I'm playing Frostpunk in Arknights

Alina once again heard that voice saying something incomprehensible like "work," but strangely, the thugs who had intended to harm her actually left!

Alina patted her chest and took a deep breath, leaning back against the energy tower and sitting on the ground. Just a little more, just a little more, and she would have been dead.

"Cough, cough, can you hear me?"

The voice sounded again in Alina's ear. It wasn't an illusion—this voice really had saved her. Alina quickly replied, "I can hear you. Can you tell me who you are?"

Alina's formal tone made Wang Zhan uncomfortable all over. He wasn't used to such distant language. Even back in the company, his subordinates just called him "Brother Zhan."

"I am..."

He was a player, and Alina was an NPC in the game. To build the energy tower, he needed someone to interact with. Since Alina was the only one who could hear him, he had to ensure she stayed.

"...the energy tower behind you."

"The energy tower behind me..."

Alina turned to look at the hunk of metal. Her stunned yet adorable expression made Wang Zhan chuckle. She exclaimed, "En-er-gy Tow-er?!"

"You might find it surprising, but you're not dreaming," Wang Zhan carefully chose his words. "I am... an energy tower. Take care of me."

As soon as he said that, Wang Zhan realized it sounded wrong. Take care of me? Saying that to a girl?

"I understand what you mean," Alina said innocently, not overthinking it as he had. "You need someone to maintain your structure and ensure normal operation, right?"

No, not at all.

Energy towers were designed to be durable and low-maintenance. Translating game logic into reality felt odd.

Wang Zhan realized he was being led astray by Alina. "Sorry, Alina, that's not quite right."

Alina pursed her lips slightly, seemingly troubled by her misunderstanding.

"I am the core of a city. I can provide energy and heat to the surrounding buildings."

Alina thought for a moment. "Like the engines of mobile cities?"

Wang Zhan had done his homework. Mobile cities in Terra were tools for avoiding natural disasters. Cities were built on giant moving platforms, and the engines not only provided propulsion but also energy and heat.

Quite similar.

"Yes, I'm somewhat like them, but also different."

"You can talk... I mean, communicate with people."

Alina looked confident, her pride almost tangible through the screen. If he told this naive girl that his energy came from coal rather than Originium... better save that for later.

"Now that you understand, what do I need you to do?"

"Build a city for you... um... recruit more people to keep you operational."

"Exactly," Wang Zhan said, impressed by how quickly Alina grasped his intention. "We need to build a city to keep me running."

"Are you operational right now?"

The curious girl wanted to know the answer, and Wang Zhan responded frankly, "No."

"You're not running, yet you can talk?"

Wang Zhan paused. Alina stared curiously at the massive energy tower. He replied cryptically, "That's a secret I can't reveal for now."

"A secret... I see, Mr. Energy Tower," Alina said, slightly disappointed but still smiling brightly. "I'm willing to stay with you as repayment for saving my life."

Outside the screen, Wang Zhan spun his chair in celebration before returning to focus. Alina continued, "But I have some other matters to handle. If possible, I can bring more people to help you."

The resistance?

Wang Zhan recalled the basket of fruit Alina carried, likely for the resistance. If he could have a whole unit stationed at the energy tower, it would bring enormous benefits.

However, the resistance was led by Bozorkast, a seasoned general. He would probably notice the energy tower's biggest flaw—its inability to move. This meant that if discovered by Ursus troops, its survival would be impossible.

It was uncertain whether Ursus troops were even part of this expansion, but it was better to be prepared.

"I understand your situation. Go ahead and do what you need to."

"Thank you for your understanding."

Alina seemed delighted, her steps light as she hummed an unfamiliar tune. Watching her disappear off-screen, Wang Zhan felt a mix of warmth and loneliness. Who would have thought that after his company went bankrupt, the only one loyal to him was an NPC?

Everyone had abandoned him. If not for his boss, Mu Ye—a childhood friend—helping him out, he'd probably still be delivering food on a scooter.

Shaking off his thoughts, Wang Zhan turned back to the game. Why was Alina the only one who could hear him?

He replayed the events and concluded—only those who had touched the energy tower could hear him.

So, could anyone who touched the tower communicate with him?

Wang Zhan jotted this theory down, intending to test it when Alina returned with others.

He checked his phone—it was 5:44 PM. The game time synchronized with real life, and there was no time-skip option.

This detail intrigued him further. A game without the ability to skip boring periods? Strange. While the expansion was engaging, people always faced downtime in games, didn't they?

He glanced at his phone. "Just about time for the workers to clock out."

In the game, NPC workers typically started at 8:00 AM and finished by 6:00 PM. After that, unless laws extended working hours, no one worked overtime.

But to punish the thugs, Wang Zhan decided to make them work 24 hours straight, running a little experiment.

In the base game, workers could work during the day and hunt at night, staying active around the clock. He wondered if this would still apply, given how intelligent these NPCs were. Exploiting the system like before might not work.

Wang Zhan glanced at the resource bar at the top of the screen. It displayed coal, wood, steel, and steam cores. In the center was the temperature, showing -10°C. To the right were the remaining raw food and food rations. Below was a weather forecast strip indicating future temperature changes.

"The fifteen men just dismantled 44 units of wood." The game didn't start with wood resources. They had to dismantle the village for wood and steel. The system had also provided 500 coal, 100 steel, and 400 raw food.

A Hunter's Hut required 20 wood to build. Wang Zhan clicked the construction icon, selected the Hunter's Hut from the food category, and placed it at the edge of the foundation. Since it didn't require heating, it didn't need to be near the energy tower.

Unlike other buildings that needed to maintain a certain temperature for occupants, this was straightforward.

As soon as he placed it, a Hunter's Hut covered in white cloth appeared on the snow without requiring workers to build it.

The thugs, just off work, ambled lazily back toward the energy tower. Wang Zhan smirked and connected the energy tower to the Hunter's Hut with a road. He then clicked on the hut and assigned 15 workers.

"What?! We just finished work, and now we're hunting?!"

Grumbling, the leader of the group couldn't help but move toward the Hunter's Hut.

"Well, I'll be..."

Inside were 15 complete but rudimentary hunting gear sets. The leader realized they were for them. He swallowed nervously. If they sold these...

Three months' worth of food!

"Boss, I want to run, but I can't move my legs."

The leader suspected it was the energy tower issuing commands. Despite his frustration, he couldn't understand why they obeyed so readily.

Still, the chance for a full belly was in front of them. "Run? Run where? Didn't you see that gear? Put it on—now!"