At this moment, Qin Feng, who had just been rescued, finally caught his breath.
He looked at Su Ji. In his eyes, aside from the relief of surviving a disaster, there was an unprecedented sense of shock.
This Brother Su was indeed hiding a heaven-shaking secret!
The spiritual energy that had surged into his body carried a coercion originating from the depths of his bloodline. It effortlessly suppressed his ninth-grade Golden Core and began to repair it.
Such methods had long exceeded the scope of his understanding.
Qin Feng struggled to climb up from the ground and prepared to kneel before Su Ji.
Brother Su, for your great kindness...
But Su Ji caught him and shook his head.
Alright, spare me the empty gestures.
He patted Qin Feng's shoulder and spoke softly into his ear, using a voice only the two of them could hear.
Remember, you still owe me eight hundred pounds of Black-veined Iron.
Qin Feng's body suddenly stiffened.
He wanted to retort: wasn't it two hundred pounds?
But on second thought.
He might as well consider the remaining six hundred pounds as the price to buy his own life.
It didn't seem too expensive, did it?
Meanwhile, Zhang Kui, who was standing to the side, finally recovered from his shock.
He looked at Su Ji, an unprecedented gleam flashing in his large, bell-like eyes.
This kid was indeed a mining prodigy!?
To think he actually possessed a method to suppress baleful aura?
If that was the case...
Then the depths of the mining area...
There might actually be a chance to explore it...
Once successful...
He might truly have a chance to escape his status as a mining slave!
He had struck gold!
He strode forward and grabbed Su Ji's wrist, his gruff voice pitching up slightly due to excitement.
Kid!
From today onward, you don't need to mine anymore!
Zhang Kui waved his hand.
When Old Man Zhao returns, he will probably have other tasks to assign you.
Su Ji nodded hastily, putting on a submissive appearance of following Big Brother's arrangements completely.
At this moment, Qin Feng, who had just been rescued, had also finally caught his breath.
Watching the scene of brotherly harmony between Su Ji and Zhang Kui, the slight gratitude that had just risen in his heart was instantly replaced by a much stronger thought.
An opportunity!
He struggled to stand up, forcing a weak yet sincere smile onto his face, and took a step toward Su Ji.
Brother Su...
He had barely opened his mouth and hadn't even managed to utter a third word.
Slap!
An incredibly crisp and loud slap echoed in front of the mine pit without any warning.
Qin Feng was spun half a circle on the spot by the tremendous force, and then fell heavily to the ground again in a sorry state.
His already pale cheek swelled up at a visible rate, branded with a clear five-finger mark.
The whole process was so incredibly fast that before Qin Feng could even process what had happened, a burning pain radiated from his face.
He covered his face, completely bewildered.
Zhang Kui slowly retracted his palm-leaf-sized hand, even wiping it on his clothes in disgust, as if he had just swatted something filthy.
He looked down condescendingly at Qin Feng on the ground, his bell-like eyes full of undisguised disgust.
Zhang Kui's voice was deep and gruff, carrying an unreasonable and overbearing tyranny.
What the hell do you think you are?
Do you think you are worthy of calling my little brother Su your brother?!
This bellowing question made Qin Feng's mind buzz, going completely blank.
Brother?
Since when did Su Hao become your brother?
The two of them were the real allies!
Have you finished your mining quota that you're resting?
Zhang Kui kicked Qin Feng. The force was neither light nor heavy, just enough to make him grimace in pain without causing any fundamental injuries.
All day long, all you fucking know is how to play petty tricks!
I'm warning you, cut out this nonsense!
If there's a next time, it won't be as simple as just a slap!
After Zhang Kui issued his vicious warning, he turned his gaze back to Su Ji.
The fierce and malicious hostility on his face vanished without a trace in an instant, replaced by an almost amiable smile.
This speed of changing faces made even Su Ji inwardly exclaim in admiration.
Professional.
Brother Su, just ignore him.
Zhang Kui walked over to Su Ji's side.
I've seen plenty of self-righteous trash like him who refuse to keep their feet on the ground.
He'll die in this mine pit sooner or later.
Su Ji's face revealed a perfectly timed look of dawning realization.
In his heart, however, he silently gave Qin Feng a thumbs up.
Good brother.
You didn't take this beating in vain.
Brother Su, you must be tired today. Go back and rest first.
When the bell rings for the end of the shift, at the old place, I'll heat up a pot of wine and we can continue eating meat.
Zhang Kui's face was piled with smiles, and a light named anticipation flickered in his eyes.
Brother Su, since you've just arrived here, don't you still have many doubts in your heart?
When the time comes, as your big brother, I will naturally help clear your confusion.
Hearing this, Su Ji's face immediately showed an expression of wild joy as he nodded repeatedly.
Great! Great! Thank you so much, Big Brother Zhang!
His appearance of shedding tears of gratitude, looking as if he wanted to bow deeply right then and there, made Zhang Kui feel even more comfortable.
Zhang Kui offered a few more words of encouragement before turning around in satisfaction and walking toward the depths of the mine pit.
He was going to urge those lazy miners to get back to work.
With Zhang Kui's departure, this area returned to silence once again.
The smile on Su Ji's face gradually faded away.
He didn't look at Qin Feng on the ground, who was still clutching his face with a dull gaze, unable to recover from the sudden turn of events.
He simply turned around and walked in the direction of the shacks.
His figure from behind appeared somewhat bleak and lonely amidst the cold wind of the wasteland.
This appearance, falling into Qin Feng's eyes, was interpreted in an entirely different way.
Brother Su, he is using this method to express his helplessness to me.
He has no choice but to temporarily feign compliance with that vulgar Zhang Kui.
Qin Feng looked at Su Ji's back, and a faint light reignited in his previously dim eyes.
He climbed up from the ground, patted the dust off his body, and picked up the iron pickaxe from the floor.
He didn't look at Su Ji again. Instead, he turned around and silently walked toward the mining area belonging to the newcomers.
Brother Su, rest assured.
I, Qin Feng, will absolutely not let you down!
I will definitely get you those eight hundred pounds of Black-veined Iron!
...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
