Chapter 7, Chief Steward Kulun, 6013.
No, I'm going to seduce all three of them? Am I seeing things? Shen Mi rubbed his eyes.
Shen Mi had just emerged from the system's world-building process, still feeling a bit shocked, and even stood there as if he hadn't seen it at all.
She was mentally calculating the important dates related to Yunwu. She remembered that Himeko repaired the train and restarted it in the Amber Era 2158, but the system said that it was now the 2152 Era, so she had traveled back 700 years.
Suddenly, a cold notification sound rang out.
[Note: Beware of the labor camp commander, Kulen.]
Her heart skipped a beat, and she froze for a moment, her mind filled with questions: "Kullen, the labor camp commander?"
The system did not offer any further explanation, but remained silent.
Chen Mi: ...
By the time Shen Mi returned to her dormitory, the night was as dark as ink. She didn't have the energy to think about anything else; the game didn't elaborate much on her timeline, and she knew very little about it.
The only certainty is that many things happened before this period, between 7000 and 7380 in the Immortal Ship Calendar... the Second Great War of Abundance, the Sudden Chaos, and the Moon Drinking Chaos.
Now that Danheng is here, the Yinyue Rebellion should be over. Those two hundred years of imprisonment... and Jingyuan's insistence on expelling him from Luofu despite the Dragon Master's objections...
So is he now wandering aimlessly, trying to escape Blade's pursuit?
Before she knew it, Shen Mi had arrived at the camp. In the dimly lit room, Savare huddled in a corner. When she heard the door open, she shuddered reflexively. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Shen Mi.
"I'm back." Shen Mi lowered his voice so as not to wake the others.
Savare nodded, her face showing her usual timidity and caution.
Shen Mi glanced at her badly swollen leg, the purplish-blue bruises quite striking. After hesitating for a moment, she took out the water bottle Dan Heng had given her from her bosom, weighed it in her hand, and saw that it was already full of water, clearly filled by Dan Heng on purpose.
Shen Mi thought to herself with delight, "Sure enough, the cold-faced little green dragon is still the person I know and understand."
"Have some water." Shen Mi handed over the water bottle.
Savaree was stunned, as if she couldn't believe her ears.
In the labor camps, water was more precious than life.
Shen Mi knew what she was thinking and simply explained, "It was given to me by someone else."
Savare opened her mouth and tentatively asked, "Is...is it Manager Mei?"
Shen Mi was surprised that she guessed so accurately and subconsciously hummed in agreement.
Instead of drinking the water, Savare held the kettle carefully, as if she was thinking about something.
"What's wrong?" Shen Mi asked.
"N-nothing..." Shavalei lowered her head, took a small sip of water, as if afraid that drinking too much would make her owe some great debt of gratitude.
Shen Mi didn't press further, only instructing her to return the water bottle after she finished drinking. Leaning against the bedside, she was still thinking about what the system had just said—be careful of the labor camp supervisor, Kuren.
The name kept circling in her mind, but she couldn't recall ever hearing anyone mention Kulen during her time in the labor camp.
What's even stranger is that the system didn't provide any further information, as if it were just dropping a seed and waiting for it to take root and sprout on its own.
Who is this person?
Chen Mi's thoughts were in turmoil until dawn, when she finally drifted off to sleep.
——
The next morning, there was a sudden knock on the tent door.
"Savare".
A middle-aged man with a dusty face stood at the door. He was one of the foremen in the mine, and the wrinkles on his face were as deep as if they had been carved by a knife.
Savare instinctively shrank her shoulders, her face turning pale instantly.
Shen Mi was also startled awake. Before she could figure out what had happened, she heard the foreman say coldly, "Supervisor Mei said that you don't need to go to work for the next few days."
The room was deathly silent.
"What?" Savare was stunned, her voice trembling. "N-no need to go to the mining area?"
"No need," the foreman said impatiently. "You're supposed to stay in the dormitory and wait for further notice."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
The dormitory erupted in chaos.
"What's going on?"
"Can you rest even when you're injured?"
"I've never heard of that before."
"Has she been abandoned?"
Various speculations arose one after another, like a swarm of flies hovering around rotting flesh.
Shen Mi sat on the edge of the bed, frowning, sensing that this matter was not so simple.
In the labor camps on the desolate planet, injuries were commonplace. Who wasn't covered in bruises and scratches? Some people even worked while injured and no one cared; there was never any "rest if you're injured" kind of treatment.
But Shavale, not only was she not punished, she was also blatantly given a day off?
Shen Mi looked up at Shavalei, only to find that the shock on her face was greater than anyone else's, and even mixed with a hint of panic.
"Savare?" Shen Mi called her softly.
Savare seemed not to hear, staring blankly at her legs for several seconds before snapping out of it.
"What's wrong?" Shen Mi lowered his voice. "What are you afraid of?"
Savare bit her lip, her eyes slightly red, and hesitated for a moment before stammering, "Manager Mei told me to rest... but... but she didn't say whether she would give me rations."
Chen Mi: "..."
She didn't react for a moment, and it took her several seconds to realize what Savare was worried about.
It's not that being given leave due to injury is abnormal, but rather that I'm afraid that after being "rested," I'll be completely cut off from food supplies, which would be equivalent to being left in the dormitory to wait for death.
In this place, no one will care whether you live or die for no reason.
Savare wasn't enjoying any special treatment; what she feared was that this "vacation" was just another form of self-destruction.
Shen Mi pressed his temples, realizing that he had underestimated the ruthlessness of the survival rules in the labor camp.
She wanted to say something to comfort her, but the words stuck in her throat.
Savare kept her head down, clutching the kettle tightly, seemingly struggling with her inner fear. Her emotions were on the verge of collapse, and Shen Mi could see how tense she was, even more afraid of this seemingly simple "rest" than anyone else.
Shen Mi was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly thought of a possible explanation: "When Supervisor Mei said you were resting, it didn't mean you had to stop working. She just wanted you to take good care of your injury, probably because she was worried that going back to work in the mine would worsen your injury." She spoke softly, trying to keep her tone gentle, "She just wants you to stay in the dormitory for now and wait for further notice."
Savare looked up, a hint of doubt in her eyes, but then nodded gently: "Is...that so?"
"Hmm, I guess so." Shen Mi tried her best to sound more convincing, but she wasn't entirely sure herself. After all, the rules of the wasteland labor camps were never reasonable, and there must be a hidden story behind who could enjoy such "treatment."
However, it cannot be ruled out that it was a small favor that Danheng gave her after they reached a cooperation agreement.
Without Shavale's company, Shen Mi still sensed something was off as she entered the mine. She noticed that although the workers were all busy with their own tasks, several pairs of eyes kept glancing at her. She felt uneasy but didn't show it, simply continuing with her work.
The air in the mine was damp and stifling, the deep darkness oppressive. Each hammer blow echoed in her ears, like an invisible warning. Shen Mi noticed something different about today: the expressions of the foreman and the other workers—they frequently exchanged glances, as if discussing something. And she, on the other hand, seemed to be pushed by some unseen force towards an unknown goal.
Just as she thought she was being overly sensitive, footsteps sounded at the entrance of the mine. Shen Mi looked up and saw Dan Heng and another person walking in. She couldn't help but pause, a hint of doubt flashing through her mind.
The man walking alongside Dan Heng was tall and imposing, his face expressionless, cold and profound. Shen Mi's gaze was involuntarily drawn to him until she saw the two words appear above his head—Kulen.
Her heart suddenly raced, and Shen Mi abruptly realized that the person the system had warned her to be careful of was none other than the man before her. Kuren, the labor camp supervisor.
A sense of unease rose within her, but she quickly suppressed it with reason. The system's task notification sounded at that moment: [Retrieve Cullen's criminal records; the items are located in Cullen's office.]
Shen Mi's heart skipped a beat. When the system's task notification sounded, she could almost feel her pulse pounding. This task instantly threw her thoughts into disarray.
How could she possibly escape detection? The fear and anxiety in her heart surged like a tide, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
Cullen's office was located deep within the labor camp, a place heavily guarded year-round, accessible only to a select few. Entering that place meant risking capture and alerting Cullen—no easy task. Even if she gained access to Cullen's criminal record, whether that record would empower her to confront him was a huge unknown.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. The mission had been given its objectives, and her situation was becoming increasingly complicated. She had no choice but to carry it out, not only because of the system's prompts, but more so because she knew that if she didn't, she might never be able to escape this darkness.
Shen Mi glanced at Dan Heng, who was still patrolling alongside Kulun, but at that moment, she noticed his slightly turned head and gaze, as if he were watching her every move.
She glanced at Dan Heng and noticed that he didn't seem surprised by Kulen's appearance; his expression remained indifferent. His gaze lingered on Kulen for a moment before sweeping over Chen Mi, a hint of complexity in his eyes.
Shen Mi was upset and didn't have the energy to focus on the message Shen Danheng wanted to convey to her.
Kulen didn't speak to anyone immediately, but stood there silently, his gaze piercing through the depths of the mine, as if assessing everything. A sense of oppression filled the air, and even the sounds of hammering in the mine seemed to be swallowed by this silence.
"Inspect today, continue working." Kulen's voice was deep and authoritative; his casual command immediately put everyone around him on edge.
Shen Mi dared not hesitate and continued working as instructed. But she could feel that Kuren's gaze was sweeping over her from time to time, as if observing her every move.
Danheng exchanged a few words with Kulen, and then began to patrol with him. Shen Mi tried to glean any clues from their conversation, but could only glean vague information from their occasional exchanges—no specific details, just some cold work instructions.
Suddenly, Kulen stopped and stared intently at Chen Mi. For a moment, the air seemed to freeze. Chen Mi's heart tightened, and she lowered her head, deliberately avoiding his gaze.
Kulen frowned slightly, his gaze sweeping over her for a moment before turning to Dan Heng beside him: "Is 6013 new here?"
Danheng's voice was calm and deep: "Yes, we have just entered the labor camp."
"How's it going?" Cullen continued to ask.
Dan Heng smiled slightly: "Your performance was alright."
Kulen didn't say much, his eyes deep and cold, as if he had everything under control. He slowly turned around and continued to inspect the mine, and Shen Mi breathed a sigh of relief.
But at the same time, alarm bells rang in her mind. Cullen's gaze… that scrutiny was far more than a simple glance; something deeper lay hidden in his eyes. Author's Note:
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The Amber King's hammer strikes define an entire era, but the intervals between strikes are not fixed; the duration of each Amber Era varies considerably. Using the Pioneer Calendar, one strike roughly corresponds to 76 to 240 years. In short, the novel's current timeline is after Danheng was expelled from Luofu and before he boarded the train. It should happen around 700 years from now! [doge][doge][doge][shy][shy][shy]
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