Chapter 1623 - 836: Welcome—Arrival_3

Bearded and disheveled, he was almost skinny to the point of emaciation.

No idea how long it had been since he last bathed or changed clothes, with the grime at his collar pitch black, he no longer resembled the young master he once was, looking rather like a vagrant who emerged from nowhere, fitting right into the local scenery.

Currently, he lay slumped in the middle of the workshop on a bizarre mechanical metal chair, his eyes askew and vacant, drooling at the mouth, sparks flying off his entire body as he convulsed and spasmed.

He uttered indistinct, garbled sounds, as if possessed, overlapping into a sharp, piercing cacophony.

Even more sinister was the scene around him, where semi-transparent phantoms, be they human, beast, snake, spider, or octopus with countless entangled limbs, flitted about.

They moved silently like restless spirits, weaving in and out, collaboratively busy as if part of a single entity.

Upon sensing the presence of an outsider, they turned uniformly and fixed their gaze intently...

Such eerie sights almost made Ji Jue doubt whether he had entered incorrectly.

He reflexively stepped back and closed the door.

Once again, he reopened it.

No way, I thought I hadn't come to You Sui!

Thus, within the countless gazes directed at him, a trace of disdain clearly appeared—"Ji, are you freaking nuts?"

Before Ji Jue, the busy phantoms set down their work, disintegrated into a strange fog laced with rainbow light, and swiftly gathered, diving into the body on the chair.

Soon, in the once hollow pupils, the familiar glint of consciousness lit up again.

Lou Feng opened his eyes, twitched his arms and legs, raised a hand, wiped the drool from his mouth, and casually pulled out a jagged spiritual conducting interface from the back of his head.

Finally, supporting himself against the chair, he rose and looked at him.

Suddenly, a mocking smile appeared.

"Oh, isn't this the headline sensation of Desert Market, the Association's hot topic—Master Ji?"

Lou Feng asked, "What brings you to some humble golden ribbon workshop of mine today? I thought you'd already forgotten about the great deeds you pulled off!"

"What's up, any commands or lectures you'd like me to sit and listen to?"

Delivered with a barrage of yin-yang sarcasm, as always, it made Ji Jue narrow his eyes, nod repeatedly—finally recognizing the familiar tone!

"Hey, Brother Lou, no need for such formality, indeed, I've missed you too!"

With his usual nonchalant reply, Ji Jue grabbed Lou's pointing hand, vigorously shook it, skillfully pushed it down, and stuffed a milk tea into his hand.

"Here, try it out. I brought you milk tea from the city, a limited edition, you know. It won't taste good if it melts..."

Lou Feng glanced at the doggy packaging and couldn't help but smile with exasperation: "Ji, please at least think when you're lying. Do you really think I wouldn't know what the knockoff milk tea around the corner looks like!"

"Hey, it's all the same, it's the thought that counts."

Ji Jue waved his hand and strolled around his workshop, touching here, poking there, marveling, "Besides, as the chairman, dealing with a mountain of affairs, inspecting Coastal Industry—I might not have achievements, but the effort is there, isn't it just a trip... I just don't get it, we're both working for our common cause, why can't you understand?"

"I understand my ass!"

Lou Feng nearly crushed the milk tea in his hand, his eyes instantly reddening, wanting to grab a gun and blow the rascal away: "Is that what you call going out—blowing up the cesspool and just effing running away!

Do you know how much flak I took for you after you open-sourced the Three Phases? Do you know how many people you offended with your antics!

Are you aware of how much trouble those old bastards have stirred up lately?!"

"Hey, it's just a bit of hardship, don't mind it. Besides, this is all about honing ourselves. Without trial and pressure, how can we achieve greatness? You have to understand my intentions... Ahem, put down the knife, let's talk this over slowly, no need for such measures, Old Lou."

After some persuasion, Ji Jue finally managed to calm down the furious Lou Feng, though it left him sweating profusely.

No choice.

It was indeed not kind of him to leave Lou having to bear the consequences after the showoff opening in the Association.

Given the grievances now, it's understandable. A magnanimous man doesn't fret over mere words, just slip him the petty issues later.

"... However, is this another of your latest inventions?"

Ji Jue bent down, examining the complex alchemy creation beneath Lou's seat, squinting as his professional curiosity kicked in, instinctively reaching out his hand...

Then, he felt Lou Feng's icy gaze.

Helpless, he withdrew it.

What's the harm in letting me touch it? It won't lose a part.

People's prejudices, in the end, are too deep!

"It's just something still in the experimental phase, nothing to boast about for now—can't compare to the grand achievements Master Ji has accomplished in the Association!"

Lou Feng snorted coldly, snapping his fingers, as the phantoms once again split and returned to work in front of Ji Jue.

"Eh? Interesting—"

Ji Jue stroked his chin, leaning in close to examine, touching one phantom and then another, marveling, "All these are your own spiritual differentiations... How do you maintain such precision while handling so many at once? Can you keep up with the thought and control?"