Chapter 80

Chapter 080: All That Is Bad Disappears

Let’s rewind time a bit.

Half an hour ago.

Yan Cang had just exited the class group chat and casually switched back to the Fate Net Forum.

At this moment, the homepage was still dominated by result posts from Good Fortune Coin chest openings and shopping posts about bulk buying at low prices.

Clicking in to take a look, the comment sections were filled with supportive remarks, creating a rather lively atmosphere.

He noticed that,

Since the launch of Good Fortune Coins and the widespread drop in prices, everyone’s comments had become more cheerful.

Not just in the class group, but the atmosphere on the Fate Net Forum had also lost some of its hostility.

Even in those posts asking, “Did I lose out?”—which were actually showing off good finds—there were no angry insults.

Instead, people followed the thread and offered a few words of praise.

It seemed that with hope on the horizon and anxiety fading, people’s words had naturally become a bit more polite.

Amid this harmonious scene, a post with a completely different tone caught Yan Cang’s attention.

The post title was straightforward: “Economize on Food and Clothing, Save Fate Points, Goal—Grand Fortune Coin!”

The main body was lengthy, with a clear viewpoint.

The thread OP believed that with the regular use of Good Fortune Coins, the output of basic resources would only increase, and their prices would keep dropping.

So buying supplies now was a waste.

The right move was to save Fate Points, exchange them for Good Fortune Coins, open chests for good items, and sell them quickly.

To prove his determination, the thread OP even attached a photo of his lunch.

A large bowl of thin wild vegetable soup—enough to fill the stomach, but without a single shred of meat.

Not even a trace of oil.

Seeing this photo, Yan Cang’s brow twitched slightly.

“Really going for it… but while everyone else is spending, you’re the one advocating saving.”

“What a show-off!”

He muttered to himself and scrolled down to the comments.

There were already quite a few replies under the post. To Yan Cang’s surprise, the majority agreed:

“I think so too. Hoarding goods today is just losing money tomorrow. Better to exchange for Good Fortune Coins and take a gamble!”

“Exactly. Right now, aside from essential food, I’m putting all my Fate Points into Constant Fortune Coins.”

“The thread OP really has foresight! The smartest move right now is to convert everything into Fate Points before prices hit rock bottom.”

“So how far are you planning to go? Exchange for a Grand Fortune Coin? That costs ten thousand Fate Points!”

The thread OP quickly replied: “Yeah, the goal is a Grand Fortune Coin. I’m still short by nearly nine thousand Fate Points.”

“Only nine thousand short?” The replier was clearly shocked. “You already have over a thousand Fate Points?!”

“That’s insane. I don’t even have a hundred Fate Points yet—not enough for one Auspicious Fortune Coin.”

“Then I don’t get it. With a net worth of over a thousand Fate Points, you’re eating wild vegetable soup for lunch? Are you trying to kill yourself with that grind?”

“Thread OP, I think you can save on housing and other stuff, but you need to take care of your diet. At least get enough nutrition for your body, or you’ll lose big for small gains!”

The thread OP explained: “Don’t worry. Besides wild vegetables, I also eat some insects to supplement protein. Physical strength recovery won’t be a problem, and it won’t affect my top-up efficiency.”

As soon as this reply came out, the comments below exploded even more.

"OP, we're worried about your health, not about you not being able to top up Fate Points!"

"Just from the post, you can tell the OP is a fierce person!"

"Awesome!"

"Seriously, I feel like the OP is someone about to do something big."

While the vast majority were still cheering over opening a Bronze Chest, this poster's gaze had already fixed on the Grand Fortune Coin.

Amidst the sighs of admiration, someone asked about the strategy: "OP, are you planning to save up by opening chests and selling them on the side?"

"It seems like opening chests with Good Fortune Coins today was profitable across the board—only the difference between small gains and huge gains. If only we could open a few more chests each day!"

Before the thread OP could reply, someone else hit the nail on the head and pointed out the flaw:

"Right now, Good Fortune Coins can be exchanged freely. If chests could also be opened freely, there wouldn't be much profit to be made! It's not like others don't have hands to open chests with their own coins."

"In fact, prices are still on the high side now. Once everyone opens more chests in a few days, the prices in the Trading House will drop to the right level."

Indeed, the market self-regulates.

For now, everyone was just temporarily enjoying the "dividend of scarce chests," and the full effect of Good Fortune Coins hadn't been unleashed.

It would be different in a few days.

Moreover, with Good Fortune Coins boosting luck, there was no type of item that couldn't be obtained, so naturally, there would be no so-called rare goods.

This gave Good Fortune Coins a strong anchoring effect, and in the future, prices in the Trading House would only fluctuate around this anchor point.

By then, don't even think about making big money from opening chests—unless you had incredible luck yourself.

Yan Cang silently finished reading this analysis and nodded to himself.

"But that's a matter for the future."

Looking at the fellow posters in the thread who were also quietly saving Fate Points to exchange for Good Fortune Coins, he suddenly realized: "Maybe economizing on food and clothing is the real majority?!"

"Putting myself in their shoes, I'd probably be one of them too—after all, enduring this hardship really pays off!"

Understanding this, he didn't say anything more.

Everyone's choices were different. Some people snapped up bargains and enjoyed the present, while others were willing to tighten their belts and go for a big score. That was all normal.

This was the Myriad Forms of Human Life.

Yan Cang closed that thread and continued browsing the forum while eating.

Soon, a post with an eye-catching title caught his attention:

"Great Terror! All Life in the Forest Vanished in an Instant! The Demon King Descends on the Trial Ground?!!"

"Huh?"

Yan Cang's first reaction was that it was clickbait, but seeing its popularity steadily rising, he felt it might not be.

"Could there really be some big commotion?"

He couldn't help but click into the post.

As soon as he entered, the first image posted by the thread OP made him freeze.

It was an aerial view of a forest, lush and green, no different from its surroundings.

Oh wait, actually, the scene itself was perfectly normal, so he didn't really feel anything.

He scrolled down.

The second image suddenly changed the tone.

A sky full of Black Flame engulfed the entire forest.

Inky black fire spread wildly from the center outward, blotting out the sky and covering the sun, like the arrival of doomsday.

The very light in the air seemed to be devoured, the sky itself turning dark and oppressive.

The third picture.

After the Black Flame dissipated, nothing remained but barren earth.

All the trees, shrubs, grass... everything was gone.

It was as if a pencil mark had been erased from this world, leaving only a stark, clear green border at the edges, making the land in the center even more shocking.

When Yan Cang saw the third picture, even the delicious food in his mouth lost its flavor.

"...Isn't this my place?!"

He instinctively glanced out the window.

Confirmed it without a doubt.

Then, his gaze returned to the second and third pictures.

Was this the scene after his Divine Sense swept through and his Sword Qi raged when he tested the [Chain of Tyranny] just now?

From a third-person perspective, this was what it looked like?

What dark demon king descending?!

He felt a slight awkwardness inside.

"It's just the Dominating Power... but in essence, it really does seem that evil and oppressive."

"I didn't feel that way when I used it before."

"But I didn't expect someone to witness the whole process. This should cause a huge stir, right?"

"More importantly, will someone come looking for me? This feels very passive!"

Yan Cang steeled himself and continued reading the comments.

As expected, the comment section had exploded:

"Holy crap! Is the Trial Ground about to launch some event? A demon invasion?"

"The second picture really does look like a demon king descending... Could there be a hidden boss?!"

"Wait, could it be the Trial Ground itself clearing the area to create a special zone?"

"Possible! Maybe it's part of a version update!"

"Look at the third picture. What's that black dot in the middle of the barren land?"

Someone noticed a tiny detail in the center of the photo.

The Thread OP replied directly: "It looks like a wooden cabin to me. What do you all think?"

"A wooden cabin? No way? This whole area was cleared, and the cabin is still intact?"

"I zoomed in. It's definitely the shape of a house."

"The silhouette looks like it has rooms inside. It's not our Initial Cabin! A special building?"

"Could be! Maybe there are quest items inside!"

"Thread OP, should you go check it out? What if there's a hidden reward?"

"No, no, no! Thread OP, don't go! What if there's a monster inside?"

"What's there to fear? Worst case, abandon the trial. You can always run!"

"Don't give bad advice. What if you can't leave directly?"

Yan Cang watched the increasingly wild guesses in the comment section, but his mind actually relaxed.

At this point, he realized that with the "Great Fate Art," as long as he didn't want something to happen, it wouldn't.

So, he continued eating his meal leisurely while looking at the original poster's response.

Had he been swayed by everyone's encouragement?

He paused his chopsticks and moved his gaze downward.

The Thread OP replied in the comments: "I don't dare to go, but the Regional Chat Channel here is buzzing. There should be some brave souls stepping up. I'll give everyone a live update on the situation then."

"Oh, right! I just remembered the telescope can see very clearly. I'm going to buy one at the Trading House right now!"

Uh-oh, there's a pervert!

And the Regional Chat Channel?

The two of them weren't far apart, so naturally, they were on the same channel!

Besides, even if they weren't, he could still take a look whenever he wanted.

Yan Cang immediately opened the Chat Room on the Fate Net.

The Regional Channel was indeed very lively at the moment, with a flood of new messages constantly popping up:

"How terrifying, what's going on with that blank area?"

"If I go in now, will I still be erased?"

"Stones are fine, wood is fine, insects are fine. Anyone willing to sponsor a free-range chicken? I'll throw it in and see!"

"Wait, what are you guys talking about? What blank area?"

"Could that cabin in the middle be a special building in the Trial Ground? Is it possible to get a Quest there?"

"Is anyone brave enough to go in and take a look?"

"I'm heading over. If there's really no one inside, then that wooden cabin is mine."

"Such a nice house, first come, first served!"

...

The Regional Chat Channel was refreshing at an extremely fast pace right now, the messages making one's head spin.

Still, Yan Cang managed to catch a few key pieces of information.

What do you mean, the wooden cabin is yours? What do you mean, first come, first served?

Wait, are you guys competing for it?

That's mine!

The corner of his mouth twitched, and he almost wanted to pull a Cao Cao and flip the table over.

But forget it, the rice was innocent enough.

With that thought, he picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks, poured a bit of sauce over the steaming rice, and took a bite. Even Yan Cang's brow relaxed.

This stinky mandarin fish really goes well with rice!

At the same time, he began to intervene in the whole situation.

First, that post was traffic-limited.

It wouldn't appear on the hot list or recommended positions, and the weight of its search keywords was significantly reduced. Even if someone deliberately searched for related terms, they would only see irrelevant results.

For the controller of the Fate Net, this was easy to do.

Second, the "Great Fate Art" quietly activated.

An invisible force of Fate Power spread out from the Sea of Consciousness, like pressing a crucial enter key, and everything changed.

All those who were searching for, and could actually find, his true form had their perception twisted in an instant.

They developed a vague feeling that this matter wasn't a big deal, and thus gave up further investigation.

The Thread OP of that post stopped the action of buying a telescope; the people preparing to investigate the blank area and the wooden cabin in the middle began to busy themselves with other things; the lively Regional Channel seemed to have a pause button pressed, and the frequency of new messages suddenly dropped.

Also, a certain member of the Information Team also stopped the thought of reporting the clue about the Chief.

Huh? What Information Team?

This was really quite baffling.

...