14: Chapter 14: The Release of Faction and Individual Rankings

Yang Hang watched for two full minutes.

Then he scrolled down rapidly, skipping the bickering, and locked his gaze on a long message.

The poster's ID was a very simple name—"Old Zhou."

"I've discovered a relatively calm reef here. The water depth is suitable, enough to accommodate dozens of boat houses—a natural maritime camp. I plan to organize a large fleet."

"I'll accept anyone; no one will be turned away."

"Adult males will form hunting teams to secure food sources, while women and the elderly/children will handle logistics. Don't talk to me about fairness; those who contribute more will earn more merit points."

"I'll lay my cards on the table: it's for merit points, and also so that Yanhuang Civilization can win."

"We'll discuss daily affairs together. If anyone has the ability, I'm happy to hand over command."

"Everyone, be sure to secure your houses. The Magic Sea rules do not allow killing each other, and no one would dare to rob anyone. Even if they did, I'd be the first to object."

"I welcome every Yanhuang Civilization compatriot. Let us support each other and survive this period."

Attached below was a photo of the reef—gray-brown rocks protruding from the sea surface, with the surrounding water significantly shallower than the deep sea area, displaying a beautiful emerald green color.

Below the photo was a set of coordinates.

That location was a hundred thousand miles away from him.

Yang Hang stared at those coordinates for three seconds.

He sighed inwardly, thinking, as expected, capable people are capable everywhere. The moment the positioning function was released, they found an advanced way to use it. However, this was his original intention—only by gathering together could they survive and create more value and capability, and naturally, he would be able to earn more merit points.

He had originally planned to post an analysis himself if no one realized it, but now he didn't need to bother.

It is worth mentioning that the matter of the elderly and the young being forcibly frozen and silenced had already been transmitted out by him, with plenty of artificial hype given to it. It was ranked high at the top of the Human Intelligence Realm within the World Echo of the Fate Platform, and the discussion threads below were countless, which also put the vast majority of people's minds at ease.

"Holy crap! Old Zhou! I saw your post! You're forming a fleet? I'm heading over right now!"

"Don't be in such a rush; I haven't decided whether to join yet. Is your team reliable? I hope it's not just a suicide mission."

"Suicide mission? Are you blind? He's already posted the coordinates and even has photos of the reef. Isn't that enough sincerity?"

"The reef is real; I just used my telescope and saw that there really is a shallow water area in that direction. The problem is—can my boat make it there alone? What if I encounter waves on the way?"

"Are you stupid? Form a team and sail over together! Didn't Old Zhou say that adult males form hunting teams? You provide labor, others provide logistics; we all survive together."

"I'm still worried... What if he's a scammer?"

"What would a scammer gain from you? Only you can open your sunken sea treasure chest, and the rules forbid killing each other. Plus, there are so many people watching. Anyway, I'm going; I've had enough of being alone."

"Exactly. If you're a coward, don't come. We've already started counting heads. If we can get twenty boats together by tonight, we can start large-scale fishing tomorrow."

"Wait, wait, wait—you've already successfully formed a team? This function has only been online for a few minutes?!"

"A few minutes? These few minutes are worth more than the previous three days. If you hesitate any longer, there won't even be any boat spots left."

"I'm joining, I'm joining! Send me the coordinates!"

Yang Hang withdrew his consciousness and leaned back into the sofa.

He was alone on a 300-meter armed super-ship, so naturally, he didn't need to join in on such excitement. But the appearance of this "assembly order" showed that the functions of the Fate Platform 2.0 were catalyzing a trend—an evolution from individual survival to collective organization.

A good thing.

Organization meant division of labor, division of labor meant efficiency, and efficiency meant more people survived. More people surviving meant more karma points flowing into his energy pool.

Everyone was working for him, and the better they did, the more he earned.

This was a business that guaranteed profit without loss.

Yang Hang exited the regional echo and opened the family group chat.

There were already a dozen messages piled up in the "Yang Family Courtyard."

Yang Yue was the first to pop up: "Brother! Are you awake? My silver-grade boat dock's automatic fishing System caught three big fish this morning! I can't finish them and wanted to send you two, but we're too far apart..."

Mother followed closely: "Xiao Xing, everything is fine on my end. I taught your dad how to make seafood porridge this morning. Have you eaten?"

Yang Jianguo: "Mm, delicious."

Yang Yue: "Dad, can't you say more than two words?!"

Yang Hang sent a photo of his breakfast. Steak, fried eggs, and a fruit platter, exquisitely plated, with the blue sea and sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows in the background.

The group chat was silent for three seconds.

Yang Yue: "...Brother, you're too much. I want to eat steak."

Mother: "Xiao Xing, don't be too extravagant. Save some; there are still over three hundred days left."

Yang Hang: "Mom, I have a sense of measure. If you need anything, let me know anytime."

Yang Jianguo: "Safety first."

Yang Yue: "Brother, you're the best! Bring me something delicious when you come back! No, wait for me to come over and eat yours!"

Yang Hang chuckled and exited the group chat.

He opened the Human Intelligence Realm again and scrolled through the posts.

A familiar ID appeared at third place on the trending list.

President Shen Qing.

Title: "The 'Underwater Respirator' Opened from a Silver-Grade sunken sea treasure chest—A Practical Review by a Thalassophobe"

The main text was still in her usual style—calm, precise, and restrained.

"Yesterday's fishing yielded a silver-grade treasure chest. It also came with a piece of equipment: Underwater Respirator, bronze-grade. After wearing it, one can breathe freely underwater for a duration of two hours."

"Combined with the previously obtained Sea God Swimming Technique, in terms of ability configuration, I have already met all the conditions for underwater operations."

"The only obstacle is myself."

"I plan to start today by practicing for ten minutes daily in the shallow water area near the boat dock to gradually adapt to the underwater environment. I don't expect to succeed overnight, but I aim to stay thirty seconds longer each day than the day before."

"Postscript: Last night, I detected residual individuals of wood-rot parasitic snails on the bottom of the boat again and have cleared them according to the previous guide. New discovery—this organism has an aversion to areas with high salinity. One can apply a layer of concentrated sea salt to key positions on the bottom of the boat to achieve a preventive effect."

The comment section was filled with admiration.

"Sister Shen is evolving every day!"

"Fear is fear, action is action; she's too strong."

"Is this method of applying salt to the boat bottom effective? I'm going to try it!"

Yang Hang glanced at President Shen Qing's current merit points.

Five hundred and twenty thousand.

In less than two days, half a million merit points.

He thought of the number on his own panel—which, since the new functions were added, had exploded by over two hundred million to a total of over five hundred and fifty million—and silently closed the post.

It's better not to do things that are hurtful to compare.

The midday sun was more vicious than the morning sun.

There were no clouds on the sea, and the sun beat down directly, baking a layer of heat waves visible to the naked eye onto the deck.

Yang Hang lay on the sun deck on the top floor of the boat dock, wearing sunglasses, holding a glass of iced watermelon juice in his hand.

The bionic maid stood by the parasol, wearing a white skirt uniform, as quiet as an exquisite sculpture.

The way he was living, even he felt it was a bit absurd.

Three days ago, he was still eating instant noodles in a rental apartment rushing to finish a project; three days later, he was lying on a 300-meter armed super-ship drinking freshly squeezed juice.

Life's circumstances are indeed impossible to deduce with common sense.

In his consciousness, the countdown for the sunken sea treasure chest ticked quietly.

[sunken sea treasure chest (Exclusive): Can be fished once daily, will reset after 00:00:36.]

No rush.

He took a sip of juice and casually opened the public forum of the Cause and Effect Fate Platform to take a look.

The trending posts in the Human Intelligence Realm were refreshing rapidly. After the Fate Platform 2.0 went online, user activity doubled. The division of realms made the information flow clearer; the previously mixed-up requests for help, guides, and casual chats were now categorized, making it much easier to find things.

The most popular post in the Help Realm was a help post titled "Urgent! Hole in boat bottom letting in water, what to do if there aren't enough repair Materials?" Below it were already hundreds of replies; some suggested boiling fish scales to make glue, some said dried seaweed could be used to plug the gaps, and others were calling out directly in the regional echo to go save the person.

The Bounty Realm was still relatively quiet; after all, most people couldn't even take care of themselves and had no spare energy to accept bounties.

The Symphony Realm, however, was excessively lively—filled entirely with prayer posts.

"Kneeling and begging Mazu for blessings, give me a silver chest!"

"I sacrifice ten years of my ex's lifespan; I beg the Sea God to open his eyes!"

"Scientific prayer method: First turn clockwise three times, then counter-clockwise three times, and finally bow to the east three times—my roommate did this yesterday and opened a bronze chest!"

"To the poster above, is your roommate next to you? He's not your roommate anymore; he is your god."

Yang Hang glanced at it twice and exited the forum.

If these people used their energy on praying, they might as well study how to fish more.

Of course, he wasn't qualified to say that—after all, if he wanted, he wouldn't even need to hold the fishing rod himself.

The countdown ticked down to single digits.

00:00:09.

00:00:05.

The light of the fishing spot gradually solidified from being illusory, and the blue halo sank beneath the sea surface, like an eye that was opening.

00:00:01.

Reached zero.

[Personal Announcement] Land of Magic Sea · Day 3

Survival Reward: Faction merit points +1

Individual Settlement: Merit points +1

[Regional Announcement] Faction Ranking & Individual Merit Ranking lists are now open.