Forge a path to success.

Chapter 366 Abundant Harvest (6)

“When the city-state becomes independent, the heretics will surely rise up and attack. We are producing these war plants in large quantities underground in order to quell the chaos in the city as soon as possible, and also to prepare for the battle a month from now,” Fifed explained.

“We learned from our mistakes and designed a complete city-state defense system that will provide strong support to Jing Sha after independence, but only if Jing Sha leaves the secret realm as planned… We haven’t hidden anything; everyone underground knows these things. Now is the time for us to dedicate ourselves to the Divine Tree, and they understand this principle, which is why they volunteer to work on my farm.”

Fife pointed to another open corridor: “If you don’t believe me, there are many more pieces of evidence there. You can also go back and ask my great-great-grandfather or other elders, and they will tell you that everything I’ve said is true.”

Ji Huaisu shook his head: "No need, I believe you."

The plump Gubo tribesman breathed a sigh of relief and asked expectantly, "Then can we cooperate?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that won't work." Ji Huaisu smiled. "I also have my own stance to uphold!"

Ling Feng struck instantly, aiming for Ji Huaisu's chest. But her fist only hit the detached rope. The light rope binding Ji Huaisu had broken at some point, and she punched the ground. A beast head formed by a raging wind suddenly tore through the earth and swallowed her whole!
When the storm subsided, only a huge crater remained on the ground; Ji Huaisu had vanished without a trace. Fife said urgently, "Quick, after him!"

“We can’t catch up. That guy has backup.” Lingfeng clicked her tongue. “Pariman is right. Let’s hurry up and move. These guys are not easy to deal with.”

·
Deep underground, Chu Hengkong carried the girl slowly as they walked.

They were prepared to provide backup when the infiltration was discovered. Now that he could freely control the Deathwing, it wouldn't be difficult for him to slip underground in the farm and circle back. Besides, Captain Ji had already alertly smashed the floor first, making the rescue operation a breeze.

"How does it feel to be beaten up by Supreme Point 5?"

"She's just so-so. I'll definitely kill her in one-on-one next time," Ji Huaisu grumbled.

Chu Hengkong was amused: "Miss Ji, your mouth is harder than your fist."

"What do you know about 'losing the battle but not the morale'? You've already run out of enemy lines, so put me down right now and stop groping me!"

Chu Hengkong pretended not to hear, his fingertips gliding over the calves covered by the tight-fitting clothes: "The feel is really good, let's rub it a little longer."

Ji Huaisu hooked her toe and tried to kick his head: "Eek! Your clumsy behavior is like you've gone back to puberty!"

"I didn't have a girlfriend who wore sexy bodysuits during my adolescence, and I'm making up for that regret from my teenage years."

"When others are promoted, they become more profound and crazy, but after you, Chu Hengkong, you became a rogue."

“Miss Ji, you’ve got it wrong,” Chu Hengkong said solemnly. “I’ve always been a thug, I just used to be very good at disguising myself.”

Ji Huaisu struggled: "Then you fucking keep pretending!"

"Why pretend to be profound when I'm so carefree now? Just live life however makes me happy!"

A cold voice came through the communicator: "I need to remind you both that I've been listening."

Ji Huaisu immediately hugged someone's neck with a mischievous grin and pressed herself against him. Chu Hengkong was puzzled: "Boss, do you want a princess carry too?"

"Please be quiet. I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Why? Hey! Can't you be reasonable?!"

At the base camp, Vande twisted his tentacles and whispered to Gulibo, "At least we won't need to add vinegar to our food for the next few days."

"But we need to turn on the heating. It feels so cold around here."

The young couple lingered for almost five minutes before returning to their base camp, quickly getting back to work upon entering. Ji Huaisu took out a few Millennium Bugs and placed them back on the table: "The video materials I collected along the way are all here. To be honest, this was quite unexpected. I could guess that the other side had a point, but..."

“That guard was too strange,” Shi Zhong said. “Under the guise of offering advice to Fifeide, he clearly outlined the next steps. Let’s not even discuss how a guard could have such insight and control over intelligence; Fifeide’s behavior alone is suspicious: he showed no surprise whatsoever, seemed to take it all in stride, and seriously accepted the series of instructions. As for his discovery of Miss Ji’s whereabouts in the end, that’s even more inexplicable.”

Wilbert tapped around behind Ji Huaisu, pulling up data from the bodysuit: "The optical camouflage module is normal, and the personal information shielding function was also working properly at the time. Considering that the 'Little Autumn Flower' for monitoring thoughts is already widely used, I think the other party used a similar thought monitoring capability."

Gulibo objected: "But the white lotus wasn't exposed during her previous infiltration."

“Deceiving a mechanical system doesn’t mean it can deceive the ‘person’ who controls it. If the controller behind the guard is the source of the thinking surveillance ability, then it’s only natural that they could discover Miss Ji,” Vilbert pointed out. “Ultimately, the very fact that a thinking surveillance system can be deployed so widely in the form of plants is technically extremely illogical. Even the white lotus used for countermeasures needs kindness as an energy source, so what does the little cosmos flower rely on to operate?”

Shi Zhong pondered: "Do you believe that behind the little cosmos flower is a powerful figure capable of monitoring the thoughts of the people?"

"Moreover, he also possesses the ability to use psychological suggestion and indoctrination on a large scale."

Van Der caught up with the train of thought: "Idea indoctrination means using that guard as a spokesperson, right? What's the basis for psychological suggestion?"

“A group that works voluntarily,” Vilbert said. “Fife’s speech was very moving, but the farmers aren’t so fragile as to change their stance because of a past event. Besides, 20 years isn’t a long time in the Submerged Realm, and most citizens still remember the famine. It’s understandable that the younger generation was moved by this and chose the independence camp, but it’s hard to explain why the middle-aged and elderly also made the same choice.” “That’s… the strangest thing!” Great-Grandpa said angrily. “Gulibo is the one among us with the strongest fighting spirit, which is why he was chosen to go to the surface as a spy. How could he be moved to give up resistance after being captured for only half a day!”

"Great-Grandpa, it was Magic Bo who was taken away, not me..." Guli Bo said weakly.

Great-grandfather rubbed his eyes: "? Then what are you?"

"I am Guli Bobo..."

Ji Huaisu suppressed the urge to interrupt the nonsensical conversation and returned to the main topic seriously: "So, behind Fifeide is something that can influence hundreds of thousands of people?"

“It’s far more than that,” Wilbert said. “The separatists on the ground also exhibited an unnatural level of discipline and obedience. You can’t turn civilians into an army just by having them agree with you. That thought controller—whether it’s Parriman or his associates—has the ability to influence at least hundreds of millions of people.”

"That's an outrageous magnitude, is it a point mass 7?" Chu Hengkong commented.

“Or perhaps it’s some kind of spell that requires strict conditions to activate,” Wilbert commented. “I’m more inclined to this explanation because the currents involved in Particle 7 are too vast; Jing Sha couldn’t be completely unaware of them.”

The discussion reached a stalemate. They guessed the existence of the mind controller, but had no way to counter it. They discussed for a while the actions Fifed would take, which were clearly related to the second pulse sequence. Finally, Velvet announced that she and the gardeners would continue to research countermeasures against the cosmos, and the combat personnel who couldn't help with the research had to disperse and rest.

The bed of the underground base camp was made of large, elastic leaves, far better than the earthen bed in the wilderness. Ji Huaisu lay on the leaf bed, wanting to rest but unable to calm his mind.

Being defeated by Lingfeng wasn't a big deal, but the old photos from back then kept replaying in her mind. The bewilderment and fear in people's eyes, spanning 20 years, seeped into her heart. She realized once again that the people's choice of independence was justified. This wasn't a conflict between good and evil, but an intractable contradiction faced by the city-state system, an extreme imbalance between productivity and the pressure of war.

The city-state of Jingsha integrates military and agricultural production, with farmers playing a major role in the production of food and munitions. In the past, when the pressure on the front lines was not significant, the 30-year plan of the Divine Tree was sufficient to maintain the normal operation of the city-state, and the production and consumption of food and munitions were balanced.

However, after the destruction of the Netherworld Kingdom, the pressure on the front lines increased dramatically, and the increase in pressure faced by Jing Sha far exceeded the increase in productivity. The strength of a single city is ultimately limited; no matter how well the Divine Tree's plan was implemented, or how strong the people's will was, it was impossible to artificially inflate this deficit. Even forcibly increasing the workload would not significantly change the situation, because grain growth takes time, and farmers standing in the fields for several more hours would not increase grain production by much.

To fundamentally resolve this conflict, the only solution lies in addressing the war situation. However, the Empire and the Spiral Tower remain, and the external forces' offensive will not diminish. The final stages of the war 20 years ago had already brought Jing Sha to the point of total mobilization; the outcome of defending the front lines this time is unlikely to be any better.

The current Sacred Tree of Thorns can no longer withstand a second great famine, and if they do not move away from the front lines, the city-states will truly have no way out in 10 years.

From the perspective of the locals of Jingsha, "protecting the sacred tree" is the most legitimate reason.

It's only natural for locals to prioritize protecting their own homes, so what legitimate reason does she have to force the citizens of Jingsha to stand on the front lines? Because they're already here? Because the battle should be won? But what if this decade is truly lost?

Can she honestly say that making 17 billion people sacrifice for tens of billions of others is justice, or that this choice is justified?
Ji Huaisu felt increasingly depressed when a knock came at the door. She opened it irritably and nearly bumped into the smiling assassin.

"Shall we go for a walk?" Chu Hengkong said.

·
Actually, they didn't "leave." Young Master Chu simply spread his wings and flew into the sky, his actions full of swagger. She lay sullenly in her boyfriend's arms, secretly vowing to make her mount as big as possible so she could carry him up next time.

"You're upset."

"I didn't," Ji Huaisu stubbornly insisted.

"If you were in good form, you wouldn't be playing so hesitantly. You're a knight who can fight with such ferocity even against Oleksandr."

Ji Huaisu turned and bumped into him. She thought Chu Hengkong was unusually thoughtful, but she didn't expect him to have noticed her worries during the battle. A martial arts fanatic is a martial arts fanatic; he's always focused on fighting. He didn't notice when Chu Hengkong wasn't wearing makeup, resting, or eating properly, but the moment his fighting style changed, he immediately asked if something was on his mind.

"A little," she admitted. "I rarely fight with such a lack of confidence, and the other side isn't a bad person. I'm not afraid of losing, but I'm afraid that if they question me, I won't know how to answer."

“Huaisu, I’ve always felt that your problem is that you’re too upright,” Chu Hengkong said. “Back then, you couldn’t bring yourself to be ruthless when dealing with those instigated troublemakers in the swamp. You’re even more prone to overthinking in this kind of situation.”

"Then what should I do? I'm a righteous knight, not a real murderer. Back in the swamp, we were able to solve problems with the Blessing tactic. Do you have any other brilliant ideas this time?"

"No, and there's no need," Chu Hengkong said leisurely. "Some things just can't be perfect."

"What should I do?"

Chu Hengkong didn't reply, landing as lightly as a feather atop a glittering tower. Ji Huaisu squinted, blinded by the light, as she saw colorful fireworks drifting in the night sky and amusement rides soaring through a sea of ​​balloons.

In the blink of an eye, they traversed most of the thorny path and arrived at the Flying Swallow Amusement Park. But the amusement park was rather deserted tonight, with very few visitors and employees idly holding balloons. In contrast, the dimly lit area outside was filled with the sounds of people.

Ji Huaisu turned around and saw a long, long line under the streetlights, stretching from outside several small hills all the way to the entrance of the amusement park.

At the end of the line was the port of the fifth vein, where people waited for the ferry to depart from the thorny shrine.

(End of this chapter)