Chapter 55

Chapter 055: People Naturally Admire the Strong

Over here.

Yan Cang remained silent, burying himself in devouring his meal.

At this moment, his eyes held nothing but the feast spread before him on the table.

Steaming hot Sichuan dishes with bubbling red oil... truly fragrant, incredibly tempting!

Especially pouring the Mapo Tofu over the rice and mixing it together—there was nothing quite as delicious.

The red oil coated the snowy white rice, the minced meat and silky tofu intertwined, while the bold aroma of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers assaulted his taste buds.

With one bite, the numbing, spicy, and savory flavors exploded in his mouth.

A fiery warmth spread through his stomach.

Yet Yan Cang showed no sign of discomfort; instead, he felt nothing but exhilaration.

In truth, he wasn't originally able to handle much spice.

But under the fine-tuned control of the "As You Wish Body" talent, his gastrointestinal adaptability and mucosal tolerance were instantly adjusted to their optimal state.

The level of spiciness that might have once made him gasp for air and chug cold water was now no longer an issue.

Now, he only felt a slight sweat on his forehead, his entire body relaxed and comfortable.

Moreover, thanks to the "As You Wish Body" overclocking his digestive system,

He could devour the entire table of dishes—Mapo Tofu, Palace Guardian Chicken, Twice-Cooked Pork, Couple's Sliced Lung—

All of it swept clean like a whirlwind, with an additional three large bowls of rice to boot.

His appetite was astonishingly good, which for a foodie was undoubtedly one of the happiest things in life.

"Burp!"

Yan Cong swallowed the last piece of Twice-Cooked Pork coated in rich sauce, squinting his eyes in satisfaction.

He leaned back in his chair, resting comfortably.

Inside his body, the "As You Wish Body" talent was operating on its own, rapidly breaking down the influx of abundant food and converting it into pure energy and nutrients.

It quickly replenished the Essence Qi continuously consumed by the 24-hour nonstop cultivation of the "Sword Nurturing Art," while quietly strengthening his muscles, bones, and internal organs.

Soon.

The slightly bulging belly from the heavy meal visibly flattened back to normal.

Yan Cang couldn't help but stretch comfortably.

"As You Wish Body, number one in the world!"

He declared sincerely in his heart.

Of course, the "Great Fate Art" was up in the heavens.

Full and satisfied, refreshed and clear-headed.

He casually cleaned up the traces of lunch.

Then, he remembered the [Fate Wheel Mirror] he had finished refining before the meal.

Yan Cang waved his hand casually, and the [Fate Wheel Mirror], which had been floating by the bedside radiating a sacred golden-white luster, responded as if pulled by an invisible force.

It flew over steadily on its own, silently suspending in the air before him.

"The entire mirror has been thoroughly refined with the power of [Comprehension], connected to my origin, retrievable anytime, anywhere..."

"As for that extra layer of insurance on top, there's no need to maintain it anymore; it would only waste energy to keep it up."

He mused to himself.

With a thought, he withdrew the protective measure he had previously applied to prevent accidents.

At this moment, the [Fate Wheel Mirror] was in perfect sync with his mind; unless deliberately done, there was absolutely no risk of losing it.

After finishing, his gaze fell upon the slowly rotating, deep and magnificent phantom of the Fate Star Sea within the mirror's surface.

His thoughts drifted involuntarily to the Energy Pool that had originally been anchored alongside the Fate Star Sea in the "Fate Gap."

Now, only it remained.

"Since I've already moved one thing in, I might as well just shove the Energy Pool in there too."

He mused, "This way, besides saving some energy needed to maintain the space... more importantly, the energy injected by Fate Net users through top-ups won't suffer unnecessary loss from crossing different spaces."

He acted on the thought without hesitation.

So, with another shift of his mind, Yan Cang directly "pulled" the boundless Energy Pool, formed from the accumulated drops of physical strength of over a billion people, from the void of the Fate Gap into the real dimension.

Since the energy gathered within it at this moment was almost entirely composed of pure physical strength...

When it manifested in reality, it presented a scene of a crimson, fiery, slowly pulsing orb resembling a sun.

Yan Cang didn't hesitate. With his will, he controlled this [Crimson Sun].

He directly stuffed it into the Mirror World and placed it at the very center of the vast Fate Star Sea.

And the Fate Star at the very heart of that star sea was naturally his own.

After all, the entire Fate Star Sea was built starting from his own Fate Star, gradually manifesting the stars of those whose fates intertwined with his.

Ultimately, it evolved into this vast star sea containing over a billion stars.

After successfully settling the Energy Pool.

Looking at the "home page" of the Fate Wheel Mirror's surface, the effect presented was: a deep, slowly rotating star sea dotted with countless brilliant points of light, with a sun emitting a warm crimson glow suspended at its center.

Countless starlights revolved slowly around it as if paying homage, creating a mysterious and harmonious cosmic tableau.

"Hmm, quite imposing."

Yan Cang rested his chin in his hand and admired it for a while, thinking the visual effect was good.

But if this ever got out, would this mirror be mistaken for the system core of the [Fate Net]?

Hard to say!

Snapping back to reality, he began to seriously contemplate the official launch of the "Personal Attribute Panel" and "Identification Function" on the Fate Net.

For the current [Fate Wheel Mirror], implementing these two functions was already a piece of cake.

The response speed was also fully capable of handling massive concurrent query demands at the same time.

His main hesitation was whether to charge a fee and how to price it specifically.

But this thought only circled in his mind a few times before he quickly made a decision:

"Forget it, just like the positioning system, I'll offer it as a free basic function."

Yan Cang thought, "Although the Fate Net currently has no competitors, it doesn't hurt that I want to perfect the user experience to the point where people can't live without it."

"More importantly..."

He narrowed his eyes slightly, "I was already thinking about what good stuff the Golden Chest at noon tomorrow could yield—something that would benefit the entire population and significantly boost overall strength."

"Then I'll take the opportunity to make a big haul, greatly increasing the fundamental value of Fate Points!"

Although this was still just a vague idea without any specific plan.

He was quite confident it would succeed.

Because Super Intelligence told him: No need to overthink it—just use the Super "Great Fate Art" directly when opening the chest tomorrow.

He'd hit the jackpot in one go.

He thought magnanimously, "Such trivial gains from the Personal Attribute Panel and Identification Function are hardly worth bothering with!"

"But I still need to hold back a bit... If it doesn't work out, I'll reconsider charging for it."

With that in mind, Yan Cang temporarily suppressed the urge to immediately launch the new features.

He decided to wait until after opening the Golden Chest tomorrow to see how things went.

Having settled the matter, he stopped dwelling on it.

Then, Yan Cang began operating on the Fate Net interface displayed by the [Fate Wheel Mirror].

He casually switched to the most bustling Fate Net Forum at the moment, ready to check out the afternoon gossip.

"Let me see what new stories have popped up during lunchtime."

His eyes quickly scanned the hot post titles on the front page.

It was then that he suddenly remembered that the faction and Personal Contribution Rankings had refreshed again at noon.

The front page was currently filled with related discussions:

"Tragic News! The United States faction's points have dropped sharply—can the redneck brothers really hold on any longer?"

"Prediction! Other factions' points will gradually bottom out and stabilize in the coming days! (Detailed data model analysis included)"

"Unbelievable! For two days straight, quite a few eliminated participants have chosen us—is it really because of faction contribution?"

...

Looking at the first title, Yan Cang muttered to himself, "Tragic news? Isn't this good news?"

"And... if there were an unlimited supply of painkillers, the redneck brothers might actually last a few more days."

"But reality doesn't have that!"

As for the third post...

Hadn't this question already been settled yesterday?

It was most likely a gambler's mentality, betting on a possible faction contribution.

Why were people still questioning it today?

Was there a new angle?

Curious, he clicked on it.

The main post roughly said that the poster had thought the Huaxia faction, sitting at the top with a huge advantage, would be collectively targeted by eliminated participants from other factions.

But the reality was just the opposite—for two consecutive days, a considerable number of eliminated participants had chosen Huaxia, which surprised the poster.

However, the poster disagreed with the popular forum theory of "for faction contribution," because they believed that without the help of the Fate Net, few people could clearly remember and connect the details of the twelve rules of the Trial Ground.

The post ended there.

Yan Cang couldn't help but complain, "If you don't agree, then at least share your own theory!"

"Just questioning, huh?"

He then looked at the comments section and found many replies pointing out the same thing, accusing the poster of "only tearing down without building up."

But then, he spotted a very interesting reply in the comments:

"Actually, the poster has a point—it's impossible that it's all because of faction contribution. But this issue is actually very simple; it's just about human nature—people admire the strong."

—"Are you saying that precisely because Huaxia is number one now, with the strongest strength and biggest advantage, that's why it has become the choice of those eliminated participants?"

—"Exactly. Just look at the United States, which has been domineering for decades, waging wars almost every year, yet isn't it still seen by many as a beacon, a civilized nation? At its core, isn't that because it's strong?"

—"As for the poster's worry about being targeted, that's clearly unfounded. That only happens in dramatized stories. In the real world, the weak get targeted; the strong are only feared!"

—"Your words remind me of the late Qing Dynasty. It was precisely because they showed weakness and vulnerability that the great powers ganged up to carve them up."

—"In truth, international society, and even the entire history of civilization, no matter how civilized the surface appears, the underlying logic has always followed the most primitive Law of the Jungle."

—"No matter how it evolves, the foundation of this world is naked Survival of the Fittest, Winner Takes All."

—"I agree with that comment, but everyone shouldn't be too extreme. Everything has two sides. 'Strength' is indeed a deep-seated desire in everyone's bones, but some choose to cling to the strong, while others naturally choose to strive, to make themselves and their nation stronger, or even surpass and become stronger."

...

"People all admire strength... The difference lies in whether they choose to cling or to chase!"

Yan Cang savored this line, feeling it was quite a classic summary.

He couldn't help but think of modern history, gaining a slight insight.

But in the end, it was just a few words, and his feelings on it weren't too deep.

Soon, he snapped back to reality.

Skipping over the routine discussions about the refreshed Faction Ranking, Yan Cang continued swiping the screen, browsing other hot posts.

Soon, that post titled "Generous Offer for Combat Items" caught his attention.

The poster was named Yang Dongyao.

Clicking in to take a look, the content was: within 800,000 Fate Points, seeking various good items that could directly boost combat power.

"So many Fate Points?"

After a moment of thought, Yan Cang recalled that the seller of that mirror from yesterday seemed to be named this.

Back then, he hadn't really paid much attention.

Continuing to read on.

The replies in the post were varied, but the core message was consistent: plenty of money with nowhere to spend it; no one was selling truly good stuff.

Yan Cang had long experienced this himself.

The convenient items he wanted to buy before, like "automatic cleaning tools" that could improve quality of life, had also been nowhere to be found.

And aside from the [Myriad Manifestation Mirror] that Yang Dongyao himself had sold yesterday, he hadn't seen any good items worth buying in the Trading House for a long time.

Thinking back, it was only on the first day the Trading House went online that he managed to buy something practical like the [Cabin Upgrade Card].

After that, high-quality items seemed to quickly vanish from the open market.

"Of course, it doesn't really matter if there are no good items circulating. As long as survival supplies are sufficient, it's fine."

Yan Cang rubbed his chin, thinking, "But the problem is, Fate Points have too few uses right now."

A fixed "Internet Fee" of just 1 Fate Point per day.

And if an adult laborer focused solely on topping up without doing anything else, they could easily earn over twenty Fate Points a day.

The income and expenditure were severely unbalanced, and Fate Points were already showing signs of inflation.

He had noticed that morning that the prices of the most basic survival supplies in the Trading House had already begun to rise slowly compared to the previous day.

More importantly, the growth rate of his Energy Pool had started to show a faint, almost imperceptible sign of slowing down.

This clearly meant that more people were beginning to think that conserving physical strength to gather resources was a better deal than directly topping up to exchange for Fate Points.

The value of Fate Points was gradually declining.

This was also the reason he had been pondering this earlier.

Glancing at the replies under Yang Dongyao's post, where people tried to trick him into spending over a hundred thousand Fate Points with some ordinary items...

"Wait until tomorrow afternoon. This situation should change by then."

"This guy shouldn't be overlooked either."

He casually exited Yang Dongyao's purchase request post.

Yan Cang continued to swipe the screen, leisurely browsing the Forum.

Soon, a post that had just been published but was skyrocketing in popularity like a rocket caught his attention.

The poster was that familiar name—Yu Jing.

The post title was concise and powerful: "Announcement of the Establishment of the Chinese People's United Charity Foundation (People's Union Association), and the 'Light Body Nine-Segment Guiding Technique' National Sharing Plan."

Yan Cang rested his chin on his hand and blinked:

"Light Body Nine-Segment Guiding Technique?"

"People's Union Association?"