Chapter 4 Mine Collapse: Don't be numb, don't ignore it. ...

Shen Mi knew back when he was playing the game that the so-called "peace" of the Interstellar Peace Company was nothing more than a carefully packaged sugar coating. It claimed to maintain global order, mine materials for the Amber King to build walls, and promote interstellar development, but behind the scenes, it used the chains of capital to gradually erode those resource-rich but backward planets.

They used various methods, whether coercion or enticement, to force them to sign unequal trade agreements.

Unfortunately, these fragmentary clues are like a single leaf in a painting within the vast scope of the game. The developers cleverly designed a perfectly realistic problem within this exquisite artwork, a problem that Chen Mi noticed, but remained just a lingering thought.

You can't feel the heat until the fire touches you.

There is a barrier between words and reality. Only after experiencing it firsthand did Shen Mi deeply realize that the oppression and exploitation he had seen on the screen were not exaggerated dramatic effects, but rather the cruel reality that was really happening in some corners of the world.

The barrier between words and reality collapsed completely the moment she set foot on the desolate planet.

In the game, resource plundering is simplified to a few lines of plot text. Here, it means hollowed-out mountains, bottomless mines, ravaged land, miners in tattered clothes with numb eyes, and the Savares standing beside her, wearing oversized safety helmets and with a touch of naivety.

The "development" and "opportunities" brought by the Interstellar Peace Corporation have turned into parasites hidden beneath a glamorous sugar coating, gnawing away at the desolate planet and leaving it riddled with holes.

When she saw those storylines in the game before, she would at most frown and sigh, "What a cruel setting," before continuing to advance the main quest. But now, she could no longer remain indifferent.

There is no exit button or restart option in reality.

And she—has become an insignificant fallen leaf on this land that has been devoured.

Shen Mi felt sorry for Shavalei's plight, but she was powerless to change or resist such an environment. All she could do was take care of her as an older sister.

Shen Mi thought of her broken system. At least now was not the time to vent her emotions at will. She needed to have enough self-protection capabilities.

They've been here for a week now. Shen Mi and Savare were sent to help in Area A. Every day they're either mining ore in the mine or carrying heavy ore. They're so dirty they look like refugees who crawled out of a mud pit.

At first, she had a hard time getting used to it. The feeling of being dirty all over made her restless and unable to sit or stand, let alone fall asleep. She was so itchy that she couldn't sleep almost every night.

What bothered her even more was that being trapped in Area A meant she had no way to contact Danheng.

Want to get closer to the target? Forget it. Danheng is in Zone E, while she is separated from Danheng by at least three mining zones: B, C, and D.

Shen Mi looked at her tattered system interface. The main quest on the taskbar had changed to "Find and contact the target: Dan Heng." Even the system was mocking her incompetence.

0%.

There hasn't been the slightest progress.

The main questline is completely stuck.

Shen Mi couldn't help but complain to himself that he couldn't even see Dan Heng's shadow, let alone advance the plot.

The only thing she can do now is probably to keep herself and Savare alive and pray that the management of Area A will end their support soon.

Inside the mine, the passages stretched out in all directions like a spider web. There was a deathly silence all around. Chen Mi and Shavalei dug deeper and deeper, with only the sound of their picks striking the rock walls echoing back and forth, like the beating of a heart or a death knell buried underground.

Shen Mi carried a rusty pickaxe, her hands trembling slightly from long hours of labor. She glanced up at the dim miner's lamp overhead, its bulb casting a dark shadow in the narrow mine tunnel, as if it might go out at any moment.

"Sister Chenmi..."

Savare's voice was barely audible. She shook her helmet, which was too big and kept slipping down as she walked, almost covering half of her face.

Shen Mi's heart tightened at the sight, and he couldn't help but reach out to straighten her hat: "Don't move around, or it will fall and hit you."

Before the words were finished—

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted overhead!

It was as if something heavy had broken off from deep within the rock face, and then, tiny pebbles fell like a sudden rain.

"What's going on?!" someone in the mine exclaimed in surprise.

Another dull cracking sound came, as if the entire mine tunnel had been torn apart by some giant beast, and the rock strata overhead began to crack inch by inch!

Someone threw down their pickaxe and ran outside, shouting, "It's collapsing! The mine tunnel is collapsing!!"

Shen Mi's heart pounded wildly, and she gripped Savare's hand tightly: "Run!"

The two men rushed desperately toward the mine exit, their ears filled with the deafening roar of collapsing rocks and screams. Dust surged in like a tide, choking them and making it hard to breathe.

The ground beneath their feet trembled violently. Shen Mi felt as if the path beneath their feet was about to collapse at any moment with every step they took, as if an abyss was opening its bloody maw to devour them completely.

The exit is right in front of us!

However, just as Shen Mi was about to rush out of the mine tunnel—

A huge rock crashed down, landing between her and Savare, separating them completely!

"Savare!!"

Shen Mi's pupils contracted violently.

Shen Mi tried to rush back, but someone grabbed her arm tightly from behind and forcefully pulled her out of the mine tunnel.

"Are you crazy! You'll die if you go in!"

Shen Mi was roughly thrown to the ground. She staggered and looked up, only to see that the mine tunnel had collapsed with a roar, dust was churning wildly, and boulders had sealed off the last glimmer of hope.

In my ears, I could hear the soft rustling of dust falling.

And Savare—is still trapped inside!

In the dead silence, Chen Mi's heartbeat was so violent that it seemed to pierce his chest.

She tried to stand up, but her legs were too weak to support her weight. She could only reach out with trembling hands to pick up the cracked helmet that had rolled to the ground.

On the hat, there was also a name that Saware had sculpted crookedly, and several large characters written with her finger dipped in mud: "Saware".

Like a child naively and earnestly trying to make its presence known—but now, the owner of this name is buried under the ruins.

Shen Mi gripped the helmet tightly, his teeth grinding together.

In front of the mine tunnel, the crowd of onlookers discussed amongst themselves, but no one stepped forward.

—Because on this desolate planet, such mining accidents are commonplace.

Life and death are never a big deal here.

Shen Mi felt as if he had been thrown into an ice cave, so cold that his blood was about to freeze.

She stared intently at the collapsed mine tunnel, with only one thought in her mind:

Savare must live... You must live!

Shen Mi's head was buzzing, and her limbs trembled slightly with anger, fear, and despair. She stared intently at the mine tunnel blocked by rocks, her heart feeling as if it were being squeezed by iron clamps, each beat bringing a dull, tearing pain.

She wanted to rush in, even if it meant digging her hands until they were bloody and mangled, to rescue Savare.

But as soon as he took a step, a miner behind him grabbed him and said, "Are you crazy?! The mine shaft is still collapsed, and there could be a second aftershock at any moment. Going in now is suicide!"

"She's still inside! Sha... Shavalei, my companion is still inside!" Shen Mi almost roared, his eyes reddening with emotion.

"So what if we're inside?" the miner said coldly. "Do you think anyone will care about this collapse? It's not the first time."

Shen Mi froze, all he could hear was the rustling sound of dust settling and his own heavy breathing.

Not the first time?

She turned to look around. The miners watching showed no fear, no sadness, not even anger. They just stood expressionless outside the mine tunnel, as if they were already numb to it all.

Chen Mi's fingertips were trembling.

They're used to it.

—We've grown accustomed to this kind of death, accustomed to cave-ins, accustomed to our companions being buried alive in the mine, never to come out again.

In the distance, a security guard strolled over lazily, twirling a baton in his hand, without even glancing at the collapsed ruins.

"Seal it off."

In short, it's like a final verdict.

Shen Mi's heart clenched: "Aren't you going to save them?!"

The administrator raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "Save? Save what?"

“There are still many people inside! And there’s even a teenager! How could you…” Shen Mi’s voice trembled as she felt her reason being torn apart inch by inch.

"Teenagers?" The manager kicked a stone at his feet impatiently. "This mine collapsed so completely, the people buried underneath are long gone."

He glanced around at the miners watching and said coldly, "Anyone who doesn't want to work anymore can go in and keep her company."

There was a deathly silence all around.

Shen Mi's head suddenly throbbed.

No one spoke.

No one resisted.

Everyone was like a soulless puppet, their eyes filled with only lifeless obedience.

She felt as if she were in a giant tomb, and those who were still alive were nothing more than corpses lying in coffins, waiting to be nailed to the ground.

Shen Mi gripped the helmet with the name "Savare" on it tightly, her nails almost digging into her palm.

The next second, she turned around abruptly and rushed towards the collapsed mine tunnel!

"What are you doing?!"

The administrator shouted, but Chen Mi ignored him completely, kneeling at the entrance of the mine like a madman and desperately digging at the rocks with his bare hands.

She didn't know where she got the strength from, but even when her palms were cut by sharp stones and blood dripped into the dust, she kept digging.

"Savare! Can you hear me?! Savare!!"

She shouted at the top of her lungs, but her voice sounded so small in front of the empty mine tunnel.

No one responded.

Shen Mi's tears mingled with blood as they dripped down. Her hands were covered in cuts from the sharp rocks, her knuckles were white, and blood and mud were mixed together, but she felt no pain at all.

She mechanically dug and shoveled, moving one stone after another away from her, even though more gravel would slide down from all sides with each stone she moved. She stubbornly dug down like a wounded wild beast.

"Savare! Savare!"

She shouted as she frantically cleared away the rubble.

Above him, the administrator sneered, "They're really crazy."

The miner frowned and whispered, "This guy... is he out of his mind?"

Nobody helped her.

Everyone was watching what seemed like an absurd farce.

But Chen Mi paid no heed; all she could see was the pile of rubble that was pressing down on Shavalei. The voices, gazes, and discussions of others seemed to be drowned out by the roaring sound of blood flowing in her ears.

It felt like an eternity had passed—

Just as Shen Mi's hand touched a slightly loose rock again, her ears caught a faint sound.

"Cough...cough cough..."

Shen Mi's heart clenched suddenly!

That's Savare coughing!

She's still alive!

“Savare! Don’t be afraid! I’m here!” Shen Mi almost roared.

Her hands trembled as she pushed the rock aside with all her might and dug inch by inch until she finally saw a thin arm in the gray dust.

The arm was covered in dust, looking pale and thin, trembling slightly, like a withered branch swaying in the wind.

Shen Mi's tears welled up instantly.

“Grab me!” she cried hoarsely. “Savare, grab me!”

The arm twitched slightly, then shakily reached out towards her.

Shen Mi gritted his teeth, gripping Savare's wrist tightly with one hand while frantically digging through the rubble burying her with the other.

She didn't know how she pulled Savare out of the ruins; she only knew that when Savare's dirty little face was finally exposed to the air, she almost collapsed to the ground.

Savare's face was covered in ash, her lips were chapped and white, and her small body was trembling uncontrollably.

Shen Mi held her tightly, pressing her close to his chest, as if he wanted to completely meld this petite girl into his very bones.

"It's alright...it's alright..." Her voice choked with sobs, "I found you..."

The surroundings remained deathly silent.

The administrator raised an eyebrow at the scene and chuckled, "Tsk, they're really lucky."

Then, he turned to the miners behind him and coldly ordered, "Seal off this collapsed area. No one is allowed to approach."

Shen Mi, holding Shavalei, suddenly looked up: "What do you mean?!"

The manager looked at her lazily: "This mine has already collapsed once. Who knows if it will collapse a second time? We've sealed it off to prevent another accident."

Shen Mi's face turned deathly pale: "There are still people inside! How could you just seal it off like that?!"

"Anyone else?" The administrator smiled coldly. "If you're still alive, then climb out on your own; if you're dead, you're lucky to be buried with such a valuable gold mine."

Shen Mi's blood rushed to his head: "You lot—!"

Before she could finish speaking, she heard a sharp "snap"—

The administrator swung his baton and slammed it hard against the rock in front of her!

Debris flew everywhere, and the baton slammed into the ground, leaving a deep crack. It was just a hair's breadth away from striking her face.

"Shut up."

The administrator's voice was devoid of any warmth, "Say one more word, and I'll let you in to join them."

Shen Mi trembled all over, his lips pressed tightly together.

She clung tightly to Savare, her fingertips turning white.

She wanted to resist; she wanted to rush over and fight these people to the death!

But she knew that if she really made a move now, not only would she die, but Savare would definitely not survive either.

"...Let's go, let's check if anyone is injured." Shen Mi said in a low voice, his voice like a knife suppressed to the extreme.

Supporting Savare, she suppressed her anger and despair as she walked step by step toward the passage.

Behind them lies a completely sealed-off landslide area, where lives are still buried underground, some without even having a chance to utter a final cry for help.

A fire was burning in Shen Mi's heart.

This fire was oppressive, scorching, and searing to the heart—

A note from the author:

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The next chapter will have something fragrant, something fragrant—can you guess what it is? [Evil grin][Evil grin][Evil grin]