Life Dungeon Game

While waiting at a traffic light, the driver looked up and glanced at the young man in the overcoat reflected in the rearview mirror. "Young man, are you going to the mining conglomerate building?"

A projection map was unfolded in front of the young man, and he drew some strange patterns on the map with his finger.

"Ah."

He Ao, sitting in the back, glanced at the map in front of him and put it away.

Because so many people were trying to hail a taxi heading to the south of the city, He Ao couldn't get a driverless taxi, so he paid extra to hail one with a driver.

The driver was an elderly man who looked quite old. His temples were gray and his face was aged. As he looked at He Ao through the rearview mirror, He Ao was also looking at him.

When the traffic light turned green, the driver looked away and gazed ahead.

“Life is getting harder every day,” he sighed. “When I was young, it wasn’t like this. It was tough then, but not as bad as it is today.”

He Ao didn't say much, but simply listened attentively, watching the driver.

The experienced driver seemed to have never encountered a passenger like He Ao who was so willing to listen to his past stories in a long time. He glanced at He Ao through the rearview mirror and slowly continued.

"When I was young, I was a mechanical engineer. Back then, the mines in Rock City weren't like they are now, all in the hands of a conglomerate. I worked at a large mine back then."

"The large mine is now the Rock City Mining Group; younger children probably don't even know this name."

The driver seemed to be in good health; his voice was cheerful and bright.

"Rock City is a relatively young city, unlike those ancient cities. The discovery of large-scale mineral deposits is only a recent two or three hundred years old. Mining in the wilderness is difficult; one must avoid strange beasts and be wary of monsters. Work is also impossible during the winter snow season."

"Moreover, when mining, it's easy to dig up some terrifying things, so the overall cost of mining is very high. At that time, the mortality rate of miners was also very high, and of course, the wages were also very high."

At this point, the experienced driver turned to look at He Ao and asked, "Have you ever seen those small high walls in the mines outside?"

what

Ao nodded slightly.

"Those high walls were developed by the large mining farm,"

The veteran driver laughed heartily, “The time I spent working at the large mine was the happiest time of my life. Anyone with suggestions to improve the mining machinery could report them to the management, and the management would often go to the front lines of mining and transportation to listen to the miners’ suggestions.”

"Our wages increase every year, and those who perform well can be promoted. The smart miners can even get company-sponsored opportunities to study at university."

"The large mine has existed for over a hundred years and has developed countless new types of equipment. Every day is better than yesterday. Every time I enter the mine, I can see the banner at the entrance that reads, 'Be the best, the most advanced, and the most respected enterprise.'"

"It is said that the earliest founders of the large mining farm were two engineers, and the vast majority of the management team were also engineers. Almost every senior executive had one or two patents."

"Back then, large mining farms would invest most of their profits in the research and development of new machines. We were the innovators leading the entire federation at that time."

"Many of the new equipment developed at large mines are now being used by most mining companies in the federal government."

"and after?"

He asked softly.

"And then,"

The driver leaned back in his seat, activated autopilot, and rested one hand on the steering wheel.

"Later, the large mine acquired a small mining equipment manufacturing company in the south."

"Then two investment bank managers came from the south. They met with the shareholders of the large mine one by one, and together they ousted the founder's descendants from the mine."

"The engineers who were previously focused on technology were laid off, and the executives of small mining equipment manufacturing companies who were full of financial jargon took over as CEOs."

"Then they began cutting R&D spending, restructuring the company, implementing financial reforms, and renaming the large mine as Rock City Mining Group."

"They listed the newly formed Rock Mining Group on the financial market, then borrowed money to buy mines, further boosting the stock price. They kept repeating this process until they acquired the vast majority of the mines, becoming the only mining consortium in Rock City."

"The large mining farms have gradually become large mining farms in the true sense. However, the exciting slogans at the entrance of the mining farms are no longer there. Instead, the corporate philosophy of 'stock price first, profit first' has been replaced."

"After completing the monopoly, the new board of directors and senior management team cut human resource costs while entering the financial industry, such as real estate."

"The large number of mines has generated substantial profits, which are no longer reinvested in research and development, but instead used to invest in new industries and buy back shares. This is because these actions can boost stock prices, while the return on investment for research and development takes too long."

“Each executive received a generous ‘equity incentive package.’ The rise in stock price meant an increase in their net worth, which meant they became ‘respectable’ billionaires.”

"In order to boost the stock price, they are also constantly reducing costs, adopting more aggressive strategies, and using worse materials. The miner mortality rate, which was originally reduced by the continuous development of new machines by large mines, has rebounded under their management."

"Furthermore, they drastically reduced the wages of miners and basic engineers, and increased employees' working hours in order to 'reduce costs' and allow the financial sector to..."

The financial statements looked better, and the stock price rose even faster.

At this point, the elderly driver chuckled and sighed.

"Later I resigned. I couldn't go against my conscience to manufacture machines that would kill people in order to reduce costs. The big mines are dead. What's left is just a mining conglomerate that only cares about profits."

"After leaving my job, I was blacklisted by the industry and couldn't find another job as a mechanical engineer. I changed careers many times and finally became a driver. The income wasn't high, but I lived comfortably."

"Later, my son wanted to go to the mining conglomerate, but I didn't let him go. Now it seems that he may have been spared."

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

The taxi driver turned the steering wheel, and the taxi made a right-angle turn and stopped not far from a towering building. "But they have a mercenary group and money. We ordinary people can't deal with them—we've arrived at the mining conglomerate building."

"Thank you."

He Ao handed over the fare.

The driver didn't take his money, but said softly...

"Child, I know you are a good child."

“I’ve seen you on the news. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I do know you can’t handle them. Don’t be impulsive. If it really comes down to it, let’s leave this city.”

“My family and I are ready to leave this city tonight. If you’d like, we can give you a ride. Please don’t act impulsively.”

"Uncle, don't worry, I won't act impulsively."

He Ao smiled and shook his head, placed the money on the seat, reached out and opened the car door, and got out of the taxi.

The location here is actually some distance from the main building of the mining conglomerate, but the area closer is surrounded by mercenary groups, and taxis can't get in.

These mercenaries were recalled from the wilderness to protect the board of directors and executives.

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

He Ao stared intently at the building not far away, his gaze deep.

The old foreman gave him a hint, but didn't tell him explicitly; he had to figure it out himself.

In other words, the person behind the scenes is most likely unaware that they have been exposed.

In this way, during this short period of time, He Ao was in the shadows while the person behind the scenes was in the open, and their positions were reversed.

Therefore, He Ao now has some time to set things up without interference.

However, this period of time will not last long, because the conflict in Rock City has now been escalated to its limit, and the mastermind's goal is likely to be achieved.

He must complete all the arrangements before the final moment arrives.

He stared at the building not far away, drew the red short sword from his waist, held it in a reverse grip, then extended his wrist. With a red light, he raised it upwards, and bright red blood slowly seeped out.

-

As a dim light appeared, on a small high wall of a mine north of Rock City, a mercenary with blond hair dressed in mercenary group uniform yawned.

"When does the shift change start?"

The blond mercenary looked out at the vast expanse of white snow in a daze.

"Let's wait another half hour."

The mercenary beside him also yawned.

"Those old men have all sent their men back, aren't they afraid of the mines?"

"The situation on the field is dangerous, which means I have to stand guard for an extra three hours."

"The blond mercenary complained."

"Stop complaining, we'll get paid to do things," the mercenary beside him said, glancing around with sleepy eyes.

"Besides, winter isn't completely over yet. You're new here, so you don't understand. Most of the strange beasts also hibernate, so there's no danger in this weather."

"Besides, we're so close to the city, if we encounter danger, the regimental commander and the others will bring people to rescue us."

“Sigh,” the blond mercenary yawned, “The lives of the board members are different from ours. Their lives are precious, ours are worthless.”

As he was speaking, he suddenly paused, as if he remembered something, and whispered, "I think there's something wrong with the mine. When I came to work yesterday, I felt that the miners were looking at me strangely. Could they be planning something?"

With that workload and that pay, if it were me, I would have picked up a gun and shot all those factory supervisors to death.

“What can they possibly do?” The mercenary beside him laughed. “You’re new here and haven’t experienced this yet. 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 monsters.”

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

The mercenary raised the gun hanging on his chest, but did not reach for the trigger.

bang bang bang-

Suddenly, a burst of gunfire rang out.

"Holy crap, why the hell did you shoot?!"

The blond mercenary, who had just been dozing off, was instantly jolted awake. He then felt something warm and wet on his face.

He took off one glove and subconsciously touched his cheek.

That was hot blood.

The mercenary standing next to him stared at him with wide, incredulous eyes and an open mouth.

Several bloody holes pierced through the mercenary's body, taking his life.

boom--

The mercenary fell forward onto the ground, which was still covered with a light layer of snow.

The surviving blond mercenary looked up and saw a muscular young wilderness wanderer standing behind him, holding a pistol.

At that moment, the young man looked at him.

"I surrender."

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

Several thin miners rushed out from behind the wilderness wanderer in an instant, disarmed him, and tied him up with the shackles on his body.

At that moment, a burst of gunfire rang out in the distance.