"It seems that searching and collecting isnāt as simple as I thought, just replicating..."
After reading all the prompts, he clicked āReadā at the bottom with his mind.
[Please select the item to retrieve: Inspectorās four-piece set (Firewood Shelter City version)]
The prompt popped up again, and Cheng Ye clicked confirm without hesitation.
The next second, a magical scene unfolded before his eyes.
The ground suddenly emitted a layer of pale blue light, like blue ink spilling in the air, gradually forming into an oval light circle about two square meters in area.
Even more amazing was that as he moved his gaze, the blue light seemed to come alive, following his every move.
"Whoa, is this letting me choose the appearance location?"
Cheng Yeās eyes lit up, and he became instantly excited.
He quickly scanned the room, fixing his gaze on the open space in the center, silently thinking, "Place it here."
The blue light abruptly contracted and then burst out in a gentle glow.
Under his gaze, four objects floated in the center of the light circle as if held by invisible hands, slowly descending:
The most striking was an emerald green badge, surprisingly twice the size of a residentās, as large as a palm, seeming more like a token than a badge.
Cheng Ye curiously picked it up, his fingertips brushing over the engraved Mount Everest pattern on the front, its peak covered with fine white lines, as if truly cloaked in year-round snow.
But turning it over revealed a lush green bamboo forest on the back, the bamboo segments distinctly clear, even the veins on the leaves were visible.
"Huh, the colors and patterns have changed?"
Cheng Ye paused for a moment, this was completely different from the one the resident had shown him earlier.
Could it be that Firewood Shelter City differentiates between different levels of residents and system personnel by their badges?
Beside it lay a smartphone, precisely the model Li Changfeng had shown him before, except its color was also dramatically different.
Li Changfengās was milky white, while the one before Cheng Ye was entirely black, even the frame had a matte sheen.
The headband glasses, however, had no changes, almost identical to the pair he had worn before.
The biggest surprise was the monitor, a square piece with a smooth black panel, slightly rounded corners, and remarkably similar in shape to a modern weight scale.
It only lacked foot grooves and had several concealed interfaces.
Upon opening it, numerous patch wires were densely packed together neatly, with no clue on how to use them.
"This is a bit of a hassle, seems completely unlike Li Changfengās stuff?"
Through searching, he once again verified that it wasnāt simply replicating the objects in the targetās possession, but rather there was a rule he couldnāt yet understand.
Cheng Ye pondered, picking up the phone and badge before sitting back on the bed.
To ordinary people in the Wasteland, these items might be incredibly unfamiliar, but to him, a modern individual who used a smartphone for at least eight hours the day before crossing over, they were practically a part of his body.
At this moment, holding it, his right thumb instinctively rested on the side of the phone.
Whoa, there actually is a button.
Cheng Ye tried pressing and holding it for three seconds, and the black screen suddenly flashed a faint light, promptly displaying a familiar image.
It was the same blazing flame previously seen on the back of the residentās badge!
The image lingered for five seconds before slowly fading, and a line of Chinese characters appeared on the screen.
[Firewood Communication (Inspector) detected for the first time, please attach the identity badge to the back for activation]
"Itās really new!"
Cheng Yeās expression turned slightly complex.
He initially thought he could replicate Li Changfengās phone with personal data, even if it required hacking, at least heād see some historical information.
But now a brand-new Firewood Communication had somewhat disrupted his plans; what if the data needed to be activated before it could be downloaded, and with no internet access now, wouldnāt it be a beautiful "futile tool"?
Wait...
The phone is new, could the badge be new too?
After pondering for a while, Cheng Ye attempted to pick up the badge and attach it to the back of the phone.
He was already outside the coverage area of the Firewood signal, at worst, activation failure would lock the device, and he could think of a way to study hacking later.
But if there was another opportunity, perhaps he could use it in advance without hacking.
He took a deep breath and attached the badge to the back of the phone.
However, the moment the screen lit up, Cheng Yeās pupils suddenly contracted.
Lines of information flashed by like flowing water.
Seeing the first line of information, he was so startled he nearly stood up from the bed.
[Name: Cheng Ye]
[Identity: Intern Inspector]
[Affiliation: Zone B4]
[Firewood Communication is activating, please wait patiently for the activation process to complete...]
...
"Why is it my name?"
No matter if it showed Li Changfeng or any unfamiliar name, or even a blank space, Cheng Ye wouldnāt be surprised; heād even think it was expected.
But showing his own name was a bit horrifying.
Did Firewood Shelter City pre-store his information?
Of course not!
Cheng Ye instinctively summoned the Collectorās panel, his gaze pondering the board, yet no prompt emerged.
The Civilization Collectorās capabilities once again exceeded his perception.
Skill search could replicate oneās lifetime accumulation, stripping even hidden talents, already powerful enough.
Information search could uncover the deepest secrets of the heart, even transcend time, reconstructing oneās words and deeds, even more absurd.
But now this object search could directly alter the core information of an item?