Chapter 53

Chapter 053: I Don't Know

Omnipotence was indeed tempting.

But soon, Yan Cang calmed down.

Because, in the final analysis, the fundamental bottleneck still required energy.

The predicament he currently faced was precisely a lack of energy, not a lack of concepts or methods.

If he had enough energy, with the power of the Great Fate Art to make things happen as he wished...

Even without a method like the Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art, he could simply expend a bit more energy to directly maintain certain specific powers over the long term, allowing them to operate without additional energy consumption.

He could even directly solidify the entire Fate power, which was entirely achievable.

If he had enough energy, Yan Cang wouldn't have to wait a whole day for a single golden chest; he could simultaneously obtain countless items from the golden treasury.

Take this Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art, for example. He could have directly deduced and loaded decades of cultivation experience before even getting the skill book.

Thus learning it out of thin air.

But he insisted on getting it first, using it, and only then doing so.

This wasn't because he felt bad about freeloading or had a guilty conscience.

Only a fool would pass up a bargain.

The main reason was that if he didn't get the skill book first...

Then the fate lines deduced from that point would fall under the category of "creating something from nothing."

The energy consumed for that would directly multiply several times, or even dozens or hundreds of times.

The cost-effectiveness was worlds apart.

And if he truly had so much energy that he couldn't use it all, why would he even open golden chests?

Wouldn't it be better to open higher-quality chests?

No, that wasn't really the case either.

At that point, why open chests at all? He would just set himself up with the ability of Omniscience and Omnipotence.

That would be more straightforward.

No matter how he circled around, the core still revolved around energy.

So, the main task at this stage was still to use the Fate Net platform... to efficiently and sustainably earn energy.

That was the foundation of all plans.

As for the application effect of the cultivation method, the Myriad Treasures Origin-Returning Art, it was indeed quite good.

It could be considered opening a new door.

But overall, it still needed to contribute to the Fate Net.

There was no need to prioritize the trivial over the essential.

After all, just the consumption of refining a single Fate Wheel Mirror had nearly drained his energy pool.

Taking it step by step was the true way.

"Sigh... thinking too much is useless. Let's eat first."

At that moment, Yan Cang rubbed his stomach.

With a slight thought, the Fate Wheel Mirror floating before him responded.

The mirror's surface shimmered with light, instantly switching from the deep Fate Sea homepage to the Fate Net's operation interface.

He casually opened the Trading House.

His gaze had just swept over the Food Zone when he immediately spotted a conspicuous order reminder.

It was a notification from the Sichuan Cuisine "State Banquet" restaurant where he had ordered lunch that morning.

The thought of the spicy and fragrant Sichuan cuisine made him involuntarily swallow.

Holding the belief that "food is the greatest priority," Yan Cang completely cast aside those messy thoughts.

He promptly completed the order pickup.

...

On the other side.

The rankings that Yan Cang had completely forgotten about.

Naturally, it immediately drew the attention of the vast majority of people in the Trial Ground.

The moment the midday prompt sounded, countless eyes turned in unison toward the refreshed ranking list.

[First Place: Huaxia, Faction Points: 5,312,289,247]

[Second Place: United States, Faction Points: 267,443,833]

[Third Place: Charlie Marvin, Faction Points: 174,832,732]

...

5.3 billion points?!

Huaxia, in overwhelming first place, had amassed such a massive point total that it crushed the will to catch up for many behind them.

Even the staggering increase of nearly 1.4 billion points today ceased to be the main focus for most people.

At least, it no longer stirred the intense emotional fluctuations like it had in previous days.

They were almost numb by now.

Except for a few who still stubbornly analyzed the data, trying to find some pattern or loophole...

The vast majority of trial participants from other factions simply chose to selectively ignore it, adopting a mindset of "if I don't see it, it doesn't exist."

Then, they turned their gaze to their own faction's points.

But those numbers only brought a deeper sense of helplessness.

Because, similar to yesterday, the points were still plummeting!

That dismal score was like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the faint glimmer of hope that came from surviving another day.

At this moment.

Some people belatedly realized: their faction might be losing.

And it was no longer just a possibility.

They were losing, and losing so badly that there was almost no hope of turning things around.

Upon realizing this...

Despair quickly spread through most hearts, breeding twisted resentment and jealousy.

However, this negative emotion was not primarily directed at Huaxia, whose advantage was so overwhelming it was despair-inducing.

It seemed that the gap was too large, so large that even hating them seemed ridiculous.

Thus, most of the anger and frustration was aimed squarely at that glaring third place.

An independent faction, an individual, ranking third on the faction points leaderboard!

What was this?

A collective of thousands struggling to survive, yet their points were being suppressed by a single individual?

It was a sheer disgrace!

The name "Charlie Marvin"...

At this moment, was being viciously cursed in the hearts of countless despairing and angry trial participants.

Along with those compatriots who, whether out of self-abandonment or some twisted mentality, had given their elimination points to this guy...

In their eyes, they had become incomprehensible "stupid idiots" who deserved to go to hell.

Why? Why him?!

...

At the same time.

In another forested area.

Yu Jing, who had been weaving through the trees as usual, chasing prey... stopped in her tracks the moment she heard the prompt.

She stood beside a large tree.

Her gaze fell on the newly refreshed leaderboard, calmly analyzing the changes in points.

The overall pattern was not much different from yesterday.

Huaxia's point increase today was slightly less than yesterday, but still close to 1.4 billion.

"The gap is small, within the normal fluctuation range."

"This is probably the elimination rate for those who chose Huaxia. It's slightly lower than yesterday's peak, and the total number of eliminated has also decreased a bit."

She made a quick judgment in her mind.

This was normal data within expectations, no problem.

The other factions continued their downward trend similar to yesterday's rankings, like aftershocks after an avalanche.

But upon closer observation, subtle differences could still be seen.

Some had a steeper decline than yesterday, others had slowed slightly, and a few even showed positive growth.

"The faction that suffered the most severe drop in points yesterday, like Britain, not only stopped falling today but even saw a slight increase..."

A realization dawned in Yu Jing's eyes. "A rebound after hitting rock bottom?"

"It seems the third day's elimination wave has already washed away most of those within the faction who were the least adaptable, had the weakest willpower, and the worst luck."

"The remaining ones either have decent strength and luck, or possess stronger resolve, so the elimination rate naturally drops significantly."

"As for the factions that had a relatively mild decline yesterday, their drop has widened today... That's not hard to understand either."

"Every faction has a batch of people at the critical point. They might have held on for an extra day, but in the end, they can't last long."

"Today's rankings should be the manifestation of their limits."

Extrapolating from this trend, the points of other factions would likely stabilize over the next few days.

Some might even start to grow again as the survivors gradually adapt.

Yu Jing felt no waves of emotion or worry about this.

Because the current situation was already crystal clear.

As long as the Huaxia faction maintained a steady pace, the final victory was unstoppable.

The struggles of other factions were nothing more than ripples on a backdrop.

Completely meaningless.

These analyses flashed through her mind in an instant.

Then, with a thought, Yu Jing switched the information interface to the Personal Contribution Ranking.

At the top, the number behind that name had already reached a staggering 3.1 billion.

The increase was similar to yesterday's, still a terrifying growth of nearly one billion.

Yu Jing was not surprised by this.

The scale of the Trading House was right there.

She calmly moved her gaze down to her own name.

[Second Place: Yu Jing, Faction Contribution: 1,608,501]

Her contribution points had barely broken through 1.6 million.

But today's increase was only about 200,000.

Compared to the previous two days, when she had gains of 400,000 to 500,000, this was noticeably less.

She knew the reason all too well. It was simple:

On one hand, the two hot posts that had exploded on the forum initially had entered a long-tail phase, with daily new gains dwindling.

On the other hand, and more importantly, the large amount of prey she had hunted yesterday had not all been sold for Fate Points and then converted into contribution points.

A considerable portion of that prey was still quietly stored in her Fate Net Space.

It hadn't been listed on the Trading House yet.

As for her plan...

"I'll wait until tonight, combine it with today's catch, and then list a large batch on the Trading House."

Yu Jing was planning: "By then, there should be a total of fifty to sixty prey, not all of them large creatures, but the quantity is still quite considerable."

"If such a volume of prey is listed by the same seller in a short period, it should spark a wave of attention and discussion on the forum and the Trading House."

"Especially... with my name, Yu Jing, the Second on the List, attached to it."

At that time, she could use this attention to announce that all Fate Points earned from this sale would be donated.

Simultaneously, she would formally declare the establishment of the [Chinese People's United Charity Foundation (People's Union Association)], explaining its purpose and operational model.

Yes, the [People's Union Association].

Its preparatory work had progressed rapidly in just two days, driven efficiently by her "Digital Heart" ability.

The framework, core personnel, and preliminary review and distribution processes were all in place.

It was time to step onto the stage and face all faction compatriots.

To begin fulfilling its mission.

It was a bit rushed, but the timing couldn't be ignored.

The current public sentiment that "Contribution Points might affect opening chests" was still fermenting...

Introducing the [People's Union Association] as a Conversion Channel at this moment would indeed achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Besides, in the Trial Ground, there was no time for long-term preparations.

There was absolutely no room for delay.

However...

Even if this plan went smoothly, Yu Jing still felt something was missing.

Fifty to sixty prey sounded like a lot, but it ultimately fell short.

She assessed calmly: It was far from shocking enough, so the resulting wave of public opinion might not reach the desired peak.

It would be difficult to make the [People's Union Association] name known in one fell swoop.

There was even a possibility that those dozens of prey would be snapped up instantly upon listing.

After all, this was a market facing over a billion people.

Meat was still a scarce hard currency at present.

Thus, the intended effect of leveraging this for publicity would naturally be greatly diminished.

Although she had already gained some personnel and promotional resources, which she could arrange to drive this topic forward,

if the event itself wasn't eye-catching enough, even guidance would be of limited value, easily turning into self-serving talk.

Moreover, this was mainly to boost the influence of the [People's Union Association].

"Is there... a sufficiently impactful Explosive Point, or a more clever Entry Point?"

Yu Jing leaned against a tree trunk, quietly pondering.

Just as she was immersed in thought—

Buzz.

A new message notification came from the "Special Task Force" group chat on the Fate Net.

The logistics personnel responsible for liaising with the several "Special Chefs" reported: "Deputy Team Leader Yu Jing, Chef Sun, who specializes in Sichuan Cuisine, reported that the Large Order he received this morning has been cooked."

"And one minute ago, the order status began showing that the Anonymous Customer had picked it up."

Yu Jing's eyes flickered slightly.

Yes, just like the situation with Chef Song.

This master chef specializing in Sichuan cuisine was also someone she had arranged.

In fact, it wasn't just these two.

Currently, on the Food Zone, those shops labeled with "State Banquet Heritage," "One of the State Banquet Team Head Chefs," and "Representative Figure of XX Cuisine"...

There were eight in total, perfectly covering the traditional Eight Great Cuisines.

These shops were only able to open quickly in the Food Zone thanks to Yu Jing coordinating resources and secretly supporting them through the "Special Task Force."

After all, State Banquet-level cuisine requires extensive preparation.

Just in terms of ingredients alone, in the current Trial Ground, it's not something an ordinary person could afford.

Not to mention the need for a relatively stable cooking environment and the chef's own Status.

As for these eight shops, naturally, one or two of them weren't strictly "core chefs of the State Banquet team" but rather top-tier culinary masters from the folk.

However, to achieve the goal, they were still uniformly labeled as such.

As for the seven shops opened later, almost all of them received a large order from an Anonymous Customer around six in the morning, when the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Moreover, the dishes ordered all required complex techniques and were expensive signature items of the shops.

The pickup times were arranged at different slots, spanning from lunch and dinner to the next few days...

These details were enough to convince Yu Jing that it was the same person.

As for the specific identity?

Who else could it be but that one!

In fact, although there were already quite a few users consuming in the Food Zone, the top of the bestseller list was mostly filled with affordable, ordinary-ingredient, simply processed handmade foods.

These eight "State Banquet shops," which priced their dishes at a truly luxurious level, were the only ones of their kind.

This wasn't because there were no other skilled chefs, nor was it due to a fear of no orders at all.

Rather, as mentioned earlier: at the current stage, ordinary people—or even average teams—simply couldn't bear the cost of precious ingredients, time, and effort required for the preliminary preparation of State Banquet-level dishes.

Of course, it was also because no one could actually afford to eat them.

Even among the official decision-making levels, no one could afford such luxury at present.

So it could be said outright: these shops were prepared from the very beginning for the Chief.

It was because of the Food Zone that suddenly went online that night, and Yu Jing thought to cater to his preferences.

And the fact that they happened to cover the Eight Great Cuisines, labeled so conspicuously and uniformly, was naturally intentional—there was no thought of hiding it.

This itself was a subtle gesture of goodwill.

A service window.

Even if direct contact hadn't been made yet, at least the impression of "the State Banquet team is on standby at all times" was left behind.

It established a preliminary, positive connection.

This served as a useful foundation for any subsequent plans the task force might have.

To ensure this effort wasn't wasted, she had deliberately made it so obvious and uniform.

Yu Jing's lips curled slightly as she mused:

"The Chief should have sensed this sincerity by now..."