Chapter 8 Saying One Thing and Meaning Another: Shen Mi stood frozen in place, her heartbeat slowing...

"Should we transfer 6013 to Zone C?"

As they walked, Kulen suddenly spoke up, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

Dan Heng paused slightly, his eyes remaining calm, as if he were merely considering the feasibility of the proposal. However, his hands, hanging at his sides, unconsciously tightened for a moment, his knuckles turning white, revealing a hint of emotion that he was deliberately suppressing.

“Sector C?” He repeated slowly, his tone flat, as if confirming something, or perhaps trying to decipher the deeper meaning behind Kulen’s words.

Shen Mi's heart tightened, and he unconsciously slowed down his movements as he moved the ore, listening intently.

As the head of Labor Camp E, Danheng was well aware of the responsibilities and location of each area. Area C was more remote than the other mines, yet it was right next to Kulen's office. Not only was the environment there "harsh," but it was also more like a deliberately drawn-out "dead end." Many people who were transferred to Area C often disappeared without a trace, like stones sinking to the bottom of the water.

Kulen tilted his head slightly, his gaze landing on Dan Heng's face with a half-smile: "Sector C is short-staffed recently. I think 6013 is quite capable, so why not transfer her there?"

Shen Mi's breath hitched.

Was Kulen joking, or was he serious?

Shen Mi felt as if he had been thrown into an invisible trap—all around him were cold, hard stone walls, and beneath his feet was a bottomless abyss.

Dan Heng was silent for a moment before finally speaking: "She just arrived and hasn't adapted to the rhythm here yet. Sending a newcomer to Zone C is against the rules."

His tone remained calm, yet it carried an undeniable firmness.

Upon hearing this, Kulen's lips curled slightly, his smile faint yet enigmatic: "Rules? In this place, we call the rules."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stopped and gave Chen Mi a sharp look, his voice tinged with amusement: "6013, what do you think?"

Shen Mi's heart pounded wildly. He suddenly looked up, then quickly lowered his gaze again.

She didn't know what Cullen wanted to hear from her, nor did she know what her answer would lead to.

If he said he was willing, he would be sent to the mine in Area C, where life and death were uncertain; if he said he was unwilling, would he be seen as disobeying orders and thus anger Kuren?

Her mind was buzzing, and she felt like she was suffocating.

The air was as still as a taut string, ready to snap at any moment.

suddenly--

“She’s a newcomer in my group,” Dan Heng said calmly, his voice like a thin blade cutting a slit in the deathly silence. “According to the usual practice, she has to work here for three months before we can talk about a transfer.”

His tone was unhurried, yet it conveyed an undeniable sense of entitlement.

Shen Mi opened her eyes wide and looked up at Dan Heng—his expression remained calm, as if he had just made a routine work assignment. But only when she stood closer could she see his slightly tense jawline and the deep darkness in his eyes.

Cullen narrowed his eyes: "Three months?"

He repeated it meaningfully, his gaze slowly shifting between Dan Heng and Chen Mi, as if trying to capture any subtle reaction between them.

Chen Mi held his breath, his palms were already soaked with sweat, and his knuckles were white as he gripped the hem of his worn-out work clothes.

She knew that Cullen wasn't concerned about her work ability—he was testing Danheng.

Danheng's answer was like an erected wall, seemingly in accordance with the rules, yet subtly carrying a sense of protecting her.

A few seconds later, Cullen chuckled: "That's fine. I think 6013 is quite capable, so how about just one month?"

“I think 6013 will adapt quickly.” Kulen turned to look at Shen Mi, a smile playing on his lips. He was clearly aware that she had been eavesdropping, and those words he had just spoken were directed at her.

Shen Mi's heart skipped a beat.

A month?

Kulen clearly doesn't want things to end like this.

She felt like a pawn being manipulated at will, placed on a chessboard of games, but no one told her what winning or losing meant.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Shen Mi wasn't the only one surprised; the personnel in the mine were spread out widely, with only two or three people possibly remaining in a small area.

Shen Mi looked at a place dozens of meters away from them. The man's swinging of the pickaxe hadn't stopped, but Shen Mi had been in contact with him remotely for seven or eight days. This was not her normal frequency.

Kulen's voice, neither too loud nor too soft, seemed intentionally chosen to reach the ears of a third person in the winding mine tunnels.

Danheng's expression remained calm, only his slightly raised eyelashes casting a faint shadow. He seemed to have anticipated that Kulun would not give up easily, yet he still showed no emotion.

“Since Steward Kulen has spoken, we can’t refuse to give him face.” Dan Heng said in a calm tone, but then changed the subject. “But she is, after all, one of my team members. If we want to transfer her ahead of time, we have to follow the procedures—at least wait until this month’s task report is submitted before making an application.”

This statement, seemingly a step back, is actually a way of using the rules to push Kulen's steps back a notch.

Kulen stared at Danheng, his smile deepening, as if he had seen through Danheng's little trick, but he wasn't in a hurry to expose him.

Shen Mi could sense that the entire conversation was like a test on a knife's edge, and she was merely the trigger for the contest between the two.

"Alright, this month's report?" Cullen seemed amused. "Very well, I'll be waiting for your report. But 6013, you'd better perform well and not disappoint me."

As he spoke his last words to Shen Mi, the lingering tone of his voice was like a thin thread, pulling Shen Mi's heart deeper and deeper into the abyss.

Shen Mi lowered his head, biting his lip hard, trying to keep his voice from trembling: "Yes."

Kulen seemed satisfied with Shen Mi's reaction, a faint smile playing on his lips. He gave Dan Heng a meaningful look before turning and leaving.

His footsteps echoed through the mine shaft, gradually fading into the distance until they disappeared completely into the cold darkness.

Shen Mi then realized that his back was already soaked with cold sweat, clinging to his thin work clothes, so wet and cold that it made him shiver.

The mine tunnel fell into a deathly silence once more, with only the two of them standing there, as if even the air had frozen.

"Why..." Shen Mi's voice was a little hoarse, and it trembled slightly as he spoke, "Why me of all people?"

What a coincidence, I was chosen from so many people. Was it part of the plot or a deliberate setup? Whatever it was, she was just wondering how to sneak into the office.

It's like finding something you've been searching for everywhere without even looking for it!

Dan Heng paused for a moment, not answering immediately.

He stood there, his black hair partially obscuring the corners of his eyes, his expression indifferent, yet as if he were weighing something.

After a long silence, he spoke slowly, his voice low and calm: "He's not targeting you."

Still immersed in his excitement, Shen Mi looked up slightly in confusion when he heard Dan Heng about to freeze, and asked, "What?"

Danheng lowered his eyes, his gaze lingering on her face for a moment before shifting to the direction where Kulun had left.

Those deep eyes held a hint of dark emotions, like a still pond disturbed by a pebble, but quickly returned to calm.

His voice was steady, yet his words carried a certain unspeakable meaning—

"They're targeting me."

Shen Mi opened his mouth, but finally couldn't help but ask, "...Kullen, has he been targeting you all along?"

Dan Heng did not answer immediately. After a moment, he slowly turned around, his deep eyes falling on Chen Mi's face.

“You are very smart.” His voice was low and slow, but it wasn’t a compliment; it was more like a calm statement.

Shen Mi felt a jolt of surprise at being stared at, wondering if she had asked too many questions.

Dan Heng then continued, "Kulun's targeting of me isn't just because of past grievances."

"He was testing me, trying to make me reveal a weakness. And you—just happened to be in that position."

A few seconds later, Dan Heng turned around and looked at her, his tone still calm, but with a hint of barely perceptible apology:

"I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this."

Even without knowing the full story, Shen Mi roughly understood what he meant by those words. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at him, casually waving her hand: "There's no need for apologies between friends."

After Shen Mi finished speaking, there was a moment of silence in the mine.

Danheng's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, and his eyes flickered for a moment, as if her words had touched on something he had always avoided talking about.

“Friend?” he repeated softly, as if to confirm the weight of the word.

She stared at Dan Heng's cold profile, many questions swirling on her tongue, but she swallowed them back in the end.

Shen Mi let out a soft breath, as if to comfort himself, and also as if to express his stance to Dan Heng:

“Yes, Manager Mei, we’re in the same boat now, what else could we be but friends? You can try to trust me! I’ll keep your secret.”

She tried to keep her voice calm, but her fingertips still gripped the hem of her worn-out work clothes tightly, revealing the lingering tension in her heart.

After she finished speaking, Dan Heng didn't respond immediately. He simply looked up at her, his black hair casting a cold, indifferent shadow in the dim light of the miner's lamp. His expression remained calm, his lips tightly pressed together, revealing no emotion whatsoever. It was unclear how much of what she said had actually been heard.

His silence was not hesitation, but a clear and calm assessment—Shen Mi clearly realized that he did not misunderstand her meaning, but was thinking about how to respond.

Shen Mi felt a little unsure of himself and was about to speak to ease the tension when he heard Dan Heng say calmly:

"6013, don't trust others too much."

His voice was soft, but his words carried a certain cold realism: "Here, 'friendship' is a very luxurious relationship."

Shen Mi was slightly taken aback.

Danheng gazed at her, his eyes deep and unfathomable: "Everyone here is trying to survive. And when survival becomes the only goal, those things that seem warm become fragile."

"Therefore, most people don't consider each other friends because they are afraid that one day... they will have to choose between each other."

Shen Mi stared at him blankly, as if something was blocking her throat.

"Do you think the people around Kulen are his friends?" Danheng asked calmly, as if stating a cold fact. "No. They are just a group of people who are afraid of death and surround the strong, just to make themselves safer."

Shen Mi was startled.

But the next second, he paused slightly, then added softly:

"But things have come to this point, and we're already too entangled. Since we're in the same boat, we can only look out for each other."

In that instant, Shen Mi seemed to hear something, which was wrapped in layers, crack slightly from its cold, hard shell.

These words, like a thin, almost invisible thread, quietly extended between him and her.

Even a kite that sinks to the bottom of the water always has a thin, invisible string tied to her hand.

Shen Mi stood frozen in place, the sound of his heartbeat gradually pounding in his ears.

After a moment, she nodded and happily whispered, "I understand."

A note from the author:

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[Shy][Shy][Shy] I've almost reached 30,000 views without even realizing it! I'll see if I can make it onto the leaderboard next week; if I do, it'll be daily updates! Everyone, wait for my good news! [Kiss][Kiss][Kiss]

April 1st Editor's Note: The description of the harsh environment in Zone C has been revised; this "harshness" is not the same as the previous description. The detail that Kulen intentionally leaked the conversation has also been added.