Too many female prisoners, a special forces soldier transmigrates and marries wildly.

Yanshan Mine, a government-run Class A mine.

The biting north wind, carrying the smell of mineral dust and coke, rushed towards us, yet it also carried an unusual...dead silence.

Lin Feng reined in his horse and stood before the massive archway of the mine. Behind him, Xu Tiande and twenty elite guards stood in tight formation, their hands on their sword hilts, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

The mine entrance, which should have been bustling with activity and the roar of horses' hooves, was now deserted. Only a few vultures perched on a distant pile of rubble, greedily eyeing the area.

"Damn it, this place looks like a graveyard!" Xu Tiande spat, his thick eyebrows furrowed. "At this time of day, the ore-hauling convoys would be lined up for miles!"

Lin Feng did not answer, his gaze sweeping across the mine wall like that of a hawk.

The guards patrolling the wall were sparse and scattered, and most of them were listless with shifty eyes. When they saw this group of people, instead of checking and guarding them, they scurried back behind the crenellations like startled rabbits.

"Something's not right," Lin Feng whispered, spurring his horse forward.

The old guard at the gate, still half-asleep, came forward to greet him, but before he could speak, Xu Tiande grabbed him by the collar and lifted him before his horse like a chick: "Are you blind?! The garrison commander has arrived! Open the main gate to welcome him!"

The veteran trembled with fear, pointing inside, his voice shaking: "General... in the mine... they won't let us open the middle gate, we can only use the side gate..."

"Nonsense!" Xu Tiande roared. "A first-class mine of the imperial court, how dare you neglect the imperial envoy?!"

The veteran's face turned ashen, he stammered, his eyes darting around, unable to utter a coherent sentence. Lin Feng raised a hand to stop Xu Tiande and calmly asked, "Where are the officials in charge? Are Cui Hong, the Ministry of Works official, Lu Ming, the censor, and Zhao Dequan, the eunuch, present?"

Upon hearing those names, the veteran was terrified. He fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "General, spare my life! I didn't know! I really didn't know! The magistrate... the magistrate is ill and resting in the back... those officials... I've never seen them before..."

Full of loopholes!

Lin Feng said no more, flicked the reins, and barged through the side gate. Xu Tiande cursed and followed closely behind with his men.

Inside the mine, the miners and guards they encountered had cloudy eyes and staggered gaits, like a group of walking corpses. When they saw Lin Feng and his group, instead of avoiding them, they stared at them with a numb gaze mixed with inexplicable fear, sending chills down their spines.

"Go to the accounting office," Lin Feng said in a deep voice.

The mine's accounting office was located in the main office area, in a small building made of blue bricks. The building was brightly lit and filled with people, but it was also eerily quiet, with only the occasional dry "crackling" sound of abacus beads.

The person in charge, surnamed Qian, was a thin, wiry middle-aged man. Upon seeing Lin Feng, he scrambled out to greet him in a panic, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "This humble official, Qian Kang, greets the garrison commander. I was unaware of your arrival and have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me..."

Lin Feng directly presented the imperial edict and the official seal of the imperial envoy: "Chief Qian, I have been ordered to thoroughly investigate the case of reduced production at the Yanshan Mine and the disappearance of three imperial officials. Effective immediately, all affairs of the mine are under my control. Bring me all your mine's account books, material inflow and outflow records, and craftsman rosters for the past three years!"

Qian Kang's face turned pale instantly, his eyes darting around in a panic: "This... sir, there are so many accounts, it's probably difficult to sort them all out in a short time... Besides, the mine has indeed been experiencing some... uh... operational difficulties lately, so there may be some omissions in the accounts..."

"Enough nonsense!" Xu Tiande stepped forward, his scabbard slamming heavily against the ground. "The garrison told you to take it, so you took it! Or are you trying to protect those few missing traitors?!"

"No, no!" Qian Kang waved his hands repeatedly, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "It's just... it's just that some of the account books are in the storeroom, and some are... I'll go get them right away, I'll go get them right away!"

He turned to leave, but Lin Feng coldly said, "No need. General Xu, take your men and go to the accounting and storeroom now. Move all the account books here, not a single one left!"

"Yes!" Xu Tiande understood and selected a few of his personal guards, who rushed toward the warehouse like wolves and tigers.

Qian Kang's face turned ashen, and he collapsed to the ground.

Soon, the storeroom was opened, and rolls of dusty account books were brought out and piled up like a small mountain. Lin Feng sat in the main hall of the account room and, in front of Qian Kang, casually pulled out a few rolls.

His fingers moved slowly across the lines of ink characters.

At first, he remained calm, but as he flipped through more and more account books, his brows furrowed more and more, and the cold light in his eyes intensified.

Production records are normal, material consumption is normal, craftsmen's salaries are paid normally... all the figures are perfect and there's nothing to criticize!

But the more perfect it is, the more fake it seems!

Lin Feng slammed a ledger shut, looked up at the trembling Qian Kang, and said in a voice as cold as ice: "Manager Qian, I ask you, what was the purpose of the three thousand catties of 'black steel sand' that the mine purchased from Longyou last December?"

Qian Kang was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lin Feng to ask such a specific question, his eyes darting around: "This... black steel shot... is... is an auxiliary material needed for smelting refined iron..."

"Auxiliary materials?" Lin Feng sneered, spreading the ledger out in front of him and pointing sharply at one spot. "Then why does the record show that all three thousand catties of black steel sand were consumed in 'Furnace No. 7 of Class C'? And since December of last year, Furnace No. 7 of Class C has recorded zero smelting output?!"

Qian Kang was struck dumb, his whole body trembled violently, his mouth opened wide, but he couldn't utter a single word.

A deathly silence fell over the hall. Xu Tiande and his personal guards stared intently at Qian Kang, their gazes sharp as knives.

Lin Feng slowly stood up, speaking each word as if delivering a verdict: "On one hand, there's a massive consumption of materials; on the other hand, there's zero output. Manager Qian, the way you've handled this accounting is truly... ingenious!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the seemingly normal numbers in the ledger, as if trying to see through the paper to the hidden, bloody truth.

"Take him away and keep a close watch on him!" Lin Feng waved his hand.

The guards rushed forward and dragged the limp Qian Kang away.

Lin Feng walked to the window and looked towards the silent smelting furnaces deep in the mine. As night deepened, the mining area, illuminated by the furnace fires, resembled a lurking beast, its jaws wide open, ready to devour the light.

The accounts are fake.

The person has disappeared.

What's burning in the stove?

He felt he was standing on the edge of a massive conspiracy. And the three missing officials might have been caught in the real "fire" behind the fake accounts.