The future?

Ji Jue lay on the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling.

It always feels like a somewhat unfamiliar term, though he's already used to it.

In the past, those who looked down on him would intentionally or unintentionally say things like, 'In the future, a wild child with no parents will probably end up begging for food.'

Lu Ma, while stewing soup, would watch him carrying tires and memorizing words downstairs, always smiling and telling him, 'You'll definitely accomplish something in the future.'

Seeing some of the young masters in the same research group clubbing and going to bars, they would occasionally reply to messages with a good mood, telling him to work hard so he could work for them in the future.

When he received his level three qualification, that ill-tempered but kind-hearted counselor looked at him for a long time and told him, 'You'll certainly be a great engineer in the future.'

Many people have spoken to him about the future.

Now, when his teacher mentions the future, he suddenly feels like the 'future' he thought was so distant doesn't seem that far away.

It might even be close at hand.

For the first time, he realizes that his future holds value.

Accompanying this realization comes an undeniable impulse and urgency.

"The future, huh."

He whispers softly, looks down at the silent Hai Xiang Mirror in his hand, exhales deeply after a long time, and props himself up.

Perhaps it's time to consider it.

.

"Did you come this fast?"

When Ji Jue found his teacher in the study, Ye Xian, who was looking at documents, seemed rather surprised. She took off her glasses and looked over: "I thought you'd at least show off your new acquisition to A Chun."

"Ah, well..."

Ji Jue was instantly embarrassed: "Even if I like to flaunt, I'm not that reckless, right? Besides, this kind of thing is also..."

Showing off the family heirloom in front of Ye Xian, the rightful descendant of the Ye family, who is also a kind senior to him.

Even if his morality was dubious and his quality was in sustained decline, he wouldn't be so heartless.

"She wouldn't mind, or rather, she'd be glad to offload this burden. Do you really think she's the kind to enthusiastically reinvigorate the family?"

"..."

Frankly, yes.

It's hard to imagine the idle senior putting in the effort to shape things up.

"She takes these matters lightly, including donating the family's previous assets to the Chongguang Church, which was her suggestion," Ye Xian said indifferently. "Tradition is tradition, as long as it can be passed down, it doesn't matter if it's the Ye family, the Ji family, or any other name.

As your teacher, I hope you don't become the kind of fool obsessed with family, power, and interests, but once something's in your hands, you're free to handle it however you wish, as long as you don't waste the effort put into it."

"That's too far ahead."

Ji Jue sat down and sighed softly: "Honestly, I don't feel much about it right now."

Having just touched the threshold, solidly stepping forward is the right path, rather than dreaming of what to do if you hit the lottery jackpot.

Though he does envy families like the Tong family, who control half the city, or the grand estate like the Luo family, he has no desire to dive into those convoluted struggles.

"Well then, let's discuss some serious topics."

Ye Xian pondered for a moment and suddenly said: "Have you thought about what to do in the future?"

"Uh..."

Ji Jue scratched his head for a long time, recalling his childhood dream: "An astronaut?"

"If you applied to the Federation Aerospace Bureau now, they'd certainly welcome you with open arms. You're the perfect figure for their Star Wars program.

One cup of tea, one pack of cigarettes a day, waiting for work to end with ease and leisure," Ye Xian nodded and said: "Sounds pretty good."

"..."

Ji Jue's expression twitched, pondering for a long time, unable to detect any sarcasm or mockery from Professor Ye's words; he found himself unsure:

"Are you serious, Professor?"

"What else could it be?"

Ye Xian straightforwardly retorted: "If you're serious, I certainly have no objections. As long as you don't lie on the couch next to me every day eating chips and making a mess, it's all good."

She sighed helplessly: "One idle freeloader at home is enough; any more would be too bothersome."

Ji Jue deeply agreed.

Could hardly help but want to nod.

"The legacy from the Ember line is indeed tight-knit, and the student-teacher bond is particularly solemn, but talk as we may, we're ultimately different individuals. There are cases of fathers and sons turning against each other, let alone mentors and apprentices."

Ye Xian shook her head coldly: "In the past, I broke away because of that old guy at the Heavenly Furnace; naturally, I won't let such exceptions recur in you.

Furthermore, fools who just follow their mentors blindly irritate me.

If you have thoughts, there's no need to hold back. Regardless of whether the rationale or motive is proper, if you've thought it through, I'll support it."

Generally, workshops and apprentices sign contracts.

Everything from loose agreements allowing freedom of entry and exit to degrading indentures is common. Conventionally speaking, the bond between apprentice and mentor, craftsman and workshop, has always been binding.

Apprentices, upon receiving their craftsmanship license, regardless of their aspirations for independence or freedom, would typically serve the workshop for at least five to ten years, sometimes even staying for a lifetime.

After all, the cost of training a craftsman isn't small, and the pressures they face are as great as anyone else's, not to mention the terrifying consumption—being able to lean on the workshop and academia for steady progress is desirable.

Whereas talents like Ji Jue, who are let loose but occasionally bring back pleasant surprises, are rare, so are mentors like Ye Xian who mind little other than guiding.

"For now, I still plan to stay in the workshop."

Ji Jue earnestly replied: "The Xiang Sword Theory research has just begun, there's no rush to decide on future matters."

These related matters, he has definitely pondered.

Moreover, he sincerely believes staying in the mentor's workshop for life isn't a bad thing.

Upon achieving the goal of becoming a craftsman, besides the Xiang Sword Theory research, he also plans to seize opportunities to gather more materials and earn a fortune.

Once the train repairs are done and his mobile workshop is established, from then on... naturally, he can go wherever he pleases!

Huang Province, Yunzhou, Shuzhou, Hai Province... Thousand Islands, Central Earth, Empire...

The world is vast; even a lifetime isn't enough to explore it thoroughly, not to mention the numerous Crack Realms and Time Ruins.

Roam the blue sea in the morning and the green peaks at dusk.

With the Doomsday Special Train at hand, all the world's treasures and resources are his!

Other than that, as a craftsman, he could make an effort to improve his rating within the association—blackening, whitening, redification. Once he reaches redification, he would be respected as a master, just like his teacher, wherever he goes.

Building on this, he could strive to become a Grandmaster.

And incidentally, wipe out the Evil Cult… hmm, can't let the Dragon Sacrifice Ceremony bunch off the hook either.

The things he wants to do aren't too many, nor too few.

His goal is to one day storm into You Sui and give Jian Yuan two big slaps in the face, and then rush into the Association to give Heavenly Furnace two big slaps in the face.

Work hard, strive, and slap faces!

The meaning of life is to slap whoever's face you want to slap!

Ye Xian neither agreed nor disagreed with Ji Jue's face-slapping theory.

She sighed softly after a long silence.

"If you follow my arrangement, I will get you out of Cliff City."

Her gaze withdrew from the window and turned towards Ji Jue: "While you're still young, whether you cause trouble or do good deeds, from Central Earth to Thousand Islands, then to the Empire, and finally to Central City.

Exchange and compete, life and death… all up to you. If you can still come back alive, you'll naturally be a master, and the path forward doesn't need further explanation from me."

This is actually the best arrangement.

For a student like Ji Jue, as long as you let go of the leash, he will begin to grow unrestrainedly, charging and crashing around like an out-of-control runaway semi-trailer, creating a future.

As long as the direction is pointed out, there's no need for meaningless actions.

"No, no, wait—wait a minute…"

Ji Jue was flabbergasted.

Stunned speechless.

Why does this process sound so familiar?

Why does it seem so much like back when you… damn, back then didn't Jian Yuan also…

Bad, could this be some kind of sect tradition?

This is a bit too discordant!

Just graduated and already starting to kill colleagues, struggling to make some friends, and after a round like this, how many will be left? But he had to admit, this really does train a person. Apart from it being easy to die and costing colleagues, there don't seem to be any other drawbacks.

But what if you really die!

Just when he was feeling uneasy, he heard Ye Xian say, "However, now it seems I might have to change my mind."

He instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet his heart quickly leaped into his throat again.

Because of the serious expression on Ye Xian's face.

She said, "Since you don't have anything specific you want to do, well, I have a troublesome job to assign to you."

Ji Jue straightened up intuitively, sat formally, and awaited instructions.

"Related matters should have been discussed with you earlier. The reason I asked you to obtain the craftsmanship license was because of this."

Ye Xian rubbed her brow and sighed self-deprecatingly: "Even now, you still have a choice, Ji Jue. You needn't have any concerns. Whether you accept or refuse, stay on for further study, or withdraw, it's entirely up to you."

"Just think of it as a job."

She said, "I need you to willingly jump into a mess, with unpredictable consequences."

"Into a pit of knives and flames, teacher."

Ji Jue nodded decisively, without hesitation.

Even without asking why, without thinking: "Killing Xu Chaoxian it is? Count me in!"

"…" Ye Xian remained silent.

Ji Jue looked at her somewhat confusedly, and after a while, asked in shock: "Not Xu Chaoxian?"

It was rare for the teacher to be so serious, he'd already prepared himself psychologically for settling his family, donning a mask to storm into the governor's mansion, and becoming an outlaw.

After all, there were not many things in the world worth her being so serious about.

"Perhaps a bit more troublesome than killing Xu Chaoxian."

Ye Xian shook her head, having no expectation of her student's outrageous mindset,

Simply told him outright:

"I need you to take the position of acting director at the Coastal Automobile Factory."

Now, it was Ji Jue's turn to fall silent.

Stunned.

"Huh?"

Ji Jue was bewildered, for a long time, pointing to himself: "Me?"

"You." Ye Xian nodded: "Previously, you were just a nominal researcher. Now, taking on the position of acting director is a kind of promotion."

"No, this isn't right, is it?"

Ji Jue felt something was amiss: "Is this appropriate? I…"

"Why wouldn't it be appropriate?"

Ye Xian slid the documents in her hand over, "If you agree, I will transfer my shares to you, making you a member of the board.

At face value, these shares are roughly valued at fifty million or so.

But are you sure you've thought it through?"

Ye Xian asked: "Do you understand the significance behind this?"

Significance?

What kind of significance could there be?

An automotive factory half alive, with production lines that have been stopped for who knows how many years, a relic unable to keep up with the times, is there any reason to restart it?

Unless… unless…

Ji Jue stood frozen in place.

Unless what's being restarted isn't the meaningless shell of the Coastal Automobile Factory.

He finally realized:

"Coastal Military Industry?"

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