Ita Era

Chapter 40 Going Home (3)

As Ding Shi exited through the side door and headed towards the car dealership, he was stopped after only a few steps by someone calling out, "Hey."

Ding stopped and turned around. He saw a beautiful woman who was 1.75 meters tall, with fair skin, a strong build, long legs, and broad shoulders.

The beautiful woman asked, "Are you going to the far north province?"

Ding Shi didn't answer. The beautiful woman pointed towards the banyan tree and explained, "I just saw you."

Ding Shi replied, "Yes, I'm going to the far north province."

The beautiful woman said, "I have a car and a seat."

Ding said regretfully, "I only have 40 yuan."

The beautiful woman said, "Money is an issue, but not the main one. What are your skills? Or rather, what can you bring to the team?" Her eyes held a questioning gaze.

Ding Shi countered, "Why are you looking for me?"

The beautiful woman said, "I used to be a headhunter for Fortune 500 companies, and I'm always good at judging people. Although you are really poor, you have a great attitude. I'm not sure if you're useful to the team, but when I meet someone like you, I'm willing to spend some time getting to know you. Maybe you're the person the team needs?"

Ding Shi asked, "What kind of people does the team need?"

The beautiful woman said, "For example, wilderness survival experience, such as hunting. You know, our journey is too far. If we can't obtain resources in the wild, it will be difficult to complete the mission."

Ding Shi said regretfully, "I can't, but I can drive."

The beautiful woman asked, "Can you drive a manual transmission car?"

Ding Shi nodded: "Of course."

The beautiful woman's eyes lit up, and she said, "I'll take you there."

The two chatted as they walked. The beautiful woman's name was Chu Yu. Chu was a relatively rare surname, ranking outside the top 500 in the Hundred Family Surnames, but it would rank in the top 200 in Taiwan. Ding Shi asked Chu Yu about the source of the funds for buying the car, and Chu Yu readily replied that at the very beginning of the dungeon, she had exchanged 20 dollars for 400 yuan in dungeon currency.

Some players' destinations are in the next county, a distance of 50 kilometers, which only takes an hour by minibus. The dungeon coins these players have are worthless; Chu Yu had already thought of buying dungeon coins as soon as possible during the dungeon preparation period.

Sure enough, as time went on, 20 dollars can now only be exchanged for 100 dungeon coins.

With Ding Shi's 40 yuan, the team now has 1500 yuan in assets, which will be managed by the team leader, Chu Yu. Ding Shi felt a little embarrassed, as each of them contributed an average of nearly 400 yuan, while he only contributed 40 yuan.

Ding Shi said, "I can exchange for another 50 dungeon coins."

Chu Yu replied, “No, what is the purpose of dungeon coins? It's to better assist players in completing dungeons. Currently, our team has 1500 dungeon coins, which is enough for us to complete the dungeon. Even if you contribute another 100 dungeon coins, you will still be the smallest shareholder. Your increased investment not only has no practical significance, but may also put the team into a zero-sum game. I contributed 510, you contributed 500, and when we all want to drink the last drop of water, the one with 510 will think they are more deserving. If you can keep a calm mindset and not treat your team members as opponents, you, who only contributed 40, are also deserving of the last drop of water.”

Ding Shi had little formal education and it took him a lot of brainpower to understand the meaning of "first fish".

Chu Yu believes that the "Return to Home" instance requires a cooperative team facing external challenges, not one engaged in internal competition. Chu Yu's first action was to eliminate any sense of superiority based on contribution. For example, if the team has a hunter skilled in hunting in the wild, their influence and importance would normally increase. Now, suppose the rules prohibit touching the face of someone of the opposite sex, but the hunter can't resist and touches someone's face, then sincerely apologizes. The situation becomes unmanageable. Some might think they can be forgiven once. Others believe the rules should be strictly followed. Some might ask, "Can I also break the rules once and be forgiven?"
Chu Yu decided to use the bylaws to bind the members and herself, and not to use other means to solve team problems. Other means include debates, voting, etc.

……

This was a brand new red five-seater A-class car. The term "A-class" can be broadly understood as having low fuel consumption and small interior space. When Ding Shi and Chu Yu arrived, two men and a woman were sorting through cardboard boxes and shock-absorbing foam they had found in the trash can.

Chu Yu clapped her hands to stop everyone and said, "Let me introduce you. This is our new partner, Ding Shi." Ding Shi: "Hello everyone."

Chu Yu: "Wang Ritian."

"I'm here."

Upon hearing this name, Ding Shi felt a surge of admiration; most people wouldn't dare to adopt such a name.

A burly man, about 1.98 meters tall, walked over and shook hands with Ding Shi. He scratched his head sheepishly, smiled sheepishly, and said, "My name should have been Wang Hao. When I registered my household, my dad got drunk and dropped the 'sun' character." He had already explained his name three times today.

Ding Shi nodded: "That's good, you have personality, I believe everyone will remember you because of your name."

Chu Yu said, "Wang Kai."

Wang Kai is a bald man who is 1.78 meters tall. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and had tattoos on his arms and back, making him look like someone from the underworld. Wang Kai shook hands with Ding Shi: "My friends all call me Brother Kai."

Ding Shi: "Hello, Brother Kai."

Kai patted Ding Shi on the shoulder: "Great, from now on you're my friend."

Chu Yu continued, "Mu Mu."

Mu Mu, female, 1.6 meters tall, with short yellow and purple hair, beautiful features, and a non-mainstream style. She extended her right hand, bent her middle finger, and raised the other four fingers, using this very unique gesture to raise her hand to Ding Shi.

Ding subconsciously made this gesture with his hand and found that his ring finger would follow his middle finger.

Chu Yu said, "It's 10:30 AM now. The supermarket will give out a boxed meal to everyone queuing at the relief window at 11:30 AM. We have one hour to prepare. Mu Mu, you and I will be in charge of organizing the route. The rest of you should find as many cardboard boxes and foam boxes as possible for camping in the wild, or as fuel."

Ding asked in surprise, "The supermarket also gives out boxed lunches?"

Chu Yu looked at Kai Ge, who patted his chest and said, "My nickname is Scout. I am a private detective and I always like to gather information."

Ding Shi said, "But the dungeon says the NPCs are robots."

Kai said, "Robots have two characteristics. First, they respond to your questions in a formulaic way. Second, they don't lie. As long as you ask enough questions, you can always find some useful information."

Ding Shi gave a thumbs-up in admiration.

The square had many trash cans, and Chu Yu immediately spotted this resource. She first recruited Ri Tian from the crowd, attracted by his physique and honest personality. The second person to join the team was Kai Ge. When Chu Yu was buying dungeon coins, she noticed Kai Ge chatting with people around. After inquiring, she learned that his destination was the Far North Province, so she invited him to join her.

The third member to join the team was Mumu, who brought her own resources. She had 500 dungeon coins and refused to sell them to Chuyu. Instead, she asked to meet the team members and ultimately decided to join Chuyu's team.

Chu Yu took a large sum of money to look at cars, only to discover that the system was unfair; automatic cars generally had higher fuel consumption and were priced about 30% higher.

It's now 2050, and 99% of cars on the market are automatic. Chu Yu, Ri Tian, ​​and Mu Mu have no experience driving automatic cars. Kai Ge has a manual transmission driver's license, but he has been driving automatic cars for ten years and has no confidence in whether he can drive a manual car smoothly.

The four discussed whether to buy an electric car. Looking at the map, most charging stations were located in the city, with few on the roadside. They would have to go into the city to find a charging station each time they needed to charge, and each charge would take several hours, which was not suitable for them as they were always on the go.

Finally, it was decided that Kai would be the coach, and everyone would learn as they drove. As long as the speed increased, there would be no difference between automatic and manual transmissions.

(End of this chapter)