Ultimate Torture

"It's so bitter, so bitter."

In the workshop, Ji Jue, covered in dust, opened his eyes and got up from the ground mat, wailing, "It's so bitter, I'm so bitter."

Honestly, he had long been prepared for hardship, but he never expected it to be this bitter.

This past week had been like hell.

Professor Ye didn't resort to cramming boot camps. On the contrary, she emphasized a balance between work and rest. Besides having Ji Jue continue his previous practice, consuming the pile of scrap and offcuts in the warehouse, she only added two fixed classes each day.

One hour of basic lessons, detailing the specific classifications and branches of the Four Great Elements and the various fields of Alchemy, from the Twelve Supreme Goodnesses to Gifts, and the application of different Runes in various situations.

Pure theory.

Ji Jue absorbed it like a sponge.

Then came... the disaster-like practical lessons.

Under Professor Ye's guidance, he analyzed and practiced with the scrap and offcuts in the warehouse. Professor Ye would meticulously explain the process and problems encountered during the creation of each piece of scrap, accurately and detailedly assess Ji Jue's abilities, and then present a problem that just reached Ji Jue's limit or slightly exceeded it, for him to tackle.

The etching of Spirit Essence Circuits, the inscription of multiple Runes, the connection between subsidiary Supreme Goodness Emblems—all were problems and points that were not in the textbooks but were extremely difficult or prone to errors in practice!

As a result, Ji Jue began to fall into a frantic cycle of failure: attempt, fail, attempt again, fail again, and then attempt yet again. Only after finally succeeding once would he switch to a new problem and start failing all over again.

The excessive consumption of Spirit Essence was secondary; the psychological blow was relentless and unending, making Ji Jue's hooks clench involuntarily just by being near the furnace.

Fear.

He'd rather have this broken furnace come alive and fight him than be tormented like this!

Although, under this pressure, his skills were indeed improving by leaps and bounds, the process was simply too torturous.

And just as Ji Jue finally lit up all twelve Supreme Goodness Emblems by grinding through scrap and consuming "dog food" (likely referring to some form of energy supplement or quick fix), new lessons began.

"As a craftsman, one must understand alchemical products, especially the things one uses."

Professor Ye said calmly, "Generally speaking, a craftsman with aspirations will not use the works of others, not only out of trust in their own skill but also for more practical reasons."

On one hand, one's own creations were undoubtedly better understood than others'. How to use them, when to overclock them, and what their limits were would be crystal clear.

On the other hand, it was because... other people's things were simply riddled with too many traps!

Modern and contemporary items were still manageable; at most, they'd install a surveillance system and a backdoor. Your Spirit Essence fluctuations, condition, specific physical state, and detailed ability effects while using them would all be recorded, exposing you completely... and that was considered good. If, during a fight, the device was suddenly deactivated remotely through the backdoor and stopped working, you could only wait for death.

Going further back, to the Era of Catastrophe, or even earlier... that was a fierce competition in the Quality Realm!

Before the Taiyi Ring, craftsmen with terrible industry environments and even worse character were constantly innovating in their wickedness. Judging from the items unearthed today, some started draining one's life force while being used, some suddenly mutated while being used, some caused the user's friends and family to be cursed to death, some hid a thousand-year-old ghost that would crawl out at night to kill your entire family, and some hid a thousand-year-old ghost that would gradually erode the soul, seeking to possess the body for rebirth...

It was truly an eye-opener for Ji Jue!

And Professor Ye, with her hand on his head, ingrained a warning into his heart: in ancient tombs, Rift Worlds, or Time Ruins, if you encountered something unfamiliar that seemed powerful but you didn't understand, then simply steer clear, stay far away, and don't touch it, no matter how powerful it seemed. Some lucky ones might encounter it a thousand times without issue, while some unlucky ones might die without even touching it.

Therefore, the immediate priority was to understand the principles, materials, and effects of the alchemical items worn on one's person, such as the Emperor Figurine Fragment hanging around Ji Jue's neck—the Mouth of the Ancient One.

Of course, as a statue of the Emperor and an official genuine figurine of the Eternal Empire, no craftsman would dare to tamper with it. However, to highlight the empire's majesty and the Emperor's dignity, it had to be meticulously crafted without a single flaw.

This was the beginning of hell...

Within the thumb-sized fragment, there were thousands of Spirit Essence Circuits, hundreds of miniature Runes, and more than nine Supreme Goodness Emblems... The vast majority of them were already scrapped, and the other Gifts that the Runes and Emblems had constrained and contained had all been lost, leaving only a single Gift.

Ji Jue estimated that if it were in its complete state, its complexity would exceed that of this fragment by a hundred, or even a thousand times!

In a workshop, perhaps dozens of craftsmen would spend decades, sparing no expense or effort, to create such a symbolic item. The extravagance and madness of the Eternal Empire were evident.

With Ji Jue's current skill level, let alone replicating it, just interpreting and analyzing the structure was already killing him.

What was the difference between this and asking a junior high student who had only attended a few math classes to analyze a calculus paper? And it was only two fragmented pages, and he had to understand what they meant, how to calculate them, and why they were calculated that way.

"Just let me die..."

Ji Jue groaned in despair, lying on the table.

"We're only just getting started,"

Ye Chun, who had finally surfaced nearby, said with schadenfreude, "I went through this kind of life for more than a year when I was little."

In fact, Professor Ye had discovered in the first week that her niece was completely untalented, but she didn't stop at all, completely ignoring Ye Chun's cries and Little Pearl.

During that entire year, she crammed all the knowledge a Chosen One needed to know, learn, understand, and comprehend—from Alchemy to appraisal and all other general knowledge, including all courses from junior high to university—into Ye Chun's mind.

Until she was sure that Ye Chun could be self-reliant and live well on her own in the future.

Then, she rapidly degenerated into a parasite.

She spent her days idly, giving the impression that life was all about eating lobster-flavored potato chips more expensively, which was truly enviable... and shameful!

"Here, do you want some?" Ye Chun offered the potato chips in her hand.

Ji Jue glared angrily. Was he the kind of person who craved your potato chips?

Then, subconsciously, he obediently opened his mouth.

"...Yes!"

"Alright, stop howling. Auntie is going out today, so you have the day off."

After feeding him half a bag of chips, Ye Chun, feeling that she had already worked very hard today, lay back on the sofa and waved her hand, "Didn't you say you were going to the Security Bureau? Don't cause any more trouble."

"What do you mean by causing trouble? I'm such a peace-loving person. I'm afraid of harming ants when sweeping, and I protect moths with lampshades. I hate causing trouble the most."

Brother Ji Jue retorted solemnly. After washing up briefly in the public bathroom downstairs, he shouldered his bag and happily took Little Cow and Horse out.

The sun was bright, and the wind was fresh.

Praise freedom!

If tomorrow's classes could be a little more relaxed, that would be even more freedom!

He whistled, sent a message to Wen Wen, and then followed the address given, arriving at the busy commercial district in North Mountain District, repeatedly comparing it with the address.

He looked up, towards the front.

Before him, there was only a huge shopping mall, with people coming and going.

"Holy crap?"

Brother Ji Jue scratched his head. "Is the Security Bureau this down-to-earth?"

"Because Sister Wen said that a livelier atmosphere would help with your mood," someone answered from behind.

Brother Ji Jue was startled and saw the child leaning on a cane. His short hair was cut to his ears, and his face was tender, as if he were still in junior high school, with a youthful aura rushing towards him.

"Hello, are you Brother Ji Jue?" the newcomer asked politely.

"Ah?"

Brother Ji Jue was stunned for a moment, then realized it was the person he saw the day before yesterday, following behind Wen Wen. He immediately became enthusiastic and extended his hand. "May I ask your name?"

"An Ran, 'An' from safe, 'Ran' from then. Brother Ji Jue, you can call me Little An or Little Ran." The child revealed a brilliant smile. "I just arrived too. I'll take you up. Let's go."

Saying that, he leaned on his cane and walked ahead.

Brother Ji Jue obediently followed behind, but as he glanced at the other's back, he couldn't help but wonder, was this... a boy or a girl?

"A boy,"

An Ran, walking in front, said without looking back.

"Ah?"

Brother Ji Jue was greatly alarmed. Was this a legendary telepath?

"I'm not a Heavenly Selection from the Heart Pivot. My family has been White Deer for generations."

An Ran turned back and smiled heartily. "However, people are usually very curious when they meet for the first time. Perhaps it's because I can't exercise, so my skin and physique aren't very good, making it easy to get confused."

No, no, no, this isn't a matter of skin and physique at all!

Brother Ji Jue looked up, gazing at the delicate face in the reflection of the shop window. This was bad, his thoughts were starting to go downhill... What was this pounding in his chest?!

Following behind An Ran, he finally got a sense of the Security Bureau's grandeur.

Even just the North Mountain District branch had taken over an entire floor of the shopping mall and was equipped with a private elevator. According to An Ran, there were even more exaggerated displays.

The South Foothills District branch had directly found a place to build a forty-story building, and then the team leader, Lu Shenzhou, had directly used public resources for private gain, opening the largest, most complete, and most awesome 24-hour gym in all of Yacheng... Just thinking about it was a form of mental damage to a penniless person like Brother Ji Jue, who was studying on loan.

"We're here."

In the elevator, An Ran suddenly said.

With a ding, the elevator slowly opened.

And then, a piercing scream rushed towards them.

It was like a nightmare...

Half a minute ago, in the lobby.

It was called a lobby, but it was entirely the rest area for the members of the North Mountain District Security Bureau. There were sofas, TVs, and everything else, as well as unlimited free snacks, enough for a slacker like Tong Hua to not get enough of staying there for 24 hours.

"Woohoo, here they come! Famous Quotes Bro is here!"

Tong Hua held her phone, excitedly waving her fist and letting out excited cries. "Quack, today I'm going to perform Famous Quotes Bro's famous sayings live!

My performance will definitely not disappoint Famous Quotes Bro!"

Camera, on!

Recording, started!

Her eyes were shining, full of anticipation.

I, Tong Hua, will personally record Famous Quotes Bro's glorious moment today!

Ah, please give me a monthly ticket!

There's also a theme reward in the event, but the monthly ticket gap is still a bit large. I really want it, woo woo woo woo.