Above Destiny

Chapter 769 Good advice is hard to persuade, compassion is not enough to save.
In just a few days, the fervent carnival had already swept across seven cities.

The cruel and tyrannical endless sea has become like a free luxury buffet restaurant. In this feast mixed with the smell of the sea and blood, everyone eats with their mouths full of oil and their eyes shining.

Just like the Kunwu gold rush of the past in the Federation.

Go! Go! Go!

Do you want money? Do you want a future? Do you want to live a life of extravagant luxury?
Let’s go!

Let's go to the sea!
The sea has everything!
Not only the chosen ones, sharpening their knives in anticipation, but also many ordinary people, their eyes burning with greed for profit, gritted their teeth and threw themselves into the hunt, scrambling and eager to get started. As a result, every available spot on the ship became highly sought after, sometimes requiring money and bribes to secure.

Every day, pieces of the giant beast were sent back to the dock, eliciting cheers and shouts.

As for the bones buried beneath the giant beasts, the blood mingling with the seawater, and the tenfold sacrifices made after a single gain, they have all been overshadowed by rewards of a hundredfold or more, and no one cares.

Some even defied the ban, launching their own dilapidated fishing boats and venturing out to sea under the cover of night...

Nobody cares how many people come back.

Ji Jue flipped through the bounties offered by various cities with a blank expression, and then couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

The bones, flesh, and tissues of the calamity beasts are priced by the gram. Even a single scale can be more valuable than a month's worth of hard work in previous years. If you're lucky enough to find some unknown species, you could become rich overnight!

But the true value of these things is far more than that.
How could the real price be so meager?

Compared to the prices offered in the Taiyi Ring, the bounties offered by various organizations are reduced by more than ten times. They also have to pay large amounts of taxes, wait for long payment periods, accept local currency, and bear their own profits and losses.

The rewards announced by various cities now, those seemingly generous offers, are nothing more than the leftovers of those at the top who have had too much to eat. Even so, they still have to go through layers of exploitation and all sorts of ways to cut back. How much of it can actually be handed over to them?
In many advertisements, cases and stories of getting rich overnight are common, but the more common outcomes of shipwrecks, loss of life, and heavy losses are not mentioned at all. If they are mentioned occasionally, it is only a light touch on the risks and the consequences.

With a few insignificant benefits, the lowly people below rush to risk their lives to amass wealth for themselves...

The remains of a calamity beast?
Are wreckages so easy to obtain?

Even scavenging hyenas wait until the lions have finished eating before showing themselves. Why would these giant beasts care about the life or death of mere insects?

Moreover, even dead monsters still pose a significant danger to ordinary people.

The contamination on a wound, the hidden dangers it carries, the poisonous flesh and blood, the curses formed by resentment, and even the mutated parasites inside the body, are enough to easily take a person's life, whether they are unprepared or fully armed.

Now, almost all the islands in the Endless Sea are engaged in this extremely dangerous hunt.

However, places like Qicheng, which have no bottom line and don't care about human life, are still very rare.

The main force in other places consists entirely of the new generation of chosen ones born under the influence of the White Deer Wind in various remote villages.

The reason why Huangji did this is because they really needed so many hunted animals to offer as tribute to the white deer!
But the current rush among the seven cities is simply because they can't survive...

First came the storm that sealed off the port, then the earthquake struck, followed by a locust plague. One disaster after another easily pushed the already impoverished people to the brink of despair.

Driven by greed—the desire to make money, to rise above others, to climb the social ladder, or even simply to earn a bag of rice and medicine whose prices keep soaring—people are blinded by greed and willing to pay any price.

Anyway, we were already at our wits' end.

Besides this one life, what else do I have?
When people are desperate for poverty, starving, or terrified of hardship, they will do anything to escape their predicament.

Moreover, there are such substantial profits to be made right now.

But that's the problem...

"They're desperate to survive, they're starving, they'll starve if they can't earn money, so they're going to sea to find a way to live. What's it to you?"

At this moment, in the government affairs center of Ro Island, in an office.

Ji Jue looked at the densely packed row of 'petitioners' behind the table, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and asked seriously, "Is the salary I'm paid not enough to live on?"

Immediately, everyone in the office shook their heads.

Ji Jue asked again, "Is it because the food and medicine on the coast are too expensive?"

In the silence, everyone shook their heads again.

Ji Jue finally asked, "Is it because the coastal area is so inefficient, the pay is so low, and the benefits are so inadequate that you see no hope?"

The same silence, the same stillness, the same head-shaking.

Ji Jue was so angry that he laughed.

"Then tell me now—what do you mean by opening up bounties and lifting the sea ban on Luo Island?"

He asked curiously, "Do you feel like you can't live a good life anymore, and you're tired of living?"

In the awkward silence, the petitioners looked at each other, exchanging glances, until a cough broke the silence. The lead initiator stepped forward, bowed his head, and said, "That's right, the market is so good, and we're all used to living on ships. We were thinking, why don't we..."

"Why don't you go and die too?" Ji Jue asked indifferently.

"Well, everyone is thinking of making more contributions so that they can bring more glory to Luo Island. After all, men from the Thousand Islands always yearn for the sea."

The initiator's expression twitched, and he mustered his courage to finally reveal the real reason: "Everyone wants to earn more money too."

money.

Ultimately, it all comes down to money.

No matter how good the welfare is on Ro Island or how high the benefits are on the coast, people are never satisfied. Seeing familiar faces getting rich in the news makes their hearts restless and eager to try it themselves.

Even if they are aware of the risks involved, what they are even more aware of is the enormous potential profit.

Besides, with such good treatment on Ro Island, the bounty price certainly wouldn't be lower than in other places, right?

Even if you get injured or disabled, you can still come back to work, right?
Can't the elderly, women, and children in the family continue to do odd jobs?
That's great news, all good news.

Benefiting the city and its people, and the great coastline of Italy!

Even if Mr. Ji knew, he would surely understand and comprehend it, right?

Seeing those pairs of eyes filled with expectation and longing looking at him, Ji Jue remained expressionless and coldly picked up his teacup.

"roll."

A soft byte echoed in the silence.

Nothing more to say.

The expectant faces were stunned, frozen, and filled with disbelief.

Ji Jue didn't say anything more, and pointed to the office door.

Get out of my sight.

"Mr. Ji... wait, you may have misunderstood something..."

"Everyone is also thinking about Luo Island..."

"Please don't be angry, I was just asking..."

A cacophony of noises rose and fell, and Ji Jue put down his teacup and turned to leave.

It's not anger.

is afraid.

If he wasted even a second on such a stupid thing, he would lose control of his craftsman's instincts!
There is nothing more of a waste of time than talking to an idiot, but if there is anything more disgusting than that, it is knowing that someone is an idiot and still holding your nose to stop them from doing something stupid!

If it weren't for the fact that these people could screw in a few screws on the assembly line, Ji Jue would probably have just helped them with the waste disposal process.

So, after that day, the lockdown on Ro Island remained strict and unchanged.

No matter how many petitions and initiatives were launched, it was all to no avail. From beginning to end, there was no sign of relaxing supervision or offering a reward on the entire island of Roh.

No matter how hard they racked their brains to find out information, the only response they received from the city hall was a cold rejection—no, not considered, absolutely impossible!
As a result, numerous rumors quickly spread and became rampant.

The reason the coast doesn't offer any bounties is to keep all the revenue for itself and not share any with anyone else!

[The Ji family's real intention is to keep everyone tied to the assembly line, making them do manual labor for the rest of their lives, without ever giving them a chance to escape the mainland!]

My relative told me that he saw the fleet from Luo Island set sail last night, and when they returned, they were hauling back ship after ship of the remains of the calamity beasts.

Ji Jue has already made a fortune; he's collected all the bounties in the entire Seven Cities!

Under the park's surveillance system, more and more unsettlers and agitators emerged, even colluding with each other to stage a protest, and had even prepared slogans, banners, and flags.

We demand human rights, we demand freedom, and we oppose tyrannical dictatorships.

Unfortunately, before a small number of people who were not content with the status quo could even get started, they were already sent to the park for a chat by the riot police.

There wasn't even a flood of responses...

No matter how much they promote and encourage it, the vast majority of people's reaction is shock, envy, and then shaking their heads.

"You really make that much money? That's amazing! I... I have to go to work tomorrow. If I get another month's Employee Star award, I can become a supervisor!" The middle-aged man, with a face full of wrinkles and premature aging, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. He waved his hand repeatedly in response to the invitation.

After watching his old friend leave, his wife's voice came from behind the door: "What's wrong with your friend? He rarely comes over, won't he have a meal? I'm about to put the rice in the pot."

"unlucky."

The man's exaggerated smile vanished, and after closing the door, he spat out a mouthful of saliva: "Stay away from his family from now on. If they come looking for me again, just say I'm not home."

"Huh?" The wife peeked out from the kitchen. "What's wrong?"

"Don't wait until he dies and spills his blood on us."

The man sat on the newly bought sofa, opened a can of beer he had just taken out of the refrigerator, lit a cigarette, and lay down contentedly. He smelled the aroma wafting from the kitchen and grinned from ear to ear: "This beef tastes really good. I'll get two more pounds tomorrow."

"I have too much at home, I can't fit it all in, I'll save it up."

A helpless voice came from the kitchen: "Aren't you going to be a manager? Buy a better watch first, so others won't laugh at you. You really like those Imperial leather shoes, don't you? You've finally saved up some money, so you can afford them."

"Hmm, how about we get a different stroller first?"

"devil……"

Amidst the clanging of the spatula and the noise of the exhaust fan, the sound of the television could be faintly heard.

Fragrant steam rose from the pot, blurring the glass in front of the window.

Outside the window, dusk was gradually rising, and lights were intermittently turning on in the newly built apartment building.

Downstairs in the somewhat narrow square, children were still playing and making noise.

"Me! Me! Me! It's my turn!"

The bouncy child raised his hand: "I...I want to draw a puppy!"

So the riot cat, which had been sitting in the corner like a scenic view, lowered its head and let the excited children draw graffiti on the blank space above its head.

Under the lights, everything became dreamlike, even the dark clouds and thunder in the distance seemed out of reach.

The years are quiet.

Unfortunately, some people are destined not to have the fortune to enjoy such things.

As the night deepened, a group of people gathered at a secluded dock on the desolate beach, quietly untied the mooring ropes, and boarded the ship under cover of darkness.

Ignoring the dark clouds and thunder rising in the distance, they started the ship and set sail in the dead of night!

The ship was completely silent, without any lights on. Under the cover of night, it slowly, like a tortoise, crawled out of the waters off Ro Island.

Once they confirmed they had reached international waters, everyone couldn't help but shout and cheer with excitement.

On the sea ahead, the long-waiting pioneers lit their lights, sending signals to them. And so, one by one, ships of all sizes gathered under the cover of night, setting sail once more into the turbulent ocean!
In the dark clouds above the sky, the indicator lights on the drone flickered faintly.

He coldly withdrew his gaze from them.

Turn a blind eye.

There's a saying that life always finds a way.

No matter how much Ji Jue bans and warns, there will always be people who can't resist the temptation to treat the exaggerated rewards in the bounty as their own private property, and will be eager to seek their own death.

Moreover, while the Seven Cities may lack many things, they have an abundance of boats—boats of all sizes, as numerous as stray dogs on the roadside, impossible to stop.

Even under the monitoring of the amusement park system, the entire Luo Island is under Ji Jue's control. It is not an empty promise that not a single plank of wood can go to sea if he wants to. At this moment, facing the many ships leaving the island under the cover of night, he still did not make any reaction.

Want to go?

Let’s go!

Go if you want, all of you go!
Then, after most of them had set off, the long-silent Roc Island fleet departed port and joined the daily patrols.

Completely blockade the entire sea area around Ro Island!
Once you leave, don't come back.

Under the gloomy sky, when the returning fleet, fully loaded, arrived in the waters off Luo Island, what they saw were warships that had been waiting in full battle array, and the dark barrels of their cannons.

The piercing alarm blared repeatedly.

"Vessels ahead, please move away immediately. You are about to enter the waters around Luo Island. We will retaliate. Repeat, ahead—"

Countless drones rose and fell like flocks of birds, covering the sky and coldly surveying the world.

As a result, the faces on the ship, which were still beaming with excitement, froze in place.

"Wait a minute, is there a mistake?"

"what happened?"

"Don't shoot! They're on our side! They're on our side!"

Under the threat of naval gunfire, the once cheerful fleet quickly slowed down and came to a stop on the sea. However, no matter how they inquired over the radio, they could only get a cold reply.

Leave immediately!

"Sir, we are all from Luo Island, we are all..." The captain, drenched in sweat, said, "You must have made a mistake."

The voice on the other end of the radio remained indifferent: "The sea ban on Ro Island has not been lifted or opened. To date, apart from the phlogiston transport ships specially ordered by the government, no ships have set sail."

"Wait, wait a minute, I have proof!" Among the crew, one man's eyes lit up, and he frantically rummaged in his pocket, pulled out his ID card, and stumbled as he read out the number, repeating it several times.

Unfortunately, the ice still failed to melt.

"fake."

The voice on the other end grew increasingly cold: "This ID card was cancelled two days ago. Stop wasting our time with this nonsense. Turn around right now!"

boom!
Amidst the deafening roar, the secondary guns suddenly opened fire, the shells grazing the fleet and disappearing into the sea, creating a large wave.

The people on the boat froze, their faces gradually turning pale.

I never expected that the man surnamed Ji would be so ruthless.

"I don't want to leave you here, I have my own place to stay!"

The captain, unable to contain his rage, roared, "Anyway, I have plenty of money. I'll sever all ties with Luo Island from now on and let that Ji guy regret it!"

After lingering for a long time, the fleet was finally driven away by the ship's cannons and headed towards Dan City without looking back.

The sounds of angry shouting still lingered on the radio.

But no one cared.

The coastal fleet coldly blockaded the entire sea area, driving away four fleets of varying sizes one after another, and no one dared to go to sea again.

They didn't ask about the dead or wounded, nor about the spoils of the hunt.

Now that we've left Luo Island, we'll have to fend for ourselves.

Life has dreams, each of which is wonderful.

Amidst the thousands of islands, a flurry of major news arrived, and throughout the seven cities, rumors circulated of someone becoming rich overnight, buying citizenship in the Federation or Empire, and going off to enjoy a life of luxury. Or, someone's entire fleet was wiped out, leaving no trace of their remains... Such stories were commonplace and nothing unusual.

With increasing profits and ever-growing bounties, the shipbuilding and ship repair industries in the seven cities have experienced a boom that has been the only one in decades.

No matter how much Ji Jue opposed and tried to control it, he could not stop the collective frenzy that had spread throughout the entire Thousand Islands.

Amidst the endless stream of get-rich-quick myths, countless people have pawned their possessions, gritted their teeth, taken out loans, bought a second-hand boat, and set sail.

Those who have nothing but life itself choose to give it up in pursuit of an unattainable illusion.

Under the glow of countless dreamlike hopes, everything was thriving.

The seven cities were like boiling water, surging and rising.

The singing and revelry seemed to never end.

Under the cold, indifferent gaze of the onlookers, they gradually walked towards the predetermined end.

When the storm clouds reappeared on the horizon, Ji Jue raised his head from the workshop.

I couldn't help but laugh silently again.

"finally……"

Just now, the seal in the abyss was broken!

For example, the buoy on the water surface rises and falls slightly.

The big fish is about to take the bait!

(End of this chapter)