23: Chapter 23 Thoughts on the Treasure Chest

Yang Hang leaned back in his recliner, scrolling through the chest-opening records posted by various survivors on the Fate Platform, pondering what kind of treasure chest he should open next.

"Oh? A Flying Sword? Three hundred meters of range, remote-controlled attacks."

"A bit interesting."

But that was just "a bit interesting." In essence, he no longer needed to rely on external objects. He had achieved a form of getting whatever he wished for. Unless someone could punch through that boundless pool of energy gathered from over 1.3 billion people, which he had stored in his Karmic Void Realm.

Otherwise, he was invincible; the rest were trivial.

But then again, he also wanted to try being a superhero.

He continued scrolling down. Sure enough, the more posts showing off treasures there were, the sharper the contrast became.

There were those who opened rotten wood chests and got a piece of salted fish, wailing that they couldn't go on like this; those who opened bronze chests and got a harpoon, saying they could finally hunt; and the most smug one had opened a silver chest and got a laser speargun, boasting that sea beasts would run away on sight.

Others were bitter: "Why did I only get a roll of broken fishing net? And it's full of holes!"

There was also someone who opened a [Diving Technique] skill book, accompanied by a laughing-crying emoji: "I don't dare to go into the water..."

Another was even more extreme: a rotten wood chest, a canister of gas. The problem was, there was no stove.

As Yang Hang thought about this, the corners of his mouth twitched—looking at these people, he felt a bit sorry for them and couldn't help but use Karma to give some of them a helping hand, letting them open a good chest tomorrow.

After doing this, he suddenly realized that he could seemingly introduce a similar consumption feature that could increase the drop rate of treasure chests?

It would definitely be quite popular, right?

The finale of this treasure-showing session was a lucky person: a silver chest, an inflatable speedboat with infinite electricity! "Now I can go find my girlfriend!"

Someone commented.

"Finished reading. The strongest ones are that Flying Sword and a Magical Artifact that can summon sea fog; they are indeed fierce. But they still can't compare to the Fate Platform, right?"

"It's a dimensional strike. His individual merit points exceed the sum of all of ours combined."

"Personally, I think the Fate Platform wasn't opened from a treasure chest, but is also a talent. So far, the best things seen in sunken sea treasure chests on the forum are only silver or gold tier. Something like the Fate Platform that connects 1.4 billion people can't fit into a treasure chest, unless there's a higher tier? The Lord of the Fate Altar is the chosen one!"

"Truth!"

The heroes of the world were truly as numerous as carp crossing a river; they could not be underestimated.

Yang Hang's lips curled slightly.

The Cause and Effect Fate Platform was indeed a "creation" of his talent and had absolutely nothing to do with treasure chests. Even if some of these people could guess infinitely close to the true answer, it would be of no use.

Because as long as he didn't step forward voluntarily, this topic would forever remain a mystery.

This feeling of being the mastermind behind the scenes was quite satisfying.

So, what kind of treasure chest should he open today?

Something to increase his personal abilities?

Or something that could benefit the Cause and Effect Fate Platform?

The focus of the two was different. The former could satisfy some of his childhood wishes, while the latter could continue to deepen his contribution to civilization.

Looking at the blue light of the fishing spot, he didn't rush to act.

Just as he was somewhat certain of his idea, a familiar fluctuation suddenly rippled through the Karmic Star Sea—it was a message from the family group.

Yang Hang casually tapped it open.

Yang Yue's profile picture was jumping, and messages were popping up one after another.

"Brother, I opened one."

"Water Control, silver tier."

"Just opened the treasure chest."

Yang Hang raised an eyebrow and replied: "Congratulations."

The other side was silent for two seconds, then the messages began to accelerate.

"Brother, your reaction is too bland!!!"

"It's a silver tier Ability Crystal!!!"

"I am now a person with abilities too!!!"

"The kind that can control seawater on the ocean in the future!!!"

Yang Hang's mouth curled up slightly, and he replied: "Hmm, very impressive. And who are you thanking?"

Yang Yue sent a string of ellipses, followed by a voice message. He tapped it open; the background sound was sea breeze and footsteps; she seemed to be running around on the deck.

"Oh, brother, brother, brother, thank you, thank you. I love you so much, muamuamuamua~~"

Mother's message followed closely.

"Xiao Xing, Mom also opened something good today. A silver treasure chest containing a [Multi-functional Life Support Set], with an automatic water purifier, portable stove, and a set of kitchenware... Mom looked at it for a long time; this isn't apocalypse survival, this is letting Mom go on a vacation."

A picture followed.

The water purifier was exquisite and compact, the stove was foldable, and the kitchenware was complete, with pots, bowls, and ladles neatly lined up.

Yang Hang replied: "Mom, isn't that great? You can eat hot food from now on."

Yang Jianguo's message arrived late.

There were only two pictures.

The first picture was a black bracelet on his left wrist, full of mechanical aesthetics, with light flowing across the surface. The second picture was a person wrapped in black combat armor—matte black armor, sharp geometric facets, dark golden energy veins flickering in the gaps of the armor. The shoulder pads were in a beast-dive posture, and the energy furnace at the core of the chest plate burst with pulsating blue light. The full-face helmet's T-shaped visor emitted a cold red glow.

The caption had only one word: "Good."

Yang Yue replied instantly: "Dad, can't you say a few more words!!! Is this a mech? It's too cool!!!"

Yang Jianguo added two more words: "Useful."

Yang Yue sent a string of ellipses.

Mother came out to smooth things over: "Your dad is just like this; he's happy inside. Just now, after getting the mech, he practiced on the deck for a long time, even sent me photos to look at, asking if he looked cool."

Yang Jianguo replied with three words this time: "Indeed good. But I didn't ask if I looked cool."

Mother sent an eye-rolling emoji: "Typical."

Yang Yue sent a face-palm emoji: "Dad, you win."

Yang Hang leaned back in his recliner, watching the messages in the group, the smile on his lips uncontrollable.

A family of three, three silver treasure chests.

Yang Yue's Water Control Ability Crystal, Yang Jianguo's individual combat armor, Mother's life set.

All were things he had created by spending some Karma based on the ideas the three had mentioned before.

Seeing this scene right now, he felt it was worth it.

Yang Yue sent another message: "Brother, what did you open on your side? Send it over to see."

Yang Hang casually took a picture of the luxurious meal in front of him and the sea view outside the window: "Haven't opened it yet, no rush, eating first."

Yang Yue was silent for five seconds.

"..."

"Brother, I still suspect whether you are the number one on the leaderboard."

"It's just the same name."

"I don't believe it."

"Believe it or not."

Yang Yue sent a string of ellipses, then changed the subject: "By the way, brother, Dad just created a big group, have you joined?"

Yang Hang was stunned: "What group?"

"The Yang Family big group! Uncle created it, pulling in all our relatives from the old Yang family! Dad just pulled me in, so many people! I haven't even recognized them all!"

Yang Yue's excitement came back up: "You go check it out! So many people are talking!"

Before Yang Hang could react, a System prompt popped up.

[Yang Jianping invites you to join the group chat "Yang Family One Family"]

Yang Hang tapped in.

The messages in the group were scrolling very fast.

Uncle Yang Jianhua was the first to speak: "Dear relatives of the old Yang family, we finally got everyone together! Floating in the Magic Sea these past few days, I haven't been able to contact you, and I was so anxious. Fortunately, once the Fate Platform's group building function came out, I've pulled in everyone I could find these days! Everyone, report that you are safe!"

Uncle Yang Jianhua was the first to speak: "We finally got everyone together! Floating in the Magic Sea these past few days, I haven't been able to contact you. Now that the Fate Platform's group building function is out, I've immediately pulled in everyone I could find! Everyone, report that you are safe!"

Next came a flood of safety reports. Second Uncle and Second Aunt were together, Third Uncle opened rice, the cousin's daughter opened Fishing and Hunting Technique, the cousin caught fish with a bronze harpoon to sell for karma points... Each family had their own luck and their own difficulties. The cousin opened rotten wood tier chests for three consecutive days, the younger cousin opened a bag of seeds but didn't know where to plant them, Aunt was almost flipped by a sea monster—messages came one after another, as lively as the Chinese New Year.

As they chatted, the topic suddenly took a turn.

Uncle: "Have you seen that top of the leaderboard? That Yang Hang with 550 million merit points?"

Second Uncle: "Saw it, scared me. Is this a number a person can grind out?"

Yang Hang's father, Yang Jianguo: "My son is also named Yang Hang. I was stunned for a long time just now."

Uncle: "Your son is named Yang Hang, I remember. But 550 million? Haha, that must be the same name!"

Second Uncle: "Exactly, our old Yang family can't produce such an Immortal figure."

Uncle-in-law Lao Zhang: "That person is the Lord of the Fate Altar. If our family's child had this ability, I would livestream myself eating the boat deck."