Forge a path to success

Fifi sighed inwardly, thinking that of all the people who could be captain, it had to be this crazy woman from Supreme Road. It led the two down to the fifth basement level, into a sealed space made of one-way transparent material. The floor was covered with hamster cages of various sizes, all open, and the imprisoned citizens were nowhere to be found.

"This is the first stop for the volunteers who have come underground. You must be wondering why they volunteered to work here, right? I'll tell you the reason now."

Suddenly, the enclosed space lit up, the light focusing on the wall and projecting an old black-and-white photograph. It depicted withered fruit trees, barren soil, and a listless, elderly oxen. Small animals in the fields, their fur dry, lined up to receive cool water and shriveled dried fruit.

Ji Huaisu frowned. She was very familiar with poverty and could tell at a glance that this was not a lie. The citizens' eyes were filled with confusion and fear, anxieties about an uncertain future.

"Is this a historical famine?"

"History?" Lingfeng shook her head. "You really know nothing about city-states!"

The projection turned to color, transforming the black and white of history into the familiar colors of reality. The frame of the photograph shattered, and the camera zoomed out to reveal more of the scene. There was more than one line for receiving relief food; the fields were almost entirely filled with long queues. On the few open spaces, first-aid tents were set up, and numerous wounded soldiers groaned in their hospital beds, while their families wept from hunger.

Lingfeng stood next to the "old photo" and sneered, "Let me tell you when this history is from. This is the fourth lineage from 20 years ago!"

Ji Huaisu was utterly astonished: "20 years? This is the city-state of Jingsha!"

Anyone who heard this would find it absurd, for Thorns was the place furthest from famine in the world. Its land was fertile, its produce abundant, and it served as the granary for the entire Allied forces. How could anyone starve in a place where a handful of seeds could grow into fruit?

“I know what you’re thinking. If farmers cultivate the land normally in the city-state, they won’t starve to death,” Phifed said. “That’s true! But this conclusion is based on the premise that the farmers can cultivate the land normally. And the farmers of our city-state are also the manufacturers of weapons!”

Ji Huaisu suddenly realized his mistake, and Fei Feide said seriously, "The city-state of Jingsha takes turns guarding the front line of the desperate war, rotating every 30 years, with each rotation lasting a full ten years. During the 20 years when it is not responsible for the war, Jingsha can ensure its self-sufficiency. But once the war comes, our fields will be completely transformed from farmland into arsenals, and what is planted in the fields will no longer be fruit, but war plants!"

Of course, the Jing Sha Kingdom has its own reserves. We will gradually accumulate food over 20 years, maintaining a balance between farming and fighting in the early stages of the war to sustain basic needs… However, maintaining this balance is actually very difficult. The operation of this system depends entirely on Lord Shenshu's 30-year development plan for the city-state, and once the war reaches a stalemate and the supply balance is broken, misfortune will occur like an avalanche.

"Twenty years ago, the attacks from the heretics were extremely fierce, and our situation was further exacerbated by the loss of divine support. In order to protect our city-state, we had no choice but to mobilize all our resources and devote ourselves entirely to the production of war plants... At that time, the Thorn Robe was not differentiated by vein, and even the great nobles of Mansa Star Castle were growing vegetables! It took us so much effort to finally hold this front line!"

But after the victory, the good days didn't come... Our camp was filled with weapons, and our food supplies were almost exhausted. We had to use the remaining weapons as emergency rations. The dried fruit you see in the photos are actually weapons hastily made into food. But relying solely on eating guns and cannons couldn't feed 17 billion people!

“At that time, a great famine was almost upon us, but the people of Jingsha were demoralized. The citizens, who had just survived for ten years, were no longer able to cope with the disaster that was about to follow,” Lingfeng said. “But just as you thought, the famine did not actually happen. This is the city-state of Jingsha, and we always have the help of the divine tree.”

The projected image changed; the barren fields became fertile again, and new buds sprouted from the withered fruit trees. The autumn fields welcomed an unprecedented harvest, and people filled their stomachs thanks to this miraculous harvest.

But miracles always come at a price. Unseen by the public, Old Jing Sha lay ill in bed. He had once appeared to be a fairly robust man, but with the arrival of the harvest, he became emaciated and pale. For the harvest had once again given its strength, feeding the starving commoners.

"We survived, once again thanks to the divine tree's sacrifice," Lingfeng said coldly. "But what about next time? And the time after that? Will the war be so fortunate? Will the divine tree still possess such power?"

"Times have changed too fast. The once solid righteous defense line is now reduced to a city-state that can barely hold on. We have appealed countless times for the support of the Jing Sha, but Longquan Township is willing to help but is far away. Shura Island is powerful but is plagued by internal strife. Wuchendi and Paradise are too busy to take care of themselves, and the legendary other righteous force is still silent inside the Heavenly Prison."

What else can we do? What else can Jing Sha do?

Lingfeng sneered, "Let me make myself clear. These farces in the Fourth Lineage's underground are preparations for war after independence. While Parriman himself is undoubtedly a scoundrel, the city-state chose Parrimanism to save itself. The Divine Tree won't last another ten years; we can only rely on our own strength to protect the city-state!!"

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 of volunteers,” Wilbert said. “Phifeld’s speech was very moving, but the farmers are not so fragile as to change their stance because of a past event. Besides, 20 years is not a long time in the world of strife, and most citizens still remember the famine. It is understandable that the younger generation was moved by this and chose to be independent, but it is hard to explain why the middle-aged and elderly also made the same choice.”

"This is... 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 be a spy on Earth. 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.

Chapter 367 Abundant Harvest (7)

Ji Huaisu flew through the long queue in the dark and arrived at the dock. The people waiting to board the ship were talking amongst themselves, and there were occasional disturbances and protests. The guards maintaining order were already exhausted, and one of the kobold guards was almost closing his eyes when he shouted.

"The ferry has limited capacity! Please go back first, there will be another ferry tomorrow!"

This had been said countless times, yet the people in the long queue remained. Everyone knew perfectly well that it was impossible to get on a boat tonight, but they also knew that tomorrow's queue would only be longer than today's.

If I go back tonight, who knows when it will be my turn again? And what outsider would dare to stay long in this city-state that is about to become independent?

But those at the front of the procession, about to board the ship, showed no joy; instead, they carried an even heavier sense of melancholy and sorrow. For the city-states would eventually be lost, and if the battle lines fell, those from nearby Dust Island would be the first to perish. They did not want to imagine the scene of the heretics ravaging the land a month from now; they could only hope that the other major powers would step forward, that new strongmen would emerge to defend the front lines for all living beings.

They weren't even local citizens, and had no right to participate in politics. What could the creatures of this small, dusty island do besides pray?

As a child was about to board the boat, he turned back longingly, gazing at the dazzling amusement park in the distance. He tugged at his mother's sleeve and whispered, "Mom, let's go tomorrow! I want to play at the amusement park for a few more days!"

The mother smiled reluctantly: "There will be another chance, we'll come again next time."

"But what should we do when we get home?"

The mother was on the verge of a breakdown. Holding her child, she whispered, "At least our family can be together..."

What happens after we get together?

The children seemed to sense something and didn't ask any more questions. They huddled together in the cold wind, like tumbleweeds swaying in the wind.

Ji Huaisu felt a sudden, suffocating pressure. Chu Hengkong caught up and patted her shoulder. Just then, they heard a slightly familiar voice: "Oh! Aren't you two planning to leave?"

She was a young woman wearing large round glasses and holding a large notebook. Chu Hengkong remembered her; she was a new writer, Miss 987, who wrote "Guardian Spirit".

“We still have work to do,” Chu Hengkong smiled. “Are you leaving the city-state too?”

987 blushed again and shook her head: "I came here to gather material. My next book is about opposing Parrimanism. But..."

Looking at the long queue, she whispered, "I can't write anything down, I feel so upset that I can't write anything down."

"You should have thought of this day long ago, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to write the story of the guardian spirit."

“That’s a different matter…” 987 said dejectedly. “Novelists and artists are very good at discovering problems around them and making pessimistic predictions based on them. But we have no way to solve problems. When our pessimistic predictions come true, we have no choice but to lament and run away.”

She smiled wryly and said, "At this point, all we can do is pray—"

"No, we just need to wait."