Above Destiny

Chapter 672 A ruthless person can't be killed, but a person can.
In reality, "the penalty-free team" is just a descriptive term.

Because this name became so widespread, over time, even the association began to use it semi-officially.

Strictly speaking, there is no organization or department within the association that is actually called the 'Punishment Team'. If you ask anyone, you won't find any information about the Punishment Team's business or structure.

Even in the archived records, there is only one name: Taboo Technology Standardization Consultation Seminar.

This is not a permanent body of the association.

When the decision is made to convene this seminar, in addition to the managers appointed by the council members, members will be selected from the association's artisans to form a temporary team, depending on the circumstances.

Then... they teamed up to provide a one-stop service for murder, silencing witnesses, and arson, sending people on their way, sometimes including teachers above them, students below them, and all those who knew about it...

After it's all over, take a shower, divide the loot, calculate the output and DKP, earn some contribution points and credits within the guild, then everyone goes home, back to their own families, and the music and dancing resume.

Finally, the seminar ended.

Nothing was left except a record sheet.

That's why the existence of the Punishment Team is so feared within the association. When the Punishment Team comes to your door, you don't even know if your teacher, your colleague, or your student might be among them.

All records of the Absolute Punishment Team's actions are kept confidential, and no one except the chairman and the eight directors has the right to inquire about them.

All of this is to maximize the deterrence and targeting of artisans conducting forbidden research, while preventing the 'Punishment Team' from gaining excessive privileges within the association, ensuring that no one can abuse this power, and maintaining the association's image to the greatest extent possible.

Most importantly, shift the blame!

The penalty team.

What kind of penalty-eliminating team?

Don't jump to conclusions; we don't have such a thing in the Taiyi Ring. How would I know about the noises next door last night?

What does it matter to me if your neighbor dies?
Similarly, under the constraints of various parties, once such temporary privileged violent institutions within the association are mobilized, there can only be one reason—the abuse and research of forbidden technologies.

Of course, even if members are selected on an ad hoc basis, the council still considers different artisans to have different priorities, and there are many factors to consider during the selection process.

Qualifications, abilities, background, and shrewdness, even personality and the degree to which one keeps quiet.

So much so that even though the members are not fixed and are selected on a temporary basis, there will always be a group of craftsmen who are given priority consideration.

They are particularly cunning, particularly treacherous, and particularly ruthless. Among the embers of a group of people who like to mess with their peers, they especially enjoy messing with their peers, and even do it with skill, style, and brilliance!

After all, no matter what you say, the Punishment Team still goes out to kill and commit arson.

Combat effectiveness cannot be lacking.

Purely research-oriented artisans are no longer a possibility.

It should be understood that, regardless of the Association or the Deep Abyss, in most cases, craftsmen are not people who will sit idly by and wait to die. Even if they die, they will live on forever, and as long as they live, they will struggle to survive.

Moreover, craftsmen spend 99% of their time holed up in their workshops, making it incredibly difficult to kill one inside their workshop. This is a feat that cannot be easily overcome by simply having a difference in numbers.

Therefore, one often needs to have one or two special skills.

Ye Xian almost did this job back in the day.

All the criteria had already been met, and they were the best, but the key was that she felt the job wasn't difficult enough. She could do it alone and earn the money by herself, so why would she need to find teammates? As for later, after doing some small part-time jobs at Nirvana, she naturally became too lazy to bother with these small, piecemeal projects.

But Ji Jue doesn't mind!
Children are growing rapidly, and they can digest as much food as they want. The only problem is that they might not get enough to eat!

Dry!
They're going to take down the penalty shootout team!
Who wouldn't love to openly kill their colleagues?

So, with a flick of Jiang Tongguang's hand, Ji Jue was put on the list... Ji Jue didn't dare ask which list it was. Anyway, he had passed the interview and would just go home and wait for the notification!
Since it's a part-time job, it's normal for the working hours to be irregular.

The penalty team can't work every day... otherwise everyone would be fed up.

However, Jiang Tongguang has promised that if there is any progress on the current lead, he will definitely give priority to arranging for Ji Jue to play.

Those who have been targeted by the penalty team for so long must be big fish!

So, Director Jiang patted his behind and drifted away.

He left behind three gold ribbons, a list, and a pie in the sky that had just been drawn up.

In the silence, neither of them spoke again.

Only Ji Jue picked up his teacup, drank it all in one gulp, gazed at the setting sun outside the window, and couldn't help but sigh softly:
"...There's still not enough work, not enough ruthlessness."

Lou Feng had completely lost his composure.

Isn't that enough?
Isn't that ruthless enough?
You almost got into a fight with an entire faction within the association, and you still don't think that's enough?

"Are you even human?!"

"Whether you're human or not, you still need to have work to do. Without work, where does progress come from, and where do rewards come from?"

Ji Jue fiddled with the gold ribbon on the table, showing no respect: "If I were truly strong, fierce, and powerful enough, why would I need something like this?"

I am very happy to receive the gold ribbon.

But if there are only two, then I'm not happy.

Ji Jue had originally planned to collect all three gold ribbons in one go and wait to reach the Master rank, but after a lot of effort, he was still one ribbon short.

For the assessment of masters, the three gold ribbons are merely an entry threshold, a rigid requirement used as a standard.

Okay, it's not actually that hard.

If you're ruthless and have enough work, you can still become a master even without a single gold ribbon. Take Ye Xian for example; with the breakthrough brought by the three ominous sequences, he easily reached the next level without taking any detours, leaving countless others far behind.

But if you don't really have that much work to do, and you want to get ahead by seniority and accumulate merit, then you still need a standard, right?

Ji Jue still needs to accumulate reputation and experience to get a ticket to compete with the old guard in the association.

Of course, if he were to actually share the things he'd been secretly doing, or tell people stories about Lu Changsheng, it would most likely be a done deal...

It was able to be appraised by a master in the depths!

At that time, we will joyfully welcome the great calamity, embroider the black flag at night, and have a bright future ahead!
If Jian Yuan can take the position of Grand Master, why can't I?

Unfortunately, no matter how beastly Ji Jue was, he still had some attachment to the human world and his own human status, so let it go.

After careful consideration, Ji Jue decided to bring his talent to the Judgment Team!

You're working everywhere, so what difference does it make who you work for?

Fighting our competitors openly and fairly, great!
However, before that...

Ji Jue pulled out a list and handed it to Lou Feng: "Yuanjian, Mingsheng, Linyu, Twenty-Four Winds, Liquid Gold... a total of fourteen companies. Now you can go and 'consult' them about their technology and patents."

"What the hell?"

Lou Feng was shocked: "Didn't you say you just showed leniency?"

Didn't I lift it?

Ji Jue retorted, "I've already cancelled the interpellation and let them off the hook, what more do they want? Even Master Hu has to pay money, do they think they're so great, even more powerful than the master, that they don't need to pay?"

Not paying?

Pay or die!

Such a big thing, how could it not happen without some people dying?
Even if we can't do it today, we'll try again tomorrow! If we can't mess with the master, we can certainly mess with you, right?
You'd better get in touch with the board members too!

“Take this seriously, Lao Lou!”

Ji Jue said earnestly, "Once this wave of group buying is done, there will be new and upgraded models next year, the year after, and the year after that. We can squeeze toothpaste for at least eleven or twelve years! Think of how much effort this will save!"

Just as his peers would laugh in exasperation when they saw the patent barriers in the sundial, Ji Jue was also furious more than once when he saw the landmines, pits, walls, and stumbling blocks that his peers had laid for newcomers in their respective fields.

Currently, the functionality in all aspects can only be described as basic. Any attempt to add any unique features has been completely blocked by the members of the association.

They either stop upgrading and wait to die, or they pay a lot of patent fees or shares to buy Ping An.

Even so, their peers still hold inquiry meetings to put pressure on them.

The inquiry has been held, and the pressure has been relieved, but don't ask where it will end up.

Factory Director Ji is petty. He knows everyone in the inquiry meeting, but he remembers exactly who is on the application list.

There are more than just a few people with ulterior motives.
The others are just observing and haven't had a chance to show their faces yet.

The wall fell and everyone pushed.

When Ji Jue played the single-player game alone, no one paid attention. But once he entered the power game of the association and showed signs of wanting to improve, it became an exhilarating ranked competition.

From the very beginning, he never expected it to end well.

There's a reason why craftsmen can play with white deer; it's all about the ability to rise to the top!
Now that the stick has been raised, there needs to be a sledgehammer in front of it. If you don't step on a few colleagues, you can't even stand up straight when you speak in the association!
"Alright, I'll handle it myself."

Lou Feng picked up Ji Jue's list, and after a moment's thought, he had already identified the first target to be targeted.

Foresight!

The workshop that jumped the highest and shouted the loudest before this, whose business scope and technology overlapped the most severely with the sundial.

Most importantly, it's the closest.

It's in the southern part of the city!

Given all this, what's the point of saying anything more?
Hey bro, I'm in!
That very evening, they directly contacted the Star Core Association's Earth Vein Teleportation system and arrived at the building's entrance, thus knocking on the door of the Vision Workshop.

Lou Feng held the notice of the inquiry meeting in his left hand and the Han Guang Sword, which he used to deal with his peers, in his right hand. He grinned at the pale-faced old craftsman.

"Mr. Sun, would you like to have a chat?"

We chatted until midnight.

When he left, he still held the Han Guang sword in his hand, but the thing in his other hand had changed from the notice of the inquiry meeting to a thick stack of patent authorization certificates.

The patent barriers that Vision Workshop has painstakingly built over three generations in the field of trace spiritual matter analysis and testing are now fully open to the public.

He glanced at the sundial on his wrist, ignoring the time, and made another call, which brought in a teleportation call from the Star Core Association, before heading to the next location.

Then, the next one.

The one after that.

For three whole days, Lou Feng didn't close his eyes, running around the Federation, the Empire, and the Thousand Islands non-stop.

Taking advantage of Hu Jian's moment of weakness, they launched a fierce attack and relentless pursuit.

Of the fourteen workshops, he personally secured deals with twelve of them, either through patent licensing, technology sharing, or by offering shares to receive investment.

As for the remaining two companies, one spent a lot of money to beg his teacher Kong Qingyan for a cooperation agreement, while the other was already on the verge of bankruptcy.

I had originally planned to take this opportunity to turn things around, but after losing so badly, I gave up hope of ever making a comeback...

Before the building was even opened, the workshop was deregistered by the owner himself.

bankrupted!
As it turns out, when a craftsman chooses to give up on progress and completely give up, there is really no other way but to physically eliminate him.

I'm sorry you're late. Here's what's left in the workshop. Feel free to take whatever you like.

Lou Feng was so angry his face turned green!

Left with no other choice, after yelling at the other side for two hours, they could only carry away the furnace and unique equipment that had been passed down for eight or nine generations in the other workshop...

Don't let me see you on Tian Shu Street again!

Only after Ji Jue and Lou Feng finally calmed down did the association's belated announcement finally appear in the hidden corner of the official website's public information.

The questioning session was cancelled due to insufficient evidence and false accusations.

No further disputes are allowed to arise because of this!

After a thorough investigation, in order to uphold the association's regulations and maintain strict discipline, both parties were severely punished—each was fined a full fifty points!

That's absolutely terrifying! An apprentice working in the association for over a decade wouldn't be able to save up this much!

After the announcement was issued, many of their bloodthirsty colleagues who had expected to witness rivers of blood were immediately disappointed.

Why did you chicken out? Lao Hu, go for it!
What's there to be afraid of!
Everyone will support you!
It's just the sound of the tide. He's already mastered the art. Do you think Ye Xian would kill you over something like this?
Unfortunately, after the announcement was issued, Master Hu went into complete seclusion. He withdrew from most of the association's projects and announced that he would devote himself to revising the eighth edition of the Basic Introduction Compilation, contributing to the association before the end of his term.

Amidst the groans of the other workshops, Ji Jue and Lou Feng's nameless, still numbered [1827778928] joint workshop, spurred on by their papers, achieved a high ranking and was officially listed in the catalog...

In a sense, their 'fluid system' faction has officially made its debut in the association from this day forward!

Thanks to the tragic circumstances and sorrow of many victims, many of their peers have fallen into an eerie silence, with not a single rumor circulating.

On the contrary, Master Ji's reputation for forbearance and public service, as well as his compassionate and magnanimous heart, earned him an excellent reputation within the association and unanimous praise from everyone.

Good news, he's more civilized than Ye Xian!
The bad news is that civilization has its limitations... and its minds are even smaller!
Ye Xian was unruly; he simply covered his face and rolled up his sleeves to start chopping. But he still knew to follow the association's procedures and made the other party say thank you at the end!

On the bright side, at least the person is still alive.

Sadly, besides being alive, a person has nothing left...

Between 'a quick death' and 'suffering in life,' it was difficult for everyone to tell which was more serious.

And so, amidst the eerie calm, Ji Jue finally managed to temporarily cease his activities and quiet down.

But even though he's quiet now, the way he suddenly went offline and disappeared without a trace after doing something makes you feel like this bastard is brewing something big...

And so, in the dead of night, I tossed and turned in bed, filled with anxiety.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop upstairs.

Days passed by, and Ji Jue remained a mysterious figure, nowhere to be found.

Only in the workshop of the Doomsday Special Train did Ji Jue completely break down.

"Nothing about this is fucking right!"

No matter how hard you try to take off, you can only crash headfirst into the unseen ceiling time and time again, ending up with a bloody head and blacked-out vision.

For the first time in his life, Ji Jue felt that, apart from being ambitious but lacking in skills, talent, experience, and ability, the most painful and agonizing symptom among the many "occupational diseases" of craftsmen was none other than this.

The so-called bottleneck!
　Sorry, I caught a cold and my head was foggy... I thought I'd drink a couple more cups of coffee to perk myself up, but I ended up consuming too much caffeine and felt anxious and irritable all day...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)