Cast Another Line!

Bad news: he was being watched... Good news: it was a peer! Even better news: it was someone from the Profound. At any other time, Ji Jue would have had hotpot, sung songs, and downed a few extra cups to celebrate. But right now, that was precisely the problem... Where was this Profound practitioner? Where had his massive Profound target hidden away? The other party hadn't even shown their face. Even labeling them "Profound" was something Ji Jue had done after the fact, shooting the arrow before drawing the bullseye. Though his Embers badge was vibrating, confirming a fellow craftsman was nearby, who knew what bizarre monstrosity was actually on the other end? He had to find them first! Unfortunately, this sort of thing was like the second Li son hunting his elder brother, or the fourth Zhu son searching for his nephew... If you ran into them, you ran into them; if you didn't, you didn't! Even if Ji Jue secretly scoured every corner within a thousand li of Luo Island, he couldn't find a single scrap of a clue. In all likelihood, like the Tyrant, the other side possessed some method of ultra-long-range observation and strike, thereby preserving themselves to the utmost degree. Well then, another old dog! "How come there are so many of these damn dogs these days?!" In the workshop of the Doomsday Express, Ji Jue repeatedly reviewed the playback records on the screen, freezing all the footage on those mere two seconds when the White Jiao counterattacked and the Abyssal Lord flared up. He searched meticulously, wishing he could scrutinize every single pixel. Unfortunately, no matter how the Paradise system processed it, not a clue could be found. Too good at hiding! "My fishing skills are still lacking," Ji Jue couldn't help sighing with regret. Not enough composure, rod not stiff enough, and his acting had naturally been too shallow. Before this, he hadn't even known of the other party's existence... Whenever it came to this, Ji Jue started missing that old dog Tianlu. If Tianlu were here... he probably would have kept acting, acting until everyone believed it, acting until all the traitors jumped out on their own! That was what having immense skill and guts was like. A thick enough foundation, a firm enough grip—then you could do whatever you wanted. Unfortunately, a fledgling like Ji Jue still lacked that level of competence. If he kept acting, he would get badly battered and crippled first, suffering heavy self-inflicted wounds. He couldn't replicate it at all. Now that the golden opportunity had slipped away, crying and wailing wouldn't help. The key was figuring out how to lay down bait again and fish the other party out... First, spread the word: an overwhelming victory in this battle! Ji Jue wins, Luo Island wins, win, win, win! Then, leak some hints through the Lou family to make it look like Luo Island was empty and vulnerable from within, while he himself reduced his public appearances, using Deus Ex Machina to synthesize all his video feeds, making people suspect he was heavily overextended, gravely injured, and lingering on the brink of death... No! Pushing it too far would only invite suspicion. Right now, Ji Jue's greatest advantage was the appearance of "the enemy is in the dark while I am in the light." The other party clearly knew nothing about his Wolf Sin's perception; otherwise, they wouldn't have made that single slip-up. If they noticed his movements, they would likely suspect whether he had already discovered something! He couldn't overact. An impression of weakness was fine, but whether he was injured should be left for others to guess. It didn't matter how he investigated secretly, but on the surface, he had to appear as though he knew nothing at all! Only by doing so could he reset the baited spot that had been spooked and wait patiently for an opening. In the silence, Ji Jue tapped the armrest, expressionless. Finally, he made up his mind. A two-pronged approach! In his hand, the Chixiao banner-tally flashed and vanished. Ten thousand li away, the shadow of the Tower shifted soundlessly, brewing once more from within the oceanic abyss. Tianyuan and the Tower had this great perk—the smart-home functionality was far too convenient. Even ten thousand li apart, as long as he left his decree behind, he could trigger it remotely. Not that Ji Jue was bragging, but dropping directly into a Tyrant's realm to get in his face and taking him down in ten-odd minutes was so preposterous that no one would believe it even if word got out. The entire process had been confined to the deep abyss, sealed inside the realm; the slight leakage of aftershocks wouldn't alert the snake in the grass. Besides, the Abyssal Lord wasn't foolish enough to let people set up ears and eyes around his own lair. Therefore, at present, no one knew the Abyssal Lord was dead. Such a useful ally as a Tyrant wouldn't be abandoned outright, even if they couldn't be trusted. If one scheme failed, another would follow. No matter how troublesome and prone to going out of control a tool was, it would still be used when needed. However, judging a fellow craftsman by his own Embers standards, Ji Jue felt that in the short term, the other party probably wouldn't contact the Tyrant again so quickly. To be turtling this hard, unless they thoroughly probed the truth and figured out Ji Jue's weaknesses and vital points, they wouldn't recklessly make a move and startle the prey. Regardless, Ji Jue didn't care about all that—he would lay the bait in the ocean abyss first, cast another line, and see! Let's see who can hold out... no rush... Hold out until one side can't hold out anymore! Just like the hunt between a White Stag Hunter and a wolf: the one who struck first might score an early win, but they could lose just as quickly! Whoever grew impatient first lost; only the one laughing last was the hunter! Whether due to the influence of Wolf Sin or not, Ji Jue felt a faint excitement rising over this peculiar duel. Even amidst the torment of being targeted right now, his blood actually surged! As for the second preparation... "Isis." Ji Jue looked up and commanded, "Pull up all my itineraries and records from this recent period." In the projection, a hazy figure nodded. Vast quantities of records cascaded like a waterfall across the display, detailed down to the minute and second. Ji Jue splashed some water on his face, returned to his seat, pulled out a cable, and plugged it into the back of his head. His consciousness jacked into the Paradise system, computing power running at full throttle! He needed to trace it all back from the beginning... —When, exactly, had he been targeted by a fellow craftsman? *** The sun rose as usual, same as ever. Long before dawn broke, the news of Luo Island's epic triumph had already spread across the four corners, making countless eyes pop. Won—decisively, cleanly, overwhelmingly. So exaggeratedly, in fact... That the victory had turned into a full-on horror story. Even for those who had witnessed the entire ordeal with their own eyes, receiving their subordinates' detailed reports still sent chills creeping down their spines. Did he have to be this absurd? In less than a month, almost out of thin air, he had built a brand-new order on Luo Island all by himself, demonstrating mobilization power terrifying enough to induce nightmares, while simultaneously churning out such an insane amount of firepower. Relying merely on mass-produced equipment and centralized system command, he had achieved the level of elite legions from the Federation or the Empire, holding the line head-on against a catastrophic tide of sea locusts and merfolk without giving an inch! This alone was enough for Ji Jue's name to echo across the four seas! After all, travel might be inconvenient, but people weren't deaf or blind. In this day and age, anyone with an aether connection could play know-it-all from home. Living in the Thousand Islands, who didn't have a few spies and informants? Before dawn had even broken, the phone lines at the Xinquan and Mid-Continent factory districts were ringing off the hook. Orders from across the Endless Sea were fluttering in like snowflakes! Even if Peace Cats weren't for sale and Federation-standard missiles were unaffordable, there were still Riot Cats, right? You wholesale so many drones, surely bundling a centralized dispatch system isn't an issue? If others bought too many drones, surely there's no problem paying top dollar for a stripped-down anti-drone system? And how much for those powered exoskeletons? Just name a price! Even if you demand bundle purchases, no problem at all! Who doesn't need to buy a motorized tricycle anyway? Coast's build quality is sturdier, too! From tricycles to pickups, from wind turbines to small home appliances, nothing Coast made was junk—everything was peak cost-performance! As for that ship flying back and forth in the sky that could transform clank-clank-clank into a steel giant... nobody mentioned it. Mentioning it was pointless; even if it was for sale, no one could afford it, and even if they bought it, they couldn't maintain it! Admiring it from afar was enough; everyday life called for being practical. In a sense, this was the greatest harvest of this victory... Ji Jue didn't even need to wait for the Blightwind to end to advertise; the facts were the greatest proof! The reality was that Coast's self-developed defense system had truly held off a massive assault of sea locusts and herds right in front of everyone's eyes! No amount of smooth talk could beat that. As for whether the other members of the Seven Cities Alliance slept soundly next to Luo Island's bed, that was another matter entirely... From the internal politics of the Seven Cities, this war was a success, but also a failure. Although it had successfully proven its independence, externally, rather than easing the tensions between them, this absurdly excessive power had terrified the other five cities, sending them straight into PTSD. It had even faintly laid the groundwork for a coalition against him. Now Dancheng didn't even need to preach anymore—the "Ji Jue Threat Theory" was etched in stone. Let it be etched. Ji Jue couldn't care less what a bunch of vermin thought. Expecting those useless pieces of garbage to understand him or act like human beings was pure delusion. If you really want a fight, fine, bring it on! Even if you don't come, once the Blightwind ends, I'll come knocking on your doors! This wild ambition was laid bare for all to see: *You won't die, and you won't tighten screws for me—you're really making things difficult for me!* Throughout the Seven Cities Alliance, even if a veneer of peace was maintained, everyone knew in their hearts: sooner or later, they would have to settle it with a showdown. It was just that at this critical juncture, no one had the time or energy to target Luo Island. Everyone was up to their ears in trouble... bitter enough to secretly poke voodoo dolls of Ji Jue every night when they got home! *You damn bastard, how are you so good at stirring up chaos?!* In a sense, the Seven Cities' current troubles were indeed thanks to Ji Jue! The White Jiao had been slaughtered too cleanly and ruthlessly, and the Tyrant had gone offline too fast. As a result, the merfolk were completely routed, the herds scattered in every direction, and the swarms of sea locusts that had gathered were forced to fend for themselves. Thus, sky-blotting disaster beasts and mutated creatures caught the scent, followed the ocean currents, rode the wind across the sea, and arrived right at the neighbors' doorsteps... Sea locusts ran rampant, sweeping across the Seven Cities! Every day now brought news of large swarms of sea locusts wreaking havoc across the region. Under constant harassment, the other city-states cursed as weakly now as they had laughed smugly before. Too many, simply far too many! Impossible to kill off, impossible to catch, impossible to block. Only Xiangzhou laughed the loudest. On the very afternoon sea locusts were spotted gathering nearby, the equipment sent by Ji Jue had already been installed. That night, gunshots crackled like firecrackers from dusk till dawn. Everyone in the city slept soundly, and upon opening their eyes, shouldered their shovels, grabbed the sanitation subsidies distributed by the Chopra family, and cheerfully headed out for cleanup. Hands clasped behind his back, Minkler stood at the entrance of the city lord's residence—which had just been converted from the ancestral shrine—gazing happily all morning, grinning so wide his legs could barely hold him up. Who said taking a god-father wasn't great? This god-father was simply phenomenal! The wisest thing he had done in his entire life was charging fast and shouting loud behind Lu Feng's heels back then. And his most brilliant move had been rushing into the Coast Industrial Park, dropping to his knees, and hugging Ji Jue's thigh! *Call out 'god-father,' and the future holds no bother.* Once those two knees hit the floor, didn't glory, wealth, and status come rolling right in? "Look at that, what did I tell you?" Pointing at the piles of disaster beast corpses floating in the sea, he remarked with deep sentiment, "Mr. Ji's words—listen to them more, study them more, master them more! It's only been three days since I last saw the venerable gentleman, and oh, my heart feels so empty..." The others nodded vigorously without a word of dissent. The looks they directed at Minkler were brimming with admiration and anticipation: *Patriarch, you couldn't be more right!* And so, cradling his empty heart, Minkler returned to his office. He had just picked up his teacup and looked up when his heart instantly stopped feeling empty. It started pounding madly! Across from his desk, at some point, a familiar figure had appeared. As if waiting for a long time. "M-Mr. Ji?!" Minkler froze, instinctively taking off his hat and standing at attention, solemnly earnest: "Has Xiangzhou done something wrong recently..." "Whatever Xiangzhou does, there's no need to report to me." Ji Jue raised a hand, cutting him off. "How you manage it, how you handle things, what decisions you make—I don't have a single opinion." "No, no!" Minkler shook his head vigorously, lowering his posture once more. "I'm merely asking for guidance..." "How to use a lathe, how to practice alchemy—you can ask me about those. But how to govern Xiangzhou, if you're unsure, go ask your father. Isn't your father right here?" Ji Jue sighed, emphasizing once again: "I've said this many times—given the environment, I don't demand much. As long as you keep my business stable, continue acting like a human being as you did before, and treat others like human beings, you can do whatever you like. I'm not that bored. Did you really think I came here to be the Seven Cities' living god-father?" Besides, being a father came in different styles! Whether out of consideration for long-term cooperation between the two sides or confidence in his own methods and capabilities, Ji Jue didn't believe Minkler had any chance of abandoning him to strike out alone. If that was the case, why nitpick and dictate every little thing? Where would he even get the energy? Behind Minkler, the phantom of Bustamante kept his eyes lowered, as if hearing nothing, though the corner of his mouth twitched slightly upward, holding back excitement and joy. For Minkler, who had just ascended to the high seat, the preciousness of this leniency might not be fully appreciated yet. But for an old ghost like Bustamante, who had seen through the world's schemes, this hands-off kind of god-father was the rarest, most prized treasure of all! No, he completely outclassed a biological father! When trouble arose, he could be called upon to hold down the fort; when things were calm, as long as he was kept well-supplied and comfortable, he would never meddle or cause trouble... an investor who offered funding without demanding management rights, never interfering in operations—a literal treasure trove of an investor! Forget Minkler; Bustamante himself wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Ji Jue! After all that, Minkler finally breathed a sigh of relief. Not having messed up was good. Not having messed up meant making progress! Reassured by Ji Jue, he cautiously took his seat, keeping half his backside hovering off the edge of the chair as he asked for instructions: "What orders do you have for me?" "I'm not here for you." Ji Jue shook his head and pointed behind him. "I'm looking for your father." Minkler turned in shock, and Bustamante was equally bewildered, utterly baffled. Immediately after, he saw those pitch-black pupils turn toward him—like a vortex, dark, profound, and soul-stealing. The smile vanished completely, replaced only by iron-cold severity. *Thud.* Under the crushing weight of Tianyuan, the intangible House God fell to his knees on the floor, trembling in terror. Dead for so long, for the first time Bustamante felt cold sweat drenching his back! "Bustamante, you only get one chance. I have just one question. Think carefully before you answer." Ji Jue looked down with lowered eyes, his voice chillingly cold: "Where, exactly, did you get the idea for modifying the House God?"