Chapter 1713 - 880: Good News Arrives One After Another

Before the second day's noon even arrived, on the very night the announcement was made and the world was steeped in the deep of night, explosions and gunfire already reverberated through the present age.

Before dawn, at least over thirty branches had already changed leaders, and the remaining branches either encountered attacks or launched offensives themselves, or both!

When the path of peace appeared before everyone, the election didn't make the Desert Market more civilized; instead, like a Catalyst, it made the conflicts increasingly brutal.

Inside the Federation Empire, there is the Tian Yuan suppressing everything, so even if civil strife occurs, it won't spiral out of control, still within limits. But outside the Federation and Empire, no, even once leaving Central City, there are countless struggles already brewing in the Wilderness.

And on the high seas, it can only be described as a storm of chaos.

Sea bandits and pirates, as if injected with stimulants, plunder everywhere, employed by different targets, they began launching attacks against various opponents.

In just the West Sea Area alone, over six branches have already declared public warfare, engaging in life-and-death battles, with countless tragedies occurring.

New vendettas and old grievances, sources of income, coming and going of votes... each incident, like a powder keg, piles up in one place, exploding instantly under the spark from the main association.

Even the freight ships on the coast were caught in the crossfire, targeted by Water Ghosts who were desperate for anything.

Unexpectedly easy, effortlessly simple, not even a drop of sweat or a single drop of blood shed...

From the Captain to the crew, everyone raised their hands with no resistance, handing over all the cargo willingly, not even keeping the ship, leaving directly in several lifeboats.

If everyone wasn't carrying Federation licenses and armed, they might not have even made it back.

And when those Water Ghosts joyfully took the cargo ship filled with various small household appliances back to their lair... there was no afterwards.

Skilled ship owners, seeing the Messenger Logistics logo, barely had time to react before missiles rained down like a storm from the sky.

A small deserted island, after being carpet-bombed by long-range missiles three times, saw those Water Ghosts vanish into ashes, their fencing channels thoroughly eradicated, while An Ran returned from a trip with the boss's dog head.

To Ji Jue, this was a trifling matter, so insignificant that he just signed it away without bothering.

Considering that losing a ship of goods every time was no way to go, he simply ordered every cargo ship to be equipped with a modified Peacekeeping Cat, giving those coming to negotiate surprise excitement.

The situation intensified even faster than Ji Jue had anticipated.

He had somewhat overestimated the local's caliber... it wasn't even noon yet, and countless unknown groups had begun fighting fiercely.

And after twelve noon, when the main association officially opened the voting channel, the rankings were chaos, with the standings of hundreds of Desert Market branches constantly fluctuating, every minute fraught with dramatic changes from moments before...

That's when the chaotic side of the Desert Market came to light.

On the Desert Market's platform, some branches even directly put their votes for sale, and the amounts rose unceasingly, soon ballooning to immense, meaningless figures.

Meanwhile, no one made a purchase.

The maneuver of retracting votes at will was too crafty, betrayal came at no cost; even if today's votes were secured through money, tomorrow they might turn against you once the money is in their hands.

Perhaps, this was precisely the leaders' purpose—to truly win votes, aside from the survival brought by absolute power disparity, was the need for control and holding onto surpassing life and interest stakes, and an unbreakable alliance of shared prosperity...

For more than half the afternoon, Ji Jue sat before the rankings watching the spectacle, feeling intensely thrilled.

Amid constant changes, branches came and went, role-playing successions, and fun-enthusiasts at one point collectively raised the southernmost nearly isolated Nanyuan Wilderness to the top of the rankings.

The few inhabitants and few cats of Nanyuan Wilderness were nearly driven insane, as there were few locals left, everyone living off a few whales caught over the three or four months of the year, long-declined — who was stirring things up?

That very afternoon, they applied to cancel their registration.

No more of this!

The fact proved that Nanyuan Wilderness's decision was extraordinarily correct as, under current circumstances, those pushed to the forefront of the rankings almost always met misfortune.

Everyone was battling severely, why were you suddenly thrust into this? What happens if someone decides to slap you for no reason?

Leading to those inexplicably swollen-vote branches suffering endlessly.

Especially the Mountain Land Branch on the Empire's border, which got bombed three times in one afternoon, its leader now afraid to leave enclosure, ranting on the Desert Market's platform.

What dreadful luck!

Within the entire rankings, the only exceptions were Central City and Great City.

Occupying the top two positions regularly, stable as a mountain, they had long secured places on the shore, without expending any effort, now standing by the shore, watching the tides ebb and flow with smiles.

Following them, maintaining positions in the top numbers were East City and Moon City, both among the most developed essence regions of the Federation and Empire. Frequently appearing among the top twenty were Stone Country and Iron State in Central Earth, known for years of warlord chaos, the Sixteen Cities Alliance considered the most famous between the Thousand Islands and Upper Beihai, as well as Panshi United of the South Sea...

Up till now, Cliff City Wilderness Collection remained near the bottom of the rankings, silent and motionless, with a vote count of zero, seemingly indifferent and detached.

Actually, even though it's unclear what Chen Xingzhou was plotting secretly, as far as Ji Jue had heard, since the morning he had already survived two assassination attempts...

A few minutes ago, the spokesperson for Tide City was reportedly poisoned, their fate unknown.

At this critical moment, Chen Xingzhou still manages to appear frequently in public, proving he's the pressure king of Cliff City.

In comparison, Ji Jue's side could be described as having continuous celebrations.

As everyone knows, whenever there's a fight, you need some tools. If you have a knife, you use a knife; if you have a gun, use a gun; if you have a big truck, naturally it's half-hanging impact; if you have explosives, it's a total family carnival.

And now, as one of the few major arms dealers in the West Sea, Ji Jue has just started his business, and orders with doubled fees are already lined up for almost half a month later.

Currently, in the warehouses of Sea Abyss Park, just printing out the shipping lists has already scrapped four printers.

"Still going up, Mr. Ji!"

On the phone, Yan Chang's voice was filled with astonished joy: "Even the golden bullets are sold out, they've quintupled in price and people are still scrambling to buy them, the inventory in Tower City is not enough... Shaban is nearly going insane, clinging to me and refusing to let go, insisting on securing the goods before they'll leave."

"Then let him die!"

Ji Jue rolled his eyes: "I'll make a call, first go to the Federation Military Base and borrow some for emergency needs. Later I'll contact Star Core Association for expedited delivery.

Don't rush to hang everything at once, piece by piece. As for the price... let Old Gou decide."

"Alright."

After hanging up, Ling Shuo called.

Not only the knock-off Wild Bull assault rifles, but every long and short gun in the warehouse, from single-shot to semi-auto to full auto, was already nearing complete clearance.

The demand for bulletproof vests was skyrocketing, and the prices for the Sun Dial Series protective gear were also climbing steadily. As for the civilian Peacekeeping Cats by Coast Technology, aside from throwing money to allocate stock, it's practically impossible to buy an original!

The mass-produced creations listed under Taiyi Ring and Tianping Commerce were also being sold crazily, with sales so high that Lou Feng was laughing till drooling. The production line along the Seven Cities Coast was sparking brightly, working 24-hour shifts without stopping. Missing this peak opportunity, where else could you make such insane profits?

The booming market left Ji Jue nearly lamenting the missed opportunity—how come you only hold this Desert Market selection event just once? What if we did this annually, what a great occasion that would be!

Every year, picking a fixed time, everyone agrees to raise prices and promote sales, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Alas, the opportunity comes only once.

Thank goodness for the abundant inventory beforehand, or I'd be watching the market slip away here with no gain, likely ending up hanging myself in the workshop!

Looking across the entire market, even having made such insane profits, compared to his peers, Ji Jue was still considered as offering good value for money.

At the very least, he sold the Wild Bull along with two magazines and a box of bullets, and guaranteed they were brand new, not second-hand, never passing off rusted goods as ninety-nine percent new for personal use, plus a warranty for three hundred rounds, with no-questions-asked exchange within a day!

Just as Ling Shuo's expansion spread, a retail to wholesale sales chain had established along the Coast, squeezing out plenty of competitors while preparing to reap vast profits.

Meanwhile, as per Ji Jue's instructions... he began to stir up the West Sea wantonly.

A simple phrase 'Internal competitor discount of twenty percent' lured a group of Desert Market branches like fish hooked!

Even people from the North Sea came attracted by the name, making large purchases.

As for selling to both sides, that's basic practice. When your neighbor starts stockpiling guns, you'd better have some goods in your warehouse too, or you might find the ensuing events quite amusing!

As a result, while the fight raged upon the Endless Sea, the merchants in the Seven Cities were profiting handsomely, laughing so hard they couldn't close their legs.

Even cheering on the chaos, secretly offering buy-one-get-one-free, and providing the weaker side some slight support, encouraging an even livelier brawl...

Everyone's got guns, he's not worried a bit!

Consequently, after almost getting sent off by a big truck, Chen Xingzhou was speechless upon hearing the news.

Just felt his own worries were purely redundant.

If Ji Jue wanted to stir things up, would he need reminding?

He didn't even need to do anything, just clearing out the Seven Cities' inventory would be enough to wreak havoc across the more than three hundred islands of the West Sea, over forty Desert Market branches in total chaos!

No need to spread rumors as a reminder.

There would naturally be those like the desperate White Deer, eager for a last chance, who come knocking!

The first evening of the Desert Market election, someone with a bloody aura and a bandaged head walked into Ling Shuo's office.

A man from West Sea's Broken Reef Branch said nothing, carrying a whole box over two tons of Purest Gold Essence with one hand, while holding a thick stack of order forms in the other, slamming it onto Ling Shuo's desk.

No more chatter, hurry up and take my money!

Rushing to retrieve goods for a fight!