Chapter 19

Chapter 019: The Old Order

While Yan Cang was immersed in the game world, the vast majority of people in the Huaxia Faction had no such leisure.

On the contrary, they were quite busy.

All because the emergence of the Trading House had completely transformed the survival logic of the Trial Ground.

Things that had once seemed useless—grass, wood, sand, and stones—suddenly had clear value markers. Timber, stone, wild fruit, wild vegetables, and even barely edible roots could all become commodities measured in "Fate Points."

And "Fate Points" could directly be exchanged for the food, weapons, or tools needed for survival—even a sense of security.

Yes, a sense of security.

Just like the saying, "Having money in your pocket puts your mind at ease."

Fate Points and money had become synonymous.

Thus, people began frantically collecting all kinds of resources.

At the edge of the forest, someone was vigorously hacking at tough vines and shrubs, calculating how many Fate Points this bundle might fetch.

Near the riverbank, someone was carefully selecting stones of regular shape, hoping they would sell for a good price in the "Materials" category.

Even those "Cursed Ones" who had started in the harshest deserts were no longer completely hopeless. They could grit their teeth, repeatedly consume physical strength to exchange for "Fate Points," and then tremblingly open the Trading House to buy the clean water and food that sustained life.

Moreover, some quick-witted and moderately skilled individuals keenly realized that the profit margins on raw materials were too thin.

What if they processed them into finished goods?

Thus, crude but sharp wooden spears, firmly bound stone axes, and even rough containers woven from broad leaves and vines began appearing on the trading list, often priced several times higher than the raw materials.

Despite their rough craftsmanship, these "handmade goods" still found buyers in the early stages when tools were scarce.

A primitive credit system and economic cycle, based on "Fate Points," was rapidly sprouting and spreading around the Trading House.

Everyone in the Huaxia Faction was swept up in it, whether for survival or accumulation.

Busyness became the most common undertone of that afternoon.

...

In a corner of the Trial Ground.

On a certain grassland, a temporary team was dividing tasks and working together.

Someone crouched on the ground, carefully identifying clumps of herbaceous plants. Someone else swung a crude stone blade, laboriously digging up sweet grass roots. Two others stood on slightly higher ground, resting to recover their strength while keeping a wary lookout.

"Look, this is dandelion. The whole plant is edible. It's a bit bitter, but it staves off hunger. Pull the whole thing out!" the young man in charge of identification whispered instructions.

"We hit the jackpot! There's a huge patch of sedge over here!" came an excited, hushed shout from another direction. "The stems and leaves can be used for thatched roofs to keep out rain, and the underground tubers are edible. They should be worth more on the Trading House."

"Is it really that serious?" The companion digging for roots looked up and wiped his sweat. "Anyone listening would think you'd dug up ginseng."

"What do you know!" the discoverer of the sedge retorted. "In this environment, sedge is a hundred times more useful than ginseng! Our camp is short on building materials and reserve food!"

"Well, that's true..."

"Hey, do you think anyone will actually want these wild grass and vegetables we're digging up?" A slightly younger voice chimed in with doubt. "They're bitter, astringent, have no nutrition, and won't even fill you up..."

"For two or three Fate Points, you can buy a big bundle. For someone on the verge of starving, this is a lifeline—someone will definitely want it," said the young man identifying plants without looking up.

"But the thought of someone having to buy grass to eat... it feels pretty surreal," the younger team member muttered.

"Relax." One person on lookout duty turned back, his voice steady. "If there really was no market for it, Mr. Fu wouldn't have arranged things this way. He's weathered more storms than we've walked roads—doesn't he know better than us?"

"True... I heard Mr. Fu was a big official?"

"Not just big—top-tier. A lot of people in our camp came because of his reputation."

"I just didn't expect Mr. Fu to still have that much strength at his age."

"I heard he got something good from a Supply Box?"

"What else could it be?"

"Enough chatter... hurry up and dig. While it's still early, let's get as much as we can."

"..."

Not far away was the camp these people were talking about.

It was nestled against a hill, forming a natural windbreak—a pretty good location choice.

Right now, over twenty people were busy here: carrying logs, tying them down, splicing and assembling...

The whole camp was buzzing like a construction site.

Fu Tongkang, the team leader, was also busy among them.

Though he was already over sixty, he had pulled an item that enhanced his physique from a supply crate on the first day.

As a result, he now had considerable strength and worked even more nimbly than some of the younger folks.

Just as he was driving a thick log deep into the ground, a little girl of about ten came over holding a wooden bowl: "Grandpa Fu, have some water."

"Alright, let's have some water." Fu Tongkang took it with a chuckle.

He raised the bowl and called out to the others, "Everyone, take a break!"

"You got it!"

"Old Fu's finally tired too..."

Responses rang out one after another, and the once-bustling "construction site" came to a halt.

Heavy panting could be heard all around—clearly, everyone was exhausted.

A few in the team who had never done heavy labor before were especially showing signs of fatigue.

In truth, some had wanted to rest earlier, but they were waiting for Fu Tongkang to give the word.

This wasn't because he held such high prestige in this newly formed team.

Rather, it was because seeing an old man with graying hair still working hard made the younger, thinner-skinned folks too embarrassed to slack off.

Fu Tongkang was well aware of this.

He had intentionally done it this way to keep the inexperienced youth from getting lazy and slacking off.

But he knew when to call for rest—if he really wore people out, the loss would outweigh the gain.

As he drank his water, Fu Tongkang did some mental calculations: The whole team now had 63 people. There was still a big shortage of wood for building shelter, but if he split off some people to dig up wild grass and collect river water, that should make up for what they needed to trade.

Though a liter of raw water had already dropped to 2 Fate Points, and the wild grass wasn't worth much, small gains could add up.

Moreover, since everyone now has a storage space, newcomers can simply dismantle wooden houses and bring the lumber over.

This way, the pressure on timber can be significantly reduced...

After reviewing the camp's situation in his mind, Fu Tongkang immersed his consciousness into the Fate Net.

He opened a group chat with 54 members.

Most of the names in it had frequently appeared in national news, collectively representing the highest echelons of power in this country.

Although all identities had been reset after the transmigration, the Fate Net allowed them to reconnect.

The military and civil service systems were also reconnected layer by layer through numerous group chats.

Even though personnel were scattered and acting independently, this still constituted a formidable force.

And this group of only 54 people was now the central command issuing orders.

Decisions here were not made by one person alone; every proposal required a vote.

Previously, Fu Tongkang had proposed a motion to "call for and mandate organizational personnel to assume guardianship obligations for nearby adolescents aged 8 to 12"—not out of self-interest, but solely to increase the Huaxia Faction's chances of victory.

In reality, he led by example, dispatching a team to escort nearby children to the camp.

The little girl who had just delivered water was one of them.

Even though Huaxia seemed to have a high probability of winning, a lion still uses its full strength when hunting a rabbit.

Let alone in this crucial competition of civilizations.

As for that proposal, it ultimately passed with 43 votes in favor, 11 abstentions, and 0 against.

At this moment, another proposal was being voted on in the group.

This proposal advocated for "concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks, calling on the people's soldiers to hand over a portion of their Fate Points."

Fu Tongkang frowned deeply as he read it.

If greed makes people foolish, then the proposer at least had the sense to target only the more disciplined military personnel.

But unless they were foolish to a certain degree, how could they have conceived and proposed such a plan?

"A stone already teetering on the mountaintop, and you want to give it a kick?"

Fu Tongkang glanced at the proposer's name. "Nonsense!"

He immediately cast a vote against it.

In the end, the proposal was rejected with 15 votes in favor, 3 abstentions, and 36 against.

Although he had anticipated this outcome, the double-digit approval votes still made Fu Tongkang shake his head inwardly.

Before he could dwell on it further, the next proposal up for voting immediately caught his attention:

"Proposal on the Establishment of a 'Contact and Response to the Top of the List, Yan Cang (Suspected Master of the Fate Net) Special Task Force'"

"This..."

After recalling the rule that "Faction Contribution will determine status and authority after the trial ends," Fu Tongkang decisively voted in favor.

"We really should make some preparations in advance."

The group members might have had different thoughts on this matter, but on the point of "establishing a special task force," their stance was undoubtedly unanimous.

Thus, the proposal quickly passed with unanimous approval.

And it promptly moved into the implementation phase.