Chapter 49

Chapter 049: Are You Broken?

"Where the hell is my huge talent?"

The [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] naturally couldn't answer that.

It merely rippled faintly across its surface once more, like the last traces of a stone thrown into a lake.

Then, the flow of information stabilized again.

What ultimately appeared was still that optimized, concise interface.

In the talent column, the words "As You Wish Body" lay in solitary isolation.

As for that "Great Fate Art," capable of stirring the river of destiny, it was as if it had never existed.

"Still the same as before..."

He felt a slight pang of disappointment, yet at the same time, a strange sense of superiority sprouted within him:

"Hehehe! My 'Great Fate Art' really is extraordinary."

"But since the attribute information hasn't changed at all, what the hell did you just refresh?"

"...Wait, it seems there actually is one difference!"

Yan Cang stared at the third line: [Status: 99.8% (Full, Confused, Puberty, Mild Fantasy)]

"?"

A question mark slowly emerged in his mind.

Staring at that "Mild Fantasy," he didn't know what expression to make for a moment.

"...Alright."

Yan Cang put down the mirror, his expression turning serious as he began to think.

In an instant, he understood.

It seemed that the "Clear Appraisal Information" ability of this [Myriad Manifestation Mirror], obtained from a Golden Chest, ultimately had its limits.

Although it could perceive material composition, physiological data, energy flow, and even glimpse into the spirit and mental will...

When faced with a supreme talent like the "Great Fate Art," which touched upon fundamental laws and conceptual levels...

It could not observe it. It could not understand it.

It might not even be able to "cognize" its existence.

Naturally, it wouldn't display it.

"That's reasonable." Yan Cang felt relieved.

After all, it was just a product of a Golden Chest.

If it could see through the depths of something like the "Great Fate Art," that would be the real absurdity.

Being completely undetectable actually confirmed the extraordinary and transcendent nature of the "Great Fate Art."

But...

With this level of capability, could it still accomplish the plan that had just flashed through his mind?

Yan Cang didn't think it was likely.

His original idea was this: directly take the entire vast [Fate Star Sea]—that enormous support system temporarily existing in the crevices of fate, composed of the conceptual projections of "Fate Stars" from over a billion Chinese trial participants...

And stuff the whole thing into the internal space of this mirror, the "Mirror World."

This way, by leveraging the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror]'s own "Clear Appraisal" function, he could add that concise and clear personal attribute panel for every user of the Fate Net.

From then on, Fate Net users could understand their own status and basic attributes more intuitively and quantitatively.

Unlike the Trial Ground's Status Panel, which only displayed personal talents and skills.

At the same time, moving the [Fate Star Sea] from the "void of fate's crevices" into the stable space of this physical Mysterious Artifact...

This operation itself could also save a portion of the energy consumption required to maintain its existence—energy that was originally, invisibly, shouldered by the Fate Net users' "Internet fees."

Even though it was probably only a very small part of it.

But even a mosquito leg is still meat—every little bit saved counts.

However, thinking back now, this plan was too idealistic.

With the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] right in front of him, it couldn't even detect the "Great Fate Art" on his person.

Its appraisal ability clearly had massive, currently unknown limitations.

So, could it really stably and accurately peek into and provide real-time feedback on the attributes of over a billion people through the intermediate medium of housing the "Fate Star Sea"?

Let alone the potential individuals with special talents or higher-dimensional abilities among them.

Just the operation of "peeking into the real-time attributes of a corresponding entity through the conceptual projection of a Fate Star" sounded full of uncertainty.

That alone felt difficult to achieve.

Not to mention the need to process and respond to concurrent query requests from potentially millions of users at the same time.

Yan Cang had a big question mark in his mind.

It always felt... unreliable, very dicey.

But after only a few seconds of stroking his chin in thought, he waved his hand casually.

"Whatever! Let's just stuff it in and see!"

Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.

If it doesn't work, he could just take it out again—no loss.

Actually, maybe he wouldn't even need to take it out deliberately.

Just letting the [Fate Star Sea] stay inside was fine too.

Even if the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] ended up merely as a "container," it didn't seem like a complete waste.

After all, it could save quite a bit of energy.

Thinking this, a glint of eagerness flashed in his eyes.

Without further hesitation.

His mind resonated with the "Great Fate Art," and his consciousness sank into the unknowable realm.

An invisible, mighty force flowed, "pulling" the vast [Fate Star Sea] out from the fateful interlayer of the void.

As soon as a corner of it manifested in the real dimension.

Instantly, the scene inside the wooden cabin became surreal and bizarre.

Countless bright or dim, large or small, shimmering points of light emerged out of nowhere.

Each point of light represented the Fate Star of a Huaxia trial participant, also a node connecting them to the Fate Net.

They were not physical entities, yet they radiated an aura of existence.

Starlight flowed, fate intertwined.

It was like a miniature, flowing river of stars, swirling and circling around Yan Cang.

Illuminating the entire room like a dream.

Seeing this sight...

He couldn't help but look down at the round mirror in his hand, which, though not small, was only about forty to fifty centimeters in diameter including the frame.

Then he looked at the miniature galaxy beside him, seemingly containing endless stars.

This... could it fit inside?

"Mirror bro, you should be fine, right?"

Yan Cang muttered casually.

In truth, he wasn't too worried.

After all, the internal space of the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] was described as the "Mirror World."

No matter what, that counted as a world.

Storing the conceptual projection of this star sea should theoretically be more than enough.

With that thought flashing through his mind, he stopped overthinking.

He just went for it!

Focusing his mind, he manipulated the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] to fully open the spatial entrance to the "Mirror World."

Then, he carefully guided the vast, starry sea phantom formed by countless Fate Stars, "stuffing" it into the small mirror.

The process was not easy.

The mirror's surface, as if bearing immense pressure, began to ripple and distort violently.

Like the surface of the sea during a storm, a bottomless vortex formed at the center, madly devouring the surging starlight.

The light inside the wooden cabin flickered erratically.

The air seemed to hum.

In the end, after expending considerable mental effort and energy, Yan Cang finally managed to completely handle this massive entity.

When the last wisp of starlight sank into the mirror, the violent ripples on its surface slowly calmed, and the wooden cabin returned to peace.

"Phew! Finally done."

He let out a long breath, feeling more exhausted than after several cycles of cultivation.

Looking again at the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] in his hand, he noticed it had undergone a significant change.

The mirror surface, which had once clearly reflected a person's image, was now pitch black—not the black that absorbs light.

But a deeper, more profound "darkness," as if it could suck in one's gaze, like the deep void of space.

Upon closer inspection, within that extreme darkness, countless tiny points of light, thinner than a needle's tip yet stubbornly twinkling, could be seen.

The points were densely packed, as if the entire starry sky had been condensed into this small space.

This... it looked like it had been stuffed in, but why had it changed so drastically?

It didn't look right!

Could it still be used?

Yan Cang pondered for a few seconds, then carefully tapped the cold mirror frame with his knuckle.

He tentatively asked, "Mirror bro? Still alive?"

"If you're alive, make a sound!"

There was, of course, no response.

But this time, not even the faint mental feedback or changes in the Data Stream that had occurred before appeared.

The mirror's surface was dead silent, which gave him a bad feeling.

"Tsk... Could it have been broken already?!"

A grim suspicion arose in his mind.

Then, he tried issuing a command: "Using the Fate Stars, check my attribute information."

This time, the mirror finally reacted!

The deep, dark background filled with tiny points of light within the mirror began to change.

A portion of the area rapidly zoomed in, and the points brightened.

Then Yan Cang began to understand.

The faintly twinkling starlight on the mirror's surface was precisely the countless [Fate Stars] he had just stuffed in!

But what was this supposed to do?

As this question arose in Yan Cang's mind, he saw one of the Fate Stars' light suddenly magnify, filling the entire mirror surface.

But then it quickly dimmed and shrank.

It was then replaced by another Fate Star, then a third, a fourth...

This process kept repeating, and the speed seemed to be increasing.

It looked like an extremely clumsy full-scale scan and comprehensive screening?

Seeing this, Yan Cang had a very ominous guess:

"Could it be... that it's going to scan and compare one by one through these billions of Fate Stars?"

"Until... it finds the one that belongs to me?"

If that were the case, at the current speed...

No, even if it could scan faster, to precisely locate a specific star among a scale of over a billion...

That would take until the cows come home.

"Mirror Bro! Snap out of it!"

Yan Cang tried to halt the process. "Just pull up my attribute panel now."

Unfortunately, the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] showed no reaction to his words, continuing its tireless, methodical scanning procedure.

It was like a machine locked into a fixed operational logic.

Until it completed its previous core command, it wouldn't heed—or might not even "hear"—the next order.

"Unbelievable!"

Yan Cang pressed his forehead, feeling a wave of helplessness.

He tried a few more random methods, like communicating with his mind, tapping it, or even injecting Sword Qi energy to attempt a "restart."

But all efforts vanished into the void, yielding no results.

It seemed either the mirror's way of handling such vast information was inherently this "primitive,"

Or forcibly stuffing in the [Fate Star Sea], something far beyond its normal processing capacity, had caused some functional logic to "freeze" or "degrade."

Seeing that he couldn't fix it anytime soon, and unwilling to expend the effort to "pull" the [Fate Star Sea] back out again,

Or waste extra energy using the "Great Fate Art" to deal with it,

Yan Cang let it go.

"Forget it..."

"Even if I got it back, it wouldn't solve the problem completely."

"Let's just treat it as the worst-case scenario—let it purely serve as a container for the [Fate Star Sea]."

"As for the attribute panel... we'll deal with that later."

After thinking it over, he abandoned the idea of solving it immediately.

Then, he patiently stared at the mirror for a few more minutes.

Patiently stared at it for a few more minutes.

After confirming it was still unhurriedly and persistently carrying out its "needle in a haystack" screening work,

Yan Cang completely lost interest in observing it. He casually tossed it onto the soft bed behind him.

Since the internal space of the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] was now stuffed with the entire Fate Star Sea, storing it back in his "Mental Space" was no longer appropriate.

That would greatly burden the Mental Space and might even cause unnecessary interference.

But just leaving it in the wooden cabin didn't seem to require any worry.

Who could steal something on his turf?

Moreover, the [Fate Star Sea] was essentially just a manifestation of Fate Power.

Even if it were truly lost, Yan Cang could recall it anytime, anywhere.

At worst, he'd lose a [Myriad Manifestation Mirror].

No big deal.

Still, this matter ultimately concerned the operational foundation of the entire Fate Net.

Even a minor mishap wouldn't be ideal.

So, even though he felt deep down that nothing could possibly happen,

Yan Cang still cautiously used the "Great Fate Art" to add a layer of protection to the mirror.

It was a kind of fate blessing that others couldn't perceive, touch, or destroy.

With such insurance, it was truly foolproof.

Careless with small matters, cautious with big ones—this was Yan Cang's style of conduct. Whether it was a strength or a weakness, he couldn't say.

After confirming that he was completely worry-free, he finally set aside the trouble of the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] for the time being.

Yan Cang stood up and casually cleaned up the dishes and traces from lunch.

Then, he contentedly felt the [Sword Nurturing Art] within him, which was flowing like a babbling brook, operating on its own, gently nurturing his Sword Qi.

This feeling of "steadily growing stronger" was truly addictive.

A sense of fulfillment from "cultivating at all times" naturally arose in his heart.

"Alright, I haven't slacked off on the important stuff. Now I can enjoy some fun time."

With that, he happily nestled back into the comfortable ergonomic chair.

With a thought, the game console, which he hadn't touched for a day, appeared in his hand.

The long-lost Black Myth—start!

With the boost from the "As You Wish Body" and the fine-tuning of his body aided by the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror],

he now felt that his state was terrifyingly strong.

So this time...

"I'm definitely going to smash that Tiger Vanguard's dog head!"

The next moment.

The monkey on the screen fell pathetically, dissolving into specks of golden light.

Yan Cang silently and quickly restarted.

And because the process of "Refining Essence into Qi" also tempered his entire body,

it sped up his metabolism, increasing energy consumption. The Energy Pool replenished him, but he still got hungry faster.

So, in the middle of focused gameplay... he didn't forget to multitask.

From time to time, he placed orders in the Food Zone of the Trading House, buying some delicate snacks, dried meat, and fruit juice.

He ate while playing, replenishing nutrients and recovering his body.

And so it went.

Nestled in the comfortable chair, immersed in the captivating game world while enjoying readily available food,

this kind of leisurely time naturally flew by.

When the monkey on the screen finally took down the powerful enemy with a charged heavy strike, and the words "Victory" appeared on the screen,

the sunlight outside the window had already slanted westward, dyeing the horizon a warm orange-red.

"Phew—I made it!"

Yan Cang let out a long, satisfied breath.

After admiring his achievement, he willed the [Strange Game Console] back into his Mental Space.

At the same time, he stood up and stretched heartily, his joints letting out a series of faint cracks.

It felt incredibly refreshing.

Then, he remembered the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror], which had been "neglected" for half the day.

He turned and walked toward the large bed to check on its status.

The ancient mirror was still lying quietly on the soft bedding.

Deep within the mirror's surface, in the condensed starry background, countless tiny points of light continued to flicker, enlarge, and replace each other at a steady and rapid pace...

Cycling endlessly, like a never-stopping precision instrument, stubbornly carrying on its seemingly endless work.

Progress? Completely indiscernible.

After watching for a few minutes, Yan Cang concluded: "Looks like it's really done for. At least for now, I can't count on it."

Not to mention waiting who knows how many years for it to filter out the correct Fate Star...

Even if it did filter one out—could it successfully detect his personal attribute information through that single Fate Star?

That was still up in the air.

Moreover, the terrifying amount of time required—measured in "days" or even "months"—was enough to declare the plan a failure.

This extremely low efficiency made it fundamentally impossible to provide a real-time "personal attribute panel" for all Fate Net users.

The earlier idea had become an utterly unattainable fantasy.

Yan Cang felt a bit regretful about the plan's premature end.

In reality, the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] was already quite suitable—it was just a bit lacking in capability.

With that in mind, he thought about the "daily gift" still worth looking forward to tomorrow at noon.

"I wonder if there's any way to salvage this?"