"Huh?"
Staring at the prompt flashing on the panel, Cheng Ye was completely dumbfounded.
He had only entertained a fleeting thought of mending his backpack, yet the Action function, like some overly obliging AI assistant, had immediately extrapolated and fleshed out that notion into a complete action plan. Of course, this generative mode also inherited an AI's penchant for nonsense, suddenly going off the rails without warning!
The first two options still fell within the reasonable bounds of mending a backpack, but what on earth was the third one—*Replace material with Happiness Alloy*?
What was Happiness Alloy?
The floor Cheng Ye was standing on right now was made of only the lowest grade among Happiness City's hyper-quality alloys: Isolation Alloy.
Yet even this lowest tier could withstand the corrosive secretions and assaults of the vast majority of infected entities.
Take the Rotting Vine he had just dispatched: its desperate death throes hadn't left so much as a scratch on the Isolation Alloy grating.
Above Isolation Alloy were three higher tiers: Protection Alloy, Safety Alloy, and Immune Alloy. Only beyond those was the pinnacle: Happiness Alloy.
Across all industrial goods sold externally by Happiness City, Happiness Alloy easily ranked among the top three bestsellers.
Why?
The answer was simple. During the survival stage, the focus was offense: clearing out surrounding infected entities was the primary concern. But once a settlement reached the development stage, the priority shifted immediately to defense.
With a safehouse built of Happiness Alloy, one could hide inside and weather even a Disaster-tier infection tide with zero stress.
Unfortunately, the production volume of Happiness Alloy was abysmally low, leaving it permanently in short supply.
Procurement teams journeying from distant sanctuary cities often had to pay multiples over the base price just for the privilege of picking up an order.
*One gram of extraordinary minerals costs fifty contribution points, and Happiness Alloy is vastly more precious than ordinary extraordinary minerals. Scraping together enough for a backpack would cost tens of thousands of contribution points at the very least...*
In reality, it couldn't even be calculated that way, because purchasing a strategic commodity like Happiness Alloy required barter.
Yet even by the crudest calculation, it was still an astronomical sum.
*Could it be because my action goal was too vague?*
As Cheng Ye pondered, a sudden spark of inspiration struck him.
Since Action didn't refuse to provide options just because a goal was vague, didn't that mean he could attempt a similar maneuver even without understanding how a charging station worked?
*If having a sewing skill unlocks Path Two...*
*Then even if I can't modify the charging station right now, as long as I search up an electrical skill, I can unlock action paths for it too?*
Once the idea sprouted, it took root immediately in Cheng Ye's mind.
In an instant, it opened up countless new possibilities.
Ever since obtaining the Collector, the pressure of survival had driven him to focus entirely on collecting combat skills; it had never occurred to him to seek out knowledge-based skills.
Now, the emergence of the Action function provided a stage where those very skills could shine.
To use an apt analogy:
Knowledge-based skills were the driver, Action was the vehicle, and Cheng Ye himself was the navigation.
With a driver and navigation, one would reach the destination sooner or later.
Without a driver, however, having both vehicle and navigation meant sitting stranded in place.
*Right. The essence of the Action function is to help me skip the time spent traveling to the destination.*
*As long as I have enough action points, I alone can match an entire army. I can achieve what would otherwise take hundreds or thousands of people!*
With that realization, Cheng Ye hesitated no longer and decided to head to the charging station first to verify his hypothesis.
After all, no one was queued up in Quarantine Zone A right now anyway.
Naturally, he still kept his wits about him.
Before heading out, he first located Raven and Owl. "We should have a sewing kit in the quarantine zone, right? My backpack has a few tears. Could you grab one for me? I'll patch it up while there's no one around."
"We do, sir!" Raven nodded in affirmation and added, "We also have mending materials—canvas, synthetic leather, and even some patches and decals to cover up seams. Which kind do you need, sir?"
"If it's convenient, bring a bit of everything. I'll see what fits best."
"Understood!"
While Raven went for the sewing kit and Owl fetched the leather, Cheng Ye walked briskly over to the garage, locking his gaze onto the charging station.
Following the same approach he had used with the backpack, and to let the Collector's self-directed logic branch out freely, he set no specific target. Instead, he simply held a vague notion in mind: *Bypass charging surveillance.*
The panel flickered faintly, popping up encouraging notifications that completely validated Cheng Ye's hypothesis.
[Standard DC Fast-Charging Station (Lv. 1)]
[Description: A modular standard charging station equipped with a 100 kW charging module, supporting common charging protocols. The outer casing features specialized protective treatment to withstand dust and rain. Built-in safeguards include overvoltage, overcurrent, and surveillance protections.]
[Action Paths:
1. Unlock Charging Authorization (Exploit protocol vulnerabilities to forge a legitimate user identity and obtain temporary charging privileges; Note: This charging session will be logged by the system.)
Estimated Action Points Required: Locked (Prerequisite: Must possess relevant Engineering or Programming skills)
2. Crack Charging Station Permissions (Bypass device encryption to acquire root administrator privileges, allowing free adjustment of charging parameters, modification of backend data, and unlocking hidden functions such as user settings and simulated debugging)
Estimated Action Points Required: Locked (Prerequisite: Must possess relevant Electrical or Engineering skills)]
[All action paths are currently locked; Collector is unable to make a selection!]
...
"It really works like this..."
A flash of awe crossed Cheng Ye's eyes, and his thoughts raced.
Although he couldn't modify the fast-charging station just yet, the displayed information revealed an entirely new realm of possibility—a brand-new future!
For example... building a shelter!
If an infection tide arrived and the Buffer Zone became utterly indefensible, leaving would be the only way to survive.
Yet before this, he had felt completely at a loss.
Relying on a single person's strength, let alone erecting a temporary shelter amid urban ruins or the desolate wilderness, merely finding a secure refuge was as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Now, however, as long as he stockpiled enough action points, he wouldn't need to depend on anyone else to accomplish it.
Even if he couldn't find a suitable build site, he could brute-force his way through and carve out a viable space on his own!
*Search, Action...*
*The two functions are interconnected: the charge value lost from a failed search can be reclaimed through Action, while the abilities acquired can have their impact amplified through Action.*
*Brilliant. Truly brilliant!*
Cheng Ye's throat bobbed involuntarily, though a trace of doubt surfaced in his mind at the same time.
The Civilization Collector was a relic left behind by Cheng Long. Had the man never noticed anything abnormal about it from start to finish?
Or... had he deliberately left it for Cheng Ye's predecessor?
"Sir, here's the sewing kit you asked for. If it's not enough, we can have someone outside the epidemic prevention zone look for more."
Raven walked over from the distance, interrupting Cheng Ye's train of thought.
Cheng Ye took the sewing kit and flipped it open.
Lined with a soft, blue-and-white patterned cloth, ten brass needles of varying gauges were neatly arranged inside.
Below them lay several spools of thick, three-ply thread unlike anything ordinary, their braids tightly wound.
Though rough and abrasive to the touch, durability was paramount in the harsh environment of the wasteland.
"Sir, here are the mending materials you requested."
Owl handed over a bag containing canvas and synthetic leather commonly found throughout the Buffer Zone.
That was plenty.
It was just an ordinary backpack; Cheng Ye had no illusions of turning it into a mobile fortress. Sturdy and durable was all he needed.
"Well done. Exactly what I needed!"
Praising the two, Cheng Ye took the materials and returned to his seat in the quarantine area, intending to test the modification effects of action points on the backpack first.
He opened the panel again, and sure enough, the action paths had changed.
[1. Basic Optimization (Mend...); Estimated Action Points Required: 1 (Sufficient materials and tools acquired; point cost reduced)]
*Looks like the minimum cost for an action is one point; it won't drop any lower.*
With four points remaining, Cheng Ye didn't mind spending one.
He first used his defense comm to open the stopwatch function, then confirmed the prompt with his mind.
He was curious how the Collector accelerated this process, and what followed did not disappoint.
*Whoosh.*
A faint, indistinct sound hummed in the air.
Everything around him seemed to slow to a crawl, as if time had frozen and ceased to flow.
Cheng Ye discovered to his astonishment that he had lost control of his body. He could only watch helplessly as his hands moved of their own accord, snatching the sewing kit and canvas off the table to begin patching the holes in the backpack.
They operated with mechanical precision. At first, his hands moved at a discernible speed, but after a few seconds, they blurred into afterimages. The nearby spool spun like a top, its thread transforming in the blink of an eye into dense, neat stitches across the backpack.
*Thud.*
It felt as if mere seconds had passed, yet also as if an entire hour had elapsed.
This extraordinary sensation of the world slowing down—like a Stand user stopping time—felt both foreign and exhilarating to Cheng Ye!
"How much time passed?"
Snatching up his defense comm, he glanced at the display. Even accounting for the moment he had spaced out, only four seconds had ticked by.
This meant the accelerated process had likely concluded in a single instant.
And the backpack on the table?
Fixing his eyes on it, Cheng Ye was still stunned despite having braced himself beforehand.
He brushed his fingertips over the surface. Where the tears had been, the canvas patches were seamlessly integrated, stitched with machine-like precision, and finished with black flower decals to conceal any trace of repair.
Turning the backpack inside out, he saw that the interior canvas had been lined with synthetic leather, and several reinforced pockets had been added. Not only had the backpack become more practical, but its central load-bearing structure had been indirectly reinforced.
"Did I really sew this myself?"
...
Chapter 35