to Little Seven?" Little Seven suggested timidly, "Your VM can be directly connected to the main shelter server, and all the pictures I see can be directly transmitted to you. You can give it to me, then I can see farther places and help you monitor players\' activities more conveniently."
"That\'s a good idea." Chu Guang\'s eyes lit up.
This thing would provide a great advantage for him in battle, but there were not many chances for him to go to the front line. In addition, now his defensive ability was greatly increased, it wouldn\'t affect him much if he didn\'t use it in battle.
So he might as well use it to secretly monitor players\' activities.
No, it should be called strategic reconnaissance!
Little Seven continued. "Master, when I was helping you sort out the information yesterday, I noticed that the guard\'s diary seemed to mention a signal tower? If the power supply of that signal tower can be restored, maybe the signal coverage of Shelter No. 404 can be further expanded."
Chu Guang put the drone on Little Seven\'s head and continued with interest. "You mean... the signal tower used by the guard to communicate with the survivors on the surface? I have considered it before, but according to the clues returned by the players exploring the map, they couldn\'t locate it."
Little Seven continued. "The function of the signal tower should not only be to communicate with the surface. According to the clues in the recording, it seems that this shelter had collected radio signals on the ground as analysis samples for several years after the war."
"According to my speculation, This tower should have a complete signal transmission and reception function. Maybe we can use it to provide information services to players\' VM devices. In this way, even in areas far away from the shelter, you can still issue missions to your players."
Chu Guang said with a smile. "The idea is a good one, but the question is where are we going to find this tower? Do you have a map?"
Little Seven said immediately. "Although there is no map, it is obvious that this signal tower is near us. If the nearby two-kilometer area has been explored by players-"
Hearing this, Chu Guang suddenly reacted. "76th Street?"
Little Seven said happily. "Mhm! Master is really smart!"
Indeed.
After eliminating all the wrong options, the final answer would naturally surface.
The wetland park was surrounded by lakes to the west and northwest; wasteland, abandoned buildings, and abandoned park facilities to the south; Bett Street to the south, and the fifth-ring road to the south of Bett Street.
As for the area to the north all the way to the abandoned tire factory, the Shelter players had already searched every inch of that piece of land, and the only area that had not been explored was 76th Street directly opposite the east gate of the outpost.
Speaking of which, the greenhouse ruins seemed to be at the entrance to 76th Street.
The range of activities of the players was getting closer and closer to the realm of mutant humans.
Chu Guang, who was looking at the map, was lost in thought.
"Tsk."
"I have to think of a way to wipe out those green-skinned muscle guys in one fell swoop."
...
The next morning.
The snow had stopped for a while, and it seemed that today would be a rare sunny day.
At the entrance of the weapons store, there was a large noisy crowd.
Players who came late stood on tiptoe, looking across the crowd. They grabbed the players next to them, and inquired about what was going on.
"What happened? Why are so many people crowded here?"
"It\'s a weapon auction!"
"Auction?! When did we have a war campaign again? Why didn\'t I know?"
"It\'s not a war campaign, it\'s just an ordinary auction. I also don\'t know what\'s going on, but it seems to be a temporary event in the game. Haven\'t you checked the official website?"
"No. I put the helmet on my head as soon as I got home. I didn\'t even take off my clothes."
"Damn, you didn\'t even take a bath?"
"I can do it in the morning when I get up. This game is more important."
"You are crazy."
Chu Guang glanced at the noisy crowd around him. Seeing that most players were here, he cleared his throat, raised the bow in his hand, and said in a solemn and serious tone. "...this is a mechanical compound bow from the deepest part of the shelter. Legend has it that… mhm, legend has nothing to say about it."
"But it doesn\'t matter!"
"This bow is brand new, so much so that you can see its bowstring reflecting the light. It has an adjustable focus sight, and once the battery is installed, it can also use electric drive to store energy in the pulley group, which can help you deliver a fatal blow! It\'s the undisputed newest item, made for hunting. The legend about it is waiting for you to write!"
"The starting price is 100 silver coins! Each increase must not be less than 1 silver!"
"No upper limit!"
No upper limit!
Exciting!
The moment Chu Guang\'s voice fell, the atmosphere at the scene instantly exploded with excitement.
"101 silver coins!"
"102 silver coins!"
"What the fuck! What\'s wrong with you guys! 110 silver coins!"
"Let me join you guys, 120 silver coins. No matter how I look at this bow, it is better than a gun. If I use a three-edged arrowhead, maybe I can shoot through the target—"
"130 silver coins! You talk too much!"
"180!!" The shout of one player was so high-pitched that it cracked.
The scene was silent for a moment.
Everyone looked at the person who made the bid. They originally thought it was Mosquito who never went to the front line, but it turned out to be "the only old brother who was personally banned by the Dev" on the forum - [The_Escaping_Mole]
Does he even know how to use a bow?
Feeling a little embarrassed being stared at by everyone, Mole argued with a red face. "I\'m an agile type, is there a problem?!"
There was no one saying anything.
Forced by his imposing manner, a player, who was close to him, responded unwillingly.
"No..."
"Exactly—"
"Ahem, 188. It\'s an auspicious number."
"!"
Mole, who had just been feeling complacent, suddenly turned around to look at the hand held up high in the crowd. Seeing this, everyone around sighed helplessly. Mosquito still joined the bid in the end.
After the price broke through 150, it was a fight between rich players.
Players in the third echelon withdrew from the bidding, and players in the second echelon remained on the sidelines.
To be honest, anyone could buy it, but Chu Guang really didn\'t want to sell it to Mosquito. Every time this guy bought something, he never used it; he just kept it as a collection.
For example, the scorpion submachine gun, and the double-barreled shotgun that the Bloodhand Clan boss dropped, Chu Guang never saw this guy bring it out and use it.
Why buy it if you aren\'t going to use it!
Just for display or what?
It was at this moment, a big hand of justice raised up.
"200 silver coins!"
"What the hell?!"
"Two, two hundred?!"
Mole and Mosquito\'s eyes instantly widened in shock.
Looking back quickly, they saw that the person who raised his hand was actually Old Brother Ample Time who entered the game earlier than them.
The surrounding players were also whispering to each other.
"200 silver coins for a bow?!"
"Crazy, with this much money, he can buy two guns!"
"But I think it should not be counted as a loss. You can tie explosives to the arrow... Have you ever played the Graphics Card Crisis? That\'s what I\'m talking about."
"Damn it. Stop talking about it. You made me want to buy it too. Even though I\'m just the intelligence type!"
"Wuu Wuu, when can I be so rich?"
Ample Time ignored the whispers of other players, looked at Brother Mosquito, and smiled embarrassedly. "Brother, please… I really need it."
Among these players, probably no one knew how to use a bow better than him.
Mosquito reluctantly spread out his hand, signalling that he would give up.
"Fine, I give up. We are brothers after all."
Actually, he wouldn\'t be able to do anything even if he didn\'t want to give up.
He did make a fortune selling wooden bows to new players before, but he also spent a lot of money on "R&D". In addition to the previous purchases, the sum of the money in his pocket was left with only 190 silver coins.
Mole grumbled angrily. "What the hell! Where did you get so much money? You must have embezzled the public funds!"
Before Ample Time spoke, Night Ten came out. "Hehe, do you think we won\'t do anything other than make bricks? The exclusive task of the brick factory alone will give us 100 silver coins if we increased the daily output to more than 5,000, let alone—"
Before Night Ten could finish, Old White quickly covered his mouth.
"Okay, okay, stop talking."
If the Dev heard it, they might not be able to get that money.
But having said that, these 200 silver coins were actually the entire savings of Bull and Horse Squad. The reason why Ample Time didn\'t raise his hand before was actually discussing it with his teammates.
Without going in circles, he said that he wanted this bow.
His archery skill now allowed him to hit a moving target at a distance of 50m. If he could get this bow, his combat power would be directly doubled, and his team\'s DPS would also increase a lot!
The other three teammates didn\'t have any opinion either. They\'ve been playing games together for a long time. Even in other games, they were also doing the same thing.
Once the damage output of their team went up, they would not need to worry about making money at all.
Especially Night Ten. He supported Old Brother Ample Time the most. After all, the bolt-action rifle he was using was bought with the money raised by Ample Time.
The_Escaping_Mole: "Damn it, you guys are really rich. This is just sad."
Ample Time smiled and said: "I\'m sorry brother. Next time, if there\'s something good, I definitely won\'t fight with you."
The_Escaping_Mole: "You better remember what you said by that time!"
In this way, the battle of the rich tyrant players came to an end, and everyone dispersed, each going their own way.
Brother Mole was still doing the same task as yesterday, gathering a team on the forum to raid the instance dungeon - the greenhouse ruins. As for the two brothers who were dead, they were replaced by two new strength-type players.
The insect-type dungeon was one of the rare dungeon types that was very difficult for the perception-type players to utilize their abilities. Most insect-type mutants seemed to have their own hidden bonuses, which were very difficult for perception-type players to detect.
The official website forum had already formed a consensus. When raiding this kind of dungeon, it was better to bring two more tanks than a scout.
As long as they could block the attacks, the other teammates would be able to keep output damage.
As for the Bull and Horse Squad, Chu Guang specially observed it with a drone and found that they did not stay in the brick factory, but went out of the wetland park along the north gate and went to a collapsed department store building between the tire factory and the abandoned construction site.
Is there something in there?
Chu Guang was very curious, but did not follow them with the drone. After all, it would be more than three kilometers if he followed, and the signal would be somewhat affected at that distance.
Anyway, when they found something good, they would bring it back to the outpost. At that time, he just needed to look through the strategy guides on the official website to figure out what they were doing.
...
All the Combat Profession players had left the outpost for work. There were only newcomers in the base doing errand missions, and Life Profession players treating Wasteland Online as a leisure game.
When Chu Guang walked into Teng Teng\'s Hut, the dexterous Miss Teng Teng was standing on a stool, facing a wooden board that had been drawn with a charcoal, teaching three intelligence-type players how to use the leftovers from making fur coat, to make some leather goods such as holsters and scabbards.
"...There are no two identical leaves in the world, nor two identical furs in the world. You must remember this sentence."
"If you want to become a qualified designer, you must first learn to distinguish the subtle differences between furs of similar sizes. Only after you have selected the materials, can you start the next step."
"Do you understand?"
Teng Teng, who was teaching on the stool, was like a teacher in a kindergarten class.
The three players stared at her, obviously not understanding what she had said. But they still nodded cluelessly in the end.
"Understood!"
"Awesome!"
Seeing that her students were very clever, Teng Teng nodded with satisfaction, patted her dark hand, and jumped off the stool.
It just so happened that at this time, she saw the administrator standing at the entrance, and her eyes immediately lit up.
A hidden quest delivered to my door?!
"Well, you can spend some time thinking about it first!"
After throwing out this sentence, Teng Teng immediately ran to the entrance and said excitedly. "Dear administrator, do you have any instructions?"
Chu Guang said straightforwardly. "The outpost recently captured a batch of Devil Moth cocoons. The devil silk drawn from these cocoons is a good material. I want to ask you if there is a way to weave them into usable cloth."
"Weaving?" Teng Teng looked confused, "I think you need to do silk reeling before weaving..."
To be honest, she didn\'t know.
If it was just clothing design, she didn\'t need such "basic" knowledge at all. Even the fur processing she was currently doing was taught by herself through the learning materials downloaded from the Internet after she played Wasteland Online.
Now the administrator gave her another problem.
Although with the help of the Internet, it was not difficult to find some public information, what she wasn\'t sure about was whether the information she found was still valid for Devil Moth\'s cocoon.
Seriously, would anyone really make clothes out of moth cocoons?
It sounded so weird.
Chu Guang looked at Teng Teng and continued. "Whether it\'s silk reeling or other processes, I need it to turn into usable thread and cloth. If we can use these materials, we can make lighter and more durable armor, and the excess products can be used to solve our urgent food shortage problem... Do you have any good solutions?"
Although Teng Teng was not confident, when she learned the importance of this task from the administrator, she nodded vigorously.
"Although I have never tried it before, I think I can give it a try!"
At the same time as the voice fell, she received a task pop-up window on her VM.
[Mission: Textile Craft]
[Briefing: The outpost has obtained a batch of devil silk. These are high-quality materials, but to turn these materials into silk threads and cloth, we must first solve the problem of production tools. ]
[Requirements: Make a Spinning Machine and Loom. ]
[Reward: 100 silver coins]
[Note: Although a hand-spinning machine and loom are enough to complete the task, if you can combine the current needs of the outpost to make a production machine with better performance, it may trigger additional hidden awards. ]
100 silver coins!
When Teng Teng saw the quest reward, her eyes instantly turned into the color of silver coins.
Especially the note at the end.
If she could make a production machine with excellent performance, it may also trigger additional hidden rewards!
"Don\'t worry, dear administrator!"
Teng Teng raised her head excitedly, poking her index finger on the VM screen, and promised with great confidence, "Teng Teng will definitely live up to your expectations!"
"Mhm, I believe you. " Chu Guang nodded with satisfaction.
If he had to figure out these troublesome things by himself, just the problem of making steel would be enough to trouble him until next year.
But with these hardworking and brave little players...
Chu Guang suddenly felt that life in the wasteland was actually not as difficult as he imagined.