Chapter 213.2: Dearest Friends, Beloved Brothers Part 2

“Wait, that’s not right!”

As expected of Young Master Lou, he was knowledgeable and experienced. Once he recovered from the initial shock, he immediately realized that something didn’t add up.

“What technique lets multiple Blessed Creations with different effects merge and operate together and remain this stable? White Dynasty Workshop’s Parallel-Series Node? The Empire’s Dual-Flow Shared Path? No, it’s neither of those. Is this a Thousand Islands technique?”

He bent down, and after touching it only twice, he had more or less grasped the situation.

“When did you steal—ahem, learn South Cloud’s Convergent Form technique?”

Ji Jue looked surprised. “Hm? That’s what this is called? I didn’t even know.”

The corner of Lou Feng’s eye twitched wildly as he glared at the other craftsman. This bastard was showing off now, wasn’t he?

“Want to learn it? I’ll teach you,” Ji Jue offered.

For a moment, Lou Feng didn’t know what to say.

Ji Jue wasn’t stingy with what he knew. He rolled up his sleeves and, using his two half-finished products as examples, began explaining the connections, sequencing, and integration between different spirit circuits, as well as their structure and key points to watch out for.

Technically, this was another benefit he had gained from looting Dalton’s workshop. Before leaving, Ji Jue had refused to let anything go to waste and used Dissociation Technique on every large facility they couldn’t take with them. He had not left so much as a scrap behind. That included the furnace Dalton had spent an unknown amount of money assembling and countless hours painstakingly calibrating. By dismantling it, Ji Jue had laid all of Dalton’s tricks bare.

The essence he’d extracted was thoroughly unpleasant, and Dalton’s methods were often painful to watch, but Ji Jue had still picked up plenty of scattered, unsystematic techniques. Convergent Form was among them, and it was also the most complete.

Ji Jue felt that, had Dalton continued studying it, he would have eventually used the technique to bring all his fragmented, chaotic knowledge together. At the very least, it would have at least set him on a proper path.

That old man Jian Yuan really had not misled him at all. He had shown Dalton the way without holding anything back. Unfortunately, Dalton was too hopeless. No wonder the Putrefied Dire Furnace looked down on him. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

After their exchange, Young Master Lou took his pages of filled notes and went off to ponder them on his own. He asked a question from time to time, but before long, he had already thoroughly digested the theory, which made Ji Jue see him in a new light.

Damn. The speed and efficiency with which Young Master Lou threw himself into learning were almost absurd.

A sudden sense of urgency overwhelmed Ji Jue, and he could no longer sleep either. He created a reclining chair out of mercury and resumed writing his half-finished paper. From time to time, he used Young Master Lou’s furnace and Pacifier to test his ideas on the spot.

And so, minutes and hours passed quietly. Suddenly, in the low rustling of the shelter, there was a tapping sound.

The knocks came in steadily as an opening slowly appeared in the wall, yet no one emerged. Two seconds later, Tong Shan abruptly came into view, still dressed in the same heavy clothes and gear he had worn when he left. He removed his respirator and blew out the vigorously burning candle in the holder in his hand. The moment the flame died, his previously imperceptible and undetectable figure appeared before everyone.

Upon closer inspection, the half-burned candle was unmistakably shaped like half a human finger. The finger bone served as the wick, while flesh and fat served as the wax.

Ji Jue saw it and became sour with envy. As expected of the Tong family, they were filthy rich. So Tong Shan carried a whole stash of disposable Blessed Creations like this in his pockets.

This was the Hand of Delusion. As its appearance suggested, it was a candle made from a human finger. Despite being a consumable item, it contained a blessing of the Mirror known as Sensory Deception. Once lit with spirit matter fire, no wind could extinguish it, and as long as the one who lit it remained within the candlelight, they couldn’t be observed. Their appearance, the sounds they made, and even the disturbances they caused would be completely covered up.

While it burned, the blessing of Sensory Deception would remain active, forcibly distorting all related perception. This phenomenon was known as Delusion. The more perceptions the blessing had to distort, and the more frequently it did so, the faster the candle burned down.

Judging by what Ji Jue could see, it could last half an hour under ordinary circumstances, but if a Celestial Being of the Aether Path so much as glanced at it from the corner of their eye, the thing would burn away instantly and expose the user.

Tong Shan had been gone for so long that he had probably used it more than once. On that face that was always stiff and expressionless, rare traces of gloom and worry had appeared.

“The situation is bad,” he said bluntly. “The Heretic Cult is currently engaged in a frontal assault with the Security Bureau. The two sides are still testing each other, but full-scale battles have already broken out in several areas. Unlike the disorganized clashes in the past, however, various factions are working together far more closely than expected.

“All the aberration contamination that has accumulated throughout Spring City over the years has been activated. Their defenses are layered and airtight, sealing the city like a steel drum. I took the risk of scouting a little farther ahead and was nearly discovered, so I had to make a long detour to get back. If we keep hiding like this, I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before they find us.”

Everyone’s expressions grew heavy, and their concern only deepened when Tong Shan opened the Aether record book he carried with him. Large portions of the automatically generated map remained shrouded in darkness, but every area that had been explored was covered by overlapping patches of crimson, marking heavy traces of aberration contamination and blockades formed through esoterism.

Danger markers were scattered across every open space as densely as falling rain. The entire area was practically one vast minefield.

Their current position was already far beyond the outpost’s operational range. In fact, they were practically right under the Heretic Cult’s nose. Everyone looked around, struck by the same absurd thought: Where the hell have we ended up? Is this even still Haizhou?

After a brief moment of thought, Xu Guan coughed twice, trying to raise everyone’s spirits. “Things may not be that bad. The enemy is in the open while we’re in the dark. There’s still room to maneuver. No matter how tight the blockade is, most of it is designed to keep outsiders from getting in. Their internal defenses may not be nearly as strong.

“And however closely they’re cooperating, they’re still separate factions. If we can disguise ourselves as members of one of them, we may be able to slip out without causing a disturbance. We just need to avoid heading directly toward the outpost. Once we’re outside the blockade, we can circle around and approach it from another direction.”

Everyone’s eyes shifted as they looked up at Tong Shan. At this critical moment of life and death, the authority of a captain and the trust between team members became clear. Everyone placed their trust in him.

Tong Shan nodded slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. “Let’s hold a team discussion. Everyone will have a chance to speak. Give your own opinion, and take responsibility both for yourself and for the team. Who wants to go first?”

No one rushed to step forward.

Sitting off to the side on a tall mercury stool, Ji Jue tapped his fingers twice against his knee as he thought, eyes focused on Tong Shan.

Tong Shan had not stated his position first. That made sense. No matter what, his authority was enough to sway most of the team’s decisions. If he truly wanted to gather opinions, he naturally had to let the others speak first.

But... did they really need to gather opinions? Was that really necessary? If he planned to retreat, he could simply make the call. Once the direction was decided, they could work out and refine the details afterward. Why go through all this trouble?

Or perhaps...

Understanding dawned on Ji Jue. His gaze met Tong Shan’s, but neither said anything. Both looked away.

Lou Feng was the first to speak, gripping the spirit matter crystal in his hand, the one that had remained in one piece. His expression twitched. “Sorry. My aunt still hasn’t been found. I... I have to stay.”

He condensed another crystal in his palm and fixed it in place with a spirit matter lockdown. “There’s a letter in here. Mr. Tong, please give it to my teacher. Everyone has saved me more than once along the way. This is my decision alone, and no one else bears any responsibility for it.”

Tong Shan accepted the spirit matter crystal without a word.

Jiang Xuan scratched his chin. “I’m not really sure what we should do. Either way, it’s dangerous. Since Xu Guan has an idea, why not give it a try? Worst case, we die. Take one down with us and we break even. Two, and we come out ahead. Three, and we’ve made a profit.”

“Hey, aren’t I supposed to be the Swarm here?” Ji Liu laughed. After thinking it over for a long while, he sighed. “Xue and I will follow orders. Mr. Tong, you decide.”

Ji Xue glared at him indignantly. “I haven’t even said anything yet! Why are you speaking for me?”

Ji Liu glanced at her and shrugged. “Then you tell us.”

Ji Xue struggled to form an answer for several seconds, growing increasingly annoyed. At last, she shot her brother a furious glare. “Same here!”

Xu Guan’s expression grew complicated. They had known one another for years. No matter how slow he was, he understood what Tong Shan was getting at.

“Have you really thought this through?” he asked solemnly.

“No,” Tong Shan replied bluntly. “I’m confused, the situation is a mess, and I have no confidence in the outcome. Given the circumstances, I won’t force anyone. As your superior, I have to consider my subordinates’ opinions. This time, I’ll make it clear.”

Tong Shan folded his arms and took turns looking around at everyone. “With things as they are, the future is impossible to predict. If we keep hesitating, all we can do is wait to die. Either we gamble on the odds and try to escape, or we stay and become the Heretic Cult’s worst nightmare.”

Ji Liu raised his hand without the slightest hesitation. “I’m in!”

Ji Xue reacted a beat too late and immediately grew annoyed. She kicked her brother hard in the leg. “Same here!”

“Huh? So that’s what this is about?” Realization dawned on Jiang Xuan, and he broke into a grin. “You should’ve said so earlier. Even if we go back, they’ll just send us to the front lines again. In that case, there’s not much point in leaving.”

Xu Guan hesitated for a long time, then sighed. “No objections here.”

For a moment, silence fell. While Lou Feng was still caught between astonishment and surprise, Tong Shan’s gaze finally landed on Ji Jue, who looked back with confusion. “Everyone has made their decision. Why are you asking me?”

Tong Shan sighed.

“You and Mr. Lou are different from them. You aren’t members of the Security Bureau, and you’ve never taken a single Fedra from Origin. I’m the one who dragged you into this mess. I know just as well as you what kind of freaking mess Cliff City is, and I have even less right to call on you to step forward for the greater good. Craftsmen were never obligated to risk their lives.” He hesitated for a moment, then promised, “If you’re against staying, I’ll prioritize getting everyone out.”

“You said it yourself. I’m not with the Security Bureau, and I have no reason to risk my life for this whole rotten mess. But I’m still half a Cliff City local, aren’t I?” Ji Jue grew helpless and offered a self-mocking smile. “I’ve gotten pretty used to living there. If possible, I wouldn’t mind staying another decade or so. At a time like this, I can’t just stand by, gather everyone I care about, and run.”

He had already experienced firsthand how terrible a catastrophe could be. The horror of man-made disaster would perhaps be even worse. If Spring City collapsed completely, the resulting contamination would likely engulf most of Haizhou and turn it into a hellscape.

Spring City had been sinking into darkness for years. Even now, hidden beneath the ground, Ji Jue could still hear what sounded like distant sobbing and wailing ceaselessly echoing through the soil. There had been too much blood and tears shed. There had been too much death, too much despair.

How many hells like this had to be created before it was enough? How revolting did things have to become before they would finally stop?

He didn’t have to be a friend of the Security Bureau, but he and the Heretic Cult had become enemies when those bastards had sent the drifting Time Ruin to Cliff City. Killing Lian Cheng was nowhere near enough. Even if Ji Jue couldn’t be a good doctor, at the very least, he could be a good craftsman.

There were always idiots with holes in their brains who liked to say that “trash is just treasure in the wrong place.” But some trash was simply trash, rotten beyond saving from the very bone. If there was even the slightest bit of value left in it, then all he had to do was send those misplaced materials back where they truly belonged.

Ji Jue reached out and flicked the edge of the bone blade, listening to its faint ring. As the clear, metallic sound lingered in the air, he raised his head and looked at Mr. No-Fun’s stern face with a benevolent smile on his lips. “So, given the circumstances, can I ask for a raise?”