Life Game In Other World
Chapter 384: Mine and Consortium (Double-Length - Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 384: Chapter 384: Mine and Consortium (Double-Length Chapter Please Subscribe, Bookmark, and Vote for Monthly Tickets)

Daybreak

The glow of dawn filtered through the somewhat dated car windows, stretching the shadows of those inside into long, thin silhouettes.

However, this tranquil beauty lasted for barely a moment before it was shattered by the clamorous din.

On either side of the street, miners wielding shovels or metal rods stood off against the City Defense Army and members of the Ice Wolf Gang armed with electric batons.

The homeless who had been sleeping peacefully on the streets were startled awake, fleeing from their spots, but they couldn’t get far before being captured by gang members nearby.

Some physically strong vagrants could become ’miners,’ thus fetching a good price at the private prisons.

Chaos served as the city’s dominant color.

"The world is getting more and more chaotic."

The driver up front sighed and honked the horn, scaring away the homeless blocking the road ahead.

The roadway had become congested with many vehicles crawling one after another towards South City, the commercial district. Though it too showed signs of disorder, it was much safer compared to North City.

The taxi crept forward slowly.

During the wait at the traffic light, the driver looked up and glanced at the youth in the rear-view mirror, reflected wearing a large overcoat, "Young man, are you headed to the Mining Consortium building?"

Laid out in front of the youth was a holographic map, over which he traced some peculiar patterns with his finger.

"Hmm."

Seated in the back, He Ao looked at the map before him and folded it away.

As there were too many people hailing rides to South City, He Ao couldn’t catch an autonomous taxi, so he paid extra for one with a driver.

The driver was an elderly man who seemed quite old, with white at his temples and an aged face. When he looked at He Ao through the rear-view mirror, He Ao also observed him.

The traffic light turned, and the driver withdrew his gaze, focusing on the road ahead.

"Life gets harder day by day," he sighed, "It wasn’t like this when I was young. Although times were hard then as well, they weren’t as terrible as today."

He Ao didn’t say much, simply maintaining a listening posture while watching the driver.

The old driver seemed to have not met a passenger willing to listen to his stories for a long time. He glanced at He Ao once more through the rear-view mirror and slowly continued,

"When I was young, I was a mechanical engineer. Back then, the mines of Rock City weren’t all controlled by one consortium like they are now. I worked in a major mine site.

"The major mine site is what’s known now as Rock City Mining Group. Younger folks might not recognize the name anymore."

The driver’s physique seemed robust, his voice lively and clear,

"Rock City is young, incomparable to those ancient cities. The discovery of massive mineral deposits is also a recent event within the last two or three hundred years. The mines in the wilderness were difficult to exploit; we had to avoid exotic beasts and be wary of monsters, and we couldn’t work during the snowy winter.

"And when mining, it was very easy to unearth some terrifying things, so the overall cost of mining was very high. Back then, the death rate among miners was high; of course, so were the wages."

At this point, the old driver turned to look at He Ao, "Have you seen the small walls around the mines out there?"

He Ao nodded slightly.

"Those walls were developed by the major mine site,"

the old driver laughed heartily, "Working at the major mine site was the happiest time of my life. Everyone with suggestions for improvement of the mining machinery could submit them to the management, who would frequently visit the front lines of mining and transportation to Listen to the miners’ suggestions.

"Our salaries increased every year, and we could get promoted for good performance. The smarter miners below could even get the company’s sponsorship to go to university for further education.

"The major mine site existed for over a hundred years, developing countless new types of equipment. Every day was better than the last; every time I entered the mine site, I would see the banner at the entrance, ’Be the best, the most advanced, the most respected enterprise.’

"It is said that the original founders of the big mine were two engineers, and the majority of the management were also engineers, with nearly every executive holding one or two patents."

"Back then, the big mine would pour most of its profits into the research and development of new machines; we were the innovators leading the entire Federation."

"Many of the new equipment developed by the big mine is now in use by most of the mining companies in the Federation."

"What happened later?"

He Ao asked softly.

"Later,"

the driver leaned back in his seat and engaged the autopilot, resting one hand on the steering wheel,

"the big mine acquired a small mining equipment manufacturing company in the south.

"Then, two investment bankers from the south arrived, met with the shareholders of the big mine one by one, and together, they ousted the founder’s descendants from the company.

"The engineering executives, who had been focusing on technology, were fired, and the executives from the small mining equipment company, who spoke a lot of financial jargon, took their places as the executives.

"Then, they started slashing R&D expenses, restructuring the company, undergoing financial reforms, and renamed the big mine to Rock City Mining Group.

"They then listed the newborn Luo Mining Group on the financial market and borrowed money to buy mines, which further inflated the stock price. They kept repeating this until they acquired the vast majority of mines and became the sole Mining Consortium in Rock City.

"The big mine gradually became a real big mine in every sense, but the exciting slogans at the entrance were gone, replaced by a corporate philosophy of ’stock price first, profit first.’

"After completing the monopoly, the new board of directors and management team cut labor costs on one hand and entered into the financial sector, including real estate, on the other hand.

"The multitude of mines brought a huge profit, but these profits were no longer invested in R&D; instead, they were used to invest in new industries and buy back stocks because these actions could inflate the stock prices, whereas R&D had a too long return cycle.

"Every executive received a hefty ’stock incentive package’; a rising stock price meant their net worth rose, which in turn made them ’respectable’ rich people.

"In order to push the stock price higher, they also continuously lowered costs, adopting more aggressive strategies and using worse materials. The mortality rate among miners, which had been falling due to the big mine’s continuous development of new machines, started to rise again under their management.

"Not only that, but they also significantly reduced the salaries of the miners and the junior engineers and extended working hours under the guise of ’cutting costs,’ making the financial statements look better and stock prices rise faster."

At this point, the elderly driver laughed wryly and sighed,

"Later, I resigned. I couldn’t go against my conscience and make machines that could kill people in order to cut costs. The big mine was dead, what survived was just a Mining Consortium with eyes only for profit.

"After resigning, I was blacklisted in the industry and couldn’t find another job as a mechanical engineer. I changed careers numerous times until I finally became a driver. The pay isn’t high, but I live comfortably."

"Later, when my son wanted to work for the Mining Consortium, I wouldn’t allow him to go. Looking back now, it’s likely I saved his life.

"These people have no bottom line when it comes to stock prices and profits."

The taxi driver turned the steering wheel in a circle, and the taxi came to a stop not far from a towering building with a sharp turn, "But they have the Mercenary Corps and they have money; ordinary people like us can’t contend with them—that’s the Mining Consortium building ahead."

"Thank you."

He Ao handed over the cab fare.

The driver didn’t take his money but instead said softly,

"Kid, I know you’re a good person.

"I’ve seen you on the news, and I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I know you can’t take them on; don’t act rashly. If all else fails, we should leave this city.

"My family and I are already prepared to leave this city tonight; if you want, we can take you with us. Just don’t be impulsive."

"Don’t worry, uncle, I won’t be impulsive,"

He Ao replied with a smile, shaking his head. He placed the money on the seat, pushed open the car door, and got out of the taxi.

The location here was actually still some distance away from the Mining Consortium’s main building, but any closer positions had already been encircled by the Mercenary Corps, preventing taxis from getting in.

These mercenaries had been called back from the wilderness to safeguard the security of the Board of Directors and top executives.

The taxi driver watched him get out of the car, gave him a long look, sighed, and turned the steering wheel to leave.

He Ao’s gaze penetrated deep into the distance towards the building.

The Old Foreman gave him a hint but did not tell him outright; it was up to He Ao to figure it out.

That meant the person behind the scenes probably didn’t know they had been exposed just yet.

As a result, for this brief period, He Ao was in the dark, and the mysterious figure was in the light; their positions had reversed.

So now, He Ao had some time to prepare without interference.

But this time would not be long because the tensions in Rock City had been escalated to the breaking point, and the mysterious figure’s goals were likely about to be realized.

He Ao had to complete all his preparations before the final moment arrived.

He watched the building not far away, drew the short red sword from his waist, held it in reverse grip, extended his wrist, and as he raised it upward with a red glow, droplets of bright red blood slowly seeped out.

——

As the hazy glow lit up, on the small high wall of a mining site to the north of Rock City, a mercenary in Mercenary Corps attire with blond hair yawned.

"When does the shift change start?"

The blonde mercenary looked out faintly at the sprawling white snowfields.

"In another half an hour."

The mercenary beside him also yawned.

"Those bigwigs pulled all the manpower back. They aren’t afraid of the mine facing danger, making me stand guard for three extra hours."

The blonde mercenary complained.

"Stop complaining. We’re paid to do a job," his companion, with drowsy eyes, surveyed the surroundings and continued,

"And right now winter hasn’t completely passed. You’re new, you don’t know, but most exotic beasts hibernate too. There’s nothing dangerous about this weather.

"Besides, we’re so close to the city. If we encounter any danger, the Captain and the others will come save us."

"Sigh," yawned the blonde mercenary, "The lives of the Board’s bigwigs are different from ours; their lives are valuable, ours cheap."

As he was speaking, he suddenly paused as if he remembered something and said softly, "I think there’s a problem in the mine. When I came to my post yesterday, I felt like the miners were giving me strange looks. They aren’t planning something, are they?

"With their workload and that salary, if I were them, I’d definitely pick up a gun and go pop all the factory overseers."

"What could the miners possibly do?" His companion burst out laughing, "You’re new. You haven’t seen it; these miners strike and protest every year. They don’t have guns, not even a stick. Killing them is like killing livestock, much easier than dealing with exotic beasts."

"When the time comes, just do this in the crowd,"

The mercenary lifted the gun hanging in front of his chest, but he didn’t reach out to pull the trigger.

Bang bang bang—

Sudden rapid gunfire erupted.

"Damn it, who the hell is shooting!"

The previously drowsy blonde mercenary instantly woke up, then felt something hot and wet splatter on his face.

He removed one glove and instinctively touched his cheek.

It was hot, steaming blood.

The mercenary beside him had eyes wide with disbelief, mouth agape, staring straight at him.

Several bullet holes had pierced the mercenary’s corpse, taking his life.

Bang—

The mercenary fell forward onto the ground, lightly covered with snowflakes.

The surviving blonde mercenary looked up and saw a sturdy young Wilderness Wanderer standing behind the deceased mercenary, holding a handgun.

At that moment, the youngster turned his gaze toward him.

"I surrender."

Without any hesitation, the mercenary raised his hands, "I’m new here, I’ve never killed anyone."

Several scrawny miners suddenly rushed out from behind the Wilderness Wanderer, disarmed him, and shackled his wrists.

Then, intense gunfire could be heard in the distance.

A middle-aged man with a trustworthy appearance and a beard quickly crossed the high wall’s passageway, "Is it over?"

"It’s over, Lord Wick!"

The young Wilderness Wanderer looked at the middle-aged man as if seeking approval.

"Well done!"

Wick too smiled and lightly patted his shoulder.

The captured mercenary opened his mouth, watching the scene in disbelief.

The Wilderness Wanderers and miners working together?

They had come up from inside the mine; there were miners collaborating with them from within!

Realizing this, the blonde mercenary’s mind was in shock.

However, the Wilderness Wanderers’ weapons and gear were not impressive. Even with Wilderness Wanderers joining the fight, it would not give them an absolute advantage over the mercenaries. Just wait a while, and perhaps the mercenaries could suppress this uprising and rescue him.

The blonde mercenary racked his brain but couldn’t figure out how the mercenaries would lose.

They couldn’t possibly have a giant Mecha, could they?!

Just as this thought crossed the blonde mercenary’s mind, he felt the sky grow dark.

He lifted his head to look up.

A massive figure, like a dark cloud, blotted out the sun, flying over their heads.

The mercenary’s mind went blank, and there was only one thought left:

They really did have a Mecha...

With the appearance of this giant Mecha, the sound of gunfire around them dropped instantly, and soon it all ceased.

At the highest point of the mine, the breeze lifted a snow-white flag, and at its center was the emblem of the Mining Consortium, a rail drill rig pattern.