Famine 234: National Highway Watchtowers

　　Yes, this was the most acute problem facing the farm.

　　In the original design of the Main God, there was never meant to be a base camp like the “farm.” Even in the anomalous cities of the Famine Game, no matter how many dungeons there were, there were always sparse enough gaps left for players to catch their breath. The distribution was never especially dense; a major city would have only about twenty or so dungeon points.

　　The farm had been expanding outward for some time, its satellite zones and small outpost settlements multiplying and pushing ever farther afield. The appearance of the armed sequence had only accelerated this process.

　　Now, in the vicinity of the farm, within four surrounding cities and their suburbs and fields, there were truly not many dungeons left.

　　And that vacuum would, predictably, only continue to grow with time.

　　Si Zhiyan thought it over and raised a question: “With the players’ stamina, their marching speed should be very fast. In a day or two, shouldn’t they be able to reach the denser dungeon regions?”

　　Bian Xu nodded, then shook his head.

　　“They could. But the journey is extremely dangerous.”

　　“Much like the amusement park—though there may be no dungeons or self-contained worlds between, the Famine Game’s twisted urban landscape is full of wandering anomalies: rifts, hachishakusamas, and worse. Some are territorial, forcing us to detour; others roam unpredictably, making the road treacherous.”

　　“So-called marching—most of the time is wasted on pointless combat.”

　　Si Zhiyan said, “What about organizing a sweep to open up a safe road?”

　　Bian Xu shook his head. “No use. As soon as an area is cleared, new anomalies quickly move in. We can’t possibly keep soldiers posted everywhere, endlessly maintaining every route.”

　　The farm’s traders and ordinary players had been plagued by these dangers for ages.

　　Of course, it was hardly news. No one came to Si Zhiyan to complain.

　　After all, this was the Famine Game.

　　Wasn’t pervasive danger the normal state of things?

　　Having a safe zone like the farm, a genuine base camp, was really the anomaly here.

　　“……”

　　Si Zhiyan mulled it over, then opened the store.

　　After some searching, he dragged out an item—

　　[S-Class Facility – Castle Outpost Tower]

　　Peter Pan Toy Company proudly presents its latest release, the [Castle Outpost Tower]!

　　Lords! Ladies! Surely you have rich, fertile lands waiting beyond your grand castle!

　　But without your protection or the valor of your knights, what happens if the villages are left to be pillaged?

　　That won’t do—this is your property. If your peasants are destitute, who will pay taxes, or buy you gowns and steaks?

　　But of course, my dear lords and ladies, this is just a toy.

　　The toy appears as a castle keep of grey stone, model-sized when inactive, but expanding—upon activation—to five hundred square meters and about twenty meters high, enough to house a “knight squadron.”
　　On the first floor is a large window for external communication and rapid deployment.

　　Press the button, and the outpost will burst with platoons of plastic soldiers! They’ll do everything a true knight’s guard would do.

　　Ps: The plastic knights can only kill minor creatures like bug hive queens, Disney sea monsters, and such—don’t expect them to handle real threats. Play with adult supervision, and only in safe areas!

　　Operators are standing by: XXXX-XXXXXX

　　…

　　As always, the hotline’s numbers shimmered and twisted into unreadability.

　　Si Zhiyan studied the model castle, inspecting it with a faint smile.

　　“These products are always so interesting.”

　　While he spoke, Bian Xu pressed the button.

　　Bzz! A throng of toy soldiers poured from the plastic watchtower, madly yelling as they raided nearby villages, slaughtering foes, treating villagers as enemy stand-ins, hacking off heads—stacking them into a grisly wall of skulls at the castle base.

　　Si Zhiyan: “……”
　　Bian Xu: “……”

　　Have you simply made the same mistake every lordly knight did in the end?

　　Well, let that be for now.

　　Bian Xu poked a plastic soldier. It toppled, then righted itself to hop and wave its spear: “At this level, it’s just giving its head to the anomalies.”

　　“If we garrisoned with our own troops, it would fare better. But to have even a small squad able to wipe out every anomaly in a sector, the outpost density would need to be extremely high, and we don’t have the numbers…”

　　Unexpectedly, Si Zhiyan chuckled. “Who said I’m out to exterminate anomalies?”

　　He patted the watchtower gently. “What’s the point of so much violence—tell me, what does this remind you of?”

　　Bian Xu looked at the [Castle Outpost Tower]: towering walls, sealed buildings, the toy pile of heads, the bloodthirsty, cheering soldiers—and that giant external window…

　　…Hmm.

　　Si Zhiyan held the model and lowered his voice, “A drive-in diner.”

　　Bian Xu: “……”
　　Bian Xu: “?”

　　Do you remember the amusement park?

　　There, the farm pioneered a method to draw anomalies in—by selling food.

　　Anomalies bought food from the farm using—

　　[Wishing Coins That Entrust Sorrow]
　　Coins embodying the purest desires of anomalies.
　　Usable as points, each valued at 150.

　　Originally, these coins came from the wishing pool at the [Amusement Park] gates.

　　But as time passed, more and more farm shops opened, drawing ever greater crowds of anomalies. The pool’s coins could no longer supply demand.

　　New coins could only be produced by the anomalies themselves.

　　As the description said: the coins contained an anomaly’s purest longing.

　　Farm points and Main God quest points—at their root, both were birthed from the emotions of anomalies, the [Tear Fragments].

　　Anomalies’ tears could fall for misery and fuel the Main God’s score, but they could also fall for joy, becoming the farm’s [Tear Fragments]… or slip from the corner of a mouth over a meal so moving it brought tears and banished all sorrow.

　　Why not? That last kind could actually buy the tastiest of real food.

　　Because of this, within the restaurant’s range, affected anomalies’ aggression diminished considerably.

　　In the amusement park, humans and anomalies coexisted in a strange peace. The vicinity of the park grew safer by the day.

　　Traders and mercenary groups were no longer ambushed by the infamous headless lovers on the street corner.

　　The shrieking heads had fallen silent for a long time.

　　Now, players occasionally saw her—resting sweetly on her lover’s shoulder. The headless man held not a cleaver, but a new snack each day—hot dogs, banana boats, jammed cocoa—every new opening saw the couple queueing for a first taste.

　　All the screaming, bloody tears, and aggrieved malice quieted, merging into everyday sweetness.

　　And for the farm’s purposes, this meant the watchtowers could be widely spaced—their numbers greatly reduced.

　　Each was garrisoned by a squad: not to clear every anomaly along the road, only to defend the watchtower itself.

　　Given the farm’s permanent troop levels, this mission was a trifle.

　　………
　　……

　　And so, after meticulous planning and surveying, one after another, the watchtowers rose along the roadside.

　　The farm began printing and distributing large-scale maps, which now included not just the farm itself, but a network of planned roadways—

　　Centered on the farm’s entrance at the [Dense Apartment Ruins], roads radiated outward.

　　Along these roads were countless supply watchtower diners, each staffed by a squad from the combat sequence, each selling a unique menu of regional dishes.

　　And along these roads, the emotions of all nearby anomalies steadily calmed, so much so that, little by little, their hostility disappeared entirely.

　　Naturally, some anomalies remained stubborn, their resentment too deep for food alone to reach.

　　Well… apologies. The farm also knows a bit of “physical persuasion.”
　　If you won’t cooperate—see you next life. We’ll have a more accommodating anomaly in charge by then.

　　This monumental (or perhaps culinary) project—and all these roads—were named the [Safety National Highways].

　　This was Si Zhiyan’s plan.

　　Between each satellite outpost, construct watchtowers and lay down highways!

　　Once settlements were connected with the farm by accessible roads, players could travel farther and farther afield.

　　Go further still!

　　Human players, packs on their backs, once again spread across the scorched earth of the post-apocalyptic world.

　　With each new batch of graduates from the army’s training, as they pressed on and journeyed further, wherever the farm’s armed sequence passed, watchtowers rose and restaurants opened along the way.

　　But what they brought was not destruction, but…

　　[New! Suburban Highway Watchtower Diner Opening! Burger + Fried Chicken Wings + Chocolate Shake, Complete Set, Only One Coin, All Items Half Off!]
　　[Huaihai Road Watchtower Diner Classic Meal Deal! Superb Soy Sauce Chicken Rice Now Available]
　　[Central Watchtower Diner Special: Teriyaki Fatty Beef Rice Ball, Polished Off in Two Minutes!]

　　…

　　Each watchtower restaurant, designed to attract the local anomalies, added touches of regional flavor.

　　Players laughed and chatted along the way, discussing delivery contracts, fantasizing about the local delicacies they’d try in a new place—walking toward the next dawn.

　　And the anomalies? They sat quietly munching burgers, chicken, and fries, sipping chocolate shakes together.

　　Coin exchanged, shake received, and each day, the anger, hostility, and killing urge faded a little more with the taste of chocolate…

　　Rumor had it that some anomalies, grown fond of human fare, lost all aggression but found the watchtower menus too tame. They lingered around satellite towns, enduring kicks and curses just for a snack.

　　Naturally, the curious players made them a local attraction, fattening them up through generous handouts.

　　No longer did they hunt—but brought more anomalous friends back with them…

　　Perhaps one day those violent, poisonous wounds would finally fade away. Perhaps humanity would not live to see it; perhaps all civilization would be dust by then…

　　But no matter what, a fresh new possibility was rising before everyone’s eyes.

　　……

　　The benefits of building the watchtowers and [Safety National Highways] soon became clear.

　　First, the progress of resource exchange and world exploration was dramatically accelerated; supplies and anomalous objects from distant dungeons arrived in droves, greatly enriching life at the farm.

　　And most striking of all—

　　“Sir! Sir! A new S-class grassland world’s been cleared out there!!”

　　Yun Zhong burst in, breathless, eyes ablaze with excitement, addressing Bian Xu and Si Zhiyan both.

　　Seeing their confusion, he stomped once in place:

　　“They’ve got superb cows and sheep over there!”

　　“Bring them here!”

　　Si Zhiyan and Bian Xu leapt to their feet as one, scrambling at almost battle speed to seize the Famine Seed.

　　Moo~

　　And so it was that little calves and lambs were turned loose upon the farm’s fields.

　　At the same time, the farm’s control over distant satellite towns and hamlets improved significantly.

　　Life became easier, and more residents of the satellite towns requested citizenship, willing to pay taxes, perform military service, and in return gain better delivery of resources—and a chance to settle at the farm itself.

　　After a round of garrisoning and new posts, the farm’s manpower not only failed to dwindle, but actually increased!

　　Across all industries—even mining, refining, light manufacturing—demand for labor shot sharply upward.

　　Only now did Si Zhiyan fully understand: many who had heard of the farm had not stayed away for lack of interest, but for fear—fear of dying on the long, perilous road there.

　　Now, at last, that was no longer a concern.

　　Si Zhiyan shook his head with a smile:

　　“It’s just like they say—if you want to get rich, first build a road!”

　　In this new atmosphere, word quickly spread—

　　“The mines have reached Level 5! We’ve unlocked a new ore!”