Chapter 9

Chapter 009: Ranking List Opens

After the Fate Net update, all chat channels were buzzing with activity.

Time quietly slipped away amidst the noise, and soon it was nearly noon.

This also meant that everyone's first day of survival in the Trial Ground was about to end—yesterday, when they had all crossed over, it was exactly twelve o'clock noon here.

This time was naturally not based on Earth's time zones but had been uniformly calibrated after arriving in the Trial Ground.

And the daily refresh time for the Supply Box was fixed at noon.

As this moment approached, the topics on the Fate Net became highly consistent.

The forum and chat room were filled with various prayers: "Mazu bless!", "Lord protect and bless!", "Heavenly Lord bless!"

Some even went so far as to sacrifice ten years of their ex's life, just hoping to get something good from the supply crate.

Yan Cang did not join the prayer army.

After awakening the talent "Great Fate Art," he had moved past the stage of needing to "resign to fate."

His current dilemma was the opposite: too many choices. Should he prioritize items that boosted strength or things that improved his quality of life?

The latter thought came from sleeping on a rough straw mat the night before and finding it uncomfortable.

But in the blink of an eye, his inner inclination leaned toward enhancing his strength.

Yan Cang wasn't someone who couldn't endure hardship.

However, no matter how good his plans were, he had to wait for the crate to refresh.

At that moment, he was crouching in the wooden hut, staring unblinkingly at the Supply Box before him.

A countdown line floated in his vision:

[Supply Box (Exclusive): Can be opened once daily. Will refresh in 00:00:36.]

He watched the numbers tick down second by second.

When the countdown dropped to single digits, the box began to change.

The originally somewhat ethereal box was gradually solidifying!

This might just be a visual effect, as even in its ethereal state, the box could be picked up and moved, just not opened.

Under Yan Cang's gaze, the countdown reached zero.

The moment the box fully materialized, a clear notification sound rang in his ears:

[Ding! Congratulations on surviving your first day in the Trial Ground. Your faction gains +1 point.]

[You receive +1 Faction Contribution.]

[The Faction Ranking and Individual Contribution Ranking are now officially open. You can view them on your personal panel.]

"The rankings are open?"

"Faction Ranking and Individual Contribution Ranking?"

Yan Cang was taken aback, then quickly realized, "With my contribution being so high, I'm definitely number one, right?"

"Oh no!"

...

At the same time, across the Trial Ground.

All trial participants received similar notifications.

For those who had not yet opened their Status Panel, they would receive an additional prompt: [Detected attribute changes. Status Panel has been opened.]

For people like Yu Jing, who had already opened their panel by earning contributions or other means, the notification they heard was the same as Yan Cang's.

Let's rewind a bit.

About ten minutes earlier.

Inside a wooden hut in another part of the Trial Ground, Yu Jing stood quietly in front of her Supply Box.

Waiting for the crate to refresh.

She wore a sharp professional suit, looking exceptionally capable.

However, the dust clinging to the hem of her clothes and her slightly disheveled hair revealed that she wasn't living quite so elegantly.

In her left hand, Yu Jing held an oversized silver long-barreled pistol, a stark contrast to her slender hand.

The thick barrel clearly indicated formidable power.

But naturally, it was quite heavy, requiring her right hand to occasionally support it from below.

This was the "treasure" she had retrieved from a supply crate yesterday: an empty gun with no bullets.

At this moment, her warm eyes were filled with contemplation.

Her thoughts weren't on the soon-to-respawn supply box, but rather on the situation in the Fate Net Forum.

Specifically, it was because of that post which had crafted the image of "fearing the dark and the wilderness."

She had originally planned to take it slow, gradually shaping a public persona of "overcoming fear and growing resilient" through the post, thereby accumulating influence.

This was also the main reason Yu Jing hadn't chosen to remain anonymous in that post.

But this morning, the sudden update of the chat room and location function on the Fate Net had disrupted her rhythm.

With her current "delicate beauty" persona, it was difficult to effectively organize and lead a team.

There were still many enthusiastic netizens suggesting under her post that she share her coordinates in the regional chat so nearby people could offer help.

She had become quite the celebrity!

After careful deliberation, Yu Jing wasn't planning to completely scrap her original plan, but...

"I need to speed up the steps."

Her gaze shifted, landing on the heavy silver weapon in her hand, her fingers unconsciously stroking the cold barrel. "With a sharp tool in hand, murderous intent arises... This transformation should be reasonable, right?"

Although this was a gun without bullets, outsiders didn't know that.

And they couldn't possibly know.

With her decision made, she also awaited the refresh of the supply box.

And, right on cue, a notification sound rang out.

"Faction Ranking and Personal Contribution Ranking?"

Yu Jing keenly caught the key information, confidence instantly replacing her contemplation. "I must be first on the Personal Contribution Ranking!"

The contribution points from her two hot posts had already reached hundreds of thousands.

Although there were a few posts on the Fate Net Forum with similar popularity, none of the posters were anonymous, so they couldn't belong to the same person.

They naturally couldn't compare to her.

As for contributions gained through forming teams in reality?

In just one morning, it was hard to achieve significant results.

All things considered, she had a clear advantage.

But regarding this matter, she only felt a moment of joy before a bigger issue surged into her mind: "Faction Ranking..."

"Can the Huaxia Faction rank first?"

...

"Will the Huaxia Faction be first?"

At the same time, in a different location, an elderly man voiced a similar prayer.

The old man was named Fu Tongkang. Though over sixty, his back remained ramrod straight.

His wrinkled face bore a trustworthy, square-jawed look—if one often watched political news, it would seem quite familiar.

Fu Tongkang wasn't skilled in the tricks of the internet and hadn't made waves on the Fate Net Forum.

But relying on the Regional Chat and Location Function, he managed to initially pull together a core team of over a dozen people in just one morning, with even more responders.

Of course, there was also his identity at play.

However, for now, his Faction Contribution was still quite low.

The Individual Contribution Ranking was definitely out of reach at the moment.

Fu Tongkang was completely unconcerned about this.

As soon as the notification sound faded, he directly opened the Status Panel, his gaze burning as he focused on the newly unlocked:

Faction Ranking.