Chapter 33

Chapter 033: The Game

On the other side, deep in the forest.

A blue beam flashed, and a Tusked Wild Boar lurking behind the bushes collapsed to the ground without even a grunt.

Yu Jing lowered her gun and stood still, the blue Data Stream flowing in her eyes slowly calming.

She skillfully stored the prey into the Fate Net Space, her movements swift and clean.

Just then, the leaderboard refresh notification that echoed in the minds of all trial participants made her stop.

Yu Jing instinctively called up her Status Panel.

Her gaze swept over the Huaxia faction's increasingly massive point advantage on the Faction Ranking, and a genuine smile spread across her lips.

"The lead is growing... good."

Compared to the dismal growth of other factions, Huaxia's data was nothing short of dreamlike.

At this point, the last shred of doubt in Yu Jing's mind vanished completely.

The Fate Net was indeed unique to Huaxia.

This was a conclusion she had already deduced, now merely reinforced by the concrete numbers.

Yu Jing's gaze then shifted to the Personal Contribution Ranking.

The string of numbers at the top made her pause slightly.

"1.2 billion..."

She murmured the figure, a hint of understanding flickering in her eyes, but no real surprise.

The moment the Trading House appeared yesterday, she had foreseen that the "Chief's" Contribution Points would inevitably explode.

The Trading House was immensely beneficial to trial participants, and charging a 10-point Service Fee was nothing at all.

A billion-point increase was astonishing, but upon reflection, it was perfectly reasonable.

In fact, this number didn't even exceed the upper limit she had imagined.

Moreover, faction contribution meant exactly what it said—the degree of contribution made to the faction.

Both for public and private reasons, she hoped it would be as high as possible.

The former, naturally, was a desire for the Huaxia faction to win.

As for the latter, the more terrifying the "Chief's" Contribution Points were...

Then her own importance and potential value as the "Second on the List" and the designated Deputy Team Leader contact would naturally rise as well.

Of course, value needed to be backed by results.

Yu Jing's gaze swept roughly over the top of the ranking list:

[First Place: Yan Cang, Faction Contribution: 1,286,231,775]

[Second Place: Yu Jing, Faction Contribution: 1,147,328]

[Third Place: Yang Dongyao, Faction Contribution: 663,258]

...

Good!

Not only had she held her position, but she had also widened the gap with the third place to over 400,000.

It was worth spending the whole morning hunting.

Even though the results of these few hours only added a few hundred points to the faction.

But the prey brought in quite a bit of Fate Points.

Of course, she hadn't had time to convert them into faction contribution yet.

The extra 100,000-plus contribution she had now compared to before bed last night mainly came from the lingering effects of those two posts.

Still, consider it preparation for tomorrow.

Thinking this, Yu Jing looked at the Chief's name on the ranking list.

"With such dazzling contributions and the certainty that this person holds such a powerful tool as the Fate Net... can those people still hold steady?"

The corner of her mouth curled up as she closed the panel.

Immediately, Yu Jing sank her consciousness into the Fate Net.

Just as she was roughly skimming the heated discussions sparked by the ranking list, only a few minutes later...

The long-silent "Special Task Force" group chat pinged with a new message notification.

The sender was the team leader, Zhuang Hongwen.

His message was as concise as ever, cutting straight to the point: "Deputy Team Leader Yu Jing, is there any progress on making contact with the Chief?"

Yu Jing's reply was equally blunt: "No substantial progress yet. There is an extreme lack of target information, and the search is still ongoing."

Zhuang Hongwen didn't seem surprised and followed up: "Understood. The difficulties are considerable. Do you have any specific plans or suggestions for the next steps?"

Here it comes!

Yu Jing's tone was calm but carried a hidden edge: "Plans? Team Leader Zhuang, I had to find out about last night's widespread 'Beast Disturbances' intelligence myself on the Fate Net Forum."

"Without basic intelligence support and coordination, I cannot formulate a more effective plan for the time being."

Between the lines, there was no emotional complaint, only a calm statement.

But this statement itself was a silent interrogation.

As the key figure facing the "Chief," as the deputy team leader of the task force, she wasn't even informed of such basic developments that could affect the overall situation, including her own safety.

Where was the so-called emphasis and support reflected?

What this revealed was a disregard for her authority and information channels as "Deputy Team Leader."

The group chat fell silent for a moment.

Two minutes later, Zhuang Hongwen's reply slowly appeared: "The situation in the Trial Ground is unique. The national power structure is being painstakingly rebuilt amidst a thousand tangled threads, so oversights are inevitable. Regarding the delay in intelligence transmission, I apologize to Comrade Yu Jing on behalf of the relevant personnel at fault."

An apology, but a very official one, with precise and formal wording.

"Oversights"?

Yu Jing stared at these lines, her heart largely unmoved.

If she truly believed this explanation, she would be naive.

Given the organizational strength of the state apparatus even after its initial reconstruction in the Trial Ground, and the importance of the "Chief" potentially shaping the future landscape...

As the deputy team leader, she should theoretically be included in the highest-priority support and information circle.

Unless, this task force itself... or rather, she as the "Deputy Team Leader," had not received the genuine attention commensurate with the role.

There could be many real reasons:

Perhaps there was indeed a rare coordination failure;

Or, as she had thought before, the higher-ups were still wavering in their attitude toward the "Chief," and this task force was just a "contingency plan";

Or perhaps they only saw her as a temporary tool, naturally seeing no need to invest many resources.

Regardless of which it was, she couldn't let this slide so easily.

Seizing this opportunity, Yu Jing also wanted to push further.

Instead of directly responding to Zhuang Hongwen's apology, she abruptly shifted the topic:

"Team Leader Zhuang, I have a related idea. Could we consider initiating, in the name of the nation, the establishment of a public welfare department for Fate Points Donation and Hardship Assistance?"

"On one hand, it could gather scattered Fate Points from the people to systematically support comrades and fellow citizens in distress, especially the elderly, women, and children, thereby continuing to expand our gains;"

"On the other hand, in the process of verifying help requests, this department will inevitably need to establish a widespread census and verification network."

"This might... become an important avenue for us to find the 'Chief.' Conducting investigations under the guise of public welfare would face less resistance and cover a broader scope."

After the message was sent, the group fell into an even longer silence.

Perhaps they were considering its feasibility, or maybe pondering why she had suddenly brought this up.

A few minutes later, Zhuang Hongwen's words finally appeared: "The idea is quite constructive. Do you have any specific requirements for the department's structure and operations?"

Yu Jing had been waiting for this. She revealed her true intention: "To prevent further delays in intelligence coordination, I recommend myself as the actual manager of this department."

"Once we contact the Chief, I will also need to engage in dialogue with him in this capacity."

It seemed her bold request had stunned them; in any case, Zhuang Hongwen only replied after more than ten seconds: "Hold on, I need to discuss this with my colleagues."

"Alright."

Yu Jing waited calmly.

Her proposal for this department was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Last night, when she was "splurging" Fate Points in the Help Zone to farm Faction Contribution, she had discovered something: donating 10 Fate Points sometimes yielded substantial Contribution, sometimes very little, and at times, nothing at all.

Clearly, the help seekers were a mixed bag, with plenty of opportunists trying to take advantage.

If she could establish an officially endorsed screening and distribution channel, not only could Fate Points be converted into Faction Contribution more efficiently—a benefit both she and potential donors could enjoy—but it would also more effectively save people in crisis, greatly enhancing faction cohesion and survival rates.

There was also a personal motive: she wanted to escape the awkward position of "Deputy Team Leader," a title that sounded high-ranking but was essentially hollow in authority.

The title was intimidating, but its powers were vague, and it couldn't even guarantee basic intelligence support.

The few team members each held key positions in their original systems—aside from matters directly related to the "Chief," who would truly take her, the Deputy Team Leader, seriously?

Rely on the higher-ups to arrange things?

What they arranged, they could just as easily revoke.

The "Fate Points Donation and Aid Department," however, was different.

It involved the nationwide collection and distribution of Fate Points, with an extremely broad administrative scope, destined to wield immense influence—a genuine lever of power.

Once operational, its impact and reach would be enormous.

But would the decision-makers agree?

Based on her understanding of the system, small matters were discussed in large meetings, while big matters were handled in small ones.

Such a proposal, involving a major restructuring of power, would inevitably require rapid negotiation among the core leadership.

So, a result should come soon.

Time ticked by.

Ten minutes, fifteen minutes...

The group remained silent.

"Still debating?" Yu Jing wondered slightly.

Then she dismissed the guess. "No, more likely... the proposal has been shelved or rejected."

"But since I've already laid it out so plainly, the decision-makers must still be weighing whether to give me some sweetener to placate me, or to simply sideline me..."

"That means... I've failed!"

"It shouldn't be like this."

Yu Jing frowned. This was somewhat different from what she had expected.

However, she quickly realized that the national power initially reshaped in the Trial Ground was extremely weak, with limited resources.

And the department she wanted to establish and manage precisely required a large amount of manpower and resources for coordination.

It was no exaggeration to say that if she were truly given full control over such an organization, the resources she could mobilize would likely surpass those of most decision-makers.

This undoubtedly touched upon the entrenched interests of multiple parties.

Compared to this, the decision-making level would probably prefer to support a "Second on the List" of their own.

After all, if you can't surpass the ridiculously strong first place, can't you at least surpass the second?

Moreover, contacting the "Chief" didn't necessarily require this identity.

"I see..."

Having figured this out, Yu Jing's brow instead relaxed.

The resistance was indeed greater than she had anticipated.

But in essence, it was because the "value" she had demonstrated was still insufficient.

Then she would add more weight!

Without further hesitation, she switched interfaces and logged into the Fate Net Forum.

Soon, a brand new post appeared in the Casual Chat Zone:

[Title: "Turns Out, the Wilderness Isn't Scary!"]

[Content: Sharing a bit of luck. [Golden Chest Image]]

[Attachment: Brief description of the ability "Digital Heart" — Perception Enhancement, Information Processing, Energy Interference.]

...