A Dedication of Love

In truth, Xinquan Town hadn't originally been called Xinquan. As a makeshift settlement that grew out of the Quancheng Ruins, countless scavengers had flocked to it upon catching the scent, like swarms of ants in the wasteland rapidly dismantling a fallen whale. Such makeshift settlements were all too common in the wasteland; a single flood, a bout of rain, or even an earthquake could easily spawn an entirely new one. It was foreseeable that for the next ten, twenty, or thirty years, so long as the ruins remained, scavengers would continually unearth a steady stream of materials from within. From its very inception, the crude settlement was built upon the intertwined chaos of various factions. Its layout could hardly be called sensible; haphazard shanties and hazardous buildings were ubiquitous, and its palette was anything but vibrant—a motley blend of gray and black. Built against the hillside, with a single main road snaking and coiling alongside the ruins, it had earned the name... Diaomao Town. Even now, this all-too-popular moniker remained widely spoken. It had become second nature. Even if official documents and formal address adopted the name "Xinquan," coined by Ji Jue, in the minds of most people, the settlement was divided into two distinct parts. The vast new expanse expanded from the settlement was called Xinquan, while the older section continued to bear the old name. Today, the former was orderly and civilized, a rare haven of law and structure in the wasteland, whereas all manner of sordid, shady operations continued to cluster in the old district... Ji Jue found it an eyesore, yet he couldn't completely eradicate it. Such things couldn't be overturned merely by him rallying the crowd. Besides, in the wasteland, much of this had long hardened into common sense and unwritten rules. The only thing he could do was occasionally find an excuse to slaughter a batch of greedy bastards who crossed the line, lest giving these dogs an inch make them take a mile and forget what miserable wretches they really were. The foul stuff could stay in the sewers where it belonged, but if anyone thought about pulling some hare-brained scheme right under Ji Jue's nose to start an "enterprise," he'd love to ask just how many lives and precious talents they had to spare to dare talk to him like that. To put it bluntly: when the tiger is away from the mountain, the monkey reigns supreme. Haian Industries' current prestige in the wasteland carried a distinct flavor of "in an era bereft of heroes, even a nobody makes a name for himself." After all, slashing from the civilian sector into the military-industrial sector and then suddenly plunging into the wasteland, this kind of dimensional strike was more than enough for Ji Jue to build overwhelming momentum in no time, effortlessly dominating the whole of Xinquan without breaking a sweat. Occasionally, when a couple of blind specks of dust tried to kick up trouble, Ji Jue didn't even need to lift a finger—Blondie, dispatched from the Wild Gathering to manage affairs in Xinquan, snuffed them out directly. "If the big boss tells me to whack someone, I whack 'em. If the big boss says listen to Brother Ji, then whoever talks to Brother Ji without bowing their head gets whacked first. If you die, tough luck; if you don't, good for you, but tomorrow I'll just bring backup and whack you again." Now, after several months of development, the settlement had expanded to more than several times its original size. Under Ji Jue's guidance, after purging much of Quancheng's lingering toxicity, they had pushed into the periphery of the former ruins and were continuing to expand even further. Following the initial chaos, Xinquan had now become an appendage of Haian Industries. Countless scavengers eked out a living on the crumbs slipping through Ji Jue's fingers. While the profits were negligible, it saved Ji Jue an untold amount of effort. Now he didn't even need to source materials himself; if he needed any standard supplies, a single word brought hordes of people scrambling to deliver them to his doorstep. The vast majority of Quancheng's junk, scrap metal, decommissioned alchemical works, and any fragments still considered of value were hauled into his warehouse day and night without interruption. Once production was on track, Ji Jue couldn't be bothered to manage daily affairs and resumed his hands-off approach, holing up in his workshop every day. Meanwhile, Yan Jian, the de facto manager of Haian, saw his status rise accordingly, becoming a figure in high demand. Indeed, Yan Jian had followed him out to Quancheng as well. Having spent so many years toiling at Haian, finally holding his head high, he was a foundational veteran; even if he did nothing, Haichao couldn't possibly mistreat him. But over all those years, Old Yan had had his heart broken too many times and had long seen through it all. If not for Ji Jue, he'd probably still be an earthbound spirit haunting that dilapidated factory complex, watching over an endless pile of empty promises day after day. Who had turned his fortunes around? Who had allowed him to walk with his head held high? Could he fail to see that? Besides, working with Ji Jue was so damn satisfying! And right here in Quancheng, second to only one man and above thousands, he could do whatever he wanted and build whatever he pleased. Wasn't that far better than running off to Chaocheng just to be an ornamental puppet? "Old Lu's back?" Just as Lu Feng parked his car, he spotted Yan Jian strolling through the factory grounds. His limp was still faintly perceptible, but he had put on considerably more weight than during his days at Haian. His formerly gaunt, troubled face now wore an approachable demeanor, beaming with smiles all day long. "Those bastards don't have a single honest word in their mouths..." Lu Feng glanced down at his watch, involuntarily launching into his usual Yacheng-style string of curses: "Before I left, they swore everything was ready. Then I get there, and it's problem after problem—even the damn crane was busted! Trying to freeload on everything, wasted so much of my time." "Tough break, tough break." Yan Jian smiled. "Over the past few days, I poached quite a few folks from the old factory, so our manpower is much more plentiful now. Going forward, the grunt work for the installation teams won't bother you anymore. But I'm afraid we'll still have to trouble you with collecting payments. After all, once you leave Xinquan, the roads aren't safe." "No problem." Lu Feng waved dismissively and tossed his bags down. "Where's Ji Jue?" "Waiting for you over there. He told you not to rush—you'll make it in time." After pointing the way, Yan Jian waved. "Give the old lady my best regards." "Eh, it's just a birthday, what's the big deal?" Lu Feng chuckled, pretending not to care, but his pace hastened noticeably. His heart was already racing home. Inside the newly constructed, massive office building, there were no cubicles typical of standard corporate offices. Very few people worked desk shifts, and there certainly weren't any immaculately groomed office ladies. The handful handling clerical tasks had all come from Yacheng, while the largest area was occupied by accounting and finance. Iron bars like a cage separated inside from out. The clerk at the counter looked up as Lu Feng tossed over two bags. "First installment from the Bald Peak settlement up north." Soon, the two bags of gold fragments were verified and logged. Then, through the window, one could see the precious metals—having undergone various processing steps and smelted into ingots—being stacked into the vault, pooling into an alluring gleam of gold... Expecting these wasteland dwellers, who bartered all year round, to use Federation currency was asking far too much. In truth, when someone actually pulled out Federation currency, that was when you needed to be on guard... God only knew where they had gotten their hands on color-shifting ink, engraving plates, or even counterfeit watermarks. Because everyone knew everyone else's dirty tricks and there was a complete absence of regulation, outside the cities, practically all major transactions were settled in precious metals. As Xinquan Town grew increasingly prosperous and Haian Industries steadily expanded, even with razor-thin profit margins, the relentless growth in volume caused daily revenue figures to balloon to staggering heights. More and more gold dust poured in, sands gathering into an ocean, until even Lu Feng's eyes began to ache from looking at it. Over time, Haian Industries had become the single largest depository of gold in the entire Haizhou wasteland... Even though the vast majority of it would quickly turn into various expenditures and the sheer scale was merely a facade, Ji Jue showed no intention whatsoever of transferring it into the city. Instead, he let rumors spread unchecked, allowing them to escalate step by step. By now, according to the rumors floating among the wasteland settlements, Haian had practically become the number-one fat sheep under heaven, with untold numbers sharpening their knives, itching to pull off a heist. "Don't flash your wealth! Don't you know better than to flaunt your money?" Kicking open the door to Ji Jue's office, Lu Feng launched into a scathing lecture without holding back: "Do you have any idea how many people are eyeing you right now? With that much money, couldn't you find a bank to deposit it first? Did you really have to put it on display? You won't learn your lesson until someone robs you blind!" "Huh?" Ji Jue turned around with a blank look, a slice of watermelon in hand, chewing away happily. Under the chilly blast of the air conditioner, clad in a tank top, baggy shorts, and slippers, he had fully embraced the classic Yacheng look. His hair was still a messy nest, and dark circles of sleep deprivation hung beneath his eyes—thoroughly disheveled. "Relax, security is more than adequate," he consoled him with a wave of his hand. "It only looks like a lot. Aside from the top layer, most of them are just gold-plated to keep up appearances. Besides, I'd really love to see which suicidal idiot would willingly charge into my workshop for that little bit of coin." Lu Feng snapped back, "Then couldn't you move it into the city?" "Move it? No way, absolutely not!" Ji Jue grew frantic, his eyes widening as he raised his voice. "If I move it back, where am I going to find so many new employees walking right into my lap?" With that, he picked up the remote, pointed it at the monitor, and pressed a button. Instantly, unlike the above-ground workshops, the underground facilities—Workshops One through Six—were laid bare before Lu Feng's eyes: assembly lines running in parallel, along with the "employees" on those lines, shackled in leg irons with IV drips attached to their hands. In the dead silence, Lu Feng couldn't help sucking in several sharp breaths of cold air. Under the indifferent gaze of the surveillance cameras, each worker's target quota, work efficiency, and even the number of times they slacked off or lost focus were displayed on screens mounted above their heads, converted into a cold, ruthless stream of metrics and figures. Within the feed's details, beneath the pallid fluorescent lights, bursts of electrical sparks occasionally flared. Screams rang out as slacking workers collapsed in convulsions, yet the people on either side paid no heed at all, keeping their heads down and working diligently like living tools. Even the screaming victim dared not lie on the ground for long; the moment they regained their senses, they scrambled up immediately, weeping as they threw themselves back onto the assembly line. Crying counted against their time, too. These uninvited, eagerly volunteering employees burst forth with an enthusiasm and drive on the job that even Ji Jue hadn't anticipated, repeatedly performing miracles. Though prior to this they had all been roving scum of the wasteland—criminals with more than one life on their hands, not lacking in heinous, unforgivable fugitives or bandits—now, through Isis's friendly communication, they had all turned over a new leaf, becoming the pillars of Haian Auto Works, Ji Jue's fellow brotherly employees. Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, no days off, eighteen hours a day, zero wages or social security, conscientiously dedicating themselves to the world. Burning themselves to illuminate others! What was this? This was goddamn devotion born of love. Besides, Ji Jue wasn't some kind of demon. As long as people were alive, making mistakes was inevitable; one had to give them a chance to reform. He even paid them according to Yacheng's official minimum wage! Once they repaid the damages caused by their attacks and raids through their own hard labor, offsetting equipment usage fees, bunk rental fees... meal fees, medical expenses, and even management fees, they could naturally remove their explosive neck collars, regain their freedom, and become people genuinely useful to the world! Move the gold? Why move it? If he moved it, where on earth would Ji Jue find so many nuclear-powered donkeys to turn the millstone for him with a clear conscience? As long as this rumored mountain of gold remained, a steady stream of employees would show up in Xinquan Town on their own every single day, dedicating their precious youth to the grand vision of revitalizing the wasteland. "Look how happily they're smiling," Ji Jue said, pointing at the teary-eyed model employees on the screen. "This is sacrifice, this is dedication, this is true spiritual fulfillment and contentment, you get it?" "..." Amid the prolonged silence, Lu Feng stared at him, utterly speechless. He finally understood why Ji Jue had repeatedly stressed the need to leave survivors every single time... Back then, Lu Feng had complained that the guy had too many fussy requirements, being softhearted and making jobs far too messy to wrap up cleanly. He never dreamed that raising his barrel by a single inch would lead to so much of Ji Jue's "benevolence and grace" lying in wait. "Quancheng really is the place to be," he said, clapping Ji Jue on the shoulder with earnest gravity. "At least Quancheng doesn't have lampposts." If this were damn well in Yacheng, Ji Jue alone could probably fulfill the Security Bureau's performance quotas for several years running... When this bastard lost his mind, what he was capable of doing was something Lu Feng genuinely didn't dare to imagine. "It's already half past four, damn it. You'd better make it in time." He glanced at his watch one last time. "Ma won't say anything, but that brat Xiao Ling has a vicious tongue when she scolds someone." Her sarcasm was already cutting enough to kill; after getting into college, it had only gotten worse... "What's the rush?" Ji Jue calmly finished off the watermelon, wiped his mouth, and said, "She won't scold me anyway." One of us is going to get an earful—care to guess who? "You son of a Ji, you—" Lu Feng's blood pressure spiked in an instant, his fists clenching hard. But right then, he saw Ji Jue ahead push open a door out of thin air and wave to him. "Hurry it up, let's go." With that, Ji Jue vanished into thin air. When Lu Feng took a step through, Xinquan was already gone, and the door clicked shut behind him without a sound. In an instant, he arrived upon the deck of the Prosperity. Immediately after, towering waves and howling sea breezes rushed straight into his face! Lu Feng was dumbfounded, oblivious even to the salty tang of ocean spray splashing into his mouth. "Holy f—"