Working as Ji Jue's secretary was hard manual labor.
Not only did the workload double, but one's stress tolerance had to be forged in fire.
Although Yu Shu had sensed from his very first day on the job that his boss was a few cards short of a deck, to be unhinged to this degree was truly unprecedented.
A prosthetic modification sports meet, what the actual hell!
Are you seriously not worried about them blowing things completely out of hand?
"Then what should we do?" Ji Jue countered. "Verbally appeal to everyone not to mess around?"
For a moment, Yu Shu was at a loss for words.
Picking the tallest among dwarfs—when there was no other choice, this was the only way.
Besides, a sports meet would at least remain within Haian's scope of supervision. If any outrageous modifications cropped up, they could nip them in the bud.
While a bit out there, from a practical standpoint, it could actually serve a purpose.
Didn't this also make it convenient for them to st—*cough, cough*—draw upon the boundless wisdom of the common folk?
After all, people only talked big on the internet. In real life, who wouldn't be itching like crazy to get their hands on a multifunctional prosthetic that could glow, discharge electricity, spit fire, and come with an underwater propulsion propeller?!
"Then it's settled!"
Ji Jue gave the final word.
And just like that, organizing the First Haian Prosthetics Games was put on the agenda, successfully dumping two more tons of straw onto Yu Shu's already bursting workload.
Divisions into light, moderate, and heavy categories went without saying. While strictly forbidding weaponization, the focus was kept on daily living assistance.
Besides cash prizes for the winners, outstanding designs among all entries could receive extra bonuses and buyouts from Haian.
In truth, from the very first day the prosthetics went on sale, numerous blueprints had poured into Haian Tech's public inbox.
The one Ji Jue appreciated most was a design by an enthusiast club from Yacheng's Tianmen University: using a wired connection to route the prosthetic's control signals directly into a vehicle's instrumentation, thereby achieving vehicular control.
By now, Ji Jue had already ordered people to absorb the entire club—grab them in one fist and smelt them down on the spot!
*Your line of thought is excellent, your ideas are wonderful—now get to work adapting construction machinery, all of you!*
This also indirectly fueled Ji Jue's ambitions to scout the wasteland's master tinkerers.
What was so great about holing up in the hills as outlaws? If you really have the chops, come to Xinquan and accept amnesty! No degrees required, no resumes checked—as long as you can deliver results, that's enough!
As for needing to make the prosthetic limb blueprints public first, that wasn't an issue at all.
After all, the technical barrier lay entirely in the spinal external link module. In fact, even the module itself wasn't the real hurdle—it was the spirit of the Lord of the Flies inside it... If industry peers wanted to copy it, they'd have to sort out the Lord of the Flies first!
Industry competitors couldn't even be bothered.
What was the point?
There was practically no profit in this sector. Even with a monopoly, how much could anyone make in a year? They'd be far better off rolling out a new car model, painting pie-in-the-sky promises, and cashing in with zero hassle!
Even for identical projects, artificial nerves and newfangled prosthetics were nothing rare. It was just that those were for military use, funded by the military department's budget; they didn't bother nickel-and-diming broke peasants, and ordinary consumers couldn't afford them anyway.
Even the underlying architecture of Ji Jue's external link module had been copied from the military's power armor spinal interface.
Just like back when Ji Jue had wanted to get rich off the prosthetic designed for Xiao An only to be shot down by Ye Chun, counting on this stuff to turn a profit was simply unrealistic.
It was a dead end on both sides.
Setting aside the fact that cheap goods were never good, expensive ones weren't needed either—even if it cost less than a third of Vortex-line limb regeneration, why wouldn't people just grit their teeth and go all the way in one step?
There was really no point.
The wealthy looked down on it, while the poor couldn't afford it.
To the extent that even if Ji Jue were to step forward right now and claim he harbored sinister designs and hidden motives, no one would believe him... because Haian truly was performing charitable good deeds, and had been doing so from the very beginning.
After all, it wasn't as if people hadn't bought them for reverse engineering and cracking. If there were even the slightest black mark or suspicion, Ji Jue would have been hung out to dry long ago. Yet to this day, competitors only suppressed the trending topics and didn't bother trying to pick a fight at all.
They genuinely couldn't find a single flaw.
Even the Association's regulators turned a blind eye to it, not caring in the least how much alchemy craftsmanship and ingredient content were involved. If anyone dared step up to nitpick or hold things up, never mind Ji Jue's backing on the Board of Governors, the Church of Chongguang's stinging slaps would smack those vermin right across the face until they saw stars!
Besides, with an artisan finally stepping up to act like a decent human being and improve Embers' image, the Association was thrilled beyond words. Why on earth would they cause trouble?
Who could have guessed that Ji Jue really only did good deeds on the side, without an ounce of false modesty?
As for the few specks of spiritus residue left after disassembling the external link module, those undecipherable, meaningless fragments of garbled code—nobody paid them any mind whatsoever.
And so, through this gradually warming spring, Xinquan's development marched on.
It could only be described as booming like wildfire.
In fact, it was quite metaphysical and bizarre, something neither statistics nor management science could explain.
Compared to when Ji Jue had been away traveling, the Xinquan of today was entirely different.
Even if Ji Jue did nothing proper each day except shoot from the hip and stir up trouble, as long as he sat in his office—or even just showed his face on the streets every few days—all of Xinquan seemed to receive a buff boosting production and efficiency.
Nearly everyone felt it to varying degrees... This year's Xinquan enjoyed exceptionally favorable weather and steady progress.
Not only had the maritime gales that hit every spring lessened considerably, and the annoying, incessant drizzle turned crisp and brief, but the accident rate across factory zones had also dropped substantially, and even the chronic traffic jams at the transit hub outside Xinquan Town had eased!
In truth, metaphysical aspects aside, there was genuine logic behind it.
Not just Xinquan; today's Seven Cities were much the same.
Below, Juque combed through the ley lines and smoothed away blockages; above, Zhanlu devoured disasters and dispelled calamities to protect the realm; and in between, the Chixiao banner-tally held sway over interior and exterior, linking high and low to regulate yin and yang.
The people's will burned like fire, and even Heaven's heart seemed faintly tinged with mortal intent, finally prompting the heavens to incline an ear to the cries from below.
"It's still the old issue..."
At the regular weekly meeting Yu Shu insisted Ji Jue attend, he once again produced documents to report: "At present, Xinquan's port has reached the limit of its expansion. No matter how much land we reclaim from the sea, environmental constraints remain.
"As it stands, our most convenient solution is to consider whether we can dredge and reopen the old Quancheng Port. After all, it's the closest and the most convenient. As long as we pave a road over and clear out the silt, it'll be one of Haizhou's top deepwater ports."
"Then let's do that."
Ji Jue nodded and signed, glancing at Yu Shu's hesitant expression before waving a hand. "Don't worry about what others say. I'll submit a request to the Warden's Office."
If Xinquan wanted to develop, it could not bypass neighboring Quancheng.
Without Quancheng, how could Xinquan have ever existed? Moreover, among the wasteland scavengers today, many were descendants of Quancheng's former emigrants. Whether out of sentiment for their ancestral land or sheer proximity, for Xinquan to reach its current scale while strictly keeping hands off neighboring Quancheng would be truly absurd.
Besides, hadn't Xinquan originally come into being just to make scavenging in Quancheng more convenient?
Even if rules dictated that every blade of grass and tree in Quancheng remained Federation property and could not be stolen, just go tell that to the scavengers and see if they give a damn about you.
Take Old Gou, for instance: good at everything, except his methods were too wild, always accustomed to pulling off things forbidden by the rules.
While Yu Shu was solid all around, he tended to overthink and look back and forth in hesitation.
One resembled a rebel and traitor too much, while the other was overly law-abiding.
Someone had to take the first step. When a decision was needed, make it decisively—why shrink back?
Even if it was truly forbidden, the worst they could do was block the road. Could they control where the Wild Gathering's ships docked? Among the countless scavengers outside the city, which convoy's trikes couldn't haul Haian's goods?
"Alright, let's proceed with this."
Ji Jue waved his hand, bringing the meeting to a close. "I'll consult Warden Lyu shortly."
"Consult about what?"
A voice carrying apparent curiosity sounded, yet Ji Jue only realized where it came from once the knock on the door came.
Yu Shu froze in astonishment for a moment, instinctively straightening up. After glancing at Ji Jue, he trotted over respectfully and pulled the door open.
Outside the door, Warden Lyu smiled. "It seems I haven't come at a good time?"
"Just in time."
Ji Jue rose and gave up his seat, taking over Yu Shu's job of pouring tea and greeting her with a smile: "We were just plotting behind your back to steal Federation property. We hope you'll turn a blind eye and show some leniency."
"Dereliction of duty by a Warden is a grave crime."
Lyu Yingyue picked up the fine tea Ji Jue had snatched from Old Lou, smelled it gently, and sighed softly—as if lamenting that such exquisite tea leaves had fallen into Ji Jue's hands, brewed in such a reckless fashion, an absolute waste of heavenly gifts.
She said, "You really should have studied under Tong Shan for a while."
*Hey, hey, Tianyuan!*
For a moment, words failed Ji Jue.
He had nothing to say.
Just as White Stag's rules were often stiffer and stricter than Tianyuan's, when Tianyuan let loose, it was far freer than White Stag could ever be.
Accustomed to murder and arson in the Mid-Continent and plunder in the Seven Cities, Ji Jue had nearly forgotten to load his Haizhou mindset module. Reminded now by Lyu Yingyue, he slapped his forehead, his expression abruptly turning solemn as he sat upright to report:
"It so happens there is a matter I wish to consult you on—now that Quancheng's corruption has been eradicated, taking into account its prolonged abandonment and neglect, in order to ensure stability and plan for long-term development, we hope the Warden's Office can urgently initiate a project to salvage and protect Federation assets!"
As the saying went: the rise and fall of Haizhou was everyone's responsibility.
Xinquan had an inescapable duty, ready to rush to the front line, throw itself into the harshest conditions and labor, and make a modest, humble contribution to the Federation and Haizhou!
At once, Lyu Yingyue gave a slight nod.
*Now that hits the right note!*
"You do possess some of Tianyuan's talent after all,"
Lyu Yingyue said slowly. "You've been out at sea for so long that I thought you would return having turned into a White Stag type. I never expected you could still draw down the favor of the Heavenly Overseer."
"It's all thanks to the Federation's generosity, deep as the sea." Once done delivering his bureaucratic platitudes, Ji Jue gave a smug grin. "And along the way, I brought back some good stuff."
What else could draw down the favor of the Heavenly Overseer?
The Chixiao banner-tally, of course!
Like repelling like—both belonging to Tianyuan, with the Heavenly Overseer standing so lofty and exalted, it naturally wouldn't deign to reject a mere Chixiao in Ji Jue's hands. But if there were displeasure, it certainly wouldn't let a stinking outsider run wild on its turf.
In contrast, the absence of rejection right now was already an act of grace—a tacit approval.
Otherwise, just look at whether the Empire's Bureau of Secrecy would dare fool around openly within Federation borders—if they weren't struck dead on the spot by a lightning bolt, it only meant the Heavenly Overseer was gathering strength to hit them with something far nastier!
In other words, Ji Jue's existence had been judged by the Heavenly Overseer to be beneficial to the Federation.
"Decisive when needed, and a good idea. Let's do it that way."
Lyu Yingyue finished her tea and set down her cup. "I don't need to lecture you on priorities; just know your boundaries.
"Half a month ago, Yacheng and Chaocheng already submitted relevant reports to the Governor-General's Office. In the coming period, the Warden's Office will take the lead in organizing and registering a Haizhou-controlled enterprise to handle the clearance and reclamation project in Quancheng. It is projected to take forty to seventy years, and the first phase will likely begin within the year.
"When the time comes, a good deal of troublesome business will be handed over to your side."
To this, Ji Jue raised both hands directly and called out:
"Loyalty!"
What else was there to say? It was purely beneficial!
Whatever he wished for came right to him!
Except Ji Jue paused in thought, turning over Lyu Yingyue's words—Yacheng and Chaocheng? Wait, since when had Xu Chaoxian acquired basic human decency?
Counting on him was worse than counting on Lao Yao!
At least Lao Yao had already learned how to fix his electric scooter by himself.
There was no way in hell it was him!
Which meant...
In a flash, Ji Jue had arrived at the answer.
The Tong family and the Lou family?
"Does everyone support me this much?"
Ji Jue was stunned for a moment.
He hadn't even announced he was running for shot-caller yet—how had it suddenly turned into having the yellow imperial robe draped over his shoulders?
Chapter 842