Chosen: Beyond Fate

One look at his wristwatch was enough to tell.

A few days ago, he had only just managed to complete Level Two back in Cliff City, grinding away until number 3 finally started to show. Yet after coming to the Recycling and Processing Department, his progress had skyrocketed to sixty percent in just four or five days.

His progress bar shot up like a download with premium speed unlocked, climbing so fast it simply would not stop. It rose so fast that even Deus Ex Machina could barely digest it all.

If his time in the workshop had been like nibbling tiny portions of rare delicacies by candlelight on an empty stomach, then this place was a free street-food buffet where he could gorge himself to his heart’s content.

There were at least forty craftsmen involved, each of them fully focused on making different batches of equipment. They belonged to different schools, and they had different styles and areas of expertise. It was practically the same as having more than forty craftsmen pour everything they knew into Ji Jue, giving him private lessons and forcing enlightenment straight into his head.

By now, even when working on the same task, Ji Jue could easily tell one craftsman’s work from another through his almost hallucinatory perception. He could pick out everything, from the subtle differences in material proportions, the different priorities behind each spirit circuit’s construction, and even the tiny quirks born of their personal habits and experience.

Between the Security Bureau’s inspection process and the brutal erosion of corruption, any substandard products had long since been weeded out. Everything that made it to Ji Jue now was a perfect-score answer sheet.

Even so, Ji Jue could still tell the difference. Some people scored a hundred because they had barely scraped together enough points to get there. Others scored a hundred only because the scale stopped at a hundred, and there were no extra points left to give.

Judging from the craftsmen’s personal marks and signatures, the containment equipment that impressed Ji Jue the most out of all the batches actually came from Master Zhou Zhong, the very same Master Zhou he had argued with just a few days ago.

Based on Ji Jue’s current experience, he could vaguely sense that every work bearing Master Zhou’s mark had almost certainly not been made by a single craftsman. Instead, they felt like the result of many craftsmen working together in one coordinated push.

Despite the divided work, everything fit together seamlessly. The different parts never clashed, and even the occasional flaw was covered and reinforced by another step in the process. Under Zhou Zhong’s strict coordination, a dozen or so apprentices were able to produce work so polished that ordinary craftsmen could only look on in awe.

Throughout the entire process, Master Zhou was the one directing everything from the center. His style and personal mark ran through the finished work, with no trace of anyone else’s interference.

There was no need for personal flair, unique style, clever ideas, or sudden bursts of inspiration. As long as they followed their teacher’s arrangements and orders step by step, even apprentices who were normally only good enough to assist could take part in refining works far beyond their own limits. In fact, the lead craftsman could also distribute the workload among the others, easing his own burden while raising the final quality even further.

This kind of technique was practically a match made in heaven for Ji Jue’s Deus Ex Machina!

After all, if anyone else wanted to use this technique, their apprentices and assistants could not be too incompetent, and they would need a long time and plenty of effort to build up proper teamwork. Ji Jue did not need to go through any of that trouble. All Deus Ex Machina had to do was touch someone with its little hands, and boom, the perfect tool was ready to go.

If he could control several puppet assistants with their own spirit intelligence to help with alchemy, wouldn’t his speed, efficiency, and even his potential skyrocket?

Unfortunately, a technique like this was bound to be top secret, the kind of trump card someone kept at the very bottom of their coffin. Maybe Zhou Zhong wouldn’t even teach it to his sons or grandsons. Otherwise, Ji Jue really would have gone looking for a club and a sack. He’d make Zhou Cheng suffer a little, and then let the Heretic Cult take the blame.

Sadly, Zhou Cheng was too weak. There was no way such a high-level skill book would drop from him anytime soon. Ji Jue could only hope that after learning from this bitter lesson, Zhou Cheng would work hard, improve himself, and come knocking on his door again someday.

As that thought crossed his mind, Ji Jue suddenly felt a little excited. Indeed, you’re all fine jade waiting to be carved! You all have bright futures ahead of you.

Now that Lou Feng had gotten the hang of things, Ji Jue picked up his cup of water and stepped outside.

The blazing afternoon sun washed over him as a breeze drifted in from the distance, leaving him with a strange sense of relief, like he had just been released from prison.

The reason he was willing to leave Lou Feng in charge was simple. The explosive growth that the different batches of equipment from those forty-odd craftsmen had been giving Deus Ex Machina was beginning to taper off.

After all, containment equipment were only ordinary creations. They did not even possess a blessing. There was only so much effort a craftsman could pour into an item, and only so high its level of completion could go. After that first big boost, Deus Ex Machina’s growth soon began to slow.

To put it in the words of a heartless playboy, he’d gotten bored. Once he’d had his fun, he ruthlessly pulled his pants back on, lost interest, and walked away without a second thought.

After processing a few more batches, creations of this level would probably stop giving his ability any meaningful growth. If he wanted his ability to advance further, he would have to find more high-quality works and dismantle them!

The batch of alchemical works he had “picked up” from the lounge over the past few days could finally come in handy. Apart from the Heart-Poison Arrow, which would serve as inspiration for his next work, most of them were defensive Blessed Creations. They should be able to bring his ability another thirty percent or so of growth.

Once he returned to Cliff City, he could dismantle some of Professor Ye’s scrap as well. If he worked hard, he should be able to push Level Three to completion. After that, he could start looking for a blessing.

Among all the blessings linked to Pacifier, his top priority was the Origin-type blessing known as Axis of Dominion. The problem was that Origin-type blessings had to be obtained through interference with and control over the outside world. Without official cooperation, they were usually difficult to acquire, especially a rare and valuable blessing such as Axis of Dominion.

What it required was for many people to sincerely obey the rules designated by Ji Jue, follow his commands, form a fairly complete collective with him as the core, and accomplish deeds that matched the principles of Origin.

The work permit Professor Ye had given him pointed him in that direction. If he could reorganize the scattered Research Department and bring the Haian Auto Factory back on its feet, he might actually have a shot. It would probably take a long time, but that was still better than wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly.

Sometimes, the difference between having a teacher and not having one showed itself in places like this. At critical moments, a teacher could always provide the necessary conditions and point him in the right direction.

As Ji Jue thought through his future plans, the details gradually became clearer, and his heart slowly settled. By the time he came to his senses, he realized he had wandered to the edge of the outpost. At some point, beneath his hand, there was now a...

Dog?

“Woof!”

Clearly enjoying the petting, the dog happily wagged its tail and rolled around on the ground, exposing its soft belly. It nudged Ji Jue’s hand with its nose, signaling for him to keep petting it a little longer.

Behind him, Horsey, who had been quietly following along the whole time, finally let out a pitiful little beep, its headlights practically welling up with tears.

Ji Jue was surprised. “Hm? Where did this dog come from?”

Finally, he remembered. Not long after he’d sat down here, the dog had emerged from the bushes, circling him with its tail wagging nonstop. Before he knew it, it had lured his hand into petting it. Its fur felt so smooth and silky that he simply could not stop. Its long coat was a mix of pale gold and white, with few specks of dust and grass seeds stuck to it. Yet, it still felt like running his hand over silk.

It was a sheepdog. It was even wearing what looked like a harness for a leash, though the leash itself had snapped. Only a short segment was still hanging from the buckle.

The broken end of the leash hadn’t been tied back together. Instead, someone had carefully tied it into an intricate and delicate knot, making it look especially cute, as if they had given up restraining the dog and granted it freedom instead.

Now, sensing that Ji Jue had stopped moving, the sheepdog obediently poked him with its nose and began licking his hand. Its tongue felt warm, damp, and surprisingly gentle.

“Hey, hey. Stop licking.” Ji Jue pulled his hand back. The sheepdog immediately sat up straight, and looked at him with its tongue hanging out in what seemed like a cheerful grin.

How should he put it? It was actually pretty cute! Still, how had it ended up all the way out here in the middle of nowhere? It couldn't have been abandoned by its owner, could it?

Ji Jue crouched. “Want some canned food?”

After the words left his mouth, he remembered that he’d never owned a dog, so he didn’t have any canned dog food. There were still plenty of chicken drumsticks in the fridge in his vehicle, though. He could spare one, at least.

“C’mere, let me take a look!” Ji Jue called the sheepdog over and scratched under its chin. That was when he noticed the dog tag hanging around its neck, its name written on it.

The tag looked quite old. It had been worn down so badly that the name was hard to make out.

“Presi... dent?” Ji Jue narrowed his eyes and ran his finger over the scratches on the tag, checking it twice before bursting out laughing. “Your name is President? That’s hilarious.”

Who would give their dog such a cursed name? Just how bitter were office workers these days? Had they gotten so fed up with their bosses that they started naming their dogs “President” just so they could go home and smack them around?

Ji Jue chuckled and rubbed the dog’s head. Then he flipped the dog tag over. The smile froze on his face, and his blood ran cold. “Holy shit...”

On the back of the dog tag, there was only a simple logo, clearly marking who the sheepdog belonged to. It was a painfully familiar logo.

Ji Jue was flabbergasted. For a moment, he almost forgot how to breathe.

Skyrail Corporation!!!