owlsbooks Chapter 43 Pearl Harbor Meat Grinder
Chapter 43 Pearl Harbor Meat Grinder
"Quiet."
A cold voice interrupted the newlyweds' celebration.
Lynn ignored the new players' amazement at the physics engine and realism. He walked slowly out of the shadows, wearing a black trench coat and with his hands in his pockets.
Lynn's gaze swept over the twenty excited recruits, his cold face expressionless. At this moment, he needed to play the role of a qualified NPC.
He no longer used the guiding tone he had used in Rainbow Village, because the current situation no longer allowed for the warm and welcoming groundwork laid for them in the newbie village.
"Put away your curiosity."
Lynn's voice wasn't loud, and it sounded exactly like what players imagined game NPCs to be:
"Welcome to Pearl Harbor, or rather, welcome to the upcoming meat grinder battle."
He raised his hand and pointed to the thick concrete ceiling above him, as if he could see through it the impending bloodshed outside: "You haven't experienced the comfort of the newbie village, and I won't give you any gradual, sheltered treatment."
Because less than a few dozen kilometers away, a heavily armed regular army is preparing to flatten this dock and extinguish the last spark of civilization we've ignited at Pearl Harbor.
Seeing the fighting spirit gradually igniting in the eyes of some players, Lynn felt secretly pleased. It seemed that practicing his lines all day had some effect.
"I summoned you here before your access was restored, not so you could come and admire the scenery. You have only one purpose: to become the strongest shield and the deadliest blade in this war."
"Remember, the MapleStory Protection Agreement is still in effect. Although you possess an immortality that the natives do not have, death is not without its price. Once you die in battle, your consciousness will be banished to the abyss of nothingness, and you will be forbidden from setting foot on this land for a full 48 hours."
Lynn paused, his gaze becoming extremely aggressive as he stared intently at the group of players:
"So even if we're going to our deaths, we must die with meaning! We must tear the enemy's formation apart, and strip them of their muskets and heavy armor!"
"Now, those veterans outside who have seen countless battles will teach you how to dig pits, how to show those arrogant regular soldiers our rules. Go and prove to me that you are worthy of this body bestowed upon you by God!"
After saying that, Lynn turned around, leaving the group of new recruits with only a cool and imposing back view.
The new players below were not deterred by this cold-blooded cannon fodder theory; instead, they were all trembling with excitement.
"Holy crap, the dialogue design for this NPC leader is absolutely awesome!"
"This isn't just suicide, this is clearly an officially commissioned epic main storyline CG!"
"Stop talking nonsense! Didn't you hear the GM say that dying means a two-day account ban? Go collect your gear and get ready to dig some holes!"
Lynn opened the system panel and called in several veteran players, including Little Snail and Agent.
"Your new recruits have arrived." Lynn glanced at the veteran players. "Issuing a limited-time [Mentoring Newcomer] mission: Immediately take them to familiarize themselves with the terrain and assign them to the frontline engineering team. For each new recruit you mentor, the system will award you 50 credit points."
Lynn said these words specifically to the new players, in order to instill in them the concept that completing tasks would earn them rewards.
Upon hearing the words "credit points," the eyes of several veteran players lit up. They looked at these twenty newcomers as if they were walking piles of gold coins.
Just as veteran players were dividing up the new recruits like pork, preparing for a big battle but struggling with a lack of trap materials, news came from the sentries outside the camp.
Under the cover of night, Old One-Eye's confidant sneaked to the edge of the camp and requested an audience with Lynn.
Inside the reception room, the one-eyed gang's confidant respectfully handed over a list of supplies.
"Mr. Lynn, my master said that since we've decided to board your ship, we can't just stand by and watch."
The confidant's voice was neither humble nor arrogant: "We still have plenty of supplies in our warehouse that you might need. Our master said you're welcome to send someone to fetch them, as a token of your loyalty. He's also prepared a small gift for you. The seven sentries Bolton sent to scout the outskirts were all sunk into the sea by us half an hour ago."
Lynn raised an eyebrow slightly.
Old One-Eyed, that old fox, has an astonishing political acumen and the audacity to go all in.
Assassinating the scouts is tantamount to blinding the Blood Axe Mercenary Group, a brilliant tactical gift.
"Please thank your master for me; I appreciate his sincerity." After a moment's thought, Lynn directly appointed Little Snail and Little Rain as the territory's representatives, "You two push the cart and go with him to pick up the goods."
As night deepened, the area around the shipwreck was shrouded in mist.
Little Snail and Little Rain pushed the heavy wooden cart, following behind the old one-eyed confidant, walking unsteadily along the ruined road leading to the secret warehouse of the black market.
Taking advantage of the fact that the NPC in front couldn't hear her, Xiaoyu lowered her voice and asked, "Brother Snail, don't you think this game is a little scary?"
"What's scary about it? The picture quality is too realistic?" the little snail replied casually.
"It's not the graphics, it's the logic of the NPCs!" Xiaoyu took a deep breath. "A faction leader of Old One-Eye's caliber would actually go out of his way to give us hidden supplies! He not only provides equipment, but also knows how to assassinate scouts and block information for us. This is definitely not one of those computer NPCs that just stand still and give out quests. They understand political opportunism and have complete independent personalities!"
Upon hearing this, the little snail slapped the handrail of the cart, and this veteran professional player immediately saw the most important thing.
"Whether the NPCs are smart or not isn't the most important thing, bro. The important thing is, the better this game is made, the more money we, as the first players, can earn. Once the resources in this game can be traded offline, that'll be a real money-maker!" The little snail's low voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement. "This game is about to say goodbye to the egalitarian system!"
Xiaoyu was taken aback: "You mean the new economic system is coming soon?"
The little snail answered confidently: "Of course, we said before that after Bolton fell, we could establish a new currency system by taking her money. But there were too few players back then, so it was a bit difficult for money to circulate."
Things are different now. With these 20 new players joining, they'll need a trading market for the materials they get from monster hunting and the ores they mine! The shovels, supplies, and clean drinking water that our group collected during the first test—that's our first pot of gold!
The little snail licked its chapped lips: "After this defensive battle, the first thing we'll do is change our class, then ask the GM for land! We'll open factories and shops! We'll use our first-mover advantage to monopolize basic resources. We'll suck all those new players' credits, which they haven't even had a chance to warm up yet, into our own pockets! These guys from the second beta test are our perfect harvest!"
Xiaoyu was stunned, feeling a chill run down his spine. He could almost see a business empire rising from the snail's mouth.
After their fantasy time ended, the two quickly arrived at a hidden warehouse behind the black market.
When the trusted confidant lifted the heavy rainproof tarpaulin, the little snail cursed, "Holy shit!"
What lay before them were several huge abandoned shipyard industrial electromagnets, two high-pressure liquid nitrogen compression tanks still emitting white vapor, tons of quicklime, and several large barrels of strong acid stock solution.
"This is a sure thing." The little snail swallowed hard. "Let's just buff those heavily armored mercenaries."