Endless Aftershocks

For two short minutes, Luo Island shuddered continuously as the Azure Jiao wailed without end. Beneath the transmission of that monstrous impact, the temperature throughout the entire subterranean cavern had soared to hundreds of degrees, and that was only because of air's poor thermal conductivity. The Prosperity's outer hull had already reached over two thousand degrees, while the Juque keel within had grown so hot it was impossible to measure. For the first time since leaving the forge, surface deformation appeared... Never before in history had there ever been such a colossal Juque. And perhaps never before in history had anyone ever crammed such a massive Juque back into a furnace for re-tempering! Even if every generation of Ye family patriarchs who had inherited the Nine Forms thought about it until their brains turned to mush, none of them could have ever fathomed how such an unhinged operation could exist in this world. Ji Jue, on the other hand, was grinning so hard he could barely keep his legs together. How could this earthquake be even more useful than a volcano? The moment the intensity began to wane, his mood soured. He even turned around and used Vapor Alchemy to fiercely agitate the earth veins twice more. Done after just a few hits? Can you do this or not? If you can't, move aside and let someone else have a turn! What a waste! And so, the frenzied earth veins vented wave after wave of power. Thanks to Ji Jue intercepting the flow, the shocks that reached the remaining six islands downstream were serendipitously mitigated by a substantial margin. At last, when the final wisp of the aftershocks faded from Luo Island, everyone still standing dazed in the trance-like silence seemed to hear a blood-curdling screech rise from deep beneath the earth. So shrill, so venomous, so full of anguish and wrath. That was the Azure Jiao's final dying wail! Its remnant spirit dissolved entirely into thin air, while cracks covered every inch of the Prosperity. As the violent rocking gradually subsided and the colossal freighter settled back into its original position, fissure after fissure spread across it like spiderwebs, branching out until they blanketed the entire vessel. "..." Lou Feng looked back toward Ji Jue, who merely stood where he was and waved a hand, signaling him to complete this final step. Grinning, Lou Feng hefted the massive spiritus hammer with all his might, raising it high. He brought it smashing down! Like the resounding chime of a grand ceremonial bell, an immense boom burst forth—not harsh on the ears, but profoundly resonant, deep, and heavy. The nearly tangible sound swept out from the Prosperity like a tidal wave, scouring the entire subterranean space. Flowing along the lingering connections, it echoed across all of Luo Island, setting the earth trembling faintly and stirring the ocean once more. The reverberations trailed off slowly. A ceaseless chorus of shattering followed. The layer of hull covered in cracks suddenly detached and peeled away from the main body, cascading down like ash, just like the layer of scale flaking off a sword blade during quenching. As the ash rained down, it kicked up a thunderous roar akin to a mudslide. Every speck of dust was as heavy as a thousand jin. Even the motley material properties sloughed off from the Juque still concentrated an enormous bounty of essences from the Desolate Ruins, making them rare and precious crafting materials. Right before their eyes, the mountain-like behemoth appeared to shrink by an almost imperceptible fraction. Yet as the quicksilver cables extended to lower it back toward the floor, a chorus of grating, tooth-aching screeches rang out. Just as a block of iron naturally sank when dropped into mud, the Prosperity landed upon the reinforced ground and silently, inexorably began to sink downward. The sheer disparity in mass made the gulf between the ship and regular ironstone far more extreme than that between stone and water. Fortunately, Ji Jue reacted quickly. Raising a hand to prop it up, he caused the Juque to hum once more, reconnecting it to the earth veins and the stars to control gravity and suspend itself in midair. It was breathtakingly brilliant. "Magnificent..." Lou Feng marveled under his breath. He reached out and touched its pitch-black surface; under the light, it shimmered with the iridescent hues of a rainbow. It looked as though it had been carved from a single seamless piece of obsidian, completely devoid of cracks or flaws. Anyone setting eyes on the Prosperity at this moment would likely doubt their own vision and senses. Why did something that wasn't absurdly colossal make everything around it seem like insignificant dust? The sheer gulf in material quality had silently cleaved an impassable chasm between the ship and the mortal world, leaving all earthly dust forever out of reach. More importantly, the patterns etched across the hull resembled naturally formed stone striations, where sharp-edged dragon scales overlapped one another, faintly visible and concealed in turn. At Ji Jue's command, countless dragon scales flared outward in an instant, and the massive vessel subtly shifted before contracting once more back into its original form. Unfortunately, it was still far too eye-catching. Directing Little Niuma, Ji Jue began making slow adjustments until the obsidian-like luster and texture completely vanished. The hull once again returned to its miserable, dusty-gray, rust-flecked state. Beaming, Ji Jue nodded repeatedly with satisfaction. "Now that's more like it!" This was what they called divine treasures concealing their brilliance! Otherwise, glowing with RGB light pollution from stem to stern, everyone hundreds of li away would know a powerhouse was arriving—how was he supposed to bait suckers then? To live a good life, one had to keep a low profile! Now, having used the earthquake to pull off another unorthodox re-tempering, the joint efforts of Ji Jue and Lou Feng had extended the Juque's spiritus circuit across the entire hull. In the future, as the ship grew and expanded its equipment, the circuit could continue branching outward. The degree of completion was even higher than anticipated! "We're bloody brilliant, the two of us!" Beaming with triumph, Ji Jue slung an arm around Lou Feng's shoulders and threw his head back in laughter. "See what I told you? When the two of us join forces, we slaughter everything in sight inside the Guild, and outside the Guild, we still slaughter everything in sight!" "Who's 'the two of us'? Get off me!" Lou Feng rolled his eyes, brushing Ji Jue's hand away in irritation, and turned his head, refusing to even look at him. "Mmm..." Ji Jue's attention was caught by something in his peripheral vision. He looked back. "Did you just smile?" "I didn't." Lou Feng's expression was deadpan as he turned back. Before Ji Jue could press further, he repeated with absolute finality, "I! Did! Not!" "...Fine, if you say so." Ji Jue let out a mournful sigh, looking disappointed. "My apologies. I spoke out of turn." Lou Feng's face twitched. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a word out, Ji Jue abruptly pivoted: "Now that we've finished the first phase of the work, do you think we can look into the next set of requirements..." "..." Lou Feng fell silent. Yet a smile finally crept onto his face. A smile so cold his complexion turned ashen. Without uttering a single syllable, he simply raised his arm and pointed toward the workshop doors: —Take your goddamn broken ship and get the hell out of my workshop this instant! *** After the initial violent shock of the earthquake passed, the aftershocks continued unabated, recurring intermittently several times, though none were as frenzied as before. Thanks to Ji Jue's timely response, Luo Island suffered only a few burst water mains and a handful of fires ignited by ruptured gas lines. Even patients currently undergoing operations in surgical suites were spared any real disruption. The most serious casualty to come out of the whole affair was an old man who slipped on the stairs, suffered a brain hemorrhage, and dropped dead before help could reach him. A magnitude-four earthquake was a nuisance, to be sure, but it caused no crippling damage. By that afternoon, the coastal reconstruction crews had already begun repairs on the water and electrical systems, while completely leveling the rickety shacks and illegal structures that had collapsed during the tremors. Shattered windowpanes couldn't be replaced immediately, so they covered the frames with plastic sheeting for the time being—it made no real difference anyway. The grand reconstruction plan was drafted in broad strokes before the end of the working day. With mountains of funds sitting in the accounts, it was simply the Sukarno family's legacy shining on to do good works. The virtues of the Sukarnos were truly endless! Basic infrastructure remained stable, food and water supplies flowed without a hitch, the power grid was fully restored by three in the morning, and the disaster-stricken residents whose illegal shacks had collapsed were settled into tents. No unrest, no chaos, no panic. When the islanders recovered their senses and looked at everything before them, it felt like a dream. Many were moved to tears, thinking: Thank god the Sukarno family dropped dead! It's so fucking wonderful they died! Honestly, if bastards like them didn't die, who should?! If this had happened in years past... Hell, they didn't even need to look at years past! Just look at the other islands of the Seven Cities, folks! It wasn't as if everyone had absurd treasures like the Crown of Isis, the Veil, and the Juque. Even if they had them, not everyone would be willing to deploy them... Not to mention, even if they did deploy them, why would they ever care about anyone else? According to measurements taken three hours after the earthquake, the source lay roughly four thousand kilometers east of the Seven Cities, at the tectonic junction between the western and central plates. The simultaneous eruption of dozens of active volcanoes had triggered violent geological shifts, setting off a chain reaction that resulted in a megaquake of magnitude nine. The last time a disaster of such terrifying magnitude had struck was seventy years ago in the Mid-Continent. Fortunately, owing to the vast, sparsely populated nature of the Endless Sea, the affected area was enormous, but it had not triggered catastrophic geopolitical upheaval. At the coordinates of the Seven Cities, what reached them were merely aftershocks... yet transmitted through unique conduits like the earth veins, the average intensity reached magnitude 6.7. At its peak, it exceeded magnitude seven! And that was only after Ji Jue had intercepted at least ten percent of the impact! The Seven Cities and their seven islands rested concurrently upon three interconnected, massive earth veins. The easternmost among them was Luo Island, and the relief outlet specifically opened by Luo Island had spared the Seven Cities well over ten billion in damages. Yet what could not be avoided remained unavoidable. Even if magnitude 6.7 fell short of utter destruction, the subsequent conduct of those parasites undoubtedly gave Ji Jue a massive eye-opener. The earthquake was merely the opening act; what naturally followed in its wake was a man-made hell. It was not just the sluggish rescue efforts and the utter incompetence of the rulers, but the ruthless exploitation running through every single link from top to bottom, with everyone bleeding the populace dry by any means necessary... The slums reduced to rubble after the disaster turned into hellish dens where the strong preyed upon the weak. Following the surge in food prices, the costs of medicine and clean water skyrocketed even further! People even had to risk their lives with knives in hand just to snatch a blanket and bring it home... In those patchworks of man-made dark forests, even selling one's body could not earn the slightest pittance; selling one's very life could not buy a loaf of bread. Ji Jue didn't even dare watch the footage relayed back by the drones, terrified it would give him an aneurysm. Only Xiangzhou followed closely in Luo Island's footsteps. While their initial response had been slow, the presence of numerous Riot Cats preserved public order, after which large shipments of supplies sent from Luo Island quickly stabilized the situation. The moment the earthquake struck, Minkler had acted decisively, calling upon the House God to steady the earth veins. Though the House God suffered severe injuries, Xiangzhou was at least spared irreparable devastation. Ji Jue exercised every ounce of self-restraint. He curbed the urge to don the vestments of the Evil Transmutation Cult, enduring with all his might, telling himself that now was not the time, watching the unfolding chaos with cold detachment. Yet questions from the Seven Cities Council landed squarely on his doorstep unprompted. Questions that bordered on an interrogation. Yamen—the island that had suffered the most catastrophic damage, dragged its feet the most in disaster relief, and acted in the most utterly inhuman fashion—unabashedly demanded answers from Luo Island and Xiangzhou during the meeting: It was the same earthquake, so why were Luo Island and Xiangzhou's losses so negligible? Why were you so well prepared? Did you receive advanced warning and withhold it from everyone else? Their words even carried heavy insinuations... Could this earthquake have been engineered by you? Ji Jue said nothing. In the silence, his fists clenched tight. Right in the camera of the video call, he finally couldn't help but chuckle aloud. "You may have misunderstood something." He sighed and straightened his posture, suddenly flashing a smile at the faces appearing on the meeting screen. "I certainly have the ability to pull off something like that... But if it were really me, do you gentlemen think you would still be sitting here alive, speaking to me? "Why don't we test it out?" Ji Jue held up three fingers. "Three days. Give me just three days, and let's see if Yamen still exists on the map. If a single house—hell, even an outhouse—is left standing on Yamen by then, I'll take the loss!" In the momentary hush that fell, the faces in the conference room froze. Under the piercing gaze of Ji Jue's eyes in particular, the Yamen representative's face turned gradually deathly pale, his features twitching uncontrollably once, then twice. He was completely trapped in a corner. He began to regret listening to the others' instigations. Holy shit, why is this guy surnamed Ji so vile?! Everyone had originally just been envious of Luo Island and Xiangzhou, hoping to take advantage of this earthquake to take a few swings—hit or miss—to see if they could extort some concessions or resources. Who would have guessed that the moment they opened their mouths, the other guy would straight-up flip the entire table?! This wasn't how it was supposed to go! This isn't how our political games are played! You're supposed to exchange superficial pleasantries, push and pull with us for a few rounds, and finally, for the sake of the Seven Cities Alliance, hold back your grievances for the common good and align your pace with everyone else so the rest of us don't look like total parasites... Why the hell did you just blow up?! "Ah, come on now, look at what this has turned into!" "No need for this, really, no need!" In the conference channel, the faces that had been preparing to watch the spectacle and apply coordinated pressure quickly forced out smiles after a brief bout of astonishment. "I said it from the start—this punk from Yamen must have had his head squeezed in a door!" Callisto of the Dancheng Federation waved his hands placatingly. "Mr. Ji, he's just an idiot. Why lower yourself to his level..." And then, Callisto began to regret it too. Because Ji Jue's gaze suddenly shifted toward him, looking down with cold contempt. "He's an idiot, and you're not?" Ji Jue tilted his head and asked, "Are you looking so cheerful because I haven't slapped you yet?" Callisto's expression froze as well. "Ahem—" An elderly woman from Macheng coughed twice, speaking up to smooth things over: "Mr. Ji, please don't be angry. He was only trying to lighten the mood so things wouldn't get too tense." "Lighten the mood? Where the fuck were you earlier?! Oh, you were still putting on a show earlier, weren't you? Why stop performing now?" Ji Jue sneered, glaring at that withered face. "What, old hag, are you planning to dig into your coffin fund to sponsor everyone? "If you're not, then shut your mouth! "And Xi Island over there—you still have the nerve to smile? What are you grinning so happily about? Are you overjoyed to see the Seven Cities struck by disaster? Or do you feel like setting off firecrackers to ward off bad luck after seeing so many corpses pile up under your ass? "Tell me, have I been giving you people too much face? "Since when do I need you to teach me how to conduct my affairs? Manage your own damn messes!" He paused, staring straight at the old man sitting silently in the corner: "And Fernan, speak up! What are you doing, playing a decorative vase? "You're the Speaker of the Seven Cities Council. You tell them—with the Seven Cities suffering so much and taking such heavy losses, is it my fault?!" Fernan's expression twitched for an instant before he let out a helpless sigh. "With the baleful winds at our doorstep and a natural catastrophe like an earthquake on top of it, how could it possibly be the fault of a single person? Everyone's reaction has been a bit excessive." He mustered his energy, continuing to patch over the cracks: "The Seven Cities Alliance is built on mutual aid and solidarity. When all is said and done, we are all in the same boat. Why must we bicker like this? "Whatever problems there are, let us sit down and discuss them calmly. There will always be a solution." "A solution?" Ji Jue's smile turned increasingly derisive. "I actually have a solution—faster, simpler, and much more convenient. I only worry you won't have the guts to use it." Instantly, the conference channel lapsed into dead silence once more. A solution? Wasn't the solution right in front of their eyes? Why turn a blind eye to it? It couldn't be that they themselves were part of the problem, could it?