Chapter 517: The Cunning of the Weak
Chapter 247: The Cunning of the Weak
Breakfast was served in a huge wooden shed. Everyone's meal was rationed, with only 1 bowl of broth, 1 slice of cured meat, and 1 section of steamed roots. Broths and cured meats are made from mutants hunted by hunting teams among the armed guards, and usually the most tender, tasty, and nutritious parts have been taken over by the guards, while the worst parts are used to make broth and cured meats for the miners; Steamed roots, of course, are steamed from tree roots in the jungle, which may seem too boring for Westerners who are accustomed to eating meat.
In order to save costs, the mine only provides miners with two meals a day, morning and evening, and the content is almost identical. The miners were forced to work 12 hours during the day, which was extremely physically demanding. The main way to maintain physical strength is to sleep and eat, especially the latter is highly valued by the miners, and if the guards are not careful, food will be snatched.
Lin Zaishan and Su Ke finished their meals, and sat face to face with a tray and sat on the empty seat in the corner. For Lin Zaishan, as long as he can absorb the vitality in the air, it doesn't matter if he doesn't eat for a long time; For Suke, the meal was unpalatable, but it was the key to survival.
No sooner had Souk put the steamed root to his mouth than Lund appeared behind him, snatched the cured meat from his plate, and swaggered down beside them.
Suke protested, "Brother Lund, I deserve this cured meat. ”
Lund sneered, "You call it a throat and see if it promises you?" It didn't say yes, did it? So, I tell you: it's in whom's plate. As he spoke, he put the cured meat into his mouth.
Lin Zaishan just wanted to give Lund a hard time, and a guard patrolled nearby. "Boss, this man robbed my companion of the cured meat." Lin Zaishan unceremoniously revealed.
"Did he steal your food?" The guard asked, pointing an electric baton at Suke.
Shocked and frightened, Su Ke hesitated for a few seconds and replied, "No." ”
"So, you're making false accusations." The guards stabbed Lin Zaishan in the neck with an electric baton. He turned on the power of the electric baton to the maximum, expecting that this poke would definitely make Lin Zaishan feel painful.
Lin Zaishan has the ability of electric shock, and he secretly thought: "Okay, if you take an electric shock, you should recharge yourself." "Deliberately made a look of being numb and painful by electricity, but took the opportunity to suck up the energy in the electric baton.
The guard sneered smugly, "Remember, next time there is nothing to do, I will poke the electric baton into your large intestine." ”
After the guards left, Lund said viciously to Lin Zaishan: "Stinky boy, dare to sue me, you are dead!" "You're about to come and take the cured meat in the mountains of Lin.
At this moment, a strong big hand reached out from the side and grabbed Lund's wrist steadily. It turned out that Schwarronsen showed up with a tray. He sat down slowly, smiled and said to Lin Zaishan: "It seems that you have already made a lot of friends in just one night. ”
Lin Zaishan smiled helplessly: "No way, who made me have a good temper and good popularity." ”
"This dude seems to be thinking about the meat on your plate." Schwarronsen's hand strained, and Lund cried out in pain. Schwarronsen laughed and threatened, "You can scream louder so everyone knows you're a sissy." ”
In this kind of lawless place, those who want to be strong are most afraid of being labeled a "sissy", because that means that anyone can you.
Lund endured the pain, "Friend, to tell you, I used to be from the Coyote team. There are a lot of our teammates in this mine, and you beware that you don't know how they died. ”
Schwarronsen replied disapprenousively: "The Coyotes don't deserve to lift my shoes!" I warn you, the handsome guy sitting across from you is my good brother, and if you dare to offend him, you will definitely regret being born in your mother's womb. He threw Lund's hand aside.
Lund glared at Schwarronsen and the others indignantly, and walked away with the tray.
Su Ke said with a smile: "What is the name of this boss, will I be a horse boy for you in the future?" ”
Schwarronsen responded coldly: "Either eat obediently, or get out of the way!" ”
Suke immediately shut his mouth.
Lin Zaishan asked, "Idol, looking at your appearance, you should have slept well last night." ”
"Of course, ever since I kicked the guy who claimed to be the boss of the dorm, my roommates have loved me a lot."
"So you don't have to empty the toilet for everyone?"
"Nonsense. Still, I see you're emptying the toilet. Old friend Lucifer, you can't be too humble and kind, and if you want to live well among the mobs, you have to be more like a thug than a mob. ”
"I understand the logic, but I want to keep a low profile for the time being." Lin Zaishan divided the food in his tray with Schwarronsen and Suke, and only ate the steamed roots.
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Less than five minutes after breakfast, the guards forced the miners to leave the camp with baskets, axes, chisels, and shovels to collect ore in the open-pit mines.
The working hours are a fixed 12-hour period, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a 30-minute break in between. In order to prevent miners from being lazy and motivate them to work, a minimum amount of work was set at 100 baskets, which weighed about 5 tons. Anyone who does less than the minimum amount of work done in one day will be punished with caning, and those who fail to do so three times in a row will be put to death. In addition, there is a so-called point system, where you can get 1 point for each day of work you complete, and 1 point for every 100 baskets you complete. Points can be exchanged for some benefits, and when the points reach 100 points, they can apply to be transferred to other positions, become managers or caretakers, and achieve so-called freedom and liberation (of course, no one can actually get so many points at all).
If it is simply to put the ore into a basket and then pour it out, I believe that many people, even ordinary people, can complete the prescribed workload; The problem, however, is that miners must first manually dig the ore from the hard surface, which is time-consuming, physically and physically demanding, and can also wear down their hands.
To make it easier to complete the workload, many people invent the so-called lazy method. One of the most common methods is to load loose ore dug up by others into their own baskets when they are away from transporting ore. If the action is fast enough, the person may not be able to find out; But once discovered, it often requires a second way to solve it, which is to rely on strength to seize other people's ores. In fact, just like the bunk grabbing in the dormitory, some powerful miners are plundering other people's ore by various means every day, and some even form gangs.
The miners, who are also victims, are not equal to each other, and in a sense they are more stratified than the guards. In order to survive, the weak try to do everything they can, and sometimes bring the despicability of human nature to the extreme.
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Lin Zaishan found an uninhabited clearing, skillfully wielded an iron pickaxe, and in a moment he loosened a large piece of land. He loaded a large basket full of it and walked more than 200 meters to deliver it to the rail wagon. When he returned, he found that the ore he had just loosened had been loaded by other miners. A strong man stood in the clearing with his hands crossed, glaring at him proudly.
"This is already Lao Tzu's territory, if you don't want to die, go away." The strong man scolded.
"Dude, since you like this land so much, let it be given to you." Lin Zaishan still had to keep a low profile, and he then asked: "You just stand in place with your hands crossed, can you complete the minimum task of 100 baskets in one day?" ”
"Humph! Even if I don't do anything, I can accomplish more than you. ”
Lin Zaishan saw that the other party did not answer positively, so he left stupidly. At this time, a miner who had been working here for a week came to Lin Zaishan and whispered: "Brother, haven't you figured it out yet?" Bullies like this will force others to deliver ore for them, just by dumping ore on the rail wagons and reporting his number. That way, the guards will put the workload on his account. ”
"I'll go! Is this also possible? Wouldn't it be easy for them to become so-called good miners and earn enough points? ”
"Provided that their tricks are not discovered by the guards. Normally, the guards will not pay attention to you as long as you are obedient, do the prescribed work, and do not cause trouble; But if something unpleasant happens to them, such as losing a gamble, being reprimanded by their boss, or just not eating a good meal, they will come to the miners for various reasons, including those who usually dominate the miners. ”
"Looks like you have a lot of experience in work and survival."
"It's so-so." The old miner leaned into Lin Zaishan's ear and asked mysteriously and softly, "Dude, do you want to be less bullied and get rid of this hell as soon as possible?" ”
"Of course, do you have any strategies?" Lin Zaishan wanted to think about it for Su Ke and the others.
"Do you see the jungle over there?"
"See."
"You know I don't have enough breakfast, but if you can sneak out of the jungle and help me dig up some roots or even pick a few wild fruits, I'm willing to pass on all my experience."
"If I'm not mistaken, the jungle is off-limits."
"If you don't dare to go, just let me not say it." The old miner said, "Actually, there is a ditch that leads to the jungle in a zigzag way, and if you are so dexterous, you will not notice it if you sneak through it." ”
Lin Zaishan said: "Then I have to wait at least until I finish 100 baskets before going." ”
"Okay, I'll be over there. I'm looking forward to when you've made up your mind to come to me. ”
Lin Zaishan learned from the past, and this excavation was no longer so laborious, and each time it was just enough to hold a basket, so that those bullies had nothing to occupy.
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Little by little, time passed. Soon it was noon. Guards announced a 30-minute lunch break.
Lin Zaishan easily completed 70 baskets in one morning, which was the result of him deliberately discounting his strength to less than 30%.
Schwarronsen came to Lin Zaishan and asked, "How many baskets did you make?" ”
“70。”
"Ha, you're far worse than me." Schwarronsen said proudly: "I have completed 150 baskets and am ready to set a great record today. Of course, this includes 5 baskets that the 4 guys volunteered to give each. ”
"Looks like you're doing a good job here." Lin Zaishan is not without mockery.
"At least 100 times stronger than that buddy." Schwarronsen pointed to Suke, who was already exhausted and panting in the distance. He leaned into Lin Zaishan's ear and whispered, "I have just discovered that the ores here contain powerful energy, and they are indeed good materials for making apocalyptic weapons. As he spoke, he took out a piece of glittering ore from his pocket and handed it to Lin Zaishan, "Zha Lin, isn't your body the best at storing treasures?" I beg you to put it away for me. ”
"No problem." Lin Zaishan casually received this piece of ore into the space ring, "I also noticed this, so there are also a lot of gains this morning." As he spoke, he took out a piece of colorful ore from the spatial ring and showed it to Schwaronsen.
"Looks like we've come to the right place. But I'm afraid that your slag forest safe can't store too many good things. ”
"Don't worry, it's not a problem to just pack one or two tons of gemstones."
"Okay, let's separate first, and I'm going over to help one of my roommates settle the bully problem."
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As soon as Schwarronsen left, the old miner came to the door again, "Dude, have you made up your mind?" You should have pity on me, for I really need food to regain my strength; Otherwise, I may not make it to tomorrow. ”
"Well, I'll help you. However, let me make it clear that I may not be able to find much food in a hurry, so whatever you bring back, please eat it. ”
"Okay, thank you so much." The old miner looked grateful.
Lin Zaishan carried a basket on his back and slowly touched the side of the small ravine with a tool, and then pretended to dig ore to look left and right, making sure that no one noticed him, and his figure entered the small ravine like lightning. This ditch is only more than 70 meters long, and Lin Zaishan casts his speed ability, reaching the jungle in a few seconds, and then smashing inside.
With only one minute left in his lunch break, Lin Zaishan quietly returned to the mine, a basket full of roots, crystal fruits, and herbs. He strode over to the old miner who was waiting nearby, and said enthusiastically, "I have helped you gather a lot of food from the jungle, you can make do with it." ”
The old miner said, "Dude, are you sure you just went to the jungle?" ”
"Of course, didn't you ask me to go?" Lin Zaishan replied.
The old miner suddenly lit up something in his palm, "Dude, I'm sorry, I have made this decision because of my recent meritorious service." I've tried more than a dozen people, and none of them are willing to be fooled, only you, only you. You are the savior of my life, and my destiny will change from today onwards because of you. ”
Lin Zaishan saw that the old miner was holding a communicator in his hand, and asked puzzledly: "Brother, what do you want to say?" ”
At this moment, there was a sudden "bang" of gunshots, and a sniper bullet was fired from a guard tower. Two teams of guards nearby were rushing at each other with their weapons.
The old miner immediately knelt on the ground with the back of his head covered, and said to Lin Zaishan with a smile: "Dude, don't you still understand?" You tried to escape, and I exposed you. I have contributed to the mine! The guards have heard what you just said clearly, and you are waiting to accept the most cruel punishment in the world. ”