The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Chapter 1696 477: City of Mire_3

After several iterations of version updates, now the appearance of these "pseudo-men" is indistinguishable from ordinary humans.

This perfect disguise allows players from the Great Graveyard to move freely among the throngs of adventurers in Thunder City, even forming their own factions.

Due to the scarcity of beta testing qualifications for "Catastrophe OL" and strict server rules, so far these "pseudo-men" have only been messing around with NPCs and haven't caused any major trouble.

Night had fallen, but the lights were still on in a solitary tent at the construction site of the Thunder City New Industrial Zone.

The most spacious tent there served as the headquarters of the "Invincible Group," which strikes fear into countless construction dogs in Thunder City!

The tent's interior was nothing special, with a kerosene lamp on a table made of wooden planks and maps of the suburbs of Thunder City, along with various complex architectural drawings and densely packed construction schedules, hanging on racks on either side.

It didn't look like a guild stronghold at all but more like a high-level hideout for gray men.

"...The last batch of cement payments has been settled, with a profit margin of 35.7%. Tsk, tsk, tsk, that's much higher than expected!"

Chairman [Earth-eating Rich Man] was painstakingly verifying a thick ledger, maintaining his usual calm expression, but his eyes had already turned into the shape of Gold Coins.

Not far from him, Chief Designer [Jade-faced Hand Tired King] was sprawled over a massive blueprint, furiously drawing while muttering things like "structural mechanics" and "material fatigue," concepts unheard of by locals.

Actually, he didn't quite understand them himself; it was all learned on the job.

This game always becomes weirdly realistic in unexpected places, making people pull out their hair. The hardships not experienced at work were all experienced in the game.

If it weren't for the fact that Gold Coins could be exchanged for Joss Paper, and Joss Paper for RMB, he definitely wouldn't bother with being a Life Professional Player!

This is too life-consuming!

"...No way, this load-bearing wall design is flawed. We must add cross-beam structures, or else the pressure resistance will decrease by at least 30%..."

[Iron-blooded Fatty] was racking his brains over a resource list, pondering transportation routes and manpower distribution.

Outside the tent, "Foreman" [Wolf Limp] stood with hands on hips, directing a group of "newbies" with dreams of getting rich, as they moved cheap timber smuggled from the Great Graveyard under the cover of darkness.

Just then, the tent flap was suddenly lifted, and a player responsible for gathering information rushed in panting.

With an excited look on his face, he slapped a piece of rough paper on the table, on which the freshly released "Mire City Special District Decree" was transcribed.

"Big news, folks! They've opened a new map again!"

The four core members inside the tent immediately crowded over.

Unlike NPCs in taverns, their reaction wasn't surprise but excitement, like sharks scenting blood.

[Earth-eating Rich Man] snatched up the paper, quickly scanned it, his eyes almost popping out.

"Holy crap! New city development?! And starting from scratch! This, this must be a huge expansion patch!"

"Damn, the planners are awesome!"

"We're gonna make a killing! Really make a killing this time!"

The tent filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Even though they were already swamped with work, it didn't stop them from dreaming big.

[Jade-faced Hand Tired King] squeezed past Brother, excitedly grabbing the paper, already starting to mutter spellbound.

"Swamp... Lizardman... Got it! I can use tall stilt houses paired with intricate Gothic spires, blending them with Beastman Tribe totem elements... this will definitely be the server's first steampunk-style magnificent city!"

[Earth-eating Rich Man] rolled his eyes.

"Quit the nonsense! Keep it simple!"

[Jade-faced Hand Tired King] scratched his head for a while.

"Uh, how about... Wasteland Punk?"

[Earth-eating Rich Man]'s eyes lit up.

"Hmm... we can work with that!"

"Swamp transportation costs are high, and material loss is substantial, we need to solve this issue first." [Iron-blooded Fatty] pondered deeply for a moment and suddenly blurted out, "We need to design a steam transport vehicle that can run in mud!"

Simply put, it was a tractor with wider tracks.

This thing wouldn't just haul materials, but also dig pits and move soil, especially useful in leveling land, saving them significant work.

"Caterpillar vehicle, huh!" [Earth-eating Rich Man] waved a big hand, "That's simple! Just order one from Black Wind Castle!"

[Jade-faced Hand Tired King] was momentarily stunned.

"Will that work?!"

[Earth-eating Rich Man] said with a grin.

"No problem! Just tell them not to mount a turret on it!"

"Then... what about manpower?" [Jade-faced Hand Tired King] raised the most critical issue, "Recently, with the planners opening new maps so quickly, there might not be enough newbies in the server, right?"

"That's easy! Fill in with NPCs!" [Wolf Limp], who hadn't spoken until now, grinned, his eyes flashing with intelligence, "Tomorrow I'll go recruit another 500 NPCs from the Refugee Camp outside the city! Tell them, 'Invincible Group' provides food and lodging, pays daily, and offers bonuses for good work!"

While NPCs' efficiency and flexibility aren't as nimble as players, in extreme manpower shortages, they're a decent compromise.

At least for pure manual labor like moving bricks, human workers are far more useful than those small goblin laborers, especially the hardworking and resilient Campbell people!