Chapter 14

Chapter 014: Mental Space

When it comes to opening a supply crate, others only need to reach out and touch it, but Yan Cang has many things to consider.

Bearing the "Great Fate Art," he can indeed precisely obtain the items he desires.

But precisely because the choices are limitless, he needs to think even more.

Although he had previously decided to use this to enhance his strength, there are many ways to manifest that improvement.

Should he consume a Heavenly Material or Earthly Treasure for immediate results, or choose a Growth-Type Ability with greater long-term potential?

The former takes effect quickly but is a one-time consumable.

With no imminent crisis at hand, and the "Great Fate Art" backing him up in all matters, Yan Cang naturally has no need to rush.

If he ever encounters trouble that even his talent can't handle, other options would be even less reliable.

This option can be ruled out first.

The latter is undoubtedly more cost-effective, but the specific choices are still numerous.

He needs to pick one that aligns with his own characteristics.

"I can draw on the Energy Pool to replenish my physical strength at any time, so I'd better find an ability that maximizes this advantage," Yan Cang mused.

After deciding, he didn't act immediately.

Out of caution, he needed to think it over more.

Moreover, Yan Cang felt in his heart that this might not be the optimal choice at the moment...

"Is there something I'm missing?"

He fell into deep thought.

Enhancing personal strength is about solidifying the foundation, and its value lies in sustainability—unlike the energy in the Energy Pool, which diminishes with use.

This point is quite important.

The only thing that could surpass this in importance would be an expansion related to Fate Points.

That directly concerns the growth of the Energy Pool.

Currently, each Fate Net user pays a fixed Internet Fee of 1 Fate Point per day, equivalent to one-tenth of a normal person's physical strength.

Beyond that, there are no other channels to spend Fate Points.

This means the daily energy income has an upper limit.

If calculated based on the extreme scenario of 1.4 billion users being online all day, and deducting half of that to maintain the Fate Net...

Then, his current daily income is roughly equivalent to the physical energy of 70 million people.

This might seem like an inexhaustible amount, but it's unlikely to truly be so.

For Yan Cang, who possesses the "Great Fate Art," more energy is always better.

"If something from the supply crate could add a new function to the Fate Net that consumes Fate Points, then enhancing my own strength can indeed be put off until tomorrow."

As this thought emerged, Yan Cang's heart stirred.

Earlier, when updating the Location Function, he had considered whether to charge for it.

But thinking that the positions of all Fate Net users were already fully visible to him, adding the Location Function was just opening up a portion of the permissions.

The process didn't require any extra consumption, so he simply didn't set a fee.

This... was probably because many people had topped up Fate Points last night, and seeing the Energy Pool's volume surge this morning made him generous.

Looking back now, he was indeed a bit carried away.

However, the free activation of the location function also brought an unexpected gain—his faction contribution points surged dramatically.

When he checked in the morning, it was only a little over 170 million.

After the Fate Net update, within just a few hours, it had broken through to over 230 million.

And even now, the growth momentum remains fierce.

So, there are gains and losses.

Although the specific role of faction contribution points is still unclear, more is definitely better.

Besides, if the location function were to consume Fate Points, setting a pricing standard alone would be a hassle.

Would it be charged per use or by time?

If the price is too high, people would use it sparingly; if too low, the profit would be minimal.

In short, it's a troublesome matter.

No wonder he was so generous earlier.

This little extra benefit, given away for free, indeed settles everything once and for all.

As for the new channel for consuming Fate Points, he had actually anticipated it when setting up the World Channel in the chat room earlier.

It's that item similar to the in-game [World Trumpet]—a paid global announcement.

But this one needs to be priced high.

However, considering there's no demand for it right now, blindly launching it would only result in a cold reception.

So, let's get back to the supply boxes.

"If I could get unlimited food from the chests, that would be a great tool for consuming Fate Points."

But then, he dismissed this unrealistic fantasy.

Supply boxes are unlikely to provide items of that scale, and even if they did, there would be strict limitations.

Otherwise, he could just choose [Unlimited Energy] and become invincible outright, right?

So... should he just stick to the original plan and improve his own strength?

"Wait!"

A flash of insight struck Yan Cang. "Just because I have nothing to sell doesn't mean the 1.4 billion people have nothing to sell..."

"A trading platform!"

The thought in his mind instantly became clear.

Building a trading platform requires solving two major problems: product display and logistics delivery.

The former is simple—just add a new module to the Fate Net.

The latter, however, requires external intervention.

With that, Yan Cang's gaze fell back on the supply box.

Once he made up his mind, he didn't waste any time.

Without delay, he directly activated the "Great Fate Art."

He began to peer into the future images of himself opening the box.

Unlike peering into the past, the future is ever-changing, so he saw countless possibilities.

Among them were complex scenarios: opening the box in the next second would yield a Bronze Chest; hesitating a few seconds would result in a Wooden Chest; and there were even images where opening at the same time produced different results.

Yan Cang didn't care about that; he only focused on the quality differences of the chests.

"Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold..."

"Is Gold the highest quality?"

"I could create higher-quality chests out of nothing, but the cost is too high."

"Not worth it."

He no longer hesitated and directly drove the "Great Fate Art" to anchor the future fate of obtaining a Golden Chest.

Then, he reached out and touched the box.

Golden light flowed, and the plain box transformed into a dazzling Golden Chest.

Yan Cang continued to activate his talent, searching through the myriad futures for an ability related to logistics that suited the current situation.

But the future images were simply too numerous.

To quickly and precisely select the most suitable ability, one must rely on the talent "Great Fate Art."

In the end, fate pointed to a skill book: [Mental Space].

[Mental Space (Skill Book): Upon learning, you can use mental power to open a personal dimension. The space is as vast as your mind.]

At first glance, Yan Cang was puzzled.

What does a personal space have to do with logistics and delivery?

Even if it could serve as a warehouse for storing items, it wouldn't mean he had to act as a courier all by himself, would it?

Manually sending and receiving goods?

That would be exhausting!

But he knew deep down that [Fate Guidance] wouldn't point aimlessly, so Yan Cang began to think deeply.

Soon, he figured out a key point.

The essence of the Fate Net is the Fate Star Sea—the manifestation of the fates of 1.4 billion people.

However, when connecting to these people's consciousness, it naturally also contains vast and scattered mental power.

The beauty of this mental power lies in its distribution; Yan Cang could use it to open individual mental spaces one by one.

Then, he could grant the permissions for retrieving and exchanging items in these spaces to their respective original owners.

Thus, the difficulty of goods delivery was resolved.

As the absolute controller of the Fate Net, implementing this operation was a piece of cake for him.

Even better, although these personal spaces rely on the user's own mental power, they are fundamentally inseparable from the Fate Net.

Once a Fate Net user goes offline, the personal space, lacking the support of mental power, would collapse instantly.

This also meant that to store items safely, one must always stay online on the Fate Net.

"Hiss..." Yan Cang drew in a sharp breath.

This step completely locked down the entire ecosystem of the Fate Net.

No wonder it was chosen by the "Great Fate Art"!

...