Always Look on the Bright Side

"Haze..." Ji Jue gave a soft sigh. Across from him, the Veterinarian, cradling her dachshund, nodded along with an exaggerated sigh of her own. "Haze indeed..." Yet her eyes darted toward Fu Ju beside her. At this, the expression on Fu Ju's—or rather, Hu Jian's—face turned even uglier. For an Absolute Sentence squad, killing sworn enemies was just business, and killing friends and family was practically the definition of wholesome thoroughness. In Hu Jian's case, it was the latter. Haze was the very workshop where Hu Jian had cut his teeth! Back when he was an apprentice wandering between various workshops, he had shed copious amounts of blood and sweat, but in return, he had received invaluable guidance and cultivation at Haze. When they exploited and squeezed you, they worked you half to death; but when it came to skills, they truly taught you everything. It could be said that without his time at Haze, there would be no Hu Jian today. Even after he later joined the Transmutation lineage, it had originally served as an affiliate under the leadership of the Vacuum lineage. It was only after Haze gradually stepped down from its leading position that he grew distant from the Vacuum lineage, until now, where both factions stood on more or less equal footing. Yet even after stepping down as the flagship, Haze remained one of the preeminent grand workshops in the Association! The projects and research subjects that passed through its doors were beyond count! Considering the intimate past ties between Hu Jian and Haze... One could only say that Director Jiang's move was brutally ruthless. Turning brothers of the same school against each other. No wonder Jiang Tongguang had personally stepped in back then to clean up the mess and forcefully cut Ji Jue's plans short. If things had really gone according to Ji Jue's worst-case scenario—"the worst that could happen is a fight with real blades and guns"—there probably wouldn't be anyone left to lead the charge today. Conflict between craftsmen was, in a sense, an intelligence war. A completely unknown workshop was far more terrifying than a position fortified to the teeth; no one ever knew what god-tier, lethal surprises a craftsman had crammed inside. Take a certain bastard surnamed Ji, for instance, with his layers upon layers of deception and decoys. His studio in Yacheng, his underground workshop in Xinquan, and Blessing Park weren't his real workshops at all, yet they were thoroughly wired with self-destruct triggers. Inside the true workshop aboard the Doomsday Express, there was an Isis hidden away, along with an endless array of shady contraptions. Forget ordinary peers in the trade—even if a Grandmaster came knocking, they'd be lucky to escape with half their life. And against an off-the-charts monster like Ye Xian, these measures might just manage to dust a tiny speck of soot onto the hem of her clothes. Now, the Absolute Sentence squad was mobilized. Though they were still en route, the operation had already begun. Amid the dead silence, everyone stared unblinkingly at the silent 'Fu Ju'—the moment the dossier had been handed out, Hu Jian's designated interrogation had already commenced. At a designated time and designated place, account for every single detail. Before this vessel reached Haze, right inside this workshop disguised as a ship, if Hu Jian truly lost his mind, discarded his standing in the Transmutation lineage, and chose to play the traitor, they had more than enough ways to dispose of him. At that moment, the Captain drew on his pipe, watching him calmly without joy or sorrow. "Any problem?" For a fleeting second, Hu Jian looked as if he desperately wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only let out a weary sigh and extend his hands of his own accord. "I submit to the Association's arrangements." *Click.* A soft snap. A band resembling a manacle snapped shut around his wrist. Ji Jue's eyelid twitched. A Celestial Craft. Without a doubt, that shackle-like bracelet was a piece of Celestial Craft. The auras of Heart Pivot, Tianyuan, and Embers—at least three Blessing chains?! Going by the sensation of its resonance, it likely issued compulsory directives, ensuring the target remained under control, incapable of lying, and bound to answer everything without reserve. Should there be any withholding, the user would naturally sense it. Ji Jue felt his hands itching uncontrollably— He forced himself to rein in the urge. Hu Jian wasted no time either. Reaching out once more, he produced a mirror from a case beside him. The glass lit up, casting a projection into the empty air. Soon, the intricate and bizarre structure of the workshop materialized before everyone's eyes. Numerous modules, varying sequences, disparate spaces and positions, and even specific defensive countermeasures... Layer by layer, it was peeled open for all to see. Complete with annotations on proprietary technologies and numerous suspect locations... Along with detailed dossiers on various workshop members and everything within Hu Jian's knowledge. The Captain asked questions from time to time, and Hu Jian held nothing back. "Let me lay the ugly truth bare first: I am not, after all, a formal member of Haze Workshop. Even when we collaborated, we kept things from each other," Hu Jian said, no longer holding back now that he had made up his mind. "The last time I set foot in Haze was seven years ago, and the last time I had access to concrete internal affairs was ten years ago. "No one can say for sure how much has changed over the past decade. If there are major discrepancies, don't count on any of this being useful." "Naturally, but as a reference, it's more than enough." Puffing on his pipe, the Captain pointed at the workshop's layout to ask another question. Evidently, he didn't care about the fine details at all; every question was aimed at the core structures that couldn't be overhauled or abandoned on short notice, as well as their habitual defensive doctrines— Details? Details might be important, but those were problems for the Absolute Sentence squad to handle on the fly. What he had to ensure was that the broad plan did not falter. He had to guarantee that under extreme circumstances, they could still inflict maximum damage and devastation upon Haze Workshop. Regrettably, Hu Jian had only ever been an apprentice and later a collaborator; he simply knew too little. "The Director picked the wrong man," Hu Jian sighed. "If you really wanted craftsmen who knew Haze's core inside and out, you should have sought out his four students, plus—" "Assuming they could be found," the Captain cut him off coldly. "The acquaintances you remember... how many years has it been since they last appeared?" Hu Jian froze where he sat. Color drained from his face, turning it gradually ashen. He finally understood what the Captain meant. It was true that craftsmen often immersed themselves in research, and vanishing for five or six years at a time was far from unheard of. High-profile moments were rare; most of the time, everyone was quietly grinding away in seclusion. Even disappearing for several years wasn't particularly strange. Hu Jian had assumed they were engrossed in some major project or study, but now... Even more chillingly, a realization suddenly struck him. "S-Six years ago..." Hu Jian's voice began to tremble. "Mr. Berzuna suddenly invited me to join a breakthrough project of his... At the time, I—I was compiling a book and had no time. After I declined twice... he never brought it up again. I thought... I thought..." He had always believed that his decision back then was what caused him and Berzuna to drift apart, allowing their relationship to cool. Every time he recalled it, he couldn't help but sigh with regret. Yet looking back now... Perhaps, without even realizing it, he had narrowly cheated death?! "Always look on the bright side," Ji Jue offered consolingly. "Who knows? Maybe they just went on vacation." "..." In an instant, not just Hu Jian, but everyone at the table stared at him in silence. *If you don't know what to say, you can just keep your mouth shut!* Once the general picture was established, Hu Jian's debriefing finally came to an end. He lowered his head and sipped some water. "When do we arrive?" "Soon." "Are you sure?" Hu Jian frowned, glancing at the exterior projection. "Something's off. Isn't Haze Workshop's direction toward—" "The one to the north is a fake," the Captain said placidly. "The real Haze relocated here two years ago. Jiang Tongguang searched for this place for a year and a half, and only last week did he pick up its trail from the water quality. If he hadn't uncovered it in advance, someone like us wouldn't find a single trace even right in front of it." Right now, atop the sea under the cover of night, sparkling waves rippled in profound serenity. Yet there was nothing there. No— Ji Jue instinctively looked down. A reflection?! Amid the surging, rolling waves, under the illumination of the moonlight, a structure that did not exist in this physical space faintly materialized: the entire workshop was concealed within the reflection on the ocean's surface! In this remote stretch of open sea, unless moonlight struck it, not a sliver of its existence would ever appear. Even this present glimpse was only a deliberate flaw left behind to enhance its concealment. Through some esoteric method, aside from that reflection, the entire workshop had vanished completely from the mortal realm. Though within arm's reach, there was no doorway to enter. The Captain slowly stood up. "Everyone, how are your preparations?" The young Veterinarian smiled sweetly. "Ready whenever." "Let's wrap this up quickly and clear out," Yellowbeard grumbled, rising impatiently and taking up the flamberge resting against his chair. Ji Jue nodded. "I'm good either way." Hu Jian sighed. "Same here..." And so, they prepared to act. Time was precious; who had the luxury to sit around shooting the breeze? The sooner they finished slaughtering, the sooner they could head home to keep the music playing and the wine flowing. *BOOM!!!* The moment everyone was ready, the ghost-like fishing boat manifested above the sea right before the reflection. Immediately after, cracking sounds rang out— Wooden beams and trusses surged out from both flanks of the hull like living things, expanding outward in an instant. Clearly custom-tailored and modified for this exact purpose, they abruptly extended across dozens of kilometers before looping back to seal the perimeter from the other side, forming a floating perfect circle on the ocean that encircled the reflection entirely. Right after, colossal anchors were hurled into the sea amid radiant gleams of light. The vast surface of the sea instantly boiled over. Amid deafening roars and howling gusts, Ji Jue saw the faint contours within the churning water undergo violent upheaval. The immense anchors, which should have plunged to the seabed, phased like phantoms into the reflection, locking onto the workshop. Next—thunder clashed, sparks flew, and tens of thousands of tons of seawater surged upward before freezing solid. The Haze Workshop concealed within the reflection was forcefully hoisted up by the anchors, hauled back into existence right before everyone's eyes! The entire sea abruptly froze. Tangled in anchors and chains, the workshop caught between the illusory and the tangible was firmly wedged in place. Moments later, harpoon-like deck cannons roared. Chains punched deep into castle-like walls, pinning them fast and dragging them bodily into the physical world. In mere moments, the ebb and flow between illusion and reality laid bare the full secrecy and eerie wonders of the Mirror element. Inside the old castle, horn-like sirens blared. Cracks webbed across the walls as titanic silhouettes of iron and stone detached from the stone surfaces, fixing cold gazes upon the intruders. Amid shimmering water, creeping vines and boughs materialized out of thin air, writhing and invading every crevice to shackle the entire fortress. Between workshop and workshop, the clash of offense and defense had decided the victor in an instant. Perhaps the gap between craftsmen was never that wide to begin with, but long before deciding to move against Haze, the Association had gathered intelligence for who knew how long, forging an entire arsenal of tailor-made creations specifically designed to counter every conceivable defense and retaliation. How could they possibly leave the enemy any room to resist?