Chapter 71: People from the Academy
Chapter 71: Chapter 71: People from the Academy
Seeing that everyone was already up, Ye Yun immediately assigned the construction robots to upgrade the dormitory.
An hour later, the construction robots stopped their work.
[Dormitory (White)]
[Occupancy: +3]
[Upgradable]
Seeing the cap for normal humans in his system list increase from 3 to 4, Ye Yun felt the urge to act again.
There were still three days until the second Calamity. If the new recruit was a quick learner, the shelter could gain another combatant.
He immediately opened his wristband and sent a commission request to Xisuo.
After sending the message, Ye Yun assigned a new task to the exploration team.
There were 3 days and 2 hours left until the 10-day deadline.
He had to plan the subsequent exploration missions carefully. He didn’t want the exploration team to still be outside when the Calamity arrived.
[Assessment Type: Outdoor Exploration]
[Assessing mission risk...]
[This is a 24-hour random exploration.]
[Assessment: 26% chance of obtaining White items, 68.785% chance of Green items, 5% chance of Blue items, 0.215% chance of Purple items. Risk Factor: 0.192%]
The risk factor had increased again, but it was still within an acceptable range.
After all, as time went on, the dangers of the outside world would naturally increase.
Of course, the main reason the risk factor was so high this time was because they were using motorcycles.
The exploration range was much greater than before. Without motorcycles, a 24-hour exploration might only cover a few to a dozen kilometers.
With motorcycles, however, the exploration range was at least two to three times larger.
After the previous mission served as a trial run, Zhou Mei had more or less integrated into the exploration team.
Before the second Calamity arrived, it seemed like a good idea to have the team expand their search radius and also try spending a night out in the wasteland.
After all, after so many days of exploring, there were very few explorable areas left near the shelter.
In fact, he had recently seen many people complaining in the public chat rooms that the returns from their exploration teams were constantly decreasing.
Ye Yun looked into it and found that such comments were mostly from managers who considered long-distance exploration too dangerous and thus kept their teams active only near their shelters.
Over the past ten-plus days of exploration and survival, most shelter managers, even without an assessment system to accurately see the risk value of outdoor exploration, weren’t fools for having survived the first Calamity. Many relied on their own experience and communication with others.
They had actually figured out a few patterns, including the fact that the longer an exploration team was out and the farther they were from their shelter, the more likely they were to encounter danger.
Therefore, to avoid this known risk, many shelter managers were unwilling to let their exploration teams venture too far.
However, while this approach did mitigate risk, it also inadvertently reduced their returns.
Ye Yun couldn’t say much about this situation.
After all, saying too much often leads to trouble.
He had only mentioned it once, seemingly in passing, in his three private group chats.
As for how much useful information they could glean from that, it was entirely up to their own understanding.
After all, he had noticed over this period that many people in these three private groups were just coasting. Very few were actually capable of helping him.
He had already decided that after the second Calamity passed, he would seriously reorganize his little circle.
He would kick out the freeloaders and slackers and recruit some new elites.
...
「Meanwhile.」
Xisuo finished reading the message on his wristband, dusted himself off, and called out to his brother.
"Let’s go. We’ve got a job. Ye Yun wants us to recruit another new member for his shelter."
Simon raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn’t expected a new mission from Ye Yun so soon.
"Alright, let’s head out now."
The two quickly packed their gear, mounted their custom motorcycles, and once again set off for October Town.
Xisuo and Simon weren’t at all opposed to Ye Yun’s commission. In fact, they rather enjoyed it.
After all, this kind of errand wasn’t difficult for them, and the pay Ye Yun offered was very generous.
The two soon arrived in October Town.
Since they didn’t need to restock on supplies this time, Xisuo and Simon expertly navigated their way to the town’s tavern, planning to post a recruitment notice just like last time.
However, they quickly realized this recruitment might not go so smoothly.
The atmosphere in the tavern was different from before. Unlike the last time, when there were only a few scattered people, the tavern was now packed with far more patrons.
Lone-wolf mercenaries and freelancers were gathered in groups of two and three, their faces alight with excitement.
Xisuo and Simon exchanged a glance, both seeing the confusion in the other’s eyes.
October Town was just a small, remote settlement. Having a dozen or so mercenaries and lone wolves would be a big deal.
The current number of people was clearly off. This level of activity could even rival that of some medium-sized settlements.
They approached the bar just like before. The bartender’s memory was clearly excellent.
This time, the bartender was clearly much more enthusiastic than last time.
"What can I get for you two?"
Xisuo, of course, knew the rules here. Just like last time, he casually ordered two drinks. However, having learned from their previous experience, neither of them touched their glasses. Instead, he got straight to the point.
"Why are there so many people in the tavern today?"
Hearing this, the bartender looked confused.
He had originally thought the two had heard the news and come specifically for it.
The bartender didn’t hide anything. After all, it wasn’t a secret.
"They say an exploration team from the Academy has come to October Town. Rumor is they have the coordinates to a pre-Cataclysm shelter."
"They’re short on manpower, so they need to recruit extra hands."
"Once they find the shelter, they only want the blueprints and data files inside. The rest of the loot will be split evenly among the others."
Hearing the name "the Academy," Xisuo and Simon exchanged a grave look.
Like the Steel Brotherhood, the Academy was also a massive faction in the wasteland.
What concerned the two brothers more was that Paida Xi, the one who had captured them all those years ago, was actually from the Academy.
To be precise, Paida Xi was once a researcher at the Academy.
For some unknown reason, Paida Xi had left the Academy and started his twisted experiments in a shelter.
So, upon hearing the name "the Academy," both of them immediately became fully alert.
According to what they had gathered over the years, the Academy was located in the far western part of the continent, a vast distance from their current position.