Above Destiny

Chapter 745 The Flies' Carnival
On November 7th, Roh Island was quiet.

The former hustle and bustle is nowhere to be seen; in the desolation and bleakness, everything seems to have returned to its original state.

The once bustling city center is now deserted, and the once lively shopping streets and malls have all been shut down and turned off. There is no cleaning service, and only the scraps of paper and garbage on the ground are twitching weakly in the wind.

The ominous winds have arrived, and the entire Endless Sea has fallen into an unprecedented silence.

Like a long, dark night, after the lights are turned off, I toss and turn in the darkness, listening to any sound outside the window, feeling uneasy and seeing ghosts everywhere.

Bad news followed one after another.

Just yesterday, in the southern part of the Endless Sea, the most famous 'Freedom City' was completely destroyed...

That sea town, which was pieced together by former oil workers using abandoned drilling platforms, has been completely transformed after countless years of expansion and renovation.

With its unique open laws, it has become the world's largest company registration center. Regardless of your origin or status, as long as you pay 150,000, you can obtain a shell company recognized by most sovereign city-states in the world. Due to these factors, its unique advantages have made it a pivotal point for the operation of countless offshore capital and a hub for money laundering.

Now, it's all gone in ashes.

In the tide of calamity, it completely collapsed and crumbled, becoming ruins.

Even before that, it had been abandoned by those who had made it successful.

And there are countless similar stories, with even more cruel or terrifying news appearing frequently, but they are not as famous as Liberty City, so they are ignored.

Countless islands were swallowed up because they were located on the main trunk of the storm, leaving survivors unable to escape, and the outside world had no way of knowing.

Today, the entire Endless Sea is in chaos, except for a few major shipping routes of the Federation and the Empire.

Transportation was largely disrupted.

Even travel between the seven cities has been affected, becoming sparse and difficult, and there have been many cases of locust attacks.

However, provided that the defense work is done well, a small number of locusts will not cause any major damage, only a waste of bullets.

Even so, the atmosphere remained tense and fraught with anxiety.

A real sense of fear and unease is spreading with the waves. Sometimes the hardest part isn't the life-or-death struggle itself, but the long, drawn-out wait before it happens, akin to a slow, agonizing mental torture.

People are filled with anxiety and cannot find peace.

Even if, according to calculations, the location of the seven cities is not involved in the main trunk of the harmful wind, but only the aftermath, who can say for sure?

Just like the core value of Ji Jue's sundial series products is "possibility" and "what if", aren't these the best and worst words in the world?
What if?
What if something really happens?

Who can guarantee there won't be any problems? Even if they did, who would believe them? Dancheng even said they would protect the seven cities, but what happened? After encountering a tributary, they slunk back without daring to utter a sound!
Garisto of Dancheng has been subjected to a lot of criticism these past two days; from top to bottom, everyone seems to be spitting on him.

Everyone wants to play the hero, and now everyone believes the 'crisis' has truly arrived, but where are the heroes? Where have they gone? When will the turning point begin?

Who can give me the climax I'm missing?!

Hey Garisto, speak up!
Garisto remained silent, simply feigning illness and staying home to rest. The fact that his subordinates hadn't rebelled was already a testament to the strong support the Holy Tree had given him.

Now, the prodromal period has ended prematurely, and the storm is coming on like a pop song, putting the climax right at the beginning, leaving everyone bewildered.

The Last Supper was canceled before it even started. Who can we complain to?
The entire seven cities, without tourism, transportation, and all sorts of shady, unsavory businesses, naturally descended into desolation.

The mess is getting worse and worse, and it's getting more and more stinking...

Under the blazing sun at midday, there were hardly any people left in public places on Ro Island. Even those who were there were wearing heavy masks or gas masks and walking quickly.

Occasionally, a gust of wind blows from the north, and the stench is so strong it hurts your eyes.

Driven by the harmful winds, large amounts of algae began to bloom on the sea surface, which led to a surge in the growth of fish and shrimp. In the end, these mutated species were devoured due to their hunger.

This cycle was originally quite healthy, just getting by, until some algae suddenly mutated and became toxic... and then, dead fish appeared, a large number of dead fish, a massive number of dead fish!

Rotting dead fish floated up from the sea, and propelled by the waves, they seemed to gather into rivers on the surface of the sea, meandering and accumulating in large quantities on the windless back of the island.

Even from dozens of miles away, the stench from the decay was still so strong it was suffocating.

As a result, before they could even see a trace of the calamity beast, the entire Luo Island was already vomiting until they were dizzy and disoriented.

The large number of dead and rotting fish, besides attracting a frenzy of flies, also drew swarms of locusts to prey on and lay their eggs, causing an unbearable disturbance.

It is foreseeable that once the locust eggs hatch, another wave of trouble will likely follow.

All I can say is, it's troublesome, but I don't need it. Ji Jue is almost used to it. He'll just treat it like having too many lice and not feeling itchy anymore... He can take his time to pick them off later.

And some lice, once he discovers them, are damn well dead!
At one o'clock after noon, the entire island of Roh was shrouded in silence. Everything was at a standstill, except for hospitals and security. Even the production lines of the coastal industries were temporarily shut down. Under the mandatory order of the central government hall, all television screens and even the large screens in shopping malls displayed the same scene.

Live broadcast.

The scenes in the live broadcast, now the square outside the government hall of Roh Island, even the gallows welded overnight... and the disheveled figures kneeling on the ground.

Right in front of the camera, those waiting to die were either weeping bitterly, or numb and dazed, some shouting that they wanted to see Ji Jue, and some even trying to bargain...

No matter how you behave, what your past status was, or how much you regret it, it's all useless now.

Under the dark muzzle of a gun, one by one, those people were pulled and pushed onto the stage by exoskeleton armor. After their identities were verified in front of the live broadcast camera, the expressionless executioner read out the charges and judgment in front of the camera, and finally waved goodbye.

With a click, another person appeared on the swing in the square.

One after another, and then another, and another...

The charges against each person were simple: embezzlement, dereliction of duty, and reselling of goods.

They're so stupid it makes you wonder what they're thinking.

All I can say is that human courage is boundless... There are still ships sailing on the endless sea. In this life, we all believe in risking our lives, rolling up our sleeves and getting to work!

If you're not afraid of death, what else is there to be afraid of?
However, as it turns out, no matter how courageous or daring one is, when faced with imminent death, one will eventually feel fear.

Being afraid is useless!

Even if you're terrified, you're still going to die!

At this critical juncture, under the monitoring of the Paradise System and under Ji Jue's high-pressure control, there are still some scoundrels who have lost their minds and dare to resell the supplies that Ji Jue has hoarded at exorbitant prices.
This is no ordinary insect; it must be crushed to death immediately!
In just a quarter of an hour, forty-one luxurious miniature swings sprang up from the ground, densely packed on the square, displayed before the eyes of onlookers throughout Luo Island and even the seven cities, demonstrating the determination of the ruler.

Die to me!

Meanwhile, in the best viewing spot—the third floor of the hall behind the square—in an office that Ji Jue had hardly ever used, Ji Jue withdrew his gaze.

He looked across the table at the man who was sweating profusely and smiling obsequiously.

"It's truly a feast for the eyes, isn't it?"

He picked up his teacup and earnestly suggested, "Look how simple and effective it is! I suggest we promote it among the seven cities. That way, Mr. Fernand's problem will be solved."

"This...this is a bit..."

The envoy from the Seven Cities Council wiped away cold sweat: "I will report to Mr. Fernand upon my return, but the most pressing matter must be resolved. What do you think..."

"Yes, I'm watching. Don't worry, I'll keep watching."

Ji Jue seemed not to understand, nodding repeatedly to show his interest.

Immediately, the envoy's expression twitched again, his expression becoming increasingly complicated: "Does the Speaker mean that in times of trouble, the seven cities should always help each other... Luo Island, surely it won't stand idly by?"

"Of course not."

Ji Jue's expression turned strange, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Haven't I already taught you all the methods? Is it that you can't learn them, or that you can't do them?"
Surely you don't expect me to solve your problems for you, do you?

"I'm fine, please rest assured, Parliament. As long as Speaker Fernand issues a single official document, a summons from the Speaker, I will help the Seven Cities eliminate this threat forever!"

The envoy's face turned pale instantly, and he hurriedly stood up: "No, no, Mr. Ji, it really isn't that bad!"

If Ji Jue were to handle this, I'm afraid that before dawn tomorrow, all the high-ranking officials in the seven cities would be heading to the coastal assembly line to enjoy their "blessings"!
Even if everyone survives, they won't necessarily live much longer!
He only came to ask for a beating, not to ask for a beating... But he might as well have come to ask for a beating. He could have just been beaten up and gone home. Why did he have to suffer this kind of mental torture?
Now, on the endless seas, transportation has been largely cut off. Without trade, even the most prosperous and wealthy city-states must tighten their belts to make ends meet.

Some people can still keep playing music and dancing, while others are already struggling to make ends meet.

They might even starve to death!
When the wind blows, grain prices rise in response, like crazy. In a day, a morning, or even an hour, they skyrocket, increasing tenfold or even dozens of times!
All the restaurants were closed, all the stores were sold out, and the entire market was empty; not a single grain of rice could be found on the ground!

The Seven Cities Council immediately issued a decree to limit food prices, but unsurprisingly, it was completely ineffective, and even the original stable supply plan became a worthless piece of paper.

Fernand is probably suffering a brain hemorrhage right now.

There's nothing we can do about it. At least five of the seven cities have high-ranking officials leading the way in speculating on grain prices. In fact, they themselves are making a large portion of it!
Even in Pucheng, where the Seven Cities Council is located, it is still the same!
The descendants of the old leader Aquilino are now happily hoarding goods!

Without everyone's concerted efforts to push things along, how could things have gotten this out of control?
This is a rare opportunity; let the common people suffer, and let Fernando bear the blame. As for how many will starve to death… well, the gentlemen will always have a dish on their tables, so why would they worry about that?

So now it's time for the good guys to have guns pointed at them.

(End of this chapter)