NOVPUBChapter 145: Chapter 144: Heading to the Underground
Chapter 145 -144: Heading to the Underground
“Gangs are cruel to their enemies as well, but what makes Black Steel even more fearsome is their strength,” Dane said with a grave expression. “It’s rumored that they have several warriors of Sentinel Level, and some say they already have people who’ve reached the Master Level. They just haven’t returned to the Old Continent to be reclassified. If you encounter that group, you must be extremely careful.”
“How are these levels differentiated?” The Russian showed interest, “Can they withstand bullets?”
The reporter bitterly smiled, “This… I’m not clear on that either. If someone is assessed as Master Level, then their perception, strength, and speed are all entirely different from that of ordinary people. For example, Commander Shandela, she can jump down from the southern city wall of the Old City and remain unharmed.”
“The old city wall? The one by the beach?” Zhou Zhi gasped, “That’s at least ten meters high, isn’t it!”
“Aren’t we all carbon-based life forms?” Zhang Zhiyuan sighed.
“Are you truly unaware, or are you pretending not to notice?” Anthony glanced at him, “Whether it’s here or on the other side, we’ve all become stronger than before, and this obviously has something to do with the aura of this world.”
“Eh, really?”
“Yes,” Qianyuan Meiko suddenly spoke up, “I used to barely manage a tie with my swordsmanship teacher, but now I can repeatedly overpower him, which is nearly impossible given our vast difference in strength. In addition, my bench press and deadlift numbers have significantly improved. To avoid suspicion, I’ve already dismissed my fitness coach.”
“You’ve been neglecting your training recently, Mr. Justice,” Anthony scoffed, “Just train a little, and you’ll immediately see the difference from before.”
“The other side?” Dane and Judy looked at each other, perplexed, “Is that where the Paradise Master is?”
Only then did the players realize that not everyone in the hall was a traveler from Earth.
“You could understand it that way. It’s similar to what we call a base. We are accustomed to calling our landing points worlds, like this place here is referred to as Magnificent Castle World,” Xue Quan explained earnestly, “May I ask, how many of these high-level experts are there? Can we find out their details?”
Dane did not continue to inquire, “This is the core secret of Heigang Security, much rarer than the information we’ve discussed before. I’ll try to inquire, but the prospects are not promising.”
“Alright, then let’s focus our efforts on intelligence gathering for now. Aside from Mr. Dane and Miss Judy, everyone else should not remain idle, try to learn anything you can,” Xue Quan concluded, “However, we absolutely must not drag this out for too long. Silence is also a sign of weakness. Once Black Steel takes action, other companies will probably become restless. Coupled with the mysterious disappearance of Manager Le, lingering too long might alert the opposition. Hence, I suggest we act within a day at most.”
“By tomorrow evening at the latest?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked.
“Exactly,” Xue Quan’s answer was straightforward, clearly having a firm resolution, “By then, no matter how much intelligence we’ve gathered, we must launch our counterattack.”
…
As the gates closed, the elevator left the platform of mine shaft 764 and began to slowly descend.
After leaving the platform, the surroundings suddenly dimmed, as if darkness had enveloped the elevator cage. All that could be heard was the screeching yet silent sound of steel cables grinding on the pulleys.
Riding the elevator were three passengers: GaoTian Mining’s Magnificent Castle district general manager, Dehenny; the company security team captain, Quilla; and the head office inspector, Logan.
In terms of position, the district general manager was much higher-ranked than the inspector, but since the latter was sent by the head office to conduct an inspection, the amount of resources granted depended largely on the inspector’s report. Therefore, Dehenny was warmly accommodating him along the way, for fear of any negligence.
“Next, we’ll descend all the way to the Sea Bed Lookout,” Dehenny took the initiative to explain, “All of the company’s efforts in recent years will be presented there.”
Logan was noncommittal and simply replied, “This was not carved out by man.”
“Your Excellency has good eyes. It originally was a natural deep well, sealed by rock formations at the top, and well number 764 just happened to break through this deep well, allowing us to discover the mineral veins deep underground.”
“If that is the case, you should make good use of this discovery, but I see not many elevators here. Why? Is it because of a lack of steam-powered contraptions?” Logan said indifferently.
“No… We just don’t want too many people to see what’s underneath.” Dehenny rubbed his hands together and smiled, “After all, what’s down there is quite extraordinary.”
“Fine, I’ll see for myself.”
Logan replied casually. As an experienced inspector, he had visited many branch mines and seen countless managers boast about the incredible things they had excavated in the mining areas. But in the end, most finds were grossly exaggerated, either ruins or classical contraptions; the former, without written records, were not even worth their weight in stones, and the latter often fluctuated between fourth and third level contraptions, worth some money but not a lot.
The most concerning thing was that these mine managers often invested a lot of manpower and financial resources to dig up new curiosities, leading to a significant decline in mineral output, which for the company was a losing proposition. As a result, most of these boastful managers ended up being shown the door, plummeting from the nouveau riche to ordinary citizens, and if they were in debt, they ended up worse than the poor.
Magnificent Castle’s mining department encountered the same problem.
Three years ago, the output of the mine here had been falling. Fluctuations over a short period are normal, such as when old mines run dry while new ones have yet to start production. But for it to continue for three years is not normal, especially since Magnificent Castle produces not only iron, copper, nickel but also significant amounts of gold and Glowing Stone. The continuous downturn was something the board of directors could not allow.
The Gaotian Company was wealthy and could afford the losses, but the board of directors absolutely did not want to see a parasite continuously drawing blood from them—there were more than enough two-legged professional managers for them, and those who were incompetent could just take their pail and leave. This was also why Logan was sent here.
The deep indicator kept moving, inching towards the 500-meter mark.
“It’s this deep?” Logan looked up with some concern—the darkness above swallowed everything, and he could only see about two meters of steel cable and hooks connected, the slightest underground breeze causing the elevator to sway.
“Please rest assured, we check this lift system every month; there are absolutely no problems with safety, and besides, 500 meters from the surface isn’t far.” Dehenny said with assurance.
Just then, Logan caught a glimpse of a faint green glow out of the corner of his eye.
For him, this soft glow was all too familiar.
It was the brilliance possessed only by the highest grade of Glowing Stone.
He moved to the edge of the elevator, looked down, and saw a stretch of emerald green mineral vein partially buried in the rock layer, like the arteries of the earth.
“Dammit, you’re actually leaving a vein like this untouched?” Logan said in disbelief.
That was like a bunch of gold bars!
“High-grade Glowing Stone is indeed very nice, but it pales in comparison to the treasure we’ve found.” Dehenny seemed very confident.
“Could it be a first or second level contraption?” The inspector’s previous disdain began to waver. Even the most foolish mine manager would know the value of high-grade Glowing Stone.
“I’m not in a position to judge, only you can determine its value.” He spoke as the lift came to a halt with a clang, and the depth indicator stopped at the number 616 meters. “Please follow me, you’ll see it soon.”
