After spending a solid week in bed, Young Master Lou finally arrived at the doorstep once more—reluctant, dragging his feet, and wearing an utterly sullen scowl. He pointed a finger at Ji Jue and performed a thirty-minute routine of Federal oral gymnastics before finally holding his nose, shutting his eyes, and signing his name on the joint workshop agreement.
It looked as if he were signing himself into indentured servitude.
God knew how much resolve it had taken.
The moment he finished, he shut his eyes tight, refusing to take another look.
His life was over!
The instant the signature landed, Ji Jue beamed from ear to ear and tucked the agreement away. He submitted it through the Star Core Association to await approval, though in truth that was nothing more than going through the motions.
If nobody interfered, there naturally wouldn't be any surprises. If someone did try to sabotage it, well, they would have to prepare for a very thorough conversation with Ji Jue, who had spent quite some time cultivating his temperament.
Besides, the paperwork itself was just a formality.
Given Young Master Lou's character and the thickness of his skin, once his signature was on it, he would never go back on his word.
A man's word was his bond. A loss was a loss. No matter how absurd or harsh the terms, honoring one's bets was fundamental.
For the five-year duration of the agreement, he would adhere to the terms, keeping in lockstep with Ji Jue. In every action within the association, he would advance and retreat as one with Ji Jue. At the same time, in his subordinate role within the partnership, he would defer to Ji Jue's decisions and execute plans agreed upon by both parties.
From this day forward, he was the second-in-command of the still-nonexistent "Ji Jue Faction," as well as the direct resource provider for the Lord of the Flies development project and the legal representative of a technology firm freshly registered in Yacheng.
If one overlooked the shell-company nature of the business, the amateurishness of the faction, and Ji Jue's questionable morals and everyday character, it could almost be called a cushy job.
Right now, though, it was an express ticket into a pit of fire—a pass straight into hell.
God only knew what fresh trouble this bastard would stir up next! Lou Feng's only hope was that when guilt by association caught up with him, he would die quickly.
No amount of oral gymnastics could buy back his lost freedom and independence.
With the contract signed, Lou Feng crossed his arms, glaring sidelong at Ji Jue's guileless, dog-like expression. He raised a hand and mimed pinching Ji Jue's snout shut across the empty air.
"Enough out of you. Stop talking out of your ass. We're both artisans here—drop the flashy nonsense. How far along are you actually with the development and work on the Lord of the Flies?"
"Ah, well—"
Ji Jue rubbed his chin, mused for a moment, and said with complete solemnity, "There's plenty of room for improvement."
Translated into human speech: he hadn't started!
Lou Feng's vision went black.
Only then did he realize he had blacked out too soon.
When he looked at the documents this bastard handed him—the daily spiritus deficit and consumption rate, the scale of the next two planned expansions, and the materials and capital required—he felt utterly sick.
His only urge was to detonate his own soul and drag this dog down to hell with him.
"Are you burning paper offerings for your dead old man?!"
Lou Feng roared, slamming back the proposal. Its consumption demands were an outright highway robbery, its projections pure daydreaming, and its required investment enough to strip more than half the Lou family clean. "What you've written here—not even Xu Chaoxian would sign off on this! Have you lost your mind?!"
"*Cough, cough, cough.* Isn't this just standing firmly in the present while looking to the future? What's wrong with thinking big? A man's got to have dreams, right?"
Ji Jue looked about sheepishly. After getting cursed up one side and down the other, he fished another proposal out from the desk. "Then take a look at this one..."
Sure enough, with the preposterous plan serving as a foil, this second blueprint looked considerably more reasonable, so much so that Lou Feng almost laughed.
Out of sheer rage.
He was on the verge of a cerebral hemorrhage.
"Pulling the 'open a window' trick on me, are you?" Lou Feng's face turned livid as he glared. "I'm your partner, not your cash cow! If you shove this crap at me again, see if I don't turn around and walk out the door! At worst, I'll just grit my teeth and wait out the five years without lifting a finger!"
"All right, all right. Young folks these days have such short tempers. Ah, so violent."
After several sighs, an aggrieved-looking Ji Jue finally brought out the last, somewhat more realistic proposal. "Don't be so fierce. You're scaring me."
Seeing him take every advantage while putting on the meek act of a weeping maiden made Lou Feng's teeth itch with fury.
Yet what Ji Jue produced this time finally allowed him to step back from the edge of rage and clear his head slightly.
Right in front of Ji Jue, he began haggling down to the last scrap of iron over the feasibility of every single investment and budget line. In the end, pledging the bulk of his personal assets and relying on the Lou clan's rock-bottom discount on spiritus supply, he barely scraped together the required investment.
And that was just the initial phase!
Once the scale limitations on the Lord of the Flies were completely lifted, the basic equipment and spiritus Ji Jue had invested so far would be a drop in the ocean. Even with Lou Feng's capital and the Lou family's backing, progress would remain a painful, threadbare struggle.
At the end of the day, Lou Feng and the Lou family were two different things.
If Ji Jue had negotiated directly with the Lou family, things naturally wouldn't be this difficult. With the full might of the Lou family behind him, the early-stage hardships wouldn't even register as an obstacle; he could have skipped straight to the late stages.
But the price would be a total imbalance of power. With immense capital invested and a stranglehold on the lifeline of spiritus supply, the Lou family would command absolute control, while Ji Jue would be reduced to a miserable hired hand.
That was something Ji Jue would never accept.
With Courier Logistics, the situation had been different. He hadn't intended to retain absolute control anyway, so ceding a portion of authority had allowed them to get along quite well.
Yet when it came to the autonomy and core interests of his own workshop, no artisan would ever yield an inch.
Besides, even if the Lou family acted that way, no one could fault them. They had a massive household of mouths to feed. If they sank in that much capital only to play second fiddle and pick up crumbs, did they not have other projects to start, other channels that needed investment?
Nobody was running a charity.
By comparison, Young Master Lou—whose background Ji Jue knew inside and out, and whose competence was beyond doubt—was the ideal candidate.
At the same time, by maintaining the dominant position, Ji Jue had to shoulder the terrifying consumption required by the Lord of the Flies, endure Lou Feng's resentment and grievances, and make concessions in other areas.
Compared to other artisans and potential partners, Lou Feng was already the most accommodating and optimal choice. Ji Jue genuinely hoped for a long-lasting partnership. If he pushed the man so far that he slacked off for five years and walked away, they would become mortal enemies forever after.
Now, with Lou Feng's signature on the paperwork and the follow-up investments on the verge of clearing, Ji Jue saw no need to hide anything.
He brought him straight aboard the *Prosperity*.
This cargo ship currently anchored outside Xinquan served as Ji Jue's workshop in name. As for the Doomsday Express and Punabantu, it was better for both sides to maintain a degree of privacy and secrets.
There was no helping it; when you had too many things that couldn't see the light of day, that was simply how it went.
The development and nurturing of the Lord of the Flies was a bottomless pit. If one kept pouring resources into it without seeing any return or product, not even a ghost would be foolish enough to play the sucker.
Besides, Ji Jue placed immense hopes on its future prospects.
If things went well, it would serve as their flagship product—the calling card of their joint workshop.
Now, in the hold's workshop, what appeared before Lou Feng was the preliminary fruit and output of the Lord of the Flies project. Stripping away the PowerPoint presentations designed purely to paint pretty pictures, this was the real deal.
In the workshop's display area, a mechanical construct the size of a single-door refrigerator hummed to life from the control console. It took a few steps forward on stubby little legs.
Its square head bore a display screen, while a charging cable trailed from its rear like a tail. A pair of triangular, cat-ear-shaped antennas sat atop its head, and two massive mechanical hands lent it an eerie hint of cuteness.
Yet the armor plating covering it from head to toe, along with the detailed performance specs of the internal motor paired with this model, spoke volumes about the terrifying defense and output packed into the device.
It was essentially a reinforced exoskeleton that couldn't be worn—no, the interior space was actually large enough to hold a human being in an emergency...
Lou Feng walked a circle around it, running his hands over the frame, and quickly grasped eight or nine tenths of the product's performance and construction.
"This is the primary product of the first phase of the Lord of the Flies project—the flagship product of the future Haian Tech: the Type 1 Riot Guard Cat. All the security cats currently in Xinquan are its early iterations and prototypes. Building on that foundation, I adjusted the design and gave it a full upgrade."
Ji Jue explained calmly, "In addition to full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree blindspot-free surveillance and infrared night vision, it houses a mature intelligence nurtured by the Lord of the Flies. It can detect any external threat at a moment's notice and protect its target—just like this—"
Before the words had even faded, he suddenly whipped a pistol from his pocket and squeezed the trigger repeatedly at Lou Feng.
Just as Lou Feng instinctively moved to defend himself, an explosion of movement erupted right in front of him.
The mechanical cat, which had been sitting there adorably with its stubby legs folded, sprang into action with startling ferocity. The armor plating over its body flared out like scales. Amid an arc of electricity, a heavy shield snapped out from its massive hand, locking into place before Lou Feng.
Amid blaring sirens, every bullet struck the barrier harmlessly.
The instant Ji Jue emptied his magazine, it turned without warning and tackled Lou Feng to the ground. Simultaneously, its chest frame split open and snapped shut, swallowing Lou Feng whole.
Immediately after came a deafening roar from the far end of the workshop.
An autocannon opened fire.
Amid thunderous detonations, armor-piercing shells tore the mechanical cat clean off the floor. With a screeching shriek of metal, sparks cascaded as it tumbled through the air, smashed into the wall, ripped through the prearranged camouflage, and plunged into a testing arena prepared well in advance.
Then, crisp metallic grinding rang out as machine gun turrets rose from the floor.
Under the prearranged blanket of fire, explosive impacts sounded in rapid succession. The outer armor of the guardian cat warped and shattered at speed, its internal structure deforming rapidly.
Yet Ji Jue still wasn't satisfied. He slung a flamethrower over his shoulder and pulled the trigger directly at the mechanical cat.
*Don't blame me, Old Lou—this is a necessary test!*
*It has absolutely nothing to do with you pointing your finger at my nose and cursing me out for so long. Am I really that petty?*
*Still, I have to admit, this feels amazing!*
Under the blistering flames, the test model was incinerated into a glowing red wreck. Then, in the ensuing silence, violent coughing broke out.
From the warped living coffin, Lou Feng crawled out covered in soot and grime, gasping desperately for breath. His body was coated in the thermal-insulating metal foam injected during emergencies to absorb shock.
Once he caught his breath, his immediate reaction was to point straight at Ji Jue's nose and unleash a barrage of fury. But after fifteen solid minutes of shouting, he finally cooled down.
When he looked back at the wreck, his eyes couldn't help but light up.
Once personal likes and dislikes were set aside, the instincts of an artisan took over. Born into a prominent clan, Lou Feng instinctively began calculating its commercial value.
Especially considering that its manufacturing cost was merely equivalent to five or six high-end tricycles...
He couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.
*Dammit! How did a gold mine like this never fall into my hands?!*
*This dog really did strike a treasure trove!*
Just imagine: a bodyguard that never slacked off, twenty-four hours a day, prepared for assassinations and attacks at all times, dedicated to duty, unaffected by alcohol, completely free of personal biases, requiring no spiritus consumption, reacting the instant an ambush occurred—and capable of preserving the user's life under autocannon fire, explosions, and raging flames!
What was more, with slight modifications, it was a monster that could be transformed into a slaughter machine!
The instant the realization struck, he grabbed Ji Jue by the collar and demanded, "What were you thinking?! Why didn't you equip it with weapons?!"
"Why would I equip it with weapons?" Ji Jue countered, leaving Lou Feng frozen in place.
A sudden jolt of realization broke through the shock.
Of course. Not equipping it with weapons—deliberately restricting it from using weapons—was the optimal design!
Haian wasn't Haichao; it possessed no military manufacturing credentials. What went on behind closed doors was one thing, but once the lights were on, you couldn't flaunt it in public.
Besides, were there not already more than enough weapons of slaughter in this world?
Forget high technology and advanced models—in a land where firearms were so rampant that a child holding a gun posed a lethal threat to anyone, security was all the more precious!
No one who needed protection would ever want a machine equipped with lethal weaponry when they had no way to hold its leash.
Under that premise, having no weapons and lacking offensive capability was precisely its greatest virtue. It also spared them endless trouble.
For buyers, even if it failed to perform, all they had lost was a bit of pocket change on a useless piece of scrap.
Those who truly required security didn't care about an investment of this size.
Moreover, its true application went far beyond private security. Where it would truly shine was maintaining law and order in high-risk zones!
He was a proper scion of a great clan after all; with a single prompt from Ji Jue, enlightenment dawned.
It possessed no weapons, which meant it posed no threat—not to the employer, not to enemies, and not to teammates.
As a machine, it possessed inherent limitations. Under deliberate battery restrictions, it could only maintain three to four hours of normal activity once disconnected from a power source, meaning it could never operate entirely on its own.
Even if hot-swapping batteries extended its endurance, it remained purely a support unit.
Yet a support unit was the very best thing it could be.
A support unit wouldn't replace anyone!
Nobody would push back against it—not the high-ranking superiors looking to funnel municipal budgets for kickbacks, nor the frontline officers who faced genuine risks and threats on patrol.
It wasn't an enemy; it was a friend.
A friend to everyone.
It could intercept open spears and hidden arrows alike, remaining completely dependable as long as its charge lasted. At the same time, its internal compartments and external mounts could haul heavy firepower and supplies, relieving personnel of their carrying burden. Its sensory capabilities, far outstripping the naked eye, could spot hidden snipers and overhead drones at the earliest moment, raising alarms and responding immediately.
Compared to the rigid robotic dogs currently deployed in some units, its scope of application was infinitely wider.
It was an untouched blue ocean.
By relying on the Spirit of Creation produced by the Lord of the Flies, the mundane became miraculous, transforming a machine that could only follow preset routines into a genuine partner capable of fighting side by side against threats.
All Ji Jue had done was upgrade Haian's existing industrial exoskeleton technology, integrate a variety of mature techniques, and equip it with sensory organs.
If they entered mass production and squeezed the procurement costs, its manufacturing cost would make the low-end armored off-roaders Haian had produced in the past hang their heads in shame...
The moment the arithmetic cleared in his mind, Lou Feng began humming a tune under his breath.
Yet immediately after, his expression turned grave.
He thought of the leash tied around the neck of every artisan—the greatest hurdle they had to resolve before they could truly seize this boundless market!
"How do you plan to get around the association's regulations on alchemical products?"
"Well, that's the beauty of it—"
Ji Jue shrugged, standing beside the smoking wreckage with open palms, asking with a sly grin, "Where in my product do you see any alchemy?"
Chapter 559