The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

Two and a half hours later.

Urban villages.

A three-story self-built house.

Although it's simple, it's a hundred times better than the prefabricated houses on the construction site.

There's hot water, air conditioning, and a soft mattress.

It won't make a loud gurgling sound when it rains.

Wang Dameng directly paid the landlord two thousand yuan and rented the property for three months.

A dozen or so people were crammed into two large rooms, but they were even more excited than they were in the workers' shed.

It was pouring rain outside the window.

The room was bustling with activity.

Nobody is sleeping.

Everyone was wiping their helmets as if they were polishing some rare treasure.

"Brother Meng, this place is really nice."

Su Weijie lay sprawled on the bed, looking quite content: "It's much better than that construction site dorm room, which was freezing in winter and sweltering in summer."

"We'll live here from now on."

Wang Dameng sat on the edge of the bed, playing with his phone: "From now on, we'll play 'Wasteland Era' full-time. As long as we're willing to work hard, we won't have to worry about not making money."

"Yes! Fight with all our might!"

Mi Weimao remained silent, huddled in a corner scrolling through his phone.

Suddenly, he let out a strange cry and sprang up from the bed.

Holy crap!

"What's wrong? Why are you so easily startled?"

"Brother Meng! Look! Look!"

Mi Weimao held up his phone, his hand shaking like he had Parkinson's, and shoved it right in front of Wang Dameng's face.

"Official announcement!"

Wang Dameng looked closely.

It's a newly released news notification.

The title was only one line long, but it exploded in Wang Dameng's mind.

Announcement Regarding the Guiding Price for Source Crystal Recycling in "Wasteland Era"

The content is very simple.

The official team acknowledges the value of "Source Crystals," the currency in Wasteland Era, and has established a dedicated recycling channel.

Recycling price: 1 source crystal = 1000 yuan.

There was also a red stamp on it.

Really.

Official endorsement.

Wang Dameng felt like he was about to stop breathing.

Although it was cheaper than what that streamer called Wang Banxian charged, the implications were completely different.

This means that this is more than just a game.

This is a gold mine.

Moreover, it is an officially recognized gold mine.

Mi Weimao's fingers trembled as he opened the comments section.

Tens of thousands of comments, densely packed, are being refreshed every second.

Am I still half asleep and hallucinating?

[What?! 1 Source Crystal for 1000? Are you crazy? That expensive?]

[It's just game currency, but it's more expensive than gold?!]

What is "Wasteland Era"? Is it a new financial product?

[I just looked it up, it seems to be a holographic game... Holy crap, you can make money playing games?]

"My monthly salary is only 5,600. So, even if I work like a slave for a month, I'm only worth 5 or 6 Source Crystals? Seriously, I'm going to cry."

[With official endorsements, this game is definitely going to be a hit!]

Stop with all this nonsense and get to the public beta already! Otherwise, all this talk is just empty rhetoric!

[Exactly! Hurry up and release the public beta! If that's not possible, just issue another batch of beta test slots! I don't need much, just one is fine.]

I want to go in and work as a laborer too! Please, give me a helmet! Dad! Father! Grandpa!

The comments section was filled with wailing and requests for account numbers.

Wang Dameng raised his head and glanced at his group of brothers.

"Brothers."

Wang Dameng's voice was a little hoarse, but it drowned out the thunder outside the window.

"We...we're really going to turn things around!"

......

Inside the grocery store.

Three test tubes stood quietly on the counter.

When the light shines on it, the golden liquid sways inside the glass tube, refracting a mesmerizing halo.

Lin Mo leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

"It's finally done."

"A whole day and night."

"If we fail again, we won't even have enough revenue to go around."

Are you really going to send it?

The light sphere beside them was flashing, and the system's voice was full of confusion.

[Friendly reminder: According to pricing standards, the suggested retail price for a basic gene serum is 5000 Source Crystals per vial.]

[If these three are sold, the revenue will increase by 15000. In addition, since you personally configured them, you will also receive 15000 Source Crystals.]

[Aren't you short on Source Crystals right now? With this money, you can teleport 30 basic Life Potions back.]

Are you really going to give it away for free?

My suggestion is to keep it.

The system's voice was full of confusion; it really couldn't understand what the point of Lin Mo's actions was.

Lin Mo reached out and fiddled with the three test tubes, listening to the crisp sound of the glass colliding.

Lin Mo: "Your suggestion is good, but I don't accept it."

system:【.......】

Lin Mo smiled and said, "You have to be willing to give up something to gain something."

"Save where you can, spend where you can. Work on the construction site during the day, and at night you'll be working at Xinjiutai. Money should be spent openly and effectively."

"Besides, once the announcement has been issued, it cannot be changed; that's a matter of good faith."

"If I'm stingy at a crucial moment like this, who will work for me in the future?"

Lin Mo picked up his water glass and took a sip.

"The benefits that are due will still be given. You'll understand later that there's no such thing as a free lunch. What's free is the most expensive."

Some things just don't make sense with a rigid system like this.

It only sees the increase or decrease of numbers on the books.

They have no idea how this world works.

The production cost of basic gene-based drugs is high, so the selling price is naturally not cheap.

At 5000 source crystals per tube, even if all 1000 people emptied their savings, they couldn't buy more than a few tubes.

If you want people to buy, you have to let them see the results first.

The system remained silent for a long time.

It seems the problem lies in how the terms "free" and "most expensive" can be equated in the computational logic library.

After a long pause, it began to sound like a resignation to giving up.

【never mind.】

[It's your stuff anyway, you can spend it however you want.]

This has nothing to do with me.

Lin Mo ignored its sarcastic tone.

"Can pharmaceutical factories mass-produce primary gene-based drugs?"

Manual configuration is too inefficient.

If the player base grows in the future, he alone won't be able to keep up with demand, even if he works himself to death.

【Can. 】

[This assumes you have reached the Proficiency level in "Basic Gene Potions".]

[Current proficiency level: Beginner (15/100)]

Lin Mo rolled his eyes.

It's as if I said nothing.

Given the current success rate and production time, it would take five days and five nights of non-stop work to reach mastery.

"There's another problem."

Lin Mo stared at the three golden potions, lost in thought: "Is this stuff really that magical? Can it make people stronger?"

【able!】

The system's answer was resolute.

There are a few side effects, though.

Lin Mo: "What side effects?"

[Extreme pain.] The system was extremely concise.

Lin Mo: "Tell me more about it."

System: [Extreme pain.]

Lin Mo: "..."

"Are you fucking asking for a beating?!"

[Cough cough!] The system coughed twice.

It's like breaking all the bones in your body and having them reconnected, tearing muscle fibers and then healing them.

This pain far exceeds the threshold of what the average human nerve can endure; it's even more terrifying than death.

"Forehead......"

It's more terrifying than death.

These few words alone are enough to frighten people.

But thinking about it, it makes sense.

Here, the dead can be resurrected, so they don't have much of a psychological burden.

Moreover, as long as you die quickly enough, you won't actually feel any torment; it's mostly just fear in your heart.

Death is not so terrifying if one can overcome or adapt to this fear.

But resisting pain is different; one must endure or even accept this suffering.

Facing pain head-on is something most people simply cannot endure.