Chapter 005: The Wise Take Action
After eating and drinking his fill,
Yan Cang lay comfortably on the grass, which still retained a trace of warmth.
Looking at the sky, the setting sun was dyeing the clouds a magnificent crimson.
"It's getting late," he muttered, swiftly turning over and getting up.
First, he carefully wrapped the leftover bone fragments in leaves and hurled them far away.
Then, he quickly gathered a large amount of dry hay and broad leaves, carrying them into the wooden hut.
He simply spread a mattress on the ground.
This way, it naturally couldn't completely block the cold from the earth.
Also, grass and wood have the drawback of easily becoming damp and moldy.
But for an emergency, it would suffice for a night or two.
Time was short, and Yan Cang didn't want to fuss too much.
Next, he used leaves to stuff the gaps in the wooden walls as best he could.
After doing all this, the sky had quickly darkened.
Night had completely enveloped the Trial Ground.
There were no familiar stars or moon here, only the howls of unknown beasts rising and falling in the darkness.
Among them was a shrill cry, like a feral cat in heat, which was especially eerie.
Even though he had maintained "Fate Protection" and knew he was safe, Yan Cang still felt a chill run down his spine.
Lying on the grass mat, he instinctively shrank back toward the corner of the wall.
If he had a blanket right now, he would definitely have pulled it over his head.
"Forget it, I don't care anymore."
"I'll just go straight to the Fate Net. Activate!"
With a thought, he sank his consciousness into the Fate Net.
The hot posts on the Public Forum instantly refreshed:
"Help! I'm starving and thirsty right now, but I don't dare leave the wooden hut. What should I do?"
"Focus on any object for a few seconds, and you'll get information about it, like the Identification Art in games. FYI!"
"One thing you must do before sleeping: Set up traps and early warning devices (guide included)."
"The 12 Rule Hints of the Trial Ground, word for word!"
"Based on the information I've gathered from the forum, the current Trial Ground is similar to an uninhabited area on Earth. Beware of large beasts."
"About how I spent half a day without finding a water source or catching prey, only picking a few sour and bitter wild fruits, and then getting shat on by a flock of birds."
"I just finished the college entrance exam today and stepped out of the exam hall only to transmigrate. Who can understand my pain?"
"Night has fallen. I can't see my hand in front of my face, and outside it's wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves! A tough guy is panicking. Anyone want to chat?"
...
These hot posts were arranged in descending order of popularity.
The one he could most relate to was undoubtedly the one about the college entrance exam.
Staying up late to study and working hard for the exam—wasn't it all just to get into a good university?
But then he transmigrated, putting an end to all that.
And it didn't happen early or late, but right at this moment after the exam.
Pain, such pain!
However, that was how he felt earlier.
Now...
Yan Cang said nothing, but his heart was filled with joy.
Of course, it wasn't that going to university was bad; it was just that the Trial Ground offered him a much broader horizon.
And it's no surprise that this post became a trending topic.
After all, there are over ten million college entrance exam takers this year.
On the other hand, the top trending post had a title that looked like a simple plea for help.
But its popularity was abnormally high.
Could it be that a bunch of people were throwing cold, sarcastic comments in there?
That can't be right...
Now that this is a trial determining the dominant civilization, no one would be that irrational, would they?
A great man once said to unite all forces that can be united.
Yan Cang curiously clicked on the post:
"Help! I'm desperately hungry and thirsty right now, but I don't dare leave the wooden house—what should I do?"
[My name is Yu Jing. When I was seven, I went on a family outing with my parents, accidentally fell into a dark cave, and was trapped alone for a full day and night before being rescued.
Since then, I've developed a deep fear of the wilderness. I originally thought I would spend my entire life never setting foot outside the city.
But fate had other plans... On the very first day I reported to my unit after earning my PhD, I was thrown into this fantastical mess called the civilization trial.
I'm sorry, but I still can't overcome my fear of the wilderness for now, and I regret that I didn't get any food from today's Supply Box.
Surviving one day earns the Huaxia faction 1 Faction Point, while being eliminated deducts 10 points.
A person can survive at most 7 days without food or water. It bothers me that it's not 10 days, but maybe I can hold out longer through sheer willpower. Maybe I'll get food from a Supply Box during that time, maybe...
In short, I absolutely won't hold everyone back easily.
Also, I completely disagree with Rule 12 of the Trial Ground. It says that this trial is just a prelude to the real battlefield?
But surrendering the dominant civilization to the children of Huaxia is no different from national extinction and genocide.
Can you accept a future where Chinese is no longer your mother tongue? Can you accept the 5,000 years of Huaxia history being reduced to an insignificant footnote?
If not, then wake up from the childish mindset that elimination means no death, and give yourself a sense of urgency.
Everyone, this is war!
The Trial Ground is the battlefield. Though I am but a woman, I still remember the Century of Humiliation, and I hold in my heart the conviction that Huaxia will surely win.]
[Day 1 of the trial, may we all encourage each other!]
[Attached: A composed and serene selfie]
Whoa! What a... beautiful and intellectual older sister!
Yan Cang marveled inwardly.
But compared to the beauty in the picture, her words were even more awe-inspiring.
They stirred Yan Cang's heart, leaving him unable to calm down for a long time.
He even felt a bit inflated, as if he could go without food or water for ten days or so.
Ah, I just ate...
Never mind.
In short, his emotions were so stirred that he completely overlooked the disconnect between the title and the content.
The clarity, resolve, and sincerity woven through the text in that post also left Yan Cang unsettled for a long time.
The comment section below was flooded with the phrase "Huaxia will surely win."
No wonder this was the top trending post.
He couldn't help but leave his first reply in the comments: "Huaxia will surely win!"
...
In another corner of the Trial Ground, inside a wooden house.
Yu Jing was staring at her own Status Panel.
The number in the Faction Contribution column surged upward like a tidal wave.
A gentle curve formed at the corner of her lips as she murmured, "Indeed, igniting fighting spirit and reversing a negative mindset are also ways to help the faction."
In truth, the descriptions in the post were half-truths.
She came from an extraordinary background. Though her parents were not high-ranking officials with lavish salaries, her father was a doctor holding the honorary title of academician, and her mother was a senior lawyer running her own law firm.
The network of connections and political capital possessed by the two was beyond the imagination of ordinary people. As their eldest daughter, Yu Jing had been groomed for politics since childhood.
Yu Jing lived up to expectations, earning her PhD degree from law school at age 27, with a future that was visibly bright and promising.
But then, a single transmigration—and everything turned to nothing!
And it happened on her very first day reporting to her new workplace.
Compared to the college entrance exam takers in similar circumstances, Yu Jing's resentment was even heavier.
The two were like a small-scale unlucky one and a large-scale unlucky one.
However, the political mindset cultivated from childhood was not entirely useless.
Yu Jing keenly recognized the value of Faction Contribution.
As soon as she joined the Fate Net, she attempted to post a guide post on handling prey.
But similar content quickly flooded in, and her post soon sank, earning only a meager amount of contribution and a few words of thanks.
Yu Jing did not get discouraged and swiftly adjusted her strategy.
Unlike others who chose to mass-post guide posts, Yu Jing took a different path, focusing on the aspect of mindset.
In the face of unknown fear, helping people build faith and strengthen their resolve might also be a form of assistance.
Thus, she carefully crafted this help-seeking post.
Using a title and persona full of contrast to wrap around the core viewpoint, she ultimately succeeded in sparking attention.
It became the number one trending post.
The effect was immediate: Faction Contribution easily broke five digits, validating her approach.
"A little fabrication does no harm, but the emotions in the text are real," Yu Jing thought to herself.
For people like her, patriotic sentiment was beyond doubt.
As Faction Contribution neared six digits, Yu Jing began browsing other content on the Fate Net.
Taking advantage of the long night, she sought new opportunities.
Her eyes swept over the frequent phrase "thank you, kind-hearted person" appearing in many posts, and a thought stirred within her.
Were the posters of these guide posts truly as selfless as they appeared on the surface?
Probably not; more likely, they were sharp-witted individuals quietly accumulating capital by seeing the trend first.
She herself was one of them, with no standing to criticize.
But what if she were to expose this unspoken "tacit understanding"?
Would no new guide posts appear?
Would help-seeking go unanswered?
No, Yu Jing judged that the more likely outcome was breaking the information gap, prompting more capable people to join the mutual aid ranks for clear benefits.
In the long run, it might even enhance the overall survival rate and cohesion of the Huaxia Faction.
As for whether she would ultimately gain more contribution from this, that was no longer the primary concern.
If it could add even a sliver of advantage to the Huaxia Faction, it was worth a try.
With her decision made, Yu Jing's gaze fell back on those enthusiastic guide posts on the Fate Net.
This gentle, mature young woman's face flickered with a sly and playful smile.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems I'm about to flip the table."