Mockery

"Planning to retire?" When Ji Jue met Liang Mo again at the Federation base, several days had already passed. Hearing those words caught him off guard. Although the Federation had suffered losses in the White Nation, its fundamental interests remained unshaken. Even if they had lost some personnel, they were bound to invest even more going forward if they wanted to maintain their influence or protect their profits. Choosing to retire at a crucial juncture like this was truly a shame. "Shame, my ass." Liang Mo slumped in a folding chair, puffing on a cigarette without a care in the world. "I've finally figured things out. In this world, you might have the life to make money, but you might not live long enough to spend it... What kind of future is there in risking your neck as cannon fodder? "One slip-up and you're dead for no damn reason, and they might not even pay out your death benefits. If not for my good luck this time, I'd probably be pushing up daisies. I've got you to thank for sponsoring this iron hand, too, or I'd really be stuck as a cripple." "..." Ji Jue glanced at the mangled, unrecognizable metal arm and hesitated. "Uh, I don't recall our product having a built-in lighter function?" "Ah, well..." Liang Mo let out an embarrassed cough. "Just convenient, wasn't it? So we slapped one on. It was all his doing!" With that, he shoved the blame straight onto the technical sergeant beside him. The technical sergeant, who had been happily sipping his cola, suddenly had the blame dumped on him. Furiously jumping up, he pointed at Liang Mo and unleashed a barrage of colorful curses. "Anyway, the boys saw that we can't keep living like this, so we agreed to head back home together and make a living." Liang Mo eagerly offered cola and chilled beer, even trying to use his heavily modified iron hand to light Ji Jue's cigarette, though the boss politely declined. After rubbing his hands together for a good while, the knife finally slid out of the scroll. Grinning, he said, "Thing is, jobs are tough to come by these days, and we don't have our next gig lined up yet." "Hey, so this is where you had your net cast, huh?" Ji Jue chuckled and nodded without hesitation. "No problem. We all know each other well, so this is a win for Haian Tech anyway. What's there to be shy about? As it happens, we have quite a few openings in security lately, and the pay will be generous. Besides, even if you retire... there's no rule saying you have to go back to the Federation, right?" "Works for me. You're the boss, we'll do whatever you say." Liang Mo slapped his knee, sealing the deal on the spot. Then, after hemming and hawing for another long moment, he asked gingerly, "There's just, uh, after we retire... this thing..." The atmosphere shifted slightly. Everyone seemed to tense up, glancing over quietly without a word. In the end, Liang Mo gave up beating around the bush and looked toward the corner, where a Riot Cat was basking in the sun. "Doggy... can we still take Doggy with us?" "..." Ji Jue was stunned. Looking back in astonishment at the soldiers around him, he realized every single one of them was staring at him intently. As if this were the most important matter in the world. Amid that brief flash of bewilderment, he couldn't help but laugh. "Well, that depends on what 'Doggy' wants." "How about it, Doggy!" Liang Mo turned around in delight. "Do you agree?" [Fuck your mother, what the hell did you just call your daddy?!] The Riot Cat let out a burst of beeps. The Spirit of Creation pulled no punches whatsoever. [Without your daddy, nobody'd give a damn if a bunch of dumbass orphans like you went begging for food!] "..." Liang Mo stood there dazed, then looked back at Ji Jue. Ji Jue tried his best to maintain a straight face, struggling to hold it together. "It... probably agreed." "I knew it! Hahahahaha!" Liang Mo burst into uproarious laughter. Amid the cheers of his men, he lunged to embrace the disgusted Riot Cat. "Doggy and I are of one heart! This is the bond between—oof!" 'Doggy' unceremoniously slammed a fist into his gut. *You bastard, I've put up with you for far too long!* After a split second of silence, the roars of laughter and cheering grew even louder. Only Liang Mo, caught off guard and gasping for breath, stared at Ji Jue in utter disbelief. "Didn't you say... it wouldn't hit people..." Ji Jue smiled. "Once it retires, naturally, it learns how." *** After drinking a can of cold beer and politely declining the penniless crew's hospitality, Ji Jue took his leave. Walking through the now somewhat desolate garrison base, he headed straight ahead, following a familiar path inward and upward toward the restaurant where he had booked a table in advance. He brushed past Lin Shouyi. Lin Shouyi shot him a glance as if surprised, brows arching slightly. Yet he said nothing. And so, Ji Jue once again sat down across from the dining table. It seemed to be the exact same spot as last time. The sky was clear and cloudless. Beneath the vast expanse of blue, the rippling ocean seemed to shimmer with gold. The sea was still the same sea, the place was still the same place, and the man was still the same man. Unfortunately, everything else had changed. He offered a faint smile. Fan Yun waved his hand. An attendant promptly cleared the table, served drinks, and stepped away once more. In the quiet, only the distant sound of breaking waves remained. "I didn't expect anyone to pay me a visit before my departure." Fan Yun calmly raised his glass, took a sip, and asked casually, "To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. Ji?" "I heard you were leaving, General, so I came specifically to see you off." Fan Yun shook his head slightly, dismissive. He assumed this was just another climber trying to ingratiate himself with someone on the way down. After all, the boy belonged to that vixen Lyu Yingyue, and her people always loved wasting effort on such meaningless gestures... Then he heard Ji Jue's voice, devoid of warmth: "After all, we won't be seeing each other ever again, will we?" "..." Fan Yun's hand froze for an instant. He finally looked up, meeting a smile filled with unmasked derision. "If I'm not mistaken, you screwed things up royally, didn't you? "Mm, it seems you poked a rather colossal hole in the sky... one you don't even have the chance to patch... Ah, please don't misunderstand. I only feel pity for you." Ji Jue picked up his own glass, casually drained it, and clicked his tongue with a sigh. "Just when you were about to retire. What a shame." Fan Yun's eyes grew progressively colder. Ji Jue crooked a finger to beckon a waiter, grabbed the wine bottle directly, and waved the server away. Pouring a drink for himself, he savored Fan Yun's private reserve. He paid no heed to the suffocating chill and oppressive aura bearing down on him. "Still, speaking of which..." Ji Jue raised his eyes and asked abruptly, "Ever since my first day in Tacheng, I've heard you talk about retirement over and over again. But did you ever truly want to retire?" To be blunt, anyone who believed that was an idiot. A person who genuinely wanted to retire didn't act like this. The textbook example was Lin Shouyi. Slacking off whenever he could, refusing to lift a finger unless absolutely necessary. Doing the bare minimum at every turn, hesitating even when merit was served on a silver platter unless it was entirely convenient. Acting like a decorative figurehead, never doing a single superfluous thing beyond maintaining overall stability, simply counting down the days until his pension kicked in... Yet the Fan Yun before him was entirely different. In the silence, Fan Yun stared at him and asked coldly, "Ji Jue, what exactly are you getting at?" "Nothing in particular. To be honest, I was just curious and wanted an answer from you." Ji Jue poured himself another glass, ignoring the empty glass in Fan Yun's hand. Suddenly, he grinned. "For instance... you intended to escalate the situation from the very beginning, didn't you, General?" Fan Yun remained aloof, offering no reply. "Come to think of it, while the situation in the White Nation was complicated, it wasn't unsolvable if someone truly set their mind to it. No, in fact, there were far too many ways to handle it." Ji Jue continued nonchalantly, "They were nothing more than a bunch of paupers who could have been sated with a few minor concessions. Even if you wanted to wipe out the White King, there were countless ways to go about it. Sadly, out of a hundred thousand solutions, a series of coincidences forced you into the worst possible one. "So much so that a decapitation strike originally meant to be swift and clean ballooned out of proportion, completely spiraling out of control in the end. "Sigh, it's all the fault of those two dogs, Lu Changsheng and Shehri, fanning the flames and pushing things along... Otherwise, how could the General have suffered such a catastrophe?" By this point, Ji Jue's tone had grown increasingly wistful, as though he were beating his chest in heartfelt sorrow for Fan Yun. Yet all the while, his gaze remained fixed straight on the man. "—Then again, did the General not contribute a little something to this outcome himself?" Fan Yun was expressionless, issuing a chilling warning: "I have no idea what you're talking about, Ji Jue. I believe it's time for you to get out." "Ah, forgive me, I spoke out of turn." Ji Jue let out a self-deprecating chuckle, acting as though he hadn't heard the dismissal at all. He shook his head with a sigh. "If you ask me, this is the worst part about Tianyuan. Some folks just love courting danger and complications. In their pursuit of climbing higher, they blow things up to show off their own competence. "They think they have everything under control, when in fact they're like blithering idiots, played for fools without even knowing it. "Ah, of course, I don't mean you... But compared to flaws in the plan, execution errors are probably what infuriate Midtown the most, aren't they? "All for a scrap of merit, you expanded the scope without authorization, and let the cooked duck fly right out of the pot..." *BOOM!* A sudden clap of thunder detonated across the empty sky. In the nearly frozen air, a suffocating chill turned tangible, locking onto Ji Jue. Fan Yun's gaze was frigid as the wine glass in his grip disintegrated into ash, inch by inch. "Enough." He no longer concealed his disgust and contempt. "Any stray dog thinks they can run wild before me now... What do you think you are? Even Lyu Yingyue wouldn't dare—" "Please don't misunderstand, General. I purely came here to laugh at you." Ji Jue was amused and raised his glass again. "Though even if I say that, you wouldn't believe me, would you? "That's the problem with Tianyuan. Always calculating, jumping at every shadow, constantly overthinking this and scheming that. You assume everyone speaks with hidden meanings, and every single move is a test or harbors some profound intent... "All that scheming only to end up with nothing. Heh, what a clown!" *Clack!* The empty wine glass struck the table. That abrupt sound drowned out the lingering rumble of thunder. Ji Jue had already risen slowly to his feet. Disregarding the crushing weight of a Celestial-Human and the freezing aura crashing against him, he casually brushed the wrinkles and dust from his sleeves. Between the blazing sun and the azure sea, the shadow of an airship glided silently across the terrace. It descended slowly into the base. "Looks like you'll be on your way soon..." Ji Jue mused, leaning down slightly to study that dark, stony face. Finally, he broke into a radiant smile: "Safe travels on your final journey, General."