Chapter 195.1: The Shadow of Spring City Part 1

It was as if a princess had fallen from grace overnight, or a tiger had strayed down onto the plains.

While Lou Feng brooded in self-imposed isolation over the frustrations of the outside world, Ji Jue found everything around him fresh and exciting.

After making a round of polite greetings, he had at least become familiar to everyone. With Ji Xue’s introductions and recommendations, he even secured quite a few orders, successfully landing his first batch of customers.

After seeing what he had done for Tong Shan, then personally experiencing the benefits of Ji Jue’s craftsmanship and trying out the equipment Ji Jue had modified and maintained, everyone naturally rushed to sign up.

These days, Chosen Ones were either dirt poor or filthy rich. Anyone who worked for the Security Bureau, could enter the First Division, and served on Tong Shan’s direct team was certainly not broke.

The First Division was hard to get into and hard to leave. With strict screening, high requirements, and exacting standards, it naturally came with excellent benefits. But no matter how much money they had, none of them were rich boys like Tong Shan, who could treat the whole of Cliff City as his personal piggy bank. When they spent money, they still cared about getting value for it.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t afford the craftsmen from the Third Division. It was just that Mr. Ji offered better value for money! He offered high quality service at a low price, excellent workmanship, and generous service.

For ordinary alchemical items, customers could bring their own materials and commission him for processing. Those who brought their own blessings for crafting could get a direct twenty-percent discount on labor fees. Buy a premium weapon maintenance package now, and he would even throw in a deluxe car wash and a full maintenance service for free!

Unlike the usual craftsmen, who kept a stern face and haggled over every last Fedra, Master Ji smiled the whole way through, warmly addressing everyone as “sir” or “ma’am.” When it came to making customers feel appreciated, he was in a league of his own. They were used to bending over backward for cold, untouchable beauties. When had they ever met someone as sweet and considerate as Ji Jue?

Sir, making money is hard enough as it is. No need to spend that much. For consumables, why not go with something cheaper?

Ma’am, you work hard for your money, so don’t make an impulsive decision. With the money you save, you can buy yourself a pretty little dress. How about this? I’ll give you another twenty percent off.

Even if the Association had rules on pricing and standards, that didn’t mean Ji Jue couldn’t throw in a maintenance package, free gifts, and trial kits!

“Let me put it this way. See the machine gun mounted on the back of my vehicle? It’s engraved with Supreme Benevolence emblems, structurally reinforced, and built for all-weather combat. Even in an aberrant environment, its performance doesn’t drop one bit. It has full mercury warheads, and dual enhancement from the Swarm and the Ruins.

“Right now, all you have to cover is the cost of the ammo, and you can try it for free. Think about it, Mr. Jiang. When the time comes, you carry this thing over and clash with those bastards from the Heretic Cult. Wouldn’t that be an easy win?”

“Is it really that powerful?” Jiang Xuan rubbed his chin, eyes sparkling. His honest face was full of anticipation.

That was when Tong Shan, who was driving, sighed helplessly. “Can you not turn this into a trade fair, Ji Jue? All of you, calm down a little. At this rate, the kid’s going to start selling membership cards.”

“Do we need membership cards?” Ji Jue’s eyes lit up, and he rubbed his hands together. “That could work. Top up a hundred thousand now and get ten thousand extra! Top up two hundred thousand and get thirty thousand extra! The first batch of customers also receive a limited-edition modified combustive grenade...”

Amid everyone else’s laughter, Tong Shan could only shake his head and sigh, utterly helpless.

He was just joking, though. Ji Jue was not so desperate that he had to set up his little stall right inside the team.

Business, after all, was something to be built slowly over time. Once the joking was done, he even gave each person two magazines of alchemical bullets and one mercury grenade. He called it a trial, but in truth, it was basically a greeting gift. In any case, they weren’t especially expensive items.

The Association had too much market regulation and too many restrictions. No matter how hard an apprentice racked his brains to make money, it was bound to be a small-time business. If he really wanted to get rich quickly, he would first have to obtain his craftsman license.

As they pressed onward through what seemed like an endless journey amid the white mist, everyone in the vehicle fell silent. Everyone either seized the chance to rest and conserve their strength, or stayed alert and watched their surroundings for any abnormal traces.

The advance investigation team’s mission was to clear the designated area and prepare the way for the main force to enter later.

This time, Tong Shan’s team not only had to complete reconnaissance of the originally designated area, but also deliver a batch of supplies to another permanent investigation team stationed deeper inside Spring City.

Time was short, the mission was demanding, and efficiency had to come first.

Long before this, the team had worked together for quite some time and carried out many exploration missions. Their coordination was seamless.

The team leaders, Tong Shan and Ji Xue, were both Origin-types. Ji Xue’s brother, Ji Liu, was of the Swarm and specialized in direct combat. Xu Guan, an Aether-type, handled reconnaissance and support, while Jiang Xuan, the largest member of the team, belonged to the Ruins.

They had control, damage output, a tank, and support. Strictly speaking, the only thing they were missing was a healer. Unfortunately, during their last exploration, the Vortex-type healer on the team had accidentally been contaminated, and would not be able to enter a high-concentration corruption environment for some time.

Now that Ji Jue and Lou Feng, two Ember-types, had joined the team, they no longer had to worry nearly as much about supplies and field support. Tong Shan had already heard about Ji Jue from Tong Hua, so he wasn’t worried that the kid would drag the team down. As for Lou Feng, putting everything else aside, how could he not know how powerful and versatile the Lou family’s Spirit Morph was in combat?

As Ji Jue sat in the vehicle and looked around, he suddenly discovered something surprising. Tong Shan was at the eighth level of the Rebirth Realm. Ji Liu and Jiang Xuan had both been stuck at the sixth level of the Metamorphosis Realm for quite some time. Ji Xue and Xu Guan were at the fifth level of the Metamorphosis Realm.

And Ji Jue, an Ember-type who had only recently stepped into the third level of the Resonance Realm, stood out among them like a chicken in a flock of cranes.

“Crap. Don’t tell me I’m the weakest one in the entire team?” Ji Jue was stunned. Instinctively, he looked to the side, hoping to get a little emotional comfort from Young Master Lou.

When Lou Feng noticed his gaze, he froze in surprise for a moment, then snapped in irritation, “What are you looking at?!”

His restrained spirit matter flared for a moment. The aura of a complex and rigorous matrix woven from four layers of blessings flashed briefly, revealing that he was at the fourth level of Metamorphosis Realm!

After taking that beating last time, Young Master Lou had gone back and worked himself to the bone. Not long ago, he had finally broken through the Resonance Realm and advanced into the Metamorphosis Realm. He was no longer the same as before. In terms of training progress, he had completely crushed Ji Jue and overtaken him outright!

“Hmph!” Lou Feng snorted, the disdain of a true powerhouse on full display.

Ji Jue stared at him, dumbfounded. He had the distinct feeling that Young Master Lou had just pulled off an enormous flex right in front of his face.

What the hell? The weakest person on the team really is me! Crap. Oh, never mind. At least I can still beat Lou Feng!

Ji Jue quickly got over it and calmed down. With a warm, almost patronizing smile, he patted Lou Feng on the shoulder, making the veins on his forehead bulge.

That’s it. I can’t take it anymore. I’m going to fight you right here and now!

Despite that furious glare, for some reason, his vision blurred for a second. On Ji Jue, who was also wearing a protective suit, a faint phantom appeared like an illusion. It looked like some kind of thin, eerie white robe.

Very quickly, the illusion vanished. Lou Feng blinked hard and looked again, only to see Ji Jue staring back in confusion. The corner of his eye twitched, but in the end, he said nothing.

In Lou Feng’s blind spot, Ji Jue’s hand had moved to his lower back, pressing down on the Mercy Bone Blade inside its sheath. The blade trembled in waves, as if it had returned to a familiar environment and could hardly wait.

Outside the window, the white mist vanished in an instant. In its place was a ruined city beneath a gloomy sky, utterly devoid of color or light.

Even the noonday sun couldn’t pierce through that heavy layer of clouds. Only a faint thread of light fell stingily from above, barely managing to illuminate the faintest outlines. If anything, it just made the dark corners between the ruins seem even darker and more sinister.

Within the iron-curtain-like mass of dark clouds, a dazzling flash of lightning streaked past overhead, but there was no deafening thunder. Between those flickers of electric light, the outline of the city seemed to shift faintly as well, becoming subtly different from what it had been just moments before.

When Ji Jue pressed himself against the window and tried to look back, all he could see was Horsey following behind them, connected by two tow ropes. The dense layers of white mist on the road they had come from were nowhere to be seen.

When he had been traveling through the white mist, he had felt somewhat stifled. But now that they had left it behind, he found himself starting to miss that layer of protection.

Tong Shan raised his head. His previously gentle expression had now been replaced by solemnity.

“We have officially entered Spring City. Everyone, stay sharp and be ready. Ji Liu, get in the vehicle. Ji Xue, prepare yourself. Jiang Xuan, rest for now and keep an eye on the craftsmen. Xu Guan, from this point on, keep watch with me. Report anything unusual immediately. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to leave the team. Even if you need to use the toilet, you do it inside the vehicle. Understood?”

The responses came in perfect unison.

Under his command, the atmosphere within the team instantly turned cold and solemn. Even Ji Xue no longer dared to laugh or joke.

Ji Jue felt an invisible ripple spreading out from the driver’s seat. The light around them dimmed faintly.