Chapter 665: Chapter 221 The Basic Situation of the Mine_3
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Leonard Churchill could tell from their stance that these guys were going to rob openly.
Without waiting for a few colleagues around him who hadn’t yet grasped what was happening to react, he rushed into the pitch-black mine tunnel nearby.
It wasn’t that he was afraid to fight, but after watching that mutated miner kill someone, he wasn’t sure if there were any “taboos” in this mine.
Killing now might invite trouble.
Watching Leonard Churchill dash into the mine,
to the onlookers it seemed certain he was carrying food to be running like that.
The burly man bellowed, “Chase him!”
Several people chased after him.
Meanwhile, several other porters, who were also card master apprentices, hadn’t managed to escape in time, and after being thoroughly beaten, were stripped clean of everything they had.
…
Elsewhere, another group had gathered together, breaking up the bread they had just exchanged.
Each got a small half-piece.
They too saw the scene of Leonard Churchill escaping.
“Boss Christ, should we go after him?”
“Don’t bother. It’s just one man, we won’t find much food on him. It’s a waste of energy. Running around in the mines blindly could aggravate those ‘lunatics’, and you might lose your life as a consequence. Better save our strength to mine. Besides, that guy’s not weak.”
…
Upon hearing this, everyone silently nibbled on the bread in their hands.
Though the energy from the food added some color to their faces, the oppressive sense of despair lingered undispensable.
The miners chatted aimlessly amongst themselves.
“Ah… the crystals in the upper three levels of the mine have been almost completely extracted. I’ve only mined three in three days, and the bread I got in exchange isn’t even enough for one meal. If this keeps up, we’ll starve to death even if we don’t go mad.”
“Yeah. Now, if you want to mine enough crystals, you can only go below the fifth level of the mine. But even high-order card masters can’t withstand the mental contamination there. Stay too long, and you’ll mutate…”
“What do we do now?”
“Do not engage with the prison guards if you’re not absolutely sure you can handle them. I’ve inquired around; there have been those who killed a guard before. Not only did they fail to escape, but the entire prison’s food exchange was cut off for a week, and half the population starved to death… That’s why those ‘lunatics’ instinctively try to stop anyone who wants to kill a guard.”
“This complicates things. We might never get out of Upper State Prison.”
“We can only hope someone outside notices something is off about this place. But the chances are slim… and if it’s ever revealed, I suspect the people from Golden Oak Corporation would rather destroy this place to keep their secret.”
“I overheard a lunatic muttering once that there’s an expert in the mines who could get out, could it be true?”
…
They were not just exiled criminals, but also ordinary people sold by human traffickers, war slaves… and even once members of the Federation’s nobility and officials.
The leader “Boss Christ” was a field agent from X Bureau.
…
Leonard Churchill didn’t run long in the tunnel.
Soon, three guys who had been beaten to the ground lay at his feet.
Seeing the terror in these three, Leonard Churchill also lost the desire to kill.
These men were skin and bones, panting even as they ran; had it not been for Leonard Churchill giving them a chance, they couldn’t have caught up.
He stood there, took out a piece of bread, and said, “Tell me everything about this prison. Whichever of you tells me the most interesting stuff, the bread is yours.”
“Really?”
The three had thought they were going to die, their eyes devoid of much fear.
They figured dying by Leonard’s hand would be quicker than starving or mutating into a lunatic.
But upon hearing Leonard’s words, they immediately perked up and began babbling incessantly.
As he listened, Leonard’s gaze grew deeper.
The three had been in the mine for months and knew quite a few things.
Like those mutation monsters, they were high-tier card masters who had mutated into lunatics…
There were at least seven levels to the mine, and nothing much was left above the third level; the deeper you went, the more crystals but also the greater the contamination…
Those lunatics were active in the deeper levels, the further down you go, the more formidable the lunatics…
Later, as Leonard listened, he also asked about some things he wanted to know.
“Do you know who has survived the longest here?”
“I think it’s ‘Fifth Master of Swift family’? Supposedly he’s been alive for over three years now, used to be a leader of a mercenary group. Now he’s one of the three top bosses in these tunnels.”
“Anyone survived here for over a decade?”
“Impossible! No one can live that long. Fifth Master of Swift family has lasted three years because he was a mysterious system spell caster and had strong mental power, a bunch of underlings to help him mine for food, and that’s what’s keeping him alive until now. Anyone else would have gone mad long ago.”
…
Leonard Churchill originally wanted to inquire about the “predecessor” mentioned by Lord Nine Brown, but didn’t get an answer.
Abel had obtained the “Gluttony” Breathing Method fragment more than a decade ago, which meant that the predecessor had been in the prison all those years before.
Could he be dead?
“That doesn’t seem right…”
Leonard Churchill felt that was unlikely.
If that predecessor had died, Lord Nine Brown would have surely mentioned it.
And from Master Merlin’s evasive attitude before, it seemed likely the person was still around.
Or perhaps he had guessed wrong, and the “predecessor” wasn’t a prisoner but rather a guard on the outside?
…
Information of value was exchanged for a piece of bread.
Soon, Leonard Churchill had a rough understanding of the situation in the mine.
And from these inquiries, he learned that those mutation monsters indeed comprehended various ‘intents.’
People here, if they stayed long enough, would, more or less, comprehend some fighting intent, mysteriously acquired combat martial skills and spells.
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