Chapter 38

Chapter 038: The Embryo of a Colossus

Yan Cang, thoroughly satisfied, fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

And while he sank into his dreams.

On the Fate Net Forum, the quiet launch of the [Food Zone] had stirred up ripples of novelty and excitement.

At first, it was only discovered by a few "Night Owls" who hadn't yet gone to sleep.

However, they weren't exactly the traditional late-night crowd.

After a full day of mental tension and physical labor in the Trial Ground, very few had excess energy to burn.

Among these people, most were those who "dared not sleep" or "could not sleep."

Because at that moment, outside the wooden huts of the vast majority of trial participants, the sounds of nocturnal creatures rustling and low growling echoed through the night.

Unlike Yan Cang, who had [Fate Protection] to rely on.

With the "lesson" from the previous night, no one dared to fall asleep carelessly under such a soundtrack.

But the fear had also faded considerably.

Mainly because during the day, almost everyone had made some preparations against potential threats:

Digging traps around their huts, setting up simple tripwires, reinforcing doors and windows, and even crafting crude caltrops from sharpened sticks.

Now, listening to the unsettling noises outside, some people even felt a faint glimmer of "anticipation."

They hoped some reckless beast would actually stumble into their traps, so they could test the fruits of their hard work during the day, and maybe even score an extra meal.

Moreover, many had successfully formed groups.

Now gathered in temporary camps, listening to the eerie howls of the wild, thinking about the dozens of companions beside them, gripping the sturdy, sharpened spears in their hands...

That fear instantly turned into a sense of security.

In their hearts, they even felt a bit amused.

The howling outside had become an unpleasant but no longer frightening background noise.

But no matter how confident they were, it was still impossible to fall asleep peacefully in such a situation.

So, these awake individuals, while staying alert to the sounds in the darkness, immersed their consciousness in the Fate Net.

This was both to stay awake and to seek some entertainment or opportunity.

Some were spamming the forum to pass the long night;

Others were keeping an eye on the Trading House, hoping to snatch a bargain in the dead of night.

Then, among them, the sharp-eyed noticed the new section on the Trading House's main interface: [Food].

The news was like a small pebble thrown into a relatively calm midnight pond, ripples spreading rapidly.

"Check out the Trading House! There's a new [Food] section!"

"No way! You can place orders for meals and even open a shop to sell?!"

"An update at this hour? What is the Chief up to?"

"Chief: I'm hungry, want to order some takeout in the middle of the night. Got a problem with that?"

"I don't, I wouldn't dare, don't put words in my mouth!"

"Haha, the big shot might actually be hungry. But this feature is great, finally no need to buy cold rice that's been sitting around who knows how long."

"What's so great about it? It's good enough just to have a full stomach now, and you're already chasing freshly cooked hot food? Do you have that many Fate Points to burn?"

"Exactly, have you seen how expensive those meticulously prepared gourmet meals are in the Trading House? With those Fate Points, you'd be better off buying more practical dry rations to stock up."

"What do you know? Once the Food Zone opens, competition will increase, and prices might drop a bit. Plus, with clear pricing, you'll know where to go when you want something good to eat, no need to blindly search."

"As a chef, I'm thrilled! I used to be afraid to make complicated dishes, worried they'd go unsold. Now I can wait for orders before cooking—guaranteed profit with no loss!"

"Right! I'm going to figure out how to open a shop right now. My family's secret recipes finally have a place to shine."

"Opening a shop in the dead of night? Careful, the firelight and aroma might attract wild beasts!"

"No fear! Our group has dozens of people banded together, each with spears and homemade bows. If any beast dares to come, we'll take it down on the spot—saves us from buying ingredients at the Trading House!"

"Haha, same here. I was just telling the guys on night watch that if those animals dare to crawl out of the woods, we'll just treat them as an extra meal."

"Chef, open your shop quick! A few of us on night watch are craving some hot food. And with so few shops now, if the Chief gets hungry, he might just order from you?"

"Then wouldn't I become the Imperial Chef?"

"Haha, makes sense!"

In various channels and corners of the forum late at night, discussions spread like wildfire.

Some thought it was flashy but impractical, others were ecstatic, and a few calmly analyzed the market.

More people began curiously browsing this brand-new section, even though it was still empty at the moment.

But soon, one or two shops went online with simple menus.

Whether they were targeting the late-night market or tempted by the title of "Imperial Chef" was anyone's guess.

...

In the forest zone, inside the wooden cabin.

At this moment, Yu Jing was not resting.

She was using the chat function of the Fate Net in a newly created work group.

Testing several temporary coordinators who had been brought in as initial core members of the [People's Union Association].

The method was simple and direct: have them sift through the massive number of posts in the forum's Help Zone, filtering out those who were in the most critical situations, with the most genuine descriptions, and truly in urgent need of Fate Points.

Then, under the name of "People's Union Association Test," they would precisely transfer a small amount of Fate Points to those in need.

The results were satisfactory to Yu Jing.

Compared to her solo efforts last night, relying on intuition and experience to filter...

This time, with multiple people cross-verifying and making quick judgments before offering aid, the average efficiency of converting Fate Points into Faction Contribution increased by a full 30%.

This preliminarily proved the advantage of systematic and professional operation.

"Good work, the efficiency improvement is clear."

"Everyone, you've worked hard tonight. Get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll continue refining the process and standards."

She encouraged them in the group and ended the small test.

Then, Yu Jing sat alone in the cabin.

The [Portable Solar Lamp] illuminated the surroundings brightly, but there was no denying it was already late at night.

Yet, deep in her eyes, the blue Data Stream flowed quietly, and her mind was exceptionally clear and active.

In her mind, she was rapidly sketching the future blueprint for the [Chinese People's United Charity Foundation (People's Union Association)]:

In the initial phase, with extremely limited personnel and resources, the scope of work must be highly focused.

The Help Zone on the forum is the most direct and broadest entry point for needs, so let's start there.

Secondly, the personnel currently involved within the organization are almost all volunteers, sustained solely by faith and a sense of responsibility.

We can appropriately grant them or their immediate family members priority consideration for emergency assistance as an initial incentive.

However, strict regulations and oversight mechanisms must be established to prevent it from devolving into privilege or breeding injustice.

And it should be quickly phased out at the appropriate time.

Focusing solely on the online Help Zone is naturally not a long-term solution.

Going forward, the People's Union Association must absorb professional forces from various fields.

Doctors, nurses, those with knowledge of herbal medicine, psychological counselors, experienced survivors... all can become part of the online service network.

Through this, we can organize voluntary activities such as online clinics, psychological counseling, and survival skill Q&A sessions.

When conditions are ripe and influence is sufficient, online support can be transformed into tangible offline actions.

For instance, under the name of the People's Union Association, we can contact and form physical rescue and mutual aid teams in major regions.

Developing along these lines, the People's Union Association is destined to grow into a behemoth with deep grassroots reach and immense influence.

And these functions do indeed have reasonable and broad room for operation under the name of this "Charity Foundation."

As for such a massive institution with such administrative scope...

Why would the decision-making layer agree to let her take charge?

Being second on the Contribution Ranking, plus the powerful ability obtained from the Golden Chest, is actually not enough to convince them at all.

In fact, let alone Yu Jing, even any single person within the decision-making layer would not be allowed to independently control a department that could tip the scales of power.

So, why did they agree yesterday?

The answer is actually very simple.

The root cause lies in this: they believe that in a place like the Trial Ground, where everyone is in danger and resources are scarce... the People's Union Association is destined never to develop.

Let alone expand into the envisioned ultimate form.

"Everyone is struggling; who would take out precious Fate Points to donate?"

This is probably their instinctive judgment based on common sense and human nature.

Without a continuous, massive influx of Fate Points, the People's Union Association would naturally be unable to launch large-scale, systematic aid operations.

In the end, it might only become a nominal empty shell or a token organization engaging in small-scale activities.

Such a department, with only a name to its credit, is perfect for appeasing and winning over a key figure who is "second on the list," has demonstrated a gold-tier supernatural ability, and might come into contact with the Chief in the future.

It saves face without causing any real harm.

So yesterday, after she demonstrated her additional value, they quickly agreed.

Unfortunately... they overlooked a key point.

Or rather, a "rule blind spot" that has not yet been widely recognized but does indeed exist.

Yu Jing herself only keenly caught this hidden information during a chance donation last night.

That particular donation was unusual—she didn't give directly to the person in need, but instead passed it through a desperate mother, who then forwarded it to her child in another region, also trapped in hardship.

Originally, it was purely an act of compassion, with no expectation of anything in return.

Yet the Faction Contribution was still credited in full.

This suddenly made everything clear to her.

At first, Yu Jing only thought of having others donate on her behalf, freeing herself from these tedious tasks.

But then she reconsidered: there must be others with similar needs—people who wanted to do good deeds to earn contributions but had no time to personally verify and screen those seeking help...

Such people surely existed, and not in small numbers.

Thus, the idea of "establishing an officially endorsed, trustworthy donation channel" naturally emerged.

Immediately after, she realized that a department capable of amassing and allocating a vast amount of Fate Points would possess astonishing potential energy and influence.

She wanted to seize it.

From there, the related thoughts gradually extended and refined themselves.

Now, she had achieved her wish.

And in Yu Jing's conception, the [People's Union Association] was essentially an efficient, trustworthy "conversion channel between Fate Points and Faction Contribution."

As long as "donations" could consistently bring tangible, quantifiable Faction Contribution.

Then, she believed many would be willing to participate.

This was, in fact, no different from the logic on the Fate Net Forum, where everyone eagerly posted guides to earn contributions.

Although it required spending real Fate Points, and it was still unclear what Faction Contribution specifically represented...

But just the rule stating, "The amount of Faction Contribution will determine your status and authority in civilization," was enough to hold sufficient allure and room for imagination.

As long as the [People's Union Association] itself could establish a strict review mechanism, ensuring every donation reached its intended target and produced visible results.

That is, perfectly playing the role of a "golden pipeline" converting Fate Points into Faction Contribution.

Then, for donors...

"Donating through the People's Union Association" would become an extremely attractive "investment channel," rather than a mere act of giving.

Once such a social consensus and credibility could be formed.

Fate Points would no longer be a problem.

The [People's Union Association] was destined to grow into a behemoth that no one could ignore—or even had to rely on.

At that point... the decision-making level?

Who would it be?

In Yu Jing's eyes, a stream of blue data flowed silently.

Beneath her calm rationality flickered the faint light of ambition, along with a trace of fervent idealism.

She loved the civilization and nation she was born into, and longed to see it become better.

But perhaps it was her study of law that exposed her to so much of humanity's evil.

From then on, she viewed things with an overly universal rationality, even coldness.

And her privileged upbringing allowed her to witness early on certain shadows and structural injustices behind the prosperity.

This left her with a profound wariness and distrust toward "the inherent goodness of human nature" and "the spontaneity of existing systems."

It drove her to become somewhat "extreme."

Rather than waiting for or relying on others to change, it’s better to seize power oneself, to personally shape and correct what one believes needs improvement.

This is also one of the fundamental driving forces behind her active pursuit of authority and continuous construction of her own influence.

As for how exactly to change?

It’s still too early to talk about that now.

The 【People's Union Association】 has only just set up its skeleton, and its prospects remain unclear.

Moreover, this is, after all, the Trial Ground, a place full of unknowns and variables.

Even setting that aside, if in the future the 【People's Union Association】 truly grows as she hopes,

There is still one ultimate variable lying ahead that cannot be bypassed and must be carefully considered...

The Chief!

Just as Yu Jing’s thoughts touched upon that name.

Buzz.

The group chat channel of the "Special Task Force" received a new message notification at almost the same moment.

The source was a team member responsible for information monitoring.

"Report: Deputy Team Leader Yu Jing, we’ve detected that the Trading House section of the Fate Net silently added a 【Food】 zone approximately three minutes ago. The function is similar to a food ordering platform, supporting user orders and chef acceptance for preparation."

"There is no related announcement on the Fate Net regarding this new feature."

Hmm?

Yu Jing subconsciously turned her head and glanced at the refresh countdown for the supply crate.

Still over eleven hours left.

At this time... it’s roughly around one in the morning.

What is the 【Chief】’s intention here?

A sudden craving for food?

So, casually adding a feature to make it easier for himself to order meals?

Or is this just a routine expansion of the Fate Net’s functions, aimed at further enriching the trading ecosystem?

And also to improve the quality of life for users—and himself?

Or could it be... a deeper motive?

Yu Jing thought quickly, the data stream in her eyes accelerating slightly.

At the same time, her mind sent a clear inquiry to the team member responsible for "resource coordination and logistics support":

"Do we currently have any registered state banquet-level chefs or recognized culinary masters within our existing system?"

The reply came quickly: "There are a few. One of them is Chef Song, who specializes in Huaiyang Cuisine and was formerly one of the main chefs in the state banquet backup team. He is currently in decent condition, online and awake."

Yu Jing’s next instruction was concise and clear: "Contact Chef Song immediately and assist him in setting up a shop in the Food Zone."

"The shop must clearly label him as ‘Former State Banquet Team Head Chef’ or an equivalent title to establish a high-end perception."

"As for the pricing of dishes... there’s no need to deliberately keep it low. Be sure to price according to actual value, complexity of craftsmanship, and scarcity."

"This is a task. Implement it as soon as possible."

"Understood."