"Huh?"
Staring at the information flashing across the panel, Cheng Ye was dumbfounded.
He had only come up with the idea of mending his backpack, yet the Action function, as considerate as Doubao Laoye or Teacher DS, had expanded on his idea and turned it into a complete action plan.
Of course, this generative mode had inherited AI's tendency to spout nonsense. Every now and then, it would go haywire!
The first two options were reasonable enough for mending a backpack, but what the hell was the third one, "Change the material to Xingfu Alloy"?
What was Xingfu Alloy?
The floor beneath Cheng Ye's feet was made of the lowest-grade superalloy produced in Xingfu City: Isolation Alloy.
Even so, this lowest-grade alloy could withstand corrosion and attacks from the vast majority of Infected.
The Rotten Vine he had just killed had struggled desperately before dying, yet it hadn't left a single mark on the railing made of Isolation Alloy.
Above Isolation Alloy were Protection Alloy, Safety Alloy, and Immunity Alloy. Only beyond those came the highest-grade Xingfu Alloy.
Among all the industrial products sold to outsiders in Xingfu City, Xingfu Alloy was undoubtedly one of the top three bestsellers.
Why?
The answer was simple. During the survival phase, the focus was on offense; clearing the Infected from the surrounding area was the top priority. But once the development phase began, the focus would immediately shift to defense.
With a safe house made of Xingfu Alloy, even if a "Disaster"-class Infected Tide hit, you could shelter inside and wait it out without a care.
Unfortunately, Xingfu Alloy was produced in such small quantities that demand was destined to outstrip supply for a long time.
The purchasing teams from distant Sanctuary Cities often had to pay several times the price just to qualify for delivery.
"One gram of Extraordinary Ore costs fifty Contribution Points. Xingfu Alloy is far more valuable than ordinary Extraordinary Ore. To get enough for a whole backpack, I'd need at least tens of thousands of Contribution Points, right?"
In reality, it wasn't that simple, because strategic materials like Xingfu Alloy had to be bought through barter.
But even by the crudest calculation, it was still an astronomical price.
"Could it be that my action target is too vague?"
As he pondered, Cheng Ye suddenly had a flash of insight.
If an unclear target didn't prevent Action from providing a direction, didn't that mean he could do something similar even without understanding how a Charging Pile was built?
"If I had a sewing skill, I could unlock Direction Two..."
"Then even if I can't modify the Charging Pile right now, as long as I find an electrical skill, I can unlock an action direction?"
Once the thought occurred to him, it immediately took root in Cheng Ye's mind.
And in an instant, it opened up countless new possibilities.
Ever since obtaining the Collector, the pressure of survival had kept him focused on gathering combat skills. He had never thought to look for knowledge-based skills.
Now the Action function had arrived, giving those skills a chance to prove their worth.
Here was a fitting analogy.
Knowledge-based skills were like drivers, Action was the vehicle, and Cheng Ye himself was the navigator.
With a driver and a navigator, he would reach his destination sooner or later.
But without a driver, even with a vehicle and a navigator, he could only stay where he was.
"That's it. The essence of the Action function is to help me skip the time it takes to get to my destination."
"As long as I have enough Action Points, I can be an army of one and achieve what it would take hundreds, even thousands, of people to accomplish!"
With that thought, Cheng Ye didn't hesitate. He decided to test his idea on the Charging Pile first.
After all, no one was queuing in Quarantine Zone A right now.
Of course, it still paid to be cautious.
Once outside, he first found Raven and Owl. "There should be a sewing kit in the quarantine area, right? I think my backpack's got a few holes in it. Could you find one for me? I'll mend it while there's no one around."
"Yes, sir!"
Raven nodded, then added, "We've got some suturing materials too: canvas, Artificial Leather, and things like that. We also have some decals to cover up the patches. Which would you like?"
"If it's not too much trouble, bring me a bit of everything. I'll see which one works best."
"Understood!"
While Raven went to find the sewing kit and Owl went to get the materials, Cheng Ye hurried to the garage and fixed his gaze on the Charging Pile.
As with the backpack, he followed the same approach. To let the Collector's own thought process run free, he didn't set a specific action target. Instead, he silently thought, "Bypass charging monitoring."
The panel flickered slightly, then displayed a message that filled him with delight, thoroughly confirming his theory.
[Standard DC Fast Charging Pile (lv.1)] [Description]: A standard Charging Pile with a modular design, equipped with a 100 kW charging module and supporting common charging protocols. Its casing has been specially treated to resist dust and rain. It also has built-in protection systems for overvoltage, overcurrent, and monitoring. [Action Directions]: 1. Unlock Charging Authorization (Exploit protocol loopholes to forge a legitimate user identity and obtain temporary charging authorization; Note: This charging session will be recorded by the system.) Estimated Action Point Cost: Locked (Prerequisite: Must have a relevant Engineering or Programming skill) 2. Crack Charging Pile Authority (Bypass the device's encryption system to obtain the highest administrator privileges. Freely adjust charging parameters, modify backend data, and unlock hidden functions such as user settings and simulated testing.) Estimated Action Point Cost: Locked (Prerequisite: Must have relevant Electrical or Engineering skills) [All Action Directions are locked. Collector cannot make a selection at this time!]
"Just as I thought. It really works."
A trace of shock flashed through Cheng Ye's eyes as his thoughts began to race.
Although he still couldn't modify the Fast Charging Pile, the information it displayed showed him entirely new possibilities, an entirely new future!
For example, building a shelter!
If an Infected Tide came, the Buffer Zone would be impossible to defend, and he would have to leave if he wanted to survive.
But before this, he had been completely lost.
With only one person's abilities, building a temporary shelter in the City Ruins, let alone out in the wilderness, was beyond him. Even finding a safe place to take shelter would be like climbing to heaven.
But now, as long as he accumulated enough Action Points, he could achieve that goal without relying on anyone.
Even if he couldn't find a suitable location to build, he could make up for a lack of resources with sheer power and carve out a suitable space himself!
"Search and Action..."
"The two functions are linked. Charge Value from failed searches can be reclaimed through Action, and the abilities I gain can then be used to expand my influence through Action."
"Brilliant. Just brilliant!"
Cheng Ye swallowed involuntarily, but at the same time, he felt a little puzzled.
The Civilization Collector was a belonging left behind by Cheng Long. Had he really never noticed anything unusual about it?
Or... had he deliberately left it for the previous owner of this body?
"Sir, here's the sewing kit you asked for. If it's not enough, we can ask people outside the Epidemic Prevention Area to look for more."
Raven walked over from a distance, interrupting Cheng Ye's thoughts.
He took the sewing kit and opened it.
Inside was soft cloth with a blue base and white flowers, along with ten copper needles of different sizes, neatly arranged.
Below them were several bundles of unusually thick Three-strand Thick Thread, its weave looking exceptionally tight.
It was a little rough to the touch, but in the Wasteland, durability was always the first consideration.
"Sir, here are the suturing materials you wanted."
Owl handed him a bag containing the canvas and Artificial Leather commonly found in the Buffer Zone.
That would do.
It was just an ordinary Backpack. Cheng Ye wasn't trying to turn it into a Mobile Fortress. He only needed it to be sturdy and durable.
"Good work. I'm very satisfied!"
After praising them, Cheng Ye carried the materials back to the quarantine area and sat down, intending to use the backpack to test the effects of Action.
He reopened the panel. As expected, the Action Directions had changed.
[1. Basic Optimization (Repair...), Estimated Action Point Cost: 1 (Sufficient materials, tools, and points have been obtained; point cost reduced)]
"So the minimum cost for an Action is one point. It won't go any lower."
He still had four points, so Cheng Ye didn't mind spending them.
First, he opened the Stopwatch function on his Defense Communicator, then confirmed with a thought.
He was curious how exactly the Collector sped up the process, and what happened next did not disappoint.
Whoosh.
A faint sound rang out.
Everything around him seemed to slow down. Time itself seemed to stop, its flow coming to a halt.
Cheng Ye was stunned to find that he had lost control of his body. He could only watch helplessly as his hands moved, snatching up the sewing kit and canvas from the table before starting to mend the holes in his backpack.
His hands moved with machine-like skill. At first, he could still follow their speed, but a few seconds later, they abruptly turned into blurs. The spool beside him spun like a top, and in the blink of an eye, fine stitches had appeared on the backpack.
Thump.
It seemed like only a few seconds had passed. Or perhaps an hour.
The world's slowed pace felt like the special experience of a Stand User activating Time Stop. Cheng Ye found it both unfamiliar and thrilling!
"How much time has passed?"
He snatched up his Defense Communicator and checked. Including the moment he had just spent in shock, only four seconds had passed on the clock.
That meant the accelerated process must have taken place in an instant.
And what about the backpack on the table?
He examined it closely. Even though Cheng Ye had been mentally prepared, he was still astonished.
His fingertips brushed over the surface of the bag. The hole had been patched with canvas so perfectly that no gaps remained, and the stitches were so fine they looked machine-sewn. A black Flower Decal had even been placed over the patch to hide it.
He turned the backpack over. Artificial Leather had been added to the inside, and several compartments in the pockets had been reinforced with needle and thread. The changes not only made the backpack more practical, but indirectly strengthened its central load-bearing frame as well.
"Did I really sew this?"
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