Chapter 1933 - 1931: Frozen (2)
Chapter 1933: Chapter 1931: Frozen (2)
They started asking the outside world for help.
Of course, this "outside world" was definitely not legitimate; it meant the boss in charge here who lived in the nearby city. There were also several lieutenants here. Qiaoqiao was a bit face-blind; in her eyes they all looked almost the same, and she couldn’t tell who was in charge and who was a subordinate, but she still froze the man who was staying in a fairly nicely furnished room right onto his sofa.
She didn’t know if this guy was their leader or not.
And then there was the mine. Soon there would be people coming out from inside with the little train that hauled ore, but right now there was no movement. She had no idea how Qin Yize was doing over there.
In fact, Qiaoqiao’s strike this time was pretty much overwhelming.
She had an Invisibility Talisman and Ice Arrow Talismans, and nobody could see her at all. All they felt was clumps of suddenly appearing freezing air that left them stiff and numb. They had no ability to resist. They barely managed to make a phone call out, shivering so hard they couldn’t even speak clearly, but she believed someone would still sense that something was wrong here and rush over in the night.
But Qiaoqiao wasn’t worried.
Her Ice Arrow Talismans could be lethal if she wanted them to be, but of course she wouldn’t go that far. She only made it so they’d lose all mobility for about twenty‑four hours. That should be more than enough time for her and Qin Yize to get things done.
The people in the big pit were on their last legs. One man managed to crawl out with great difficulty, staring dumbfounded at everything in front of him.
Things were obviously not normal today. Normally, at this time of day, the lights would already be on, but the person in charge of turning them on had been frozen, so it was growing darker and darker.
And the scariest part was that those usually fierce, vicious men were either lying on the ground or standing there in a daze. Some even had their eyebrows and beards crusted over with white frost. Their faces were even paler, making them look a bit like zombies.
He didn’t know what was going on; maybe he was scared stiff. He felt nothing at first, but after taking a few steps he still collapsed onto the ground.
Qiaoqiao did not reveal herself. Since this was a miner, he was obviously at the very bottom of the hierarchy. She silently flicked a bit of Spiritual Energy into his body and into the bodies of the people in the pit, then stood at the mine entrance looking inward. Before long, a familiar aura came toward her.
By now, the night was already deep.
Even in the darkness, Qin Yize instantly spotted Qiaoqiao standing at the entrance, craning her neck and peering inside the mine.
Hadn’t he told her to wait over there?
How did she end up here?
Without another word, he grabbed her hand. After they’d walked a few steps and he caught sight of the abnormal situation in the village, Qin Yize’s eyes flashed. This ability to generate Ice Arrow Talismans endlessly, while remaining completely unaffected himself—truly defying the heavens.
"Ah Ze, just now someone definitely contacted the outside. Do you think people will come over later?"
She then added, "Even if they do, I’m not afraid. I’ll just freeze them one by one."
"Your Ice Arrow Talismans really are fierce. You don’t need to show yourself or even lift a hand, and this whole Guard Squad got taken down by a little woman like you."
Qin Yize’s gaze was calm and his tone was calm, but there was still a hint of pride in it.
The situation inside the mine was basically just as they’d guessed. There weren’t quite a thousand people down there, but there were still over seven hundred. Counting the Guard Squad and overseers, it was close to nine hundred in total.
Qin Yize had destroyed the tracks for the little ore train, so they were in the middle of emergency repairs inside.
So the mine was essentially paralyzed right now.
This place ran mining operations twenty‑four hours a day.
These people had almost no rest, no human rights, and definitely no wages. They were just a bunch of slaves mining like their lives depended on it.
You could also say they were mining machines—digging nonstop, digging nonstop, until the day they dropped dead and were thrown out and burned.
That was the final fate of these people.
Qin Yize didn’t say much and sounded very calm, but he didn’t tell Qiaoqiao the whole truth. This place was a living Hell. He’d kept himself invisible to avoid unnecessary trouble, and it was absolutely impossible for him to show himself and talk to these people. All he could do was keep sabotaging things in secret while making sure not to damage the lighting facilities.
Because if the lights went out here, it really would be like Hell. Even without overseers, who knew what would happen to these miners in the dark.
So he’d pretty much destroyed all the equipment and facilities, but kept the generator running. Only in the deepest part were there no power facilities; the miners relied solely on the lamps on their helmets for light.
What he’d sabotaged was the secondary processing area, the part very close to the mine entrance.
Qin Yize took Qiaoqiao on a circuit around the village.
After that, he had Qiaoqiao bring him into the space.
The two of them ran tests for an hour and found that everything functioned normally inside the space.
After all, this was Qiaoqiao’s Portable Space, already deeply connected to her, so naturally there was no danger in using it.
Qin Yize was finally at ease.
Because he needed to head out overnight. Without arousing suspicion, he had to inform his friend about what was happening here.
He had already confirmed this was an illegally developed private mine. The country was currently cracking down hard on private mines like this, especially ones that didn’t even pay taxes.
And this place involved far too many other issues as well.
"Ah Ze, it’s too dangerous for you to go alone. I’m not at ease."
"It’s fine. There’s a small town fifty li away. I’ll go there and make a phone call."
"...What about me?"
"You go into the space and get a good rest. Didn’t we just test it? The clock runs normally in there. I’ll be back by tomorrow morning, and then we’ll head back the way we came."
This really seemed like the best plan they had right now.
Not just Qiaoqiao—even Qin Yize himself currently had no reason or excuse to show up in front of anyone.
And the phone call was only to provide a lead to his friend, in a vague way. Some things didn’t need to be spelled out, but he truly couldn’t step forward personally.
The round trip would take Qin Yize an entire night. After that, the rest would no longer concern the two of them.
Then the two of them would take the Sika Deer back the way they came, drive back to Siluo Manor, and this matter would basically be wrapped up.
And that was exactly how things played out.
The next morning, Qin Yize returned.
Qiaoqiao was still inside the space, but the meeting place they’d agreed on was a natural cave in the mountains.
Hearing movement outside, Qiaoqiao didn’t even need to look to know Qin Yize was back.
Their auras were far too familiar to each other.
Qiaoqiao hadn’t slept all night, either.
How could she not be worried?
She knew Qin Yize’s skills were good, and with the Barrier and Invisibility Talisman she’d given him, no one would discover him, but he still had to walk that road step by step on his own.
Even sitting beside the Golden Mountain, Qiaoqiao had lost all interest in that gold.