Chapter 5

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  Chapter 5: Wishing Through Objects       Chaoyang had attempted to respond to these wishes before, but as soon as he made his move, he felt a cold gaze piercing him from the other end—a consciousness that invaded his own, overwhelming in strength.       Even with his swift retreat, which took less than a second, Chaoyang’s consciousness still suffered considerable damage. For several minutes afterward, he felt like he’d fallen into an ice cavern, trembling uncontrollably and nearly unable to think clearly.       This incident also gave him a deeper understanding of the differences between this world and his original world.       Chaoyang now realized that the light beam stretching toward the horizon meant the object of their wish had already been determined; only those faint glimmers of scattered light halfway through the journey offered him an opportunity to intervene, such as the platoon leader Shi Dong of the Glorious Fortress City Guard.       Shi Dong’s request was simple: he wished to save his younger sister, whether it be through money, medicine, or any other means… Perhaps due to desperation, he didn’t specify a particular recipient for his wish, meaning anyone willing to help would suffice regardless of identity. This attitude provided Chaoyang with an opening.       The strength of his soul was not particularly potent, but it was certainly a sweet and welcome nectar to Chaoyang, who had been starving for so long.       “All right, let’s calculate our income and expenses… Chaoyang took out a notebook and began scribbling on its pages as he spoke. “This time, we collected approximately seven hundred units of Wish Power from the contract… Opening up the border takes about one hundred, creating a virtual body costs fifty per day, so four people is two hundred… Oh, and there were also the costs associated with preparing the boat…”       If there was any good to be found in having nearly starved to death, it was that during this period of desperate lack of resources, Chaoyang clearly understood how his own strength waned, and was forced to learn how to stretch his power across multiple uses. This allowed him to precisely measure the amount of Wish Power within himself and mark it down numerically.       For example, he decided that sustaining his life for another hour required one point, and all other consumption could then be calculated based on this base value.       After subtracting all his expenses, the final number left on the page was 221.       This meant that with these remaining reserves, he could sustain himself at full capacity for nine days which was slightly less than he’d imagined.       Most of Chaoyang’s joy upon seeing this result evaporated immediately.       “Are you kidding me? This is a contract that affects my life! How can there be so little feedback?” He couldn’t help but mutter to himself. Only nine more days of life after doing all this work—no wonder demons had gone extinct!       Generally speaking, the amount of Wish Power returned depended on both the strength of the one making the wish and the specifics of the contract itself. Once a contract was sealed, the promisee would also become restricted; if they failed to deliver, not only would they suffer the backlash of the contract, losing many times the original amount of power used and they would also forfeit any right to further contract.       If this were a job, even dogs wouldn’t do it, unfortunately Chaoyang couldn’t quit.       There was nothing for it—he would have to continue searching for another contractor as soon as possible—and quickly too.       Chaoyang decided to take a stroll around town first, hoping luck might strike him.       ***       Glorious Fortress was a coastal city with vast beaches stretching along its southern and western shores. To the east lay the industrial district, where thick black smoke billowed day and night. Aside from these areas, Chaoyang knew little more about the city than what he had gleaned from his participation in the game—after all, he’d only arrived here a few days ago, and as soon as he found this lifeline called the “Other world,” he immediately began planning activities for Paradise without giving himself time to learn anything else about the city, much less the region beyond Glorious Fortress.       Thus, every time he stepped onto the streets, he felt like he was experiencing something entirely new.       The cobblestone roads were paved with blue bricks, and hidden drains beneath the pavement revealed that drainage had been a major consideration during urban planning. In some parts of the new city, rails made of iron were embedded within the streets to accommodate trams that shuttled passengers back and forth.       It was evident that these passenger vehicles were powered by steam, leaving long trails of white steam clouds in their wake each time they passed through the streets. Yet strangely, they lacked massive steam engines, and stopped and started with remarkable ease, far removed from the steam trains Chaoyang remembered from his own world.       Nevertheless, the primary mode of transportation on the streets remained horse-drawn carriages and people.       Both horse-drawn carriages and rickshaws moved through the crowd—there were no traffic rules here, nor did pedestrians receive any special consideration. The rickshaw men often had to warn pedestrians with their voices to move aside; getting nudged by the carts was commonplace. Everything seemed so chaotic, yet full of vitality.       Judging from the widespread use of steam power, Chaoyang concluded that the Glorious Fortress’s technological level was roughly equivalent to Earth’s during the 18th and early 19th centuries. However, what puzzled him most was his failure to find anything related to electricity within the city. According to Earth’s historical development, this period should have already seen the emergence of electric devices such as light bulbs.       Not only that, but Chaoyang also attempted to create some small gadgets using batteries, all of which ended in failure.       Due to the limited amount of Wish Power at his disposal, he couldn’t conduct more experiments, so he could only temporarily suppress this suspicion.       After all, it would be dangerous to treat this world as Earth.       Chaoyang lifted his head briefly to look at those pillars of light, then quickly lowered his gaze again.       Even if he looked for just a little longer, he might attract unwanted attention.       To those who possessed this power, Wish Power was their exclusive domain, not to be invaded by others. If anyone sensed a breach, Chaoyang would be unable to deal with it even if he had his full abilities.       This was also why Chaoyang never forgot to conceal his identity.       …       Walking around the streets took up about three hours this time, but unfortunately, he didn’t encounter another Shi Dong-like wisher. Even though a few people possessed some degree of Wish Power, none were worth mentioning when weighed against what he’d collected before. He could guess most of their wishes without asking—such as wanting to become rich overnight or finding a wife—and even if he could grant them, they would surely end up destitute after paying him back.       “Mister, Mister, would you like to buy a newspaper?” A childish voice suddenly called out.       Chaoyang turned and discovered a newsboy anxiously staring at him. The boy looked to have yet to reach adulthood; his head barely reached 1.3 or 1.4 meter or so, his limbs thin and delicate, while the stack of newspapers in his arms was thicker than his own body.       “Mister, here are the Daily Mail, The Pioneer, and Jeddy Brother’s . Would you care to take a look? Each copy costs only two cents.”       Newspapers were good things, but he lacked the time to read them.       At least not for now.       As Chaoyang was about to decline the newsboy, his gaze caught a faint glimmer of wish power out of the corner of his eye.       The light was pale white and almost impossible to discern with the naked eye; if he hadn’t been standing so close to the boy, he would have never noticed its existence at all.       Not to mention that it pointed directly toward the heavens, this Wish Power was barely as long as a thumb, swaying like a candle flame in the wind, liable to be extinguished with the slightest carelessness.       The light emanated from one corner of the newspaper.       Wishing through objects?       Chaoyang’s heart twitched slightly… Wish Power wasn’t akin to a fixed indicator, hanging over whoever needed it most. It fluctuated and changed based on the behavior and state of the person making the wish—for instance, a column of Wish Power was most conspicuous when the prayee was wholly focused on their prayers, but when the need was less pressing, the column would grow dimmer as well. Similarly, when a certain prayee crafted an object with great longing, they could also fix some of their Wish Power onto it. The legendary holy artifacts of ancient times were not mere superstitions, but after the maker passed away, these Wish Powers became water without a source, gradually dissipating with time. In Chaoyang’s own era, only remnants of such powers could be found scattered within museums here and there.