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Thank you again, Melonpan, for the sponsorship
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Fu Shiwu finally noticed that someone was looking at him with intense eyes. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he hadn't done anything particularly extraordinary.
He tended to speak bluntly regardless of the situation. Earlier, when several people remained silent during that scene, he straightforwardly revealed the fruitless efforts Liu Peiqi had put in.
While everyone felt somewhat puzzled, he suddenly changed the topic, discussing ways to improve the application of wood-based abilities, providing Liu Peiqi with a clear direction. It made people realize that he had a plan before being so straightforward—it was an atypical approach, first suppressing then uplifting.
Only Tang Xuhai knew that Fu Shiwu's thoughts weren't that complicated. He simply spoke whatever came to mind. His poor social skills couldn't decipher such complex social dynamics.
Perhaps in the past, Fu Shiwu hadn't been likable due to this trait. He might have been used by many as a tool.
Tang Xuhai, thinking about this, playfully ruffled Fu Shiwu's hair. Fu Shiwu's slightly proud disposition immediately perked up.
In a good mood, Tang Xuhai caught Fu Shiwu's angry glance and leisurely walked to the car, opening the door. "Get in. We've lingered here for quite some time."
Just as he was about to step in with one leg, Fu Shiwu tugged at his clothes. "You go aside; let me drive. Be honest about your injury!"
Tang Xuhai glanced at his red and bruised arm, sheepishly moving to the passenger seat.
Fu Shiwu, cold and unyielding, took the driver's seat and started the car, pressing the accelerator.
Turning the steering wheel, his arm where he got hit throbbed a bit, but it was much better than Tang Xuhai's condition.
On the way, Liu Peiqi was very excited. He wanted to try activating corn abilities in the car, but the others cruelly suppressed his idea.
The road they traveled became increasingly bumpy. The cement road was difficult enough compared to the asphalt of highways, and overgrown wild grasses pushed wildly on both sides, even tearing a large crack along the road, significantly slowing their progress.
Fu Shiwu carefully watched the road ahead. They encountered several scattered anomalies along the way, easily handling them.
Miao Jia leaned against Wen Zhaoming's seat and asked Fu Shiwu, "Fu ge, can I post what you said at noon online?"
"Post it online? Which website?" Wen Zhaoming turned to look, seeing a forum-like webpage. "Are there any websites operating normally now?"
Curious, Fu Shiwu also glanced at Miao Jia through the rearview mirror. "Which website are you planning to use?"
"It's Focus Forum." Miao Jia, seeing their interest, boldly turned the screen toward them.
It was a serious forum with numerous sections and posts.
"Focus Forum? I've never heard of it before," Wen Zhaoming admitted, indeed unfamiliar.
"It's a newly established forum," Miao Jia turned the screen back, explaining to them. "After many portal sites collapsed, the central government created it. Important messages are posted there, and there's a section for ability users to communicate. Many ability users are sharing methods there."
"Why didn't you mention this before?" Tang Xuhai asked.
"This section was just created. I just found out." Miao Jia explained, somewhat embarrassed. "Before, I focused on satellite maps and servers of various departments to track movements. I just stumbled upon this now."
"You mean there are still many places with internet access? How else could there be so many people posting?" Wen Zhaoming questioned.
"Yes, take the military base we're heading to, now named H Province Survivor Base, for instance. It's relatively well-equipped with ammunition and soldiers. Though life is a bit tough, daily routines are manageable. The base has local networking, and it also provides satellite access. Moreover, many major cities with surviving populations have become survival bases, also offering satellite connections. So even though there aren't as many websites or users online as before, important departments with access are active on Focus Forum, making it lively."
"Okay," Fu Shiwu nodded, allowing the post.
"Great! Thanks, Fu ge!" Miao Jia cheered, swiftly typing away.
"Shiwu, do you really want to share your insights with everyone?" Wen Zhaoming wasn't entirely supportive.
"Why not?" Fu Shiwu looked at him strangely through the rearview mirror.
"He means sharing this with unrelated people. Isn't it better to get something in return for it?" Tang Xuhai chuckled.
Fu Shiwu paused. "I didn't think that much. Plus, at this time, isn't it better for more people to know how to use wood-based abilities? It increases their chances against anomalies. Besides, I don't think it's something particularly hard to understand. Just because people can't think of it now doesn't mean no one will in the future."
Fu Shiwu genuinely didn't think the few words he told Liu Peiqi were exceptional advice, including what he told Horn Ting earlier. It naturally occurred to him.
This was akin to when the Red Cloud Sky appeared for the second time, and anomalies showed up for the first time in front of humans. While others were terrified of the extraterrestrial appearance and invasion, his focus wasn't on that. Instead, he was worried about a potential disease outbreak. It was merely a difference in focus, nothing peculiar.
Wen Zhaoming didn't think his idea was marketable. He was a businessman who advocated for exchanges of benefits, not someone purely involved in charity. He didn't intend to profit from war; it was just a reflex to seek advantages.
"Haha! Wen ge, don't think sharing this information now will make you lose out." Miao Jia smirked. "I'm not that silly. If there's no benefit, I'll publicize Fu ge's discovery. Posting genuine experiences earns points, and boosting these points raises user rankings. Then, the reputation gained by this account will be a subtle influence!"
Miao Jia, adept with these forum dynamics, was the first to grasp its potential value. It was currently the most centralized platform for information exchange. Gathering high reputation here meant countless benefits in receiving and posting information.
In today's world, people were used to obtaining information online. And in this apocalypse, to learn about ability techniques, one couldn't just go to libraries. Understanding ancient and modern wisdom required what?!
Abilities were a newly emerged phenomenon. Only through the network could one obtain the most up-to-date information. Of course, the reliability of this source varied among individuals.
If a high-prestige ID appeared now, its influence would be remarkable, even if only one in a hundred supported it!
"Ah!" Wen Zhaoming's eyes lit up, instantly intrigued. "Not bad. What's your username? A newly registered ID?"
"Yeah!" Miao Jia nodded. "Since it's Fu ge's idea, let's use Fu ge's name."
"What? No!" Fu Shiwu immediately objected.
He didn't like the blatant exposure of his name to everyone. It was akin to being under a magnifying glass, utterly discomforting.
"
Okay, let's tweak it a bit," Miao Jia tilted her head, having an idea. "Let's go with 'Mr. Fu.' How about that?"
"'Mr. Fu'?" Fu Shiwu pondered for a moment, flawless and conventional. He disliked fanciful pseudonyms. "That works."
"OK." Miao Jia quickly registered as 'Mr. Fu' and posted the edited thread in the Ability User Information Exchange subforum on Focus Forum.
Many astute individuals quickly piled onto this post, resulting in it being pinned by the moderator, and Miao Jia's expected points soared rapidly with clicks and replies.
"Haha!" Miao Jia laughed joyfully, loving these number games. If not for fearing administrative scrutiny and possible account bans due to having points but no posts, he would have directly seized administrator privileges and manipulated data.
Amidst Miao Jia's engrossment, Fu Shiwu and Tang Xuhai exchanged a glance, shaking their heads in resignation. After all, whether due to young age or a playful nature, Miao Jia had an immense penchant for games.
That evening, they camped directly in an open space near a village. The weather gradually became cooler, bordering on cold at night, making it unbearable whether sleeping in the car or on the ground.
They only had three sleeping bags, and it wasn't feasible to run the air conditioning just for sleeping. Hence, someone suggested going to the village to find some blankets.
However, upon entering the village, they realized it was unlike any they'd passed before. Almost everything inside seemed to have been cleaned out.
"Someone beat us to it," Tang Xuhai observed solemnly, flashlight in hand.
"Are there others nearby?" Fu Shiwu reacted swiftly, skeptically scanning the eerily silent village, devoid even of the usual sounds of roosters or barking dogs.
"They might not live nearby; they might just be passing through like us," Tang Xuhai said gravely. "Let's head back."
"Okay." Fu Shiwu nodded, followed closely by the uneasy Ma Dong.
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