Chapter 193

It was a pity; Tong "Plant" rarely paid a visit, and even took the initiative to offer a merit, asking for his help... and it wasn't to hire a hitman?!

Although "actually" should have been replaced with "as expected" here, after a moment of disappointment, Ji Jue felt he had missed out on a lot of material.

Fortunately, when Tong "Plant" wasn't being a plant, he was quite considerate. He didn't say any nonsense about "borrowing your head for a moment," but instead asked him to face himself squarely and refocus on his old profession.

Killing?

As a dignified Department Head of the Yacheng Anquan Bureau, and acting Bureau Chief when the Chief is away, he doesn't even need a blade to kill someone; would he really need to find you?

You, an Ember, why is your head full of killing and fighting every day?

Hurry up and go produce, repair, and create for me!

I've just received a batch of standard equipment from the Artisan Association, and it's damaged. I'd like to ask Brother Ji Jue to help out and repair it.

"Is that all?"

After hearing this, Ji Jue immediately slapped his thigh. "You were so serious, I thought you were going to kill the Viceroy!"

"..."

Tong Shan's expression immediately became complex.

Then, Ji Jue sensed something was wrong.

As everyone knows, the Second Department of the Federal Anquan Bureau is for public security, the Third is for logistics, and the First is for classified operations or security work for important figures and occasions...

To some extent, this Tong Shan before him could be considered the Viceroy's bodyguard, and the head bodyguard at that, a key figure who mastered the Viceroy's itinerary and classified matters every day.

Oh no, after bad-mouthing him for so many years, he accidentally bad-mouthed him right at the person's front door!

Tong Shan was helpless; he looked at him for a long time and sighed.

"... You've already had over a dozen accounts banned; try to be a bit more careful." He said earnestly: "The Viceroy even asked others during a meeting last time, who exactly is it that bad-mouths him online every day?"

Ji Jue was shocked. "It wasn't just me, yo!"

"Yeah, your brother too."

Tong Shan's expression became even more indescribable. "Just this year, you two brothers have had over forty accounts banned combined! If this continues, they might just ban the port and the IP.

It's only because the Beishan District has a good relationship with you that they haven't come to your door for tea yet."

Ji Jue stared, feeling aggrieved and completely innocent.

So what if he bad-mouthed the Viceroy?

Who in Yacheng hasn't bad-mouthed him? Whose account hasn't been banned a few times?

"It's like you've never been banned!"

"I haven't."

Tong Shan answered decisively. "I never bad-mouth people online."

Ji Jue gasped, looking at him in shock, incredulous and filled with admiration.

"And not in person either!"

Tong Shan felt like he was losing his hair, his blood pressure rising.

It would be one thing if it were just Ji Jue, this outsider, and Lu Feng, that dangerous individual closely monitored by the Military Department. But the Tong family in Yacheng is a large and wealthy clan, with many people in the family relying on this to make a living. Although they have always been low-key and never displayed their muscles in public, their silent influence has already covered every aspect of Yacheng. Finance, industry, people's livelihood, water and electricity... unknowingly, through the gentlest means, they have become the most undeniable force.

As the person from the Tong family's generation who shows his face in public, how could he possibly bad-mouth the Viceroy? Let alone bad-mouth him, even a cold snort or a frown after leaving the Viceroy's mansion could be interpreted as a signal of a split between the two sides.

It's also a huge hassle.

Although sometimes his fists really do get hard three, four, five, six, seven, eight times.

But no matter how much he loathes the puppet-like posturing, he has to accept reality, accept the rules, and integrate into the rules. Since the Tong family succeeded because of the rules, they must maintain this order, and their stance can never waver.

Pity that among a family of Ether gossip-mongers, only Tong Shan can still muster the sense of responsibility to bear the obligations, silently enduring everything alone, and still being sarcastically called Tong "Plant" by his sister.

The eldest brother also has his own sorrows.

"It's not easy."

Ji Jue sighed with sympathy and patted his shoulder to show his support.

Lou Feng, standing to the side, had his eyelids twitching wildly. That's a whole set of high-end custom-made fabric from the Central City; wash your hands, damn it! You're just smearing machine oil all over it like that? And leaving so many marks!

Tong Shan, aren't you going to give him a piece of your mind? Aren't you going to punch him twice?

He really didn't.

Tong Shan didn't care at all. He sat on the dirty chair, loosened his tie, opened his collar, and drank Ji Jue's big bowl of tea with relish, chatting casually about the recent movements at the outpost.

Including the teams from the Anquan Bureaus across Haizhou, the movements in Quancheng, the traces left by the Ether Eye Sect, and other strange traces that might possibly exist...

Not until the sound of cart wheels came from afar did he sit up slightly, retighten his tie, and return to being that serious, dignified, and humorless captain.

And then, a broken car that was leaking air everywhere came chugging along, covered in damage and ruin.

"Captain Tong, I've brought the things."

The girl driving the car poked her head out and waved excitedly at Tong Shan from afar, but upon seeing the scene before her, she couldn't help but be stunned.

After all, after the previous attack, the current Recycling Management Department could only be described as covered in wreckage. Ji Jue had knocked down several walls, there were broken bricks and tiles everywhere, and thick smoke was still billowing out of the workshop.

Ji Xue was shocked for a moment: Holy crap, did the Ether Eye Sect attack?

But soon, upon seeing the artisan Tong Shan introduced, her expression couldn't help but change: "Captain Tong, this artisan you found, he... um, he looks really good."

Ji Jue smiled slightly, not caring.

He could guess that the other party wasn't trying to praise his appearance; what she originally wanted to say was probably about his age, right?

Too young, even younger than Tong Shan.

A beardless youth is unreliable; furthermore, the path of an Ember is one that relies extremely heavily on experience and operation, and usually, the older one gets, the stronger one becomes.

Now, an artisan who looked about the same age as her, or even younger, had suddenly appeared.

Is this reliable?

"Don't worry, if he says he can do it, he can do it."

Tong Shan understood her worries at a glance and waved his hand. Without needing to be carried, large boxes floated out of the broken truck bed and landed in front of Ji Jue.

Numerous worn and damaged tools.

The most important of which were the protective suits, two sets per person for the advance investigation team, according to the quota. Like coats, the collars were high, enough to wrap a person from head to toe.

The interior was composed of the Twelve Benevolence emblems and numerous spiritual quality circuits and runes, like a small protective shield, isolating sin-tainted pollution and erosion to the greatest extent.

Besides that, the protection wasn't low; it went without saying that it could resist ordinary bullets, and it was also convenient for movement.

In addition, there were masks for exploring heavily polluted areas, in the style of common gas masks, except that the consumables in the breathing valves had basically been polluted and were unusable.

Small containment devices used when setting up camp temporarily were the "monkey versions" Ji Jue had been dismantling these days, just more portable, and the consumption was also faster.

Included were some floor mats or sleeping bags and electronic equipment that were poorly functioning due to pollution.

While Ji Jue understood, he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed.

"No difficulty at all."

It was a bit troublesome, but who else had efficiency as ridiculously high as his "Non-Aggression" and "Heaven-Made Skill"?

For such a small matter, even if Tong Shan hadn't asked, out of his friendship with that silly Tong Hua, he wouldn't have pushed it away or refused.

"No weapons?"

He asked curiously.

"Uh..." Ji Xue hesitated. "The weapons are with A-Liu; they'll be sent over in a bit."

It was only natural.

In this day and age, when people are dealing with each other for the first time, if ordinary things get broken, you can just wait for the next batch. Weapons are treasures for survival; how could they be handed over to a stranger to organize at will?

Besides, the reputation of Embers...

It can only be said that it has improved compared to ancient times; it's not bad, not bad, already quite good.

Ji Jue didn't take it to heart.

Tong Shan, however, suddenly reached out. His ring flashed slightly, and a neatly bundled flag appeared in his hand. He handed it over: "If you're late, then get in line; fix this one of mine first, how about it?"

"Whoa!"

Before Ji Xue could stop him, the item was taken by Ji Jue. His eyes lit up, and he clicked his tongue in admiration: "Good stuff!"

It was rare to see such excellent blessed armament.

The ransom money Ji Jue had scammed earlier was like chicken feathers compared to this.

Rigorous methodology, well-organized structure, and well-coordinated.

The four phases were coordinated, perfect and flawless.

It was absolutely a masterpiece by a master!

After a weakened Dissociation Art swept over it like a probe, the internal condition was already reflected in his consciousness—a rare dual-blessed armament!

The "Wan Wu Prepared for Me" of the Tian Tian Yuan lineage and the "Heavenly Mirror Insight" of the Ether lineage.

The effect of "Wan Wu Prepared for Me" is to maximize the use of the surrounding environment, making the Chosen One's interference and control as smooth as a fish in water, without any stagnation, whether it is tangible or intangible, everything is within the scope of influence.

And "Heavenly Mirror Insight" is able to transcend one's own consciousness and perspective from the human body, forming a 360-degree dead-angle-free overlook within the scope of mental influence, observing everything clearly.

Paired with Tong Shan's Tian Tian Yuan-lineage matrix and the signature Tian Tian Yuan telekinesis, it not only enhanced the effect but also greatly increased the range. This was clearly a weapon custom-made by a master artisan specifically for Tong Shan!

"Awesome."

Ji Jue sighed with emotion. Even if it looked plain and unadorned, adapting a dual-blessed armament to Tong Shan must have taken a lot of effort. It's possible that half a year of work went into this.

It's the Tong family, after all; their wealth is inhuman.

Ji Jue didn't dare to imagine how much money it cost. Anyway, if he had this ability, he would charge a small goal as a "friendship price." The bulk of it was the cost of materials and blessings; the labor cost wasn't much.

Tong Shan remained as calm as ever, but Ji Xue became increasingly nervous, subconsciously leaning in: "Little Master, can you handle it?"

"It's just refurbishing and maintenance; there's no difficulty, it'll be ready in a bit."

Ji Jue carried the flag with one hand and waved the other. Mercury flowed out from the truck bed, supporting itself and turning into a small cart following behind him.

Just before entering the workshop, he suddenly turned back: "Brother Shan, are consumables reimbursed?"

"Use whatever you need."

Tong Shan nodded. "If it's not here, write a list for me, and I'll have someone send it over."

"That's great!"

Ji Jue's smile became even more unbridled, like a wild dog off its leash.

Poverty has its way of repairing, and wealth has its own. If he really was willing to invest, he could still fleece quite a bit. Even if he didn't open his mouth like a lion, wouldn't what was left be his?

It's just that, a practice opportunity delivered to his door is rare...

He rubbed his chin, pondering, and suddenly asked:

"Do you want an upgrade?"