Chapter 1881 - 966: Distant Worries, Immediate Concerns

It's no use regretting now, there's no medicine for regret available in this world.

Back then, Ji Jue's combo was too smooth and complete, turning Han Hui into a nervous wreck. Now, he's probably scared to show his face!

Even if he had left some leeway for him?

Just a tiny bit of insignificant hope, it would have been easier to lure him in!

Now the fish won't bite, and the water won't dry up; he can't possibly bring Nirvana out himself, can he?

"Hmm..."

Ji Jue's eyes lit up, and a small clever idea suddenly popped into his head, something that might not be allowed by Federation law.

Speaking of which, if he secretly spread rumors about a spiritual medicine that could treat or delay the [Rock Dye] disease, placing it near the East City peripheral, no, that's too close, it should be farther, but not too far, Kunwu Plateau sounds good, and then...

Once the thought started to slip, solutions immediately outweighed difficulties.

In less than ten minutes, a complete fishing plan had already taken shape.

Unfortunately, after calling Chen Xingzhou, he had to regretfully abandon the idea... because the people in East City already had this thing, and they had already sent it to the heavily injured Mr. Han.

Han Hui's plan to slack off was quite successful.

Supporters finally doubled down, or rather, produced a more generous loan agreement, urging him to hurry up and get back to work.

"Tsk..."

Ji Jue hung up reluctantly, restraining the impulse to urge Chen Xingzhou to drug him quickly.

"Isis, establish a long-term project to monitor Han Hui, Xu Youquan, and relevant forces, elevate them to the A3 level."

[Project plan established]

Isis's tone seemed encouraging: [Sir, I admire your active engagement]

Ji Jue's expression twitched slightly, not wanting to continue on the subject.

"Any new updates or discoveries lately?"

[Seven Cities Coastal Group has completed formal integration and upgrade; parts of weapon production lines have been transferred; Central Earth Bai Bangfu National Army's weapon needs have partially increased, Ni Lin's report has been sent to your terminal, further discoveries have been made in the collection of Blade Teeth's heritage; news from the Northern Realm, there are more than sixty segments of audio messages, each lasting a minute. Do you need them played for you?]

"Ahem, no need, just summarize and organize them into a text version, store it in the personal attacks database for me to retrieve when necessary."

Ji Jue waved his hand: [Send a reply to Master Huang Xu in my name, and also mail the previous agreement to him.]

[Alright, sir, you're truly a good person!]

Ji Jue felt a bit flattered by the praise from Creation.

Who wouldn't say so?

Isis's report continued: [Security Bureau's cleanup plan in Hai Province has new gains; Sea Tide Military Industry's Power Armor project update, the prototype optimization completed, after completion of collaboration and testing, it's ready to officially participate in weapon procurement bidding for Hai Province and Central Earth garrison bases.]

"Hai Province garrison base?" Ji Jue's action paused for a moment.

[That's correct]

Ji Jue's eyebrows immediately furrowed.

At this crucial moment, the Hai Province garrison base is opening for bids? With such a generous budget? A base that might be merged into the Leviathan Fleet, yet still possesses such rich resources?

He fell into thought.

The key isn't the weapon procurement bidding, but the signal released by the Military Department because of it.

For the short term, they'll maintain the present state, without drastic changes; otherwise, even if it's meant to mislead, they wouldn't throw such a large sum just to release smoke bombs, right?

In other words, the Leviathan Base matter hasn't been settled even now.

"Have there been any changes at East City's related base?"

[Currently collaborating with several companies to develop a new generation of Power Armor Systems, with great momentum]

No significant movement.

Similarly, business as usual.

Unable to gain from either side, both are still competing, still fighting.

Ji Jue started to scratch his head, pinch his chin, and suddenly a thought popped into his head.

Wait, could it be that this thing is Central City's carrot to bait the donkey?

Offering a bit of sweetness to lure Hai Province and East City into a run-in, intensifying their competition and conflict, and then acting as a judge to evaluate, after all the benefits are gained, you can't find fault with their proceeding.

Maybe.

But for what purpose? Why would the Military Department cooperate with you to act out this play? Is the specialist's influence that strong?

Though possible, it's just improbable.

Central City isn't foolish enough for that.

Then why does the Leviathan Fleet's site selection seem to be delayed indefinitely? Given the current circumstances, Central City's stance seems to suggest indifference about whether the task will be done.

No, it should be that at this crucial moment, they've become more cautious.

Still wavering.

Debating whether to proceed!

Why?

After a long thought, Ji Jue took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

The greatest possibility is that the meaning represented by the Leviathan Base and the interests involved are larger than he imagined, even larger than he once thought…

Why? Is it just a military base for deterrence, or if it's more than just deterrence?

A flash of understanding crossed Ji Jue's mind, and he suddenly realized.

That is to say... war?

Against whom?

Who else could it be?

Who else but the Empire could make the Federation so cautious?

"Isis, has there been any movement on the Empire's side?"

Soon, amidst the many news reports, a message surfaced in Ji Jue's mind from Isis's report: [A week ago, news emerged that in the East of Endless Sea, the Rock City Alliance officially began discussing a lease agreement with the Empire's Light Stone Energy company. The agreement would transfer the sovereignty of an entire large island for a ninety-year period to the enterprise, which is still under consideration.]

As he looked at the satellite images of the vast and astonishingly flat island, Ji Jue pinched his chin. It looked for all the world like a large military base capable of deploying an entire Space Airship Fleet.

He couldn't help but chuckle.

What does it mean to be a grinning tiger with two Huxia sharks? What does it mean when the good times bring a bittersweet end... is this preparation already underway?

Yet the configuration of the Heavenly Element Two Poles reaping the present world has persisted for hundreds of years. How enormous must the interests be to warrant both sides going to war?

But if they are preparing to fight, why are both sides so hesitant?

As the saying goes, a great wind arises from the end of a green leaf; truth be told, not even a green leaf is in sight now, at best, only a slight increase in the density of algae in the pond has been noticed.

Yet everything seems to point ominously towards the worst possible outcome. Even if the chance is only one percent, who can guarantee the situation won't worsen to that extent?

The missing information is so great that Ji Jue simply couldn't comprehend it.

What on earth are these insects up to?!

After issuing a command for Isis to continue monitoring related information, he focused his energy back on work.

His eyes fell on the brief at the foremost and most conspicuous position of the system: [The fourth batch of bait has been distributed. The fifth batch is ready and enters the dissemination phase, with the scheduled completion in one week.]

"Let's prepare the sixth and seventh batches simultaneously," said Ji Jue. "We can increase the quantity a bit, let's tentatively set it at one-third more."

[I must remind you that given the current regional scale, more results might not be achievable in the short term.]

"Then let's do it for the long term."

Ji Jue nonchalantly waved his hand.

Upon command issuance, the Paradise System began operating again.

At this very moment, factories and equipment across New Spring, Tide City, Cliff City, Seven Cities, and even Central Earth received instructions from afar, causing slight changes to the original production plans.

This was regarded as yet another minor adjustment by everyone, overlooked without concern, and implemented.

Meanwhile, at the old port of Spring City, as a cargo ship appeared at the sea's edge, another fully laden cargo ship was already departing...

Just like the old wisdom during the White Country era, leveraging the daily mass flow of goods today, a vast array of recovered clothing, old mobile phones, second-hand rice cookers, and other commodities were drifting along the streams of Messenger Logistics and numerous commercial operations, like dandelion seeds, in all directions.

However, unlike in the past, the residual spirits fine-tuned according to the Spirit Reaction of Wolf Evil, after multiple technical upgrades, can now respond to nearly all Great Evil's Spiritual Change.

Especially concerning the Evil Cult's three main branches, the remaining pollution from many common Secret Rituals will produce different decay changes and traces.

Since the Evil Cult appeared in the ruins of Spring City, this net had begun weaving and gradually was cast over Hai Province, Thousand Islands, and the entirety of Messenger Logistics' coverage.

This time, it wasn't just Ji Jue acting alone; he roped in the Tong family too!

With substantial support from the Ether series, the precision of this passive-trigger feedback underwent a qualitative change, and the level of concealment greatly improved.

With the surge of short-term orders and the massive flow of materials, within just two weeks, an initial coverage was completed, and preliminary results were obtained.

The first piece of credit that fell from the sky landed on...

...the head of the Security Bureau's Northern Mountain District branch's daily tearful stay-at-home child, Tong Hua!

Consider it a way to let the child have a good year.

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Kunwu Plateau, Jiushan Town.

This is one of the main access hubs of the entire Kunwu Plateau. Thanks to the massive outflow of mineral products, and the comings and goings of numerous convoys and their consumption, over time, small settlements gradually expanded into bustling towns.

Large trucks loaded with minerals rumbled down the roads, the constant roar day and night having become the town's routine background noise long ago.

Just as the afternoon was nearing dinnertime, the town's streets grew livelier, with restaurants, fast-food joints, and various appealing pinkly-lit places on both sides eagerly attracting customers.

On the street outside Rongxin Mining's warehouse, a seemingly unremarkable, battered old Coastal van pulled over, and a teenager jumped out from the passenger seat.

Carrying a long narrow cloth bag on his back, which looked like some kind of prospecting equipment, the boy curiously surveyed his surroundings with his handsome face full of curiosity and unwashed innocence.

Instantly, he drew the attention of countless hairdressing industry sisters, almost overwhelming him completely.

After half a lifetime of coarse grains, upon seeing a piece of fine rice, everyone nearly lost their restraint and tried to make a move.

After much effort, the boy struggled out of the crowd, still politely nodding and declining numerous invitations, hurrying on his way.

The many hungry sisters watched him enter a fast-food restaurant and sit down, only reluctantly leaving.

Amidst the impervious fumes and alcohol smell inside the store, the boy, undeterred, sat on the dirty-stained furniture, ordered a bowl of fried rice and a soda, and curiously watched his surroundings.

Just like any young person visiting for the first time.

His gaze occasionally swept past the warehouse and factory areas outside the door.

"Sister Huahua, I'm in place."

Security Bureau Joint Special Operations, Cliff City Special Envoy, An Ran in position!