Sir! Don't close the net!

Li Yili's expression was very serious, which made Jones also become serious, but Li Yili's next words made Jones unable to hold back.

"I'm sympathizing with you."

"puff--"

The surrounding pirates chuckled and distanced themselves from Jones.

Jones's lips twitched. He really wanted to stand on the edge of the boat and shout, "Do you want to fight me one-on-one? Okay! I agree!" But another voice in his heart strongly agreed with Li Yili's statement. If he jumped off the boat in a fit of anger and demanded a fight, he might lose something far more important: his self-esteem.

"Hmph—" Jones crossed his arms and forcefully raised his head.

In the distance, several men who looked alike but were of different builds wandered back and forth, never crossing the line.

"What do we do?" The taller man stopped and asked the others, somewhat irritated. "Boss Austin said that no matter what means we use, we can't let them start the project, so he gave us the face and the potion from Takuban, the most ruthless thug in Instar!"

They didn't know how ruthless Tuofan was; they had never seen Tuofan in person. All they knew was that Tuofan was very intimidating as a thug, and there was no Tuofan face or corresponding potion on the market.

As for why Austin has it, they dare not ask or even think about it.

“You ask us what use we are? We are you, we are all Tuoban,” the other Tuoban said at the same time. “Didn’t you see those pirates watching over there? Those pirates are real!”

Even the most ruthless thugs in India wouldn't dare.

They were all traitors to the Mercury Queen's pirates, and they all knew that they actually dared not go against the Mercury Queen's pirates.

The reason why hooligans are difficult to deal with is because they lack common sense and are prone to acting impulsively and doing unexpected things. However, this is on the premise that someone gives them the confidence and courage to act impulsively.

They both knew that the other was waiting for someone else to take the consequences first.

After hesitation, silence, and wavering, their expressions returned to calm. At the same time, they turned around, tore off the smears from their faces, and quickened their pace to flee in different directions.

Austin hired Takuban, the most ruthless thug in Instas, not them. They were certain Austin wouldn't recognize their faces, so even if they ran away, Austin would only know that the most ruthless thug in Instas had stood him up, not them. Even if they were to investigate, he could simply wear someone else's face for a while.

In India, finding someone is a very troublesome thing.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Humility is My Strength

A catapult, simply put, is an application of the lever principle. Li Yili did not expect the catapult she made using the lever principle to go to the sea, but even if it was bound to fail, she had to try. Failure after failure turned the challenge of going to the sea from something that was unthinkable into something that someone was willing to take on.

"Reporting to the Minister—five catapults are ready!"

El stood in front of Li Yili and reported loudly.

"Okay, I understand. Let's begin the experiment," Li Yili nodded and waved her hand.

"projection!"

El turned around and roared. With a crisp sound of the safety lock being released, the lever, which had been pulled up as if it might break at any moment, was lifted up. Hollow spheres, carrying sand and dust, were thrown high into the air, creating ripples on the deep-sea wall. With each splash of water droplets, the hollow spheres refracted at an even faster speed and crashed straight down toward Li Yili on the beach.

"Minister—" Seeing the ball crashing down, El instinctively wanted to jump away, so he immediately shouted and tried to push Li Yili away.

Li Yili, however, seemed to have seen and heard nothing, resting her chin on her hand and muttering something under her breath.

"Boom boom boom—"

The hollow sphere crashed down, sending up a cloud of dust.

Not only the Yunzhong, but even the pirates lying on the edge of the ship stared wide-eyed, while Jones had already landed and rushed towards Li Yili.

"It really didn't work out—"

Li Yili emerged from the smoke and dust, her chin held high.

"Okay, everyone, record the data and prepare for the second round of experiments."

Jones gaped, while El, after a moment of stunned silence, turned and waved to the still-stunned Yun Zhong beside the measuring frame, "What are you all standing there for?!"

Several cloud members immediately reacted, turned around, grabbed the rotating wheel, and spun it hard. The gears at both ends of the measuring frame, which was only an arm's length away from the sea wall, turned, and the rope, which had been taut, rose straight up to the center of the still-undisturbed ripples. The cloud members with binoculars immediately recorded the values ​​on both sides of the measuring frame.

Several more cloud followers came to Li Yili's side, picked up the hollow sphere, and put it back into the catapult, preparing for a second attempt.

Alma carefully navigated around several large pits to reach Li Yili. "Will this really work?"

“It’s useful, but only a little. The measuring instruments are too rudimentary, and the naked eye can’t achieve that level of precision,” Li Yili yawned as she walked under the parasol behind the safety line, lay down on a bench, and gently swirled a glass of watermelon juice in her right hand. “The numbers we’ve obtained so far are also very different from the actual numbers. Of course, most importantly, the sea is very deep, and it will soon reach a point where ordinary people can’t measure it.”

Li Yili paused for a moment, then raised the watermelon juice in her hand towards Alma.

"We can't possibly know how deep the sea is."

“Eh…” Alma was somewhat surprised, “So you’re planning to use this impossible measurement to wear down the fire elves?”

“How could that be? I’m not interested in how deep the sea is, I just want to get to the surface,” Li Yili shrugged. “I think I’ll succeed very soon.”

As soon as Li Yili finished speaking, the five catapults launched the hollow spheres again. Because of the adjustments, the spheres hit the sea wall much higher than before, but they were still bounced off.

“All I see is failure after failure,” Alma muttered.

“Human history is built from failures and adjustments. Compared to lucky successes, failures that can be corrected are more reliable,” Li Yili pointed at Alma and waved her finger from side to side. “If every time we could be lucky and succeed, and everyone could be lucky and succeed, that would truly be a terrifying world.”

"what?"

“Miss Alma, if everyone you know, everyone you know becomes a chosen one of God, what do you think would happen?” Li Yili slightly bent the finger she held up. “Would you want to become a chosen one of God?”

Alma frowned and was about to speak when Li Yili shrugged.

"Of course you would want to become a chosen one of the gods. There are practical benefits to becoming a chosen one of the gods. More importantly, everyone you know has become a chosen one of the gods [successfully]. Becoming a chosen one of the gods is the average. Becoming a chosen one of the gods doesn't seem difficult."

After a moment of silence, Alma nodded.

“But the risk of becoming a chosen one doesn’t decrease just because everyone else succeeds,” Li Yili said.

As he sipped his watermelon juice, he remarked, "Easy and normal success can bring unexpected and unacceptable failures, as well as pressure."

He was aware that he wasn't a genius, but also proud that he wasn't a fool. So he never thought he could get first place in any exam, and he firmly believed that he wasn't at the bottom, that he would be above average, and that he could pass any test that most people could pass.

It wasn't until he failed the Level 2 English exam four times in a row, a test that everyone else had passed, that he had a sudden realization: it was all survivor bias. You are who you are, and whether others pass or fail has absolutely nothing to do with you.

I passed the CET-4 (College English Test Band 4) on my first try, even though it's relatively difficult and supposedly has a high chance of failure on the first attempt.

"Countless failures are not terrible; what is despairing is the silence where no one dares to challenge it."

“I always feel there are many stories behind this,” Alma said with a subtle expression. It was the first time she had seen Li Yili with such a worldly-wise and detached look in her eyes.

“Everyone has many stories, but most of them are the same tragedy played out many times in different ways, and in the end they become memories that are not worth talking about,” Li Yili said, raising her cup. “Going to the sea may change a lot, but for ordinary people, it’s just one thing. Once it’s played out many times, they won’t care about it anymore.”

Li Yili narrowed her eyes slightly.

Going to the surface of the sea will no longer be an unthinkable idea, but an impossible feat.

"By the way, Miss Alma, can the Fire Elf Steelworks make springs?"

“A spring? Of course,” Elma raised an eyebrow, still pondering Li Yili’s words. “What are you going to do?”

"After testing the waters, of course we need to think about taking off," Li Yili gestured towards the catapult. "Once we've calculated the force needed to reach the catapult's maximum height, we'll need to consider a more advanced catapult system. In short, let's get a set of springs of all the different materials and styles that the fire elves can make. Oh, and if you have any gunpowder, give me some too, preferably enough to blow up your fire elf steel mill. Put the blame on Josephine."

“Minister Li Yili…you really aren’t being polite at all,” Alma said with a forced smile.

Humility is one of my strengths.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: What does his face look like?

Have you heard what Yangcun Logistics is doing on Dead Man's Coast?

In the lounge, the man who had removed his mask spoke to Bert, who was also drinking water after removing his mask.

Bert stared blankly at the man's face for a while before his gaze moved down to the man's neck, where there were obvious traces of different skins pieced together.

The man's face belongs to Nata, a gossip reporter from Instas. Nata is very good at socializing and can extend a topic to many levels. Unlike Joshua, who aims to mediate conflicts among Instas residents with the goal of giving both sides a fair and acceptable outcome, Nata always seizes the opportunity to say things that everyone likes, often saying things that seem correct but are actually quite skewed, in order to make most people "suddenly realize" and gain support.

Because it always wins the favor of most people, Nata's face is very popular among the residents of Instas. Many people wear Nata's face in their daily lives, and quite a few people, like the person in front of him, don't take it off even when they are working, and wear other people's faces on top of Nata's face.

Hearing that drinking two doses of the potion at the same time would grant one the advantages of two people, Bert did not intend to attempt such a luxury and therefore did not purchase Nata's face.

Bert put the water glass aside, opened the locker, and wiped his face in front of the mirror attached to the locker door.

Wearing a mask for a long time will cause many wrinkles to appear on your face. Bert doesn't care about the condition of his face, but he doesn't want it to affect the effect when he wears the mask. So he bought a skin care lotion that is currently popular and is said to be able to lubricate the skin and make the user's face fit the mask better.

In fact, the effect was very good. Whether it was McCarthy's face or Joshua's face, the fit was more perfect than before, and it was also much more comfortable. Sometimes he even forgot that he was wearing a mask.

"Are they having a barbecue on the beach today too?"

Bert glanced at Nata through the mirror.

He was worried that something might happen between Qi Ge and Yangcun Logistics, or more accurately, with Li Yili. However, after inquiring yesterday, he discovered that Yangcun Logistics was indeed just having a barbecue on the beach, and Qi Ge's clothes smelled of barbecue.

Although it was a bit awkward, their family wasn't wealthy, and a barbecue feast was always a luxury. It was a bonus that Zieg could eat it a few times.

“No, today the people from Sheep Village Logistics built a catapult on Dead Man’s Coast and spent most of the day hurling it at Dead Man’s Sea,” Nata shrugged, leaning against the locker with his water bottle in hand. “Pretty weird, right?”

"Huh?" Bert tilted his head.

“That was my reaction when I first heard it,” Natas said, waving his hand. “But they really did bombard the sea of ​​dead with catapults for most of the day, and I heard they plan to continue tonight.”

"Is that so?" Bert put down the towel, looked at his utterly dejected reflection in the mirror, and sighed unconsciously.

“But thinking about it carefully, they really are amazing, aren’t they?” Nata held up a finger and waved it from side to side. “They’re very different, and they might bring about changes to Instas. What do you think… emm…”

Nata looked at Bert's face reflected in the mirror, hesitated for a long time, and then...

My gaze lingered on the name pasted on an empty tube.

"What do you think, McCarthy?"

Bert lowered his head, put on the McCarthy mask, turned to face Nata, and raised his hand in a wave.

"What can you do? Don't forget that Sheep Village Logistics offended Austin, and... don't you think what they're doing is strange?"

Bert didn't know whether he was trying to prove something or McCarthy was trying to correct something; his mind was in a mess, just like when he first drank the potion.

“Uh… Austin is indeed a troublesome hurdle, but if you think about it, it’s similar to how masks became popular thirty years ago,” Nata shrank his neck and gestured nonchalantly with his hand. “A new beginning is often hard to understand. The important thing is what it can bring us afterward.”

“Ha—when we were born, Instas had already started selling masks. When we couldn’t understand anything, the adults had to accept the masks. When we started to understand everything and grew up, the masks became a part of our lives. When we grew up, we started wearing masks,” Bert, wearing a McCarthy face, closed the cabinet. “Masks gave us stable jobs and fair opportunities. What can going to the sea bring us?”

"Above the sea?" Nata tilted his head, looking puzzled. "Above the sea what?"

Bert's fingers tightened slightly on the cabinet before he smiled casually. "I heard that the people from Sheep Village Logistics seem to be trying to get to the sea."

"Ha...you must have misheard. There's no such thing as above the sea in this world. Isn't the Sea of ​​the Dead connected to the sky?" Nata turned around and opened his locker, casually complaining, "Even those favored by the gods can't reach the places where the stars stay. How could a bunch of ordinary people like them possibly go above the sea?"

"That's true."

“Well, ‘Above the Sea’ is indeed a good title,” Nata said, picking up the McCarthy mask, then twirling his eyes before putting it back in. He whistled, closed and locked the locker, and shook the key in his hand at Bert.

"Aren't you afraid of Austin?" Bert's lips twitched, somewhat regretting his slip of the tongue about the sea.

"Why be afraid? There are so many Instasos!"

Nata casually swung the key in his hand and walked past Bert toward the exit of the lounge.