Chapter 127: Dusk Has Passed

It is said that facing this unprecedented terrifying threat, the Governor was angry, then angry again, and then angry several more times.

In short, it was anger.

Very, very angry.

But before he could be incompetent and furious, the power armor was gone.

After pinching several Chosen Ones under Lei Yaoxing to death, before he could run away, he was sent away by the rapid reaction force dispatched by the military.

No survivors, no communication, no surrender process.

The order from the Haizhou Garrison Base Command was only one—[Kill].

With one order, a combat team equipped with four Hurricane-class power armors descended from the sky from the flying airship that broke through the clouds, directly tearing the resister and his fashionable mix-and-match suit into pieces no larger than a palm, and then evenly sprinkled them within a range of 300 meters.

Only one head was left, placed in the center of the ruins.

Showing the consequences of crossing the line to all those with ulterior motives.

It is said that Tong Shan’s face was unprecedentedly ugly after returning from the Governor’s Mansion, and although Lu Shenzhou, the supervisor of the Anquan Bureau in the South Foothill District where the incident occurred, said nothing, someone in his team just posted a Moments.

The background is the gym known as the largest in Yacheng, and the main body of the photo is a mountain of barbell weight iron plates.

Each weighing twenty kilograms, piled together, a full two meters high. All of them were torn apart, pinched into rotten mud in anger!

The palm prints were still there.

One can imagine who Supervisor Lu was thinking of when he pinched this pile of things to vent his anger.

Facing this dark war that was gradually getting out of control, all parties were about to lose all patience...

[Sister Wen asked me to tell you, stay safe, don't show off, don't make trouble. It will be over in two days.]

[Okay.]

Ji Jue replied, matching it with a GIF of a rose blooming and pink light halo spreading to show obedience.

After closing the screen, looking at his own solemn reflection on it, he couldn't help but sigh.

Heart tired.

Looking back at Chen Yubo, who was calling 'mia~mia~' to the cat carefree in the living room, he couldn't help but feel nameless anger, very much wanting to go over and kick him, shouting:

Dog thing, I am your father!

Even if it were his own father, it would be like this, right?

Remember to be filial when you jump out of this mess in the future! If there is even one less stick of incense on his longevity tablet during festivals, Ji Jue will rush over and give him two big slaps.

"What’s wrong, Old Ji?"

Sensing his complex gaze, Chen Yubo looked back in confusion. Ji Jue tried to squeeze out a kind smile and shook his head: Dad is fine, you play.

Only after growing up did he understand that a father’s bitterness and tears can only be shed alone.

"Speaking of which, Brother Ji Jue, why don't you take the money?"

In the temporary workshop in the garage, Xiao An, who was playing with his phone behind Ji Jue, suddenly asked: "Brother Ji Jue, you are clearly short of money, right? Dad told me before that you must not give money to Ember Chosen Ones. No matter how much money you give, it’s not enough. It’s like a bottomless pit. Except for thanks, there’s not even a sound."

"Huh?"

Ji Jue turned back in confusion, not knowing whether to correct Xiao An’s 'wrong' impression of Ember Chosen Ones or answer the question first.

Even from the most stringent moral perspective, at this critical moment, Ji Jue came to save Chen Yubo’s life regardless of his own safety, and taking money is reasonable and should be done.

No amount is too much.

As long as he opens his mouth, he can even take half. Even if he wants it all... according to his understanding of Chen Yubo’s personality, as long as he exerts appropriate pressure, uses trust, and makes good use of rhetoric, it is not impossible to achieve the goal with a little effort.

Such a huge inheritance, at first glance, the quantity is shocking, enough for a person to squander for a lifetime and maybe not spend it all.

But in reality, if you really want to do things with it, it’s just a drop in the bucket, just enough to pay the down payment for an order for Professor Ye to build a workshop.

In this day and age, building a highway in the city costs more than this.

If Ji Jue really wants money, he doesn't have to be so troublesome. He can just sell a part of the priceless materials he brought back, or just set a basic introductory course for fluid alchemy for tens of millions or hundreds of millions, and a bunch of Ember Chosen Ones in the market will rush to pay for it. [130-

But unfortunately, the former relates to Ji Jue's future development in alchemy, while the latter relates to his future academic projects, his thesis, and even the stepping stone to the Master's Gate; he absolutely refuses to let even a tiny bit of it leak out.

And this money concerns Chen Yubo's life.

"Do you know, Xiao An, trust is sometimes a very fragile thing, but suspicion is very powerful."

Ji Jue sighed softly.

It is simple to make people believe that a child so poor their shoes have holes in them is stealing, but it is too difficult to make people believe in the child's innocence.

Even if you place the truth right in front of those people, they will only sneer at it.

And then, they will continue to pin the label of thief on the child.

Only when that child climbs to a height they cannot reach and looks back with contempt will those people shrouded in shadow lose the courage to doubt.

Or, starving to death in the winter snow works too; it's faster and simpler.

Suspicion is absolute.

Suspicion requires no evidence and no clues, especially when even this ethereal trust is built upon the foundation of rumors.

This is the reason he made Chen Yubo donate all his inheritance.

By having the Glorious Light Church publish the donation receipt, he lets everyone believe that he has nothing left.

The number on that donation receipt—the bigger, the better; the more, the better.

But it absolutely cannot be less.

If the money Chen Yubo donated was even a tiny bit less than the full amount, it would make people suspect he had secretly hidden more away.

For someone like him, who lacks ambition, is unarmed, and has no ability to withstand pressure, that would be a catastrophic disaster.

For the rest of his life, the consequences would be endless.

"Hmm... I don't really understand."

Xiao An blinked blankly, "It doesn't matter if he dies, right? I've only met him once or twice anyway."

"Although I don't want to admit it, I think he should count as my friend... I guess?"

By the end, Ji Jue wasn't even sure, and he laughed at himself: "I don't really care about his money, but he treated me and my family to a meal, and even took Laoyao to watch a cartoon. Now, Laoyao still occasionally asks why the big brother who likes the blue-haired young lady hasn't come by recently."

If a friend is in trouble and asks for my help, and I end up getting him killed because of my own reasons... Xiao An, you would look down on me too, right?"

"Don't know."

Xiao An shook his head decisively, neither saying yes nor no.

Just like always, he doesn't understand hypotheticals, nor does he think about 'what if.' His likes and dislikes are very obvious: if he likes someone, he gets close; if he rejects them, he stays away; if he hates them, he warns them; if they are trouble, he kills them.

That is why he cannot understand.

"Anyway, if a friend needs help, do your best!"

Ji Jue laughed and patted his shoulder: "If you ever need anything, Xiao An, I will definitely try even harder, giving it my all!

When I become powerful in the future, I'll help you pull out that nail first, and as for life goals or whatever, we can spend ten, twenty, or thirty years slowly finding them.

If your sister doesn't agree by then, I'll help you fight your sister!"

As he spoke, he gave a thumbs up:

"Guaranteed win, Boss!"

Xiao An didn't speak.

It was as if he were stunned, staring blankly at him.

Soon, however, he lowered his head and looked away.

He only said, "Thank you, Brother Ji Jue."

"..."

Ji Jue's expression twitched.

What is going on?

This ambiguous atmosphere is getting more and more wrong! It even makes one feel strangely embarrassed!

He also looked away.

He buried his head back into his work, but felt as if he were being watched from behind, so he dared not turn around.

He focused on operating his own spiritual essence.

Under the interference of Non-Aggression, the bullets on the workbench were faintly plated with a layer of gold—after simple alchemical processing, he used purification to strip away impurities and enhance physical properties, and used sublimation to imbue spiritual essence for easier manipulation.

Finally, he inscribed a simple spiritual circuit inside, surrounding the entropy emblem, to ensure that after it hits the target, it can detonate the heat carried by the warhead to create maximum destructive power.

The struggle between offense and defense is endless.

Facing harder and thicker defenses, what Ji Jue needs now is a bigger and fiercer cannon!

Actually, if one wanted to increase the lethality of the bullets, the simplest way would be to craft the entire bullet into a blessed artifact, combining it with a specific blessing to completely unleash the destructive power of the blessing upon firing... Unfortunately, such a bankrupting, extravagant act is something Ji Jue wouldn't even dare to dream of.

In state-level supplies, one strives for perfection, selecting the best among identical blessings, and finally, the entire process is presided over by a master craftsman of the Embers, undergoing sublimation, purification, extraction, and harmonization to ultimately forge a lethal weapon capable of leaving an eternal scar on a human-celestial body.

Not to mention that this caliber of bullet is beyond his current level and financial means to produce, even if he did make it, none of the small-fry in the Wilderness Market are worthy of it.

Counting across all of Yacheng, the only one worthy of being headshot by it might be the Yacheng Viceroy appointed by the Mid-City Supreme Government.

But thinking about it is quite exciting.

Anyway, that Viceroy has only been lining his pockets since he arrived and hasn't done a single good thing; if there's a chance in the future, I'll send him on his way to practice.

But for now, let's keep our feet on the ground.

"Xiao An."

He tossed the bullet behind him, and the boy caught it, but Xiao An was stunned for a moment; after realizing what it was, he hesitated to speak.

"What's wrong?" Ji Jue asked, confused.

"Nothing, it's just that recently, during the sword-Qi extraction stage, my spiritual essence barely leaks out, so I can't help," Xiao An replied, disappointed, while clutching the bullet.

Ji Jue was slightly startled, then smiled: "It's fine, small problem."

Without sword-Qi enchantment, there are other methods.

When the time was about right, after confirming through the camera that Xiao An had gone to watch a TV series, Ji Jue finally opened the box in the corner and undid the layers of seals on the top.

Then, he revealed the pitch-black substance at the very bottom, which looked like chunks of charcoal.

The final remains left over from that previous Transcendent of Sinful Mutation.

After extracting the blessing, according to procedure, Professor Ye was supposed to throw it into a high-risk item destruction furnace to be burned to ash; the ash would be added to a treatment solution, and after the reaction was complete, it would be thrown into the trash, and once a certain amount was collected, it would be sent to a professional institution for complete annihilation.

But Ji Jue had proactively asked for it.

Professor Ye had looked at him deeply, as if he understood what kind of scheme he was up to, and only said that he should be responsible for his own things, then stopped caring.

What else could this ghostly thing, which had been contaminated by the aura of the Nine Sins after its mutation, be used for besides harming people? Protecting world peace?

Doing such unscrupulous things must not be seen by a child, otherwise, what if it affects Brother Ji Jue's 'glorious and magnificent' image? Even if it doesn't affect it, what if he writes in that notebook, 'Brother Ji Jue is very frugal and never wastes anything, even using the corpses of his enemies to make bullets'—wouldn't that be a total disaster?

"Now, it's time for you to exert your final remaining heat, old buddy."

Ji Jue rubbed his hands together, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Next, let me show you the true strength of the genius craftsman Ji Jue—

His right hand pressed into the air toward the pile of remains, and then:

"—Cousin, come out for me!"

As the saying goes, the most precious materials often only require the simplest processing methods. Master Ji, who had been busy preparing all day, began to make bullets for his enemies.

What he intended to utilize were the remains left behind by the Transcendent of Sinful Mutation.

To be precise, it was the Sinful Mutation remnant spirit sealed within the remains. Amidst the attraction and distortion of the Nine Sins, the Transcendent's soul and body would undergo irreversible changes, becoming stained by completely out-of-control blessings and evil madness; what remained in the end was this broken remnant spirit saturated with the aura of the Nine Sins.

It had no consciousness, no capacity for thought, and no room for redemption; if left alone and touched by an ordinary person, who knows what kind of monster might be birthed from its pollution over time.

Such a dangerous thing... if it isn't put to use, it would be a terrible waste.

Snap!

The moment his palm touched the remains, a crisp cracking sound appeared in the air—the strange noise of spiritual essence bursting.

At the moment of contact, the eerie aura dormant within the remains seemed to come alive, rapidly trying to flow upstream along the spiritual essence Ji Jue had injected, invading his soul, but it struggled to break through the barrier and could not escape the spiritual essence cage Ji Jue had woven. The spiritual essence operation of Non-Aggression acted like a check valve between the two, allowing only Ji Jue's one-sided output and infusion of spiritual essence.

And the moment the seal was opened, Cousin's long-lost pop-up window immediately began to flash incessantly.

[Warning, warning, external distorted spiritual essence detected]

And just as Ji Jue's spiritual essence completely activated the dormant Sinful Mutation aura, a brand-new pop-up window appeared:

[Extract?]

As Ji Jue's thoughts shifted, a terrifying attraction force beyond his imagination emerged from the watch; layers upon layers of complex spiritual circuits expanded, connecting to the Non-Aggression matrix without any obstruction, as if the two were originally one!

The cracking sounds rang out one after another.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, the carbonized fragments rapidly crumbled, and in the end, they turned into a pile of snow-white ash.

Thousands of strands of pitch-black aura appeared from the rising spiritual essence, gathered, and fell between his five fingers.

But this time, Ji Jue did not let Cousin extract all the Sinful Mutation spiritual essence; instead, he forcibly intercepted them with Non-Aggression, injecting them all into the pre-prepared mercury carrier.

Whether it was because his permissions increased after becoming a Transcendent, or because of the influence of Non-Aggression, this time, under Ji Jue's interference, the watch actually took the initiative to stop running and did not compete for this portion of spiritual essence.

All the Sinful Mutation spiritual essence was channeled by Ji Jue into the dormant mercury using the 'sublimation' processing method. Instantly, the mercury showed ripples, wriggling like a living creature, as if it wanted to break free from this shell devoid of blood and soul and escape.

But then, it was mercilessly shoved by Ji Jue into the furnace that had been preheated for a long time.

—Purification, begin!

Bang!

The moment the purification stage of fluid alchemy began, the suddenly erupting spiritual essence fluctuations kicked up a gale in the narrow room; the lightbulb overhead shattered in response, its light flickering.

Immediately following was a friction sound like a shrill scream, rising suddenly from the flames—so sharp, just like a ghost wailing or the lament of the dead.

The Sinful Mutation spiritual essence had been completely triggered!

The core of fluid alchemy is to make the form approach the essence; as the mercury gradually moved toward the Sinful Mutation spiritual essence, violent disturbances and eruptions appeared one after another within the liquid.

Even the entire second-hand furnace was shaking violently, struggling to bear the load.

If not for the isolated spiritual circuits Ji Jue had set up on the outer layer, the noise would have already alerted everyone.

He pressed both hands on the furnace's operation panel, Non-Aggression running at full power. To avoid the Sinful Mutation spiritual essence eroding him along his perception, he didn't even dare to use Mechanical Deification.

Sinful Alchemy is an extremely dangerous and complex discipline; even masters who have studied it for years find it difficult to predict what will happen during the refining process.

Ji Jue only felt as if he had opened the entrance to hell; endless wailing and lamenting emerged from the flames, and the furnace shook constantly, as if someone were slapping the hot furnace door from the inside, trying to crawl out of hell.

But soon, the wailing turned into fragmented whispers, as if someone were calling Ji Jue's name—strange yet familiar, carrying a temptation that made one's scalp tingle, sweet yet hoarse.

Then, in the dead silence, it seemed to echo with faint, indistinguishable crying.

In the end, the crying also disappeared.

Only a shrill scream, like a dying lament, suddenly burst forth, rising endlessly before dissipating into the ringing of the metal.

The spiritual essence burned out, and the flames extinguished.

Only now did Ji Jue finally let out a sigh of relief, sitting down on the floor, sweat pouring down like rain.

If not for Non-Aggression's absolute control over spiritual essence, he felt he would have completely lost control and messed up several times in the middle. Once out of control, either the furnace would explode, he would explode, or he would send the furnace, himself, and half the villa into the sky.

This is alchemy; it's all about the thrill.

Now, even the furnace had completely extinguished.

After a simple inspection, Ji Jue discovered that the internal spiritual circuits had all been completely destroyed by the overload, leaving only the shell; it could be said that it was no different from being scrapped.

The only result was the eerie scarlet slowly flowing out of the container at this moment.

One drop, and then another.

The mercury, which had completely merged with the Sinful Mutation spiritual essence, turned into the color of fresh blood. It rolled on the workbench like a living creature, and on every drop, faces of wailing or furious madness seemed to faintly emerge.

Even the occasional contact between two drops emitted a high-pitched hissing sound, as if they were cannibalizing each other, until finally, they completely merged into one.

"Is this [Mad Slaughter]?"

Through his thick mask, Ji Jue whispered.

Like the Stagnant Corruption Furnace, it is an eerie existence ranked among the Nine Sins, a behemoth manifested from countless massacres, ravages, enslavements, exterminations, and deaths.

What was before Ji Jue at this moment was, at best, just a tiny remnant left by a negligible strand of infection from one of the millions of projections of the Sin of Mad Slaughter.

Yet it still made his soul tremble, unable to hold itself together.

The pressure and fear felt when pouring them drop by drop into the warheads and applying the seals were even more exaggerated than operating the synthesis and extraction of fulminate explosives.

The latter would only blow oneself to death, while the former would make one wish they were dead.

Likewise, it would also make his enemies even more miserable!

"Hehe, hehehehe, hehehehe..."

When Xiao An came to knock on the door to call Ji Jue for dinner, he only saw that eerie figure laughing incessantly under the flickering, dim light, and those strange bullets on the table in front of him.

They looked plain and ordinary, having only undergone basic alchemical operations, but the moment one approached and wanted to touch them... one couldn't help but feel a chill run through their entire body!

"What is this?" He leaned in, examining them with confusion.

"A gift."

Ji Jue smiled, full of joy: "Some gifts prepared for visitors."

Just like every host who has made full preparations, from the moment he tied the packaging on the gift, he couldn't help but start imagining the look of surprise when the packaging was torn open.

I really hope they like them.

Drip—drip—

In the hospital room permeated with the scent of disinfectant, it was filled with dead silence, with only the monotonous noise from the instruments echoing.

And in this long, dull reverberation, the rhythm of the noise seemed to have a subtle, imperceptible change for a moment.

On the hospital bed, Chen Xingzhou's fingers suddenly trembled a bit.

Then, another bit...

Over a long period, it slowly and persistently clenched.

As if trying with all his might to grab onto that invisible thread.

Climbing upward endlessly.

From within hell...

Ding—

At the end of the corridor, the elevator door slowly opened.

A nurse pushing a small cart walked out and slowly headed toward the hospital room.

The wheels of the cart creaked as they turned, leaving a broken, scarlet trail on the floor...

Outside the window, neon lights flickered, and the night was deep.