The accountant came, and the accountant left.

Then, after two days, the accountant came again, bringing a new contract.

After a brief discussion between both parties, they found no objections to the terms and both felt they were making a great deal.

After Ji Jue signed, the accountant pulled out a knife from his pocket, huffed on the handle, and stamped it down onto the paper, leaving a mask mark with interlocking swords, mottled and fierce.

In the name of the Returning Home Knight Order, a contract was made with Ji Jue, with the Sacrificial Master and the Great Group as witnesses.

It doesn't have Tian Yuan's level of enforcement, but the consequences of breaching it are equally dire.

Based on the Inheritance Burnt Offering, should the Returning Home Knight Order break their promise, they would immediately face the Sacrificial Master's punishment and be coldly shunned by the Great Group.

And if Ji Jue were to breach the contract, it wouldn't matter... it would merely mean eternal enmity thereafter.

Unless the last member of the Returning Home Knight Order perished, the blood feud would not end.

After signing, Ji Jue was promoted from a former client to the esteemed friend of the Red Country and a strategic partner of the Returning Knight Order, simply put, a major patron equivalent to the Lou Clan, a premium "Didi Hitmen" user.

For any future tasks, the hiring fee is at an 80% discount, and the knights of the Returning Knight can be called upon to come and go without a trace, guaranteeing quality work without lingering!

To be honest, although it is much more convenient, it still feels slightly off...

Heavy, too heavy!

Easily binding for 'a lifetime,' easily an 'eternal union,' asking everyone to be partners for life... too naïve!

You Great Group members think only of yourselves, don't you?!

Oh, you're still hoping to continue freeloading...

Ji Jue doesn't mind this bit of petty cash, as none of it is valuable, just ordinary works, mostly experimental pieces for bulk trials, just used to draft people as test subjects.

Before leaving, the accountant specially left Slan an iron box.

[Dead Fungus Seed]

The gray-black mold that sprouted from countless battlefields of Central Earth.

Budding in blood, growing in death, decaying in rot, repeating this cycle for countless generations, those patches of mold grew like moss, forming into clusters of woolly shapes.

If it could be used in Mutated Alchemy, it might yield unexpectedly excellent results, making Ji Jue's eyes glow with desire. Unfortunately, this is the Sacrificial Master's beloved offering, the Returning Knight Order's most closely guarded strategic material, absolutely impossible to give away.

A small handful of it, for the Returning Knights, is equivalent to a life and a victory, to produce so much truly required an investment.

Before the accountant left, he held Ji Jue's hand, sighing deeply, sharing some moral sayings like 'as long as the green hills last, one need not worry over missing firewood,' and if any unexpected turns occur, never to act impulsively.

You come to Central Earth, and we'll set up a factory to take care of you!

The abacus beads almost sprang toward Ji Jue's face...

Not just this squad of the Great Group in front of him, but over the next week, three more squads—around forty people—came one by one, all former Returning Knights earning extra income around the Federation and the Seven Cities Alliance near the surrounding seas, rushing over through the night upon receiving the news, to lend Director Ji a hand.

The money didn't matter, since the number of heavy exoskeletons Ji Jue delivered was calculated per head, one more person meant one more suit, another squad meant sending additional components as gifts.

Subsequently, personnel from the Desert Market also arrived one after another, all settling down at old Diaomao Town... among them, only Old Tang, the infamous negative reviewer on "Didi Hitmen," cast wistful glances at Ji Jue.

We're all such familiar faces, how is it you didn't call me for good things first?

We're all a part of the Great Group, I can do it too! I can even offer a discount!

Sadly, Ji Jue never discussed money with him and wasn't interested in his personal security or bodyguard services.

Are you kidding? Are you trying to help me? You're just craving my Gold Coins, shameless!

After confirming that the Eternal Dynasty Gold Coins were Old Tang's bound sacrifice, Ji Jue didn't spend as lavishly as before, keeping him at bay for now!

Letting him run errands and curry favor like a pure, naive small white lotus who received not even a token of gratitude, coquettish but filled with emotion.

You must trust the bond between us; in my heart, you are naturally different from them.

This is just a small test, you certainly won't let me down, will you?

After a little trial, Old Tang had already spun the grindstone into sparks.

The Great Group, truly efficient…

Meanwhile, he also took the opportunity to upgrade the security team's equipment, rushing to produce those imitation armor weapons he had previously researched, conducting small-scale equipping and training.

After all, all were ace fighters of the veteran club, capable of emerging unharmed from Central Earth's mire and re-entering the job market in Spring City; each one was a top fighter among their lines, naturally without concern regarding quality and capability.

Double wages, bonuses and allowances maxed out was all it took.

As days passed, amidst intense preparations, Xinquan once again welcomed a brand new change, establishing defense lines and patrolling paths according to Central Earth's military base security standards, ready for battle, poised for action, calmly awaiting the flames of war.

And then… only then...

With the full arrival of the rainy season, the increasing rainfall slowly turned all of Hai Province into a water country, vague communications and interactions with the outside world severed, leaving only the flying airship connections and a few stable roads.

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