novelraw Chapter 1126 - 578: Work or No Work
Chapter 1126 - 578: Work or No Work
So, the good days began just like this.
Ji Jue only needed to occupy the top eight floors as a temporary workshop for his peace of mind research, while Yan Fei, with dark circles under his eyes, had a lot more to do.
And Old Gou had even more on his plate.
Leaving early and returning late every day, money flowing out like water; after bustling for more than half a month, he finally tidied up another section of the factory under many cold stares and rejection.
Everything is ready, just waiting for the east wind!
Yet, just when everyone was on guard for Ji Jue to stir up trouble, Ji Jue suddenly calmed down, focusing only on research, staying in his office building and not stepping out.
He didn't care at all about what was happening outside, looking like I didn't have a choice before, but now I want to be a good craftsman, leaving everyone utterly puzzled about what the hell is up his sleeve.
Should they still snipe, surround, or weaken the Sea Tide Military Industry?
Soon, they discovered... there was no place to snipe, surround, or weaken!
In fact, they couldn't even understand what the hell Ji Jue was thinking.
Under Old Gou's management, the Central Earth factory of the Coast finally stumbled and arduously started operating smoothly.
Then, under everyone's attention, they officially launched Coastal Industry's flagship product in Central Earth!
— [Lighter]!
I'm out of work, folks, let me make a lighter for you all...
Now, not just peers who were anxious to find some sense of security, but even Dugu Ming, who was gritting his teeth waiting to teach Ji Jue a lesson, was dumbfounded.
Sitting in his office all night, clutching a plastic lighter produced by the Coast, looking it over and over.
No matter how you look at it, this thing is just a lighter!
And it's cheap to the point of absurdity, with quality so rough it's almost a match for the price, and for a giant like the Coast, there's basically no profit at all in this thing...
Come on, brother, what do you want from this?!
Amidst everyone's bewilderment, everything turned black before their eyes — you just got off the ship in Central Earth and made everyone jittery, killed that dog Mudahka with a flash of whirlwind, ambitiously entered the Central Earth track, looking like anyone blocking you would die, and everyone thought you came to expand your grand plans...
And it turned out?
It turned out to be just to sell these wholesale-priced two-cent lighters, where buying in bulk is only one-point-eight cents each?!
You could have just said so!
If you had said so, none of this mess would have happened!
In just over half a month, from "The Monster from Sea Tide Military Industry Lands at Yuan Mountain Port" to "King of Lighters, Ji Jue Arrives at His Loyal Tower City."
In their shock, stupor, and utter bewilderment, suddenly everyone felt that Mudahka's death seemed somewhat unwarranted...
To the point where, in the silence, everyone looked at each other with mixed thoughts.
Sniping?
Snipe what the hell, man!
Do they have to get into the same track and roll lighters with Ji Jue?
Forget it.
Let's wait and see.
Dugu Ming did not relax his vigilance, maintaining a high level of tension, and even instructed his subordinates to closely monitor Ji Jue's every move, reporting any changes immediately.
In the end, this is how life in jail started... after half a month, there was not a single suspicious move from Ji Jue, yet he almost knew the entire Tower City's lighter market like the back of his hand.
Every day waking up to guard against Ji Jue, and dreaming of nothing but this stupid lighter when closing his eyes.
His face getting gloomier, with more and more bloodshot eyes.
Even though the whole Tower City was peaceful, with order harmoniously stable, why on earth did he feel... these freaking days were unlivable anymore!
.
.
People might be out of jobs, but people absolutely cannot be without a lighter!
If you delve deeper, you'll find out... the more dire the situation for the poor fellas, the more they need this thing.
At the same time, no one would be unable to afford a lighter.
Even if you're so poor that you can't buy a lighter, could you not just grab someone else's?!
Even if you're caught red-handed, you could confidently counter – dude, I'm just taking a lighter from you, why so stingy?
Then do it again next time.
Keep it up!
To be fair, if it was purely to make a name, Ji Jue's move is a stroke of genius. But the key point is, if you look at it from the advertising and promotional perspective, you'll find this is completely ineffective advertising and investment.
Because, lighters are so cheap that the upper class in Tower City wouldn't bother looking, the middle class doesn't care, and for the lower class, even if they knew of the Coast, so what?
Unlike those scrappy poor folks in the Federation wilderness, in Central Earth's darn place, people could truly be so poor they're literally butt naked, starving three days out of nine!
Never mind off-road vehicles, even small tricycles need a loan, and sometimes ten people together couldn't even afford the down payment!
Since the release, a week has passed, and in the Tower City center, less than a hundred were sold, and it's inventory pressed in convenience stores. Outside of the Tower City center, in dense slums, the lighters spread widely, but so what?
To be blunt, even if nominally this place belongs to Tower City, in reality, the creatures inside don't even have human registration to the distinguished gentlemen!
When picking up garbage to burn cow dung, would you care about the brand of the lighter you use?
No one really cares.
Only the local lighter manufacturing factory, which had been completely bankrupted by Ji Jue's dimensional attack, but these small workshops don't even have a place to complain.
No, there's no need to complain.
Because they have all turned into agents.
Why bother making lighters yourself, wasting time, effort, and money, and still not earning much, when you can bring goods from Coast for us? The profit is even higher than making them yourself!
Sell them at your own price.
Don't ask why, if you do we'll say it's charity, and if you ask, Mr. Ji is kind-hearted, can't bear to see everyone suffer. Just say if you'll sell them!
Thus, the vision of the King of Lighters unfolded vigorously right under everyone's eyes.
In less than half a month, it has completely monopolized the entire low-end lighter market in Tower City, as the King of Lighters ascended his utterly useless throne.
Enjoying himself.
Entirely ignoring the gazes from others.
Even if others are observing with magnifying glasses frame by frame.
Watch, watch, keep watching, I'd like to see what you can uncover.
From the beginning, Ji Jue has never forgotten his purpose here—to find a place to settle in the city, then spread out the stall...
——Start searching for the wolf!
Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!
Even if Tower City explodes, it has nothing to do with him, he is looking for the wolf!
Ji Jue now has wolves on his mind, with Chun Jun constantly ringing in his head 24/7, isolating him from inside and outside, only worrying if his intentions are too obvious, his plans and targets too direct, leading the wolves hiding in the dark to perceive something.
You must know, the Evil Wolves with truly acute Perception can even discern malice targeting them from thousands of miles away.
This is not a problem for Ji Jue.
Because, no matter how much Ji Jue targets wolves, he is not as fierce as the Hunters of the White Deer line, truly speaking of malice and killing intent, he doesn't even rank.
Moreover, he has no malice towards the wolf.
He just wants to find his old friend Shekri to catch up...
Relying on the massive distribution of lighters, the density of the Fly King's plaques in Tower City has risen several levels within half a month. At this moment, under the observation of the Fly King, the slum is densely packed with small dots.
Compared to being completely impenetrable, it's still too sparse.
After all, in front of so many people, Ji Jue couldn't possibly place a Fly King's plaque in every lighter, otherwise it'd have long been exposed.
In reality, the true Fly King's plaque is planted in those trash pieces that are recycled for reuse, massive amounts of waste gradually turn into cheap lighters during production.
Occasionally some of them are entwined with residual spirit, it's just too normal!
So normal that if you go to the second-hand market to buy clothes that haven't been washed clean of blood, the residual spirit attached may be stronger than on that broken lighter...
Because it's too weak, it vanishes too easily, over ninety-nine percent of the signals Ji Jue receives from the mechanical spiders he placed in the sewers are false triggers, with the remaining one percent questionable in authenticity.
He is not urgent about this.
To hunt a wolf, what is essential is patience, even fishing needs waiting, a handful of Fly King's plaques thrown in, when dyeing, you're bound to catch one or two.
Recently, the traces he can find are increasing.
Through those traces resembling footprints, he can already completely confirm, Tower City absolutely has wolves!
Even, more than one...
On the surface, Tower City seems calm and orderly, but in reality, it is like a powder keg with undercurrents surging, and Ji Jue feels he is about to touch the fuse.
Just like spiders silently spinning webs, gradually, layer by layer embracing the entire slum into their net.
Ji Jue is waiting.
At the same time… it doesn't stop him from continuing to roll on!
Bang!
As if electric sparks shooting out.
Inside the workshop of the Doomsday Special Train, under Ji Jue's hands, wrapped and constrained by layers of spiritual substances, a strand of ancient bronze light, like a living entity, soared and transformed incessantly.
Maintaining the seal alone, Ji Jue almost exerted all his effort.
No way, the nature of this strand of light before him was too sensitive, its change too swift, as soon as you lose attention, it could slip through any tiny, almost undetectable gap.
Even a microscopic crack could be an open gate to it.
And once it escapes from the closed environment maintained by Ji Jue's spiritual substance, it would immediately dissipate in the mortal world, never to be seen again, rendering all previous effort in vain.
Previously, tasks requiring absolute stability were left to be assisted by Isis, but now Ji Jue has to personally handle it, cautiously maintaining until it is sealed within a special container.
Right before him at this moment, in five spiritual crystals lined up, resplendent golden, dazzling silver white, ancient bronze, plain iron grey, and a nearly imperceptible transparent hue.
Five types of ever-changing micro-lights flew and raced within the crystal, faintly resonating with each other, gathering towards the same direction across the crystal seal.
"Finally, done…"
Ji Jue wiped the sweat off his forehead, sighing lightly, exhausted after working continuously for over half a month.
This is the ultimate material purification, at the limit of active metallic nature, after consuming countless materials, using Fluid Alchemy, day and night refining and enduring, the finally concentrated result.
The so-called, Five Metals Essence!