Objectively speaking, clearing Quancheng truly offered no real benefits to either family.
After all, reorganizing Quancheng involved a myriad of complications, and the funds required were no small sum. Even for the two families, coughing it up would demand careful calculation to avoid hurting their own vitals.
For the Tong and Lou families, solid investment opportunities were a dime a dozen. Looking down from their lofty heights, virtually anything they touched was a guaranteed profit with zero risk.
If they had the spare time and effort to sink elsewhere, the returns would be astronomical.
Yet looking at the model Warden Lyu described, the two families would put up the money while Xinquan provided the labor and legwork—it was playing favorites a bit too blatantly under the guise of fairness. On paper, the process seemed fair and square, but what about the distribution? Quancheng lay right next door to Xinquan. Xinquan walked away with sixty percent of the benefits, while the remaining forty percent had to be split between the two families. Rounded off, the two families stepping in was purely to prop him up as the boss!
Calling it angel investment didn't even begin to cover it; this was purely an old codger who'd had too much to drink stumbling into a livestream to shower gifts—not even demanding a dance, just wanting to watch the special effects flash and hear the chimes ring.
Lyu Yingyue merely smiled. "Over the next few years, Xinquan's growth will be the biggest trend in the Haizhou wasteland. Where there's positive momentum, venture capital will naturally follow. What's so surprising about that?"
"Are you testing me?"
Ji Jue made no attempt to conceal his thoughts and asked bluntly.
Lyu Yingyue's smile grew even more enigmatic. "That depends on what insights you have."
"There might be an emerging trend, but I wouldn't call it purely favorable."
Ji Jue answered directly, "Are you worried that after my trip away, I've gotten ahead of myself and can't hold a steady grip on things?"
Xinquan did have growth potential, but in the short term, potential remained just potential; there was no way to cash in on it.
By continuously siphoning population from various settlements, Xinquan, in terms of sheer scale, with a bit more push, was on the verge of matching the size of small cities like Jiangcheng or Chuancheng.
If one looked only at land area, it even surpassed them.
Yet what made it was also what broke it: it was cobbled together.
Other cities were compact because they were pure distillation of substance; Xinquan was nowhere near that level and had no business trying to measure up. If a disaster struck, it might fall apart in an instant.
Granted, looking across the history of the Federation, plenty of Central Cities were once modest towns, and plenty of small cities had started as mere settlements—or worse, barren wastelands.
Yet success usually required riding the tide of the era, backed by resilient, indomitable foundation, coupled with the grace of heaven and fortunate coincidences.
If Xinquan truly wanted to establish a firm foothold in the wasteland, break free from the limitations of settlements and townships, and genuinely become a Federation-registered city, it still fell short by a mile.
Unless Ji Jue attained Celestial-Human this very year, planted his own banner, settled permanently in Xinquan, and resolved to join the warm family of the Federation to dedicate his entire life to it—in that case, heaven and earth would naturally lend their strength.
Once strength reached that level, everything became simple.
Otherwise, it would take time.
How many years had it been?
Outside of Haizhou, how many people had even heard of Xinquan?
If nobody had heard of it, what credit could it claim, and what guarantees could it offer?
Back during the Federation's gold rush, flash-in-the-pan settlements and towns covered the Kunwu Plains. How many were left today?
Zero.
What came quickly usually vanished just as fast.
The benefits of Quancheng seemed massive, but they were merely icing on the cake; Coast's prosperity, while enough to sustain things for a moment, was too fleeting.
What mattered most was whether it possessed enough resilience and stability to weather disaster after disaster without faltering, uniting the masses as one to truly gather the momentum of Tianyuan.
This was not accomplished by talk, but by action; it required proof, and above all, it required winning everyone's trust.
The logic was as simple as that.
Yet some people, once they tasted success, let it go to their heads and tried to force their will upon reality, ending up with half the result for twice the effort—falling further behind the harder they pushed.
Hearing this, Lyu Yingyue merely nodded slowly.
Regardless of whether Ji Jue truly believed it, being able to articulate it proved his mind was sharp and clearheaded.
Only someone who could stay grounded and maintain a firm grip could be relied upon to get things done.
Noncommittal, she asked, "If you understand this, do you think the other two families don't?"
Ji Jue fell silent for a moment.
Lyu Yingyue followed up, "Then what do you think they're after?"
"Do they simply have faith in me?"
Ji Jue rubbed his chin, making no effort to conceal his train of thought. "Hardly. If they were just betting on me, there'd be no need for all this elaborate fuss—they could just toss me some materials.
"So at the root of it, they must still be bullish on Xinquan... Which means Xinquan currently serves a purpose for Haizhou?
"Hmm. Ruling out the minuscule possibility that Yacheng and Chaocheng want to run smuggling or peddle arms, what does Haizhou need scavengers for? No, not just scavengers—there's also Coast Industry... Products, or manpower?
"Productive capacity!"
In less than half a minute, he arrived at the answer: "Right now, the only thing Xinquan can offer is skilled labor with wasteland experience and factory training.
"Which project is facing a shortage? In all of Haizhou..."
His voice cut off abruptly.
He had reached the conclusion.
Deducing it to this point, only one possible outcome remained.
"It's too early to start preparing construction for the Leviathan base; after all, the site hasn't been finalized yet. But the existence of Coast and Xinquan would definitely provide a considerable edge."
Ji Jue looked up and asked curiously, "Has the Federation developed new ideas about the Leviathan base's location? Or has a new problem arisen?"
Lyu Yingyue did not speak.
She only smiled faintly.
A pupil worth teaching.
To perceive the whole picture from such tiny clues—she could rest easy now.
"There are no major blunders, just a bit more trouble," she said slowly. "Midtown is still bickering, but according to insider intel, the upper echelons of Dongcheng have likely abandoned their ambition to monopolize the Leviathan base."
Naturally. First, Dongcheng took a spill and suffered a loss over the Coast reboot, and then the Xu family's missteps were caught, allowing Haizhou to carve out a hefty piece of flesh. Raw power disparities aside, Haizhou held a substantial advantage on this particular matter.
Ignoring a few insignificant issues, this was more or less good news.
Unfortunately, they could not be ignored.
It wasn't giving up; it was giving up on *monopolizing* it.
Instead of keeping the entire pie to itself, Dongcheng chose an alliance, bringing in outside help so everyone could eat together—as long as the food ended up in their bowl!
"Huangzhou is too far away to reach. It shouldn't be Beicheng. Xicheng is currently the core of the midwest and has no sea at all—even if they got a piece, they couldn't digest it."
Ji Jue counted on his fingers through the four cities under Midtown's direct jurisdiction—Dongcheng, Xicheng, Nancheng, and Beicheng. The simplest process of elimination gave the answer.
—Nancheng had entered the game!
As directly administered city-states of the Federation, the four cities of East, West, South, and North were the four most vital Central Cities. The scale of a single one could rival an entire state, or even surpass it.
They were practically the Federation's cities above cities—Midtown and its four favored sons.
Decades ago, Haizhou, having just scraped through the Flame Tide Disaster, wasn't even fit to carry Dongcheng's shoes... Now, it was barely qualified, perhaps even enough to carry an extra pair or two.
Yet Haizhou was stubborn and rebellious; it refused to bow down.
"Yunzhou?" Ji Jue suddenly asked.
"Naturally."
Lyu Yingyue was entirely used to Ji Jue's leaps of logic and appreciated his train of thought. "Unfavored children in a household must learn to huddle together for warmth. Even if you're sleeping in the woodshed, you'd want company, wouldn't you?"
If Nancheng was joining forces with Dongcheng, then what Haizhou needed to do was naturally to call in its own allies.
Keep the pot on their own stove!
And the optimal choice, beyond any doubt, was Yunzhou.
In fact, even before this, the two had already reached a tacit understanding and begun trying to align their steps early on. Lest anyone forget, where did Haichao Armaments' most vital division and business come from? It was Yunzhou dismantling its own Qingtian Industry to pivot toward civilian production, then bundling its share into the venture!
They were founding shareholders!
Since they were brothers in misfortune—frontier states unloved by either parent in the great Federation family—what was wrong with huddling together for warmth?
"Is this going to blow up into something massive?"
Ji Jue sighed softly in realization. "It's dragged on for so long. Is the military high command still unable to make up its mind?"
"It has dragged on precisely because there is no unified consensus within the military," Lyu Yingyue said. "The overseas garrisons and the domestic faction are feuding fiercely."
The location of the Leviathan base was simply too critical.
Dongcheng and Haizhou both bordered the sea, yet their locations were worlds apart: one lay deep in the heartland of the Federation's inland sea, while the other opened outward toward the Thousand Islands, accessible in all directions.
The domestic garrisons within the Federation were naturally more conservative, wishing for nothing more than to tuck the Leviathan base away in hiding, safely established to ensure absolute security.
Meanwhile, the forces stationed abroad counted on the Leviathan fleet to deploy at a moment's notice to back them up if anything went sideways—so for them, the more accessible, the better!
"Looks like I caught the wind right on time,"
Ji Jue remarked with an amused chuckle.
He finally understood what it meant to ride the prevailing tide, and why choosing the right path mattered more than blind effort.
Xinquan's current importance owed twenty percent to Ji Jue and thirty percent to Coast, but a full fifty percent lay in its geographic location and strategic role!
Who told Ji Jue to hold the reins of millions of wasteland scavengers and vast pools of skilled workers? He was practically the biggest contractor and labor broker in all of Haizhou—an intermediary accepted by every faction across the state, from the Security Bureau to the White Stag, from the cities to the wasteland, from Yacheng to Chaocheng.
Not only was he one of their own, but he was also Embers' Heaven's Choice artisan, and a Grandmaster of the Crown of Glory in the Society!
He was practically tailor-made to be the director of Phase One construction!
Under these circumstances, it made utter sense for everyone to raise their stakes. In the short term, fueling Xinquan's development happened to be the most cost-effective and straightforward preparation available.
What was more, it carried zero fear of a loss.
Even if it all came to naught in the end and the base fell through, walking away with an established Xinquan was still a net gain!
Realizing this, Ji Jue asked solemnly, "Is there anything you need me to do?"
"Quite the contrary,"
Lyu Yingyue smiled. "You don't need to do a single thing."
She continued, "At this stage, every party is still probing and making preparations. It isn't time for you to play your card yet. So just let nature take its course."
"Understood."
Ji Jue nodded.
At this juncture, being conspicuous had its merits, while keeping a low profile had its uses; it all depended on positioning. Ji Jue no longer needed to charge the front lines and be the nail that stuck out. Instead, the whole of Haizhou was absorbing the pressure for him, buying him time to grow.
Xinquan was the largest potential human resource hub in Haizhou.
And Coast was the hidden reserve power supply.
Accumulating steadily until now, the upward climb had only just begun. Ji Jue had already opened up channels to the Thousand Islands and the Mid-Continent. As long as he held steady, the future was full of promise.
The wind was at their backs; forget everything else and just gorge! Right now, nobody worried about you taking too much—they only worried you wouldn't be able to stomach it!
The better he grew during this phase, the heavier his weight on the scales would be, and the more prominent and undeniable his presence as an asset would become.
After accompanying Lyu Yingyue on an inspection of Coast's factory district and Xinquan, Ji Jue threw himself vigorously into... obnoxious busywork.
After all, present-day Xinquan really didn't need him micromanaging anything!
With this bastard's insufferable personality, even standing on the sidelines as a cheerleader would exhaust anyone watching.
At a time when everyone was grinding away at their workstations and assembly lines like mules foaming at the mouth, could you please not crack melon seeds and nitpick over their shoulders, Director?
Ji Jue worked diligently for ages, and his sole accomplishment was wheedling and wearing Lou Feng down until he gritted his teeth and squeezed out a batch of wasteland implant slots to prepare for the Coast Games two months later.
Aside from that, he did nothing but cause trouble.
Just as he was preparing to step back, give himself a long vacation, grind his proficiency in the workshop, and plan out his next Blessings and direction, he received breaking news over a call from Minkler.
It was a bolt from the blue!
"What the hell?"
Ji Jue stood up in shock, eyes wide. "Have they lost their damn minds?! Someone actually dares stiff me on the final payment?! What kind of suicidal guts do they have?"
Yes.
The other party had defaulted.
In ordinary commercial dealings, hiccups like this happened from time to time and were par for the course. Only, this time, the entity welshing on the debt was a little beyond absurd...
—The Wild Gathering.
Chapter 843