Ji Jue started to sweat.
Come to think of it, Haian indeed had partnerships with Tianmen, and there would surely be plenty of dealings in the future. Having moved past the primitive "artisanal workshop" phase, Haian had now found solid footing in the wasteland. If it wanted to grow further, it inevitably had to expand beyond its original track.
A small amount of military industry could only serve as bargaining chips; after all, it couldn't see the light of day.
And if it wanted to grow, the simplest way was to trail behind Haichao Armaments, picking up all the sectors they discarded and instantly refining them.
Thus, aside from motorized tricycles, generators, and tractors, it inevitably had to develop more products, enter more fields, and build more distribution channels.
And from there, relying on Haian's own advantages and the vast pool of cheap labor in the wasteland, counterattack the city's market!
To achieve that, people were needed.
A massive number of people.
Beyond the assembly line workers and the modified beasts of burden in the underground workshops, technical talent was indispensable. Yet how could genuine technical talent ever end up stranded in the wasteland outside the city?
Education, experience, environment—none of these existed outside the walls; solutions could only be found within the city.
After all, Yan Jian was getting on in years. He was taking more and more health tonics, his hair was thinning day by day, and his vigor was waning.
At an age where he was close to being phased out, if he were forced to charge onto the front lines and work overtime day and night like the young folk, he'd snap and drop dead at his desk sooner or later.
Besides, other than him, Ji Jue genuinely didn't trust anyone else to oversee the big picture and supervise Haian.
One's forties and fifties were the prime years to hustle, the time to bloom into a second youth! Ji Jue was even planning to procure some life-prolonging potions from the Association, hoping Yan Jian would dedicate another fifty years to Haian!
Forming a new R&D team was a pressing priority.
With countless details to juggle, it was just too much hassle. Ji Jue had planned to make a note in his memos to deal with it when he had time, only to discover that Isis had already started taking action.
He remembered wanting to ask for details back then, but Isis had persuaded him with, "It is a minor matter, Sir. There is no need for you to worry; just leave it to me."
As it turned out...
Damn it, had he just been sidelined by his own workshop spirit?
Such an important matter, and she hadn't even consulted him... Donating so much was such a waste of money! Wouldn't donating ten or twenty thousand as a gesture have been enough?
Furious, Ji Jue slapped his knee and berated, "Wasteful woman!"
[What is the matter, Sir?]
Isis's words suddenly appeared on his phone without warning, seemingly full of confusion: [Is something wrong?]
"...No, nothing."
Ji Jue stiffened, only then noticing the surveillance camera pointed in his direction from nearby. He smiled awkwardly. "You've done great, Isis!"
[It is only my duty.]
The words displayed on the screen: [If you need anything, please call upon me at any time.]
She added: [I am always here.]
Ji Jue really started sweating now.
Damn it. Being sidelined was one thing... but he was being surveilled too?!
Was this right?!
If he wasn't careful, she might very well lock him in a furnace and slow-simmer him on low heat... Oh, wait, she'd already done that before.
Never mind, then.
Whatever. Any random wool he sheared from the Seven Cities would amount to far more than this. As long as she was happy.
Ji Jue shook his head, letting it slide.
Only then did he notice Lao Yao looking up at him from his lap with teary eyes. "Second Brother..."
"Hm?" Ji Jue smiled. "What's wrong?"
"Why did you slap my knee?"
"Force of habit, force of habit..."
Ji Jue gave an awkward smile, rubbed Lao Yao's knee, and tugged down the boy's cropped pants to cover the red handprint. "Don't tell Mother Lu, okay!"
"I want ice cream!"
"You just had some, no—"
"Mom! Second Brother—"
"—deal!"
Ji Jue nodded decisively, forced a smile, and ruffled Lao Yao's hair. Watching the kid's smug expression, he thought the brat definitely had room for a few more homework assignments.
No worries. Wasn't his Second Brother right here to help?
"Lao Yao's already in fourth grade, right?" Ji Jue looked toward Mother Lu. "Picked a middle school yet?"
Mother Lu said, "Let's just go with North Mountain. It's close to home."
"What good schools are there in North Mountain? The teachers don't care at all. Once Third Sister finishes elementary school, let's transfer her too. I'll go check out Lihua District. I happen to have a 'friend' over there."
"Why go through all that trouble? If they test into a good one, they go; if not, don't waste the money."
Mother Lu shook her head and tapped Lao Yao on the noggin. "Getting more outrageous by the day. Used to be he'd relish a fifty-cent ice pop. Now he dares throw away half of a five-dollar one. Little Ji, don't spoil him, buying this and that every day..."
"Isn't it the same whether Brother Feng buys it or I do?" Ji Jue smiled, unconcerned. "If we have the means, we should use them. No need to suffer for suffering's sake. Besides, I'm out of the house now, and Xiao Ling's studies are getting busier. Finding a good school where teachers keep an eye on them one-on-one..."
Mother Lu fell silent for a moment, hesitating before giving Ji Jue's hand a squeeze. "I know you're a good kid with a good heart, but it's really not necessary. Finding a girlfriend soon, getting married, and having a child for me to hold would be better than spending any amount of money on things.
"Lao San and Lao Yao have two hands and two feet. Pampering them all day is just improper.
"You and Pup have backbone, but others aren't like you. The outside world is dazzling and full of temptation. It's not easy for kids to learn good habits, but going bad happens in the blink of an eye..."
"If they go bad, just beat them. Besides, aren't I here?"
Ji Jue smiled nonchalantly. "Mother Lu, you might not know this, but guiding people toward righteousness and helping them turn over a new leaf is my greatest specialty."
"Talking nonsense again."
Mother Lu sighed softly. She gazed at Ji Jue's profile for a long time, then reached out and smoothed away the habitual furrow between his brows. "I became an apprentice at twelve, enduring hardship and suffering all the way to this day... How exhausting and difficult the world out there is, do you think I don't know?
"All my life, aside from fixing cars, I only know how to cook. I have no other skills. Now that I'm getting old, being able to see you all make something of yourselves cleanly and honestly—that is the greatest blessing."
"..."
For a brief moment, Ji Jue started to speak, yet had no idea what to say. Amidst the clamor, he turned back to look at Mother Lu. Mother Lu was looking at him too, smiling, her plump cheeks full of joy and affection.
It was as if she were still looking at that stubborn, homeless kid from years ago.
"Don't worry, don't worry."
Ji Jue carefully took Mother Lu's hand and told her, "Just leave it to me. There's no need to worry."
He added, "How could any child raised by you ever go bad, Mother Lu?"
"Always flattering me." Mother Lu looked helpless, yet her smile grew even brighter.
"Second Brother, what is it?"
Lao Yao looked up in confusion. He hadn't understood their words, but somehow felt that disaster was about to strike him out of nowhere...
"Nothing. Just looking out for you guys."
Ji Jue put an arm around Lao Yao and pinched Third Sister's cheek with a faint smile. "Make sure to be good kids."
"Let's go! Let's go! Tianmen, let's go!!!"
Roars erupted from the stands. The students of Tianmen University grew boisterous, waving banners and signs as they shouted: "Go! Go! Go!!!"
Under the stadium lights and cheers, the student athletes filed out of the entrance tunnel. At first glance, Ji Jue spotted Lu Ling in her track uniform.
She seemed unaccustomed to such scenes, instinctively hunching her shoulders slightly, an embarrassed smile on her face.
"Go, Second Sister!!!"
"Xiao Ling! Xiao Ling!!"
Mother Lu grew excited. Raising her phone, she shouted so loudly that her voice nearly drowned out the other sounds in the stands, holding her phone high to film Lu Ling.
In the crowd, Lu Ling paused and looked up, seeing Mother Lu, her excitedly bouncing younger brother and sister, and Ji Jue beside them, smiling as he pumped a fist in encouragement.
That solemn gaze, that look full of expectation...
"Xiao Ling, you'd better run well!!!"
—Otherwise your Second Brother's sponsorship money will have gone down the drain!
Lu Ling was startled, and then her smile beamed radiantly as she puffed out her chest.
Paying no mind to the eyes on her, she hopped and waved in their direction, flashing a V-sign.
"Who's that?"
A girl beside her leaned over curiously.
"My mom," Lu Ling said, holding her head high with pride.
"I mean next to her, next to her..."
The senior girl shook her head, her eyes lighting up as she instinctively lowered her voice. "That's Senior Ji, isn't it?"
Unfortunately, it was no use; everyone around heard her. They all turned toward the same direction, craning their necks with curiosity to catch a glimpse of the legendary rising star of the School of Mechanical Engineering...
With the rise of Haian Industries, Ji Jue's reputation had once again spread throughout the school. In the countless rumors, he was portrayed either as a bizarre demon or exaggerated into a god or Buddha.
Even sales of Tianmen University's signature braised pork rice had noticeably declined.
Question: Why hadn't Senior Ji hidden the past incident where a bowl of braised pork rice nearly sent him straight to the afterlife?
Word was that during his first three years, this senior kept a low profile, toiling away like a dog, grinding out certifications to the death to outcompete his classmates. Relying on sheer stubbornness, he reached Level 4 in his first year, Level 3 in his second, and clinched Level 2 Engineer directly in his third year, racking up a chaotic pile of miscellaneous certificates to pad his resume along the way. Before even graduating, he was chosen as an apprentice by a big shot who no longer showed their face, fast-tracking him directly into an integrated bachelor's-to-master's program.
Just as everyone expected his journey as a supreme academic titan to begin, he took up a post at Haian Auto Works during his internship. Relying on a few motorized tricycles, he turned a rundown factory on the verge of bankruptcy into a rising titan approaching a monopoly over the wasteland... On the day of his graduation, he broke records by becoming Tianmen University's fastest honorary alumnus, his portrait hung on the wall. And now, he had turned around to sponsor his alma mater and foster his juniors.
He was practically a Heavenly Venerable rising from the assembly line, a legendary god of academics whose junior bolt-tightening disciples eternally enshrined two apples and snacks by their bedsides!
To all this, Lu Ling made no attempt to hide her pride, holding her head high and puffing out her chest:
"That's my brother!"
For a long time now, she had felt, to varying degrees, the influence her Second Brother had on her college life.
It was like an ugly duckling suddenly arriving in a world full of wonderful people.
There were no teachers deliberately making things difficult, no classmates ostracizing her, no club seniors bossing her around like a servant, and no one sneering at her for being an unsophisticated, poor suburban bumpkin who didn't know how to wear makeup and couldn't keep up with trendy topics. Everyone was benevolent and kind.
Yet Lu Ling had never cared.
Yes, exactly, that's my brother—so what!
What was there to hide?
Back in high school, all she had to do was whistle, and her Eldest Brother and Second Brother would leap out to beat the little brats bullying her half to death, cleaning up all traces afterward without leaving a shred of evidence, and then turning around to show them what true school violence looked like...
That was the best thing in the whole world!
If you're green with envy, go find yourself a brother too!
Even if he had nothing to his name, he would still be my brother.
"I've been riding to school on his Little Sheep since I was little!"
Lu Ling hummed smugly, lifting her chin—and Little Sheep could even transform; did she need to tell them that too?
Even without being right beside her, Ji Jue could imagine how high the little brat was holding her tail.
What did it matter?
He even played along with a smile, forming a heart with his hands to boost his second sister's swagger, earning a helpless look from Mother Lu.
Lu Ling had signed up for track and field: women's 100 meters, hurdles, and pole vault. She seemed to have become a core pillar of the sports club; there was even a dedicated cheering squad shouting for her from the sidelines.
For the entire afternoon, Mother Lu's phone shutter didn't stop clicking. When her battery nearly ran out, she even had Ji Jue borrow a power bank.
"It's really not necessary, Mother Lu," Ji Jue sighed, pointing down toward the field. "Look, there are dedicated photographers taking shots. In a bit, I'll just have them send over the photos. The resolution is way higher than this."
"How could that be the same?"
Mother Lu shook her head decisively, then posted to Moments with astonishing finger speed, beaming from ear to ear.
Ji Jue was helpless and could only let her be.
Over the course of the afternoon, Lu Ling took home quite a few honors: a silver medal in the 100 meters, a bronze in the pole vault, and a championship gold in the hurdles. When the university president personally presented the award, tears welled up in Mother Lu's eyes.
At least she hadn't wasted her Second Brother's sponsorship money; it was worth every penny.
However, beyond Ji Jue's expectations, near the very end of the event—at the closing ceremony before the dance performance—a heavyweight figure actually made an appearance.
Flanked and escorted by a swarm of subordinates, he stepped onto the podium to offer congratulations and deliver an address.
The elderly man was radiant and sharply dressed, with an approachable smile that instantly won people over. Coupled with his articulate speech and impassioned cadence, he possessed a rather compelling charisma.
Unfortunately, the sole flaw lay in the fact...
This bastard was named Xu Chaoxian!
"Booooo—!!!!"
In the stands, Ji Jue blended into the crowd, unashamedly booing.
Regrettably, the faint indignation stirred in the arena was drowned out by the shills hired in advance by the university, swallowed by thunderous applause.
"Make Haizhou Greater... Carry forward the spirit of freedom... A Haizhou for a new era..."
Pure, unadulterated bullshit.
Ji Jue rolled his eyes, intending to take Mother Lu and the kids and leave.
Reasonably speaking, Ji Jue should have at least maintained some basic courtesy. But this was Xu Chaoxian... It was only because Ji Jue now had a substantial business and reputation that doing something reckless wasn't appropriate. If Mother Lu and the family hadn't been here, Ji Jue might have opened by joining Nirvana on the spot, using this bastard's dog head as a pledge of allegiance.
It was normal for a governor to be hated, but one who could draw as much hatred as Xu Chaoxian was truly one of a kind.
When other governors took office and raked in cash, they at least put on a show of hiding it. This bastard didn't even bother acting.
The key was, not putting on an act was fine, and it didn't even matter that the bastard did no actual work. What was infuriating was that ever since he took office, every public development project catering to the poor across North Mountain and South Foothills had been halted. Public hospitals were demolished to build luxury communities. After selling off the police stations, public security across Yacheng took a nosedive. As fiscal conditions deteriorated, Mother Lu's disability insurance, Brother Feng's service tax exemptions, and Ji Jue's scholarships were all completely abolished... Even now, nearly four or five years after Lu Feng's discharge, his severance pay and medical subsidies were still held up and unpaid!
The rotten deeds he had pulled would make even the Profound shake its head in disgust.
It was only because Ji Jue had managed to earn some money. If he hadn't tested into Tianmen, who knew what misery they would be suffering right now!
Every time he saw that face, he wanted to ask: *Why the fuck aren't you dead yet?*
Yet this dog kept bouncing around alive and well, spreading disgust wherever he went.
Even if he had played some role behind the scenes of Haichao Armaments, Ji Jue didn't harbor the slightest shred of gratitude. Saddled with such a pig of a teammate, who knew how much grief Warden Lyu had suffered!
At this moment, Ji Jue sneered as he prepared to stand, musing inwardly: *If I were Nirvana, I'd have ambushed ax-men right here, and the moment Xu Chaoxian stuck his dog head out, I'd pull a gun and blow him away instantly...*
Then, he seemed to hear an unexpected sound.
His motion froze.
He snapped his gaze toward the edge of the field...
Among the sideline staff, a masked sanitation worker was trembling with agitation, his eyes bloodshot. Abruptly bending down, he yanked an object wrapped in duct tape and cables out of a trash bin.
He aimed it from afar at Xu Chaoxian's back.
"Fuck your mother, Xu Chaoxian!" he roared hoarsely. "Die!!!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled the trigger!
Ji Jue's body jolted. Instinctively, he reached out... and whipped out his phone, swiftly opening the camera to film the scene closely, preparing to save the footage to watch on repeat when he got back.
Stop him?
Why on earth would he stop him?
He couldn't be happier.
Go get him, Mr. Bullet! You must defeat that dog Xu Chaoxian!
Will he win?
He will win, right?!
In that split second of bewilderment, before anyone could even react, their eyes instinctively widened—no time to scream, shout, or reel in shock.
Laser-focused witness.
Xu Chaoxian VS. modified firearm's steel-nail bullet!
Where would victory land?
Unfortunately, he couldn't win...
Not a chance in hell.
Because there was a cheat, and a cheat Ji Jue recognized, no less.
The very moment he had raised his phone, he sensed that helpless, faint gaze directed from behind Xu Chaoxian...
As if condemning a certain bystander bastard with utter world-weariness...
Tong the Vegetable.
Chapter 466