Above Destiny

Chapter 501: The Stick and the Carrot

Unexpectedly, the angel's death seemed to bring about unexpected effects to Ji Jue.

Whether it's an opponent or a teammate.

Not to mention that the angels immediately fell into a daze after seeing their companions' bodies destroyed and reduced to ashes, as if they had seen a ghost. They were panicked and lost their will to fight. Even Linka was stunned and couldn't believe it.

Even, it's like an illusion.

"This must be a dream, it must be."

On the way back, she kept mumbling to herself, absent-mindedly: "I started fantasizing again..."

Wen Wen sighed helplessly and knocked on the seat back roughly: "Drive carefully!"

After all, he is Superman. Whether he eats beef or not is not the point, but his reaction is really quick. He makes a prompt decision and while the angels are in chaos, he grabs them, carries the car and runs away.

In the end, he took advantage of the chaos to break out of the encirclement.

However, after waiting for a long time at the meeting point, only a few people were able to arrive in time...

When the last group of dusty people came back, there was only one person left in the entire team.

"Why are you the only one here?"

Wen Wen was stunned. "I remember you were the first to rush out. Are you still surrounded?"

The person who came back looked depressed. He looked at her, then at Ji Jue, and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

As a result, the expressions of others became increasingly ugly.

Someone swore.

"Go ahead and say it. There's nothing to be embarrassed about." Wen Wen sighed, her expression unchanged.

"Captain, no, Aub said...said..."

The young man who came back hesitated and stammered, "Big sister, you are crazy. You sacrificed so many people and rushed in there to seek death, just to grab a ghost thing from the stone sculpture... He won't... won't come back... And Mu Cai and Pu Peng..."

It can be seen that this has been processed, and the original words may be even more unpleasant.

Feeling that the team's losses were too heavy and there was no future, he ran away.

Or worse.

Surrender to the enemy?

People's hearts are divided.

Feeling the weird atmosphere in the team and the strange looks from others, Ji Jue, who was at the center of the conflict and the center of the storm, was extremely calm and did not express anything.

It was as if he was in a daze, looking at the sky leisurely.

Putting himself in Wen Wen's shoes, if he knew that Wen Wen was surrounded, he would also do whatever it takes - as for whether it is worth it, it is not something that can be said with words. Without knowing the inside story, he remained silent.

However, this silence seemed to be interpreted as something else.

In the crowd, when the injured people look over, they can't help but feel resentful.

"I've gone to so much trouble to save a human being... what's the point..."

"No, everyone listen to me--"

Linka, who was dazed, became excited, her voice trembling: "Just now, the evil... ahem, Mr. Ji, killed an angel, right in front of me. This power is absolutely genuine, I..."

For a moment, the survivors were stunned, looking at each other in confusion, suspicion, or even laughing out loud.

"Hahahaha, Linka, are you kidding me?"

"Did you see it wrong?"

"Alright, Linka, stop talking..."

"No, it's true. I saw it with my own eyes. It's true!"

Linka's face flushed and she stammered as she tried to speak, but even if she told everyone in person everything she had seen, the people who heard her would inevitably look doubtful, and even unhappy.

The angel's death was really too bizarre.

Before seeing it with one's own eyes, one would not believe such an exaggerated fairy tale. The first reaction was that Linka had seen it wrong. One might even suspect that Wen Wen instructed her to lie in an attempt to make everyone accept such a huge loss and maintain her position as leader.

Ji Jue didn't care about this at all. He calmly played his role as a disabled person and calmly accepted the looks of suspicion or disgust.

He shook his head and sneezed.

A strand of hair that flew in front of him was blown away.

Well, at the moment he was still in the state of a human stick, and his weight was almost as heavy as a stone. There was no wheelchair or cart to be found in a hurry, so... Wen Wen simply pulled a rope, tied him up, and carried him on her back.

"Okay, we've worked so hard for so many days, everyone is tired, let's go back first."

Wen Wen interrupted the whispers and looked at Linka.

Linka pressed the button of the walkie-talkie in her arms. After two beeps, a faint buzzing sound was heard, and the convoy restarted. Soon, Ji Jue's eyes blurred, and he came from the wilderness to the mountains. Then, the convoy moved forward, the sound of waves sounded, and mud and water submerged the tires. After turning the narrow road, it suddenly became clear as if traveling through the clouds.

When the clouds cleared, they reached their destination.

Huge square.

It looked like a village, with many huts randomly built in the canyon and a bonfire burning in the central square, which was wide and rough.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Some people even cheered and shouted, celebrating being able to come back alive.

"What was that just now?" Ji Jue subconsciously frowned and thought, "Why can't I feel the fluctuation of Shangshan? No, is this teleportation?"

“Just think of it as a blind spot in a dream. When so many people’s dreams come together, there will always be some corners and crevices, and there will naturally be gaps between the bubbles.

With a little renovation, it can become a place to stay.”

Wen Wen laughed at herself: "After all, we are a group of demons now, so we have to find some shady places."

Footsteps were heard in the distance, and a crowd of people were rushing over. Those who had been waiting around the square all night came up, calling out name after name. Some hugged each other and cried, while others were destined to receive no response. After repeating this again and again, they seemed to understand something and shed tears in silence, or sobbed and wailed.

Even, unable to restrain the resentful look.

Amid the chaos of mixed sadness and joy, Ji Jue watched quietly, but heard an unexpected call of surprise.

"Mr. Ji?"

A staggering figure squeezed out of the crowd, looked at the 'pendant' behind Wen Wen, and danced wildly with joy: "You are really back, that's great! The commander said you came in too, I couldn't believe it..."

"Yu Shu?"

Ji Jue raised his eyebrows. He was surprised to meet his old employee here.

It was obvious that he had a high prestige among the crowd. Everyone else automatically made way for him. Yu Shu grinned and came over excitedly.

Someone hurried up and looked at Wen Wen with a serious expression.

Wen Wen nodded in understanding and put Ji Jue down: "Yu Shu, take care of him first, I have something else to do here."

"Okay, okay, don't worry."

Yu Shu carried Ji Jue up with some difficulty, carrying him like a princess. He staggered after taking two steps. Fortunately, they borrowed a small cart and ended this unbearable torture for everyone.

Pushing him, he stumbled all the way back to his residence.

I took great pains to bring the best chair in the house. Unfortunately, it was only a limited one, and it seemed to be a treatment chair...

"Clinic?"

Ji Jue looked around curiously, "Does this place need a doctor too?"

After Yu Shu worked for a long time, he brought the hot water, and then he was embarrassed to find that Ji Jue had no hands, but Ji Jue waved his arms nonchalantly.

"I'm not thirsty now, and neither am I hungry. Do I need to eat?" He analyzed his condition.

"Although theoretically it is not necessary, many people still cannot change their habits. If they do not eat for too long, they will feel hungry. But if they are full, they can last for a long time. However, they still need water. After all, the instinct to drink water cannot be eliminated even in dreams. If they do not drink, they will become more and more thirsty, which is difficult to overcome.

Sleep still exists, and if the consciousness is awake for a long time, one will still feel tired, but even if one falls asleep, there will be no dreams. "

Yu Shu replied, “As for the clinic, it’s just a decoration.

I am now glad that I studied surgery. Most of the time I help with sutures. Apart from that, probably because of the vortex system, my spiritual essence can accelerate and promote wound healing, so I don’t even have to prescribe medicine.

Ah, sorry, I said so much in one breath..."

"It's ok."

Ji Jue said calmly: "Can you tell me what is going on in this world? Why have people fallen to this point? And there are those... angels? What on earth are they?"

"..." Yu Shu's expression suddenly became complicated, as if he remembered something that he was against, bitter and solemn: "What is going on here? It's probably a dream... It seems that all the people who have been infected with amnesia have come here, and everyone's dreams are piled together to form the world like this."

Ji Jue understood, he had already seen it outside, the sea of ​​foam formed by countless bubbles and phantom lights, and the strange images of tall towers and giant trees.

"It's a long story, but to put it simply, there are gods in this dream world."

Yu Shu sighed: "As long as you believe in the Holy Spirit, you can get peace and happiness. As long as you pray to God, your wishes can come true. As long as you are pious, you can live forever..."

"It sounds so beautiful." Ji Jue smiled with emotion, "If it's really that good, I would also like to worship it...but, what's the price?
What is the price?"

The price is that there is nothing but faith and prayer!
Gradually, I became a walking corpse that cared about nothing except faith and prayer...

Although his soul was sound and his consciousness intact, his humanity had been completely lost and burned away, and his entire person gradually became alienated. In the end, after completely losing his eyes, ears, mouth and nose, he became a faceless person, the eternal praise and prayer.

"Every year, in every place, one-third of the people who do not pray enough or are inefficient are selected and punished by having their limbs cut off or their facial features and internal organs dug out...

If you are chosen for many consecutive years or say something you shouldn't say, you will be thrown into the furnace and burned day and night in the name of false faith.

But I can’t die, and I wail forever…”

Yu Shu's face was pale, he was sweating profusely, his breathing became increasingly rapid, and he subconsciously pressed his wrist, stroking the burn mark that no longer existed.

"Yu Shu——"

Ji Jue frowned and raised his voice: "——Yu Shu!"

Yu Shu shuddered, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare. He smiled sadly at himself and wanted to say something, but Ji Jue shook his head: "It's okay not to talk about the painful things."

Either believe, pray, praise, and gradually lose yourself and consciousness, becoming an empty shell like a praising machine, or burn endlessly in hell.

There are only two paths before everyone in this world.

Neither of them can survive, and neither of them can die.

"But what about other things? There should be more than that, right?"

Ji Jue pondered and suddenly asked: "Oh, angels, what are angels?"

"Just a bunch of mad dogs with burned brains."

After a while, Yu Shu suddenly said, "Mr. Ji, you should know the harm of banned drugs, right? Those banned drugs that stimulate the brain and nerves and secrete hormones after taking them...

The so-called paradise is even more terrifying than those things.

It’s even more exaggerated than a dream…”

"Everything you want can be obtained with just a thought, whether it is delicious food, beautiful women, luxurious enjoyment, or unspeakable quirks, all can be satisfied, and the degree of stimulation can be higher and higher, more and more crazy.

Even, not just one's own fantasies, but other people's fantasies, all the fantasies once recorded in the remains of Huangliang can be easily reproduced, with endless joy and comfort, literally bliss.

Anyone who declares his or her faith can go in and experience it for an hour. Once you have gone in, you will never forget it and will never forget that feeling for the rest of your life.

Not only can the most devout believers enter for one day each year, but the Holy Spirit Cult will also regularly select those who are qualified to stay there permanently and transform into angels. Apart from occasional missions, they will stay there forever and enjoy themselves to the fullest..."

"..."

In the silence, Ji Jue's expression changed slightly, as if in admiration, and he sighed softly.

It’s a really good idea.

With a carrot in one hand and a stick in the other, with a hell of infinite suffering and a heaven of infinite bliss, why should we worry that believers will not flock to it?
only……

"This is clearly a dream, but even fantasy has become a luxury?"

Ji Jue couldn't help but grin: "How ridiculous."

He had clearly taken away everything that others had imagined in their dreams, but instead he threw these things as rewards to the loyal dog who knelt down and worshiped first.

If you are unwilling to kneel down and kowtow, then please go to hell.

"What do you think?"

Ji Jue glanced at Yu Shu's appearance and suddenly asked: "That 'Holy Spirit', aren't you from the church? I remember that the Chongguang Church also has its own gods..."

"Mr. Ji——"

Yu Shu's expression suddenly became serious, and he was slightly unhappy: "Don't confuse the two. Besides, the church, I mean, Chongguang Church, the members inside never consider themselves believers.

The Holy Spirit is not God, but is a man-made creation.

My father once told me that God is the result of doing righteousness, but not the purpose of doing righteousness. If you embark on this path just to believe in something, it would be better not to set out from the beginning.

There shouldn't be gods in this world who are high above and control souls."

"I'm sorry, but that was presumptuous of me."

"No, it's me...thank you."

Yu Shu finally got rid of the previous shadow after coming to his senses. He smiled bitterly and continued, "The 'Holy Spirit' has not been seen for a long time except for his appearance a long time ago. It is said that only the most honorable saints in the paradise can listen to His revelations.

Even when Miss Wen had already rushed into Tiancheng, he didn't show up. I'm afraid he doesn't care about us, a bunch of shady rats, right?"

"Well?"

Ji Jue raised his eyebrows slightly, but didn't say anything.

Just thinking.

In the silence, there was a knock on the door, soft and low, with great patience.

"Mr. Bao?"

Yu Shu went to open the door and said with a slight surprise: "It's so late, I thought you had gone to bed."

"When I get old, I sleep lightly. I heard the commander say that someone here needs help, so I just came over." The old man who knocked on the door smiled warmly, holding something in his hand.

Due to the angle, Ji Jue couldn't see the back, but when the old man carried the rough wheelchair into the house, he saw his face.

He was old and hunched, with spots all over his face, sparse white hair, and a thin body that looked as if he would fall down at the slightest breeze.

But through spiritual perception, one can see... the light radiating from the soul of the old man in front of him all the time. It is not blazing, nor gentle, but it naturally stirs up waves, illuminates the surroundings, maintains detection, but is not noticed by people.

More importantly, the eyes.

The moment they looked at each other, Ji Jue's heart moved slightly and he suddenly understood.

Just like the old man’s perception at this moment.

This look of scrutinizing a talented and beautiful person...

...Without a doubt, they are colleagues!
"I have long heard of your name, Mr. Ji." The old man stroked his chest and smiled. "It seems that I don't need to introduce myself too much. Now I see an old craftsman who is unknown."

Ji Jue nodded politely, raised his free elbow and made a gesture like the craftsmen from the association would when they met, "What's your name?"

"It's a big fortune."

A name I've never heard of.

"Hello, Mr. Bao."

Ji Jue greeted him politely with a smile, and he was sure in his heart that this name was 100% fake.

When he decided to make a move towards the position of master, he had already checked all the craftsmen with gold ribbon records in the association, including their names, schools, and general research directions.

Knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. At the very least, you must first understand your competitors.

The entire list was composed of a thousand people, but there was only one person with the surname Bao. However, he was not called Bao Dacai at all. Moreover, he was a rising star who had just passed the examination two years before Ji Jue, so he was not that old at all.

Besides, that person... is a woman!

As for whether there is a possibility that he is really an unknown old craftsman who has never obtained a golden ribbon in his life... Just kidding, whether it is from the secret spiritual fluctuations or the place where the other party's eyes fall and linger for a little, it is enough to show the instinct and control that the other party has cultivated after immersing himself in this art for a long time.

The association may be a little stupid, a little slow, and a little useless, but it is definitely not blind!
As for whether it is possible to be low-key, being low-key does have its advantages, but it also has a price. The price is that no one cares about you. It may be understandable for other professions to be low-key, but the nature of a craftsman and the instinct for promotion determine that if he wants to make progress, he must fight with others.

Out of the environment of the association, either the craftsmen trained by the Empire and the Federation themselves can obtain a steady stream of resources and support without becoming famous, or...

...deep and mysterious?
This is really a colleague!
Just when Ji Jue was secretly alert and planning how to put the talented and beautiful jade that had been delivered to his door into the furnace, Mr. Bao had already taken the freshly boiled hot water with a smile, pulled a chair over and sat next to Ji Jue.

As if inadvertently, the wrist twisted slightly, revealing the fingers holding the cup.

The fingers hidden behind the cup hold it in a weird and strange way. The index finger and middle finger overlap and pass through the handle. The first knuckle of the thumb touches the ring finger, and the little finger is inserted between these fingers with incredible flexibility...

It's like a tangle of knots, and seems familiar.

That was a very rare gesture. In the ancient alchemy tradition, such badges and marks were called [Buckle of Rebirth], which were used to refer to the resurrection stone or panacea.

At the same time, from Professor Ye’s previous guidance, Ji Jue also knew that it actually had another name... What was it called? Oh, I remembered... Nirvana... Grass!
Ji Jue’s eyes went dark.

It’s true that they are colleagues, but why this colleague?!

——【Nirvana】!
(End of this chapter)