Rebuilding Base is Under Construction (BASE)
Zhang Dianyu woke up on a wide sofa because of the annoying noise of construction work buzzing in his ears.
He ran a hand through his hair and got up to look out the window, wanting to figure out where he was and why he had fallen asleep in such a noisy place.
...But he couldn’t find a window.
From the furnishings in sight, this was just a luxuriously and oddly decorated office.
Across from him was a clean and tidy desk, proving that the owner of this place hardly ever worked.
The leather office chair was flanked by a TV and a radio on either side, and in the corner of the room, there was even a gaming console and a pool table.
Zhang Dianyu: "..."
Wasn’t this the game Prison Architect he had been playing last night?
After the prison was up and running, he had idly started decorating the warden’s room and cramming every available entertainment facility into the office.
After all, the warden was a bald, middle-aged man who didn’t need to eat, drink, or use the bathroom, and just spent his days wandering around a 4x4 office...Wait!
Zhang Dianyu quickly reached for the top of his head and only breathed a sigh of relief after feeling the soft, thick hair there.
No matter where he was now or what had happened, as long as he wasn’t bald, everything was fine.
Zhang Dianyu circled the office a few times but there was hardly any space to stand, and he couldn’t find any clues.
He had no choice but to step outside and take a look.
Just as he cautiously reached for the door handle, a game interface suddenly unfolded before his eyes, identical to the Prison Architect he had been playing last night.
In the center was a bird’s-eye view of the prison that could be zoomed in for details.
The drop-down menu in the top left corner listed pending tasks, while the top displayed the prison’s total assets, daily income, and the status of guards and prisoners.
The bottom row was for prison management, used to build and operate the entire prison.
So the constant construction noise outside wasn’t hard to explain.
His last memory from last night was planning to build a row of solitary confinement cells next door to lock up the troublemakers, promoting humanitarianism and civilized behavior in the prison.
—Well, to make money.
For every prisoner who spent a day peacefully, he would receive a payment from the government.
That was real, living money!
With a thought, the game panel in front of him retracted.
He tried it a few times and found that he could control this panel with his mind, just like in those holographic game novels... or not!
Had he fallen asleep while playing the game and ended up inside it? Maybe he was still dreaming?
But this dream felt way too real.
Zhang Dianyu pushed open the bright green office door—there was no helping it, all employee doors looked like this. He would’ve liked to make it special, but the game didn’t allow it.
In the outer room and sitting in the position of his imagined warden’s assistant, was a hot and efficient red-haired beauty.
She looked up at him expressionlessly and said, "#/@~!"
Zhang Dianyu was so shocked he almost blurted out a curse.
There was no such thing as a warden’s assistant in the game, and the warden himself was just a tool who is destined to spend his life in a 4x4 grid.
But when it comes to playing games, if he were to assume the role of the warden, at the very least, the warden's office should be luxurious, and there should be a reception area outside the office. Although there isn't a warden's assistant, he could imagine one for himself.
Unexpectedly, the assistant himself had even materialized here.
But the problem was that he seemed unable to understand the assistant's words.
Zhang Dianyu stood there blankly for a while and noticed a new task appearing in the to-do list at the top left corner—"Receive the localization package in the subsidy system."
Zhang Dianyu suddenly realized that this was probably still a game, perhaps some kind of holographic simulation game still in the testing phase and with incomplete localization.
The subsidy system was a good place to receive some government funds, as long as he could complete the tasks.
Zhang Dianyu opened the report panel then found the subsidy system, and located the "Receive Localization Package" option. Without thinking, he clicked on it.
Upon hearing the "clinking" sound of coins flowing as a system prompt, Zhang Dianyu glanced up and his face turned green.
His total assets had plummeted by 300,000!
A localization patch costs 300,000?!
His prison assets were originally only 310,000!
Seeing Zhang Dianyu, who looked as if he had been struck by lightning and not responding, the assistant lady repeated, "Mr. Warden, do you remember today's schedule? Mr. Wayne, the prison's investor, is already waiting for you in the staff lounge."
This time, Zhang Dianyu could understand and immediately headed towards the staff lounge.
An investor!
He accepted this task!
This was a timely help!
But when he opened the green staff door and saw the scene inside, he felt that this deal might not be so simple.
A well-dressed black-haired man sat on the only two-seater sofa in the room with his legs crossed and one hand resting on his knee while casually looking around—but he wasn't alone.
Next to him, a worker covered in grease was lying on the other side of the sofa and pretending to nap.
Beside him, a chef was mechanically poking the drink machine, which clattered as a few cans of coke fell out.
And a few tired guards were also wandering around the room.
It must be said that the game's scene reproduction was quite good, but it seemed a bit eerie.
Next to the sofa stood a gentlemanly old man, who looked like a butler and always wearing a calm smile. He spoke to Zhang Dianyu, who had just entered, "You must be Mr. Warden? This is Mr. Wayne."
The man on the sofa also looked over upon hearing this while wearing a faint smile.
He stood up then buttoned the top button of his suit, and extended his right hand.
A standard business interaction routine, so Zhang Dianyu felt confident.
Although meeting in the messy staff lounge was a bit of a poor reception, the NPC wouldn't mind. After all, this Mr. Wayne would just deliver the money and leave.
Zhang Dianyu extended his right hand and briefly shook hands with Mr. Wayne.
It wasn't that he didn't want to shake the other's hand a few times to show enthusiasm like on TV, but the other party subtly withdrew his hand after just one second of contact.
Zhang Dianyu only had time to feel the stiff touch on his skin, as if he had touched a layer of callus.
It seemed that the game's optimization still had some issues.
Zhang Dianyu stared straight at Mr. Wayne and waited for the next task prompt.
He was already very familiar with this; the NPC would soon start the scripted scene.
Sure enough, the other party spoke first.
"Warden, if you would—" Mr. Wayne nodded toward the door.
Zhang Dianyu looked utterly bewildered.
Why did he need to respond?
What was the NPC trying to indicate?
Did this game have a puzzle-solving mode?
"Alright." Zhang Dianyu said.
After all, in games, when an NPC starts talking, you just hit the spacebar to let them finish quickly.
But then, unexpectedly, the other person fell silent as well.