Chapter 680: A Familiar Dilemma

Chapter 680: A Dilemma That Felt Familiar

On the beach south of French Fry Port.

Because the makeshift dock was so narrow, Sisi had to try several times before she could steady the boat.

A long gangplank dropped from the deck, slanting down onto the freshly laid planks of the dock.

Standing on the splashing shallows, pairs of expectant eyes fixed unblinkingly on the deck in the deeper water.

Just then, a young face peeked over the edge of the ship's railing.

"Land!"

Currant, standing on tiptoe, gripped the railing with both hands, staring longingly at the golden beach not far away, her timid eyes filled with curiosity and yearning.

Missa had told her that once they got ashore, they wouldn't have to stay in the cramped cabin anymore.

Though she was grateful to the cargo ship that had carried them away from hell, she still preferred living under the sun. Especially when the sunlight warmed her, it made her feel cozy, and even her mood improved.

And while she was gazing at the crowd on the shore, they were gazing back at her.

She was cute enough...

But where the hell were the maid outfits?!

Within less than a minute, more and more Moon Tribe girls stepped onto the deck, gathering excitedly by the railing, looking at the journey's end so close and the people on the sand.

Under their metallic skeletons, their shirts were soaked with seawater. Seeing those sturdy figures and handsome faces, many unmarried young women blushed and looked away, pretending to admire the scenery.

But the married women were bold and unrestrained, not shy at all, openly admiring with their eyes, even whispering to their companions as they watched.

The shelter had preserved not only pre-war knowledge and ideas but also the excellent genes of that era.

Not to mention that the clones from Vault 404 used DNA carefully selected from superior genes. Unless human aesthetics underwent a major shift, there was no question about their looks.

Otherwise, when the Frostspear tribe first arrived at Linghu Lake, they wouldn't have taken a liking to them at once, even making the absurd request to borrow some "seeds."

To be honest, in such a situation, it was hard to say who was really getting the better deal.

"Ahaha, sorry, everyone—"

With a grin that said he'd messed up, Tail scratched the back of his head as he walked down the gangplank.

But before he could even steady himself on the dock, an angry roar surrounded him from all sides, nearly scaring him into the sea.

"Damn it! Where are the maid outfits?!"

"Why are they in their original skins?!"

"Geneva!"

"Refund!"

Seeing the furious crowd, Tail jumped back like a cat seeing a cucumber for the first time, but he still braced himself and stepped forward, explaining in a guilty whisper.

"This... this was purely an accident, giao! I, I'll have Roro wear them for you, okay?"

Crowd: "#@#&!"

Standing by the railing, Missa looked back at Zhimahu in confusion and asked curiously.

"What... are they talking about?"

"This is a special way the Alliance welcomes people, don't mind it..." Zhimahu brushed it off with a vague laugh, quickly glossing over the awkward topic. "Tell everyone to get off quickly, don't all stand by the railing—it's dangerous."

Missa nodded blankly, then remembering something, she grasped Zhimahu's hand and said gratefully.

"Thank you... When I was taken to that camp, I thought I was done for. If it weren't for you, we might all have..."

"You're welcome."

Zhimahu smiled gently and squeezed the cold, thin little hand.

"I hope you can start a new life in this new world."

Missa's eyes sparkled with hope, and she gripped her hand tightly, nodding firmly.

"Mm! We will!"

...

For the players, who could come up with new stunts every day, the maid outfit incident was just a tiny episode.

Though it was a pity not to see the girls in maid outfits, most players of this game weren't petty enough to hold a grudge over such a small thing.

As long as the apology was sincere, everyone could accept it.

To show sincerity in repentance, and as punishment for deceiving the feelings of the strength-build beasts, Tail, after a long list of humiliating plays that even Brother Guang would shake his head at, finally chose the least embarrassing one—wearing a maid outfit for three consecutive days.

Compared to other explosive options, this not-too-shameful choice was quite mild.

Besides, there was no branch of Tengteng's Little House on this damn beach, so there was nowhere to buy a maid outfit.

So when making this decision that went against his ancestors, Tail had already calculated, confident that even if he chose it, nothing would happen.

But to his great surprise, the moment he selected that option, everyone's faces immediately broke into sly grins.

"Knew you'd pick that!"

In no time, Fudi Laomo rolled out a rack full of maid outfits on hangers, grinning and making a generous "go ahead" gesture.

"Pick any one, don't be shy."

Seeing that row of artistic creations in various styles, the smug expression on Tail's face instantly crumbled.

"Giao! Wait, hold on, you really want me to wear something like this?! Me, me, here?!"

"What else?" The strength-build beast standing nearby rolled his eyes. "You think I'm going to wear it?"

Another player chimed in.

"Yeah!"

"Gkd!"

Seeing that he dared to renege on the spot, the crowd started jeering again.

"Si!"

Tail looked at Sisi with a pitiful expression, begging for help.

But to his surprise, Sisi, who usually spoiled him the most, was acting out of character. Instead of taking his side, a hint of amused interest curled at the corner of her mouth.

"Hmm... since you promised them, breaking your word wouldn't be good. It's okay, Awei, it's just changing clothes—it'll be over in a moment... I can help you."

As she spoke, her smile grew more sinister.

Rarely showing fear, Tail shrank his neck, his whole body seeming to shrink as he whispered tremblingly.

"Si, Si... your expression is terrifying."

"Is it?"

Sisi touched her cheek with her index finger, unaware that the gesture made her smile look even more wicked.

Seeing the situation was dire, Tail quickly glanced at the gaps in the crowd, ready to make a run for it.

But before he could find an escape route, his dearest friend saw right through him.

"Meatball, catch Awei!"

"On it!"

Almost the moment the words fell, a pair of furry bear paws wrapped around Awei from behind, lifting her off the ground like pulling a carrot.

"Giao! Meatball, stop! Nooo~!"

"Whoa! The culprit is caught! Hehe, useless Awei, prepare to face judgment!"

The flailing figure, along with that broad, furry back, gradually faded away toward the cargo ship.

Leaning in to browse the row of maid dresses hanging on the rack, Sisi's eyes suddenly lit up as she picked out the one she liked best.

Then she caught up with Meatball and entered the cabin together.

After about ten minutes of fussing, the two and the bear returned to the beach.

Looking at the transformed Awei, almost everyone standing on the beach watching showed expressions of surprise.

"Good heavens."

"Whoa?! Is that Awei?!"

"It doesn't look out of place at all!"

"I thought it'd feel like Mosquito in a dress..."

Hearing those rude exclamations, Awei's face flushed red as a monkey's rear, and she glared with sudden fury.

"Damn! What do you mean by that?! What's this 'like Mosquito' nonsense!"

A few of the loudest hecklers, burly strength-type guys, scratched their heads with red cheeks and slipped away sheepishly.

They hadn't expected her to look surprisingly good in a dress, ruining the anticipated comedic effect.

Forget it, let her off this time.

Pretend I saw nothing...

Dragging the troublesome hem that trailed to her ankles, Awei jumped off the dock with a grim face, stomping her feet in defeat.

"Dammit! Why the hell is there a maid dress in this godforsaken place?!"

"Yeah, why is there a maid dress here?"

Meatball, who had been laughing so hard her stomach hurt, suddenly noticed the oddity too, her expression turning puzzled as she rubbed her bear chin and looked at the ground-crawling workhorse who had brought out the rack.

Seeing everyone staring at him with strange looks, the ground-crawling workhorse froze and quickly waved his hands in explanation.

"Don't look at me! I pulled it out of the warehouse behind Yiren's tavern... I saw it a few days ago when I went to get some booze."

He'd been curious back then too—why was there a pile of women's clothes in that warehouse?

But since he was in a hurry to join the fun, he just grabbed the beer and didn't ask more. Then a lot of stuff happened, and he forgot all about it.

Hearing this, a pair of eyes turned to Yiren, who was standing nearby cracking melon seeds and watching the show.

Under the gaze of so many eyes, Yiren, mid-crunch, looked utterly confused.

"What are you looking at me for?"

Unable to contain his curiosity, Murderous Dagger spoke up first.

"Why do you have these clothes? And so many?"

Yiren froze, dropping a melon seed onto the sand, and stammered an explanation.

"They're, they're the store's uniforms... for business purposes."

"Oh, I see."

Murderous Dagger nodded, indicating understanding, but felt something was off.

Why was he so nervous?

Nearby, the ground-crawling workhorse scratched the back of his head and muttered.

"That's not right..."

He remembered that the maid dresses sold at Tengteng Hut had to be ordered?

How did this guy buy so many at once...

...

As the Meatball docked at Fries Harbor, the once-desolate settlement finally gained a bit of life.

It turned out that a settlement without NPCs was incomplete—like *Minecraft* without villagers, no matter how many houses you built, it still felt empty.

With the arrival of these immigrants, regardless of what value they created, at least the players' productivity enthusiasm had noticeably increased.

After counting the numbers, Fang Chang marked out a residential area for them on the east side of the camp, reserving commuting paths and fire lanes, and allocated some materials gathered during the early development phase.

These were mainly light wood, coconut shells, banana leaves, and such—piled up in heaps that were never used up, just enough for them to build simple thatched huts for shelter.

Until the dormitories were built, they needed to put up their own shelters against the elements.

At first, players including Spare the Knife worried they couldn't handle the work, but they soon realized they were overthinking it.

These Yue tribe girls were more capable than they'd imagined; by sunset, they had already set up quite a few tents.

Thinking about it, it made sense.

Brahmaputra Province was wasteland just like River Valley Province, just a different type. Even if some of them looked delicate, they were never flowers raised in a greenhouse.

They might be weaker in combat experience and willpower compared to the rugged River Valley folk, but in farming, handicrafts, odd jobs, and even DIY construction, they were no less skilled—if not more—than the wastelanders of River Valley.

Another trait was their diligence.

The nature of their faith gave them an extraordinary tolerance for hardship.

Though not something to be proud of, it could certainly be called an advantage in adversity.

After all, facing the same level of difficulty, someone like Xia might give up, but they would persevere and always remain optimistic about tomorrow.

Those cramped tents were still far from ideal, but at least it was better than being on the ship.

Life wouldn't be beautiful from the start.

But it would get better day by day...

In the camp.

Holding a tablet in her arms, Chen Yutong watched the noisy camp area in the distance and asked with interest.

"Those girls are from Brahmaputra Province?"

"Yes," Old Bai nodded, looking in that direction with a smile. "More people, and this harbor finally looks like a real harbor."

Chen Yutong curled her lips.

"You guys really like the hustle and bustle."

Old Bai squinted and smiled.

"Don't you?"

"How could I?"

Using his index finger, Chen Yutong brushed away the strand of hair the sea breeze had blown onto the tip of her nose, and teased in a playful tone, "If I hated the hustle and bustle, I wouldn't have slipped out of that swamp of hesitation."

Old Bai grinned, and seeing the work tablet cradled in her arms, he took the initiative to speak.

"Is there something you need?"

"Yeah," Chen Yutong nodded, her voice melodious as she continued, "There are some clues that I need you to relay to the Alliance Institute of Biology through the shelter's dedicated line... Could I trouble you?"

The so-called dedicated line was actually the official website of *Wasteland OL*.

Key research units like the scientific expedition team and the Institute of Biology probably knew that the shelter had such a special network, capable of transmitting messages to the shelter at the fastest speed under absolute secrecy.

As for the technology behind that network, only the shelter's administrators knew.

Old Bai nodded, his expression turning serious, and pressed a button on his VM.

"Go ahead."

Taking the tablet from her arms, Chen Yutong raised her index finger, tapped the screen twice, cleared her throat, and began.

"There are two main aspects. One is the investigation into the 'Baiyue Province' hive, and the other is the survey commissioned by the port district on the 'self-healing' nature of the local forest... Where's your friend Fang Chang? Have him come and listen too."

As luck would have it, just as her words faded, Fang Chang strode over from the direction of the neighboring camp, holding a map in his right hand.

"I'm here. Has there been a result on that survey?"

He had just finished finalizing the road layout for the eastern camp and distributing food, a batch of fire-starting fuel, and daily necessities to the Moon Tribe members who had settled in the camp.

After that, there was still identity registration work to do.

After careful consideration, he decided to temporarily issue them the status of supervised persons and introduce the management methods from the refugee settlement here.

Though he had often teased NPCs for copying homework when he was just talking, now that he was actually managing a settlement, he realized how tough that guy Guang in the game really was.

Managing over a thousand people was far harder than killing over a thousand monsters, even with the gentle and hardworking Moon Tribe girls.

And what he had to do wasn't just take care of the residents' lives; he also had to solve the problems the settlement faced.

For instance, the "self-healing" nature of this rainforest.

If this problem wasn't solved, the land they had painstakingly cultivated would, at the slightest carelessness, be reclaimed by this forest that seemed "as if alive"...

"Yeah, let's take it one at a time. First, about the hive in Baiyue Province."

Looking at Fang Chang approaching, Chen Yutong nodded, then turned her gaze to Old Bai, who had opened his action recorder, and cut straight to the point.

"The investigation into Baiyue Province has confirmed some of our earlier conjectures about 'Gaia.' The essence of her ability lies in opening channels for genetic information exchange between organisms."

"This forest is the phenomenon that emerged when 'She' merged with Earth's ecosystem without human interference—or only limited interference."

"And the series of problems troubling us right now are almost identical to those faced by the colonists when they first set foot on the planet Gaia..."