Above Destiny

Chapter 771 Ten Days
Ten days!

Like a military order, it was a resounding guarantee.

With grand plans within reach and the future firmly in our grasp, and thanks to the promise of the rotten ape, the matter was settled.

Then he was kicked out of the kingdom by the Lord of the Abyss.

They haven't even had a meal.

In the end, not only did he not have any food, but the rotten ape had also talked until his saliva was dry, yet he still hadn't had a single drop of water.

Even after they reached the edge of the abyss, neither of them had realized what was happening.

They looked at each other, hesitant to speak.

Seriously, is this tyrant really that stingy? Forget about letting people stay overnight, you've already pocketed so much, couldn't you at least offer a small treat?
Sorry, no.

Is that all? If you're done, then get lost.

The Gates of the Abyss have been locked once again.

They don't care about the slightest thing.

Ji Jue didn't have the time to socialize with them. Just trying to project an air of superiority as a usurper was already exhausting for him... Well, actually not. On the contrary, he was enjoying himself immensely and almost forgot what the world was like.

If I weren't afraid of revealing my secret by saying too much, I would even like to act a little longer!

Pretending to be a tyrant is actually not difficult.

The main problem is that you have to be careful not to overdo it.

The character of Yuan Zhu, who is both cowardly and stubborn, is really hard to portray. Several times, he couldn't help but reveal the domineering aura of the high priest of the heretical cult...

An old man from Wulou Temple, a mysterious colleague, with a total cunning mind that surpasses the combined loans issued by the Federation and the Empire, who knows when a wrong word might give him away.

Several times, Ji Jue couldn't help but want to take action!
Unfortunately, there were still too few fish in the nest.

Moreover, one is a spirit from Wulou Temple on a journey, and the other is simply entrusted to the Creator. Without sufficient prior preparation, it may not be possible to capture them.

Learn from past mistakes, hold back, hold back, absolutely hold back!

You can't catch a wolf without risking your cubs, and besides, these aren't even your own children, so let's wait a bit longer!

Back on the Doomsday Special Train, Ji Jue clutched the tiger tally in his hand and once again fell into deep thought.

Ten days?

Where does that guy, Rotten Ape, get his confidence from?
What will happen in ten days?
And... what's the point of gathering so many people, investing such a huge amount of resources, and painstakingly assembling a force that could easily seize control of the entire Seven Cities overnight?
If it were anyone else, it might be explained by ambition or grudge, but the rotten ape is different, or rather, the dragon poison is different.

He's in the same industry.

Those in the same industry always understand each other best.

All craftsmen, regardless of their methods, words, or expressions, are merely using appearances; their ultimate goal is always the result!
Results are what matter most.

But what can he gain?
We've gone to great lengths to prepare for this long period of time, just to help everyone gather enough people for a table so we can have a good meal and have a good New Year.

Could he possibly be a good person who is concerned about great evil and is selfless?

Don't make your stagnant brother laugh.

Either he's doing all this to participate in the "Touching Whirlpool" annual person of the year selection, or there must be a deeper scheme behind it!

"Dragon poison?"

On the other end of the phone, Master Hu Jian, who had been woken up, was taken aback and seemed to ponder for a long time: "I haven't heard this name in a long time."

"Are you very old?"

"let me see……"

A faint rustling sound came from the other end, like turning the pages of a book. After a long while, someone sighed and said, "Indeed, many years have passed."

When I first became an apprentice, he was already a master in the association. However, for some reason, he suddenly disappeared. When news of him came out again, he had already entered the depths of darkness... It is said that he lost the competition for the crown with the plow maker, who was still a master at the time, and, dissatisfied with the association's assessment, he betrayed the association.

As a result, there was no news for so many years, and everyone assumed he had died in some remote corner.

Ji Jue pressed further: "What are your strengths, areas of expertise, and faction of origin?"

"I don't know." Hu Jian shook his head decisively: "The association should have already deleted it."

"Deleted it?"

Ji Jue was shocked, almost laughing: "You could delete this?"

“Some information is more harmful if kept.” Hu Jian sighed slightly. “It’s better to know nothing than to believe something that’s wrong.”

After receiving the gift of corruption, he abandoned his original name, including his life and history within the association. He handed over the Truth Publishing House to plant a cognitive poison, causing all records about him to become distorted and inaccurate; if left unchecked, the entire association's database would be contaminated.

"I understand." Ji Jue nodded and said nothing more.

Hu Jian remained silent for a long time, then sighed helplessly and suddenly asked, "Do you need help?"

"Thank you for your kindness."

Ji Jue laughed: "If necessary, I will."

After thanking Master Hu for his kindness, Ji Jue fell into deep thought.

After a long while, he finally came to his senses and casually tossed the tiger tally in his hand into the Crimson Banner. Without any resistance, or even any ripples or conflicts, the two completely different laws and authorities had already merged into one, as if it were born that way.

Right there in his hand, another ferocious beast pattern was added to the banner, its claws outstretched and constantly moving, exuding a chilling and menacing aura.

The foundation and resources have been further expanded.

The original exclusive right to kill has surged again, and it seems to have a subtle inclusion and expansion of the power over large groups and mass slaughter, as if it has given rise to some new changes.

Anyway, it's free. I don't care which evil company's assets it is. Whatever you're babbling about, once it comes to our shell company and gets cleansed by the evil demon, it's mine!

"Isis?"

"I'm here."

"Prepare to mobilize all available reserves."

Ji Jue made up his mind, "I want to start a new project—"

"As ordered."

The spirit of the workshop bowed its head in submission.

The doomsday train has started running again.

Ten days?

Since learning about it, Ji Jue has been taking action without stopping.

Even before this, Ji Jue had spread his spies throughout the Seven Cities. The many home appliances and equipment that had been blessed by the Fly King and the Deus Exusiai had quietly entered the market even before Ji Jue arrived in the Seven Cities, and had formed a considerable scale in various parts of the Seven Cities.

The infiltration plan had already begun when Ji Jue was planning to find wolves in the Central Plains.

It was just something I did on the spur of the moment.

Even with all the current strict precautions and the organizational capacity of the seven cities, how could they possibly trace back several months?
If the rotten ape were to make any move during these ten days, it would definitely not escape Ji Jue's notice.

Unfortunately, Ji Jue's observations yielded no results whatsoever.

Completely unsuccessful.

No trace of the decayed ape was found.

Throughout the entire Seven Cities, there were no unusual changes or any unexpected events.

Or rather, the insects remain the same as always.

Despite the pervasive exploitation and plunder, it continues to reek.

Everyone marched jubilantly along the long, arduous road to terminal illness, each person gleefully indulging in a decadent revelry...

They revel in every bit of sweetness, like fish that have been drained from a pond, regardless of whether the oil in their mouths comes from blood and death.

Until finally waking up from this beautiful dream.
.
"Hello? Hello! Is this Lei Wang?"

A hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone, sounding hurried: "This is Ridwan, can you hear me? Hello? Hello!"

In the apartment building by the coast, the man who answered the phone had a slight change in expression. His wife, who was busy with housework on the other end, looked up in confusion, wanting to ask who was calling, but then saw the man wave his hand and immediately stop talking.

I heard a disheveled voice on the phone: "Could you lend me some money?"

"money?"

Lei Wang was taken aback: "Didn't you call me a few days ago and say you'd made a lot of money, enough to buy a house? How come all of a sudden..."

"fraud!"

With a weary sigh, the anger and sorrow in his chest were awakened, and he couldn't help but choke up and roar: "They're all fucking liars, they're all fucking liars, where the fuck is the money, they've all stolen it!"

The confident and spirited tone he had when he called to boast before was no longer present.

It's hard to imagine what exactly happened.

Amidst the frenzy surrounding the calamity beasts that swept across the seven cities, many stories of overnight riches were indeed created, but after one night, who would care about what happened next?

Moreover, the vast majority of people who participate in it are unlikely to be so lucky. Not to mention the tragic loss of everything, most of them only manage to get a small share of the profits.

Even if you do make a fortune that you could never have imagined before, money is something you still have to spend! The easier something comes, the easier it goes.

Moreover, after each life-or-death voyage and witnessing numerous horrific situations, the returning crew members also need a great deal of venting and retaliatory spending.

After the initial days of extravagance and waste, those who come to their senses must face reality.

Money, money, money! Everything costs money, and it's more than twice as expensive as before!
But each one of them is a large head.

The medicine used to drive away the mutated species, the weapons used to deal with small monsters, the repair of the ship and the replenishment of phlogiston... each one is a bottomless pit.

Not to mention the crucial medicines and alchemical creations.

Compared to that, the compensation for the deceased crew members, and even their extravagant drinking and debauchery, are nothing.

When money is urgently needed, even the original bounty is delayed and cannot be paid out unless the bounty is used as collateral to obtain a loan specified by them...

With just one inflow and one outflow, 30% is gone out of nowhere!
That's considered good; some are even 50% less, and then the price is drastically reduced.

Even if a large bounty theoretically belongs to the shipowner, when it comes to actual expenses, the ship owner has to grit his teeth and take out loans from various companies, as well as spend a lot of money on bribes to participate in the fleet's operations and hire escorts.

As a result, by the time they came to their senses, their debts had piled up.

“That’s not right.” Lei Wang looked at his phone blankly: “Didn’t they say a few days ago that they were already regulating the prices of medicines and fuel, and that there were also pensions and various subsidies…”

"Bullshit!"

Ridvan's voice grew increasingly grief-stricken, almost choking with emotion: "It's all useless. They're all in cahoots, all of them... The little bit of stuff that came down was all swallowed up and resold by the captain."

I can't even afford a single purification pill right now, Lei Wang, please help me, it's just a little... I... I..."

"..."

Revan remained silent for a long time before sighing helplessly, "You left too soon, Revan. The coast has stopped paying wages recently."

"A voucher is fine too!"

Ridvan's voice rose with excitement: "Right now, Coastal vouchers are in high demand on the black market! Just one is enough! One..."

"The regulations were just issued yesterday; all vouchers issued within the factory are now registered under real names." Lei Wang shook his head helplessly. "I really can't help you. You'll have to think of another way..."

"Hello? Hello! Lei Wang, Lei..."

Ridvan got excited and wanted to ask more, but all he heard was a busy tone.

The phone hangs up.

He immediately flew into a rage, roaring and unleashing a string of angry curses.

He waited until he had vented his anger and regained his senses before collapsing onto the ship's bed, panting heavily with exhaustion.

The cabin always seemed to be filled with a strong odor—sweat, foot odor…it was nauseating. But now, there was an added pungent fishy smell.

It comes from him.

He raised his hand and scratched the itchy spot on his face, tearing off a scaly patch of skin covered in blood and mucus.

His expression immediately became even more blank.

He got up, looked at the bed next to him, which was empty, hesitated for a moment, then peered under the other person's bed and started searching, until the door was pushed open, at which point he froze on the spot.

"I...I'm sorry...I...I just...wanted to find some medicine..."

"I know."

The equally emaciated crew member nodded numbly, traces of scales still visible on his face, clutching a strip of pills in his hand: "I'm out too, all gone... Go find the captain, he has some..."

Ridwan swallowed hard, watching as he pried the only pill off the strip and swallowed it.

For a fleeting moment, I really wanted to snatch it away.

But in the end, they didn't do it.

The last person who dared to make a move on the ship was hung at the bow and left to rot in the sun.

"Go now, the interest rate is still relatively low, hurry up," his companion advised.

"Let me think, let me think some more..." Reedvan chewed on his fingers, coughing violently, feeling the hallucinatory fishy smell getting stronger.

Squamous disease is so common, it's not unusual at all.

Anyone who has had frequent encounters with monstrous creatures at sea will inevitably contract some form of infection. In the Thousand Islands region, this chronic infectious disease is practically nonexistent, as effective treatments already exist.

Just one pill can stop the progression of the disease and control it for a long time. A full course of treatment can cure it. The side effect is damage to the immune system, which can lead to a serious illness, but it is effective.

Now, even a single pill requires borrowing money from the captain to buy. The captain himself took out loans to acquire the cargo; how could he possibly distribute it for free…

He hesitated, wondering if he should hold back and wait until he went out to sea tomorrow to come back, and maybe things would be better then.

Soon, a commotion and shouts erupted from the harbor and the decks. Looking out the windows, everyone was dancing wildly with ecstasy, rushing towards their respective ships.

An emergency assembly alarm sounded on the ship.

We'll be departing in half an hour.

"Great news! This is unprecedentedly good news!"

The second mate, who rushed aboard the ship, shouted with ecstasy, "Right to the south, Charybdis is fighting another calamity beast! There's wreckage everywhere! Everywhere!"

The entire port seemed to be boiling over, with everyone rushing to their posts.

Scramble.

Hurry up! Hurry up! If you're any slower this time, you won't even get to drink the soup!
Even crew members who were already desperate and heavily in debt began to grit their teeth and take out loans, making a desperate gamble.

In less than two hours, a large number of ships began to leave the port rapidly.

On the sea, a thousand sails compete.

Everyone is rushing headlong into death...

Between the dark sea and sky, distant thunder echoed, and signs of a storm were already appearing on the horizon.

Compared to the impending downpour, in Ji Jue's eyes, the entire Seven Cities seemed to have already been thrown into a boiling cauldron, left to be burned by invisible fire.

At this moment, faced with the fervor sweeping across the seven cities, all he could do was erect walls, blockade the sea, and ruthlessly cut everything off.

Complete isolation.

It may seem heartless, or too harsh, but it's the most effective method.

There were too many temptations and upheavals. Compared to the raging tide that had already swept across the land, everything he had accomplished was far too insignificant.

Even the Heavenly Origin has its limits, let alone the Crimson Sky Foundation, which was just completed.

Order is both stable and fragile; before it has taken firm root, even the slightest breeze can distort it beyond recognition. The coast has only been there a short time; even if changes are made, it will immediately revert to its original state once things are relaxed.

Only through persistent, day-to-day effort, like water dripping on stone, can one achieve true stability, remaining unshaken and unyielding.

At this critical juncture, even the slightest relaxation of restrictions could trigger unpredictable chain reactions.

Just like Xiangzhou.

Minkler has repeatedly requested reinforcements to clean up the black market and internal censorship. Even without issuing any bounties, the resulting chaos has spread to all sides.

The resale of primordial fuel has been repeatedly banned but continues unabated, and problems have begun to arise in the warehouse and in various stages of distribution.

This is under the premise that the household deity can forcibly suppress it.

Now, even if Ji Jue were to risk everything and stand in front of everyone to tell them that this is a dead end, they would only see him as a stumbling block on the road to glory.

He had no choice but to stay out of it.

He even had a hunch: perhaps this was the unfolding that the decaying ape had been hoping for...

He doesn't need to do anything at all; the entire Seven Cities will naturally slide into the abyss, just as he hoped.

Two days later, just as he had guessed, bad news arrived.

The first fleet to reach the target area was completely wiped out.

Charybdis, that monstrous beast that forever hides in the storm, has gone completely mad with hunger.

After days of fighting, its injuries worsened and it went mad, not only swallowing all the calamity beasts whole, but also not sparing the fleet that was brought to its mouth!

The remaining fleet dared not go any further, nor dared they gamble on what a maddened monster might do. In the end, they returned empty-handed.

The fleet, upon returning to port, hadn't even had time to indulge in drinking and relieve their bitterness and anger before they were faced with the loan bills they had signed, loan sharks demanding repayment, and various debt collection teams organized by different companies!

Right under the gun, they could only watch helplessly as everything they had was taken away.

They might even have to spend the rest of their lives in a dark mine...

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and chaos gradually spread.

At the same time, Ji Jue, who had just finished preparing, received a message from the abyss.

Just as agreed beforehand, the keepsake left behind by the decaying ape began to resonate and radiate light!
Everything is ready, now is the time!
The originally agreed ten days have only just passed halfway!
Just five days later, the operation began.

Plans moved up!

　Happy New Year everyone!

　　New year, double rewards at the beginning of the month, please give me a guaranteed monthly vote!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)