anovelconsole Chapter 100 Pointing fingers and making comments from a moral high ground
Chapter 100 Pointing fingers and making comments from a moral high ground
Chapter 100 Pointing fingers from a moral high ground (Part 2)
The reply that "surviving means victory" didn't arrive until 7 a.m. the next morning.
When Yu Wang returned last night, it was already past 1 a.m. Later, he suddenly felt like practicing his aiming technique for a long time, so both of them went to bed very late.
Yu Wang was awakened by the notification sound. He rubbed his slightly sore eyes and opened the panel to check.
Zhang Xinlan was still fast asleep, breathing evenly, with the flintlock pistol beside her. Her brows were furrowed, as if she were having a dream about being chased.
After observing for a while, Yu Wang felt that this should be an opportunity for Zhang Xinlan, so he left the space in the captain's cabin to her and went back to his own cabin to cook duck eggs, chatting in between.
Survival is victory: "I want all the blueprints, supplies, food, and water. I'm sorry, our fleet is just starting out, and many things are still unclear. Internal coordination, resource allocation, job assignments—there are so many miscellaneous things to deal with, I have too much to handle."
Once the fleet structure is stable, I can delegate these trivial tasks to specialized personnel, and then I can focus on handling my personal affairs.
"Survival is victory": "Is there anything you urgently need? Let me see if I have any. Oh, and do you still need a primary energy core? I found another one."
You're going to hit the jackpot! "I don't need the beginner level stuff for now, but could you keep an eye out for the intermediate level? As for other things, potion recipes, seeds, blueprints that can improve your life, directional items, and pearl coins are all fine."
He thought for a moment, then added, "By the way, does your fleet have any members who know how to wield swords, spears, or clubs?"
"Survival is victory: No, but I can recommend someone to you, and he's very cheap. He'll teach you fighting techniques for some food. I'll give you his ID; you can contact him yourself. His name is Mad Shark."
The two completed the transaction during the chat.
Yu Wang used a large number of barely usable, half-damaged items he had scavenged from Ghost-Faced Tiger, some duplicate blueprints that he had already learned but were just taking up space, an inexhaustible supply of Recovery Liquid Pro, giant lobster meat, and rainbow shells —
In return, I received 200 pearl coins, a "Night Vision Potion" recipe, and a series of materials needed for the recipe, including the Big Eye Fruit and saplings, the Ecological Recycling Greenhouse Expansion Module (General), the Diving Watch Blueprint, the Stove Blueprint, the Bio-Energy Headlamp Blueprint, and the Improved Monster Essence.
This transaction was mutually beneficial, as both parties cleared their inventory and received urgently needed supplies for development. It can be described as a win-win "exchange of surplus materials".
The transaction was completed smoothly, and both parties were satisfied.
"Survival is victory: After so many transactions, I trust your character, sir. Come to think of it, we haven't officially met yet. Let me introduce myself first. My name is Wei Songtao, and I used to be a poverty alleviation worker."
You're in for a big surprise: "Yu Wang, it's been a pleasure working with you. In the future, if you have any good products, give them to me first, just like always."
Wei Songtao laughed heartily on the other end: "No problem, you're very generous, boss. I'll contact you as soon as I have any news! I'm getting back to work here, talk to you later!"
After shutting down communication, Yu Wang was in a good mood.
He successfully took the first psychological step.
It's impossible to keep your name hidden forever. Extraordinary abilities, talents, items, and even dungeons that require real-name registration—as the game progresses, these things will gradually come into the survivors' view. There are just too many things in this world that can thoroughly investigate a person.
Yu Wang certainly didn't intend to keep his real name a secret forever.
Survival is not simply about hiding and retreating.
Once you have accumulated enough strength and acquired more means of self-protection, appropriate information exchange and trust building become crucial for expanding your living space and acquiring better resources.
Maintaining secrecy and distance may be safe, but it could also shut out potential allies.
Besides, the other party didn't mind revealing their name and took the initiative to introduce themselves and show goodwill. If I were to be hesitant and secretive, it would seem petty. Perhaps the transaction would continue in the future for the sake of profit, but our personal interactions would end there.
After ending the private chat, Yu Wang casually browsed the regional channels.
Recently, there have been frequent posts of people discovering giant flower buds underwater. Some people have even used the "Bubble Helmet" ability to dive close to the buds and share the bud's panel in the chat area, letting everyone know that it is a carnivorous plant called "Hollow-Eating Flower". People are consciously keeping their distance when passing by.
Gan Wang observes these photos daily, not because they are unusual, but to observe the growth of the flower buds.
He felt that the "Skeleton-Eating Flowers" in this life were a bit over-nourished, and each one was unusually large.
This inevitably reminded him of his discovery in the underwater cave in the Pac-Man Ship instance.
Has the principle of natural selection and survival of the fittest extended to the plant kingdom as well?
Overnight, a lot of new information flooded the channel. One message, which was repeatedly quoted and generated a lot of discussion, caught Yu Wang's attention.
The poster is "The World Is Going Downhill".
He posted a long message along with several clear pictures. The pictures showed him sitting by a campfire, enjoying golden-brown roasted fish.
The text roughly reads: "After eating swampfish meat for three consecutive days, my personal strength attribute increased by 0.1 points! To avoid being an isolated case, I also had two other companions test it."
As a result, three days later, their strength also increased by 0.1!
This discovery both surprised and worried me. It surprised me because there really are safe, non-dangerous foods that can directly boost our base stats!
The concern is—are there many other foods with the same effect, and are the vast majority of us kept in the dark?
However, there are hundreds of species of sea fish that everyone has caught, and it is definitely not realistic to try them one by one. So I took a shortcut and found the top ten survivors on the dungeon points leaderboard and the regional mileage leaderboard. I looked up the items they had previously requested and then bought them according to the list.
I thought it was just an ordinary experiment, but I never expected to make such an amazing discovery.
"Riding the Waves" once bought blue-bellied marlin. After eating it for only two days, my constitution increased by 0.2. "Survival Expert Lao Wang" and "Borrowing One More Centimeter from Heaven" once bought black and white rays. I waited on the trading interface for a whole day and finally bought some. After eating it for two days, the values did not change, but I could clearly feel that my night vision had become stronger.
"Surviving is victory" and "You're going to hit the jackpot" – these two people bought giant lobster meat. I ate it for three days and it increased my strength by 0.1.
In addition, there are more than a dozen big names on the list. I also managed to buy a portion of the special ingredients or items that they had requested, but I haven't had time to try them all yet.
Throughout the entire experiment, I deliberately refrained from any physical activity to ensure the purity and reference value of the data.
Now, based on the above facts, I would like to ask, on behalf of the vast majority of our compatriots who may still be unaware of the truth, those high-ranking officials:
You have already discovered these special items that are beneficial to all of humanity as a whole in becoming stronger and increasing our chances of survival, so why are you hiding them?
Why not share it?
If I hadn't been curious and conducted this experiment, we might still be kept in the dark!
Imagine if, when faced with a monster attack or a sea storm, we failed to save ourselves simply because we lacked a crucial attribute by a fraction of a second—don't you, who hold the resources yet choose to remain silent, feel a pang of conscience? How is your behavior any different from indirect murder?
This statement, made from the moral high ground of seeking public benefit and exposing the truth about the bigwigs on the list, certainly attracted a lot of attention and stirred up a huge wave in the comments section as soon as it appeared.
"Really? Black and white stingrays can improve night vision? I didn't like the meat, so I threw it away as soon as I caught it!!"
"The world is going to hell! This big shot is amazing! This is someone who truly cares about ordinary people! Those big shots on the list are so selfish! They keep such good things to themselves and make a fortune?"
"Support the leader of the World Wind faction! We demand a public list of all foods that can boost attributes!"
His statement about "the world going downhill" received a lot of likes and support. He himself seemed to be immersed in this sense of justice of "speaking out for the people" and added a few words that seemed humble but were actually to consolidate his persona: "I hope everyone can have a rational discussion. I just want everyone to be able to survive."
However, this "public outcry" did not last long.
Tiger One: "Wow, an endangered species! I haven't seen one in ages. The ecology of Zone 444 is really good."
Chen Xian: "The freedom of speech in section 444 is far too great. The big boss is too kind; on section 522, he dared to use moral blackmail like this, teaching people—"
Those who actually did the work have all been wiped out (sweating soybeans).
Tiger Two: "The drawbacks of the appeasement policy are here. It's praising people too much, and they've lost their bearings. If I, Ghost-Faced Tiger, were in charge of this kind of person, I would just pry off their teeth and pull out their tongue."
"Holy crap! There's a Ghost-Faced Tiger accomplice here!! Brother Yun, come quick!"
Tiger Two: "I'm a law-abiding citizen! I already said I was forced! And I've already packed up all the resources in Ghost Tiger's cabin and given them to the big boss of the Grand Transport! I didn't leave a single stone! It's just that the big boss hasn't had time to reply to me yet!"
Upon scrolling through the chat history, Yu Wang quickly checked his private messages. After searching, he found someone named Hu Er. Hu Er first sincerely apologized more than a dozen times, and then initiated a one-sided transfer transaction containing a total of 110,000 pieces of wood, 80,000 pieces of plastic, and thousands of other miscellaneous materials!
What a timely rain!
Last night, I used three module upgrade cards. Each upgrade consumed a little over two thousand basic materials. Just now, I sent Zhang Xinlan the materials needed for the stove and the ecological recycling greenhouse expansion module that I traded. I'm just waiting for her to wake up and go to the Ghost Pirate to build the ecological recycling greenhouse.
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After all that, the materials they'd gotten from the former captain of the ghost ship were almost all used up.
This supply was secured, averting the danger of returning to pre-liberation levels.
Moreover, there's no need to worry about Ghost Tiger's former underlings using these materials to cause trouble, making it a win-win situation.
Meanwhile, the argument in the chat channel continued.
Survival expert Lao Wang: "That's right, your grandpa has killed people. Not only did I kill them, but I also chopped them up and threw them into the sea to feed the fish. So what?"
Not convinced? Come at me anytime for a one-on-one challenge!
"Why is nobody talking? If you're afraid of dying, find somewhere to hide. Don't make up so many noble excuses for yourself when you're about to die."
Want to add attribute points? Sure, go fish for them yourself and try it out!
The ocean is there, and you can make your own fishing rod. As long as you're not afraid of being poisoned or catching deadly creatures, keep trying and you'll eventually find a treasure fish that can boost your stats.
When the time comes, remember to post the fish species and results immediately and for free, so that everyone in the area can learn from them. Don't be like some people who only talk the talk but don't walk the walk!
@The world is going downhill, you're quite shrewd. You knew that once the news came out, the prices of those foods would definitely go up, so you bought them in advance. Are you planning to eat them on your way to the Western Paradise?
Let me tell you, your grandpa has eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. Back when I was struggling to make a living, you were still in your dad's bean bowl!
Survival expert Lao Wang: "Tsk, is the drop rate of teleportation cards a bit too high lately? I opened a bronze chest today and got one—"
"This teleportation card is just sitting there anyway, might as well find a lucky person to use it on? Let's have a good laugh face-to-face."
Surprisingly, the survival expert Lao Wang, who usually keeps a low profile, can be just as destructive when he curses as "Let's get tired and destroy it."
Yu Wang watched for a while, and seeing that the chat area was quiet, he also joined in. "You're going to have a stroke of luck: @Survival Expert Lao Wang, it's really high. I killed a humanoid monster and got three cards, but it feels like I can't use them at all. There are too many people who want to visit other people's chat rooms."
Several other prominent figures on the list also began to speak out, strongly supporting survival expert Lao Wang and Yu Wang.
Perhaps their discovery of the treasure fish was a coincidence, or even just a stroke of luck.
But it would be extremely unfair to others if they could obtain this information without paying any price.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Yu Wang accelerated the process of commodifying intelligence.
Simply put, it means treating intelligence as a commodity and freely buying and selling it in the trading area.
And he also put up a message that he had written long ago but had no reason to put up.
[Common Supply Ships, Their External Features and Internal Functions]
After several buckets of ice water were poured over them, the people in the channel who had been in an uproar gradually came to their senses. They had almost been used as pawns by the degenerate world to provoke those werewolves who truly wielded power and had blood on their hands!
This is not a domain where keyboard warriors can roam freely. Here, saying the wrong thing or taking the wrong side can really get you killed!
The comments supporting the decline of morality quickly disappeared, replaced by various attempts to smooth things over, change the subject, or simply remain silent, for fear of being remembered by their IDs.
As for the person who said "the world is going downhill", after making his inflammatory remarks, he should have come out from time to time to stir up trouble, but he found that the wind was not blowing right and did not dare to say another word.
Moral blackmail, which works every time in the real world, is an awkward joke in a world that only values absolute strength.
Through his actions, he once again proclaimed the underlying rules of this game to all the survivors:
Here, the power of discourse is always built upon the foundation of strength. Morality without the support of power is fragile and easily shattered.
Before long, the discussion in the channel about the farce of "the world is going downhill" gradually subsided and was overwhelmed by more urgent survival information.
This little incident passed without causing any major upheaval.
However, its effects have been revealed quietly.
In the trading area, some game information has quietly appeared with prices listed for sale.
These intelligence reports were varied and had different titles:
"The Sea of Beginnings" Yuzu Islands Resource Gathering Point Markings (Hand-drawn Sketch)
Warning! Analysis of the Potential Chain of Ecological Disasters Triggered by the Razorback Mackerel Migration Season
How to Make Protective Gear from Fish Skin at Low Cost: Step-by-Step Guide
Prices vary from a few units of basic resources to hundreds of units, depending on the level of detail, exclusivity, and potential value of the intelligence.
In the comments section of high-quality product reviews, there's a long list of people thanking the informant for helping them solve their problems.
Clearly, while such morally reprehensible practices are offensive, they have inadvertently "inspired" some people.
Since information such as attribute food is valuable, other verified or exclusively obtained game information can also be traded as a commodity.
Since keeping the information in your heart won't bring you any profit, it will only depreciate in value. So you might as well exchange it for some money to buy food as soon as possible.
Regarding the pricing of information, Yu Wang didn't restrict everyone too much. The foundation had been laid, making the rest much easier.
But one person, after seeing the "experimental report" from [The World Is Going Downhill] and the subsequent discussions about food with certain attributes in the channel, was completely upset.
"It's almost time for dinner again." He was completely dumbfounded, his mind replaying his recent act of throwing a lobster into the sea in a fit of pique.
-
At the time, I thought I was a genius and that I had infuriated Yu Wang!
Now----
"I—I fucking threw away that amazing lobster that can boost my stats—like it was trash?! It's already in the deep sea, is it even possible to catch it again!?"
Just before dinner, he suddenly clutched his head and let out a heart-wrenching wail, feeling as if his heart was bleeding.
He clung to the last straw: "@The world is going to hell, I only threw the lobster into the sea and posted the video to annoy people because of your advice, hurry up and compensate me for my lobster!!"
The world is going to the dogs, nobody pays any attention to him.
However, the other survivors knew that he had let the duck that was about to be eaten escape, and they mocked him without restraint.
He was so angry when he was asked for food that his face turned red. He felt like the fish in the sea were laughing at his bad luck!
No one cared about the virtual pet's current emotional state. The old story had barely been put aside when, not long after, a new question, tinged with shock, suddenly appeared in the chat: "Um—sorry to bother everyone. I couldn't resist my curiosity and went into the dungeon, and found there's a lot more seawater inside!"
The bottom area of the nest was completely submerged by seawater!
The tide was rising very fast. If I hadn't been quick enough to put on a bubble helmet and knew the route well, I would have been stuck inside long ago.
Is this the reason why the big boss asked everyone to temporarily stop going to dungeons?
"Are you sure it's seawater and not freshwater from underground?"
Million-person evacuation: "Nonsense! I choked on it several times! It was salty and bitter! It was definitely seawater! And I even saw sea fish!"
"We should listen to the experts and wait until the dungeon changes before going in."
Yu Wang, who had been silently watching the chat area, frowned slightly when he saw this message: "The 'Lion Ant Dynasty' dungeon is flooded?"
Considering that Iristiel used her power in the cave, could it be that she revealed her aura back then, and now something has come knocking on her door?
Many things can only appear with the help of seawater.
Is it a deep-diving being? Or a siren?
Iristiel knew something was looking for her, so as soon as the battle ended, she hurriedly urged herself to get back to the ship.
A ship protected by a mysterious power can perfectly conceal itself.
"It seems that from now on, unless absolutely necessary, I can't just take the stone statue off the ship," Yu Wang decided.
But I still need to run the dungeon. Although I have the down jacket blueprint, all the ducks with feathers I have right now are only duck C-grade. Even if I save up for ten days or half a month, it won't be enough to make one.
He needs to collect enough down to make at least ten sets of winter clothing.
"Click"
At that moment, the door to the captain's cabin was pushed open, and Zhang Xinlan, her face deathly pale, floated out unsteadily as if sleepwalking.
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