37: Chapter 37 Name Your Price

He didn't need to transport anything; he only needed to establish a temporary Karma transmission line between the two trading parties—A puts it on, B takes it off at the other end.

Each transaction consumes karma points from both parties as a "shipping fee," a portion of which flows into the energy pool. The larger the transaction volume, the more abundant the energy pool, and the more stable the System becomes; the more users there are, the more precise the matching, and the faster the flow of supplies.

The platform does not produce supplies; it only acts as a porter for them.

The corners of Yang Hang's mouth curled up.

He could also conveniently add a video function.

This demand wasn't something he only saw after this Magic Sea Beast Tide; there had been many voices mentioning it on the Fate Platform before. It just so happens that the trading System solves the circulation of supplies, while the video function can handle urgent needs like remote medical guidance—he would walk on two legs.

The video function doesn't require a treasure chest; it can be unlocked by directly using the Power of Causality to rewrite the underlying information acquisition logic of the Fate Platform. With his current energy pool, this consumption is a drop in the bucket; if he were a bit more unscrupulous, he could even double his earnings.

Before the Transmigration, popular video culture was a pastime for everyone. After only a few short days since the Transmigration, they wouldn't have changed their nature so quickly.

Over these past few days, although the Magic Sea Beast Tide had consumed most of the karma points that the survivors had accumulated early on, sea beast meat was excellent for recovering from injuries and replenishing energy. In the last two days, many survivors' karmic point balances had recovered to dozens, with some even having over a hundred. Those large organizations mostly had public accounts and were in the habit of collecting karma points.

However, the underlying ability of "cross-sea area item transmission" in the trading System couldn't be achieved solely by his existing Power of Causality architecture—he needed a core component or ability that could act as a "material transmission anchor point." And this, he could probably only open from a sunken sea treasure chest.

He screened through numerous plans and selected two with relatively high feasibility:

Plan one: take a gamble and open a group healing item. It would be a one-shot solution, but the item opened might not achieve the desired effect, wasting a day's treasure chest opportunity in vain.

Plan two: open a core component that can build the trading transmission function. It wouldn't be an immediate fix for thirst, but it could solve the fundamental problem—allowing the supplies of 1.4 billion people to circulate on their own, and subsequent rescue, supplies, and even the economic System could all run smoothly as a result.

If the former fails, not only would a day's opportunity be wasted, but the golden period for the treatment of a large number of Yanhuang Civilization survivors would also be missed; the latter is a safe bet, and through his Karma observation, he had indeed seen good results.

The answer seems obvious, doesn't it?

Plan two is his best choice at the moment... or is it?

He pondered for a moment, his eyes revealing a vortex of white light, and smiled knowingly.

No, he had something better.

That is, he wants the supply treasure chest, the healing item treasure chest, and he also wants the trading platform.

It's just a bit late now; it seems he will have to wait until tomor...

Suddenly, Yang Hang called upon Karma, and then the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

It seems it's not too late.

Immediately, he turned and went to the collection room that came with his luxury Houseboat, his gaze sweeping across the entire wall of figure display shelves, finally stopping on a life-sized Ultraman bust in the corner.

He reached out, pulled the silver headgear off the bust, put it on his head, and shook it from side to side. His vision was clear; the eye holes of the mask were large enough.

The mirror reflected an image—black casual pants, a white short-sleeved shirt, flip-flops on his feet, and a silver Ultraman mask on his head.

"Hmm, handsome."

He walked to the edge of the deck, and the magic sea compass automatically marked the location of the nearest survivor—northwest, 387.7 nautical miles away, a Rotten Wood-level Houseboat, single person. Yang Hang tapped the deck with his toes, slightly activating the power of his Stellar Body, and his figure shot up into the air.

The sea breeze blew into the gaps of the mask, making a whistling sound.

A distance of 387.7 nautical miles, 9 seconds.

On the Rotten Wood-level Houseboat.

Zhao Kang was squatting next to the fishing spot, rubbing his hands. He hadn't dared to open this treasure chest all day.

In the two days after the beast tide, his merit points had clearly surged, but he had stubbornly opened two days' worth of Rotten Wood-level treasure chests, so much so that he still hadn't dared to open one until now today.

Last night, relying on the compass's early warning, he had dodged three waves of sea beasts and even managed to pick up two stranded dead fish.

He took a deep breath and prepared to reach out.

"Bang."

The whole boat shook. Zhao Kang sat down on the deck with a thud and looked back—a man in flip-flops and a white T-shirt was standing at the stern of his boat, wearing a silver Ultraman mask on his head.

Zhao Kang's mind went blank for two seconds. Then he leaped back, hitting the bulkhead of the cabin, and grabbed the sharpened wooden stick beside him with his right hand.

"Who are you!?"

The other party didn't move. With his hands in his pants pockets, his flip-flops stepping on his deck that was about to fall apart, his posture was as relaxed as a neighbor coming over for a visit.

"Don't be nervous." The voice came from behind the mask, young and flat, as if asking what the weather was like today, "I'm not here to hit anyone."

Zhao Kang panted heavily, gripping the wooden stick tightly: "The fifth rule of the Magic Sea! We are in the Lawful Good faction! If you lay a hand on me, the System will—"

"I know." Yang Hang raised his hand in a soothing gesture, moving very slowly, as if coaxing a bristling cat, "That's why I said, I'm not here to hit anyone. I'm here to discuss a business deal."

Zhao Kang didn't lower the wooden stick, but his hand gripping it was shaking. He stared at the person in front of him—he had fallen from the sky, light as a feather, and stepping on his broken Rotten Wood-level deck hadn't even pierced through it. What kind of physical technique? What kind of ability? He didn't know. He only knew that someone who could jump over from nearly two nautical miles away was definitely not someone he could provoke with a sharpened wooden stick.

...What kind of business?

Yang Hang looked down at the fishing spot by his feet, where a blue light was flickering: "You haven't opened your treasure chest yet."

"Right."

"I want to buy your fishing opportunity for today."

Zhao Kang was stunned for a moment. An opening opportunity? Can this thing be bought and sold?

He didn't answer immediately.

His gaze shifted from Yang Hang's face—or rather, the Ultraman face—down to Yang Hang's feet.

The bow of the boat had been stepped into a dent.

The Rotten Wood-level deck was like tofu under this person's feet.

Then he thought about just now—this person had fallen from the sky.

No boat, no flying device, he had come by stepping on the sea surface.

Zhao Kang's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice dry: "What are you buying it with?"

"karma points."

The corners of Zhao Kang's mouth twitched, an expression mixed with vigilance and bitterness.

"How much?"

Yang Hang didn't name a price. He looked around the boat—three salted fish, a stone knife, half a bucket of murky fresh water, and a wooden bucket with a crack wrapped in rags. In the cabin, one could see a roll of broken fishing nets and a few spare wooden planks.

Rotten Wood-level Houseboat, the standard configuration for a bottom-tier survivor.

"Name your price," Yang Hang said.

Zhao Kang bit his lip and mustered the courage to say:

"Can I not trade?"

Yang Hang raised an eyebrow. Although the Ultraman mask blocked it, he had indeed raised it.

"Reason?"

Zhao Kang took a deep breath, as if he had made a decision. Although he was still holding the sharpened wooden stick, the wooden tip was already pointing downwards.

"Even if you give me dozens or hundreds of karma points, I can't spend them right now." His voice gradually steadied, "karma points can basically only be used for Fate Platform functions. I admit that the Fate Platform functions are very good, but I don't have too many needs for now. Anything else can only be exchanged for supplies with nearby survivors. There is someone twenty nautical miles away from me, and although I can trade for food and drink, that's about it."

"But if I open the chest myself—" He glanced at the fishing spot in the cabin, "Even if it's just a Bronze-level, it's more practical than the karma points you're offering. And what if it's Silver? What if it's Gold? You never know with this thing."

He paused for a moment and added: "This is my chance to turn things around."

Yang Hang nodded his big Ultraman head.

"That makes sense."

Zhao Kang breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Yang Hang said: "Then what if I give you one million karma points? In exchange for this treasure chest opportunity of yours. Will you trade?"

The voice was very soft and casual. Like he was saying the weather was nice today.

Zhao Kang: "?"

"One million karma points." Yang Hang repeated, his speaking speed unchanged, his tone still that same indifferent manner, "You give me this chest-opening opportunity, and one million karma points will be transferred to your account. Cash on the spot."

The boat went quiet. The sea breeze drilled through the cracks in the deck, blowing until Zhao Kang's back felt cold.

Then Zhao Kang laughed.

It wasn't a happy laugh. It was the kind of laugh mixed with frustration and absurdity after being played by someone. He slammed his wooden stick onto the deck, his voice rising: "Are you kidding me?"

"One million karma points? Do you think I'm an idiot?" The more he spoke, the more energized he got; the little fear he had just now was completely washed away by this sense of absurdity, "Who on the entire Fate Platform has one million karma points at this stage? Do you know what one million even means?"

Yang Hang didn't reply.

Zhao Kang couldn't stop his mouth anymore. He straightened his body, pointing the wooden stick at Yang Hang, his voice carrying an indignation of "Who do you think I am?": "You know Goddess President Shen Qing, right? President of the Little Life Society, second in individual merit! Does she have one million karma points? No!"

"You know Zheng Yuanshan of the Revival Society, right? An organization of hundreds of thousands of people! If they poured out all their resources, they might be able to scrape it together, but would they spend one million to trade with me for a potential Rotten Wood-level sunken sea treasure chest? They'd have to be mentally ill!" The more he spoke, the more excited he became, his face turning red.

"One million karma points, saying it like it's a game. Who do you think you are? Do you think you are—"

The words stuck in his throat.

Zhao Kang's mouth remained in an open position, the wooden stick frozen in mid-air.