People might think you have some high-tech threat to the bosses’ positions and are actively purchasing your stocks, thus pushing the stock price upward against the trend, but this rarely works in Night City.
After all, compared to stock prices, it’s more likely the brains of the small company employees are scattered all over the place first.
As for who might suppress it,
it’s definitely not Lin Miao.
You say you don’t want to suppress him, well, that’s something you don’t get a say in.
Scavenger base ruins.
The seals originally pulled by the NCPD have long been torn open by someone here, with some enthusiasts coming to see if anything valuable was left behind.
Unfortunately, the players have been scavenging since childhood—forget about whether it’s valuable or useful—they’ve even picked up spent shell casings, recycled all of them, and everyone coming here curses these guys who are stingier than floor cleaners.
And down at the lowest level, near the cellar that once held victims, the players have returned to this place, fully armed again, old and new players included. Except for the perpetually busy red barrel construction team and Jianxue chemical workshop, almost every player in the city is here.
Brother Ni: "The resident says he got a hidden task to change professions to a doctor, not coming."
Wildman: "Man, why can’t we get one?"
Vixen: "With your dumb look, you’re going to be a doctor? Anesthetizing people with your fists?"
Brother Dao: "That’s how ancient anesthesia worked."
"Whatever, he’s off doing his career task while we do our new maze map task." The big head confidently said, "You all say, this underground absolutely has good stuff, like treasure chests, legendary implants, or something, novels and games always set it up this way, maybe even a hidden boss."
Potato: "What good is a hidden boss? With your current level, you’d be only delivering seafood."
Brother Ni: "Let’s just try it, anyhow there should at least be scavenger activity tracks down there."
This is the consensus among players; the example of the scavengers is right there, and there are bound to be a lot of dirty things in the underground sewer system.
But it’s certainly no small task to map out the immense and complex network of the city’s underground pipelines. So, the players’ idea is to start from this base and gradually map out and clear the entire underground sewer system, which is undoubtedly a huge project.
Therefore, when the players proposed to search the sewers, Lin Miao let them go, and by the way issued a large task.
[Hidden Task: City Sewer Maze (Santo Domingo)]
[Task Background: Night City has a history nearing a hundred years, Santo Domingo is one of the oldest districts, immune to the fourth corporate war, sheltered countless refugees in nuclear fallout, and hides countless secrets and sins, being the darkest side of the city.]
[Let our drone bees scan every inch of pipe, build a 3D map, clean up the ’filth’ below, unveiling the dirtiest side of the city before us.]
[Task Introduction: This is a large task, unlimited time, unlimited participants. Exploring new areas, eliminating crime nests, discovering secrets all earn exploration points, which can be used to draw lucky rewards from the exploration prize pool at the office.]
[Task Tip: Exploration points are accrued per individual, non-difficult areas will see a reduction in points as more participants join.]
This final tip is to prevent players from collectively mass scoring, squeezing into a pack of dozens to explore together.
If four-person teams explore, each can earn full exploration points, same as solo exploration, while six-person teams earn only 80%, and ten-person teams earn only 50% each.
The more participants, the easier the task, thus the fewer rewards, possibly less than 10% at the lowest level.
Of course, if faced with hard challenges, Lin Miao can mark them as varying levels of high-risk zones, reducing accumulated reductions.
And the prize pool? Naturally, it’s a blind box card draw.
Of course, this blind box is for players; Lin Miao, the one packaging these boxes, surely is not blind. Rewards can cover everything he can source, from currency, canned goods, firearms, implants, vehicles.
Definitely not mimicking the system to spite players.
Exploring the sewers is an absolute money-burning pure expense task for Lin Miao; even completing the map might earn him only paltry resources, while aiming to keep players from focusing solely on being rats down there.
Above the sewers, incandescent lights left by scavengers dangle; under the yellowish light, the damp, moldy concrete pipe walls are visible.
Due to Night City’s patchwork power system, added to gangs and poor folks liking to miswire power connections, even the power company struggles with management, so no one’s bothered even when power connections reach abandoned construction sites.
Wildman, looking at the pitch-dark surroundings, commented: "Damn, it’s so dark here, this would be perfect for filming horror stories."
Great Britain Sword Saint: "Think positively, maybe there’s a mermaid living in the sewers."
Water Moon Cave Heaven: "Are you planning to take her home and raise her in your bathtub?"
Potato: "Brother Xun could take her to raise at his fish farm."
Brother Dao: "Shut up! You bring up stuff I worked hard to forget over decades!"
Brother Ni: "Now you realize how utterly screwed we were groping our way from the river, making Jianxue call you ’dad’ would be mild."
Mongolian Toplaner: "This is impossibly hard, now we’re just rats."