Chapter 00249: Begging to Support the Family
# Begging to Support the Family
Chapter 249
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 249 Begging to Support the Family
“Huh? Already accepting their punishment so quickly?”
Ji Jue raised an eyebrow and sincerely suggested, “This kind of serious matter shouldn’t be taken lightly. Why not give it a try? Who knows, maybe this thing is all show and no substance.”
“No, no.”
Yue Ting lay on the ground, not daring to move a muscle, flashing a servile smile. “The accounts are all in my phone. The data is all on the cloud drive. The Yongji bank anonymous account—the password’s four zeros and then two ones…”
“Tsk.”
Ji Jue’s face immediately fell.
Another one given a chance, yet utterly useless.
He waved his hand, and instantly, the other huge arm of the little Ox Horse raised, aiming the gun.
With a deafening bang, the shell casings flew out, mercury sprayed, turning into slender binding strips in midair.
After securely tying him up from head to toe, Ji Jue pulled out a rotting rag from the sewer, shoved it into his mouth, and tossed him into the back of the cargo truck.
Inside the open cargo hold, another chosen one whimpered uselessly, curling up like a pupa.
They instinctively looked up and saw yet another comrade being thrown in.
Their eyes met briefly—some confusion, some surprise, some bleakness—then no one else would ever know.
After about ten minutes, when it was certain no one else would escape from here, Ji Jue folded up his folding chair, drove through the main gate into the warehouse, and saw the place in utter chaos.
There were desperate fugitives barely clinging to life everywhere.
Hmm, progress!
At least a few were still alive!
Looks like my teachings have really borne fruit!
“Brother Ji Jue, thanks for your hard work.”
Little An smiled and waved from where he stood.
“No problem. Where’s the stuff?”
Ji Jue leaned in.
Little An raised his finger and pointed.
In the cage, there was only the upper half of the disaster beast’s cub left, eyes shut pretending to be dead, trembling all over.
“Whoa, these smugglers are getting bolder and bolder.”
Ji Jue examined the worthless disaster beast cub and then swept his gaze across the huge crates, heading straight to the center and knocked on the door.
An empty hollow echoed back.
The wires were still plugged in.
He pried open the door, and a blast of cold air hit his face.
Inside the refrigerated storage, limbs and organs lay in foam boxes, coming into view.
Ji Jue calmly reached out, picked up an arm, and studied it closely before realization dawned.
“Artificial organs and limbs?”
Ji Jue said, “They’re all illegally enhanced inside… Looks like there’s a vortex cloning farm behind this.”
“I-I don’t know anything!”
Yue Ting, dragged out from the cargo hold by the little Ox Horse, finally spat out the rotten rag and cried in protest, “It’s a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding! I’m only paid to handle transportation. These things are for medical use—purely medical!”
Upon learning that the visitors weren’t rival gangs but security bureau agents, he actually perked up and dared to speak up.
“Medical use, huh? Can they turn bones into metal? Muscles—hmm, their density’s also increased quite a bit.” Ji Jue sneered, raising the wrist of the limb he held. “And this one even bears the Ministry of Defense’s mark. So tell me, who exactly are you giving medical treatment to?”
“Well… we just transport, just transport,” Yue Ting forced out a smile. “It’s a bit… not quite legal, but…”
“What about this?”
Ji Jue tossed the limb towards the cage holding the same kind of ‘playing-dead’ disaster beast cub.
“F-Fo-Fo-Fo-Fo-Fo—this is for… viewing! It’s a special client request, an exhibition animal!” Yue Ting blurted out and then spoke more smoothly with tears in his eyes, “We have special transport permits, officer! It’s all a misunderstanding… I’m from Cliff City, I’ve served Haizhou, I’ve bled for Cliff City! I want to see Customs, I want to…”
Seeing Ji Jue’s face remained smiling but unmoved, suddenly he froze.
He swallowed his saliva and wisely held back the names of his backers.
“Brothers, I understand the rules—I get it, all of it!”
He curled up twice, then forced a flattering smile: “We were careless and dirtied the doorstep of Beishan District. I will pay the fee, pay it—definitely! We accept punishment…”
Seeing him cooperate like this, Ji Jue’s smile softened somewhat.
He patted the dog’s head affectionately and reassured him, “Don’t worry, fines are definitely going to be paid. We’ll go through the process. Don’t be afraid—Haizhou is fair and just. How could innocent victims be made to bleed and cry, right?”
“Ah yes, yes, that’s right, that’s right!”
Yue Ting’s eyes widened, he shouted loudly, swallowing every curse inside, playing along with Ji Jue’s script.
But then he saw Ji Jue’s hand press against a nearby metal crate.
Gently, he tapped it.
In the hollowness of the echo, Ji Jue spoke slowly, “It’s just that, I don’t think this crate is ordinary…”
At that moment, Yue Ting’s expression suddenly changed.
Pale as death.
“Generally speaking, an aluminum alloy crate this size shouldn’t be this heavy.”
Ji Jue’s fingertips drummed on the crate’s edge with a crisp sound spreading.
Yue Ting’s face gradually grew whiter. “The echo is light and clear, the vibration delicate, the sound, the feel, the density, the weight—all wrong.”
He paused, expressionless, and asked coldly:
“—What you guys are really smuggling out—is it Shoushan Copper?”
Shan Tong, Shou Shan Tong.
One character different, but actually two completely different metals.
Shan Tong is just a spiritual conductor metal that, after complex smelting, can improve the toughness and strength of a material several times over.
It’s expensive but still commonly found, not rare.
Shoushan Copper is different.
Because of its unparalleled special properties, every area in the Federation capable of producing Shoushan Copper is strictly controlled by Central City.
Haizhou has only one mineral vein, right beside the Haizhou garrison’s main base.
The access control is so strict that even the smallest crevice must be peeled open and inspected carefully.
Besides having performance that surpasses ordinary materials, it perfectly adapts to most ‘Shangshan’ blessings and endures nine or more repeated refinements by craftsmen, retaining the special effects each process imparts.
Because of this, it is used to make the reaction chambers and precision components for top-tier power armor.
Any model that uses it is an actual decisive weapon in the thick of battle—a truly strategic material.
And if even a little leaks out, there’d be who-knows-how-many people whose families would end up dead.
“This kind of crude smelting method… surely they hired some apprentice? No, wait, they must have done it on purpose?”
Ji Jue tapped the iron skin of the crate, sneering.
If the smelting had been better, it wouldn’t have set off Ji Jue’s suspicion through just a coat of lacquer.
But this incomplete smelting was purposely to prevent Shoushan Copper from reacting with other metals.
They carefully controlled the heat and stopped right at the reaction threshold to keep its properties intact.
Too bad their skill was still mediocre—just covering up the smelter’s lack of skill in refinement.
The buyer’s skill was average too.
Otherwise, even if smelted into an alloy, after the reaction, there should have been other ways to separate it.
Two crates like these, judging the weight, would be enough for this guy to give himself a hurried and ugly exit in prison.
But how deep the water behind this is…
This was starting to get complicated.
Originally, Ji Jue was just helping out on a wild run, so why did he always get into such a mess?
He thought for a moment, ignoring Yue Ting’s pitiful whining, wrapped several more layers of the mercury bindings over his mouth, then left the warehouse and made a call.
Half an hour later, two trucks roared up.
Stopping right at the gate.
After confirming their identities, a few well-equipped men didn’t say a word and immediately started loading all the evidence onto the trucks.
As for the few scoundrels who deserved their fates, no chance to speak—they were sent off ahead of time.
At the same time, the entire Beishan District’s arrest operation was thoroughly wiped from Cliff City Security Bureau’s records.
“Oh, Brother Ji is doing well this time.”
Old Zhang, who came along, patted Ji Jue on the shoulder with a beaming smile. “Lucky you’re here. Otherwise, hauling all this stuff back—we’d be working overtime all month taking the blame.”
After learning the full story, even Old Zhang, who usually lounged around at the branch office avoiding work, was shocked.
He had no idea that investigating a smuggler could reveal so many traps!
He was truly scared.
Not scared of just a bunch of smugglers, but because all sorts of demons and monsters seemed to be cropping up in Cliff City these days like bamboo shoots after rain.
When it came to smuggling, compared to that guy who last time loaded several ships full of mutated pollutants and carted them off, this was nothing!
The turbulent times were over, but winter still wouldn’t be peaceful.
With his years of experience slacking off, he could only say: don’t rush, this is just the beginning.
The big stuff is probably still to come!
“The wind’s not right recently. You should watch yourself too.”
Old Zhang sighed, shaking his head as he looked at the crates being loaded onto the truck.
Ji Jue smiled and nodded.
Then… he shoved the Shoushan Copper ingot he’d just casually pocketed from the warehouse even deeper into his pocket.
As they say, gather what you can on the way by.
Rare opportunity like this, how could he just watch it slip away?
If you don’t take it, and I don’t take it, how’s Officer Tong going to get it?
If Officer Tong doesn’t get it, how can anyone make progress?
Besides, Tong Zhiwu already hinted over the phone—no action, no smuggling, no boxes, and definitely no Shoushan Copper.
Even if they took these two crates back, they would have to be destroyed.
For stability’s sake, not a single hair from these crates could remain in this world.
Even if thunder wanted to strike, it could not explode in this tiny corner of Cliff City.
Love where you want.
“You’re doing work for the Tong family too, huh?” Old Zhang remarked casually.
“Just friends helping each other out. Nothing big,” Ji Jue waved it off. “Besides, I’m just an apprentice, don’t even have a craftsman certificate yet. Why would I get involved in all these messy things?”
Old Zhang’s smile grew warmer.
A young one worth teaching.
Make money when you can, leave the trouble aside—that’s the way to live.
No matter how rich the Tongs are, the further the trouble, the better.
“Oh right, almost forgot.”
He slapped his bald head. “Moving into the new place, congrats!”
“Don’t tease me.”
Ji Jue sighed. “The basement at home was already packed to the brim, couldn’t really operate. So I made a little workshop somewhere else. Just moved in, haven’t really settled anything yet. When everything’s ready, I’ll treat everyone to a drink to celebrate.”
“You better do it soon. Xiao Wen has been off the booze for almost a week now—I think she’s about ready to lose it.”
Both burst out laughing.
After carefully checking the scene for anything missed, before leaving, Old Zhang also gave Ji Jue a quick physical check.
Confirming he was mostly recovered with no aftereffects, he told him to rest more, though he felt his own advice was useless, then patted his rear end and left.
Before leaving, he said that after Ji Jue’s studio was officially moved, the folks in Beishan District had a gift waiting for him.
Ji Jue itched with curiosity.
Unfortunately, Little An was tight-lipped this time, no matter how much Ji Jue asked, he just avoided his gaze.
“Seriously? So mysterious?”
Ji Jue scratched his head.
He was honestly scared.
The last time someone suddenly slipped him a gift, he was still reeling from it…
Little An blinked innocently, pitifully: “Sister Wen says I can’t say anything.”
“Alright, alright.”
Ji Jue sighed, hit the brakes, and dropped the kid off outside the arcade.
Watching him walk away, he turned and made his way toward the outskirts of Beishan District.
By the sea, near Professor Ye’s workshop, just a few hundred meters apart, was an old two-story building.
After the sea blaze ten years ago, Cliff City’s housing prices collapsed completely.
A once expensive seaside standalone house had been abandoned for years.
After returning to Cliff City, with Tong Zhiwu’s back pay, allowances, and subsidies combined, Ji Jue had enough money to buy ten such old buildings, all fully furnished.
Feeling flush for once, he struck a deal with the owner after haggling for two hours and bought it for 70% of the already pitiful price in full.
After four or five days of renovations, the place was now packed with various things still unpacked, a complete mess.
Scrap from Quancheng, recovered materials, a few lathes and milling machines that had passed through countless hands, plus the clutter originally in the basement.
All piled up haphazardly in boxes, no time to sort yet.
Ji Jue carried his bag and closed the door behind him, ensured the spiritual lock on the outer layer was intact, and that no one had entered while he was away, then headed straight for the basement.
Compared to the upstairs area, the basement was astonishingly spacious.
There stood an alchemical furnace he dug out from the ruins in Quancheng.
Ignoring the almost entirely missing supporting facilities, it could barely pass for a workshop if you held your nose and squinted.
The only problem was, aside from a broken furnace, there was absolutely nothing else.
It had the vibe of a startup company on the brink of bankruptcy.
“Still poor, still poor…”
Looking at the utterly empty sight before him, Ji Jue sighed, and slowly closed the door behind him.
Click.
A soft sound.
Immediately afterwards, accompanied by the crisp tick-tocking of a second hand, black burn marks spread out from the handle, as if flames had ignited, expanding in all directions, engulfing everything in the basement in an instant.
In a flash, everything had changed completely.
In the stillness, the ceiling rose, the floor sank, the slightly empty basement expanded further, transforming into a ruined train platform.
As the mist dissipated, an old train covered in cracks appeared like a phantom, silently materializing on the tracks.
Warm, gentle light shone from inside the carriage, illuminating Ji Jue’s face.
With a crisp screech, the train door slowly slid open.
Silent and waiting.
Ji Jue lifted the Shoushan Copper ingot from his bag, cheerfully waving:
“Hey hey hey! Folks, it’s time to eat again!”
(End of Chapter)