Chapter 98

When they arrived, everyone got off the bus. Su Bei looked up and couldn't help laughing. The entrance to the alien space here was decorated as a tunnel, and ordinary people couldn't see it, but as a supernatural person who had been to several alien spaces, he could naturally distinguish it clearly.

Following his gaze, Si Zhaohua miraculously got his sense of humor. He coughed lightly and tugged at Su Bei's sleeve, signaling him to tone it down.

The inspectors at the entrance checked the identities of the workers one by one. Not only did they have to match their faces to the photos, they also asked a few questions to see if they could answer them.

Su Bei and Si Zhaohua's identities were provided by the academy, so naturally there was no problem. They easily passed the inspection and walked into the tunnel.

The alien space in the tunnel was a completely different scene from the outside. The sky and earth were crimson, sand and soil were piled up into small hills, and countless skinny laborers with pale faces were pushing carts filled with light red crystals towards the warehouse.

Those reddish crystals should be the unprocessed spiritual crystals. They have learned that this kind of crystal is rarely pure and flawless when it is dug out. Most of them have impurities inside and need to be filtered through special processes before they can be used. This process is currently only mastered by Apogo, and other countries have not yet researched it.

The man who walked in with more than 30 of them shouted coldly: "Stop looking, follow me! If anyone doesn't follow, haha, this place won't be so easy to stay in!"

He sneered and walked away. The people behind him were frightened by what he had just said and ran as fast as they could.

When they arrived at a large thatched house that looked very simple from the outside, the man stopped and said, "This is where you will be staying from now on. You will get up at five in the morning and breakfast will be placed at your door in advance. You must be at the construction site at six. If you fail to arrive at the construction site for the first time, you will not have any food that day. If you fail to arrive for the third time..."

He didn't continue talking, but kept his sneer and changed the subject: "I will show you the way and tell you what to do later. You will have to do it yourself starting tomorrow. Do you understand?"

"I see..." People answered in twos and threes, their voices weak. Some of them had already vaguely realized that this place was not as good as they had imagined. The man's silence just now was very meaningful, and they did not dare to think about it carefully.

Seeing their expressions, the man didn't bother to get angry, and just followed the procedure and asked, "Do you have any other questions? Now is your only chance to ask questions."

One of them raised his hand bravely, and the man pointed at him: "You go ahead."

"If I get sick or something unexpected happens, can I take a leave?" He asked the question that concerned him most.

"If you are sick, you can ask your roommates to take leave and we will send a doctor to treat you. But it is not possible for other reasons."

Seeing that he really answered, the others also became bolder. Another girl asked: "Can I write to my family and tell them when I can leave?"

"You need to write a letter once a month and submit it for inspection. As for leaving..." The man's face showed that sneer again, "You can leave if you make a big mistake."

Su Bei understood that the "leave" the other party said might not be what the girl meant. The girl wanted to leave alive, but that might not be what the other party meant.

However, it seemed that the girl did not understand his true meaning. After hearing that she could write a letter and leave, she let go with satisfaction.

Everyone asked several more questions, and Su Bei also got a lot of information from them. Each group of new people lived in the same room and mined in the same mine. A group of new people would be sent in every fifteen days, and there was no competition between them.

Su Bei raised his eyebrows when he heard that a group of people would be sent every fifteen days. Fifteen days ago was the day when the auction went wrong, and Jiang Tianming and his men also disappeared on that day.

It seems that they just caught up with the previous batch and mixed in with that group to work as laborers. Then their next task is to find the place where the previous batch of laborers worked, and then merge with Jiang Tianming and others.

Su Bei and Si Zhaohua looked at each other, both of them had a look of understanding in their eyes.

No one asked why boys and girls lived in the same room. They were all children from poor families, so it was hard for them to be fussy about this. Everyone knew that the working environment in such a place would not be good, so they did not mind boys and girls sleeping in the same room.

No one asked any more questions. The man introduced himself and asked them to call him Zhangtou, or Tou. Then he gave them five minutes to choose a bed and put their luggage.

Choosing a bed is a very important matter, especially since Zhang Tou just said that this is a large bed, the position is crucial. Su Bei and Si Zhaohua quickly took the position closest to the wall. A large bed next to the wall is much more comfortable than sleeping in the middle, at least one side will not be a problem.

Relatively speaking, Si Zhaohua definitely needed the position closer to the wall, so Su Bei slept next to him.

Li Jie walked to Su Bei's side in a very familiar manner and said, "You two occupy the space so quickly. It feels most comfortable to stay to the side."

After saying that, the three of them left the room without wasting time. Zhang Tou led them around three hills and came to a mine. The mine was not far from their thatched hut. They saw some thatched huts on the way, but there was no one inside.

Wearing a miner's hat and turning on a small lamp, I walked into the mine. Inside were many red crystals that had not yet been mined. There were many mining tools and carts scattered on the ground.

"You will work here from now on, starting at six in the morning and ending at twelve noon. You will take a one-hour break and then continue working at one in the afternoon. Dinner time is at seven in the evening, also for one hour, and then continue working. Work will end at twelve in the evening." Zhang Tou stated a very strict work arrangement. There are only seven hours of rest time in the whole day, which also includes sleeping time.

But that's not all: "There will be a supervisor in the mine, but you don't have to worry too much. He is not there to supervise you to do your work, but to supervise you to compete with each other viciously and seize the fruits of others' labor."

If such bad behavior is allowed to occur in the mines, the number of people working seriously will soon decrease, and the number of people who take advantage of others' hard work will increase. This is a very unfavorable development direction for the mine owners. Therefore, special supervision is arranged.

But this doesn't mean they can slack off. Zhang Tou continued, "Every night at 12 o'clock when the task is finished, the supervisor will check your work results. If you don't meet the target, you won't have food the next day. If you fail to meet the target for many tasks in a row, I don't think you will want to see the consequences."

After that, he picked up a handful of digging tools and started to dig in a demonstration. After successfully knocking out a piece of crystal, he threw it into the cart beside him: "See? The crystal should be as complete as possible. It's okay if it's broken, but it must not be broken into very small pieces, otherwise it will be a waste. Waste will result in a deduction from wages."

After knocking a few more times, he stood up and said, "Each person has a cart. If the cart is full, you can go to the supervisor to exchange carts. Don't try to be sneaky and fool the supervisor. No one is stupid. The last person who did this will never see him again."

Facing his last warning, everyone still shrank back for the sake of respect. However, some people shrank back because they really understood his hidden meaning, while others simply thought that the other party disappeared because he was fired.

Being fired is also terrible for them. They come here just to survive. If they are fired, there will not be any suitable jobs with food and accommodation outside.

Of course, there are also people who are pretending to be scared, such as Su Bei and Si Zhaohua.

After Zhangtou finished the introduction, he left and let them go back by themselves. Dinner would be placed at the door at 7 o'clock in the evening.

Si Zhaohua wanted to go around and look for Jiang Tianming and his friends. However, Su Bei stopped him and said, "Go back to your room. We are not in a hurry."

"Why?" Si Zhaohua asked in confusion, "We only have three days."

Su Bei shook his head: "Don't you think it's strange?"

He used his eyes to signal Li Jie, who was curiously touching the crystal from a distance: "Even our teacher couldn't find out the information, but a child from a poor family could find it out so easily."

"Didn't he say that he told him because the person recruiting the job was a relative of his family?" Si Zhaohua thought there was nothing wrong with this reason, so he didn't doubt it.

Hearing this, Su Bei sneered: "Who do you think can recruit workers for a place like this? At least they have to be the indigenous people of Apogod. How can such a rich person reveal the inside story for such a small amount of money? If he is really willing to reveal it, he must have a good relationship with Li Jie's family. If he has a good relationship with them, how could he let him come to a place like this to die?"

He made the final decision: "So logically speaking, Li Jie must be lying."

After hearing what he said, Si Zhaohua suddenly realized that he had never thought of this level. Su Bei was right, there was definitely something wrong with Li Jie. So when the other party was watching them, they absolutely could not act rashly.

Si Zhaohua frowned: "So, they are suspicious of us, otherwise why would they send someone to test us?"

Obviously, Li Jie's target was very clear, that was the two of them, otherwise he wouldn't have approached them straight away. If he didn't suspect them, why would he have made such a targeted move?

"Not necessarily." Su Bei shook his head, "It may be that they are just targeting people from our country. After all, they know what kind of conflict they have with us, and they are guilty, so they will naturally be more vigilant."

After that, he walked towards Li Jie with a smile: "Xiao Jie, let's go back to the dormitory and rest early today, otherwise you will not be able to get up tomorrow morning."

Xiao Jie's eyes sparkled, he raised his head and gave a thumbs up: "It's time to have a good rest today. But I want to go to the toilet, you guys go back first."

Su Bei did not bother to argue, and walked back to the dormitory with Si Zhaohua, whispering his plan: "I will go to the toilet first tomorrow, and Xiao Jie will follow me. You can go after we come back, and he will be embarrassed to follow you. You can go find someone then."

Dinner was steamed bread with a few ingredients, a big pot of rice, and picking up the dishes depended on the speed of the hands. The quick ones would win, and the slow ones would lose. Without a doubt, Si Zhaohua was the slow one.

The reason why he was slow was certainly not a problem of his physical fitness. After all, if you really think about it, his speed was faster than that of everyone else in the same dormitory except Su Bei.

But the problem was that this guy was a complete nerd and had never eaten a big pot of rice in his life, so naturally he couldn't bring himself to eat it. Not to mention the big pot of rice, even the slightly yellowed steamed buns took a lot of determination for him to eat.

Su Bei just shook his head in amusement and said nothing. It was only three days anyway, eating steamed bread would not kill you. After this experience, the young master must have known the limitations of this kind of mission.

The nights were equally torturous for Si Zhaohua. He could hear people snoring, grinding their teeth, talking in their sleep, and tossing and turning. The whole dormitory was like a busy vegetable market. There was no sleepy atmosphere at all.

Si Zhaohua had a feeling that he would definitely suffer from insomnia tonight, so he turned around to chat with Su Bei, only to see that the other party had his eyes closed and was breathing evenly, obviously having fallen asleep.

Si Zhaohua: “…”

The next day, when the wake-up bell rang, Su Bei rubbed his eyes and sat up from the bed without much struggle. Thanks to his years of schooling and his father's rigorous training during the winter and summer vacations, he was quite comfortable with getting up at five o'clock.

Si Zhaohua beside him also stood up. He just turned around to say something, but was startled by the other person's bloodshot eyes. He doubted that if it weren't for the "transformation mask", the other person's eyes would definitely be dark blue.

"You didn't sleep." It only took him a second to figure out what was going on.

Si Zhaohua smiled bitterly, shook his head and said nothing.

Although he was exhausted, he still got up gracefully, washed himself, and ate his steamed bread for breakfast slowly and leisurely.

Until he saw Li Jie approaching from the corner of his eye, Su Bei touched him and said, "Put down your young master airs. It's too obvious."

Si Zhaohua was choked by his words and glanced at him unhappily. He still ate the remaining steamed buns in two very fast bites with an elegant posture. Then they both turned to look at Li Jie.

Li Jie looked enthusiastic: "We are going to start mining today. Have you two ever mined before?"

The two shook their heads at the same time. Li Jie sighed, "I haven't done it either. It's said to be very difficult. I don't know if we can complete the task. But I heard that we can go out and pick up some. Sometimes we can pick up some."

Hearing this, Su Bei showed a thoughtful expression. This was deliberately giving them a reason to leave the mine and go out to explore. He was so kind, and this must be a lie.

If Li Jie wanted them to leave the mine, then not leaving was the best option for both of them.

Thinking of this, when they entered the mine and divided up to collect mining tools, Su Bei whispered to Si Zhaohua: "Cancel the plan."

Si Zhaohua was puzzled for a moment, but he was a very smart person and soon realized that the changes in Su Bei must have come from what Li Jie had just said. After carefully analyzing his words, he quickly figured out the key.

He nodded in agreement: "We shouldn't go, but if we do that, when will we be able to find Jiang Tianming and the others?"

Not counting yesterday, starting from today, there are three days in total. Today, because of Li Jie's threat, they can't go looking for someone. Will the threat be removed tomorrow? If they keep being cautious, they will only waste time.

Su Bei shook his head and smiled: "Actually, if you think about it carefully, with Jiang Tianming and his team's ability to stir up trouble, can they really continue to mine honestly?"

As early as when Su Bei heard from Li Jie that some workers would be sent to be food for the Nightmare Beast, he guessed where Jiang Tianming and the others were.

After hearing this, Si Zhaohua suddenly realized what was going on, and then showed a disdainful expression: "Humph, they really can't stay at peace. Then we just need to make a mistake as soon as possible and get kicked out."

"No, no." Si Zhaohua himself was also a very careful person. He figured out the problem in his plan before Su Bei could reply. "It's not 'we', it's you or me. One of us must stay outside to support them. Otherwise, if we all go missing, what will we do when the teachers break in and we can't take anyone away?"

Su Bei also thought so: "So, is it you who goes or me?"

He has now determined that only the person who goes there can get the reward of this small copy, and the people who stay outside can only drink some meat soup at most.

After deciding to join the rescue operation, Su Bei looked at the destiny compass above his head. Surprisingly, the position of the compass needle did not change, and neither did Si Zhaohua's compass needle.

At that time, he thought that his previous inference was wrong, and saving people was not the reason why Si Zhaohua's pointer was tilted to the left, and he regretted it for a long time. Unfortunately, he had already promised, so there was no room for regret.

It was not until just now when Si Zhaohua said "Do you go or do I go" that Su Bei suddenly found that the little needle on his head was swinging left and right.

He suddenly understood that this decision was the key to the deviation of the needle.

In this case, he gave the right to choose to Si Zhaohua, after all, this was the reward Si Zhaohua deserved. He originally wanted to take advantage of it, but it didn't matter if he couldn't get it.

"Then I'll go." Si Zhaohua answered without hesitation. He was the one who wanted to save people himself, so of course he felt obliged to do so.

Su Bei was not surprised and nodded and agreed: "We'll discuss the plan at noon."

After saying that, he started mining honestly.

For ordinary people, this kind of work is undoubtedly hard work and very energy-consuming. Moreover, it is not easy to do because it requires perfection.

But it was much easier for the psychics, as their physical fitness alone was better than that of most ordinary people. For them, digging this kind of mineral was just like digging soil, and they had learned the skills of using strength in school, so it was not difficult for them to dig out a complete crystal.

From Su Bei's perspective, the hardest part of this job is actually pretending to be as difficult as everyone else. The daily workload is calculated in kilograms and needs to be weighed when the time comes.

Not only did he need to pretend to be in difficult mining, but he also had to control his speed so that he would not exceed the limit while completing the task, so as not to arouse suspicion from others.

During this period, he felt Li Jie's gaze on him several times, but he ignored it and continued to mine honestly.

During lunch, perhaps because they hadn't done anything in the morning, Li Jie didn't bother them this time and went to eat by himself, which was convenient for them to discuss plans.

"I plan to find a way not to go to work and let them send me to punishment." After Si Zhaohua finished speaking, he tore off a small piece of steamed bun, frowned and looked at it, then put it into his mouth with difficulty.

This was the fastest and safest method he could think of. If he didn't complete the task, he would have to wait three days before being punished, and by then it would be too late. And if he deliberately provoked the supervisor, he might be attacked directly instead of being punished.

"But you have to find a reasonable reason for not going mining, otherwise Li Jie will definitely notice something unusual." Su Bei answered slowly while eating a steamed bun.

Si Zhaohua was naturally aware of this and couldn't help but sigh: "I know, but I can't think of a suitable reason for the moment."

Not going to work because you are sick is definitely the easiest way, but if you are really sick you can take a leave, and faking illness will definitely attract Li Jie's attention.

This method must not be something he did on purpose, but it would prevent him from going to work on time. But Si Zhaohua couldn't come up with a good idea that met the requirements for a while.

Su Bei tilted his head and said, "I do have a way, but I'm sorry to inconvenience you a little."

Si Zhaohua's eyes lit up: "What method?"

**

When they started working that afternoon, the two chatted quietly as they did before while digging. However, this time they did not choose a corner where no one was around, but deliberately approached some people.

"Why did you bring all that money in? Are you regretting it now?" Su Bei said in a very low voice, looking as if he was disappointed with his friend.

Before saying this, he deliberately looked around a few times, with a very alert look. The people around him were immediately attracted by his actions and secretly pricked up their ears to listen.

Therefore, even though Su Bei spoke very softly, several people who were nearby still heard it.

Si Zhaohua also acted very well and said with a bitter face: "I didn't expect there was no place to spend money here. I wouldn't have brought it in earlier. Now it feels so dangerous."

"It's okay. Just send the money when you can send the letter." Su Bei comforted her, saying meaningfully, "But before that, be careful not to get your things stolen."

"No way!" Si Zhaohua was very confident, "Unless I am punished, I have to bring the money back to the dormitory. Otherwise, how could the money be stolen if I keep it with me?"

Su Bei nodded seriously: "You are right. Didn't Xiao Jie say before that as long as you work hard to complete the task and don't be late or leave early, you will definitely not be punished."

After finishing the conversation they had agreed on in advance, the two looked at each other, stopped trying to persuade them, and moved on to other topics. They pretended not to notice the flashing eyes of the children around them. Anyway, the bait had been put out, so it depended on who would take the bait.

The children who heard their conversation just now were indeed in mixed emotions. They were sent here because their families were extremely short of money. They were sent here because of the lack of money, firstly to save themselves, and secondly to find them a place to live temporarily. Now that they heard that someone in their dormitory had hidden a large sum of money, how could they not be jealous?

If they had such a large sum of money, they probably wouldn't have been sent here. Su Bei and the other two were orphans, but they were not! If they had this money, they might be able to go out and reunite with their families.

However, some people are just greedy, while others have already developed evil intentions and are planning to take action.

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Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution during 2024-04-05 17:28:21~2024-04-06 17:31:54~

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!