Chapter 80 Acid Rain Descends, Chemical Corrosion
Summer is over, and the peaceful autumn season is about to begin. Although the surface temperature will still remain around 100 degrees Celsius, compared to the extreme high temperature of 150 degrees Celsius, all survivors will breathe a sigh of relief.
The next morning, Lin Nanxing got up very early. She opened the window, ready to greet the new day, but was stunned by the scene in front of her.
Outside the territory, fine rain was falling from the sky.
Lin Nanxing: "???"
How could it rain in a post-apocalyptic game filled with high temperatures and drought?
Raindrops fell on the scorching ground, instantly steaming up plumes of white mist, as if the entire territory were shrouded in a giant steamer.
The protective shield of the territory completely blocked the rain, and the interior still maintained a comfortable environment with snowflakes falling, but the scene outside the barrier made people feel cold.
Lin Nanxing brought up the system interface and, sure enough, saw a new notification:
[Seasonal change complete, entering the "acid rain season"]
[WARNING: Rainwater is weakly acidic and has corrosive properties. Long-term exposure will reduce the durability of equipment.]
Lin Nanxing instantly understood the true meaning of the "immunity to all chemical damage" reward mentioned by the system when the territory was upgraded yesterday.
The corrosive substances in acid rain do indeed fall under the category of chemistry.
She opened the territory's public communication channel and her fingertips rapidly tapped on the virtual keyboard.
[Official Announcement from Star Territory]
Residents please note that the rainwater falling outside the territory has been detected by the system as weakly acidic.
To ensure everyone's safety, the following urgent notice is hereby issued:
1. All residents are prohibited from leaving the barrier area without authorization.
2. Hunting teams already out in the area should immediately seek refuge.
3. Acid rain may reduce the durability of equipment; please handle with caution.
After the announcement was issued, Lin Nanxing finally had time to carefully check the constantly flashing public channel.
Sure enough, the players had already noticed the anomaly, and the discussion in the channel had already exploded.
"This awful weather! After the heatwave, now it's acid rain!"
"It hasn't rained for ten years, and when it does, it's acid rain. It feels like this game is trying to kill us all."
"My iron sword just got wet with raindrops, and there's a visible nick!"
"Fortunately, our territory is protected by a barrier. As long as we stay inside the barrier, we should be fine, right?"
"Upstairs, do you have enough materials and game currency? Who knows how long this weather will last? Not being able to go out is the same as not being able to make money. Isn't this just sitting around and running out of resources?"
This message received a lot of responses, and just when everyone was worried, a message suddenly went viral on the channel.
"Family members, I have made a major discovery!"
A player with the ID "Wilderness Hunter" excitedly shared: "I tried going out of the barrier with a bamboo umbrella I bought from Bamboo Workshop, and it was fine! Bamboo umbrellas from Bamboo Workshop have anti-corrosion properties. As long as you don't get wet from acid rain, your body won't be corroded. I also found that the fog in the air is not actually corrosive."
The message had barely been sent out when it caused an uproar:
"You must be kidding me. Even a shield produced by the system can be corroded, how could a bamboo umbrella possibly withstand it?"
"You'd even dare to lie like this to sell your goods. What if someone dies? Can you take responsibility?"
Some questioned it, while others responded, and soon more people came forward to testify.
“He’s right. I tried it with bamboo armor. As long as the area covered by the bamboo armor was not corroded, the bamboo armor itself was also intact.”
"Didn't you notice those bamboos outside the barrier? They've been in acid rain all this time, yet they're growing even better than before. Plants should be the most vulnerable, so doesn't that say something?"
"That's right, I was wondering why the bamboo forest outside looked even greener."
The villa area was surrounded by a circle of bamboo. After reading the discussion on the channel, Lin Nanxing couldn't help but look up at the bamboo forest not far away.
Sure enough, the bamboo outside the barrier looked exceptionally lush and green in the acid rain, while the bamboo inside the barrier, although safe, lacked the vibrant life that comes from being nourished by the rain.
At this moment, Zhou Qisheng sent an urgent message: "Nanxing, the master craftsman from the bamboo workshop sent a message saying that our inventory is about to be sold out. Should we suspend sales to ensure internal supply?"
Lin Nanxing looked at the constantly updated verification messages on the channel, thought for a moment, and decisively ordered: "Continue sales, but prioritize the equipment supply for patrol teams and essential positions. I will find a way to increase bamboo production."
With her territory upgraded, she naturally accumulated enough reputation points to continue using the reputation gacha machine.
Opening the reputation gacha machine, Lin Nanxing took a deep breath and focused all his thoughts on one wish: "Plant differentiation agent, please, it has to be a plant differentiation agent."
With enough differentiating agents, more bamboo spirits can be cultivated, and the production rate of raw materials will increase, thus solving the problem of bamboo product supply.
She reverently pressed the start button, and five shimmering gashapon capsules rolled out one after another.
When the first familiar emerald-colored potion appeared before her eyes, she was so excited she almost cried out.
Then came the second bottle, and the third bottle!
Until the last two gacha pulls were opened, two safe zone fusion tickets were obtained.
Including the reward from yesterday's territory upgrade, Lin Nanxing now has a total of five safe zone fusion tickets. Although she thinks these tickets are probably not very useful, she still carefully placed them at the front of her backpack.
She was quite satisfied with the results of this gashapon lottery. With the sale of three differentiation agents, her territory would now have five bamboo spirits capable of differentiating bamboo. Meanwhile, the agricultural experts she had hired for farm management were also working hard to research methods to increase bamboo yield.
By then, even if bamboo products become disposable items, they will be able to keep up with supply and demand.
Not to mention, the bamboo spirit is an aggressive magical plant, further increasing the combat power within its territory.
Lin Nanxing was about to tell Zhou Qisheng the good news and ask him to replan the newly expanded area, specifically designating a bamboo forest planting area to make full use of every inch of land.
Just then, Lin Qiulan's urgent distress message popped up: [Nanxing, the barrier in Yunpei Town is completely ineffective against this heavy rain. Rainwater is seeping into the ground through cracks, and I estimate that the underground can't hold out for much longer.]
This rain is even corrosive! The whole town is in chaos!
Upon seeing the message, Lin Nanxing realized something was wrong. This game world wasn't just about the Star Territory. She quickly organized her thoughts and typed in the information.
[Sister Lan, don't panic. Immediately contact Mayor Yun and tell him that our territory's barrier can resist acid rain erosion. I will grant access to the train track barrier. Have him organize the residents to evacuate to a safe area as soon as possible.]
She paused, then asked with concern, "Are you and the other employees alright? Were you injured?"
Fear is the easiest way to incite riots. In such a critical moment, even a little disturbance could lead to serious consequences. The people at the Yunpei Town swimming pool branch are all her people, and she is worried that some people will take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble.
Every second of waiting for a reply felt incredibly long. After a minute had passed without receiving a reply from Lin Qiulan, Lin Nanxing no longer hesitated and rushed towards the newly built delivery station.
Thanks to her habit of stockpiling, she had a lot of bamboo armor and bamboo umbrellas in her player backpack. She quickly divided her inventory into two parts and sent them to Lin Qiulan and Yun Aobai respectively.
The delivery lane is a new structure that appeared yesterday and hasn't been officially announced yet. Hopefully, Yun Aobai will understand and choose to accept the delivery.
[Host, the nationwide delivery network now supports adding text notes.]
"How do I use it?" Lin Nanxing's tone became anxious.
[Pay 1000 game coins to unlock the single-use notes feature]
"Damn system! They're taking advantage of my misfortune to charge me money now," Lin Nanxing cursed under his breath, but still completed the payment immediately.
She quickly added a note to the package for Yun Aobai.
These bamboo products can effectively resist acid rain. After wearing them, people can evacuate in an orderly manner to the railway station's barrier area. We have already granted access to the barrier area.
[Lin Nanxing left]
She also sent a message to Lin Qiulan.
[Sister Lan, prioritize the safety of our staff with these bamboo products. Assist Mayor Yun with the distribution of the remainder. Make sure everyone is properly dressed before we move!]
After delivering emergency equipment to Yunpei Town, Lin Nanxing didn't rest. He packed up the remaining stock and sent it to Chixia Town, which was on good terms with the territory and also had a train track. Then he immediately contacted Zhou Qisheng.
[Brother Zhou, you should be at the bamboo workshop right now. Could you please arrange to temporarily suspend sales and send all the bamboo products currently in stock at this location? I need to be quick!]
Although the sudden cessation of bamboo product sales would cause dissatisfaction among the territory's residents, the protective barrier meant that bamboo products were not the most important thing for the players in the Star Territory, and she believed that Zhou Qisheng could resolve the issue.
Half an hour later, Zhou Qisheng rushed over, accompanied by a group of clover magic plants summoned by their master. Looking at the unfamiliar house, Zhou Qisheng took out all the bamboo products he had stored without saying a word, and the originally spacious room instantly became cramped.
After seeing Lin Nanxing begin directing the packing work at Clover, Zhou Qisheng couldn't help but ask, "Nanxing, what are you going to do with all this inventory?"
After briefly introducing the functions of Xingxing Delivery, Lin Nanxing explained, "I want to use the delivery station to pack these bamboo products and send them to all the safe zones I can contact."
Zhou Qisheng also learned about the impact of acid rain on other towns from other players, but with his businessman's mindset, he didn't understand Lin Nanxing's actions and even tried to dissuade him: "Didn't you just say that sending them to territories with which you have no diplomatic relations would require paying extra fees? These bamboo products are currently quite valuable on the market, and giving them away for free is probably not worth it."
That was a euphemism; in his heart, he thought it was like throwing good money after bad, with no chance of recovery. He didn't know how long this acid rain would last, and by the time the disaster ended, many small towns would probably be destroyed.
Lin Nanxing calmly analyzed, "Brother Zhou, think about it from another angle. This acid rain came too suddenly. Most safe zones probably won't find a solution in a short time. Our bamboo products can solve the problem and resist acid rain corrosion. All players who have experienced acid rain will have to use our products. This is the best advertisement."
"Although acid rain is troublesome, the system has not issued a disaster warning, which means the harm is limited and the impact should not be too great. There should be quite a few surviving players, and they will all know the name of the bamboo products in Star Territory."
She placed a packaged bamboo protective gear into the teleportation array and continued, "Our move to deliver bamboo products will not only help raise the territory's profile and effectively promote bamboo products, but also extend the reach of our food delivery channel. This investment is well worth it."
Zhou Qisheng still had doubts: "But other territories don't have communication channels, so how will they know the purpose of these bamboo products?"
Lin Nanxing picked up a stack of white paper and said with a smile, "This will require Brother Zhou and me to work hard to write instructions for use on each package. As for whether they believe it or not, that's not our concern."
The note function in the food delivery channel is too expensive; handwriting is more cost-effective.
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