Above Destiny

Chapter 737 The False Man and the Sea
finally come!

The wind you've been longing for is finally about to reach the seven cities.

Not too early, not too late, right now... This has made everyone who was all geared up for a fight a little awkward.

Even if it were earlier or later, it would be better than it is now.

If it had been earlier, everyone could have prepared themselves, worked together, and united against external threats, both the distant threat and the nearby threat of Ji Jue. If it had been a little later, everyone could have united to fight amongst themselves, sparred a few battles, and elected a leader, thus settling one's mind…

As a result, everyone's original plans were all disrupted.

Not connected to either side.

There's a certain beauty in this kind of time-out arrangement—a time off that isn't really a time off, and work that isn't really work.

Within an afternoon, news of the approaching storm spread throughout the Endless Sea via observation agencies such as the Federation and the Empire's observatories and maritime bureaus.

The atmosphere on the islands, large and small, suddenly changed, becoming more somber and tense.

Supplies began to become scarce and prices rose, but most people had already stocked up beforehand, so there wasn't much trouble.

Meanwhile, in the Seven City Council of Pucheng, all the high-ranking officials present had complex expressions; perhaps not so much tension and fear, but more...

Instead, I felt irritable.

trouble!

Life was going well, but suddenly a cold snap hit, disrupting everyone's plans to make money. Anyone would be annoyed in that situation.

This damn thing is so annoying, can't it just stay away?

Amidst the clamor and cacophony of complaints, Ji Jue remained silent, scratching his chin for a while before glancing at Ming Kele beside him, unable to suppress his doubts:
"No, aren't you guys even a little bit nervous?"

"nervous?"

Minkler sighed, unable to suppress a sneer: "Isn't this already quite tense? But, every ten years or so, there's a common occurrence of this kind of 'wind,' so everyone's used to it."

Things are different now. If Minkler, who was once the commander-in-chief of the Seven Cities Joint Defense Fleet, fails to handle the storm, he will definitely have to resign and might even end up in court.

Moreover, there's the patriarch's ring, a death warrant, at play.

Their lives were precarious, barely hanging on to the bone.

But now, he has gone from being an employee to a boss, the ruler of Xiangzhou, the head of the Chopra family... What right does the Seven Cities court have to judge him?

Moreover, he has misused the seven-city joint defense system, turning it into the private property of the Chopra family. If, as is customary, each city were to send its own elite forces to coordinate the defense this time, he would gain a huge advantage.

However, when it comes to vying for command, there will likely be a lot of intrigue and backstabbing, with no shortage of backstabbing and infighting.

The Seven Cities are like this, and the Endless Sea is like this.

Everyone's culpability is quite obvious, yet they are all quite honest and never pretend.

As for... the cost?
There are costs, but those are always paid by the cannon fodder below; the big shots only ever make a difference in how much they earn.

Given the current state of the makeshift team, even if Minkler wanted to change things, it would be useless.

Given the chaotic state of affairs, the fact that he was able to distribute the full amount of compensation and add extra subsidies, and provide sufficient equipment instead of substandard items, already demonstrates his love for his soldiers and shows that he truly cares for them and allows them to enjoy a comfortable life.

After all, the location of Qicheng is quite advantageous.

Harmful winds are like ocean currents; they don't blow randomly all over the endless sea at the same time. There is always a sequence, a primary and a secondary, and a relative intensity.

The main areas of rampage are relatively remote sea areas and uninhabited islands, while the Seven Cities are located in the tributaries and the aftermath, so that every time the monsters are active and the mutations run rampant, they are not beyond the scope of our response.

While injuries to bones and muscles are inevitable, they won't cause serious damage to one's vital energy.

It's understandable that people should be optimistic.

Moreover, with the combined strength of the seven families, there is also a creation like the Lighthouse, which, once activated, can minimize the aftereffects of the harmful winds.

However, the amount of resources and spiritual energy burned was too large, so it could only be activated temporarily when it was difficult to cope. The rest of the time, it was all about gritting one's teeth.

However, most of the time, the aftershocks only produce a few small karami, which may increase in number and require a bit more effort, but are not a big problem.

Ji Jue frowned: "What if we really run into trouble?"

"Time to spend money."

Minkler shrugged and offered the usual course of action.

If some behemoth were to approach the Seven Cities, come smelling the scent, and persist in its course without changing course, then everyone would have no choice but to spend some money to hire an expert to drive away the evil spirit or deal with it directly.

Apart from that, the vast majority of situations are actually within the scope of the seven cities' response capabilities.

Nowadays, meetings in Pucheng, aside from advance preparations and unifying attitudes, mostly focus on discussing how to mitigate losses and reduce costs.

"..."

Ji Jue had been listening for about ten minutes and was almost exhausted. He couldn't help but interrupt the original topic: "After all, it involves wind-related illnesses, so it's best to be prepared, right?"

Shouldn't everyone be more cautious?

In a moment of silence, everyone was somewhat taken aback, exchanging bewildered glances. They quickly became wary, wondering if Ji Jue intended to take this opportunity to stir things up again.

After asking the question, Ji Jue stopped speaking and remained silent.

Once the others realized what was happening, they immediately understood and chuckled.

"Haha, Mr. Ji may not understand the situation in Seven Cities." The chairman of the Dan Island Council waved his hand. "It's just a bout of wind, nothing to worry about."

"If we are unable to do so, our yamen can also lend a hand."

"It's just a cold snap, there's no need to be so worried, just relax."

"Just a little bit of hardship."

"Really?" Amidst the lively conversation, Ji Jue also laughed and nodded: "Then I was overthinking it."

Damn it, I can't take it anymore!
You bunch of insects, I'm going to burn you to ashes!

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Calm down, Ji Jue, calm down, don't argue with idiots.

With a major storm looming, they remain utterly complacent. No wonder they keep fussing and struggling in this mess. All they care about is saving and earning more for themselves while making others pay more and suffer even greater losses.

Ji Jue felt like he was about to have a stress reaction!
After all, craftsmen always believe in being prepared, and Ji Jue would suffocate without a backup plan.

If this were in a lab or workshop, any newbie who dared to treat safety regulations as a joke and mess around would probably get a severe scolding from their mentor or supervisor.

Unfortunately, politics has never been related to physics, and can even disregard physics.

Ji Jue remained silent, but the meeting continued to be lively.

Everyone had already begun discussing their catch with great enthusiasm, as if they were participating in a hunt.

After all, besides losses, a bad wind can also represent gains!
After each typhoon, various organizations would rush to the endless sea with their checkbooks to plunder the materials left behind by the many calamities and aberrations.

The demand is enormous—for medicinal use, creation, esoteric rituals, sacrificial offerings…

The flesh, bones, and even specialties of many calamity beasts are often priceless and unavailable for sale. Once the calamity passes, they are immediately sold off in a clearance sale.

Among all the big spenders, the Federation and the Empire are the biggest spenders. At the same time, there are also the artisan associations, and the masters also have needs, even more and more exaggerated ones.

Money flows like water, and wealth comes from all directions.

As a result, even after deducting the casualties, war losses, and compensation from the lower classes, each party could still make a profit from other sources.

To some extent, the Seven Cities Joint Defense was established to handle the dirty and tiring work of collecting materials, and its orders even took precedence over the defense of the seven cities.

As for the lives of the civilians... it doesn't matter, they just need to believe that they are being protected.

Besides, the gentlemen are kind-hearted and won't let them all die.

This is the perfect opportunity for all parties to demonstrate their strength, resources, skills, and capabilities!

As a result, everyone is already preparing for battle and can't wait!
"Mr. Ji? Mr. Ji?"

Ji Jue heard the calls around the long table, looked up, and found everyone looking at him. He immediately smiled and said, "Um? Sorry, I've been staying up late a lot lately, I was distracted."

What's wrong?

"It's nothing, we just discussed it..."

The president of the Dancheng Association, who initiated the proposal, still smiled and said warmly, "It's a good opportunity to take advantage of this storm to train our troops and restore order."

"Let's rank the results of this storm internally, it'll be fun, won't it?" "That sounds like fun." Ji Jue nodded.

"And what do you mean?" the president of the Dancheng Federation pressed.

"I have no problem with it, I agree with everything, I can do it."

Ji Jue smiled and nodded repeatedly, clapping and praising, "That's a really good idea! How come I didn't think of that?"

A bunch of old bastards are still trying to rank themselves here and fight for the best seats, huh?
Internal ranking?

He said it was just for fun, but he was actually eyeing the position of leader of the alliance and wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to gain the upper hand in the upcoming struggle.

First, select the top Baturu from the seven cities... then when striving for further opportunities, wouldn't it be perfectly logical to change the title?

The leader of the Seven Cities Alliance, doesn't that sound pleasing?
As for the extent of casualties and losses that may occur as each party pursues its gains and achievements, that is not within the scope of consideration.

Those who claim to be willing to pay any price are usually not actually willing to pay any price.

And after the meeting, the one who "gained the most" in a sense was actually Fernand, who sat at the front as a mere decoration and did not utter a word from beginning to end!

Everyone agreed that it was not advisable to act rashly at this critical juncture, and that the experienced, prudent, and virtuous acting speaker should continue to stabilize the overall situation and coordinate the seven cities.

Staying at our posts and contributing our talents—isn't that wonderful?

Simply put, the death penalty is commuted to a suspended death sentence.

From "Get out of here right now" to "Take the blame after the storm passes and then leave"... who knows, you might end up using your own corpse to fill the hole in the Seven Cities.

Even worse than Minkler was that Fernand was there voluntarily.

To preserve the fruits of his life's work, whether out of obsession or something else, he willingly sat on this fiery pit, silent, letting everyone bind him with layers of chains, writing his own doomed ending.

He remained silent throughout.

Even after the meeting ended and everyone had left, Fernand remained seated, silently staring at the documents on the table.

That typhoon defense plan that nobody took seriously at all.

Ji Jue paused for a moment, glanced over, and suddenly asked, "Why don't you leave?"

Fernand's hand holding the contingency plan trembled slightly for a moment, then he asked without turning his head, "Is it the act of a true man to leave in the face of danger?"

"Oh."

Ji Jue looked away. "Then good luck to you."

He turned and left.
.
If the cleanup of Luo Island brought Ji Jue any insights, it could only be that people are often not as important as they think.

The world keeps turning no matter who's gone.

Even without Ji Jue, the world is still the world; even without Fernand, the Seven Cities are still the Seven Cities.

But without certain insects...

The world will definitely become a better place!
"I'll kill all of you piece of trash sooner or later."

Ji Jue smiled and waved goodbye to the other attendees in the distance.

"what?"

Minkler, who was following beside him, turned around blankly, not having heard clearly.

“I said, if there are any similar meetings later, you can attend them in my place,” Ji Jue waved his hand and said, “It’s a waste of time.”

He turned and left.

He doesn't care what others do, but Xiangzhou and Luodao are his own territory, and no one else has the right to interfere.

Whether it's a waste of effort or just needless worry, it's all fine.

He had no intention of entrusting the safety of his factory to the patterns of the wind, especially since there might be some sinister forces lurking in the shadows...

Others may not have seen worms, but he has experienced them firsthand.

The vastness and grandeur of the Dark Sea are beyond the reach of human eyes.

If the calamity beast in the Dust and Haze Workshop were to be unleashed and fully unleashed, it could probably send the unsuspecting Luo Island to the heavens in less than half a day…

A frog at the bottom of a well, having never seen the outside world, will mistake the flickering light at the well's opening for the sun.

Regardless of how others appease the city's residents, boost morale, increase bounties, or raise salaries, Luo Island and Xiangzhou, under Ji Jue's control, are prepared in strict accordance with the Federation's disaster prevention measures.

After Ji Jue signed the confirmation, a large amount of supplies began to be transferred from Haizhou, ignoring the skyrocketing prices at the time, and preparations were made based on the premise of enough supplies to last the entire Luo Island and Xiangzhou for half a year.

Besides these, the impact of harmful winds is multifaceted.

The simplest and most direct explanation is the precipitous drop in the number of tourists.

Especially after Rohde Island announced that it would gradually enter martial law and raise its security level, tourists who wanted to travel freely to the Thousand Islands immediately changed their destination and went to other city-states.

As the city's tourism industry rapidly declined, complaints continued to pour in.

He used to be able to make money easily, but now he has to work in a factory tightening screws just to make ends meet. Even if he doesn't cause any trouble, shouldn't people be allowed to complain a little?
Those who complained that the new manager was too harsh and cruel never considered that if Ji Juezhen were so cruel and tyrannical, they wouldn't even have the chance to go into the factory to tighten screws, let alone have time to complain online... As for those who dared to lead the trouble, they should go and become colleagues with Sukarno's family.

At least they were happy while working, and they were grateful.

With the service sector in a slump, the transportation industry, which accounts for a large portion of the economy, is also struggling.

During storms, the Federation and the Empire can mobilize warships for escorting essential maritime transport, or at the very least, airships for transport. Although affected, the impact is not significant; it is merely less efficient and more costly.

However, for the scattered city-states of the Thousand Islands, the only way to participate in the monopolized shipping routes is to pay protection fees. Their profits plummet, and they can only wait for the Federation and the Empire to take the lion's share before eating what's left under the table.

If you don't follow the protected routes, then you can only rely on experience or tradition, or even risk your life to navigate them.

So much so that when the first signs appeared, everyone went into a final frenzy, working overtime and beyond capacity to catch up on the bleak business conditions that were about to begin.

Meanwhile, the fishing industry is even more outrageous.

Deep-sea fishing!

A precursor to a severe storm is an explosive growth in marine life. At this time, in some resource-rich areas, even a casual net cast can yield a huge catch.

Once the monstrous winds truly take hold, the growth will only become more exaggerated. However, by then, the fish will be worthless. Due to the mutation, the fish's tissues will contain varying amounts of toxins, and consuming too much will cause problems. Moreover... you won't even have a chance to eat them; it's a hunting frenzy for the monstrous beasts.

After a severe storm, the sea becomes completely desolate, as if it has fallen into winter and withered away.

If you don't act now, you won't have another chance in the next six months!

Many fishing companies seized the last moments before the storm ended, with countless boats leaving port in unison to participate in the final festivities before the storm arrived.

On Roh Island, there was a company whose owner sold everything he owned and mortgaged his own money to gather a large number of ships and form a fleet, intending to take a gamble and go to the northern waters to catch king crabs that had been prematurely ripened by the wind!
As expected, they returned home with a full load after a week.

Unfortunately, the champagne was opened too early.

They went there full of fighting spirit, a huge group; they came back only a tiny, scattered bunch, crying and complaining.

Of the ships that set sail, fewer than two returned.

The rest sank!
"Fish, all fish! There are so many fish!"

The distraught captain, reeking of alcohol, convulsed as he recounted what he had witnessed, his face contorting as if his soul had been left behind in that despairing night.

"Fish are everywhere... everywhere..."

On a stormy night, amidst thunder and howling winds, the ocean boils and lightning flashes, illuminating countless shimmering scales beneath the surface.

Even, a hideous outline...

Mermaid!

The symbiotic species of the calamity beasts are the most common mutant species in the ocean. Hatched chicks start at six meters long, adults start at fifteen to twenty meters long, and their weight is measured in tons. Mermaids have a diet that includes almost anything that is alive!

On their way back with a full catch, on what should have been a safe and stable shipping route, the entire fishing fleet was wiped out.

Meanwhile, as Ji Jue was investigating, more bad news kept coming from afar.

The omens, which were originally expected to last for more than half a month, appeared in less than a week, and there have already been numerous sightings and attacks involving mermaids in the eastern part of the Endless Sea.

Under the irrigation of abundant fishing seasons and the nourishment of nature, a massive number of fry begin to hatch, grow rapidly, and, driven by hunger, chase after schools of fish, quickly expanding their size.

Several of them have already traveled this far with the ocean currents...

An unexpected elbow strike shattered the illusion of celebration and headed straight for Seven City's face!
(End of this chapter)