Chapter 679: MUAHAHAHAHAHA, "KNEW YOU’D PICK THAT ONE" |
At the beach south of French Fry Harbor
Because the temporary dock was so narrow, Sisi had to make several attempts before the ship finally steadied. A long gangplank slid down from the deck, resting diagonally on the newly laid wooden planks of the pier.
Standing in the shallows where the waves lapped at their feet, a crowd of eager onlookers gazed intently toward the deep-water deck in the distance.
At that moment, a small face peeked over the ship’s rail.
“Land!”
Balancing on tiptoe, Gooseberry gripped the railing with both hands, her timid eyes full of curiosity and longing as she gazed at the golden beach not far away. Her big sister Misa had said that once they landed, they wouldn’t have to stay in those cramped ship cabins anymore.
Though she was grateful to the ship that had carried them out of hell, she still preferred living beneath the sun. The warmth on her skin lifted her spirits, filling her heart with a soft joy.
And as she watched the crowd on the shore, the crowd watched her.
She was cute, sure, but what the hell happened to the maid outfits they were promised?!
Beneath those metal-toned exoskeletal limbs were soaked shirts clinging to their shoulders and waists. Seeing those tall, fit bodies and handsome faces, many unmarried young women on shore blushed, pretending to admire the scenery instead of staring.
The married women, however, were far more open, eyes wide, unabashedly taking in the view and whispering excitedly to their companions.
The shelters had preserved not only pre-war knowledge and culture but also pre-war genetic excellence.
Moreover, cloned bodies of Shelter 404 were all made from the best DNA, carefully screened and selected. Unless humanity’s idea of beauty had completely changed, their looks needed no defense. Otherwise, when the Frost Spear Tribe first reached the shores of Linghu Lake, they wouldn’t have taken one look at them and half-jokingly asked to borrow some seed.
Frankly, in that situation, it was hard to tell who was taking advantage of whom.
“Ahaha, sorry about this, everyone!” With an awkward smile and a hand scratching the back of her head, Tail stepped off the gangplank.
But before she even found her footing, furious shouts erupted all around her, nearly scaring her back into the sea.
“Damn it! Where are the maid outfits?!”
“Why are they in normal clothes?!”
“Geneva Convention violation! How can you lie to us?”
“Off with your head!”
“I want a refund!”
Seeing the angry mob, Tail flinched like a cat seeing a cucumber, but forced herself to step forward. She explained weakly, “T-this… was just an accident, giao! I-I’ll have Roro wear one for you, alright?”
“Damn you, Tail!”
Watching the chaos from the rail, Misa turned to Sesame Paste in confusion. “What… are they saying?”
“It’s, uh, a special way the New Alliance welcome friends, don’t mind it,” Sesame Paste said hastily, changing the topic. “Have everyone disembark, it’s dangerous crowding the railing like that.”
Misa blinked, still puzzled, but nodded. Then, remembering something, she took Sesame Paste’s hand with gratitude. “Thank you. When they took us to that camp, I thought I was going to die. If it weren’t for you, we would all be…”
“You’re welcome.” Sesame Paste smiled softly, squeezing her cold, slender hand. “I hope you can start a new life in this new world.”
Hope flickered in Misa’s eyes as she nodded firmly. “We will! Definitely!”
…
For players who caused new trouble every day, the maid-outfit incident was just a tiny footnote.
It was a pity, sure, but most Wasteland Online players weren’t petty enough to hold a grudge over such things. A sincere apology was enough. To show her remorse, and as punishment for deceiving the strength type brutes, Tail was sentenced to a humiliating but mild penance. She had to wear a maid outfit for three consecutive days.
Compared with the other shameful suggestions which even caused Chu Guang to shake his head in disappointment when he read the forums, the final punishment was basically not worth calling it that.
Besides, there wasn’t even a branch of Teng Teng’s Hut there. There were no maid costumes for sale in the god-forsaken beach town.
In the end, Tail figured she would be safe choosing that option.
Unfortunately for her, the moment she did, wicked smiles appeared on the faces of everyone present.
“Knew you’d pick that one!”
Moments later, Prone Model rolled out a rack packed with maid uniforms and gestured proudly. “Pick whichever you like, don’t be shy.”
Staring at that row of outfits, Tail’s smug expression instantly collapsed.
“G-giao?! Wait, seriously? You want me to wear these?! Here?!”
“Who else?” snorted a nearby strength type player. “You want me to?”
“Exactly!” another shouted.
“Hurry, hurry, you said you would do it!”
As she tried to back out, the crowd only grew louder.
“Sisi!” Tail turned toward her friend for help, eyes wide as she tried to call for help. To her horror, the usually indulgent Sisi only smiled mischievously.
“Well, a promise is a promise. Breaking it would be bad for your image, you know. Don’t worry, Little Tail, it’s just a change of clothes. I’ll help you.” Her smile turned devilish as she approached to grab Tail.
For once, Tail actually looked scared, shrinking in on herself. “S-Sisi… your expression is really scary now!”
“Is it?” Sisi touched her cheek thoughtfully, which somehow made her grin even more sinister.
Sensing danger, Tail glanced toward the crowd, ready to bolt, but before she could move, Sisi saw right through her. “Roro, grab her!”
“Got it!” In an instant, a pair of furry bear arms wrapped around Tail from behind, lifting her clear off the ground.
“G-Giao! Roro, stop! Nooo…!”
“Offender captured! Heheh, prepare for judgment!”
Flailing helplessly, Tail was carried away toward the ship in Roshan’s huge, fuzzy embrace.
Sisi crouched to inspect the clothes rack, her eyes lighting up when she found one she liked best. Then she followed them into the cabin.
About ten minutes later, all three reemerged onto the beach.
When the crowd saw the newly transformed Tail, nearly everyone froze.
“Hoooooly crap.”
“Wait, that’s Tail?!”
“No way, it actually suits her!”
“I thought it would be as cursed as Mosquito wearing one…”
Hearing the laughter, Tail’s face turned crimson with fury. “WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN I LOOK LIKE MOSQUITO?!”
The loudest hecklers, mostly strength types men, scratched their heads awkwardly, blushing as they quietly slipped away. They hadn’t expected her to actually look good in it. The comedic payoff had backfired completely.
Fine. They would pretend they’d seen nothing.
Dragging the ankle-length skirt irritably, Tail stomped her foot. “Damn it! Why does this god-forsaken place even have maid outfits?!”
“Oh yeah, why does it?” Roshan, still giggling, suddenly paused, frowning as she rubbed her chin and looked at Prone Model, who had rolled out the rack.
Everyone turned to stare at him.
Startled, he waved his hands. “Don’t look at me! I found them in Her Drunken Recluse’s warehouse. I went there for beer a few days ago!”
He had wondered about it then, why that warehouse had so many maid outfits, but had been too busy to ask.
Now everyone’s gaze shifted to that fellow, who was watching the show while eating sunflower seeds.
“Why are you all looking at me?” he asked, genuinely confused.
Unable to resist, Peepo was the first to ask, “Why do you have so many maid outfits?”
The man froze, seeds spilling from his hand. “They… They’re uniforms! For, uh, commercial use!”
“Ohhh, makes sense.” Peepo nodded, though something still felt off.
Why did he sound so nervous?
Prone Model scratched his head. “Weird. I thought you had to order maid outfits from Tengteng’s Hut. How did you buy so many at once?”
…
With the Roro Boat docked, the once-quiet settlement finally buzzed with life.
It proved one thing. A town without NPCs was like Minecraft without villagers. No matter how many houses one built, it still felt empty.
With the arrival of the new immigrants, whatever their value might be, at least player morale soared.
After counting the newcomers, Fang Chang marked out a residential zone east of the camp, leaving roads and fire lanes, and distributed stockpiled materials, light wood, coconut shells, banana leaves, enough for makeshift huts.
Before the dormitories were built, they would have to make their own shelters.
At first, players like Sword Execution worried they wouldn’t manage, but those Moonfolk women quickly proved otherwise, pitching a surprising number of tents before sunset.
After all, the Poro Province, like the River Valley Province, was a wasteland, just a different kind. Though some of them looked delicate, none were flowerpots.
They might lack the combat grit of the rugged valley folk, but when it came to farming, crafting, manual labor, or construction, they were just as skilled, if not more.
And above all, they were diligent.
Their faith had given them an extraordinary tolerance for hardship. It wasn’t something to brag about, but in adversity, it was a strength.
Where others might give up, they endured, and always stayed optimistic about the next day.
The tents were cramped, yes, but far better than ship cabins.
Life would not be beautiful overnight, but it would get better, day by day.
In the camp, Chen Yutong watched the noisy new settlement from afar, holding her tablet with curiosity.
“Those girls came from Poro Province?”
“Yes,” Old White nodded with a smile. “With more people here, this port finally feels like a real port.”
Chen Yutong smiled faintly. “You people sure love crowds.”
Old White chuckled. “You don’t?”
“How could I not?” Brushing windblown hair from her face, she teased, “If I hated crowds, I wouldn’t have sneaked out of the Wandering Swamp.”
He grinned, noticing the tablet in her arms. “So, are you doing work stuff?”
“Mm.” Her voice was melodious as she continued, “There are a few findings I need you to send back to the New Alliance Biological Research Institution via the shelter network. Can I count on you?”
The so-called direct line was just Wasteland Online’s official website, a secure channel used by key research institutions to contact the shelter in absolute secrecy.
No one but the administrator knew how it worked.
Old White nodded solemnly, tapping his VM. “Go ahead.”
Taking out her tablet, Chen Yutong tapped twice on the screen. “There are two main parts, one concerning the investigation of the Baiyue Province’s Hive, and another commissioned by the Baiyue Strait Development Company on the local forest’s self-healing properties… Where’s your friend? He should hear this too.”
As luck would have it, Ample Time appeared at that exact moment, holding a map as he strode over from the neighboring camp. “I’m here. Did you finish the analysis?”
He had just finished checking the eastern roads, distributing food, fuel, and supplies to the newly settled Moonfolk.
Next came identity registration.
After some thought, he decided to give them status of supervised residents, using the same management framework as the House of Refugees.
He used to joke about NPCs copying his ideas, but now that he was running a settlement himself, he finally realized how hard the administrator had it.
Managing 1,000 people was far harder than killing a thousand monsters, even docile, hardworking ones. And he had to do more than keep them fed. He had to address the settlement’s deeper problems, like the forest’s self-healing properties.
If they couldn’t control it, the jungle would reclaim every patch of cleared land within days.
“Alright,” Chen Yutong said, nodding. “Let’s start with the Baiyue Hive.”
Looking toward Old White, who was recording, she continued, “Our investigation confirms part of our earlier hypothesis about Gaia, its true power lies in opening the channel for genetic information exchange between organisms. This forest is the result of its fusion with Earth’s ecosystem under minimal human interference. The challenges we face now are almost identical to those encountered by the first colonists who landed on Gaia.”
