43: Chapter 43 Global Leadership and Resource Anchoring

[Due to the first appearance of a "Destiny Item", the Endgame Simulation version has been updated!]

[National indicators officially unlocked: National Destiny Progress.]

[Actions such as Challengers uploading materials, exploring the Lost Lands, and killing high-level exotic beasts can all boost National Destiny Progress.]

[When thresholds of 10%, 30%, 50%, and 80% are breached, national benefit feedback will be triggered.]

The broadcast voice faded.

In all national livestreams, a long string of data popped up simultaneously.

[USA: 0.87%]

[Kangaroo Country: 0.22%]

[Island Country: 0.31%]

[Russia: 0.62%]

[South Korea: 0.11%]

[India: 0.14%]

...

Data for every country in the world scrolled by in sequence.

The highest, USA, couldn't even touch 1% despite giving it their all.

Most countries were struggling below 0.5%.

These cold numbers hung there like death sentences.

Great Xia Live Stream.

[It's here, it's here! Our turn!]

[Don't panic! Brother Eye just went all out, we definitely won't be at the bottom!]

[Don't mess up, my heart can't take it!]

At the top of the livestream, a line of golden characters lit up.

[Great Xia: 3.42%]

This was an exaggerated, even absurd number.

It hung at the top spot, more than four times the value of the second-place USA.

It pulled ahead by several tiers.

However, the broadcast didn't stop there, delivering one final blow.

[Due to Challenger Lin Ye's first exploration, an additional 1% reward has been granted to Great Xia's National Destiny Progress.]

[Final correction... Great Xia: 4.42%]

This final blow made viewers worldwide gasp.

In the Great Xia Live Stream, the barrage density hit the max instantly.

[Great Xia is in a league of its own! No arguments allowed!]

[Carrying the whole show single-handedly! Brother Eye is carrying us, Great Xia has won big!]

[Are the traitors still on the plane? Did the stewardess give them tissues yet?]

[Tissues are useless, might as well hand out urns!]

[Brother Eye is awesome!] × 9999

...

On a flight bound for the USA, in economy class.

The group of traitors who were "escorted" to board by security personnel were squeezed into narrow seats.

On the cabin's public screen, the golden "4.42%" was incredibly conspicuous.

A woman with permed wavy hair kept trembling.

She covered her face with both hands, emitting a near-breakdown sob.

Beside her, a middle-aged man's breathing became increasingly rapid; his face had no color, and his body couldn't stop shivering.

"I shouldn't... I shouldn't have left..."

Before he could finish, his eyes rolled back, and he slid right off his seat.

The scene turned into chaos, scaring the flight attendants into rushing over with oxygen masks.

The clown was me all along.

...

On the other side of the ocean, at the USA White House.

Ten minutes ago, President Chuan Bao had just posted a tweet on social media.

"Nobody knows the National Destiny Challenge better than me! America won again today! #MAGA"

But now.

In the Oval Office, on that display screen, "Great Xia: 4.42%" was shining with a mocking light.

President Chuan Bao glared at the screen, the veins on his neck bulging one by one.

The President grabbed the iced cola on the table and smashed it forcefully against the screen opposite him.

"Fuck!"

With a "bang," the screen shattered into a web pattern.

Brown carbonated soda dripped down from the cracks.

"Damn it! A bunch of idiots!"

He pointed at the cabinet officials present, spittle flying.

"Investigate! Find out how that one-eyed Great Xia man did it!"

"And that Navy SEAL trash! Where are his 8,000 times canned goods? Can those crappy cans compare to theirs?"

The entire office was dead silent, with officials lowering their heads and staring at their toes, not daring to make a sound.

...

Underground shelter.

Lin Ye listened, then raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

4.42%.

It sounded intimidating, but there was still quite a distance to go before the first node of 10%.

The revolution is not yet successful.

Just as he was thinking, the broadcast voice sounded for the third time.

[Due to Challenger Lin Ye being the first to discover a Destiny Item, a unique personal reward is triggered.]

[Reward 1: Timing Plugin (Permanent)]

[Lifts the upload time restriction. You can upload materials at any time, 24 hours a day (daily total limit remains unchanged).]

Lin Ye was stunned.

The value of this thing was far more exaggerated than it appeared on the surface.

Being restricted to uploading at night meant that anything found during the day had to be carried around until nightfall.

Not only was mobility greatly reduced, but the risk also increased accordingly.

Now?

Find it, upload it, and run.

Tactical flexibility and fault tolerance were maxed out.

[Reward 2: Resource Anchoring Plugin (Consumable, 1 use)]

[Effect: After anchoring a homogeneous contiguous resource target, you can ignore the volume limit and perform a bulk upload.]

Lin Ye stared at this line of text, his pupils slightly dilated.

"Damn!"

This wave was a huge profit!

He had already grasped the key information in this reward.

Since there was a plugin that could "ignore volume limits."

It implicitly meant that there must be ore veins, oil fields, or even large-scale water sources here.

"Good stuff."

Lin Ye clenched his fists, his knuckles making a slight clicking sound.

Where would these things be?

The answer was obvious.

Higher-level Floating Islands.

Larger-scale "Lost Lands."

A strong desire for exploration surged in his chest, but he forcibly suppressed it.

Take a deep breath.

Stay calm.

He couldn't get carried away now.

He picked up the smoked meat he had put down earlier and finished the remaining chunks in a few bites.

After cleaning up the scraps, Lin Ye took the sleeping bag out of his backpack and laid it out directly.

The airflow here was smooth, and it was right next to the campfire.

Even though the shelter door was locked, he still dug out a handful of plant ash from under the fire.

He squatted on the ground and carefully sprinkled it around the sleeping bag.

The ash line was even and unbroken.

Same old rule, no cutting corners.

He crawled into the sleeping bag fully clothed, still holding the dagger in his hand.

In the ventilation duct, the airflow emitted a very faint hum.

Once he relaxed, the high-intensity mental tension and physical exhaustion hit him immediately.

Lin Ye closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

...

The next day.

A faint light filtered down from the ventilation grille, casting fine shadows on the concrete floor.

Lin Ye opened his eyes right on time.

In a place like this, the body itself is the most precise timer.

He propped up his upper body and scanned the circle of plant ash on the ground first.

Intact.

No insect tracks, no signs of being disturbed.

Safe.

Lin Ye stood up and rotated his shoulder joints.

The soreness from fighting that large Pale Species yesterday had completely faded.

He tried throwing two punches into the air.

The wind from the punches was sharp, and the feedback of strength was even more rapid than yesterday.

"The condition is even better than yesterday; it seems that the remaining pollution..."

While putting away the sleeping bag, he summoned the National Destiny Challenge light screen.

The light blue panel appeared before his right eye.

[pollution: 0.00%]

Sure enough, the pollution value had been assimilated again.

He nodded; this was completely within his expectations.

However, when he looked at the line at the very bottom...

[Spirit Grid: 99.99%]

Lin Ye's movements paused.

Since arriving in the "Void Sea," this column had always been a motionless 100%.

But now.

This Spirit Grid, which had never moved, had actually dropped by 0.01%!

Where did something go wrong?