Chapter 00228: Eavesdropping
# Eavesdropping
Chapter 228
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 228: Eavesdropping
In this world, the renowned noble clans and prominent families worthy of being called aristocratic lineage have exerted their influence over various realms of power.
Wealth, status, reputation, and even military might are all under their control.
For instance, the Tong family, no matter how low-key they try to remain, can shake the Cliff City with just a stamp of their foot, and with a mere turn, stir up waves in Haizhou.
The Lou family is no different, and equally formidable.
Generation after generation, they have fought, schemed, and plundered, accumulating wealth and stabilizing their authority while gaining immense prestige and deep legacies that…
This is something a wild-growing, so-called “Chosen One” like Ji Jue cannot even begin to imagine or compare.
Just the ability of “spiritual essence shaping” has been refined and developed by the Lou family to the point of brilliance, yielding countless achievements drawn from various paths of virtue.
The purity of transformation, the destruction of entropy, the changes of the embers, the suppression of the celestial origins... there are countless categories.
At this moment, what Ji Jue sensed was the resonance of spiritual essence between the heirs of the Lou family.
Lou Feng had painstakingly created a "positioning device" after a whole day of searching for his aunt.
Holding the spiritual essence fragment just retrieved from the toolbox, as Ji Jue stepped into the third floor, he instantly felt the subtle vibration of the fragment.
If he were to take it out, he would surely see the shimmering light points on the fragment ripple as they converged toward the valuable material storage room.
In the moment of relief, Ji Jue's heart sank again.
How did it end up in the material storage room...?
Could he still be alive?
Even if alive, he feared that living might be worse than death at this point, right?
He wasn’t afraid of hardship or fatigue, but he did dread the thought of exerting great effort to finally push open that door, only to be greeted by something hairy squatting on the floor staring back at him.
Even being called “Big Brother” wouldn’t cut it; being called “Nephew” would be unacceptable too!
What if Lou Feng sat there crying like a baby? Would he have to accompany him?
Anyway, better ensure the camera was prepared first.
While he awkwardly maneuvered the equipment and sorted things out, he suddenly heard muffled footsteps outside the storage room.
The bald woman beside him immediately changed her expression drastically.
She grabbed Ji Jue and pulled him back toward the door of the warehouse, lowering her head in haste.
Waiting in reverence.
Ji Jue dared not act recklessly; he followed her example and lowered his head, only to hear numerous footsteps entering from outside the door.
A few figures clad in black robes led the way, while the rest followed in droves.
They moved straight forward without pausing.
It seemed they were transporting something.
Ji Jue did not dare to look up, so he could only... cautiously sneak a peek through the hidden camera on the cart, using the pinhole camera to catch reflections in the openings of his hands and the internal lens, glancing at the external scene in a clumsy yet most secretive manner.
In the crowd, at the forefront, was an elderly man with no hair and a face full of wrinkles.
His eyes were a piercing green, concealing flames within, and just a sweep of his gaze sent chills down one’s spine.
Jian Yuan!
Accompanying him closely were several disciples, with a few others carrying an enormous box, moving purposefully inward.
The attentive disciples walked ahead, unlocking and unsealing as they opened the heavy doors, allowing the group to disappear beyond.
Unfortunately, the space behind the door was out of sight of the camera.
Ji Jue kept his head lowered, not daring to look.
He even suppressed the unusual activity of the spiritual essence fragment to halt its effects.
Soon, the group emerged again, moving more slowly than they had arrived.
The bald woman leaned slightly forward, mustering a flattering smile as she opened the door for them.
The leading craftsman merely nodded, saying nothing.
Everything felt mundane.
However, Jian Yuan's footsteps paused slightly.
He suddenly shifted his gaze to Ji Jue, who was bowing his head, scrutinizing him.
In that instant, Ji Jue felt as if his heart had leapt into his throat.
His body stiffened, heartbeat racing, cold sweat running down.
This was a natural reaction for a small fry encountering a big shot; nothing unusual.
He had realized...
It probably wasn’t because he had made some error; instead, it was likely that his current appearance was too conspicuous, especially with the walking stick—he stood out too much in the crowd.
"Who is that?" Jian Yuan asked.
The accompanying disciple, Cun Ling, brightened at once and stepped forward to answer, "A... an apprentice working in the recycling department, his comprehension is decent; there is potential for the future."
"Future?"
Jian Yuan was disinterested.
Upon hearing this, he merely scoffed and shot a glance at his own student, "You, someone like you, dares to speak of the future?"
Cun Ling's expression twitched, his head lowering further, "This student is naive."
There wasn’t a whim from the big shot looking to play a game; Jian Yuan’s time was precious, and he couldn’t be bothered to waste it on such inconsequential characters.
With a dismissive wave of his hand, he moved on.
The others hurried to follow.
In just a few seconds, the warehouse fell silent once more.
Only the bald woman wiped her cold sweat, exhaling a breath.
“The momentum of the craftsman becomes more intimidating and weighty," she mused, glancing at Ji Jue beside her.
"How do you feel?"
“I can’t feel anything heavy about the momentum," Ji Jue replied with a bitter smile, playing his part as the little Karamai, "But I am trembling, dripping with cold sweat. It's quite terrifying."
"Harboring reverence is a good thing. You’ve been seen by the craftsman, so if you get more opportunities in the future, make sure to perform well."
The bald woman waved her hand, urging him to finish his tasks and dismissing him.
Ji Jue dared not delay any longer.
After heading down, he returned to the recycling area and sat in the supervisor's chair, falling into deep thought.
As for Sun Ci, who felt his position usurped, he witnessed this scene, not daring to speak, and obediently took a seat on a nearby chair.
A middle-aged workhorse, accustomed to the trials of life, had already abandoned unrealistic dreams.
What followed was a very clear understanding of his position.
Though Ji Jue had pulled a fast one on him, at least he was stuffed to the brim with sweet dates until he couldn't take any more, and to rise from the brink to secure this position was indeed a blessing he could hardly dream of.
Being manipulated was nothing but trivial.
Unlike Bai Lu’s little Karamai, whose aspirations soared high, the workhorses of the embers had always been soberly self-aware, not minding being the big shot’s dogs.
Not only that, but he also looked forward to Ji Jue gradually rising to prominence and soon lifting him up!
As for the big brother possibly being an undercover, heh, don't joke around; that aura of corruption is stronger than mine.
You think I’m going to believe he’s an undercover agent?
You might as well say I am an undercover!
"When did you arrive?" Ji Jue asked after returning to his senses.
“Just arrived, just arrived!”
Sun Ci immediately stood up, respectfully replying, “The pass and permissions you asked for are all set. Going forward, usage of alchemical creations will not be restricted outside the workshop's caution zone. And the materials you wanted, I’ve brought all of them; they are right here. Please check; if anything is wrong, I will go find someone.”
“Just leave them there.”
Ji Jue nodded and waved his hand, prompting Sun Ci to understand and promptly stand up to leave and patrol the outskirts.
As for Ji Jue, he reached out and lifted the lid of the metal container, gazing at the silvery liquid within, and pulled out a handful of solidification beads from the toolbox, tossing them in.
In an instant, the mercury seemed to boil, and tiny silver spiders the size of a fingernail crawled out, creating a terrifying scene that would send those with arachnophobia or trypophobia directly to the ICU.
After countless spiders emerged, swirling and rolling, almost overwhelming Ji Jue’s shins.
Following Ji Jue's order, they quickly hid in the shadows and crawled down drains and into ventilation ducts, their faint noises growing distant.
Most of the spiders, while crawling, silently exploded, leaving behind only threads stuck to the sewage or ventilation pipes, trailing on.
The remnants then followed the thin lines back and transformed back into a solid mercury bead in Ji Jue’s hands.
Recycling complete.
With the help of numerous residual creations, Ji Jue's network spread from the underground workshop, burrowing through the gaps discovered over the past two days, extending upward.
But at most, it had only reached the second floor, and even that was merely the outer edges.
To go further inward would likely trigger some alarms.
And if he dared to ascend...
He would probably not even need Jian Yuan; the many disciples beneath him would laugh heartily and remind him of the lessons that "six craftsmen never go easy on anyone."
If one wanted to play tricks, they should do so cautiously; being reckless and clashing head-on with someone was just asking for trouble.
After laying the network, various situations unfolded under the scrutiny of the pinhole camera… Within this vast workshop, it was likely that there were more than sixty craftsmen working ceaselessly, day and night, tirelessly engaged in their tasks.
All those creations and works were similar to those Ji Jue had seen in Du Deng’s workshop previously.
Supports or frameworks.
It seemed like preparations were underway for some colossal secret apparatus, yet Ji Jue couldn't decipher it.
He could only document the internal scenes and store the records in his toolbox.
Finally, he found an exit at the farthest outer region.
After pondering for a moment, Ji Jue picked and chose from various components and soon fashioned three spider-like machines in his hands.
After a mechanical descent, he tossed them into the ventilation duct.
Minutes later, at the bustling and noisy exit, the three mechanical spiders opened the vent cover, fell to the ground, climbed atop the boxes, and were loaded onto a cart.
Once the loading was complete, the apprentice patted the cart, and the dilapidated truck slowly rolled away.
Thus, the tumultuous outside world came into view for Ji Jue.
Under the eternally dark night sky, a cacophony resounded from the outskirts of Spring City.
Glimmering lights fell from the heavens, leaving fiery trails, crashing to the earth with violent impacts.
A blinding light occasionally flashed in the heavenly realm, and soon, the ground trembled.
From the external vantage point, the workshop seemed like a phantom, hanging in the balance between existence and non-existence.
Even through the workshop, faint glimpses of the ruins and buildings behind could be seen.
Walls filled with looping barriers rose from the ground, encircling and enveloping the deeper interior within.
One could vaguely see a membrane riddled with holes, and massive chains appearing from the air only to vanish swiftly, binding whatever struggled within.
Amidst the roar, the tide of spiritual essence continually washed against the high walls.
The engines of the sky rail trains struggled violently, trapped in the mud...
For the first time, he was so close.
Only a few hundred meters away.
Yet it felt like an abyss.
(End of chapter)