Above Destiny

Chapter 353 Right or Wrong (Thanks July...
Ji Jue didn't expect that the first time he took an airship in his life, he would be able to charter a plane.

In the past, he couldn't even think about the high price of a seat on an airship, let alone a chartered flight. Not to mention international flights, even flights within the Federation and between major cities would easily start at eight or nine thousand.

Not to mention the situation where the entire crew is prepared in advance, waiting for one person, ready to go as soon as they arrive, and set off immediately.

Ji Jue didn't even go through the security check. He just followed the guide all the way to the landing pad and drove directly onto the airship. From arrival to takeoff, the whole process was as smooth as taking a black taxi, which was really fresh.

After all, it’s the Tong family.

Well, although compared to my Skytrack... there is still a tiny gap.

Ji Jue held the teacup and gazed out the window at the earth gradually moving away.

In the night, the lights below are so bright.

As the fragrant breeze blew in my face, the elegantly made-up female stewardess handed over a hot towel and a dinner menu: "Mr. Ji, considering the weather, our flight is expected to take about nine hours. The bedroom has been prepared, and you can rest at any time. If you have any needs, just ring the bell."

Compared with aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters, although the speed of airships is slower, they are much more stable, and the space inside is also ridiculously large. Even this small three-story airship has ample space to use besides the cargo hold and the cockpit.

Not only bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, Ji Jue even saw a gym.

It's almost like a vacation.

These days, the environment outside the city is becoming increasingly chaotic and the cost of travel is gradually increasing.

Although there are large cargo airships, the vast majority of logistics are fleet operations and a few fixed railway lines between cities, but they are still often affected by disasters.

Although with the development of technology, there was once a saying that large aircraft would replace airships and become the mainstream of aircraft, unfortunately, up to now, it is still difficult to avoid the impact of changes in the high-altitude environment with only the level of technology. Under the interference of turbulent airflow, extreme temperature changes and even many distorted bird flocks, it is difficult to ensure long-term safe operation. Once the speed stalls, the aircraft will be destroyed and people will die.

Until now, it can only be used for medium- and short-distance transportation or military purposes. In contrast, airships, which can stay in the air for a long time and flexibly respond to situations, are more popular and trusted.

After dinner, Ji Jue read a few papers and then went to rest. He slept well all night without worrying about any accidents on the road.

After all, the airship had been operated by deus ex machina before boarding, and the entire voyage was extremely stable. Even the pilot was amazed that it had never been so smooth.

Even if Echo was completely mad and broke off relations with him and took out an anti-aircraft missile to send him into the sky, the watch was still on his hand, and the [Return Command] could send him back to the resurrection point in a moment.

After waking up one night, I found that the location records of several major cities had appeared on the pop-up windows of the SkyTrack system, and a string of teleportation points in the central part of the Federation had opened.

It will be convenient for Ji Jue to secretly rob friends and merchants in the future...

As we gradually lowered our altitude, the world beneath the dark clouds looked completely different.

Endless snowflakes were falling, covering the entire world in silver, like a silent rainstorm. On the white snowfield, dark ridges and sharp ice layers snaked across the ground like the spine of a giant snake.

"Mr. Ji, we have entered the Wasteland State and are expected to arrive at the Black River in an hour."

When the flight attendant served breakfast, he reminded us: "The surface temperature outside the cabin has dropped below zero. Please be prepared for protection."

Ji Jue was like a bumpkin. He took out his cell phone and started taking pictures.

Oh shit, it’s snowing!
So much snow!
When he was a child, he lived in Shuzhou, and later moved to Haizhou. The winters in the former were damp and cold, without even a hint of snow; the winters in the latter were... it was like a joke, there was no need to wear down jackets, and everyone wore flip-flops when going out. Where had he ever seen such an amazing sight?
I made a rustic V-shape gesture and took a photo of the winding frozen glacier on the ground and posted it on WeChat Moments.

Instantly there was a long string of likes and comments.

[The Curled Dog Must Die]: Your life is like walking on thin ice. I guess you won't be able to reach the other side.

[Wen]: The snow is still so heavy, remember to bring me some wine from Huangzhou.

[Tongshan] replied to [Wen]: ??? I’m in a meeting, where are you? !
[Drawing you little turtle]: Plants are furious, so funny WWWWWW
[Bell]: Big brother is lame, come on, second brother!
[Feng]: Hehe, someone is going to get beaten, but I won’t tell you who it is.

[Zhang's Massage]: It's good weather for running a marathon. Young people should exercise more.

[Yubo]: Huangzhou, long-haired cats are so cute!

……

Even though he had made preparations long ago, when Ji Jue left the cabin, he still felt knocked back by the cold wind, and even his breathing was painful.

In the freezing cold, the air was dry and devoid of any moisture. The little bit of water vapor seemed to have frozen into tiny ice crystals, which penetrated into the nostrils and mouth, leaving a dull pain.

Ji Jue shivered and looked up at the sky. Snow flakes were falling from the outlines of the airships, blending into the ground and turning into white.

Or, frozen in the mud.

"Is this Mr. Ji's first time in Huangzhou?"

The middle-aged receptionist asked enthusiastically, "Would you like to try some local dishes later?"

"Okay, I'll just follow your arrangements."

Ji Jue rode on the calf and, under the guidance of the host, drove out of the small landing field. Apart from the pitch-black road, the endless snowfields on both sides stretched to the end of the earth, almost connecting with the gray-white sky.

"It's so beautiful."

He rolled up the window and turned on the heater.

"It's really cold."

The receptionist laughed at himself. He was wearing bulging clothes, and besides that, he also had gloves, a mask, a scarf, and goggles. “As for whether it’s beautiful or not… I think the locals would prefer it to be uglier, or have fewer clothes, right?
The snow has been much lighter these past two days. In previous years, when there was heavy snow, cars couldn’t be driven. The snow outside the city could be six or seven meters thick, and it would snow for several months at a time, and we couldn’t even go out.”

He introduced: "Here in Huangzhou, it is winter for half a year every year. Further north, it is the tundra and ice sea with winter all year round, where even penguins and bears cannot survive.

I have one more thing to say. Don't be afraid of carrying heavy loads. Try to prepare as many heating tools as possible. It's not like the suburbs outside the city. Once you drive in, it will be even colder. In the event of a snowstorm, rescue will be too late. During every rally, some people freeze their ears, noses, and fingers off. It's a blessing if they don't die."

“What about the locals?”

Ji Jue was curious: "How to keep warm?"

"Phlogiston."

The receptionist grinned, raised his hand and pointed to the gradually clearer scene in the distance. The outline of the small town Heihe River was faintly emerging, but what was even more conspicuous was the column of smoke rising straight into the sky above the Heihe River.

Wisps of white smoke rise up, and when there is no wind, they are like pillars, connecting the sky to the earth.

Ji Jue was stunned by what he saw.

“Here in the Wasteland State, there is the largest phlogiston mining area in the entire Federation. At the most exaggerated point, if you dig a few feet underground, black crude oil will come out.

The small towns here are basically based on the industry of pyrolysis mining. Phosphorus is as plentiful as water, and most places in the city have central heating.

It is said that the core furnace is a scrapped battleship-class volcanic engine. The firepower is so strong that once you see it, you will remember it for the rest of your life. Basically, if you can see such a column of smoke, it means that you are approaching the city. "

The closer you get to Heihe, the more diverse the roadside scenes become. You can even see quite a few vendors standing by the roadside selling cold-proof equipment and local specialties.

The number of vehicles on this road gradually increased, as if there was a busy city.

"It's so lively."

"They are all tourists who come to attend the opening of the rally. They look forward to this opening every three years. It's usually very quiet. Turn right and walk a little further and you'll arrive.

Right next to the starting point, most of the participating companies and manufacturers’ camps are located there.”

Before he arrived at the place, Ji Jue saw that behind the fence, there were many temporary tin houses and RVs stretching out in a row, with almost no end in sight, and with numerous entrances and exits.

With so many teams gathered together, the city would definitely not be able to accommodate them, so they had to allocate a piece of land in the suburbs outside the city. Even so, the land allocated to each family was not very large.

In the morning, the whole camp was bustling with noise. Many teams were making use of the last minute to adjust configurations and test drive the cars. Several modified cars had already returned covered in mud.

Although Coast Auto has been revived, it is still a small factory here. It is located in the most remote area and has a small site. Apart from a few rooms and two RVs, there is only enough space for a maintenance room.

However, there is enough manpower. In addition to the seven or eight workers living here, there is another group of engineers with equipment in the city, ready to provide support at any time.

After putting the calf down and asking about the procedure, Ji Jue wandered around the camp leisurely, as if he was taking a walk.

By the way, let’s grab some friendly companies…

Unfortunately, most of the equipment inside the car seems to have spiritual interference or obstruction. It's not that there is no way to break through, but if you force the mechanical psychic to descend, you can't hide the signs at all, and instead alert the enemy.

Moreover, the defenses of many convoys seemed tight, but in fact they were extremely tight, with many chosen ones lurking in secret. Ji Jue didn't even have the chance to break them with the dissociation technique. Only the maintenance team could touch the entire vehicle.

Once the race starts, no one except the driver and navigator can touch the car unless they reach the maintenance point.

"Hey, buddy, you just got here?" The bearded man at the door said, "Do you want earmuffs?"

"No need." Ji Jue waved his hand.

However, the man still stuffed an unopened earmuff over, took off his gloves and stretched out his hand, introducing himself: "Chonghui's navigator, Shi Ran, I'm here to run with you."

"Oh, Ji Jue, Coast Car."

"I know. I've seen your press conference!" Shi Ran grinned. "That prosthetic limb is really nice. Do you have plans to promote it outside of Haizhou?"

"At the moment, we are still testing and collecting feedback and data. I am afraid we don't have time to consider the outside market for the time being."

“There’s always a chance.”

Shi Ran handed over a business card: "I still have some say in Chonghui. If you plan to develop in Yunzhou, please consider us first."

"It's easy to talk about."

Ji Jue took it with both hands and found that the business card was not from the driver at all, but from the deputy director of the R&D department of Yunzhou Chonghui Industry. He was stunned.

"Hobbies are hobbies, and work is work."

Shi Ran smiled and said, “When I went to Haizhou a few years ago, I attended Professor Ye’s open class in Tianmen. Unfortunately, the distance was too far and we never had the chance to work together.

You must be new here, right? Do you want me to show you around? I've been here for almost a month."

Ji Jue was stunned: "Don't bother me."

"Hey, why are you being so polite? Let's go!"

Shi Ran waved without hesitation, walked in front of him and took him around the camp. He was very familiar with the place and introduced Ji Jue behind him to others from time to time.

In the entire Wild Sea Rally, there are more than sixty teams, including the sixteen groups of original and modified teams. There are very few like Ji Jue who just came the day before the opening ceremony. The vast majority of them have already started preparing a month in advance.

The lineup alone included most of the car companies in the Federation, and the teams sent by the larger car companies had hundreds of people. But Shi Ran seemed to have acquaintances wherever he went, and he even helped Ji Jue to introduce him.

There were many chosen ones among them, and some were not even disguised. Ji Jue also saw craftsmen from several other large workshops in the federation.

In just one morning, I collected a lot of business cards.

Everyone was welcoming and seeing off guests, and no one minded making more friends when they met by chance, especially a young man like Ji Jue who was in the limelight and the chief craftsman of this session.

There are also many who keep their distance, or even remain indifferent, looking at me coldly from a distance.

"Look, you already know all the companies over there."

Shi Ran shrugged slightly and didn't take Ji Jue with him.

The camps of Echo, Tiancheng, Xinyuan and Northern Territory are all clustered together, especially Northern Territory, which is a military-industrial enterprise in Huangzhou and occupies the best location.

After taking a look from a distance, Shi Ran didn't want to try his luck. He sighed and hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't.

There are some things that are not worth talking about.

What a pity! He is a good young man. Why would he wade into such muddy water?

Shi Ran sighed silently.

Soon, an urging voice came from the intercom.

"Okay, I have to go back to the meeting." He shrugged, "Remember to hurry up and register. We can have dinner together later!"

Ji Jue waved and said goodbye to him.

When Ji Jue returned to the venue on the coast, he saw busy staff coming towards him.

"Mr. Ji, you're back?" The maintenance team leader said, "The navigator has just arrived, and our crew needs to hurry up and register."

"Navigator?"

Ji Jue was immediately curious when he heard this: "Where is it?"

According to the rules of the Wild Sea Rally, participating teams are allowed to form a maintenance team to wait at the designated maintenance station. At the same time, the participating vehicles can be equipped with a driver and an auxiliary navigator.

It goes without saying that the driver has a lot of responsibilities, but the navigator often has multiple roles, including being a reserve driver who can take over the driver's place when necessary, and an assistant who is responsible for maintaining the vehicle when problems arise in the wild. It is even possible that the team's main driver has retired due to age, and when necessary, he can also be the driver's bodyguard to deal with troubles in the wilderness.

Two people per car, this is the lineup stipulated by the organizing committee. Once the race starts, only these two people can touch the car unless they arrive at the maintenance station.

Otherwise, it will be considered a violation.

Although the Coast Fleet is called a fleet, it is actually a logistics group temporarily put together by Tong Shengnian, and its main responsibility is to provide support to Ji Jue.

With Ji Jue here, there is no need for other people to carry out maintenance. With the Deus Ex Machina, the car can drive itself, not to mention the little cow and horse.

Originally, Ji Jue was planning to take just one of them, but he didn't expect that when the power was turned on, in addition to providing a lot of support, Lu Yingyue was willing to provide more people to help Ji Jue and protect his safety.

But until now, Ji Jue has been staying in the workshop and has never come out, so he hasn't even seen her.

Since it was Lu Yingyue who introduced you, you must be reliable. I just hope we can get along well.

At worst, we just have to hold each other's noses and bear with it. It's only half a month anyway, and it will be over eventually.

And the moment he saw the navigator, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In the snowy camp, there was a huge empty oil drum. The petite figure was wearing upgraded prosthetic limbs on her legs. She had a quiet temperament like a girl. When she turned around, a surprised smile appeared on her face that was indistinguishable between a man and a woman.

"Brother Ji Jue!"

The boy waved excitedly.

"Xiao An?!"

Ji Jue was suddenly surprised and walked over to him. He lifted him up with both hands, turned him around several times, and laughed out loud: "Long time no see!"

However, as she turned around, the smile on her face froze.

"……Um?"

Wait, this feeling, seems, as if, maybe, there is something... not right?

But it's true, the weight and touch are fine, the spiritual scent is the same as before, sniff, hmm, the shower gel smells the same, but why is it...

Feeling inexplicably anxious?

"What's wrong, Brother Ji Jue?"

Xiao An looked over blankly in mid-air, confused and puzzled.

But the smile remains.

Brother Ji Jue is Brother Ji Jue, there must be a reason for him to do this.

However, a certain momentary hallucination made Ji Jue subconsciously gasp.

Once bitten by a snake, one will be afraid of ropes for ten years. He was really a little scared.

"Xiao An?" he asked tentatively.

"Hmm?" Xiao An tilted her head, and the smile on her face became gentler under her short hair.

The illusion-like sense of déjà vu is even stronger!

Not Xiao An!

No, it seems to be Xiao An?
Right, right, right. No, no, no…

Cold sweat oozed from Ji Jue's forehead.

He can't tell the difference! ! !
(End of this chapter)