Chapter 3: Forum Observations
While Yan Cang was busy, elsewhere in the Trial Ground, many Chinese trial participants scattered across various locations successively accepted the invitation.
However, they couldn't directly enter the Fate Net. Instead, they all heard the same prompt:
[Detected insufficient Fate Points balance. Please top up first.]
[Friendly Reminder: The Fate Net allows you to connect with those who share a Fate Interweaving.]
"Fate Points? What's that?"
"And what does 'Fate Interweaving' mean? Does it refer to family and friends?"
"Also, what cost is required for the top-up?"
A flood of questions surged through Lin Zhiwei's mind.
He voiced them aloud, but unfortunately, the text before him didn't change at all.
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Zhiwei could only tentatively choose to top up.
He had no choice—that [Friendly Reminder] had truly caught his attention.
As a forty-year-old middle-aged man with elderly parents and young children, his greatest worry right now was his family.
Having been thrust into this sudden upheaval...
If there was still a way to contact them, that would be the best possible outcome.
"Top-up." He didn't hesitate much.
The scenery before him suddenly shifted.
In an instant, a colossal hand, as massive as a mountain, reached out, as if blotting out the entire world. Every inch of the palm radiated a sacred glow, inspiring awe.
The background was an endless void, so deep it seemed capable of sucking in one's soul.
There was a ceremonial sense of pressure, as if a "deity was exacting a toll."
The overwhelming might made Lin Zhiwei's breath catch.
Upon seeing this immensely oppressive Divine Hand, he also inexplicably understood what the cost of topping up Fate Points was.
Mana, magical power, supernatural energy, physical strength...
He undoubtedly possessed none of the first three.
With no other choice, Lin Zhiwei could only spend his physical strength.
About one-tenth of his physical strength drained away, and a wave of fatigue washed over him.
[You have obtained 1 Fate Point.]
The top-up complete, the massive hand in his vision slowly withdrew.
Lin Zhiwei's gaze was filled with reverence as he silently let out a long breath.
Just staring at that oppressive giant hand had made even breathing difficult for him.
Fortunately, its palm was facing upward, not downward.
Otherwise, Lin Zhiwei worried he might be swatted like a fly—hard to say if that fear was what drove him to top up.
Ahem...
Setting that trivial matter aside, Lin Zhiwei began to understand the specifics of Fate Points.
Then, he discovered that 1 Fate Point could maintain access to the [Fate Net] for 24 hours.
"One day... let's take a look first!"
With a thought, he "accessed" the Fate Net.
Before him appeared a deep starry sky, with only a few scattered points of light.
These were... other people's posts?!
Lin Zhiwei was pleasantly surprised to discover this.
However, he soon noticed that these people had only just joined the Fate Net, and all their posts were pleas for help and confused questions about their situations.
Among them, one thread stood out prominently.
[Can't hold it in anymore—I never thought I'd still have to pay an Internet fee even after transmigrating!]
Seeing this title, Lin Zhiwei couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation.
He never expected that after crossing over, the first thing he'd see would be such an abstract "post."
It was clear the poster had a good attitude.
This familiar, abstract internet style actually brought a hint of absurd comfort.
In normal times, as a netizen of over twenty years, Lin Zhiwei would have definitely jumped in to chat.
But right now, his mind was full of thoughts about contacting his family, so he didn't get involved.
After studying the Fate Net, Lin Zhiwei discovered it had two sections: the Public Forum and the Personal Interface.
At the moment, he was clearly in the Public Forum.
So, he immediately switched to the Personal Interface.
The deep starry sky in his vision shifted, and countless lights appeared.
They were densely packed, scattered throughout the entire Star Sea.
Lin Zhiwei couldn't even take them all in, let alone know how many there were.
Fortunately, the closer a person was to him, the nearer and brighter their star.
The stars representing his closest family were the most brilliant.
Lin Zhiwei quickly began to reach out.
[Your contact has not yet joined the Fate Net. Would you like to send a Message Invitation?]
"Yes."
This time, he didn't hesitate at all.
One after another, he sent invitations to his parents, his wife, and his eldest daughter, who had just finished the college entrance exam, leaving messages to explain the situation.
Then, just as he was about to invite his ten-year-old son, Lin Zhiwei was pleasantly surprised to find that the other party was already online.
He immediately sent a message: "Son, it's your dad."
Just as he was about to ask about his younger son's situation, he received a reply:
"I'm your dad, you little bastard!"
Lin Zhiwei: "?"
...
Meanwhile, Yan Cang's recruitment efforts were running efficiently.
The energy issue was no longer a concern for now.
Thanks to the top-ups from early users, the Energy Pool he controlled was growing like a snowball.
He had to admit, the trick of charging Fate Points was brilliant!
Also, it was worth noting that the Energy Pool was no longer limited to physical strength; it now also included supernatural energies like mana and magical power.
Clearly, Yan Cang wasn't the only one who had gotten good stuff from the Supply Box.
But if you compared the results, even if everyone else combined their gains, they couldn't hold a candle to him.
He didn't think much of it.
With a massive amount of energy, Yan Cang increased the number of Fate Stars he manifested and invitations he sent by countless times.
With such efficiency, it was twice the result with half the effort.
In just over an hour, he had finished everything.
All over a billion people in the Huaxia Faction had received invitations.
Although less than three out of ten had directly accepted the invitation, the need for social connection itself was the best promotional engine.
His idea of letting users send Message Invitations to their own family and friends wasn't a random thought.
With this method, he believed he could sweep everyone up soon enough.
Of course, there were those who were unloved by their parents.
As an orphan himself, Yan Cang naturally wouldn't overlook them.
For these rare isolated cases and the "Holdouts," he could just send supplementary invitations daily from now on.
For now, he'd enjoy the results.
Yan Cang looked ahead.
At this moment, the Consciousness Star Sea was filled with countless stars, like a brilliant Milky Way.
"In that case, why not just call it the Fate Star Sea?"
He casually settled on a name.
Then, he turned his attention to the Fate Net Forum with keen interest.
In essence, the Fate Net was this entire Fate Star Sea.
The first-person Personal Interface and the god's-eye-view Public Forum.
The former was completely identical to the Fate Star Sea.
The latter only showed posts, but if one could see through this layer of "Mist," they would behold a star sea hung with over a billion Fate Stars.
And then they would be astonished to find their own Fate Star among them, even able to glimpse the future's course through it.
Of course, it was very difficult for outsiders to achieve this.
As Yan Cang looked at the Fate Net, the posts on the Public Forum had already become extremely numerous.
He immediately noticed a somewhat abstract post:
"I'm losing it! I never thought I'd still have to pay an Internet Fee even after transmigrating!"
"You never thought you could still go online after transmigrating, did you?"
"And it's even a hot post. Looks like everyone's pretty relaxed!"
In a good mood, Yan Cang just lightly teased about it.
Then he continued browsing other posts.
He found that aside from posts asking for help or offering encouragement, most were showing off the good stuff they'd gotten from their Supply Boxes.
Yan Cang said nothing, but the corners of his mouth silently curled up.
What caught his eye were posts about Wilderness Survival knowledge, such as practical tips for making Fire by Friction and precautions for Desert Survival.
"Hmm, this one's good. I'll note it down."
"...There are quite a few helpful people!"
As he scrolled through, Yan Cang was surprised to find that knowledge posts about Wilderness Survival had already piled up on the Fate Net.
And this was only a few hours in!
Most people probably hadn't even snapped out of it yet, but there were already many helping others. What kind of spirit was that?
Hadn't they said society was cold and indifferent?
Yan Cang was even a little moved.
Also, he noticed that most people's mindsets were better than expected.
But then again, according to the rules, being able to give up this trial meant there was no life-threatening danger.
Plus, being able to contact family and friends through the Fate Net shortly after transmigrating was a great help in easing emotions.
"Thinking about it, I'm a real philanthropist too, huh."
Yan Cang chuckled, feeling even more at ease about charging that extra Internet Fee.
Aside from that, he did notice one problem.
Chaos!
Hundreds of millions of users had spawned a massive number of posts, with an astonishing refresh rate per second.
It was impossible to keep up.
The [Latest Posts] section was completely useless.
Yan Cang was a bit troubled by this too.
But he was just a sixteen-year-old kid. What could he do about it?
He couldn't think of a solution for now anyway.
"Whatever, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He scratched his head, deciding to set it aside for the moment.
"Since that's the case, let's eat first."