Chapter 278: Moonlight and Prosperity

Tonight, aboard the Tianbo, at a meeting convened by Mr. Chen of the Yacheng Wilderness Market, Mr. Ji of the Coastal Automobile Factory met with Mr. Ling, the representative of the Grey Harbor Wilderness Market. After a cordial and friendly discussion, and a full, sincere, and frank exchange of views, the two sides reached a comprehensive consensus.

All parties raised their glasses in celebration, and the meeting concluded amidst harmonious and friendly applause.

Truly a joyous and congratulatory occasion, truly joyous and congratulatory!

According to the rules of the Wilderness Market, having determined victory, defeat, and life or death under the witness of the Leader, and with even Bai Lu descending, this matter could be reported to the General Association. Even when everyone spits on Lingzhou's corpse, they would have to praise him, saying he died well, died wonderfully, and died with a resounding bang!

Matters having reached this point, the dust has settled, and there is no room for reversal.

Even if Ling Liu, the current head of Grey Harbor, were to fly into a rage, he likely wouldn't be able to utter a single word of dissent.

Sometimes, rules are just a piece of paper, to be crumpled and glossed over at will. But sometimes, rules are greater than the heavens; even a slight touch can lead to death. Especially in the Wilderness Market, where rules are few—coming and going, there are only those few, not even filling a single sheet of paper—yet behind every word lies a mountain of bones.

Unless Ling Liu has lost his mind and runs to the General Association to flip the table and say, "Screw you, I want to start a new Wilderness Market," he must swallow this loss, and he must swallow it whole, swallow it hard, and swallow it deeply. After swallowing, he must even grind Lingzhou's bones to dust and curse him as a disgraceful thing.

In the short term, the Grey Harbor Wilderness Market will likely not dare to come near Yacheng; even if they encounter it, they can only tuck their tails between their legs.

This gamble was won too beautifully; it is simply beyond reproach.

Subsequently, Chen Xingzhou very considerately provided Ji Jue with a deep-cleaning service, clearing everyone off the ship and not even letting them onto the port. A small sampan was sent directly into the sea, two oars were tossed down, and they could row themselves back!

As for those lackeys who couldn't get on the ship and were abandoned in Yacheng, they naturally wouldn't be left homeless.

Mr. Ji has a good heart and cannot bear to see pitiful people.

He grabbed them all and sent them straight into Workshop Zero.

It just so happens that there is a lack of production capacity lately—how can such a good thing still exist in this world?

During the cleanup process, the corpse in the luxury cabin was also found and delivered before Ji Jue.

Along with that incomplete scale.

"A blessed creation of the Ether Path? If it were complete, it would count as a good thing."

Ji Jue weighed it twice, then used a Dissociation Art to turn it to dust, supplementing a wave of progress for the Mechanical Descent: "Brother Ball is awesome."

【Need you even say it?】

Ghost Artisan laughed loudly: 【You kid are also getting more and more spirited. As expected, I didn't misjudge you back then!】

A wave of mutual commercial praise; everyone was very satisfied with each other.

Ever since the ship set sail, Ghost Artisan had long since deployed a temporary workshop, and almost every change on the ship was under its surveillance. Under stealth mode, let alone Lingzhou, even a Heavenly Human wouldn't be able to detect it.

No, perhaps... that Leader who never arrived at the scene noticed something, but even if he noticed, he was too lazy to expose it.

Why expose it?

Since one intends to act, one must naturally use any means necessary. In this kind of life-or-death struggle, what matters is the means. Even if Lingzhou cheated today, as long as he could win, who would say anything?

As long as you aren't caught, it doesn't count as cheating!

Since you can't catch your opponent, you deserve to die like a dog.

Not to mention, Ji Jue had the Mechanical Descent active from beginning to end...

Under Ghost Artisan's concealment, the entire Tianbo became his home field the moment Ji Jue boarded!

Lingzhou played the monkey for half a day, never imagining that Ji Jue had already pressed all the Alt+Numpad keys from the very beginning.

The ship is my ship, the people are my people, and the referees are the referees I invited.

What do you have to fight me with?

Bonds and courage?!

As the saying goes, a thief never leaves empty-handed, let alone an Ember.

As the teacher's specialized small tool for murder, arson, extermination, and home-raiding, it easily interfered in secret, stirred the Ether old fogey to death, and then watched the show for the rest of the time.

Brother Ball was kind after all and didn't eat alone. Being brothers is in the heart; after snatching two blessings as an appearance fee, he left the rest to Ji Jue.

Soul fragments that died in despair, remains that died from the backlash of fate's curse... In Sin-Tainted Alchemy, the former is a catalyst that the more you have the better, and the latter is a precious auxiliary material for padding the furnace and ascending ranks.

Not to mention that after the matrix is recycled, it can also be used for dissociation, serving as dog food for the Mechanical Descent's upgrade.

Truly a Chosen One, his whole body is a treasure!

It's a pity that when Lingzhou died, Bai Lu was still in the live stream, so Ji Jue didn't have the nerve to snatch away all of the guy's underlings; the blessings all returned to Bai Lu, leaving only a corpse. What a loss.

However, calculating the money earned tonight...

Gritting his teeth and adding a bit more money, he could directly secure a set of basic-level workshop equipment. The workshop that originally had no prospects at all—isn't the prototype taking shape now?

Ji Jue leaned against the deck, blowing in the wind, humming a tune and whistling, unable to help but be radiant with joy.

Truly, murder and arson—the money comes fast!

Shouldn't he strike while the iron is hot and get some more?

Footsteps sounded.

After the busyness, Chen Xingzhou sent away the invited witnesses and walked over, smoking a cigar: "Do you have any plans for this ship?"

"I do have some thoughts."

Ji Jue thought for a moment: "The gambling tables and those things inside are too much of an eyesore. Can you help me dismantle them? Do whatever you want with them."

"What a waste."

Chen Xingzhou couldn't help but shake his head, "More than half of this ship is in there."

Ji Jue was indifferent: "It's useless to keep."

Thus, Chen Xingzhou nodded.

"Then let's do it that way."

He originally wanted to say that if you aren't interested in these, you could actually hand them over to me to operate, and I'll give you a fixed monthly dividend, so you won't have to worry about a thing.

However, looking at it now, there's no need to waste his breath.

From the very beginning, Ji Jue didn't look down on it.

From the dark night, he sighed softly.

"It just so happens that I have a stake in Yuantong Shipping. I've seen the ship's records; it only launched three or four years ago and is still new. You can hang it over there later. Daily maintenance and fuel replenishment can be done at cost price. As for the manpower... forget it, I won't send you any manpower."

Everyone has been dealing with each other for so long; the outrageous degree of the Mechanical Descent is naturally understood. Let alone having no one, as long as this broken ship still has an engine, Ji Jue can get it running.

Cars drive cars, ships sail ships.

Driving itself.

Where is there any need to worry?

Chen Xingzhou sighed and shook his head: "I originally thought I came here today to preside over justice for you, but I didn't expect that justice was in your own hands, and you even showed your face before the Leader."

"If there's anything you need help with later, just say it." Ji Jue thought for a moment and nodded: "There actually is."

"..."

Chen Xingzhou was stunned for a moment, unexpected: "You really won't consider it?"

Is the favor of a Leader like himself really so worthless?

"Consider what?"

Ji Jue looked back at him: "We've only just begun. We've only sent away a bunch of small fries who were eating from the warehouse and extorting the treasury. We haven't done anything yet, have we?"

"Yubo was beaten for nothing in Quancheng. Don't you have any intention of helping your brother vent his anger?"

"Heh!"

Chen Xingzhou laughed, grinning, and tossed the half-finished cigar in his hand into the sea.

"Fine."

He said, "Count me in!"

After settling the current and upcoming matters, Chen Xingzhou left behind a group of people to clean up and then turned and left.

In the middle of the night...

Convoy after convoy drove into the East Port, fully loaded with shipbuilders and relevant personnel, and began working in full swing.

Ji Jue didn't even need to worry.

The lead supervisor, after chatting briefly with Ji Jue and confirming the requirements, nodded crisply: "Simple, it's not a major overhaul. Water, electricity, and wiring don't need to be redone. Such a small matter, I'll get it done for you in a week."

"We'll handle the renaming and registration for you, but do you want to change the ship's name?"

"Hmm, let me think."

Ji Jue pondered for a moment and looked at the void beside him: "How about calling it Prosperity? The registered name in Imperial language, just call it 'tyet'."

The supervisor was stunned for a moment, not knowing who Ji Jue was talking to.

But suddenly, he felt the deck beneath his feet shake violently, and in the night, a low, whale-song-like rumbling came from beneath the layers of the deck.

Thus, it was decided.

tyet, Tiyet.

Its meaning is prosperity or life, or perhaps, there is another widely circulated name.

——The Knot of Isis.

"You don't need to curry favor with me like this, sir."

Isis's voice sounded from the headset: "Naming my new, sudden work after me doesn't make me feel happy. This is no different from tricking a child into writing their name on a newly bought exercise book, or carving a slave's name onto shackles; it only makes me more clearly recognize my own miserable situation."

"Then call it the Ghost Artisan?" Ji Jue suggested.

Isis was speechless, only silently opening the missile radar aiming system beneath the automobile factory workshop, locking onto the 'Ghost Artisan', simply and directly expressing her opinion and view.

Ji Jue chuckled.

This clearly shows she cares a lot!

A distant and indifferent gaze fell upon Ji Jue's hand, and Brother Ball immediately vibrated twice, muttering 'troublesome woman', before rolling out of his hand.

Stuck with a troublesome person who treasures it like this, as if others would snatch it from you.

I'm going home for maintenance!

"How does it feel, sir?" Isis asked suddenly.

"How does what feel?"

Ji Jue asked: "What feeling?"

"At this very moment, or rather, everything that just happened."

Isis said: "To be honest, I prefer your current appearance."

"Why?" Ji Jue was puzzled.

"Not swayed by anything, nor placing expectations on things without value. Not hesitating because of emotions, nor needing to show pity for irrelevant people."

"Advancing toward the goal as a matter of course, achieving results by any means necessary..."

Isis said: "I think this is very good, at least not hypocritical."

"Indeed."

Ji Jue nodded.

Which instead made Isis silent.

"Perhaps, this is my true face." Ji Jue smiled and sighed self-deprecatingly: "However, I prefer my hypocritical self."

Isis was silent for a long time before telling him: "You will eventually give up."

"Perhaps."

Her master smiled and said firmly: "Perhaps the Artisan will loathe disguise, perhaps the monster will discard hypocrisy, but Ji Jue will not."

Compassion or weakness, sometimes it may be meaningless.

But the person named Ji Jue is exactly what he is because of this.

As long as this persistence remains for one day, Ji Jue will not turn back.

"The starlight is truly beautiful, Isis."

He leaned against the railing and looked up, gazing at the firmament: "Tomorrow will definitely be a clear day."

In the workshop, Isis looked up silently, gazing.

A mechanical arm slowly extended toward the window; the starlight flickered, and the moonlight sprinkled like rain into the palm that had no sensation.

It is indeed very beautiful.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 279 =====