Chapter 73

Chapter 073: Rescue Team and Debate

The sky was faintly brightening.

The seventh morning of the trial ground quietly arrived.

Sunlight dispelled the darkness, heralding the start of a new day.

For the vast majority of trial participants in the Huaxia faction, this was just another busy and fulfilling day.

As usual, they woke up, washed up, had a simple breakfast...

The only difference was that this morning, they needed to practice the "Light Body Nine-Segment Guiding Technique" once.

Then, they would begin the day's labor.

For the People's Union Association, however, today was a special day.

It was the day of their first large-scale offline activity.

The activities covered multiple aspects: providing assistance to the elderly and weak who had difficulty moving, dispatching rescue teams to certain high-risk areas, and helping lone travelers and compatriots in distress relocate to safe zones.

The task list was detailed and systematic, covering a vast area from south to north, from forests to deserts.

These were various aid tasks that Yu Jing had filtered from the Help Zone on the forum in the early hours.

At the same time, using the Fate Net's location function, she assigned them to nearby members.

Even if there were no volunteers in the nearby area, she could temporarily recruit them on the Fate Net.

At this moment, similar recruitment posts appeared in various regional channels:

[People's Union Association · XX Regional Rescue Team Recruiting Volunteers — Compensated, can earn faction contribution or receive Fate Point subsidies.]

The rewards were clear, and the mission was defined.

For trial participants lacking Fate Points or wanting to boost their personal contribution, this was undoubtedly an attractive option.

And for those already in large camps but dissatisfied with their current situation and eager for gains...

It was equally tempting.

Thus, early in the morning, Yu Jing began handling related matters with high frequency and multi-threading.

Having only let her brain rest for three or four hours last night, she now appeared full of energy.

As she sorted through the myriad of complex information, the faint blue light in her eyes grew deeper.

It had to be said, the "Digital Heart" was simply overpowered.

At least in terms of information processing.

...

In a certain deep mountain forest.

In a narrow crevice hidden by dense shrubs, a man was curled up inside.

He had been trapped there for four days.

On the third day of the trial, he had opened a supply crate and found a decent woodcutter's knife. He planned to scout around and gather some materials, but then he stepped into thin air and fell into this natural trap covered by weeds.

The vertical crevice was over three meters deep, with slippery stone walls and no protruding points to grip.

He had tried to climb out dozens of times, from various angles, all ending in failure.

Fortunately, the Fate Net still existed.

By purchasing the cheapest food and water from the Trading House every day, he managed to avoid starving to death in this sunless crevice.

Of course, before starving, he would have chosen to give up on this trial.

But even though he survived, being curled up in a dark, narrow space for days was extremely tough.

The only consolation was that in his help post on the Fate Net forum, he received a large number of encouraging replies every day.

Just as Zhao Dayong logged onto the Fate Net as usual, ready to obtain new spiritual sustenance to keep himself going—

A crisp snap of a dry branch being stepped on came from above.

Then, a shout followed:

"Anyone there?"

"Is anyone down there? Answer me if you hear me!"

Zhao Dayong shuddered all over and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Yes! I'm down here!"

"I heard you!"

A few seconds later, a sturdy rope dropped down from above.

"Grab the rope! We'll pull you up from up here!"

A few minutes later, Zhao Dayong, seeing daylight again, said gratefully, "Thank you. Did you see my help post?"

"Yes and no." The man smiled. "We're the Rescue Team of the People's Union Association. The mission was assigned from above. Your request for help was included in today's Aid List. We're just the executors."

"People's Union Association..."

...

In the Desert Land.

A small rescue team of three was trudging with difficulty through the endless yellow sand.

Their target was a small wooden cabin a few kilometers ahead—according to the mission list, an elderly man was living there alone, trying to survive.

They needed to move the old man to a nearby camp. Though the environment there was equally harsh, having help from others was better than being alone.

"Watch your step! That area ahead is the Quicksand Zone!"

"Stay close to me!" the leader shouted, covering his mouth with his hand.

The two team members nodded silently, following his footsteps closely as they continued to push through the wind and sand.

Scenes like this were playing out simultaneously in all corners of the Trial Ground today.

The People's Union Association flowed like a warm current, quietly seeping into countless people's hearts.

Although before this, many camps had sent people to help the elderly and weak in their vicinity,

camps mostly had to look after their own members, unlike these teams dedicated specifically to rescue.

However, not everyone welcomed this.

...

At a large camp nestled between a mountain and a river.

Fu Tongkang stood in the center of the camp, gazing at the morning training taking place in the distance.

Hundreds of able-bodied young adults formed neat squares, following the leader's rhythm as they practiced the Light Body Nine-Segment Guiding Technique move by move. Their movements were uniform, their breathing synchronized—a rather spectacular sight.

Ever since this cultivation method was made public, Fu Tongkang had made it a mandatory course for the camp.

Twice a day, morning and evening, without fail.

And the results were indeed good—many team members reported feeling much lighter and recovering their physical strength faster than before.

Now that the Attribute Panel was available, it was even more intuitive.

He himself had finished practicing it long ago.

"Fu, there's something I need to report to you," a middle-aged man said, walking up quickly with a complicated expression.

"Go ahead." Fu Tongkang didn't turn around.

"In the camp... over a dozen people have privately joined the Offline Rescue Team of the People's Union Association."

The middle-aged man's tone carried a hint of displeasure. "These people..."

Fu Tongkang turned around and interrupted him: "Our camp doesn't restrict personal freedom. How can you call it 'privately'?"

"But if they're not going to follow the arrangements... how do they plan to handle food and lodging?"

"And also, what's the deal with this offline rescue team?"

"They handle their own meals, but they'll still stay here—said they'll pay for lodging."

The middle-aged man hesitated. "As for this rescue team... I heard they're specifically meant to help fellow countrymen trapped nearby."

"From what you're telling me, isn't this a good thing?" Fu Tongkang said seriously.

"But..." The middle-aged man trailed off.

"No buts." Fu Tongkang waved his hand, dismissing him.

"...Understood." Though still uneasy, the middle-aged man said no more and turned to leave.

Fu Tongkang turned his gaze back to the morning exercise crowd, but a faint, subtle premonition stirred in his heart.

The expansion speed of the People's Union Association was far more aggressive than he had anticipated.

It had only been two days since its official debut, and it was already pulling personnel from various camps.

With the clear incentive of Fate Points as compensation, this poaching tactic was almost foolproof.

Even his own camp had lost over a dozen people.

However, this method of expansion carried hidden risks—gathering for profit, scattering when the profit's gone.

Moreover, directly poaching people inevitably stirred resentment.

Just like his hastily appointed assistant, that middle-aged man from earlier...

A classic case of severe Private Sect Mentality.

He couldn't help but think of his colleagues in the group chat.

"Surely no one would be unable to sit still," Fu Tongkang muttered to himself.

He sank his consciousness into the Fate Net and tapped open that familiar Decision-Maker Group Chat.

By now, it was already buzzing with activity.

...

Decision-Maker Group Chat.

[Group Chat: Core Council Chamber]

Messages were refreshing at lightning speed.

The first to speak was also a Camp Leader, whose camp had encountered the same situation.

But unlike Fu Tongkang, he was clearly more bothered by it.

Or rather, he was using this as a pretext.

After describing the specifics, he turned his spearhead toward Yu Jing.

"Agreeing to let her run the People's Union Association single-handedly was clearly a major decision-making error."

"And when I learned that donating Fate Points could also earn Faction Contribution, I knew something was off! We should have stopped it then, not just stood by!"

"Now look—she's already forming a physical force. Is that what a charity should be doing? If we let this slide, power will inevitably become unbalanced!"

These words prompted many to ponder.

"Indeed, there should be some checks and balances," someone agreed. "At the very least, she shouldn't be allowed to arrange things so freely."

"I don't think we need to be that tense," another person said in a much calmer tone. "After the Good Fortune Coin System goes live, the value of Fate Points will skyrocket. The donation model that the People's Union Association mainly relies on will definitely take a hit. Even with the trump card of Fate Points Converted to Contribution, it won't be easy for them to balloon quickly."

The one who started the thread shot back: "By the time it balloons, it'll already be too late—everything will have turned upside down!"

The other person wasn't fazed and retorted, "Then tell me, how do you propose to balance it?"

At that, the group fell into a brief silence.

In fact, even before this matter, they had seriously evaluated Yu Jing and the People's Union Association, and found that the connection between the two had become inseparable.

First, publishing the Light Body Nine-Segment Guiding Technique had brought her immense prestige, to the point that even if the donated Fate Points were placed in her personal account, the public could still trust her.

Just this alone made it impossible to think about sidelining her.

Second, her talent, the Digital Heart, was also an insurmountable "technical threshold."

This made it difficult for them to even support another charity department to counterbalance her.

These two factors were the main reasons why, when they previously learned that directly donating Fate Points could also earn Faction Contribution, they remained unmoved.

It wasn't that they were foolish enough to overlook the risks involved.

So now, this was merely someone with a sore nerve bringing up old grievances.

But the result was the same—still helpless.

'That girl has skillful methods! She handles things flawlessly, nothing like a young person.'

'Considering that talent, and now with supernatural powers at play, we can't judge her by old standards.'

Fu Tongkang watched the messages in the group, his thoughts stirring.

Then, in this moment of leisure, he slowly typed out a line:

"Over at my camp, more than ten people have also joined the People's Union Association."

As the message was sent, the group fell silent for a moment.

Then someone @ed him: "The People's Union Association is reaching too far."

"Old Fu, do you have any thoughts?"

Fu Tongkang replied calmly, "I don't have any particular thoughts on this."

"As long as everyone is working toward the same good goal, the People's Union Association doesn't affect anything."

That person seemed somewhat disappointed, pausing for a few seconds before saying, "I'm just afraid they don't know which side is the good one."

"Comrade Yu Jing is still too young, acting too rashly."

"Moreover, without so much as a greeting, she directly recruits people from our camp. Is that appropriate?"

After such an obvious statement, still not getting it?

Seeing this, Fu Tongkang emphasized again, "As long as everyone is working toward the same good goal, what's inappropriate about it?"

He was now starting to wonder whether this person was making an issue out of nothing or genuinely concerned.

Just as Fu Tongkang frowned, a new message scrolled up in the group.

The speaker was Zhuang Hongwen.

Zhuang Hongwen's tone was unhurried, his words carrying a roughness typical of a military background. "Setting up a camp is for mutual aid and support, not to become someone's private army."

This single sentence made his stance clear, directly preventing that person from making a big deal out of it.

After all, the clumsy attempt to play dumb and push forward had already cost them enough points.

If they continued, it would become a matter of ideological awareness.

No matter what they thought privately, being labeled as such here meant the end of their political life.

So they had no choice but to fall silent.

Just as the atmosphere grew tense.

A new message refreshed in the group, as someone with more weight stepped in to put the matter to rest.

Number Nine: "As long as it benefits the overall Huaxia Faction, then that is the good side!"

"Self-serving thinking must be avoided. Lead by example, and give more trust to the younger comrades."

"The current environment is different from the past. When dealing with capable people, we must be appropriately lenient. The tighter the grip, the less you'll have!"

Then, he changed the subject: "Hongwen, I heard the Special Task Force is still making slow progress? This matter needs to be expedited!"

"Yes."

After giving both sides a piece of his mind, the subtle tension from earlier mostly dissipated.

Moreover, when the Special Task Force was mentioned, everyone immediately felt that the potential issues with the People's Union Association were nothing significant.

The "Chief" was the most troublesome presence.

Was it male or female? How old? What was its background?

Still, nothing was known.

...

The group chat fell silent for a moment.

Someone spoke up: "The People's Union Association's way of doing things is worth learning from."

"And considering the uncertainties ahead, I believe a special fund should be allocated to establish an elite team for emergency plans."

"For example, those with outstanding performance on the Personal Contribution Ranking could all be considered for inclusion."

This proposal instantly sparked interest in the group.

"Not a bad idea."

"An Emergency Response Team... is indeed necessary. The Trial Ground is still unclear, and the likelihood of increased survival difficulty in the future is significant."

"Exactly. And those ranking high on the Contribution Ranking clearly have skills that need no elaboration; they should be courted more actively."

"Agreed."