Fang Ming and Nannan walked back into the mine shaft. With their previous experience, they quickly returned to the spot where they had encountered the mine cart, waiting.
This time they arrived a bit earlier; the mine cart hadn't come yet.
"This time, we just need to stop the mine cart and ride it. Don't have any interaction or conflict with the miner," Fang Ming instructed.
"Got it," Nannan nodded obediently.
After waiting for a few minutes, a rumbling sound came from afar, and the mine cart finally arrived.
"Ready."
The mine cart got closer and closer until it appeared in their sight. Nannan immediately moved to stop it. Before the miner could even show his head to speak, the two of them quickly jumped in and then released their hold on the mine cart.
The mine cart rumbled and set off again.
"Who are you guys?" the miner asked, utterly bewildered, looking at the two. Were these two so impolite? Jumping in without so much as a greeting.
"Shut up!" Fang Ming threatened menacingly. "One more word and I'll kill you!"
The miner was instantly scared. However, seeing their young age, just two kids, he immediately gained confidence and glared, starting to scold them.
"Whose children are you? How can you just run into the mine shaft like this? Aren't you afraid of danger?"
"Didn't I tell you to shut up? Don't you understand?" Fang Ming released some of his aura, hoping to make the miner back down. But to his surprise, the man became even more excited, as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
"Oh ho, you dare to scare me? Who are you trying to scare? Your grandpa here isn't a pushover either." The miner rolled up his sleeves, preparing to stand up and fight Fang Ming.
Fang Ming, helpless, gave Nannan a look. His fierce aura clearly couldn't intimidate this guy; Nannan would have to take action.
Nannan understood immediately. She released her aura, and instantly, a wave of dread pressed down on the miner.
The miner felt as if he were being stared at by a venomous snake. The fear of death in an instant froze his body, and he stammered, "You... what exactly..."
Before he could finish speaking, the miner's neck snapped with a "crack," and he died in the mine cart.
He died again?
Fang Ming looked dumbfounded. "Hey! Are you kidding me? How did he die again?"
Nannan looked innocent. "Was he scared to death?"
Fang Ming rubbed his forehead. He really hadn't expected this miner to be so timid. He had died just from a little scare. It seemed he couldn't let Nannan act anymore.
"Nannan, dismantle the mine cart, let's try again."
Since the miner was dead, staying on the mine cart was useless; it would just loop again. It was better to start the next round sooner.
Nannan waved her small hand, and the entire mine cart instantly shattered into pieces. With a "ding," they were back at the starting point.
Fang Ming stood there, pondering a strategy. How could they get the miner to take them out of this constantly looping trap alive? This miner couldn't be hit or scolded. If things went wrong, he'd just die on you, which was absurd.
The malevolent spirit behind this world was also a weirdo, finding such a person as the key to escape, directly raising the difficulty to extreme levels.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Fang Ming thought of something. He reached into his backpack and felt around a corner, finding a small packet. "Do you have a way, Fang Ming?" Nannan asked, seeing Fang Ming's confident expression.
"Not sure, but I can try."
Fang Ming smiled as he looked at the small wallet in his hand. It contained two thousand yuan in cash that he had packed for emergencies. It all depended on whether this miner was greedy.
"Let's go."
The two walked back into the depths of the mine shaft and soon encountered the mine cart again. Fang Ming used the same trick, stopping the mine cart, jumping in immediately, and then letting the mine cart depart.
"Who are you guys?" the miner asked, still looking bewildered.
Fang Ming changed his strategy and said to the miner with a smile, "Uncle, we want to look for our parents in the mine. Could you take us in?"
As the saying goes, a smiling face is not struck. Seeing Fang Ming's pleasant attitude, the miner's expression softened. However, he still sternly refused, "That won't do. The mine has regulations, and outsiders are not allowed in. If anything happens, I can't take responsibility."
Fang Ming secretly took out the wallet and took out all the cash inside, quietly stuffing it into the miner's hand.
"Uncle, please, be lenient." Fang Ming pretended to beg pitifully.
The miner felt something foreign in his hand. He touched it and instantly knew what it was. His eyes darted around, and he said with a smile, "However, since your parents are also in the mine, that's a different story. Family members are allowed in."
Fang Ming smiled inwardly. "Got it."
Alas, if he had known it could be settled with two thousand yuan, why would he have gone through so much trouble and wasted so much time.
Looking at the two strangely, the miner, who had been impossible to deal with, was resolved by Fang Ming with a few pieces of paper. It was truly strange. She had never seen human currency before and couldn't understand what was so special about these pieces of paper with no apparent use.
"Let's go, young fellow, I'll take you into the mine," the miner said with a laugh. With a series of actions, he sped up the mine cart. Soon, the mine cart passed through a wall and entered another track.
Rumbling sounds began to echo, other mine carts!
They hadn't heard this in the previous loops. It seemed they could finally get out this time!
The mine cart entered a wider mine shaft, where six tracks ran parallel to each other. Mine carts came and went from here, and Fang Ming's was among them.
Fang Ming looked around and suddenly saw a sign standing by the tracks.
"H City Gold Mining Base?"
H City? Fang Ming's mind immediately recalled the mining company that existed in H City.
H City prospered because of a mine, a typical resource-based city. Later, problems arose with the mine, and the entire mine was sealed. H City then began to develop other industries with this foundation, leading to its current prosperity.
And this Gold Mining Base, Fang Ming had heard of the company; it was the largest mining company in the entire mine, renowned throughout H City at the time.
So, was this place actually the former mine of H City?
If so, Fang Ming had many ideas. As a native of H City, he had heard many stories about the mine since he was a child and had some understanding of certain things.
The mine cart they were on merged with other mine carts on the main track and finally stopped in a huge underground warehouse. The miners got out of the carts and then pulled the carts to connect to a conveyor belt. The mine carts were then taken to the equipment behind by the conveyor belt.
Ore after ore was loaded onto the conveyor belt and then transported to other mine shafts. It was obvious that those mine shafts contained the next stage of processing equipment.
Fang Ming followed them off the mine cart. The miners who had traveled with them quickly grabbed them and pulled out two sets of dirty work clothes from a corner, handing them to Fang Ming.
"If you want to find someone here, it's best to wear a uniform, or you'll be chased out by the patrols," the miner whispered.
"Chased out? Didn't you say the mine was sealed?" Fang Ming asked strangely.
"What? The mine is sealed?" the miner asked in surprise. "How is that possible? If the mine was sealed, we workers would have revolted long ago."
Fang Ming looked into his eyes and confirmed he wasn't lying.
To hear different accounts of the same event from the same person was strange. Moreover, the miners around them behaved normally, and even this miner had become very normal.
"Then maybe I misremembered," Fang Ming said with a smile, taking the two sets of clothes from the miner. "Thank you, uncle."
"It's nothing, it's nothing," the miner waved his hand indifferently. After all, he had been paid, and two worn-out clothes weren't worth much.
"You go look for people. If you don't find them, you can wait for me here. I work two shifts, departing from here to the mine shaft, and I'll take you out then," the miner said.
"Okay, okay, thank you, uncle," Fang Ming said gratefully.
"Bye-bye." The miner waved and walked into a mine shaft and left.
Fang Ming held the two sets of clothes and fell into thought—weren't these a bit too dirty?
Of course, he wasn't being picky. The main thing was he didn't want Nannan to get all dirty.
"Nannan, how about you transform into a malevolent pattern, and I'll go explore alone?" Fang Ming asked.
"No, I want to be with Fang Ming," Nannan refused decisively. It wasn't a special situation now, and she didn't want to transform into a malevolent pattern.
"But if you follow me, you'll have to wear these clothes. Don't you think they're too dirty?" Fang Ming pointed at the uniform in his hand. Nannan glanced at it. "It's fine, I don't mind."
As a冥煞 (ming sha), the concept of "dirt" wasn't particularly strong for her. Dust was just a part of nature, and there was nothing particularly to dislike about it.
"Alright, since you don't mind, then you'll come with me," Fang Ming said with a smile, handing the clothes to Nannan. "Put them on, we're ready to leave."
The two put on the uniforms and donned hard hats.
Fang Ming, at first glance, looked quite like a miner. But Nannan was somewhat out of place. Rather than a miner, she looked like a young lady experiencing society; her aloof demeanor couldn't be hidden at all.
Broken Horn Peak Ancient Pagoda.
The principal's figure appeared again. This time, he was fully prepared. With a wave of his hand, a spatial rift appeared, and one by one, "Nannan" appeared.
This time, he had brought all three hundred copies. He was determined to find a successful method!
"You, stand in the center." The principal ordered a copy to move to the center, then he flew to the dome to activate the runes.
"Buzz~" The entire ancient pagoda lit up. When the light faded, only a pool of ink remained on the ground.
Again.
The principal was undeterred and continued to direct copies into the center of the runes.