"Please note, the rules will be updated with new versions, and I hold the ultimate power of interpretation."
The current basic rules are nothing more than intentionally attacking neutral or friendly NPCs, running out of the map boundary set by Lin Miao, deliberately disrupting other players’ gaming experience, or attacking enemy bases without a mission or threat.
Of course, ultimate power of interpretation means that even if you haven’t broken these rules, even if you find a loophole, Lin Miao can forcibly make you log off to stop your criminal activities.
All four of them had the same thought
’Damn, he really is a GM dog.’
This guy is probably someone from the game company; NPC is a role setting, GM is a management authority, there’s no conflict, and the game company will use human customer service to answer their questions.
The body retrieval was quick. The mechanical arms inside the conversion chamber shot out sharp surgical knives, precisely and rapidly cutting through Night Wanderer’s flesh, opening the ribcage, severing tendons, ribs, neural connectors, extracting the cybernetics and applying an anti-corrosive coating, while the remaining flesh and bones started to melt at a visible speed, turning into the same yellow liquid as in the jar, with some useless burnt shell and broken brain components floating on top.
Of course, the cybernetics of Night Wanderer couldn’t be anything good, with a bionic mechanical right arm and two bionic joints, the bionic skin of the arm was gone, leaving only a metal hand flailing around outside. Additionally, their brain-machine interface modules, optical lenses, bionic eyes were shot by Lin Miao, leaving only burnt fragments of neural components.
Besides, there were also two sets of leg reinforcement tendons and bionic joints; it didn’t matter if they could fight, they could run. Two pairs of bionic lungs with blackened lobes looking quite worn out, and they were low-grade products. After all, in the Evil Land, the air was only slightly better than mines and chemical plants; don’t even think about oscillation receivers, fortified cores, and dense marrow. The poor in the Evil Land don’t deserve them.
Although there weren’t many items dropped, in the eyes of the four players, it was a legitimate equipment system, their eyes turning red with desire.
And this is a fully immersive holographic game, where you can truly equip it on your body to feel it, rather than just a stat booster or a costume!
Who didn’t think T800 was cool when they were a kid?
Who doesn’t have a robot dream?
And now it feels like the dream is within reach, just a thin layer of glass in the way...
Lin Miao’s cough pulled the four back to reality; he hadn’t even given the players uniforms yet, and they wanted cybernetics?
Work hard, the company won’t treat you poorly.
He opened the conversion chamber and collected the cybernetics into the empty boxes that had held guns earlier that morning, and then said to them
"These are the current assets of the agency. Although not much and the quality isn’t great, it’s at least a first step. As long as you perform well and save enough GP points, you can purchase cybernetics or equipment in the agency’s store."
Lin Miao’s words poured cold water on their fervor, which quickly faded, but they soon regained their spirits.
Yeah, these are the equipment that others got from scavenging. They haven’t even repaired a house yet; why should they get the equipment? And GP points? Is it a mission reward currency? Or a hint at game top-ups?
Indeed, they had to work harder, grind a bit more!
Once again, a burning fighting spirit ignited in their eyes, and they said in unison.
"We’ll go fix it right away."
But Lin Miao didn’t make them work overtime immediately; instead, he patted their shoulders and said in a caring tone
"Alright, you’ve been busy for most of the day, it’s time for a break, and it’s also time for dinner. This lunch is on me, fellow countrymen, let’s go."
His generosity and offer of treating them were full of warmth, despite the fact that both Potato and the boss were seasoned veterans in reality, scoffing at such gestures, but this was the first time eating inside a game world, they didn’t overthink it. Excitedly, they followed Lin Miao out of the basement.
The four of them arrived at the bar counter that hadn’t been dismantled, each taking a stool to sit on, while Lin Miao ran to the garage, rummaged in the trunk of another car for a while, and came back to the bar with four 1-euro burritos and some beer, placing them on the counter.
"Eat up, no need to pay, and there’s beer too, consider it a celebration of your new life."
Actually, Lin Miao initially didn’t plan on giving beer, but doing so made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
After all, even the cheap 1-euro beef burrito was hard to find even in Huang Ban; seeing how hard they’ve worked, a bottle of beer as a reward seemed fair.
But Wildman and the others didn’t care much for that, as long as there was food, it was enough. Just seeing the packaged burrito made their eyes light up.
The West Lake Seafood Tycoon was the first to grab a burrito, examining it in front of the three others. He planned to be the first to try it.
However, the packaging was in English, and with an intelligence of just 3, he didn’t recognize it, but luckily there was a picture.
Sun Yifeng, looking at the red chili packaging, curiously said
"Is it spicy? I’m pretty good with spicy food, let’s open it up and taste it."
Upon hearing this, Potato could only bury his head under the table, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
The plastic packaging was torn open easily, the tycoon took out the burrito inside, spread it out in the palm of his hand,
"It’s quite big, the portion looks decent, just wonder how it tastes."
Seeing the West Lake Tycoon about to tear off a piece and toss it into his mouth, Potato raised his head to try and stop him
"Maybe you shouldn’t, Brother Sun, let’s not pretend we can handle this."
But this move only sparked a rebellious streak in the West Lake Tycoon, who tore off half a burrito and held it in his hand, glaring at Potato and saying
"What? Think I’m not up to it? I sell spicy crabs for a living, you know?"
With that, he tossed the burrito into his mouth and began to chew.
The burrito, although made with synthetic flour, wasn’t too bad for a first-timer, but the seasoning was entirely industrial synthetic capsaicin paired with too much salt, making it both salty and spicy. A strong rush ran through his nostrils and forehead; the West Lake Tycoon felt every inch of his tongue and mouth screaming in pain. His face turned flushed, sweat pouring off his forehead, unable to continue and spat out the dough, crying out for help.
"Whoa, it’s so damn spicy!" he exclaimed, showing signs of a swollen mouth.
Potato, clutching his stomach, laughed and said, "I told you not to eat it, but you still did. Why act tough with spices, you hapless sod from Hangzhou."
But the West Lake Tycoon’s reaction did shock the other members; after all, it seemed he really tasted it, quickly causing them to grab a burrito and tear it open to try.
"Whoa, it’s salty! I’m tasting salt in the game!"
"Mine’s sweet, kind of like a sweet sauce glaze."
"Let me try a piece."
"Let’s trade, I’ll taste yours."
The four acted like they hadn’t ever eaten well in a past life, turning the dry industrial burritos with beer into a feast.
Halfway through, Potato realized Lin Miao hadn’t taken his portion, so he asked, "Hey, aren’t you eating?"
But Lin Miao just slightly shook his head "I’m not hungry; I already ate on the way back."
Finishing his sentence, he turned and headed out of the bar, not forgetting to say
"Once you’re done, you can rest for a while, come out later and I’ll teach you something."
Watching his departing figure, Brother Ni took a sip of beer and commented,
"Tsk... Just like the protagonist big brother in movies, damn he’s cool, I bet fifty cents he didn’t really eat."
Wildman stuffed the last bit of burrito into his mouth, patted his cheeks, and said, "Same old movie trick, game script isn’t much better, but it’s effective, moves you precisely because you see it."
Potato was also deeply moved, "Even though NPCs don’t really eat, just going through the motions, it’s still quite touching."
But once Lin Miao had completely left, the West Lake Tycoon lowered his head and quietly said to the others, "I’ll tell you, when I was welding the composite plates earlier, I took a turn around the basement, guess what I found?"
"A diary, one he wrote."
"What? Show it to me."
"You lazy dog, you were slacking off again!"
"No, just passing by, I didn’t take the diary out. What if I got caught? But I remember it said something...."