noveldepot Chapter 775 - 486: Rest, Base Store_2
Chapter 775 - 486: Rest, Base Store_2
"It’s unfortunate to hear such things, but I think in such a vast universe, there’s bound to be better suited jobs for you."
Wang Zhifan, who understood the base’s rules and regulations, realized that the person was right and showed some regret.
The fact is, as captain of the security team, his failure to protect the miners meant he was highly likely to be dismissed by the higher-ups.
And being dismissed was actually a rather favorable outcome for him; otherwise, given the developments this evening, without the timely arrival of Wang Zhifan as a powerful ally, he and his team might have been completely wiped out by the monsters.
"Haha, Mr. Wang, I accept your encouragement... By the way, in the future, those miners who survived under me will likely be handed over to you by the base for management, so you’ll need to prepare for that."
William Glen chuckled and replied.
"All handed over to me? Shouldn’t the higher-ups assign a new captain?"
Hearing this, Wang Zhifan felt a little speechless. He really didn’t want more people in the team, because adding more people meant increasing the mining targets and the difficulty of management.
"There’s a high probability it will be you because you’ve proven that you can adapt to this dangerous mine, and those above love giving responsibilities to capable people."
William Glen chuckled, as if saying that Wang Zhifan was now in for some luck.
Wang Zhifan couldn’t help but feel a little helpless after hearing this, but as the other person said, the situation might indeed develop this way, and he could basically only accept it.
Thus, the two chatted a bit more, and Wang Zhifan sought to learn some inside information about the job from William Glen, who in turn tried to pry into some of his secrets, like the origins of his Gluttony Wolf Mecha.
After finishing their closing tasks, the surviving members of Mining Team 2 retreated from the mine first, and the team Wang Zhifan was responsible for, Mining Team 10, completed their shifts a few hours later, as miners and security team members were awoken from sleep, exited the mine, and took the bus back to the base.
The whole process went smoothly enough, with no monsters suddenly jumping out to cause trouble, and no one unwisely challenging Wang Zhifan’s authority as captain.
Once back at the base, Wang Zhifan had more free personal time. His subordinates were all resting, and security issues were entirely taken over by the base, leaving him with nothing to worry about.
Feeling a bit bored, he went to stroll around the base’s store, hoping to witness the most mysterious place in the base with his own eyes.
As the information he had received previously indicated, the base’s store was not very large, perhaps only thirty square meters, but the diversity of items for sale was considerable, tempting miners or other employees with wages in hand to go on a spending spree.
"Mr. Wang, we sell everything in our store, from cold weapons, hot weapons, protective gear, even combat mechas. As long as you have the money, you can order anything you want. Our culinary offerings are also at your discretion, and even those interstellar feasts with special ingredients can be delivered to the base within three days if you wish, and if you want special services, we can arrange those promptly too..."
At the moment, a green-skinned, plump "human" clerk stood inside the not very spacious window of the seemingly plain base store, while Wang Zhifan stood outside.
The clerk recognized his identity as captain and, seeing him as a potential buyer, began to eagerly market their offerings.
"You guys can really do anything? Then can you help me achieve this month’s targets?"
Seeing the green-skinned clerk inside the not-so-big store window bragging so loudly, Wang Zhifan jokingly retorted, since he currently had no need for ordinary supplies and was only concerned about completing tasks.
"Well... we can certainly help, but about the price..."
The green-skinned clerk inside the window, rather than being embarrassed by his joking words, habitually rubbed his fingers together, displaying an expression indicating that the price needed to be discussed.
"Can you really help? Lying isn’t good, my friend."
Seeing the clerk’s demeanor as less about boasting, Wang Zhifan grew more interested and continued asking.
The clerk then lowered his voice, leaned slightly out the window, and told him mysteriously:
"Mr. Wang, you might not know about our base official’s situation. I heard he’s going to be sacked soon because his performance last month was unsatisfactory.
With his age, where could he find a decent job after getting sacked? So surely, before leaving, he’s going to grab whatever he can!
There’s an art to grabbing money. As long as the price is right, he can definitely make things happen. Otherwise, why would he suddenly hassle you lot? It’s a hint!
Don’t worry. We have an agreement with the official. This is the situation: if the payment is sufficient, everything is negotiable!
He takes the lion’s share, and we take the small cut. There’s no need for you to personally seek him out and cause extra bureaucratic trouble. It’s beneficial for everyone if the transaction goes through me..."
This clerk’s words were indeed bold, encouraging Wang Zhifan to bribe the base official to achieve his goals.
"Could this clerk be set up by Kai Bo to fool the naïve... How could he be so blatant..."
Wang Zhifan was immediately taken aback; he realized he might have found a new way through the game but wasn’t entirely sure of its authenticity—it could be a trap.
But then, thinking of the various absurd rules of this mining base, he felt it might not be impossible.
This place really didn’t have an atmosphere of striving for perfection; it resembled more of a chaotic, deceitful industry, probably already pawned off by its overseer to the highest bidder.
Seeing Wang Zhifan hesitate, the green-skinned clerk added fuel to the fire and continued:
"Looking at your doubtful expression, let me present a real scenario: as long as you can pay this sum, your mining team will be able to add five miners tomorrow, who won’t count towards your production quota, making it much easier to reach your targets for the month. It’s absolutely worth it."
"Can they really do that? Aren’t they afraid of getting caught by the higher-ups for having a mismatched number of miners?"
The straightforward offer made Wang Zhifan skeptical—this was a severe deceit towards the company, and getting caught would have substantial consequences.
"Heh... it’s tricky to track the minerals that dead miners extract. There are no cyborg monitors in the mine! Besides, adhering strictly to company rules could get you worked to death, but this is precious experience from those before you!"
The green-skinned clerk immediately replied.
"Alright... Let me think it over first. I don’t have that much money in my account right now, unless you guys accept loans."
More convinced of this as an unspoken rule of the base, Wang Zhifan entertained the thought of trying it, but his financial situation didn’t quite allow for it, prompting him to inquire.
"Loans won’t work! We only accept cash! If there’s no cash, collateral can also suffice."
The clerk answered without a hint of hesitation and then glanced at the Cyan Emperor Saber hanging from Wang Zhifan’s waist and said:
"For example, the weapon you’re carrying looks quite impressive and could probably sell to the interstellar market’s customers who appreciate such ancient items. Why don’t you let me have a closer look, and I’ll give you an appraisal?"
Faced with the clerk’s probing inquiry, Wang Zhifan couldn’t possibly agree to such a request; the Cyan Emperor Saber was his only legendary weapon. Selling it would indeed be a colossal joke. Thus, he firmly shook his head and responded:
"No, this saber is a family heirloom, and I won’t sell it. I’ll go back and see if there’s anything more suitable."
Saying so, he left in a hurry, as if to prepare for the matter.
Within seconds of Wang Zhifan leaving, a puzzled voice suddenly echoed through the air a few meters behind the green-skinned clerk:
"The Identification Skill tells me the equipment on that person just now is of extremely high quality. Is there something off here...
It’s just an intermediate level; there shouldn’t be such well-equipped players appearing... Seems like I should pay more attention to him."
It turns out, the green-skinned clerk wasn’t an actual merchant from the base store. Behind him lay a mysterious controller!
And this person was a player, possessing SVIP status much like Wang Zhifan!