Chapter 194: Incredible Slime Mold
Chapter 194 Incredible Slime Molds
Planting area on the B3 floor.
The last row of the soilless planting unit.
Standing in front of a transparent display window, Chu Guang touched his chin with his right hand, and his sunny and handsome face was full of surprise.
”Potatoes, corn, tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, cabbage… I didn’t expect that there were so many good things hidden here.”
I originally planned to come here to take a look at the planting area, but I didn’t expect that after walking around the planting unit, I actually found an unexpected surprise here.
Behind the transparent display window, there were boxes with labels, which contained seeds of different varieties of crops.
These seeds were soaked in a special solution and stored at an extremely low temperature.
Chu Guang counted carefully and found that there were a total of 12 kinds of pre-war crops stored in the freezer, with growth cycles ranging from short to long, and suitable climates ranging from tropical to cold zones, almost completely covering them.
No matter what kind of climate environment the residents of the shelter face after the door of the shelter is opened, they can find at least one variety suitable for the current climate to sow.
In addition, these seeds are all genetically modified improved varieties, roughly similar to the β-712 cotton seeds he had opened from the blind box before.
Following the manager quietly, looking at the interested expression on his face, Makabazi said excitedly.
”Manager, I think we should make use of these idle facilities!”
Chu Guang nodded and said.
”You’re right, I do have this plan.”
Hearing this, Makabazi, who was standing next to him, looked expectant, but when the manager turned around and left, he didn’t wait for the expected words.
Blinking in confusion, he quickly lowered his head and glanced at the VM.
Huh?
Why didn’t the task trigger?
Is it because the posture that triggered the conversation is wrong?
…
The soilless planting unit in the planting area, sowing, watering, fertilizing and finally harvesting can all be completed through preset programs.
In a sense, similar to the production method of the black box, the demand for manpower and planting experience is extremely low.
There is no need to leave such a high degree of automation to the players. Chu Guang plans to leave it to Xiaoqi to take charge.
Too much manual involvement will drag down the efficiency of the facility.
In terms of production ideas, Chu Guang plans to focus on breeding staple food varieties with longer growth cycles, supplemented by planting short-cycle crops such as pakchoi.
When the spring comes next year, the seeds of those staple food crops will come in handy.
”50 planting units, the theoretical planting area adds up to only 50 acres… it’s still a little less.”
Even if one acre of carefully cultivated land can feed 5 people, the output of 50 acres is only enough to feed 250 people, and it is not even enough to cover the new players in the Alpha0.9 version.
Every time Chu Guang thought of this, he was puzzled.
”This is unreasonable. The planting area of the shelter can’t even feed the refugees on this floor. Do people here eat nutritional paste?” It
can’t be that miserable.
Or… is
there another hidden story?
In any case, food is a big problem.
In addition to food, his little players also need fur coats to resist the severe cold. Although the blue coat has a warming function, it is only for general cold. In this winter in Qingquan City, the lake has even shown signs of freezing, which is obviously not just ordinary cold.
Compared with the incubator, the supplies needed to feed a player are more urgent problems to be solved at the moment.
The more troublesome thing is that it will be December soon, and the winter has entered its climax, and everyone may not have much food.
Brown Farm can no longer squeeze out any oil, and there are no survivors’ settlements with high food production in the nearby area.
The only thing we can count on is the greenhouse ruins.
I hope that brother Makabazi can help a little.
It has been a while, and I don’t know how his corn field is doing.
After leaving the planting area, Chu Guang turned a corner and came to the infirmary next door, intending to see what his newly recruited bioengineering expert was busy with.
Due to the frequent onlookers and harassment of the players, the door here seemed to be locked by her.
Although for Chu Guang, the door from B1 to B3 is like a decoration to him, he still politely pressed the doorbell with high emotional intelligence.
The doorbell rang.
It opened soon.
After passing through the infirmary, Chu Guang went straight to the room inside.
Judging from the equipment here and the layout of the room, this should be a medical laboratory.
When he passed through the movable door, Heya, wearing a blue coat, was standing in front of an electron microscope, with her eyes facing the observation port, and her right hand skillfully operated the buttons on the touch screen.
After standing by and observing for a while, Chu Guang asked with interest.
”What is this?”
Heya, whose eyes were fixed on the eyepiece without stopping her hand movements, said excitedly.
”Mutated slime mold! Samples collected from the gnawers! Thanks to your wanjia… should be read like this? Anyway, please thank them for me!”
It seems that she is already fully familiar with the players’ usage, although she is not yet completely accustomed to their enthusiasm.
Chu Guang was very pleased with this.
It would be great if all his NPCs had such a high level of comprehension, so that his micro-operation could be reduced by at least half.
”I’ll convey your thanks. How’s it going? Did you find anything?”
Unlike the other residents who have lived in the wasteland for a while, Heya had been staying in Shelter 117. Although she had heard about the dangerous species active outside, she had never really come into contact with them.
The manager of Shelter 117 was a relatively conservative leader and did not support bringing samples from the wasteland back to the shelter at the risk of unbalanced ecological environment in the shelter.
Chu Guang didn’t have so many concerns. Shelter 404 had been opened a long time ago, and he didn’t plan to completely seal the door. He didn’t need a few samples at all.
Therefore, when he heard that Heya planned to list the alien species in the wasteland as research objects, he agreed without saying a word and even allocated her a budget of 2,000 silver coins.
Even if he could learn more about the weaknesses of the alien species, the money would definitely be worth it.
”More than seeing something, these samples have completely overturned my first impression of them! At first I thought that these mutant slime molds and those alien species you call gnawers and crawlers were parasitic, but later I found that this was not the case at all.”
Chu Guang was slightly stunned when he heard this.
This was completely different from the rumors he had heard.
”…Isn’t it?”
Heya stared at the microscope and said without hesitation.
”Of course not! Gnawers, crawlers, and martyrs… According to the samples that have been collected so far, these creatures that you call slime mold alien species are actually the fruiting bodies of mutant slime molds, not other species!”
Chu Guang was stunned when he heard a word he didn’t understand at all and asked.
”Fruiting body? What is that?”
”A spore-producing structure! You may not know much about slime molds. They have very special habits. Sometimes they crawl on the ground like amoebas, and sometimes they stand up like mushrooms to release spores. The habits of this mutant slime mold are even more peculiar. The fruiting bodies they form are different from other slime molds. In terms of morphology and behavior, they are highly similar to higher animals with complex body structures and highly differentiated organ functions!”
That pretty face was full of scientific enthusiasm.
Even though the eyepiece of the microscope blocked her eyes, Chu Guang could clearly feel that she exuded a temperament that was completely different from usual.
Chu Guang said cautiously.
”Can you explain it in detail? I mean, try to use terms that laymen can understand.”
”To put it in terms that laymen can understand, these slime molds show sociality similar to ants and bees! They have clear division of labor, some form toes, some form heads, some actively necrotize and harden, and other parts form nerve tissue and muscles that move limbs! It’s like some kind of unified consciousness determines the selective expression of each gene in the slime mold cells.”
Her eyes moved away from the eyepiece of the microscope and looked at Chu Guang with an excited expression.
”Didn’t you notice! The gnawers are completely copied from the human model, and the crawlers are like a combination of some quadrupeds and humans. They not only imitate the appearance of other creatures, but also imitate the hunting habits of those creatures!”
”And the martyrs are more strange. They seem to contain the characteristics of many creatures and some plants. They simulate explosives in their attack methods and help their kind capture prey through self-sacrifice… This is incredible! Are these slime molds really creatures on this planet?”
Looking at Heya who kept chattering, Chu Guang’s face was full of weird expressions.
He had only intended to have her help take care of the crops next door part-time. Anyway, the soilless planting units were highly automated, so he only needed to take a look occasionally.
Unexpectedly, he actually heard something incredible from her.
”You mean… the gnawers, crawlers, and martyrs are all the fruiting bodies of mutant slime molds? Are they used to release spores?”
Chu Guang pressed his index finger on his temple, trying to understand, and frowned, “That’s not right, I heard that they are produced by the mother nest.”
”Mother nest? What is that!”
Heya grabbed Chu Guang’s arm and said with a piercing look, “Can I get a sample? Oh, yes, you taught me that I can use VM…”
Halfway through, Heya seemed to remember something, loosened her hand holding Chu Guang’s arm, and raised the VM to “place an order”.
Chu Guang was startled by her action and quickly stopped her.
”Don’t get excited, the mother nest is not something that current players can solve, you are letting them die.”
Good guy.
Is this a wishing machine? !
Even if his little player is very useful, it is not used in this way!
Heya was slightly confused after being stopped, and her hand stopped moving.
”Is that mother nest… difficult to deal with?”
”It’s not a question of whether it is difficult or not, but it is impossible to deal with it at all.”
Although according to the standards set by himself, this kind of task will not pass the review of Xiaoqi, but Chu Guang feels that he still needs to let this old popsicle who lacks common sense about the wasteland understand what this world has become.
Looking at Heya who was stunned, Chu Guang paused for a moment and told her the information he summarized under the relevant entries of the official website setting collection one by one.
This includes Luo Hua’s experience during the journey, including the “wave” that erupts in Qingquan City every once in a while.
After listening to these amazing things, Heya finally had a general understanding of the danger of the mother nest.
This thing is extremely dangerous!
It’s like a natural disaster.
Even the survivor forces of the old place with certain industrial capabilities like Boulder City will feel strenuous when facing the wave set off by the mother nest.
As for collecting samples from the mother nest, it is almost impossible to do it under the current conditions of the shelter.
”Sorry, I didn’t know… this turned out to be such a dangerous thing.” Heya showed a guilty expression on her face.
Chu Guang shook his head and said,
”It’s okay. I was also surprised when I first heard about the mother nest. The research on the alien species can be done step by step. When we are able to solve the trouble in the city center, I guarantee that you will get the samples you want.”
Although the conditions are not yet met, Chu Guang has no doubt in his heart that he and his little players will one day completely eradicate the trouble in the city center.
In any case, he got some interesting information from Heya.
Chu Guang plans to selectively update this information in the official website settings for his little players as a reference.
…
The busy day is over.
The little players carrying javelins, spears, and axes drilled out from the depths of the tunnel on the B3 floor with great satisfaction.
In one day, they successfully pushed the front line 500 meters south and north at the same time, killing nearly two thousand gnawers! Hundreds of martyrs, and nearly twenty crawlers!
The number of alien species in the tunnel is larger than expected, especially in the north direction, where the swarming gnawers even formed waves of corpses!
However, the experienced little players are very smart. They placed wooden roadblocks along the way to block the gnawers’ advance speed and lengthen the gnawers’ team.
Once they cannot form a density, the gnawers are not so scary.
To deal with this alien species with a single attack method and relying on numbers to win, even life professional players who are not good at fighting can easily deal with it as long as they are not surrounded by them.
Not to mention the high-level players in the tunnel with an average level of LV6 or above!
In the shelter, there was already a long queue at the entrance of the bathrooms on the B2 and B3 floors, and the chattering was deafening.
”Fuck! The people in front should take a shower faster!”
”That’s right! What a waste of time! It’s been ten minutes!”
”!!! Are you all dogs? It doesn’t even take ten minutes to take a shower?!”
”We strongly suggest raising the water price!”
”Don’t raise it. If you raise it again, Boss Crow won’t be able to afford a shower!”
”Get lost!”
Yin Fang, who was carrying a bucket, had intended to wash up before dinner, but he was frightened by the scene. He didn’t even dare to eat and hid in his temporary laboratory.
The same was true at the entrance of the laundry room.
Especially those little players who came out of the tunnel, one by one, they looked like they had been in a coal mine, with more dust on their bodies than blood!
Finally, they squeezed out of the crowd.
Ye Shi, who was about to go back to his room to log off, happened to see Brother Mosquito. Seeing that this guy looked so dirty, he went up to greet him with a joking smile.
”Hey! Brother Mosquito, are you in the mood to play a dungeon today?”
”What dungeon? I’m testing new equipment.”
”It exploded again?”
Hearing this teasing with a playful tone, Mosquito couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
”What do you mean it exploded again! If it doesn’t explode, can it still be called a weapon? Anyway, the test results today are not bad, but there is a small problem with the ratio of the propellant. After it came out of the barrel, it sprayed dust all over my face. Damn, I have to make the launch tube longer.” After
a pause, Mosquito looked at Ye Shi and continued.
”No more bullshit. By the way, have you seen that stupid lizard? Why didn’t I see that guy squatting in the corner doing push-ups today?”
When talking about the lizard, Ye Shi was immediately happy.
”You mean that guy? Hahaha, he’s killing like crazy in the tunnel at the exit of B3! I guess he hasn’t had enough fun now.”
Thinking back to a few versions ago, Brother Trash was so awesome. He was the only one in the server who could move at night, eat raw meat and drink blood, and tear apart alien species with his bare hands. All players were envious.
However, who would have thought that winter would come within a month, and Brother Trash, a cold-blooded animal, was frozen offline and could not even get out of the shelter.
It is true that every version brings a new god, and only the newcomers laugh, but the old ones cry.
Mosquito smacked his tongue.
”I feel sorry for Brother Trash, this guy has been OB for at least three versions, right?”
Ye Shi also sighed.
”Be more confident, and remove the word ‘bar’!”
The night of the wasteland gradually deepened, and the sunrise of reality has risen.
Every time when the players go offline, the traffic of the official forum of “Wasteland OL” will usher in a small peak.
Chu Guang roughly browsed the forum.
He found that the players were very enthusiastic about discussing the new version he launched.
In less than 72 hours, more than a hundred guides have been born.
”Self-cultivation of a Monster Hunter! Solo Crack Claw Crab Guide!”
”Scavenger’s Manual! The author’s vomiting blood summary, twenty high-cost recycling materials! Just ask for a like! ”
The birth of the son of the version! The strength scavenger tells you what it means to use great strength to achieve miracles! You start with two hands, and you have to pick up all the equipment! 》
《404 Shelter B3 Entrance and Exit Tunnel Strategy! The four-physique perpetual motion machine will help you to create a new world! Brush until the monsters are extinct! 》
《……》
Chu Guang simply read a few articles and couldn’t help but admire the wisdom and imagination of these little players.
What is a high-quality human player?
It’s just the average level in the Wasteland OL closed beta server!
The people who write guides are very enthusiastic, and the enthusiasm of the players who watch the fun, cloud players, and sand sculpture netizens is also not small.
Among these more than 100 guides, the number of likes and replies exceeded 1,000 accounted for a full 20%!
According to the standards of BBS, this data is already quite exaggerated.
However, what Chu Guang is most interested in is not those guide posts, but several high-profile posts in the discussion area.
WC is really a mosquito: “MMP! The power of the twelve-barrel rocket is enough, but the muzzle velocity is still a bit low! It can’t hit high-speed targets at all! But it is surprisingly effective against ground targets?”
Lao Bai: “How much?”
WC is really a mosquito: “80 silver!”
Ye Shi: “Tsk, you sell it for more than the Iron Fist in the NPC store, why don’t I buy an Iron Fist? One shot can even blow up a crack-clawed crab. (Funny)”
WC is really a mosquito: “Damn! This is already the cost price!”
Fang Chang: “Brother, find a way to reduce costs, otherwise the word practical will always be a dream. By the way, the number of players has increased, and it’s time to expand the scale of production.”
WC is really a mosquito: “My head hurts! I’ll think of a way!”
Lao Bai: “If you ask me, don’t bother making an anti-aircraft rocket launcher. Forget about guidance. You don’t even have a proximity fuse. You can’t defend yourself. It’s better to make an SPG-9 recoilless gun. The anti-aircraft effect may be more reliable than your jab. (Slanting eyes)”
Ye Shi: “+1, give me an elevation angle, I can even shoot down a plane with the tank’s main gun. (Funny)”
WC is really a mosquito: “Bullshit! You’re playing Battlefield!”
Chu Guang didn’t really understand the violent aesthetics in the mosquito’s heart.
This guy is actually very capable. The outpost was able to make chemical products, nitrocellulose and explosives such as T-um-T so quickly, and he deserves at least half of the credit.
However…
the weapons made by this guy always have a strange style, and there are only a few that are practical.
Although this may not be a bad thing, Chu Guang felt that if he wanted to fill the gap in the outpost’s anti-aircraft weapons, he probably couldn’t rely on him.
In another post that is slightly less popular than Brother Mosquito, [Yaer I want to go to the toilet] and [Ward foot foot who Levin] are having a technical exchange with some particularly strict cloud players.
Brother Tosuo: “It is still a bit difficult to copy the 88 gun. Although the design drawings and videos can be searched, and the parts can be cut out using the shelter’s black technology, many problems still cannot be solved. Especially the barrel. If you want to increase the initial velocity of the shell, you must increase the charge to make the barrel withstand a greater chamber pressure!”
Brother Levin: “That’s right, and developing new equipment is really too expensive! 500 silver coins are not even enough for the research and development costs, at least add another zero!” The
high research and development costs are indeed a problem.
Chu Guang stared at the computer screen and thought for a moment, then switched to the desktop and opened the budget spreadsheet.
”For the development of large equipment with high production thresholds and high expenses, it is not appropriate to let players bear the development costs completely.”
Chu Guang thought about it and had an idea in mind.
He planned to set up a special fund to support the development of new equipment. As long as they pass the review, they can get financial support.
As for the anti-aircraft weapon project of Steel Plant No. 81…
Chu Guang thought for a moment and made a decision.
”The budget of 5,000 silver coins seems too deliberate, so change it to… 5,500 silver coins. If it is not enough in the future, you can increase it.”
”The original task remains unchanged, and the new task is re-issued in the form of ‘exclusive order’.”
As for Mosquito…
let him figure it out for a while.
If Mosquito can come up with a reliable design plan, Chu Guang will certainly support him with a research and development budget.
But so far, Chu Guang has not figured out what he is going to make…
–
(The Xth day of resuming the daily 10,000, I feel that my work and rest schedule is a bit chaotic. I will adjust it. Sorry, there is only one update today. But this chapter has 6K, which is equivalent to 3K for two chapters? It should not be considered degradation.)
(End of this chapter)
